Anime Review: K (also called K-Anime or K-Project)

It's been a while since I did a post on anime - my others were Nabari No Ou, which I adored for its structured world of magic and ninjas, though - and I can't believe I'm saying this - I think K anime outdoes Nabari!!!!


Star xx

Black Cosplayers? Cosplaying For Black People?

I don't usually talk about race, but I was thinking about cosplaying for next year's Comic Con and I thought... hold on a minute... who the heck do I go as?

I'll be honest with ya, this one had me stuck. Either I'm ignorant, or there really aren't very many black heroines to choose from when it comes to Cosplaying.

I mean, yeah, there's Storm, of course. But how many black girls must cosplay Storm?! And I can't cosplay as Storm EVERY TIME. Cosplaying Halle Berry's Catwoman is a bit of a cheat because the original depiction of Selina Kyle in the comics is white. So... ? Does anybody have any ideas? Am I gonna have to make the male black characters female to cosplay them? Or am I gonna have to write a couple books, get a couple black heroines famous so I can cosplay one?

Or can I only cosplay aliens? (Gonna be covered by makeup anyway.)

Maybe I'll just start a list here and I can come back and add to it when necessary.
World Of Black Superheroes has loads of ideas too.

Man, I need to create some black heroines.

Hyper Japan 2013 - Friday

Konnichiwa!

It took me such a long time to post again. I really didn't want to post anything depressing so I just didn't post anything at all. But now I have something HAPPYYY to share :3

I have been looking forward to Hyper Japan for months, especially as MCM (talked about that in another blog post) was a bit of a disappointment for me. H.J. was at Earls Court, only like a 30-minute journey for me, which is greeeat. We got there an hour early, and a good thing too because we were one of the first in at five-past two. My sister isn't really 'into' Japanese culture the way I am but she agreed to come with me, so I had someone to talk to while we queued for an hour. I planned to go anyway, but luckily I saw an offer on Groupon which was two tickets for the price of one. Neat. I had Jean Rhys's Wide Sargasso Sea in my bag but its a depressing book and I was excited so I ended up not reading it.

Queuing was a pretty simple affair. Like I said, we got there an hour early but went in almost straight away, unlike MCM Comic Con London, where me and my brothers waited a further hour and a half. Didn't see very many cosplayers, but the Lolita and Gothic Lolita outfits I saw were so, so very adorable and lovely to see. Japan TV were walking up and down the queue doing interviews.

In brief, there was a wide variety of things to explore in Japanese culture; sweets, kawaii sweets and kawaii culture, jewellery, costumes and traditional Japanese outfits, music (J-pop, yay), food such as rice dishes and noodles, swords (katanas, I believe... Azure said they looked like Kill Bill swords, and I just rolled my eyes. We're at a Japanese festival, and she's relating cutural icons to American movies), toys, t-shirts, anime-themed items, manga and comics, magazines and books, game demos, uniquely-styled artwork (sometimes with the artist present), and so much other memorabilia.

The live stage had musicians playing and I wish I had got the names of some but we were eating tempura noodles at the time and it didn't occur to me. Maybe it's in the brochure.

One thing that really struck me was that there was so... much... s p a c e .

At MCM, you could barely move. Sometimes we actually had to huddle in lines and waddle along because it was so jam-packed, and it was the most frustrating thing after queuing for so long and being excited enough to want to see everything at once.

But at Hyper Japan 2013, it was like there wasn't enough stalls. Towards the back, you could stand in one space and spin around with your arms out and not hit anybody. Granted, there was lots to do, lots. But still, I wish the space was filled with more stalls so that I could indulge even more in japanese culture =] I was reading Anna Scholz's blog which briefly mentioned last years' Hyper Japan, and it reminded me that Saturday and Sunday will be a LOT busier than the Friday, so I have no doubt all the space will be filled tomorrow with more stalls and people!

I picked up quite a few leaflets and freebies, especially ones on visiting Tokyo, entered a few prize draws and stuff, and it was really fun.

