Sunday, January 11, 2009

Winter 2009 Study Guide (1st Edition)

Pretty self-explanatory title. (not really, since I’m explaining it now, but wth) Topics assigned “Must Know”, “Good to Know” and “No Need to Know”. “Must Know” means it’s appearing in the test for sure, “Good to Know” means mug this you’re gunning for a good grade, “No need to Know” means if you know this you’re either really bored or a distinction viva candidate. Basically, this is a suggested priority list for the busy guy.

Druaga 2 - Must Know. The first ep of was awesome. Then again, the first season’s ep 1 was awesome too. Oh well. Even then, this first ep is worth a watch for its own sake regardless of how the rest of the season turns out. On to the specifics (some spoilers):

1) OP animation ROCKS. There are even little comedic moments inserted throughout that 90-second long sequence. (FatinaXroper tentacle rape dakimakura, lol) Who wouldn’t be interested in a spin-off series with the Druaga guys as normal, maybe slightly MMORPG addicted, high school kids? The song was okay, I guess. Maybe not as catchy as Swinging(?), cos I can’t quite remember what it sounds like right now.

2) JilxFatina Woo Hoo! Coconut Jam and Jil were both a bit too nice for anything exciting to happen the first time round. JilxFatina, on the other hand, is somehow just the right comedic mix of tsundere and cluelessness. Down side is I’ve got a feeling we’re going to end up back at the season one pairings again somewhere down the line. “Neeebaaa~!” (yucks)

3) Unemployed ex-heroes! Job Change Time!! Imagine if FFT had an advanced job class like Souvenir-Peddling-Tour-Guide or Hikkikomori-Living-Off-His-Girl. Interesting take on how our heroes are getting on in their currently mundane lives. I seriously dun want them to go off on some other adventure cos this is just a darn lot of fun, but alas…

4) LOL Utuu’s actually a handsome dude! Those who recognized the signature deep voice of Kyouran’s Lion-san before the in-show revelation would be basking in otaku pride right now.

5) New loli chara with morphing boob size. Actually she’s got both loli and adult forms somehow. The most entertaining new character. I mean, she gropes Fatina, does totally random loli stuff and says “GAO!”. What’s not to like?

6) Sorry, this video is not available in your region… =( WTF? So the Crunchy distribution thingy didn’t work out or is Gonza just racist? Haha. Haven’t been keeping up with my anime industry news lately. Anyway… get your plane tickets to Japan ready! =p

Marimite – Good to Know. Same old Marimite. Probably a bit hard to get into without watching the previous 3 seasons, downgrade to “No Need to Know” if you haven’t been following the series. Love the yuri imagery.


Asu no Youichi – Good to Know. Pretty standard harem fanservice show. Looks good to me. I’m not too picky about my fanservice. The guy has sword techniques named “Hayate” and “Nagi”, but, no, I don’t think that counts as a HnG reference. Satou Rina is in another onee-san role (nice…), Hanazawa is another loli, Tamura Yukari is some doujin-drawing hentai girl, while Tomato seems to be all over the place and I can’t recognize her voice. One funny bit in Ep 1 was when the guy was trying to find the loli’s onee-san through descriptions of her boobs, i.e. “What about this one? Too small?...”.

Sora wo Kakeru Shojo – Good to Know. Sci-fi Moe? I dunno. The show’s got frantic pacing and lots happening in the first ep. Gives me Idol Master Xenoglossia vibes, and I can’t say that’s a good thing. I’m more interested in the voicework though, the cast list is fantastic. Yukana was somehow outstanding though she only had one line, haha. Getting Fukuyama Jun to play the crazy narcissistic(?) AI was a great idea too. Note the very obvious rierie ninja cameo (Counselor B or something, hope she gets a regular role). Others I can name off-hand are Endo Aya, Nonaka Ai, Nanri Yuka (!), Yukari Tamura, etc etc. Looking forward to some great performances, though I seriously have no idea what this show is about.

Akikan – Good to Know. Watched this a few days back and, frankly, I can’t remember much. Seems like fanservice but there’s more male nudity than anything. Prepare for strategic concealment of male genitalia. Fukuyama plays the wacky male lead. I think he’s more entertaining in such crazy roles than in the LuluXSuzaku emo shit.

Shows waiting to be watched / Shows I’m pretending I haven’t watched: Maria Holic (awesome Show actually), Kuro Kami, White Album, Shikabane Hime (doesn’t really count as new since there’s not even a break in btw seasons), Natsume Yuujinchou (not done with first season).

Notes: This is a work-in-progress, updates to be issued as necessary. In fact, no show is going to get a “No need to Know” by the first episode unless it is really bad or yaoi. The length of an entry is possibly a good surrogate indicator for my interest in the series, or I could be cutting corners so I can go play Capitalism II.

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