Monday, August 27, 2007

Windy Tales: Episode 1

With a passion for capturing feelings and life with her camera, Nao is head of the Digital Camera Club at her school. Today, she is taking pictures of clouds on the roof of her school when she notices a cat with a peculiar ability to fly (it seems). As she tries to get a better shot of the cat and his feline relatives who seem to simultaneous lift off the ground and float in the air, she falls off the roof. Surprisingly, she has no injuries whatsoever due to the manipulation of the wind by her math teacher who happened to see her falling.

Like the title suggests, the anime is a really calm, cute and gentile. The animation and artwork itself is unlike any I've seen. Although it seems somewhat sloppy and sketchy, it really emphasizes the warm simplicity of their lives.

Friday, August 24, 2007

Naruto Shippuuden 26 - oh the action!

Whoever thought the battle between the 3rd Hokage and Orochimaru was an epic one, seriously missed out on the battle between Sasori and Sakura & Chiyo-baa-sama. Honestly, that episode was the best animation, action and storyline I've ever seen. Well, I don't want to give those of you who haven't seen the latest subbed episode any spoilers, so I'll log off now before I start screaming with delight from the animation sequences XD.

Yes, this is Sakura, kicking ass, once again.
And Chiyo-sama, finally showing off her mad skills.

Friday, August 17, 2007

Anime Review Blogs

(Oh, I'm sorry, that anime and manga review blogs, but I really don't care to be politically correct.)

So, I've thought about approaching blogging anime in tons of different ways for the duration of this blog's existence. Yes, I've done my research (if a bit sloppy and rushed, at that), and found that many anime bloggers seem to blog an entire series episode by episode. You want to know my opinion? Too bad, you're going to get it anyway. I think going episode by episode is a poor way for readers to decide whether or not they want to pick up the series. They'd have to read at least two posts to really know if the anime series is actually good and suits their liking. But of course, if the blogger is aiming to just give a description of each and every episode for archiving purposes, by all means, go right on ahead.

In the future, however, I think I'll try and review the first episode, and then blog the entire series in one cumulative review. Of course, this will only be when I have enough time and patience to watch and review series like Lucky Star. Usually, you'll see when a series goes bad because I won't finish the series and I'll tell you that I hated it.

Thursday, August 16, 2007

Welcome to the NHK

Satou Tatsuhiro is a 22-year-old college drop out. As someone who is Not in Employment, Education, or Training (NEET) and a hikikomori (one who is socially withdrawn), he stays in his apartment and has to constantly listen to the PuruPuru Purin anime song of his next door neighbor, thinking the world is conspiring against him and driving him into this hikikomori state. One day he meets Misaki Nakahara who invites him to her project to cure him of his hikikomori ways.

I've only watched three episodes of this anime, it's cute with its talking refrigerators and weird monsters. A comedy that any otaku can enjoy, but certainly not a masterpiece.

Wednesday, August 15, 2007

Notes from Otaku-san is on Technorati!

Yep! Check it out! Technorati Profile
Also, new features added to the blog with FeedBurner.

Thursday, August 9, 2007

Goong

What's not to like about Goong with its references to Prince William, Michael Jackson, and hilarious monologue about poo?

Goong is set in modern-day Korea, a Korea which maintains a constitutional monarchy. It's about 17-year-old Chae Gyoung who, by a promise from her grandfather to the former king of Korea, is arranged to marry the crown prince of Korea, Shin. At first she is completely against this marriage especially considering Shin is rude and inconsiderate, but she gradually comes to love Shin even though he does not return her feelings. However, things are complicated as Shin's cousin, Yul, falls in love with Chae Gyoung on top of Shin's ex-girlfriend trying to win Shin back.

The comedic manga (or should I say manhwa) by Park So Hee has everything. Although the chibis in the manhwa are ugly, rather than cute, it makes reading it so much funnier and easy to enjoy. The style of writing is also interesting where unlike other mangas, Park So Hee oftentimes refers to herself as the author of the manga in a playful author vs. character sort of way. Unlike other shoujo manga, it doesn't have the overly predictable plots which sets this manhwa apart from the rest.

Although its excellent plot and art makes Goong a read that's hard to put down, non-native Koreans will have trouble becoming familiar with all the formalities of addressing the royal subjects of Korea. But that shouldn't stop you from reading!!

Friday, August 3, 2007

Special A (manga)


When I first picked up the manga Special A, I was drawn in by its cute artwork and loveable characters. The protagonist, Hanazono Hikari, is a hot-tempered over-the-top hard-worker. Ever since being beaten at pro-wrestling by Takishima Kei, she has gone to the same prestigious school as him just to beat her rival. Even though being in the same "Special A" (aka SA) class is an extreme achievement, her #2 status doesn't suffice while Takashima is in #1. What I love about this manga is that all the characters are care-free and interesting. If you loved Ouran High School Host Club or The Wallflower (aka Perfect Girl Evolution and Yamato Nadeshiko Shichi Henge), you'll love Special A.

I've only read through Volume 3, but I can't wait to see more!

Wednesday, August 1, 2007

Hello

Konnichiwa mina-sama! Hello, I'm Otaku-sama, owner of this blog. I figure I should introduce myself and the blog so that readers can understand what it's all about.

My pen name online is usually Lyra. I was born and bred in the U.S.; I'm by no means Japanese, although I'd really like to live there someday. This blog will be featuring reviews of anything and everything, not just aspects of Japanese culture, but also books--of both the novel and graphic novel variety--, websites, among other things from the U.S. will be discussed. In a sense, my hermitage and attachment to the computer isn't only bounded by Japanese things, but it expanded to the entire internet. So don't be surprised to find a post about Google Analytics (for example), it all just depends on my mood. But, with that said, I'll still be writing mostly about manga and anime, but I hope fellow otakus out there can see more to otaku-dom than Japanime.

Thanks for reading,
Lyra