Monthly Archive for July, 2005

Basilisk #11

Published on July 29, 2005 in Basilisk (Complete). 8 Comments

With his eyes closed in deep concentration, Gennosuke’s mind is far from the current discussion that’s brewing around him. When he finally speaks to the others, he’s saddened to admit that neither of them have changed as people, and he warns them that they must not allow old grudges to cloud their vision. Meanwhile, Oboro has applied the “dark seven” ointment to her eyelids, causing her eyes to be sealed shut for seven days. While she understands Tenzen’s frustration, she can’t bear the thought of having to fight Gennosuke and would rather have her own clan destroyed than face the beautiful man that she loves. Gennosuke surprises them by returning the scroll with Koshiro’s name intact, but he’s also included a written letter that explains his reasons for returning the scroll:

“So the peace agreement as prepared by the Hattori Family has been broken. I have no desire to fight, however, and I remain unaware of the reasons for such fighting. Therefore, I will travel to Sunpu forthwith to ascertain how Master leyasu and Sir Hattori feel about this matter. This is why I have gone to the trouble of returning the scroll. The people accompanying me are as follows: Gyoubu Kasumi, Saemon Kisaragi, Hyouma Muroga, and Kagerou. Consequently, if you should venture to the Kouga valley the five of us will already be on the Tokaido. If you wreck havoc and harm the Kouga clan there, know that, by the will of Heaven, the Iga shall be annihilated. While I have no desire to fight, neither will I avoid your pursuit until the remaining seven Iga members arrive at Sunpu castle. For the five Kouga and the seven Iga the deadly battle of ninja arts will make this a grim journey. If you do not fear me, unfurl your whip and make haste to Tokaido.”

As expected, Tenzen sees this as an opportunity to squash the Kouga and immediately orders Nenki and Hotarubi to report their whereabouts cautiously while Oboro and the others reluctantly prepare for their departure. We’re also given a bit of history about Gyoubu’s past and his hatred toward the Iga that stemmed from the day his parents had been murdered. Hyouma believes that Gennosuke had returned the scroll to Iga as a tactic to lure them into pursuing them with the scroll in hand, thus allowing them to wipe them out in one clean swoop.
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Eien no Aseria #01

Published on July 27, 2005 in Eien no Aseria. 16 Comments

The story begins with a woman attempting to slay a dragon in an alternate world, and it appears that her actions are affecting the real world as well. She’s positioned herself to slay the dragon but suddenly disappears (I’m assuming back into the real world), leaving the sword behind as it’s falling toward the ground. An airplane that’s been soaring in the sky is suddenly falling as well due to a lightning strike, and it seems to have a direct connection to the falling sword. A little girl is shown holding tightly to her mother as the plane is descending quickly toward the ground, causing everybody to panic as they’re approaching their unanticipated deaths. While all of this is happening, a booming voice can be heard - “You, the Chosen One. Fulfill the contract. Accept me.”

Yuuto is a high school student who gets rudely awakened on this particular day by his friend Kyoko who reminds him that it’s his turn to clean the bathroom, but she surprises him by being nice for a change and volunteering herself as well as Kouin to do the job for him. Kouin encourages him to meet his sister Kaori outside in the rain, and he gladly leaves with her to see their deceased parents together. He’s vowed to take care of his sister so that she won’t have to live in this world completely parentless, but she surprises him by telling him that she’ll protect him. While at the cemetery, they run into Akizuki-senpai who bitterly accuses Yuuto of being bad luck because he causes everyone around him to die, and he directly blames Yuuto for his and Kaori’s parents’ death. Yuuto gets so upset that he begins punching Akizuki, and it quickly escalates into a full-blown fight much to Kaori’s dismay. She’s able to stop Yuuto from punching Akizuki directly in the face (even though he deserves it for being a jerk), but he completely stops fighting when he hears the voice from the beginning of the episode that’s telling him to hate, fight, and bring mana. Apparently, nobody else can hear that voice but Yuuto, so they have no idea what’s going on with him. They only see him holding his head as if he’s writhing in pain, but Yuuto can see a blue beam of light surrounding his body that eventually surges up into the sky, causing all of them to teleport to another realm.

