Angel Beats! OST

RELEASED: 07.28.2010
LABEL:
TRACKLIST:
Disc 1
1. My Soul, Your Beats!
2. theme of SSS
3. school days
4. girl's hop
5. art of war
6. today is ok
7. memory
8. my most precious treasure
9. tactics
10. enemy country
11. operation start
12. decisive battle
13. attack!!
14. critical point
15. study time
16. niku udon
17. invention
18. toy of spring
19. deochi!
20. light drop
21. worthy rival
22. burial
23. play ball
24. walkure
25. let's operation
26. evening breeze
27. moment of rest

Disc 2
1. initial impulse
2. my heart
3. soul friends
4. kanade
5. my most precious treasure -orgel-
6. memory -orgel-
7. unjust life
8. nocturne in the afternoon
9. anxiety
10. abyss
11. alter ego
12. siren
13. transforms to the shadow
14. otanashi
15. angel's flight
16. firing preperation
17. desperation
18. breakthrough
19. Ichiban no Takaramono (Original Version)
20. Brave Song



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Girls Dead Monster - Crow Song (Angel Beats! Insert Song Single)

RELEASED: 04.23.2010
LABEL:
TRACKLIST:
1. Crow Song
2. Alchemy
3. My Song

MF (pw: animeshoon)

BUY @ Yesasia

COMMENTS:

So as promised, here's the first batch of Angel Beats! related downloads. GirlsDeMo forevaaaarrrrrr!!!!!!!111

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MINI-REVIEW: Angel Beats!

Quick now before I forget what this show is about.

Angel Beats! is not a new title. It aired last year which should be around the time I first took over this blog. The title kind of went passed me so I never saw the 13-episode series until an acquaintance generously (and quite randomly) lent me a bootleg DVD. And even then, it took about two weeks before I finally decided (for lack of anything better to do) to pop it into my laptop's DVD-ROM and check it out.

Here's the story: Angel Beats! begins with the male lead, Otonashi, waking up with no memories at all of his life. He is greeted by an aggressive, gun-toting girl who wastes no time telling him that he is dead and that he is now in the afterlife. This girl, Yuri, is the de facto leader of an eccentric group of students who have all taken up arms (literally) against God and his servant, Angel. At first, Otonashi resists the idea of his being dead but after he is stabbed in the heart by Angel but wakes up later completely healed with only his torn and bloody clothes as proof that what happened was true, he starts working with Yuri and her SS Brigade, pulling all kinds of rebellious stunts just to show up the system and its strong-arm, Angel.

The premise isn't much, which explains why jute never picked up this title in the season Angel Beats! aired. But if there's anything worth learning about in this world, it's this: ordinary stories can become extraordinary, and more so in anime.

Visually, Angel Beats! is a pretty, pretty show. The character designs are excellent, not my usual cup of tea, but still very visual novel-esque and certainly very attractive. Animation is also great, especially when it comes to the well-executed action sequences and the concert scenes. I don't think I've ever watched "musical" anime so I can't compare but I loved what Angel Beats! did for Dead Girls Monster and isn't Iwasawa just the coolest vocalist ever? I adore her and I am grateful to P.A. Works for giving her an episode, when all the others barely got five minutes.

No doubt, the music is one of the best assets of the show. LiSA performs the OP theme "My Soul, Your Beats" while some other artist performs the ED theme. My favorites have got to be the songs performed by Dead Girls Monster with Iwasawa (singing voice by marina). I will confess: I am currently downloading the soundtracks and other related albums so expect future posts to be filled with them. :)

Angel Beats! is mostly comedy and I sure got genuine laughs out of the slapstick, but some of the jokes became too repetitive to be funny. There is also a little drama involved although I didn't feel too connected with some of the characters to come up with the appropriate response. The romance aspect is very narrow but it's satisfying, despite its rather unresolved ending. People complain about how short the series is but I don't think that's it. Angel Beats!s story is pretty contained in 13 episodes, sloppy writing in a few scenes aside.

