Anime Expo 2015 Haul!

This year, after about five years of yearning, I finally, finally, FINALLY got the chance to be able to go to Anime Expo this year! I never got to go before because of money, rides, etc. I had a good time and picked up some very cute things while I was there.

My first, and probably favorite, item was a print of Kuranosuke from my favorite anime, Princess Jellyfish. Princess Jellyfish, or Kuragehime, has gotten me through many tough times in my life and is my go-to feel good anime. I knew that I wanted to get a print of something from the anime there, and this Kuranosuke print was perfect! I bought it almost immediately for $7. It's colors are so sweet and wonderful to look at. I'm very excited to put this up on my wall. I didn't get to pick up the artist's business card, so if someone knows who drew this, please let me know so I can thank/credit them!

My next item are these super cute stickers I bought from an artist whose tumblr user is ghostspaces! All of her products were so lovely to look at. She had shirts, a zine, and these stickers for sale. All of her items were in colors that match my style, so I HAD to buy something. Her stickers were 3 for $5 and I'm very happy with the ones I got! I especially love the Moomin one lol. I'm not sure where I'll put these yet, but I'm really happy I have them. 

And finally, I got this super adorable bow from a lil booth that sold bows and shoe pins! I bought it for $4, a pretty good price in my opinion. My favorite part about it is the fabric and the way the little star patterns shimmer when you wear it. I'm definitely going to be wearing this bow quite often! The shop owner was a super cute and sweet lady with the most adorable voice. She was cosplaying as Bee from Bee and Puppycat and was just a sweetheart to me. Her name is muffu and she's an aspiring voice actress! Check out her youtube and other links to her profiles should be in her youtube too! 

I didn't take that many pictures with cosplayers because I was too shy to go up to any of them unfortunately ;; but i did take a few pictures at some cute booths~ 

So happy I got to see the Rilakkuma room! 

Anime Expo was such a fun time and I hope I can go again next year!!! I saw so many awesome cosplays and different types of merchandise, everything about the expo was just so fun. I can't wait to go back with my friends and maybe even make new ones while I'm there! If you see me at AX 2016, be sure to say hi!

Kill La Kill Episode 18 Reaction

This week's episode of Kill La Kill was, arguably, one of its best episodes of the season to date. Not only did it answered a million questions, but it created a million more questions to be asked. But in the end, it basically BLEW ME AWAY. Studio Trigger, you crafty bastards!

The episode started off strong with Satsuki having just stabbed her own mother, revealing that the academy was her own personal army. This was already pretty shocking to me and it made sense, especially after the king of the hill battles. The uniform hunting was explained too, since now the Four Devas have boss ass armor. Everything makes sense!!!

The episode also talked about Satsuki's past, especially focusing on her late father (digging the hair). The past was pretty intense, only showing more how insane Ragyou is when she showed NO EMOTION when her second child died. 

Ragyou also ended up being incredibly stronger than I thought. She still lived even when her head was cut off!!!! Furthermore, she was able to basically kick Satsuki's ass and take Junketsu for herself. 

Aside from Ragyou being a boss ass bitch, Ryuko made a lot of progress, strength wise. It was super fulfilling seeing Nui thrown off guard. But of course, the most shocking, craziest, holy-fucking-shit part of the show was the end. 

Ryuko is actually the supposedly dead second child of the Kiryuins. 

WHHHHAHAHAHAHAHAAATTTTTTTTTTTTTTT??!????

And that, my friends, is where the whole show starts turning in a different direction. Not only is Ryuko the long lost daughter, but her body is just like Ragyou's: intertwined with life fibers. This will undoubtedly change the pace of the season and I am SO PUMPED to see what other hidden secrets and plot building events will happen next. 

Kyoukai no Kanata Review

Series: Kyoukai no Kanata

Genre: Slice of Life, Supernatural

Summary: The dark fantasy follows a high school sophomore named Akihito Kanbara. Although the boy appears human, he is half youmu and invulnerable to wounds because he can heal quickly. One day, Akihito meets freshman Mirai Kuriyama when it seems she is about to jump from the school rooftop. Mirai is isolated because of her ability to manipulate blood, which is unique even among members of the spirit world. Disturbing events begin to unfold after Akihito saves Mirai.

