Series Information
ANN Encyclopedia | AniDB | AnimeNfo
OP: “Kimi = Hana (君＝花)” by pigstar
ED: “Baby Romantica (ベイビーロマンチカ)” by SCRIPT
Production: Studio DEEN

[ Episode 1: Truth is stranger than fiction ]

For those who aren’t into this don’t worry, I didn’t take that many pictures this time around!

I am going to make this short and sweet. Junjou Romantica is of course a Yaoi show, so either you like or you don’t. I don’t and yet I wanted to prove my journalism integrity by checking something I wouldn’t normally watch, not to mention pgsel’s impression for it intrigued me a little.

Misaki is a young student who wants to apply to a prestigious university. Unfortunately his grades stink so he asks his brother’s friend, Akihiko Usami, to tutor him. Although the two don’t get off very well, they befriend rather fast and even learn a few things on each other. Usami loves Misaki’s brother but he doesn’t want him to know because he has a girlfriend. Later in the episode the two decided to marry which breaks Misaki’s feelings as he wanted his newly mentor to be happy. The two cry together in the snow and episode ends.

If you expect a negative review like 5D’s you’ll be sorely mistaken. I’ll be honest, Junjou Romantica is actually fun to watch if you take the shounen-ai elements out (which is rather challenging). The gags are funny, the different expressions of the characters are cartoony and amusing and the character development although rushed is adequate. In my humble opinion the OP of the show is my favorite so far. Kimi = Hana is an energetic and upbeat song that is very good even if the animation it accompanies is a little daunting.

To sum it up quickly, if you like Yaoi this is going to be the best show you can possibly watch, but I am not going to bother blogging it as the theme isn’t my cup of tea. I’d at least admit for those who look for something genuinely funny, this isn’t a bad choice.

7/10

[ Episode 57-58:
Deprived of Eternal Sleep & Loneliness ]

This is more like it. It seems as if there are finally capable writers doing the original stuff for Naruto. It’s kind of funny that I’m enjoying the beginning of this arc more than I did the previous canon stuff (mainly after the KN vs. Oro bit). Attributing it to one being completely new to me and the other being something I already read probably wouldn’t be too much of a good reason. So, I suppose I’ll have to chalk it up to my interest in how this original arc is going to tie in with the canon material given that they’re using the Fire Temple and monks which will be used later (in canon). Asuma is another important element as well for various reasons which will be revealed later on in canon as well.

As for the episode itself, I really enjoyed the majority of it. The stuff with Naruto and Sai was absolutely hilarious and had me rolling in laughter. Sai really needs to learn some common sense soon or else Naruto will be beating him down for his questionable actions soon. The initial fight between Naruto and Sora was pretty damn good and the second was impressive as well. I think that’s the most I’ve seen Naruto use hand-to-hand combat in a LONG time. Sora is being hinted strong at being a Jinchuuriki though if he’s one of the main ones…he won’t likely be around in the future because of the Akatsuki. Anyway, I’m looking forward to the rest of this arc and Team Asuma’s eventual appearance.

The filler arc officially starts with this episode and to be honest, I liked what I saw for the most part. If we compare it by specials, I say this was the best one ever since the first two episodes because nothing felt dragged, but that’s the advantage of filler one would assume.

It is a little hard reviewing those two episodes separately but I’ll try my best. I liked 57 more than I did 58 for one main reason: the fight scene. It was beautifully animated, albeit being filler. The moment Naruto used a regular Kage Buushin and the music builds up you know something cool is about to happen. The battle reminded me a lot of Kimimaro vs. Rock Lee back in the good old days with Sora using blades the same manner Kimimaro used his bone blade with Naruto jumping all around like Rock Lee. In 58 there was another fighting scene that emphasized hand to hand combat, but the animation wasn’t nearly as fluid as the earlier fight. Transitions were stiff and there wasn’t any impact or flow. It was a more interesting fight than most of what Shippuuden has done so far, though.

Sora seems like the most typical character one can add to Naruto. His personality is akin to Naruto; loud-mouthed, arrogant and cocky, hence their bickering. While I don’t mind this type of character, I just found it weird because Idate of the Tea Country arc had the same personality until he changed throughout the arc and I fear it’ll happen again. At least Sora fights Naruto back, and doesn’t hold back even when Naruto teases him. We are still not sure why Sora is hated by the other Fire Temple monks (Naruto, Gaara and now him, I am really tired of the “he’s like me!” crap), but I hope it’s not going to be a measly reason for Naruto to repeat that speech.

