Tag: A Certain Magical Index

Winter Wrap Up

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The purpose of the post is two-fold. The first is that while we do a season preview every quarter we only randomly mention what we think of how the shows we finish in Ongoing Investigations. This is my attempt to give my concluding thoughts on the shows that wrapped up in the winter. Often it is your final thoughts that are most important. The second reason for this post is to use a song title from My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic and get a bunch of completely undeserved hits. I will try to avoid major spoilers but I will also warn you that talking about the end of any show might just give you more information than you are looking for.

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Narutaki & Hisui VS. 2010

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It is time for the most anticipated and respected anime awards show of the year! (De gustibus non est disputandum.) On the Speakeasy we looked back at the trends that defined anime and manga in 2010. This is an examination of the individual titles and characters that made the biggest impact on us this year. We discuss what made us laugh and cry (for the better and the worse.) Feel free to chime in with your picks as well. If you have a suggested category you would like us to use next year just leave us a comment and we will try to work it in next year.

I really enjoy doing this post. Yeah, everyone does one, but that is because they are fun! For good or ill I know what kind of year I’ve had when I do this post.

Best Anime of 2010 or the Junmai Daiginjo-shu of Anime

Mobile Suit Gundam Unicorn by Sunrise I know it seems impossible but Gundam Unicorn might actually be the one modern series that a majority of Gundam fans can get behind without their normal bickering. It incorporates the newest and flashiest technology while keeping true to the strength and spirit of the original Universal Century series. If you did not know better you would assume that Yoshiyuki Tomino played a part in the creation of this series for who seamlessly it works itself into the universe. The characters for the series harken back to the former archetypes set by its predecessors while not seeming like clones. Obviously a good deal of money and love was poured into this series because it consistently looks amazing. I look forward to learning the secrets of the Laplace Box and the RX-0.

Runner up: House of Five Leaves by Manglobe An absorbing and atmospheric character based historical drama. Based on seinen manga it is an adult work for both sexes that continues the tradition of great noitaminA anime.

Giant Killing by Studio DEEN When thinking this over, I had to ask myself what was I most anxious to watch each week? What did I want another season of (and thought it could sustain it)? I arrived at my answer pretty quickly. It was Giant Killing’s approach to characters that impressed me throughout the season. Never did the show bang you over the head with who these people were, instead we were shown through small actions, bits of conversations, and of course their approach to soccer. And best of all we got to see everyone involved when it comes to sports from the players to the fans, from the press to the managing staff. Everyone had a role but our main character was not a star or up and coming player, but rather the coach. Tatsumi makes this show and gives a new perspective for a sports anime. Perhaps Giant Killing isn’t the most thought-provoking showing of the year, but it did things just a little bit differently and it never faltered.

Runner up: Kuragehime by Brain’s Base (second mostly because I haven’t seen how it ends yet) This is a very absorbing comedy about a house full of girl geeks whose lives get turned upside down when cross-dressing Kurnosuke takes an interest in them. This is the most genuine depiction of geeky girls I’ve seen to date without being pandering. And it is also turning into a tender romance as well.

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Ongoing Investigations: Case #020

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Well, well, dare I curse us by saying that the experiment earlier in the week went well. We got some good comments and interesting feedback. A social experiment like this, and all experiments, can have surprising outcomes or they can turn out exactly as you hypothesized.

I think the most important thing was that we tried the experiment more than if we “succeeded,” “failed,” or learned some grand lesson. I guess that is my scientific education showing though. Also no one can accuse us of hating on Kodomo no Jikan without ever reading it. They can still hate on us but I can ignore them without guilt. I think we both tried our best to cast aside our prejudices and give our respective manga a fair shake. I know for one that I will continue to give new genres and controversial manga a chance.  If I had let the Internet dictate what series were about I would still think that Pretty Cure was a lesbian pedophilia show and not just a cute magical girl show.

I apologize for not doing much in the way or reading or watching this week. I have been wrapped up in a novel :)

I randomly found Yanki-kun to Megane-chan looking up what magazine Sayonara Zetsubo Sensei ran in. I thought it had a cute name so I decided to read a few chapters. I really like it. It is a good blend of shoujo and shonen. The author, Yoshikawa Miki, used to be the assistant of Mashima Hiro the author of Rave Master. The facial expressions and some of the comedic timing are clearly reminiscent of her old boss but she brings a lot of her own style to the manga. Daichi and Hana have a spastic but amusing friendship. For some reason Daichi’s constant obsession over whether or not Hana likes him while clearly ignoring his own feelings for her brings a smile to my face. As for Hana, I feel she is the Captain Tylor of class representatives. I have to say I am also really liking Rinka from what little I have seen of her. I would have crossed the line and payed the 100,000 yen fine if you know what I mean. I am really surprised I have not heard more people talking about this manga.

I never really thought I liked the band UVERworld, but in this past year I have heard three anime openings (Toward the Terra, Gundam 00 season 2, and Bleach’s 2nd opening) provided by them and I could no longer deny I had major love for their sound. So I decided to finally listen to some of their full length albums. Overall I think they are pretty decent and have an upbeat fun sound. Sometimes they throw in some rap with it which is only done semi-well. I will continue to follow them and see what they do next!

I recently watched To Aru Majutsu no Index up to episode seven. I was surprised they wiped Toma’s memories. It places him in the position where the majority of the cast and the audience now know much more than him. They keep teaming up Toma with Stiyl Magnus in a antagonistic fashion so I am sure they are insanely popular in yaoi. I really wanted to like Kaori Kanzaki because she is a magical swordswoman but she has to have the ugliest fashion sense I have ever seen in a anime character. Really? One legged Jeans with a crop top and cowboy boots? Really? That is such a hideous combination it hurts my eyes. On the other hand Index is still super cute. Yeah, Index! Also for such a popular character I have still not seen that much Mikoto Misaka which is a crying shame.

It is rather rare to find Sherlock Hound fan-art let alone good fan-art, that is why this is the Pic of the Week:

sherlock hound, holmes, fanart