Who needs alchemy to create a human: solution

A while back I shared a brain teaser that seemingly can create 13 men out of 12 by shuffling the body parts. The trick to unlocking this mystery is to notice that the picture with the 13 men has each man missing a different horizontal slice of a complete body.

Casshern Sins 24 (end): What is Life Without Death

Having been raised in the Christian atmosphere most of my life, I’ve always been taught that death is an unnatural thing in the grand design of God. It had no place in The Garden of Eden). Death is merely the unnatural result of our great, great, great, …, grandfather’s sin. Eventually, one day when God will return to take his people to heaven, there will be no death but eternal life, eternal bliss, and eternal fellowship with each other.

Ride Back 1: when dreams fall

when one dream falls down

Perhaps it’s too early to talk about theme, but here is a girl, Rin Ogata, whose injury to her leg has rendered her dream as a ballerina ruined, finds unexpectedly another pair of legs that opens up to her an entirely new world larger than any she has ever dreamt of before. The image of her standing not with her own feet on the ground but rather on the wheels of the robot with her own legs merely hanging on the side suggests a picture a crippled person with her crippled part replaced with something far better, for a purpose far greater.

Zoku Natsume Yuujinchou 1: Where’s the shade of gray?

Summer then winter, white then black. Too bad the theme does not follow suit.

The problem I find with this first episode is the lack of middle ground in the characterization. On one extreme the Lord (the black Nyanko) was way too sacrificial in his devotion to befriending mankind while on the other extreme the lynch mob of lesser Youkai’s was too eager to turn an ugly face the moment a slightest wind of treachery blew.

Doesn’t this also go against the common belief that power corrupts and therefore the more powerful Ayakashi should be more evil than the lesser Youkai’s?

Akikan! 2: Not just about virgin’s juice (NSFW?)

If you think this line is hot, you've gotta hear what she says next.

Oh my goodness, Akikan! continues to deliver lines after lines that make me giggle shamelessly like a lecherous old man. Nearly every damn lines in this show have a double meaning—juice, melon, penis waking up, and I don’t know Japanese but I bet those “baseball terms” Melon uttered must have been some kind of wordplay on the kanji. In any case, I nearly blew my own juice onto my laptop as I was watching the baseball scene. (What? I ordered a super-sized cup of half-tea, half-coffee beverage from Chinatown.)

Akikan! 1: possible Kannagi in the making

Ok, now I know I have a perverted mind.

I’m not sure why there’s so much negative reaction toward the start of this show, but isn’t Akikan! starting out in similar fashion to Kannagi, which most people seem to love?

An angel has landed

Be still my heart…

Sources:
http://www.dannychoo.com/detail/mac/eng/image/12376/Hatsune+Miku+Cosplay.html
http://www.sankakucomplex.com/2008/12/29/hatsune-miku-cosplay/

Akane Iro ni Somaru Saka 12: Brother does sister while ex-girlfriend watches

Yuuhi hinting in her subtle girly way why Jun'ichi and Minato did not wait for her

Brother does sister while ex-girlfriend watches. This is the Intergalactic News—Nagomi Shiraishi reporting.

Jun’ichi Nagase, a.k.a. Geno Killer, confessed his love for his sister Minato Nagase in front of all their classmates. This union was a consummation of years of suppressed feelings between the siblings during the peaks of their hormonal surge while living under the same roof without any sort of parental supervision what-so-ever.

Chaos;Head 11–12: Takumi’s final delusion?

The only part of the episode that made sense

The only way to understand the sudden change of character in Takumi in episode 11 and 12 (and to salvage what was otherwise a psychological thriller) is to interpret the events in episode 11 and 12 as nothing more than what took place only inside Takumi’s head—instinctive mental self-defense if you will.

If I could real-boot like Takumi…

… I’d run straight home like a 13 year-old who just got his first copy of Playboy, and real-boot

Although I may consider real-booting her equipped with a mute button.

Many more of her goodness here.

Gundam 00 S2 10: dear Diary by Sumeragi Lee Noriega

2300 hour, my dark quarter in Lagrange 3, cold and lonely.

Dear Diary,

All my brilliant strategic predictions, I fail to calculate that she, a genius strategic forecaster herself, would of course be solicited by the most powerful and resourceful organization on the face of the planet now. Oh, Kati, Kati, if only she knows the blind spot she has created in me!

Akane Iro ni Somaru Saka 10: Japanese culture is weird

Wow, this is HOT! (if you're Japanese, that is.)

No matter how much anime I’ve watched, I will never understand why Japanese would find a fully-dressed girl sexy.

I know I should not have expected otherwise, but when a girl wraps herself up fully under a blanket, walks into a boy’s room in the middle of the night, and asks the boy to keep the noise down, what should be the fair conclusion of what she has (or has not) underneath the said blanket? Even though I am not a fan of Yuuhi, my heart was racing faster than Yuuhi can run from Tako-kun.

Casshern Sins 8: embracing your purpose

Killing never looked so right.

There is a magical moment in Casshern Sins 8. Not one of those feel-good moments in Natsume Yuujinchou, but one that is both surreal and sublime.

Here, toward the end, both heaven and hell converge at one place, but, at the same time, both are definitively separated by the concert dome’s walls that echo the sound of destruction on one side, the sound of hope the other. Yet, not unless the pressures of these two opposing sounds have worked together would the walls hold up.

Gundam 00 8: true heir of Aeolia’s plan

Finally, an opposing suit that does not have ridiculously looking horns or insect eyes.

A few tidbits to get off my chest first.

First season didn’t kick into high gears for me until the Thrones showed up in late season; so I’m glad to see the new opposing Gundam show up so early in season two. I was getting tired seeing the only way the Celestial Beings win a fight was by the superiority of their suits—like in last episode between Setsuna and Mr. Bishido. It’s about time that after 33 episodes Setsuna and co. start maturing as pilots.

