Summer 2012 Anime

Well, it's that time again. The seasons have changed and so does the anime. Last season was great with such shows as Fate/Zero, Tasogare Otome, Sankarea, and Medaka Box. This season, there are some new and interesting anime coming out that I'm looking forward to watching.

Muv-Luv Alternative: Total Eclipse

Muv-Luv Alternative: Total Eclipse takes place in a separate timeline. According to the story, the world is under attack by Beings of Extra Terrestrial origin Adversary to humans (BETAs in short). They have conquered much of the world and are moving in on Japan. The story follows a girl as she pilots mech suits to fight off the BETAs.

Originally, I was interested in this anime because I knew of Muv-Luv from the manga. Despite this series from being entirely different from the manga, I am still interested in following this apocalyptic story.

Dog Days Season 2

When the first season of Dog Days came out, I found it to be an all right anime. I think the only reason I really started watching it was because Horie Yui was voicing the princess of Biscotti and there were cat and dog girls involved. Though the plot was a little boring and the concept was somewhat uninteresting I gave it a go. Now that the series has a new season, I find myself watching it once again...

Anyway, the story follows Shinku a boy who was summoned by the princess of Biscotti in a time of trouble to become the kingdom's hero (in the first season). After returning to the human world, he returns to the world he saved, this time with his two friends to enjoy a summer.

Cardfight Vanguard Season 2

One thing that I'm happy for this season is that I can finally watch the second season of Cardfight Vanguard as well. The second season continues after Aichi and team Q4 win the national vanguard tournament. However, something has changed and the Royal Paladins (Aichi's deck clan) no longer "exists". In order to find out what happened to his beloved Royal Paladins, he must use the Gold Paladins to win his way through an international tournament circuit in order to meet someone who should know what is happening.

There are a few others I'm thinking of checking out, but maybe I'll save those for next time.

Three Dragon Ante

Just recently, a friend of my bought a card game called "Three Dragon Ante". I knew of the game (only in a D&D story), so I was quite intrigued. He taught me how to play and we enjoyed a few games.

The game is a gambling game where gold is wagered in an ante. There are three rounds where players get to play a card from his or her hand. After the three rounds (a gambit), the player with the highest score of played cards (a flight) wins the ante. On each card is different effects that make the game more interesting. Some effects increases the number of cards in your hand while others can steal gold from the ante or opposing players. There are also special sets of cards that will give you different outcomes.

One thing to note is that currently there are two sets of this game out. The first version was released in 2005 and has gone out of print. Three Dragon Ante: Emperor's Gambit (2011) is an expansion to the original, but works as a stand-alone game as well.

If you and your friends love to gamble (for real or for fun), this game certainly is a fun and interesting way to play.

Ohisashiburi dane!

Sorry, I totally intended to make a post at least once a week, but it looks like with all the work that I've been doing that I failed to keep up with that intention. Anyway...

I had mentioned earlier that I was looking forward to seeing the second season of Cardfight Vanguard, but alas, I haven't found somewhere to watch it yet. Instead, to fuel my addiction, I've taken to playing the card game as well.

Right now, my deck is an Angel Feather deck (from Booster Set 6: Breaker of Limits). I haven't got much play in with it, but I hope to start playing more with my friends. I also have an Oracle Think Tank deck (the type of deck Misaki uses in the anime) though I don't have all the cards I want for it. I'm still missing the Tsukuyomi cards because they haven't been released in English yet.

Hopefully, as time goes by, Booster Set 3: Demonic Lord Invasion will be released in English so I can put the Tsukuyomi cards in and finally complete my deck. I hope to finally get to watch season 2 of the anime too.

Tasogare Otome x Amnesia

As I continued sampling other animes that have been released this spring, I came across Tasogare Otome x Amnesia. The story centers around a girl, Yuuko, who is a ghost haunting a school. She has no memory of her life or when and why she died. She simply haunts the school doing as she pleases.

