light novel review: toradora

toradora! is technically among my favourite romantic comedy anime. and when i started to like something i tend to look for every information available about it, which lead me to the original light novel, Toradora!
as a reader myself, i began searching for the translated version and found it. it was translated and hosted by baka-tsuki, one of the best anime translator. but the download version is in epub so i can read it without epub reader. however it didn't stop me because i saved the source and read it there. i can't go online much lately so i resort to that method, for now.

now back to the story. all i can say is reading the light novel helps me understand each character, especially Ami (which i don't really understand in anime). the writing was smooth and enjoyable that had me read it continuously for hours.

the anime pretty much used all the scene in the novel, so it left less room to complain (i am the "the book is better that the movie ' type) all i can say is that the anime really did the light novel justice.

the ending is slightly different. in the light novel, taiga's family circumstances is explained almost thoroughly yet the separation between taiga and ryuuji was short. in a way, taiga got her almost happy ending. i guess the anime just wanted to make it much more dramatic by lengthening the separation between taiga and ryuuji with no explanation whatsoever on taiga's family circumstances.

in all, the light novel really focus on relationship between friends, lovers and family. i love how they stress on the familial relationship in this novel. it wasn't the cliche "parents works far away" setting that anime love to use to explain the absence of parents. this light novel really emphasis on the relationship or the lack thereof between child and parents.

a total recommendation to those who would mind spending some time reading this. and also for those who watched the anime, please try to take sometime to read it :)

poem: blue sky

blue sky

the vast green sea,
the clear blue sky,
 we were there together,
laughing, holding hands,
reaching for our dreams,

but why do i felt lonely,
even then, i pray,
with your  hand in my right hand,
i tried to reach you with my left hand,

"separation is expected. and if we can't meet again, we can talk on the phone"

your simple words,
your delicate smile,
my tears fell,
but i smiled,

under the same blue sky,
we look up and make a promise, (never forget me)
with your hand in my right hand,
and my left hand tried to keep you here forever,

and when i see you,
through the window pane,
the smoke chokes and the engine roars,
my heart hurt yet i smile,
waving my hand while saying goodbye with a smile is so hard.

this is dedicated to all my friends in IPG KDRI. we may have our rough patches and all but deep in my heart, i appreciate all of you. thank you for being my friends and i hope we can meet again, very soon, hopefully.

anime review: hataraku maou-sama! / the devil is a part-timer

watched this last night and i quite enjoyed it. the mix between, sarcasm, homour and seriousness was well done.

the plot:
when the devil overlord and his adviser escaped their world into modern japan, what would we expect? a full blown destruction? attempt on taking over the modern world or just two young adult tried to balance their monthly income?
maou sadao and his faithful advisor ashiya shiro escaped the attack on their castle by entering the gate that lead them to the modern day japan. because of lack of magic power, they have the blend in with the society. maou sadao got a job at the Mgronald and their lives as the law abiding citizen begin.
but it get complicated when their enemy who chased after them, Emilia also stuck on modern japan and they both met up by accidents. however, because both can't wield enough magic power, their encaunters just usually ended up with verbal-spats.
matters got worse when one of the devil general Lucifer tried to kill both Maou and Emi. but his attempt failed miserably because the devil overlord got his power back and whack the shit out of him.
lucifer, or later named Urashihara lived with Maou and Ashiya and took the character of a total bum or more likely known as hikikomori.
but then, another person moved next door, a very delicate and traditional Suzuno. but what secret she carries?
although seem like complicated, the anime of a total humour with a little romance on top. it was kinda fresh and the humour and sarcasm was well delivered.

characters:
maou sadao : the devel overlord who flee his country in a battle and escaped to modern day japan. he works at Mgronald  and loves his job.

ashiya shiro: the overlord advisor and at the same time on of his general. in the modern day tokyo he is the mom of the household. taking care of meals and money.

yusa emi: original name is Emilia yet change it to fit into the society. she is the hero that was supposed to kill the devil overlord. she works in a call center and live alone but most of the time we can see her at the overlord's home.

chiho chan: the only high-schooler in the series. being 16 years old, she works as a part-timer in mgronald. she loves Maou sadao and had confessed to him but he just sees her as the co-worker that he need to take care of.

lucifer/ Urushihara: one of the devil's overlord four generals. he was a fallen-angel-turned-devil and planned to kill both emilia and maou so that  he can return to heaven. when his plan failed and he lost most of his magic powers, he live with maou and shiro (after a terrible beating) because they need to hide him from the people who saw him causing the ruckus. he was what would you termed as a total bum that does online shopping and add strain on the household's budget. much to Ashiya's displeasure.

