Hetalia Season 3 Starts Today!!—–> Update: Hetalia Season 2/3 transition episode was released.
Apparently episode 52 which was released at the time of this post was infact the final episode of season 2 airing 3 months late. The first real episode of season three starts on March 26th. Time to start counting down!

How my favorite ongoing series managed to pop up so unexpectedly is a surprise to me. Earlier today I was reminded that Hetalia season 3 was supposed to start some time this month. Since I had yet to actually see a specific date I started off by googling “Hetalia Season 3″…. this proved to be unsuccessful since these were the results I found:

Apparently my love of Hetalia is obvious to even google if the post I wrote came up as the #1 result =D
But none of these results, mine included of course, gave a solid date about when Hetalia was to start airing. After this I checked My Anime List to see if they listed a date, which they did not, but out of the corner of my eye I spotted a discussion thread for episode 52! Apparently the first episode of the third season last episode of the second season was released today!

So this post is a reminder to all hetalia fans that the Third season started today! Since even I didn’t know I’m sure there were alot of others in the same boat as me! Go and enjoy. I have to say I nearly passed out laughing at the chibitalia… poor Holy Roman Empire.
Also go watch this amazing 11 minute tribute by the good people at NicoNico Douga.

Source: Hetalia Wiki

I admit that I’ve grown slightly impatient waiting for the third season of  Hetalia (which airs in march), and the Hetalia movie, but it has raised my spirits to know an extra episode is being released in May, along with previews from the Movie that’s coming out this summer, AND re-edited footage of Chibitalia and America’s Storage Cleaning.

The all new episode is titled “Oresama Nikki” (My(Prussia’s) Diary). Prussia is my favorite Hetalia character who has gotten very little attention in the anime thus far, so I am very excited. I only vaguely remember the chapter this is based on, but I dearly hope that Hungary also makes an appearance, she hasn’t gotten enough love either!  Infact,  most of the Hetalia characters have barely said 1-2 sentences. Hopefully the third season will be more inclusive of other characters.

^ A small example of some of the many characters that almost never appear in the show

^ Hungary, the most hardcore character in the show xD

I was also very excited to hear that we are getting some re-edited chibitalia. Fan that had read the manga were a little bit confused when the best scene of the entire arc was cut from the anime. It was actually PLOT important ! I don’t know if that is what they are going to add, but that would be nice.

I will try to be patient waiting for the third season.

Source: ANN

A while back I heard about a series called Kaichou wa Maid-Sama! (Class President is a Maid!) which was going to be animated this spring. After hearing alot of recommendations about it I decided to cheat and try out the Manga before it is released in April. I have to admit… at first I was quite hesitant. I personally prefer something more of the Butler Variety (there actually are butlers in this eventually, so I forgive it), but this series did exceed my expectations.

Kaichou wa Maid-Sama!
Volumes: 11 (Ongoing)
Genre: Shoujo, Comedy, School, “Romance,” MAIDS!
Publisher: LaLa

The story revolves around a girl who ends up in a school in which the demographics of the student body are 80% male and only 20% female. The school used to be an all boys school, and had only recently started enrolling girls, but because the school has a bad reputation very few girls were willing to go there. Our  stories protagonist Misaki is a very strong willed girl, and takes it upon herself to become the student body president and make the school environment more tolerable for the female students. She tends to rule with an iron fist, hates men, and will not hesitate to beat the crap out of the boys who don’t follow her rules. She earns both the fear and respect of most of the student body. Besides being so strong willed she’s at the top of the class and appears to be very mature.

That is what Misaki appears to be on the surface at least… but after school ends she heads to her secret part time job at a maid cafe! Its kind of an ironic job considering she detests men as much as she does, but we soon learn that her father abandoned the family leaving a huge debt, and she’s working hard to help her family and pay her tuition. Misaki somehow manages to balance her Grades, Work, Money, and responsibilities as the class president. Things seem to be going well until her secret is spilled. The coolest guy from her school, Takumi Usui, happens to find out about her job. He may be cool and good looking, but his personality is extremely irritating to Misaki. He is showing up at the shop EVERY SINGLE DAY, and she is worried he might black mail her about her secret job. We quickly find out though that this guy is either a crazy playboy stalker, or has fallen in love with her. He is willing to jump off the school roof to keep her secret safe if that will make her happy.

The plot itself doesn’t seem that original, but I’ve still enjoyed it so far. The female character has a kind of Newtype-Shoujo character; a character like Haruhi from Ouran. She has alot of inner strength which is different from traditional shoujo characters, but at the same time she’s girly deep down. She also seems to have some weird obsession with cross dressing which also reminds me alot of  Haruhi from Ouran. Usui the main male character also has some atypical traits for a shoujo series. First of all… he’s a stalker. The manga never explicitly calls him this, but every time Misaki goes anywhere, he is there watching her!!! Also, while Usui takes up the “Perfect at everything” and  “strong will protect my lover at all costs” type character, he’s emotionally pretty weak and confused. He actually reminds me a little bit of Tamaki from because of his family situation and princely airs, but Usui is much more aggressive,  intelligent and emotionally aware of his feelings for Misaki right away. There are one or two characters introduced later that I also like alot (A TRAP, and a childhood friend with an insatiable appetite… but I won’t spoil too much of the series before it even airs.) Actually my favorite three characters are the “idiot trio” which don’t even have an important role in this story xD

Since the manga is still ongoing I’m worried what the anime will do to end it (really, why can’t they wait for these things to end before animating them!?). I look forward to this in spring, and recommend comedy fans to watch it as well.

