Nice Anime Theme…but maybe not the music video

I was looking for some J-pop/J-rock feel so I went to YouTube to watch some videos. There I came upon a music video for one of my most recent anime favorites—Tsubasa Chronicle. And how great and apt that it be sung by my all-time favorite J-pop artist – Maaya Sakamoto. The song is called “Loop”.

As a Tsubasa Chronicle fan, I have really come to love Loop and would always catch the episode ending just to listen to it. Of course, I do not know what it meant but it sounded really good.

As I watch the video, I quickly thought it didn’t have the same effect on me as when I am looking at the anime ending theme. To understand the song, I looked up the translation of the lyrics at www.animelyrics.com. There, I realized what the song might be about. But why can’t I still appreciate it? To think that this is a Maaya Sakamoto song…

Here is the lyrics to the song together with a translated text:

nee kono machi ga yuuyami ni somaru toki wa
sekai no dokoka de asahi ga sasu
kimi no te no naka sono hana ga kareru toki wa
chiisana tane wo otosu darou

fumikatamerareta tsuchi wo michi da to yobu no naraba
me wo tojiru koto de mo ai ka naa?

kono hoshi ga tairanara futari deaetenakatta
otagai wo toozakeru you ni hashitteita

SUPIIDO wo yurumezu ni ima wa donna ni hanarete mo
meguru kiseki no tochuu ni mata mukaiau no darou

nee kono michi wo yuuyami ga sariiku toki ni
kono namida tsuretette

katari kakete kuru moji wo shousetu to yobu no nara
todokanai kotoba wa yume ka naa?

yodomi naku nagareteku kawa ni ukabeta ko no ha de
umi wo mezashite kumo ni natte ame de furou

tooi kimi no chikaku de ochita tane wo sodate you
chigau basho de kimi ga kiduite kureru to iin dakedo

kono hoshi ga taema naku mawari tsudukete iru kara
chiisaku aketa mado no soto keshiki wo kae

watashi no aishita hana sotto mebaeru kisetsu de
meguru kiseki no sono hate mata mukaiau no darou
mukaiau no darou

kururu wawaru kuru kuru to
kuru kuru kimi no mawari wo

*****

Hey, while this town is covered by twilight,
The morning sun is shining down somewhere else in this world.
As that flower withers away in your hand,
A little seed probably falls into the ground somewhere.

If the trodden soil is called a path,
Then is shutting my eyes love?

If our star was flat, the two of us wouldn’t have met.
We were running without slowing down,
As if from each other. No matter how far apart we are now,
We will surely face each other again in this revolving miracle.

Hey, when the twilight passes from this town,
Take my tears away too.

If a story of words is called a novel,
Then are these words that can’t reach it my dream?

Carried by fallen leaves floating in the river that flows without faltering,
Became clouds with the sea and fell with the rain,
I will raise this seed that fell near the distant you.
If only you would notice me from your distant location.

Because our star revolves without stopping,
The sceneries outside the tiny opened window,
And the flower I loved, we will surely face each other again,
In this revolving miracle, in this sprouting season,
We will surely face each other again.
Round and round I go,
Round and round around you.

I noticed a number of things that makes the video kinda weird. First, there’s the background. Sure it looks nice. Is she sort of like in a green cave? Or were they trying to make a green space with floating pictures? I think it wouldv’e been nicer if the images were not printed on the wall but rather wafting in the air so it would float in front of her at times.

Then there’s the woman in a kimono and in a small pond. Who is she? Is she Maaya? Is she a representation or something? Of what then? I never got to understand what her purpose in the video was. Next to that was the jellyfish. Yes, I do recall reading “ocean” on the translated lyrics text, but why only use a jellyfish? And what is that blue thing coming out of it?

The next scene drove me nuts. It was where Maaya is shown turning around. Why did they show that scene for three times? What’s up with that?

Then there’s the part where Maaya was shown standing up with arms wide apart. I felt uncomfortable looking at her posture. Not flattering at all. It looked like a poor acting student performing on a bad school play. Don’t get me wrong, I love Maaya Sakamoto but this video just didn’t work out for her. I’ve seen other videos of hers and this turned out to be least favorite.

But at last, there is a saving grace. A scene that I liked. It showed some blue specs float up from the water surface. I though it was nice. Unfortunately this part is somewhere around the ending so too bad. ^ ^

Loop was one of the first songs that I loved in Trubasa Chronicles. No matter what the meaning of the song is, I don’t feel like this is one of Maaya Sakamoto’s best videos.

*****JHAJR*****

Anime’s Finest Moments Caught On Tears

Let your tears come.  Let them water your soul.  ~Eileen Mayhew

Anime gives us hefty reasons to wet our eyes. For it isn’t like the cartoon shows of our yesteryears. Anime reflects much of life – the joy, the horror, the pain. And when anime means to inflict emotional damage, it delivers. Pardon to the great actors of our times but anime sometimes proves to be more convincing when it comes to dramatic moments. Perhaps because there is no limitation. Character expressions can de modified to definely match a situation.

Much like the real thing—i.e. in movies—there are those emotional moments that stand out from the rest. And animeHOLIC is here to recognize them. Those scenes that made us feel hateful, saddened, afraid, pouring our hearts out, lifting a fist into the air—you get the point.

10 categories with one thing in common: pain.

So get your tissues ready. We’re about to rip your hearts to pieces.

Grief

When the emotions well up in the heart, there is only one place for it to come out. Lots of anime characters cry for whatever reason. Yet there are those whose sobs have crossed over the television and into the viewer’s eyes.

Roy Mustang already knew Hughes can be so annoying. But he accepted that. They’re old friends after all. The funny man was always there to lend a hand or give an advice not just to him. Hughes even promised to help Mustang become Fuhrer someday. So his death meant a lot of pain even for the tough flame alchemist. After the funeral and everyone else had gone, he let out his emotion and shed a tear. But knowing Mustang, he didn’t admit to it and only remarked about the rain starting to fall.

Past

Undeniably, there is a horde of tragic pasts in anime. But only one man’s early life seems to rise among them.

It was one tragedy after another for Kenshin Himura. As a boy, his then-known family was slaughtered. He was taken by one of the greatest swordsman in Japan and learned the way of the samurai. But his decisions led him back to his tragic road. He became one of the deadliest samurai; he killed his own wife; he had taken Tomoe’s life the minute he killed her fiancee. By the end of the Tokugawa era, he led the fight for the government bearing the heaviest guilt among all samurais. Fifteen years after, he never thought his past would catch up to him, bringing more destruction and pain than he could ever imagine.

Heavy hearts, like heavy clouds in the sky, are best relieved by the letting of a little water.  ~Antoine Rivarol

Death

Anime is no stranger to the idea of death and a number of characters come to mind when speaking of the word. But to make death more painful, there must be a strong attachment to a character. Thus is how these individuals’ deaths stand out.

Nobody would have probably thought that Princess Euphemia could ever lift a gun or worse use it. But it was the foolish eye of Lelouch that brought this angel of Brittania to ruin and shame. Euphemia relentlessly killed the Elevens. There was no way to stop her. So Lelouch brought her down. She could’ve hurt Suzaku too yet her natural kindness and love for him fought the urge. Suzaku stayed beside her until she took her last breath.

Son Goku just wasn’t strong enough to defeat Raditz. Even with Piccolo’s and Gohan’s help, Raditz stood stronger. So Son Goku thought of the best but the most dangerous way to end the fight. When he held Raditz close to him, he asked Piccolo to kill them both. It was a long battle that ended with the demise of one of the most beloved man in anime.

Nobody from the SailorScouts saw it coming  when they went for their biggest fight in the North Pole. There they met the DD Girls who proved to be too strong for them. They needed to use all of their strength to match to them. But one by one, they died in front of their princess. Among them, SailorMars’ spirit and love for her Moon Princess proved to have the strongest fire.

Decision

It is imperative to think carefully before making any action. But sometimes in anime, characters are drawn into situations where careful decisions are useless and the only thing left is to do what’s worst.

Called by the pillar of Cephiro, the Magic Knights traveled a far and perilous journey. They matured in battle and in their strife to save the woman who had summoned them to that place, only to be shocked by the real reason why they were sent there. In the end they had no choice. They had to decide the fate of Princess Emeraude, much to their disdain. Had they not, Cephiro would’ve been destroyed.

Rei Ayanami must have started to feel more human when she battled Armisael, the 16th Angel. While the Angel tried to make contact into her, her eyes wept, putting her in shock for it was something new. Then she made the biggest decision to save everyone. Had she not, the Angel could’ve killed not only her but also Ikari. But which of the two Ikaris?

The soul would have no rainbow had the eyes no tears.  ~John Vance Cheney

Consequences

After much thought about our actions, and moving towards the goal, we have to get ready for the cost of what we’ve done.

For Syaoran-kun, he was ready to take on the cost of being able to travel dimensions to get Sakura-hime’s feathers. Even if the cost would make the entire journey meaningless. For Sakura would never remember who he is. This he felt for the first time when Sakura finally woke up. She asked him who he was and he tried his best to explain the situation. Later on, he went out in the rain. Was he crying? Who knows. But he sure has felt the weight of his decision.

