Sometimes, Getting Caught Up Is A Bad Thing...

Finished getting caught up with Toradora! today. Now I have to wait a week like everyone else until the next ep comes out. Drat!

What is it about high school love stories? Or, I suppose, Japanese high school love stories. I not much one for the American ones. But for some reason, the Japanese ones just suck me in.

Here I am, going about my business, watching a funny anime with quirky characters and WHAM! All of a sudden, it's a drama and I find that I actually CARE about what happens to these characters. This is PRECISELY the problem I've been having with Naruto lately.

In any case, I think in my initial reaction to the first few eps of Toradora!, I made mention of a couple of the main characters being two-dimensional. Well, that's no longer the case. Those characters have now been fleshed out pretty well, and, as I said, I find myself caring about the story.

But going back to my initial question: what is it about Japanese high school love stories? If you haven't noticed, the vast majority of anime/manga take place in high school. So what is it about those years? Is it the first time kids have real relationships? Is it because you have an excuse for people seeing and interacting with each other on a daily basis? Is it because it's a period of life with a definite end? I don't know. But for some reason, in anime/manga, they work pretty well. And when you have characters as in Toradora!, well, it gains the ability to suck in the random passerby.

So well done, Toradora! I now have another anime to follow. Keep up the good work.

My Thoughts on My New MBP

So I've now had my MacBook Pro for a few weeks now, and I realized that I haven't really posted any reaction to it. I thought about doing a proper review ... but that sounds like it'd be too much work to do it properly. So I'll just give you a few thoughts on the good and the bad.

First of all, the trackpad is AMAZING! It really IS something that takes some getting used to. It took me a couple days. But once you get used to it, there is NO going back. The sheer ease of clicking anywhere, the multi-touch, all of it. Navigating the web is amazing with the two-fingered scroll. Reading manga is a dream because of the pinch-zoom-thing. And the best part about the multi-gestures is that it knows when you want to use them and when you don't. For instance, the bottom part of the track-pad is more "clickable" than the top. So when I want to drag a file, I can click on the bottom with one finger, and then drag with another finger, and it knows that's what I'm doing and doesn't try to scroll or zoom or whatever. Great stuff. Well done, Apple.

And of course I got it all souped up with the fastest proc (at the time) and all that, so I can do anything from video editing to watching HD anime, all while having Safari, Adium, Entourage, iTunes, and Vuze running in the background. Truly great stuff.

I also installed WindowsXP on it with BootCamp (I know, I feel properly dirty for doing so) so I could play Windows games (something I've been sorely missing). And I've installed Portal, HL2, and Supreme Commander thus far, and the MBP handles them all like a pro. Way better than my native Windows box I had previously. The graphics card in this thing can handle whatever the current gaming scene can throw at it.

The only thing that is sort of a negative with the thing would be the heat issue. It hasn't really overheated, but one must realize that the entire bottom of the laptop is the heatsink. The way it's designed to work (I had to think hard about this, since I couldn't readily find any fan outlets) is that air blows down out of the joint between the keyboard and the screen in such a way that it is supposed to hit whatever hard, flat surface the laptop is sitting on and then blow across the bottom of the laptop, cooling it down. Where this hits a snag, then, is when the laptop is ... on my lap. The air isn't directed properly, and if I'm doing anything processor-intensive, the bottom of the laptop heats up pretty quickly. In such cases, my flesh of my leg becomes the new heatsink. :-P

But overall, it is a REALLY nice laptop. Sturdy. Dependable. Fast. All the things you'd come to expect from a Mac. And as I said, once you learn the multi-touch trackpad, you'll be hard-pressed to go back to a normal trackpad. (My Pastor brought in his laptop for me to look at a problem it was having, and I tried to click the trackpad and was confused for a second when nothing happened. It just becomes that natural.) A recommended purchase for anyone looking for a powerhouse in a manageable and portable package.

