Desu ex Machina

The first streaming episode of Bakemonogatari, perhaps the strongest title of a marquee of solid shows the past two seasons, was released recently. It is really great to see that after the TV airing concluded, Bakemonogatari doesn’t miss a single beat and continues its sublime, distinctive storytelling style at and at the high quality of art and animation that we have come to expect for 12 episodes previous. Arararagi (sorry, I stuttered) is also one of the coolest male leads in anime. His subtle character change and outward attitude both keep him honest and make watching the show fun. If Araragi were different, Bakemonogatari’s dialogue driven structure could easily have collapsed. Oh and he also molests Mayoi-chan at the start of the episode, which is also plus points.

Now remember, this episode was a STREAM. so excuse the 360p or whatever. DVD will be out in like 2010

After a near perfect episode 12, we pick up where we left off with Tsubasa Cat part 3. Horie Yui is one of my favorite voice actors and Bakemonogatari is hocchan at her best. The way she renders Tsubasa is both distinctive and compelling; combined with the masterfully written dialogue, it is hard for this episode to be anything but amazing. After a load of dialogue, they go see Oshino and that’s basically the episode. It’s hard to summarize episodes of this show because the show is about the dialogue, not the plot. It’s not about what happened, it’s about the process by which it was presented to have happened. It’s about the the characters say, the way they say it, the reactions. This is why a good seiyuu corps is needed. If you want to find out what happened, go watch the episode yourself.

I particularly enjoyed the scene where Araragi encounters Hitagi in the bike-lot. Araragi’s relationship with Hitagi is unconventional in an anime sense because there is almost no romantic tension. Hitagi is smart and very rarely misunderstands her boyfriend, which is a fresh breath of air compared to many other anime with romance. Also present is some fourth wall breakage, which never goes over too badly if used in moderation.

Oh Saito Chiwa, Aika-chan would have taken offense to all those hazukashii serifu in episode 12

The end of the episode, however, left me most excited. Well, besides this…

if you got gg’s release of the stream, they left in the commercials for the singles of the OPs. They are taking painfully long to come out, especially since they are so fucking good, but after the end credits we get a sneak peek of Horie Yui’s OP for Tsubasa Cat! The little clip I’ve heard sounds fucking amazing and I can’t wait until we get to see the OP, and ultimately (in like January) get the single. It’s called sugar sweet nightmare and sounds great. Definitely check out the commercial after the credits of gg’s release if you haven’t already.

When I first saw the announcement for Kampfer and what it was going to be like, I knew there was a precise 1.64% chance of it actually being good. Why is this show one of my most anticipated series? Well, besides the fact that fall season looks so much like total garbage that this is relatively decent, because of it’s loaded cast and its main character is a guy that transforms into a girl. Go ahead and judge me, but you know you want to watch this too.

Kampfer starts off with Senou Natsuru (cv. Inoue Marina) being chased around and shot by Mishima Akane (cv. Horie Yui). But in order to activiate magical powers, Senou has to turn into a girl! Wowzors!

But there’s more! It turns out that Akane also is a transformed magical Kampfer, too! Untransformed, she’s a cute timid moeblob who goes to Senou’s school. I never saw that coming. This is actually a clever trick so that Inoue Marina gets to use her boy and girl voice and Hocchan can use her agressive and timid voice, essentially casting each voice actor twice. This is super effective against seiyuu faggots like me, as we will flock to this anime just to hear the dialogue. Not that there is much else to it anyway.

Speaking of voice actors, I think the producers’ main strategy is to attract people who pay too much attention to seiyuu just like I do. Just like how Strike Witches gets people to watch because it’s little girls without pants, Kampfer gets people to watch for not only having a loaded cast, but making damn sure you know it.

Hey viewers, Yukarin is in this anime! Please watch it...

Wow! No way! Tamura Yukari (whose primary occupation is to be a voice actor) is a voice actor in this anime?

Yes! Here is a picture of her as proof!

Oh well, in that case, I have no choice but to watch this, buy all the CDs, and 17 copies of the DVD set! Thanks for letting me know, Nomad!

No problem, kevo! Don't forget to check out the various Kampfer OVAs we will make in the future!

Oh, and for people who don’t know, Yukarin’s role as “Seppuku Kuro Usagi” itself is a reference to her radio show Tamura Yukari no Kuro Usagi no Kobeya (田村ゆかりの黒うさぎの小部屋)

Also included are Nakajima Megumi (Ranka Lee for you Macross people), Noto Mamiko, and of course Mizuki Nana, the latter two have not yet made an appearance. A randomly nonsensical plot? Mellow fanservice? A ridiculous premise that involves magical fighting? Take away the cast, the sex changing lead character, and the fact that the animation is decent and we have Akikan!. Think about it. Really think about it.

However, Kampfer does manage to get deep and ask some pretty important questions.

I really don’t know. Any female readers want to offer some thoughts? I’ve never thought about this before; as I never had to pee while wearing a skirt. And being a girl.

And magic.

It’s September 11th today so that means it’s my birthday. It’s quite uneventful. My friends and I are going out to dinner tonight but besides that I don’t have anything slated. So ronrey…

But whatever. It’s not like this is a cool birthday like 18 or 21 where I can do something cool and new. I guess the best thing about today is that I’m going out to eat. Oh yeah! No ramen tonight!

