Fall 2013 Season thus far

Been some time since the Fall season has started, so here's an overview on

the highlights of this season

So here are some series that I've picked up for the fall season:

Kyoukai no Kanata

I would consider this as the main highlight among all the other series in this season. Right from the start, this series stood out from the rest with it being an original series by Kyoto Animation with the all-familiar animation style from the moe-blob style studio. Well, it is said that the series was adapted from a light novel series but that novel was still published by KyoAni which makes this an original KyoAni work after Tamako Market. From the previous series such as Chuunibyou and Free!, we do get to see more guys being animated by KyoAni and its definitely getting better in terms of how the guy characters are designed. Sure enough the series does have its usual KyoAni dose of moe characters like our 2 female protagonist Kuriyama Mirai and Nase Mitsuki. Not forgetting the side character Shindou Ai, who just reminds me of Airi from Robotics;Notes.

Leaving the character design aside, what this series looks to me is a series that surpasses Chuunibyou, or a work that I had always hoped that Chuunibyou would be, gorgeous animation sequences, battles between the supernatural and some slice-of-life humour being mixed in here and there. Although I do accept the fact that Chuunibyou was as good as it can be as a romance series, Kyoukai no Kanata took a step further and ventured into the supernatural realm that didn't quite exist in Chuunibyou.

In the world of Kyoukai no Kanata, there are 3 classes that live amongst us in our everyday life. Humans, Youmu and Spirit World Warriors. Youmu in a sense are demons or youkai if you wish to call it that way, that causes trouble or prove to be deadly or sometimes even perfectly harmless depending on the form it takes. Our male protagonist Kanbara Akihito, is a half-youmu or a hanyou, where he, at certain circumstances, will show off his youmu powers, which are not exactly pleasant. Spirit World Warriors on the other hand, are hunters that hunt youmu down and they are paid money by retrieving youmu spirit stones which are appraised and given its grade. The rest of the 3 protagonist are all Spirit World Warriors, which includes our megane bishoujo, Kuriyama Mirai, and siblings Nase Mitsuki and Nase Hiroomi. With the characters being laid out, each of them have added profiles to make the series much more interesting. Our half-youmu Akihito has a fetish for girls who wear spectacles, Mirai loves gardening and had a tagline of "You're so unpleasant.", Hiroomi is a siscon and Mitsuki, well I guess she's the more normal one of the group.

I've always place priority over original series among others since it's a fresh series that carries a lot of potential, it is always a good choice to check them out first before the others. Fortunately, this series turns out to be one of the best in this season so I would say that this was a good find and strongly recommended for all to try this series out.

Tokyo Ravens

Following down the list of supernatural series that seem to be the main block of this season comes Tokyo Ravens. Adapted from its light novel, this series revolves around onmyoujis and shikigamis. It seems like more and more animation series tend to use a more 3D-like of animation style for certain mechanical creatures, such as some of which we have seen previously in Asura Cryin. Well this time around, the series does still retain the use of such animation style but thankfully it wasn't on all available shikigamis, but rather the more mechanical-looking types.

I would say this series would be the more shounen type of series closely following the flow of the mainstream series, where it doesn't look like the end of the series would be a decisive conclusion, but rather one that most likely would be a cut in the middle of a the story which is still ongoing at the moment. I ain't complaining much about that, but the plot setting did put a large story block right at the start, and it wouldn't exactly feel quite right if that block would not be completed when the series ends, especially with only 24 episodes, this series is still great and interesting now, but there are signs that the series is slowly degenerating.

Tokyo Ravens had a good start with a straight jump into the world of onmyoujis and shikigamis and all the action packed scenes and battle between shikigamis were fun to watch, all was good up to the point where the setting changed into a school kind of setting. Didn't actually quite like the change since things would generally become more monotonous after things start happening only in the school and their focus on our 2 main protagonist as love interest does seem to be rather daunting, especially with our male protagonist Harutora actually doesn't even have the slightest hint that Natsume have feelings for him. Well, that kind of setting and development is pretty common in this genre of series, which was why I am actually kinda worried that the quality of this series might begin to drop in the future. So far it's still in the beginning and up to now, it is definitely still entertaining to watch, especially since the introduction of Harutora's own shikigami who is just downright cute. Will see how this goes on, but for now, its still a series worthwhile to follow.

Unbreakable Machine-Doll

Unbreakable machine-doll is an interesting series on its own, and I would say that this series isn't exactly suitable for all in terms of its storyline and characters. To be more specific, this series is totally rigged with fanservice. Well, it isn't as bad compared to Sora no Otoshimono which was a shame since its story was so strong that it didn't actually require fanservice to keep the series going. For this series however, the plot is simple and although there are cases of obvious fanservice, at least it isn't as blatant as the rest of the other series were.

