Wednesday, January 4, 2006
	| First| Prev | Next |Last | Akira Illustration #56 "Lamune" | First| Prev | Next |Last | "Lamune" by Akira (2006-01-04) I'm not feeling well (caught cold?), so I don't think I'll work on Wednesday's trip... Sorry... Instead..., I uploaded 10 minutes drawing -_-; I had time to watch some of the anime I recorded last year (2005). From the animes I've watched, I was greatly entertained and surprised by "Lamune". I think for 99% of the viewers, "Lamune" will be the most boring anime they've seen, but to me, I totally enjoyed its slow paced, off-tempo, nothing happen, love-love atmosphere. Nanami and Kenji were the best couple from the beginning to the end and people surrounding them are such nice people. Most reviews of thie anime said the episodes were boring as hell and animation quality was bad most of the time, but the ending (especially the last episode ep.12) really wrapped up the story well (I mean... it's so difficult to see good anime endings these days, don't you think?) If you have time to spend more than four hours on anime, and if you can enjoy slow paced "ExCoKo" (without jokes), then you might be able to sit through the whole series of "Lamune". I'll guarantee you will feel a small happiness at the end :) I image a coupling of Onii-chan and Haruna will be like Nanami and Kenji. They are meant to be together and nothing can separate them.

	Monday, January 9, 2006
	"I was sick for a couple of days" by Akira (2006-01-09) I was sick for couple of days. I apologize I couldn't update the website. The normal schedule will start from Wednesday (1/11). I had relaxing days, and I feel fine right now. I'm rather embarrassed that my crappy Lamune drawing was up for a week -_-;

	Tuesday, January 10, 2006
	"Season in Review" by Konstantin (2006-01-10) With the new anime season starting (and the first episode of Fate/Stay Night downloading as I write this), I figure I'd cover the shows I've been watching from the last season. Mushishi - a really neat little show that's proving to be my favorite for the season. Reminds me quite a bit of Kino's Journey with its short-story approach to the episodes, as well as its tendency to go metaphysical/philosophical. Very highly recommended. Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha A's - Like the first Nanoha series, this one's proven to be quite excellent. It's still pretty much a magical girl series made with a male audience in mind (in light of the transformation sequences, Lolical Nanoha might be a more appropriate title ^^;), and keeps a good balance of plot progression and character development, never stooping to the level of toy commercial. Excellent animation, great battles, and catgirl twins, did I mention catgirl twins? Shakugan no Shana - Still haven't even gotten halfway through the series, but loving every ep so far. While the boy-meets-supernatural-tsun-dere-girl premise might not be the most original one in anime, this particular instance turned out quite nicely. Good animation, memorable characters, and a plot whose complexity hints at its novel origins. The fact that the opening song is by I've Sound's Mami is just icing on the cake. Ichigo Mashimaro - Silly, amusing, and cute enough to send lesser men into diabetic shock. The character designs feel a lot simpler and plainer than in the manga on which the show is based, but they still retain their essential cuteness. I've always had a weakness for Azumanga-style slice of life comedy, and Ichigo Mashimaro delivers. Technically this is from the previous season, but it took a while for a fansubber to pick it up and stick with it, and I'm glad to see that someone finally stepped up to the challenge. That's about it for this season. There's a number of shows I'm still meaning to watch (Rozen Maiden: Tr?umend, Noein, and Mai Otome, most notably), but haven't found time to yet. I'll have to see how many shows end up watch-worthy this upcoming season.