TheAkiba » YoU

Angel Beats! Review

YoU — Sat, 31 Jul 2010 14:05:21 +0000

The series came to an end for quite a while. However, the end actually didn’t surprise me a lot. Have been thinking about coming up with a review of the series for a while. To be frankly I didn’t take too much of the series in the first place (well, later fell in love with) but I did know that it’s gonna be one of the best of the all. Not simply because it is produced by KEY. As for the reason, I’d like to skip the general thoughts about the series and focus on the line of the story and the relationships of the two couples in the series: Yui and Hinata, Kanade and Yuzuru.

Best couple in my mind, definitely Yui and Hinata. The first time Yui shows up in the Anime is after the disappearance of Iwasawa. The first impression of the girl is little, active and energetic. But not until the 10th episode that we get to know about how her life was before entering this world. Should I say quite opposite? Remember what Hinata said? It doesn’t matter how you look like in your life when you are alive, Yui who’s there is not fake. Yes, it was only because Yui cannot move her body and stay in bed for all her life that she desire for living is so strong that to us it seems to be over energetic.

Yui appeared to be very energetic (and she indeed is ) and that’s why Yuzuru thought she is happy and did everything she wants to do in this world and picked her as the first one. While Yuzuru was completing Yui’s requests, I think Hinata has noticed what Yuzuru wanted to do and that’s why he showed up around Yuzuru from time to time. And at the night that Yuzuru and Hinata were playing baseball, Hinata made the decision.

The scene in the end of the 10th episode is one of the best among the series. The word that Hinata said to Yui is really striking. Under the falling sun, we can see two shadows facing each other. The tears on her face looks like peal reflecting her life in this world. It occurs to me suddenly that the Yui I saw in the episodes before is not who she really is. But Hinata denied it. Yui want to do everything that she could not when she’s alive. And to Hinata, this is not the most important thing. The only important thing to him, like he said, no matter what she looks like when she’s alive, he loves her anyway.

The first time that I noticed about the feeling of Yui towards Hinata is the episode that the SSS members went down to the Guild to rescue Kanade. Though it’s late enough I did have a feeling about their relationship because how they treated each other. Yui is active yet only bits Hinata. And when they walked together they always fighting and making fun of each other. It’s a typical sign of high school couples but Yui is not Tsundere and Hinata is not some protagonist of a Harem Anime.

When Yui disappear, Hinata, seems to look like very easy and this is the way he used to be. Quite different between the attitude when he told Yui that he would marry her. But we all know that Hinata loves Yui and will keep his promise.

Here the background music comes, Ichiban no Takaramono (一番の宝物). Quite like the music since the beginning. It fits the scene pretty well and I guess some emotional fans may actually cry and let their tears fall like rain. Though we don’t have many assumption of their life after disappearing in this world, may be they are like Kanade and Yuzuru and finally meet each other and fall in love again. Let’s just wish.

Farewell to Yui and Hinata and here we come to another couple in the series. The relationship between Kanade and Yuzuru, to me, is the main plot of the series. The story began with a Hand-Sonic Version One attack and the fall of our protagonist. Kanade chose the worst way of starting the relation while Yuzuru picked the worst talk. Like Yuzuru later said, if the night the Hand-Sonic thing didn’t happen or he didn’t meet Yuri or SSS, Kanade and he will be great friends. The first few episodes of the series focus on the fight between Kanade and SSS. And when Kanade lost her position as the president of the student union, the story changed. The great distinguish between a little girl going down to the canteen to eat some Mapo Doufu and the crowed yelling for the fantastic live.

Yuzuru is the only guy think deeply into the detail. I am not sure whether Yuzuru had a feeling toward Kanade before she losing her position, but I do think that when he saw Kanade sitting alone in the canteen, he did start to like her. And the little feeling probably started with his intuition about who Kanade is and how she feels. I guess it has a lot to do with Yuzuru’s life before. He had a younger sister and he decided to become a doctor after his sister passed away. It occurred to me that Yuzuru takes Kanade as his younger sister and nothing more in the first place while Kanade, with her characteristic, quite fits the position of being a Kawaii/cold younger sister.

I did not consider that Yuzuru will be together with Kanade even though I do hope they will become lovers. I thought that Yuri will be Yuzuru’s girl friend, with an experience of watching lots of Anime. But in the end, the rich experience did insulted me and it’s a shame to mention it again. Yuri, who appears to have no feeling towards Yuzuru even in the last episode, really surprised me for a while and when Yuzuru suddenly said that he’s going to stay in this world to help other people, together with Kanade and even said that he liked her, I was a little bit surprised. The story has developed in a way that is too far from me. Though there are lots of signs but it’s still too quick running towards the end. Guess I just didn’t want the series to end that fast.

There are lots of nice scenes that Yuzuru being with Kanade. Say, in the garden where Kanade was working on the flowers when sunshine fell on her, quite a beautiful scene and it’s extremely striking; on the bed where Kanade was unconscious after the fights with her copies and later stroking tenderly on Yuzuru’s hair after she coming back to Yuzuru after fighting against illusions of herself.