Doing it wrong—gundam 00 7

Exactly what I was thinking of the writers too.

Gundam SEED 24 did it much better between Cagalli and Athrun.

A recap of what happened in Gundam SEED 24: Cagalli the princess from the nation of Orb and Athrun the Gundam ace pilot from Z.A.F.T were both enemies and strangers. On a sortie over the sea, both Cagalli’s jet fighter and Athrun’s Gundam malfunctioned, resulting in both stranded on a small deserted island, unable to communicate for rescue, and wary of each other.

For whom the bell tolls—casshern sins 7

with apology to Hemingway

Casshern Sins should’ve been a perfect show for a blog, such as mine, whose lofty charter is to attribute meanings to a meaningless world. Here in Casshern Sins, we have a world in ruin; the lucky ones are long gone, the unlucky slowly rusting away—the world in utter despair. Yet, there are still a remnant of characters, Akoes, Sophita and, in this episode, Lizabel, who manage to find a beautiful melody in such desolate world.

Is this a different show?—to aru majutsu no index 7

or two different shows

Beside the science-versus-magic theme (which in itself isn’t much of a dichotomy anyway since how is a fire-starter fundamentally different from a lighting-bolter?), To Aru Majutsu no Index 7 feels like a completely different show. It’s as if the writers has said, “Oh shit, we fucked up. Let’s reset the whole show with new characterizations and direction.”

Luna’s salvation plan—casshern sins 6

Apostle Casshern

Many of you know that in Christianity Jesus is the savior sent to the world by God for the salvation of mankind. What you may not know is that the plan of salvation was not what everyone had expected back two millenniums ago. The Jewish people had thought of their savior, the Messiah, as a powerful strong-arm leader who would drive away their oppressors (the Romans at the time) and restore their ruined nation of Israel. But instead, here came a carpenter who had claimed to be sent by God to rescue the oppressed, but he could hardly helped himself as people were dragging him up to the cross. The sinners thought they had overcome God’s plan.

Why won’t they grow up already?—gundam 00 6

How do the important people always manage to survive while the rest of the peons drop like flies?

Anchors on reality—chaos;head 4

There's a bit of Takumi is all of us, especially those of us watching this show.

Awhile back I saw the movie A Beautiful Mind where the protagonist suffered from paranoid schizophrenia, part of which materialized into a little girl. What I liked about the movie was that the director had mostly kept the audience confined within the protagonist’s perspective, not willing to spoon feed the audience what was real and what was not, as the protagonist tried painfully to figure it all out. The audience continued to ride with the protagonist in his turmoil throughout the years in the movie until one day he finally unlock his own enigma: that the little girl had never aged a bit; and therefore, everything else that was directly related to her must also had been hallucinated.

Nel of Bleach vs. Kaori of To-Aru Majutsu no Index

And I was so hyped up about seeing this on the screen.

Of the few things left in Bleach that had still kept me a fan, the most immediate one was the arrival of Nel on the motion screen. My first reaction when I saw her adult form in the manga was, “Damn, Nel’s hawt!” My second, “I can’t wait to see this animated.”

Robotic orgasm—casshern sins 4

Oh boy, I need a cold shower.

Sophita is the robot’s version of the 60’s hippies—live for the moment, express your feelings uninhibitedly, toss all caution into the wind—except that instead of fucking, she prefers fighting.

The whole episode is better understood, once we substitute each instance of the word fight with fuck (or shag if you’re British). Go ahead, watch the episode again with that in mind.

Wife, sister, what’s the difference?—Akane Iro ni Somaru Saka 4

That she is blood-related, only makes it so much more spicy.

There is a chinese saying that a desirable woman is one who is capable in the kitchen and presentable in the living room. I’ll say Minato is both AND a lot more in the bedroom. Just try to keep your eyes away from these:

What we’ve all been waiting for—bleach

You're not a Bleach fan if you have to ask who that is.

2 more days

I hallucinate, therefore I am—chaos;head 3

There is no truth; only perception of truth.

At this point of the show, it’s nearly impossible to unequivocally determine what is the reality behind Chaos;Head. Most of the scenes so far are from the perspective of the hallucinogenic protagonist Takumi with only a few exception scenes that are not quite consistent themselves anyway. If we can trust the perspectives of Yua at all, then we can make a guess that Takumi is simply suffering from a delusional, existential need to find meaning and importance of his life by projecting that which he has so far been receiving only from the 2D worlds into his 3D world. On the other hand, the perspective of the silver hair girl (is she also FES?), if her perspective is trustworthy at all, suggests that there may just be a real supernatural element at work after all.

Loli bites—to aru majutsu no index 3

*shudders*

Something is very inconsistent here. If Index knows that the knowledge of mages and magic can corrupt and destroy a human’s mind, why then does she still so eagerly tell Touma more of the Necessarius and the 103,000 volumes? Also, how does one person’s memorization of some knowledge can prevent that knowledge from becoming known to another?

Why so serious—casshern sins 3

In a crappy world with nowhere worth going, this place certainly seems beautiful enough to stay.

Casshern Sins is starting to shine, through episode three. Despite being a very quiet episode in terms of action, it makes tidal waves of emotions from the dialogs between Casshern and Akoes, all of which distill themselves to a key decision the former makes and the blunt but yet poetic death the latter arrives at.

Gundam b00bs—gundam 00 s2 2

Some seriously looking honkers there.

And these honkers can switch position to sideway as well as backward too. Kinky. Joking aside, Gundam 00 does not disappoint in its debut. Just when you think the Trans-Am system is over 9,000, twice the GN Drives sends it over 9,000²—that’s 81,000,000!

Reaching 2nd & 3rd base—akane iro ni somaru saka 2

This guy has Makoto written all over his face.

Well, it was hardly his fault. First she trips over him, then lands her melon under his hand; next she traps his arm, squeezing his elbow along her “missing part.” And he gets this lucky by annoying the hell out of her.