When Yuuto awakens, he finds himself in an entirely different world where he’s surrounded by spirits who are ordered to fight. He hopes to find Kaori nearby, but instead sees a girl named Aseria (a spirit) with long blue hair dressed in medieval clothing. She immediately tosses him a sword and swings at him, but he luckily dodges her sword with little effort. He’s surprised that the swords are real and wonders what’s going on. The next thing he knows, three other girls dressed in medieval clothing approach the two of them, whining about not being able to play with him. They refer to him as Etorange-sama, and he quickly learns that he’s not on Earth anymore but in a strange world called Rakios. He’s rudely whisked away yet again by a couple of guards to another strange location at a castle where he’s immediately presented with a legendary sword known as “Motome.” He learns that his job as an Etorange is to fight for Rakios using Motome, and to ensure that he follows through with his duties, he’s threatened with Kaori’s life on the line. In a fit of anger, he picks up the Motome which immediately lights up by his touch and hears the mysterious voice telling him, “Accept me. Bring me mana.” I think he’s finally realizing that the voice is coming from the sword, and he responds to it by rushing up the steps toward the King and his aides. He’s about to take a swing at the girl as he’s instructed to, but stops himself at the last second because he’s unable to bring himself to harm a girl. He drops the sword instead of using it to save Kaori and begins crying in frustration and disappointment. Why is this happening to him, especially since he never asked for any of this?

He later learns that “an Etorange is a warrior who comes from a different world. It’s said that they are the only ones who are able to use Motome in Rakios.” He still feels like he’s dreaming, but even so it tortures him to see Kaori’s tears and is determined to do whatever it takes to get her back. Meanwhile, Kaori’s kept as a prisoner within the dungeons of the castle, but she doesn’t appear to be scared or nervous. Yuuto receives his first assignment (or quest as I’d like to call it) to defeat the spirits that have invaded Rakios, and he’s reminded that his sister’s life is on the line if he doesn’t follow through with his task. As they’re running toward the ether conversion facility near Raas, he’s wondering what’s going on and why they’re fighting other spirits. He quickly discovers that the invaders look just as human as the other members of his party, and he’s unable to fight his enemies because he’s just realized that the swords they’re using are real and very dangerous. This poses a problem for the other three members of his party, though, because they’re left to fight the attackers on their own along with those that are attacking him. He’s supposed to be a warrior, the strongest of them when it comes to melee fighting, yet he’s practically useless because of his fears and apprehension to fight. His sword tries to get him to fight, but he’s so frightened that it stops him from defending himself against his oncoming foes. He’s paralyzed with fear even as a fireball that’s on a direct route toward him quickly approaches, but he’s lucky that Olfa bravely pushes him out of the way and sacrifices herself by taking the brunt of the damage. As she lies feebly in his arms, she requests for him to be her papa, and he agrees seeing that she almost died because of him. Olfa’s unconscious body gets him so upset that he accepts his sword’s power and finally uses it to destroy the rest of the attackers, surprising everyone by its immense power.

Being an avid fan of MMORPGs, I had to check this show out to see if it was any good. The first part of the episode began a little slow, but it picked up once Yuuto entered the fantasy world and began his new role as a warrior. I particularly enjoyed watching the battle scenes, and I could relate to Yuuto’s initial fear of fighting. Once he was able to overcome his fears (after seeing Olfa risking her life for him, granted), he was able to kick some ass with his Motome. I also had to laugh when I heard them using healing potions on Olfa because it reminded me of my Alchemy skills and my healing potions. I’m already looking forward to the next episode. :)

