Anime Blog 98: Mushi-shi

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mushishi

Mushi-shi is a 46 episode Seinen with 3 OVAs and a live action Japanese film.

Let me start by saying that before I watched the anime for this, I read all 10 volumes of the manga and loved it! I was super-excited for the anime and I wasn't disappointed!

The show is episodic just like the manga, excepting that the anime doesn't even follow the order of the manga (not that it needs to since nothing is really connected much). The story follows Ginko, a mushi-shi who helps people with mushi problems. Mushi are these little living organisms that people normally can't see, they are all around us and are a part of life and nature but sometimes they can cause problems depending on what they are and how humans interact with them. (In my mind I associate them with bacteria--sorta).

Ginko just travels around helping people with their mushi problems. Some of the episodes focus on backstory about what happened to Ginko as a child, how he became a mushi-shi, etc. but they aren't the real focus of the story.

I've watched this show both subbed and dubbed and honestly, even though both are good, I prefer the dub...just because Travis Willingham (Col. Roy Mustang from FMA) plays Ginko...I love that man's voice...It's just perfect.

The OVAs are basically other episodes from the manga that just didn't end up in the main story of the anime. They're good episodes though...actually they're some of the coolest (for me at least).

Now for the live action film. I think it was done very well. It looked good, it followed well, and overall it was a really good adaptation. I was only confused at the end but I'm not going to spoil that for anyone--I'll let you be confused about why they did that too :D

So, art!

Ginko

 

 

Ginko in the Live Action Movie

Pros and Cons:

Pros:

• "follows" the manga very well
• Travis Willingham
• Great story
• Unique plot
• Episodic
• Ginko is the best character ever :D (LOL)

Cons:

• Ha! Yeah right!

So there you have it! Totally worth watching! Awesome show! Thanks for reading! Until next time,

~Kei

Anime Blog 97: 11 Eyes

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/11eyes:_Tsumi_to_Batsu_to_Aganai_no_Sh%C5%8Djo

11 Eyes is a 12 episode shonen with 1 OVA.

The story follows Kakeru and Yuka, 2 childhood friends who are suddenly dragged into this "Red World" where strange monsters attack them. They find out that other students at their school are also dragged into the fight and that each one of them has a special power they can use in both the Red World and the real world. I'm not going to be able to go into much detail about the rest of the story because it gets quite complex and I don't want to spoil it for anyone who decides to watch this; that's why I always link to Wikipedia or a similar site :D Spoilers at your own risk there :D

This show has been on my list for years and I finally got around to watching it over the past couple of days. I couldn't remember what it was about or why I decided to watch it originally, I just had a picture saved on my computer. The picture made me think it was going to be a school-centered show with fantasy/paranormal aspects...WRONG!

I started watching this a couple days ago and all I could think was "And I wanted to watch this show why???" and by the last couple of episodes I kept yelling at the computer screen "WHAT THE F*** DID I DECIDE TO WATCH!!!!!?????"

It gets really crazy...wow.

And dear Jesus...the panty shots. It wasn't even just panty shots for ecchi purposes (at least to me they didn't feel that way) it was like the camera was just always at a panty shot angle. ALWAYS. Then people are randomly in their underwear for no apparent reason...just because. WOW. So many panty shots...just sayin'

But now that I finished it I can honestly say it wasn't that bad. It was weirder than I expected but it didn't end as badly as I was expecting it to by the later episodes. Also. Episode 13...

Episode 13 (the OVA) puts them in a "Pink World" instead of the "Red World" and everyone's powers suddenly become pervy...I have to say after such a serious show, I enjoyed a good laugh at the OVA :D

Also, Takahisa is played by Showtaro Morikubo, who is the guy who plays Shikamaru Nara in Naruto (I really like his voice!)--Takahisa is the guy who looks kinda like Inuyasha

So, art!

Kukuri, Kusakabe, Yuka, Yukiko, and Shiori

I also really like the opening song and I think it introduces the characters well:

Pros and Cons:

Pros:

• Short
• Good art
• Decent ending
• I like Yukiko :D
• Interesting ideas thrown around about who the good guys are and are we really the bad guys?

Cons:

• Gets weird...
• There's a part that really makes you think, OMG it's that girl from School Days

That's about it!
**I totally liked Kakeru and Yuka together...excepting when she went School Days

Thanks for reading! Until next time,

~Kei

Anime Blog 96: Moonlight Lady

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moonlight_Lady

HERE'S THE HENTAI WARNING!!!!!!

Ok, Moonlight Lady is a 5 episode Hentai that focuses on Suzuna who is training to become some kind of priestess in her family. She has an arranged marriage with a guy named Koichi and then a bunch of really weird paranormal stuff happens. I vaguely recall a tentacle scene even though I have no idea how the heck it connected to anything! (I watched this in 2011 so forgive me if this is a short blog).

What drew me to this anime was the art. I saw a really pretty picture (that I will post for the art section) and it made me want to watch it...still not sure if that was a good or bad choice on my part...

I can tell you that although things got weird for a while there (really weird) it ended well and all-in-all I really enjoyed this show. Honestly if I could find all 5 episodes on DVD (in a store probably...I don't wanna go out of my way to find it) I would buy it...I saw a copy once but I think it was just the first episode...hmm...

But. ART!

Suzuna

Suzuna, Koichi, and Tomomi

Suzuna and Koichi

So, pros and cons:

Pros:

• Does hentai go here?
• Pretty art
• Suzuna in her shrine outfit
• Good ending
• Decent story...although weird

Cons:

• Does hentai go here?
• Weird things happen...weird
• Kinda confusing for a while there...more explanations needed!

