HAPPY CHINESE NEW YEAR!

祝大家新年快乐！

万事如意，

心想事成，

身体健康，

马到功成，

学业进步，

。。。

马上HUAT啊！

Small updates

Still midway through a rather long entry, still saved as a draft, hopefully getting it out within the next few days. Have been working over the month and as a result there's the usual weekly entry schedule once again which I will definitely make the frequency increase once my work has ended after CNY. :) So for now, here's a little surprise we got from AFA's facebook page

#AFACHAN - http://bit.ly/1e9p0MY - [MOVIE] PUELLA MAGI MADOKA MAGICA - REBELLION (8 & 9 FEB 2014)

The moment fans in Singapore have been waiting for has arrived!

The final movie in the Puella Magi Madoka Magica, Rebellion, will be in Singapore for a limited screening on the 8th and 9th of February 2014 only at Cathay Cineleisure Orchard! Ticketing details will be announced soon!

Really hope I can get my hands on the tickets :X

Hm... Over Expectations?

There are some series that do have a very start, piled up with various amazing PVs and attempting to reach out to a wide audience, and in the end turn out to be an aboslute disappointment. Yes, i'm still talking about Guilty Crown...

For this season however, I'm not so confident to say that any of the series is going to follow GC, but there are signs that do show that the series kinda doesn't exactly know where it is heading towards. Or perhaps it is just too early of a start where the real plot has yet to reveal to us just like how amazing Majestic Prince turned out to be.

One of such series (yes, there's more than 1) that I'm using as a reference in this season.

Noragami.

This series initially took my attention back in AFA last year as there was a sneak preview of this amazing series just by looking at it's PV alone. The story does seem simple yet slightly complicated at the same time, involving a guy who looks like a plain teen who turns out to be a god. This plot totally hooked me up and it was, I would say, the main series that everyone was looking forward to watch in this season. It's 1st 2 episodes did seem fine, with god, Yato meeting our female protagonist Hiyori and then his new regalia, Yukine. It was then at the 3rd episode when it suddenly hit me. What else has Noragami left in store for the viewers after this? I do know that this is an adaptation, but coming from a viewer who sees this series as a standalone, like me, you start to feel that Noragami is somehow feeling lost. 

I do have to admit that their animation is absolutely gorgeous to watch too :P

Of course I would hope that this was truly the beginning and something major could happen in the next 9 episodes or so. If they are still focusing solely on helping Hiyori becoming normal again, then I don't actually see that getting worked on. All we got to see so far was Yato continuously trying to find jobs together with his new regalia Yukine and getting 5 yen per job that he completes, which makes me think that if he really wanted a shrine on his own, wouldn't he have to change his style or fee? Collecting 5 yens just wouldn't be enough no matter what. There seems to be more story to be told on Yukine's part, since he says he has lost his memory of being alive so I guess there would possibly be a Yukine development sometime soon? Which also means that Hiyori's problem would possibly never get solved as the series continues since if her splitting her spirit out from her body can be solved perhaps through a very simple method and does not mean anything more than just a spirit out of the body, then that ending would suck, honestly. 

The series does seem to have a slight resemblance to Sasami-san, since the divine beings or gods are depicted as a more 'normal' kind of people. Similar to Haruhi as well. The series however, is lacking in terms of how serious it can be. It can definitely venture into the more darker or serious plot development rather than just hovering around a semi-slice-of-life series filled with short humour scenes that do get bored out in the end. It was good enough for me to start following this series so I honestly wouldn't want it to go on a downhill fall from here on...

Another of such would be Buddy Complex. I have no idea this original series was shipping yaoi so much until their 2nd episode was released. With phrases like "Proposal", "Coupling" and "Connect with..." honestly with those lines being exchanged between 2 male teens, Sunrise seems to have started shipping the yaoi genre after their male biting male in Valvrave. Perhaps they are thinking that this would help them boost their sales? Who knows? But this time round, the male protagonist is just too bland... 

