Animia Promotional Video
Enjoy ~
Alan
What Do You Think Snow Becomes After It Melts?
What Do You Think Snow Becomes After It Melts?
What first came into my mind was water and then something deeper such as a road with half-melt snow with dirty foot prints on.
Snow would always make me feel like I am back in my childhood when it comes to be only a little amount. It is fun to play with, looks pretty and I would be so amazed by its purity.
Then I however never liked it snowing too much. It is cold, difficult to walk on or see through and it felt like it would never end and completely swallow the whole world I live in.
Snow is just like a struggle. A small one would be easily manipulated and controlled within the ability we have and collectively give us satisfaction of achievement. But how about a big one? It is too big so that you cannot even think a way out and feel like you would always be living, stuck in this sticky situation that makes you feel demotivated and helpless.
The question was asked from a character of Fruits Basket, called Hatori Shoma. He asks to another character called Tohru Honda who is the main character of the anime and a kind hearted high school student at the start of the story.
Hatori Shoma asks;
"Tell me, when the snow melts, what does it become?"
Then Tohru answers;
"Ah...um, well...hmm. It becomes spring! No matter how cold it is now, spring will come again! Without fail. It's strange isn't it? But it's true."
This was a very awkward moment to realise that I have actually learnt something about the cycles we all go through in our lives.
This character, Tohru, might sound like she is speaking of her stupidity from not knowing the struggles but only the bright sides of this world. She however is an orphan, lives in a tent on a mountain and her mother, who has raised her alone and who was the only family she had died from a car accident.She surely seems like a person who can speak of negativity of her life but then she still chooses to live her way, saying that there will be no struggle that will always revolve her life and says that there will be spring after the snow without even a single failure.
Snow, or the struggle, I say, never go on infinitely. It does certainly stop and we even forget about why we were struggling for such a long time.
This just is a post to prove one of the major reasons why I am so addicted to animes.
They might not be a real life, but it surely does depict scenes of the reality.
Flashback to the Past ~ Studio Ghibli Films: Kiki's Delivery Service
Hey guys, Ernest here again and I'm here with yet another Studio Ghibli film! This one is personally one of my favourites because of how easily one can relate to the characters. So without any further ado, let's move onto the movie: Kiki's Delivery Service!!
Kiki's Delivery Service is a Japanese animated fantasy adventure film written, directed and produced by Hayao Miyazaki. The film revolves around Kiki, a young witch coming into her own as she goes to live alone for a year in the big city. Accompanied only by her talking cat Jiji, she discovers that life in the big city is very different to life in a quiet town and that she must adjust, all the while supporting herself and making new friends. Miyazaki himself says that the movie touches on the gulf that exists between independence and reliance in contemporary Japanese girls. The town of Koriko is based on both Visby, an island town in Gotland, Sweden and Stockholm, the capital of Sweden, but the film is set in an idealised trouble-free northern Europe.
Kiki, still being a young witch, discovers that she lacks most of the skills most witches can use, and that the only skill she is somewhat proficient with is flying on her broom. In order to support herself, Kiki markets this talent to use as a delivery service at Gütiokipänja Bakery, a bakery owned by Osono and her husband Fukuo. She comes into contact with a lot of people while on deliveries; including Tombo, a local boy who is crazy about aviation; Madame, an old wealthy woman who lives alone with her maid Barsa, and Ursula, a young painter who lives in the forest. Even though Kiki's life is more smooth since she has the delivery service and the company of her friends, she still has trouble fitting in with most of the city children, culminating in a bout of depression that deprives her of her powers, including the ability to talk to Jiji. With the help of her friend Ursula though, Kiki is able to regain her powers in a clutch time situation.
Story: 10/10
The coming of age and time for independence comes in everyone's lives, big or small. That is what makes this story so easy to relate to. Kiki's journey is not smooth, nor is it incredibly rough, mirroring a lot of the challenges that people face in our world, including the adjustment to independent life, belonging in new foreign places, and finding a purpose so we can work towards our goals. The supporting cast of Kiki's friends also work well here, enhancing Kiki's story rather than taking the spotlight, making for a balanced film that is both funny and serious as the situation demands. The incorporation of witches and magic in a city life also allows a nice contrast between this film and other witch related films which tend to be limited to rural towns that are far away from urban centres. I also liked the complication of the story being a bout of depression and loss of purpose as I feel that many people face this on an everyday basis. Sure, we might not have magic to bail us out on a broomstick, but watching this film has always inspired me to continue to pursue my goals.