What I bought:
- Strawberry Pocky... couldn't resist [for the sister who came with me (call her Azure)]
- Little cat notebook [me]
- milk oyster card holder [me]
- Hello Kitty choco-toffee treat [for my other sister (call her Aime)]
- Winter Is Coming (yep, Game Of Thrones) geek soap... smells awesomee [sister again]
- Chocolate Dorayaki [little brother]
- Plum Wine (that ish tastes AMAZING... we tried sake too, but MAN that's strong.)
- Tempura noodles (great, but didn't taste as nice as they looked! It was my own fault - would have appreciated it better with an appetite but I let my excitement carry me away. I wasn't actually hungry at all. )
- Plum Tea (bought to wash down the noodles, not realising that's its not actually TEA, rather, a sweet drink. Was DELICIOUS though. Mmm. Right, from now on it's me and plums forever. Goodbye, cranberry.)

I spent hardly anything at MCM, but must have spent between £40 and £50 at H.J. (I was paying for my older sister too, her share was about £20 so I actually spent only £30-ish.) Felt so good going home with all those bags. Money well spent ^_^

I am starting to regret not going back to get this beautiful art print I saw, but I was still if-ing and but-ing so I decided to leave it.

I am so gutted that Destiny Blue wasn't there today. I was hoping soo much to buy a print from her of 'Freedom: Not A Number' and 'Lose Yourself In Me' in particular. I'm working tomorrow and Sunday so it's not even like I can drop by over the weekend. Now I have to wait until next year to see her. Makes me so sad :(

Well, it's decided. I am definitely coming back next year.

What now?

I signed up to Japanesepod101.com, and I'm supposed to be taking a free Japanese trial lesson at Alpha Japanese school in Holborn, so that should prepare me for the Japanese course I'm going to take when I get back to uni.

Did I mention I have a fan with my name on it in Katakana characters?

=]

Got it from the Alpha Japanese School stand. Well, the festival is on for another two more days. So, y'know. If you can get to Earl Court - go.

Star.

Power Songs

Perfect for when I feel as f****** melancholy as I feel now. Most are from games - songs without lyrics are like a soundtrack to my life. Not just songs I like, the Power Songs. They are the most important, more than any others at the moment. There will definitely be one I've missed, but whoTF cares.

POWER SONGS

Coldplay - X&Y
Jessie Ware - Wildest Moments (EVERY TIME)
Newton Faulkner - Teardrop (can't believe I'm saying this, but I've grown to like this more than Massive Attack's original version.)
Paramore - Stuck On You
Oasis - Keep The Dream Alive
Thomas Newman - Brooks Was Here & Any Other Name, but although there is power when I listen, the songs are so sorrowful that it also provokes depression.

Jade Empire
Jack Wall - Main theme
Jack Wall - Metropolis I and II

Ergo Proxy
Monoral - Kiri

The Legend Of Zelda: Skyward Sword
Fi's Theme
Fi's Gratitude
Fi's Farewell
Lanayru Sand Sea (the two notes at the beginning give me shivers. Listen in headphones.)
Sailing The Sand Sea (when playing the actual game, the song isn't done justice. The full thing on youtube is epic.)

Gunslinger Girl (Anime)
The Delgados - The Light Before We Land
Aoi Tada / Lia - Doll
Ootani Kou - Kanashimi

Nabari No Ou
Michiro Oshima - Main Theme: Seijaku
Michiro Oshima - Tobari no Ketsui
Michiro Oshima - Departure
Anamu & Maki - Aru Ga Mama
VELTPUNCH - CRAWL (EVERY TIME.)



Blogvomit
Oh God. Has anyone ever felt this exhaustion so strong that it really makes them wish they were dead? How can they take another step, breathe another breath, think another thought? I feel as if the moment I stop typing, I will shut down. I want to eat and sleep and cry. The weather is so nice today. That makes me feel even more blue. (Don't ask me to explain that.) Lately, the moment I start to get tired, my mood plummets like an anchor thrown into in the sea. I never used to feel like this at just tiredness. It's fuckin horrible.

