Characterization

The series was actually engaging but it had me thinking why some of the characters were like that.

Narumi had a very questionable personality during the start of the series. He claims that he’s already used to not seeing the “full image” – which is why he remained being a lone dot. But, he was annoyingly bowing to everything that’s happening around him. There’s no pressure at all being applied to him but he still unwillingly went and got dragged by Ayaka. He actually instinctively stayed during the scene in episode 1 where the girl jumped from the window even though Hiro and everyone else actually didn’t even mind him witnessing the event.

Yeah, in short he was so pretentious. He claims that he doesn’t want to be involved even though he actually badly wants to. Ok, so the word “badly” might be an overstatement, but I don’t see the reason behind his choice to stay after Ayaka left him (aside from the fact that she originally planned to treat him for dinner, tsk.).

Meanwhile, Alice was also pretentious at some degree. I don’t know why she over emphasizes on the word NEET every time  she introduces herself. Not to mention, her jargon about detectives being speakers for the dead. Her introduction to Narumi also went over the top. She blames herself for being inefficient and for failing to prevent the death of people she doesn’t even know. Messiah complex? I don’t know– but for someone with that kind of thinking, I wonder why she chooses to stay inside her apartment every time instead.

Really now, I don’t get why these two main characters contradict their selves.

On being a victim of circumstance

I tried to look on the net the definition but I think the closest would be “Someone whose bad luck was not of his own making” (Ringo’s DESTINYYY suddenly rang on my head). I honestly don’t believe that there exists an instance where one simply got drifted along. That person did allow the external forces to take over, and that was his/her own decision (it’s a different case if the decision was beyond the control of the person, then again there’s just a thin line between beyond and within).

There is this post from 4ch regarding the run-of-the-mill formula being used by several anime in male protagonists and after reading this, I though that there is a need to clarify the synonymy of the phrases “victim of circumstance” and “going with the flow”. Though I won’t deny the fact that the trend is getting a bit stale already, I think that there’s a misunderstanding on how these two phrases are being used interchangeably to describe the characters mentioned in the post.

The general consensus among personality researchers is that behavior  is a function of the person, the situation, and the person within the situation. The situation clearly isn’t a primary factor because Narumi lacks the knowledge to know the future consequences of being involved with Alice and everyone else so this is clearly a question of his personality and I think that it’s pretty clear throughout the anime that he likes to stick his nose pretty much where ever he goes, which is why after watching the series, I was convinced that he isn’t a victim of circumstance, since he wasn’t a victim of something beyond his control. He might be going with the flow though, and that’s different because it’s within his control. It was his very own choice to initiate the sake ceremony with Yondaime. It was his choice all along, perhaps in lieu of Ayaka’s efforts to befriend him; he must have felt the responsibility to return the mutuality of the relationship by sticking with her, even if that means being associated with the NEETs and a yakuza group.

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image credits: pixiv user Tiv

Temporal Vortex was successful on reaching the 3rd year mark! Well, I could say ‘barely’ though because the past year was rather tedious for a graduating student doing his thesis, then again I might just be poorly managing my time for blogging. After all, I tend to procrastinate a lot. Well then, this is some sort of open letter addressed to all readers (if there are any XD) of this blog, as well as few ramblings from the admin about the recent year.

I was somewhat dispirited, honestly, this past year because of the lack of activity of some of the blogs I follow initially when I started, followed by the retirement of some of my age bracket and same nationality colleagues (namely kanzeon, tsuiteru, Rakuen, and kielmaru). Same goes for the inactivity of my early readers such as hazy and blissmo. Meanwhile, usagijen, which I really like to read just suddenly stopped updating her blog.

During the absence of these people, I enjoyed the company of kriselle, manga, and Kitsune who’d sometimes drop off to comment. The blog almost turned to a zombie blog during those times because I’m often too lazy to update it knowing that no one would probably read it. I didn’t even write a second anniversary post, mind you. The only thing which kept me writing during those times would be the excitement for other animes airing during that time namely Angel Beats!, and Railgun.

It’s a sad thought that those who I talked with during my first to second years of blogging is no longer here with me to celebrate the third year of the blog. They’re certainly part of how the present Temporal Vortex came to be. For now, this is a subtle knock to the doors of some of these bloggers. Are you guys still doing well? Are you guys still dropping by Temporal Vortex? I’d be glad to hear anything from some of you guys again…

I was obviously detached to the animeblogging sphere due to the absence of who talk to since I rarely follow or even converse with anyone on Twitter. After then, I received mysterious referrals both from Ruby’s and klux’s blogs which totally surprised me because both of them didn’t really talk to me about it. Since I observe courtesy to all bloggers who link to my blog, I also linked back to them. I vaguely remember it all already but that was about the same time I get to know Mint, Bass and Kyokai which all began from Twitter convos. After which, it somehow revitalized my enthusiasm to blog (even with my thesis alongside) since I got to know several new anime bloggers I could talk to. And then here comes Eri who I bumped into while digging the Kokido network.

It was actually somewhat awkward to talk to Kyokai at first because I only pretty much acknowledged METANORN because of kanzie. It was pretty obvious that the communication between Temporal Vortex and METANORN became stagnant after kanzie and tsui retired, only to be re-established once again by Kyokai.

As of today, Temporal Vortex is now three years spouting vague and ambiguous articles. I hope the blog stays strong even with all these rumors that anime blogging is dying. I’ll never plan to put a stop to this, even if circumstances would lead to one entry every year. I hope it’s the same thing for everyone.

Thank you to all readers of TV and of course, to all those who were specially mentioned in this post.

I am not trying to assure anything but foomafoo would surely try to deliver posts for the following months. In relation to this, I am formally breaching my personal “oath” not to post anything episodic in order to  bolster my motivation of writing posts. AnoHana’s episodic post for both episode 1 and 2 would be posted tomorrow. Another editorial about TokyoPop’s shutting down is currently sitting in the drafts~

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image credits: pixiv users 6cm, おか

Tatami Galaxy had me fascinated probably because I could relate well to the protagonist’s disposition and goal, which is to find his rose-colored campus life. I, just like Watashi, think that one way of finding the rose-colored campus life is to have an association/organization/club in the campus that you can involve yourself into. Watashi and I believe that clubs and organizations that you join during your college years are integral parts of your campus life and that it influences us on how we define our college experiences (I mean, it should…normally.).

If you somehow caught my tweets in twitter, you’d probably know that I’m a college student and I’m currently in my last term before I do my practicum (yes, I’ll be finishing my thesis this term). And so, I guess I’ll be graduating soon. This makes me somewhat wistful about it so I decided to make an entry about Tatami in relation to my college experience.

Several animes focus on the idea of school clubs as a plot tool to develop a story from which the story revolves. From Haruhi, Genshiken, to K-ON! All of these animes center around the idea of  a school club from which the characters are members.

It feels good to have that club where you could say you really enjoy being a part of.

This takes us back to my current college experience. I won’t say I’m deprived of club activities and such, since it’s too late already as well but I guess I should say that I was never that happy with my organization. Well, unlike Watashi though, it was never my aim to score a girlfriend in the club that I’m joining so the discontentment I’m feeling isn’t because of that.

The only organization which I joined during college was just the organization which addresses my academic concerns or the so-called official organization for those who have the same college degree that I’m taking (ie Economics). It would be biased to say that I didn’t enjoy my club if I was a mere member who’s not participating but… I’m actually an officer (not of high rank though) of that organization so we frequently hold some activities where I do participate in… and well, it’s not like that it sucks, but the organization was pretty bland to death (inclusive of the parties that we hold). I never felt I’m doing something really worthwhile all throughout the year since the committee from which I’m an officer is tasked only for a yearly special (but major) convention. After that convention, it’ll never be worthwhile anymore to attend the meetings. Everybody seems so contented already merely by doing that one convention and past that are just idle talk and nothing much else. There’s nothing to look forward to, really. Except that one and only preparation stage for the convention.

Of course, this is not Tatami Galaxy where I could have several episodes as well as clubs to choose from. Then again, I do not want to experience being trapped inside that endless and vast extension of 4.5 tatami rooms. All I could do was to wonder what could have been my college days if I joined something else entirely different to my course. Then again, organizations in universities of developed countries are more diverse unlike here in the Philippines where the only organizations I could count as something not really academic would be the Theater Guild, Outdoor Club, and Filipino-Chinese Friendship stuff club, adding to the hackneyed Student Council and Batch Government committees. And yes, there’s no such thing as Study of Modern Visual Arts Club. Now that I think of it, If only I had the courage I could have been the founder instead. meh. Maybe you’d ask me why I didn’t choose to join the Japan Studies Society instead even though it’s the nearest thing related to anime. First of all, the environment didn’t feel so welcoming and I heard they don’t really hold that much activities. Second, I’ll really, really be out of place since 99% of the members are taking the Japanese Studies degree.

I don’t know if it’s just here but I think organizations have gotten lamer and lamer all because the students only seize the officer positions for Curriculum Vitae (credentials) purposes instead of actually seizing the position because they are capable of handling it and they love what they are involved into. Other than that, it has become a culture already that every course has its own designated course-related organization, which is something I really hate. It’s nice to have those but I quite do not know why there are no hobby-related clubs in my university. It’s really disappointing. I mean… even Astronomy Club?! I have no intention of bragging but, I’m quite sure my university is among the top universities in the country and yet… -_- Let me take a look at the Literature Club in my university for example. Instead of having members dedicated to simply reading literary works, almost all the members are taking the undergraduate program for Literature. *sigh* I don’t know why clubs in my university are like this. I mean it should be common, but it definitely doesn’t have to be the primary practice because it leads to a point that there’s not enough diversity for the students anymore to enjoy. Actually, I’m quite dumbfounded why there are very few hobby-related clubs in my university.

Searching for the rose-colored campus life eh? This makes me quite envious of Jougasaki-senpai, Akashi and even Ozu. They all have these remarkable experiences of different clubs from which they could say they actually enjoyed, even with the mischief which befell Ozu.

Then again, Tatami Galaxy is about grabbing that opportunity hanging right in front of us. We search and search for the things we would want to find but we don’t notice anymore the things that ‘s been laid there already in the very first place. Who needs a damn club to roll these things out for us? I mean we can still find our own not-so-rose-colored campus life in the company of our friends. Right, Watashi? At the end of the series, Watashi didn’t say what club he chose to settle to, or whether he actually still joined one since it didn’t matter anymore. After all, he has finally gained a bond with Akashi, the raven-haired maiden of his dreams thus realizing his very own rose-colored campus life from there on.

Of course, I can’t really apply what is happening in the Japan in comparison to what’s the university environment here in the Philippines. It was worth a try but I think clubs here in my country do not work out that much compared to Japan’s. Then again, although several animes might have shown that being part of  certain clubs is one of many ways from which you can find/discover your rose-colored campus life, it’s not necessarily always the case since just as how Tatami Galaxy showed it, there are harsh realities for every club (eg. a mere facade of an occult, see the softball-honey-related episode from Tatami) that would actually hinder you from experiencing that rose-colored campus life. In the end, it’s not the club which gives the college life the rose-color (based on how Watashi calls it) and although it does contribute, it doesn’t completely rely on that aspect as one could actually discover it through mere social relationship and rapport towards other people, specifically friends.

Of course, you’re lucky if you were able to find a certain club which you can proudly describe as something you really liked and enjoyed being a part of.

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image credits: pixiv users 残ネン子, ひなた, はち, ろばた

Senjougahara, based from the beginning of her arc, has quite isolated herself from the rest of the people due to her unique circumstance of losing her weight and if we would probably look back, she has become a cold character, especially if you’ll observe the way she speaks as well as her initial actions when Araragi found out her circumstance. That isolation should have altered some emotional mechanism inside her– but it looks like, it didn’t.

Surprisingly, the latter part of episode 2 of Bakemonogatari shows her rather shocking and fast recovery right after she regained her weight from the crab, wherein she immediately stated she was sorry for all her actions to Araragi up until then. Following her arc was Mayoi Snail wherein we all probably know Senjougahara confessed her feelings for Araragi.

Well, it wasn’t probably that of a fast recovery since it was observed during the Mayoi Snail part that she hesitated to speak out her own perception to that of Araragi’s with regards to Hachikuji but more than that of the fear of knowing that something could be wrong with her again, I’m more concerned with how she was able to cope up that fast with her social skills considering she has decided not to involve herself pretty much after she has gotten herself to that crabby stuff.

What got me to think this would probably KareKano (since I was rewatching the two simultaneously). I was brought back to that certain episode of KareKano (ep.4) wherein Yukino had the difficulty to confess her feelings for Arima. Yukino finally found someone “like” her and since she wasn’t sure if Arima still likes her, she’s caught up in a dilemma of fearing rejection and losing Arima, her first ever “true” friend.

I don’t know if this situation would also hold true for Senjougahara since she wasn’t really isolated before her crabby stuff but I guess there is still this part I’m looking for. How come she didn’t even feel the anxiety of losing Araragi, if ever he rejects her? Considering she finally found someone who could be her friend after that long isolation she went through just so other people won’t know about her secret. After driving away some friends such as Kanbaru, how come she don’t even feel the burden of being alone once again?

I can’t really say Senjougahara is that of a strong person since she did cheat herself which is why she faced the ordeal of losing her weight. If she’s strong, it won’t really matter for her if ever Araragi stops from being friends with her since she could manage all by herself. But that’s not the case, which is why I’m left thinking where did Senjougahara pulled that strength of confessing to Araragi, without even an assurance of her being accepted by him. Or… was it okay for her either way even if she was rejected or not? I don’t think so. By the looks of it, she was thirsty for someone she could share her thoughts to after that long isolation she went through, so she was rather eager to be accepted by Araragi. It could even be represented by how Senjougahara wanted Araragi to clearly say what’s with their relationship quickly after she told her feelings to him. I guess this was a mild inconsistency in her part since I cannot deter by the looks of her action whether she’s really strong-willed or not.

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image credits: pixiv user 魚生

Code Geass had its own short comings but why did I ever like Code Geass even though I know that there were stupid plot devices? Now that I think of it, after the two years that have passed, I just can’t explain it clearly to my myself. Was I that immature back then when I started blogging that I’m going to suck-up any cool anime out there even though it obviously does not make sense anymore? But still, whenever somebody asks me an anime that I consider great, Code Geass is more often than not, one among those anime(s) that enter my mind.

I must say, every Code Geass pings and clicks the site receives makes me uncomfortable of the situation (Yes, after two years of idling). Now that I think of it, I didn’t even write a decent entry about it, or maybe one I guess, the retrospection one but other than that, all were shitty blog posts about Knightmare features and upgrades as well as short recaps that didn’t even make any sense. All I did on my Knightmare posts were to feature the latest Knightmare equipments from both parties of Black Knights and Britania. Just that, a mere compilation you may call it.

Okay, this is hard. I unintentionally wrote this post without being prepared of what I’m going to say. I’ve never rewatched it to recall what happened. Please try to bear with my vague memories.

If I may say, I wasn’t really interested about mecha (and I’ve endlessly told it already  if you’ve read my another mecha review of Gurren from the site) , which is why I had my brows raised when I first saw it. Also, I don’t think this post will capture what I felt two years ago. I think that that me who liked Code Geass back then isn’t that lively anymore inside me…

Now that two years have passed since then. I am asking myself why. Why did I even like this show which I never even once attempted to rewatch? Why did I even enjoy it if it has faulty story telling? Why did I like it even though I myself knew some of the characters should actually be dead because of FLEIJA? Why did that logic even slip into my head and agreed to everyone else that it was awesome(well yes, in some ways)?

I’m constantly looking for answers inside my head but the only thing I was able to come up is that… I’m not too sure of this but, I think Code Geass has just the right mix of what I was looking for a “guilty pleasure” anime, based on my preference that is. It has the enough action to keep me right on the edge of my seat. It also displays a battle of wits which makes me more and more indulged on the story. It has the intriguing and puzzling scope with regards to the origin of Geass and C.C . What more, I like stories about vengeance.

I admire Lelouch’s charisma. You can really see how screwed he and his plans are, which never failed to amaze. This specifically reminded me of the landslide episode and this allowed me to hail how great he was in trying to think of strategies – War strategies that is. This even made me root for him even though he is such a villain at times.

Story-wise, I think I remember being very intrigued about C.C and her origins. I was hoping of being able to get a clear ending for her but we all know Geass’ origin wasn’t even explained properly. Plus, we’ve been tricked of waiting when they’re going to mention C.C’s real name. Now that I try to recall all of it. I think the part which went hazy was the start of episodes where there was a Jupiter and all of these Sword of Akasha, and World of C’s all in one. I didn’t even bother to understand any of it… So I think I was primarily hooked on the Geass itself and didn’t bother to do any self-insertion to Lelouch’s grudge against his parents or even to other characters’ circumstance such as Kallen’s and Suzaku’s. Meanwhile, if I’ll try to explain my posts about Knightmares, I probably got too excited about the fights.

In the end, I still can’t believe I didn’t blog any of the flaws I saw about the show. Did I purposely let it slip? Then again, I might have not even noticed any of those and didn’t give attention because I was just a budding blogger back then. This simply shows how ignorant and apathetic I was on the anime I’m watching back then. Haha!

And in case you didn’t know the motivation behind the post, September 28, 2008 was the day last episode of R2 aired.

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image credits: pixiv users 嵐月, ときの

I had a hard time collating this post because it’s hard to find HDs of all these OPs.

10. UNDO

I liked the Ed and Al moments in this OP since it greatly displays the relationship between the brothers. Also, the title itself of the song had an impact to me and I think all viewers would probably be able to relate with what I’m thinking about the word in relation to the story of the series.

9. Allegro Cantabile

I love piano and how the song goes simply makes me think of Nodame’s very own technique in playing the piano.  Not that I’m saying the artist is also random, but it’s spontaneous, very much the same on how Nodame plays with the notes.

8. Reflectia

Reflectia is such a weird word and I’m not sure whether this is an engrish word for reflection. Either way, I like how this song goes because I’m sick of the depressing story already of the anime. It helps that I look forward listening to a feel good OP before proceeding to a baww-ing story, and watching an irritating male protagonist.

7. Only My Railgun

Of course, biribiri’s focus in this OP was the reason why I was drawn to it compared to PSI-Missing. I like the techno sound of this OP. I guess it has something to do as well with the energetic vibes of the OP which makes you go hyper.

6. Complication

It has to be the lyrics and the translation of this song which is the reason why I liked it. It relates very well to the situation of the three main protagonists since it talks about grasping reality and what decision to make. It actually very much fits Mikado’s situation since it started to be the OP during the part of the story where he has to decide what’s the role of Dollars in Ikebukuro.

5. Karma

This video is actually the one you’ll see in the game, not in the anime, but anyway, the anime also used the same song. I think I could say the artists didn’t really know the meaning of the word Karma but, I think the message of the song fits the story of Luke, on how he is stuck from being a replica or substitute for somebody, and how it says from the song that it’s still entirely possible to be somebody else.

4. Free Bird

This OP is just refreshing and at the same time sad to listen to. I don’t know how to describe it, but I feel good whenever I listen to it. I can’t seem to express it well but I certainly liked the build-up in the chorus part. I mean, it’s pretty hard to decode since there are no lyrics at all.

3. Puzzle

This one’s funky on its own way and both the video and the music is fun to watch/listen to. I find it relieving I could listen to this OP before watching the anime which actually tackles a serious issue, aside from the fact that it seemingly make fun out of it most of the time. The last part of the vid is a favorite.

2. Word of the Voice

I specifically like the face covering part in this video. Well, probably this is the best OP that could describe the show because it’s about confusion and uncertainty of the protagonist on where could this “voice” be coming from. And I’m guilty I’m fond of Flow’s songs ranging from Days to Colors but I specifically liked this one because it has a more serious tone (I think).