During the last week leading up to the convention my area of the world had not one… but TWO blizzards in only a matter of days. We were very worried that it would be physically impossible to drive to the convention which was being held close to Washington DC. To make matters worse I’ve was deathly ill all week, and the hours spent breaking my back shoveling snow didn’t help. Luckily thanks to the effort of a kind stranger with ginormous bull dozer I was able to dig myself out, and my fellow Otaku-ish friends somehow managed to make the long drive there alive.

The convention was held in possibly the nicest Hotel I’ve ever stayed at. It was huge and elegant like, maybe not the most suitable place for an anime convention, but definitely comfortable. There were pretty chandeliers, and a miniature town in the middle of the hotel with indoor fountain shows and streams. It was very pretty =3

View from my elevators of the center of the Hotel… You can see a river and tons of snow outside.

Cute Indoor stream was cute =3

They really need to give more of warning when these things shoot! I got wet because of the fountain.

The Katsucon even had most of the first three floor designated for Anime related panels, Merchant and art rooms, Movie theaters, Cosplay shoots, concerts, and dances. The Hotel was pretty much swamped with cosplayers, which I unfortunately didn’t get any good pictures of. (I kept forgetting my camera in my room, and when I had my camera it was either night, or there were no good cosplayers around). Kuroshitsuji, Umi Neko no Naku Koro ni, Hetalia Axis Powers, and Hatsune miku seemed to be the most popular cosplays this year. I lost track after a while how many Ciels I saw. Even though this was my first time at a con I didn’t suffer from severe culture shock like some people thought I would xD! Unfortunately the innocent business men and women staying in the hotel looked very frightened.

There weren’t too many panels I was really interested in going to. I managed to make it to a Hetalia Axis Powers Panel since I love hetalia so much. It was pretty hilarious, but since I barely sleeped over the weekend all I can remember now is Russia looked like he was going to rape a Kenshin Himura cosplayer. After the hetalia panel said Kenshin danced the Can Can with Jesus who was orchestrating a magical water show =D

I was most impressed by the Merchant and artist rooms. I had never seen so much anime related stuff in one place! Unfortunately most of it was a bit out of my price range, but I did end up splurging on a few things.

First off I bought several of these Miniature Hetalia figures.

I ended up with Two Italies, Two Japans, and a Great Britain. I was hoping to get Germany and Russia as well, maybe even France, but it looks like I was unlucky when picking- They were in closed random boxes. I got each one for $4 dollars, though most vendors were charging $10-15 for each one; that is just unbelievable since they’re not that well made. Italy ended up being my favorite one. Between his funny ohage, and his pizza and white flag, he is the most detailed one. Japan I wasn’t too fond of, which made me sad when I ended up with two. At least one will be donated to friends that were too busy to accompany me to Katsucon.

I also got FIVE VizBig Volumes of Rurouni Kenshin. Each volume has 3 normal size volumes, so basically I got 15 volumes. I’m not really a big fan of the big volumes, which I will explain below, but I basically got 15 volumes for the price of 5 normal volumes, so I won’t complain too much.

The flash on my camera just wasn’t cooperating at all at this point. Really not a fan of the cover art! But its on the inside that counts!

Chibi Kenshin is as tall as the manga volumes are wide xD. I also have a normal volume up there to contrast the width of the big volume.

As you can see they’re much larger than the normal volumes, but they’re also a good inch taller as well, so they don’t line up on my shelf perfect. I also don’t think the covers are as pretty as the normal volumes.  The actual covers (as seen above) are also pretty dull in contrast with the origenal volume covers. The originals had much more detailed artwork as well as splashes of beautiful Japanese designs. The big volumes’ covers also are much more focused on Kenshin, while out of the first 6 original volumes I own, only one features Kenshin as the sole character on the cover. The large books are more efficient if I want to read on the go though since they are much longer.  As of right now I’m only missing a few more early volumes, and a few more end volumes. After that I will have finally completed my Rurouni Kenshin Collection! =3

My last two random things I got were a Kenshin keychain- Who popped up in several of my pictures above. I only bought it because it was cheap and the only Kenshin related merchandise at the entire convention. I also bought this cute red pouch because I tend to be a sucker for pretty and shiny things… Maybe it will be Italy’s new home =D

If I regret anything from this convention it is that I didn’t buy any of the artwork from artist ally. I tend to be very picky and critical of anime related art work, but even I had to admit that there were many talented artists at this convention, and some of their work was very cheap. Maybe next time ^.^

After much waiting, the second season of Kuroshitusji has been officially announced to air in July of this year. Perhaps an even more shocking announcement was the fact that our beloved Sebastian and Ciel (above) will not be the main protagonists of this season. There had been some fan speculation that this would be the case, taking into account how the first season of the series ended, but even I am a bit shocked that the show will be featuring a new anime origenal pair as the main characters. The new butler’s name will be Claude Faustas, and the new master will be Alois Trancy.  The announcement did not specifically say that Ciel and Sebastion were going to be completely excluded from the story, nor did it give anymore details about the plot or setting. We don’t even get a picture of the two new characters yet!

I personally was in love with Sebastian, so it might be a little bit hard to accept a replacement butler too easily. Hopefully season two lives up to the quality of the first season.

Source: ANN

Its finally come to the end of my 4 week long winter vacation; tomorrow I start yet another semester of college. During my long break I may have been too lazy to post on Zotaku much, but I was busy being quite productive with other things. I worked full time all break to save up monies… and during my free time I caught up on all 190 episodes of Comedy Anime Gintama! I think that’s quite an accomplishment! So I decided that its necessary now for me to make a post on my love of this series =3

Gintama
Episodes: 191+ (Ongoing)
Genres: Shounen, Comedy/Parody, Historical, Sci-fi, Action
Aired: Apr 4, 2006- Ongoing
Producer: Sunrise
People have been telling me to watch Gintama for a long time. I was told I would like it because it has a similar premise to Rurouni Kenshin (Its set in the same time period at least), and that its full of nonsensical and hilarious comedy.  But the plot summaries made it sound really cheesy, and its a long Shounen series, something I’ve been inching away from lately. But since the Fall season of anime was lackluster, and there was still about a month till winter series began, I decided to take a chance with it. I am very happy I took this chance, Gintama is easily is my favorite 100+ episode series to current date.

