Anime Review: Honey and Clover.

"A six-tatami room with no bath, ten minutes walk from the college. Built twenty-five years ago, rent 38,000 yen. The walls are thin and hardly soundproof. All residents are students. The morning sun is bright since it faces east."

Takemoto Yuta.

Famous" quote that starts (and ends) the series, Honey and Clover can be seen as a down-to-earth everyday life anime, or what one would call a "Slice of Life". This series follows the lives of 5 characters through their Art University; the normal everyday boy but confused with no goals in life - Takemoto Yuta; the gifted artist who creates art that moves people's hearts, but looks like a small kid - Hanamoto Hagumi; the eccentric genius but equally crazy, motivated by money (for a purpose) nutcase, but cares alot for those around him - Morita Shinobu; the most matured of the gang, cares dearly for those around him, yet stalks a certain individual, and always never wanting to be left out of the fun - Takumi Mayama; the beauty of the show, with amazing skill in pottery, carries a torch for Mayama but it'll never gets reciprocated, physically strong (Tetsujin aka Iron Lady) yet emotionally weak - Ayumi Yamada. (More detailed listing of HnC characters here.)

From top to bottom, left to right: Takemoto Yuta, Morita Shinobu,
Hanamoto Hagumi, Ayumi Yamada, Takumi Mayama.

This is one series that deals with lots of human relationships, love triangles and friendships. It also shows how each individuals matures through the span of 3 years (series timespan), as they make their way through the realities of life, the hardships and joys that molds them to be who they are at the end.

Thoughts:
What I enjoy about this show is the amount of development given to each characters, it's like how a sculptor would slowly, gently, and with all the heart-felt emotions within him, create the most detailed, mind-boggling, heart-moving sculpture masterpiece of his time. As the series moves on, you grow along with the characters, feeling their emotions during both times of happiness and hardships, as most of us are abit to relate ourselves to at least one of the characters (I'm sure a huge bulk of us would be able to relate to Takemoto, including me).

One of the touching moments throughout the series. Shows how much Yamada loves Mayama, and how dearly (friends-wise) Mayama feels towards Yamada.

Takemoto x Hagu ^^.

There's also a good mix of comedy and drama, one moment you could be laughing, another you're crying. One cannot stay downcast for long as laughter takes over quite often, but once again the reality of "life" eventually sets in, sending your brain into over-clocked mode, pondering on the many decisions in real-life that we once had made, and might make in the future. As this series portrays scenarios and emotions that can easily be related to our normal lives, we get hit with lots of questions to how we had been living out our lifestyle, with the many "What ifs" that we would had asked ourselves countless times.

I want to go on a journey of self-soul-searching too!!
Too many things I want to clarify with my life.

There were also quite a few Ferris Wheels that were featured in the series, and I believe it does carry a meaning too. Wheels can be represent as the need to move forward, to move towards a goal. Taking one's own time, while enjoying the scenery (things around you), and slowly move towards that goal, is what I think the ferris wheel represents here. Or another way of putting it, like what Takemoto said in the series, that the ferris wheel exist to allow people to slowly cut across the sky while in the company of their significant other.

Animation and Music:
The original artwork for the manga is done by Chika Umino, while the anime was done by J.C.Staff. I enjoy the use of pastel colours to give the series a softer feel, and very soothing to watch. The amount of details that goes into each characters might not be much, but I definitely love how easily you can see their facial expressions, especially the detailing of their eyes.

The music for this series comes mainly from two artist, SPITZ and Suga Shikao (Mayama's character design seems to be based off this guy). The songs and BGM used are very well chosen, enhancing each scene with maximum effect. Especially loved the instrumental version of Dramatic, which really sets the mood throughout the series.

Another touching moment, but no further
comments for fear of spoilers.

Conclusion:
I didn't watch this series initially, as I was slightly put off by the designs and the slice of life genre. However under constant persuasion (and pressure) by a friend, I took the plunge and never looked back. Currently my No.1 anime of all time, I had learned quite a few things from the series which could apply to real-life. This series is also quite an emotional roller-coaster, but it's worth it, and one would eventually walk away with a bittersweet ending.

