101 Oneshots Challenge: Batch 2

I read the most recent Ao no Exorcist release recently so I suddenly thought of its upcoming anime adaptation:

It looks really cute. Totally love the bullet and blue flame effect on the official site. April's taking freakin' long...

Alrighty, now on topic. I'm currently on a manga challenge this year. It'll be 5 or more oneshots per batch... here goes xD

101 Manga Titles in a Year Challenge: My Current List

(Click the image for more details about the challenge)
I am aiming for Level 2 (101 Manga Series + 101 Oneshots) because my current reading list is already more than 50! Haha! I'm a manga addict anyway, I know I can do it xD

I'll be posting here the list of what I've read so far. I'll put them under this label:
Challenge 2011: 101 Manga Titles

101 Oneshots Challenge: Batch 1

There was a special from the recent issue of G-Fantasy.... I find it so cute that it's not Ciel isn't solo or with Sebastian for once:

(scan by Ayu)

They look sooooooooooooooooo cute =3

Alrighty, now on topic. I'm currently on a manga challenge this year, and here's the beginning of my oneshot marathon!!! xD It'll be 5 or more oneshots per batch... they're short so I'm more confident on reaching my goal for this ;D Wheeee~

Is This a Zombie - Episode 3

I don't find this as enjoyable as the previous episode... perhaps it's because perverted fanservice jokes don't make me laugh like crazy ^^; Yeah, lotsa ecchi scenes on the girls in this episode, both in a character's fantasies and in what's actually happening.

Nevertheless, I had fun watching it =) Despite the obvious wasted screentime for the sake of fanservice, there was plot development and we get to meet some new characters~

Once Upon a Glashma: A Fanservice Fairy Tale

Hajimari no Glashma

By Suekane Kumiko

Nippori: All the women in the world suddenly disappeared. So the Ministry established a Magic Section to monitor and assess the growing wizard population. One of the agents assigned to that division is me ^_^ ..... oh yeah, SENPAAAAAAAAAAIIIIIIII!!!!!!!
Gotanda: What?
Nippori: There's a magical monster chasing me! Aaaaahhhh!!!!!!
Gotanda: *prepares bat* You blockhead.

RATING: B- (PRETTY GOOD! Despite the flaws and silliness, it's actually pretty good~)
FAVORITISM: 3.5 Hearts ---> LOVE (4.5 Hearts to Uguisudani xD)

Nudity. Ecchi. Shounen Ai. Incest. (Implied) Sadism.

Once Upon a Glashma is actually like a fairy tale... though kinda violent, pretty twisted, quite ridiculous, and sorta WTF.... most of the time~

23:00: Where "Awesome" and "Attention-Grabbing" Dancers are so FORGETTABLE

23:00

By Matsumoto Tomo

Midori: I'm not interested in guys.
Higa: ....
Person 1: That Higa guy is such a plain looking fellow.
Higa: *hears music... starts dancing*
Person 2: But look at him now! When the music started, people started noticing him 'coz he's so awesome when he dances!
Midori: You're right... even I can't take my eyes off him.

RATING: D+ (DISAPPOINTING! It's not only average, but it also sucked in so many ways~)
FAVORITISM: 2 Hearts ---> DISLIKE (but 3 Hearts for the megane bishie that kinda reminded me of Ouran's Kyouya~)

This manga's definition of an "awesome guy" is someone who is handsome and could stand out using his wild street dancing moves.

Oh please.

Level E: Extraterrestrials being Epic, Excellent, Entertaining, and... "Evil"

Level E

By Yoshihiro Togashi

Blonde: Who are you?
Yukitaka: I would like to ask the same thing.
Blonde: I have amnesia, so I can't remember.
Yukitaka: .......
Blonde: I'm an alien from outer space.
Yukitaka: Riiiight.... get out of MY apartment.
Blonde: I'm not joking, look at the TV! My spaceship's over there.
Yukitaka: Prove to me.
Blonde: * hands over a device* I think that controls the spaceship.
Yukitaka: Really? *presses something*
*There was suddenly an explosion featured on the TV*
Blonde: Looks like you pressed the self-destruct button.
Yukitaka: No way....

RATING: A (EPIC! One of the decent few~)
FAVORITISM: 4.5 Hearts ---> ADDICTION

(Some those who are watching the anime but haven't read the manga might end up seeing this... so for those who are scared of spoilers, I made this post as spoiler-free as possible [or at least, would be vague when talking about spoilery events])

This is quite mild to be seinen, but also too good for a shounen. It's no ordinary shounen in so many ways.

