Spring 2013 Anime

As the winter season begins to close, I look forward to what anime will be released for the coming season. So far in the Winter Season, I enjoyed Boku wa Tomodachi ga Sukunai Next, Maoyuu Yuusha, Love Live!, and the continuation of Zetsuen no Tempest.

Since Naruto has been a big disappointment this past season (and Sword Art Online finished for now), I have found myself wondering what I can rely on to fuel my anime addiction in the coming months. Four animes have caught my eye: To Aru Kagaku no Railgun S, Date A Live, Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Kaku Outbreak, and Hyakka Ryouran: Samurai Bride.

To Aru Kagaku no Railgun (A Certain Scientific Railgun) is the continuation of the spinoff series of To Aru Majutsu no Index. This series follows one of the heroines of the Index series, Misaka Mikoto, a Level 5 esper. Misaka Mikoto has the power to use electricity and is one of only seven Level 5 espers in the city. This season, the anime will follow her ordeals after she discovers her "sisters" in the Radio Noise project. Because I loved the original series and the first season of this series, more than likely I will find myself watching this one.

What would you do if you met the spirit that devastated most of the world? Would you think of dating her? Well, that's what will happen in the series Date A Live. I have only heard a little about it from a few people and reading the synopsis, but as a fan of some interesting love comedies, I think I will definitely take a look at this one. Also, it just so happens to be a light novel...which I might end up reading too depending on how much I like the series.

There have been a few Higurashi series. Honestly, I only watched them on occasion. However, since I have a few friends who love the series, I think this time I'll make a serious effort to watch. Anyway, this series will cover a particular event involving a mysterious virus and a certain village. The village was sealed off, leaving the Higurashi characters Keiichi and Rena to deal with the incident.

Lastly, Hyakka Ryouran: Samurai Bride is the second season for the earlier Hyakka Ryouran series. While I didn't care too much for the first season (I hated the ending), I am hoping that the second season will fix all my misgivings about the series. Hyakka Ryouran takes place in a somewhat alternate time period where the Tokugawa Shogunate still rules Japan. Master samurai are warriors with incredible abilities that live to serve the "shogun." Most of the master samurai are all women...which usually develop a romantic relationship with their shogun master. Anyhow, the series will follow Muneakira Yagyuu and his companions.

Anime Conventions

It's about that time of year again when anime conventions start in full swing. Well...okay may you can find one going on somewhere in the world year-round, but personally, I start noticing once it gets closer and closer to Kawaii Kon, Hawaii's very own anime convention.

This year there are surely going to be some very cool guests at this year's Kawaii Kon which will happen on March 15-17. Guests ranging from DBZ's Piccolo's Japanese voice actor to up and coming fashion designer MINT from Japan to the American dub voice of Ichigo Kurosaki from BLEACH will be making their appearance over the 3 days. Unfortunately though, this year I will be missing out on the Kawaii Kon (for the very first time) due to some personal reasons which require me to be in California.

However, I am really jealous of all the fans who will get to attend this year's Sakura Con held on March 29-31 in Seattle, Washington. One of the guests of honor is Reki Kawahara, the creator of Accel World and Sword Art Online. Also, Aoi Eir will be performing some songs, one of which will undoubtedly be Innocence from Sword Art Online. Since Sword Art Online is my favorite series of right now, I couldn't be more envious of all the lucky con-goers that will get to experience such a special treat. I do hope that some time in the future, the Kawaii Kon will get to host them as guests.

Reki Kawahara, the creator of Sword Art Online and Accel World will be a guest at Sakura-Con in Seattle.

Anyway, there are a lot of Anime Conventions being held in the country. I invite you to check around and see if one will be held in your area. Even for those who are not fans of Japanese Anime, it is an interesting way to see a whole subculture that you might have never known existed.

To visit the Kawaii Kon page go here: Kawaii Kon Website
To visit the Sakura-Con page go here: Sakura-Con Website

Monster Musume no Iru Nichijou

Not long ago, I had written about Kenkou Cross and his Monster Girls, so it's probably not surprising that I love these non-human gals. Anyway, for a while now, I have been closely following Monster Musume no Iru Nichijou, a manga created by Okayado.

The setting for this manga takes place in Japan after a time when monster people have come out from hiding. They wish to now integrate with humans leading to a society that has to mix both human and non-human elements. Because of such, Japan is one of the stages starting homestay programs between individuals of the monster species and Japanese citizens.

One (lucky) guy becomes the host for one particular homestay, Miia, a lamia girl. The manga begins there, following the (lucky) guy's life as a host for the inter-species homestay program. As you might expect, the number of his freeloading homestay partners doesn't just stay with Miia. More non-human girls end up boarding at his home as well.

Centorea

This manga is surely one of my favorites right now. Right now, my favorite character in the manga is Centorea, the centaur girl. Anyway, It does contain some nudity and some adult situations, so if you dislike viewing such material, it's probably best to pass on reading this manga. The first two volumes of the manga are currently out in Japan with the U.S. release coming this October.

Boku wa Tomodachi ga Sukunai

Not to long ago, I enjoyed an anime that covered the life of a particular boy that had "no friends." This was due to his delinquent-like looks causing misunderstandings. One day, he stumbles upon the secret of a classmate - she has no real friends. The only friend she has is an "air friend" (like air guitar) named Tomo.