The defining moment of the series to me.

A sweet rating of 9.9/10 (I can't give full marks due to the fact that it was so nice that I didn't want it to end ><. But eventually all things do.) and highly recommended for those who love watching dramas and love stories, and even if you're just in for the comedy it's pretty good too. This review encompass both the first and second season. Don't watch one without the other, you'll be left with a lack of proper closure.

TV Drama Version:
The Fuji TV version live-action version of Honey and Clover is also worth a watch, however the storyline does differ quite abit so you'll have to watch it with a pinch of salt. There's a few problems with TV version which I didn't like though, mainly I really wished I could punch the living daylights of the the actor playing Morita. I hated his sarcastic looking smile, and he doesn't play out the true personality of Morita (he's fun and crazy, but not sarcastic and an a%@hole).

Another problem is the actress playing Hagu. Well she may had fit the "childlike" look role well, but the way she strings her sentences and... erm... oddly placed smiles, makes you think that she might be mentally retarded. Well they could always say that she's only 16 in real life but I doubt that would affect much. But hey! I did find her cute anyway.

Last of the problem has got to be Yamada. Wished they had chose another actress for the role. Didn't really liked her facial features (but a friend of my did, well everyone has their own opinion), and where's my "beautiful legs" like the anime version had??? Where were the Unicorns defending thy Maiden?? (Those who had watched the anime second season would know)

Attack of the Yamada Unicorn 1st Guards.

I guess I'll be doing an anime review only once a month, since most other places would already have their own reviews and if you really want to find a review, it's easily found. I'm just doing one to show my appreciation for the series I love. Sorry for the lack of updates recently too, but I didn't see a point to doing a post for the sake of one while I had more important things to handle at the time being. Enjoy the 2 AMVs below, and Signing out for now.


[MAD]Honey and Clover - Mahou no Kotoba. (The song is sang by SPITZ)


Honey and Clover AMV - The Rose. (Might contain some spoilers)

Anime Review: Kanon

Currently holding number 2 slot of my All Time Favourite Anime, comes the series Kanon. There are 2 version of this animation, the first came out in 2002 by Toei Animation, the other is the 2006 reworked adaptation by Kyoto Animation. Back in 2002, the story of Kanon got me addicted to this genre of anime, but once watching the 2006 version, it just blew my expectation sky high. There are vast differences between the 2 versions, especially in the aspect of graphics and flow of storyline, but not to bore everyone with the difference, I'll mainly introduce the 2006 version.

Plot Summary:
Set in the season of Winter, the main protagonist, Aizawa Yuuichi, once again returns to the city where he had once been visiting often 7 years ago. Due to arrangements made by his parents, he stays together with his cousin, Minase Nayuki, and her mother, Minase Akiko; the same arrangement as before. Despite having lived in the city before, his memories of it has more or less been forgotten, only minor details remains. As days goes by, one by one he meets up with individuals whom he had met before, but he has forgotten most things about them. However he'll slowly regain back his memories through spending time with them, to piece the whole picture of what happened 7 years ago, and the reason why he didn't return to the city for those 7 years.

Screenshot from series. It's scenes like
this which truly makes the story an epic.

Thoughts:
The main theme of the story carries with it the promise of miracles. There's a mysterious feel about the ever-snowing city, that allows the occurrence of miracles, even though it centers mainly around the main protagonist. Another theme would be on the continuation of a dream. Dreams are something we all have, be it when we're asleep or when we're wide awake; and when dreaming, the impossibles are possible, even if it takes a miracle to make it occur. In this case, the returning of our main protagonist to the city signify the continuation to a dream that was once broken 7 years before, in order to fulfill promises which only he can abide to.

Another screenshot from series.