Eroge meet gore—chaos;head 1

At least he has a couch.

Here’s an interesting formula: take a character whose head is so overflowing with scenes from eroge games that he imagines himself waking up to an 2D female character mounting him and hallucinates erotic images of his own sister drinking from his bottle of soda, and put him right into the middle of a gory mystery involving a male corpse stuffed with a fetus and another pierced by iron crosses, then ask what kind of new images can be concocted in his head from a mixture of two of the rawest forms of human instincts: sex and violence. That’s Chaos;Head.

Meaning of death—casshern sins 2

Don't you just hate it when girls do that.

Casshern Sins has finally not disappointed me in a disturbing but at the same time enlightening way. The issue of death is revisited from the context of robots who were once immortal but are now forced to embrace death, or ruins in robotic terms.

Old characters, new forms—gundam 00 s2 1

I still won't accept this as a gundam.

What Gundam 00 must do in the second season is to introduce some real badass Gundam vs. Gundam matchup that has made Gundam SEED and Destiny so engaging. Season one didn’t really kick off for me until the Thrones arrived and Exia started to exterminate them, but they didn’t really do much with it. Just because those A-LAWS are equppied with (fake) GN-drives does not make them Gundam. No, sir, you are not Gundam! BTW, I was expecting Setsuna to give his famous line. Sigh…

Leg jiggling like a frog—to aru majutsu no index 1

With dialogs like this, how can you not go crazy with this show?

The writers must have been on crack when they wrote the script, which I am not complaining at all since I have not been so cracked up by a show’s dialogs or tossed around by its wackiness as this. Every minute of the episode, I don’t know what to expect next. The plot twists and turns, my head spinning as to where this show is going. One moment he seems to be saving a helpless girl from some delinquents, the next he is actually saving them from her. Another moment he is turning into microwave dinner, the next he is equal with a level-5 psychic, whatever that means!

When arranged marriages become cool—akane iro ni somaru saka 1

If only this scene is more than just alluding to the one in School Days...

This show is the summation of every Otaku’s daydreaming: the main character Jun’ichi has

Creepiest character for quite some times—casshern sins 1

and annoying as hell too

This is the first time a character has killed a show for me. She, or it or whatever it is, was plain annoying and creepy! Half way through the episode, I was saying to myself, there is no way I will watch this hideous face and listen to her whiny voice for thirteen or so episodes. Then I got my hope up when I thought she was going to die, but damn it, she didn’t die! Gee, since when do giant robots have so much tenderness in their death grip?! Just squeeze and pop it goes. No wonder these robots are getting extinct.

When a filler becomes the finale—natsume yuujinchou 13

¿ǝposıdǝ ʍǝıʌǝɹ ɐ ʇsnɾ 'ʍouʞ ʇ,uop ı 'ɥo

This is the first time I’ve seen a series ends with a review episode. It has a bit of everything in which we have been so fond of this show: things like Nyanko’s ranting of being abandoned, Sasada’s obsession with Natsume and thereafter Tanuma’s way of distracting her, the bullying of the little fox-boy, even Natsume’s classmates’ airhead goofiness. Every major character also makes a short appearance, rather or not they have a part in the story of the episode or not. It’s like they’re trying to tell us everyone will go on to live happily ever after.

Strike Witches 12 (end) going out on a whimp

This show shouldn't try to be like another show.

Watching Strike Witches end like this reminds me of Jack in The Nightmare Before Christmas, in which he, although being the Pumpkin King the horrific genius of every Halloweens, decides to tackle another holiday that is completely foreign to his nature—Christmas. The end result of his misadventure is complete disaster, just like Strike Witches is, as the Pumpkin King of the Pantsu maddeningly gone mecha.

Five more days—gundam 00 ss

The divine

Bilrer=Kawamori, it was all for Minmay—macross frontier 25 end

Hai, Kawamori-san

Since I seem to have never been the popular voice on Macross F—although I believe I have been the more rational one—there is no reason to break the tradition now:

This episode was stupid, a ruin to what was a great show up until ep. 25.

Manifest Destiny—macross frontier 24

Because coexisting is not in our human nature.

Listening to the exchange between Brera and Klan on who is the aggressor is very telling.

“No, we’re only defending ourselves.”

“Bullshit, you attacked us first.”

And then you have the brainwashing of the Frontier army: “We must eliminate them for us to survive.” “May the divine providence of the universe smile upon us.”

day in the life of a stray cat—Natsume Yuujinchou 11

Cute and creepy

The most light-hearted episode in the series, NatsuYuu 11 switches focus onto the enigmatic Madara a.k.a. Nyanko-sensei in a day of rebellion and self-discovery.

Nene on Men

Who could she be talking about?

A gradual canticle for Ranka Lee

The thinnest bear is awakened in the winter
by the sleep-laughter of locusts,
by the dream-blustering of bees,
by the honeyed scent of desert sands
that the wind carries in her womb
into the distant hills, into the houses of Cedar.

Strike Witches 11: let’s all turn on Miyafuji!

Yes, it’s your fault, everything’s your fault. You definitely didn’t think this one through, did you? Don’t you think that the Neuroi’s would be upset at you for killing so many of them? But then you go off to make friend with that Neuroilet. I’m so upset at you … you … you know what? I’m just gonna turn on your dad too—your biography will be called “PWNED: Like Father, Like Daughter”.

Natsume Yuujinchou 10: song of silence

You know an anime series is special when it can give you nothing but yet you feel like you’ve gotten everything. That’s what NatsuYuu 10 has achieved.

The long stretch of anticipation of a melody was so deafening that I found myself holding my breath still and hearing the background sound of crickets and river streams drowning out under the tranquil moonlights into complete silence.

