At first I was not particularly anticipating the new To Heart 2 OVAs, seeing that the TV series failed my expectations a bit. Of course, having Ma-ryan and Sasara (and present-day Yuuki) animated is a nice bonus, but otherwise I stick to the original game for my fandom. I would only wonder in horror how they would dilute Sasara's scenario (the longest scenario in the game) in a mere episode or two.
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As you probably know, I'm in Japan. So when I'm in Japan, I want to buy something… anything. But I'm poor. But still, I just can't resist. So I save some money by not eating sometimes. I lost a lot of weight actually. Don't worry, I'm joking on the not eating part… I'm not that hardcore…
I have this rather impossible sickness called "impulse buying", where I buy something I probably won't even need or treasure later on, but still buy just for the heck of it. If there were a way to resell these stuff to you, my readers, I would gladly, but shipping charges are not cheap. So basically, I'm stuck with these items myself, and someday, it will be JUNK. Yes, TRASH.
Most impulse buys I have ain't related to anime at all, so I won't mention some. And of course, I won't tend to buy too much anime stuff, because I don't have a hikkomori or otaku room.
This post is a collective of all the "impulse buys" I made during the entirety of my stay here in Japan. Of course, this will update as time progresses, so check it out sometime.
It's almost summer in Japan… I think (but then again, I wouldn't know), and while I'm still scampering for info about the next anime season's premiere offerings, I should also prepare for the new iteration of my Summer of Bishoujo project.
Don't know what it is? Well, it's just my collective that I started a year ago when I realized that I've been reviewing too many bishoujo game based anime, and playing nothing but To Heart 2. I've had fun with it while it lasted, but it wasn't all good actually. Back then I promised lots more features, like reviewing more anime, or another game to play, but alas many of those never came into fruition. I never had the time and dedication to focus on them. You could say those were just "empty promises".
And so I'm gonna go "sarcastic" all over myself again, and make more empty promises for Summer of Bishoujo 2! So with the theme of "promises", I'm gonna challenge myself in writing more articles for the project. I promise I will. Promise.
(I, the devil's advocate of this blogger, doubts it. Because look, this blog itself isn't too active over the past weeks. How could he muster more effort into the project? For the record, he's so backlogged with Fate/stay Night, and hasn't watched Canvas 2 yet… surprised? See his dedication? Hahaha! I love to see him fail.)
The URL for the project is still the same, please visit:
http://bluemist.animeblogger.net/summer-of-bishoujo/
You will see my empty promises there…
I hope to see you soon. Promise.
I was browsing through my stats today, and… behold! I found myself giggling at the sight of the search phrases some people use. Basically, some of you probably found this site using a search engine right? So let me tell the most popular search terms you use, as well as some rather amusing ones that, well, amuse me.
These phrases are from the very recent days only it seems, but hopefully it is a precise description of what kind of topics people want to find in this blog.
.jpg "Konomi moe~!")
.jpg "Tama-nee kakkoi!")
.jpg "Manaka kawaii!")
.jpg "Yuma rawks!")
.jpg "Karin l33t!")
.jpg "Ruuko rulz!")
.jpg "Himeyuri twins yurilicious!")
.jpg "Ilfa robo mayhem!")
.jpg "and our usual boring guy Takaaki.")
I was thinking all the while that To Heart 2 will be really good, considering that Comic Party Revolution, the other anime franchise of Aquaplus, turned out rather well. But then the IMO horror that is ~Remember my Memories~ still looms. That series not only had inconsistent animation, but a pace and story that I didn't enjoy too much. This time, To Heart 2 more or less had the same problems, but not enough to call it a bad anime… or maybe… I'm biased?
I played the game, and featured it rather heavily, so there may be some personal biases of mine that will lead to the anime counterpart getting a more positive review from me. For one, I really love the mix of the all-new characters this time. The energetic childhood friend, the mature onee-sama, the soft-spoken iincho, the annoying challenge girl, the scheming club president, the weird girl from outer space, twins with different personalities, and the ever-required maid robot. While this cast sounds extremely cliche, the difference is in the moe~ factor. The To Heart 2 characters have the same cuteness vibe that made the original To Heart so popular. The lead male character is also an improvement over other similar series. Takaaki is neither a Bakayuki or a Junichi, but if you ask me… he acts kinda gayish.
Now I'm gonna try to remove my bias. Technically, To Heart 2 the anime is created for existing and upcoming fans of the original game. Its premiere in the fall season of 2005 would coincide with the much-anticipated PC version of the game (it was originally on Playstation 2), To Heart 2: XRATED. That said, and because you, my primary audience, is of the english-speaking anime community, many of you guys may be alienated when watching this anime. It is as if it pits you immediately into the events assuming you already know the game, or know of the first To Heart. Unfortunately, many of us can't play the game because of the language barrier, and so some may not be able to enjoy it too much. Add up the fact that there are 9 featured girls in mere 13 episodes, and that makes them even less memorable.
Aside from the dilemma from non-fans of the To Heart 2 game, even the fans themselves are complaining. What they saw in the anime were very diluted, modified and condensed versions of each girl's story. What took them about 5-10 hours to complete in the game, the anime finished in 1 or 2 episodes. The conversion quality left so much pain, as it wasn't to the level that they expected. The most significant alteration to the original was the watering-down of the drama. The original To Heart 2 stories were heartwarming tearjerkers. Compared to that, the To Heart 2 anime stories seemed lifeless.
Couple that with inconsistent animation, incomplete stories, and confusing timeline, the anime is disaster on rails. Thankfully it had some nice bits here and there. For the fans, they have seen the To Heart 2 girls interact with each other like never before, because in the game they barely even know each other. Also, having all the original seiyuu in check for the anime makes it pleasant-sounding. Music is forgettable but not annoying, and the OP/ED is quite good.
Overall though, maybe it will be just the fans who will enjoy an anime like To Heart 2. Anyway, the best episode to watch is the 12th one, and I can say you could even see it standalone (not watching the other eps). Continue it with the last one for the open-ended conclusion, and you have the 2-episode Konomi OVA. That's my recommendation if you don't want to waste time. There are many other bishoujo-game based anime better than this (Stripey has a nice top 20 list). My other recommendation is to play the game somehow. You'll feel the moe~ factor better over there.
Final Episode!
Last episode looked much better than this one, which is a shame because this is the final episode. In any case… hmm what can I say? This is a wrap-up similar to the first To Heart series in which, if you are one of those viewers who expect a definite conclusion in an anime finale, you would be in for a disappointment. Yep folks, we don't have love blooming here in To Heart 2.
And another aspect of this finale is an anomaly. Some new character was introduced! A new character appeared… in this final episode. How's that for a shocker? That really made me think whether they are gonna follow up this series for a second season, because it was really the wrong time to introduce that character, no matter how you look at it.
2005 WATCHED
Aah, look at this pathetic list. While it pales in comparison with everyone else, it's already a huge number considering my busy schedule. If I include all the other (backlogged) anime I watched from previous years, I think I average 2 episodes a day in 2005. Not too much, but if you think about it (over 700 episodes!), it is rather too many. What more with others?
I will do more reviews as time goes by. Watch out for them.
Carry-over to 2005
Gundam Seed Destiny – backlogged (figured it's a total waste of time)
Mai-HiME
Naruto – backlogged (stopped after the chase Sasuke arc, not because Sasuke is gay though)
School Rumble
Winter 2005
AIR
Mahoraba
Mahou Sensei Negima
Spring 2005
Comic Party Revolution
Futakoi Alternative
Fushigiboshi no Futago Hime
Gokujou Seitokai – backlogged (due to subs)
He is My Master
Tsubasa Chronicle
Summer 2005
Da Capo Second Season
Ichigo Mashimaro
Kamichu!
Paniponi Dash! – backlogged (due to subs)
Petopeto-san
Shuffle! – backlogged (waiting to marathon)
Suzuka
Fall 2005
Animal Yokocho
Canvas 2
Mai Otome
Mahou Shoujo Lyrical Nanoha A's
To Heart 2
OVA AND OTHER
Air Movie
Boku wa Imouto ni Koi wo Suru
Bokusatsu Tenshi Dokuro-chan
Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children
Iriya no Sora, UFO no Natsu
Itsudatte My Santa
Kujibiki Unbalance
School Rumble OVA
Uta-Kata OVA
JDORAMA
Gokusen 2
Densha Otoko
Hana Yori Dango
.jpg "Yochi and Charu")
.jpg "Tama-nee stopped Takaaki")