"Asu e no Brilliant Road" - Uchuu no Stellvia Opening Theme

 The opening theme of Uchuu no Stellvia (Stellvia of the Universe) is one of my favourites. "Asu e no Brilliant Road (Brilliant Road to Tomorrow)" by angela has one of those epic feelings. Angela, which is a band featuring Atsuko and Katsu, has performed a number of anime theme songs.

The song itself features Atsuko's very distinct voice and singing style. When you hear her, you know it's her. I find this song to be very enjoyable to listen to, and I've been listening to it for the last 20 years. This is from a time when anime theme songs had a lot of character, and this one does.

The animation during the opening features the main characters in various scenes from the first episode. There is also CGI animation of the Stellvia and the ships that they fly. It's colourful, clear, and looks good. But since they use a lot of animation from the episode, that may be a cost cutting measure. However, it does look nice.

Overall, I really like this opening, and I could listen to it over and over. I'm only on episode 5, so I'll be hearing it a lot. And you can watch it, too! Check out the video on YouTube. King Record doesn't allow embedding of videos, unfortunately.

How do you like this theme song? Let me know!

A Change in How I Do Episode Reviews

 I'm currently watching 12 series, and it takes a lot of time to write episode reviews. For now, I'm only going to write episode reviews for series starting at episode 1. There are a lot of series I have been watching a while now, and it doesn't make sense to write episode reviews part way through a series. So, for now, I'll only be doing reviews for Ao no Hako and Ranma 1/2 (2024). There are a couple series I'm finishing right away, but I will only do episode reviews for relatively new series (that is within the last 2 years). As for the completed series, I need to write the full reviews. In addition, I will continue to do music reviews for openings and endings, and embed the videos on the blog for those. I think this will help me get caught up, as I actually haven't watched anything in a couple weeks. I've been busy. I'm thinking of doing the next Ranma 1/2 episode tonight!

All the Forgotten Anime

 Long ago, in what feels like another galaxy far, far away, I ran an anime review website that I discontinued because I moved to Japan and couldn't keep up with anime on TV. I didn't have my collection, either. That website doesn't exist anymore, but I found it on the Wayback Machine!

I found out something. I watched far more anime than I can even remember. There are titles that I don't remember, and others that I knew I wanted to see, but I didn't actually remember having seen any of them. What's wrong with my memory? Well, it's been around 20+ years since I've seen them all.

I checked out the list of DVDs I had, too. I had a lot more than I can remember, and I hadn't even watched them all. But you know what? I still have them. They're in a box somewhere under the stairs of the house I'm living in, as they were packed away when I moved to Japan. If I can get to them, I may actually be able to watch them on my PC's blu-ray drive. This is intriguing. However, most of them are incomplete series. I also have a lot of fansubs from back when that was a thing that was done on VHS. Yes, I have all 200 episodes of Sailor Moon on VHS.

I'm not sure when I'll have the chance to look for them. I need to do some major work in my office/studio to create some space for them, as well as the many books I have. This may take a while. But, even though they are physical digital media, I can still watch most them on streaming services. Also, we're able to watch them as they are released on TV in Japan, as many are streaming in North America, too. It's incredible how things have changed in the last couple decades.

More reviews are coming soon! I need to catch up on Ao no Hako and Ranma 1/2 first, then I'll get back to work on the series I'm working my way through.

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!