Animation: 9.5/10
I feel the animation for Kiki's Delivery Service is of the high standard that Studio Ghibli has continued to bring to it's audience. Released only a year after My Neighbour Totoro, the storyboard for Kiki's Delivery service was completed by Hayao Miyazaki himself. Being that modern animation techniques had not been developed yet, I feel the animation is fairly modern for the era that it was released in. Furthermore, seeing the towns that "Koriko" was modeled on, I can understand the attention spent on the smaller details such as the types of buildings and styles of architecture in the animation.
Music: 9.5/10
Kiki's Delivery Service has a different musical feel to the other Studio Ghibli films we've covered so far in that there is a more modern opening song with a jazzy feel and lyrics. Furthermore, there is a more modern pop vibe. Being that the city Kiki stays in is a port city, the music kind of has that coastal city vibe too. A personal favourite of mine that I've featured down below in the customary video section is "A Town with An Ocean View", performed by Joe Hisaishi and his team. However, the lighter musical vibe does not take away from the music's delivery as all the background music for scenes that make the other films perfect is just as present in Kiki's Delivery Service. Being that it is less of a serious film than Castle in the Sky, there is a lighter tone to much of the music, although not to the level of My Neighbour Totoro. As with the other films, the musical accompaniment to scene types are very appropriate, silly and weird sounds for comedic scenes, and somber music during Kiki's bout of depression. Another overall great effort by Joe Hisaishi and his team!
Overall: 10/10
Kiki's Delivery Service nets a 10/10 in my opinion, simply because of how easily the story and it's characters can be related to. Full of relevant themes that reach even today's society such as belonging, maturity, growth and independence, as well as the importance of making the right friends, the film is an absolute gem. Supported by the high standards of Studio Ghibli's trademark animation style and orchestra, Kiki's Delivery Service delivers yet another great animation for the ages. A personal favourite of mine, I highly recommend watching it!
Why not soak in the sounds of this beautiful song from the film, "A Town with an Ocean View"?
Ef: A Fairy Tale of the Two.
Ef--A Fairy Tale of the Two.
Ef- A Fairy Tale of the Two is a two-part Japanese anime. The first part is Ef-the first tale, and the second part is Ef-the later tale. This anime is about the stories between a group of young people in two cities which both named Otowa. After watched this anime, I got many thinks and feelings. I would like to share these with you.
Ef-the first tale (a tale of memories)
This part gave me a deeply impression. For a dream which we want to achieve, all of us are full of hope and confidence. But many difficulties and setbacks are also waiting for us on the way to our dreams. Some of them may make us stop our steps and afraid, and our hopes and confidence will be less and less, finally lose our all enthusiasm for the purpose.
However, if we keep our mind when we are experiencing these, tell ourselves to persist it and believe the faith to success. Will we lose? The answer is No, because we know the dreams for us , they are the things that can bring happiness to us, so we want to achieve them. Never give up, just like what Renji Asou did in this anime. In order to help Chihiro Shindou remember her memories, he run over around the city to find the broken notebook which recorded all Chihiro's memories (Chihiro can only keep 13 hours' memories, so she write everything in her notebook). In total, for the dream in our mind, we have to run on the math to it and experience every senses of life . The strength of our mind is the most important. we can endure torment and gossip, but we must never give up.
Ef-the later tale (a tale of melodies)
Comparing with Ef-the first tale, Ef- the later tale shocked me more. Ef- the first tale gives us the power to reach our dream and heals our hearts, but Ef-the later tale is full of sadness. By watching Yuuko Amamiya and Yuu Himura's story, I really feel sorrowful for them. Why was the fate so unfair? Why could not Yuuko hold her happiness? But Yuuko did not give up to get along with Yuu until she dead and Yuu was trying to bring Yuuko happiness all the time. In the really life, we may ignore the people who always give the love to us. When we finally realize it, they already disappear without any chances for us to remedy. So please cherish things we owned and people you love, in order to make no regrets.
