Unlike its more famous namesake, Stay Gold by Limelight is merely the third ending song for the strangely never-ending shounen series, Kiba. Speaking of which, there’s no actual Kiba (fang) in Kiba. Like most other mainstream shounen anime, Kiba borrows the songs of a lot of the more mainstream popular artistes. So far, all three endings [...]
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I'm already looking at what new shows are coming up in January, so perhaps it's time to look back over 2006.What a year it was! I sat down to do a top ten and came up with a top three or a top fifteen. And my top three are competitors not just for the top anime of this year, but for my favorite anime of all time:Simoun -- I have never enjoyed an anime more. Great characters, great emotions, a fascinating alien society. A wonderful and mysterious conclusion. True art. I have compared it to Shakespeare. And the fact that all the voice actors are women, even those who play male parts, gives this show a special feeling. The sound director got outstanding performances from the entire cast, which is a large and impressive one. The light dusting of yuri adds to its appeal.Suzumiya Haruhi no Yuuutsu -- The best animation ever in a TV anime, brought to us by Kyoto Animation. A bizarre and interesting story and one of the funniest anime ever. The episodes were shuffled from their chronological order, leaving some viewers angry and perplexed and me delighted. It marked the arrival of Hirano Aya as a top seiyuu. In Haruhi, she created one of the great characters in anime. And there was wonderful seiyuu work as well from Sugita Tomokazu and the inimitable Gotou Yuuko.NANA -- This show leaves me emotionally exhausted every week. Such real, deep, suffering and exalted characters, and a story that just won't quit. The perfect adaptation of a great josei manga. And NANA has taken late-night anime to a higher range of TV ratings in Japan, broadening its appeal to a female audience that normally stops watching when the dramas are over at 11.Those are my top three. But there are so many more. These next three are almost at the same level:Asatte no Houkou -- A realistic-feeling story based on a magic event. Very beautiful direction -- spacious and calm -- by Sakurabi Katsushi, the director of Tsukihime. Extremely atmospheric, and with strong voice-acting from Itou Shizuka and others.Bokura ga Ita -- The best shoujo romance anime I've ever seen, at least the equal of KareKano. The performance by new seiyuu Sasaki Nozomi is glorious. She may have the most moé voice I've ever heard, and she uses it to create strong emotion. The look and direction -- by Artland and Daichi Akitaro, the director of Fruits Basket -- are pretty and poetic.Hataraki Man -- Totally unique and deeply involving, especially for those of us who have been in the work world. The central character is a workaholic editor at a popular magazine. The stories deal with her work, her life, and her relations with the people around her. Serious and comic by turns, Tanaka Rie elevates herself to the seiyuu elite, if she wasn't there already. No two characters could be more different than Chii (Chobits) and Hiro, the Hataraki Man. This show is the only late-night anime besides NANA to have entered the top ten anime TV ratings this year.And now we come to a group of nine anime that would belong in my year's top ten, if I could have limited the number to that:Saiunkoku Monogatari -- It's a Saturday-morning shoujo historical romance, set in a fantasy analogue of ancient China. With nine popular novels to work with, the first series has 39 episodes, and another series will start in the spring. Seiyuu Kuwashima Houkou creates a great character in Shuurei, the cute but serious teenager who is a brilliant scholar with ambitions to help her country, and who is loved by its young king (played by Seki Tomokazu), and others.Honey & Clover 2 -- Not the equal of the first series, but the equal of almost any other show. Perhaps my enjoyment was tempered by the fact that I had read the entire manga by the time I saw it. But this, like NANA and Hataraki Man, is anime at a higher intellectual and emotional level.Shinigami no Ballad -- A neglected short show, six separate episodes with some touching stories of death and near-death, presided over by a cute, white-clad shinigami played by the fascinating voice of Kobayashi Akiko.Hanbun no Tsuki ga Noboru Sora -- Such a wonderful hospital romance that it has been made into a TV drama. Started this year's trend toward basing anime on popular light novels. After her triumph in Honey & Clover in 2005, Takahashi Mikako began this year, which has