Well that's all folks! Thanks for reading! Until next time,

~Kei

Anime Blog 95: Miyuki-chan in Wonderland

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miyuki-chan_in_Wonderland

Ah CLAMP. (Here's a Shojo-ai warning!)

Miyuki-chan in Wonderland has 2 OVAs: Miyuki-chan in Wonderland and Miyuki-chan in Mirrorland.

This anime is exactly what it sounds like. An Alice in Wonderland Parody...the catch being that all the characters are female and are lusting after Miyuki-chan (who I might add is a totally normal high school girl).

So I watched this over Spring Break 2012 with a friend of mine (because we were bored and a had a list of short animes for us to watch--this included Kachou no Koi and Kono Danshi Uchuujin to Tatakaemasu) and we were laughing our butts off and saying "poor Miyuki-chan!"

It's a short and easy watch at the least :D

So. Art!

Top Left to right: 3 cards, 1 card and white roses, Miyuki and the Cheshire Cat
Middle: Miyuki and then the Queen of Hearts
Bottom Left to Right: The March Hare, The Mad Hatter, The door Mouse, Tweedle-dee and Tweedle-dum (not actually sure which is which) and the Doorknob (2 poses)

Pros and cons:

Pros:

• Alice in Wonderland parody
• Interesting idea
• Art wasn't bad
• Ah CLAMP

Cons:

• Alice in Wonderland parody (I mean really? Every anime does an episode...)
• Poor Miyuki-chan
• The Queen of Hearts freaks me out...

So there you have it! Short and Sweet!

Thanks for reading! Until next time,

~Kei

Anime Blog 94: Miyakawa-ke no Kuufuku

Lucky Star Wiki

Miyakawa-ke no Kuufuku is a 10 episode OVA spin-off series of Lucky Star!
(to read my Lucky Star post click HERE)

The story is simple: Hikage Miyakawa lives with her older sister Hinata. Hinata is an otaku...and she constantly spends all of their money on otaku items (mostly doujinshi...).

This show is so friggin adorable! The episodes are really short (between 5-7 mins I believe) and so it's very easy to get through. My favorite part is that they pay for the ending song themselves so it doesn't actually get finished until episode 6!

The show is super-cute and even has some cameos of the Lucky Star cast :D

The art is just like Lucky Star's:

Hinata and Hikage

The ending is totally one of my faves now!

Pros and Cons:

Pros:

• Lucky Star spin-off
• Short episodes
• Cute art
• OTAKU LIFE!
• Ending song :D
• Friggin Hinata!

Cons:

• Ha! none.

So all-in-all, if you are a fan of Lucky Star--watch this! It's cute and won't take up too much of your time!

Thanks for reading! Until next time,

~Kei

Anime Blog 93: Mirage of Blaze

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mirage_of_Blaze

Do we need a shonen-ai warning?

Mirage of Blaze is a 13 episode Shonen-ai series with a 3 episode OVA series.

So I'm going to start by saying that I borrowed the DVD set for this from my brother's girlfriend and watched it in college...and strangely, I don't remember too much about it other than that I didn't much care for it and felt confused a lot...

That said: the story follows Takaya, a normal high schooler, who finds out he's actually not that normal; he's the reincarnation of Lord Kagetora (some dude from the past) and this other guy (Naoe?) who awakens Takaya's memories (well some of them) and then the 2 are fighting a war? Preventing a war? I really don't know. Some ancient battle from the past is involved somehow.

I do recall Takaya having a lot of split personality issues (which is probably why I was confused a lot) and then there were some shonen-ai moments...I really can't remember them for some reason...hmm I'll have to YouTube it.

Then the OVAs, from what I can recall, are like a sequel to the show and the ending just sucked. It was another one of those "alright this is what we're going to do!--END" kind of things that drive me insane!

But oh well. I only watched it because my brother's girlfriend suggested it...never borrowed anything from her again.

So, art! (sorry, not the best pic)

Naoe and Takaya

Pros and Cons:

Pros:

• hmmmm...it was short?
• Shonen-ai (as always?)

Cons:

• Confusing
• Not memorable at all

So there you have it. I'm sure the show is fine. Just wasn't my cup of tea.
Thanks for reading! Until next time,

~Kei

Anime Blog 92: Maiden Rose

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maiden_Rose

Ah the good ol' Yaoi warning. Here it is.

Maiden Rose is a 2 episode Yaoi OVA series.

So basically: fictional world WW1 involving the main characters: Klaus and Taki. Now when watching this show in 2011, my understanding of the plot was as follows: Klaus is Taki's knight and yet they're kinda like Romeo & Juliet because they're actually on opposite sides of the war but it seems like Klaus has betrayed his side and gone over to Taki's...also way too much rape involved. (and that's what it is...most of that didn't look totally consensual--just sayin').

What really kills me is Klaus' chin...I don't know why that bothers me so much but I just don't like it. Made me angry the whole show. Also, Klaus is played by Kazuhiko Inoue...whom I adore as a VA. :)

OH YEAH! and the chibis were cute!

So that's really all I have to say about this show. And other than Klaus' chin, the art wasn't bad:

Klaus and Taki

So, pros and cons:

Pros:

• Yaoi, as always
• Decent art
• Apparently the manga had (has?) an interesting storyline
• Kazuhiko Inoue

Cons:

• Klaus' chin
• Rape
• Confusing...

Only Kakashi-sensei made this worth watching for me :)

Thanks for reading everyone! Until next time,

~Kei