Damn... I'm more disturbed than I thought. I need help.


Star.
________________________________________

My Experience Of MCM Comic Con London 2013 - Saturday

Of the two festivals I had lined up for this weekend, Mind Body and Spirit festival on Friday and MCM Comic Con expo on Saturday and (possibly) Sunday, I fully expected to be blown away by the latter. I WAS NOT prepared to come home disappointed from MCM and wishing that I'd gone to the MBS festival twice!

MBS festival was AMAZING. MCM was, at best, 'Meh'.

Okay no, it had some pretty sick moments in there. But let me start from the top.

Ergo Proxy Anime Verdict

SPOILER ALERT: As always, I'm speaking of this anime as a whole. There WILL be references to the end, and trust me, with the twists in this anime? You WILL REGRET reading ahead of watching it.



I have watched Anime that have left a gaping hole into my heart once I've reached the end - Avatar: The Legend Of Aang, Gungslinger Girl and Nabari No Ou all stand in that rank. Ergo Proxy has decidedly moved me, although I stopped thinking about it a lot sooner than I would've thought, for something so disturbing, excellent and philosophical.

So, yeah, it's Cyberpunk Anime, that futuristic, apocalyptic stuff. At the beginning, a lot of 'what the fuck'-s were running through my head. I watched episode 1-3 randomly one day, not returning to it for a week or so. By the time I got to watch episode 4, I couldn't stop watching until I got to episode 15 or 16. I crammed 17-23 into the next two days, and by the end, I couldn't believe it was over.


Plot

I suppose I shouldn't say it's original, after all, there's only about 10 plots in the world or something? But it was startlingly fresh. Not even the part about a dying earth wherein civilisation have to live within a dome to survive. The Ergo Proxy, just by itself, was an amazing concept to include. So much mystery surrounded the Proxies, and it gave you just a tiny shred of information every episode so that you were hungry for more. The full truth about these incredible creatures isn't fully revealed until the very end. Man, it's worth the wait.

When I did reach the end, I didn't feel cheated. Things actually made sense, and for that I rate E.P. . The Cogito virus touching pretty much every AutoReiv was chilling and excellent. Pretty sad that Raul died before he got to see Pino again, but I guess Kristeva getting the Cogito and joining the gang made up for that.

The people living outside the dome that Vincent meets when he's first out there - were so temperamental, it pissed me off. But their situation was so sad.

The various proxies were amazing to see. I loved that they all had their own function, but there was so few them. The whole story, as intriguing as it is, is really depressing. But lots of things I've been reading or watching lately have been depressing. I guess it can't be helped.

Anything else? Oh yeah!! Ummm can anybody explain to me about the Monad Proxy?! Anyone? Because why does she appear in the form of Re-L Number 2 wearing white with wings instead of.... well, looking like a proxy? I thought the proxy they showed in intensive care was Monad. Really confused about that. I'd better ask Mike at Uni class on Monday.

Characters

Re-L - You know, her matter-of-fact nature and way of dealing with situations is really on point. I dig that. But her curiosity that never ends, her stubbornness .. that made me really annoyed with her. I was kinda shocked at the amount of people that called her a bitch during the series (Well, only Cogito-infected Iggy and Vincent in the episode where he's in Re-L's head, but they say it a lot of times), although when you think about it, she really is. I wouldn't have thought it, only... the episode when she demands that Pino combs her hair, and then Vincent when Pino refuses. I saw her arrogant side then. She does care about actual meaningful stuff. But when she gets annoyed when Pino plays with her make-up, like hello? You're in an apocalyptic world travelling with a Proxy and an AutoReiv! Who gives a fuck about your hair and make-up?! Damn.

