I’ve been meaning to write about this anime for a while, and now that finals are over (yay!) I have lots of time to devote to this blog. Jigoku Shoujo literally means “Hell Girl” in Japanese. It falls under the horror genre, but after seeing this first episode, I’m not so sure that would be the best description of this anime.
So I wrote in my last post about this weird epidemic of anime characters that have puppets. If it was just one character in one anime, I’d just say “whatever” and accept it as some strange gimmick. I’ve noticed, however, quite a few characters that for some reason or other, possess hand puppets that have a mind of their own. Here is my short list (let me know if there are any others):
Haibara Yukio (and his puppet Johnny).
Ok, so Haibara never actually talks, and his puppet dog Johnny seems to have a mind of his own. Haibara seems to be happy with just fishing all the time. Weird.
Randou Rino and Pucchan.
Pucchan is probably the weirdest anime puppet of them all. He knows Kung-Fu, he can be talking when Rino is asleep, and he can also talk if anyone (not just Rino) holds him. He’s also really annoying. Personally, I think he’s Satan.
Maaka Anju and Bge (Boogie?)
I’ve only seen the first episode, but this Bge also seems to have a mind of his own. He’s got a butcher’s knife for crying out loud!
Seiji Sawamura and Midori
What? Midori’s not a puppet? Oh, nevermind…
In conclusion, I’d really like to ask “what’s the deal?!” Does anyone know where the whole anime meme of having puppets came from? Is it a cool thing in Japan to walk around with a puppet and talk with it? Is this going to be some kind of new genre for anime? Please let me know if you have any information about this!
Karin is a normal high school student with a secret (who isn’t!?): her whole family consists of vampires. Unfortunately for her, she seems to be lacking in the vampire skills department. She goes outside during the day, and instead of sucking people’s blood, she just gets serious nosebleeds at a certain “time of the month.�? Okay…
 
Apparently not in Japan, as Kotaku reports that some stores are clearly not in danger of selling out any time soon. Frankly I’m not surprised. The Japanese have a stronger national pride than the United States. From some books and articles I read, many Japanese still regard products from the United States as highly inferior.
It was already known that Microsoft needed to grab more market share in Japan, but at what cost? Clearly they decided to sacrifice sales in the United States and took a chance on Japan. Now they’ve got a shortage in the US and an oversupply in Japan. You’re doing a heck of a job alienating your base, ‘softie.
Note: This preview of Shakugan no Shana is based only on the first episode. The first episode sets up the anime, so I don’t really consider anything in this preview to be spoiler material. That said, if you haven’t seen the first episode and you don’t want any “spoilers” whatsoever, maybe you should wait before reading on:
I just found this awesome new plugin for Firefox. It’s called Rikaichan, which sorta translates to “comprehension-chan.” It automatically detects Japanese text in your browser (assuming you have Japanese fonts installed), and as you mouse over the words, it gives you a translation. I’m not too sure how accurate all of the translations are, but for the words in Japanese I do understand, the plugin checks out. The plugin even offers a detailed Kanji view that should be great for any students of Japanese. Study while you browse! A shameless plug for Round Table follows:
This post has been moved here.
The final anime in the top 5 anime of 2005 is Mahoraba ~Heartful Days~. I wrote earlier that these anime are in no particular order, but I didn’t say that I couldn’t pick the best for last! This show is another slice of life anime following the story of Shiratori Ryuji and the other residents of his apartment complex. Most of the fun of this series has to do with the other residents dragging Shiratori from his homework and making him do things for them. In each episode you learn more about each character, and they’ve all got a backstory involved. I really love how Asami-chan is so poor that she has to water down her orange juice before she drinks it. Kawaii!
All of the character designs are unique and way cute (er, except perhaps the old man with a dog puppet). In fact, even the male lead is cute (and dresses in drag a few episodes too…)! Actually, one issue I have with this show is that the characters might in fact be too cute. Shiratori looks like he could pass for a middle school student. He really doesn’t seem like a college student at all.
The OP and ED are pretty standard fare here. They’re not the reasons I watch this anime, and they’re decent enough to do the job.
All things considered, it’s really the awesome character designs and character development that make this anime my favorite of 2005. If you haven’t checked it out yet, I would definitely recommend this. As a matter of fact, all of the anime in the top 5 that I listed are unlicensed and available right now at animesuki.com. You have no excuse, go forth and bittorrent!
I was just minding my own business at this website, when I saw this ad. What is the first thing you see when you look at this lady? Is it just me, or does it appear as though she has a vest on, and gigantic shoulders? That’s what I saw at least. Anyway, I thought it was interesting so here it is on my blog.
PS I don’t have any kind of deal with Vonage, and you can’t click that ad anyway, so Vonage, dont’ sue me!
Animal Yokocho translates to “Animal Alley.” The plot revolves around this 5 year old girl and cute animal friends that visit her from a secret door in her room. Ok, so I know what you’re thinking. You’re thinking this is a kid’s anime. Actually, I’m not too sure myself if this anime targeted at kids, but I like it anyway. What you really get is a weird gag show (which seem be be prominent on my top 5, I’ve just now noticed) that sort of resembles a kid’s show in between the weirdness. The animals, Iyo the rabbit, Kenta the bear, and Issa the panda (making this anime a bit bear-heavy) pretty much torment Ami-chan as she tries to live a normal kindergarten life. There’s also a horse (that resembles nothing like a horse) named Yamanami-san that drops by from time to time.
The animation really isn’t that great, but I think the animators do a good job with what they have. The characters are all fairly cute. Nothing spectacular here though. The show mainly counts on its multiple comedy gags and occasional parodies to keep it going. I find it especially entertaining seeing the normally cute characters make their surprised reaction faces. I’ve included a bunch of those with the screencaps.
The OP is this sort of schizophrenic ska/rock tune. Good enough for an OP, I guess. The opening animation complements it well. The ED, “Fantasista Girl” done by The Indigo is surprisingly good. You might recognize The Indigo from their songs on series like Ai Yori Aoshi and Someday’s Dreamers.
This series is still fairly new, but I was pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed it, so for that it has a place in the top 5 Anime of 2005.