I’m Back

Finals are over. The semester is done. Time to start anew with grades. I’ll start posting again soon…possibly later today if I get the motivation. But in general, I’ll be posting less these next few months, especially come mid-March to mid-May, when I need to start rigorously preparing for AP tests and Science Olympiad. So yea…I’m finally back.

Brief Respite

For all of the three people who actually follow this blog consistently, you may have noticed I haven’t posted in nearly a week’s time. Well, I’ve been swamped with school work and extracurricular activities, and finals are coming up, so I haven’t had much time to watch or blog about anime. I don’t know exactly when I’ll be back, but hopefully it’ll be soon. I’m aiming for January 22, since I’ll be finished with SAT testing that day. I’ll try to squeeze in one or two posts in the mean time…but otherwise, it’ll be around then until I get back to “frequent” blogging.

Also, I’ve written separate posts on quite a few premiere episodes this season, but I think I’ll probably be legitimately blogging about two or three at the most. For sure, Level E will be one of them. Haven’t decided on the others yet, but most likely Fractale and/or Mahou Shoujo Madoka Magica. Here are a list of all the shows I’ll be watching this season though:

Level E
Fractale
Mahou Shoujo Madoka Magica
Freezing
Gosick
Beelzebub
Wandering Son

Also, I’m going to be doing a new type of thing next month, so if anyone has any amazing romance anime to recommend, please do so. I got Nodame Cantabile, Nana, Maison Ikkoku, and Bokura ga Ita lined up to watch. May or may not watch all of them. But I prefer something I can actually connect to, not just the same generic cast of characters you see in every other romance anime. Something realistic that really evokes emotional response. Thanks.

Level E Episode 1

Level E was one of my most anticipated anime for this season, and I had high expectations for it. The manga was originally written by Yoshihiro Togashi in between in his two famous works: Yu Yu Hakusho and Hunter x Hunter. Though I’m not a big fan of YYH, HxH is one of my favorite shounen series. Even so, I was still dubious. The synopsis on Wikipedia made it feel like a slice of life comedy series with other shounen elements. However, after watching this first episode, I realized I had nothing to worry about. This exceeded expectations.

I’m in Despair!

I was playing around with the webcam on my laptop yesterday, and I don’t know what cruel otherwordly being compelled me to do this, but I decided to parody Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei’s despair reactions with my glasses on. The pictures made me look like both an idiot and a fuckin’ creeper, but I don’t give a shit. Enjoy.

Beelzebub Episode 1

I wasn’t expecting much from Beelzebub. Though I’ve never read the manga before, I do understand the basic gist of it and what type of manga it is. Nonetheless, I will admit that the basic premise is unique and intriguing. But even then, being a shounen comedy, how exactly would they execute it? That was the primary question I had going into this first episode.

Gosick Episode 1

Gosick was one of the three anime I anticipated for the most this season. After all, a really good mystery will absorb you into the whole experience and leave you on the edge of your seat wanting more after each episode. Although I wasn’t expecting something would let my imagination run wild with predictions and theories, I did have somewhat high expectations for this anime. Frankly, it didn’t quite keep that grasp on me like a good mystery should, but nonetheless, it certainly wasn’t boring.

Mahou Shoujo Madoka Magica Episode 1

I’ve never been a fan of magical girl anime. The stupid clothing transformations and the innocent nature of the genre just don’t interest me. However, I was drawn in by this one for a number of reasons. First of all, its timeslot. Though magical girl anime are generally directed towards children, this show is airing at 1:25 AM. I don’t know a lot about Japanese life, but I’m assuming that most Japanese children don’t stay up that late. Secondly, it’s being produced by Shaft. I’m not a Shaft fanboy or anything, but their direction style is certainly unique, as evidenced by Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei, Arakawa Under the Bridge, and Bakemonogatari. Lastly, the promotional images. In those images, the girls were carrying some pretty atypical weapons for a magical girl series, holding swords, guns, and bow and arrows instead of the standard wand. These indicated that the show would have a slight more violent nature to it. But honestly, going into it, I had no idea what to expect, and yet, due to the hype, my expectations were fairly high. And indeed, it delivered.

Daily Update 1/05/11

Beware! Major spoilers ahead! 

Daily Update 1/04/11

Beware! Major spoilers ahead!

Daily Update 1/03/11

Beware! Major spoilers ahead!