Jormungand 2: Episode 5

I just have so many things to say about this episode...

 

Firstly, awesome chase scene.

I loved the layering of it and how it finalized.

It was very surrealistic, which is good, because normally and generically, the protagonists are on an auto-win. But in that chase scene, the power between both sides fluxed.

 

And a well-done epic save by these three in a copter.

 

Jonah's shooting gets me every fucking time.

Honestly, he seems like the most epic child in the world when the camera does a single-character-shot of Jonah firing a gun.

And, well, because of this, he's one of my admired characters.

 

(Picture isn't from this episode, but you get the point.)

 

 

Also, Chequita's scene.

The entire time, the little voices in my head were screaming:

YEEEEEAH KILL THE MOTHER FUCKEEEEER YEEEEEEEEEEEAH

 

Seriously, Chequita is such a badass character, it's not even funny anymore.

And honestly, the way she shot the infiltrator made me nod and think:

... Yeah she doesn't give a fuck.

 

And, ahahahha, hollow-eyed, displeased Jonah was hilarious.

 

He seemed like he was thinking: ughhhh... but... whyyyy.... I don't wannnaaa.... what the heck...

 

This is the first time I've ever seen such an expression on him and it seriously was worth those 10 seconds.

And geez... The most unlikely character to seem like a badass is now officially deemed a badass after his make-fun-of-SR-squad scene.

Tojo is serious shit. Up till now, I've never seen him seriously use a gun. I used to just assume he was the nerd of the group, just sitting down to map out operations and do research and stuff like that, but this has shown a different side of him.
And as scheduled, character development is coming along quite nicely.

 

Oh and now I realized that I've forgotten to talk about the new OP and ED.

Both are alright, I suppose.

But I liked Season 1's much better.

 

Then again, change is good, and this change is bad.

The video that accompanies the OP however is not very good, as most of it is just little panning pictures everywhere. I would've preferred to see a better OPs and EDs.

 But that's just  picky opinion of mine. :D

 

 

 



Jormungand 2: Episodes 1-4

 

There is no better military-themed anime than Jormungand. With the first season being spectacular, you'd expect that the second season would be filled with a bunch of bullcrap.

But 'tis not so.

 

Jormungand 2: Perfect Order is just as awesome as season 1.

 

The storyline is continuously developing and plot twists happen where you least expect them to.

Characters are still great and continously developing.

 

Honestly speaking, one of the best things about this is that the story is always moving along and isn't stuck frozen in time for a certain part of the series.

Unlike anime such as Bleach or One Piece, which I gave up on btw, this series consecutively follows a plot line, usually with no fillers. And those "fillers" are plain comic relief because, well if there's blood, war and drugs in every episode, why not have a couple laughs as we go?

Unless you're emotionally attatched to those kinds of things... then... maybe a medical center is what you need to attend.

 

Jonah is Jonah.

Koko is Koko.

Valmet is Valmet.

Kasper is Kasper.

Chequita is Chequita.

etc etc etc etc

... R is... A SPY?!?!?!?!!?!?!?

Which was my reaction when it reached that point.

 

I was like: NOOOOOOOOOOOOO THE ONE SUPPOSEDLY SANE AND NORMAL ONE IN KOKO'S ENTIRE SQUAD TURNS OUT TO BE AN UNDERCOVER SPY FOR THE GOVERNMENT WORKING FOR A GUY WHO CALLS HIMSELF BOOKMAN AND HE'S KIND OF FAT BUT THAT'S NOT THE POINT AND STILL WHAT THE HELL MAN R WHAT THE HELL.

 

So, R turns out to be a spy for the government, and it gets worse.

 

H E  D I E S

 

The scene in which his death takes place, I was moved to tears.

And sort of laughed at how biased it was.

 

I found it so unfair how Hex, the girl who shot him, had a scope on her sniper but he didn't have one on his rifle. I mean, seriously?

AUTHOR, Y U NO SAVE HIS LIFE?

 

Then again, Hex dies too, at which my reaction was still:

... what. the. fuck. is. wrong. with. you. author.

 

But anyhow, I totally love Lehm's and Lutz's sniping.

Whenever they kill someone, I'm in my chair, screaming:

YEEEEEEEEEEAH DIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIEE DAAAAAAAMN

THATS AWESOME.

 

Oh and what I've been staring at thoughout several episodes are Jonah's eyebrows....

Normally, I don't stare at a character's eyebrows unless it's the most prominent thing on their face...

But I've noticed that, strangely...

They're very cute and bushy.

I mean, FREAKIN' OPEN YOUR EYES AND LOOOOOOK

 

And with the contrast between the white and the brown of his skin, they just seem bushier and smaller every time I look at them.

