badger11’s take on anime

After deciding not to commit suicide, the off-line group, Yamazaki, and Hitomi’s boyfriend, Jougaskai, are cleaning up after themselves, preparing to return to the mainland. The youngest member of the group makes the comment that he didn’t think that he had any other choices other than suicide. The man who owns the island replies that people with tunnel vision can’t think of any other solutions, even when there is one in front of them.

Satou is sitting by himself when Misaki walks up to him and asks if he’s glad he lived. Satou jumps up and raises his fist. In a flashback, Misaki sees another figure raising its fist, ready to hit her. She falls and curls up, protecting her head. Satou stops and lowers his fist. Satou raises his fist again and she covers herself again and has the same flashback. She mutter “Please stop”. Satou storms off saying that he was more scared than she was.

Everyone gets on the boat and heads off. Once they get off the boat, a man with a flag asks them if they’re the off-line group. Jougaskai explains that he contacted the resort, figuring that everyone would want to relax for a bit. The group excluding Misaki get on the bus. Saotu and the guys are in a hot springs room when a janitor walks in. He asks if they’re the group of fools who tried to kill themselves. To throw away their lives is the mark of a fool. He asks what they would have happened if they actually succeed. He points out that there would be a huge search for them which would involve the local fishermen. their deaths would disrupt the fishermen’ work, the local hotels and inns would have to have to spend time dealing with inquires about the group. And what would happen if their bodies floated ashore onto a beach. Tourists probably would avoid the area. He asks if they understand how many people would have been affected by their deaths. He implies that he was the same sort of fool.

At a group meal, a waitress tells two of the members, the ex-medical student and the teenager, that their families are here. After an emotional reunion, the teenager hands satou a coupon for an on-line video game that he usually plays. He mentions that one of his game friends is also a hikikomori and makes money by trading items that he’s earned in the game for money.

Satou rejoins Hitomi, Jougasaki, and the island owner. Satou were Yamazaki went. Jougasaki tells him that Yamazaki had an appointment. Satou realizes that today’s the last day of the Natsucomi. Satou wonders if Natsucomi is more important than Satou’s life. Jougasaki mentions that Misaki also left. Satou mutters that he doesn’t care about her. Jougasaki and Hitomi offer Satou a ride back to Tokyo, but declines. Hitomi apologizes for bringing him out to the island. Satou passes it off, telling not to worry and to be happy. The island owner offers Satou a ride to the train station. On their way to his car, they see his son. The son tells him that his ex-wife let the son come to see him.

When Satou reaches his apartment, he sees a letter from Misaki stuck in his door. Ignoring the letter, he lies in bed in the darkness. Someone starts ringing his doorbell. Its Yamazaki and he’s back from Natsucomu and he’s drunk. And angry. He’s angry at the the convention attendees, considering them stupid for not willing to buy the trial version of their game, for not recognizing it as a masterpiece, that he couldn’t attend the opening day because he and Misaki were chasing after Satou. He blames Satou. Satou is thinking about Misaki’s letter which he had read earlier. She wrote that she’ll meet him in the park at the usual time. Satou gets up and leaves his apartment.

Satou meets Misaki in the park. Misaki doesn’t look at him, but holds up a copy of the contract. She says that he’s been absent from their meetings for several days and that there’s a penalty fee that he’ll have to pay. She goes on to sasy that she never told Satou were she lived (in the house on a hill where she could see directly into Satou’s apartment). Because of this, she waives the fee. Their counseling sessions will continue and that he has to come. Satou gets angry and as he rips the paper out of her hands he asks her who she is to decide these things. Misaki cowers like she did on the island and starts crying. This causes Satou to pause. As he’s standing there, Misaki tells him that she’s glad he’s back. Satou.

As Satou walks into his apartment, his phone starts ringing. On the phone is his mother and Satou thinks that she sounds depressed. As they’re talking, there are sirens in the background of the phone call.

The show has given very little information about Misaki. We know she lives with her aunt in a mansion on a hill that overlooks Satou’s apartment. We also know that she works part-time in a comic book shop. Other than that, we know nothing. But based on her flashback when Satou went to hit her, she’s been a victim of abuse. My guess is that the figure she saw in the flashbacks were her father.