On an unrelated note, I'm catching up on Toradora!, since I can watch HD anime with no hassle again. I'll post more about that when I get fully caught up ... maybe. And more on Naruto as the plot unfolds. Ja ne!

The Long-Awaited (Maybe) Anime Update!

Yeah, I promised this two weeks ago, but never came through ... until today!  Yesterday after church and most of today I had plenty of time to do some catch-up on new anime episodes.  There are still a few series I haven't gotten to watch at all, and still others that I haven't had time to follow up on.  BUT!  I made some headway today.  And now I'll report my findings:

Follow-up on Hyakko!

This one looked promising.  It really did!  The first episode had lots of fun character interaction and situation comedy.  Taking four very different personalities and getting them lost in a huge school was brilliant.  Why, oh why did they not stick to this for the next two episodes?!  Episode 2 focuses on the group of four trying to find a club, but REALLY only focuses on Torako and Tatsuki - the strong personalities - facing off.  The third episode keeps the focus on Torako and some new, strange characters, while keeping the other three of the original four on the periphery.  Without the character-driven aspect, this show just doesn't have the same charm.  I'll follow it for a few more episodes, but if it can't turn it around by then and recapture the fun of the first episode ... I don't know if even Hirano Aya can keep me coming back.

Bottom Line: This show has lost its magic after the first episode.  Whether it can get it back is anyone's guess.

Follow-up on Toradora!

This series surprised me.  The first episode was looking pretty generic, but a catchy opening and a bit of character development has done wonders for this series.  (I find that a catchy opening really helps a series.  It can be the most mundane thing in the world, but a catchy opening will keep me interested at least long enough for the show itself to become interesting.  And that's what's happened here.)  In many ways, the show reminds me a bit of School Rumble (Horie Yui aside).  Just like in Sukuran, the comedy is driven by main characters who can't manage to express their feelings and the awkward situations they end up finding themselves in.  As in Sukuran, the love interests are pretty generic, but even that adds a bit of humor to the whole situation.  The dynamic is different, though, since Taiga and Ryuuji are at the same time developing their own relationship, albeit not a romantic one.  So far, nothing's been quite as over-the-top as Sukuran, but that's probably okay for this series.

Bottom line: This one's actually pretty funny thanks to interesting characters, good use of situational comedy, and, of course, a catchy opening.  I'll be trying to keep on this one.

Follow-up on Casshern Sins:

So, I'll be honest.  I didn't know when I started watching this that it was a remake of an older anime - that certainly explains the stylistic choices made in its production.  From what I understand, though, the story is vastly different this time around: much much darker than the original.  And I've got to say.  It works.  As each episode progresses, we learn a bit more about what it was that actually happened between Casshern and Luna to create the massive ruin that is plaguing all of robotkind.  Also developing is Casshern's own understanding of himself and of the "sin" that he has committed.  It is interesting that the story is told almost entirely from the perspective of a race of robots who we learn subjugated humanity.  From the robot's perspective, this is the end of the world.  But one wonders how the humans (other than the one rogue we've met) view the ruin.  In any case, the show has already begun to confront the themes of dealing with death and sin, as well as the pain of having to live on in that sin while everyone else must suffer the consequences.  It should go without saying that such themes are an excellent entry point for some Gospel proclamation.  This show has potential to engage people and make them confront and deal with the emptiness of the real world reflected in this tale of fiction.  Very, very exciting, this one.  I'll be watching and following it closely, and depending on how it proceeds, perhaps even do a feature on its usefulness in understanding Japanese evangelism.

Bottom Line: This one doesn't pull any punches.  The themes are engaged head-on.  Death, dying, and guilt are all waiting to be dealt with.  It should be fun to see how Casshern does so.