Eureka Seven #02

Published on July 17, 2005 in Eureka Seven. 13 Comments

As Renton’s falling from his adventurous jump off the cliff, he remembers what Diane had told him during their father’s funeral – “Don’t ask for it; go win it on your own. Do that and you’ll succeed.” He’s determined not to fall flat on his face, so he says confidentially, “I…can…FLY!” With a boost of confidence and determination, he’s able to get himself out of trouble and into the sky where he surprises everyone, especially his idol Holland, with his skills doing the Cut-back Drop-turn. However, he almost crashes into the Nirvash shortly after his remarkable stunt and ends up losing his balance, but Eureka is able to catch him in time and allows him to land uncomfortably on top of her (much to her dismay). He’s in the perfect position to give her a hug as a token of his appreciation for encouraging him to fly, and he even confesses his undying love to her in his normal comical fashion. He plugs in the Amita Drive that’s supposed to enhance the Nirvash to work at its full power, but it unexpectantly causes it to shut down instead. With Eureka now unconscious, Renton fears for his life as he sees the missiles approaching, but he’s unable to maneuver the LFO since it has no power. However, he’s somehow able to land the Nirvash onto the pillars of salt, creating miles upon miles of a flower-shaped crater. Holland is clearly impressed by the massive power activated by the Amita Drive, but he doesn’t expect to hear that all of that power came from Renton himself. Meanwhile, an information officer aboard a military ship urges the captain to turn back, but he refuses to obey his orders because he doesn’t want to return empty-handed after losing Platoon KLF-2. The officer is left with no other choice than to invoke Military Law Section 56, which gives him the authority to force them to cease movement of the ship immediately.

Eureka doesn’t understand why Renton’s grandfather praises his unconscious grandson even though he lives his life recklessly, so he explains to her that he’s family and that she’ll understand one day when she has children of her own. Their conversation is abruptly cut short when Holland arrives and angers grandpa by his very presence. He’s apparently bad luck because he always screws up his life every time he shows up, and he’s broken his promise never to show his face again. Holland quietly thanks him for something that we’re not aware of yet (at least I’m not), but grandpa explains that he only wanted Renton to live a normal, happy life. Renton wakes up at that moment to the sound of his grandpa yelling, and he doesn’t understand why things have turned out the way it has. He doesn’t expect to see his idol Holland in the flesh, though, and listens intently to his every word. Holland tells him, “What you believe and the decisions you make are your own responsibilities. It’s up to you to either give life to waves or kill them. That’s the mentality of someone who lifts, right?” Renton suddenly remembers piloting the Nirvash and failing miserably at it because he’s unable to get it to move, and he’s convinced that he’s going to die when he notices the letters “EUREKA” flashing inside the Compac Drive as well as hearing Eureka whispering behind him, “It’s okay. Believe in me.” He recalls seeing the same letters flashing on the Compac Drive his sister held long ago, and it reminds him to believe in his own abilities. Although the Nirvash continues to fall due to its loss of power, he’s able to protect it by creating an outer circular force field that causes the gigantic Seven Swell Phenomenon to occur when it makes contact with the ground. Renton is convinced that it was his desire to save Eureka that made it possible for him to maneuver the Nirvash, and he agrees to join Holland because he believes that it’s his job to protect the Amita Drive in place of his grandfather, and he also wants to believe in Eureka once more.

Phew, finally caught up to episode two! It’ll take me a long time to catch up to the current episodes, but I’m slowly getting to it. Thanks for visiting and reading. I really appreciate it. :)

Trinity Blood #05

Published on July 15, 2005 in Trinity Blood. 20 Comments

Note: This episode was bland, so my write-up will inevitably be bland as well. The first half of the show revolves around Esther’s tour of the Vatican, and she accidentally gets lost while roaming by herself and runs into the Sanctity without knowing who he is. We also learn that Caterina hates the Rosen Kruez Order because of the atrocities they committed when she was a child, but she also meets Crusnik (Abel) for the first time as well, and he explains to her that he exists to protect people. The episode ends on a sweet note, but it leaves you feeling somewhat unsatisfied because there’s nothing else to it. My apologies for the crappy write-up, but there was nothing interesting I could really write about this episode. Let’s hope that this is it for the lackluster episodes!