 

Funny thing is though, it makes him look more mature and, well, I just can't imagine a long eyebrow-ed Jonah.

... That sounds a bit odd, but yeah.

 

BUT IT'S TRUE, ISN'T IT?

Admit it. It is.

 

So, other than odd sniping fanatics and eyebrow analytics, this anime is really good imo and I continuously, as I always do, suggest this to anyone who likes to kick back and enjoy a high-violence, gunning military anime.

 

As to how long this second season will be, I think it'll be about as long as season 1.

Which is about 13 episodes.

 

 



Magi: Episodes 1 - 9

 

This anime is seriously awesome. Not to mention that the art style is very cute.

 

I suppose Magi would be a sort of re-work of the original concept of Aladdin, except with a bunch of supernatural other concepts thrown in. There are a good number of characters, which makes for several different personalities and ideas.
 

The main protagonist, Aladdin, is personally my favourite character. And not just because he's the main protagonist.
 

 

What really sets off a good aura about him is that he's not rash whatsoever, unlike most main protagonists in many different genres of anime. What makes that characteristic of him even better is that he's a freakin' kid. Aladdin is simply a likable character. Oh and he's so adorable. :D

Alibaba is also another great character. His personality is a setback for me though, because, around episode 8-9, he starts having personality fluxes, which has to do with his past blahblahblah and he started to get annoying. However by the end of ep 9, he reinstated in himself that he isn't a complete idiot and that he still has certain defining traits.
His design is what draws my attention to him. He's very visually appealing, and I think that the design and colour pallet was very well done. But I think it's hilarious as to how short his dagger is...

 

 Another thing I enjoy about Magi is that the art style is fabulously great. It's quite visually appealing and, with some characters, there's that grosteque comic ideal towards them, which pretty much drives the viewer to dislike them. Outfit designs are great. I really like the theme of "Aladdin" and the magic-carpet kinda thing. It's really flashy, with a bunch of rich colours, but all at the same time, it's plain and simple. God, I love Aladdin-styled clothing.

 

.

Some characters however are pretty annoying and they honestly piss me off. Though I bet that's the entire point of having those characters in there is to get the viewer to hate them. Characters such as Cassim for example. Firstly, his hair, to me, is exceptionally unappealing, not that I have anything against dreadlocks. His personality is annoying. He's one of those characters in which revenge and hatred have a deep root from somewhere along their past. So... Irritating...

 

 Plot development is so-so.

Sometimes I feel like the air of the anime is a bit too happy, which gets me kind of tired of the story. But it's a good thing that it's always revived with a bit of dark stories or a hateful event or something of that sort.

 

I think that character introduction falls a bit short, since everything happens too quickly between ceertainly episodes. But other than, there are a variety of new characters that are introduced, all of which have their pros and cons.

 

There's plenty of humour along the way, which is pretty good, since a lot of the conflicts are quite serious. Side characters are usually used as comic relief, along with a couple main ones.

 

Somewhere around certain parts of certain episodes, for me, there was complete confusion.

I was like: ... whatidontgetitwhatthehellrandomcharacteridontevenknow

This was when new characters came tumbling in, getting more screentime than usual secondary characters. This was also when I began a growing hatred towards certain characters because of misunderstandings and such.

It wasn't all too confusing. But still I would've preferred a less sudden introduction and maybe less characters...?

Considering this is still an ongoing series, more characters will appear and, most likely, it'll all come to a point where I go:

OHHHHHHHHHHHHH
I FREAKIN' GET IT NOWW
AHAHAHAHAH I WAS SO STUPID...

 

Followed by a prominent *FACEDESK*

 

Well, since it's still on-air, I'll continue watching what I haven't yet, which is about 4 episodes, I think.

 

So, the adventure continues...

Just some more K-Project

I found some great K-Project screensavers, shots, artwork and a meme. Just wanted to share.

Psycho Pass: Episodes 1 - 5

 

Psycho Pass is an awesome anime, especially for people who really like the theme of futuristic, high-tech gear. This series is somewhat like a usual North American police drama show on television. But this shit is waaay better.

 

... First thing I'd like to say about this series is that, personally, the OP is enough to give one an eargasm and get them hooked on the anime.

 

 The intro of the song especially is so appealing in-sync with the visuals that it just gives the series an edge, which makes a really good first impression.

When I found this series, the title is what first caught my attention. From there, it was just like a flash of light.
The OP was great.
I loved the idea and the concept of the entire series.
The characters had interesting personalities.
All of the themes seemed intriguing and freakin' awesome.
And, lastly, the first ED was an eargasm too.