This has also been a roller-coaster for Satou. He starts out the show to trying to change his hikikiomori lifestyle, he meets his senpai who he has a crush on only to lose her. He finds out that he’s been spied on by Misaki. And now there’s something gone wrong back at his parents’ house. I have to wonder that if he didn’t try to change his life, how things would work out.

Ok, based on the first two episodes of Death Note, I can honestly say, this is a great show. Let’s hope that the rest of the series will be as good. In episode 2, Light’s in school with Ryuk hovering about. Ryuk keeps talking to Light who can’t answer because people would wonder who he’s talking to. Because of the notebook, Light is the only one who can see or hear Ryuk. At home, Light starts writing down the names of criminals, including one who the t.v.names as a suspect in a murder. Ryuk is impressed that Light is working hard in writing names in the Death Note. Light explains that he has a limited amount of time to use the notebook. he has to maintian his high grades, go to school, go to cram school and go to sleep to maintain his health. Light reiterates that he will make the world into a crime-free utopia. His isister knocks on the door, asking for help with her math. Once he lets her in, she sits at his desk where he hid the Death Notebook in a drawer. Ryuk tells Light that if anyone touches the Death Note, they’ll be able to see him. Light is surprised to hear that and wonders why didn’t Ryuk tell him that before.

We cut to an Interpol office where there’s a conference going on about the recent deaths of convicts from heart attacks. One group doesn’t have problem with this while another group considers it murder, even after criminals have been caught and punished. Someone wonder if the should bring in “L” to investigate. A junior Japanese police officer asks his senior partner who L is. The older officer explains that L is Interpol’s secret weapon who only takes on select cases. No one knows who L is or what he looks like. But no matter how hard the case is, L always solves them. Before he can go any further, a mysterious figure appears and tells the officials that L is already investigating. The senior Japanses officer recoginzes the figure as someone named “Watari” who is also unknown and the only person who can contact L. Watari opens a laptop that’s connected to a wall screen. The letter “L” is shown and we hear a digitized voice explains the death of the criminals by Light is mass homicide and needs to be stopped. He asks for the cooperation of all of the police agencies from around the world, especially from the Japanese police. The two police officers from Japan are surprised to hear this and ask why. L believes that the killer or killers are either Japanese nationals or are currently living in Japan. He says that he should be able to provoke the killer(s) into action as a demonstration.

As the conference is going on, Light and Ryuk are in an abandoned building were Light is working with chemicals. Light explains that carrying around the notebook is dangerous, and he might have to kill his family if he’s careless and they disover the notebook. Back in his room, Light shows Ryuk how he’s going to hide the notebook in his drawer. Ryuk is surprised that Light would hide it an easy spot until Light explains some security measure that he’s taken. One of them is a electrical current that will trigger a fire to destroy the notebook if someone doesn’t use the right key to open the drawer. Ryuk tells Light that hiding a Death Note was the biggest problem for other humans who had one. Ryuk cautions Light to be careful, that he could set himself on fire. Light mocks ryuk be saying that Ryuk is saying “strange things”. He goes on to say that merely having and using a Death Note is dangerous. He implies that if he’s caught, a small fire is better than a death sentence that could get.

We see people are talking about the deaths of the criminals, cheering on their killer. They’re calling the killer, “Kira” which sounds like “Killer” according to Light. He’s showing Ryuk websites dedicated to Kira (basically Light). Even though the media doesn’t acknowledge Kira, he’s being talked about all over the world. Light states that people all over the world can feel that someone is judging them. Light expalins who everyone is publicly forced to act the same, say the same things even though they are feeling and thinking different things. Criminals are afraid which delights Light.

A special news broadcast appears on the t.v. Light andRyuk are surprised that its from Interprol. A man with a nameplate of Lind L. Tailor, alias L appears, claiming that he controls all of the world’s police agencies. L addresses a message to Kira/Light,stating that he will be caught. Light goes over the edge and says its impossible for him to be caught. He also know that the police would eventually act. Light scoffs when L calls him evil, calling himself “Justice”, the one who protects the weak and a god of a new world. Anyone who opposes him are the evil ones. He writes L’s full name in the Death Note and waits for him die. He wishes that L was a little more clever so that he could have fun.

