MEME: Lu's Anime Q & A

Pick 5 of your anime (in no particular order) and answer the following questions about them:

1. Arakawa Under the Bridge
2. House of Five Leaves
3. Ano Hi Mita Hana no Namae wo Bokutachi wa Mada Shiranai (Ano Hana)
4. Bleach
5. Claymore

Who is your favorite character in #2?

Yaichi

Who is your least favorite character in #1?

Stella

What’s your favourite episode of #4?

Episode 48: Hitsugaya Roars! (Season 3: The Rescue)

What is your favorite season of #5?

There is only one season of Claymore. But if we're talking about story arcs, I have to say it's the Teresa of the Faint Smile arc.

What’s your favorite relationship in #3?

The friendship of the Super Peace Busters

Who is your anti-relationship in #2?

Uh...Yaichi and Masa? Although I can see a lot of possibilities there.

How long have you watched #1?

When it came out in spring 2010.

How did you become interested in #3?

I picked it up on a whim, without knowing what it's all about. It aired in the noitaminA time-slot.

Who is your favourite actor in #4?

Paku Romi as Hitsugaya Toushirou.

Which show do you prefer out of #1, 2 & 5?

Claymore

Which show have you seen more episodes of, #1 or 3?

#1

If you could be any character from #4 who would you be?

Well, I would not be Hitsugaya although I adore him. I think I may make a more convincing Soi Fong.

How would you kill off your favorite character in #2?

Yaichi, saving somebody's life. It doesn't even have to be a member of the gang.

Give a random quote from #1

First, we are born in the same galaxy. Born of the same spe­cies. Our life­times over­lap. The meet­ings between humans are so unlikely as to be mira­cu­lous. To laugh, to cy, and to fall in love. Every­one is made up of a col­lec­tion of 1% chances. Thus, I am dazzled by the fact that there are so many mir­acles in this world.

Would a #3/4 crossover work?

It could work.

Overall, which show has a better cast, #3 or 5?

#3 has some pretty solid characters but #5 has some of my favorite characters. Ultimately, the difference is that #5 has a huge cast but not all of them are finely developed. While #3 doesn't have the handicap of having a too-huge cast. Each character gets his/her own time to shine.

Which has better music, #2 or 4?

#4 Bleach had some pretty awesome BGM and op/ed themes.

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FINAL THOUGHTS: Ano Hi Mita Hana no Namae Bokutachi wa Mada Shiranai

Sorry it took me this long to post my final thoughts on this wonderful, amazing, heartwarming anime. I actually have no words to describe the exact feeling I got from watching AnoHana. So instead of me telling you (with words) what the last couple of episodes of AnoHana encapsulated, can I just show you pictures instead?

The anime was just perfect from beginning to end. So beautiful. I definitely recommend it to anyone looking for a more substantial summer fare.

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Kayano Ai, Tomatsu Haruka, Hayami Saori - Secret Base (AnoHana ED Single)

RELEASED: 04.27.2011

LABEL: Aniplex

TRACKLIST:
1. secret base - kimi ga kureta mono (10 years after ver.)
2. secret base - kimi ga kureta mono (memento mori ver.)
3. secret base - kimi ga kureta mono (10 years after ver.) (off-vocal)
4. secret base - kimi ga kureta mono (memento mori ver.) (off-vocal)

MF (pw: animeshoon)

BUY @ Amazon | Play-Asia (Limited Edition) (Normal Edition) | Yesasia (Normal Edition) (Limited Edition)

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Galileo Galilei - Aoi Shiori (AnoHana OP Single)

RELEASED: 6.15.2011

LABEL: SME Records

TRACKLIST:
1. Aoi Shiori
2. SGP
3. Swan

MF (pw: animeshoon)

BUY @ Yesasia
More: Galileo Galilei CDs @ Play-Asia

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AnoHana 6-8: How to get over someone

paying their respects

 So AnoHana is pegged by ANN at 11 episodes. We're now on the 8th episode and our gang isn't even anywhere close to fulfilling Menma's wish. Ahhhh, but I'm so enjoying this show.

Yukiatsu lecturing about the high cost of fireworks

Now, my real problem is how to blog this series. Because each episode is so beautiful and nuanced, it feels like a crime to floss over all the details by bulk-blogging (that is, blogging two to three episodes at one time). The plot is going along steadily: our gang is still trying to fulfill Menma's wish by first figuring out what that wish is. They think it's the fireworks but we learn in episode 8 that that isn't it at all. Now, I could bore you to death about the extent Jinta and friends go through to make the said fireworks canon for Menma but I'd be barely scratching the surface of this beautiful series. The thing is, that isn't all that AnoHana is about. It's about characters, too, not just the gang, but also about all the others left behind.

Anaru's confession...ten years too late

In the end, don't we all owe something to our past? Don't our memories deserve more than a quick glance through a dusty photoalbum, a few scathing remarks about the stupidity of youth? We've done things. We've said things. And maybe they are stupid and laughable and entirely silly now, but they weren't then. No. Because then, they were moments in time. They were real. And maybe you really can't relive the past but you can honor it, even if it means being silly and acting out for a few seconds of every day. What is a few seconds? They make up your entire life.

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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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FIRST LOOK: Ano Hi Mita Hana no Namae o Boku-tachi wa Mada Shiranai

Here's a show I never saw coming.

Is Menma a hallucination brought in part by raging teenage hormones? A manifestation of guilty feelings left over from childhood and the tragedy that follows? Or simply a convenient device that serves the plot as well as viewer preferences of watching an energetic slip-of-a-girl and her innocent ways of torment? Perhaps, it's a little of everything.

The title's a mouthful. In English, it means "We still don't know the name of the flower we saw that day." Let's just call it AnoHana, for brevity. The story revolves around six childhood friends who grow apart after one of them, Menma, dies in a tragic accident. One summer, former leader Jinta, now a shut-in, starts seeing Menma's "ghost" who asks him to fulfill her wish. In order to do this, Jinta has to go and find the rest of the group and reunite them.

Along with C - The Money of Soul and Possibility of Control, AnoHana is one of two shows airing this season in the noitaminA time-slot, which ought to say something about its quality. It's produced by A-1 Pictures, whose works vary in style and tone, though not in sentiment and thematic elements, from the light-hearted SO.RA.NO.WO.TO, to this season's action-oriented fantasy shounen series, Ao no Exorcist. Ultimately, AnoHana is about growing up and how the sheer unexpectedness of circumstances, and the shock that follows, can shape and define people. It's also an examination of feelings, old and new, and how and where one goes from here.

Production-wise, AnoHana is not by any means excellent but still very good. There's the cuteness factor in the design of the characters, with the roundness of lines shown in Occult Academy, albeit with more finesse, at least for the first three episodes. And here's to hoping they keep it up and not downgrade the art to save on budget costs. The voice acting is also great, with my favorite "voice" being Tsuruko's. I also like her character's look best and totally ship her with Yukiatsu. :) There's a hint of romance but it's not the focus of the show. Just how I like it. And best of all, AnoHana features what is probably the prettiest, cutest ED theme song out of all this season's offerings. The song is performed by the show's female voice actresses themselves. LIKE.

In conclusion, I like this show and I'm following it.

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