Here we have another anime from Kyoto Animation, the company responsible for amazing works such as Chuunibyou, Clannad, Hyouka, and the Haruhi Suzumiya saga, but also created trainwrecks such as Tamako Market and K-On. When I first saw the trailer for Kyoukai no Kanata, I was really impressed by the change in genre that KyoAni was taking. Super natural was a theme lightly touched, the most being in Chuunibyou. After watching the series at first with excitement, I ended it with less satisfaction than before.

Watamote Review

Series: Watamote (Watashi go Motenai no wa Dou Kangaetemo Omaera ga Warui!) 

Genre:  Comedy, School, Shounen, Slice of Life
Summary: Kuroki Tomoko is a super popular, high school girl who has had 50 years of dating experience and 100 boys... in the Otome game world. In the real world, she is a 15-year-old shut-in who has all of the qualities of a "mojo" (a gloomy or unpopular woman). However, when school isn't going as she expected, and she isn't as popular as she had thought she was, she takes a look at herself in the mirror for the first time in a few years, and has some shocking revelations... 

Watamote gained extensive popularity very quickly around the internet for its "relatable" stories of geekdom and social awkwardness. Because of this, I was prompted to watch the series to see if I would enjoy it as much as it's been glorified. As I watched it, I didn't feel humored at all. Watamote's reputation covered up its many flaws as an anime. 

Kill La Kill First Impression

 

One of the most anticipated anime for the fall season of 2013 is Trigger's latest creation: Kill la Kill. Fast paced, rash, blunt, exciting, it's been praised as the return of good anime. The first episode instantly got me hooked within the FIRST MINUTE, but there were still some things about it that made me feel wary about how the series will turn out to be overall. 

Colorful (Movie) Review

Movie: Colorful

Genre: Drama, Slice of Life, Supernatural

Summary: "I" died and was kicked out of the cycle of reincarnation because of the sin "I" committed. An angel told me that "I" won a lottery and he gave me a chance to remember the sin. My spirit possessed the body of the 14-year-old boy Makoto, who committed suicide and "I" tried to recollect my memory. "I" felt distressed by the terrible circumstances of Makoto and the fact that "I" was borrowing his body. "I" have started to realize that people are hurting each other because the world is too colorful to distinguish the true color of themselves from others.

I have a certain fear of what happens to humans after death. Do we go into a vast oblivion of darkness or do we get a second chance at life and become reincarnated? Since I brood over such trivial matters often, the plot for Colorful really caught my eye and I figured watching it would help me reach an answer. Well, not only did the movie get me closer to a sufficient answer, but it changed certain views of life that I had as well.

Hotarubi no Mori e Review

Movie: Hotarubi no Mori e 

Genres: Romance, Shoujo, Supernatural

Summary: The story of Hotarubi no Mori e centers around Hotaru, a little girl who gets lost in an enchanted forest where apparitions reside. A young boy, Gin, appears before Hotaru, but she cannot touch him for fear of making him disappear. 

I heard a lot about Hotarubi no Mori e for its great story, despite it being so short (45 minutes). It was a movie that people deemed was almost equal to others like 5 Centimeters per Second. I finally watched it after my friend pushed and pushed me to see it and I was definitely not disappointed.

Watamote Episode 7 Thoughts and Reaction

 

I thought that this week's of Watamote was especially interesting since it was the summer vacation episode and many of us could relate to it. The realizations that Tomoko come to from this episode
is both an eye opener and a laugh. No doubt could we see ourselves in what she did this week.

Chihayafuru Season 2 Review

Series: Chihayafuru 2 

Genre: Drama, Sports, Josei

Summary: Now in their second year of high school, Chihaya and her friends share all the fun and worries that come with welcoming underclassmen to the team as they face tough rival schools. The passion of the Mizusawa Karuta Club burns hotter than ever, but with the same refreshing, youthful mood carrying over from the first season.

I'm going to be writing this review in assumption that you, the readers, have already watched the first season of Chihayafuru. I dove into this second season with high expectations from the first, and *most* of those expectations were satisfied. We follow Chihaya and everyone else into another year of karuta, drama, and romance. This season explored new themes and served as a lovely follow up to the first.