There is also a theme on music, which can be seen on the usage of Pachelbel's Canon (Canon in D). A canon is a contrapuntal composition that employs a melody with one or more imitations of the melody played after a given duration (ninja-ed from Wiki). It is also said that the name Kanon came from this term. One thing I derived from the usage of Canon, could be that in order for a perfect harmony between different people, there must be a certain level of synchronization between them, to be able to understand each other, and to be able to lend a helping hand when needed, which brings to the point of "One can never walk alone" or basically, Unity through Friendship.

Another screenshot, favourite scene in series where Mai is dancing.

Also by paying attention to the episode names, you'll also see lots of terms which are used in the music world being referenced in them. Music has a certain magic to them, that it is able to touch the hearts and heal the soul of people listening to it. In a way it plays a part in this series, since each of the girls have their own unique past, thus the need for mending.

CG Fanart of Nayuki by Yukirin.

Animation and Music:
Kyoto Animation, currently well-known for their well-weaved storylines with top-notched animation graphics, has definitely upped the level of expectations required for successful eroge/visual novels to anime adaptions (Might be toppled by Clannad though, waiting for that series to end to make the final conclusion, but it has definitely gone for the better). The music used are the same as those from the Visual Novel and the various other OSTs (Original Soundtracks) which has come out ever since. I especially like to listen to "Kanon arrange best album 「recollections」" and "Kanon Air Piano Arrange Album Re-feel" to relax myself and do some deep-thought thinking (like now).

Conclusion:
Highly recommended series, especially for those who wants a story which will/might make you break into tears. For 24 episodes, you're definitely in for a roller-coaster ride of emotions when watching Kanon. Giving it a rating of 9.5/10 (That's why it's my no.2 all time favourite).

Going abit off-topic for the moment, this review is especially for my friends and certain people out there: The world of anime isn't just Bleach and Naruto. And there's more to anime than just getting into the pants of those cutey anime girls too. Please don't just group them all into the same category, not all anime with cute girls = hentai. I just hate it when people see these kind of anime and just label "Eh, hentai!".

This is the original picture that was used to make
the head banner for my site. Too Cute ain't it?

This is my second ever review I had done, and initially was discouraged to write it after looking at the way how other people did their reviews. But upon thinking about it, my writing style and theirs are different, so there's no point in trying to mimic others, but to do things my own way. It may not be the best, but I'll definitely try to improve on my writing skills.

Ending off, here's two videos for everyone. One is the OP from the series, the other is a AMV (Anime Music Video), using the dance scene from the series (Mai ^^) and the song is Pachebel's Canon on piano. Hope you'll enjoy it. Also wishing that Max Factory would faster come out with figures for the remaining Kanon characters!! Especially Mai, Shiori and Nayuki (isn't that all the remainder? lol) *Prays for Mai in her Ballroom Dress* Wished I knew how to sculpt it myself. Oh well, signing out.

Kanon 2006 OP - Last Regret (Tv ver.)


Kanon AMV - Pachelbel's Canon on Piano.

Max Factory's 1/8 Scale Gun X Sword: Wendy Garret PVC Figure

After a hard day at work, dragging yourself back home, and to your enjoyment you see a parcel that you have been waiting for sitting on your bed, and once again your day feels complete!! I'm sure some of you have experience this before (work/school whichever works for you), and it definitely brightens up your day. It surely did for me!

It arrives!! Cheers!

Opening the box.......

And there she was!! Looking all lolicious in the
packaging, calling me to open it up.

Even though it was an impulsive buy, I'm happy that I did ^^. Coincidentally the day I placed my order for it was on Valentine's Day (yes I was ronery on Valentines ><), and I'm surprised it arrived in just 5 days (I expected about 2 weeks). I had been eyeing her for quite a while, but with the initial cost at 6,500 Yen (About S$85), I didn't bite. But as one's fate would have it, just browsing play-asia as I was bored, I noticed it was on sale at S$57. Wasting no chance I just bought it on the spot and that's the end of story. And yes checking it again the following day, it was listed as sold-out ^^. Note: Some photos are NSFW. View at own risk.

Wearing gloves, I carefully removed her from the box and place it together as shown in the "standard" positioning, with all the accessories.