Knight & Day, Tangled, & The Tourist (feat. Sucker Punch)

I've been watching films from the past and also recent ones. I found it difficult to make a post for each, so I decided to do them in batches~ Each movie batch would have 3 quick movie reviews then 1 featured upcoming movie. Starting with this:

Sucker Punch

For anime watchers, the sailor outfit thing would definitely remind them of Japanese school uniforms and also Magical Girl shows like Sailormoon. I'm already tired of those and would have ignored this film if it's just the same thing; but fortunately, it isn't. The main cast of this film are amazons in a crazy action fantasy setting. What instantly grabbed my attention to this is that the leading character was confined in a mental hospital! Psycho warriors? I'm so in~ Hahaha!

	Knight and Day An ordinary woman gets involved with the dangerous adventures of a crazy secret agent.... or is he? RATING: C+ (A fun parody of a knight and princess relationship in modern times!) FAVORITISM: 3 Hearts ---> They were fun... most fun when they switched places I hope it was intentional, because I really like the idea of exagerrating the qualities of a perfect knight who will always be there on time to rescue the girl and of a princess who is a damsel-in-distress that's often useless and gets into trouble a lot. But the film hadn't really been as funny nor as exciting as what it appeared in the trailer. Many of the scenes were quite boring... I didn't enjoy it as much as I expected.
	Tangled An animated adaptation of Rapunzel's story wherein she's a princess and her prince charming is a thief. RATING: A- (One of the best Disney Princess movies~) FAVORITISM: 5 Hearts ---> Maximus rocks and Flynn is mine~ It was a fun and exciting version of Rapunzel's story! It's not only romance, but there's also magic and adventure! The ending might be a little cliche and some twists are so expected, but at least victory isn't just from miracles and luck all the time. The main characters aren't the only ones who get to do the cool stuff~ I love it that this film's Rapunzel is the type of princess that could really be admired: she has beauty, wisdom, and GUTS. Hooray for the power of frying pan! And Maximus is the best animated horse ever! Haha!
	The Tourist An American tourists travels to Europe and falls in love with a woman... who is a lover of a wanted mobster. Unfortunately for the main character, the bad guys think that her criminal lover is him. RATING: B- (PRETTY GOOD!!) FAVORITISM: 3.5 Hearts ---> LOVE The setting in this film is the best. True to its title, watching it felt like having a quick tour in Europe. Makes you appreciate the beauty of the countries featured in the film~ And oh boy I love the tourist stereotypes in it. The film's so amusing~ (Poor Americans, haha!) The romance seems to be too fast but even if it was quite expected, I really like the twist in the end. I find their love story more romantic when the secrets were revealed.

The Student Council Presiden't Kitten: Pets Are More Than Adorable

Kaichou-san no Koneko

By Furumiya Kazuko

Kotoko: I propose for a cat cafe for the cultural festival~
Reiichirou: No way.
Kotoko: Huhu.
Reiichirou: That will be all. *goes home*
Reiichirou's mother: Hello son~ I'll be busy, so take care of this kitten in my place, okay?
Reiichirou: Wha-?
Reiichirou's mother: Thank you~ Buh-bye~
Reiichirou: But.... I don't know how to take care of pets.

RATING: C (AVERAGE! But C+ or B- for the pet stuff and C- for the romance~)
FAVORITISM: 3 Hearts ---> LIKE (but 3.5 Hearts for the bishies~)

It's a heartwarming story of a kitten and its owner. It's good when it's focusing on the pet caring... but in went downhill when it started telling a love story.

The Angel Maker: Dr. Frankenstein with "Angelic" Triplets

The Angel Maker

By Stefan Brijs

Villager 1: The strange doctor is back... after being gone for nearly 20 years!
Dr. Hoppe: I'm home.
Villager 2: He even brought triplets with him. I wonder who the mother is.
Dr. Hoppe: They don't have a mother.
Villager 3: I saw the kids! The looked like monsters!
Charlotte: The one who will take care of such children... is an old teacher like me?

