Gate season 2

Its first season having aired back in summer last year, the “Gate: Jieitai Kanochi nite Kaku Tatakaeri” anime is now back for a second season, picking things up right where they left off.

Adored the first season of this anime that adapts the “ゲート 自衛隊 彼の地にて、斯く戦えり” light novels written by Takumi Yanai. Next to the typical elements featured in nearly every anime such as cute girls, silly comedy and fanservice, “Gate” cleverly merges a typical fantasy story with a military oriented setting.

Above its surface of military action and comedy, “Gate” contains plenty of interesting themes and offers surprising depth, the first episode of this second season had a shocking, powerful scene suggesting this season may include laden themes such as racism, slavery and abuse. Although even in this second season some of those subplots may feel rather rushed, no doubt due to the time constraints of its anime format.

While some may lament that “Gate” does not wholly focus on such deeper, more engaging plots and choose to be a darker, mature anime instead of including silly shenanigans, I do believe the series works well in this format that makes it more balanced.

Still, I too wonder what “Gate” could have been like if it had been a dark, mature anime without any of the cute girls, otaku or other silliness. Those moments in the show do tend to dampen the impact of the more powerful or gory scenes, like the massacre of attacking medieval armies at the hands of our modern day weapons featured in the first season.

The typical harem trait of Itami being surrounded by cuties Rory, Tuka and Leilei aside, hope this second season will dive more into each girl’s story and character, their characters do hold plenty of potential for some engaging story telling and enthralling plots.

You can watch “Gate” on Crunchyroll.

Dagashi Kashi

Was keen on watching “Dagashi Kashi”, the anime based on the “だがしかし” manga by Kotoyama, because its plot synopsis and promotional video promised it would be a hilarious show.

Adored the first episode of “Dagashi Kashi”, was pleasantly surprised by this slapstick comedy that at first glance may seem like a leisurely slice-of-life comedy reminiscent of “Non Non Biyori” or “Barakamon” thanks to its similar enchanting setting of a small village in rural Japan.

Unlike those two anime though, “Dagashi Kashi” is no slice-of-life series but a slapstick comedy full of silliness fueled by a cast of oddball characters. Especially Hotaru steals the show, she is such a hoot! What also adds to the character and helps take Hotaru to the next level is Taketatsu Ayana’s excellent voice work.

While primarily a nonsensical comedy, “Dagashi Kashi” seems to have its fair share of typical shounen genre attributes, considering the overused ‘walking in on a girl changing’ scene or the apparent budding love triangle between Kokonotsu, Saya and Hotaru.

Animation by studio Feel is good, the studio manages to render the characters well, staying close to the design style from the manga, and balances well between detailed animation, carefully drawn facial expression and chibi or over-the-top effects for comedy scenes.

Based on this excellent first episode, am expecting great things of “Dagashi Kashi” and believe this will become one of the better anime this season. Those of you who enjoy comedy anime should definitely watch this show.

Musaigen no Phantom World

Adapting the “無彩限のファントム・ワールド” novels written by Hatano Souichirou into anime form, “Musaigen no Phantom World” is studio Kyoto Animation’s contribution to the winter anime season. Watched the first episode yesterday and I liked it.

While it did not particularly excel, “Musaigen no Phantom World” seems to offer solid animation, a nice and less dramatic twist on the typical youkai & phantoms roam the earth world setting, as well as a good balance of action and laughter. The overall atmosphere and setting reminded me of “Inou-Battle wa Nichijou-kei no Naka de”.

Am curious about how some of the events are described in the original novels as well as how Mai is portrayed in the books, considering the copious amounts of fanservice the anime unleashes on us. No chance sees wasted to emphasize Mai’s shapely form.

Wonder if Mai, Reina, Koito or any of the other characters will be given more substance or an interesting background story, bringing them past the generic template characters we see in too many anime. Will Reina be more than the cute, shy girl or will Kurumi be anything more than a loli with a rather peculiar way of wearing twintails?

