Anime/Manga series I follow

Anime and Manga series I am currently following

Natsume Yuujinchou figure quick review

This entry was posted in Anime/Manga series I follow Updates & Random status and tagged Alter Figure review Natsume Yuujinchou on January 6, 2012 by aikito

Side cover of the box

Happy New Year! A new year and the start of the 4th season for Natsume Yuujinchou anime and to celebrate I decided to open Alter’s Natsume figure. Normally boxes are generally removed, tossed into storage, but this one is worth mentioning since the box presentation is well thought out. When the front cover is opened, the box incorporates the figure in the background like the artwork.

Opening the cover shows the scenery and the figure.

While some figure boxes does this presentation, Alter goes another step and add magnets to the front cover to prevent the front cover from freely opening. This bring a nice touch and personally makes it difficult parting with the box.

Another side shot of the other side of the box

Continuing on with the other side of the box we have a silhouette said figure. This light color scheme connects to the back side of the box which gives the view a sneak peek of Nyanko Sensei.

Back of the box where we see Nyanko Sensei after opening the front cover

The color scheme works well with the dark blue on half and the contrasting while on the other half. Opening the box shows that the pieces (Natsume, his jacket, and the plastic case cradling the entire figure) were carefully wrapped to help prevent paint transfer while the figure is stored in the box.

Layers of plastic wrap to help prevent paint transfer

Now some reviews I’ve read shows some people wanting more details on natsume’s clothes but personally since the art and the manga have been very simplistic, the figure follows the mangaka’s art style.

Close up of Natsume

Close up of Nyanko Sensei

The base also has some great attention to details, the translucent grass and the water ripples from the lake.

Details of the base is well done

The details also follows the pattern on Natsume’s jacket all the way down to Nyanko Sensei’s pawprint. Overall a well done figure.

Details on the jacket pattern and Nyanko Sensei's paw

Back shot

With the jacket for those cold evenings...

This scene sort of reminds me of Nurarihyon

Series I’m currently watching…

This entry was posted in Anime/Manga series I follow Updates & Random status on August 5, 2011 by aikito

Happy Friday All! It’s been a long week but thankfully it’s the weekend. So I’m just wrapping up my week with a few series and updates.

Zero no Tsukaima

So the not so fun stuff. Since Happy Potter movie series has concluded, I been given an itch to re-watch Zero no Tsukaima (Familiar of Zero / Zero no Louise). The series is similar in Potter in a few general aspects:

A magical world with Mages
Protagonist is from a Muggle like world
The two classes (Nobles/mages vs commoners)

But this is a very generalization I’m taking here. But there’s mages, talking swords and the protagonist oogling at the anime girls like we otakus might do when watching a series. So when I decided to watch it, I could not locate my discs so I spend an evening sorting out the disc binders for the series and ended up cleaning a decade worth of random disc placements. It was not fun however needed though…

Now the fun stuff, after cleaning it was time to take a look at a few new anime series I began watching so I’ll place a few screen shots.

Baka x Test Second Season: Poor Yuji stuck in drag.....

Nyanpire: A kitten with vampire-like tendencies, a cute 3 minute ep series

Blood C: School Girl with Swords = win!

Sacred Seven: a dragon ball moment.... =)

I’ve also been sucked into a Korean group called Girls Generation thanks to a Dead or Alive and Final Fantasy music video imitating Girls Generation’s Gee dance video. See for yourself. The Dead Fantasy is fan made which is amazing.

Girls Generation / Dead Fantasy – Gee Music Video comparison

Dead Fantasy – Gee Music Video

Why perceptions are scary….Dance in the Vampire Bund

This entry was posted in Anime/Manga series I follow and tagged anime review Dance in the Vampire Bund loli shota on July 24, 2011 by aikito

Don’t let the cool cover deceive you! >.<

I’ve been finding better time management ways to lower my anime back log. No more naps… it’s a sacrifice I’ll do once in a while. A good friend of mine gave me the DVD box set of Dance in the Vampire Bund series. I’ve watched the first ep when it came out last year and didn’t finish the series since I thought there were better series out at the time. Looking back I don’t recall what I considered “better” series.

So I had the evening open and decided to finish this series. Normally one hears the mantra that beauty is only skin deep. But at this point I have doubts when it comes to this particular anime. As with any animated series based on a manga/book I understand there are a lot of back story the director has to condense into an extremely short time frame. So it tends to leave two general options:

Follow the manga and take some liberties in order to fit in an animated series.
Create a new storyline/timeline using the characters from the manga as a launchpad.

While both options have plus sides which introduces existing fans and new people to the series; there’s always drawback that can be potentially fatal to a series. Not having read the manga, I personally felt the series was following the first option I listed and the emphasis was heavily set on “liberties”. I have not read the manga but the loli/shota scenes with adult innuendos did not sit well with me and it was really taking away from the supposed story between .

What I did find interesting was series theme on one’s perception to decide what we think is correct. The loli references in the series and the lore of vampires definitely places one’s decision heavily on looks versus having all the facts before making judgement.

Unfortunately the flow of scenes was really choppy in which events transitioned from one piece immediately to another without much explanation. You would start on a scene where the protagonist, Akira, is conversing with Mina Tepeş, princess-ruler of all vampires, on vampire culture and their relationship. Then suddenly halfway another event comes and I find myself thrown into a new topic and scene without the previous scene being completed; nor did it have a direct connection to the previous scene I was seeing.

Initially I thought this is to emphasize the male protagonist’s fragmented memories. But having it constantly happen throughout the series really took a toll on the focus on the story. I was not sure if the story is focusing on a love story through an innocent children storybook type narration or the perception of what one uses to decide what is right or wrong. Unfortunately the series didn’t really congeal until towards 2/3 into the series and abruptly ended. At the end of the series I’m left feeling rather dirty watching due to many loli scene and a creepy shota one based solely on my perception on what a normal relationship should be. All this and I was not watching an adult rated movie.

If you are curious about the series, I’ve included the link to Wikipedia pertaining about this:

Wikipedia Link to “Dance in the Vampire Bund”

My Week

This entry was posted in Anime/Manga series I follow and tagged Dog Days Hidan no Aria Seitokai Yakuindomo Toriko on May 27, 2011 by aikito

Happy Friday! I see the light at the end of the day!

I’d figure I’d go with a lazy man version of a 4ish koma style comic of anime series I’ve watched this week to describe my week.

Beginning of the Week. A cute kind of stress and deadlines approaches similar what Takatoshi Tsuda, from Seitokai Yakuindomo, is experiencing.

Hidan no Aria screenshot of Kinji's room after Aria and Riko fight

Somewhere in the middle of the week, I'm hesitant to see the aftermath of what I need to wrap up. (Hidan no Aria Series)

My internal reaction as portrayed by Komatsu from Toriko, when I decided to see the aftermath.

Sweet Sweet Friday clamps down on me after meeting deadlines while its saliva washes away the stress...eww (Dog Days)

Rave to Fairy Tail

This entry was posted in Anime/Manga series I follow on May 20, 2011 by aikito

Teamwork

I’ve been fan of Rave when the anime series came out in 2001. Rave is your typical Shonen series typically characterized by high-action fights between good (Rave) and bad (Dark Bring) and often humorous plots featuring Haru Glory our hero protagonist with his friends Plue (unknown being) and Ellie. The general plot from Wikipedia:

“In 0015, fifty years before the story’s start, the world was being corrupted by Dark Bring, evil stones that bestowed incredible powers to their owners. The Dark Bring were used by the Raregroove Kingdom, and the Symphonia Kingdom fought against them with their Holy Bring.

Shiba, the first RAVE Master, attempted to destroy Sinclaire, the “mother” of the Dark Bring, with his Ten Commandments Sword. The aftermath caused the massive explosion known as “Overdrive” that destroyed one-tenth of the known world. Shiba, protected from the disaster by Plue, a special guardian “dog” who shielded him from the blast, held onto the RAVE required to power his sword. Plue and the five remaining fragments of RAVE, however, scattered around the world.

Fifty years later Haru Glory, a teenager living on the peaceful Garage Island, fishes Plue up by accident. Several events soon follow, including Shiba’s arrival and his desire to reclaim Plue, as well as the appearance of a mysterious organization known as Demon Card, whose members possess Dark Bring and aim to rule the world. After Haru battles one of its members, Shiba discovers he is the second RAVE Master, and entrusts his RAVE, Plue, and the Ten Commandments Sword to Haru. Haru embarks upon an adventure to find the other fragments of Rave and to save the world.” (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rave_Master#Anime)

If you know what Plue is, please let me know.

The draw for shonen series for me has alway been the sense of adventure out and discovering new things good and bad. I’ll also admit the simple slapstick plots are a guilty pleasure for these series. When Rave the anime series ended leaving the story open ended, I was quite saddened. A few years later I was reading the manga and wanted something similar to it. I was then informed by Ayane_e that mangaka, Hiro Mashima, made a new series “Fairy Tail”.

From what I’ve observed, Hiro Mashima tends to put a group of three main protagonist together much like Rave had with Haru, Ellie and Plue. In Fairy Tail’s case the group is Natsu, Lucy, and Happy (a flying cat). This is set in a fantasy world where magic is not too uncommon. This brings the nostalgia of a hint of D&D where there are guilds, jobs, and adventure. Basically everything a boy would enjoy… or girl. There’s no hunting for particular items as in Rave to start an adventure but having jobs to take in a guild gives Fairy Tail a more robust and dynamic story for the manga to develop in my opinion.

Unique characters also gives the series a delightful range. Fairy Tail’s unique character reminds me of One Piece and its gamut of unique and interesting characters. Now the only thing that really carried over to Fairy Tail is the inclusion of Plue. That has been the Mashima’s character that is near and dear to him. Also the styling of the art reminds me of One Piece.

Left to right: Gray, Lucy, Natsu, Ezra, and Happy

One Piece Crew Left to right: Franky, Sanji, Luffy, Zoro, Nami, Ussop, Robin, Chopper

The biggest draw is the camaraderie between the friends and loved ones in Fairy Tail are very similar in One Piece. Definitely give Fairy Tail a read or watch. You might be surprised.

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Aikito's random doodles and photos