Superevil225 (Level 17)
Starting from number 5, let's parooze through Superevil's top 5 anime! Let the countdown begin!
#5 ~ Ookiku Furikabutte
Before you start you complain about sports anime, give this one a chance.
 | Usually shortened to Oofuri or refered to by its English name, Big Windup! this anime explores the strong bond of friendship and teamwork a high school baseball team goes through. It centres around Ren Mihashi, a nervous wreak of a pitcher, and Abe a calm and collected catcher. Ren feels utterly useless after being bullied on his middle school baseball team, and he falls apart on the pitcher's mound. But Abe and his teammates teach Ren that he's better than he thinks he is, and it isn't his fault if they loose a game. Oofuri isn't just about baseball and boys smacking balls, it's about friendshi and teamwork, and gives a strong anti-bullying message. Very cute, funny, emotional, and overall an outstanding slice-of-life anime. This anime also has an outstanding dub, and is by far one of the best sports anime, and one of my favourites. |
What's your 5th favourite anime? Why? Have you seen Oofuri? What are your opinions?
Keep your eyes on the look out for #4 on Superevil's top 5 anime!
I'm back~ Did you miss me? We'll skip the pleasantries and just get to part where I apologize for homework and skip to the review. Today I'm gunna talk about a slice-of-life anime called You and Me, or in Japanese Kimi to Boku.
The premise, characters and over all anime on paper sounds a bit
overused and not really original. The whole feel of the anime is very
lazy and sleepy. Mind you I watched this at 6:30 in the morning. But the
random little snippets with cats being lazy cats in between teenaged
boys being lazy constitutes as a very lazy anime. Not much happened.
Heck, the whole premise is based on the fact that nothing changes for
these kids... since kindergarten. No joke. Which is why I decided I would review two episodes because almost nothing happens in the first episode. It really only beings to pick up around the last few minutes. While the first episode went no where, the second is actually pretty good. I have a soft spot for fluffy slice of life anime like Big Windup!, Sekai Ichi Hatsukoi, and Ouran Highschool Host Club. Pretty much the whole anime is adorable, happy-go-lucky, and lazy. It reminds me of lazy summer days which aren't really bad. But I digress, the first episode was lame. The second it starts to get cute and funny.
What wasn't lazy was animation. I loved the colours and the style. The cute art makes the whole show just so adorable. Everything blends so nicely to create just a lovely sweet mood. I serious went to school this morning with the biggest smile on my face. The sound is nice, and i really have nothing bad to say about the animation or art. Everything is just way to cute and happy.
While the characters were pretty much stereotypes I didn't mind it. There's Yuki and Yuta who are really lazy and unmotivated twin who I just adore. They are so cute! We've got Kaname who's our glasses bearing serious man, and there's Shun who's a trap. I these characters are just so amazing together. I love how innocent this whole anime is. The characters are so socially awkward and so hugable! Kimi To Boku does deal with some more deeper issues than bad luck, anime club, and accidental porn. It's like Stand By Me, about how boys will be boys, but this time it's crazy adorable and there isn't a dead body at the end. I suggest to give Kimi To Boku a spin. It definitely is shojo and some might find it boring, but I urge you to watch the second episode, then make a judgment.
I don't really have much more to say for the anime. It's difficult to review because not a lot happens. It's not deep, but it's very enjoyable. Here's a few screen caps from episode 1 and 2 to give you a nice feel.
Screen Caps!
Well, I must say that the plot is pretty similar to Junjou Romantica, but I have a confession to make. I hate JR. Mainly because Usami and the other couples pissed me off. Even though SiH has a fairly similar set up with the obvious uke/seme (bottom/top) thing going on, I like the idea that we're avoiding rape. It's nice to have a yaoi where the spark that lights the fire isn't rape. You'd be surprised how common a theme that is. I thought it was quite funny how Ritsu's previous job was working with Usami from Junjou. I laughed a little too loud during his flashback. But it's nice to see that the creators have a sense of humour.