What amazed me is the fact the writers actually came up with a story that makes sense this time and had one of the actual characters, Asuma, interwove in it without feeling too forced. Like the opening animation and the addition of the evidence of this episode, he is going to have a major role, probably fighting the main bad guy (KAZUYA NAKAI SWEET).

The jokes with Sai still pack a punch as he is doing what the book tells him, but it appears he doesn’t understand to whom the advice is given and who to apply it on. This causes confusion in Naruto, and an eventual outburst as Sai puts his hand on his shoulder. I can’t blame Naruto, if you wear a shirt that has the torso part completely bare the guy cannot be straight! It is a little ironic how from a mysterious character he turned into comic relief, but in that context it works surprisingly well!

Ever since episode 54 the series has been great, and it is a little ironic that a filler arc is saving the canon material, as that was the problem of the first Naruto series. Sora seems a little too generic to my taste but I hope when they explain his origin he’ll be fleshed out in a different and riveting way. Good job Shippuuden, the first special I watched that didn’t suck in a long time.

Episode 57: 8/10
Episode 58: 7.5/10

P.S.
The single for Sunao na Niji by SURFACE is finally out! I recommend everyone to download it somewhere because it is definitely better than the TV version (which was okay).

[ BLEACH #169]

Haha. This was a pretty funny episode. The new character, Luri, is right up my alley. Sure she has that bratty streak going but it’s not that bad and it’s actually preferable to certain level. I found it hilarious how she and Ichigo practically hit it off on their very first meeting. Those two are going to have an interesting relationship during this arc if the OP sequence is any indication. I don’t care much for Luri’s two bodyguards, especially Ken. He’s even worse than Byakuya when it comes to the whole status nonsense. I don’t see myself coming to like either of them in the near future. As far as the story of this original arc goes, nothing much has been revealed outside of the OP sequence. It would seem that Luri is going to get kidnapped and of course Ichigo is going to have to save her by returning to Soul Society. Even though things are anything but clear at the moment I’m looking forward to the direction this original story goes and hope that all the characters are used efficiently throughout.

Series Information

ANN Encyclopedia | AniDB | AnimeNfo
OP: “resonance” by T.M.Revolution
ED: “I Wanna Be” by STANCE PUNKS
Production: BONES

[ Episode 1: Resonance of the Soul ～ Soul = Eater, Becoming a Death Scythe？～ ]

When it all boils down to it, only your SOUL matters. Or something like that.

OP Sequence

OP: [resonance] by T.M.Revolution
Listen to the OP: Mirror 1 | Mirror 2

Soul. Eater. Is. Absolute. AWESOME.

Dear lord. That was the best introductory episode of the season next to R2. I can’t tell you how much I was “oo’ing” and “wowing” during the episode but I do know I wanted to cry. Why? The art. The animation. The music. The characters. Maka. Blair. Soul. Shinigami-sama. Maka’s dad. The hilarious interactions. My goodness, I was absolutely blown away by Soul Eater. Prior to the start of the season I had pretty much invested a lot of excitement and anticipation into Soul Eater along with a few obvious others I’ve mentioned before. It’s needless to say that I wasn’t disappointed one bit. The episode delivered everything in large doses and I took them all in stride. I have fallen in love with this show from the very start.

BONES really outdid themselves with this one. The last show I saw from them was Darker than Black exactly a year ago. Now they return with something even more ambitious and epic. That something is Soul Eater. Soul Eater is serialized in Monthly Shounen Gangan published by none other than Square Enix (one of my all-time favorite gaming companies) and is authored by Atsuhi Okubo. At the moment, BONES has pretty much five years worth of material to work with and seems to be more than enough to satisfy the 51-episode length. Knowing that it will be on for a year is like a dream come true after witnessing such an amazing first episode. Hell, we haven’t even been introduced to all of the characters as yet and Maka and Soul have to start their soul collecting over again. 99 souls doesn’t seem to be a simple goal to obtain so I’m pretty sure we’re in for a lot of epic battles in the future involving Maka and Soul as well as the other characters to come.

