Let's talk music! Review: Nodame Cantabile (anime)

A fun watch if you like piano music <3

So why should you watch this anime? Well, it kinda breaks stereotypes and doesn't act like an 'otome' game (the protagonist is a female character who gets to choose amongst the males she's surrounded by... kinda harem right?), which is why i like it and think it's quite different!

Ahem, our main character Nodame is a woman who decidedly acts like a kid, can't cook, doesn't clean her room or herself for days on end, says 'Gyabo' (literally) when she's annoyed or frustrated or happy - all in all an atypical female character for an anime show, not just because of these characteristics, but mostly because she really doesn't seem to have a goal.

Our other lead protagonist Chiaki, is a man with an ambition, a neat freak, maintains himself, is aiming to be a conductor (though he can't seem to catch a break for whatever reason), can cook and speak in French though he has a fear of any and all kinds of transport other than cars and buses. Apparently, any time he tries to leave any area, he finds that the mode of transport he's using 'breaks down'. This is actually only his imagination, he suffered trauma when he was younger (i won't tell you what though ~)

Now, these two happen to go to the same music school and while Chiaki is given a hard time, Nodame is generally left to play whatever she likes, since she doesn't do well under pressure. It also doesn't help that she has trauma to do with playing classical pieces and therefore refuses to play a classical piece.

It is only after she meets Chiaki that her interest in Mozart and Bach and Beethoven picks up and she is finally put under the tutelage of a very strict instructor. In the beginning however, she simply runs away, until they finally use words instead of violence and sign a contract. From there begins Nodame's true training.

In the midst of all this, a famous conductor comes by after having met Nodame by chance in search for his 'high-school crush'. Nodame being naive, invites him to her place (cough cough Chiaki's cough cough) and Chiaki ends up throwing the man out and warning Nodame.

The next day however, they find out the he's a world famous conductor. Chiaki tries to leave the piano group in order to study under the conductor, however, every time the conductor simply rips apart Chiaki's letter and says that he will accept Chiaki only if Nodame kisses him - this doesn't happen. What does happen though is pretty funny.

We have scenes later on, where Nodame seems to try to communicate with the spirits of the pianists whose compositions she must play after receiving hints from Chiaki, she successfully communicates with the spirits and plays the pieces in a way that sounds like their character.

Of all the seasons (3), i happen to like the Paris chapter best. It takes everything they built up in the first season and puts it to use in the most wonderful way. Ah, did i mention Nodame's an otaku? She's a HUGE fan or Puri Gorota.

Well, if you choose to watch it, tell me what you think :)

Review: Pocahontas (yes, the disney movie)

So, firstly, sorry i didn't post for a few days! Just that classes started in earnest this week and i REALLY need to consider writing drafts and simply editing them and posting them later - anyway, before you say "No! Why a Disney movie?!"

See, i have a course (Maya - the 3D software?) where we're learning how to create effects and dynamics as well as a course that deals with 'drawing for animation', where we're learning about drawing (of course) techniques as well as about different animators and they're styles - i learnt a bit about Glen Keane.

Amazing guy this man. Left Disney though and well... i doubt the 'princesses' or any characters for that matter will be as great as when he animated them :/

So, this brings me full circle - he animated or rather did the character design and animation for Pocahontas. Now, what amazed me was how expressive her face was. I mean, i know i sound a bit ridiculous, but the thing is that there were no lines on her face - i mean, yes she's young, but all the lines he used in total were her eyes, her eyebrows and her mouth. While a lot of people might say it's easy, it's not. i mean, if we compared Pocahontas' character design - her expressions and features to any other character, they don't seem to have as much of a feeling to them as Pocahontas does, which is quite interesting to note especially when you think how they're all in the same movie!

Eyes all over the place, indicative of a certain direction near the other character's eyes, but not. I mean, i probably won't be able to watch films anymore - animation will ruin me, but i think that's okay.

Also, one thing i'd like to point out. In pocahontas, there is this one scene

Now this gif above is apparently one of the only scenes of Glen Keane's that was left as is (he does it in charcoal or graphite and when they convert it to 2d into the movie or whatever, all of the rough lines and shading is cleaned out, that's why all the lines are even) and just looking at that one part and seeing how different it is from the rest of the movie not just in terms of how it was drawn, but the sheer beauty and the feeling that strikes you - how different would Pocahontas have been if Glen Keane's sketches were used without any corrections?