been a great one for her, starring as the tsundere sick girl Rika.Otogi Jushi Akazukin -- So it's a Saturday-morning fairy tale for kids. But it has some of the best backgrounds, animation and colors I've ever seen, some nice variations on fairy tales, and great voice-acting from Tamura Yukari, Sawashiro Miyuki, Kugimiya Rie and others, with guest shots from such stars as Kuwashima Houkou. What's not to like?Negima!? -- Unbelievable visual invention from director Akiyuki Shinbou, who has developed steadily from Tsukuyomi Moon Phase, through PaniPoni Dash!, to this. Fans of the first anime or the manga may be a bit put off by the great liberites he takes with the story, but visually this is truly art. The colors are unbelievable. The seiyuu cast is large and exciting. And the humor is good, too.Kanon -- Kyoto Animation has taken it upon themselves to remake a classic anime, and they have made it even better. This show defines moé. The animation is near the level of the studio's Suzumiya Haruhi, and director Ishihara Tatsuya (AIR, Suzumiya Haruhi) draws out the emotional trajectory with delicacy and restraint.Soukou no Strain -- A complete surprise, this looked like a mecha show but turned out to be a shoujo-ish SF adventure with mecha dressing. Kawasumi Ayako and Yukana make it their own personal playground and show us what real voice-acting is. It mixes genres in a profligate way, but ends up pleasing those of us who don't demand the strengths of standard mecha SF. It has lots of angst, lots of fanservice, uneven humor, and an interesting story based very loosely on A Little Princess.Lemon Angel Project -- A little show about a group of aspiring idols. Few other people liked it. I thought it was one of the nicest shows of the year, with a real story and some enjoyable characters. The young teen idol who was the star had the weirdest voice imaginable, but it worked to produce the emotion the story required. And it was the first appearance this year of Chihara Minori, whose role as Yuki in Suzumiya Haruhi later took her to prominence.There are so many other shows I enjoyed. Kashimashi was the first of two shows this year where a boy turns into a girl. In this case, he is reconstructed by aliens after a tragic accident. The humor works, the shoujo-ai (?) romance works, and the voice-acting is wonderful: Ueda Kana, Tamura Yukari, Horie Yui, Asano Masumi. But I had read the manga, and that often reduces my enjoyment, since the anime almost never equals the manga. The other show in which a boy becomes a girl, Otome wa Boku ni Koi Shiteru, is like a mix of Maria-sama ga Miteru, Kashimashi and Strawberry Panic. Horie Yui does a great job as the boy whose grandfather makes his attending a girls' school a condition of his inheritance. S/he is a lovely character: strong, funny, natural, and romantic.I enjoyed Nishi no Yoko Majou, but the story was too rushed. It needed 24 episodes rather than 12. I watched Kirarin Revolution for a while: it's a pure shoujo aspiring-idol show for young girls, but still seemed to me to have something. However, the repetition of tropes finally got me down. Sumomo mo Momo mo has some hilarious bits and excellent voice-acting, and/but some of the most intense underage fanservice ever in anime, rivalling Rizelmine. Kin-iro no Corda is a prototypical reverse harem, but the bishounen are real people, not ciphers, and the lead girl, played by Takagi Reiko, is a wonderful character.And there are many good shows that I just didn't personally like as much as others did. Ouran High School Host Club had a great performance from Sakamoto Maaya and humor that really reached some people. But not me. Red Garden is a good show, but anything with monsters is hard for me to enjoy, and the plot and character development move slowly for me. Bakumatsu Kikansetsu Irohanihoheto has animation that at least rivals Kanon's, and an interesting setting at the end of the shogunate in the late 1860s, but the story doesn't reach me, and the magic seems out of place. ARIA the NATURAL and Mushishi were good shows, but I found the plots insipid and just never cared about the characters. Higurashi no Naku koro ni was excellent in its way, but violence to innocent people doesn't do much for me. Welcome to the NHK has some good parts but in the end doesn't do it for me, either. I never got into Black Lagoon, but I love Toyoguchi Megumi as a seiyuu, and from what I read, it's something I should take another look at. The Third was not a good show, but she was outstanding in it. Noto Mamiko in a new kind of role was a revelation in Witchblade, but once again...monsters.And so, on to the end of the season and to next year!