SiH was actually pretty tame, yaoi wise. The only thing you really get yaoi wise is some flashback kissing, and a rather hilarious sexual harassment kiss. Yes. Sexual harassment. It's work... right? I mean, what ever pays the bills, and makes that shojo manga epicly romantic. Basically, for the first episode, I'm going to call it shounen-ai, not really yaoi because yaoi=sex. I loved the way that the creators played off of the yaoi and shojo stereotypes. It's quite ironic when Ritsu's commenting on why "everything is all sparkly" during a kiss scene in the shojo manga. The creators seemed to have a lot of fun. What was also pretty funny was the whole 'cycle' with the editors. It's like their own little menstrual cycle... except with shojo manga and less blood. Overall the humour was quite clever and despite Sekai Ichi Hatsukoi's primary demographic, I think everyone will have at least something to enjoy. I just really appreciated the fun tone of this anime, and the little quips, references, and forth-wall poking.
The animation was good. Usually yaoi and shounen-ai anime have awful animation budgets and everything is just... uck... *cough*TogainuNoChi*cough* but the animation was pretty smooth. I still have a bone to pick (heh) with the art style in SiH. It's the same as Junjou Romantica, and I really wasn't a fan of it. THE PROPORTIONS. But at least the humour and the story makes up for the disproportionate lips.
Oh... and on an unrelated note: Katsuyuki Konishi voices Takano. If that name means nothing to you, he's the same guy that voices Kamina in Gurren Lagann, Laxus Dreyar in Fairy Tail, Demon Eyes Kyo, and Ash's Snorlax in Pokemon. Never gunna look at them the same way... are you? I was also really happy to know he was Kiriwar in Togainu No Chi. <3
I actually recommend everyone to give the first episode a try. It's quite cute, and quite funny. No sex, and overall tame for a yaoi. I can't vouch for later episodes, though. Anyways, give it a watch, and let me know what you think below. :D
EDIT:
Takashichea did a summary here. Read it if you're a bit scared to watch the anime. :P
Do you love a nice warm drink in your hand while the snow covers your house from head to toe? Want to impress your significant other by whipping up a delicious drink? Look no further! Savoury Sips is here!
Today let's talk about an easy to make, yet delicious drink perfect for fall/winter. London Fog! This drink is super easy and great on a cold day. All you need is...
- Milk
- Earl Grey Tea
- Vanilla syrup
- A spoon
You also need something that can steam milk. If you've got a cappuccino maker, you're pretty much set. Here's how you make it:
- Put the Earl Grey tea bag in the bottom of your cup.
- Take your milk and put it into a metal cup. Steam the milk so that it's frothy, and hot to the touch. Be careful not to burn the milk, or heat it too much. This will make it taste awful.
- Pour the steamed milk into your cup, holding back most of the froth with the spoon.
- Add the vanilla syrup to the milk/Earl Grey mix and stir. For 1 average mug of vanilla, you don't want to use more than a teaspoon, unless you want your London Fog to be on the sweet side.
- Add some of the froth from the steamed milk to the London Fog and you're done!
Any questions? Ask bellow! Also, enjoy your drink! (I apologize to southern hemi Vicers :P)
J-Pop!
This week's j-pop pick is Ai Otsuka's Cherish. You may have heard this one in a lovely video known as "Draw With Me" which you can look up on youtube if you're interested. Without further ado, here is Cherish! J-Rock!
You might recognize this singer's voice from Kuroshitsuji II. Here I bring you a different song from The Gazette. This one's called Vortex. No. There wont be any demon butlers. Sorry Team Alois. But it's good for those Kuroshitsuji haters!Anime Op/Ed
And here's where I'll take a random opening or ending from an anime, give you the low down on the anime, and you fanboy/fangirl in the comments below. This one's the opening to a two episode OVA called " Switch". It's a much longer manga series written and drawn by ' Naked Ape'. It's got a similar tone as the ever popular Death Note, but without all the magical notebooks and death gods. Switch is about Hal and Kai, who're a pair of bad-ass cops who take down druggies and drug organizations alike.
If you have any suggestions for bands/songs/openings/endings or categories, feel free to let me know via pm, the comments, or twitter (@superevil225). Thanks for checking this out! See ya next time!