Free! Episode 3 Reaction

Now I don't normally post reactions on individual episodes from anime, but I'll be making a few exceptions for ones that really catch my eye, got me pumped, made me emotional, etc etc. Today's reaction will be for Free! episode 3, where Rei Ryugazaki is formally introduced and recruited.
This'll honestly be me fangirling over how much of a babe Rei is but if you think so too then this post should be right up your alley~

Samurai Champloo Review

Series: Samurai Champloo

Genre: Action

Summary:  Mugen's a buck wild warrior - violent, thoughtless and womanizing. Jin is a vagrant ronin - mysterious, traditional, well-mannered and very strong as well. These two fiercely independent warriors can`t be any more different from one another, yet their paths cross when Fuu, a ditzy waitress, saves them from being executed when they are arrested after a violent swordfight. Fuu convinces the two vagrant young men to help her find a mysterious samurai "who smells of sunflowers." And their journey begins. This is a story about love, friendship and courage... NOT!

What initially attracted me to Samurai Champloo was the fact that Nujabes had composed most of the OST. But when from the moment I watched the first episode of Samurai Champloo, I knew that it was different, a very good kind of different. From the funky hip hop thematics to the fluid, thick, black line animation, Samurai Champloo became more to me than an anime with a good soundtrack.

FLCL Review

Series: FLCL/Fooly Cooly

Genre: Comedy, action, mecha

Summary:  Naota is a normal Japanese 6th grade boy (although a little cynical), but when his older brother leaves for America to play baseball, his brother leaves his homeless 17 year old girlfriend Mamimi behind. Mamimi is sending mixed signals and advances to Naota, and he doesn't know what to do about her. But to make matters worse, Naota's world is totally turned upside down when he is run over by a woman on a Vespa. During their first encounter, she hits him over the head with her bass guitar, which then causes a horn to grow out of his forehead. She calls herself "Haruko" and her presence changes Naota's life to even further insanity.

 A dear friend of mine recommended FLCL to me, which surprised me since he doesn't really watch anime. FLCL had a famous reputation on the internet for being excruciatingly different, and as the populous says, FLCL was definitely a different type of anime. If anything, it's about as close as a piece of literature as anime will ever get.  At first glance, FLCL seems like a fast-paced, random mecha anime that most people don't understand, but looking at it closely, it's absolutely brilliant.

Kotonoha no Niwa Review

Movie: Kotonoha no Niwa

Genre: Romance, Drama

Summary: Takao, who is training to be a shoemaker, skipped school and sketches shoes in a Japanese-style garden. He meets a mysterious woman, Yukino, who is older than him. Then, without arranging the times, the two start to see each other again and again, but only on rainy days. They deepen their relationship and open up to each other. But the end of the rainy season soon approaches...

There was a lot of uproar in the anime community focusing around Kotohana no Niwa. Countless gif's of the movies beautiful animation were floating around all over the internet. Additionally, the movie was directed by Makoto Shinkai, the same man who directed 5 Centimeters per Second. All this information intrigued me greatly about the movie, so when it came out I gave it a try, high expectations in hand. However, I was disappointed and let down by this work. 

**SPOILERS BEYOND THIS POINT**

Tonari no Kaibutsu kun Overall Review

Series: Tonari no Kaibutsu kun

Genre: Romantic comedy

Summary: Mizutani Shizuku is the type of person who only cares for her own grades. But when she accidentally delivers lesson notes to Yoshida Haru, he becomes convinced they are friends. Haru turns out to have a very innocent personality, but who would've thought that Haru would actually confess to Shizuku? A cold-hearted girl and super-troublemaker romance with a fresh new perspective. 

Many viewers, when first watching Tonari no Kaibutsu kun, believed that the show would turn to be a great success and enjoyment since the original manga for it was a success in the first place and receives much praise. However, as time passed and the first season (probably) ended, Tonari has left me feeling warm, but disappointed and unsatisfied. 

Story: 5/10

One of the things that I enjoyed about this show was the pure innocence of it, how two misfits are slowly discovering the world of love. But I believe that it just stops right there. The whole series felt like one big filler, with some progress for five minutes every three episodes. Yes, you read that right. They definitely got the comedy part right, I laughed my ass off so many times ("Gorillas can communicate with their eyes!"). But the romance between the main two characters was just so confusing, being indecisive and having slow progress. Even during the final episode, which may I say was a total disappointment, the furthest the two progressed was Shizuku saying how she wishes to have full affection for Haru, one day. The anime did have bright points, though. It gave off themes such as the importance of relationships in ones life. Tonari did manage to make me feel warm inside as well, so I'll give them points on that. 