Storyline wize, i have to say Pocahontas is a bit different from all the other disney princess'. Firstly, she's the chief's daughter - equivalent to a princess, but her attire is nothing as such, also, unlike the other princess' she doesn't exactly go through 'hardships' - the evil stepmother or other such stereotypes. Pocahontas confronted the real world as it was and maybe that's why it isn't so popular - they stated it plainly but subtly and loudly through the story that when we can't understand someone or something, there is a niggling doubt in your mind as to their treatment.

Pocahontas though startled initially by the appearance of John Smith, runs away, but once she understood his words, she realized that perhaps they weren't so different - each had something different to share, each was satisfied with the way they lived, but John Smith tried to tell her that her people are savages - what was taught to him, ingrained in him for so long that he thought not to question it. Pocahontas helps him question those 'laws' that were ingrained to him and taught him of a love for nature.

I feel like taking a tumble in the grass too after hearing what she had to say - to hear a wolf howl at a blue corn moon... if only right?

Lastly, the storyline is different from Beauty and the Beast for though there is this kind of 'love conquers all' hint, it's made clear that John has to leave - something that didn't happen with the other princess', leaving in your mind this 'So what now? does he survive? Will Pocahontas end up marrying someone from her tribe?'

But what i love most about Pocahontas' character is that she 'listens to the spirits' to the voices of those around her and then lets them guide her where they may - to where the wind takes her. I wonder if any of us can achieve that in today's world. For those who try, how far can we understand the spirits of the land or are we so lost in ourselves and in finding ourselves that we can no longer hear the call of the spirits?

I like that she isn't 'princessy' - she doesn't wear a gown or anything, but she is beautiful as she is. A child at heart, with the wisdom to understand the world around her with the guidance of the spirits. Lastly, the fact that John Smith leaves gives you this - her first and last love? or the first love of many?

A good watch for those who are looking for something a little different from the regular disney princess'! The quality amazed me - honestly, i mean, it's a 1991 film... but the quality! (i only recently got a new tv, so i only recently discovered 'picture quality')

Review: Chobits (manga/anime)

Not watched the anime, but if you're looking for a cute Shoujo-ish manga to read or to watch the anime, this is one of em.

Now, Chobits are 'human looking robots' with (some amount of emotion built into them) several orders built in based on their function and how humanity progresses with the use of these 'dolls'. Our protagonist finds (in the trash) a Chobit that looks unusual, but finds that she doesn't know anything and there seems to be no information etched into her (let's ignore how he switched her 'on'. please.)

Anyway, the story progresses as they built some sort of relationship together and he teaches her different things. Also, they learn that she has a self 'teaching' feature, meaning that if another chobit performs a task, she will be able to record and remember how to perform the same task.

As the story progresses, we find out that this chobit is a 'special' chobit - one of the first built and designed to be like children. The chobit originally had a twin sister, however, her sister falls in love with their father and eventually dies to heartbreak (wow... what a way to go... i mean... i know they say you can die but still~), however, just before her sister can die, the chobit erases her memories and stores her sister's consciousness in herself and she falls in a deep sleep as her sister dies.

After this, the chobit requires to build new memories, however, everyone who finds her abandons her or throws her away because she has no pre built programs and no one wants to take the effort to help her or 'fix' her.

Further into the story, we find a man who tries to hack into the chobit's database to gain the program that made her. At this point, the Chobit overpowers his servers and we find that she can control all chobits in the world and for a few moments, all the chobits come to a halt.

At the end of the manga, the chobit's sister takes over and tells her current owner that if he chose her sister, that he would never be able to make love to her and also that all chobits would gain a personality of their own - they would be able to love and receive love. if he chose otherwise, all the chobits would stop functioning - unable to recognise even faces.

I won't tell you what he said, but i'm sure you can get a clear picture of what he may have said to that. So, why do i recommend it? Well, i've always found people a bit... much. i mean, i don't mind people online... you can simply block them or log off and problem solved, but in real life it's not as simple. It also interests me - a world where robots that looked somewhat humans could exist and love. I know that i probably sound pretty silly, but doesn't that sound better than today's world?

Well, tell me what you think anyhow ~

Review: Full Metal Alchemist Brotherhood (anime)

Another mainstream anime, but this one i guarantee you is a must watch - ONLY if you enjoy alchemy. Also, it's a war anime - so stay away if you don't like blood and gore... mostly lots of blood and dead people not so much gore.

So why is it so great? Well, compared to the previous seasons, this one has better graphics (obviously, it was made recently) AND the story is way way better than back when they were kids - the opening and ending songs are much better and in general, the fight scenes, the alchemy... okay. it's all better.

