don't be dull, be fannish

Noein is really a strange anime. It's definitely not for children though; not because of violence but because it's all about physics and overlapping time spaces and strange terms that even an adult has troubles to understand. But it has probably the most original story I've ever seen in an anime, truly engaging and likable characters and excellent music.

First to the things that I didn't like. The animation. It was weird, sketchy and sometimes it looked like a school kid drew the characters. On the older female characters it was obvious that the artists did know how to draw really well, but when you saw for example Karasu really up close, the drawings were truly hideous. I know that it probably should have counted as the style of this anime but sometimes, it was rather jarring. Though the fighting scenes were awesome, so fast and intense.

The second thing I didn't like much was that some of the characters didn't get to see a proper ending. Or maybe I just didn't understand it. I mean the characters from the Lacryma universe, the ones who survived to the last episode. What happened to them? That left me a bit unsure. But as I said, maybe I just didn't understand what the authors wanted to say. I've never said that I was the brightest bulb, really :P

And now to the things I did like a lot. The characters. They all had their good sides and their bad sides. Nobody was just white or just black. There were all kinds of shades of grey. All of them had their share of bad days in the past, present and future (yeah, it's rather difficult to keep the proper grammatical tense when you talk about time/space jumping). And their relationships were deep and interestedly developed. Especially the relationship between Haruka and Yuu. But Isami and Ai weren't half bad either. And the friendships between the boys and the girls were wonderfully multi-layered too.

The designs. Oh my gosh. The space ships gave me the creeps, really. That was probably the most original design that I've ever seen. And the Dragon Torque and Oroboros too. Wow. That really caught my interest.

The story itself. I mean, time-jumping isn't really new, right? And jumping between realities isn't really original either. But mix both concepts, add some really weird space-ships, strange guys in "raincoats" and a bit mentally unbalanced teenagers and you have a great story with totally original story lines. And the concept of Noein itself. What it looked like and what it was in the end. That one was really cool - even though a bit predictable after some time XP

But the best thing in this anime was the music. It gave the scenes the best background possible. The classical music with its opera-like singing was mind-blowing. This anime's best asset, definitely!

Though Shinsen's subbing was really great in this anime, it really put me off how long it took them to get one subbed ep out. I know that they do it in their free time and they are not paid for it and that I sound ungrateful, but I would prefer if the subtitles were of lesser quality but came out faster. I envy people who can watch the whole anime in one sitting now since it's a real experience. And probably more understandable too when you don't have to hold all the scientific facts in your head for weeks without end while waiting for the next episode to come out.

So, all in all, I would give the anime 4,5 stars (0,5 down because of the animation style). It's quite the treat :)

I finally caught up on Noein. The latest ep made me cry though. I suspected that something like that would happen, that there wouldn't be a happy end for the two friends, but this... when it looked like everything would work out... I hate when something like that happens in the moment when everything seems to be okay again. :( I just hope that the series will have a happy end *crosses fingers*

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And Shakugan no Shana. Another anime that made me cry. The second ep? I mean... Wah! :( I like Sakai very much, how he doesn't mind that he will disappear one day but it makes him very unhappy that nobody will remember that he even existed. That's so sad :( But the series is great. I love the fight scenes. Hehe, and there is the weird guy who loves to play with dolls *g* A great anime!

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Prince of Tennis! LMAO! Prince of Bowling. Fuji fainted in such a lovely way... And Tezuka having nightmares about his team :)) The poor guys. Inui and his juice - even he can't drink it. And Oishi loves bowling! He looked so cool with his glove. The little devil. I loved the chibi scene in which the cops came and tied up Eiji. That was my favorite one. He looked so confused, the poor chibi! I'm still enjoying this anime very much! :)

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Is it just me or is everything in Sousei no Aquarion about sex? I mean, m/m, f/m, f/f, you name it, it's there. That's one weird anime, I tell ya *shakes her head*

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Did AnimeKraze give up on KKM? Feels like it. That's why I'm downloading the raws. I understand bits and pieces and at least I see what's going on. Looks like the next ep will be a big one for Wolfram. Finally. I love to see our blondie in distress. And I'm happy that at least at the very end of the series, he turned into something more than a pretty background picture.

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And it really surprised me how much I like Paradise Kiss. Not enough to buy the manga but I can't wait for the last ep to be subbed. I wonder if Caroline and George will have their happy end or not. That series is different from what we usually see in anime and that surprised me in a very pleasant way.

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But in Gilmore Girls I'm starting to hate the fact that Luke still didn't tell Lorelai. It was he who insisted that they had tell each other everything. And now this! Argh! Sometimes, I really hate men! :(

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Oh, and I made my first .gif icon! *points* Taken from Shakugan no Shana. When I saw the flame, I knew I had to turn in into an icon. The quality is nothing much, but I'm slowly getting the hang of it!

*bounces of to eat more pineapple and oranges*

Jigoku Shoujo: Creeeeeeeeeeeeepy! And sad at the same time. The poor young people who turn to Jigoku Shoujo for help are completely desperate and still need to pay for the revenge she takes on their behalf with their souls. The first girl was quite content with it, but the other... I don't think I would ever do it. I'm too much of a coward. I would rather suffer in this life than after death forever in hell. But still, this series is a keeper.

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Noein: Cool, really cool. I don't like the anime style much - it reminds me too much of Beck - but the story and the special effects are truly intriguing. And besides, I love stories with a tortured main male character. And the question at the very end "Anata ga dare?" reminded me a lot of Soukyuu no Fafner where every episode ended with the question "Anata wa koko ni imasu ka" and it was said in the same, sad girly voice. Creepy. Another keeper!

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Detective Academy Q: Squee! Shinsen picked it up! Three episodes in a month - compared to previous 1 ep every six to seven months, I feel like in heaven. And the plot thickens. I wonder, who Kyuu actually is. So exciting. This series reminds me a lot of Detective Conan but the story is better. More... mature I would say with the whole secret society and someone who wants to kill our heroes... yay. Can't wait for more.

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Oh, and talking about DAQ - I made a new icon. The situation in this pic *points* is completely innocent but cut out of the context... Hm, what do you think? *g*