Blue Box (Ao no Hako) Episode 3 - Things are getting very interesting!

 I am loving this show! Episode 3 of Ao no Hako has a lot of suspense (for Taiki), but it's such a ridiculously wholesome series. There are spoilers in this review.

Taiki and Hina saw Chinatsu with Haryu in the previous episode, thinking they're a couple. Throughout this episode, there are hints about a relationship, or at least what Taiki thinks is evidence, but there's little solid evidence. Haryu calls her Chii, which is a rather familiar sounding way of calling her. Now Haryu is Taiki's rival. Haryu has been undefeated in his matches against others, as has Taiki. But Taiki's been playing against other first year students. And then it happened, a match between Taiki and Haryu. Haryu won, but Taiki made it difficult in the second half. Later on, it turns out Taiki is paired with Haryu for pairs. Taiki talks with Kyou and let's it slip that he likes Chinatsu. Kyou already knows this, but Haryu overhears it. He makes a remark to him about it, so now he knows. But Haryu really works Taiki hard over the next week. Chinatsu asks Taiki to come with her, and takes him to a park. She borrowed some badminton rackets and a shuttle, and wanted to play with Taiki, as he had asked her one time. He helps her with her serve, while she says that he actually outplayed Haryu in the second half of the match. He's doing well. This scene just made me smile a lot, as she really does support Taiki. He noticed on her bag a keychain that says "Chii" on it. She says that in her class, everyone calls her Chii. It was a misunderstanding on Taiki's part. The next day, after practice, Taiki and Kyou are leaving and run into the second years, including Haryu and Chinatsu. They're all chatting about Taiki, apparently. Haryu playfully insults Taiki's ability to play badminton, but believes he will be good. Chinatsu mouths to Taiki that he's doing well. However, here's where things get interesting. Haryu received a text from who? His girlfriend. She's in show business. Which means that he's not pursuing Chinatsu! 

So, this is going to be very interesting. What's going to happen? Will Haryu help Taiki with Chinatsu? Is Taiki going to be accepted in Haryu and Chinatsu's group? I can't wait to see what happens. I am really enjoying this. I should also mention that the animation in this episode, especially with the badminton matches, has been top notch. It looks so good!

What did you think of this episode?

"Antanante." - Ranma 1/2 (2024) Ending Theme

 An ending theme that doesn't sound like a Ranma 1/2 ending them? Yes, but it's good.

The song, "Antanante." (meaning "You." in Japanese), is a slower sounding song than the opening theme, but is a fairly calming one. The singer, Riria, has done a small number of songs for anime. She has a really good voice. This song gives me a good feeling, but it doesn't sound like the typical Ranma 1/2 ending theme that we got with the original series. But that's not a bad thing. One thing I noticed about halfway through is an instrument that may be traditional Chinese. It's a string instrument, but I have no idea what it is. I know little about music, I just know what I like. And I like this.

The animation is fairly simple, showing Akane and Ranma in manga form, though animated, having one of their usual altercations. It's simple, but effective. But I'll let you take a look at it here:

What do you think of "Antanante."?

"Iinazukkyun" - Ranma 1/2 (2024) Opening

 The opening theme of Ranma 1/2 (2024 version) is called "Iinazukkyun" by ano. Translated, it means "Fiancee". I was wondering what kind of song we would be getting, and I wasn't disappointed.

The song immediately brings me back to the original series with the Chinese sound of the first opening theme. But we are quickly brought into a very upbeat song with the singer, ano, using a cute voice, but singing quite quickly. It's a fun theme song to listen to. I looked into ano, and found that she has sung a few anime theme songs, but is mostly a soloist, model, actress, and lyricist who was part of the idol group You'll Melt More! a few years ago.

Visually, the opening is colourful, clean, and animated well. You get to see all of the main characters, as well as some supporting characters. They're all well represented in the opening, so you know who's going to show up in the series. It is quite visually pleasing.

I really enjoyed the opening them. Check it out here:

What do you think of "Iinazukkyun"?

Ranma 1/2 (2024) Episode 2 - This looks familiar

 Here we go with Ranma 1/2 episode 2! How does this stand up to the original? How does it compare to the manga? How do I really feel about it? Well, there are spoilers ahead.