Speaking of the characters, they were all just amazingly done. Maka has definitely won a place in my heart. She’s a mixture of adorable and badass. Her fighting is fierce and her skills with a scythe are some of the most amazing I’ve seen. I find her voice to be very fitting for her character as well. Though I’ve been hearing some complaints about it and the seiyuu’s voice acting (Omigawa Chiaki). I really like it so I don’t really understand. Soul is pretty cool though I didn’t really expect him to be the kind of guy that is turned out to be. That is, he’s extremely weak to the sexy bodies of females like Blair. Though I suppose I can’t really blame him for losing to her four times in a row. Blair is awesome. I found it hilarious that she wasn’t a witch but rather a cat with really good magic abilities. I can’t even begin to imagine what her role will be in series but I’m guessing she’ll cause Soul to have a lot more bloody noses in the future. Shinigami-sama and Maka’s dad are both freaking hilarious. Shinigami-sama has a weird voice that makes me laugh from just hearing it but when he interacts with Maka’s dad in ways such as chopping him in the head and getting pissed, I can’t stop myself from laughing even louder and longer. Hopefully more of their antics will be present throughout the series. There’s a new kid introduced briefly at the very end of the episode who we’ll get to see in the second episode. His name is Black Star. He doesn’t really look to be as capable as he sounds and appears but looks can be deceiving…even if he is dancing around like he doesn’t know what he’s doing lol.

Oh yeah. The OP and ED are really good and among the best this season. T.M.Revolution really brings it hard in the OP and gets the adrenaline rushing. I can hardly wait for the single. STANCE PUNK’s song, I Wanna Be, took me by surprise. The last thing I heard from them was NO BOY NO CRY and I must say they have improved since then. It really had me doing some air guitar and it felt really nice.

Soul Eater is destined to be all the rage this season and based on the first episode, it deserves to be. Yeah it’s shounen but it sure isn’t your typical shounen. Even if it is shounen, what does it matter? It’s still a great series and the animated version shows a ton of potential and I doubt it’ll go to waste with BONES backing it, Iwasaki Taku composing the music, and great seiyuu cast with newcomers and veterans all giving their best. Soul Eater isn’t going to let anything steal it’s spotlight and is even giving Code Geass R2 a run for its money now.

Now If you’ll excuse me, I’ll be going to watch the episode. Again. And then another time. And another. And another…^__^

We’ve got a winner here. Plain and simple, SOUL EATER ROCKS YOUR SOUL! Oh wait, that’s not right. Anyways, I loved loved loved the premiere. Every second of it I couldn’t dare blink for I’d most likely miss the animation, which is by far the best I’ve seen yet. Otsu, Bones. You guys rock. I especially love the entire animation as resonance is playing, a wicked awesome new song from T.M.Revolution that clearly fits the theme of the show and also the “resonance” that we’ll see later on. Read into the lyrics and you’ll know what I mean.

There’s not a lot to complain about because throughout the whole thing I was impressed at how fluid and detailed every scene looked. One of my favorite thing about SE is Ookubo’s art style. From the characters to even the damn awesome laughing sun and moon, it’s quite appealing. I’m sure everyone’s said the same thing, that it’s like Nightmare Before Christmas, but you know what, they’re absolutely right.

The sound is another great factor, of course. Great soundtrack so far. It gives off a very urban, subcultural vibe, similar to what you hear in WEWY, and thats just awesome. The series is more or less Western-influenced so I think it matches quite well. Heck, I find the ED theme pretty good, and I’m not a fan of STANCE PUNKS. In fact, you can say that I totally think No Boy, No Cry is lame for many reasons. But, yeah, I like the ED song because it doesn’t sound bad. Moving on from the music, we go onto one of my favorites: seiyuu. Now, here’s the dealie. I can see this is the debut for Maka’s seiyuu, Omigawa Chiaki, which kinda irked me because hearing her lines come out wasn’t all too outstanding. The main problem I hear is the execution of the lines and the tone. Sometimes it’s more than necessary, other times it’s less than what’s necessary and I think those are what hurt the most. I’ve nothing against the voice itself. It’s distinct and clear, but it means squat if it’s not done right. After rewatching the episode so many times, I already got used to it, but I’m not exactly convinced yet until she gets better.

On that note, it’s extremely great to see that we’re getting a great show this season (and the entire year), thanks to the staff behind it. I’m pretty sure this will gain a huge crapload of fans following and popularity will be bigger than Blair’s bust. But speaking of Blair… I’m just too freakin’ ecstatic to hear Emiri in a prominent role again. Pump-Pumpkin! My other favorites are Death Scythe (MAAKAAAAA~!!!!!) and Kid (whom we’ll see later). Other than that, I’m just stoked that we’ll be enjoying this for a long while, so expect more awesomeness to ensue.