Ratings:
Story: 9/10
Characters: 9/10
Art: 8/10
Music: 10/10
Overview: 9/10
Ef: a tale of melodies
Yuuko's Death
Yuuko died during the Christmas date with Yuu. She wanted to give the neckerchief that she made to Yuu as Christmas gift. However, a car hit her when she wanted to pick the ball which made she remember Yuu's and her memories on the street........
This Week's SHONEN JUMP
Weekly Shōnen Jump No.21!
Weekly Shōnen Jump?
Weekly Shōnen Jump (週刊少年ジャンプShūkan Shōnen Janpu) is a weekly shōnenmanga anthology published in Japan by Shueisia under the Jump line of magazines. It is the best-selling manga magazine, as well as one of the longest-running; the first issue was released with a cover date of July 2, 1968. The manga series within the magazine target young male readers and tend to consist of a large number of action scenes and a fair amount of comedy. The chapters of series that run in Weekly Shōnen Jump are collected and published in tankōbon volumes under the "Jump Comics" imprint every two to three months.
This Week's SHONEN JUMP!
The erials included in this week's Shonen Jump
1. Kuroko's Basketball by Tadatoshi Fujimaki
Taiga Kagami is a rough-cut high school basketball player just back from America, and when he joins the basketball club at his new school he meets low-key Tetsuya Kuroko. Kuroko was famous in junior high as a member of the legendary basketball team known as "The Miracle Generation"!! ... However, it seems that Kuroko isn't really good at basketball... In fact, he sucks! Kuroko is completely unremarkable, except he has one amazing talent...!
2. Toriko by Mitsutoshi Shimabukuro
"Gourmet"… the single word that captivates the world in "The Age of the Gourmet"! Komatsu, head chef of an IGO hotel, is ordered by the director to capture a "Garara Crocodile"!! The one chosen for the mission is Torico, the charismatic "Gourmet". "Rainbow Fruit", "Fugu Whale", "Jewel Meat"… Following a death-defying adventure and battles with wild beasts to complete the ultimate "full course", the curtain is raised on Torico's journey into the unknown in pursuit of a delicious taste!!
3. NARUTO by Masashi Kisamoto
In the village of Konohagakure, ninja reign supreme, and school is literally a battlefield. Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura are teenage classmates and ninja-in-training working together (sort of) toward a common goal: to become the greatest ninja in the land!
4. ILLEGAL RARE by Hiroshi Shiibashi
A whole new world written by the author of Nura: Rise of the Yokai Clan, Hiroshi Shiibashi, returns to Weekly Shonen Jump with a brand new style!! he slowly fading world where legendary beasts and monsters are hunted—an action-crime fantasy over the illegal and rare species that are being highly traded in the underground markets!!
5. Assassination Classroom by Yusei Matsui
A weird class kicks off in the super smart prep school… The most bizarre and powerful teacher in the Jump history comes here! The most exciting class in the world starts here now!
6. The Disaster of PSI Kusuo Saiki by Shuichi Aso
Kusuo Saiki is a sixteen-year-old high school student with innate supernatural powers. What are his hassles and troubles triggered by his extraordinary ability? And what misfortunes fall upon him? It is finally the beginning of the new anticipated series, which has already been long-awaited since its seven appearances in the Shonen Jump magazine
7. The Story of Isobe Isobee by Ryo Nakama
The legendary one-shot that spread its name in all directions begins its new series!! A loser samurai—Isobee, who lives in any way a dawdling, slacking life, takes action (sort of) in the city of Edo. Weekly Shonen Jump's gone mad with a new style Ukiyoe Gag Manga!!
Ichigo Kurosaki has always been able to see ghosts, but this ability doesn't change his life nearly as much as his close encounter with Rukia Kuchiki, a Soul Reaper and member of the mysterious Soul Society. While fighting a Hollow, an evil spirit that preys on humans who display psychic energy, Rukia attempts to lend Ichigo some of her powers so that he can save his family, but much to her surprise, Ichigo absorbs every last drop of her energy. Now a full-fledged Soul Reaper himself, Ichigo quickly learns that the world he inhabits is one full of dangerous spirits, and along with Rukia, who is slowly regaining her powers, it's Ichigo's job to both protect the innocent from Hollows and to help the spirits themselves find peace.
