Kimi ga Nozomu Eien

Kimi ga Nozomu Eien, loosely translated as The Eternity You Wish For or also known as Rumbling Hearts is based on a dating-sim game. good reason why all these japanese dating-sim games are ported over to anime form, notably due to it’s strength in delivering a rather solid story both touching and memorable.

the best of times, hanging out and having fun

Kimi ga Nozomu Eien is 14 episodes long. the first 2 episodes starts off like any typical love story. shy girl has crush over guy. shy girl with the help of best friend confesses to guy. guy feels obligated to accept shy girl. guy slowly develop real feelings for shy girl. best friend also has feelings for guy. best friend ask guy to accompany her on her birthday. shy girl gets into tragic accident on that day.

full stop.

and then the story moves forward 3 years later…shy girl is in a coma. guy experience a guilt trip. best friend takes care of guy. best friend betrays girl and confesses to guy. guy accepts best friend. and then of course, shy girl wakes up but suffers from memory disorders.

that’s the guise of the story. the emotional pain we see through the character interactions is heart-breaking. at times i’m at a lost as well as to what i would have done if i was in the guy’s shoes. don’t expect a happy ending from this anime, it’s not a bad ending but it’s just like life. you live with consequences for your actions.

best friends, Mitsuki and Haruka

this show is really about post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). it’s causes and effect. how one person’s tragedy can affect countless others around them. it can be scarily true and mind-numbing to watch.

from happy friendships to a sudden accident, everything seems to spiral downhill after that. everyone wants to go back to those happy times but none can move forward entirely. things seem to be very bleak, at least till the final episode.

which brings me to a question the show brought up to my attention – if your in a relationship but your partner cheats on you, even if it’s partly your fault and you know it, could you accept them back? before you decide, watch this show and then answer to yourself honestly.

if you enjoy your anime with lots of drama, peppered with romance and spiced with tragedy (you know you do!) then this show will surely tickle your fancy. rated for mature audience thought.

Gunslinger Girl

Gunslinger Girl is an anime about little girls with guns. young girls who had gone through much tragedy in life are recruited and “conditioned”, a process of replacing their limbs with mechanical parts. they become superhuman machines both superior in speed and strength at the cost of some memory loss. however, even as they function as mere tools against terrorism, they somehow retained their childish innocence.

i was captivated with Gunslinger Girl, the concept it presents and the emotional bonding between each girl and their supervisor. but what got me to really spend time being absorbed with it’s delicious story is Gunslinger Girl’s opening theme song “Tatta Hitotsu no Omoi” for Il Teatrino, the 2nd season of the series.

it’s damn catchy and it’s what got me to watch the anime in the first place. so here it is, enjoy!

Gunslinger Girl Il Teatrino – Tatta Hitotsu no Omoi

Tatta hitotsu no omoi tsuranuku muzukashisa no naka de boku wa
Mamorinuite misetai no sa kakegae no nai mono no tame ni hatashitai yakusoku

Gimon darake no yo no naka kotae wa mitsukaranai mama
Sore de mo mae ni susumu no wa
Sora e to nobiru itosugi massugu sashishimeshita michi
Ima to iu kiseki o shinjiyou

Yume mitai na genjitsu kono te de kaerareru mono nara

Tatta hitotsu no omoi tsuranuku muzukashisa no naka de boku wa
Mamorinuite misetai no sa kakegae no nai mono no tame ni
Namiutte iru kodou ni chikau yo moetsukiru made hashiritsuzukeyou
Ikinuite koso kanjirareru eien no itoshisa no naka hatashitai yakusoku

Oka no shita saku himawari mabushiku hirogaru kiiro wa
Kibou no hikari o terasu yo

Kaerareru mono nara
Chigatta ikikata aru hazu to

Subete kakeyou ataerareta toki no naka de kagayaite itai
Tada iki o shite koko ni iru dake sore dake na no ni afuredasu kimochi
Boku ni wa boku no shiawase ga aru sou omoeru dake de dore hodo
Kono shunkan ga itooshii hodo hikari o hanatte yuku yo

Hitori de susumu ni wa nagasugiru michinori
Dareka ga kono tobira akenai ka matteru

Tatta hitotsu no omoi tsuranuku muzukashisa no naka de boku wa
Mamorinuite misetai no sa kakegae no nai mono no tame ni
Namiutte iru kodou ni chikau yo moetsukiru made hashiritsuzukeyou
Ikinuite koso kanjirareru eien no itoshisa no naka
Hatashitai yakusoku

Kure-nai

drama…funny…sweet. what can go wrong?