The absolute truth about this series!

As far as the plot goes… I now understand why I’ve found no good summary of this series. While there is a plot somewhere in there, it is overshadowed by comedy-type episodes for the most part. Generally for every 50 episode season there is only 1-2 plot relevant arcs. The main story takes place in what would be similar to the post Bakumatsu-Era in our reality, but in the Gintama universe, space aliens show up and force the Japanese government into submission. In the years that followed, despite being in an old age setting, because of the foreign alien’s presence, Japan has become technologically advanced to the point they have televisions, Shounen Jump, Video Games, and most other modern day advances.

Our silver haired protagonist, Gintoki, had been a powerful Samurai in the past, but since the war he has become a lazy couch potato who spends all day sleeping, reading Shounen Jump, and thinking of ways to avoid paying the rent. He has a business to do random jobs if people contact him, but it seems to be very inconsistent work. Even though he still carries a wooden sword around and dresses like a samurai, between his attitude and “natural perm,” most people would never suspect that he has a samurai spirit. At the beginning of the series he befriends a whiny Otaku samurai in training, and a weird little alien girl who’s strong enough to throw a car at you if she’s angry enough. The three of them become like a weird twisted family and work together to help the people of Japan and make money in the process.

Super Sadistic Okita Souga =3

There are a ton of characters in Gintama, and most of them are based on Historical figures. The Shinsengumi, famous political figures, and the Oniwaban group play a role in this series (many of which should be very familiar if you watched Kenshin). My favorite Gintama character is Okita Souga of the Shinsengumi, who is based on the real Shinsengumi Okita Souji. The real representation of Souji also appears in Trust and Betrayal OVA of Rurouni Kenshin along with the historical figures of Katsura and Kondo who also appear in Gintama. Further more, my second favorite Rurouni Kenshin character, Seta Soujiro, is also based on Okita Souji. Even plot wise I feel that Gintama has many simularities to Rurouni Kenshin. For instance,  Gintoki used to be an amazing warrior, but now he protects his friends. The first arc of the series is about a woman trying to restore her family Kendo Doujo; this is essentially the same plot as the first few episodes of Rurouni Kenshin. The character Katsura in Gintama is constantly trying to blow up government buildings (at least at first), and in Rurouni Kenshin there is a small arc about Sanosuke’s friend who is also trying to destroy the government with his collection of bombs. I could go on, but I will end my Kenshin related rant now.

Gintama is cheesy… I admit it. It is aware of how ridiculous they are though… in fact on a regular basis they break the fourth wall and talk directly to the audience about lack of funding from Sunrise (because they’re too focused on Gundam),  or complaints from PTAs for showing perverted things during daytime television. They also directly talk about the “filler syndrome” of long running anime series that catch up to their manga too quickly, and then go on and talk about random stuff for 10 minutes to purposely waste time. One of my favorite arcs was made in response to a real life character popularity poll; the character’s start a war to try and get higher spots. The humor can be a little crude at times; I’ve lost track of how many times characters have crapped in their pants, and threw up, or were walking around with pixelated penises… But I guess this is part of Gintama’s charm? This series also makes alot of pop culture references, especially about video games. Off the top of my head I can think of a whole arc parodying Dragon Quest, a LONG arc parodying Monster Hunter, and several episodes about the Nintendo Wii and modern generation console flame wars. Really, Gintama touches on any and every subject, because it lacks a constant plot it has no boundaries about what it can joke about.

Putting the comedy aside, on the rare occasion this series delves into the plot, it does a really good job at being a serious action anime as well. While the animation is kind of standard, the battle scenes are always pretty epic. As the story has been fleshing out some of the character’s back stories I have become even more anxious to get more plot related episodes, enough that I can generally hold out the 50 episode filler intervals between mini “Plot Arcs.”  A normal series is maybe 80% plot, 20% filler… Gintama flips those numbers and is about 80% filler and 20% plot. Under normal circumstance it would be normal to dislike a series like that, but for some reason with Gintama it makes the few plot arcs seem that much more impressive.

GO WATCH GINTAMA!!!

While saying all Rurouni Kenshin fan’s would like this series is a bit of a stretch, I think people that enjoy historical shounen would at least be interested. I think Gintama would be more appealing to fans of comedy series like Seto no Hanayome, Ranma 1/2, Minami Ke, Hayate the Combat Butler, or Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei. Actually… Cromartie High School has probably the most similar feeling of any other anime I’ve seen.

Rating: 8.5/10

I’ll end with my favorite opening:

If for some reason it is unknown… I am a huge fan of Final Fantasy.  Final Fantasy VI specifically is one of the best games I’ve ever played, let alone perhaps the best Final Fantasy. The story and character complexity was amazing, and the graphics were unthinkable for the Super Nintendo, but one of the elements that really made Final Fantasy VI stand above the rest was the memorable Music by Nobuo Uematsu. The Opera Song had me literally crying… At the time it felt like those sprites were really singing their hearts out (It still gets me teary eyed).  The opening theme really does an amazing job emphasizing the tragedy and despair of the world you’re entering. The battle and boss music are also impressive, but the song of the Atma Weapon still brings a chill down my spine… it gives me a feeling of “OMFG! I didn’t mean to fight you! I’m going to die! Please let me be able to run Away!” Putting these songs aside, Dancing Mad is still probably the most memorable. Besides the fact that it is more than 12 minutes long, it mish-mashes Classical Symphonies with sounds of Rock and Roll… It is both Happy and Sad… Its like the song tells a story of its own, a very chaotic story.  The title Dancing Mad is more than appropriate, and the song perfectly describes one of the most insane and confusing villains in all of video game history. This brings me to the point of my post; earlier I came across a very intriguing analysis at Destructoid that breaks this complex song apart. After reading it I not only felt a renewed love of this song, but for the first time ever I have some sense of understanding Kefka. If you have ever played this game I feel you should definitely read his analysis of this amazing song. I highly recommend the Black Mages version, but below is the full original in all its 16 bit glory.