Suzuno: she moved next door to the maou's. she is very traditional in terms of dressing and speaking and a bit of a freak at first. she always help them with their household and cooking especially when Ashiya was sick. the truth is, Suzuno is Shinigami Christia Bell, that was ordered to kill the devil's Overlord while he was weak.

art: the art is so-so. it was good but it has nothing that stands out more than other anime. yet the animation of the facial expression of the characters was good.

music: the music was suitable with the anime but it was not some of my favourite.

in overall, i really enjoyed this anime. being adult that need to manage my own money i guess i can relate. i like the humour in it. other thing is this is the anime is not perverted and we can say that the fanservice in this anime is little. but comparing boobs with mgronald's burger was quite funny.

anime review: sakurasou no pet na kanojo

sakurasou no pet na kanojo is an anime about a bunch of looney people in a looney bin. at least that what Kanda Sorata would say.

actually this anime is all about self discovery and working hard to reach your goal.

the plot:
kanda sorata had always wanted to escape the looney bin known as Sakurasou, the home for problem children of Suimei High of Gift Affliated. he was kicked out the regular dorm because he kept a pet. but all his hope was crushed when he was assigned on 'Mashiro Duty', in which he need to feed her, clean her and dress her.  to make matter worse, mashiro is not a cat that he tends to pick up. mashiro is a real life, 16 years old girl that was super hot yet super clueless. all her life she only paint that she didn't know to do anything else.

other than mashiro, there are also few other residents in sakurasou who in kanda sorata's words are alien, ghost, and maharaja.

the story follows Sorata's attempts to become a game maker at the same time trying to live under the pressure of the talents around him. he  was disappointed a few times and blames his lacks of talent.

this story also revolves around the daily lives of the residents os sakurasou, their mischief and their effort together in making something they like.

the characters:
kanda sorata- the only sane person in Sakurasou (in his words). Sorata was the kind of boy who didn't know what to do with his life. when he figured out what he wanted to do, he always failed. he lives under the pressure of those talented people around him, especially mashiro, who in his eyes didn't have to work hard and always lucky in anything she does.




Kamiigusa misaki- the alien of sakurasou. she was gifted in animation and even had an anime that was a huge hit under her belt. she is always full of energy and crazy ideas. she is always in love with her childhood friend to the point of doing inappropriate and crazy things so that he would notice her.

Shiina Mashiro- the pet of sakurasou. she didn't know to do anything else other that painting hence how the 'mashiro duty' was created. someone always had to wake her up, take her to the bath, choose her clothes for the day, give her food and leave her when she started doing her wor. she is already a popular painter in england before moving to Japan to draw manga. shiina was a bit of a kuudere, and have the craziest one liner.




Mitaka Jin- the maharaja. he had a bunch of girlfriends and always spend the night with them. ironically he is the one that misaka love. it was later revealed that he too loves misaka but too afraid to lose her. he wanted to keep her at his side, pure forever. he  wrote  the script for misaka's anime but his scripts was not so good. something that always ticked him off. he wanted to be somebody that can stand next to misaka not just some average person, hence he decided to move to Osaka because the university there had better writing programs.

akasaka ryuunusuke- the ghost/shut-in. ryuusuke was rarely shown in fact we were only know him in the middle of the series. he laways comunicated via mail with the help of maid-chain, the autoresponder he developed himself. he is a computer programmer and was afraid of women. despite that, he was blunt and honest in his words that it sometimes hurt others. despite being a shut-in, he was shown as someone who was good at dealing with peoples, albeit rarely shown.