In front of everyone watching television, L has a heart attack and dies. Light stands there laughing until the letter “L” appears on the screen and the same digitized voice comes across the t.v. set. The voice on the t.v. claims that he couldn’t believe that Kira/Light could kill someone without being near them.The voice explains that the man who was killed was a criminal already sentenced to die that day and he was the real L still lived. The criminal’s capture hadn’t been announced. Ryuk laughs and tells Light that he’s been set-up. As Light is stunned, L taunts him. It tells Light to kill him if he can. L explains that the broadcast wasn’t world wide. It was just aired locally, in the Kanto region. L now knows that Kira(Light) is in the Kanto region. He started in Japan because of the death of Light’s first victim wasn’t widely reported. L reiterates that Kira (Light) will be caught. Ryuk thinks to himself that he was right, humans are interesting.

This was an episode with nothing but dialog. And it was good. As I mentioned at the beginning of this post, based on the first two episodes, I like this show. The moral implications raised by the show of being a vigilante are great. Earlier in the show, Light writes the name of a suspect in the Death Note. The keyword here is suspect. The guy hasn’t been named as a criminal yet. Without any evidence or trial, Light crosses the line from executioner to judge and jury. Imagine if Light was watching the news with the sound off and he sees a police drawing of someone. Its not hard to imagine him deciding that this is a criminal and writing his name in the book. Now imagine if you were watching the same broadcast with the sound on. You hear that the person in the sketch is described as a witness. No suppose this was the only witness to a crime. Who is now dead because Light killed him without investigating further. What would Light’s reaction be? We’ve seen his willingness to kill a, as Light was given to understand, a police official (Lind Tailor). Based on that action, I’d be surprised if Light should any signs of remorse.What if you or I were in Light’s position? How many of us would react the same as Light? Or act differently.

Maybe I’m overreacting, but I want more of this show. And I want it now. I’m impressed with Light’s thoroughness in realizing that eventually the police would start to investgate him. And that he doesn’t flinch about the thought of having to kill someone in his family if they found the notebook.

Or maybe I’m reading way to much into the show.

I’m tempted to buy the manga, but I think I’ll hold off for a while. I’m enjoying watching a show I know nothing about. I just hope the show keeps being as good as the first two episodes.

The second episode of Pumpkin Scissors opens with three men chained together while running from an aristocrat hunting them in a tank. As he and his tank driver are hunting the men, the aristocrat is waxing poetic about how good it is to be part of the nobility and other justifications for his actions. We then see the Pumpkin Scissors’ office in the Army Intelligence HQ. Lt. Alice Malvin is angry and getting angrier because Oland, the giant, former Anti-tank Trooper with the blue lantern is late on his first day in Pumpkin Scissors. Malvin is so angry that she’s swinging her dagger around in the air. Oland is outside trying to get in, but his disheveled appearance is causing him trouble until he shows the guard his papers. Stekkin is glad that she’ll finally outrank someone until Capt. Hunks, leader of the entire unit, asks where Mercury, the messenger dog is. The dog (who bit the head of a senior officer in the last episode) is barreling through the hallways, chased by Stekkin. Back in the office, an angry Lt. Malvin is lecturing the rest of her team when Stekkin and Oland with Mercury biting his head show up.

As Oreld and Machs issue Oland his uniform and equipment, Oreld is describing Lt. Malvin as straight forward and stubborn. He also explains that Pumpkins Scissors is regarded as a joke with no potential for advancement. They’ve also been called “the peaceful and easy going Imperial Unit III. All they do is fill out reports and do inspections. Surprising the other two guys, Orlad likes the idea of a peaceful and easy-going outfit. As the team heads out to Viscount Wolkin’s lands, the nobleman from the beginning, to investigate a report about a disturbance, Capt. Hunks is thinking about Oland. He’s thinking about the fact that Oland doesn’t seem like a solider due to his mild, withdrawn manner, but that his combat skills are “abnormal”.