RATING: B+ (IMPRESSIVE! Oh this book is really good~)
FAVORITISM: 3.5 Hearts ---> LOVE

The Angel Maker is a haunting tale of a strange scientist who just wants to help others.... and also wants to beat God. The novel explores the ethical limits of science and religion. I find the story very compelling, intriguing, and fascinating~

Is This a Zombie? - Episode 2

I thought it can't think of more jokes after its epic magical girl thing in the previous episode, but it looks like this show isn't running out of hilarious stuff yet xD I love this so much that I got tempted to blog it:

(LOLz, he even has the eye covering pose.... and he's doing that while saying perverted stuff. I'm amused xD)

I'm "quite" addicted to Ayumu so most of the focus would be on him.... but of course I love the show as a whole. Despite the ridiculous stuff, it actually has an intriguing plot *_*

Anime Winter 2011 Second Impressions

Well, the first impressions are my thoughts before watching an episode, so here goes my thoughts after watching at least one (on most of them).

Last year, on the same season, I found gold such as Durarara!!~ Looks like this year this season also has its promising shows~

Fandom Diaries: I Am Number Four (in watch list; not in read list) and other reading stuff

I really liked the trailer of the I Am Number Four film, so it was automatically in my Movies-I-Wanna-See-Soon list. I like alien stories, and seeing a blonde Number Four reminded me of Numbuh 4, who is a favorite character of mine from the cartoon series, Kids Next Door.

When I found out that it was actually based on a novel series, I looked for the book. But only the movie tie-in version was available:

When it comes to novels, I prefer the original editions... not the movie one =_= So no matter how curious I was, I decided not to buy it.

Later, as I thought about it, I felt that it was a right decision not to buy that novel. Why?

1. The employee of that certan bookstore said that the book was good. The two previous books I've bought from that bookstore... which are also recommended by an employee of it... turned out to be CRAP. It was deja vu.... I don't want to waste money on crap again.
2. Majority of the reviews say that the book wasn't really that impressive.... most of its fans are because of the movie... particularly on the ACTOR. The fangurls just want to see Alex Pettyfer shirtless ^^; Ah well, I'm not his fangurl... and even if I was, I'm more of a story person... I'm more into good stories than sexy actors when watching something ^^;

So what I ended up buying yesterday instead was 07-Ghost volume 4 (I really love this manga xD) and Percy Jackson & The Last Olympian (finally the paperback version is out!).

I really really miss the Percy Jackson series... and with the last book finally on my hands, I could start ready the sequel series soon xD The first few pages of it really excited me~

For now, I shall focus on marathoning the Septimus Heap series (which I also love~ Sep is such a darling~) then I shall finish Percy's series xD But before that... catch-up on my anime watches (also those reviews, wah), wheee~

Beelzebub: Baby Care Has Never Been This Entertainingly Badass

I planned to compile my impressions on the first episodes of the new shows this season in one post but... Beelzebub is just so EPIC that I got tempted to do one ahead xD:

It looks so wrong.... I love it xD Bwahahahaha!

I'm already familiar with the manga.... and I love it lots! I was sooooo excited when I found out that it finally has an anime adaptation... and it didn't disappoint! It's more hilarious than the manga even!

The Tapestry #1: The Beginning of a Harry Potter-ish Celtic Myth & Folklore Series

The Hound of Rowan (The Tapestry #1)

By Henry H. Neff

Max: I saw something magical at the museum.
Nigel: That means you're someone special! I'm here to recruit you to a new school! But first you need to past the test.
Max: Okay *does test and gets a remarkable score*
Nigel: As expected from the main character of the series! You're more special among the special ones!
Awolowo: Because of that, I shall do my best to persuade you to attend the academy. There won't be any story without you being there~
Max: Alright, I'll go to magic school then! I have to discover more of my power, save people, and get ready because the dark lord is obviously going to rise again!

RATING: C- (SO-SO! Has potential to be cool and unique but it just had to write it the way other unimpressive authors do)
FAVORITISM: 2.5 Hearts ---> NEUTRAL (3 Hearts for Connor x Lucia ;D Haha!)

There are a lot of fantasy adventure series with a special boy being able to do magic... but it's not often you see one that is based on Celtic mythology~

NCIS Season 1: If the Navy Protects the Citizens, then Who Protects the Navy?

Naval Criminal Investigative Service
of Belisarius Productions, Paramount Television

Created By Donald P. Bellisario, Don McGill

Navy: It is our honor to protect the country.
NCIS: It is our honor to protect the navy.

