Oh yeah, better update about where I am with other series.

These are the ones that I am currently still watching; there are a few others that I've finished recently but I hope to talk about those in another post in the future.


Hunter x Hunter (2011); last seen episode 44. UP TO DATE.

Moyashimon Returns; seen episode 4 (behind by 4 episodes). I was sad to realise that I'm just not enjoying this one as much as the first season, but I plan to stick with it to the end anyway.

Space Brothers; last watched episode 10 so REALLY behind with it, but I love what I have seen and am catching up steadily. I was reading the manga but gave up since it seemed to translate so well to anime (someone tell me if I'm missing out on anything by doing so).

Jinrui wa Suitai Shimashita; HOW DID I END UP WATCHING THIS SURREAL PIECE OF CRACK ABOUT FAIRIES AND THE DECLINE OF HUMANITY? I watched up to episode 7 last night. I like a good dose of weird and this series delivers that, plus it is actually cleverer than it appears at first (and it gets more amusing after the first couple of episodes). I find myself going between laughing out loud at how bizarre it is and finding the world and the fairies to be very unsettling (also, I don't think for a minute that it's true but I do enjoy the theory that the series is all a total delusion and Watashi is probably insane). Please give me more of this trapped-inside-manga-panels, time loop, anthropomorphised space probes (VOYAGER IS LOVE), non-linear, unnamed character, social commentary-ish oddity.

It can't be called post apocalyptic (there was no apocalypse) but it is a refreshingly different take on a society where human population has entered a decline. Is anyone else still watching?

How has it been more than a MONTH since I last posted?

Okay, that needs to stop. And the only way I can get it to stop is to begin using this journal more again and not allowing myself to fall out of the habit of doing so (because the longer I spend out of touch on here the more insurmountable the whole issue seems and the more avoidant I get about it). I had a lot of things I wanted to post about, but whether or not I get to all of that is something that remains to be seen. But to ease myself back into posting here, the topic of anime seems like an easy and familiar place to start, as I have been watching a fair bit of it again in recent weeks.


I FINALLY FINISHED WATCHING AQUARION EVOL.

AND I LOVED IT.

Those fears I had about an imperfect ending VANISHED. I laughed and I cried and I waited to see how it would all turn out and I adore it so much for managing to be so ridiculous and yet keep that in balance with a plot that made a special kind of sense despite (and this is a bit of a spoiler so look away if you feel like there's any chance you might like to watch this series without knowing the twists) the main character turning out to be (one half of) the reincarnation of a flying space dog with an unrequited crush. OH AMATA I ALWAYS CALLED YOU A CUTE PUPPY BUT WHO KNEW YOU WOULD ACTUALLY TURN OUT TO BE ONE? I was also DELIGHTED that he never did get fused back with Kagura as I suspected would happen, but even so, KAGURA I NEVER THOUGHT I WOULD LIKE YOU BUT I DID. (I must admit that after the series ended, I quite liked the thought of Kagura and Zessica ending up together, which I know feels like pairing up the spares, but honestly, for me it could work as a kind of slow and bitter healing but eventually becoming more. I do think there were the barest hints of this at the end, too.)

I'm so pleased with the way this turned out for my favourite ships (well with the exception of those separated by DEATH but none of the deaths in this series were a surprise). I was a loyal fan of Amata the entire way through, and despite feeling a degree of sympathy for Kagura that I never thought I would, it was still so gratifying for me to see that in the end he was not portrayed as incomplete or lacking, but rather that although they were split, he and Kagura were not halves of the same whole but two separate and individual entities who happened to have the same source.

The series was far too fun for me to ever want to criticise it much, but the only real complaint I have is to wonder why those on Altair did not take a more diplomatic approach to their problem? HOW HARD WOULD IT HAVE BEEN TO MAKE CONTACT AND ASK FOR SOME HELP OR SEE IF ANYONE WOULD VOLUNTEER OR EVEN JUST LEAVE YOUR SHIT PLANET AND MOVE TO VEGA?


I get the impression that Aquarion Evol is a love/hate series (wish it had been more popular).

I have only one regret, and that is that I didn't manage to screencap it as much as I would have liked to, because it was the perfect kind of series for that.

ALSO GODDAMMIT IT'S GOING TO BE LONG TIME BEFORE I CAN EAT A DONUT WITHOUT THINKING OF THIS SERIES.

The cover image has been released for [Giant Killing volume 24.]GK volume 24:



OH GOD I WANT IT NOW.

But luckily it's not that long until release day (23rd). It will still take some time to get to me, though.