Once the team gets to the Viscount Wolkin’s lands, they see a funeral procession which causes Oreld no concern until Malvin points out that as bad as things are, its unusual for three people to die at the same time. They hear from local townsfolk about “The Game”. Wolkins and his tank driver, Hosslow, are having dinner in front of Wolkins’ starving maids. He throws his food onto the floor making a passing reference about forgetting to feed his pets. He tells them they can eat the food. The Pumpklin Scissors team storms into the dining room where Malvin accuses Wolkins of being a war profiteer. Wolkins retorts that the Pumpkin Scissors unit and its “war relief” efforts as nothing but a sham used by the military as means to have more access to the nations budget. The unit places him under arrest. Wolkins has his maids draw weapons on the team.

With Malvin sitting on a balcony with the Maids pointing their handguns at her, Wolkins and Hosslow are sitting in the tank, giving a chained Oland and the others a five minute head start to run away. As Oreld picks the locks on their chains, Malvin figures out that the maids were the ones to report Wolkin’s hunting games. She asks why they don’t point their handguns at him. One of the maids responds that they can’t because he’s part of the aristocracy. Malvin then tells them that she’s part of the Malvin family, one of the 13 appointed families of the country. She then cheerfully tells the maids that as commoners, they’re pointing a gun at a noble.

As this is going on, Hosslow is telling Wolkins about a story he heard from other tank soldiers. The story goes that if you see a foot solider with a blue steel lantern, don’t consider them as allies. But don’t turn them into enemies either. Wolkin dismisses the story as a fairy tale. He then starts to react to loud noises coming from outside the tank. He sees that the maids and Lt. Malvin are shooting at him. He starts shooting at Oland, Machs and Oreld who are now free from the chains. Machs and Oreld run away, but Oland stands still, is talking to himself about commoners, nobles and the sham that Wolkin claims Pumpkin Scissors is. As a shell explodes nearby, he decides that it isn’t important at what class you’re born to, its important about how you live your life. Flicking on the blue lantern at his belt, he becomes the glowing tank killer that we saw in the first episode. Surviving shell after shell shot at him and getting wounded in the process, Oland attacks the tank. Lt. Malvin and the team race up in the jeep. The tank tips over throwing Orland off. Malvin jumps out to catch him. Wolkin crawls out of the tank and asks that if stopping him will change things.

Back at the Army Intelligence HQ, Oreld is reciting a list of Oland’s injuries who says he doesn’t mind getting injured in combat but doesn’t feel things will change. Alice, hearing this, basically asks that if he’s so tall, can he see the future. She then compares him to Wolkin. Once in the office, she reads a letter from the maids out loud. The maids thank them and say that they’re heading home. While they don’t know what the future will hold, they’re happier for the change. Malvin tells Oland to not worry about the future so much, but pay attention to the change in front of him.

Not a bad episode of the show. Malvin is certainly a dynamic character, as opposed to Oland whose basically Dr. Jekyll and them Mr. Hyde when the lantern is turned on. I hope, as the series progresses, we see Oland doing other things than attacking tanks. I’m also curious about the class distinction between Alice and Oland as hinted in the show’s opening. I agree with Garten over at Memento that the show needs more complex bad guys. The one thing about the episode that bothered me was Captain Hunks’ reaction to Oland. It seems that he’s not too familiar with Oland’s background. While I’m sure that some parts of Oland’s records would be classified, I get the feeling that the show will portray Hunks as a crafty intelligence officer. And if he is the crafty, knows-all type, then he really shouldn’t be unfamiliar with Oland as a secret weapon. I plan on watching the show and hope that they’ll show more interesting bad guys and deal with the class distinction in a smart way.

Now that its been a few days since the show that hype built landed on us and I’ve gone back and watched it half dozen or so more times. And I still like it. I have to suspend any opinion because KyoAni is taking their time in introducing the characters and what’s will undoubtedly be several involved plot-lines. We’ve been introduced to the main character, Yuuichi, his cousin Nayuki, and his aunt Akiko. We’ve also been introduced to two characters who are, if I remember right secondary characters (I’ve only seen a few episodes of the first one). So we need to be introduced to three more remaining character within the next few episodes before the show really gets going and picks up in pace.