Trivia: During the next day when Maka and Soul go to Blair’s, in the manga, Soul says “Kita ze!” instead of “Yatsu da,” like in the anime.

When I came into Soul Eater, I expected nothing special than a regular Shounen show. Just a minute into the first episode, even before the OP, just looking at the visual style, my mouth was agape. It’s clearly something I have never seen before, and that ALONE is a good reason to watch the show. Now that’s before the OP, so you can imagine yourself how much I love this show. I won’t beat around the bush too much, it’s my favorite show this spring so far.

I want to start, though, with the only thing I didn’t like about Soul Eater, the premise. Maka, a weapon meister, is collecting souls in order for her living weapon, Soul Eater, become a worthy enough weapon to be wielded by the grim reaper himself, the marshmallow-like Shinigami sama. It sounds well and all, but to collect 99 of those souls? I don’t mind having cool battles like the ones we had in the show, but at least add more depth to killing 99 monsters, but I heard the manga deviates rather quickly from this, so my mind is at peace for now.

Now on to the good stuff: Studio Bones is my favorite animation studio, mainly for creating my two most favorite anime: Fullmetal Alchemist and Eureka Seven. The animation in this episode alone though has surpassed the quality of those two, especially Fullmetal which lacked fighting scenes. The battles in Soul Eater are beautifully choreographed I am not going to be surprised if after a month from now I’m going to see tons of AMV featuring it. What’s amazing is that even the quiet more subtle scenes are beautifully animated, like the conversation between Soul and Maka during their battle against Blair. If BONES can retain that quality for 50 episodes, I will be in awe. It’s one thing to animate great battles for one episode, but what I love to see is consistency.

The characters are already unique and it’s barely the first episode. Soul Eater is the protagonist of the show, and while he may seem like an inconsiderate punk, he is just a cool guy with a good heart… that loves big breasts (I can’t blame him). Maka, his weapon meister, acts like a regular teenage girl, and her voice fits her well. It may be grating for those who watch anime frequently and are used to hear seiyuu more like Ami Koshimizu or Aya Hirano, but I think her seiyuu did a great job giving her a tomboyish attitude that is refreshing as it is like Soul says, cool. We also have Shinigami-sama, the goofy chairman voiced by the multi-talented Rikiya Koyama (Kogarashi from Kamen no Maid Guy and Captain Yamato from Naruto Shippuuden). He likes to talk in a playful tone, but he can attack furiously with his “Direct Shinigami Noggin Chop” whenever Death Scythe spouts something stupid. Speaking of which, Death Scythe is Maka’s naughty dad, and he is the comic relief of the show, so far at least. Blair? Just one word: ME-OW!

The soundtrack of Soul Eater is great thus far, featuring the same composer of the Gurren-Lagann soundtrack. I especially liked when Blair is revealed, what is played in the background can only be described as young kids who suck at playing the flute. On the more serious side of things, I love the music they used when they introduced Black Star before the ED theme. Nice transition! Themes! I am not a big fan of T.M. Revolution since I prefer his works under Abingdon Boys School, but that being said the OP for Soul Eater is okay, if too standard for T.M’s style. The ED is made by STANCE PUNKS, and while it still detestable like their Naruto OP, I can at least watch it now that it features a sweet animation. Moreover, considering the overall rebellious feel of Soul Eater, it makes sense to add STANCE PUNKS and it fits, but I would rather hear a theme by Captain Straydum, especially if they do anything like their Ayakashi Ayashi OP. Captain Straydum for a Soul Eater OP? Make it so, BONES!

Overall, I love Soul Eater. The visual style of the world seems like it’s taken from a Tim Burton movie, with the crazy house designs and the sadistic smiles on the sun and the moon. The visual style alone should be a reason enough to watch Soul Eater, but add in great characters, a distinctive soundtrack and the best animation I have seen in a long time and you have one of the best potential in a Shounen show ever established, and if you watched the preview at the end of the uncut episode, you know it can only go up from here, and I’m excited to see how it’ll accomplish that.

Omae no Tamashi, Itadakeyo!

9.5/10

ED Sequence

OP: [I Wanna Be] by STANCE PUNKS
Listen to the ED: Mirror 1 | Mirror 2

[ Episode 4: Thongs and Big Breasts ]

The maid with the awesome hair.

If you know how a sequence works, you bet the score I’m going to give the fourth episode of Kamen no Maid Guy is going to be 6.5. I expected it as well, but it turned out this installment was rather amusing even with a bratty new character.