The very first impression that the series gave me was that I was watching another series that was similar to Asura Cryin. I mean that series was good in delivering a plot that was filled with supernatural themes, time travel and human relations, and now this too, had almost the same plot device, except perhaps the time portion. In the world of Machine-Doll, there are humans known as puppeteers who with their magic, they control over automatons, which come in various designs and types, which are devices or puppets that the puppeteers control. For our main protagonist, Raishin Akabane, his automaton is a human-like girl Yaya, who absolutely adores Raishin, even to the point of wanting to be his lover (and over-possessive as well).

What comes as a more shocking similarity was the term "ban doll", which refers to an automaton who have parts belonging to a human. That was surprising similar to the Asura Machina that the users possess in Asura Cryin where a human soul is attached to each machine as a burial doll to keep them running. That was an interesting concept that was added to one of the plot drivers and thinking how they were going to add content to that certain plot device makes me want to finish this series as a whole. The basic plot of the series is simple, were puppeteers unite and fight each other to reach the top and attain the position known as "wise man" who will become the strongest puppeteer that has defeated the rest. And Raishin Akabane intends to get that title and at the same time, wishes to achieve revenge for the murderer who killed his family members years ago.

What was disappointing in this series (other than the fanservice), was the way the battles between automatons are conducted. Especially with Raishin's control over Yaya. It is nice to see how Yaya is a prized possession of Raishin with all her abilities and her actual specifications as an automaton, but all those commands that Raishin gives to Yaya all seem rather random to the viewers. There isn't quite an exact template for which the commands are used, like what each number meant, or even the elements, since to me, all I see is Raishin shouting certain commands filled with an element and numbers, and the next moment you see Yaya glowing in certain colours and thrashing the opponent upside down. Would have been better if there was a much clearer clarification on that part. Other than that, this series is interesting enough for me to continue watching, but I am also well aware that this series wouldn't interest everyone at the same extent as the above two, so I would say, try this, but do not have high hopes for this.

Kakumeiki Valvrave 2nd Season

And finally, the 2nd season and the conclusion to the Valvrave series is here. Sure the first season did leave quite a number of unanswered questions and it is the 2nd season's duty to answer them! Or so I hope. As of now, things are getting pretty serious, the plot is moving rather well, some of the character's hidden identities are revealed and some, well, don't actually live to see the end. It has been a rocky ride since the first season had aired, and now with the 2nd season, I will say that this series still has a high hope for a marvellous conclusion seeing how things are now. C'mon Ichiro Okouchi!

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X-encounter - Tokyo Ravens OP



Pretty amazing song with wonderful sequences too, one of the better openings I've seen for this season


Will be updating on Madoka's 3rd movie soon, so stay tuned!

AFA 2013 - An Overview

It is the time of the year again with AFA 2013, returning for the 6th year since 2008. And for the very first time, AFA 2013 was held over 3 full days, rather than the previous 2 event days and perhaps an anisong concert on a friday. But this year even friday was included in the main event as well, which was good and bad for some. For those that could make it, I would say friday would be a very good choice to go since there aren't as much people as compared to the weekends and you get to purchase all those goodies first! You might never know if an item would still be in stock if you decide to go only on the weekends.

This year, with the 3 day event, I was prepared to do most of my purchases on day 1, following a photo taking spree on day 2 and lastly a mix of both and some last-minute shopping for day 3. Year after year the ticket prices have increased, especially for the stage access, so I had to really choose carefully which day's stage event I would go. For this year, friday's event ticket had stage access being included, possibly due to the stage event being limited on day 1, so that was a "shun-bian" get kind of thing.

Looking at saturday and sunday, both weren't exactly a must-go but since I already got the anisong standard for sunday, both the event and stage access ticket for that day was already given so in the end I only went for a normal event access for saturday. For the anisong lineup this year, it was pretty good for friday and sunday, where the former included Egoist and it was some sort of a mini miku concert with Hachioji P and livetune there, so it was a pretty good deal IMO. Sunday's lineup was one of the best, with angela, ELISA, T.M. revolution and Nana Mizuki! Have been waiting so long for Nana Mizuki to come to AFA and when it was announced that she was indeed coming, it was a definite must go for me, until I realised that on the lineup list, it wasn't displayed as Nana Mizuki but as Nana Mizuki X TM Revolution, which meant that most likely she'll only sing the Valvrave songs, which were only 2, therefore VIP was out of the question.