aoyama nanami- the other only sane person in sakurasou. she moved to sakurasou because of the cheaper fare. she wants to be a seiyuu and had worked hard since then. she was the other talent-less person in sakurasou that need to work hard to achieve her goal. nanami secretly has feeling for kanda however always backpedaled when she had a chance to confess. this is because she can see the other person who love Kanda  and needs him.



the music:
the openinga nd ending song was catchy yet fit the themes perfectly. however it wasn't part of my favourite, maybe because it was more of a pop-song. however there are a few background music that fit perfectly into the scenes.

the arts:
this anime is about a bunch of kids with special talents in arts, thus there are few art pieces in this that was simply amazing. on the overall view, the art was somewhat what we usually see in anime thus it has nothing special to write home about. don't get me wrong, it was all nice and beautiful yet it was what we always seen, it was kinda boring.

anime review: lucky star

well, lucky star is a comedy anime revolving the lives of four girls Uzumi Konata, Takara Miyuki and the twins Hiiragi Kagami and Hiiragi tsukasa.
it was so funny because it reflects on our everyday life in a much more relaxed manner and we can relate to them.

the plot:
plot? what plot? there is no actual plot in this anime, just a bunch of randomness. however it seemed to be that it ranged from their second year to third year in high school.

the setting:
the anime took place in various setting such as their school, homes, workplace (konata), and their town. in general it was based on the city of Kasukabe in Saitama prefecture.

the characters:
the main characters are those four mentioned above. despite being best friends they are very different from one another.

Konata: a self proclaimed otaku. she was raised by her father after the death of her mother. she is quite smart in a way but very lazy especially in studies. she is short and underdeveloped, often mistaken as middle schooler. Konata was exposed to manga, game and anime at a very younger age thanks to her father influence. she works part time in a cosplay cafe and cosplays the character Haruhi Suzumiya (which is interesting because konata and haruhi share the same seiyuu, Aya Hirano).


Kagami: she is the older twin of the Hiiragi twins. she is in a different class from the others yet always seemed to be in tier class. kagami is smart and level headed. she was quick thinker and love to read light novel. it was obvious from the anime that she was the total opposite of Konata. in a demanding situation, she can acts as a leader, showing her good leadership side. konata always teased her for being lonely, which shows how Konata can see past her appearance.


miyuki: miyuki was full of moe. she is like the walking talking encyclopedia in the group. she is so polite yet clumsy, a trait that added to her moeness. often become the target of Konata sexual pranks, yet she is clueless about it.

tsukasa: kagami's twin sister. tsukasa was totally different from kagami. she is quite slow academically yet very good at house chores. even if she was quite slow, tsukasa was shown to works diligently on her studies (but what she understands is all wrong). tsukasa was also a bit of an airhead always lost the conversation between kagami and Konata.

there are also lots of others characters that were introduced throughout the anime but these four is the main characters so i'll just review them.


the art:
i called this kinda art as the lazy animator art. they didn't focus too much on the detail. despite that, it makes the anime looks much more relaxed, which fits the anime perfectly.

opening/ending song:
the opening song is the catchy Motteke sera fuku. honestly i like is so much that i never skip it, unlike other animes. but the ending theme was a different story. at first it was of the girls singing in a karaoke room  which only the door on dislpay, later we will see a live action of minoru shiraishi singing all bunch of songs in an off pitch version with funny dance moves and all. it was so funny and at the same time pathetic.

anime review: ano natsu de matteru

i watched this anime last night and to be honest i was totally disappointed. sharing the same director with AnoHAna and Toradora, i had high expectation for this anime, but i found it quite bland. to be honest, i watched this because i need a little feels. but throughout the anime i didn't had any feels ride. no. none. nada. empty. zero.

but i can't base this anime just because it didn't make me cry. here are some reviews of it:

the plot:
the plot what somewhat quite similar to most romance anime lately. a girl in a spacecraft crashed on earth and ended up living with the male protagonist? this was done multiple times that it was quite expected. however this time it is not the usual harem in which all the girls want that one boy, which make it much more bearable. it all began when the Kirishima Kaito decide to make a movie. with the help of his friends (Tetsurou, Mio, Ichika and Kanna)  and a scheming-chibi senior. here the plot started to revolve around those characters and slowly each and every characters' secrets and feelings were revealed. however in the romantic department between Ichika and kaito was quite rushed (confessing at second episode?) but it was smoothed down on the later episodes.