In this episode, Ranma starts school, and he joins Akane on the way to school. Ranma gets turned into a girl by accident, and they run into Dr. Tofu (Morikawa Toshiyuki), who is Akane's crush. Ranma definitely notices this. They arrive at school and Akane is mobbed by a large group of boys, Akane defeating them all. And then comes along Kuno Tatewaki (Sugita Tomokazu), the captain of the kendo club. He takes an immediate disliking to Ranma and they fight. During the fight, it starts raining, and Genma comes with some hot water to turn him back into a boy. In school, Nabiki, being the manipulative sister who loves to gossip, spills the beans and everyone finds out Ranma and Akane are engaged. Kuno challenges Ranma, and they jump out the window into the swimming pool. Girl Ranma needs to get away, and hides under Kuno, who then wakes up and grabs his chest. Ranma gets away, and Kuno is somewhat confused. Akane comes to the rescue with some hot water, challenges Kuno, and tries to give Ranma time to change back. However, before he can, Kuno interrupts him. Later on, a letter arrives for Ranma, or pig-tailed girl as Kuno calls him/her. It's a challenge? Ranma (girl) meets Kuno at the school, and instead of a challenge, Kuno gives girl Ranma some roses. Ranma is mortified.

Now, this seems exactly like episode 2 of the 1989 series. There are some differences, and from what I've heard, this version is more faithful to the manga than the original was. That's a positive. There's a lot of manga-style animation, which I'm not too fond of, though. The other thing I don't particularly like is the younger-looking girls' character designs. I don't know, they don't exactly look right. But that could be my bias. I'm continuing to enjoy the original cast, even though their voices have changed with age. The animation is a lot better, and is brightly coloured.

This episode was full of action, which we would definitely expect. Lots of fun to watch. And of course, Kuno. He's such a strange guy, and kind of absurd. He is incredibly dense, but this is part of what makes him a fun character. Overall, I am enjoying this series so far. It's just difficult to distance myself from the original. I need to do better with that. Next up is episode 3, and we'll see what happens!

Blue Box (Ao no Hako) Episode 2 - I smiled the entire time

 Episode 2 of Ao no Hako has come, and I couldn't stop smiling! This episode review contains spoilers.

So, we've jumped ahead to March, and Chinatsu has moved in with Taiki's family. Taiki acts like a complete idiot, of course, as he doesn't seem to be able to control his awkwardness around Chinatsu. And for once, he realised he was acting that way. For much of this episode, Taiki is worried about others learning that they live in the same house, and gave Chinatsu the wrong impression. She gave him a bracelet for good luck, which they both have on their ankles. She discovers that he also wants to go to Nationals. At school, Chinatsu's misunderstanding begins, and acts like they don't know each other much after Taiki suddenly has an outburst to prevent her from letting Hina know they live together. As the episode goes on, Chinatsu believes that Taiki likes Hina, even though Hina is really one of his best friends. His other best friend is Kyou, who is on the badminton team with him. They later talk, and Chinatsu understands that she misunderstood, and all is well, or should be. Hina even presses Chinatsu to find out if she has a boyfriend, but she said no, she's only concentrating on basketball. At school, Taiki discovers his biggest rival will be Hanyu. He also notices the large number of admirers that Chinatsu has. And then he sees that Hina has a growing number of admirers. Hina is a nationally ranked rhythmic gymnast? Wow! Towards the end of the episode, Hina is walking with Taiki to see a famous chiropractor, and who should they see behind them? Hina and Hanyu. Uh-oh.

This episode had a lot of misunderstandings, which is common in romantic comedies, but nothing was really serious. It had a feeling of innocence. I was constantly smiling as I watched, as it felt so comfortable to watch. I didn't have second-hand embarassment, which is something I often have with Maison Ikkoku (but that's another story). It's fun watching the developing relationship between Taiki and Chinatsu, as she's the outsider to this group, and knows little about Taiki and Hina, and pretty much nothing about Kyou. The emergence of Hanyu as a rival for Taiki in more than one way is interesting.

I am thoroughly enjoying this now. If episode 1 hadn't hooked me, this episode absolutely did. The characters are so likeable. I can't help but smile. I can't wait to see episode 3!

"Teenage Blue" - Ao no Hako (Blue Box) Ending Theme

 "Teenage Blue" by eve is the ending theme of Blue Box (Ao no Hako). Along with the opening, we see a theme here! They all contain the word "blue." I'm still wondering what this means.

The opening theme is an easy listening pop song with good vocals and an interesting instrumental sound. It's hard for me to describe it in text, as I'm not good at talking about music. I just know what I like. And I like this song, as it fits the kind of show this is. It's just a feel-good song.

The animation in the ending credits is fairly simple. It's mainly the characters, including stills and action scenes. The three main sports are featured here. A neat aspect of this is when we see Chinatsu, Hina, and Taiki in consecutive stills, the words "Ao," "no," and "Hako" appear along side them. But a lot of character shots are shown. The animation fits the music well.

Check out the video here:

What do you think of the ending?

"Same Blue" - Blue Box (Ao no Hako) Opening Theme

 Now that Blue Box (Ao no Hako) has aired its first episode, we have a great look at the beautifully done opening credits.