It's good to make sure that an anime has a great OP and ED, or at least or the other, because that's what leaves you with a lasting impression after the first episode.
If you end up with a whatthefuckdidijustwatch reaction after a certain anime, I suggest you stop and watch something more suited to your tastes.

Oh, and the background music usually fits quite nicely with many of the scenes in this anime.

There's tons of bloody death scenes, so for all you gore fans, this could be just for you.

The introduction is a bit sudden and very in-your-face, but once you grasp the concept, it is fanatically faaaantastic.

Setting and concept is fucking AMAZING.

I love the design of the setting, it's really interesting both visually and in concept. The layout of what I've seen so far in eps 1-5 is pretty great.

I love the overuse of holograms in this anime.
It's an overuse, but not in a particularly bad way.
Yeah, it's repeptitive and everything, but it's used in really warped ways.
I won't mention, because that's too good of an idea to reveal here.

The idea of a city where personality issues and psychological problems are absent is really great.
Then the concept of those Dominators is just fabulous. I'm tempted to just visit a con, just to search for an awesome gun replica.

Like, HELLO? WHO THE HELL DOESN'T WANT A GUN THAT IS LIKE A MINI TRANSFORMER?!
Honestly, you want one.

 I know I want one.

I have no money though. (sheds a singular tear)

 

These things are practically the epitome of sayings like:

 

search and destroy

or

hunt to kill.

 

The results of being shot by one of these things ends with a big pile of guts, flesh and a pond of blood.

 

What's cool about the process though is that, the ammo doesn't explode or anything, as one would expect from a sci-fi gun in the future.

Instead,

YOU FREAKIN' IMPLODE.

AN IMPLOSION, MAN.

THIS AUTHOR IS PURE GENIUS.

 

But, seriously, admit it, that is pretty damned smart.

 

Characters are also really great.

 

There isn't much development so far, but I suppose it comes later in the series. And, also, I'd heard that there was a second season. If so, then there's definitely development in that 2nd one.

 

There isn't exactly a pinpointed main main character of the series, who is a hero archetype, but there is one who is involved in most of the crime-solving stuffs.

 

Her name is Akane Tsunemori. She's introduced in episode 1 as a newbie to the Sibyl system's* "enforcement" crew, which is pretty much the police around there.

(The Sibyl System is the government's system of maintaining everyone's psychological capacity, which is known as "Psycho Pass." If one reaches beyond their capacity, they are labelled as possible murderers and hence are killed)

 

During the first episode, near the end, the only emotion I felt towards her was annoyance. But afterwards, somewhere in episode 3, I started empathizing towards her idealogies and, well, I think she's a fairly okay character.

 

She looks really... young though, which made the first impression really trippy.

 

 This is one of the hottest characters I have ever scene.

Honestly, there is an entire scene in around episode 3 or 4 where he walks around shirtless for fanservice.

 

He is the badass out of all the characters so far and really takes his job seriously.

 

 

Kougami Shinya is like whythemotherfreakinhellareyousogoodlookingandyoureoncriminaloffensewhatthehellmanwhyyyyyy

was basically my reaction.

 

I can't really say much about him, because I don't want to spoil it too badly and, plus, there hasn't been much development other than the fact that he's one of those exceptionally mysterious characters.

 

Those two are the main-er-ish ones and the others are secondary to the development I guess.

 

Other than the feud between this guy

and this guy,

there aren't any other developed relations.

 

Another thing I'm pleased about this anime was the art. There aren't many gory crime anime that have a mixture of both aesthetic and horror art. The effects are also used nicely; not too much, not too little. Animation is fairly smooth, but smooth enough.

 

One thing that I would say is kind of a downer about such a great anime would be the momentum of the plot development.

As we've recently said, there is hardly any developments at all.

But this isn't much of an issue, because regardless of the plot's pacing, the action-packed detective work is guaranteed to keep you hooked.

  



Suki -tte Ii na yo [Say "I love you"] (manga)

 

Suki-tte Ii na yo is a moderately-good manga, as it has its pros and cons in the different categories.

(This manga is also an anime, and I hope to watch it upon completing the series. All the character photos are from the anime :P)

 

The setting is a usual shoujo, slice-of-life, romancey anime, which would be at a high school.

Normally, with high-school anime, whether it be shoujo or shounen, it always has its "type," such as supernatural-specialized or is known for one of its traits.

This high school's "trait" would be its students' relationships. Dating is a hot topic around the school, whether they're a boy or girl. Sex is often a pastime for girls and guys alike.

 

One of the the main characters is 16 year-old Tachibana Mei, who has never dated before and doesn't have friends. She, according to many, is considered odd and creepily quiet.

