Dagger

My mom, my little sister, and I all chipped in to get my Dad the latest iPhone. (He sure loves his toys and gadgets, so it was an easy choice.) We actually gave it to him a few weeks ago, and he's been gleefully playing with it ever since. I got my mom the CD audiobook of Haruki Murakami's [url="http://www.amazon.com/1Q84-Haruki-Murakami/dp/0307593312/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1324783469&sr=8-1"]1Q84[/url] for her to listen to during her long commutes. It's one of my favorite books of all time, and massive to boot. It was published in three fat hardcover volumes

I'm watching more than I expected this season, at least for now. Yay. [b]Hunter x Hunter[/b] puts a big goofy grin on my face with every episode. Honestly, it doesn't even really matter what happens in the story. The characters are a breath of fresh air (and yet delightfully familiar at the same time, thanks to the 1999 series). I don't know how to account for my reaction except to say that it's just so much [i]fun[/i]. [b]Un-Go[/b] makes me smile, too. What can I say? I love detective stories. The actual mysteries haven't been anything mind-blowing at this poi

I'm so busy with work and school right now, but I'm definitely going to make time for [b]Hunter x Hunter[/b]. It's the first anime in a while that airs at a reasonable hour and that I'm actually interested in watching live, as it were--not that my TV is anything to write home about, haha. The first episode got my hopes up and brought a lot of good memories back.

[quote name='Sangome' timestamp='1310548928' post='708362'] [color="#9932CC"][font="Microsoft Sans Serif"] On a much happier note, I got caught up with [b]Tiger & Bunny[/b] the other day. Man, I love this show to death. I'm not huge on shounen, but this is just a great show. It's restored my faith in a lot of modern anime, which says something, since I've had a hard time getting into a lot of it in recent years.[/font][/color] [/quote] Wow, maybe I should check this out. It kind of flew under my radar, but I've seen so many p

I recently had the incredible good fortune to see the new Makoto Shinkai movie ([b]Hoshi wo Ou Kodomo[/b], aka Children Who Chase Lost Voices from Deep Below) in theaters. No need for me to wax eloquent about the visuals--they're ravishing, obviously. When the trailer first popped up online, I wasn't sure how I felt about the Ghibli-style character designs, but I think they were actually just right for this film. Many elements of Hoshi wo Ou Kodomo come across as an homage to various Miyazaki movies, and yet the atmosphere and the plot and the way in which those elements are used en

I read the first novel many years ago, because a few friends heartily recommended it to me. I don't have an inherent aversion to gritty fantasy, and I'm all for morally ambiguous (or outright cruel and conniving) characters, but there was one character I actually liked in the entire cast. (The young girl--I've forgotten her name.) I found every other major player reprehensible. Maybe it'd be more fun to watch them sabotage and manipulate each other in TV series form. I dunno, did anyone else have that kind of reaction?

I loved Texhnolyze, but I don't know if I could bring myself to watch it again (even though I probably should--I think a lot about it would sink in much better on a second viewing, at least for me). It might be the most relentlessly--and effectively--bleak anime I've ever seen... The most recent thing I watched was the first episode of C. The CG usage reminded me of Gankutsuou, and the character who came to tempt the protagonist (I forgot both of their names already, haha) obviously stole the show. Really high expectations for this one.

I was walking down the street today, and a pair of nice-looking Korean ladies said they were students and wanted to ask me a question for a survey. I didn't have to go anywhere in a rush, so I told them sure. Next thing I knew, they were preaching about how the earthquake is some kind of Biblical sign of the end times. It was much easier to extricate myself than it would've been in the U.S., but the whole encounter was pretty startling. While there are always people who interpret tragedies like that in the States, I never imagined I'd encounter the same sort of stuff in Japan.

I feel so fortunate to be in Kumamoto, which has been relatively unaffected by the disaster. The scale of this thing is absolutely staggering.

[quote name='Sangome' timestamp='1298621439' post='705243'] [color="#9932CC"][font="Microsoft Sans Serif"][b]Chrono Crusade[/b] started airing on Syfy this past Tuesday, which I am going to be watching, as I've wanted to see it for years. Too early to really judge, but I've reached a bit of a problem with Rosette -- character-wise, I already love her to death...but her English voice is the first one in a long time that I really just do not like -- and I am the furthest thing from a sub snob. I'm sure it'll get better as the series we

I recently rewatched all of [b]Soukyuu no Fafner[/b] and then saw the movie, which was glorious--truly a dream come true. I never imagined they'd create a proper theatrical sequel to a midlist mecha series... six full years after it first aired, to boot. I mean, in what world does that happen? I have no idea who made the Faustian bargain that was no doubt required to produce [url="http://fafner.jp/h-and-e/"]the film[/url], but I'm grateful for it. It picks up pretty much right where the TV series and OVA left off, elevating minor characters while giving the main cast thei