Kanade was a person didn’t talk too much. However, the image of Kanade to me in the last episode changed completely. I am way too surprised to see her singing Iwasawa’s song, as well as her lyrics for the graduation song though Mapo Doufu (麻婆豆腐) is my favorite Chinese dish.

Though the last episode surprised me a lot, the ending is still acceptable but not creative enough. The couple disappeared and somehow came to another life with exactly the same look. Not quite satisfied with this kind of ending but it did keep away from the sad ending which KEY used to be famous of.

If you have to sum up with one word for the series, it will be “Love”. It’s not only about the love between men and women, also the love among us. Every person in the series has his/her own story and it will be a nice idea to make several OVA for each of the SSS member. What about the legend 14th episode and when will it come or whether will it come or not? Truly the series left too much for us and it’s something that cannot be covered in 13 episodes or a thousand words. Looking forward for the coming whatever episodes, OVAs or movies.

Related Posts:

Angel Beats! Original Soundtrack

YoU — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 08:50:37 +0000

Anime series Angel Beats! ended a month ago while I don’t really have a feeling about this. It seems to me that there are still coming episodes, probably because the whole web is talking about the coming unknown episode 14 or OVA. It’s truly an excellent movie of the season, probably the best of the year. Apart from the “coming” episodes, some albums and tracks are coming on the way. According to the official website, album Girls Dead Monster OFFICIAL BAND SCORE 「Keep The Beats!」 will be released on July 28th, the same day as the release of the Original Soundtrack of the series. You can get it on Play-Asia or CDJapan.

Tracklist:

＜DISC1＞

My Soul,Your Beats!
theme of SSS
school days
girl’s hop
art of war
today is ok
memory
my most precious treasure
tactics
enemy country
operation start
decisive battle
attack!!
critical point
study time
niku udon
invention
toy of spring
deochi!
light drop
worthy rival
burial
play ball
walkure
let’s operation
evening breeze
moment of rest

＜DISC2＞

initial impulse
my heart
soul friends
kanade
my most precious treasure -orgel-
memory -orgel-
unjust life
nocturne in the afternoon
anxiety
abyss
alter ego
siren
transforms to the shadow
otonashi
angel’s flight
firing preparation
desperation
breakthrough
一番の宝物 (Original Version)
Brave Song

Download Link (320Kbps, MP3, Booklet Included):

Related Posts:

Nurarihyon no Mago OP by MONKEY MAJIK: Fast Forward

YoU — Wed, 21 Jul 2010 03:56:45 +0000

This is one of the series that I follow this season. Quite impressed since the first episode and I decided to follow for more. The OP and ED are both nice. The OP Fast Forward was released a while ago and the ED won’t be available until August 18th. The OP was included in the Album MONKEY MAJIK BEST ~10 Years & Forever~ and was available before the air of the Anime.

Tracklist:

Fast Forward
空はまるで
アイシテル

Download Link (320Kbps, MP3, Booklet not Included):

MONKEY MAJIK – Fast Forward

Related Posts:

2D Lingerie Shots No.15

YoU — Thu, 15 Jul 2010 08:20:08 +0000

Recently my Mac became weird after some minutes of starting up. The finder did not response and files in the HD corrupted from time to time. It caused me quite a while to notice the problem. Guess since the upgrading to the latest version of 10.6.4 of the Mac OS X. Just put my Mac to the factory yesterday and the staff gave me a note today that there are some problems with the HD and would ask for the replacement from Apple. My guess, the HD toasted. I should have noticed for a while but luckily I have the expense covered since it’s still within the warranty. The bad thing is that I will have to work on my old PC laptop which runs XP splendidly for a week before my Mac return unharmed. Still need a while to get used to the XP since the font looks extremely ugly on it. Will consider enable Clear Type later but it’s a pain to update my blog on it

Anyway I have been using my old VAIO for about four years where the very first version of TheAkiba was built. There was a peak period when TheAkiba hits 100,000 according to Alexa and guess what I need to do now is create a better era

The above illustration by Tony Taka. Enjoy!

Related Posts:

K-ON!! Second Season OP2 & ED2

YoU — Sun, 11 Jul 2010 05:53:09 +0000

Surprising that the second season of the series came to the 14th episode, together with the new OP and ED, which means that there will be a extra season for the series to come to an end. Compared with only 13 episodes of the first season, Kyoto Animation this time extend to around 26 episodes, which means me still have tons of Mio to enjoy. The new OP and ED, Utauyo!!MIRACLE and NO,Thank You! respectively, have a better rhythm than the previous ones to me. The Single will be released on August 8, still one month to go. Check out the link below to have a TV ripped version for preview. Noted that the above screenshot from the latest episode where Mugi takes away the strawberry from the cake of Mio, and the best part comes

Download Link: (TV Size)

OP2 and ED2

Related Posts:

HEROMAN OP2 by Kylee: missing / IT’S YOU

YoU — Fri, 09 Jul 2010 10:12:51 +0000

Finally the new opening theme of Anime HEROMAN has released. It’s a bit late than the official date this time nevertheless it’s worth the waiting. The OP2 is performed by Kylee, a 15 years ago rock girl from Japan as her second Single. No comments on the rest of the tracks but the first track missing is indeed fine to me. The series has came to the second half. Quite like it since the beginning and will continue to follow. Enjoy the nice tracks.