9. Stealth Symphony by Ryohgo Narita
In the town where all kinds of species mix and live together, what was it that saved the boy who holds a special secret!?
The super popular title from the special edition, "JumpVS", finally makes an appearance as a new weekly series!!
The super popular title from the special edition, "JumpVS", finally makes an appearance as a new weekly series!!
10. i・Girl by Toshinori Takayama
The most popular love comedy within the special edition Shonen Jump has finally come to the Weekly Shonen Jump!! Its catchphrase is "KPOLC" (A.K.A. Keitai Petit Omnibus Love Comedy)!! A mysterious girl gives a troubled boy a "love app" as a present. When he uses the app, something strange happens to the girl's body who he has a crush on, and... An exciting love story that'll fulfill every boy's fantasy (dream) begins here!!
11. Kochikame by Osamu Akimoto
35 years of serialization! 180 comics!!! It has achieved the three greatest records ever!!!! This archetypal Japanese comedy manga is still breaking its own records!! Kankichi Ryotsu, known as Ryo-san, is an unorthodox cop who loves making money more than anything. Ryo-san presents chaotic yet warm gags with the huge cast of unique characters, such as the gorgeous Nakagawa and Reiko, and the ultra-strait-laced boss, Ohara!!
Flashback to the Past ~ Studio Ghibli Films: My Neighbour Totoro
Hey guys, it's Ernest and I'm back with another Studio Ghibli film! This one might be familiar to a lot of you, simply because of it's popularity not only within Japan, but worldwide. It's titular character is even displayed on the Studio Ghibli logo above! It's Totoro!
My Neighbour Totoro (released as My Friend Totoro in the US) is a Japanese fantasy animated film written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki and produced by Studio Ghibli. The film depicts a pair of sisters and their interactions with nearby friendly forest spirits in post WWII rural Japan after they move there to be closer to the hospital where their mother is recovering from an illness. The story contains a world that is spiritually alive in that the forests in it have not really been disturbed, and there is a definite closeness to nature, especially in the grove where Mei first finds Totoro.
The film's main characters are Mei and Satsuki, two sisters that move with their father to an old house in rural Japan to be closer to the hospital where their mother Yasuko is recovering from illness. Their father is a young university professor named Tatsuo Kusakabe. While the story tends to revolve around the sisters, the spirits are the real stars of the film. From the susuwatari (dust spirits that live in empty houses) to the wood spirits, miniature rabbit-like magical creates to the titular Totoro, they all display childish behaviour and adorable reactions to things that humans take for granted or see as commonplace. As the film goes on, the sisters and the wood spirits go on several adventures, culminating in the spirits helping the sisters get to the hospital where their mother resides.
Story: 9/10
My Neighbour Totoro's story is one of adventure There are themes such as that of the preservation of the natural world and helping those in need. The story is simply about the adventures a family has with nature spirits and animals. What really keeps the audience captivated is the cuteness of Mei, Totoro and the wood spirits, as well as the weird and wonderful characters that are introduced, the susuwatari and Catbus among them. However, this is not to say that there is no complication or resolution to the story, as the characters do face some troubles, but with the help of the nature spirits and animals, they are all resolved!
Animation: 9/10
My Neighbour Totoro was one of the first films produced by Studio Ghibli. Released in 1988, like Castle in the Sky, animation techniques had not reached the level of sophistication that modern animated films apply. However, it is notable though that the techniques art director Kazuo Oga used in the backgrounds were able to convey warmth and life in every aspect of the environment in scenes. It was his work with My Neighbour Totoro that truly began Oga's involvement with Studio Ghibli, and his work is the trademark of Studio Ghibli films since then.
Music/Soundtrack: 10/10
As with most Studio Ghibli films, the soundtrack to My Neighbour Totoro is impeccable. Light string tones mixed with wind instruments abound, and evoke upbeat feelings, with percussion instruments being added for scenes with faster pace. Each scene's music matches the mood, and often comedic scenes have sudden silly sounds that enhance the comedy of the scene. Being a film about the natural world, there are no mechanical/electronic instruments that can be heard, and each song is performed by a symphonic orchestra. It is a simply beautiful soundtrack, and one simply cannot help but be caught up in its adventurous tones! Yet another incredible soundtrack, courtesy of Joe Hisaishi and his team!
