Anime Shenanigans

Grahhhh! >^< I've been neglecting my my Japanese studies for anime! And blogging, too! I'm such a sad, hopeless otaku. On another note I got to see some extremely awesome anime in the mean time! I completed Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann, which was suggested by a butt load of friends^-^ And surprisingly, for a mecha series, I really liked it. It's one of those short purely plot animes that don't drag on forever with the battles like Dragon Ball Z or Bleach or Yu-gi-oh. Not that any of those series are bad, but the matches last waaaaay too long XD. It does have places where it recaps you and one purely filler episode, though that one is a little necessary if you go slow with the anime and don't just blaze through it like me. The static-ness of the main character, Simon, was something I really enjoyed~ Actually, all the characters grow on you pretty quick, each possessing a unique personality. I'm not here to spill any spoilers, but if you like something that will make you emotional with plot twists and a great story line, then you'll definitely enjoy Gurren. Though the mechas play a huge role in the series, it doesn't take away it's charm at all. It's sorta like Gundum + Cowboy Bebop + This Ugly Yet Beautiful World. I would honestly suggest it to anyone that was interested <3

What to say about Mahou Shoujo Madoka Magica... Well, every single advertisement you ever see about this show is wrong. Seriously, it's all a freakin' lie. All those cute pictures of five magical girls together with one adorable bunny cat alien thing are pretty much misleading, because this anime is depressing as crap XD. You pretty much are always on the edge of your seat wanting to punch your laptop/desktop the ENTIRE time. I'll try not to spoil too much for you, but this series does an awesome job of ripping your heart out in just 12 episodes. You'll get super attached to a character or two or all of them, and they'll probably end up dead in some gruesome way or another. And definitely not just once, either. The twisted little alien, Kyubey, gives each girl these unimaginable powers to fight these monsters called "witches" in exchange for one wish of whatever they chose, and each girl gets different powers depending on the wish. The plot is enticing, but if your expecting happiness, this show doesn't provide it. In the end, though, it's really good. If I were asked to suggest this to someone... Well, I'd just have to say "Watch it if you really want to know, but watch it all."

I started another series called "Samurai Champloo" which, I will admit, is pretty original. It's unlike anything I've ever seen before. It's by the same director who did "Cowboy Bebop", which is amazing, so I'm expecting the same quality of work, although the anime itself is A LOT different. The fighting style of the main character combines martial arts and break dancing (which I'm not exactly interested in, but this show made me like it a lot more, surprisingly) and seems to work extremely well for him. The story is set during the Edo period of Japan, which is pretty much a time period of isolationist policies of government and strict social order, where violence with swords is looked down upon. Mugen, the main character (who looks a little like Spike from Cowboy Bebop, huh?) hates Jin (the guy with fair skin, glasses, and the pony tail) for no particular reason, and they're at each other's throats, holding back from a death match because they owe a little barmaid a favor. Fuu is seeking their help to find someone, and I guess you'll have to watch to find out the rest ;3

One of my childhood animes in back in business in the world of Ash, and I've recently decided to rewatch the super cute "Demashita! PowerPuff Girls Z"! Cartoon Network Japan took the 90s cartoon I knew and loved and turned it into an anime series back in 2006, which is when I started watching the series. What I didn't realize was there was 52 episodes of it. I'm not into the idea of watching 52 episodes of the SAME thing over and over as I was when I was small and watching the American version, but so far, they've done an awesome job of keeping at least different villains to defeat and challenges. Obviously, they kept the classic colors and names, but added a "Sailor Moon" approach to it. Yep, they transform into magical heroines. They aren't sisters, though, and Professor Utonium isn't their dad. He's merely the scientist that cause the problem (or blessing) in these middle school girls lives. They kept all the same villains and characters you came to know and love as a child and added a son named Ken with a robot dog. In my opinion, even though it isn't the original PowerPuffs, the series is still extremely adorable, if not more adorable than the original. So don't knock it before you try it cause you just might like it!

Heroic Age is an anime that I've been meaning to watch for a LONG time and just now got around to it. And it is SO much better than I thought it would ever be. I don't know if I mentioned this, but I really don't like mecha series. They're just hard for me to get into. But this one is a lot different, sort like Gurren Lagann. The story takes place in the distant future, and there are these tribes that consist of different species who rule the universe. The Gold Tribe was keeping balance, but vanished, leaving the newest tribe that they had created to fend for itself. This tribe was called the Iron Tribe, which is humanity. The Silver Tribe rose and attempts to push humanity to extinction. Commanders of the home planet have sent humans on a search of a savior foretold in the prophecy. The series is like SciFi meets mythology and has an anime baby with amazing characters. It's only 26 episodes, and definitely worth watching, even if it's only the first episode.

Sorry if you don't care much for the busy life of an otaku~ But seriously check a series or two of these out! I'm off to study more Japaneseeee! <3 I'll catch up on this blog later! And be back with trips of Japan! Only 16 more days until I leave! I'm way too excited >w< Maybe my hair will be teal next time! Til' then enjoy this INCREDIBLY CUTE little girl singing Tsukema Tsukeru!