Tracklist:

missing
IT’S YOU
Just Go
missing [Less Vocal]
IT’S YOU [Less Vocal]

Download Link (192Kbps, MP3, Booklet not Included):

Kylee – missing/IT’s YOU

Related Posts:

Book Review: Japanese Schoolgirl Confidential

YoU — Sat, 03 Jul 2010 06:09:00 +0000

Guess what’s the famous stuffs when you think about Japan? Sakura, Kimono, or Katana? You may probably come out with some other answers: high school girls and sailor-style uniform! Either way, you may not forget to mention the related stuffs such like Anime and Manga, Ryori (料理) and Miko. Indeed you have tons to mention about Japan. In order to probe into the secret life of Japanese schoolgirls, you probably have already watched or read some series and books. And actually the Anime we go through everyday (yes, if possible ) have certain relationship with high school girls and their Seifuku and will more or less help you to know their life either in a right or wrong direction. But what about how Japanese schoolgirls in real life? Let’s come back to our topic today.

The book Japanese Schoolgirl Confidential was written by Brian Ashcraft, who is also a popular writer from Wired and Kotaku, one of the most famous blogs on the web, together with Shoko Ueda, who also be a contributor to Japanese Schoolgirl Watch column in Wired Magazine and was a former Japanese schoolgirl.

What’s in the book? Let’s quote from what Brian has put it, “The book is divided in to chapters that cover the impact of schoolgirls on everything from fashion to fine art and from movies to manga.” It’s anything about the life of Japanese schoolgirls, how they became an icon to the world and everything you want to know about them. The book also features interviews with some famous illustrators, Manga artists and singers, say AKB48, Chiaki Kuriyama (栗山千明), Morning Musume (モーニング娘。), Noizi Ito (いとうのいぢ), Yasuomi Umetsu (梅津泰臣) and Miwa Ueda (上田美和) and so forth. It’s really something you would love to know deep in the industry.

I personally noticed about the book a while ago, forgot where I got the information. It has been received well in Japanese and has been reviewed by lots of bloggers. The book will be released in mid to late July in North American and European. Be prepare and put an eye on it if you really interested in Japanese culture and sub-culture.

Want more? You can read how Gigazine review the book on their site: English Version, Japanese Version. Also read how Brian talks about his book on Kotaku. Or simply get access to book’s official website.

Related Posts:

Ookiku Furikabutte Season 2 ED by Cureal: Shiso Densha

YoU — Fri, 02 Jul 2010 08:50:03 +0000

Finally we’ve got some information about the release of the ending song of Anime series Ookiku Furikabutte ~Natsu no Taikai-hen~ (おおきく振りかぶって～夏の大会編～). The ED Shiso Densha (思想電車) is performed by Cureal (チュール). It’s really a nice track and the Anime series is also quite enjoyable. Wish there will be a third season coming. Enjoy the nice Sinlge!

Download Link (320Kbps, MP3, Booklet not Included):

Cureal – Shiso Densha

Tracklist:

思想電車
それが大人ってもんなのか
ママのうた

Related Posts:

Cute Japanese High School Girls 11

YoU — Thu, 01 Jul 2010 14:07:31 +0000

A new season is coming. The first thing that makes me notice about the change, is definitely the weather. Yeah, trust me, I did want to say that the new Anime season Started to notice that the new Anime Ookami-san to Shichinin no Nakama-tachi (オオカミさんと七人の仲間たち) has already on aired this week and you can probably find some torrents on the web now (sad that our Japanese is not that good and there’s no TV for us to collect the radio wave in Japan). Have watched the series and it’s quite good in all. Anyway, enjoy!

Related Posts:

Angel Beats! Album by Girls Dead Monster: Keep The Beats!

YoU — Sun, 27 Jun 2010 04:34:29 +0000

Final the series has came to an end, and finally this great album was (about to ) released. It’s few days earlier than the official release date June 30 as usual. Guess most fans were eager to have the album ever since episode 10 where the great track Ichiban no Takaramono (一番の宝物) was aired. Get it on Play-Asia or CDJapan.

And about the Anime, Snow has came up with a timely post of how he thought about the series right after the last episode and you may want to check it out. I would also like to write a post for the review of the series later. Now, enjoy the nice album.

Download Link (320Kbps, MP3, Booklet Included):

Girls Dead Monster – Keep The Beats!

Tracklist:

Crow Song (Yui ver.)
Thousand Enemies
Shine Days
23:50
Run With Wolves
Morning Dreamer
Rain Song
Alchemy (Yui ver.)
一番の宝物 (Yui ver.)
Little Braver (Album ver.)
My Song (Yui ver.)
My Soul, Your Beats! (Gldemo ver.)
Brave Song (Gldemo ver.)

Related Posts: