Soredemo Machi wa Mawatteiru after episode 12 – Final Thoughts

Soredemo Machi wa Mawatteiru has been an amusing little diversion. Though I am not too fond of Hotori herself, there was enough in the show for me to finish it. Even though this was a rather slice-of-life anime, I actually had a minor expectation of some development for the maid cafe, where it would slowly become more and more popular. But really, there was no real progress in attracting more customers for the cafe, nor the romantic subplots between the characters, nor any significant character development. By the end of the show, aside from an accident at the last episode, nothing really substantial happened. Soredemo Machi wa Mawatteiru had just a bunch of quirky characters, doing quirky things, not disturbing too much of the status quo. In that sense, it kind of reminds me of Seinfeld…

Tron: Legacy

I watched Tron: Legacy last evening. I vaguely remember watching the original film as a kid, and was impressed by the visuals. I also played and loved the Tron 2.0 computer game, which again, I do not remember much of. So because of my fuzzy memories of the original film and game, I really cannot make meaningful comparisons between the works. What I can say is Tron: Legacy has massive amounts of eye-candy, even though I did not see it in 3D. Tron‘s signature style of bright lights in geometric designs never gets old. Unfortunately though, style is the only strength this film has. Tron: Legacy is filled with cliché one-liners, and the plot and characters were as transparent as water, and even worse, not at all engaging. Half way through the film I was wondering when will this movie get interesting. It doesn’t. Tron: Legacy will certainly satisfy your eyes and ears, but not the 1.3-1.4 kilogram organ in between. If you are a fan of Tron‘s visualization of the digital universe, by all means, see it on the big screen. If not, well, there is really nothing else to recommend in this film.

My Little Sister Can’t Be This Cute after episode 12 – Final Thoughts

Well, this anime has been a frustrating watch. I still cannot understand why Kyousuke would accept any and every request from his sister Kirino. And Kirino’s slightly better demeanor towards him does not quite justify the huge amount of effort and sacrifice he has made for her. She really does not deserve him as a brother. I suppose some collateral benefits from helping out Kirino were Saori and Kuroneko. If Kyousuke had ignored Kirino from the beginning, he never would have met them. Frankly, the “side” characters are much more interesting and sympathetic than the Kousaka siblings. If it were not for the presence of Manami, Kuroneko, and Saori, I would have dropped this anime. The animation, although not unusual nor unique in any way, have remained consistently crisp throughout the anime.
Watch this anime not for the incomprehensible doormat, Kyousuke, nor for the obnoxious brat Kirino, but for the sweet Manami, the complex Kuroneko, and the beauty-in-disguise Saori. A better name for this show would have been “The Side Characters Can’t Be This Interesting“.

Kuragehime after episode 02 – First Impressions

I picked up Kuragehime yesterday because I was running out of anime episodes from my current selection to watch. The first two episodes has been fairly amusing. The main girl and the very shy and quiet bespectacled girl with hair blocking her face doesn’t look too bad. The rest of the girls, however, leaves much to be desired, especially the hyperactive girl obsessed with the Three Kingdoms. She is actually somewhat annoying to me. Anyways, the real hook of Kuragehime lies not in the girls themselves, but in the crossdressing boy. How will the boy’s wealthy and influential background benefit or adversely affect the girls? Will he eventually befriend them? Will they discover his true gender and/or identity? If so, will they accept or tolerate him? These are all very interesting questions that drive me to keep watching.

2010-2011 Winter Season of Anime

December already, and thus the year is almost over. Amazing how time flies. Anyways, the 2010-2011 winter season of anime is starting soon. After a quick visit to their websites and a read of their premise, theses are the upcoming animes I will first try:

Fractale – I have not seen a good sci-fi anime in a while. This should satisfy my sci-fi itch a bit.

GOSICK – Has the potential for some suspense and intrigue.

Wolverine – Like Iron Man’s trailer, Wolverine’s trailer looks very cool, but like Iron Man, it will probably be just like one of those Saturday morning action packed cartoon, er I mean, anime.