On the same day as volume 24 is released, the newest volume of the Extra comes out too, and the cover got posted on the official Twitter earlier today:



Isn't that a cute cover? If I had the money for it, I'd buy all the Extras just for the artwork on the cover, but unfortunately for me they are not cheap and I just can't afford to do that when the content of the magazines is so heavily weighted towards real football (and also in Japanese so I can't even read it anyway).

So I have a couple of days off work and I'm doing some fandom catch-up. Starting with chapter 7 of 15: Meisetsu (we're into the second volume of three now and I'm still totally thrilled every time I think about the fact that it's being scanlated). This chapter was mainly building tension before their match against Takase (TEAM UNICORN). It also featured Yui looking so attractive that it turned me into fangirl mush. I love the art of this series. And I was also pleased that there were some nice moments between Yui and Akira, because much as I think it's good for Akira to have some friends that match him in age and experience I would hate to see his relationship with Yui sidelined for the sake of that. I'm actually not aware of how this series ends, despite having looked raws now and then, so I'm really looking forward to future chapters of this. I think about this series a lot. ALSO ASUKA/MAKI MUST BE CANON, RIGHT?

( 15: Meisetsu Chapter 7Collapse )

I also forgot to mention that the extra/chapter 6.5 from volume 1 was scanlated to my great joy, and not because I was longing for the amusing explanation of how rugby works but because of the brief moment of MAO ON A HORSE (YES I HAVE THIS THING ABOUT SEEING MY FAVOURITE CHARACTERS RIDE HORSES OKAY, I WANT EQUESTRIAN AUS FOR EVERYTHING BUT THEY ARE JUST NOT OUT THERE).

And speaking of horses, this is one I would buy in a second if only I were in the right position for horse ownership. It's going to be several years at least before I can even begin to think about that seriously, but it doesn't stop me from browsing the adverts and dreaming. I like this one, too.

I was going to go the the gym today, but I really don't have the energy.

Oooh just seen that the release date for Giant Killing volume 24 has been announced, for the 23rd of THIS MONTH, WOW THAT HAS SNUCK UP ON ME. No cover image available yet but I will now begin the stalking of Amazon.co.jp each day until I get to see what it'll look like. And again the Google Translated version of the hint/teaser about what the sticker will be makes little to no sense, but it's a nice surprise to see it when I open the volume.

I'm still not caught up with most anime I am watching, but I'll watch the first episode of Moyashimon Returns tonight (hoping it meets my expectations as I got a lot of enjoyment from the first series). So far, I haven't been much tempted by anything else airing this season (well, a lot of it is the kind of entertaining-but-average stuff I would watch with pleasure if I had enough time to indulge, but if I try that right now I would probably die of stress or end up wasting my time by dropping it part way through anyway). Okay, I am mildly interested in Kokoro Connect, but all I know about it is a brief summary of the concept. I haven't read any reviews of the fare from this season for fear of picking up more than just Moyashimon when I can't handle it. But still, there's a chance I might find myself watching something else if I become convinced I'd enjoy it. NOTE TO SELF: DO NOT WATCH ANYTHING JUST FOR CHARACTERS DESIGNS OR VOICE ACTORS.

(ARGH I am so useless at LJ these days.)

Okay, so since I am about to start my backlog of Aquarion Evol by watching a couple of episodes in the bath (even though it's after midnight and I have work tomorrow morning, don't judge) here is where I am with the series at the moment.

As it stands, the last episode I watched was 16 and I remember that I spent large parts of it laughing out loud because it was so ridiculous. I don't think I gave much mention to individual episodes past 14, but 16 is the one that still stands out in my mind because it was the episode where I started to have feelings about Kagura other than wishing he would stay the fuck away from Amata and Mikono. And I also never thought that I would ever consider Kagura to be a legitimate love interest for Mikono, but in the end all it took was one well-executed scene and suddenly that became a possibility to me. AMATA IS THE ADORABLE PUPPY BUT KAGURA IS A CONFLICTED BADASS WOOBIE. WHO SHOULD I SHIP WITH MIKONO? (LMAO BUT IF THE SERIES IS HINTING AT WHAT I SUSPECT IT IS THEN I SHOULDN'T SPEND TOO MUCH TIME ON THAT ONE. DON'T KNOW HOW MUCH I'LL LIKE IT IF IT IS, BUT WHATEVER.)

So I'm at 16/23 that have aired so far.

I'm not going to get this done in one night, I don't think.