I first played Final Fantasy VI when I was 8 years old, I was too young and naive at the time to truly understand and respect the entire story of the game, and I didn’t understand Kefka at all. All I saw in Kefka was a stupid Laughing Clown who just wouldn’t die… he reminded me more of Team Rocket than Divine Being of Destruction. I can still hear his stupid Laugh in my head if I think long enough… the only other voice in video game history that even matches his annoying Laugh is the unending “HEY LISTEN” of Navi in The Legend of Zelda Ocarina of Time.  There is absolutely nothing lovable about Kefka… by the end of the game you will HATE HATE HATE HATE him. But after reading the analysis of this song I feel like I have a better understanding of his character… I still hate him though… But you’re supposed to hate the villain so its ok.

After this nostalgia fest I think I will spend the rest of my Winter Vacation replaying this game!

Source: Destructoid

Sources: ANN, MAL, Official Websites

Click on the links below to jump to the series!

TV Series: | Baka to Test to Shoukanjuu | Chu-Bra!! | Dance In The Vampire Bund | Durarara!! | Hanamaru Kindergarden | Harukanaru Toki ni Naka de 3 ~Owarinaki Unmei~ | | Katanagatari | Ladies Vs Butlers! | Nodame Cantabile Finale | Omamori Himari | Ookami Kakushi | Seikon no Qwaser | So・Ra・No・Wo・To |

OVA/Movie: | Fate/stay night Unlimited Blade Works | Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha The MOVIE 1st | The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya |

No watchlist as Winter seems to have little shows for us this time round ><

Baka to Test to Shoukanjuu

Air Date: January 6, 2010
Episodes: 13
Genre: Comedy, Fantasy, Romance
Producer(s): SILVER LINK
Official Site: http://www.bakatest.com/index2.html
Trailer: http://www.bakatest.com/
Seiyuu: Hiro Shimono, Hitomi Harada

Summary
The story centers around Akihisa Yoshii, the “baka” of the title. His academy rigidly divides up the student body into classes based on the results of tests. The prodigies are in the A class with reclining seats complete with air conditioning, but Akihisa is in F class, the lowest rung of the school ladder which is furnished only with low, decrepit tables and worn-out straw tatami mats. A girl named Mizuki Himeji is actually one of the smartest girls in Akihisa’s sophomore year, but she had a fever on test day and was pigeonholed into the F class. Besides Mizuki (who Akihisa secretly adores), the F class also has Yūji Sakamoto, the class president who has been Akihisa’s friend and partner-in-crime since the freshman year.

The school happens to have developed experiments to summon fantasy creatures, and Akihisa decides to rally F class to take on the higher-tiered classes and seize their perks. The F class uses the summoned creatures in an all-out battle for school supremacy.

Comments
Bluesnow – … too much pink hair for me.
Guuzen – Looks quite interesting. I may give it a shot, but cannot really say for sure I will see through the series to the end O.o.
M – YES! The first show I’m actually going to watch because it looks good to me.
Zenical – Nice summary, and in fact I see at many Hobby retailers, many stuff of Baka Test going on preorder. The power of it? It might be good!

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Chu-Bra!!

Air Date: January 4, 2010
Episodes: Unknown
Genre: Comedy, Ecchi, School
Producer(s): ZEXCS
Official Site: http://www.starchild.co.jp/special/chuubra/
Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lOmoNWSwjwA
Seiyuu: Minako Kotobuki, Minori Chihara, Sayuri Yahagi

Summary
The story centers on Nayu, a middle school girl who shocks her schoolmates on the first day of school by wearing black lace panties. She likes this kind of underwear, and she tries to “spread the word on the merits of [these kinds of] underwear” via an underwear club with her schoolmates, who are worried about their bodies’ development and which underwear to choose.

Comments
Bluesnow – Absolutely no way I’m watching this =P
Guuzen – Lol the whole thing feels so yuri XD maybe a more ecchi version of Sasameki Koto =O. Hmm… But I may not watch it because the character designs are not very appealing.
M – Ecchi but not a harem? Pass
Zenical – Sounds like a growing-up anime. Then again, those people interested in watching pantsu will definitely catch this -.-

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Dance In The Vampire Bund

Air Date: January 7, 2010
Episodes: Unknown
Genre: Action, Horror, Supernatural
Producer(s): SHAFT
Official Site: http://www.vampirebund.com/
Trailer: Check Official Site, Youtube has deleted or region blocked all trailers
Seiyuu: Nakamura Yuuichi, Yuuki Aoi

Summary
After millennia in hiding, Mina Tepes, the Princess of the ancient covenant and ruler of all vampires, wants change. Using the vast wealth of the Tepes line, she has paid off the entire gross national debt of Japan and in so doing, gained the authority to create a “special district” off the coast of Japan that is to become the future haven to vampires the world over!
Now, on the eve of the landmark press conference announcing the existence of vampires to the world, terrorists and rival factions are plotting to assassinate Mina Tepes before she has a chance to make her world-changing announcement.