I’m predisposed to liking this show because of KyoAni’s work on The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya. Also, the artwork alone would be a great reason for me to watch it. As I seaid before, I’ve watched it a half doze times already. The show doesn’t necessarily get any better with each viewing, but excluding the artwork, there’s a quality about it that I like. Granted there isn’t the potential for a deep, intense story line like Death Note seems to have. Its pretty much a show that just are along for the ride. So enjoy the artwork, be amused by the story (and probably get depressed here and there). Oh, and decide which girl will you become a fan of. On a few blogs I’ve read, the Ayu vs. Nayuki camps have already started to rally.

Well, I’d suspect that wearing a uniform like this one in wintertime, the girls’ track team would be popular since they undoubtly have to run as fast as they can to stay warm.

Yes, I’ve been wanting to say that and no, I couldn’t think of anything funnier to say. Hey, I didn’t say that these were deep thoughts.

The anime based on the Death Note manga finally appears. I haven’t read the manga series, so I’ve only got a passing familiarity with he story. So I was looking forward to the anime (and the movie if it ever gets released Stateside … released not remade by Hollywood). The show opens with the world of the Shinigami (gods of some sort). We some Shinigami sleeping or gambling. Finally the camera lands on Ryuk who’s off, brooding by himself. Next we see straight A student, Light Yagami(?) in class. We follow Light walking through crowds while news reports are played about murders. In a split screen between Light and Ryuk, they think to themselves that day after day nothing changes. They pretty much think that their worlds are rotten.

Then we see Light in his class (presumably the next day) and while he’s staring out the window he sees a book fall onto the school yard. After class he goes and picks it up and sees that the book is a blank notebook with the title “Death Note” on it. At first he thinks its a joke but takes it home anyways.While at home, he finds instructions on how to use the notebook. They are:

• The human whose name is written in this note shall die.
• This note will not take effect unless the writer has the subject’s face in their mind when writing his/her name. Therefore, people sharing the same name will not be affected.
• If the cause of death is written within 40 seconds of writing the subject’s name, it will happen.
• If the cause of death is not specified, the subject will simply die of a heart attack.
• After writing the cause of death, the details of the death should be written in the next 6 minutes and 40 seconds.

Still believing it to be a joke, he almost writes down a name, but pauses, wondering if he’ll become a murderer if he writes someone’s name in it. He still thinks its a joke. To test if the book is true, he writes the name of a hostage taker that he hears on a news program on his tv. 40 seconds later, the hostages come running out and its reported that the hostage taker is dead of unknown reasons. Even though he’s shocked, he thinks its a coincidence. His mother reminds him that its time for cram school so he packs the notebook up. It at this point that he gets the idea to only write down the names of criminals.

On his way home from cram school, he sees some motorcycle gang members raping a woman. He over hears the name of the leader and hides in a convenience store where he writes down the leader’s name and how he’s going to die. The woman breaks free and runs away. the leader follows after her on his motorcycle only to be hit by a truck. Which is what Light wrote in the notebook. Finally, he’s convinced that the notebook is real and that he has the power of death over someone.

We then see Light coming home and going to his room where he flips through the notebook, laughing at all of the names he’s written. He’s surprised by Ryuk who claims that Light is enjoying using the book. Even though he’s surprised by Ryuk, he’s not scared by the visit since he knows the book is supernatural. Ryuk explains that once a Death Note falls to the Human world it belongs in the Human world. Ryuk also explains that since Light found the book, its his to keep or to give to another human, but if he gives it to another human, he has to erase Light’s memory concerning the book.

Light wonder’s about the price he has to pay for using the book. Ryuk tells him that the only price he’ll pay is that he won’t go to Heaven or Hell. Ruyk tells Light that he’s the only one who can see Ryuk because of a bond between Ryuk and Light through the Death Note. We also see that Ryuk discovers a love for apples that were left by Light’s mother. While Ryuk is eating the apples, Light asks him why he dropped the Death Note. Ryuk answers that he just dropped it somewhere and didn’t single out Light. He dropped it because he was bored. Which is the same answer that Light gives as to why he used it.

