KOKIA - Tatta Hitotsu no Omoi

RELEASE DATE: 01.23.2008
LABEL: Marvelous Entertainment
TRACKLIST:
1. Tatta Hitotsu no Omoi
2. Umaretate no Shiro
3. Tatta Hitotsu no Omoi (instrumental)
4. Umaretate no Shiro (Instrumental)

KOKIA "Tatta Hitotsu no Omoi" Audio CD @ Amazon
KOKIA "Tatta Hitotsu no Omoi" Single @ Yes Asia
More KOKIA CDs @ Play-Asia
Gunslinger Girl (Season 1) DVD Box Set

KOKIA is a Japanese singer-songwriter from Tokyo. She was born Yoshida Akiko (hence, the name KOKIA) on July 22, 1976. Most of her works are associated with game and anime soundtracks. As a matter of fact, Tatta Hitotsu no Omoi, KOKIA's 17th single to date, is used as the opening theme for the Imagin Studio 2008 anime, GUNSLINGER GIRL -IL TEATRINO.

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Gunslinger Girl Il Teatrino 01 and First Impressions

Distance Between People: Brother and Sister
More Screencaps from Gunslinger Girl Il Teatrino Episode 01

Guiseppe (the subs call him 'Jose') and Hilshire are at a French souvenir shop, where Guiseppe is trying to decide what to give Henrietta. Overhearing the two men talking, the shopowner shows Guiseppe something he might like. Later, on the train back to Italy, Hilshire gets a call from his superiors, briefing him on the next mission.


The opening theme is Tatta Hitotsu no Omoi [Sample @ 4shared], performed by KOKIA. The ending Doll by Lia and Aoi Tada [Sample @ 4shared].

Rome is going through some civil disturbance and police officers have taken to fighting the rallyists outright. Guiseppe and Henrietta and Jean and Rico are on their way to the Colosseum to observe the events in case terrorists take advantage of the situation.

Rico plays around while walking behind Jean, causing him to grab her and order her to walk properly. When Henrietta sees Jean holding Rico's hands, she attempts to hold Guiseppe's hand as well but stops when he turns to her to ask if anything is wrong.

Upon arriving at the place, Jean and Rico decide to separate from Guiseppe and Henrietta when a bomb suddenly explodes, throwing the unsuspecting Guiseppe down on the ground. Thankfully, he is not hurt. Even so, he has to calm down Henrietta, who has already drawn her gun.

A fellow member of the Social Welfare Agency (SWA) arrives in a Vespa motorbike, which Guiseppe promptly borrows in order to chase the terrorists.

While Guiseppe and Henrietta are going after the terrorists, Jean and Rico are keeping track of their location and advices Guiseppe that they would be moving the chase to a residential neighborhood. Hilshire and Triela, who have been observing the events from a distance, move into position as well and lay down a trap for the terrorists.

Meanwhile, one of the terrorists notices the Vespa tailing them. They wait until they are at a quieter street before they start shooting. Henrietta shoots back, killing the shooter who thereafter falls down, effectively forcing Guiseppe to stop.

The other SWA teams cut off the terrorists' route, forcing it to enter a residential neighborhood, as planned. They run into Triela's trap and has to stop and disembark. Triela starts shooting them one by one but two escape and run towards a fountain, where Rico is waiting.

Thinking the blond girl to be harmless, the terrorists think they are scot-free, when Rico suddenly pulls out her gun and shoots their legs. Earlier, Jean has told her not to kill the terrorists, but merely to incapacitate them. But when one terrorist draws a gun and aims for Rico, Jean unhesitatingly kills him with his own gun.

Back in the terrorists' vehicle, Triela is looking for the last of the terrorists. The man tries to attack her with a knife but she quickly disarms him and shoots him at point-blank range, causing blood to splatter all over her clothes and face. Hilshire arrives just then and is a bit shocked to see the blood-soaked Triela.

The mission is a success. That night, Henrietta goes up to Guiseppe's room for a visit, but finds the room empty. She finds Guiseppe's shirt on the bed and embraces it. But after a while though, she notices the gift box on the table and surmises that it's the souvenir from France.

Inside is a golden kaleidoscope, but then Henrietta notices the French inscription at the bottom, which said that it is for someone named "Louis Antoinette Rolle." Henrietta replaces the gift and leaves the room, depressed because she thinks that this woman is Guiseppe's real girlfriend.

Triela tries to comfort her, but it is Claes who manages to get through to Henrietta when she says that Louis Antoinette Rolle is the lover of a 19th century French writer who wrote a novel where the main character is named "Henrietta." According to Claes, the gift is a nice metaphor.

Now comforted, Henrietta goes back to Guiseppe's room but this time, he is there waiting for her. The two of them go for a walk, the gift now in Henrietta's arms. Back in the room, Triela is asking Claes if the story about the French writer is true. Claes says that she tweaked the story a bit and that the golden kaleidoscope is probably a fake since the device did not yet exist in the 19th century.

COMMENTS:

Okay, first thing's first, I haven't seen the first season, so I don't know how the second season compares to the first. I was expecting a lot of action, but apart from the brief exchange of bullets, this episode was kind of meh in terms of that. Even the chase scene was pretty bland.

And I'm not a loli fan so I find it just odd this whole "brother-sister" relationship between the little girls and their handlers. God, I hope they don't capitalize on that or make it into a full-blown romance, because...eek!

But I do understand that the girls need a human side to them, considering that they are supposed to be cyborgs or some such. Hmm, I think my favorite character is Triela, because she wields some ass-kicking rifle with a HUMONGOUS bayonet at the tip. Gotta love that. LOLz.