Vincent - SO, SO annoying during the first half when he's a citizen. SO ANNOYING! I can't stand him with his eyes closed! I loved him at the end, though, especially in his proxy form. He's so badass as Ergo Proxy. He doesn't know it though. And he really wasn't cool until he opened his eyes.

Iggy - What an annoying AutoReiv! Can't stand him, nuff said.

Pino - oh God, I love her SO MUCH! She is my favorite character, easily! AFter being affected with the Cogito virus, it's so endearing when she learns when she's feeling sad, when she draws, gets them out of sticky situations, understands what death means, misses her Dad, when she copies what people say, and says that she really like Vincent and Re-L. I love her little bunny costume. She's just so adorable.

Raul - I thought he was a great character overall, but towards the end, when she began to unravel, I didn't like him so much.

Daedalus - OH LORD! Where to even begin? He is such an excellent, excellent character. He's always got something up his sleeve, so sneaky, and you never even know it until his plans come to fruition! It's funny, I was talking to a friend about how incredible the character of Littlerfinger from Game Of Thrones is. That's who Daedalus reminds me of. Anyway. I love how he always looked out for Re-L, especially at the beginning. When he starts to unravel towards the end, as everybody does, it's fascinating and scary to watch. And when he creates(/makes/finds-?) another Re-L, who of course becomes Monad. The transgression of his character was just great.

Those are the only ones that really moved me. Oh, and guess who else pissed me off? Re-L's grandfather's AutoReiv's, the 4 stone statues named after philosophers. I wished they would just shut up, they never helped - only made every situation worse!

Design

The design of the Proxies is exquisite. ^_^ Just... honestly. Ergo Proxy was the most terrifying and therefore my favourite. The mask and hair did it all.

Please do not get me wrong by what I'm about to say. Ahem. Vincent has a piece of material wrapped around his waist and crotch like a loincloth, which, considering that he is wearing clothes, is the most ridiculous character costume design I have ever seen. That is all.

Pino, as I said, is the best thing ever in her bunny costume. But in the end episodes, she has on these green trousers which makes her legs look really fat o_O

The entourage AutoReiv's had a really weird design, I didn't like the look of Iggy and Kristeva very much. But for robots, y'know, they were fine.

Soundtrack

As a lot of people know, I love anime soundtracks, and I'll be looking for the E.P. one when I have time. But immediately, the opening track, Kiri by Monoral, and closing track, 'Paranoid Android' by Radiohead, are really great tracks. It's funny, all of the anime's I liked more or less straight off had opening themes I loved.




MOVING ON...

My list of Anime to watch is endlessly growing, mainly because I want to watch the shounen classics before I go to MCM Comic Con London, secondly because I'm reading this book called 'Anime: From Akira To Howl's Moving Castle' by Susan J Napier, and it's really good. Looking at anime in an academic way is a lot cooler than I thought it would be. Probably because, y'know, it IS still anime.

So yeah, my list is still growing. God knows what I'll be reviewing next.



Star.
________________________________________

Nabari No Ou Anime Verdict!

SPOILER ALERT: My view on the anime after having seen it. So if you haven't, watch it on Netflix or read it online.

It was quite a lot of weeks ago that I watched Nabari on Netflix. The moment I saw the opening, with the musiiiiiic and with Raimei and her swoooord and Koichi and his leaf-teleportatiooon.... just like Gunslinger Girl, I was hooked. Of course, I didn't know their names then. But the premise of ninjas in a modern world was so gripping!

I was really into the whole five regions each with their own kinjutsushō, or forbidden art, which I will probably have to look up again cuz I forget but that was awesome. It really did inspire me. Okay so first of all, and characters are pretty much the most important aspect of any story for me, so lets start with those.

MIHARU I WUV YOU!! So very apathetic, so very adorable. Having him as the main character was a good move. I love how he changed over the episodes after meeting Yoite, you could see how much they affected each other. One thing I kinda don't get is why he could fight in the manga and not in the anime. It pissed me off that he was so helpless! It was like JUST FIGHT! But then, with him containing the shinrabansho, it's not like anybody was gonna kill him anyway.