The story too, of Buddy Complex, is simple but confusing right at the same time. It almost seems too forced to have a main character being forced to leave his "world" right at the very 1st episode. Well, this is similar to Mahou Sensou in terms of their plot development: Directly ripping the main character away from his origin and forces him to be in another world where the real story begins. So what exactly was the first place required? It would be better off just starting the series with Aoba already in the future or just a mere minutes of flashback before transiting into the main plot rather than spend only a episode on the prelude of the series. If they really wanted to do it, they should at least spread it out longer? 1 episode just seems to rushed for the information to settle down. 

Furthermore, it definitely seems hilarious seeing Dio shouting over at Aoba to ask him to say "Connect with Dio". Isn't that plain awkward. I don't know what exactly this "Coupling" does but naming that process of linking their minds together as a "Proposal", if this isn't a yaoi ship, what it? D:

The linking of minds concept used here through Coupling just seems too familiar, cmon, Pacific Rim once again? But this time with Knightmare frames? Their mechas just have too much similarity with Code Geass that I thought of Lancelot almost immediately after seeing their "energy wings". 

Not so sure how Sunrise is going to apply the theory of time travel over here. We did see a perfect match of time travel and romance over in Steins;Gate which turns out to be a masterpiece but for time travel and mecha? I'm just not as sure... They sure did apply the theory of time paradox since Hina couldn't exist over in the future, so I guess they are still on the right track. Was intending to drop this series possibly soon after all the yaoi shipping, but with the last cliffhanger showing the very same girl who helped Aoba into the future appearing as their enemy? Dang now I want to know more... Good tactics Sunrise, but I just don't know how long I can stand their multiple proposals...

And of course, not forgetting how disappointing Hamatora was in their 2nd episode. Everything was strong, plot was so-so, animation was a little too flashy but their setting was great, all only for their very first episode. Roughly about a minute after seeing how Nice was thinking how weird the photos were being taken by looking at the angle, the thought of "oh, it was the teacher", immediately played in my mind and boy was I not surprised that I was correct. The latest "case" was a little too easy to predict, it didn't actually have that much of an impact as it did in episode 1. 

I mean like, hiring a group of people with super powers to try and find a teacher who has helped a student when he was bullied? That just isn't the kind of Hamatora I wanted to see. Additionally, the 2nd part of the episode was way too forced. Judging from episode 1, they did a great job linking 2 cases that seemed to be totally different cases which turns out to be the same. But when they tried to re-enact the same in episode 2, everything fell apart. I totally did not see much connection of why, a bully of the student, would suddenly become a serial bomber and start to destroy places in the city just because photos of him bullying was leaked online?! That just doesn't quite link up. Forcing it to link would be horrible, but that was just what they did... 

Just so disappointing... I would want Hamatora to have more action, more serious cases and something that would actually require their superpowers to achieve, rather than using a superpower to be first in line to buy a bread in the school canteen. Come on Hamatora, there's clearly a lot of potential in this series!

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needless to say from the moment Noragami's ED played, it was just plain obvious that it was by supercell, so here it is:

The start of 2014!

With most of the series in this season being aired, here's a look at some of the new series this year.

Among all the new series that I've taken a shot at, I would say that Noragami stood out quite among the rest. As the story goes, Yato, a god who wishes for a future where he will be worshipped by many, performs tasks at a cost of 5 yen, to 'earn' his worshippers. He does have an aid of a 'shinki' who is a spirit that can change into a sword for Yato to use. The antagonists for now are just devils that have drifted between the neighbouring world. In Noragami's world, there is a Near Horizon which represents our human world and a Far Horizon that represents the devil world. Our female protagonist on the other hand, tries to save Yato from being knocked down by a truck resulting in her developing a condition which allows her to separate her soul from her body at unpredictable times. And the main structure of the plot is for Yato to fix her condition so that she can be truly human again.

To me, this is quite an interesting plot, not forgetting all the awesome animations coupled with it. Has already been 2 episodes and now Yato has regained his Shinki and Hiyori finally learns that her tail which she has in her soul form isn't just a tail but a link between her and her own body. It was quite funny to see how Yato actually just yanked her tail to save her. Wouldn't it be bad if it broke? O.o So far it has been entertaining enough, with few short humour sections being inserted here and there making every scene as refreshing as it already is. As a 12 episode series, what I am worrying about now is the conclusion. Not exactly sure how the series is going to end since the manga its adapting from has not ended. So I would honestly find it weird if Hiyori's problem wasnt solved at the very end. Not forgetting this is a simple plot of a wannabe god trying to help people, I do hope that there will be good arcs in time to come.