Because they have no friends and can't join any clubs, the girl decides to make her own club, the Neighbor Club, under the premise that they can learn to be good neighbors. With this, the stage is set for Boku wa Tomodachi ga Sukunai.

The anime follows Kodaka, the delinquent-looking protagonist, during his life with the Neighbor Club. Originally, it starts off with just him and Yozora but over time, more members join hoping to learn how to make friends. The concept of the anime is pretty fun and strange (seeing as how they joined a club to learn how to make friends, and end up gaining them in the process without so much as realizing it).

Anyway, the first season of the anime ran some time ago, but currently the second season has aired a few episodes. So far, since the beginning of the series, there have been a lot of laughs and great moments, so all in all, it is a fun anime to get into. Unfortunately this anime is not on Crunchyroll, but it is on Hulu, so if you're interested, do check it out.

MTG: Gatecrash

This week is the official release of MTG (Magic the Gathering) Gatecrash set. This new set introduces cards for the remainder of the ten guilds that were not introduced in the Return to Ravnica set - Dimir, Boros, Simic, Gruul, and Orzhov.

This past weekend, I was fortunate enough to play in some of the pre-release tournaments and check out some of the new cards. From what I experienced, Dimir is very evil... Anyway, I got to try out several of the guilds, but I have to say, I still like playing white-black, white-red, or white-green. I also still love my angels.

One of the cards I was really excited about was Guardian of the Gateless. With the ability to block any number of creatures (and gain +1/+1 for each creature she is blocking in the process), she is a fabulous addition to my angel decks.

Another awesome card that I am excited about is the Angelic Skirmisher. Though she is quite expensive to play, she enables your creatures to gain a special ability (lifelink, vigilance, or first strike) before each combat step begins. This means before your creatures go off to battle, you can choose to gain life, not tap for attacking, or deal damage to opposing creatures before they can deal damage. Once again, a awesome addition to my army of angels.

Lastly, Aurelia is a great card too, but for this set, I think I love the previous two I mentioned a bit more. Aurelia's ability allows you to get two combat steps whenever she attacks. It's not a bad ability, but the abilities of the two above are much more useful in my opinion.

Anyway, if you're in to MTG (or you think you might like to jump in), do check out your local cards store. Though the game can get a bit complicated, it a very fun and amazing game.

Love Live! School Idol Project

Well, as I said before, I do not know what possessed me to sit down and watch this anime, but for some odd reason I can't bring myself to stop. Anyway, one of the animes I am watching this winter season is called Love Live! School Idol Project.

The girls of μ's (pronounced muse - as in the Greek goddesses of the arts)

The story revolves around Honoka, a second year in high school. Currently, the high school she is attending is slated to close down due to low enrollment. In order to preserve her high school life and to save the school from closing, Honoka must find a way to generate interest in the school to bring in more students.

Honoka wishes to create a group of school idols to save her school

The answer she came up with is to create a school idol group. Honoka enlists her closest friends, Kotori and Umi, in hopes that more students will join her "club" in a valiant effort to save the school.

As expected of an anime about school idols, this anime has a lot of song and dance. While most of the music isn't exactly my favorite style, there are a couple good songs. I especially like Maki's piano rendition of a song that I'm sure will pop up later called "Aishiteru Banzai." Maki will probably be my favorite character in this series by the way...Anyway, if you're kind of bored with nothing to watch, I suggest giving this anime a try. Who knows, you might just get stuck watching it like me.

Winter Anime Season 2013!!

With the changing of the seasons comes also new seasons of anime. After the last episode of Sword Art Online finished, I have been wondering what will my next anime fixation be. Well, for this up and coming anime season (which is already under way actually), there are three series that have caught my eye (so far).

Firstly, Boku wa Tomodachi ga Sukunai will be airing its second season. This story follows "Neighbor Club", a club formed by a group of students that have a hard time making friends in an effort to practice and prepare for that exact task. Since I loved the first season and as a continuation, this anime really was something that I couldn't help but be excited about.

What if the hero in a particular story ended up allying himself with the demon lord? Well, in Maoyuu Mao Yuusha, the hero does just that. In a time when humans and demons are at war, the hero manages to get to the demon lord. However, he is surprised to find that the demon lord isn't exactly who he had expected. The demon lord explains that the war between the humans and demons is currently necessary, and she would like him to join her. This rather odd beginning to the story intrigued me, so I have decided to check this anime out. If this piqued your interest as well, you can watch this on anime on Crunchyroll.

Now I do not know what I was thinking when I decided to take a look at this next one. Love Live is about a group of girls that want to save their school from closing. The only way for them to do this is by garnering the interest of others to raise the enrollment rate of the school. When all seems lost, one girl pitches the idea of creating a idol club for the purpose of training school pop idols. It is this idea that will set the tone for the anime. There will be a lot of song and dance as these young girls go through in hopes of saving their school. This anime can also be viewed on Crunchyroll.

Other than those three, Blast of Tempest will be continuing its run along with Hunter x Hunter. Two other anime that I am watching. Still, I am unsure if there will be another anime that I will love as much as Sword Art Online. Hopefully, soon the continuation of that series will get green-lit.