Macross Frontier 23: killing you means more than staying with you

Hottest villain in recent anime

Grace really has a lot going for her hotness: the glasses, the slender body, high heels, evil smile, the sophisticated hairdo, and the hooter top underneath the lab coat; and if you’re a bit more kinky, the implants that intrude her body and the tentacle arm that can intrude yours should be more than sufficient to tickle all your fantasies.

But if you’re a bit more demanding in your woman and require some deeper substance, then you’ll be happy to know that in addition to her being a brainiac scientist she is also aspiring to change the world! OK, so she needs to massacre an entire species and experiments on a few children, but hey, it’s all for the advancement of mankind, right?

Macross Frontier 22: everybody does the split

Virgin Ranka won't approve what Sheryl and Alto did.

I don’t know why the writers want to lead us to think, through Ozma’s my balls haven’t dropped but so what I’m still a man speech, which quite frankly, makes completely no sense to me; that Alto has been and still is a go-with-the-flow kind of guy. He has never seemed to me to be such. The dude had resisted the blunt advances of two first-tier Divas but instead chose to fly in limitless sky; defied his father, abandoned his family tradition, his innate skill, but instead sought to become a pilot, which quite frankly is still at best second rate despite what Ozma has said; and over and over again, bumped heads with Brera who kicked his butts rolling and tumbling, but yet had never shunned from the Cyborg once. If he had gone with the flow, he would’ve been seeing Sheryl on odd days and Ranka on even’s. Oh wait, he did sort of do that. High five, Alto!

Strike Witches 10: now, we’re after Neuroi crystals

Nerfed Mio is HAWT like a meek, little miko.

Ominous music, Yoshika flirting with truths that cannot be spoken of, and a mobile suit, if there aren’t the bath scene and the Perrine x Mio will it fit scene, I’d think I’m watching a different show.

Natsume Yuujinchou 9: bondage

The hat, that shirt color, and a cat on a leash outdoor; yep, this is NatsuYuu

Not as strong as the prior episodes but still better than most other shows this season, NatsuYuu 9 explores the theme of bondage.

The symbolisms are everywhere from the very beginning where Natsume has a leash on Nyanko-sensei who needs to walk off some weights before causing an earthquake, to the yet-another-cyclops youkai who has a rope tied around her neck to keep her obligated in haunting some warehouse. Even her hand being bandaged is a symbol of her eventual almost-fatal encounter with Natori, the fabulous movie star moonlighting as an exorcist, who had bandaged not only her hand but also her heart long ago.

Strike Witches 9: or Macross Frontier 21

I've seen this scene before involving a certain green hair girl and her pet.

I know I have asked for some assemblance of a plot before, but I’d never thought that when I do see it, I’d be watching Déjà vu.

The cliffhanger from last episode turns out to be one big anti-climatic teaser that deflates all my hypes as fast as the Strike Witches flashing their panties across my full screen. Dear Minna-san, you are a commander of the elite 501st Strike Witches unit who should know that pointing a gun at anyone requires you to convince your target that you have the resolve to pull the trigger, which is the opposite of what you achieve when you put up a face such as this:

Natsume Yuujinchou 8: unequally yoked

So close yet so far away

The title of the post is from a biblical reference where christians are warned not to marry non-christians, based on the assumption that two unlike beings cannot possibly find a good ending together. Strangely enough though, a book supposedly about the highest form of love could not embrace such relationships where, often, the brightest moment of true love shines, such as in most memorable love stories and in particular NatsuYuu 8.

Macross Frontier 21: I’m a Ranka fan now… just kidding.

If they made it, what color would their offspring's hair be?

First of all, I will say that I applaud Ranka for finally leaving behind everything that has entangled her for so long on Frontier and boldly searching for the truth herself at where must have been the most dangerous place she knows to be.

Kanji with Strike Witches

They say that kanji’s are pictorial words, so how else is better to learn them than with some actual, descriptive pictures. Here goes.

控

/ko.u/
restrained, withdrawn, held back, moderated

並

/na.mi/
average, medium, mediocre

Strike Witches 8: the men behind the witches

I'd sure love to walk home into this too.

There was something on Strike Witches 8 that I thought I would never see—men, boat load of men, aircraft-carrier load of men. Too bad none of that testosterone got to mix with any of the estrogen, thanks to a certain orange hair commander who lost hers and now would not let anyone else get any.

Natsume Yuujinchou 7: the first step is the hardest

Couldn't you just adopt him like you adopted Nyanko-sensei?

I can’t explain this show. It’s nothing different in terms of theme, but damn it, it has a way of keeping me watching and wanting the payoff scene to come, and when it does come, it feels so damn good and satisfying. However, if you think about it, it has nothing deep or original.

And it’s not like it was the artwork, or the music, not even the plot, since the show, so far, has followed a pretty predictable formula. So, what is it? Why does the message seem to resonate so deeply in my chest?

Ah, but that is exactly it. The writers understand our generation of youth well, all our anguish and troubles, and have created an alternative universe, with all of the anime elements to keep us interested, that shows us how our own lives could’ve been different.

Macross Frontier 20: I will come back for you

Poignantly performed

It is frightening how sometimes the course of history could’ve been tipped over one way or the other by one simple act of a few individuals at one crucial moment. Had Ranka not ran into Sheryl falling into Alto’s arms on that fateful day when the Vajra swarm happened to hatch, she might’ve remained in her little bubble of genki-ness, on top of the world, still charged with rabu rabu feelings, embraced as heroine. Perhaps then when the Vajra swarm showed up, Ranka would’ve been able to sing her heart out in pure bliss, and the whole universe would see that the Vajra, too, were a peaceful species, just as the Zentradi had become not too long ago, capable of celebrating along side with both humans and Zentradi the art of music, just as Ai-kun had, waving his little antennas, standing behind some fans at Ranka’s concert one episode ago.

If only for that one brief moment, things may have been so very different.