Kure-nai is one of those new animes to have debuted this year which turned out to be awfully good. it just finished it’s last 12th episode run on the 19th June 2008. the story behind Kure-nai is simple – it’s about a guy named Shinkurō Kurenai, a 16 year old student who works as a dispute mediator, a person who settles squabbles between people. one day Shinkuro was tasked to be the bodyguard for the 7 year old Murasaki Kuhōin, the daughter of a powerful traditionalistic family.

the story is basically the relationship between these two and the people around them. it’s both sweet and sad. Murasaki was basically living a sheltered life, conforming to the wills of the Kuhoin family when one day after her mother’s suicide, was rescued by Benika Jūzawa, Shinkuro’s employer. thus, Shinkuro is tasked with protecting Murasaki and fend off the Kuhoin family from trying to get her back.

i read parts of it’s manga and am happy to say that the anime version is much better than what was portrayed in the manga. the manga had a happy go lucky feel to it but the anime takes a more dramatic approach with a slice of life feel.

the anime is serious, sad and funny in many ways, except in episode 6 where the show turned into a half hour musical which was hilarious. it was totally unexpected from the serious tone that was set from it’s beginnings, but a welcome and well done episode nonetheless.

i admit that i enjoyed Kure-nai. it was one of my weekly waiting-to-watch-upon-download-completion show, alongside other animes such as Code Geass 2 and xxxHolic:Kei which are still running. now that it’s done and over with, i’m glad to finally do a review on it to spread the word that Kure-nai is indeed worth watching.

the artwork is unique and colorful but some may disagree. it’s definitely not as detailed as say…Paradise Kiss but then i’ll chalk that up due to the shows budget constraints. don’t avoid it thought, it’s a refreshing piece of work done right. sort of reminds me of Aishiteruze Baby but with a darker undertone.

Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann

Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann is a colorful, mindless, fun, comedy anime…at first. well at least for the first 7 episodes. after that, it turns into not only an edge of your seat action-packed adventure, but throws in an amazing plot twist that totally blew me away. there’s plenty of drama, a spark of romance and some sad tragedies all wrapped up in one epic story.

ultimately, Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann is a MECHA anime. but a MECHA anime done in a grand scale. it starts off with a boy piloting a robot “head” and you’ll be amazed at how far, or should i say how crazy huge it becomes as the show progresses. you just got to watch it to believe it, really.

but behind all those zany MECHA’s lies a well thought out story about a boy who becomes a hero and literally saves the world. the first 7 episodes was done to establish it’s many characters and believe you me, most of them has an impact to the later part of the show. the only bad thing about that is that i found it a bit repetitive and didn’t felt like the show was going anywhere interesting. then episode 8 comes along and the rest is history. i was totally hooked.

also, at times the show is very fast paced and if you blink you’ll probably miss some extravagant action scene. however, i could feel that the people behind this work must have really enjoyed making it. it really shows on screen at the amount of detail that was invested in making this show.

if i had to compare Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann to any other show i would say it’s a bit like Eureka 7 but more epic. and definitely better.

there’s 27 episodes in all with two parts. the first focus on the main character as a boy and the second part focus on him seven years later. i was totally glad the show made the jump to showcase the grown-up version of all the characters as i found the second part is where the story really shines.

the story is set to a future where us human beings lives underground and have no contact with the surface world. Simon (pronouced as Shimon) a digger, spends most of his time excavating the earth and one day discovered a robot head. his adventure begins when a huge robot drops in from the collapsing ceiling of his underground village followed by a mysterious girl who tries to fight it. long story short, Simon somehow activates the robot head and destroys the intruding robot which later he learns are called Gunmen.

Kamina, a passionate young man from the same underground village convinces Simon to leave with him to the surface world, and together they are accompanied by the mysterious girl Yoko who is from a neighboring underground village. from there, they set off on a grand adventure, finding new friends, battling awesome robots and uncovering the secrets of their past.

like every great anime i’ve come across, this one is no exception. it left me at the end feeling like i just came out from a wonderful experience.

i enjoyed it. how much? enough to say that i wish for a season 2 of this really stylish show.

Gakuen Utopia Manabi Straight!

a comedy anime that makes you cry…oh my!

you know you’ve hit upon something special when an anime manages to place a smile on your face on the get go. that’s the way it is for Gakuen Utopia Manabi Straight!, the most kawaii anime i’ve ever come across.

Massugu Go! Manabi’s catchphrase~

Manami Amamiya is the new transfer student to the all-girls Seioh Private High School in the year 2035. the show is far ahead into the future, as apparent by some technological advances littered here and there, but the life and school itself is pretty much still “traditionally” paced. Manami Amamiya or Manabi as she prefers to be known as is a spunky, energetic and motivational 17 year old.

Manabi pouts! Mikan pouts! kawaii~

in this timeframe, the birth rate has dropped dramatically and most schools are closed down due to lack of students attending, thus morale in pretty much at an all time low. leave it to Manabi to spur the people around her to make school life fun again.

a sick Manabi is still moe~

the show is narrated from the point of view of Mika Inamori or Mikan as she is known, an often shy and clumsy girl who is the secretary of the student council. at first, being the only member on the council (as her senpai’s all graduated when she unfortunately joined), she’s uncertain on what she wants to do with herself, at least till she met Manabi and gets swept off with her personality.

minna, let’s gather for a victory pose!

here’s 5 reasons why you’ll enjoy Manabi Straight!

1. the animation is kawaii!
2. Manabi’s enthusiasm is infectious
3. YOU WILL LAUGH
4. and YOU WILL CRY
5. it’ll make you reminiscence of your school days

i’ll admit at times i cried tears watching at the sincere innocence of these bubbly girls. seeing them earnestly having fun is touching. watching them put in so much effort to overcome obstacles together is wonderful. it leaves me with a happy smile plastered on face for quite a while.

this is what school life should be like. being together with friends and having the time of your life. ahh…good memories. this comes as a highly recommended show to watch. it’s brilliant. you’ll walk away from it feeling nostalgic and happy.