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Monogatari S2: The Side of the Tiger
Let us usher in the new season with luscious assets, intriguing plot devices and countless sexual innuendos!
MY MONOGATARI should be ALL about INCEST, BRUSHING YOUR OWN SISTER’S TEETH IN AN OVERTLY SEXUAL MANNER AND OF COURSE LOOKING COOL WHILE YOU’RE AT IT
Alright, brash intro aside, many people weren’t too satisfied with what was the lewd-fest called Nisemonogatari- so this next chapter in the Monogatari has to make up for it [rightfully].
SPOILERS
Did Hanekawa just sing about Chocolate in its very first OP ? Probably that was the reason i felt ecstatic during the fluffy and lighthearted opening sequence – really stylistic as always anyway, SHAFT.
This series starts off with the Nekomonogatari ( white ) arc, where Hanekawa supposedly discovers another entity [ as if the two cats weren’t enough ] inside of her after the Golden Week arc.
Araragi goes missing after having been pulverized at the end of Nisemonogatari; going on a ‘soul-searching’ journey of his own. Well , he’s a boy right ? so we’re pretty sure he can take care of himself well enough.
On the first day of the new term Hanekawa crosses path with Hachikuji, who happens to have left her backpack in Araragi’s house after ‘being dragged away’ by him the previous night.
Shortly after the encounter, a giant,l white tiger Oddity enters the human realm and crosses Hanekawa; she could only stand still in shock as the beast walks towards her.
At school, Hanekawa enlightens Senjougahara about the encounter. They also wonder where Araragi’s gone off to; Senjougahara advises Hanekawa that it is alright for her to rely on Araragi more often.
Upon entering the classroom, Senjougahara notices a fire in the distance- Hanekawa quickly followed and confirms that her house is on fire.
Hanekawa then stands still in front of the remnants of what used to be ‘her home’; rummaging what she could find , she quickly goes to the cram school ruins to stay for the nights to come.
Senjougahara searches all night for the saint, and eventually finding her in the cram school ruins.
She slapped Hanekawa in succession pretty hard, chastising her for being so nonchalant about her own well-being. Senjougahara then invites her to stay at her house for the time being.
Inside her house, they have a lengthy chat about Araragi’s whereabouts… and
taking a shower together.
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Continuing from the clutter that was the end of Nisemonogatari, we get an insight into Hanekawa’s never-before-seen personal life. However, just as we get a glimpse of what her personal life looks like, it gets swallowed in the flames. There are obviously connections between Hanekawa’s disregard for filial ties, the white tiger and the fire itself.
It was also very satisfying to see full frames of animations unlike *cough* zooming and panning across high res images *cough* that is typical of previous season’s anime. As redundant as some of the sequences maybe [cue high shutter speed head tilt], it’s still a plus in the animation department. Additionally, the visual style of Monogatari has been maintained, which is crucial to the development of the story – another plus.
Expect more of the usual head tilts, redundant full frames, ubiquitous innuendos and stripping
My body is always ready
cheers
Keerakun
Shingeki No Kyojin EP 2 – Mankind is still falling
After the destruction of wall Maria, the populace of the city flee into the inner two walls and face famine and food shortage problems as a result of the titan attack.
Eren is still very much distraught over the death of his mother, and how the defenders of the city acted during the Titans’ attack.
The siege of the city somehow stopped and the refugees of the Maria wall reclaimed Maria, albeit suffering heavy casualty. They also cultivated the fields at outer walls once again to improve the living conditions of the people.
Yearning to take revenge on the colossal beasts, Eren , along with his two other friends enlist for the army.
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Kept the summary as simple as possible because that’s all that happened and I’ve more to say over here.
There are gaping plot holes within the story — why did the titans stop attacking after they have decimated the walls so easily ? Moreover, where did that gargantuan Titan from the first episode go to ? He couldn’t have just ‘gone home’ after being summoned by some lightning, right ? It was as if they left these crucial points out in the screenplay and just assumed many things.
Not everyone normally read the manga or source material, so animation screenplay must be coherent for all viewers to enjoy. That is all I’m saying. Let us hope they clear these things up in the future episodes, because at the current progression, it’s honestly quite haphazard and half-filled.
Though, the character development can turn out to be quite interesting. as i foresee Eren going down multiple archetypal paths:
1) He becomes a mighty warrior who lusts for merely revenge on the Titans
2) He gains some rationality and ponders why the titans are actually attacking ( plot twist imminent?)
3) Everyone dies
Whatever happens, it’s going to be packed with warriors flying around with jet-packs and whizzing from rooftop to rooftop [ in real-time 3d environments !] — and of course, gore !
Cheers
Keerakun
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- BERSERKER
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- IMMINENT WRECKAGE
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- OOMPH
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- felt like a JRPG game honestly,
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- kick-ass in the making
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- work work
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- What.. but how..
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
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
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
A year with chocolate
I’m not one to celebrate things, honestly. Hell, I don’t even look forward to my own birthday sometimes.
Even if I do, I do it personally deep within my atelier , usually only with the closest of companions. As much as one believes one’s self to be disconnected from other humans, undeniably there still exists a biological bond deep within the recesses or our minds and hearts that still connect us together.
Why am i telling you all this ?
Because life doesn’t have to be a drag.
Because maintaining a blog that has nearly a thousand hits a day doesn’t have to be a drag.
Because polishing my work everytime to become better doesn’t have to be a drag.
