"Hakudou" - #Compass 2.0: Sentou Setsuri Kaiseki System OP by Mizuki Nana

Series: #Compass 2.0: Sentou Setsuri Kaiseki System (Spring 2025)

Title: "Hakudou"

Artist: Mizuki Nana

Bright colours, interesting designs, and absolutely no idea what's going on. That's how I would describe the visuals of "Hakudou" by Mizuki Nana. It's not clear what this anime is about, but we're here for the music, right?

Being Mizuki Nana, I would expect her usual great vocals. It doesn't disappoint. She sounds great, as she is a veteran of anime music (and a seiyuu, as well). She has a strong voice throughout. The song itself is somewhat unusual sounding. It's not your standard pop song. There's even a bit of rapping. Instrumentally, you can hear some strong bass. It's very prominent. There's some electronic music, but it sounds like a band. I really enjoy the music in this one. Check out the video:

So, what is my verdict? I like Mizuki Nana. She has catchy music, and this is no exception. This song has an unusual sound to it, so it's unique. I'd listen to it a few times, I think.

Overall: 4.0

Now, the question is, does it make me want to see the series? Not really. While the music is good, what I see in the video doesn't interest me much.

Let's do something crazy with anime music

 It's been a while since I've posted anything. I realised that I don't really want to do anime reviews. I did it 20-25 years ago and always had trouble keeping on doing it. I'm actually doing episode by episode reviews on MyAnimeList as I watch, so I don't think there's any point to posting in two places. However, I have a plan. And it's a crazy one.

One of the most memorable parts of anime is the music. In particular, the opening and ending themes. What I'm going to be doing is going through every opening and ending for the current season, reviewing and rating them. Each one will have a review on here, and I will be compiling lists that will be in a few categories: year (with season subsections), anime, and artist. The yearly one will be ordered by rating. The anime and artist lists will be ordered by year. So, I will start with the openings for spring 2025, while also starting with the very earliest years of anime (the 60s) and try to eventually catch up. The early years will be quick, as there aren't nearly as many titles back then as there are every season these days.

I will be reviewing everything, even if I haven't watched the anime. In fact, some of these may make me add the titles to my list of anime to watch. It's more than 500 titles at the moment, but will keep growing. Again, I review what I watch episode by episode on MyAnimeList. Add me as a friend if you want to keep up with what I'm watching.

At the end of each season, I'm going to compile a list of my top 50 openings and endings of the season, and post them in order from my favourite to least favourite. At the end of each year, I'll also be doing the same, but for a yearly ranking. But should I do rankings for each decade? I'm not sure.

The ratings will be as follows:

• 5 - I can listen to this multiple times without getting tired of it. I love it.
• 4 - I can listen to this a few times, and enjoy it quite a bit.
• 3 - I can listen to this once or twice, then I don't really need to listen to it, but I still like it.
• 2 - I can listen to it once, but I'm not fond of it.
• 1 - I really don't want to listen to it. It's not very good at all. I'd prefer to skip it.

I will also be doing half ratings if it doesn't completely fit one of these ratings.

So, I will be starting as soon as possible. I'll be going through the titles in alphabetic order, and will be including TV series, movies, OVA, ONA, and specials. So, let's get on it!

I Think I Have Too Much Going On

 It's become clear to me that I just can't seem to write reviews. I remember why I stopped running an anime review site all those years ago. I simply didn't enjoy writing the reviews. I'm trying to think of what I can do, and this is what I've come up with.

I will write reviews (brief) on MyAnimeList. As I watch an episode, I'll enter my thoughts about each episode, and once done, I'll write fairly brief reviews.

On this blog, I want to focus on the music of anime. Why? Because I can't really review the openings and endings on MyAnimeList. I'd like to create full lists of the songs for all series I watch, including those listed by anime title, artist, and year. For the year, I want to include a rating out of 5, so I can compile lists of my favourite songs of each year. Why? Just because I like rankings.

Let's see what I can do. I'll just watch anime when I want without worrying about having to write reviews. I think that's better. I found that I was delaying watching because I wasn't in the mood to write a review. Now, I'll just watch as much as I want without worrying about the reviews. I'll get more done, I think.

Let's Get to Work! New Reviews, New Pages

 I just had a very busy two weeks and managed to watch only two episodes of anime. I'm behind on Ao no Hako and Ranma 1/2, but I plan to work on getting caught up over the rest of the month. But there are some other things I have in mind going forward.

I've mentioned this before, but episode by episode reviews will only happen with current series and select series that are within a couple years old (and possibly some very select older series). I do have two new series I plan on starting in January while they're airing.

Second, I'm going to be adding pages for music sorted in a few different ways: year, series, and artist. I will also be adding ratings to them so that in the year listing, I can sort them by rating. I will go back to the openings and endings I have already reviewed and add ratings to the posts.

Next, I really need to get the reviews of completed series up. In the progress page, you'll see what I've finished and what's coming up. I will be finishing another two series very shortly (Tenchi Muyou Ryo-ohki 1 and Planetes). 

So, I'm going to be busy for the next while getting everything up to speed here. Expect a new background for the blog, too. Something simple.

"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.