1. Ambivalent World

Hahaha, unexpected, yes? I don’t know but I seem to like Miyuki Sawashiro’s voice in this song. And also, I feel more attached to Kanbaru’s character and how she felt towards Hitagi after those events, which made me like the lyrics. I mean, Senjogahara’s smile (probably the one when she was talking to Araragi) was even explicitly stated in the lyrics and that it was the trigger of the breakdown.

Overall, I think it’s hard to make a post about music. Some songs just generally comes to my liking without even warranting for an explanation. And to think I tried to explain why I liked these OPs was a headache. I don’t think I would ever make a similar post like this again, but then again, I already stated via twitter that I’ll be doing the top ED as well, and might as well do the Insert Songs… Didn’t knew it was this hard. Then again, if I’ll try to explain much of it, most of my liking, if not whim, comes from the message of the song, or simply, the lyrics, as well as the video itself.

I noticed just now, all of these has English titles

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image credits: pixiv user TNSK

Okay, let me first introduce you to the Dualistic Dependence Theory. It is an economic theory which states that the existence of poor and the rich (non-poor) is inevitable and poverty could never be erased from the face of the earth.

It is probably much represented already by the electrolytic clouds that there is a barrier between those who are poor and those who have the money. It was even stated at  one point that the rich were the ones responsible for this division. Also, it was quite portrayed in the first episode that the poor won’t easily be able to get through the electrolytic clouds, which I’ll explain a bit more in detail later. Popo during episode one would be seen talking with a bunch of people making a hot air balloon that would supposedly let them reach the vicinity above, or in this case, the place of rich people. This actually made me remember Gurren Lagann on how there is the concept of the people under the ground and those who are above who pulls the strings so that those who are beneath the crust will stay so, and if we would try to remember, Lordgenome mentions as well the reason as “something inevitable” due to the Anti-Spirals. Although, I have to make it clear that in Gurren Lagann, those who are beneath the surface aren’t necessarily those who are poor, same as to those who are atop who aren’t necessarily the rich as well.

So, now, let me go back to Kaiba. Also, I think it’s easier to refer to people above the surface as those who have the power while those who are beneath as those who are powerless, or so it seems. Similar to the representation from Gurren Lagann, Kaiba presented the “barrier” between the two strata as something man-made or induced by men themselves. So here I am asking myself, does poverty/inequality inevitably exists, or is it because the people let it exist? It seems Kaiba answers it with “the people let it exist”. After all, if those who are rich didn’t make the electrolytic clouds, then the barrier couldn’t have existed, and those who were living beneath the surface weren’t stuck there to begin with.

Electrolytic clouds in Kaiba aren’t as simple as ordinary clouds, or else it won’ be named that way. It seems that inhaling the particles of the electrolytic clouds will make you forget your memories. It’s as if it is trying to imply that trying to transcend from being poor to that of being rich is similar to forgetting who you really are (since you have to pass through the clouds to live atop the surface). And as we all know it, this is some kind of brainwash mechanism which makes those who are poor think that it’s impossible for them to climb atop someday. Of course, there are still those who hold their hopes up. Take Chroniko for example, she had the dream to abandon their poor ways of living, but in her attempt to escape poverty, the rich tried to tamper both her memories and body, living her family mere amounts of luxurious food that would only hold for a day. It seems that those who have power will always be able to find a way to hinder those who are trying to make it at the top.

Of course, this is a mere representation of the anime– of what could be happening in the real world. I won’t know for sure if this is the absolute mechanism that we are currently following. All that I could envy is that, in Kaiba, the protagonists were able to eliminate the existence of the electrolytic clouds which symbolizes the barrier between those who are poor and rich.

Will that ever happen in real life? Or do we succumb in the idea that poverty and inequality is indeed inevitable and that poverty will never be erased from the face of the earth? Does this also prove that the elimination of the barrier between those who are rich and poor only happen in fiction?

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image credits: pixiv user ノースキャロライナ飴子

I’ve always felt that something is wrong with this show and I’d say it would be the establishment of facts, however relevant or irrelevant they could be. For example, the existence of guns, the source of Angel Player software, and many other things. This makes me remember the feeling I had when I watched Cencoroll wherein I ranted on how half-baked it was and somehow presumptuous that the audience already know half of the stuff when the audience actually do know nothing. Now about that, I’ve read some entries as well contrary to mine saying they actually admire it for being creative and something that would actually lead you to imagining things for yourself.

If you apply this thing to Angel Beats! I just don’t know if it is justified if I just assume guns are indeed actually just made of dust molded into that shape, and there it goes, it is a gun already. More like, To Aru universe wherein the students have their own personal realities, which dictates the reality itself. This, I highly doubt is the situation in the Angel Beats! universe, so now, how would I be able to establish what is real? If I would be citing Track Zero, it is said there that they could be capable of rearranging the atoms and thus, create something out of dust. This is rather anachronistic considering the place is supposedly a haven for them to seek fulfillment.