Macross Frontier 20: Michel you coward

You. deserve. it. *sob*

I’m too much of a coward.
You can never tell when people are going to die.
Especially because we’re pilots.
My only matches are those I don’t really care about.
Getting serious is too frightening.

—Michel, episode 19.

Know your witches

At the risk of alienating what’s left of my female readers—and a certain emailer—nekodan is proud(?) to present How well do you know your witches?

It is not a secret that canines recognize each others by their crotches, so it is natural to ask how well us human can also, after having been sniffing viewing our screens splattered with the Strike Witches’ for seven glorious episodes.

Without further ado, name those bitches witches (each row below features two different ones):

Macross Frontier 19: cliché galore

how original

As the remaining quarter of the show ushers in, so is the remaining quarter of Ranka’s blood at the verge of entering center stage. But for someone who seems to have everything already, something catastrophic needs to happen to force her to turn to the monstrosity hidden in her.

So, what did the writers use for this plot device?

Strike Witches=NSFW

I hope you're not watching this at work.

Apparently, some poor soul surfing the internet today stumbled upon my post on Strike Witches 7 and was unpleasantly surprised by his boss catching him masturbating reading the post.

Well, I made up the last part about the boss, but the said individual did exist and seemed shocked by the content enough to sent me an email trenchantly stipulating that I should’ve tagged the said post NSFW.

Strike Witches 7: gone commando

Sunshine up your ...

I knew this would come, but I had thought it would happen in some dramatic fashion over some life-and-death moment at some high octane battle instead of this hopping pantsu-thief dance on a breezy summer day. Moreover, I had expected only one to go the way of Britney, Paris, and Lindsay, but to my (pleasant) surprise, we got four:

Natsume Yuujinchou 6: too unreal even for Disney

Because this is anime.

As much as I felt warm and fuzzy with the positive message of living your best no matter how rough life gets, I couldn’t help but snickered at the unbelievable characterizations in NatsuYuu 6.

Boys and girls, if some shady adult were to lead you by your hand and promise you fun and excitement, do NOT follow them! No amount of your great character will convince them to let you go—much less, in contrary, to help you later—for they will EAT you live and spit out your bones dry.

Strike Witches 6 :p

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Macross Frontier 18: dawn for one, dusk for the other

moment that defines a person

Sheryl

I remember when I was just a kid my mother taught me a life lesson when she brought home some silkworms, which at first did nothing beside nibbling incessantly on some jagged-edge leaves for days until they wrapped themselves round and round in their white silk cocoons. A few days passed in absolute stillness. Then on one morning, one of the cocoon started to shake ever so slightly, which I caught the sight of and tried to help the struggling moth by peeling the cocoon that was entrapping it. Immediately, my mom reprimanded me, explaining that unless this moth was given the chance to break through the cocoon under its own strength, as its first act of commitment to life, it will not triumph over life’s many challenges ahead.

In similar ways, it is times like these that will give Sheryl the chance to reach deeper and realize strength that will surprise even herself. If you think her I am Sheryl Nome was ostentatious, wait til she breaks through this cocoon and spread her wings.

Strike Witches 5: Yoshika the predator

The need for melon

Did you know that there’re species of frogs which, when cast into an ecosystem where one sex dominates the other in numbers, would spontaneously cause in some of its members to change sex?

Well, on the 501st base of operations in the Britannian territory of Strike Witches, a show whose closest male lead still exists only within a three by five inch picture frame, there are changes happening among the girls, among which Yoshika is experiencing some very glorious metamorphosis.

Natsume Yuujinchou 4: Still an enigma

Trippy

Basically the same plot as the previous episodes, you have an ayakashi having some self-deprecating issue that prevented himself from connecting with another being—another girl again, why do the pretty ones always fall for the weirdos?—which reflected somewhat a similar trait in our hero Natsume who then went out of his way, in the name of even if they treat me like shit I’ll still play nice with them, to rectify the situation by an yet inexplicable mean of giving the ayakashi back his name, which, in this episode’s case, the ayakashi didn’t even want back.

Not to mention that the whole name whiffing process feels a lot like a fatality move to end the youkai’s existence by overloading it with emotional epiphanies. So, was Natsume trying to help the ayakashi Shigure or to get rid of him?

Macross Frontier 17: Ozma’s 23 minutes of fame

Spike...

I am going to play the Devil’s Advocate here and say something negative about this episode. You have been warned.

There’s an old saying in Chinese that a good horse does not graze the same pasture twice. I suppose, then, the writers of Macross F must be trying to tell us something about themselves. While I have no problem with them trying to find greener pasture, I do question at what cost have they inflicted to the overall story.

Strike Witches 4: Leave no one behind

One at a time... As long as I can still go on...

Wow, who would’ve thought that Strike Witches, instead of featuring just unadulterated fan services, would actually tackle some serious thematic elements? What do soldiers fight for?

Macross Frontier 16: Yakka deculture!

First, allow me to express how I feel about this episode:

"Ranka!" is the new "Jesus Christ!"

Yes, seriously.

"Sugei" sounded better.

My face certainly has deculture written all over it.

You know you want to believe!

If I was that evil, I'd snigger like that too.

Affirmative: This was one kick-ass episode.

Natsume Yuujinchou 3: Where are the sharks with the frickin’ lasers?

After watching this scene, I could not get myself
near a window for a good few nights.

Maipeisu at THAT animeblog summed it up best in the post that

For an anime (or anything, really) to be successfully episodic, each episode must be a world unto itself, unique and engaging, and carve another purposeful notch into the overall story (character development, backstory, etc.)

Macross Frontier 15: Intermission

One is a failed project—to be replaced by the other.

The opera that is Macross F has entered into an intermission or otherwise known as recap episode. But before you cry, “filler crap!” this was one captivating, refreshing recap. OK, “refreshing recap” may sound like an oxymoron, but the writers made it worked by revisiting old scenes from a new revelatory perspective of Grace, which confirmed many old hunches as well as raised new questions.

