Boku wa Tomodachi Ga Sukunai (Haganai NEXT) – Because I don’t know what a friend is

This is from S1, doesn’t matter– Sena and Yozora

Season 1’s Review here

Without a doubt, this season has been focused on ‘Kodaka x Sena’, while revealing many more plot details along the way- so let’s get right into it.

SPOILER ALERT

The Neighbour’s club continue with their wacky array of daily activities, with major events namely being Kobato’s birthday, The neighbour’s club movie and The Melancholy of Mikazuki Yozora.

The story has been progressive, more so than the first season, but not quite as much fun.

We learnt and delved deeper into the psychology of Yozora. She’s perhaps one of the most egotistical girl i’ve ever seen in any form of media, and doesn’t restrain in displaying said attribute. She’s pretty much stuck in the past with her memories being with Kodaka and will react with hostility towards any oppression to that memory. Quite literally. Although quite the dutiful president, she sometimes mixes personal feelings with the club’s direction and wants to ‘have it her way’ , fortunately, for everyone’s good, the rest of the group has something else to say in most cases.

Her ego got the better of her when she gets busted by her own club for plagiarizing the script of a famous movie, for the club’s movie. Apparently her head was too high up in the clouds to see that everybody in the club is valid a person as everyone else. Thankfully, she is not totally adamant and has some dignity after all, which can be seen from her tactful actions as the club president in the last few episodes. She still remains very sentimental and egotistical when Kodaka is involved though, up to the point of hating Sena by her very essence , when quite obviously Sena just loves a healthy rivalry with her. Wether she chooses to embrace a normal relationship like everyone else or stay the same way- rooted to the past – will have to wait.

No, I don’t think egotistical people are bad, because that’s what gets a story going and adds more spice into it, so that’s why Yozora is an interesting person in my book.

On the other hand, Sena is as oblivious as always , but that’s because she is purely concerned with her own things and doesn’t quite give a damn about other people. In this season, she unfortunately becomes the victim of Yozora’s vicious ego when it’s largely not her fault, so i can fathom why Niku would be the more ‘reasonable’ and ‘likable’ person here. Nevertheless, she remains objective-driven and in most cases, more saner than Yozora. Props to Niku for keeping her cool.

and who can forget about the MVP !

Back in the first season, the moment she opens her mouth, you can be assured that you’re gonna laughing. [Unfortunately] Her behaviour has taken a turn in this season into a more mature one, and i’m totally fine with that ( yes, my Yuri psyche is depressed right now ).

Rika takes the cake for being the most proactive and sensible, albeit sometimes unfathomably lewd, person in the Neighbour’s Club. This genius has gone out of her way to ensure that The Neighbour’s Club functions logically and actually.. well… have fun ! She plays a more vital role in this season as she becomes the intermediary between Kodaka and Yozora-Sena triangle, which probably sounds like a middleman in a harem ! *cough* As i was saying, she has definitely been the most interesting character this season. This genius helps Kodaka realize how important he is the functionality of the Neighbour’s club and how his relationships impact everyone around him. That sounds nothing like the ecchi-crazed person she was last season, right ?

so definitely, she’s one of the most awesome characters this time round.

As for the story itself, I think that the ‘over-arching’ arch of how-the-life-of-a-loner goes is still prominent over here, because of the distinct personality traits of each of these outcasts.

The story, and the Neighbour’s Club could have turned out like a weirdo enclave should Yozora had her ways undisputed, because she doesn’t quite get the concept of normal human relationships and instead choose to cling on to Kodaka –while normally expanding the club. I for one, think this could turn out very interesting.

Kodaka on the other hand is reluctant about relationships to the level of Shinji Ikari though he’s not as quite.. low in testosterone count as he is, but that’s beside the point ! He claims that he want everyone to have a happy ending, but isn’t aware that when there’s happiness, unhappiness will also be created ( oh snap, so Madoka). You can’t keep running away from the choices that you’ve to make. That’s just the harmonics of relationships that we all must live in this imperfect world. And having no friends will just make it harder to realize this fact. Thus we can’t totally blame him for feigning his density towards ALL intimate attempts with him- it’s just too foreign a concept for him. It will take time.