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What is a 'Piroshki'? The answer is: it’s the European version of our Chinese jiaozi or guo-tie, in where a skin made out of flour are stuffed with minced meat and fried. Those who had watch the episode should know that the cat that Makoto had brought back home in an episode earlier was named “Piroshki” by Yuuichi after “Pork Bun” failed to convince her. Piro-chan sounds like a cute name anyway; but personally, I don’t even mind if the cat were to be named “Pork Bun”. I was really surprised that Akiko-san’s had allowed Makoto to keep a cat in the house when her own daughter is allergic to cats in the first place anyways. I’m not going to talk about the episode titles of Kanon ever again. I just realized how I had made a fool out of myself by searching words such as “fugue”, “divertimento”, “caprice” inside the dictionary while end up with nothing at all. Those are all musical words. In this episode’s case, the word “fantasia” happens to come to work. Refer to Wikipedia for more information about those musical nouns. Humph."You'll are Piro from now on!""Why are pork buns so delicious?"Makoto was about to go to the nursery where she worked when she asked Yuuichi, who was sending her off, why was pork buns delicious. Yuuichi skeptically looked at her and asked what sort of question was that while the two of them continued to chit-chat all the way to the nursery.Yuuichi noticed the red haired girl.In school, Yuuichi happen to stumble upon Mai as he remembered that it was her who told him that Makoto was in the hills where he had found her. He then started to ask her questions regarding how did she knew about Makoto. While Mai said that it was her feelings, she hinted Yuuichi about another red haired girl who might know more about Makoto.Makoto waiting for Yuuichi at the gate..After school, Yuuichi met with the red haired girl as he was looking out the windows from the staircase. She told him that Makoto was waiting for him at the school gates. Yuuichi came to recall that he had known someone as ‘Sawatari Makoto’ which he had knew in the distant past. "I'll treat you with some pork buns!"Makoto had said that she was scolded for bringing Piro to the nursery. Yuuichi cheered her up by treating her with some pork buns."You have fed Piro with cold milk..."Back at home, Yuuichi finally finished his logarithm homework which Makoto had ruined a few days ago. Makoto knocked at Yuuichi’s door, came into the room and said that Piro had become sick. Yuuichi went over and found out that the poor cat was fed with cold milk. He then advised Makoto not to just pamper with the cat.The next day, Piro became much better. As Yuuichi brought Makoto to the nursery, she felt that her legs had become wobby and weak. Yuuichi asking questions.In school, Yuuichi had approached the red haired girl which he had seen a day earlier. She introduces herself as Amano Mishio. Yuuichi had asked whether Mishio could be friends with Makoto, but Mishio’s response was that she refuses to, and would never. Mishio continued to say that he might have known Makoto in the distant past, and as Mishio was about to tell Yuuichi about Makoto’s real form, he told her to stop.Snow started falling in the hills.Again, Makoto was waiting at the school gate for Yuuichi. This time, she had brought him up the hills in where they came to a place which was very familiar. Yuuichi knew something had happened in the past in here. It started to snow, as Yuuichi had offered to treat Makoto to pork buns when on their way home.Makoto reading manga together with Yuuichi.At home, Makoto had brought over a new manga which she had bought to be read together with Yuuichi. Yuuichi started to read the shoujo manga out loud with Makoto next to him on the bed. After finishing the mangas, Yuuichi announced that “Marriage is the grave of one’s life” and that Makoto said that she pity whoever would be marry him."It's the third time already!"During dinner, Makoto wasn’t able to hold her chopsticks properly and they fell to the floor. Akiko then offered to get her a spoon. In the older 2002 version of Kanon, Makoto fainted at the moment Akiko came back with a spoon, but luckily, it didn’t happened in this 2006 version.The fox which Yuuichi had rescued.At night, Makoto came over to Yuuichi’s room and decided to sleep next to him as Piro was sleeping on the bed. This is when Yuuichi remembers that it was a fox. It was a fox that he was talking to about Sawatari Makoto, someone he had like as a young lad. "Two requirements are needed for a miracle to happen."In school, he approaches Mishio once again, and this time, he confirmed that Makoto “isn’t human”. Mishio had gone through the same experience herself. She told Yuuichi that he is in a miracle. A miracle is a tiny shimmer, and two sacrifices are needed for a miracle to happen, and they are one’s memory & life. Makoto knows nothing about it. Her vitality will decrease, and slowly, it would be hard for her to act human. Finally, Mishio had asked Yuuichi to not drag her anymore into such happenings.My final thoughts: It seems that Nayuki had a really deep fetish for cats that she had even raped Piro the moment she saw it despite being allergic. If I were her, I would keep my distance with the cat and somehow persuade the owner of the cat to remove it.By the way, this is like, the first episode of Kanon (2006) without Ayu in it at all! ZOMG! But still if you ask me, Ayu > Makoto.