But I’d like to take this time and reflect upon this blog and how it’s been doing. I started this blog at the beginning of summer as something for me to do. A pet project, of sorts. I like to write and by no means do I claim to be good at it, but it’s fun to do and I like anime as well. Let’s put two and two together and not spend the summer just watching anime and fapping but writing about it as well. Desu ex Machina has exceeded my expectations. Though I am but an embryo in the wonderful world of anime blogging, you, my wonderful readers with your awesome comments and feedback, have given me the privilege of experiencing how fun it can be. Thank you, all my loyal readers. All three of you.

To show my appreciation (actually this idea came up on IRC and I made it because I have way too much time on my hands), I have spent the last two days toiling in my underground laboratory. Then, during a thunderstorm I let it get hit by lightning and now IT”S ALIVE. Behold, my greatest creation, and a present from me to you.

Click for full size. Oh you BETTER click for full size.

I used various popularity polls and my own opinion to place the seiyuus from most the least valuable. I know start is “スタート”, but it wouldn’t fit. You just have to say start really fast, ok? Besides that, every effort has been put into making this resemble a Monopoly board as closely as possible (the fonts and stuff). I hope you all enjoy my seemingly completely inane labor. Well, that’s it I guess. I wonder what the pieces should be…

Sorry for the lack of updates the past week. As I have said, I moved back into college this week and I had to wait a bit for internet. A day after the internet came, when everything has just been set up, and just when this year of college was starting off perfectly smooth, my laptop rolled over and just died. 12 days after the warranty expired. It has been one year. So a trip to the computer store and $1000 later, I’m back here again. I got a nice new HP HDX but to be honest I’d rather have my old Acer and 1000 bucks back (no, I will not buy a cheap computer. I am the President of the Video Game Club and I am a techie. A graphics card is synonymous to food for me). Budget is going to be really tight this semester. Oh right, my two Saimoe blogs… yeah CCY’s gonna be kind of upset.

In the meantime, I rewatched both seasons of Rozen Maiden in the last week. And because I didn’t have a computer Thursday night, the re-watch of Rozen Maiden Traumend became the first 13 episode anime I have ever watched in one sitting (t’was a quite fortunate way find out that my roommate’s PS3 can read data discs and play avis). As my first anime (childhood anime on Cartoon Network don’t count), Rozen Maiden has a special place in my heart. I remember how much fun I had with the series and how excited I became. A few years later, that feeling is still there. Sure, I’ve watched tons of really great stuff and 100 more anime since then, but this show is still just so amazingly solid. I also returned with deep appreciation for how talented Rie Tanaka is. My love for Suigintou is like a truck.

That look on Gin's face is absolutely priceless.

To cheer me up, however, gg gave me Christmas in August and did a triple release yesterday. Episode 7 of CANAAN was really cool, and the last two episodes were kind of a slowdown. That’s ok, not every anime can be Tengen Toppa Gurenn Lagann. There’s lots of talking and only little bits of Maria being annoying but nothing too intense. The story in confusing and the way it’s explained feels rather forced and gets in the way of the flow of the show. Regardless, they are at least trying and the character development is decently solid. Liang Qi especially stands out for her lunatic antics, zettai ryouiki, and bb gun action. More Rie Tanaka faggotry on my blog right here. I gotta take care of my favorite voice actor of all time you know. She is at her best when her character is batshit insane.

Zan Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei continues to be freaking awesome. They animated one of my favorite chapters of the manga this week, about the Winter Shogun. Hopefully, they will animate my favorite chapter sometime. To continue the voice actor fagging, Horie Yui is in this week’s episode as chain sale schemer Maruuchi Shouko. I find it quite interesting that they are adding new people into the anime, and it hasn’t become overwhelming. I hope the infinite sales girls show up more in the future. The characters are extremely easy to figure out with minimal amounts of explanation needed. Characters are really what makes Zetsubou-Sensei gel and click together as a strong, enjoyable comedy anime.

If this was intentional, the seiyuu joke is clever.

Finally, Bakemonogatari 8. Bakemonogatari is so much storytelling and that storytelling is very masterful. We go into Suruga’s storyline and find out a little about her past. We learn of her nearly obsessive love for Hitagi and how multiple layers of her consciousness respond. This anime is captivating because it works on so many levels and there is meaning and thought in so many aspects of the plot.

I wasn’t really feeling it too much this episode, despite my praise for it. I guess after the first episode of this anime, I was expecting some action. Don’t get me wrong, however. Bakemonogatari as is is absolutely sublime. The drama is good and the show in itself is very thought provoking. I liked this episode’s OP, as Miyuki Sawashiro is a very talented singer and voice actor. I liked the final interaction in the opening animation where Hitagi cuts Suruga in half with scissors. The foreshadow was great symbolism and played into the episode well.

Oh right, Hayate no Gotoku also was released recently. This season has been hella good and HnG has not broken the trend. After three insanely hilarious episodes in a row, this show seems to want to reel back a little bit before it starts killing its fans. Still, this episode was pretty fun and full of lulz. Nagi gets a part time job and Ayumu is moe. There’s also a Haruhi dig, so there’s no reason not to watch it.