Though with all due respect my beloved Rika, I think the ending was really out of place and you really didn’t have to ball him all over , right?

I can safely say that the charm of this anime relies strongly on its characters and interactions. I honestly think they could’ve done away with the fan service because this bunch of people are worth giving a damn about if they tried hard enough.

So Kodaka, what will you do ?

Unfortunately, they seemingly cut back a bit on the animation and Season 1’s visuals seem more solid albeit a bit dull.

Don’t worry though, i’ll be coming back.. for more ! We will be waiting.

And thus the final verdict for this anime is:

FINE

Not as much fun as Season 1, though redeemed with high points in character development — i would say it’ll take time before the real fun begins.

stay tuned

Cheers

Keerakun

Buffalomeat Has Joined The Order

First, I want to say – Do Not Panic! to all the other writers on this blog. Keerakun has invited me to write on this blog and I am now doing an introduction of sorts  (*´・ｖ・). I met Keerakun in school and he happened to be my classmate. ＼（＾ ＾）／

Well then, I am Buffalomeat and have been watching anime and reading manga for some time now. I started Light Novels recently too. Yoroshiku ne! Now, since this is an anime blog, maybe I should say my all time favourites. Two lines for an introduction is kind of lacking, don’t you think? ⊂((・▽・))⊃

First off and in no particular ranking order, is Clannad. Now this one, is good. It has that slice of life factor (more in After Story, really). A good plot and really toching. Great for those who like a good love story that doesn’t talk about a guy in love and never confessing and doesn’t seem to graduate from High School.

Next, is a classic. Konjiki no Gash Bell. Never heard of it? Well, maybe you were too old to be watching TV then (I’m 18 and stopped watching TV 4 years ago （・◇・）). But, this is a good classic anime. Change is very apparent in this particular anime. And by change I mean in terms of storytelling. The change in a character. Image from Google.

Onto something more recent? Steins;Gate. Give 5pb and Nitroplus the theme of Time and this is what you get – a non-linear plot with a complicated development. Now, Steins;Gate, I believe have to watched twice. Once you know everything, it is that much cooler! Image from Google.

Gintama. Just Because it’s so damn funny.

Monogatari series. Shaft (the production company in charge of this anime) did a good job animating monogatari. The Monogatari series has some pretty interesting cut scenes. And of course he story is good too, but the Light Novels are more interesting to read as there are lots of funny epic nonsensical stuff Nishio Ishin writes. （＾ω＾）Again, image from Google.

Ok, I guess that’s the end of my introduction. It would be my first time reviewing anime but we all have to start somewhere right? Let’s end off with my Spring Anime To-Watch list! >>>

Date A Live
Aiura
Love Come
Hyakka Ryouran
Oreimo 2
Nyaruko w
Yuyushiki
Hentai Ouji

Saint Oniisan
Steins;Gate

Hope to see you soon! (*≧▽≦)

Sakurasou No Pet Na Kanojo Review – Welcome to Sakurasou

J.C Staff has really done it.

It’s quite rare to see anime that evokes the passion from within you and relates to you on many levels.

It has a pretty simple premise – Sakurasou is , by definition, a dormitory for the rejects and deviants of Japanese society and norms. Kanda Sorata, second-year student , moves into Sakurasou because he can’t help but keep stray cats in the school’s dormitories — which is obviously against the rules.

Other than that, Sakurasou is probably just a dorm with really affordable rates, so let’s just keep it at that.

Just kidding. The dorm’s special for some reason, and i’ll tell you why:

Sorata Kanda 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Perhaps the only ‘socially acceptable’, ‘normal’ guy living in the dorm. Because of this, he supposedly lacks any sort of unique talent.

Mashiro Shiina

Niece of the dorm’s teacher, Chihiro Sengoku. Moved to Japan to become a big hit in the manga scene. Extremely oblivious to social norms, but is uncompromising when it comes to work-related matters. Obviously there is some truth in the title being ‘Sakurasou’s pet girl’.