Yoite I ADORED. His past was so, so tragic, I couldn't stop thinking about it for ages. It sickens me that parents can treat their children that way, but also made me so (tearfully?) happy that he found a new family in Miharu, Raimei, Kouichi, Tobari (to some extent lol), Hana (LOVE HER!), Yukimi, Raiko and Gao.

The way they came together was really endearing although it crushed me that Yukimi couldn't bring himself to see him once more before he died. His bond with Miharu is so heart-wrenching! Although it did seem like bordering on Yaoi. Maybe because Miharu's... well, prepubescent so he looks like a girl. I guess the creators can get away with it hahahaha.

Okay, fucking Raimei! She annoys me so much! Especially her voice, no offence to her voice actor. Towards the end, you get used to her, but when she first appears, URGH! I like that she's a samurai but that's pretty much it. Argh I can't believe Kouichi likes her.

The bit when you discover Kouichi is immortal is completely like WAHHH!!! It explains why both him and Shijima have white hair and red eyes, (lol you think somebody would have noticed!!!) and the outcome for him did NOT make me feel good. I wish Miharu could've uncursed him. Kouichi's fighting abilities are epic, but then he is immortal. Call me twisted, but I did laugh when Kouichi put a sword through Miharu because he thought he could stop the shinrabansho... like DUH?! UNSTOPPABLE POWER HERE?!

One of my favourite characters is Shijima Kurookano, I love her voice, her name, and just the way she acts and looks. The discovery that she is Miharu's cat really shocked me because it was so subtly revealed. (How can she be such a pretty human but such an ugly cat? Cats don't look like that!)

So many secrets in this damn anime makes it so damn gooooood...

Okay, so I really liked Tobari (I couldn't help laughing that a grown ass man is travelling around with a bunch of kids) and I felt HORRIBLE for him when Miharu stops trusting him at the end. I could see that he was only trying to help him while keeping his promise to Miharu's mother. It was a nice addition that he was a ninja who couldn't kill anybody. It made him complete in my head. A well-rounded character.

HANA! She should be my Godmother! Her place the anime was just perfect, she was always there when they needed her. She's too wonderful.

Tobari's relationship with Hanabusa was so, so sweet. Also, and I don't know why, but it seems really fitting that she is older than him.

-Probably missing out a shitload of people but there you go. WHY is Saraba's boobs spilling out of her clothes? If you have a huge bust then fine, but wear a decent kimono or something!!

-GAHH Kotarou was so clearly evil! He was an EXCELLENT character though, soo funny, I did really like him. But God couldn't anybody see he was up to something?!

-Gao was a little irritating but his good-nature and loyalty to Raiko was sweet. Always fucking complaining though.

-Raiko's voice bugs me a little - why does he sound almost English? Like, transatlantic? WTF? But by the end, it suits him perfectly. I cracked up when he crashed Yukimi's car because I didn't believe he would really do it - at least not so fast!!

Okay, abilities.

So Fuuma's forbidden art, the Tenpenka - which is basically shapeshifting, was pretty cool. You know. Seen it before but it's cool. Though, compared to the Kira technique, why  is Tenpenka forbidden?

The Kiroushu's forbidden art, Kira, was an AMAZING concept. There are so many little parts to it that make it intriguing, like eventual loss of all five senses. It infuriated me that Hattori makes Yoite use it. How you see him deteriorate is freaky, but realistic.

The Togakushi's forbidden art, the Izuna Shingan, is actually better than it first appears. Yae Oda pissed me off quite a lot but you knew her motives for everything. When you think about it, this forbidden art is really powerful.

The Kōga's forbidden art, the Daya, was also an excellent idea, and in my opinion should REALLY be just forbidden and locked away like the Kira technique. You can't just go around killing people to heal other people, but people in this world are fucking crazy, so be on the safe side... lock it up.