Follow-up on Kannagi:

Here was another one that kinda looked like it was heading one direction, but then chose a more interesting path.  Certainly, the "attractive girl suddenly living in my house" aspect has not been dropped, but the focus has begun to shift.  It has begun to shift towards a plot development deeply tied to a Shinto religious outlook.  The problem can be summed up with the idea that: "gods are only gods when they are worshipped."  To be honest, this statement alone deserves its own feature post, and likely will get one, but for now, suffice to say that this outlook seems that it will drive the rest of the series.  Nagi, who, if you remember, is a god of the land who inhabited a sacred tree until it was cut down, is losing her divinity.  Why?  Because her tree has been cut down and no one remembers her any longer.  Solution?  Find a way for people to worship you.  The method that has been mentioned (and likely will be tried, if the opening is any indication) is, ironically, to become an idol.  A Shinto god ... becoming an idol.  Brilliant!  This intelligent idea, combined once again with some interesting characters (notice a theme here?) make this show look like it'll be an interesting one to watch.  At the very least, the concepts surrounding the nature of divinity will keep me watching for a while.

Bottom Line: Good characters, a refreshing plot twist with a touch of irony, religious content, and a catchy OP make this one to follow this season.

Well, I'm afraid that's it for now.  Not enough hours in the day to watch all the anime I need to be caught up, but oh well.  What you gonna do.

Oh, and just a reminder, since tomorrow is election day here in America: GO VOTE!

A Short Update - More to Come Tomorrow

So ... I haven't really posted in a while.  This is not because I've not had time to post, but more due to the face that I haven't had much time to watch new anime.  With my job, a computer failure, and keeping up with old anime, I just haven't had much time till today.  So, I intend to give you the short version tonight, and then watch more and do the long version tomorrow.  So here's the short version:

Casshern Sins: Apparently a remake - still quite interesting.

Toradora!: Catchy opening + 2nd episode = better than I expected for this show.

Hyakko: Less focus on characters and more on goofball situations = not as interesting as expected.

Detective Conan Movie 12: It's another Conan movie, and better than some, but a bit slower than it should've been.  Still a good movie.

Look forward to the long version and more tomorrow!

Fall Anime Season Begins! - ToraDora!

So one of the things I intended to do from the start on this blog is talk about anime.  Specifically how it relates to religion and culture ... but not strictly.  Anyhow, the fall anime season is beginning, and so I bring you my initial reactions to the first show subbed and watched: とらドラ! (ToraDora!, for all you non-Japanese-reading types).

Beware.  First episode spoilers follow:

The show so far seems to be a school-based love comedy.  The main character Takasu Ryuuji is a guy with a mean-looking face.  No, really.  He's a normal guy which everyone just thinks is a delinquent because he looks mean.  Of course, he's in love with some pink-haired girl with like 3 lines in the episode.  Whatever.  Enter the Palmtop Tiger.  No, not the latest in Apple handheld technology, but the fiesty, violent, and short Aisaka Taiga (hence the nickname ... sound it out ... yeah, there ya go!).  They get off to a bad start, but things are made worse when a seating mixup has Aisaka putting a love letter in the wrong bookbag - you guessed it, Takasu's.  Long story short, the two end up revealing the identities of their secret loves, and then more or less blackmailing each other into helping to make their feelings known to the one they like.

**END SPOILERS**

It's certainly an interesting start, but so far nothing truly out of the ordinary in this one.  Quirky guy ends up meeting quirky girl, and by their combined quirkiness, chaos and comedy ensue.  There's certainly promise here, but there's also the potential for goofy-school-love-comedy mediocrity as well.  Already overused cliche's have made their appearances: Takasu lives with his scantily-clad-knockout mom who sleeps late and drinks a lot.  His housekeeping skills are also an element which is pretty commonplace.  Don't get me wrong.  There's still potential here for some good (and entertaining) character development/interaction.  However, this show is going to have to do something special in the next few episodes to keep me interested.  That being said, I'll go ahead and keep my eye on this one for the next few weeks, and let you know what the final verdict is.

Bottom Line: Has potential for either hilarity or mediocrity.  Which course it will take, only time will tell.

Episode Watched: ToraDora! Episode 1, Subbed by gg