For those of you who haven't watched the previous seasons of FMA (Full Metal Alchemist), you don't have to worry, since all the references they make in FMA Brotherhood are all explained either before or after the statement or reference was made, secondly, a lot of people die - people you didn't want to as well as people you didn't expect (i will not be giving out names ~).

We have several new characters introduced (surprisingly, not too many to remember, but quite a few) and i'm telling you, the homunculus' just got creepier and far more disturbing than you'd have thought. Pride is a little kid - the major's kid. The major is of course wrath, lust is lust, though i have to admit she feels better finished? now. Then of course, greed died remember? And they found a replacement for Greed! Not nice... but whatever. Gluttony is still annoying, a bumbling idiot (he's nothing compared to Sloth though) and at one point, swallows Ed, Al and Envy. Envy is a tiny worm like thing by the way... he only had the appearance of a human because of the stone (la la la ~) and they get out through Ed's genius! Oh and Sloth's this huge man that hates working, but only does so because his 'father' says so.

Anyway, the anime will give you the feels because it got far more violent - they talk about the war, why people 'officially' hate Ed and Al, why Ed isn't growing and towards the end, Al sacrifices himself to save Ed who then gets back his arm and sacrifices his alchemy - the correct price to retrieve Al's body.

They finally get over their mom (i honestly don't like to think that, but they do), their dad finally meets his end - we have his background story too! (he's a really really REALLY old fart 0.0)

As for the homunculus, we find out that they were originally part of this being that existed in the space where God exists and where Al's body was left. The being thought that if he abandoned all of his 'sins' that he would be like God (wrong since he gets thrown into the abyss) and God wasn't too happy to hear that.

The end is clean, clear and crisp and i have to admit quite fitting. Though a Shonen, it doesn't hesitate to make the characters face things greater than the protagonists can probably face (yes yes, they always do that, but this one's a bit different - it also helps that its a war anime) and also gives the impression that it's okay to cry and ask for help - from wherever. While a lot of people may say that Ed and Al cry because they're still teenagers, i feel that they cry because they understand their emotions and want to be able to respect those they've lost and with that understanding do better to protect those they have (or maybe that's just my reading).

Also, the characters are paired of - no marriage to talk of thank god =.= (or kids)

So, if you do watch it/have watched it, tell me what you think!

Review: Shingeki no kyoujin (Attack on titans) (anime/manga)

Welll.... i haven't watched the entire anime, planning to though, so i won't be able to give you an in depth analysis of the anime.

The artwork in the manga isn't that great... the anime is leagues ahead. Also, the manga takes a month for every update >.>

Anyway, storyline wise i'd say end of the world storyline, where humans or rather 'the last of humanity' was forced into a fort? (it's circular with 3 walls) from where they defend themselves from the titans who are these giant nude beings with no sexual organs. So no one knows how they end up multiplying instead of dying out and disappearing.

Humanity organised itself via a monarchy and there are different divisions in their army (as in real life... kind of borrows and molds things a bit differently which is quite interesting) and our protagonists come from the 'exploration' squad (as i like to call it) which explores the regions around the walls and tries to find out something about the titans - who they are, where they came from and so on. This is so that they can defeat the titans and reclaim the land.

When Eren discovers his latent titan powers, Levi forms a special squad to take care of him called the Special Ops squad. Eren then uses his powers to prove that he can control his titan self and hence not be erased as he would be of great use and not a threat,

As the story proceeds forward, we find out that the titans originate from humans. No one knows how or why, but what they do know is that the area that they cut off at the nape of the neck, is the seat where the person who controls the titans rest. So more questions pour forth - was it a virus? Was it a mutation? What caused certain humans to turn into titans?

The only hint they have so far is Eren's house's basement. Eren only has vague memories of what went on in the basement, but with the key to the basement given by his father as the only clue to find how how humanity ended up this way, they aim for it, but sadly the area where they lived in had been breached by the titans right in the beginning, meaning they weren't sure how they'd get there and stay long enough to find out what they needed.

As if that wasn't enough, every time they seem to get closer to the answers, the more they seem to get diverted from the answers - from the titans attacking, to titans attacking in the night, overthrowing the false monarchy to place 'Historia' the true heir in place, these guys have been way too busy handling each mess that was created to find out what was in the basement. I wonder if they forgot all about it myself though xD

Anyway, worthwhile read if you don't mind blood, gore and action - good amount of comedy, great story line and in addition well picked music for the anime.