Comments
Bluesnow – An entire nation of vampires sounds pretty awesome. If the cover image is a truthful indication, hopefully this will be a good action series as well.
Guuzen – I see this show has a heavy emphasis on blood o.o will try the first few episodes though I am not sure how long will I be watching.
M – Looks kinda scary. But I’ll still try out the 1st few episode.
Zenical – Vampires! :D Will try this out, hope not too much gore. Saw on MAL that it’s rated R. Omg. Too much blood?

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Durarara!!

Air Date: January 7, 2010
Episodes: 24
Genre: Action, Romance, Shounen
Producer(s): Brains Base, Aniplex
Official Site: http://www.durarara.com/
Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0YVNwzhaR78
Seiyuu: Ono Daisuke, Miyano Mamoru, Fukuyama Jun

Summary
The story takes place in a downtown of Tokyo, Ikebukuro. Teenage punks gang up and fight against each other. The gangsters are afraid of an urban legend “Dullahan” headless rider, who rides a black motorcycle without head lights nor sounds of engine. Ryuugamine Mikado is a normal high school boy who seeks peculiar beings. When he moves in to Ikebukuro, a mad scramble for Dullahan’s missing head breaks out.
+ This anime is made by the same people responsible for Baccano, and is based on a light novel series.

Comments
Bluesnow – All I needed to know was that this was made by the same people as Baccano! If there is any similarities this series may be the jewel of the season. The trailer was a bit underwhelming… I totally spotted Horo from Spice and Wolf at the 1:00 mark though.
Guuzen – Weird title name, trailer with a boring music, I think I will give it a shot =). Sadly the only reason why I decided to try it was because the genre has “romance” in it >.<.
M – Think I’ll skip this. The characters look boring to me.
Zenical – Will catch the first few episodes, then again, I might not even catch this if I don’t have the time T_T.

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Hanamaru Kindergarten

Air Date: January 10, 2010
Episodes: Unknown
Genre: Comedy, Slice of Life
Producer(s): Gainax
Official Site: http://www.starchild.co.jp/special/hanamaru/
Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jj6K3M9Guhk
Seiyuu: Unknown

Summary
Anzu goes to a preschool with her friends, the shy Koume and the eccentric Hiiragi. Together they try to attract attention from their caretaker Tsuchida. However, he is clearly more interested in the pretty Yamamoto who supervises the class next door.

Comments
Bluesnow – At first I was thinking, “Not another anime about perverts and lolis,” But upon closer inspection I feel this series is pervert free (Besides the constant mentioning of breasts in the trailer), infact it looks really funny. I probably don’t need to watch this since I already have so many younger siblings in this age range, but its made its way onto my watch list.
Guuzen – Not going to watch it… I never liked watching shows like these…
M – This is so totally a cleaner younger version of Kodomo no Jikan. The plot even implies so.
Zenical – Haha. This looks so kiddy.

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Harukanaru Toki ni Naka de 3 ~Owarinaki Unmei~

Air Date: January 3, 2010
Episodes: Unknown
Genre: Adventure, Drama, Fantasy
Producer(s): Yumeta Company
Official Site: http://www.gamecity.ne.jp/media/mix/haruka/destiny/
Seiyuu: Tomoko Kawakami, Akira Ishida

Summary
One day, Kasuga Nozomi encounters a strange boy at her high school, who sends her across time and space to Kyou, a place in another world that bears a strong resemblance to Kyoto towards the end of the Heian period. There, the Minamoto clan (“Genji”), led by Minamoto no Yoritomo, is at war with the Taira clan (“Heike”), led by Taira no Kiyomori. The Heike hope to defeat the Genji by releasing vengeful spirits to disturb the earth`s natural flow of energy and to terrorize the land. The boy is revealed to be the human form of Hakuryuu, the White Dragon God that protects Kyou, who is weakened by the presence of the vengeful spirits. As the Hakuryuu no Miko (Priestess of the White Dragon God), Nozomi allies herself with the Genji because Hakuryuu cannot send her home until his power is restored…

Comments
Bluesnow – Since I’m not watching this, and I’m only bishie fan at zotaku, I seriously doubt anyone else here is watching it xD! I’ve actually never heard of this series, so I haven’t seen the first 2 seasons. It looks like a decent bishie series though, so maybe I’ll give it a try.
Guuzen – I have only tried a few episodes of the first season and I only liked the opening song >.<. I am not saying the anime is bad though… It is just not my type =).
M – Yeah. Looks pretty unknown to me. I’m gonna pass.
Zenical – What is this? I don’t know this show at all!

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Hidamari Sketch 3

Air Date: January 7, 2010
Episodes: Unknown
Genre: Comedy, Slice of Life
Producer(s): SHAFT, Lantis
Official Site: http://www.tbs.co.jp/anime/hidamari/
Seiyuu: Chiaki Omigawa, Hitomi Harada, Kana Asumi

Summary
At TBS Anime Festa, the third season of Hidamari Sketch was announced. The title is “Hidamari Sketch x ☆☆☆ (Hoshi Mittsu)”.

Comments
Bluesnow – I really must watch the first two seasons eventually, they are backlogged on my list somewhere. I won’t be watching this till I finish the previous seasons.
Guuzen – Never watch the first two seasons and I do not think I will ever start it o.o.
M – Looks kiddy. Another pass.
Zenical – Didn’t catch the previous seasons at all, no watch for me. Winter seems to be fading away for me. Lol.

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Katanagatari

Air Date: January 25, 2010
Episodes: 12
Genre: Unknown
Producer(s): White Fox
Official Site: http://www.katanagatari.com/
Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JBhOyWWE3MQ
Seiyuu: Yukari Tamura, Mai Nakahara, Yoshimasa Hosoya

Summary
A swordfight story taking place in Edo era (17th – 19th century). Yasuri Shichika is the seventh head of the Kyotou school of Japanese sword martial arts and lives in Fushou Island with his sister Nanami. With the order from a female samurai general Togame, he sets out for a trip to collect the twelve treasured swords created by a legendary swordsmith Shikizaki Kiki.

