beccastareyes | Entries tagged with 30 days of anime

Day 30 - Favorite anime ending theme: "Wake Up" by Chisato (Gokudo)

I don't normally listen to ending themes much, but this one is just really catchy. Would make a great alarm clock theme.
( Embedded Videos! )

Day 29 - Best Anime Music Video: Whisper/Vision of Escaflowne

( My friend, Yuuo, has been posting her videos on YouTube, so I think I'll use this chance to give a send-out to her. )

Day 28 - Favorite anime companion/summoned creature: Enki, 12 Kingdoms

Let's be honest. I just think the kirin are spiffy.

( Welcome to the Twelve Kingdoms, where 'the divine right of kings' isn't just an excuse. )

Day 27 - Favorite anime opening theme song: Dive in the Sky, Planetes

I was going to say Rinbu Revolution from Utena, but I've been on a major Planetes binge. Though part of it is just for the opening graphics. I'm a space nerd, what can I say?

( Video Behind Cut )

Day 26 - Your favorite harem anime: Prétear

I'm not too much of a fan of harem anime, of any sex. I don't mind the concept of having many female characters, but most of them always seem flat, with one or two personality traits, and the male lead seems to have the personality of cardboard. I actually tend to prefer the (male, het) harems, since the female lead usually seems to have an actual personality -- quality over quantity -- and ones in which other things are going on besides 'wacky hijinks and romantic comedy'. So Tenchi over Love Hina.

Hence, Pretear. ( Or, as the UNL anime club dubbed it, 'Snow White and the Seven Bishounen'. )

Day 25 - A pairing that was/would-be adorable, but could never work out? Zelda/Midna

( What can I say? I liked their interactions in Twilight Princess -- Zelda was the cooly reserved ruler of Hyrule and Midna as the hot-headed Twilight Princess. )

Day 25 - Best anime villain: tie between Akio Ohtori and Hellmaster Phibrizzo

Here I'm going to distinguish between characters I like as villains and characters I like as characters. They aren't necessarily mutually exclusive, but there are characters that make me cackle with glee when I realize just how they have the heroes over a barrel, which may not be the same as the characters I find fascinating.

And I admit, I love the mindscrew as my favorite villain technique. So I went with villains that could use it.

( Akio is the antagonist of the last arc of Revolutionary Girl Utena. )

Day 24 - Favorite anime hero or heroine: Rosette Christopher

( Rosette is the protagonist of Chrono Crusade. )

Well, now that I'm back to Ithaca, let us continue the discussion of anime!

Day 23 - Anime you think had the best, or most intriguing art: Mushishi

( The overall tone of Mushishi is one of the natural world. )

I'm pretty bad about noticing anime studios -- I know Gainax, Bones and Ghibli, and none of them make me want to cry. So another 'ask me about anime' today.

Also, I'm going to the Division of Planetary Sciences conference tomorrow, so this series will be on hiatus while I talk science with people.

( Previous Days )

Day 21 – Favorite OAV Series: Elf Princess Raine!'

The worst thing about this series is that there's only two episodes. I can't really tell you why I like Elf Princess Raine, besides that it's the most absurd thing I've ever seen, which makes it hilarious.

( It's about a teenaged treasure-hunter named Go, who is constantly causing trouble for himself, and his best friend, Mari, who has a big crush on him. )

Day 20 - Most ambiguous anime character: Anthy, Revolutionary Girl Utena

Part of the problem with this meme is that I'm rewatching Utena now and it is glorious. Seriously, I forgot how much I love it. I have a taste for fairy tales, even if they are a bit dark, and Utena has that feel. So maybe Utena is getting a bit more attention than perhaps it would otherwise.

( Anyway, this is going to spoil the hell out of Utena, so be warned. )

Day 19 - Change you’d like to make to any one anime: Fix the pacing problems in Crest/Banner of the Stars.

I've mentioned this before -- there's a lot of anime adaptions I hate because the writers made them boring. It's one good thing about Slayers, IMO -- even the seasons/arcs that keep a lot of the novel elements in play while not trying to make them carry more than they're able.

( Crest of the Stars has this problem. )

Day 18 - Best Five-team: cast of Digimon Adventure 02

I'm assuming this refers to the sentai trope of having five people on your team. You also get it in a lot of other things, as TV Tropes notes. (Standard disclaimer for TV Tropes link goes here.) Basically, you have five people who usually fit a certain pattern -- the hero, the hero's foil, the smart one, the tough one, and the sweet one (usually a girl, sometimes the only girl).

( TV Tropes notes that both the humans and the 'mon fit this. )

Day 17 - Best Background Music: .hack//SIGN

I never got past the second disc of .hack, but I still own both of the soundtracks, because they have pretty, pretty music. My favorite aspect is the way vocals are used in some of the songs. While the lyrics are nice, they are all in English, so I'd imagine they'd be less distracting to a Japanese-language audience, who could then focus on the way human voices blend with the instruments to make a pleasing whole.

You know, sort of like the overuse of Ominous Latin Chanting gets used for everything.

( Here, have some Youtube videos of the music. )

Day 16 - An anime classic that simply doesn’t work for you: Akira

( It could be because Akira was one of the first anime things that I saw. )

Day 15 - A reality check for a genre you like: Eureka SeveN

Not entirely sure if this means some kind of parody/deconstruction of tropes or just something to remind me that just because I adore *fill in the blank* doesn't mean it can't have its share of stinkers. And, once again, I'm stuck with the fact I forget all the crap I see, and remember the good stuff. Or just stop watching -- I never finished Familiar of Zero, and I still haven't gotten to the most recent issue of Kyou Kara Maou!*.

So, my favorite genres of anime are science fiction and fantasy (as everything else), and magical girl and pet monster for more anime-specific genres. I already mentioned why I just couldn't get into Familiar of Zero. I suppose I could talk about Eureka SeveN, even if I'm not a terribly large mecha fan.

( I've mentioned it before, but I had a love-hate relationship with Eureka SeveN. )

Day 14 - Current (or most recent) anime wallpaper: Sylphiel

I actually don't usually use an anime wallpaper. My work computer has a picture of Saturn, since I use it to give presentations, and so people actually see my wallpaper. My home computer has the fingerspelled alphabet, but is covered with virtual sticky notes. Including the one I'm composing this post on.

( I tried to find the wallpapers I used to have on my site, back in the day, but couldn't snag it. )

Day 13 - Worst installment of a franchise you do like: Slayers: Hourglass of Falces

Gonna be honest here. I read the plot summary, and it wasn't bad. Plus, it's the only non-novel appearance of Luke and Milina, and the only time they get to share the stage with Zel and Amelia.

( The big turn-off was the art, and the gratuitous T&A and costume changes. )

Day 12 - Best installment of a franchise you don’t like: Tenchi Muyo! Ryo-oh-ki

Here I struggle as I think of anime franchises -- aka series that are big enough that they have several versions or related stories or something. I mean, I've seen maybe three episodes of any Gundam, which removes the Godzilla of franchises in the room. And a lot of my franchise-watching days were in the past... but...

Let's go with Tenchi Muyo!.

( One of the Cornell Anime Club members once did a series of essays on 'anime he thought was influential, pre 2000' to give the younger members some historical perspective. )