Anime

Blog is moving

2009-09-11T20:03:00.000-07:00

Damsel in Distress Complex

2009-09-06T13:43:00.000-07:00

After watching numerous anime, especially shoujo/romance, I feel the need to rant about the absurdity of the majority of the female characters. Shoujo romance makes women weak, flaky, clingy, and simply irritating. I don't understand how people could think that it is cute. I understand that shoujo is mostly directed at teenage, romance-angst, girls. But, come now, could the characters have a little bit more backbone?

Lets start off with the most hated character on my list: Miaka from Fushigi Yuugi. Don't get me wrong, the story is very interesting, I just don't like the main character. She is a coward, has no goals, obsessed with food, and mediocre all around. Just because she has a good heart, that shouldn't be the reason for her to be "special". Most main characters have good hearts, how is that "special"? But nevertheless, despite her weak personality, she has almost every male fawning over her saying how wonderful she is. She also has very sporadic behavior. In one instance she is trapped in a mirror, while the rest are fighting her evil copy. She attempts to break free but to no avail. Suddenly a table full of food appears, she completely forgets that she is in trouble, runs over to the table and stuffs herself. After that she suddenly decides that the only way to kill her evil twin is to hurt herself, so she stabs herself in a chest. What kind of out-of-wack behavior is that?

In every episode she gets herself in trouble, then Tamahome rushes to save her, and at the end she builds up new resolve to fight and get stronger. Except it's rinse and repeat in almost every episode. I really wanted to like her since all of the characters kept harping on how perfect she is. I just did not see it. The writers did not give any evidence to believe that she is great aside from the fact that other characters say it.

Kotoko from Itazura na Kiss also proved to be clingy and completely self-insufficient. She loves a boy who is completely out of her league. She is a lively airhead, he is a cold and stoic genius. What could they possibly have in common? Nevertheless, they still manage to live happily every after for reasons unknown to modern science. Through their marriage they hit a number of roadblocks, but it mostly has to do with his inability to act like a normal human being. He completely ignores her, looks down on her personality, gets jealous of her being friends with a coworker who develops a crush on her. But does nothing except pretending to not care. She, in return, stays completely faithful and succumbs to her internal turmoil. Finally, he realizes that it's about time to have a jealousy fit, declares his feelings, and their romance continues. How is this abuse even remotely romantic? I absolutely hated how she would just take it without standing up for herself. Aside from that, she is clumsy, stupid, and clueless.

Usagi from Sailor Moon is a lot like Kotoko from Itakuza na Kiss. She starts off as clumsy, a crybaby, boy crazy, and a horrible student. And the series end with her being exactly the same. She is a superhero. Yet she doesn't know how to fight, and she never learns how. She constantly relies on her friends to come and save her. And, she is a glutton who always has something in her mouth. Yet, she is claimed to be awesomely wonderful by her friends, her peers, and her boyfriend. Her boyfriend, is also the completely opposite of her. Firstly, he seems to be older, he is neat, a good student, and seems to care about other things than food. However, he is a lot kinder to her than Irie to Kotoko. I guess that is one redeeming quality about their relationship.

To be fair, not every female romance character is as bad as I've described. There are some that I found quite likable.

Lets take Kogame from Inuyasha. (I am aware that Inuyasha is not shoujo, but I had to throw this one in) She is a typical school girl who gets thrown into another world to help fight demons. However, she is the complete opposite of Miaka. (who also gets thrown into another world to help fight the bad guys) Kagome shows tremendous maturity and character throughout her adventures. She never cries and whines. She takes initiative. Despite being the weakest in her group, she proved to be incredibly helpful on many occasions. And she doesn't throw jealousy tantrums every time Inuyasha rushes off to help Kikyo. She actually encourages him to do it, and he always comes back to her at the end. The fact that nobody ever claims her to be extraordinary in anyway, makes her extraordinary. She is just a normal girl who shows tremendous character in tough situations and that is pretty extraordinary.

I also really like Hikari from Special A. She is the exact opposite of Usagi. She is a great student, she is tough, she doesn't need her friends to bail her out, and she is self-sufficient for the most part. Even though she is oblivious to Kei's feelings, it helps them built a relationship. They are also rivals because she wants to beat him in sports and academics, although she never seems to be able to. Despite their never-ending rivalry, they have mutual respect for each other. She doesn't whine and cry when she loses and always holds her end of the bargain like a champ. I like the fact that their rivalry wasn't turned into a war and they always know where to stop and cooperate with each other.