Strike Witches 3: Melons vs. Pantsu

I don’t know about you, but pantsu is the clear winner here. I did give melons a chance, but the moment they did the face-to-crotch interfacing:

Natsume Yuujinchou 2: Halfway Bridges

Meeting is by chance, but making the connection is by will.

If each person is an island and each relationship we build is a bridge, then the whole world is probably filled with halfway bridges. Sometimes, some of these bridges are meant to connect the same two islands, but somehow they would always fail to connect at the right spot.

Chocolate Underground 4: When Chocolate Rots Your Brain

Translation: We’re in here!

Whew! For a while I thought Grey had convinced CACAO that fansubs are as evil as chocolate, but luckily my suspicion was proven wrong when the sub was finally released.

Macross Frontier 14: A Path of No Return for Ranka

The true face of the Vajra?

Let’s make a conjecture on how Ranka is 1/4 Zentradi. Her father was probably half human, half Zentradi; her mom, on the other hand, given her absence in the photo at the lab and the revelation from this episode, was probably neither human nor Zentradi but instead a pure Vajra—perhaps the very creature that Alto had just destroyed. How that union could’ve taken place, I’ll leave to the fanfiction artists, but from this, we see that

Ranka = 1/4 human + 1/4 Zentradi + 1/2 Vajra.

Natsume Yuujinchou 1: Loneliness Can Be a Bitch

Her name is Hishigaki.

After all the hostile chasing, Hishigaki ended up only wanting to ask Reiko, “are you okay by yourself now?” That was the moment when a one-dimensional youkai turned into a deep, complex character and an ordinary action sequence turned into a multilayered story with genuinely felt, internal turmoil.

Strike Witches 2: Moving onto the Next Moe: Yuri

This show just keeps on getting better.

After having familiarized ourselves with their butts faces from last episode, we get to see their hearts in this episode. No, I’m not talking about the inner conflict of Yoshika’s desire to fulfill her promise to protect everyone versus her hatred to enter the battle herself—no, that would be too much plot already—rather, I’m talking about the tinkle that she felt when this scene happened:

Macross Frontier 13: Ranka, Queen of the Hive

Potentially Ranka’s true form

Queen of the Hive

This episode gives plenty of evidence that Ranka has more than just Zentrali blood flowing in her. Already in the prior episodes, that baby Vajra was somehow instinctively drawn to her as if an infant to their mother. Now in this episode, her stomach glows just as mother Vajra’s abdominal is ruptured, and the timing of her need to lay something in the forest could not have been totally unaligned to the mother Vajra’s own timing to lay its eggs either.

Strike Witches 1: A Panty Galore Moment in Anime

And that’s just within one sequence of a minute and thirty seconds—a panty-in-your-face shot per every six seconds—before the title page is shown:

The Battle of Gaixia: Where Ranka Lee Could’ve Sung In

Chu Song from Four Sides (四面楚歌)

Can you believe it? What Ranka did in Macross F 12 wasn’t so farfetched after all. There has been a case in history where songs had virtually disintegrated an entire army and eventually ended a long-drawn war.

Chocolate Underground 3: WWDD?

OM NOM NOM NOM?

First, no chocolate; then, no valentine; now, not even sugar, vanilla nor honey is legal. Ok, we are seriously talking about the castration of the tongue here.

Life is looking tougher and tougher by the days for our two crusaders Huntley and Smudger. Mom and pop are starting to go emo because the family’s bakery business is going down the drain. The only way out seems to be solving the puzzle of the week, whose answer is as shocking as this show makes sense: Go find some freaking cocoa beans.

Chocolate Underground 2: No Chocolate No Valentine

The reason to commit crime

A somewhat immediate corollary to no chocolate is quite easily no valentine. And that means a missed opportunity to get some actions from girls like Louise.

That’s just unacceptable.

Thus, our two heros—whose names I can’t be quite sure yet, are they Huntley and Smudger?—go on a quest to rectify the situation: Find an underground operation that sells chocolate.

Macross Frontier 12: Ranka Drew Blood

The only blood drawn in the entire episode.

Ranka turned out to be the only deadly weapon in this little revolt. Her one little twinkle of the eye and all the men dropped all their guns with one of them even exploded into an eruption of nosebleed—the only blood drawn despite countless of shots fired.

Chocolate Underground 1: Chocolate Is the New Crack

In the near future, where a couple of grannies armed with a dangerous plate of chocolate would require the combined forces of a SWAT team and a multimillion dollar mecha with the claws of death to subdue, one political party arises to answer the call of justice:

The Totally Healthy Party

Macross Frontier 11: Alto’s Birthday Wish

When you wish upon a star…

A definite character-building episode for our hero Alto. It’s his birthday, and he’s presented with three birthday presents. His choice will reveal what his heart desires. Let’s first review his choices:

Macross Frontier 10: The Rise of Ranka

Finally, the light of dawn shines for Ranka.

I’ve never liked Ranka—and I still don’t, because I still think she’s way overrated, too old to be a loli, too young to be a vixen—but it’s still quite satisfying to see someone who’s been consistently overlooked by everyone, overshadowed by peers, yet having the resilience to wipe their tears off their face and strive on, doing absolutely mediocre tasks in order to walk down a path that can’t be seen beyond the next step; to suddenly, see a glimp of hope. *tears*

Of course, this is fiction and Ranka is the main character, so we all know she will succeed; but the prior episodes have done such a great job on exposing her lingering pain and despair insidiously admist the larger plot of the battle with the Vajra, that I have unknowingly developed sentiments for Ranka. I do give a damn after all!

Macross Frontier 09: So Alto Is Gay After All.

I knew it!

There are only two things you need to know about this episode:

• Alto likes Michael—or Michelle.
• Klan also likes Michael.

And maybe one more:

• Michael likes Manager Grace.

Everything else—including the return of the kickass fight sequence—is just for show since Macross Frontier is really first a love drama then second a space mecha show.

Macross Frontier 08: Fumoffu? NOT

Don’t switch channel. This really is a post on Macross Frontier.

How we made the transition from a life & death space battle to a pantsu pokemon chase in high school is beyond me. As much fun as watching a panty-less Sheryl running around recklessly and hoping she would land crotch first on the face of some nose-bleeding four eyes were, I couldn’t help but feel that this episode has totally deflated the excitement from the last episode. I’m not saying the writers should’ve tried to top it—if that can be done at all—but they should’ve at least tried to ride on it instead of giving us this totally disconnected, third rated comedy filler.

Macross Frontier – 07: Who’s Got the BIGGEST Gun?

NONSTOP ACTION

Holy C**P! That was nearly a non-stop episode. Usually, I take screenshots as I watch along, but the actions did not yield much moment of pause and I was just constantly mesmerized by all those relentless CG. Who would’ve think that Sheryl’s little striptease concert performance would be the “low” point of the episode. And that was how awesome Macross Frontier 7 was.

Four Memorable Insert-Song Scenes in Anime

The post at anime diet asked which is better: anime or manga, and I commented that anime offers something that manga cannot: Music. Now this post is not so much about rather or not anime is indeed better than manga (it is) as it is about reminiscing a few of the best scenes in which our experience of it, was greatly enhanced because an insert theme song was supporting it like wind lifting a bird soaring higher and higher.

The past episode of Macross Frontier with Sheryl’s concert leading to the end credit is one recent example. Searching through my iTune library, I found a few other scenes that had captivated me due to the background theme song.

Macross Frontier – 06: Ranka Who?

Galactic Song Goddess

I cannot recall when, since over two anime seasons ago, I replayed an episode over and over again, but Sheryl Nome’s concert scene was that good. In fact, after the n^th times, I even rewound it so far back to when Ranka was running toward the concert with the ticket in her hand—so as to pretend I myself was holding my ticket running toward the concert to catch the Galactic Song Goddess Sheryl Nome sing. I kept doing that until it dawned on me that someone must’ve already uploaded that clip on youtube. And so, I present to you—Sheryl!

Allison and Lillia – 05: New Adventure

New Adventure of Allison and Lillia Will. Show me Lillia already, damn it!

The last arc still left me with a bland taste in the mouth. Episode one started with a promising premise, but the story deflated faster than Allison’s confessions. Well, at least the story keeps trying just like Allison too.

Our heros are now really heros. They are recognized everywhere—everywhere except for this remote little village whose every villagers seem to live a second life in secret, surrounding the royal family of Ikstova—a nation whose annexation to Sou Beil is becoming as fragile as the circumstances amidst the fire that killed the royal family ten years ago.

Macross Frontier – 05: Alto’s Guide to How to Score on a Date

Macross gone porn

Disclaimer: For Alto-kun in the Macross Frontier’s universe, it works wonders. For anyone else, your mileage may vary.

Start Early

Why wait when you can do it from the start? Especially when you have the Mega-Vibrating Cellphone 2000 that can rock through your pant. Put it in your pants pocket, shove her into a tight locker, and gently nudge your knee upward. Wait for the hot breath to caress on your neck and reciprocate… Oh wait, this is not my porn blog.

Allison and Lillia – 04: Featuring Planes that Fly Backward

The propeller is on top, but which direction do you think it is going?

And that’s about as much content as there is since the first episode of Allison and Lillia.

I can’t believe the fourth episode is the end of this arc of the story. It started strong in the first episode, prompting interesting—even though preachy at times—questions about the authenticity of history books. Second episode wasn’t terrible too: enemies living in the same house realizing that the other side was not as evil as portrayed by their own country. Seen it plenty of times in Gundams already, but at least the story development was consistent.

Macross Frontier – 04: Love Is In The Air

… or in space

Ranka and Altoh take the first step to falling in love. They both deny it but it’s obvious in how concern they are in each other’s affair.

Allison and Lillia – 03: Can This Show Be Anymore Predictable?

“Sorry old man, but this episode is all about me.”

Allison and Lillia Will finds the old man. However, on their breakout the old man sacrifices his life so that they can escape — but not so before he tells them the location of the treasure. On a stolen plane they fly in search of it, but on hot pursuit is Allison’s old flirt who is given the order to kill or be killed.

Macross Frontier – 03: Altoh Takes the Red Pill

I have a sudden craving for tuna buns.

Altoh takes a step of no return into the SMS team. Ranka decides to bare her flesh in the Miss Macross Contest. And Sheryl gives her a lesson how to do it properly, with Altoh as the audience.

After two action packed episodes, the story slows down to give us reasons why our hero and heroine will do what they will do: Altoh will pilot the VF-25 and Ranka will sing in the Miss Macross Contest.

Allison and Lillia – 02: Truth Must Be Seen, Not Heard

Simon says, …

Allison and Lillia continues to feel preachy. Last week’s message says history is written not so much to preserve the truth as to make convenient for those who wrote it. Building on that, this week’s message says, in the words of Mrs. Woot,

Whoever said it [the message] is not important. It is what was said and believing it that is important. Children, you will be told many things by many people. But think for yourself and make your own choices. Acting upon what you believe in is a wonderful thing. And just because someone else’s choice is different from yours doesn’t mean that you should think theirs is wrong.

Hmm… I wonder how this message applies to itself. Self-referential warning! Head explodes.

Macross Frontier – 02: Everybody Wants an Altoh

Must have missed the memo that the iron claw is the next anime tentacle.

This episode picks up immediately from last episode. Altoh keeps shooting at the alien, but it really just annoys it more than hurts it since bullets don’t seem to make a dent on this thing. The rest is nothing groundbreaking: Monster attacks girl, girl screams her lungs out (almost literally), guy miraculously knows how to pilot a state-of-the-art prototype, top-secret machine and saves girl. Hmm… I’ve logged many hours in Microsoft Flight Simulator; so I wonder if I’m ready to pilot a F-22 Raptor.