Okay now, Banten. RIGHT. After trailing through two seasons to find out what Tobari has kept soooooooo secret, I thought that Tobari's Engetsurin was a COMPLETE hax. Like, how convenient! Something that takes away and restores memory. But then, ironically, it was also very good how every single person forgot who that last Shinrabansho possessor was because of it. Tobari has this secret hanging over him for the whole anime. Even though the idea was really good, I still this his kinjutsushō was a shit little cheat. But there you go.

So yeah, that kept me busy for a long time. the art above is for the soundtrack to the first season, which I LOVE. (And MAAAN look at the scenery of Banten, in the artwork above! So beautiful!) As you know, I'm addicted to anime soundtracks. I'm addicted to every type of music, hahaha (listening to Phil Collins and Genesis right now) but ANYWAY my favourites are Main Theme - Seijaku, Tobari no Ketsui (FREAKING LOVE THIS ONE), Koakuma Shounen (the violins are too good), and Shinra Banshou no Sasayaki (every time the shinrabansho activates, this song plays. Love it.). This soundtrack is, although sad at times, also quite lively. But Soundtrack 2... damn...

Art above is for soundtrack to the second season, and oh my God, it is so damn depressing. I can understand that though, because Yoite is dying in the second season, but damn. This soundtrack is titled in English. My favourites are The Tragedy of a Brother and Sister, Deep Darkness (I always think of Yoite drinking Yukimi's lemonade at this song), Miharu's Perplexity (so sad! so good!), The Profile of a Death God (SO DEPRESSING! SO AMAZING!), Hanabusa (I LOVE HANA!!!), Two People (cough Miharu Yoite... lol Mihite...? Yoharu? Okay wait stop, that's Yaoi if I do that right? OKAY STOP NOW), Wailing, Main Theme Piano Solo, and Departure.

Main Theme Piano Solo and Departure are variations of Main Theme - Seijaku and I think that's really cool. Like in Gunslinger Girl with TEMA I, II, III, IV and V.

Last but ABSOLUTELY NOT LEAST! I just HAD to get Crawl by Veltpunch because the opening credits make me pumped up for every episode. The full version is even better than the TV size. Hikari by Elisa, which plays at the closing credits for season 1, really annoyed me when I heard it, I used to skip it. But the full version is actually very good. I surprised myself because I don't normally like ballads like that.

Favourite song ever - I would trade all the songs for this one - is Aru Ga Mama by Anamu and Maki, which played at the closing credits of season 2. I love it to death (no pun, sorry Yoite). The full version has extra harmonies that the TV size doesn't have so naturally, I'm in love with it. I've never heard Japanese (?) Alternative or Acoustic music before and I'm desperate to find more. It's a beautiful song.

And it sums up Mihite perfectly.

Still making my way through the mangas online when I'm not doing Uni work. Pretty good so far, but no urge to be buying them yet. I DID just buy Psyren 3 and 4 after reading 1 and 2 in the library - they are fucking awesome, about kids projected into a game which may possibly be Earth's future - but that's a story for another day.

Star.

________________________________________

Gunslinger Girl Anime Verdict (Review)

Some stuff has happened... yeah, can't say any more than that. All that needs to be said is that thankfully, I'm getting cognitive-behavioural therapy for my depression, and I'm not cutting myself any more. Really. I mean it this time. Anyway, the music of Gunslinger Girl season one always cheers me up...

SPOILER ALERT: If you haven't seen GSG, you shouldn't be here. You should be on Netflix watching it or borrowing the manga from your library.

 

A few weeks ago, I watched the anime from start to finish over two weeks, when I was feeling quite shit and a bit concerned that I am a little bit in love with death. One thing that really got me was how well the politics was laid out in season 1; in my stories involving the government, I have a tendency to 'haze through' quite a lot of political stuff but Gunslinger Girl had urged me to sharpen up my act. The story for season 1 was so gripping, and the back and forth of narrative in the first couple of episodes was excellent, it made perfect sense the way things pan out and fall into place. It adds intrigue to the whole Adolescent Girl Cyborg Assassin-type thing.