We have Nisekoi next, beautifully adapted by SHAFT from it's manga. And I can only say that it was very well-animated. I do have a personal preference for SHAFT animations so I was just enjoying myself watching every minute and second of Nisekoi, watching their dialogue fly and all those small details that were focused upon. The story itself however is generic to some point but nonetheless entertaining. I don't expect the main protagonist to choose between the 2 girls at the end of the whole series since the manga hasn't ended, so I guess that's the only disappointment-to-be since I can expect a not-so-good conclusion already from the start. 

Hamatora is another series that caught me off guard. It really seemed like a underdog in the season, but it actually does turn out to be quite good and as one of the few series I would actually look forward every week. At first look, the series reminded me of Durarara!! and Darker than Black, with the characters holding some sort of special ability that not every human has. Furthermore, the series seems to focus on solving problems with the help of their powers, I do however sense a possible shift in the plot to one just based on fighting with their powers with enemies of the same kind. I wouls hope that the series remains as it is, with the current assignments that the Hamatora group is assigned to help, rather than a typical shounen fighting series. I too, liked the concept of the abilities activating only with certain conditions or in Hamatora's case, items. What seemed disappointing however is the animation colours that they use when the characters utilise their abilities. How should I put it.. Too colourful? I don't think that is actually required so the series can continue without that. Do have high hopes for the series as well! :)

Next up we have the 2nd season of Chuunibyou and boy am I glad that it's back. Certainly KyoAni had disappointed us in the previous Kyoukai no Kanata, so hopefully this series does redeem itself and prove to be a good sequel to chuunibyou itself. And I am definitely pleased that they no longer add doubts between Rikka and Yuuta's relationship where right at the start, the characters already acknowledged that the duo were a couple. Due to certain circumstances Rikka is now living together with Yuuta and seeing the two interacting in a chuunibyou way, it's just sweet to see them together. Nibutani however seemed to have changed her appearance once again, definitely preferred her original design but looking at the ED song, there is a high possibility that her current style will not last.. which is good. From the preview too we do see another chuunibyou girl being added as Rikka's rival so this is gonna get interesting when the love triangle begins! :)

And of course we have Nobunagun, a rather interesting blend of ancient war heroes and modernized weapons. So basically our main protagonist is an reincarnation of Oda Nobunaga and apparently, all these old war heroes have been acquainted with modern technology (i'm guessing time manipulation here...) and to leave special powers behind for the one who will eventually inherit his bloodline. The reincarnated ones can harness the power of the old heroes in forms of weapons for which our main protagonist decides to make it a huge gun and thus, we have a Nobunagun. What comes as interesting as the plot itself is the animation. The style does seem to be quite unique, even SHAFT still feels different from this. A unique style with a unique storyline, I don't mind watching but I don't think the series will deliver as much of an impact as the rest, it is just interesting to watch IMO.

As good as some series might be, there are some that disappoints just right after their debut episode. One such series is Mahou Sensou. True to it's trailer, it did seem a little too "mainstream" and turns out it has an extremely generic plot that almost anyone could come up with. The way the characters sync to the plot itself is just too forced. It basically feels like in order for the characters to get magic powers, they must somehow get the power from a magician. And with the order of thinking being focused on the end rather than the start, the introduction to the series became a "doesn't matter how it happen, just make it so that they become magic users at the end of episode 1"and that is exactly what we got for the very first episode:

1. Unknown magical girl appears out of nowhere

2. Gets saved by main male protagonist

3. Gets alarmed by the unknown surrounding and shoots the guy

4. Misses

5. Due to the close proximity of magic from her gun, guy gets magic power

6. Becomes amazingly good at using magic

7. No longer a human, forced to go to the magic world

Tadah.... and the story of Mahou Sensou begins. If they were going to make it progress this way, I would rather they just make everyone a magician from the start and begin at the academy rather than putting this kind of forced plot and waste a very 1st episode. Very unlikely I will continue this series unless something really plot defining appears.