Also, Yuri and the others have thus far reasoned out that they knew how things work because they experienced it themselves, just as how they believe that they might disappear if they try to take the classes seriously. In the first place, we knew in episode 9 that Otonashi has actually studied seriously after what has happened to his sister so he tried to pursue a college degree in medicine. If we try to apply that concept of being fulfilled as the reason of disappearing, things just seems off. In the very first place, when Otonashi was still alive, he was already serious in studying, would that make him disappear even if he tried to study hard as well in the Angel Beats! universe? Not right? I mean how could that possibly make him fulfilled or satisfied in anyway if he’s done that already many times. See now? There is a very weak establishment of how things do really work in the Angel Beats.

I also find it odd that Kanade was able to get hold of the Angel Player while the others didn’t. More like, it was customized for her, even though that wasn’t the case as explained in ep 12. Moreover, she existed long before Otonashi came to that universe when it was Otonashi himself who had his heart donated so Kanade could keep on living, based from the last episode. Just like how Otonashi said it on the last episode, it was even somehow an anomaly for him to wander off to that place because he was indeed fulfilled when he “died”. Because of this, I’m starting to think that the universe might probably not really a purgatory-like place but just a wrinkle in space where people who died just like them often wander to, and it just happened that those who came across the place all similarly have a scarred life, when they were still alive.

One weakness as well I saw was the existence of Guild. It was rather convenient for Chaa and the others to meekly accept the end of it all during ep 12. Also, now that I’ve finished reading Track Zero, it was explained there that they can rearrange the atoms for it to transform into something you remember from your memories. If I’ll go back to that certain event where other Guild members were going to fire that cannon-like thing to Kanade, I still don’t understand why they messed up on firing it. I mean, if they were able to build such thing, then they should also be able to control it, unless those who build it already disappeared — but this wasn’t the case because they do know by the looks of how they operated it.

The full packed underlying plot during the latter episode 12 was also confusing. I actually didn’t understand a thing… I mean the ending was even hardly related to the shadows incident. I think Angel Beats would have done better if they didn’t indulged the story with so many technicalities such as the shadows, the guild, the angel player, etc. Instead, they would have focused on that message Jun Maeda said he was trying to convey to the audience, which is — life is something precious and wonderful.

If I’ll summarize what I felt when everything ended… It has to be foiled.

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image credits: pixiv users u & ちな２

Hi guys, and to everyone who are reading this post. I must admit that I only have limited time to spend in the animeblogosphere, since I have to tend to school duties (my thesis project), which is why, this post will be the one to wrap up for this winter season of 09/10. Spring is now again coming, as well as the nearing 2nd anniversary of the site. It’s just sad that I might not be able to prepare anything for it since there would still be final exams for me. Meaning to say, I really don’t have the time to fool around, and so, to shorten and speed up the blogging process, I’ll do this lump sum entry for other anime(s) which I watched and finished airing this season, and from the previous.

Also, I might only be able to start doing first impression posts for this coming season during the last week of April.

Anime(s) that will be reviewed in this post would be Baka Test, Kimi ni Todoke, Sora no Woto, and Kobato, in order of appearance. Apologies for not writing in-depth individual entries for the four.

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image credits: pixiv user プロ猿ファー・ゴル

Baka to Test to Shoukanjuu

I actually made an entry saying how superficial and misleading the anime is, but I guess I wasn’t entirely correct. I was able to appreciate the entirety of the show, thanks to Akihisa’s sister, who always lecture Akihisa regarding effort simply being a means to an end. Of course, no one would be able to defend the anime with regards to its weak, and linear plot structure, which is why I sometimes just don’t care about it and just enjoy the anime which is by switching off your brain and pretend to be an idiot as well. The story and character developments of the show is very cluttered on every direction.

One thing I liked with Baka Test is the sudden shift of mood in the theme of the anime with regards to studying. I particularly liked Yuuji’s proclamation on why he is trying to beat Class A, and that is to prove that studying is not the only thing that matters.

Yep, undoubtedly most of the people believe that if they study hard, and graduate with flying colors, they’ll be successful in life and all that. The series somehow wants to say that this is not necessarily true, which I heavily agree! You can see how Class A struggled during the last minute when Class A used different tactical measures to beat them, such as focusing instead on physical prowess of the students.

Libera mentioned from one of her posts about Kubo’s(glasses guy) relative absence in the story and I agree that he would have been fun to tease as well if he appeared more regularly. I didn’t particularly liked any gender-directed jokes to the characters but– I’d say it was pretty much funny to watch them interact, as simple as that. I don’t have anything to say about the content of the series because there’s essentially nothing to discuss about.
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image credits: pixiv user 雪見@ばかてす

Kimi ni Todoke

I was expecting a one or two kisses and I was disappointed I didn’t witness any. Kimi ni Todoke, similarly to what others have said had this refreshing feeling when you watch it, but sadly, I’d say it fades and fades every after episode. It wasn’t very consistent on making me feel absorbed in the show. I don’t really know why half of the season were already directed towards Chizu, as if Kazehaya and Sawako was already forgotten. It’s not like I’m not shipping Ryuu and Chizu, but it’s just that viewers aren’t still satiated with the thigs concerning Kazehaya and Sawako, and yet the focus already shifted from their relationship. As the anime progressed, the development between the two also lessened, which is why I didn’t really feel satisfied on how it ended.