Because encoding your subs to become compatible with portable systems as MP4 formats doesn’t have to be a drag.
That’s right– the things that keep us going. A passion called ‘anime’, that many still consider as ‘mundane’ or ‘ridiculous’.
I know I’ve said things probably easier said than done, but Hanabi has definitely done his job by maintaining the blog for the past one year.
At any point of time he could have grown tiresome of my volatile attitude towards anime, and left the blog unattended,
but he didn’t.
Even when things got busy he still has the blog in mind, along with his other priorities.
he’s worked on this blog more than I could ever hope to achieve.
If you’ve watched Sakurasou No Pet Na Kanojou, he’s probably the manifestation of Aoyama Nanami – always hardworking , and always looking out for ways to improve this blog, while i idle away in other things.
I can be an ass sometimes, but I give credits where they are due. And so he has duly deserved them.
What of myself? I am still wandering between designing and writing, always being in the middle ground and not really excelling at anything. Perhaps I can settle into one expertise one day.
And of course, not forgetting you people — be it visitors / faithfuls.
Obviously without you people we can’t be arsed to even click on this blog, when there are many other blogs out there who serve the same purpose as us.
but most importantly, you all share the same passion with us, and that’s what really counts.
And we thank you for that, really.
What of plans for the future? We’ve no real solid plan, really.
For now, we will just advocate ourselves to more popular sites that offer the same service as we do, so that everyone can share the goodness.
No grand ambitions of an epic scale , nope, nothing like that. At least for now it seems that way.
And so that was more of like an anniversary-cum-thank-you-note in a post. No chocolates unfortunately, they’d be spoiled by the time we ship em’ to you.
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Now, if somehow that cringe-worthy writing of mine has somehow induced tears, go wipe that away and go watch some more anime. Rock on.
Cheers
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Haganai Next 2 – The Homos and the onee-sama
Was expecting to be entertained wholeheartedly on a Friday evening, but guess not.
In this episode, The Neighbours’ Club watch a ‘M’ version of a supposedly full-blown homosexual-esque anime called ‘Homo C’.Yozora is initially against watching the ‘lewd garbage’ but is then convinced to watch it as a whole club.They react unanimously in a positive manner, praising the movie.Sena questions Yozora’s double standards on the activities that are permissible inside the club. Sena is then forced to read out a line from the Visual Novel game she has been playing in order to justify the lewdness of the content. She successfully reads out the suggestive line — the club becomes bewildered — then is criticized for her lack of sensitivity towards such type of content. She storms out of the clubroom in her usual burst of tantrums. The next day, Kodaka is called out by an unknown sister as he walks through the park. She attempts to proselytize Kodaka because of his hair colour — only to have Kodaka say that it is of a natural shade of colour. The sister reveals her own name to be ‘Kate’. Maria appears out of nowhere and cheerfully hugs Kodaka, but is surprised to see Kate, ‘the old hag’ hanging around him. Kate teases her, and then reveals that she is Maria’s sister. She is actually grateful to Yozora and Kodaka for changing Maria’s behavior which used to be that of a passive shut-in.
Walking towards class, Kodaka is joined by Yozora. She requests for Kodaka to compare his answers with hers as they have just finished their finals. Soon, Kodaka could see that Yozora was just attempting to bring up conversation topics so they could talk with each other. Sena comes in out of nowhere and brags about her ‘perfect answer sheet’, then engage Yozora in the usual heated conversation as they walk towards the school block.
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I summarized the episode plot like a true scriptwriter. Way to go. Apologies if it was boring, but subtitles are present in the gallery for the sake of communication-because, as you can see, this episode wasn’t very emotive.
our thoughts are in unison
I have mixed feelings about this episode. It was a rather poor attempt at deepening the relationship between Kodaka and Yozora. If it wasn’t for Rikka’s oh-so flowery tongue in the language of suggestiveness, this episode would have been a total let-down. The cheeky references to the other two anime (go figure) that AIC has produced were absolutely hilarious, if not ridiculously lewd- but hey, that’s Rikka for you alright. And as for Yozora’s assertiveness over club activities – I think we have covered this in the first season ? And also how they have gone over how hardcore Sena’s ecchi games can get ? I’m sorry, but recycling the same sequences and applying new fillers just don’t cut it for me- and for the more conscious audience. If i must point out a positive; the scene where Yozora reacts to how ‘friends can kiss each other’ did well to show us Yozora’s perception on personal issues. Okay, deep stuff. We know for sure that Kate, Maria’s sister has been added to the cast and things will probably pick up to become more interesting as she becomes more involved in the orderly chaos that is the Neighbour’s club.
Perhaps I over analyzed the screenplay.. emphasizing proper character development of SOCIALLY INEPT people from the very moment i picked up season 1..
Because my little show about the neighbour’s club can’t be this bad.
Perhaps I need to
.. let my hair down.. like what Rikka did.
Keerakun
Cheers
My lazy ass twitter:
https://twitter.com/lolztrollz
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- justification of otherwise suggestive material
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- The uniforms really remind of Yu Yu Hakusho – an awesome anime
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- ditto
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- This is why Rikka should never shut up
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- Reminiscent of Season 1
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- Deliberate camera angle
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- She can be pretty direct
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- Prejudice
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- Why do they employ preadolescences as nurses again..
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- onee-sama vs onee chan
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- Good for her
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- This scene to develop character and further their relationship was pretty weak in my opinion
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- Typical Rikka behavior
bagnochokoreto 