Another disappointment, or confusion I would say, is the series called Buddy Complex. It is an original series by Sunrise and a mecha series to boot. However, after watching the whole of the first episode, I was left with a huge truckload of unanswered questions and honestly, I didn't understand what exactly was happening or what the writer was trying to make us think while watching their first episode. As a disappointment, we have an extremely plain looking and a very normal male protagonist to begin with. He apparently is good in basketball and there is this girl who seems to pay attention to him, a lot. Turns out the girl is from the future (what?!) and she is here to protect the guy as she knows someone else from the future is coming to this time to kill him. Our male protagonist attempts to outrun a robot with a bicycle, the villain, in a robot, cannot take down a single bicycle, female protagonist saves the guy, forced to bring the guy into the future and then dies. ...

Just. What. Is. Happening?! @_@ I would definitely continue watching this, at least the 2nd episode since I don't exactly get whatever that was happening. Same scenario with Mahou Sensou, why is the intro required if like 99% of the series would be set in another time and space? Perhaps for Buddy Complex the time travel thing will be of a significant importance but if it does not, then this show is just plain... Oh well, at least it was entertaining in a way where the series just throws everything at you and you don't understand a single thing. 

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Valvrave the Liberator

have been wanting to get this done soon so here goes :D

it was that bite that started the whole plot moving for Valvrave. I've got to admit that the both seasons were a bumpy ride, exceptionally so for Season 1. The plot was getting turned away, more questions were planted, nothing were answered, cliffhangers were given and season 1 had ended. So that basically sums up the whole of season 1. To be slightly more "insightful" the whole of season 1 mainly just focuses on how a school manage to form their own country, defend themselves with the use of exceedingly powerful Valvrave units and finally showing off a hidden Unit 02 with the ultimate evil dude piloting it. Who surprisingly isn't human as well. 

Okay, so with that confusing season 1, I would say that season 2, or the real plot of Valvrave, finally begins. All those time skips over in season 1 finally made some sense and thankfully, they got some of the questions answered. Well, some was good enough and the ending was good IMO, so for that, I'm really glad I didn't actually drop this series off back when it was still in its 1st season.

As a standalone country now, JIOR has their own government and with support from other nations, they were able to survive with aid of resources. Furthermore, coupled with the Valvrave units, they do boost a rather strong national defence. What I did see about the Valvrave's common weakness was them overheating. Well this was also a plus point to me since having a weapon that has no weakness just makes it too strong and bland to watch, at least we get to see the Valvrave's being taken down or damaged once in a while which does show that although the Valvrave units are strong, they are not indestructible, not like some godlike Strike Freedom that we have seen in the other series @_@

So what I saw interesting to the changes in the Valvrave units were the new cooling devices that they are equipped with to reduce the speed of overheating them, those do look really cool.  Other than that, the 1st bombshell that dropped onto us after a long time, was the confirmation of the Runes.

In season 2, we got to know that Valvrave units or Haruto and the others as Kamitsukis, have to feed on runes in order to operate. And these runes are what we know of as memories that we have inside of us. Which means that the more you pilot the Valvraves, the more memories you lose of the past until the point where you've used up all your runes and all you are left with is just an empty shell without memories and with that so-called "brain death", a person without runes, die. There was bound to be one who is going to die in this way, and that surprisingly was Marie.

Honestly speaking, her being a Kamitsuki was one hell of a shocker, being the very first pilot for Valvrave Unit 01 was another, and her dying from losing all her runes was the final one. I guess this was the reason why I actually started to like Valvrave as a series even more after all these twists in its plot and new elements that covers questions previously left unanswered. From her death, it can be seen that pilots of the Valvrave units will lose their memories as time goes by, but that only seems to happen to Unit 01, which confuses me. Is it because that Pino is inside Unit 01 that causes runes to be eaten by her? And that is why the other pilots of other Valvrave units don't encounter this? That was however not addressed, or should I say, not much need to address. Well, if the runes don't affect the other pilots, it is not exactly sure that they won't die, at least that stays true for our dear Inuzuka and Yamada, who lost their lives protecting what's dear for them. 

