テイルズ オブ ジ アビス

Alright! I’m going to start blogging this anime. I can say right away that this won’t be mere reports of what happened, because I have played the full game and remember most of it by heart (I’m a huge fan of it.)

I’m going to do my best to point out similarities and differences between the game and the anime, which hopefully will make this a bit more of an interesting read.

This post will be split up into two segments as it will contain two episodes. I haven’t seen episode 3 just yet (I’ll be quicker next week ^^; ) so it’ll be in a new post~

Episode 1

First of all, I have to comment on the Intro video:

I’m really glad they’re using Karma again because that song definitely can’t be played too much. It seems to me like they’re giving homage to a few too many big spoilers in it, but that might just be because I already know what’s going to happen. It definitely wouldn’t have hurt for them to use more of the Game OP for inspiration though. They even cut out the awesome bridge fight =<

Oh and the lyrics? They basically spoil the outcome of the entire game ^^ I advise you to not analyze them too deeply ;P

Moving on to the episode itself, I must say I’m happily surprised. My main gripe is the art-style, but that’s just because the game itself contained anime-cutscenes with a slimmer character-style. It feels kinda odd to see them like this (especially since Tear looks a bit more manly than I’m used to.)

Anyway, the episode itself is all great. They summarized the basics of Luke’s past and the Order of Lorelei pretty well, though it definitely appeared more awkward than the game. They had to squeeze in twenty minutes of explanation into a few minutes though, so I don’t blame them.

"We have all been aware of this for seven years, but I’m going to mention your kidnapping and lost memories one more time just in case anyone of us forget it. It’s not like we have been feeling bad about it for all these years or anything." - Uhh…Yeah. It could have been worse though. They could have used a narrator for it, thus leaving poor Luke in the dark~

The most notable change from the game’s turn of events is Luke’s trip into the forest on the mansion grounds. In the game that didn’t happen, Natalia wasn’t introduced and Luke’s headache came when he was going to leave his room in the morning. Guy showed up right after that too.

All in all though, I feel they managed to capture the game pretty well. It definitely made me anticipate the next episode.

What’s on my mind: I wonder if they’re going to do away with the scene in the game where Guy’s girl-phobia was revealed. I hope they don’t, because it’s a pretty cute scene :3

Episode 2

Moving on to episode two then. I must say I appreciate the way they transfer into the Opening. Those first few seconds of the game OP were almost annoyingly pointless xD

Ahem, time to talk about the episode then.

Again, they’re doing a good job of telling the story. Most notable is that they’re properly conveying the most important part: Luke is a spoiled asshole. You remember how he talked about getting his shoes dirty? He really meant it, ok? More on this in future episodes.

The biggest differences between the game and the anime are, well…It’s almost entirely the same. Sure, you walked around a bit in Engave and sure, Jade joined you in that fight utilizing his full arsenal of spells rather than using Indignation. Those are only really minor things though. I really hope many more episodes are going to be like this, because then this would easily get on my top list of anime (The game is competing for the title of my favorite game after all.)

I only wonder why they had to give Mieu those eyes. God, those horrible eyes. THEY HAUNT MY NIGHTMARES AT NIGHT! (Because yes, one clearly does not dream nightmares during the day. That would be a daymare or something…I wonder if that would be a good word to describe 4-hour classes?)

We got to see a little bit more of the action here too and it’s looking good. I’m very glad they kept in the over-the-top jumping ability and power that Luke possess. They had better include the meaning of birth fight in this game and it better cover the entire song ;P More on that sometime around episode 22 or 23.

What’s on my mind: OH GOD, THE EYEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEES!

 …At least the "mieu mieu!"-spam was in there…

Since I DID say I’d inform you of what animes I’m watching, I’m just going to go ahead and post here. I’ll make reviews of all the episodes so far bundled together and then make one per episode ^^

Series I’m following:

Persona -trinity soul-
Clannad
Gundam 00
Rosario + Vampire
D.Gray-Man
Bleach (need to catch up a little on this one though - won’t review all the earlier episodes in a chuck for obvious reasons ^^;)
Naruto Shippuuden (same as Bleach: I won’t review all the earlier ones xD;)
Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle: Tokyo Revelations
Shugo Chara! (lots of catching up to do ^^;;;)

Finished series that I’m currently watching:

Air Gear
Tokyo Underground
Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Kai
Overman King Gainer
Pumpkin Scissors
12 Kingdoms
Mobile Suit Gundam (yeah, assuming I manage to find it with the original japanese sound :3)
Mobile Suit Gundam SEED (I can’t just leave out my all-time favorite :D) 

I’m also kinda following Shakugan no Shana II, but I think I have too much to catch up on to want to do it in chunks the way I will with most other series ^^;
Besides, Cruelie talks about Shana for us ^^

But yeah, there’s a heads-up. Just gotta survive past an exam and then I’ll get working :3

Oh and if you think there’s some anime I definitely should check out/add to either of my lists or if you have any thoughts at all, please do comment ^^ Any comment on a review or summary of mine is helpful for improving the quality of the things I write, dakara onegai ^^

Soshite ima ni: Karasu wa tottemo kawaii! "Hauuuu! "

Alright, I decided it’s been too long since I last saw Sokyuu no Fafner, so that will have to wait. In exchange, I’ll just go ahead and give my thoughts on another gem. But first the lovely tale of the beastly reincarnation of a homosexual angel:

 Sousei no Aquarion - 創聖のアクエリオン - Genesis of Aquarion

Alright, I believe this qualifies as a Mecha-series, but it has a very spiritual theme combined with quite odd romance.