Tell me what you think if you've watched it though :)

Review: Tsubasa Chronicles (anime)

Sorry i haven't posted in such a long time! I had so many manga and anime i was catching up on and college just recently started in earnest, so may not post as often as i normally do :(

On with the review then? :)

So, if we're talking anime with some amazing instrumental tracks or with a whole lotta songs on its list, this is one of them. Personally, i love the instrumental soundtracks and also the openings and endings.

A long anime, so if you're one for a long story whose timeline sometimes confuses you and tries to mess with your head, this is it. Parts of the anime don't make sense unless you've watched xxxholic (NOT sexholic. Let's not even go down that road. xxxholic has that name probably because they wanted to draw in a more 'mature' audience... so no, no 'ecchi' or 'sex' scenes. I'm guessing the reason they wanted a mature audience was because of the content - touching on myths, kind of why certain 'rules' came about and why they're still here, etc. I'll do an in depth analysis in a review for it :) ) and cardcaptorsakura.

The reason i'm saying that is because tsubasa chronicles travels through three 'main' time lines that Clamp has already talked about. Cardcaptor sakura is mentioned only towards the end though, while xxxholic is a mention throughout.

So, what's the story? Our protagonist(s) Sakura and Syaoran look eerily like Sakura and Syaoran from Cardcaptor Sakura. However, the timeline is set in an alternate dimension, where magic is 'said' to exist as a possibility. We find that Sakura is the princess of the land and her brother Touya is King (nothing much is mentioned about her parents) while Syaoran was adopted by someone who looks eerily like Sakura's dad from Card Captor Sakura (CCS).

Sakura and Syaoran were childhood friends, still are when the story begins. There is an excavation site that Syaoran is working on and for some reason, Sakura begins to resonate with it, causing her to open up a pair of 'wings' (for got to mention, Tsubasa = wings therefore Tsubasa chronicles means chronicle of the wings) and starts to sink into an emblem that looks similar to her wings when Syaoran barely manages to grab her. The feathers scatter and Sakura looks deathly pale.

Those feathers were Sakura's memories. After being sent to an alternate dimension with a white 'Makona' (a cute rabbit looking like thing that can travel between dimensions with people as well as 'import' and 'export' objects from different dimensions so long as the other makona receives it or gives it. The other one's black and is seen in xxxholic) who if i remember right was given by the 'dimensional' witch (Yuuko san from xxxholic) to aid his search for Sakura's memories.

Of course, as repeatedly mentioned in xxxholic, a 'price' must be paid. In this case, for Syaoran it was his sword, Sakura her memories and two others who join on their journey - Fai loses his tattoo and staff while Kurogane loses his sword.

Now, the reason they were lumped into one group together was because they essentially seek the same thing or rather the person who caused them this misery - a 'shadow' left behind of Clow Reed.

According to the story, Clow Reed loved Yuuko, but after he died and found out that Yuuko doesn't live, her froze her in time to look through all the dimensions, to find one in which Yuuko can still live. Syaoran who is with Sakura was apparently a 'fake', but as later explained was actually Syaoran's father and so we find a second Syaoran with an eye patch who tries to get rid of the first Syaoran because he's the real Syaoran and the other's a fake.

Sakura too was a fake (if you're getting confused, it's because it is confusing, so don't worry ^^) and apparently the fake Sakura and Syaoran were Syaoran's 'parents'. his real parents have his 'other' half Watanuki.

So let me explain it in order. Yuuko knew what Clow Reed's 'shadow' was trying to attempt and for it, he tried to take away Syaoran. So, to replace the Syaoran in her world, she creates Syaoran's 'other' half Watanuki, who remains with Yuuko.

Now, since Syaoran technically doesn't have parents, in an image that he takes out in the beginning when he's with 'princess Sakura' we find at the end has no one in it because no one existed for the photo to capture other than Syaoran.

Syaoran and Sakura are 'stuck' in a never ending cycle where Clow Reed tried to find a dimension in which Yuuko will continue to exist, however, that isn't possible, because once a person dies in one world, technically they will also die in the other 'world' lines. So Syaoran and Sakura travel through several dimensions where they meet people who look like people they've met but actually haven't. The one thing i couldn't figure out was why they never met themselves... unless Makona 'merged' their souls in each dimension they visited so there were never two of them?

Right at the end of the story, we find that Clow Reed despairs that Yuuko is to die and when Syaoran's parents 'die' (i believe the parents were from CCS), the story comes full circle and Yuuko disappears and Watanuki takes Yuuko's place (kind of explained when they say 'everything happens for a reason' in xxxholic).

All of this only becomes clear after you read xxxholic and CCS though :/

So, happy reading ^^