There were countless cheesy moments that I sometimes want to puke. I was expecting a lot from the Kazehaya/Sawako ship but there was a sudden turn of focus directed towards Ryuu and Chizu, which I didn’t really liked. I think I expected a lot from this show because it gave a different aura at first, but I think it waned because of lack of Kazehaya and Sawako moments.

Now I’m having second thoughts whether I should rate this anime high because it didn’t really became that awesome I thought it would be, probably driven by the myriad of positive insights the anime garnered during the first few weeks. I mean, it was just a new mane but it is actually an old swine. Things were cliche, especially on Kurumi’s case– considering she didn’t really reappeared again for a nice comeback. I don’t know how the show would be able to redeem itself for me if ever it will have a second season. It lost its touch to me already.

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image credits: pixiv user さくた

Sora no Woto

Sora no Woto would have done great, but there just seems to be a lot things left unexplained, and too many to speculate. It encouraged me a bit to expect something due to episode 7 being great and all, but it gave me false hope that it might do something spectacular at the end.

I’m also one of those who wasn’t really amused on how Rio’s actions were just shown late in the series. I think she should have left a little bit earlier in the series so as to make it appear more essential to the development of the events. Probably one thing I liked from the show is the idea of diversity, differences and misunderstanding of humans. This could be witnessed on how the legend was told differently on Helvetia and Rome.

Sound of the skies indeed. Language is a complicated thing because it may imply different meanings, but a harmonious sound — it is rather simple and could be understood by everyone, as long as you intently listen to it. I liked how Kanata’s sound remained to be the instrument for achieving the peace on Seize.

The concept of war also touches Sora no Woto due to its post apocalyptic setting. I firmly believe that it failed on showing us the true ways soldiers live their lives in camp sites they are situated, since we can see how carefree these teenage girls are most of the times. Even so, I think it was still great that we see on the last part on how much soldiers themselves don’t really want conflict as much as possible. Although, of course soldiers such as Hopkins really exists, then again it also shows how only few really are bipolar in the army.

The ending was rather happy though, considering it was said during the first episodes that the end is actually nearing its end. Contrary to that, it’s as if that the falling sakura petals signifies life. Then again, I don’t know if that end of the world was explicitly stated literally, because it might have just meant the end of the world due to the turmoil the world is currently facing due to conflict among countries.

I really didn’t expected Rio’s return. Considering the past conflicts between the countries, I don’t really think the Emperor was that kind enough to let her return to Seize. Then again, we could definitely see here again how misleading the legend was (refer to the Soro no Woto wiki). The negative notions to the Emperor can’t be helped, just as how different versions of the legend proliferated on the two countries. Misunderstanding and cultural diversity was the root cause of it all.

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image credits: pixiv user あーさら

Kobato

Kobato has lots of shallow episodes, not even related to the main plot of story oftentimes. Only few episodes could back up and support the main storyline which I what I didn’t liked because Kobato seems to me a very weak anime, in terms of development, in terms of events. Bulk of the anime were mainly focused on collecting konpeito and that’s it. I could only mention very few episodes which I liked, namely the fire flies, the tree, kohaku involved episodes, and the Ioryogi developments. Most of the happenings with regards to that of Yomogi Nursery is very flimsy. I thought the anime would give significance to Sayaka, and yet the anime deviated from her relationship with Okiura right after it was decided that the Nursery would be demolished. Not much was shown on her side whether the two reverted to their past relationship. You would just see them at the end starting up a new Nursery.

Much of the story wasn’t really disclosed, and much of the plot would just happen during the latter part of story, which is why I’d say Kobato is not that bad — it’s just that it didn’t really gave that dazzling aura at first sight.

I’d say Kobato is such a trying hard moeblob character that she is sometimes a pain to watch. I can’t exactly figure out if the studio/CLAMP is trying to project her as a moe character or not, but if they are trying to do so, I think they failed because her cutesy antics didn’t really captivated me that much, it actually sometimes annoys me a lot. Fujimoto’s extreme tsundereness is irritating as well which is why I can’t really feel the romance in the air when he’s with Kobato.

I’d say the last part didn’t really took me that much because… Is it just me or — I don’t feel Kobato and Fujimoto shared enough moments to be identified as a “couple” so I was just barely touched on the final moment Kobato bid farewell to Fujimoto. Oh, and one of the best moments for me was when I saw Ioryogi still continuing his quest to protect Kobato. And of course, The Ashita Kuru hi moment was my favorite. I didn’t get though the whole idea of the place Kobato was trying to reach. Does this place explicitly means a location or does it imply ambiguity when it simply means besides Fujimoto? That was the only idea I was able to deduce since Kobato was seemingly reincarnated in the end.

Now now. I was actually questioning how come all the konpeito have the same sizes? I mean if Kobato really helped a lot, should it be a lil bigger? It’s unfair that you only count simply in terms of how many you’ve helped. Shouldn’t it be on the degree of how you helped other people? Right? I mean CLAMP has this concept of equivalence in xxxHolic so I thought they should be applying that as well here. I lol’d a bit though when Fujimoto’s konpeito was large enough to fill up the bottle on the last minute, because I was somehow thinking of that as a plot device.

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image credits: CLAMP

So– I heard many people were complaining on how half-ass the ending was for such an anime, even though it was just a side story. But then again, if I have something to say about railgun, for me, it’s definitely much better than index.

Index has so much to tell, and yet everything were forcefully packed. Railgun has few but splendid episodes to offer, and sprinkled with few fillers. (Okay, now now, this is not an entry contrasting the two.)

I agree that the arcs were rather short, and lacks some vivid explanations, clearer conclusion and more fights, but I don’t really think that it resulted to the anime being bad. The fillers were bad, I suppose, because I didn’t really enjoyed it, although I think the studio did well job on giving importance and screen time for other characters. The stories were really irrelevant that the show somehow got deviated from what was going to happen, which was hinted by the OP sequence. The viewers somehow anticipated that already but because they did some fillers, it probably caused a let down for several viewers which liked the previous events and yet expecting more to come, which didn’t really came, not until the last 3 episodes.

Things were rushed? I don’t think the fillers ate up much of the episodes needed in order to contain the main plot of the story, because I do think the last episodes were just sufficient to explain the continuity. It’s just that it happened to be so short.

I don’t know what to say regarding Saten-san. I was rather rooting for her throughout the series because I also want her to gain a power of her own, and finally relieve her of that feeling of envy towards her other friends, who often play a large part on saving other people, and the academy city using their abilities. I don’t know if I should be happy that she remained to be a significant key character until the last minute, because she is a Level 0.

With regards to Uiharu and the flowers on her head, I just don’t get it until now. It still remains as a mystery. What is its relevance when her powers is related on constant preservation of temperature? Weather? Humidity? I don’t get it, when it somehow appears that she don’t even know that there are silly flowers on her head.

Touma appearances were great, although I kind of  agree that he has to appear very limited in this show because this is not his show already. Although it is kind of awkward that he was not seen completely during the last scenes already. Because of that, he seemed to be a Deus ex Touma for the Level Upper incident.

I really liked railgun, especially its level upper arc, which touches the concept of AIM. I’m just so fond of it because it serves as a parallel world to that of the academy city which was caused by the simultaneous usage of the powers of the espers. I don’t really get it but I do think AIM is somewhat the representation of the aggregate personal realities of all the espers in the city, which is why it’s fun to poke into that concept, since powers and abilities in railgun were largely based on that concept.

Railgun is raining with so many interesting pseudo scientific concepts, which is what I really like with the show. You really don’t need to understand the whole concept underlying the concepts, and I do think that the studio did well on constructing diagrams for easy understanding of some of the concepts, like the what-not syndrome I didn’t remember.

I like how the show showcased the full prowess of Misaka, Kuroko during the last episode, and of course with the grand entrance of Mitsuko Kongou’s Aero Hand. Aero Hand is powerful although I don’t really think it’s that strong because the user is damn vulnerable before she’ll be able to activate her power. Kuroko is indeed strong although I think it’s very hassle as well that she has to have contact over things in order to teleport it. It’s fun to see her wielding her exclusive set of pins though. Her long range teleportation is quite convenient though… Considering at that very instant, she teleported as well the metal stuff. Konori-senpai is cool and all that with the motorcycle scene but when she took the blow from Telestina, and threw Misaka, I just can’t imagine how she still managed to recover and land safely, and in one piece.

For those who did not noticed, the date Aug. 9 was somehow intently shown during the last scene in the hospital. And for everyone’s sake, Aug.10 is actually the date that the Sisters’ Arc began, based from the manga (not sure if its the same with the light novel). Which is why, I’m beginning to speculate that JC Staff might be planning to produce another season for Railgun, which showcases the Sisters’ Arc in Misaka’s perspective. Everyone almost see this in an impossible way because much of the material regarding the arc was already presented in Index, and that, some says that Misaka begins to play already a significant role in the parent story, that there will be no need anymore for a side-story series. Either way, I’d love to see the battle between Misaka versus Frenda and Mugino. Then again, we did saw them appear in a cameo, which really increased my hunch that they might animate the sisters’ arc. I hope, that even though they won’t be planning a second series (which is highly doubtful due to lack of material), they release an OVA for it. This might compensate for the fillers I didn’t really liked.

I liked the series as a whole, even though only half of it is really canon, and I really enjoyed the episodes which presented plot advancement, because of its engaging story. The ending was kind of let down though because the only part which I liked was the action and fights, but not how the series was wrapped up — which is kind of expected because Index2 still has to continue it.

I do hope to see the characters aside from Misaka again — even if not in Railgun2, but in Index2, if possible.

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image credits: pixiv user いたち