Sousei no Aquarion is mainly about a boy named Apollo. His behaviour (often his way of thinking) is more like that of an animal than that of a civilized human. He runs on all fours, uses his nose to find food and prey, hunts and eats rats raw and so on.

One day, a guy who can lit his feet on fire and a girl who can use telekinesis (moving objects with mere mind-power) appear in front of him, knock him out cold and proceeds to examine his back for traces of the "taiyo no tsubasa" (can be translated as "The wing/wings of the/a sun" or as the subbers usually put it "The solar wing/wings").

Turns out that 10,000 years ago, a race of almost divine beings called Blood Angels fought against eachothers and the legendary hero Apollonius, the solar wing, defeated them with the help of his female human lover. The problem currently in the world is that the Blood Angels are starting to reappear, so the reincarnation of Apollonius is being searched for to help them.

Three vehicles similar to the common sci-fi dogfighting-ship called "Vectors", each with their own designation (Vector Sol, Vector Luna and Vector Mars) have been found and are the legacy of Apollonius. If they are piloted by Elementals (people with special abilities, if you remember the telekinesis-girl and the fire-guy from two paragraphs ago :D), a "gattai" (translates as "union") where "the body, the mind and the soul" are combined into one. The result is that the three Vectors become an awesome mecha that tends to kick ass.

After the events of the in my opinion ridicilously epic first episode, Apollo joins the other discovered Elementals at their base of operations where they are trained for the ultimate purpose of piloting (and one day hopefully uniting with) the Vectors. These Vectors are, when united, Aquarion. The series contains lots of fighting, where the victory usually comes from discovering the truth behind the various things they are being taught during the training they get from Gendo Fudo (also known as the epitome of manliness. Is known to move at speeds faster than the eye can percieve and transforming an arrow into three arrows.)

Most of the time, these things and the truth behind them are very symbolic and the entire series strive to build on symbolism that seems to be inspired by buddhism (uniting the mind, soul and body leads to enlightement, hence the way uniting the pilots of the Vectors becomes the great and powerful Aquarion).
Although the holy stuff with all its symbolism may not be something you as the viewer directly care about, it’s pulled off in a really nice way that people who appreciate symbolism will really like (much thanks to the fact that it’s the core of the plot)

What this boils down to is a lot of sequences that may not be character development per se, but rather development of the knowledge and teamwork of the group as a whole. The core of the events is basically them figuring out the tricks of how the holy stuff works and how it can be used, after which it’s usually used in the next fight. Kind of a standard pattern, but the content itself is varied enough to make this an irrelevant to the enjoyment.

So as a whole, Sousei no Aquarion is a nice experience that may not suit people who want something that’s not the slighest bit heavy, but all those people should check it anyway. It’s quite surprising how easy you can get the wrong image of it until you’ve actually seen the first few episodes.

It’s a total of 26 episodes, switches opening in the middle from the awesome Sousei no Aquarion to the also awesome Go Tight! The endings are quite interesting songs as well, but I’ll just let you see them yourself.

Drawing and Animation gets  9.3/10 with lots of interesting things being done flawlessly by the studio and some really great combination of 3D and 2D for the mechas.

Audio gets 8.8/10, not because the music isn’t as awesome as the animation, but because they tend to use the best bit from Sousei no Aquarion (the song that is :D) whenever a fight is about to be won. It’s obviously meant to make things epic (and it DEFINITELY manages to), but I give it a little less cred for not making some more epic songs to play in such moments. The sound-effects and BGMs are quite simply flawless and fit very well with the surroundings they’re used in.

Story gets a solid 9/10 with its interesting and quite unique template, where even the core of the plot isn’t quite as simple as it usually is in most stories. The symbolism is well chosen and it all just really works.

Characters get a 8.5/10 for having a really great cast, but not fully developing or getting closer to several of them. The series itself seems to be, as I mentioned earlier, more focused on developing them as a group, although it does go in close on the pasts of several of them. Still, you won’t be remembering some of the names afterwards, sadly. Also, Fudo.

All things counted together, I’d give the entire series a 9/10. It’s one of the best series I have seen and it should be very worth giving a watch, though it may not necessarily suit fans of mecha.

Alright, I’ve got Bokurano on my to-do list, but my next post will probably inform you of what anime I’m following and I’ll be focusing on covering the new episodes of those ^^ 

Soooo, Cruelie wanted me to join in and post about anime I see as well to get different sides on things. Sounded fun and it may get me to finally write stuff in a blog as I kinda have wanted (but never gotten around to).

So yeah, I’ll be posting here too. I believe I watch a bunch of different stuff than what Cruelie watches and I’m going to look up lots of old gems I’ve missed pretty soon ^^

As a little something, I give you two anime series that I’ll write about in my next post:

• Sokyuu no Fafner
• Sousei no Aquarion

Soshite ima ni: Mokona Modoki wa Doki-Doki~