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2008 Anime Preview

Spice and Wolf (Ookami to Koushinryou)
EPISODES: 12
GENRE: fantasy, historical, drama, supernatural, romance
ANN, OFFICIAL, TRAILER
SUMMARY:

Lawrence Craft is a traveling merchant peddling goods from town to town. In Pasroe village, he experiences a life-changing event when he meets Holo, the wolf deity to whom the Pasroe townsfolk pray to for a good harvest. However, as human civilization becomes more and more advanced, Holo's desire to leave Pasroe and go back to her home in the North increases. She makes a bargain with Lawrence to take her back to her home and takes no for an answer.

COMMENTS: This anime is described as a fantasy novel without swords, so I guess it means it's slow-paced. The first episode looked promising. The characters look really good (Lawrence looks to me like the main character from Mushishi and the mostly naked Holo looks a bit like Lucy from Elfen Lied). I think perhaps this anime will have some religious undertones, considering that Holo is a pagan deity in a Middle Ages-like setting (a time when the Church was extremely powerful). It should be interesting how they play that out. In the meantime, I can sense the coming tension between Holo, Lawrence and Chloe.

Kara no Kyoukai (movie)
PARTS: 3
GENRE: fantasy, action, supernatural
ANN, OFFICIAL, TRAILER
SUMMARY:

To make their children exceptional, the Ryougi family has a tradition of training them to have split personalities. That way, a person can become a master of two things by switching personalities.

As a member of that family, Ryougi Shiki likewise possesses two personalities - a feminine side and a masculine side. But after falling into a coma due to a car accident and waking up only two years later, she finds that she has gained the "Eyes of Death Perception" ability but lost the other half of herself in return.

COMMENTS: The only reason I'm interested in this is that it's been awhile since I last saw a samurai anime and this only has three parts so it's not that big a commitment.

Gunslinger Girl IL Teatrino
EPISODES: 13
GENRE: girls-with-guns, action, drama, sci fi, adventure
ANN, OFFICIAL
SUMMARY:

From ANN: "When the Social Welfare Agency investigates the disappearance of an operative, their inquiry leads them right into the lair of their rival, the Five Republics. The assassin Triela infiltrates the hostile organization, but her search is cut short when she finds herself staring down the barrel of a gun..."

COMMENTS: I've planned on watching the first season but haven't gotten around to it. Now, it looks like I might be watching the second season and then just go back to the first season if the story gets too confusing. Yay for girls with guns!

Minami-ke 2 ~Okawari~
EPISODES: 13
GENRE: slice of life, humor, comedy
ANN, OFFICIAL (TV Tokyo), OFFICIAL (Starchild), TV SPOT
SUMMARY:

This anime follows the days in the life of the three Minami sisters. Elder sister Haruka is the responsible one; she takes care of the younger ones and is a good cook. Kanna is the eccentric middle sister who is prone to cause trouble and come up with very weird ideas and drags all her other sisters into it. Chiaki is the youngest, the bossy one; she hates Kanna but adores Haruka.

COMMENTS: I never thought I'd get into this anime. I haven't actually seen a lot of anime in the slice of life genre. This would be a first. The first season was really fun and hilarious, and I'm expecting the same thing from season 2.

Persona - Trinity Soul -
EPISODES: Unknown
GENRE: fantasy, sci fi, dark, action, shounen, supernatural
ANN, OFFICIAL, TRAILER
SUMMARY:

Set in the future-oriented city of Ayanagi, facing the Sea of Japan, a series of mysterious deaths and unexplainable occurrences, like bodies being turned inside out and a group of researchers who disappeared while inside a submarine, has Chief of Police Kazato Ryou chasing after clues to discover the cause or the culprit behind it all.

Meanwhile, two boys, Shin and Jun, return home after a lapse of ten years to reunite with their brother Ryou, only to be embroiled in the mysteries that surround the city. Now the fate of the brothers begin to change...

COMMENTS: This anime has been described as a potential Darker Than Black successor. Uh, I haven't watched that series and that's why I'm interested in this. I've seen the first episode and it looked pretty good. Nice animation and action scenes. The ghostly apparitions are reminiscent of Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within.

Porphy no Nagai Tabi
EPISODES: 52
GENRE: historical, adventure, adaptation
ANN, OFFICIAL
SUMMARY:

From ANN: "Based on the French novel, Les Orphelins de Simitra (The Orphans of Simitra) by Paul-Jacques Bonzon. The story is of a Greek boy, Porphyras and his sister Mina, who have been orphaned after a devastating earthquake killed their parents. Rather than staying in a foster home, they decide to travel across all of Europe, and thus their adventures begin."

COMMENTS: No fansubbing group has picked this up. I can understand why: it's 52 episodes. Even if it were fansubbed, I prolly won't watch it anyway. Still, the art style looks really neat, don't you agree? I find that I like flat art against detailed backgrounds. Ghost Hound is one example.

Tokyo Marble Chocolate (OAV)
EPISODES: 2
GENRE: romance, shojou
ANN, OFFICIAL, TRAILER
SUMMARY:

A shojou from Production I.G., Tokyo Marble Chocolate is about the romantic relationship between an awkward boy, Yudai, and the energetic and cheerful, Chizuru. On their first Christmas spent together, Chizuru disappears.

This is a simple but poignant love story told from two different perspectives.

COMMENTS: I love the art style! And I like the simplicity of the storyline as it reminds me a bit of 5 Centimeters Per Second. But I'm thinking that since this is shojou, it's probably less melancholic.

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