the setting:
natsu yasumi (summer holidays). usually, the summer holidays scene was added purely for the sake of fanservice but this anime use the whole summer holidays as setting thus escape the usually new-school-term anime stereotypes. because of the summer setting, we can see the characters wear and use different kind of clothes so it was much more colourful.


the characters:
the characters were developed quite nicely. however, it was obvious who had a crush on who even in the first episode. and it ticked me off because out of all the possible couples, only one make it official.


the art:
thanks to the summer holidays setting, the art of this anime was colourful and bright. however, JC Staff was one of the best animator so it was quite expected. in short, the art was nice and managed to really brings out the mood.

music:
the opening and ending of the anime was okay but i really wanted to complaint about the background music on the emotional scenes. it was just not there. i believe sometimes we cried at some scenes because of the background music but in this anime the background music failed quite badly.


all in all, it was indeed a good anime. i am just pissed because it failed to make me cry. maybe i need find the mood and watch it again. maybe i need to really understand the whole if-i'm-gone-we-will-never-meet-again and i-live-in-the-other-galaxy ideas to get the feels.
highly recommend this to those who into romance anime

anime review: mahou shoujo madoka magica

mahou shoujo means magical girl in japanesse. and  there are lots of mahou shoujo anime out there such as Sailormoon, wedding peach, magical girl lyrical nanoha and so on. all focusing on cute/kawaii, super nice girl fighting evil using their magical powers and win each time.  so what is the difference between Madoka Magica and other mahou shoujo anime?

well, let me put it in order according to my opinion

plot:

at the earlier episode we were introduced to madoka and her simple life, friends and family and a new transfer student, Akemi Homura. later she and her friend, Miki sayaka rescued Kyubey and he offers he to become magical girl by a contract. sound simple right? but no. in the later episodes, the harsh reality of being a magical girl is revealed. the life and death and the deeper meaning of the contract. you see to become a magical girl, you need to form a contract with Kyubey and in exchage he will grant any wish the girl wanted. here we will understand that magical girl did not fight to fight witches but they really are fighting for their wishes. even if the wish somewhat come true but they have to pay dearly for it so that the balance of the world is maintained. deeper into the story, you will figure out Homura's intention on killing Kyubey and stopping Madoka from performing the contract with him.

the plot was very intense and have you hooked to it to the very end. and even the ending leave you wish for more.

the art

in anime, the art is what make it distinctive. in madoka magica, at first i thought it used what i called as lazy-animator-style. if was kinda thing that you see in Shin Chan and Lucky Star. even so, it was properly done with the futuristic elements (the world the creator imagine in ten years to come).

but the animator sure blows my mind away during the fighting scene. usually the magical girl will fight the witch in the barrier of labyrinth the witch created. here the art was simply stunning. it was something you would see in an art museum. it really added the chilling effect and also making the whole scene different that usual fighting scenes in anime. 

Sayaka in witch form

kyoko's reflection on her past

the first time being in a barrier

the setting

the time setting was set to be a few years in the future. there are lots of futuristic devices in this anime yet when we look at it we didn't feel awkward, meaning that the creator managed to add the futuristic devices without making it feel like we were watching Sci-fi anime. 

the characters:

in my opinion, the characters were developed wonderfully. we were introduced from one character to another. the character development goes in sync with the plot so well that as long as we understand the plot, we will understand the character and vice-versa.

the ending:

the ending of this anime is somewhat unexpected. it left we with tears in my eyes. it was a beautiful yet tragic ending. it was totally different from any normal mahou shoujo anime i have ever watched. 

overall:

mahou shoujo madoka magica really blew my mind away. i put it on a hold for so many time and when i started watching it i seemed to be cannot stop. it was a much see for anyone who wanted to have a fresh view on anime.

mahou shoujo