From The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya {Anime Insert Song}

Thoughts: It's tough to get any better than the sound and lyrics of this song, from an equally amazing and unimaginably unique anime series. I suggest anyone who has not seen at least an episode of Haruhi Suzumiya to go now and watch the first episode. The sheer amount of inverted cliches and the very essence of the storyline, not even taking the top-notch comedy into consideration, makes the show very well worth it. Oh, and it has some great romance, too. | MP3

( Rough Translation )

( Japanese Original Lyrics )

Anime (Haruhi Suzumiya) Insert Clip

~Alexius

So, I brushed through four anime series since I last posted up my information and thoughts on Darker Than Black, three of which have their covers displayed so nicely above. These four anime series are: Tsukihime, Lunar Legend, Eureka seveN, Mobile Suit Gundam SEED, and Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Destiny, the last of which I dropped after approximately 30 episodes.

My thoughts are as follows:

( Tsukihime )

( Eureka seveN )

( Gundam SEED / Gundam SEED Destiny )

So, that's about it. MAL is down, so I'm struggling to do some other stuff, ergo this post. Until next time.

LJ Edit: Some OP links.

OP 1 of Eureka seveN [Days]
OP 1 of Gundam SEED [INVOKE]

~Alexius

Darker Than BLACK
Watched [Shinsen-Subs]/[Syndicate] Fansubs
~25 Episodes (~20 mins. each) + 1 OVA (Side Story)

( Thoughts )

( Links )

~Alexius

( Summaries )

( Reviews )

~Alexius

Blood+ (50 Episodes, ~20 Minutes Each)
Watched the [Shinsen-Subs] fansub.

Throughout the passage of time and the shifts in backgrounds, a particular war continues to leave its mark on history, extending its influence into the modern world. There are two major groups involved in the ensuring war. The first group consists of monsters known as Chiropterans who can change their appearances into that of human beings. They are actually immortals who feed on the blood of the living. The second group is an organisation known as the "Red Shield", formed to track down these monsters and exterminate them. Otonashi Saya is a high-school girl who lives a peaceful life with her family. The only problem is, she has no recollections of her life beyond that of the past year. However, her happy life will be destroyed by an event that will lead her to her destined fate. -ANN

( Review )

( Good stuff. )

~Alexius

Dark Angel

Dark Angel is an American cyberpunk science fiction television program, created by James Cameron and Charles H. Eglee, which ran from 2000 to 2002 on the FOX network. Dark Angel chronicles the life of Max Guevara (X5-452), a genetically enhanced super-soldier, portrayed by Jessica Alba as an adult, and Geneva Locke as a child. In the year 2009, a genetically enhanced, 9-year-old female (to whom creator James Cameron refers as "transgenic") super-soldier who calls herself Max Guevara, (also known as X5-452, a truncation of her barcode tattoo on the back of her neck 332960073452), escapes along with eleven others like her from a secret government institution. At the institution, codenamed Manticore, they were created and subsequently raised and trained to be soldiers and assassins. On June 1, 2009, months after Max's escape, terrorists detonate an electromagnetic pulse weapon in the atmosphere over the U.S., which destroys the vast majority of computer and communication systems, throwing the country into utter chaos. The first season begins ten years later in 2019, as it follows the life of the now 19-year-old Max as she struggles to search for her Manticore brothers and sisters. In a United States which is now barely more than a Third World nation, she tries to live her life, evade capture, and learn to trust and love. -Wikipedia

I only just watched the Pilot episode and I'm shocked by the quality of this television show. It only lasted two seasons and was then cancelled due to financial losses and time issues (it was trumped by Whedon's Firefly), yet just the broadcast and special effect quality of the first episode made it feel like a far-above average full-feature 1hr30min action movie (which is actually the length of the first episode). Really, I came into watching the show with some average expectations (I was recommended it by a friend) but I'm amazing by how well this series was made (and I hate Jessica Alba, but this show so far is making me respect her a great deal more - well, at least at that time in her career). Yet, it was only the first episode I watched, so I'll edit this post later with my final critique!

Clannad is set in a high-school located in some Japanese town. Okazaki Tomoya is a third-year student who doesn't take his studies seriously. Always late for class, he's seen as a delinquent by the rest of his classmates who are busy preparing for their entrance examinations. Needless to say, he hasn't too many close friends either.

Tomoya seems not to mind too - until one day he meets a girl, Furukawa Nagisa, who is left alone without friends on this school, because everybody she knew already graduated. What a clumsy girl, he thinks at first. But he can't leave her alone and so, while helping her, he meets a few other girls from his school. Although he doesn't care much about them at first, he soon opens his heart to them as they get to know each other better.
[taken from AniDB]

So, I just finished watching an anime film called Clannad, an adaptation of a similarly-named TV show (which I haven't seen since this seemed to be recommended more-so than the series). A fairly good show, overall, I was impressed by the depth taken into the background of the characters and in how one chance meeting changed the lives of two particular depressed individuals and all those around them and close to them. If you like slow-paced anime dramas, than this would be an interesting choice for a weekend night or whatever other time of leisure you may have. It is especially saddening yet brightening in its message.

Spice and Wolf

This is a fantasy story based on a light novel series.

The peddler Kraft Lawrence travels through the world selling all kinds of things. After visiting a village he discovers a sleeping girl under the hay. She has wolf ears and a tail. The wolf girl explains that she has been called a "God" but her name really is Horo and nothing else. Lawrence teases the girl a little, but after hearing more of her story is moved and decides to accompany her further north. On their travels the two have all sorts of adventures & often get into trouble but slowly the bond between them grows stronger.

( Brief Review )

( OP Theme Link )

( Episode Links )

~Alexius