Underwear thieves (don’t get me started on this one!) ravage Naeka’s house, but thankfully Kogarashi prevented them from doing any damage. One of them escapes with Naeka’s panties only to be stopped by a blonde young girl. The same girl turns out to be Elizabeth Strawberry (which is a clear pun on her strawberry panties) who seeks out Naeka and challenges her to a Kendo duel, but what appears to be a regular match turns out to be Liz’s ulterior motive to control the fortune of the Fujiwara family. Add in a cool haired assistant, band of crows and the eternally amusing Kogarashi and you got another fun episode.

For one, this is the first episode that involved actual battles. Besides the first two rounds, the Kendo match between Naeka and Liz was intriguing enough even if it wasn’t displayed in full. Kogarashi’s encounter with Liz’s assistant turned out to be as fast paced as it had a funny ending appropriate to the show’s humor. The panties are the main joke of the episode, and it’s hard for a guy like me to understand why Japan love panties so much? It’s like if you saw a napkin full of snot that has been used by a famous rocker, it might be cool, but it’s a little underwhelming in the big picture. Even though it wasn’t my cup of tea, the main joke that cracked me up is when Liz offered Naeka’s panties to the crowd, the “Naeka Boob club” refused to accept them because they are only interested in her boobs. Say what you want about that trio, but at least they are true to their words. The joke turns better in the end when Kogarashi sends the crows in, which made it unpredictable and retained the show fresh despite retelling an old anime cliche.

In fact, the only bad thing I can say about this episode is Liz. It’s hard to like her, especially for me because she reminds me a lot of Miyu from Kimi Aru. She has the same pigtails as her, she is short and flat chested, she is a prodigy and she even has a voice that sounds A LOT like Yuko Goto (even though it’s not her). Only difference is that she is only 13 and yet she acts high and mighty and even though she gets her punishment for her behavior, she remains the same spoiled brat that gets whatever she wants. I am a little sad when Fubuki stopped Kogarashi from checking her panties because maybe then the girl will have some change of character, but I can let it slide. Considering the fact she has a relation to the Fujiwara family, she may become interesting later on.

Good episode, not without its flaws. By this point I can say this is the best fan-service show one can watch. It’s funny, the plots are quirky but understandable and Kogarashi’s presence can make even the gloomiest convict act like Mr. Rogers.

7/10

[ Episode 56: Squirm ]

Just like the previous episode, I really enjoyed this one. It’s hard to put my finger on it but I’ve found these episodes quite enjoyable compared to the majority of those in the previous arc. I suppose it’s because these episodes have a feeling similar to those of the earlier Naruto episodes. Anyway, this episode pretty much presses the pause button on Naruto’s training although he does manage to cut a leaf in half completely before he is sent off on a mission with Sakura, Sai, and Yamato. I’m glad that they’ll be working together again in this new original arc since I rather like the team as a whole. Speaking of teams, Team Asuma will also be going on a mission which no doubt will overlap with Team Yamato. I’m looking forward to seeing Ino, Shika, Chouji (not so much him though…), and Asuma in action, especially before the story returns to the manga material…

One thing I found particularly funny was the way they kept poking at the Asuma x Kurenai pairing. At this point it’s pretty much obvious that they’re a couple and have been going out for who knows how long (most likely way back in Part 1). The omake at the end of the episode made it even more obvious (and hilarious) particularly when the image of Kurenai hanging onto Asuma’s arm was shown. What a dead giveaway.

Another training episode and another decent episode. As much as I loathed the fillers of the first Naruto series, I have to say I am quite surprised by the quality thus far. The whole point of this filler arc is to center around characters we don’t see as much, like in this case Asuma. All he really did in the series is save Shikamaru, get his ass handed to him by Kisame and of course, to smoke. This marks the first episode that the character is viewed in a positive light and he actually interacts with Naruto, as he too is a wind user like him. In addition, there are not many like them, so Naruto consider himself special more than before.

I liked the joke when Sai goes and watches over Naruto’s training. He reads in a book that if a friend tries hard he should offer him a snack, Sai pulls an apple from his bag and it appears to be for Naruto, but he eats it a second afterwards.

That’s about it, it was a decent episode and it continues the streak. I wish the actual arcs were that good but I am sufficed. The filler starts officially next week with a one hour special (AGAIN?!) and it features one of my favorite seiyuus Kazuya Nakai as the main filler villain. You know he is awesome because the guy does damn Rolonoa Zoro!

<7.5/10>