 

And not to mention that she has like...

FUCKING A BILLION SELF-ESTEEM ISSUES

 

Not a big spoiler, really, unless you're overly dramatic about spoilers, but one day, two popular boys, one of which was Kurosawa Yamato, were walking to class when one decides to tug on Mei's skirt. She frantically turns around, giving Kurosawa a mawashi geri* to the head. But, he wasn't the one who tugged on her skirt.

 

*Note: A mawashi geri is a karate kick.

 

Honestly, when I came to that point in the beginning, i was like:

YEEEEEEEES

THIS.

GIRL.

IS.

AWESOME.

 

So that's Tachibana for you.

 

Then there's Kurosawa Yamato.

Oddly, his hair is my hair length, which makes me feel weird as a girl, but eh, whatever.

 

So, he pretty much saves her from a stalker and,. from there, they start dating.

 

... what the fuck, right?

 

According to this, the anime is a "realistic story of first love."

 

... So, where the hell is MY stalker, HMMM?

 

... Thought so.

 

Kurosawa is one of those super popular boys that all the girls have a fandom with and an extreme obsession that often makes people narrow their eyes and ask "what the hell."

 

There isn't much to say about him, other than the fact that he is a generic bishie appearance in a shoujo romance manga and anime.

 

PLOT.

 

I kinda explained quite a bit above, so I won't go into this, I might as well be handing you a silver platter decked out with spoilers.

 

But, I just wanna say that it kinda sucks at the beginning, because it seems extremely unrealistic and kind of boring. The main characters are pretty generic, but the secondary characters are very interesting.

As plot develops and things start to happen, we get into the details of the secondary character's pasts and such. And with almost all romance anime, there's rivalry between girls and guys.

 

The thing that pisses me off about the main characters is that they get jealous too easily and are simply influenced by others too often. After a while, the story seems quite repetitive in ending and gets kind of boring.

 

Like REEEEEALLY BORING.

 

But, overall, it's alright.

It's a manga that doesn't hurt to read, but only when you have nothing better to do.

 

I'm not done this manga yet, because I believe the chapters are still being translated, but I suspect that it is what I've said it to be.

 

 



K-Project: Anime Overview

 

During the break, I managed to squeeze in some time for a short anime called K-Project, which is 13 episodes long.

 

The one thing that really captured my eye in this one was the great animation. The storyline looked so damn interesting that I couldn't put it off after I started. Character design is great and I like the concept. Overall, it's a great anime that I would suggest to anyone who has a thing for mysterious psychological thrillers with supernaturals interwoven with the plot.

 

Honestly, the first episode totally masks the actual plotline of the story, which is great for a mystery. Another thing, this anime is one of those mysteries that are made out of pure crap. The storyline is NOT very predictable and turns out quite differently than one would be led to believe.

 

Now to begin...

 

Firstly...

HOLY CRAP THE AMOUNT OF PASSIVE BROMANCE IN THIS ANIME IS BEYOND ALL LEVELS OF COMPREHENSION.

 

... Anyway, to start, we'll look at plot and setting.

 

The entire anime takes place in a high-tech Shizume City, which functions regularly like any other modern city. Other than the fact that there are a bunch of "clans" (functions sort of like gangs) who fight every other second over little nit-picky emotional things.

 

There are 8 clans in total, I believe, but during the anime, only 4 of them are present.

Some of these clans are not clans at all, and are only made of a singular person. Those people are referred to as "kings."

 

The four clans that play their part in the plot accordingly are:

 

1. HOT-HEADED RED CLAN

2. COOL-HEADED BLUE CLAN

3. ALL-POWERFUL SILVER KING

4. CORRUPTED COLOURLESS KING

 

Each of these groups portray their unique sets of personalities and, well, is pretty fucking awesome. I mean, the colourless king is pretty screwed up in the head, but you gotta admit, he's pretty awesome.

 

The plot goes something like this (with trying to avoid spoilers):

 

ablondeguywhowasbestfriendswiththeredclangotkilledthentheredclangotreallyhotheadedandpissedoffthentheytotallyragedbecausetheyfoundavideoonacameratapethathadthefaceoftheguywhokilledhimanddecidedtodedicatetherestoftheirlivestofindingthispersonwhokilledhim.

blueclanwhoisalwayspissedwithredclangetspissednonethelessandstartstellingthemtobackoffbecauseeveryonethinksthatthekilleristhecolourlesskingwhotheythinkisevilandhencemustbekilled

butredclanistoopissedofftolistentoblueclanandeachofthembattleitup

meanwhileanekogirlwhoisprettymuchonlyinthestorylinetofuckuptheatmosphereandprovidetheviewerwithextremefanserviceofwhichifoundextremelyawkwardisobsessingoverthemaincharacterandabrokenricebowl