Yamada's death was a little too fast I would say, it was pretty obvious in both Yamada's and Inuzuka's death since they both triggered so many death flags that ultimately did lead to their deaths. It was quite sad seeing how the pilots die protecting people whom have stopped believing them, but after all the deaths that just kept increasing episode by episode, I head into a new episode fully prepared to seeing another character go.

A second big plot twist in the series was the revelation of the existence of the Kamitsuki. The Magius who were about to be revealed to the world, had stabbed Rukino right in front of a public broadcast, just to show that she wasn't human any more. That sure made my hair stand a little, poor Saki having to live through all that. What comes in the aftermath was a literal bloodbath since suspicion rose, people losing trust and uneasiness lead to people killing people. That was a huge problem and a true massacre of the students of JIOR. What comes more painful to watch was Shouko finally learning the truth behind Haruto and the other Valvrave pilots and her segregating Haruto on her own, before knowing that Haruto had became a Kamitsuki all because of her right from the start. 

What serves next on the main dish of the plot was the return of L-Elf. Yes he did lose his own "flames" after losing Liselotte and his meaning of life, but when he returned to the battlefield, he still retained his old cool-looking style and big tactics that finally revealed to the world of the existence of Magius themselves. There was the change of character perspective as well,  both in A-drei and X-eins, after learning the truth about Cain. 

And then came the finale, and the fall of our hero and main protagonist, Haruto. Well, it wasn't totally unexpected that he was going to die in the end, in fact, seeing so many scenes from the future and not a moment with Haruto in it already strongly suggest that he isn't going to live to see the future. What the series did give was a pretty neat final moments for Haruto. With him in L-elf's body, the duo's ability manage to overpower Cain at the cost of all Haruto's runes, leaving him an empty shell, who remembers nothing and only manage to tap L-elf on the face after him acknowledging the fact that Haruto was his friend before passing on. Now that was just bittersweet and a sad fall of dear Haruto. 

With the epilogue, more questions were given and only some were answered. We do know now that the students of JIOR have their own country now, where all of them, I suppose, are Kamitsuki, and then there was this sudden appearance of Shouko. With her not dead after all these years and being in Unit 01's pilot suit, it would mean that she, too, wasn't human anymore and had took over Haruto's place in Unit 01. Pretty emotional to show the memories that Haruto had still stored inside Valvrave Unit 01, showing proof that Haruto too, had led a wonderful high school life. 

After the series had ended, we now look back at some of the unanswered questions:

Who exactly is the grey hair kid with Haruto's blue eyes? We can confirm that it would be unlikely to be L-elf's child since it doesn't seem like he was married even at Satomi's marriage with Takahi, so a guess, to me, would be the child of Haruto and Saki? I mean that's quite a high possibility, but the child did not call Saki his mother as well. Which more of less seals the question back into the unknown but well, who knows? Maybe he is their child after all :)

Next would be the relation and interaction of Pino and Plue. Well we only know that they too are Magius and have been "placed" into the Valvraves to act as their engine. And that, was basically all we know about the two. Come on, we need to know more. To us, they merely look like a kind of AI for the Valvrave units and a way to convert runes into power for the Valvraves, but nothing about their history and only a little bit of hint on the history between Pino and Marie, but still no clear answers. 

And then we have all the timeskips. We shall ignore season 1's timeskips since season 1 was mainly confusion and a world of unknowns. We do know that Saki was retelling the story of them in their high school year, hundreds of years ago as JIOR to the unknown kid and from there, we saw Satomi, now how the heck is that possible? Shouldn't the normal students be dead by now? Did Satomi become a Kamitsuki himself? Don't think that was possible too but Satomi's child? Nah, that too would be impossible, unless it's the child of Satomi's child. Now that would sound pretty legit but a little too far-fetched. 

Now for their plus points. 