Allison and Lillia – 01: So Begins the Adventure of Allison and Will

If I know a girl like that, my summer would be very different too.

No, the title is correct: So begins the adventure of Allison and Will, not of Allison and Lillia. Lillia will not make her appearance until around half way into the series.

The first episode is pretty well polished. Everything from animation to the music work well coherently to give the mood of a society with simpler technologies. The planes are propeller driven and no building is taller than two floors. The world reminds me of another great show Fullmetal Alchemist.

Macross Frontier – 01: Loli or Vixen

Alto, who will you kiss?

That’s the million dollar question set forth in Macross Frontier. Yes, there’re spaceships, there’re mecha’s, there’re even Insecticons; but the main question that will drive the main plot is what the opening theme song starts with: kimi wa dare to kisu wo suru.

Or who will Alto kiss?

Chi’s Sweet Home – 2: Chi is Picked Up.

Chi on LSD

A few logistic about the show. It is aired five times a week — Monday thru Friday. However, only on Monday thru Thursday are episodes of the actual story aired. The Friday’s show features video clips of viewers’ cats instead. Don’t ask me where you can submit yours.

True Tears – 13 End: A Waiting Hiromi

A waiting Hiromi

Well, not to my surprise, Hiromi won. Some of you may say, “but everybody won.” Come on, Noe had lost her love. When I lost my girlfriend, no amount of telling myself how much I’d grown from the relationship made it felt any less painful. It just hurt.

Chi’s Sweet Home – 01: MEOOOOOOOOOOW

That was exactly how I reacted when I first heard about this new show.

Damn, a show about cats! It’s as if the writers know I started this blog, and want to help me out.

The first episode of Chi’s Sweet Home runs under three minutes. That’s less than most podcasts out there. Very digestible size. I can watch an entire episode on my ipod during the morning ride. Let’s see how well I will keep my composure in a crowded train. ^_^

True Tears: An OVA with A Noe Ending!

Finally, Noe wins!

NEWS FLASH. I’m very excited! Soon after the release of the disappointing final episode of True Tears, P.A. Works Corporation — the studio who produced the show — announced that there will be an OVA which will offer an alternative ending to the main series.

Shigofumi – 12 End: It’s Fight Club!

“I saw Fight Club, I know how to end this!”

The story between Fumi and Mika is similar to the movie Fight Club. They both started out with the main characters having subconsciously created an altered ego of themselves that was the opposite of their own personalities in order to enable them to deal with the ordeals of their lives. Both main characters went on to confront their own altered egos in a big showdown of fist fights. However, that’s where the similarity ends.

True Tears: Predictions with The Imagination of True Heart

The imagination of true heart is about setting forth a premise before a cast of fictional characters and then allowing them, through their individual personalities, to dictate the course of the story. No Cinderella ending nor Deus ex machina. It is about the discovery of some hidden truth inside our heart.

It is truth from fiction.

True Tears – 12: The Noe + Hiromi Reversal

A Tale of Two Girls

From the start of the series, Noe had everything. She had a family and a loving brother; she was cheerful and outgoing; and as much as it sounded absurd, she had found her hope in a chicken that could bring back her tears. Even though misfortune befell upon Raigomaru, she quickly found a replacement in the form of Shin’ichiro, who as we know by now was more than just a replacement — he was her true love also. In short, Noe was living her life.

Shigofumi – 11: Fumika Reunion

“I miss me so much!”

This episode is mostly a setup episode for the final stretch of Shigofumi. As it turns out, Fumika’s gun is also Fumika’s Shigofumi. This explains why there is a stamp on the gun. However, it is pretty confusing to me as to who sent the gun as Shigofumi since I thought a Shigofumi is sent from a dead person. In any case, Fumika is to deliver it to the just-woken Fumi, and it comes with a PS: Shoot the mailman.

True Tears – 11: Men Always Pine After the Women They Don’t Have.

What was actually on his mind when Shin’ichiro’s was supposedly on a date with Hiromi.

Remember back in episode 7, Shin’ichiro seemed to have to convince himself that since he would had no chance with Hiromi that he should move on and go with Noe instead. To me, that has always seemed like someone settling for the second best. His dates with Noe felt more like, “why not give this a try” than like, “I just hit jackpot!” It was obvious that at the time Shin’ichiro had always considered that Hiromi > Noe.

Shigofumi – 10: It’s a Wonderful Life.

Loli’ Fumika is so adorable.

Human has a field of view of about 46°. That’s just a little more than 1/8 of the entire field. Of course, if we would just turn our head, we would gain the other 7/8. However, us human are often so occupied with the 1/8, that we’ve become stiff-necked.

Seeing only so little, that is when we start to miss the meaning of our lives.

True Tears – 10: Speaking the Truth

The face of an angel.

In my previous post on True Tears, I wrote about how everyone was pretending feelings that were not true to themselves. However, in this episode, (almost) everyone took a 180 turn.

They all acted true to their character, with the exception of Jun.

Mai Otome 0 S.ifr – 01: The Lofty Crimson Jade

The new GEM in Mai Otome 0 S.ifr

It’s no doubt that Rena’s robe of The Lofty Crimson Jade is the main feature of episode 1 of this prequel to the popular series Mai Otome. No other robe in any of the Mai Otome series so far comes remotely close to it. I counted at least 7 different techniques she used in this episode.

True Tears: True Lies

Be true! Be true! Be true! Show freely to the world, if not your worst, yet some trait whereby the worst may be inferred! — from The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne.

Quite ironic to the title of the show, so far True Tears has been a showcase of people not being true to oneself.  Many, if not all, of the characters choose hard to pretend feelings that are the exact opposite of their inner feelings.

Shin’ichiro

How I look when I just pimped my girl.