But anyway, I wanted to screencap that part of episode 15 since I first saw it, and although it's been ages since it came out, better late than never? ( +Collapse )

Trying to wait patiently for a subbed version of the new Yondemasuyo, Azazel-san OVA to emerge online. I watched a video of the opening that got posted on Tumblr and got hit with a need for it even though it still confuses me that I somehow got this into a series that is so frequently gross and crass in terms of humour. I did find a link to the raw being streamed somewhere, but that didn't work for me and I think I'd prefer to wait and get the full impact complete with subs. But really, how can this OVA be anything other than good? (I like how the opening gives a COMPLETELY FALSE IMPRESSION OF THE SERIES during the first 20 seconds and then just descends into what resembles normality for the series LMAO).

The opening video is here, if anyone is interested and hasn't seen it yet. (I am such a Beelzebub fangirl, it is ridiculous. I mean, there's a lot to look forward to about this OVA but it takes one glance of Beelzebub in human form and I start feeling like nothing else matters? Okay OKAY I am keen to see Lucifer and other new characters get animated and I love some of the other characters too...)

AZAZEL-SAN IS THE FANDOM I HAVE NO IDEA HOW I ENDED UP IN.

(Okay, so this prolonged more-or-less absence from LJ has got to stop. I tried to cure myself when I last posted, but it didn't really do the trick. I guess my mind has been on other things and in part at least it was a conscious decision to spend less time online/on fandom in an attempt to overhaul my life somewhat, but it's amazing how hard it can be to get back into the habit of regular posting even if you want to. I do feel like I am naturally quite bad at reaching balance in my life, but I'm improving. And LJ and fandom and all my interactions here are a recreational and social activity that is important to me SO I'M HERE AND I'M GOING TO TRY TO CATCH UP WITH EVERYTHING.)


I was just looking at the Summer 2012 anime chart and breathing a HUGE sigh of relief that most of the shows look awful BECAUSE MY CURRENT BACKLOG IS FEARSOME. The only series I even want to watch is Moyashimon Returns. I intend to be all caught up with everything else by the time that airs (hopefully much sooner), and as I have a week to myself in the flat, I may as well list what I want to accomplish in that time (in a purely LJ/fannish sense).

CATCH UP WITH AQUARION EVOL (this is priority number one).
Catch up with Kuroko no Basuke.
Catch up with Tsuritama.
Sort out my LJ icons.
Decide whether I want a Paid Account/icon package again.
Post about whatever I haven't been posting about
(OR forget about that and let it go).
TRY TO BALANCE REAL LIFE AND INTERNET TIME.


(I predict I am either going to spam my LJ with updates or sink back into silence.)

(I'm also behind with Sakamichi no Apollon, but I watch that one with the boyfriend so it'll have to wait until he returns.)

WAAAAAH KONBINI-KUN GOT LICENSED

FOR A PRINT RELEASE NO LESS

BUT NOT IN THE UK and thanks to the content of the final chapter it's probably borderline-legal over here STUPID RIDICULOUS LAW (okay so how old are the characters again? Does it even say? Probably doesn't matter even if it does say, since the law relates to how old the characters APPEAR and not how old they are stated to be and I do worry about manga artwork ARGH). BUT ANYWAY more Junko in the world (and an official translated print release) is never a bad thing, right? Even if I can't have it for my bookshelf, right?

I feel Konbini-kun should be okay, personally.

But how to know for sure?

So TECHNICALLY it has been here for a couple of days, but I am just now (yes at gone 4am shut up) posting about it. It arrived after a long day at work and was just what I needed BUT OH GOD I NEED THE NEXT VOLUME WHY DID IT HAVE TO STOP THERE. I stopped looking for raws after my copy arrived but I don't think any have turned up yet. I'm not going to scan it because I can't bear to ruin the book, but I couldn't resist taking a few pictures of it JUST BECAUSE. There are a few of the cover/inside flap/sticker but anything featuring manga content is going to be spoiler cut so choose to click or not click at your discretion.

I loved this volume. I could say that about any GK volume, but this one seemed to stand out to me (and I say that despite being someone who can't read Japanese; but the flow of the game and the art and the composition is so well put together, perhaps as a consequence of being a volume entirely concerned with a single game BUT WHATEVER THIS VOLUME IS AMAZING). I adore ETU because they have so much heart to them, and it really shows here. This volume is also great for anyone who likes Tsubaki even half as much as I do, and also Kang is cute and Hachiya is HACHIYA and I shouldn't laugh but I think Hoshino is in need of some anger management and needs to stop looking like he's capable of murder when it doesn't all go his way (as always so many interesting characters to notice on the other team).

OKAY NOW FOR THE PICTURES~ ( +Collapse )


(I didn't mean to have a lack of updates for 2 weeks.

I'll try to post more regularly again!)