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Kiba, commercial 2 (actually, it’s the third one, but the first wasn’t that great) Here are clips from another cute Kiba card game commercial promoting the second set (click on images to enlarge… 12 in total): Random comments: I’ve been meaning to pick up a pack or two to check out the cards, but the places that [...]
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Finally, it’s Asa’s turn. It’s a pity that she had to be the last one to be featured in this anime. However, it seems that the other Shuffle! girls hadn’t appeared at all in this episode. No Lisianthus, no Nerine, no Kaede, no Primula, no Sakura, no nothing! Although Kaede and Primula did made a brief appearance, but that’s just about it. Asa were able to successfully gather everyone’s attention without the interferences of the other girls who were obviously ahead of her in gaining Rin’s attention. This episode tells the story of Asa and her life of romance. Without even Rin, she already has her own admirer, and worse, the admirer appears to be someone famous in school. This makes others unhappy. In here, Asa tried to make up her mind between Rin and the other guy while still trying to keep her usual cheekiness and cheerfulness. It took me two days to finish writing this long episode summary. Actually, it’s not even a summary at all! Appreciate it, you people! Oh and note that, there might be some R-15 rated screenshots under the cut, so you have been warned. Mainly it’s because of all those pantsu and changing scenes. Shuffle! is rated R-15 by Japan’s movie regulator Eirin according to AnimeU. But in Malaysia here, it’ll be rated as a U anyway. Those under the age feel free to take a peek, but if you are caught by your parents, I’ll not be held responsible. =\"Would you taste the soup?"The episode started with Asa waking up from her sleep. She pulled away the curtain and the sun shone into her room through the window. Doing some stretching, she noticed a small box of present on the table. Asa’s cheerful looking face started to fade away. Then, she went out of her room. Asa’s mother, Ama was cooking soup for breakfast, and had asked Asa to taste it for her. Asa did what her mother told her to do, and added some more flavor to the soup. It was perfect, and Ama had said that with Asa’s talent, she could marry anyone at anytime she wanted. Asa embarrassingly disagreed. Ama then brought up that Asa had received a present from yesterday and asked whether it was Rin. Asa stated that Rin wasn’t someone who would easily give presents. Ama thought of it and agreed with what her daughter said, while Asa went melancholy."Why you'd bring up Rin-san?"Meanwhile on the way to school, Kareha had told Asa that she was thinking to get a part-time job in a café as a waitress during the summer holidays and asked whether she would like to join her. While Asa thought about the skimpy waitress clothing she had to wear working in the café, she kindly turned down Kareha’s invitation. She added that those so-called cute uniforms won’t look cute on her, and that if Rin were to see her in those uniforms, he would go, “are you nuts?”. Kareha then wondered why Asa had brought up Rin. Asa said that it was nothing. Kareha went into her ‘fantasy-mode’ as Asa flinched. Asa told Kareha not to get any funny ideas as she sighed."Asa-chan!"As soon as they reached school, a guy came running from behind calling Asa’s name. Asa froze. The guy said something about the weather, and then started to apologize about what he had done the previous day that he might had scared her. Asa insisted that it’s okay. The guy replied saying that he’s relieved. He then went ahead of them into the school building. Kareha then realized that he was the guy Asa was talking about. Asa sighed.The guy giving Asa a present.Walking into her class in the third year section, she noticed that her female classmates were being cold to her. She started to recall the event where the guy earlier had given her the present which she had put on her table at home. Everyone must have known about it. She sighed."There's only one rule in love: take it or leave it."During lunch, Kareha had told Asa that she had became the center of attention, because the person who confessed his love to her was none other than the captain of the soccer team, Takizawa-san who is really popular among the girls. She also said that Takizawa