Special Anime Trailer Post Pt. 1

I loooove trailers. One of my favorite parts of going to the movies is the previews shown before the show starts. Not only movies, but I also like trailers and previews for games and anime. I usually convert them into mp4 files for my mobile phone so I can watch them when I'm bored. Here are four from my collection.

5cm Per Second
[6.78MB, 176 x 144]
Technically, this isn't a trailer but the DVD extra (music video) for "One More Time, One More Chance," the theme song of the movie. One of the most beautiful anime movies I have ever seen in recent years.

Blood The Last Vampire
[1.72MB, 176 x 144]
Allison & Lillia
[1.90MB, 176 x 144]
Baccano!
[0.5MB, 176 x 144]

Enjoy! ♥

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Allison & Lillia - Confession time!

Episode 07: The Entrusted Ones
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Allison and Benedict work on their plan to get Fiona, alias Princess Francesca of the Kingdom of Ikstova, to the country's capital by stealing two planes from the Sous-Biel air force. There follows yet another plane-stealing quick getaway orchestrated by Allison, with Wil unwillingly dragged along.

Allison and Wil turn a sleepy little town into a makeshift runway

On the way to their destination, Fiona confesses to Benedict that she is, in fact, an impostor as the real Princess Francesca died in the fire that killed the entire royal family. For his part, Benedict confesses that he is, in fact, no hero because the ones who deserved all the credit for the finding of the mural are Allison and Wil. Then an unspeakably cheesy scene and even cheesier speech follows that made me want to wretch.

This was why I decided to drop the show

Meanwhile, the whole kingdom is waiting with baited breath for Nihito's speech, only to be interrupted by the arrival of our favorite cheesy couple. Benedict shamelessly announces his own arrival and then uses his hero status to get first dibs on the mic. Before Fiona could proclaim THE BIGGEST LIE EVER TOLD, Nihito accuses her of being an impostor. Then follows a very intense moment of exchanging, err, intense stares.

I like your tie.

COMMENTS:

I thought the first arc ended on a rather convenient note. I don't like convenient stories. It's usually a characteristic of lazy-writing. However, Allison and Wil are such likeable characters that I didn't really mind.

Enter the second arc of Allison & Lillia. It's focus is less on Allison and Wil but more on Benedict and Fiona. Compared to Allison and Wil, they seem less interesting. Benedict makes speeches so cheesy it's not even funny while Fiona is just plain annoying. I never could stomach useless characters and Fiona strikes me as one of those.

The other thing I take exception in from the second arc is the plot. Again, it's not as interesting as the plot in the first arc. The aftermath of the war is always less interesting than the war itself. So there's that.

Unfortunately, after seven episodes, Allison & Lillia has become one of those anime series where I keep waiting for that episode that would make me go "wow, I wanna watch this show" but where that moment never comes.

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Allison & Lillia Episode 06 Screencaps

Episode 06: Fiona's Valley
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Allison & Lillia 05: Creepy Village People

Oh, did you think the story was over just because the war was? Well, I did, and that's why I thought that Episode 4 was rather abrupt and convenient.

But then here comes Episode 5 of Allison & Lillia and already the heavy undertones of politics, romantic tension between the main characters, and Benedict's bigger role has got me sitting up at attention. I mean, creepy village people! By god, that's something. ^.^

(Also, the abduction thing was hilarious. Leave it to Allison to do the complete opposite of subtle.)
Episode 05: The Closed Forest
More Screencaps from Allison & Lillia 05
So the war between Roxche and Sou Biel is finally over. In his home country, Ker has been lauded as a hero and has even been promoted to Major. His status has also been raised from playboy fly-boy to heartthrob, who could make army women salute at random and make silly declarations about respect and honor when asked a simple question.

Wil and Allison, on the other hand, still manage to keep low profiles in Roxche. Allison continues to serve with the Royal Air Force, where she has apparently made several friends (who aren't very law-abiding by the way). Wil, after returning to the Academy, is now enjoying a relatively normal, uneventful winter break. That is, he was until Allison has the bright idea of getting her RAF friends to pick up Wil from his class field trip in Ikstova and bring him over to where she is waiting.

"I know this looks suspicious but it's going to be alright."

Allison brings Wil first to the Sou Biel Army Camp where they meet up with Benedict Ker. This is the first time the three of them has ever been together since their hair-splitting adventure the previous summer but, thankfully, we're not treated to too much flashbacks. As a matter of fact, there is only one flashback: that scene where the three of them are standing in front of the treasure. All this told over a round of hot tea.

Afterwards, Benedict invites the two of them to dinner and they accept.

As Allison and Wil go on their way to spend some, err, quality time together (Allison has something major to tell Wil), they get caught up in a blizzard and end up in an isolated village deep in the forest. The people seem nice enough and helpful, but as soon as Allison and Wil turn their backs, they shed their act and reveal paranoid personalities suspicious of strangers. They recognize Allison's uniform and think they are spies.