View from her back. Nice bottoms there ^^.I really love the pose they gave her. The facial details on the figure is also quite nice. It brings out her cuteness and shyness, yet emits a certain maturity to it, and at the same time also childishness. Characteristics of Wendy which were constantly displayed throughout the series (not that sure though, I'm only on episode 4 LOL, let me play abit of bluff/theorizing).The details done on Kameo is also faithful to the series, as they made a small dent on the top of his shell, a dent which was made when he took a bullet which protected Wendy in the first episode of Gun X Sword. This figure is also part of Max Factory's POLO System ("Cast-off"), and apparently they were trying out a new version of the system, where the clothings were flexible. Testing the rubber-like blouse, I attempted some "poses", mainly stretching the material.Taking the stretching to a further level. It really stretches!!

Or not... Truthfully, I didn't dare stretch it too much in fear of it snapping, but it surely did stretch enough to move the blouse straps out of her hands and just let her blouse drop ^^.

Her head and lower body are detachable, allowing easy removal of the blouse (only her blouse is removable).

Another angle of her in "cast off", with the other accessories on the base too. For those who doesn't know what a "cast off" figure means, it means that her clothes (some or all) are removable to expose her "eyes" or other parts. So far I only have Wendy and Fauna who are "cast off" figures. I'll not be doing a post on Fauna, click her name for photos of her by Danny.

I would say this was my favourite shot, a scene which might occur in between dressing. The bare minimum exposure of skin and the cutely "misplaced" eyes just makes it sooo moe~ ^^.

Either way I'm ending the day a happy man, and having another cute addition to my collection. Would be happier if I could afford a Canon 40D with external flash with diffuser and a macro lens to take more photos. Having to use a teared out piece of paper, holding it over the flash to act as a diffuser with one hand, while trying to compose the photo with the other, having to put down the paper and zoom in/out and pick it up again when needed, and finally changing the settings again (I always use manual mode), then taking the shot, is tough work. And the fact that the D70 lens is no other than it's normal kit lens... I rest my case, though I'm sure I still have lots to improve and alot of errors are still human factors. I also need a good background for "photoshoots", didn't have one as this was abit impromptu. I'm more of a landscape shooter, and I really suck at macro for the time being lol. Time to get back to watching more Gun X Sword now, Signing out.

Outing - 1st Dec 2007

Late post. Intended for Sunday but just too lazy to get to it. My blog my pace ^^. Long Post Warning!!! 3 Parts of the day.

First off, as mentioned in my previous post, this day was the screening of Byousoku 5cm at National Museum's Theatre Gallery brought in by Animation Nation 2007. Had always wanted to watch an anime movie/film on the big screen, and I surely wasn't disappointed by this screening, it actually was beyond what i had hoped, though the seatings of the Theatre Gallery were slightly uncomfortable.

The animation of Byousoku 5cm was top-notch, smooth, beautiful and definitely mesmerising. As said in the previous post and I'll emphasize it again, Highly Recommended to watch! However, when watching it again, the ending does seem abit... rushed, and it gives a bittersweet feeling, making us realise that not everyone can have a happy ending. It all depends on the choices we make in life, and just a wrong turn can make it go really bad. But! It also depends on how each individual jump back from one's mistake, to once again take control of their lives, make that U-turn and once again try to obtain what one really wants in life.

Will start a rating system now, realised I didn't do one for the previous.
Byousoku 5cm Rating: 9/10
Demerit for the slight rush factor, the lack of closure on characters. Even though this could be the style of Makoto Shinkai, it doesn't really fall well with me, as I would prefer a better closure. Individual preference ^^". (Actually I wanted to give it a perfect score, but felt I shouldn't. So had to find a reason for the "demerit".)