He didn’t want his career to end so Shou Tucker made sure he’d be able to create a chimera better than the one that turned him into the Sewing-Life Alchemist. He succeeded. But Ed and Al Elric wondered where Nina and the family dog Alexander went. Who wouldn’t have been shocked to find out that the talking chimera was Tucker’s own daughter and dog? Ed felt the horror when the chimera recognized him and said “big brother”.

Lies

There is probably only one person in anime who had made the worst lie and done the worst actions to have it well-kept. No, it’s not Lelouch Lamperouge. But close.

In his deathbed, Soichiro Yagami kept his principles as a police. Light also kept his worst secret and did more. He wanted to make his father kill another man. He was probably more concerned about disposing Mello than having his father alive. Of course he was revealed in the end, but the sad truth remained that his own father never knew of his deceits even after looking at him with Shinigami eyes.

Heaven knows we need never be ashamed of our tears, for they are rain upon the blinding dust of earth, overlying our hard hearts.  ~Charles Dickens, Great Expectations

Realization

As the adage goes “regret always comes last”.

In the middle of the parade for the new and much hated King of Britannia, Zero appeared in front of everyone to show that justice prevails. He instantly killed Lelouch Lamperouge. Nunally who had been held in chains a few steps below her big brother saw the entire plan to overthrow the new king in a vision. Much to her pain, Lelouch had only wanted atonement for what he had done and to try to erase the memory of the Massacre Princess, Euphemia.

Betrayal

It’s never easy to gain another person’s trust let alone betray it. It’s giving up and forgetting friendship.

When Sasuke Uchiha decided to leave Konoha for good, he proved that even the most beloved character can turn out to be the most hated. It wasn’t a surprise for him to leave. He was out for revenge, he wanted power and he was a snob. He let go of his friendship to do his will while the people he had been with always believed he would do great.

Those who do not know how to weep with their whole heart don’t know how to laugh either.  ~Golda Meir

Lost

Be it a brawl or a game, anime makes losing painful—especially after investing watching more than one episode only to realize the sad outcome.

He used all his power to defeat Gaara in the preliminaries. But in the end, Rock Lee’s persistence proved futile. To witness how much of the boy had matured because of being bullied is touching. Rock Lee thought he never had a special ability like the rest of his team. Until he trained continuously and developed his own strength. Though in the end, Gaara who had been insulted in front of everyone, broke off Lee’s arm and leg.

It was a tough game. Only seconds left and with one point lead for Kainan. Yet Hanamichi Sakuragi’s strength lent his team hope. He failed to score a free throw but proved himself “rebound king” when he took the ball back to their team. Then he passed it to Akagi, only the realize the shock of having passed the ball to a Kainan member who sported the same hair as Shohoku’s team captain. Shohoku lost to Kainan with only one point lead. They almost made it to the Inter-High.

Parting Ways

Saying goodbye is never without a moment of mixed emotions. And most of the time, the viewers whose attachment to the character have become strong or stronger feels the pain. There are a lot of goodbye moments in anime, but there are two that pulls down so much weight on otakus everywhere.

In one of the most heart-wrenching scene in anime, a samurai with a dark past bade farewell to the lady who welcomed him to her home. Kaoru Kamiya couldn’t believe Kenshin would travel to Kyoto to fight Shishio. She thought they’d be happy in Tokyo together. For she knew it wasn’t his fault that Shishio has planned to overthrow the Meiji government. Kenshin was calm, knowing that he’s the only one the government could count on. He hugged Kaoru and thanked her for everything. Right then and there, he walked and disappeared in the dark while Kaoru cried her heart out, her tears illuminated by the fireflies of that fateful night.

The Straw Hat crew have had a lot of adventures. Of course, these would never be possible without the help of the one their most hardworking crew: their ship Going Merry. But the ship got old and after trying to patch it up for countless times, needed to be put to rest. Yet, in an act of shivalry and loyalty to his friends the Going Merry traveled the ocean to save his crew. For a time the ship had created a life of its own with nothing but love for his friends. But it was short-lived. Going Merry’s damage after saving his crew was too much that it finally bade farewell.

There you have it. Anime moments to well-up your eyes. Don’t be ashamed. It’s okay to weep for your favorite anime. Just make sure no one sees you or at least get a friend to weep with you—though make sure he or she’s an otaku like you.