To me, Valvrave units do seem quite "normal" for a mecha anime series since the Valvraves are not exactly godlike and have a rather big weakness which makes the battlefield a little more level once the Dorssia Valvrave clones started to appear. Kinda like Gundam 00 when the others got hold of the GN Drive technology eh. Their plot although extremely confusing at the start, did ultimately pull itself straight and finished off with a satisfying ending, to me that is. It wasn't a perfect ending, but one good enough for me. Especially the final scene between Haruto and L-elf, leaving behind a sour taste after all that has happened. Haruto really did suffer quite alot on his side yea :'( Glad they didn't actually force out any romance bits and pieces right at the end. We do know that Haruto and Shouko are a possible pairing and so is Haruto and Saki but this time round, it does serve the series a much better ending when neither of them is fulfilled.
Of course, there were the many plot twists here and there that just continue to juggle the series around but unknowingly, these plot twists actually do resolve some of the questions and continue to push the plot forward which was the main reason why I enjoyed this series so much.

Overall, I would say I have enjoyed the series as a whole, S1 was a rough ride, many non-mainstream things we got to see there, unique approach to a mecha series, and S2 just raised the entire level of the series. Really am glad to have sticked through the whole 2 seasons of the series. For those wanting to try something new or to relieve a slight feel of Code Geass, this would be worth a try but be in for a rollercoaster ride. Some might enjoy it but some might not. What I do know is I did. 

Hello 2014!

Its the time of the year again, saying goodbye to 2013 and ushering in the new year of 2014!

Looking back, this has been an exciting year, many many events that happened, going for an overseas exercise after like so long since I last went overseas and most importantly, this was the year that marked the end of my near 2 years of national service :)

2013 was the year that for the first time, I experienced a community event or I would say, social event that was organised by a voluntary group StandUpforSG.

That was the time where I actually felt the whole community spirit over there and of course, not forgetting all those small interactions that make everyone of us feel even more "Singaporean"

And of course not forgetting all those outings and chalets I had with my army buddies :D Only a month has passed since we ORDed, but I really miss the time spent with everyone :X

From chalet...

to many many outings...

and Australia...

and finally, ORD lo!

although it has only been a short nearly 2 years spending time with everyone, I will always remember all those fun times we had, both local and overseas, it has been really really enjoyable being together :D

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1 year after the BMT graduation, this year marks the time to go on the same route as our graduation march of 24km, but this time, on bicycles instead :)

even on bikes, this route is really looooong D: by far, this has been the longest ride I've ever rode on my bicycle and yea, going there is one thing, can't forget that we have to go all the way back to the start once again! :/

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and of course the most memorable anime convention was still AFA 2013. I mean, this would definitely be the main since it's in Singapore unless of course if I went for Comiket instead, but that just isn't possible... for now :D

So for this year, AFA 2013 is held over 3 full days, including concert and event hall itself. Took on 2 days of Anisong concert watching mainly for livetune, T.M. Revolution and Nana Mizuki, which was her first live in Singapore as well :D Of course, with every year, my spending per AFA increases... got what I was looking for, felt happy, wacked a Kuji, striked an A prize and got even more happy. Things just start getting better haha.

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After learning Weiss Schwarz for about a year, 2013 also marks the time where I participated in the first TCG competition. I did played Pokemon and Yugioh TCG before but never competitively and this was really a whole new experience for me.

Got only to round 5, double elimination format... really a pity though but since it's my first time, I guess that result ain't that bad. Will see how I fare in 2014! :D

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This year's most notable anime series for me, was definitely Psycho-Pass. That series just outshines all others in the same category. As an original series and a well managed plot, this series has made it's appearance as a featured anime in AFA this year and I would agree that this was one of the best series we had this year. 2013 was however not as strong of a year with their series lineup though, 2012 was better and not forgetting the powerhouses of Steins;Gate and Madoka still lingering in my mind, which was further reinforced by the recent movies of the 2 series, both Rebellion Story and Deja Vu. 2014 does seem promising, with original series appearing here and there and even the April season of 2014 holds some rather good original series as well. Will just leave them for a later date, so for now, Winter season is here, most probably in a week or 2, can't wait for the series to start airing!

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So here's to everyone:

Happy New Year! Wishing everyone all a prosperous year ahead, regardless of work or study, all the best in your exams and future endeavours! Stay healthy and happy! :D