Some photos from National Museum.Poster for Animation Nation 2007.Interesting signboard for "Slippery Floors"

Here comes the second part!! After finishing the show at about 1pm, I had to bring my cousin to get his shoes and some winter wear in preparation of our upcoming Japan trip. Long story short, National Museum --> Queenstown --> Marina Square non-stop in 4 hours. I swear this can be considered training for walking the streets of Japan lol. Once that was done, sent my cousin to the MRT station, and off I am to meet up another group of friends. At this moment it was around 4.45pm, but the meet up with that group was supposed to be at 6pm, and the earliest person that could arrive (had arranged to meet earlier since we were both already outside) was around 5.30pm.

Despite being slightly tired, from not having enough sleep (does 5 hours count?) and the lack of food (didn't take lunch and breakfast was at 9am and that was just 2 slice of bread + a cup of choco milk) and including the shopping, I went to Kinokuniya at Takashimaya and went around walking, and scouting for the prices of manga/artbooks to take note of so that I'm able to estimate the amount I would be spending in Japan buying those. The prices at Kino@SG is nearly double the amount I would have pay for them in Japan, thus I plan to do all my purchases in Japan and ship them back. Even the shipping cost is way cheaper this method. Ignoring the rest of the things I did in Kino@SG, soon after at around 5.25pm, went to meet up with her.

What happened next? Let's just cut the story short. Went for more shopping since she wanted to get a dress, acted as her "fashion consultant", going from shop to shop. The other two individuals were late (as usual?), in which when they came was about 6.45-7pm. Dying from hunger yet? Not really, but close, and we still had to decide where to eat, and as usual it took us about 1 hour? What else happened in between? More shopping and walking from Wisma Atria --> Paragon --> Takashimaya. lol. period.

Eventually back at Takashimaya, we settled for dinner at Crystal Jade Ginseng Chicken BBQ, which serves Korean Cuisine, and with no mention of the multiple times we went up and down the escalator to decide which place to eat. Time check: 8.24pm. Well, they do say humans can go without food for about a week, what's 12 hours?

Looking through the menu with all the tempting pictures on display, we were at a loss to what to order, so we decided to just ask for a recommendation and we settled on a set package for 4 people.

One can choose whether you'll prefer to cook the food yourself or just ask the chefs to cook for you. In this case we decided to let the chefs work on the chicken and pork collars while we settle the beef and prime beef steak.

Beef

Prime Beef SteakSide Dishes which I can't remember what is what.Chicken, which was cooked by the chef.

Pork Collar, also cooked by the chef.1 hour 30mins later. The eventual damage done. S$153.25 Slightly on the high side for quality of food, but quantity makes up for it. We were surely full from the portion of food given. Rating: 6.5/10

Christmas Tree @ Takashimaya's Lobby

Ready for part 3? I'm actually tired from doing this blog post (2 hours since start). Stand up! Do some stretching!! Take deep breaths!!! Let's just get this done with, this part is going to be fast (At least I think it will be).

Finished with dinner, and having nothing planned to do after, we decided to watch a movie. Proceeded down to Cathay Cineleisure to watch Enchanted (P.S: Sorry Jason you were too late when you asked). Since the movie was at 12.15am, and time being 10.15pm, we had 2 hours to burn. What can one do in Orchard when shops are closed, stomachs full from dinner and tired legs? Dessert!! Sweets and Desserts goes into a different stomach!!

Took us a while to find a place to settle in, didn't know Orchard was still so crowded with so many people chilling in the cafes/diners. More walking about till we settled for Maestro Bistro in Cineleisure.

Waffle with Chocolate Mint Ice Cream Topped
with Nuts, Chocolate Chips and Chocolate Sauce.Banana Split.

Damage Done: S$25.20 Not worth it. Service was sub-standard, the waffle wasn't freshly hot, the banana in the split wasn't as fresh as what I would expect. Ice cream was standard no comments. To add on, they do not serve ice water. Big negative from me. Rating: 4.5/10

The only truely worthwhile purchases of the day.

I wanted to do a review on Enchanted, but just couldn't think of anything to write besides that it's filled with lots of laughter. That's about it I guess. Good film for the family and for its comedy. Click on the hyperlink on the movie's name for a description by yahoo!movies.