And finally......yes, I know, it's the fangirl in me talking....I have to go back to Bleach. I am well aware that Bleach is shonen, but I found one of the main female protagonists to be closely related to the topic at hand. On the surface, Orihime is an average school girl with a very real damsel-in-distress syndrome. She is an airhead with abnormal food tastes (so abnormal that nobody besides a selected few can stomach it). She tends to babble complete nonsense and many people think she is "weird". She is completely dependent on her friends. She can't fight, and she is always being saved by somebody else. Usually, the main male protagonist. She also has a long time school crush on Kurosaki Ichigo, who also (conveniently) happens to be the main protagonist, and she doesn't have enough resolve to confess her feelings to him. As a result, she is extremely insecure about it. Sounds familiar? Yes, she is a classic recipe for a shoujo character. However, when Orihime is pushed into a rather difficult situation, where she is kidnapped and the only other person she has communication with is her cold and up-tight jailer, she suddenly blooms into an adult. Many UlquiHime shippers have noticed it, which of course made us glee with excitement. However, I have very mixed feelings about her. I never really liked her until she met Ulquiorra. But she showed so much backbone and resolved when she was with him, that I couldn't help but warm up to her. Then, of course, my mind started wavering again after Ichigo came to her rescue and she reverted back to her old insecure self. Now, I simply don't know what to make of it. She definitely proved to have a strong side, however that side was triggered by her interaction with Ulquiorra. He treated her as an equal and gave her some hard time which shook her out of her little fantasy. Perhaps, the reason why so many shoujo characters are weak is because people around them treat them like weaklings. Once the kid gloves are put aside, those girls tend to show some serious strength. Maybe, that's what the doctor ordered.

This brings my little rant to an end. What I've noticed about these characters, is that the strongest ones come from more recent anime. Seems like the damsel-in-distress syndrome started to become a thing of the past. And more girl characters are award with strong personalities, that indeed make them extraordinary.

Ulquiorra x Orihime - they are "it" [Bleach]

2009-09-02T13:18:00.000-07:00

Kubo Tite - the writer and illustrator of Bleach.

Canon - official couple/pairing evidenced by manga and anime.

Crack - fan made couple, no substantial evidence from manga/anime.

Manga scans sourced from www.onemanga.com.

The Ulquiorra/Orihime (UlquiHime) pairing from the Bleach manga/anime is indeed a unique one, which is still deemed as "crack" by some fans. As a fellow UlquiHime fangirl I tremble with excitement at the thought of the two of them together. As I watched the anime, it made me wonder what's going on between those two, because they had more chemistry than everyone put together. But the manga made it so much clearer. It is darker, more in detail and explores their relationship a bit further than the anime. Unfortunately, due to the subtlety of their relationship, calling them canon might be still a little too early. But I think that Chapter 354 safely broke through that barrier. And they are at least semi-canon.

The first thing I've noticed about Ulquiorra is his completely uncharacteristic behavior when he is around Orihime or deals with issues surrounding her. One of the first contradictions is in the kidnapping scene, where he confronts her as she travels from Soul Society to the human world. Even before he contradicts himself, his monologue makes little to no sense to me. At first he mentions there only being two guards, and that it would be easy for him "to restrict [their] combined abilities" (Episode 139). Then, he completely switches topics and says that he doesn't like to "rush" when talking to others. Does anybody follow his trail of thought so far? And finally, here comes the contradiction. His sentences become short, straight to the point, and EXTREMELY commanding. Didn't he just say he doesn't like to rush?

Come with me, woman. Silence. "Yes" will be the next word you speak. Saying anything else will result in a swift death. Not for you, but for your friends. Don't ask questions. Don't say a word. You have no rights and no options. [...] I hope you understand, woman. We are not negotiating. I am giving you an order. [...] I will say it one more time. Come with me, woman. (Ep. 139) Although he is not beating around the bush, contrary to his earlier statement of not liking to rush, did he really need to get so chatty to get his point across? (I skipped some of the things he said evidenced by the brackets). Yes, kids, he talks too much.

(Contextually, the choice of words is a bit different between various translations of manga and subs in the anime, but the meaning is the same. Also, in Japanese Ulquiorra always refers to Orihime as "onna" which means woman/girl)

Notice Orihime's face at the top left corner. She is not scared and helpless. She is defiant. That's an interesting twist in her character.

We know that he wanted to put her into a complete psychological trap without a possible way out. But I found his blunt orders and mental domination full of sexual connotations. (In the anime, his voice and manner of speaking made it even more convincing) It was as if he was seducing her. It felt like he wanted her to submit to HIM, instead of Aizen. Come (be) with me, woman.

Even though Kubo said that he doesn't intend to develop romance in Bleach, I don't think it is a coincidence the way he developed UlquiHime. There are just too many details suggesting at the very least Ulquiorra's growing attachment/attraction to her. There are too many closeups of them together, looking at each other. There are too many scenes of Ulquiorra's obvious presence where Orihime is concerned. It's like Kubo went out of his way to show Ulquiorra's growing interest in her.