Overall: 9.5/10
Like Castle In the Sky, I first saw My Neighbour Totoro when I was a child. Everytime I watch it, it brings back the adventurous feeling I had even when I first watched it. The story is both childlike in it's adventurousness and adult in the issues it brings up. While at the forefront it is a fun adventure for the sisters, in the background lurks their concern for their mother. The animation of the film is done really well, as the scenery is really brought to life and bring out the best of the natural world. I honestly would say my favourite part of the film is really the music. It really brings the whole film together and enhances it in every way. I would also say that the adorableness of the characters make for a truly enjoyable film for children and adults alike. I definitely recommend it!
Why not treat yourself to the beautiful sounds of the Totoro theme song?
Akira
So it’s me Raymond again with yet another anime film review. This time the anime film I have chosen is quite different from the previous ones I reviewed as it is more action orientated with some cyberpunk and science fiction elements.
Akira is a 1988 Japanese animated cyberpunk action film directed by Katsuhiro Otomo, written by Otomo and Izo Hashimoto which is based on Otomo’s manga of the same name. While most of the characters and the setting were adapted from the original manga, the restructured plot of the film differs considerably from the manga and as such, I feel that the last half of the manga was rushed into the film.
On July 16, 1988, World War III began as Tokyo was destroyed by a massive explosion. 31 years later, in the year 2019, Tokyo is rebuilt as Neo-Tokyo and this is where the story begins with Shotaro Kaneda and his best friend Shima Tetsuo who gets captured by the Japanese military and later becomes involved with the secret government project known as Akira which results in Tetsuo developing psychic abilities. Eventually Tetsuo begins to lose control of his powers and on his journey to save Tetsuo, Kaneda runs into an anti-government terrorist group who is also after Tetsuo for his abilities. What will the outcome be and will history repeat itself with the outbreak of Tetsuo’s powers?
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The setting of Tokyo in a dystopian state in the future with cyberpunk elements where protesters express their views with violent methods and the authorities struggling to cope with the situation at hand establishes a dark and rather unnerving mood. As such, I feel connected with Neo-Tokyo in Akira due to the level of bizarre savagery.
Even though it’s pretty old (even before I was born lol), the hand-drawn images are quite well drawn in details and with high quality concept such as the colour scheme, motion etc. that it is actually better than I expected for films produced in the 1980s. In addition, the details of the city environments are remarkable; from the use of the shadows to the weird skin tones in neon lighting gives a depressive feel to the film as well.
The soundtracks used throughout the movie mostly consist of percussion music and eerie chanting which I find complements the twisted, unnerving mood of the film.
Overall, it is something interesting to watch to kill time and I have watched this countless times in the past when I was a kid despite the negative points such as the plot progression being rushed with an unexpected philosophical and sociological depth that leaves many questions unanswered.
Ratings:
Story: 9/10
Characters: 8/10
Animation: 9/10
Music: 8/10
Alan's Most Disappointing Anime of the Week - Sword Art Online
As a gamer, and a fan of MMORPG's, I tried to keep my expectations not too high, because you know what they say: "The bigger they are, the harder they fall". Unfortunately, SAO fits this saying to, as it was one of the most disappointing anime that I've ever seen in my life. Why? Lets deconstruct it right here:
Story: (3/10) The story of SAO involves players getting trapped within an VRMMORPG (Virtual Reality Massive Multiplayer Online Roleplaying Game), in which they are required to beat all 100 floors of the game in order to leave. The catch is, however, that if a character's HP drops to zero before clearing the game, not only do they die in the game, they also die in real life.
The concept of this story is absolutely brilliant. Unfortunately, the execution of this story is poor. I felt that it was too rushed, and there was so many things they could've done with this plot. One minute they are explaining how difficult it is to past the first floor in episode 1. Then in episode 2 they are already on the 20th floor. This immediate rush throughout the anime ruin the feel for me and just make the anime embarrassing and overall impossible to watch without shaking my head in disappointment. Overall, the story was just utter CRAP. A good premise at first, but was terribly executed due to poor writing.