   

Triela (voiced by Caitlyn Glass, who also voices Kazuho in Nabari - !!!) is my favourite character. Her image is perfect, she looks so smooth in her sharp suits, and admittedly she has given me a slight thing about pigtails now. She has so many dimensions to her and is an incredibly complex character in how she's kinda dominant around the other cyborgs but softer around Hilshire (I prefer to call him Victor, heh). Her backstory was as tragic as HELL. It was so sweet and equally heart-wrenching that she thought Rachelle was her mother. Man, that was rough. How STUPID were Hilshire and Rachelle to go rushing into unknown territory like nobody's business! Jeez!

 

My second-favourite would be Claes, whose matter-of-fact tone, constant calmness and intellect I adore. I LOVED her little bit of action in the season one episode where she acts as a decoy for a political figurehead's daughter, and gets in her moment of Kick Ass. Plus, her connection to the song Scarborough Fair wasss... pretty much perfect. 

L-R: Triela, Henrietta, Rico

Next would be Henrietta, whose devotion to Jose and simpleness is effortlessly sweet. Her image (the school uniform) suited her so well, but I couldn't help but felt that falls down when she's standing beside Jose and he's saying he's a reporter. Then why the hack have you got a schoolgirl with you?! (Obviously we know why, but if I was the enemy I wouldn't let him through my door either. It's weird). I couldn't help but read what happens to the Henrietta-Jose fratello in the manga on Wikipedia, and I couldn't BELIEVE how it ends for them. I wanted to sit on my arse and wail. How effortlessly depressing. And it was scary that in the manga, Jose loses his affection for Henrietta and has her 'reset' without regret or remorse, despite that the conditioning was messing her up inside. Man oh man.

Second-least favourite is Rico, who seemed a bit mindless, and although that is explained in the story, is does make her character a bit boring. BUT, I do love how she's portrayed as loving every minute in her new body - they only talk about it in her episode, but through the entire series you can see it, she's always balancing on things, skipping, swinging her legs, waving her arms, and the like. Very clever. (I found it kinda shit how her handler - damn what was his name again? I always forget! - uses her for his revenge. She doesn't mind, but that only makes it creepier. OH YEAH, his name was Jean. Jean Jean Jean. I'll remember.)

I liked Angelica least, because despite her deterioration, with the memory loss and all that (it's depressingly sad), she's just really annoying. Marco's quite harsh to her and she's always eager to please. It's a strange relationship.

 

I found it unique that it was set in Italy, that all the charaters had well-chosen italian names and the soundtrack was perfectly suited for the setting. Sometimes it's weird and a little bit funny when one character asks another 'Don't you speak Italian?' in English, and I remember that realistically, leaving out that its a dubbed anime, they would be.

In tGunslinger Girl's first season soundtrack, my favourites were all of the TEMA's; I, II, III, IV, V, and VI, Chiesa, Pauro, Ansia (reminded me of Elsa), Ti Amo (made me think of Henrietta and Jose), Malinconomia, and Costruzione. So many. It was a beautifully authentic sountrack (bravo, Toshihiko Sahashi) although I must say above all, my favourite was the opening theme, The Light Before We Land by The Delgados.

As for Il Teatrino, WELL.

It deifinately had it's ups and downs, In terms of plot, five stars. The addition of Pinocchio was perfect timing, his charater was even more complex than Triela, which somehow also made them a perfect match despite that they were rivals. And the back story behind Flanca and Franco was GREAT. Weaving that all into the hype about that bridge, it was pretty amazing.

