FreezeFrame / Honey & Clover

FreezeFrame: The world through an artist’s eyes

“I want to open all these boxes…but a mortal life span is too short to do such a thing.
But, if I had someone to help me in my battles…if I had that person…”

As much as many people would like to deny, Honey & Clover has more or less revolved around the blonde munchkin known as Hagu. Who is this mysterious girl? Why does she rarely speak? And why is she so goddamn short?

FreezeFrame / Miscellaneous

One more to blow your mind

Will Satou-kun ever escape the conspiracy? Was Kyon really left with no choice but to kiss Haruhi? Will Hagu become left-handed? These questions intrigue me because I believe they are what make an anime memorable. You know what I’m talking about. It’s that huge sigh you let out at the end of Kaleido Star, satisfied that the ending did the show every bit of justice it deserved. It’s the chill you got when Kaede goes seed-mode for the first time in SHUFFLE! It can even be the look of morbid disgust on your face when watching some “spirited” fans do the Haruhi ED dance on Youtube. Regardless of how anime affects you, one cannot deny the essence of a great anime – an animated reality that draws us in and takes us on an emotional rollercoaster ride as we laugh, love, fight, and cry with characters that remain fondly tucked away in our memories forever.

I’ll be starting a new feature on Random Curiosity – FreezeFrame. I’ll be bringing to you memorable scenes from recent episodes, along with some thoughts and analysis in an attempt to spark discussion, whether it be in the comments section here or amongst your anime buddies at school. Watching an anime is only half the fun – to truly experience it, we must reflect. I love anime because of its wonderful depth and ability to stir the soul – I want to share this love with everybody.

Will you help me? I can initiate the discussion, but it is up to you all to continue it. I’m also open to any suggestions on topics – email me at jaalin AT gmail DOT com.

Yoroshiku!

-jaalin

Bleach / Kamisama Kazoku / Miscellaneous / NANA / Random Musings

Random Musings – Brand New Morning Edition

A few random news bits/things I have to say:
-With the release of the KamiKazo DVDs, I’m finally able to listen to the full Kamisama Kazoku OP and ED (creditless OP/ED sequences are nice too). Given that I haven’t liked a lot of the past season’s theme songs, I’m glad that I can now put on repeat some songs I really do enjoy.
-This week has been a bit frustrating in the sense that it seems like every post has someone asking about the episodes I skipped last week. For the final time: I will not be making up the episodes that aired during my break. I realize some of you folks aren’t happy with the jump in continuity, but you have to realize how much time it takes to blog everything – time which I just don’t have. The only exceptions are the series that are now being covered by the other writers.
–NANA is getting a new OP next week, another Reira/OLIVIA song called Wish.
-Newsweek is running a story about the popularity of YouTube in Japan. Of particular note is the fact that it mentions The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya as an example in the final paragraph. That’s the first time I’ve seen something like that mentioned in print media.
-There are A LOT of series coming next season, so I’m starting planning early (especially since I won’t be able to take on nearly as many series this time as I normally do). Series I’ve got marked right now include (in no particular order) Sumomomo Momomo, Yoake Mae Yori Ruriiro na Crescent Love, Kanon, Ayakashi Ayashi, and Death Note. That’s only a small fraction of the total number of shows, and it’s even still a bit early since some shows don’t have airdates yet. As usual, I won’t be making final decisions on what to follow until well into the next season, and I’ll likely watch the first episode of pretty much everything. Hopefully I’ll be able to write a fall preview sometime soon (I love my spreadsheets)
-Oh yea, I almost forgot (very old news): Bleach is moving to Wednesday nights come October.