Comments
Bluesnow – First thing that really popped out at me is the interesting art style. I also tend to be attracted to this genre of anime as well~ So I am really looking forward to this. Hopefully it lives up to my expectations. After looking more into it I see that each episode is an hour in length, so I’m a little confused how this series is going to be aired.
Guuzen – I think I will pass. The art style is in a way unique as it is not the usual Japanese anime type, however I am not sure if the change is for the better for me.
M – Another pass. Looks unappealing to me.
Zenical – The art looks a bit weird. But the summary of Japanese sword martial arts is enough to attract me to try out the anime.

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Ladies Vs Butlers!

Air Date: January 5, 2010
Episodes: Unknown
Genre: Comedy, Ecchi
Producer(s): XEBEC
Official Site: http://www.ladies-vs-butlers.com/
Seiyuu: Rie Kugimiya, Ayako Kawasumi, Kazuyuki Okitsu

Summary
Hino Akiharu lost his parents when he was small and was adopted into his uncle’s family. But he noticed his uncle is after the inheritance of his parents, so he decides to enter a boarding school, Hakureiryou high school. However his delinquent boy-like appearance frightens the girls, who make up the majority of the students. Being unable to get along with the classmates, Akiharu meets his childhood girlfriend Saikyou Tomomi.

Comments
Bluesnow – I have a feeling this will be an ecchi-Harem-comedy, but it looks amusing, so I will at least give it a shot.
Guuzen – Ah, another ecchi anime. Will try…
M – Been waiting for this one as well. Last image I saw of this anime was the butler beign drilled by his master’s fairy curls. Awesome stuff.
Zenical – Seiyuu in this anime attracts me to watch this anime :D. Rie Kugimiya! I just hope it’s not too ecchi to turn me too >_>

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Nodame Cantabile Finale

Air Date: January 14, 2010
Episodes: Unknown
Genre: Comedy, Romance
Producer(s): J.C. Staff
Official Site: http://www.nodame-anime.com/
Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HcPUzspIzPM
Seiyuu: Kawasumi Ayako, Seki Tomokazu

Summary
The third season of the Nodame Cantabille series. The story focuses on the hot and perfect Chiaki who is a genius musician and aspiring conductor… he’s a bit of a jerk though. He meets the totally insane, but musically gifted Nodame, and despite having completely opposite personalities they come together and inspire each other in their music, and perhaps even romance.

Comments
Bluesnow – GYABO!!! I’ve been waiting for this for quite some time. I wasn’t even expecting a third season after the second. Trailer ticked me off though, its all of last season scenes xD
Guuzen – A must watch for me! I love Nodame!! Hopefully Chiaki and her will be able to spend more lovely times together ^_^.
M – This is definitely not my season. Another pass for me cause I never watched the 1st 2 seasons.
Zenical – I didn’t catch the previous seasons at all, though I have prepared myself to watch the anime.. but didn’t found the time to do so -.-

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Omamori Himari

Air Date: January 6, 2010
Episodes: Unknown
Genre: Comedy, Romance, Ecchi
Producer(s): ZEXCS
Official Site: http://newtype.kadocomic.jp/omahima/
Seiyuu: Ami Koshimizu, Daisuke Hirakawa

Summary
The slapstick romantic comedy centers around an ordinary 16-year-old high school boy named Yūto Amakawa who is protected by a spirit — specifically, a beautiful, sword-wielding cat girl spirit named Himari. Yūto is descended from a family that has subjugated demons since time immemorial. The charm that once protected him is now impotent, but fortunately, at that same moment, Himari appears before him as his new guardian.

Comments
Bluesnow – I have a feeling this might be the harem series eveyone loves this season. “Beautiful Sword Weilding Cat Girl Spirit Guardian”- Such a description will bring in alot of random fans. I will be trying the first few episodes though. Can’t help but draw some relation to Nyan Koi though… whats with all these wimpy guys that are allergic to cats lately?
Guuzen – Most likely watching this. However, I may lose interest halfway through… Not sure why, but just got a feeling.
M – Character design looks nice. Think it’ll be watchable
Zenical – CAT GIRL? Lol. This sounds like Nyan Koi! to a certain extent.

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Ookami Kakushi

Air Date: January 7, 2010
Episodes: Unknown
Genre: Action, Mystery, Supernatural
Producer(s): AIC
Official Site: http://www.tbs.co.jp/anime/okami/
Seiyuu: Yu Kobayashi, Yuko Goto, Emiri Katou
Summary
The story follows Hiroshi Kuzumi, a 16-year-old boy who has just moved to the seemingly serene village of Jogamachi. Nestled in the mountains far away from the city, the village is divided by a river that separates old Jogamachi from new Jogamachi. Young Hiroshi soon discovers that the village’s ancient as well as mysterious traditions and customs have been kept alive over the ages. Although a bit bewildered by the new environment, Hiroshi begins to settle into his new life. While he has never been the type to win any popularity contests, he quickly earns the affection of his classmates. That is with the exception of aloof class president, Nemuru Kushinada, whose only words to Hiroshi are a warning to stay away from old part of town. It is there that terror and mystery await him.

Comments
Bluesnow – I’m a sucker for pretty cover artwork~ Its the only reason I watched Shakugan no Shana season one to be completely honest. The plot does sound interesting though, so I will be giving this a shot.
Guuzen – Not going to try it…
M – Dare I give this a chance? Think I’ll wait for the 1st 2 episodes before I make my judgment on the show. For now, on standby.
Zenical – Nice artwork, the summary of terror and mystery awaiting Hiroshi Kuzumi is just so frightening that I want to watch already! XD. Hope it’s scary enough :3

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Seikon no Qwaser

Air Date: January 9, 2010
Episodes: 24
Genre: Action, Ecchi, Supernatural
Producer(s): TAKI Corporation, Hoods Entertainment
Official Site: http://www.qwaser.jp/
Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eG-2u4G3G5s
Seiyuu: Fujimura Ayumi, Minori Chihara, Aya Hirano, Aki Toyosaki

Summary
In St. Mikhailov Academy, Oribe Mafuyu meets a silver haired boy called Alexander. He is a Qwaser, a being who can manipulate iron and draws his power from breast milk. A mystery surrounding an icon tranforms the academy into a setting for conflict between the various Qwasers.

Comments
Bluesnow – At first I was like, “Ohhhh! It sounds alot like a new Full metal Alchemist! And the protagonist looks pretty cool! This might be interesting.” Then I got to “draws his power from breast milk…” and now I’m having doubts. I will still try this series though.
Guuzen – The summary totally caught me off guard. When I looked the picture, I was thinking more like “cool!”. After seeing “breast milk”, I was thinking “whaaat….?”. Still going to try though… Because at least the art attracts me =).
M – Draws his power from breast milk. This sounds good. HAHAHA. On a more serious note, I like his eye. Reminds me of Allen Walker. Think I’ll wait around and see how this goes.
Zenical – I actually looked forward to this anime show when I first saw it was given the green light. However, reading that it is actually related to using “breast milk” reminds me of Queen’s Blade totally and now I wonder whether I should watch this anime at all. I saw the artwork in the manga, and I am really attracted to it! ><

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So・Ra・No・Wo・To

Air Date: January 4, 2010
Episodes: 12
Genre: Military, Music
Producer(s): Aniplex, A-1 Pictures Inc.
Official Site: http://www.sorawoto.com/
Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ewezXqasTeQ
Seiyuu: Aya Endo, Aoi Yuuki, Yu Kobayashi, Eri Kitamura

Summary
The story takes place in an imaginary town Seize (the model cities are Cuenca and Alarcón Fortress in Spain). A long war brings a gradual decline to the world. People disappear from the town and fishes cease to exist in the sea. In this quiet world, five girls guard a fortress and play brass vividly.

Comments
Bluesnow – Watching this I think of two things… Strike Witches + K-ON! It looks interesting though. I will give them cookies if the Yui look alike plays the castanets.
Guuzen – Hmm… The story sounds a little weird… So these are five girls who is going through war by guarding a fortress by playing music? Sounds a little like Macross to me, but I doubt it will be as good…
M – Ah the K-ON cast in military clothing. After the disappointing ride K-ON! gave me last season, I think I’ll skip this.
Zenical - Like what the other authors mentioned, looks like K-ON! and Strike Witches. Will definitely give this a go. :D

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Fate/stay night Unlimited Blade Works

Air Date: January 23, 2010
Episodes: 1
Genre: Action, Fantasy, Romance
Producer(s): Studio DEEN
Official Site: http://www.fatestaynight.jp/index.html
Trailer: http://www.fatestaynight.jp/index.html
Seiyuu: Ayako Kawasumi, Kana Ueda, Junichi Suwabe

Summary
The movie will be following the Unlimited Blade Works route. It is being created by Studio DEEN using the same cast and crew as the anime.

Comments
Bluesnow – Not a big fsn fan, but I’m looking forward to this movie. Hopefully it will do alot more justice for the story.
Guuzen – I have never played the game, so I have no idea why is the Unlimited Blade Works so important as the anime did not emphasize on it at all. However, I am still going to watch it because I am a Fate/Stay fan!
M – Wooooohooooo. I wanna watch this so badly.
Zenical – I’m actually not a big fan of FSN, but upon watching the trailer. I found myself wanting to watch the movie already >_>. Just hoped that I won’t be poisoning myself to the extent that I want to purchase some Saber figurines! :D

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Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha The MOVIE 1st

Air Date: January 23, 2010
Episodes: 1
Genre: Action, Magic
Producer(s): Seven Arcs
Official Site: http://www.nanoha.com/
Trailer: http://www.nanoha.com/yokoku_movie2.html
Seiyuu: Yukari Tamura, Nana Mizuki

Summary
Takamachi Nanoha is a normal fourth-grader who feels a little useless and out-of-place with no purpose. Then one day, she saves a ferret, who turns out to be a mage from another planet who came to this planet to search for the jewl seeds. Nanoha agrees to help, but this task gets complicated when another girl arrives to steal them.

Comments
Bluesnow – No Nanoha for me. Zen can tell us all about it though probably.
Guuzen – Pass… Never watched Nanoha.
M – Not the biggest Nanoha fan here. So I’ll pass.
Zenical – NANOHA MOVIE! MUST WATCH! New OP Song by Nana! All the more reason to watch XD. The costumes in the movie have changed, comparing with the 1st Season of Nanoha. Also new music in the movie, must watch definitely! ^^

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The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya

Air Date: February 6, 2010
Episodes: 1
Genre: Comedy, Parody, Mystery, School
Producer(s): Kyoto Animation, Kadokawa Shoten
Official Site: http://www.haruhi.tv/
Seiyuu: Aya Hirano, Minori Chihara, Yuko Goto

Summary
The story takes place from December 17 until December 24, a month after the cultural festival.

Comments
Bluesnow -I never even watched endless eight when it aired on tv xD
Guuzen – I never did catch on the whole Haruhi craze. So when I heard that this movie is coming, I was just “oh a movie is coming out”. Oh yeah and not to mention I totally lost interest in the second season of the anime series…
M – Yeah. I actually read the entire story of Disappearance from the Light Novels already and I’m very pleased that this is getting animated. Disappearance was one of my favourite arcs.
Zenical – Endless Eight killed me. At least it isn’t the Endless Eight for the movie, if not… I will kill Kyoto Animation -.-. Not a reader of manga or the novel for Haruhi, but it should be good. :)

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For those of you who somehow missed the K-On summer craze, this series involves Moe, Mio, Guitars…. and castanets. And that pretty much sums  up the entire plot. Not a big fan of this series myself, in fact I hate it… but its brainwashing powers somehow tricked me into watching the entire first season against my better judgment.

I am curious of what the second season could be about… World Wide Cake Shortage? Mio gets kidnapped by a crazy Otaku and the Band breaks up? Yui cures the planet of Swine Flu? Who knows. While I go mope in a corner over the industry’s moe obsessions, here is a preview of the series.

Source: ANN

In the most current Arc, the Valentine’s day arc, alot has happened. I give this current arc a rating of 9/10— Its only beaten by Ren’s “Role Play” arc. Since alot happens in this arc, I’m only going to cover a summary of the last 5-6 chapters.

The first huge thing to happen this arc was Kyouko was kissed by her ex-love (and sworn enemy) Fuwa Shou. Not only was she kissed against her own will, but she was done so in front of all her co-workers, and Ren, the actor she respects most (who is secretly in love with her). This kiss was totally unexpected, I had to reread this chapter at least a dozen times! I was under the impression Shou was going to do something really stupid… he had been jealous for a while over her relationship with Ren, but also the incident with the goth “beagle” earlier in the arc. What really made him snap though was she mentioned she had a special valentine’s day/Birthday present for him. His kiss wasn’t a “loving” kiss though. He only managed to steal it by tricking her… He gave her a valentines chocolate… and then kissed with this the excuse that he was taking it back (this was a really long and embarrassing kiss). Later he explains his evil plot. He knew that after such an evil deed she would never be able to get her mind off him. Even though she would be fuming for loosing her first kiss to the man she hates most… at least she would be thinking about him. I find it kind of amusing that Shou’s thinking is so similar to the Beagle’s xD

Ren is not happy at all. He rarely lets his scary face get out, but even his manager catches his bad mood. Personally I would have liked it better if he just beat the crap out of Shou on the spot, but that would have been very out of character for him.  Kyouko’s immediate reaction is just complete and total despair. Her brain just isn’t functioning and she’s about to break down in tears (or rather she does)

Ren’s reaction is very typical though. He lectures her that a true actor wouldn’t even be phased by something like that. It wasn’t even a real kiss. Ren warns her not to let it happen again though. (His irritation with this whole situation is quite obvious to anyone with common sense, of course Kyouko doesn’t realize WHY he’s angry though, since she doesn’t know he’s in love with her.)

 Even after accepting this explanation, even though Kyouko is now “functional” she is still very angry.  She mainly reverts to super saiyan “I HATEHATEHATE SHOUTAROU” mode! Ren sees this and is angry and jelous but can’t really do anything more about it for the time being.Somewhere in her rage Kyouko remembers the Valentine’s day gift she had put aside for Ren, and decides its the opportune moment to give it to him. They go off to a side room and she gives him some wine jelly in a really fancy rose colored glass. She’s trying to act really happy… But Ren (being an expert at deception) totally see’s her angry face shining through and is ticked off.

In his anger Ren decides to do something… something to get Shou out of Kyouko’s head.I was having a fangirl heart attack at this moment… that finally after nearly 150 chapters finally something real would happen in their relationship. Even though it was just a little peck on the cheek… it effected Kyouko in a radical way.

Apparently Ren’s magic kiss had the intended effect… all thoughts of Shou were completely driven out of her mind… but…

The kiss had alot of negative effects as well. She is so embarrassed she can’t seem to do her acting role seriously. She looks like she’s about to have a nervous breakdown, she can’t think straight at all. And most of all she can’t look or think of Ren without turning bright red.At this point its the end of 149. I had no idea what would happen in the next chapter. I was really hoping for some real romantic development to occur. But at the back of my head I just had this bad feeling that Ren was going to talk his way out of this. Since he really loves Kyouko he wants her to be happy (and functional) as an actress, and she’s just not at a place emotionally where she can be in a romantic relationship and do that.

I mean… if she’s so immature that this is her reaction to a little kiss on the cheek, what would be her reaction if Ren, a grown man, really confessed his love for her. Besides that I don’t think she’s fully over her anger issues with Shou… I don’t know if she can fully embrace love till she gets over her issues with him. So like I had assumed… Ren takes the easy way out. He tells Kyouko that back in America, this his how he thanked all the female models, that it wasn’t something romantic. Then he goes onto lecture her like he always does.

I have to say I was a little disappointed that more didn’t happen after all the emotional build up of this arc, but I wasn’t really expecting much else either.  I’m hoping we see just a little bit more emotions from Kyouko, I find it hard to believe she can completely throw out her feelings about that kiss… but then again she is hopelessly oblivious, so I don’t expect much from her. Since this seems to be the conclusion of this arc, hopefully the next chapter (released January 4th) will be the start of a new one. I personally hope the next arc is focused on Ren! Maybe they could bring Ren’s parents, or at least dad, back into the story (I really liked the chapters with him.). We also need to know more about Ren’s past, and how come he grew up to be so twisted. To be completely realistic… I don’t think there will be any relationship development till we get both Kyouko’s and Ren’s full story. Even though we are officially 150 chapters into the story, there are so many holes left that need to be filled.

Anyways, this was an good arc (especially compared to the previous arc), and I’m really sad it will probably never be animated TT____TT

At least the arc ended with Ren admitting to being a Playboy =D (He definitely is!!!)

 Hopefully someone out there enjoyed my post and becomes a fellow Ren Skip Beat fangirl.