The song, "Same Blue" by Official HIGE DANdism, is a very pleasing song to the ears, and it fits the genre of anime. Great voice, very nice music, and it just has a feel good feeling to it. I'm sure it'll grow on me as the series progresses.

The artwork is excellent. It's very detailed, especially the backgrounds. The characters look great, the animation is very good, and it all looks very crisp. We get to see the main characters with a lot of sports action and some that give hints to possible romance. Very well done.

Check out the opening here:

What do you think of the opening theme?

"Haru (Sunny)" - Sousou no Frieren 2nd Opening Theme

 On episode 17 of Sousou no Frieren, the opening theme changed. The new one is called "Haru" or "Sunny" by Yorushika. This song has a very different feel from the first opening, and definitely not like YOASOBI's style.

Musically, this song is a happy sounding one. It's a feel good song that gets you in the mood for the episode, and it really suits the series. This series is a fairly happy and positive story, and the song reflects it well. Yorushika has a great voice. "Yuusha" tends to stand out a lot more, though. While "Haru" is a good song and works well as an opening, I feel like it's in the shadow of "Yuusha".

The animation is done quite well, and we get to see a good number of characters that have not been introduced yet, and are definitely from the second half of the season (at the time of writing this, a second season has been announced). There are some action scenes, but it mostly focused on characters. It's as colourful as the first opening, so I guess it is sunny.

Here, you can watch the opening credits:

What do you think of the second opening of Sousou no Frieren?

Ranma 1/2 (2024) Episode 1 - Well, here it is!

 Ranma 1/2, the 2024 remake is here! Released on Netflix, I got to watch episode 1, and there will be spoilers!

To start off, I want to say that the story of episode 1 is nearly identical to episode 1 of the original 1989 series. The dialogue, the action, the situations, all the same. What's different? The character designs have been updated, and the girls are cuter. Kasumi looks too young, to be honest. The animation is nice and clean, having the advantage of more modern technology. The colour is brighter. It's more colourful than before.

So, Saotome Ranma (voiced by Yamaguchi Kappei/Hayashibara Megumi) and his father Genma (voiced by Cho) have returned from China, and Ranma is going to be the fiance of one of the Tendou girls. Akane (voiced by Hidaka Noriko) is 16, Nabiki (Takayama Minami) is 17, and Kasumi (Inoue Kikuko) is 19. Their father, Soun (Ootsuka Akio) has arranged with Genma for one of the girls to marry Ranma. Of course, when they arrive, Ranma is a girl and Genma is a panda. Very odd situation! Akane tries to be friends with Ranma until it's discovered after a bath that Genma is not a panda and Ranma is in fact a boy. Of course, Akane discovers this by walking in on Ranma, and they see each other naked. This is a big issue for Akane, but not so much for Ranma, as he's seen himself naked. Akane does not like this one bit. As Akane doesn't like boys, her sisters agree that she should be Ranma's fiancee. And so the story begins.

What's interesting about this episode is what has been changed. While most of the cast are the same, Soun and Genma's voice actors are different. The others sound a bit different than before, as they have aged 35 years since the original. However, Inoue Kikuko sounds exactly the same and Hayashibara Megumi has managed to sound nearly the same. I feel that Takayama Minami and Hidaka Noriko are a bit different. Yamaguchi Kappei sounds just the same as before. Another change is the addition of manga style text throughout the episode.

The opening theme is fun. It has a nostalgic Ranma feel to it, and "Iinazukkyun" by ano recaptures the Chinese-style theme song of the original. The ending theme, "Anta Nante." by riria is a more modern song that doesn't really match with the anime, I think. The song itself is fine, though. I will cover the theme songs in separate posts. Enjoy the opening theme here, though.

Going forward, I will be focusing more on the episodes themselves, rather than a comparison with the original. I want this to stand on its own, and I will judge it for itself.

With all that said, what do I think of it? Ranma 1/2 is a classic. I was so happy to see it get a remake, and I did enjoy watching episode 1. We don't yet know how long season 1 will be, nor do we know how long the entire series will be. That remains to be seen. Overall, recommended and fun.

"Anytime Anywhere" - Sousou no Frieren Ending Theme

 The ending theme of Sousou no Frieren is "Anytime Anywhere" by milet. But there are two versions. The first version is for episode 1 through 16, while the second version starts at episode 17. They are from the same song, but as far as I understand, they are different parts of the song.

The song itself gives a feeling of melancholy. The singer, milet, has a very distinct voice that's easy to recognise. She has good range, and her voice gets quite high towards the end. I enjoy this song, as it is very calming, and matches the series very well. 

The animation is interesting, as it appears to be stop motion, though that may just be the effect. It's like paper dolls. The background imagery looks like paintings, and is quite beautiful to look at. I find it matches the music.

Here is version 1:

And here is version 2:

Which do you prefer?