was respected for resisting the advances of many female students. Asa’s response was that she wasn’t thrilled about the whole thing, and she didn’t think of him like that. Kareha said Asa had received his present, but Asa had cut in saying that she couldn’t think of a reason to refuse. Kareha then said: “There is only one rule in love: Take it or leave it.” Asa said that she didn’t hate him nor did she like him. Suddenly, Takizawa’s voice calling out to Asa was heard and Asa froze. He came over to the table and said that after lunch, his class and her class would be having P.E. together, and said that he would score a goal just for Asa. His smile was so charming. He then left the table and said, “See you later.” Kareha said that no wonder Asa wasn’t able to say anything, seeing Takizawa was such a direct person. “Boys are supposed to be a little pushy.” After saying that, she went into her fantasy world again. Asa sighed. Mayumi interviewing Asa.After lunch, as Asa and Kareha were walking across the second year section, they saw Rin together with Kaede (NOOOOOOOO!!!! NOT KAEDE IN ASA’S EPISODE! NO!11!!111!ONE!11!ONE!!!) and Mayumi. Mayumi instantly went over to Asa and acted like a interviewer holding a microphone and started to ask questions about Takizawa. Asa became speechless when she looked at Rin, but nevertheless, she still said, “So, you’ve heard it, Rin-chan.” Rin replied saying he did, since the rumor had been spread throughout school. Mayumi then with an aggressiveness a news channel would so sorely need, asked, “How it’s going?!” Asa’s respond was that relationships aren’t her thing and started to blush. She then looked at Rin. Rin said that he had never thought that Asa was more than another tomboy, and now that she might be more famous than he thought. Asa went over to Rin and started slapping Rin’s back. The bell rang and Asa started to run to change into her P.E. clothing with Kareha.Kareha taking off her clothes to change into her P.E uniform."What are you trying to say?"In the changing room, Kareha talked with Asa about Rin’s respond to her about Asa being more popular than he’d thought. Kareha’s conclusion was that Rin had finally take Asa as a girl. Asa denied saying that her relationship with Rin can never be more than friends. Kareha said that Asa and Rin make a good couple, while Asa shot down what she said by telling her to stop getting funny ideas and change already.Takizawa scoring a goal.During P.E, the males were playing football while the females were having their high jump test. Takizawa, as promised, got a goal. While Asa was still thinking about him, it was her turn to high jump. Thinking about Takizawa, but suddenly, Rin came into her mind. So, she couldn’t concentrate, and in the end, failed to jump across. She sprained her ankle while landing. Kareha helping Asa to bandage her foot.She was taken to the health office, in where Kareha had bandaged her wound. Rin and Kaede went over to see how Asa’s doing. Rin also said that Kaede almost cried, but Kaede said that it was because she heard that her Asa-senpai was seriously injured. Asa said that it was just a minor sprain. She tried to stand up but her ankle was still painful. Kaede then asked, since Kareha-senpai was good in healing magic, shouldn’t she try to heal her. But Asa said that it’ll recover before long even without magic. Kaede said that she wouldn’t be able to walk home by herself in this state, but Asa said that Rin would be taking her home. This is when Takizawa came into the health office, and said that homeroom ended late and he wasn’t able to come and see her immediately. He then offered to take Asa home, but Asa said that she had already asked Rin."I could ask you without much problem." ^^Rin knew that Asa was doing it on purpose, by pushing Takizawa’s offer to bring her home. Asa told Rin not to be bothered by it. The rumor had left Asa feeling a little embarrassed, but she had also felt guilty for not giving Takizawa a straight answer, and maybe it’s also the main reason Asa didn’t want him to take her home. Rin, on the other hand, can be asked without too much trouble, that he is a childhood friend and everything she could ask for. Rin said that Asa was’t sexy at all. Asa laughed, and Rin also joined in."Looks like Asa-senpai has a cute inside..."Back at the Shigure’s, Rin was told that Ama won’t be back before sundown. Asa then went to have a change of clothes, and naughtily, she said that Rin is free to peep at her changing as long as he gives her the heads-up before he does. Rin responded by saying that if she were to continue to tempt a healthy, young stud like him, he might. Ama cheerfully said that in that case, she’ll make sure he hears her adorable squealing and finally went away. Rin had a look around her room and saw that there were many plush dolls and soft toys around. He told himself that she is indeed quite cute in the inside, and might as well get more boyfriends if she were to be more feminine. He then noticed the small gift box which Asa had received from Takizawa. He thought to himself that Takizawa’s a real sincere guy, and wondered why Asa had refused to return his affections. "A young man and woman, all alone in a house..."On the other hand in Kaede’s house, Primula came out from her room and asked Kaede why Rin hadn’t come home. Kaede told her that Rin had brought Asa back to her house since she sprained a foot. Primula started saying weird stuffs like “A young man and woman... just the two of them...” and Kaede flinched. Kaede then told Primula not to say nonsense, and that Asa and Rin know how to behave themselves."Ehhh...?!"Back at Asa’s house, Rin decided to go to the bathroom since Asa had took so long to change. He has been coming here since junior high and that he is no stranger to the house. He reached the bathroom and turned the lock. Guess who’s inside? That’s right, it’s Asa in it. You should have seen Rin’s face at that time. Embarrassment. But well, Asa *you know which part* wasn’t seen in the anime, unlike in the games. Rin asked did Asa forgotten to lock the door, while Asa said that the lock was broken, so... Rin apologized and closed the door. Asa screamed.The two of them looked at each other."I gotta get the medicine!"Later on back in Asa’s room, the two of them had put themselves in a distance. They did not dare to look at each other, since they were still embarrassed. But they did eventually and laughed at each other. Still embarrassed, Asa suggested that they forget about it since it was just an accident. Rin agreed. They started to talk about themselves when they were in junior high school, in where Rin and Kaede oftenly visited Asa and Ama. Kaede had gone there to learn how to cook, and that is how Rin and Asa knew each other. Kaede had joined the cooking club, and Asa thought that Rin would also join her. But instead, Rin preferred to wait patiently for Kaede outside the class until cooking lessons were over. Asa also said that she was jealous of Kaede, because she hasn’t someone like Rin to look over her. She also wished to have someone as caring as Rin for herself. Rin said Takizawa was also worried about her, that he might be the one for Asa. Asa said that Takizawa was a little different. She would rather enjoy her high school life than get swept off her feet by some whirlwind romance. She can’t possibly live in a cage. But still, she hinted Rin that she wouldn’t mind falling for Rin. Rin became confused. Asa again said that she wouldn’t want to compete with Asa, Nerine and Kaede. Rin couldn’t get what she had wanted to say. Asa laughingly apologized and said that she would go make some tea and stood up. But since her ankle still hurt, she fell down on Rin, on the bed. They both became red. This is when Ama announced her arrival and the two of them were shocked. When Ama came into the room, they were already sitting separately. Ama noticed Asa’s leg and immediately went to get some medicine. The two of them let out a breath in relief. Rin looked at Asa and Asa sticked her tongue out, as if everything that happened were a joke. The next day in school, Kareha noticed a sad Takizawa walking into the school building holding the gift which he had given to Asa. She walked out and saw Asa being relieved with what she had done. She said that she might have a boy in mind which she can’t possibly leave alone and started to smile. Meanwhile, Rin was still being chased by the defense forces of KKK, SSS and NNN.
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This one’s a bit smaller again, after last month’s huge list. It’s probably going to be the last summary of 2006, as I’ve got something special in mind for December. :) + Top 8 Series With One Episode Watched + 8: Dai Mahou Touge The third release of Dai Mahou Touge didn’t really improve my opinion [...]