Characters: 7/10

Natsume was easily my favorite character in this series. Her story may have been quite too much at times, but many people were able to relate to her story. Shizuku actually did some justice, she went from study bug to a study bug with feelings. Her indecisiveness irritated me a whole lot, though. Haru was absolutely adorable but he was rather confusing. His past with his brother was shoved in in order to explain his rash behavior. Needless to say though, he was an entertaining and unique character that's hard not to love. Yamaken brought excitement and a low-key love triangle between Haru and Shizuku, but it was obvious that he wouldn't have made too much of a difference. Still, seeing an elitist fall for a blatant study bug was rather adorable. Sasayan was a cutie, but really, what was the point of him? Have a crush on Natsume but then give up once he realizes she likes Mi-chan? I just wish he had more talk time because he did nothing much. These characters did bring liveliness and were relatable, so despite the wasted space some of them created, they were enjoyable. 

Sound: 9/10

The music in Tonari was really pleasant, and did a pretty good job in bringing emotion in some of the more dramatic, emotional, and humorous parts. Nothing too applaud-able  though. It's not like I'd go and illegally download any of their OST's. The voice actors did a TREMENDOUS job. I seriously am satisfied with how each character was portrayed by each of them. They brought emotion to the characters and made the show much more interesting that way. 

Animation: 9/10

You definitely can't go wrong with the animation in this show. It was one of the reasons that I started watching it in the first place. The character's proportions are perfectly in tact, and their expressions were adorable and fun to watch. The scenery also was impressive at times and the whole thing was a treat to my eyes. Nothing too choppy or blurry, the character and setting design settled down the part of me that raged at the draggy plot. 

Overall: 7.7/10

Tonari no Kaibutsu kun was a treat for the eyes and the ears, but the plot dragged on for the whole series and left many of the viewer's questions unanswered, including many of mines. Hopefully a second season will be made, one where Shizuku's and Haru's relationship will pick up, but hopefully not too quickly. I recommend this show to those who enjoy a good laugh and some tender feelings of romance now and then. Don't expect too much, though.

Chuunibyou demo Koi ga Shitai! Full Anime Review

Chuunibyou demo Koi ga Shitai! is a comedy/romance/slice of life 2012 anime produced by the famous Kyoto Animation. The story follows Yuuta Togashi, a high school boy who had chuunibyou (eight grader syndrome) and believed himself to be the Dark Flame Master. He moves high schools and plans leave his embarrassing past behind and start a new leaf. However, this plan becomes null once he meets Rikka Takanashi, a high school student who has chuunibyou and believes that she possesses a "wicked eye" and is in search of the Ethereal Horizon. Rikka befriends Yuuta and ruins his chance for a possibly normal life. The anime brings in great comedy and a wonderful smash of romance towards the end. 

When I first started Chuunibyou, I was a bit wary because I feared that it would just be a harem or a slow paced anime. However, I shouldn't have doubted the works of Kyoto Animation because I got quite the treat. The anime is hilarious, bringing me to actual stomach-hurting laughter more than one time. Yet, as you progress on further, you find out that there is hidden meaning and back stories that create dramatic tension all throughout. Additionally, the romance within it was absolutely adorable and showed the loving innocence between two die hard nerds. The animation flows terrfically and the few fight scenes are so entertaining to watch and easy to follow, as expected of KyoAni. 

However, what made me happiest of all about this anime was the overall moral that it sends you; always stay true to yourself. It really is okay to express yourself no matter who you are, even if society doesn't accept you that way. If that's what makes you happy, then pursue it. Surely you'll find your own Yuuta and Dekomori and find happiness. 

Chuunibyou demo Koi ga Shitai was definitely a success for me, despite a somewhat slow start. I fully enjoyed the story, comedy, and romance with the stunning high quality animation. I definitely recommend it to anyone who enjoys anyone of the genres that I mentioned above. I rate the anime a 9.2/10.