Popular Anime I Don't See the Appeal of

 Everyone has different tastes in their entertainment. I understand that, and so should everyone else. Not everyone does understand, though. And some people may not understand why I have no desire to watch the follow anime series.

One Piece

I really don't care for the style at all. The faces are ugly to me. I like watching anime that at least has reasonably attractive (or more normal) character designs. This is just far too cartoonish for me. Maybe it's good. Maybe someone will convince me to watch it. But I have so many anime series I want to watch before this one.

Death Note

This is extremely popular, but for some reason, the theme just doesn't appeal to me. I have actually watched a couple episodes as they were airing in Japan, but it didn't hook me. Someday maybe, but now, I don't really want to watch it.

My Hero Academia

This is another one where some of the designs are over the top. I haven't watched any of it, but that really turns me off of the series.

Fairy Tail

Yet again, there are some designs in this series that just don't appeal to me. Maybe this is one that I can be convinced to watch, though.

JoJo's Bizarre Adventure

I feel like I'm repeating myself with this. This series has some of the strangest and ugliest character designs I've seen. I just don't see myself watching it.

There are some that I have felt kind of on the fence about, but mostly because of the length of the series, such as Naruto, Bleach, and Gintama, but I actually have them on my to watch list. I have full intentions of watching all of Ranma 1/2, Urusei Yatsura, and Dragon Ball in all their incarnations. 

I'm curious which popular series you're not interested in watching.

Blue Box (Ao no Hako) Episode 1 - What a start!

 Premiering on Netflix today, this is the first time I'm watching a series as it airs since I lived in Japan. Ao no Hako, or Blue Box in English, is a sports romance anime that stars Inomata Taiki, a 3rd year junior high school student who plays badminton, and Kano Chinatsu, a 1st year high school student who is a star basketball player. They are in a completely different class from each other, as she's a star, and he's just practicing with the senior high team. But of course, this wouldn't be a romance without these two being a possible future couple, right? Well, it's very early, and Taiki has a major crush on Chinatsu. Now, before I continue, there are spoilers ahead.

To put this as briefly as possible, Taiki is very enthusiastic about trying to have a relationship with Chinatsu, but he's very awkward about it. She probably has no idea yet. They are the first two at school in the morning to practice their respective sport, and after some awkward moments, they do start to talk. Taiki's friends Hina (rhythmic gymnastics) and Kyo (badminton) are also introduced, and they know about his crush on Chinatsu. Did I mention that this school, Eimei Private School is known for its sports program? Well, Taiki's mother was a basketball player at this very school, and was a teammate of Chinatsu's mother. They have a connection! Unfortunately, Chinatsu's family is being transferred overseas in two months. And this is where things get interesting. Chinatsu says she's not going, but is staying with an acquaintance. It's Sunday morning now, and Taiki wakes up, only to find Chinatsu in the kitchen! That acquaintance? It's Taiki's family. They're going to live together.

I can see the direction this may be going, and this is going to probably result in some awkward moments, but also quite humourous. So far, this show has been funny, heartwarming, and just put a smile on my face. The quality of the animation and art is outstanding. It's beautiful to watch. The opening theme, "Same Blue" by Official HIGE DANdism and the ending theme, "Teenage Blue" by Eve have a very similar feeling to each other. Other than having the word "blue" in the title, along with the series title, they are fairly calm and catchy songs. I'll be reviewing them separately soon.

So, is this episode 1 a win? Absolutely! I can't wait to see what happens next.

Excited for Two New Series! Ranma 1/2 and Ao no Hako

 Starting this week, I'll be watching Ranma 1/2 and Ao no Hako as the episodes come out on Netflix. This will bring me to 12 concurrent series being watched. Is that a lot? Probably. But this is the beginning of what I'd like to do, have two current series and ten older series going at once.

With Ranma 1/2, I'll be watching both the classic and the new series at the same time. This will be an interesting experience, I think. I'm a big fan of the original, so I really want to see how this one turns out. The great thing about it is that most of the original cast is back, including the amazing Hayashibara Megumi, Hidaka Noriko, and Inoue Kikuko, among others. I've already seen the opening theme, and it has that classic Ranma 1/2 vibe to it. I can't wait to watch it.

As for Ao no Hako, this one stood out to me amongst all the others, as I rarely ever watch a sports anime, and this one is more of a romance. I don't know a lot about it, and that's how I like to keep it. I don't like spoilers, so I didn't look up much information about it. However, the concept attracted me to this series.

In the future, I'll likely start more new series as they come out. It really depends on if they stand out from the other series, and where I am with other current series. We have no information about how long either of these series are. However, Ranma 1/2 is a very long manga series, so who knows how much we'll see? Maybe we'll actually get a conclusion to the story, like we did with the manga.

What series are you most interested in watching this fall?