But the animation in Il Teatrino was HORRIBLE... Herietta lost her adorable, timid sweetness and became an overflowing mound of giggles and hugeee brown eyes. Likewise, Jose lost his graceful, respectable look and became a joke, Hilshire was worse than a joke, he was COMEDY - and Triela lost that mature, kind of inner-complexity look with her blue eyes being so damn big. As for Angelica, Marco, and Raballo in Claes' flashback, my God. Unbelievable how characters can be shattered.

However, some characters really, and I mean really benefited from the animation change. It suited Rico perfectly. Franco and Flanco were given such life - in season one they looked a bit dead. So yeah, it had its pros and cons.

But otherwise, Il Teatrino was great. The soundtrack wasn't as good as season one as the tracks weren't very Italian in an authentic sense, but they gave a great sense of atmosphere - Main Theme, Jiken, Sentou, Rome Shigai, Restaurant, Kanashimi, even the new opening theme Tatta Hitotsu no Omoi, which I hated when I started watching season two, but loved by the end, since they changed that terrible opening animation. A particular favourite of mine is Scarborough Fair, which was my favourite song from the Il Teatrino, only succeeded by the closing theme Doll (sung by both Lia and Tada Aoi). Even though I loved the version of Scarborough Fair used in the episode and the version Claes played on piano, Tada Aoi really did it justice too as her accent gave the words a unique sound.

Well, its all on my iPod so no complains from me :)

So, next port of call - I'll need to get the manga omnibus as soon as possible, because I have no idea who Petrushka is and I would quite like to find out. I almost hyperventilated when I saw that a Playstation 2 game had been developed for it as well - and hyperventilated again when I saw the price. Imported, you say? GET OUTTA HERE. I could fly to Japan, buy the game and come back and I STILL would've spent less than what Amazon and eBay are suggesting. Please.



Star .

________________________________________

Gunslinger Doll

My favourite girl, Triela :) (Claes is also awesome.)

There's one thing I still don't understand, and that is how I can continue going about my day to day business, pretending to be happy, pretending to be sane, forcing myself to get up every day, when I'll be dead in about forty years and nothing I did will matter to anyone.

Unbelievable how people can live for a couple decades and die quietly, completely insignificant the whole way through. How rare is it for someone to be so important or have made such a contribution to thousands of people's lives that they are immortal through time? I just don't get it. I don't see the point. But I guess that's why I'm going to counselling, and you're not.

I'm still an avid watcher of Gunslinger Girl on Netflix, and I must say, the story idea, the plot, the characters, the setting (beautiful, beautiful Italy) not to mention of course the amazing soundtrack (my favourite song is TEMA I, I think) is incredible.

I was completely unimpressed that the animation changed in the second season, Il Teatrino, doubly unimpressed that The Light Before We Land was no longer the opening theme, but Gunslinger Girl is just too good to stop watching. Ironically, I was given a compelling end credits theme instead in season two, called Doll.

It is a very beautiful song and also, somehow, very sad, maybe because I could relate to the lyrics... they made me feel so raw (being in my current situation) that as much as I love the song, it upsets me to hear it.

Chorus

Itsuka kiite hoshii kono omoi mo

Kotoba ni wa naranai kedo

Chikara no kagiri o furishibotte

Ikite iku koto o shiru kara

Chorus Translation

I want you to ask about how I feel someday

I don’t express it in words

But I muster the extent of my strength

Because I know I’m going to live

Thinking about what's happening to me now (without going into the morbid details) and thinking about those words, they make me feel relieved and sorrowful at the same time (it's a weird feeling); relieved, because 'I know I'm going to live', bitter and sad, because what's the point in living if I have to suffer?



(Above) I found a version by Aoi Tada, and her voice is very sweet and simple, like it could have been Gunslinger Girl Henrietta herself singing.

Then I found Lia's version, the one they used in the end credits, whose voice is noticeably stronger and more unique. I think I'm leaning more towards hers (below).




I wish someone could help me.

Star.
________________________________________

Gunslinger Girl

...my latest drug. (Triela is my favourite. (Though Rico has the best name.))

^ Best theme tune ever.

S.

________________________________________