Without any idea about the air of hostility surrounding them, Allison and Wil wait in the town hall where they are, unknowingly, served with drugged tea. Wil's knowledge of history tells us that Ikstova is ruled by a sovereign family, who takes up plants and animals as their symbols. Wil, bless his photographic memory, correctly identifies each family member's symbol. This, however, raises the townsfolk's suspicions even more.

While the townsfolk leave them alone to convene and make evil plans, Allison tries to tell Wil that she wants them to live together in the city after he graduates from the Academy. But, as soon as she finishes her embarrassing speech, she discovers that Wil hasn't even heard a word since he's dead asleep. Allison realizes that they've been drugged just as she too falls unconscious.

Meanwhile, Benedict, who has been searching for the two of them this whole time, finds himself in a forest where he meets a village girl, named "Fi." The girl appears to have a major issue with the guy on the poster. Also, she has no idea who Benedict is, which is fine and dandy for him since he's getting tired of his celebrity status. But then some villagers arrive, calling for Fi, and Benedict, wondering what it's all about, decides to follow them into town.

COMMENTS:

I don't have a lot to say about this episode. It's the beginning of a new adventure. That's obvious. And we finally get to meet the other character featured prominently in the ED clip of the show.

The kingdom of Ikstova is apparently undergoing some kind of political upheaval and something tells me that the person behind it is the guy in the poster. His name's a mouthful.

It looks like Benedict's going to save Allison and Wil's asses again. It's a wonder these two even survived the war. Sure, Allison is resourceful and Wil's skills come in handy most of the time, but these two are walking magnets for trouble. I absolutely adore them. ^.^

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Allison & Lillia 03: OMG it's Second Lieutenant Love Letter!

Episode 03: Walter's Fight
More Allison & Lillia 03 Screencaps

• In their Royal Guard get-up, Allison and Wil make it to the enemy base camp without any hitch.
• Meanwhile, the old man is being held in the basement inside the castle. The officers of Sou Biel interrogate him about the location of the treasure but so far the old man has not given them anything useful.
• An officer, the pilot that shot down Allison's plane in the second episode, is instructed to stay away from the interrogation room. Apparently, this pilot, Ker, believed that he was capturing an enemy spy.
  
• Outside the castle, Allison does the smart thing by allowing a mere private to escort them around the camp, instead of a much older, higher-ranked officer who might see through their disguise.
• Wil deduces that the old man must be kept inside the castle. They waste no time in getting there.
• Ker spots Allison and seems to recognize her, but dismisses the notion.
• Inside, Allison and Wil help the old man escape from his cell by giving him a pin. However, on their way to the meeting place, the two of them are stopped by Ker, who finally recognizes Allison. Allison likewise recognize Ker as the "Second Lieutenant Love Letter." It turns out that Ker was the officer that Allison met during the joint training camp between Sou Biel and Roxche.
• The private and the cell guard arrive with the blankets, which Allison asked them to get for the old man. But they are surprised to find that neither Allison nor Wil is anywhere to be found.
• By this time, the old man had managed to open his cell. Pushing the cell door open, he overcomes the two soldiers and escapes.
  
• Meanwhile, Allison and Wil are explaining to Ker about the treasure that could end the war between their countries. However, the alarm sounds and the whole camp goes on alert.
• While Ker goes out to investigate, Allison and Wil take this chance to escape to the sewers, where they meet up with the old man.
• They make it out of the sewer and proceed for the hangar. However, enemy soldiers are fast on their trail.
• The plane could only hold two people at the same time. Without any other choice, the old man gives Allison and Wil a verbal map of where the treasure can be found and promises to meet them there afterwards.
• But the old man is lying as he knows he has no chance of escape. To give Allison and Wil more time to clear the hangar, he blows up a tank of fuel but also takes a bullet from a soldier just as the tank blows up.
• Ker finds the old man among the ruins and witnesses his death. His superior officers order him to chase after the enemy and shoot them down. But after Ker leaves to follow his orders, the superior officer instructs another officer to kill Ker the moment he deviates from his order.
• Meanwhile, Allison and Wil watch the hangar being engulfed by fire and smoke and realize that the old man is dead. Allison gives a salute before flying away from the area.
  

I thought I recognized the pilot from the second episode. But Second Lieutenant Love Letter? LOLz! That cracked me up!

This was an exciting episode. It had almost everything: from breaking somebody out of prison, being chased after and shot at by enemy soldiers in an enemy base camp, stealing a plane ("borrowing" according to Allison), to violent explosions and flying off to the skies.

I am really liking both Allison and Wil's characters. I think that, of all the animes this season, they are the two most likable characters.

The old man's death saddened me a little. But now, I am really curious what this treasure business is about. It seems everybody is after it.

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