FIRST IMPRESSIONS: Tokyo Ghoul

Scene from Episode 1: Tragedy. The 'binge-eater' Rize lures Kaneki to a secluded area and attacks him after their date.

Tokyo is secretly under attack by flesh-eating ghouls. Since the ghouls look like their prey, authorities are having a hard time eliminating them from society. A 'binge-eater' ghoul (ghouls usually eat once a month) is particularly wreaking havoc in the city and as authorities rush to stop her, a young college boy Ken Kaneki unwittingly runs into the binge-eater and goes on a date with her, believing her to be human. As expected, the binge-eater, who is called Rize, attacks him but subsequently dies after a beam falls on her. Kaneki is taken to the hospital where the surgeon transfers some of Rize's organs to him, turning Kaneki into a half-ghoul, half-human abomination. The subsequent episodes follows Kaneki's life as he tries to resume his normal human life while struggling with his ghoulish instincts. He also introduced to the staff of Anteiku Cafe who are all ghouls and learns how the ghouls organize themselves in order to survive in a world where they are hated and hunted.

Scene from Episode 2: Incubation. Toka gives Kaneki a tough lesson about being a ghoul.

FIRST IMPRESSIONS:

It's a basic fish-out-of-water story. Kaneki somehow becomes half-ghoul and learns all about the ghouls' lives. Naturally, the ghoul whose organs are transplanted to him happens to be an extra powerful one and he inherits these traits, giving him an edge over other ghouls who pose a danger to him.

People may not take to Kaneki immediately because he's kinda whiny. But I think it's understandable, considering that he's been practically torn out of his previous life and forced to live a life he did not choose. His moral compass is necessary and makes him essentially a stand-in for the audience.

I do like Toka, the tsundere, and Yomo and the mask guy. From the opening, there are bound to be more interesting characters who are probably going to be introduced in the later parts of the series. 

The art is good but not High School of the Dead level of good. The same goes for the animation and production values. I don't particularly like the music but they're passable.

I have to admit, I'm not as excited about this series as I was before and I don't know if I want to continue it. 

Scene from Episode 3: Dove. Kaneki goes hunting for food with mysterious Anteiku staff, Yomo.

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FIRST IMPRESSIONS: Glasslip

EPISODE 1: FIREWORKS

In a quiet seaside town, a new boy, Kakeru Okikura, moves into town. Four friends, Touko Fukami, Yukinari Imi, Yanagi Takayama, and Hiro Shirosaki gather to watch the fireworks together. While having fun with bestfriend Yanagi, Touko spots Kakeru making his way through the crowd, seemingly unmindful of the festivities around him. Touko plays around with a pair of glasses that makes her see the fireworks differently and hear something strange. The next day, Touko helps with her family's glass factory business and afterwards hangs out with her friends at a cafe shop. The four friends are joined by Sachi Nagamiya and it becomes apparent that Sachi is the object of Hiro's affections. Later, Touko spends a day in the school yard, sketching the school chickens. She meets Kakeru, whom she unconsciously calls "David" as in the sculpture by Michaelangelo. Even though this is their first meeting, Kakeru calls Touko by her first name and says that the chickens will get attacked by cats. This prompts Touko to take the chickens home and forces her friends to take care of them, which pisses Yanagi off. The next day, the friends hang out at the cafe once more, and to Touko's surprise Kakeru is there and he tells her that he heard the same thing she heard at the fireworks festival.

FIRST IMPRESSIONS:
Slice of life of anime is not something I take to immediately. The first episode of Glasslip doesn't particularly stand out for me but I think it has potential. The art is good. Not brilliant or anything outstanding like that but it serves the genre well and the story being portrayed. My one issue with it is that I can't tell Touko and Yanagi apart because both have long brown hair. -_- 

One of the things that really stood out for me was the BGM. For slice of life anime, that's really a good thing since most of the time, nothing really happens on screen and oftentimes it's the BGM that carries the story along. 

I'm curious about Kakeru but I'm not blown away by Touko. I almost never am with the main characters. I do find Sachi cute and want to know about her and Hiro. There seems to be a love triangle going on with Yukinari, Yanagi and Touko. And with Kakeru's introduction, it's about to become a love square. I don't know if that's a good thing or a bad thing.

All in all, I'm going to watch the next episode and see if things get interesting.

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2014 Summer Anime Line-Up

Heyyyyy! It's been awhile. But I'm back and just in time because the 2014 summer anime line-up just came out and I'm thinking of blogging a few shows. Below are some of the titles that I find more interesting and will most likely blog about. (NOTE: based on this source of listing)

GLASSLIP

The story follows six high school students who meet during the summer. The protagonist is Touko Fukami, a 17-year old born in Fukui Prefecture. Her dream is to become a glass artisan. - ANN

IMPRESSIONS: I haven't seen any previews or CMs so I don't really know if this is any good. I am, however, intrigued because of how little I know about it. The animation looks gorgeous as well so I'm going to give this one a 3-episode test.

TOKYO GHOUL

In Japan, strange creatures that eat humans are around and they're called "Ghoul". A university student, Kaneki Ken, is riding a normal life and has fallen in love with a girl. But, after their first date it turns out that she's a Ghoul. Being seriously traumatized, he got saved as the Ghoul accidentally died.

What happens when the doctors implant some of her organs to him, in order for him to survive? - MAL manga synopsis

IMPRESSIONS: I really like zombie stories so this one is right up my alley. I'm quite excited about it. I hope it delivers.

SHIN STRANGE+

No synopsis

IMPRESSIONS: I have no idea what this is but uhm I think it's about this eccentric group of assassins. LOL yeah, I dunno. 3-episode test.

HANAYAMATA

Normal appearance, normal intelligence, normal in arts and sports... just normal. This is the entirely normal 14-year-old, Naru Sekiya. While she admires "Heroines" she continues to live a normal life until one moonlit night she meets a fairy. This foreign girl then guides her into the extraordinary world of the yosakoi dance. - Manga Time Kirara

IMPRESSIONS: Magical girls! While I don't particularly like the magical girl genre, there have been a few good exceptions. The most recent is Mahou Shoujo Madoka Magica. This one is produced by my favorite anime studio, Madhouse, so I'm going to check it out.

ZANKYOU NO TERROR

A massive terrorist bombing suddenly struck Tokyo.

The culprits behind the act that woke up this complacent nation from its slumber, were just two boys.

Now, the culprits known as "Sphinx" begin a grandiose game that encompasses all of Japan. - ANN

IMPRESSIONS: a;sldkfjl!!!! It's the newest collaboration between Shinichirou Watanabe and Yoko Kanno !!! Definitely watching.

Alright. I think these are all for now. Just like before I'm not certain if I will even get to preview all of these as I might get hit by the lazy bug and decide that the series isn't worth watching the first episode. As of now, the the shows that I am definitely looking forward to are Zankyou no Terror and Tokyo Ghoul. The rest may or may not even be given the 3-episode test.

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