Nanami Aoyama

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sorata’s childhood friend and an aspiring voice actress, moves into Sakurasou later despite initial reluctance. Selflessly serious about work and social matters.

Misaki Kamiigusa

 

 

 

 

 

 

Third-year at Sakurasou and animator extraordinaire.  Has ADHD and seemingly never runs out of juice even on the darkest of days. Always brightens up Sakurasou.

 

Jin Mitaka 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A male Third-year at Sakurasou who’s an elegant socialite, ‘pimping’ all night long with other females outside of Sakurasou, but still a mature and responsible person overall. A remarkable scriptwriter nevertheless, though.

Ryuunosuke Akasaka

 

 

Second-year programming prodigy at Sakurasou who seemingly never comes out of his room. Is supposedly a hikikomori ( shut-in ), but is shown to be professional in work-related issues and approaches to life.

Chihiro Sengoku

 

 

 

 

 

 

Art teacher responsible for the students at Sakurasou. Mostly nonchalant about the issues going on in the dorm and likes to her students deal with it themselves.

 

Combine all these folks together, and you’ve got one hell of a time in Sakurasou.

For the first twelve episodes, Sorata struggles with his inner-self, contemplating whether to leave the exotic inhabitants of Sakurasou or stay there and become one of them.

At the same time, he witnesses the exceptional abilities that the residents possess and he becomes depressed about his own inability — particularly Shiina Mashiro, who happens to be a world-renowned painter of all sorts. This triggered a soul-searching journey within Sorata himself. With all the trouble Shiina Mashiro has caused him, despite herself being a ‘genius’, both of them help each other discover the sides of them that they never knew existed.

That’s the beauty of it, because ‘geniuses draw them to you and rip you to shreds’, but Sorata didn’t give in to that. He chose to embrace that ‘destructive’ side of geniuses and lived with it. Particularly in the case of Shiina Mashiro, she was awakened to her ignorance towards the social side of life and slowly learned to change into a more substantive individual. Sorata finally found his life’s passion – to make video games – and chose to stick to it, much like the prodigies of Sakurasou.

A very engaging first-half about the interpersonal aspect of interacting with people of different cognitive abilities and finding your common ground with them.

‘What colour do you want to be?’ A question that all of us should answer in the journey we call life.

As much as we love ‘Sorata x Mashiiro’ or ‘Sorata x Nanamin’, I can’t help but see the second half turned into a rather generic love triangle. I shouldn’t elaborate on it, because you probably know what i’m talking about.

Really indecisive and haphazard about the love story here, I personally couldn’t care less about how it turned out after dragging it for so long. I’ll just leave it at that.

 

The visuals were alright for 2012-2013 production, but seeing as how the setting is a school life, you can’t really expect anything extraordinary fluid or abstract ( save for Shiina’s art )

 

Personally i’d be raving about OSTs if it was amazing, but this was just done right to complement the anime so no raving about it there.

 

The voice acting was really good though,

It really felt as if Misaki-senpai had ADHD because she just can’t pipe down no matter the situation, she’s always  this fun girl bursting with energy and the voice actor really characterized her very well. Shiina’s really reserved most of the time and her tone suits her well.

So, props to the VA department there. You’ve out-done yourselves !

Final Verdict:

 

look forward to season 2.. i guess?

One of the most profound messages in the anime

 

Cheers

 

Kira

Spring 2013 plans

1. Date A Live
2. Karneval
3. Hataraku Maou-sama
4. Yahari Ore no Seishun Love Come wa Machigatteiru
5. Hyakka Ryouran Samurai Bride
6. Ore no Imouto ga konnani Kawaii wake ga Nai. S2
7. Haiyore! Hyaruko-san W
8. Shingeki no Kyojin
9. Hayate no Gotoku! Cuties
10. Toaru kagaku no Railgun S

If you want more series added, comment and give me a reason why.

Requests open until 02 April

Blood-C: The Last Dark

Blood-C: The Last Dark (Movie)

Part  1

Part  2

All videos are playable on PC and PSP,leave a comment if there is a problem or any particular anime series you want.Enjoy!