Monthly Archives: August 2007

August 30, 2007

Darker than Buck Naked

By omo

I highly approve the use of nudity in this episode. Why? It just goes to show how boring Misaki’s office outfit is. In fact, as long as she wears anything different–could be even a boring jeans & t-shirt combo–she looks just dazzing.

How does episode 21’s nudity shows that? I’m not sure, but it goes along the lines of “hey, I look good naked, maybe you should try something different too? You can’t go wrong!” And it seems about 4 other guys tried it, probably to good effect. Well. Maybe that’s exactly what episode 21’s nudity doesn’t show.

I don’t approve the reappearing blood elf though :/

On the other hand, the previews for episode 22 shows the world in an alternate state of affair in fashion. November wears a different color suit? Shocking!

Leave a comment | posted in Darker than Black, Modern Visual Culture

August 26, 2007

Mugi-Choco’s Cream Filling

By omo

Or, No Wait, I Mean Message, Yeah That’s It.

I think I’m finally hooked on Japanese-style text-only 2ch-style Shift_JIS UI-Gothic what-the images. Damn you Saimoe, damn you to hell! It’s like 1994 all over again.

Actually, this is Barasuisho

But jokes aside, I think now it’s a good time to talk about Mugi Asai and Hitohira. It’s particularly insightful once pinned next to Manabi Straight. Because, you know, I wuuubs Manabi Straight.

To cut to the chase, Mugi Asai, the main character in Hitohira, experienced a transformation from a shy, introverted person to someone who has gotten over herself, with the help of someone else who was in her place a year before. Within the span of a school year, she bonded with this sempai and, well, drama happens. It’s a nice little piece of 12-episode anime that elaborates on Mika’s dilemma from the last 2 episodes of Manabi Straight.

But I watched Manabi Straight before Hitohira, and I suspect if you had your experience flipped chronologically, it may be just the same, with some words flipped. Which, after all, explains why Hitohira (which means petal) is the image I picked for this blog post (well–it sort of looks like 5 petals of a cherry blossom). And why it’s there to be picked as an eyecatch from the actual show, as a reasonable guess.

With her latest victory from Saimoe, it seemed that a lot of people got good vibes from her. And I can see why. Definitely a highly-recommend for those of you who can withstand high school drama in its finest amateur moment.

3 comments | posted in Hitohira, Manabi Straight, Modern Visual Culture

August 24, 2007

(Again…) How to Vote in Saimoe 2007

By omo

o/

I’m sure a lot of you know how, but since Saimoe remains one of the most convoluted means of voting for your favorite anime character, it bears repeating. Only because someone needs to vote down those stupid StrikerS-only characters.

Joking aside, this guide is brought to you by the Animesuki forums–that’s where I learned it, and I may be stealing their screens!

Voting in Saimoe 2007
Serving Size: 1 per day
Prepare time: up to 2 hours
Cooking time: 5-20 minutes

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15 comments | posted in Modern Visual Culture

August 22, 2007

Shingu: The Secret of the Stellar Wars – Bigger, Better, Bolder, More Boring than Anything!

By omo

Or commonly known as Gakuen Senki Muryou.

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3 comments | posted in Modern Visual Culture, The Heoric Age

August 19, 2007

Darker than Death – Soooo Predictable!

By omo

Mao: a contractor?!

Okay, this has got to stop:

Just how many hawt guest stars live through their guest appearance from Darker than Black? Two? Just Two? We have Witch Hunter Robin (spoilers lol) and … the smell girl (lol spoiler)? Well, with exception of the persistent guest stars like April and Amber (…and Kiko) I guess? That’s two out of 8 (not counting the little-kid-who-likes-Amber arc and the doll traffic arc). I wish I had that good of an odd at guessing which Simoun “trap” would spring :(

Dying is so predictable (OK, 75% is not that high of a chance, but there’s some certainty) and ugh not as full of impact anymore for Darker than Black. I thought episodes 19 and 20 were wonderful as far as Huang’s story can be, and to be honest it’s surprisingly good for a major character that gets so little development over the course of the series. Plus he’s just not a likable character unlike Yin and Mao, so it’s probably extra hard to spin his story out. And what the? What’s with that in episode 20 ending? What? I thought it was a great couple episodes…only to be sloppily dropped at the end.

Tensai Okamura is a kill-them-all kind of a creator, so this is actually not surprising…but the episodic structure of the show does dull the edge of death, when each dispensable character has only 2 episodes to play with the heartstrings of the viewers.

But so much more eager that makes me look forward to the slaughter ahead!

1 comment | posted in Darker than Black, Modern Visual Culture