Light Novels: Kizumonogatari

Full title: Kizumonogatari
Author: Nishio Ishin
Illustrator: VOFAN
Label: Kodansha Box
Year of publication: 2008
Pages: 357

After taking a little break from the Bakemonogatari series, reading a few books by other authors, I finally dug into Kizumonogatari, which is the third novel about Araragi Koyomi. It took no more than two sentences to get back into the groove.

Loose Odds and Ends

  • As a reminder, there are no new episodes of Basquash or Fullmetal Alchemist this week because of the 12th IAAF World Championships in Athletics. A new episode of Bakemonogatari, however, will be airing later today.
  • Speaking of Basquash, I really like the full version of the current ending song and have been listening to the newly released single all week. In contrast, I still don’t like the current Haruhi opening song and laughed when I saw how ridiculous the PV of it was. It certainly doesn’t make me think any better of Hirano Aya.
  • As much as I wanted to blog it because it’s a good series, I really can’t find the time for Sora no Manimani. School recently started again, and my final year of grad school is going to be a doozy. I would still recommend the show though (Jaalin likes it even more than I do).
  • A few people have asked me about my thoughts for the upcoming fall season, and while I haven’t done any significant research on it, my first impression was that it’s even more full of sequels than usual. There’s something like nine or ten of them out of less than thirty new shows, and it’s a shame there aren’t more completely original series. Regardless, I suspect I’ll definitely be watching Darker than BLACK, InuYasha, Railgun, and Kimi ni Todoke.
  • supercell – Kimi no Shiranai Monogatari PV (Bakemonogatari ED)

     

    Today I have the privilege of bringing a new PV to your attention (read: made to do). The ending single for the popular supernatural series Bakemonogatari, “Kimi no Shiranai Monogatari” (Your Unknown Story), was released today and along with it, the PV for the song.

    Prior to hearing this song, I didn’t know anything about supercell. Even now, I still claim to know nothing except for the fact that they’re a unit comprised of Nico Nico Douga creators/performers. Centered around their composer “ryo”, who was responsible for a bunch of popular Hatsune Miku songs, and their vocalist “Gazelle” a.k.a. “nagi”, who was supposedly a really famous Nico Nico Douga singer before deciding to “retire” from the scene, supercell makes me wonder if the likes of Hollywood would ever look to YouTube to find amateur artists to perform the theme song for their next blockbuster hit. Hella unlikely I bet. However, this does go to show how you can make it big via online videos in Japan.

    Being the “Internet people” that they are, apparently many of the members haven’t made any TV appearances yet. As such, it still remains a mystery as to how some of them look. According to Patrik, maybe they’re “ugly” and don’t want people to be turned away from their music based on how they look. We jest, but I’m inclined to think that way since people tend to be pretty shallow in showbiz. In any case, this probably explains why the PV features good looking actors/actresses in a story-like setting. Even if this kind of PV isn’t your thing, listening to the song alone makes it worth the watch.

    Oh yeah, Omni said the main girl, played by Fukunaga Marika (福永 マリカ), is pretty cute. Personally, I’m edging towards Kitade Naho (北出 菜穂) but only after seeing her profile shot. Enjoy~

    Light Novels: Bakemonogatari

    Full title: Bakemonogatari 1
    Author: Nishio Ishin
    Illustrator: VOFAN
    Label: Kodansha Box
    Year of publication: 2006
    Pages: 445

    Full title: Bakemonogatari 2
    Author: Nishio Ishin
    Illustrator: VOFAN
    Label: Kodansha Box
    Year of publication: 2006
    Pages: 401

    It’s been so long since I last posted that I barely remember what button you submit with. The reason for the delay is partly because Bakemonogatari is an exceptionally thick light novel at nearly 450 pages, which in addition are split-page format that allows for 50% more text, so it’s almost three times the length of regular volumes. Mostly, however, it’s because after reading the first, I couldn’t figure out what the series was actually about. Thus I dove straight into the second novel and spent another ten days turning pages. It didn’t really help.