When Zommari asks about the 4th person who invaded Soul Society with Ichigo, Ishida, and Chad, guess who answers that question? Yours truly, Cuatro Espada. It is Ulquiorra who speaks Orihime's name, and no one else. What a coincidence! No. 4 is silent until the topic of Inoue comes up. And here he is. Why was it specifically Ulquiorra who said Orihime's name? All of these unanswered questions are driving me crazy. And all of this subtle evidence makes me believe that Ulquiorra's interest in her definitely goes beyond the responsibility given to him by Aizen.

Here is another example of Ulquiorra's painfully obvious presence where Orihime is concerned. As Loly and Menoly rushed out of Aizen's room badmouthing Orihime in a jealous frenzy, they just HAD to pass by Ulquiorra. He just HAD to be there to witness their rage. He doesn't just stand there, he glances at the brunette with a loud mouth.

Other examples of uncharacteristic behavior are the compliments. Ulquiorra told Orihime that she looked good in the Arrancar uniform. Then he commented to himself that she is a strong willed woman after she told him, without flinching, that her body and mind belong to Aizen. But he knew that she did not feel that way and that she was still loyal to her friends.

He is also being *gasp* considerate. Because the second time he comes in, during the famous "slap" scene, he actually announces his presence. Before he came in without a word and scared the lights out of her. Where did your nihilistic and apathetic attitude disappear too, Espada-san?

Interestingly enough, Ulquiorra always plays psychological games with Orihime. But his true intentions do not seem to come from Aizen's orders, since Aizen does not order anything other than to keep her safe and healthy. Thus, Ulquiorra's constant visits are not necessary. Then, why is he pushing Orihime to say that her body and mind belong to Aizen? Does he really mean Aizen or someone else? Is Aizen just an excuse?

Why would Ulquiorra come and report to her that her friends have invaded Hueco Mundo to rescue her? Why would he tell her that Nnoitra acted out of orders to hurt Chad? Really, Espada-san, do you care that much about what she thinks? It was as if he wanted her to know that whatever happened to her friends had nothing to do with him. It was as if he needed a reason for her to (maybe) believe in him and see him differently, other than an...enemy...? This is an absolutely bizarre behavior for someone who is adamant about following orders to the last detail and has a nihilistic attitude towards everything.

The look in the bottom left corner is priceless. Why's he looking away?

This scene raised way too many questions in my mind. How did Kubo come up with these lines? Ulquiorra is back to his commanding and domineering self. Tying her down, forcing food down her throat... Sounds like he is itching to get physical with her. He is provoking and playing his psychological games again. Is he trying to seduce and submit her to his will...AGAIN?! Aizen-sama...who?

Why does he even bother to try to convince her not to think about her friends? That wasn't in the job description. What is he trying to do? Is it his own dysfunctional way of trying to make her feel better? No offense, Espada-san, but you suck at it.

I am not here to comfort you. You don't say...

Finally!! The infamous, and epically wonderful slap scene. He doesn't dodge, doesn't catch her hand, doesn't smack her back. The all powerful Espada does nothing. (WHAT?!?!?) He just stands there and takes it. Talk about itching for a physical contact. Tying her down sounded good, but getting slapped from provoking her is so much better, isn't it Espada-san?

And Orihime, the sweet, good natured, won't-hurt-a-fly, Orihime had enough guts to "hurt" someone physically? (WHAT?!?!?) His uncharacteristic behavior is odd enough, but this...?! We've never seen this before. She is angry, she is fearless, she is...dangerous. She is...self-sufficient. She does not need Ichigo to stand up for her. (Score!) Good work, No. 4!

Finally, after Ulquiorra leaves, rambling on that he'll force feed her if she doesn't eat (yeah, yeah...), she bursts into tears and he stands outside of her door listening to her cry. (Ch. 262) Oh what a shame they didn't put it into anime!

These four pages are not exactly in a consecutive order but I felt they were the best choice to discuss this scene. Aizen did not give any orders to pursue the invaders. Thus, Ulquiorra had no reason to go after Ichigo. Why did he go? But what's more astounding is that he is being very blunt about Rukia's death and he is pretty obvious about provoking a fight with Ichigo.

After the subject of Rukia does not work, Ulquiorra proceeds to tell Ichigo that it was him who brought Orihime to Hueco Mundo. Talk about a lack of subtlety and a complete out-of-wack behavior. Rushing much, Espada-san?

Ulquiorra does not act on a whim, he does not go around looking for fights, unless Aizen instructs him to. Is this a direct provocation to have Ichigo fight him? Why? The interesting thing is that this scene happens soon after Orihime slaps Ulquiorra when he persuades her to forget her friends. In other words, is this done out of jealousy? Is Ulquiorra trying to get rid of Ichigo? To prevent him from taking Orihime away? Have you found a reason to fight me? This proved to me that Ulquiorra was absolutely adamant about fighting Ichigo. He certainly didn't do it for Aizen, who did not issue any such orders. So that means that he did it for no other than himself.