If you haven’t cried, your eyes can’t be beautiful ~ Sophia Loren

*****JHAJR*****

Devil in White Robe (?): Misa Amane

Anime: Death Note

Alias: Second Kira

Birthdate: December 25, 1984

Age: 19 years old

Hair: Blonde

Eyes: Blue

Blood Type: Type AB

Height: 5’0” (152 cm)

Weight: 79.4 lbs (36 kg)

Body measurement: 30-20-28

Occupation: Model/Actress

Seiyuu: Aya Hirano

*****

Sure, Misa is the Second Kira, eliminating people off at just a brush of her pen on the Death Note. But could it also be possible to think of Misa Amane as a nice person? A hero? Or an…angel? It may sound absurd but evidenced by some accounts in her life, let us take a Shinigami-eye closer look to see how Misa may be one of the nicest persons in the world of Death Note.

Misa as actress and model

It isn’t a surprise that as a model and actress, Misa has a number of followers who love her. And it’s obvious why. Misa has the personality of a sociable and likeable person. She loves the crowd. But she can also be very polite to people she just met. Do not fooled by the gothic clothing and her Shinigami eyes, this blonde chick could be an angel deep inside.

Misa and Shinigami love

Jealous, a Shinigami fell in love with Misa and rescued her from death by writing her killer’s name on his notebook. And although Rem, the Shinigami who came to her, did not swear her love for her at first, in the end the Shinigami also sacrificed herself in order to save Misa. See, it’s not just people. Even otherwordly beings like Misa Amane.

Misa and Light / Kira

Misa fell blindly in love with the original Kira and Light Yagami. She followed his every order and shared the blame for his sins. She even went as far as getting a Shinigami eye, reducing her lifespan. Isn’t she so nice? She would give up everything for unrequited love.

So whadoyousay? Can’t we look at Misa Amane differently?

-short article originally written by Tota Matsuda with additional information by Kanzo Mogi

*****JHAJR*****

Sorting the Alchemic Differences

I was about to make a review of the new Fullmetal Alchemist (Brotherhood) series and try to compare it to the first FMA series and as I was reading over the internet, I chanced upon this great review from a person named Deni Stoner. She had everything in my mind typed in her review – and more.

So here’s her review of the Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood series:

“What can be said about a remake? Especially when the original was so good?

“Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood opens with the kind of grand introduction that seems to claim that, well actually, not much needs to be said at all. It does in fact assume you are already well familiar with larger than life characters of Edward and Alphonse Elric, throwing itself straight into the action – a rogue alchemist wrecking the city and gunning for King Bradley’s head. It doesn’t seem to care much whether you even know what an alchemist is, or a King Bradley for that matter, and proceeds to present all the regular characters the way the season return of your favourite sit-com would. Of course, this is probably a safer bet than Friends; if there’s a single anime fan on the planet who hasn’t at least heard of FMA, they’re possibly one in a billion.

“And likely those 999,999,999 fans who have more than heard of FMA will be wondering – what’s changed? After all, no one’s under the illusion that this could have ever been a continuation of the original series, considering what happened.

“So why the remake? Or, to be more exact, what will the remake involve other than being a more faithful rendition of the longer narrative of Hiromu Arakawa’s manga (which at time of this article is marking its 22nd volume in Japan)?

Well, it’s still a little early to tell. So far, some of the most remarkable differences are in the way the art is rendered. Looking back on the original series, it has a distinctly standard, ‘cartoony’ sort of look to it; lines are blacker and thicker, colours brighter. The new and improved Fullmetal is a little softer, a little lighter, and a lot more grown up. It stays as true – perhaps ever truer – to Arakawa’s style, and it certainly hasn’t lost any of the breath-taking fluidity of its action sequences, but overall, it looks as if it’s already rolling its sleeves up in order to get down and dirty. It wasn’t until the Chimera story arc that the original series started to show how shockingly brutal it could be, but this incarnation has nothing to prove: we already know and we just can’t wait.

“But unfortunately, it’s also lost a few things that made its predecessor so great – many of the Japanese cast, for one. Toru Ohkawa’s mean and cynical tones as Colonel Roy Mustang, the cool as a cucumber Flame Alchemist, have been replaced by the smooth vocalisations of Miki Shinichiro, possibly the second most popular voice actor in Japan next to Toshiyuki Morikawa. In fact, the new cast line up is a little like a What’s Out What’s In list – so far in fact only Ed, Al and Mustang’s brother in arms, the irrepressible Maes Hughes (still played by the awesome Keiji Fujiwara) are almost the only main veterans. It remains to be seen whether the studio managed to resecure the talents of Junichi Suwabe as Greed, since he’s known to not necessarily need to work, but if you’re a fan of the manga, you may be pleased to know either way – it’s the pivotal Greed arc where the original anime series departed from the storyline and where this series plans to get back on track.