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The whole episode is about this so-called provisional contract between Negi and Asuna, in where, they had to *smooch* kiss each other in order to make such contract, and no, it has to be on the lips for it to actually work. So, Evangeline was the antagonist in this episode trying to lay her fangs on Negi while Negi agrees to let her take some of his blood if she promises to keep her fangs away from others. But as you would have guessed it, she did not agree with his terms."Takahata-sensei!"This episode starts with Evangeline trying to cause trouble by looking for Negi in his dorm. Takahata tried to stop her by creating an invisible shield surrounding the building, but Evangeline easily broke the shield with some of her spells. Takahata then tried to do something with his magic ring on his pinky finger to prevent Evangeline from going near to Negi, but Evangeline had controlled the minds of several girls who were roaming the campus to take care of Takahata and his ring. This is when Negi appeared at the door holding his staff, ready to fight. Takahata then shouted out advising Negi to run away while she can, since a vampire’s magic naturally disappears at dawn. Evangeline told Takahata to shut up, while Negi took the opportunity to fly away with his staff. Evangeline angrily trailed him from behind."What to you mean 'I finally bought it!'?"On the other hand, Asuna, Konoka and Setsuna were seen coming out from a shop, in where Asuna had just bought a used version of the game Zombie Rider. Setsuna complained that she had been using her Konoka-ojousama’s money instead of her own. As Setsuna continued to complain for calling them out for something like that, Asuna asked Konoka whether she had played it before. As Konoka weakly said that she hadn’t, Setsuna became mad and told Asuna to be responsible if Konoka’s characrer were to be damaged. Ignoring Setsuna, Asuna continued to introduce the zombie game to Konoka, and suddenly, Negi flew past them in the night sky. Asuna saw him, and then, giving the excuse that she would be buying some spring onions, she left Konoka and Setsuna behind with her Zombie thingie. Since Asuna don’t even know how to cook, Konoka wondered why she would buy spring onions. Meanwhile Setsuna was looking at the zombie game and somehow got interested in it…"I don't mind giving you my blood.."Asuna was on her way to Negi. Meanwhile, Negi started to talk with Evangeline about his father using his magic to imprison her in this school, and he said that he doesn’t mind giving his blood to her, as long as Evangeline promise him not to attack anyone again. Evangeline slowly flied closer and closer towards Negi as when she reached the distance enough to lay her fangs on Negi, she said, “Did you really think I’d promise you?! Don’t make me laugh! I’m a vampire, you see!”Before she could bite Negi, a shoe appeared out of nowhere and hit the vampire on her head. She turned her head and saw Asuna on the ground, throwing another shoe, and this time, it hit her on the face. As Evangeline became mad, Asuna carried a small boat and toss it at Asuna. Negi flee off her and flew towards Asuna as the boat hit Evangeline. Asuna asked him whether he is fine or not and Negi replied saying that he is. Evangeline got back to her senses and got mad at the two underestimating her. Asuna got to know that the vampire was actually Evangeline, one of her classmates, and that she had transformed into her current adult form with her magic. "Let me go, Chachamaru!"Before Negi and Asuna could expect it, Evangeline froze the water of the river by chanting some magic. Pillars of ice started to shoot at Negi. Asuna pushed Negi away from the ice pillars in time but instead hurt herself. Luckily it wasn’t any bad injury and she got up immediately, got her hand on an ice pillar, but before she could successfully shoot it at Evangeline, someone was holding her hand: it was Chachamaru! Asuna tried to struggle her hand off Chachamaru, but Chachamaru hold it firm, while saying that she’ll destroy anyone opposing her master, regardless whether she’s a classmate or not. She then tossed Asuna away. Negi got hold of Asuna and started to fly away with his staff. "This would be my first kiss!"Chamo the ermine then told Negi that he had no other choice but to make a provisional contract with Asuna. Asuna agreed to what Chamo had said. Meanwhile Evangeline and Chachamaru were looking for Asuna and Negi, they had started the provisional contract Pactio. A glow of light appeared. Asuna first kissed Negi on the forehead but Chamo insisted that she kiss on the lips. Asuna, with her brutal nature, became mad at Chamo and at first refused to do it and it was also her first kiss! But as Evangeline and Chachamaru were getting nearer, she hadn’t any choice and in the end, kissed Negi