While I was looking forward to this show, I wasn’t sure what to expect. This was a good episode and I hope the rest of the season is just as good. I’m pleasantly surprised that I liked it a lot. While I know that I was going to be impressed with Kanon, I didn’t know that I’d be impressed with Death Note. The artwork is good, the moral implications and how the show handles its great. Because of his boredom and disgust about the crime in the world, he used the Death Note. We see Light go through the process of justifying his use of Death Note, just like a politician. Because he’s targeting criminals and those people he thinks of as rotten in an attempt to build a better tomorrow, a better world with only people that he considers good. Hell, let’s call it a utopia.

I think there’s a flaw in Light’s plan to build a world filled with people according to his standards of good. Nature abhors a vacuum, so where Light kills off a criminal another will appear. And so on and so on, until the criminal might not be an actual criminal, but won’t measure up to Light’s definition of “good”. And if a Death Note user doesn’t go to Heaven or Hell, where do they go? Do they become a Shinigami? Or something worse? I hope the producers of Death Note maintain the moral aspect using a Death Note, even if its going after criminals. If they do, then this will be a great, cerebral show to keep watching. I’m looking forward to the next few episodes.

Based on some of the anime blogs I visit, Kanon is one of the more anticipated shows out there. I know I was anticipating it also. The first episode is long and drawn out, introducing the main character of Yuuichi who used to live in the city where the show takes place, but doesn’t remember much about it. We are also introduced to his cousin Nayuki, who has a huge collection of alarm clocks, Nayuki’s mother Akiko, and Ayu, a girl who literally runs into Yuuichi. There really isn’t much to tell about this episode as it just introduces the characters. Considering that Kyoto Animation (KyoAni) has about 24 episodes to work with (as opposed to the 14 for their previous show, The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya). Having a slow open for the series isn’t too bad (jpmeyer describes the opening of this episode as “90 seconds of stuff blowing in the wind porn“).

This episode shows Yuuichi moving in with his aunt and cousin, whom he hasn’t seen in seven years. He and Nayuki tour the city and run into a couple of classmates, Kaoria and Kitagawa. These two have a pretty good interaction with each other as Kaori has Kitagawa carrying all of hers bags and he keeps saying that they’re out on a date.

After watching Kitagawa run after Kaori with her shopping bags, Yuuichi wants for Nayuki outside of a grocery store. He claimed that he’d get lost inside. At this point he hears someone shouting to get out of the way and sees Ayu running towards him. Before he can get out of the way, she bowls him over. She then drags him along, running away from someone chasing her. As they hide in a cafe, Yuuichi sees that its a shopkeeper she’s hiding from. Ayu explains that she got scared by him chasing a off a cat and ran away with some pastries. Yuuichi drags her to the shop (well, its actually a van) and they pay and apologize Ayu’s theft. as they start to part from each other, they finally introduce themselves. Ayu has a reaction when she hears Yuuichi’s name, as if she knew him when he lived there before.

Based on a video game, Kanon was already made into a series a few years ago by and outfit whose name I can’t remember (and am too lazy to find out). I’ve caught a few episodes on Youtube so I have a basic idea of the story. This version is done by Kyoto Animation (KyoAni). From what I understand, excluding the male lead, all of the original voice actors are back for this version. The male lead is done by the actor who voiced Kyon in KyoAni’s recent show, The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya. That was a show that I liked also.

This is so from The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya

I thought the artwork in The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya was pretty good. I sort of suspect that show was just a training session for Kanon because the artwork here easily out does the artwork in Suzumiya. And that’s one of the few things that I think most viewers will take away from this show. Visually, this is very well done. The story itself, I don’t think will be complex, but it should be enjoyable nonetheless.

As I mentioned, one of the strengths about this show will be its visuals. Lush, beautiful landscapes. All of the females characters are almost guaranteed to make you fall in love with them in a moe sort of way (at least as I understand it). I even found myself saying “kawaii ” a few times. Especially whenever Ayu said “Uguu”. This show is probably going to be the fall cotton candy show for me.