Themaincharacteriscompletelyoblivioustoeverythingthathasbeenhappeninguntilhepassesoutfromshockofafoxthinggoingintohiseyeandstartsglowinglikealightbulboutofsheerfabulousness

afterwardsheramblesingermaninaveryyoungmanlyvoice

thenhegoestofuckshitupbyusinghislevetationpowersandneko'sabilitytoscrewupwithpeople'sperceptions

heeatstheevilcolourlesskingandthenproceedstogetkilledbytheredclankingonpurposeandafterwardsthesameiswiththeredclanking

andtheneveryoneislikeholyshitiknewthisguyhewas...waitwhowasheagain?

 

... If you honestly read all of that, I am thoroughly impressed with your level of patience.

 

So, some of the main characters...

 

First up is Isana "Shiro" Yashiro, who is a paradoxal character, because Isana Yashiro is not Isana Yashiro at all.

 

I don't want to bring about any major spoilers but, during the plot development, he discovers that the life he lives is a lie. From there, shit get real.

 

But, away from plot and back to character, Yashiro is a kind-hearted friendly high school boy, the protagonistm, who seems to be close to everyone. Once again, the idea of a paradox comes back because, right from the first episode, his relationships with everyone is questioned as "Everyone seems to like him, but he doesn't really hang out with anyone in particular."

 

Okay, so I wont go any further with his chcracter development, but I'll just say that a fanservice cat girl, Neko, is completely obsessed with him, which obviously makes up for some very awkward scenes.......

 

Oh and, glowing scene to the right. Don't bother clicking it unless you wanna be spoiled.

 

Moving on to Yatogami Kuroh

 

Kuroh Yatogami is known as the infamous "black dog" or kuro inu.

 

He's pretty much what he looks like:

a cool-headed, long-haired bishie who wields a katana.

 

He also possesses a type of invisible force through his hands that makes him able to attack from far distances. Confusing, but you'll get it when you watch the anime.

 

He was out to hunt the colourless king and was going to kill Yashiro on site, but, out of sheer jokes, Yashiro escapes. Eventually, Kuroh learns that Shiro isn't the evil force he was ordered to kill and teams up with him.

 

He constantly declares that his former king, whom he served was Ichigen-sama. Kuroh is overly obsessed with his deceased master, who sent him out on this quest.

He carries around this voice-recorder thingy, which has messages of Ichigen on it.

 

Kuroh fangirls over this machine, and upon showing it to Shiro and Neko for the first time, i was like; .... this is not kuroh. what the hell have you done with him. (Kuroh's reaction to the right)

 

 

I'm too lazy to explain Neko for many reasons, one of which is because I've already explained some of her personality above.

 

She has two forms, one is an actual cat and the other is a gijinka, a human adaptation of an animal.

 

I'll just present a couple pictures.

 

Cat form

Human form

 

 

And those are the three main characters.

 

Another thing about this anime is the relationships.

 

Friendship.

Betrayal.

Bromance.

Hatred.

Trust.

 

It's got all the good stuff, so I suggest you go and watch it right at this instant.

 

As for a rant on the relationships themselves, I'll have to save for a different post some other time.

I've already made this too long.

 

 

DON'T DIE OF SUICIDAL BOREDOM, RANDOM VIEWER!!

 

So yeah, that's K-Project for you in a cinch.

... A rather long cinch.

 

 

 

STILL ALIVE!! (Merry belated Christmas!!)

... WOW. I haven't blogged on this for the longest time ever.

Yeah, sorry, I kinda ditched you guys, but I had school and shit to do.

But other than that, I'm still watching anime.

 

Sorta anyway.

Not as often as I'd like to, but eh whatever.

 

So recently, i've started reading a bunch of manga and finished a couple anime.

And well, I'll post again about that later.

 

Just wanted to let my viewers know that I AM in fact still alive and breathing in the awkwardly-awesome world of anime.

 

Oh, and three more things before I finish this post:

 

1. MEEEEEEEERRY BELATED CHRISTMAS AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

 

2. I've started another blog recently, unrelated to anime. The topic is excessively trending media in the modern, first-world North America, where I, er, live.

Great humour, mild cursing and tons of "that's so true" stuff, here in NA.

 

Check it out here.

 

3. I've also started a tumblr recently, so feel free to check that out here.

 

 

 And well, I'll start blogging off and on again, since exams are coming up and this is the last day of my winter break.

Procrastinate with passion. :)