on the lips. Asuna became a much stronger girl in a robotic suit holding a huge sword. Evangeline and Chachamaru arrived and saw the event going on. Chachamaru then took on Asuna, and eventually lure her away from Negi, so that Evangeline can deal with him alone. A Pactio card.Back to Evangeline, she is ready to take Negi’s blood. Negi once again took off in his staff and flee, but this time, Evangeline easily caught him. Before she could bite him, Chamo crawled out from Negi’s pocket and attacked Evangeline. Evangeline lost her balance to fly in the air and fell down. She hit an iceberg, turned back to her normal size and continued to fall downwards. She recalled her past with the Thousand Master who had saved her after defeating her. He told her to live in the light, and this is where Evangeline saw that light was warm. The actual warm part Evangeline was talking about was Negi’s arms, in where he had saved her from falling to the ground."Evangeline, so now you you understand why you were put here."Evangeline questioned Negi as for why he had saved her. Negi, smiling, replied saying that she is still one of his students. Evangeline then melted the river that she had frozen earlier. The Headmaster of the Mahora Academy together with Takahata slowly appeared from behind a haze. They had talked about Evangeline and the reason why the Thousand Master had put her into the school. Chachamaru then came back together with a totally exhausted Asuna. Later on, Evangeline and Chachamaru left the others behind and went back.A letter from onee-san.Well then, the final part of this episode is about Negi receiving a letter from his onee-chan in Wales during the winter school holidays in Japan. Then, the scene turned to the beginning of the third year of school, and this is where the actual story begins.Thank you, guys!It’s not the end yet. It’s the Mahora Sentai Baka Rangers’ turn to showoff themselves. As usual, the main plot of the story is about Makie being fussy about unable to successfully finish her introduction that the other Baka Rangers decided to let her start their introductions. But, well… it wasn’t that successful either. =\
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Oh god… The Third has once again been kidnapped by the evil animation company of episode 13. Luckily, it’s not as bad as before, but still, it’d be better off if this episode was left in the hands of the usual animation companies. Still, if you ignore that little detail, this episode was good stuff. [...]
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Have you ever seen something so pretty and so touching that it made you want to cry? I don't usually label myself as the sentimental type, but the trailer for Byousoku 5 Centimeter (5 Centimeters Per Second) (mirror) evoked those emotions so easily. I think it's a combination of the amazing art and a fantastic piano piece. A very similar piece (if not a different part of the same song) is also played in the teaser trailer, which is equally beautiful. I've got it playing in the background right now because it's such a serene, almost sad song. If you haven't yet seen these trailers, you must go download them right now. For those of you unfamiliar with this film, it is acclaimed director Shinkai Makoto's latest work that features three short stories titled Oukashou, Cosmonaut, and Byousoku 5 Centimeter. They all revolve around a boy named Toono Takaki (voiced by Mizuhashi Kenji) and take place from the early 1990s to the present day. The first and third stories, Oukashou and Byousoku 5 Centimeter, will have two different voice actresses (Kondou Yoshimi and Onoue Ayaka) playing the part of a girl named Shinohara Akari. It seems that Takaki and Akari got separated at the same time they graduated from elementary school, and the Oukashou is about his reunion with her. The second story Cosmonaut is about Takaki after that reunion told from the point of view of a classmate named Sumita Kanae (voiced by Hanamura Satomi) who has feelings for him. The third and final Byousoku 5 Centimeter is the title work that depicts the wandering of their souls once they've grown up. The movie's theme song is going to be Yamazaki Masayoshi's One more time, One more chance from his 1997 single by the same name (Watch a live version on Youtube). Byousoku 5 Centimeter, which has a running time of approximately an hour, will premiere in early spring of next year at the Shibuya Cinema Rise.
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Ah, it seems that Ghost Hunt will be another one of those anime which only get released twice a month, or so. Not that that’s a problem, or anything. After all, two of the best shows which aired during the Spring Season, Tsubasa Chronicle and The Third, also got subbed slowly. The current arc has [...]
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