Enchanted Rating: 6.5/10
Worth watching for the laughter, not quite so for the overall plot. Sometimes I really felt like taking something hard and just hit my forehead continuous with it. It's just gets lame at times.

Here's some photos of the Christmas decorations along Orchard.
It's only 3 though lol.

End of day, reached home at about 3.45am, went to bed at around 4.30am to wrap up a long day. 8.30am - 4.30am with lots of walking around with 2x movies, you just don't get this very often. Well, just consider it as Japan walking training. Now look away from the computer, look at something far, relax your eyes before letting them wander back to this screen. Enjoy! Signing out.

Note 1: I had to wake up at 9.30am for church either way so that's another 5hours sleep. What a way to spend the weekend!! Thank goodness I'm on night shift this week so I'll be able to catch up on the fatigue.

Note 2: For food ratings, I'll try to separate the contents of the scoring system and not just posting of the overall rating eventually.

Note 3: Took me 3 hours for this post. Zzz... and Please leave more comments! It's depressing not to see any :( Or a simple note on the tagboard would do too!

Edit 5th Dec 2007: Sorry I had to change the photo of the "worthy purchases" as I didn't realised my name and NRIC being shown there. Have edited the photo and reposted.

Anime Review: Byousoku 5cm

Byousoku 5cm, or 5 Centimetres per Second, is a set of 3 parts linked together to form a story and shown as a movie/film. Produced by Makoto Shinkai (Alternate link, Unofficial Site but in English), the same person who did Hoshi no Koe and Kumo no Mukou, Yakusoku no Basho (Beyond the Clouds), comes a film which is mainly based on human relationships.

Famous for films which the theme of time and distance comes into full effect in the stories, together with mesmerising background and animation, Byousoku 5cm is no exception. A story mainly surrounding three characters, Tohno Takaki, Shinohara Akari and Kanae Sumida, weaves a picture of feelings, regret, and the cause and effect of actions taken.

The term "5 Centimetres per Second" is a reference to the speed that a Sakura (Cherry Blossom) petal will undergo when falling to the ground, an occurrence that always happens during the Spring period when the flowers bloom and eventually fall. Mainly as a metaphor, it is to illustrate humans' passing, the slowness of time in life, how everything that starts together will eventually be separated over time, be it feelings or separation by death (There's no death involved in the film, but eventually we all will still die). Sad, depressing, but all so very true, there's no escaping it.

The 3 parts are named Oukashou, Cosmonaut and 5cm per Second. Oukashou mainly touches on Takaki and Akari, their beginnings and separation. Cosmonaut is on Takaki and Sumida, things that were not meant to be will never be. 5cm per Second is something like a summary, 10 years later from the start. Of the 3, my favourite is the second part, Cosmonaut. Feelings, emotions that ran high in this part can easily be related to what I have undergone in my life.

Byousoku 5cm is actually being screened at the National Museum's Theatre Galley on the 28th Nov and 1st Dec, however sad to say the tickets for the 1st is already sold out, but I'm fortunate enough to have booked 2 tickets to watch with my cousin this Sat. Even though i had watched it about 3-5 times, I always wanted to watch it (and many other shows) on the big screen, and many Thanks goes out to Animation Nation 2007 for bringing it in. Hopefully when I'm in Japan end of this year I'll be able to find a DVD copy of it (and maybe a few others like Beyond the Clouds etc.), and share it with those who might be interested. This film is highly recommended, both for plot and animation. The music is also top-notch as it's being done by Tenmon (for those in the animation world I'm sure you'll know who this is. For those who don't here's a wiki, but it's not that detailed sadly.)

Here's a video of the theme song, "One more time, one more chance", where you'll be able to see some of the beautiful background and shots from the film. The song is very meaningful, and it really relates to the story well. Hope you'll enjoy it. Click here for lyrics/translation.



Trying not to spoil the story, yet able to convey the message out, my first attempt at a review. Hopefully over time I'll be able to develop a certain writing style and improve. There's alot of first attempts at the re-creation of this blog, so bear with me for the time being ^^.