Characters: (2/10) In my opinion, the characters of Sword Art Online were by far the weakest part of the show. The main male character, Kirito, is just a Gary Stu, and nothing more. But somehow, he has the ability to attract girls by just looking at them. Why are these girls attracted to him? I'll never know. The main female character, Asuna, was introduced in Episode 2 as a badass who I had high hopes for. And what happens with her? The writers decide to turn her into a generic tsundere, and in the Alfheim arc of the show, she basically turns into Princess Peach? Suguha, other than being there for the sake of fanservice, and to be part of a love triangle that involved a little bit of incest. And to go into deeper detail about Kirito and Asuna, I could not for the LIFE OF ME understand the romance with Kirito and Asuna. It felt so forced and plot-driven that it made me feel absolutely frustrated.
The supporting characters were either uninteresting or just really annoying. The only character I had actual interest in was Klein, but even then, he was pretty much tossed aside. And as for Sugou, he is one of the worst villains I have ever seen. Period. He just absolutely disgusts me.
In the end, next to none of the characters were interesting or likeable in the slightest.
Art/Animation: (10/10) This was the only thing that made me able to watch through the entire anime. Without it i would've said it would had been impossible to finish. If i was ever asked what do I like in SAO? That's easy, I would say that I love how it looks. The art in this show is absolutely beautiful. From the scenery to the action scenes, the animation is consistent and fluid, and the scenery is just gorgeous. Maybe it's the fact that graphics/art is one of the major things I look into within a video game.
With animation, this anime hits a perfect bullseye.
Music: (8/10) Since I'm not a person to critique VA, I'll just talk about the music. Just like the art, I also really enjoyed the music of Sword Art Online. It reminded me of the countless hours I used to spend on MapleStory, World of Warcraft and other MMORPGs leveling up my character. The first opening, "Crossing Fields", got me pumped for an episode; giving me SOME hope that the show would somehow redeem itself (Sadly, it didn't).
Nevertheless, the music was as good as the art!
Enjoyment: (4/10) While I did enjoy Sword Art Online in the beginning, progressing through it turned into more of a chore than an enjoyment. Most of the SAO arc was "meh", and the Alfheim arc was just painful to watch. If it wasn't for the action scenes, this would've been rated MUCH lower.
Overall Score: (3/10) In my honest opinion, Sword Art online was just painfully average(lower if not for the animation and music). While the art and music are amazing, the story and characters prevent the show from being anything memorable (At least for me). Like I said before, it is definitely one of the most disappointing anime I have seen this year. Although it's not a 1 in my eyes, it's also not a 10.
Was it worth the hype? No.
Will I watch it again? Never.
Final Words: I honestly believe i could've done a better job with Sword Art Online than their entire writers combined. This is your boy Alan, signing off~
SynopsisIn the near future, a Virtual Reality Massive Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game (VRMMORPG) called Sword Art Online has been released where players control their avatars with their bodies using a piece of technology called Nerve Gear. One day, players(Source: Crunchyroll) |
Read more at http://myanimelist.net/anime/11757/Sword_Art_Online#kvlmx7RZDi88GfrP.99
Toradora! (True feelings for you)
Toradora! is Japanese light novel series by Yuyuko Takemiya, with illustrations by Yasu.
This anime is about a group of teenagers' high school emotional life. And I have to say, this anime is really good, it brings me a lot of feelings. Comparing with many other anime, Toradora! is more real, it more closes to our high school life. Sometimes I think the real high school life should be like what happened in Toradora!.
People's wants in the whole life are very many, but perhaps friendship, love and family are the three things that most people want to get and protect. I have watched Clannad & Clannad After Story , Clannad & Clannad After Story are called "The Life" because they taught us what are friendship, love and family. Toradora! is another anime which can teach us that, this anime show those things through main characters' daily life, these daily things may make you happy, make you sad, sometimes they also make you think about ourselves, the characters are more vivid as well.
This anime also taught me that the forever memories are not always happy, they may sad and bitter. However, these memories are not parts of others, they belong to us, they are unique and they are also parts of our own youth.