Okusama wa Joshikosei - #01

Published on July 12, 2005 in Others. 12 Comments

Asami Onohara is your typical seventeen year old high school student dealing with grades and hormones, but she’s kept an unusual secret hidden from her peers – that she’s married to Ichimaru Kyousuke-sensei, her high school physics teacher. During class, her classmates suspect that she likes him from the way her face lights up everytime she looks up at him, but she denies the rumor and tries her best to hide the fact that they’re even a couple. It’s cute to see him opening the bento box she’s made for him but is shocked to see “LOVE” written on the rice – a loving gesture from her but quite embarrassing for him. It also happens to be his birthday, and both excuse themselves from their usual after-school activities to make it home early to celebrate his birthday together. She imagines celebrating his special day between the sheets – but she’s only imagining it in her head. She proceeds to make an array of delicious dishes for him, but accidentally trips and ends up causing the tablecloth along with its dishes crashing to the floor. By the time Kyousuke arrives, all but one dish has survived. Asumi is obviously devastated by her klutzy accident, but he’s very touched by her thoughtfulness and makes it a point to complement her on her wonderful cooking skills. What follows is a hilarious bath scene – he’s naked in the bathtub and blushes when Asami approaches him with just a towel to cover up her private parts, but her father rudely interrupts them before anything can happen and reminds them of the contract they had promised to keep – that they would not have sexual relations until she graduated. With a romantic evening now in ruins, Kyousuke courageously stands up to her overprotective father and reminds him that Asami married him, not her father. He finishes off his can of beer (or sake) and is in the middle of saying something else when he stops and abruptly falls to the floor from the alcohol. It’s the cutest scene watching them spooning together in bed later that evening. Although she’s disappointed that they didn’t get to share something special together that night, she still loves him very much and hopes that it’ll happen next year.

The next day, Kyousuke rushes off to school for a teacher’s meeting before Asami gets the chance to kiss him goodbye, but she’s determined to make him affectionate with her that evening. However, things don’t go quite as smoothly for either of them at school. She receives an anonymous love letter and mistakenly reads it to herself in class, but her friend Satomi annoyingly picks it up like it’s hers and reads the contents of it to the entire class. She even refuses to let Asami have it back until Kyousuke intercepts and tells her not to read love letters during class. Asami tries to say something to him, but he doesn’t give her the chance and ignores her. After overhearing an attractive female teacher talking to him in the teacher’s lounge, she decides to go straight home instead of seeing who her secret admirer is. Nosy Satomi eagerly takes her place in meeting the admirer, but Asami tries to stop her by pretending that she’s suddenly ill. Her friends decide to walk her to the nurse’s office, and as they’re passing the teacher’s lounge Kyousuke sees her approaching and immediately drops his stack of papers to take her himself. He insists on giving her a piggy back ride, and it’s such a sweet gesture that makes her very happy and relieved that he cares for her. Later that evening as they’re walking home together, he confesses that he was actually glad that she received a love letter because that shows that he’s married to an attractive woman. The affection she was hoping for doesn’t happen that night, but she does go to bed with the knowledge that she’s in a very loving relationship with a beautiful person.

I really didn’t know what to expect from this show, but I’m glad that I decided to watch it. It’s a light-hearted romantic comedy with a little ecchi thrown in, and it’s one of those shows that will leave you feeling good about the world afterward. Although it’s pretty far-fetched to believe that a teacher would actually go so far as to marry a student, it’s certainly happened before in more recent times, and their relationship is surprisingly quite believable to me. I’m looking forward to watching the next episode and seeing how Asami will excite her husband with her new attractive clothes. She’s hoping to get lots of love from him. :)