“In terms of execution, Brotherhood can’t necessarily be faulted. Of course, it’s difficult to judge without resetting one’s brain back to before you saw first series, but again in contrast – and I’m arguing here that any attempt at a remake invites critical comparisons to the original – they seem to have sacrificed some of the early narrative tension for expediency. This is a shame, but maybe unavoidable; they’re not speaking to a virgin audience anymore. No, they’re speaking to experience, and heavy expectation. They’re speaking to people who are pretty much going to say yeah we know all this already, just hurry up and get to the good stuff, and that kind of pressure would certainly explain why they speed through the brothers’ background a little, narrating it rather than allowing time and events to punctuate and describe the tragedy of the Elric’s past.

“It’s not necessarily a bad thing. Those who loved FMA first are likely to love it again, and those people not all that impressed with the idea of a remake are going to tune back in when the drama starts to ramp up at the original point of departure from the manga (mark my words, oh cynical anime convention goer whom I overheard saying it was “just ” Fullmetal Alchemist). And as for Madman’s awesome premiere coup and this whole live streaming for four days after the Japanese airing deal – how awesome is it to be a) watching something legitimately pretty much faster than it can be subbed and b) not adding to the cram space (or the cost) involved in buying another 4 episode DVD? Very awesome, that’s how awesome.

“But not as awesome as the fact that here, finally, is the story the way the creator intended it. It’s like that whole Shamballa thing never happened, like Hughes never, well, you know, and Greed doesn’t… well, okay, maybe later, or like Roy never has to add to his wardrobe (all question of skirts aside). It’s like Fullmetal Alchemist, only better. It’s all the things we loved about FMA, without the part where it ended.”

by Deni Stoner

If you want to read more of Deni Stoner’s reviews, check out her page here.

*****JHAJR*****

animeHOLIC presents: Anime Idol!

Idol searches are common these days. And so why not make one for anime? Sure, we all have our own anime idols (personal favorites) but this one tallies them all. We want to know who among them would stand to be the best among the best and become…

The Mechanics:

:12 Idol hopefuls will be thrown in to compete in a battle of character attributes.
:The hopefuls have to be main protagonists of their own anime series.
:The contest will run for twelve weeks (or more depending on unavoidable circumstances)
:Each week a character attribute would be dished out.
:The Idol hopeful who couldn’t meet with the attribute and gain enough merit would be eliminated.
:Two contestants will move on to the finals to battle it out and claim the title of Anime Idol.

The Contestants:

After much deliberation and careful decision, animeHOLIC presents the twelve hopefuls who would compete each week to become the first animeHOLIC Anime Idol!

animeHOLICph hopes that this does not create any misunderstanding between fans. ^ ^

**********

Attribute # 01 (clue)

“Do all the good you can,
By all the means you can,
In all the ways you can,
In all the places you can,
At all the times you can,
To all the people you can,
As long as ever you can.”

~ John Wesley

*****JHAJR*****

Spell My Name: L

Anime: Death Note

Nickname: L

Aliases: Ryuzaki, Hideki Ryuga, Eraldo Coil, Denueve

Real Name: L Lawliet

Birthdate: October 31, 1979

Age: 24 – 25

Hair: Black

Eyes: Gray / Black

Height: 5’10” (179 cm)

Weight: 110.2 lbs (50 kg)

Occupation: Detective

Title: World’s Greatest Detective

Seiyuu: Kappei Yamaguchi

In the world of investigative work, there is only one name that rises among all others. Well…make that a letter in the alphabet.

When the world needed to solve the mystery of a man who deemed himself god of death, L came to shed light on the rather dark situation. He devoted himself to the capture of the world’s most terrible murderer: Kira.

Armed with nothing but his highly developed logical deduction strategies and hidden identity, nobody came close to finding Kira like L did. In fact, he was determined that the killer was closer than everyone else first thought.

The question now lies: How did L find out that Kira was Light Yagami? Or that there was a second Kira? Or that the Second Kira was Misa Amane? However he may have done it, it was sure a testament to his unparalleled skill.

At first glance, no one would probably think that L is the famous detective. He has the most unusual manners. He loves to squat in a chair, which helps him think clearly. He also has the most peculiar manner of playing with things like food. And for someone with a look that could only be described as disturbing, he holds a strange fondness for sweets.

L hid his identity until the very end. He made sure his files were brought to his successor and not to the people who have been with him to fight Kira. A clever move, especially that he did not trust the one person closest to him in his investigation.

He died believing in his instinct which proved true in the end and justice was served. Thanks to a special man with the shortest name in history.

*****JHAJR*****