My verdict: Good.

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Mid-Season Round-Up: Flower Power

So it looks like I'll be blogging only two shows for this season: Hana-saku Iroha and AnoHana. Ao no Exorcist is quite interesting and C is riveting in its own way but I don't know if I can find time to blog those two anymore. I'm trying to economize and the thing is, while I may randomly watch other shows throughout this season, the two shows that I'm looking forward to, like for sure, each week are Hana-saku Iroha and AnoHana, so I might as well blog about them.

Hana-saku Iroha (4-7)

The show seems to be doing the one-character-per-week approach. In episode 4, for instance, we get introduced to a common classmate of Ohana, Minchi and Nako, who turns out to be the granddaughter of the owner of the Kisui's rival inn. But although she's the new face in the series, the episode isn't really about her but about Minchi. As expected, girl is popular despite (or maybe, because of it) her aloof, unapproachable demeanor.

Ohana once again makes an ass of herself, this time quite by accident, for finding out about Minchi's "weakness" (her crush) and confronting her about it. Minchi is naturally not loving the prying questions, but we get to see Minchi's dere side and it. is. cute.

Episode 5 picks up where episode 4 left off and this time we get to see how Minchi became a staff at Kisui. She'd apparently run away from home because she wanted to be a chef. Ohana's grandmother hadn't taken her seriously but Tohru vouched for her and volunteered to take her under her wing, thus, sparking the girl's eternal gratitude and devotion.

Episode 6 sees the Kisui staff going through some changes. Remember the crass woman in the convertible from oh several episodes ago? Well, she's back and she's of a mind to make her mark. Unfortunately, that means more inappropriate fan service in the series. Err. Good thing Ohana, with the help of Mr. Bean (lol is that his name?), finds some old kimono-maid-thing-whatever costumes that her grandmother made several years ago, which absolutely did the trick. Costumers are satisfied and the grandmother gets a little nostalgic.

Episode 7 is hilarious. This time we focus on another Kisui staff member, Tomoe. Now our first impression of her is that she's laidback and a generally hands-off supervisor. She also seems to be a big gossip. But here, we find out about her personal circumstances, which is the typical woman-in-her-late-twenties-having-trouble-finding-a-man. Her mother tries to convince her to come home for a marriage meeting and Tomoe gives it a serious thought to the point where she does all she can to get fired, as the manager doesn't want her to quit. But all her plans backfire and in the end Tomoe realizes that she finds fulfillment in her job and that she is happy. Surprisingly, her mother understands and the girls now start calling her "nee-san" which of course gives Tomoe the tickles.

This show is shaping up to be really, really cute. It's definitely light and mostly fluff but it's not so sweet as to trigger my gag reflex and there's character development, understated though it may be. There's a little bit of drama involved but it's all light-hearted fun. For a show that's about growing up, there is strangely and refreshingly no angst involved.

AnoHana (4-5)

Ah, this show. I think that out of all the series this season AnoHana is my favorite. Even better than Hana-saku Iroha. It's probably because there's more meat to the story in the former than there is in the latter. I also like the fact that AnoHana has romance in it. That's always a good addition to an already perfect equation.

Then there is the question about whether or not Menma is a ghost or a hallucination but strangely, it's not that important. The  question is unavoidable, sure, but it's also not something whose answer you'd be compelled to find out. It's just sort of up in the air at the moment and you can get back to it any time, just not soon.

What is important, however, is how these kids are coping with the death of one of their own. So far, we've only seen Jintan's (sad) and Yukiatsu's (disturbing) coping mechanisms, but I find that I am most curious about Poppo. He seems to be the most well-balanced of the five but I guess he has scars, too. We'll find out more in the next coming episodes. God, I can't wait.

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DWB feat. NIRGILIS - SHINY SHINY (Deadman Wonderland ED Single)

RELEASED: 04.27.2011
LABEL: wint
TRACKLIST:
1. SHINY SHINY -TV mix-
2. SHINY SHINY
3. Chocolate
4. SHINY SHINY (livetuneRemix)
5. SHINY SHINY Instrumental
6. Chocolate Instrumental
7. SHINY SHINY Karaoke Mix
8. Chocolate Karaoke Mix

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Gosick OST

RELEASED: 04.13.2011
LABEL: Nippon Columbia
TRACKLIST:
01 Itsuwari to Shin no Suumitsu
02 Renketsu e no Kyoumei
03 Joretsusareshi Konton
04 Anyaku to Mawaru Unmei
05 “Kuroki Shinigami” no Gakumon
06 Trunk no Shiwakenin
07 Kodou Tomarishi Shunkan
08 Deguchinaki Ketsuro
09 Yami ga Oou Shinzou
10 Semarikuru Ifu no Kage
11 Hai-iro Ookami e no Shoutaijou
12 Sakuryaku no Kika
13 Ware koso ga Karei naru Meikeibu
14 Tonariawase no Jihen
15 Shuukyoku no Mienu Kitai
16 Tenmei ni Kousuru Unmei
17 Akuma no Hohoemi
18 Kinka no Kusari ga Tsunagu Mono
19 Kanbi na Taikutsushinogi
20 Motomeru wa Shuuen no Sanbika
21 Itoguchi e no Michibiki
22 Erabareshi Mono wo Michibiku Kin-iro no Ito
23 Kawairashiki Boukenka
24 Gudon no Sakebi
25 Honrou no Naka no Seimei
26 Hanasu Kotonaki wa Mamoru beki Te
27 Kaen no Geshisai
28 Kanashimi no Hate ni aru Kotae
29 Kokochiyoi Tokoro de no Nemuri
30 Yuukan naru Hinomoto no Shounen
31 Destin Histoire (TV Version)
32 Resuscitated Hope (TV Version)




BUY @ Amazon | Play-Asia | Yesasia

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FINAL THOUGHTS: Kimi ni Todoke Second Season

After an extremely frustrating first half, the series almost redeems itself by finally moving the relationship of the main characters to the desired end.

I almost dropped this series. Kimi ni Todoke Second Season is one of those shows that creates conflict where there shouldn't be and makes you want to scream at your monitor because the characters are.... well, not exactly stupid but they do the most stupid things, like missing to elaborate a certain point and by doing so create a misunderstanding that fosters even more misunderstandings until everything becomes so convoluted that everyone becomes depressed and wallowing in drama and misery, when all of this could have been avoided if they.just.fucking.TALKED. Properly. Lengthily. Without the 'ums' and the 'ers.'

It's a good thing Production I.G. made this show -- they of the big studio budget. The quality of the production is beyond par. Excellent, in fact, even if everything else isn't. I haven't seen the first season but jute assures me that there's no visible downgrade with the value at all, and I have to say, I agree. Kimi ni Todoke is one of the most beautiful shoujos I've ever seen. Granted, I haven't watched many, but still. And the BGM is excellent as well, neither too distinctive as to take away from the show nor too subdued as to not be noticeable. I don't pay much attention to the OPs or EDs of anime -- any anime for that matter -- but I guess this series' offerings fit the bill.

The story itself is lightweight. Nothing extraordinary about first love in a school setting. What does stand out is the character of Sawako. A girl who is so earnest, yet so traumatized (lol) by a bad childhood nickname, that she is misunderstood by her classmates just as frequently as she misunderstands them. It takes a boy like Kazehaya, a talking-walking-Mr. Popular, and fierce friends like the wise-talking Ayane and hopeless tomboy Chizu, to finally get Sawako out of her shell and interact normally with her classmates.

And then there's love, although that I kind of don't want to talk about, because I see it as the downside of this show. Kazehaya and Sawako's love story might be sweet but it is also the most awkward I've ever seen and painful to watch. Not to mention frustrating. I'm at least grateful that they decided to resolve their relationship at the end of this season so that there's no doubt now that the two are girlfriend and boyfriend.

In conclusion, Kimi ni Todoke Second Season is a fine, lightweight shoujo romance. The characters, especially the main ones, are well-developed. The side characters don't really feature much, although there was that one bit at the end that really surprised me. Really? Those two? Never saw it coming. (Are you talking about Ryu x Chizu? They're my OTP of this fandom - jute.) But the focus is really on the main characters and their budding relationship.

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In Review: Solanin (Live-Action Movie)

This is a manga turned into a live-action film. I don't really trust adaptations like this. There is always something lost along the way. It could be the expressions of the characters. Manga characters are frequently entertaining because of their exaggerated expressions, something which not many Japanese actor/actress can pull out.

But despite all these initial misgivings, I decided to give Solanin a go because I loved the manga version that much and I'm kind of a fan of Miyazaki Aoi.

THE STORY


Meiko, played by Miyazaki Aoi (Nana, Tada Kimi wo Aoshiteru, Eureka) is a young office lady who, unable to bear the mundane reality of a desk job, quits and settles into a year of lazy unemployment. Her spur-of-the-moment decision creates a domino effect as her live-in boyfriend, Taneda, begins to feel that it is now up to him to bear the burden of responsibility. He sees that his part-time job as a graphic designer doesn't pay enough to support both of them and his band, composed of friends from his university days, is far from ready to cut an album. He has a choice to make and it's not easy because taking one route means closing up the other.

THE REVIEW

Plot-wise, the movie isn't impressive. It's about just-out-of-college kids who are trying to make a living in the world beyond the four walls of the academe. In short, a coming-of-age story. We've had a lot of those, haven't we? Most of all, for a movie that supposed to be, at least partially about young people in a band, there's a blatant lack of music. I understand that the actors of Solanin aren't singers or musicians but NANA, also a movie about rock bands, only had one actress (Nakashima Mika) who is also a singer yet they were able to integrate music into the work. I can't understand why they didn't do this with Solanin. A shame, really. I would have loved to know what rotti sounded like.

Now, having read the manga, I can't help but compare it with the live-action version. And as I expected, many of the entertainment value in the manga was lost on screen. The actors looked the part but lacking in expression. Miyazaki Aoi has absolutely no chemistry with the actor who plays Taneda and this is never more apparent than in that one make-out scene. The whole thing was about as fascinating as watching cow chew grass for forty-five minutes.

Another gripe I have about the movie (and this applies to the manga as well) is the sudden turn it takes halfway through the story. It's so sudden, it can literally make you go, "wtf?" and "was that necessary?" I have a feeling it wasn't but it certainly upped the ante for drama, because what follows next is a whole lot of wallowing and characters being in a rut.

Fortunately, it doesn't last long and the movie actually gets better towards the end as it closes with the highlight scene of the entire film: Miyazaki Aoi singing the title song. She's not a singer, this girl, but she can really act so that when she sings, even though the vocals are not really good, you believe her and the overall performance is powerful.

In conclusion, Solanin doesn't necessarily break barriers. What it does do -- and it does so pretty well -- is capture that time in our lives when we just finished college and were coming to the horrible realization that there are two million other people like us in the world, all with their college degrees and diplomas like we do, and we have absolutely nothing, no talent or skill, that sufficiently delineates us from the rest of the world and gives us the advantage edge-wise. Zero. The first time I learned this, my first reaction was to scream inside my own head for a couple of weeks before making the sudden decision of going to law school, all just to postpone reality for four more years at the most.

THE SCORE

Story - 6

Sound - 6

Cinematography - 7

Picture - 7

Special Effects - 5

Acting - 6

Overall - 6.2/10

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REVIEW: Kawamo wo Suberu Kaze

A one-shot josei anime aimed at older women. Not the description of a particularly crowd-pleasing show but at 23 minutes, watching this anime is not a complete waste of time.

Kawamo wo Suberu Kaze (roughly "the wind that skimmed the river's surface") is the story of Noriko who returns to her hometown of Kanazawa for the first time since she left the country five years ago. Her four-year-old son accompanies her while her husband stays behind in America, presumably to work, but we later find out that Noriko's marriage is far from happy and that there might be a reason for her homecoming other than that she misses her family.

The anime is produced by the Answer Studio, whose works include the James Bond-esque Golgo 13. Given its history, the subject matter of Kawamo wo Suberu Kaze is an odd choice for the studio. For one, the story is quiet in that nothing basically happens. This is just a brief glimpse in the life of a woman - the choices she made, her passions, regrets, and the question of whether or not she is happy with her lot in life. There is drama but it's much more subdued than what you'd come to expect from the usual fare. The outlook isn't in any way revolutionary but for an anime, it's just the sort of material that is seldom explored, and therefore, Kawamo wo Suberu Kaze comes off as new.

Visually, the anime resembles its plot. That is, the art is subdued and quiet. The designs of the characters are semi-realistic, actually reminds me a bit of Satoshi Kon with the angular shapes and straightforward lines. Other than that, Kon is obviously of a whole new level. Kawamo wo Suberu Kaze, however, looks attractive, but that's just my humble opinion as I tend to like this particular style. The background art...well, you can see for yourself. It's mostly heavily-rendered live photos, which can be jarring in some anime, but here, it works. Too well, sometimes. The characters can sometimes get lost.

What I like about this anime is that it's pretty complete despite its short air-time. The central character is likeable and very relatable. That is, if you are within the age group this particular anime is specifically targeted at. Fortunately, I am.

In conclusion, I like this anime. I enjoyed my 23 minutes watching it, so much so that now I am interested in watching Flag, another offering of a different sort from the same anime studio.

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How old I am in anime years

For the lulz. This site tells you which anime characters are your age. These are mine. XD

 Mario (Super Mario Brothers)

 Son Goku (Dragon Ball - Frieza Arc)

Melissa Mao (Full Metal Panic!)

 France (Hetalia Axis Powers)

 Leon Mishima (Macross Frontier)

Sawagejou Chou (Rurouni Kenshin) 

 Phoenix Wright (Ace Attorney)

Talho Yuki (Eureka Seven) 

Trisha Elric (Fullmetal Alchemist) 

Kenji (You're Under Arrest!) 

Sensui (Yu Yu Hakusho)

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FINAL THOUGHTS: Mahou Shoujo Madoka Magica

File this on the completed series. Grade: EXCELLENT.

So in her past life, Akemi Homura is...kawaii mega-ne?

First off, let me tell you something. I'm not entirely fond of the magical girl genre. Sure, I'm familiar with shows like Sailor Moon and Card Captor Sakura and Magical Knights Rayearth -- I even watched a few episodes of them -- but I never really got into the whole young girl in a silly costume battling demons and monsters all while reciting scripted mantras about how love and justice are all that matters in this world. No. Never really one for the frilly stuff.

they were BFFs

Fortunately, Mahou Shoujo Madoka Magica isn't all that. While the series doesn't necessarily overturn all my previous misconceptions and biased opinions about the magical girl genre, it does offer something new to the table. A glimpse of the other side. Because for every hope, there is an equivalent amount of despair in the world, for every joy, there is suffering, for every desire, there is grief. The show might be peopled with girls far too cute as to be sickening (time and time again, I've said in this blog that I don't like loli), but cuteness is the farthest thing from the show's actual storyline.

oh and by the way, homura-chan, i'm a force of nature now, like, literally

Mahou Shoujo Madoka Magica is a story about the consequences of choices, the strong bonds of friendship, the resilience of the human spirit, the inevitability of fate, and yes, it's about magic, too, and young girls taking up the glory and burden of saving the world from the bad. The show will not blow your mind with all of this but it's a fairly novel take on a tried and true genre.

Also, apparently, Joan of Arc and Cleopatra were magical girls. lolz

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