Considering the first episode was lots of fun, energetic and colorful, making for an entertaining watch of pulpy fluff, do plan on watching the rest of “Musaigen no Phantom World”.
After all, one’s anime diet should be varied and contain such fun and silly shows too.

You can watch “Myriad Colors Phantom World” on Crunchyroll.

* Akiko *

A few photos of Dollfie Dream Akiko clad in the ‘Going on a Date Feminine Style’ set from the Tenshi no Koromo line from Volks.

Made these photos last year on a late afternoon using the light of the setting sun to achieve a brighter, warmer atmosphere, which is ideal considering this outfit is best suited for the spring or summer seasons.

Except for some test shots made soon after purchasing it, these captures are the results of the first photo series I made with the Sony A7 Mark II and must say am very impressed with the camera so far.

While I was satisfied with the original A7, am glad that I took the opportunity to upgrade to the A7 Mark II. Will share more photos made with the Mark II soon.

Anime winter season 2015-2016

The new anime season is here! Looked over the line-up of new series scheduled to air this winter and there’s only a handful of shows am really sure about, the other series listed I am either merely curious enough about to give them a try, or they do not interest me one bit.

Hence, might not be picking up much new anime. Of course, will keep on watching “Utawarerumono: Itsuwari no Kamen” and “Mobile Suit Gundam: Iron-Blooded Orphans” which started in fall and will continue this season.

Am definitely going to watch the second season of “Gate: Jieitai Kanochi nite Kaku Tatakaeri”. Adored the first season of this military fantasy anime full of action and offered plenty of laughter. It also surprised me by occasionally bringing more depth to the story beneath its surface of military otaku meets dream harem of elves, loli goddesses and other fantasy beings.

Although am not a fan of shoujo genre series, will pick up the second season of “Akagami no Shirayuki-hime” considering I adored the first season. Do hope the show will stick to the formula and atmosphere of its first season, would be a shame if it succumbed to exaggerated melodrama.

Happy New Year!

明けましておめでとうございます。Happy New Year! Gelukkig Nieuwjaar! Bonne Année.

I wish you all a superb 2016 filled with peace, joy and happiness.

To start the new year, here’s a lovely illustration of Maki Nishikino by はりもじ. Together with Nozomi, Maki is one of my favorite “Love Live!” idols, she always does look stunning in kimono.

You can see more of はりもじ’s work from series like “Kancolle”, “The iDOLM@STER” or “Love Live!” on Pixiv.

Didn’t make any big New Year’s resolutions for 2016, instead I aim to build up attainable achievements and make it a fun year. Although work will no doubt be hectic due to upcoming restructuring which means uncertainty as well as opportunities, do want to create a good balance to ensure a fulfilling personal and hobby life too this year.

Mobile Suit Gundam Thunderbolt

Taking place in the classic “Mobile Suit Gundam” era timeline, the ongoing “機動戦士ガンダム サンダーボルト” manga by Ohtagaki Yasuo is being adapted into a four episode anime series released online.

Watched the first episode of “Mobile Suit Gundam Thunderbolt” last week and was quite impressed by this new Gundam ONA that resembles the excellent “Mobile Suit Gundam Unicorn” not merely because both take place in the same Gundam era, but they seem alike in terms of design style, animation quality as well as their portrayal of the ruthlessness and inhumanity of war.

Although this first episode is barely twenty minutes long, thanks to good pacing and solid writing it manages to paint a clear picture of its main characters, the overall story setting and background. In that brief run time, it manages to include typical Gundam franchise themes such as family legacy, being tied down by home factions or how soldiers change during in wartime, affected by the harshness of combat.

Enjoyed how they cleverly used music not merely as a lively soundtrack to emphasize the action, but also showcase that the mobile suit pilots are humans with distinct personalities.

Am looking forward to the rest of the “Mobile Suit Gundam Thunderbolt” ONA as it promises to become one of the better recent Gundam shows, it might even surpass the currently airing “Mobile Suit Gundam Iron-Blooded Orphans” series.