RATING: B+ (IMPRESSIVE!! It was so nice to watch~)
FAVORITISM: 4 Hearts ---> ADORATION (Tony is 4.5 Hearts =3)

There's been a lot of crime drama focusing on police organizations that protect the country. In this series though, this time we've got a group of law enforcers who are protecting those that are protecting the country. Even our beloved soldiers can become victims to numerous types of crimes... they're no different from us.

Togainu no Chi: The Anime Brought the Original Nothing But Shame

Blood of the Reprimanded Dog

of Aniplex, Picture Magic, A-1 Pictures

Original Story By Nitro+

Akira: Oh, I won the Blaster game again.
Keisuke: You're so awesome, Akira!
Police: *takes Akira to prison* You are arrested for murder.
Akira: But I didn't do it!
Police: We are not listening!
Woman: I can get you out of jail.... if you participate in Igura... where you should defeat the most powerful guy in it.
Akira: Fine, just get me out of here already.
*Akira was brought to the city where the game is set*
Akira:..... What kind of place is this?

RATING: D (HORRIBLE! whyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy?)
FAVORITISM: 2.5 Hearts ---> NEUTRAL (But the manga is 3 or 3.5 Hearts)

As many are already aware, this is based on a BL game (one of the game adaptations even had yaoi). It also had a manga adaptation, which didn't have much BL scenes from what I've read so far, and I appreciated it. The announcement of an anime adaptation naturally made the fans of the game and the manga very excited.

Unfortunately, the anime was a disappointment...... a huge disappointment.

Life Season 1: Cop Becomes Convict Becomes Cop

of Universal Media Studios

Created By Rand Ravich

Police: Officer Charlie Crews, you're arrested for murdering your friend and his family.
Charlie: I didn't do it.
Police: Don't believe ya. *imprisons him for years*
Constance: Poor Charlie. Fortunately, I'm such an excellent lawyer and Charlie's so cute. The court finally declares him innocent and sets him free!
Charlie: Hooray!
Constance: You get a lot of money for compensation, Charlie. What do you wanna do?
Charlie: Cool! Oh, I want to go back to my old job.
Police: Srsly?
Charlie: Yeah. *all smiles*

RATING: B- (PRETTY GOOD! It was so nice to watch~)
FAVORITISM: 3.5 Hearts ---> LOVE

It's not usual to see a cop who was treated so unfairly yet he still wants to help people and wouldn't get mad at jerks who misjudge him~

Kuroshitsuji II: Dark and Twisted Fanservice Done AMAZINGLY

Black Butler II

by A-1 Pictures, Square Enix, FUNimation EntertainmentL, Aniplex

Claude: I'm the new demon butler in this series.
Alois: Claude will do whatever I wish~ *dances* Ole!
Claude: Yes, your highness. Until the contract is fulfilled, I am your loyal servant.
Alois: *hyper* You're the best butler in the world, Claude! *whispers with a hidden glare* (Go roll in sh!t)
Claude: *pretends not to hear the whisper*
Alois: *hears someone knocking at the door* Yaaaaay!!!! We have a guest!
Claude: *opens door*
Alois: *examines stranger* He seems.... interesting. *grins*
Claude: He seems.... familiar. *glares at stranger*

RATING: A (EPIC! Super terrific!)
FAVORITISM: 5 Hearts ---> OBSESSION

Violence. Sadism. Morbid. Foul Language. Homosexuality. (Subtle) Nudity. Female/Child Abuse.
Not for minors and those with innocent or pure minds.

The first season sucked.... a lot. But miraculously, the writers of the second season had become brilliant enough to make up for the mistakes of the previous season with its new story, characters, and.... rating (rating as in "R18" rating). It picks up the storyline from season 1, but the quality between the two seasons are incomparable (the difference had been that great!). It's already rare for a sequel to be better than its predecessor, much more on sequels that manage to improve a lot when its prequels are unbearably horrible.

Unfortunately, not a lot had appreciated or acknowledged its brilliance. From what I've noticed, these are the top reasons why:

1. They didn't like the new characters
2. They couldn't tolerate the disturbing scenes
3. They find the story confusing or ridiculous
4. They think the series had too much fanservice

Well, you can't please everybody. But it still makes me sad because....  

those are some of the things that made this series so brilliant in the first place!

Why do I say so? Allow me to elaborate....