Tasogare Otome x Amnesia

However, one day a boy Niiya Teiichi eventually comes across her. They become friends and set up a paranormal investigation group to help investigate Yuuko's past.

 I think I will definitely watch this anime along with Sankarea. My list of must-watches has quite a few on it already. Unfortunately, Cardfight Vanguard has not become available yet. I wonder if it got pushed back.

The Monster Girls of Kenkou Cross

For quite some time now, I have been a big fan of the Monster Girl Encyclopedia made by the artist Kenkou Cross. Kenkou takes the monsters out of legend and popular culture and transforms them into females with erotic profiles to match.

Lilim, one of the Succubi in the MGE World

 In the MGE world, a demon lord has overthrown the previous one and want humans and monsters to coexist peacefully. She has replaced the monsters' instinct to kill with love, and changed all the monsters to being female. The monsters usually attack men, not because they want to harm them, but because of their desire for them and to reproduce.

The flower girl, Alraune

Anyway, ever since stumbling upon a profile for Arachne, I've been hooked on these beauties. Their pictures are always appealing (cute or sexy), and it's interesting what little quirks and issues they have. It's fun to see how Kenkou is able to put such a spin on the traditional monsters that we know.

Arachne, the first of Kenkou's monster girls that I came across

This love for monster girls has taken such a hold that I have found myself joining two monster girl-themed forums: The Monster Multiverse and Monster Girl Unlimited. These two site have helped me get to better know them and socialize with others that share the same feelings for them that I do. As a writer, I have even begun taking on the challenge of writing a MGE-themed story.

My current favorite monster girl, the Anubis

Just as a word of caution, because of the content in the profiles, they aren't for anyone younger than the age of majority. As such, TMM and MGU have a policy on underage visitors. If you are over the age of majority and would like to check out these wonderful ladies, just click on the links below and register at either of the forums. They are great communities devoted to the love of monster girls.

The Monster Multiverse
Monster Girl Unlimited

Interesting New Anime!

Every season, I take a look at new anime for me too fuel my addiction. While I was really looking forward to Fate/Zero, Cardfight Vanguard, and Medaka Box, I didn't really have a clue what to expect with this new series Sankarea.

Sankarea is about a boy, Chihiro Furuya, who loves nothing but zombies. When a family member dies (actually his cat) he begins a mission to bring it back to life as a zombie. During the process he meets a girl Sanka Rea. She is tired of her parents and her way of life, so the boy suggests that she should die and be reincarnated as a zombie. She does become a zombie which starts the romantic comedy that's the premise of this series.

Anyway, after watching the first episode which just aired recently, I can safely say that this anime will be added to my list of "must watch" animes this season. Also, I'll probably be ending up reading the manga as well.

Guilty Crown

Since a few anime I've been watching recently have finished, I found myself with some time to catch up on others that I've put on the side. One such anime is Guilty Crown. The anime takes place in the future after an event called "Lost Christmas". The event causes a mass outbreak of a "cancerous" disease called the "Apocalypse Virus" and ends up changing the entire nation of Japan. The story centers around a boy, Ouma Shuu, who gets caught up in the rebellion between the new government of Japan and a rebel faction called the Undertakers.

One of the main reasons why I like this anime was because of the music that is featured in it. The main heroine, Inori Yuzuriha, is the lead singer for a group called Egoist and sings a couple of beautiful songs - "Euterpe" and "Departures" (though Departures is sung by a different person in the ending theme). These songs were written and composed by Ryo of Supercell who also created the song "My Dearest" which is the anime's opening theme.

Yuziriha Inori of the group Egoist

Anyway, the only bad thing I really have to say about this anime is just the fact that you have to get over how pathetic the main character is in the beginning. I can't really say how many times I got angry at Shuu for acting the way he does. Sure it gets better as he begins to grow, but the way he acts at times makes me just want to give up and stop watching.

Anyway, I hope to be done with this anime before the spring anime season starts. More than likely if I don't, it'll just end up on the back burner again.