Having went all 3 days, I would comfortably say that friday was the best day to buy your stuff since there is so much less people as compared to the weekends. And some of the goods were sold out already on the first day. Reached there around 8+ on friday, roughly an hour+ before the doors open and already the queue to enter AND the queue to purchase the tickets were sooo long, thankfully I collected them the day before :D

 this was the queue for the tickets on friday

and the quiet thursday night at suntec :)

And upon entering the event hall, you are greeted with Valvrave Unit I and the Bandai booth right in front of you. With routes already planned, I headed for the Madoka booth straight after entering, meanwhile looking at those queuing for SAO booth, its a pity that that booth always have long queues doesn't it? And at the Madoka booth, there was less goods than the previous year, possibly due to the lack of a movie showcase this time round but nonetheless I still managed to grab a Kyoko PVC over there which at the end of the day, almost all were sold out except a few Sayaka and Madoka left, and a piece of Mami. Headed shortly after to the Hatsune Miku concert booth, took a look here and there, moved on to Robo Robo and rapidculture, and then to the doujin booths. Picked up most of the stuff here and there, before heading back to the Madoka booth to try my luck on the Kuji available and BAM! Prize A and a F in 2 tickets. Wasn't exactly aiming for the A since it was Mami, pity that I couldn't change the A for a C which was a Kyoko... oh well.

and so that was probably what I got this year round. Wasn't as lucky on the vocaloid petites though, didn't get a single Miku in 3 tries :/ was quite fortunate to find the Nendo Clip instead though, would definitely prove useful in photographing them in the future! The rest of the friday was simply moving around from booth to booth, like MUSE etc. and the other days like Saturday and Sunday was mainly used for taking photos of the things available on display at the event and of course the commonly flooded 3rd floor filled with cosplayers. It was a pity too that KKnM didn't have a booth this year, it would have been one of the few shops I would visit on the first day and I miss holding up the wooden sign that says "end of the queue"... hope to see them coming next year... Other common booths were still available, such as MUSE, horipro, kurocha, toycoin, and of course not forgetting the sword selling booths. Those booths are always a hit every single year... wonder why... wonder what those youths who buy the sword do with them if they're not cosplaying @_@

for the full event photos, you can click here to view it.

So now, moving on the anisong concerts!

took on Basic level for friday's and Standard for sunday's. Was pretty excited for Egoist's concert since its LIVE and it would be interesting to see how they were going to set up a virtual one for her since she wouldn't be showing her face. Turns out they used AR for her, where she sings behind a screen and a virtual AR of Inori was projected onto the screen which moves according to Chelly's actions. It was amazing to watch and at certain angles, you can actually see Chelly singing and moving behind the screen, just that you wouldn't be able to see her face. 

this was basically how it looked like (from Chelly's twitter)

and yup, that was amazing to watch. Furthermore the entire Egoist segment was linked together as though she was telling a story and all her songs just fell into place nicely as her story and narration goes on. Still can't forget the impactful beginning with Psycho-Pass's ED, Namae no Nai Kaibutsu. Soon after it was Valerie, Motsu X DJ Kaya, Hachioji P and finally livetune. Was indeed an eye-opener watching and listening to a DJ style concert, it felt amazing while the songs were being remixed especially when you know most of the songs. Friday's anisong then came to a close with livetune's Tell Your World and the 3 hour long concert had ended. 

almost every artiste was taking photo of the crowd on friday :D and this was the end of Friday's anisong!

Sunday's Valvrave Night was presumably the most anticipated anisong with all the powerhouses being placed together on one night. Well, we do have to give credit to Valvrave for stringing so many wonderful artistes together. One of the plus points of the concert was that it wasn't limited to just songs from Valvrave. The concert was kicked off by angela, who sang Valvrave's Boku Ja Nai and among all, the one that I could remember strongly was Fafner's Shangri-La. That was simply amazing. Following that was ELISA, which blew the crowd away with her high vocal range, singing songs from Euphoric Field and The World God Only Knows, and of course not forgetting the amazing song Realism. Shortly after her was T.M. Revolution's turn and I would honestly say that the crowd went from high to crazy when those familiar Gundam Seed songs were sung, like Invoke, Vestige etc. And then finally, it was the moment that everyone was waiting for. The duets.

Both Preserved Rose and Kakumeiki Dualism were exceptionally wonderful songs and being sung by T.M. and Nana Mizuki LIVE, that was where my money for the concert had flew to. All for that. It was really a pity that Nana Mizuki only sang 3 songs with T.M. and none of her own songs, but it was already kind of expected seeing how the lineup was announced. If she ever would come AFA again, it would definitely be a must-go for her anisong. 

So that basically wraps up AFA 2013, definitely better than last year which was held in Expo, too little booths and not much things to see and walk around. Suntec is definitely better, especially with the 3rd floor being free for all, which meant that the 4th floor was the event area and the 3rd would be the cosplayer area. Almost seems like Suntec was built just nice for events like AFA :) Would definitely be going again next year, not sure if I would be attend all 3 days if it will be the same again, so till then! 

AFA 2013

The day has finally arrived, with AFA 2013 running for 3 straight days for the very 1st time. Would start updating the site soon after AFA's coverage, so stay tuned!