Memories will not disappear, but the life is still long and long.
Synopsis
Toradora!'s story begins with the male protagonist Ryūji Takasu who is frustrated at trying to look his best as he enters his second year of high school. Despite his gentle personality, his eyes make him look like an intimidating delinquent, so he feels utterly hopeless about his chances of getting a girlfriend anytime soon, and does not have many close friends either. After being greeted by his hungover mother in the morning, Ryūji goes to school and is happy to find that he gets to be in the same class with his best friend Yūsaku Kitamura and a girl he has a crush on, Minori Kushieda. However, it is then that he unexpectedly knocks into "the school's most dangerous animal of the highest risk level"—Taiga Aisaka—who just happens to also be in his class, and is a good friend of Minori.
Taiga has a negative attitude towards others and will not hesitate to snap at people. After meeting Ryūji, she takes an instant dislike to him. Taiga comes from a rich family, but she has moved out to live on her own due to family issues. She is coincidentally living in an apartment next to Ryūji's. When Ryūji discovers that Taiga has a crush on Yūsaku, and Taiga finds out about Ryūji's affections towards Minori, Ryūji suggests that they cooperate to win the objects of their affections. Taiga exploits the fact that Ryūji will do anything to get closer to Minori. She makes him her personal servant, getting him to do all her household chores (cooking and cleaning). Taiga spends a lot of her time over at his house, so much that she could almost be considered a member of his family. Since Ryūji spends a lot of time with Taiga, he has opened up to her world and to a side of her that most people do not see. The two also try to help each other improve the way people view them. However people they know from school start to become curious about their strange relationship and rumors begin to spread about them behind their backs. Ryūji and Taiga start getting along more as things progress with the relationships between the characters and eventually confess their true feelings of love towards each other.
Toradora: Orange
AMV
Byousoku 5 Centimetre (5 Centimetres Per Second)
Hi there, I am here to present to you guys another interesting
anime film to watch. The reason why I watched 5cm was because of the uncanny
likeness it had to my past.
Byousoku 5 Centimetre (5 Centimetres Per Second) is a 2007 Japanese-animated
romantic drama film by Makoto Shinkai. The story is set in Japan in the 1990s
and ends in modern day in three segments; Cherry Blossom, Cosmonaut and 5
Centimetres Per Second.
It is a tale of two people; Tono Takaki and Shinohara Akari who
became close friends due to similar interests and attitudes. After a short
period of time, they fall in love with each other but as time moves on, they
become separated when they move places because of their families. Despite the
distance between them, Takaki and Akari continue to exchange contact in the
form of letters. However, as time continues to move on, their contact with one
another begins to cease and they soon realise they may never contact each other
again.
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The absence of science fiction and fantasy elements in 5cm makes
the film more “down-to earth” as it focuses on the everyday life of the main
characters to present the real world from a different perspective and this
appeal to me even in mundane scenes. In addition, the way Makoto polished these
elements to produce 5cm made me feel like that that film itself was based on
his own memories.
The film being split in three segments with each part showing Takaki
at different stages of his life; the first part in primary school, the second
in high school and the third as a young adult offered a beautiful and delicate
look at the development of his life throughout the years.
For most part of the film, the soundtrack was quiet and passive
and to me, it fits the somber and contemplative mood of the story quite well.
On the other hand, there’s also a short song presented in a montage of scenes
from the entire film near the end that depicts Takaki’s unrequited feelings for
Akari and this made me feel emotional as I remembered my past.
Overall, I loved the film with the way the story was separated in
three segments because it paints a broader picture about the progression in
both Takaki and Akari’s life and it’s also something I never seen before.
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Trivia:
Back when I was on exchange in Japan during high school, I met a
girl who coincidentally was also called Akari in our
Japanese sister school and we became good friends while studying there. Even
after I went back to Sydney when the exchange program was over, we still
remained in contact via email for a couple of months but eventually we drifted
apart and I never got the chance to express my feelings to Akari. This is why I mentioned earlier that the film had a resemblance to my past as it
reminded me of this bittersweet memory.
Ratings:
Story: 10/10
Characters: 10/10
Animation: 10/10
Music: 10/10