The oddest thing about Ulquiorra's behavior here, is that he previously criticized Nnoitra for being an idiot and rushing into battle without first receiving orders from Aizen. And here he is doing exactly the same. What happened to the attitude about strictly following orders?

At the end, Ulquiorra impales Ichigo in the chest telling him that he cannot win. But he doesn't kill him. He tells him to leave because there is no chance for victory, or die where he is without any further fruitless struggles. This further proves that Ulquiorra doesn't go around looking for death matches and has no desire to kill just because, this was personal. And perhaps, the reason why he didn't finish off Ichigo is because of Orihime.

After Ulquiorra learns that it was Grimmjow who kidnapped Orihime, he finds them instantaneously in the next scene. Although he doesn't like to rush (now we know that he does when it has to do with Orihime), he certainly doesn't think twice before using sonido and almost gives poor Grimm a heart attack. (pun intended)

Despite trying to maintain his signature poker face, Espada-san looks royally pissed off. That's what you get for taking his woman. Bad, Grimm, bad! And here we go again with the painfully obvious closeups. He looks at her, he expects an explanation. He scowls, she looks guilty. It could be my imagination, but his expression softens after he looks at her. Surprisingly, the girl doesn't get angry or defiant. (Not even a little bit after learning that the big bad Ulquiorra nearly killed Strawberry-kun?) She looks guiltily away. Tsk, tsk, tsk, no fraternizing with the other boy Espada while your man is away.

Orihime's really surprised me. It looks like she feels guilty for going against Ulquiorra. Why would she feel guilty even though Grimmjow took her by force? Can it be that she developed some sort of loyalty towards him or maybe she kinda likes him....a little bit? She certainly never looked like she was ever afraid of him. (Defiance, climatic slap, refusing to eat) The plot thickens.

When Ulquiorra comes back from Caja Negación, guess who is the first person he lays eyes on? No one other than Orihime-chan. And, of course, they have to be alone with more manga closeups.

All of these little nuances cannot be a coincidence. Why did Ulquiorra have to appear in the throne room and nowhere else? He already proved to be a fast traveler when he found Grimmjow with Orihime. Sounds like Kubo purposely gave them the alone moments to emphasize that there is something going on between them.

Translation: Come, Kurosaki Ichigo, and try to take my woman away from me. I'll kick your ass.

Ok, maybe not like that, but initially Ulquiorra had no beef with Ichigo. Even before their first "Rukia is dead" rumble, they had no conflict. Ulquiorra even prevented Grimmjow from finishing the fight with Ichigo after the kidnapping scene, saying that the mission is over. And now it is an all out war. Why is Ulquiorra so set on fighting Ichigo AGAIN?!?! Sounds more like a personal grudge than anything else. But Ulquiorra is not the type to act on a whim and hold grudges! Can Espada-san be any more obvious?

Looks like Ulquiorra is back to his old tricks of psychological domination and mind games. But didn't Aizen-sama just say that Orihime is of no use to him anymore and she is free for the taking by her friends? He was even kind enough to give directions of her whereabouts. So why wouldn't Ulquiorra just kill her then? Instead he becomes chatty again. Why does he care if Orihime is scared? Why does he tell her that she would die alone? But he doesn't say anything about whether he'll kill her or not. He just insists to know whether she is scared. It sounds like he wants her to feel completely vulnerable. And, since they are alone together, she will have to rely on HIM. The tension is building and the closeups are back in action. They are standing close to each other, he stares, she has a peaceful look on her face. Can it get any more intimate than this?

In this scene Ulquiorra is trying to understand the idea of a "heart". But since he is a materialist and still hasn't grasped the concept of feelings, it's hard for him to comprehend what a "heart" is. He believes what he sees. This "heart" is not an organ that pumps blood. It's human feelings, emotions, resolve. It's something that cannot be seen. I don't think he is really threatening Orihime by telling her about ripping her chest and cracking her skull. He is just struggling to understand that logic does no apply to understanding feelings. And perhaps he is frustrated that he can't understand something that comes so naturally to humans.

Him touching her chest is unexpected and oh so out of character. You aren't obvious at all, Espada-san.

This scene just cracks me up. Espada-san is dangerously out of excuses.

Aizen's direct orders are: I'll leave Las Noches to you, Ulquiorra. (Ch. 315) He does not give any other orders such as killing (especially those who are not interested in destroying Las Noches...yes, that would be Ichigo), destroying property, stepping on flower beds, etc. So why would Ulquiorra want to fight Ichigo? Disobeying orders again there, aren't ya, No. 4? I can't find any possible explanation for Ulquiorra's desire to fight Ichigo. Ichigo is not interested in destroying Las Noches, he just wants to take Orihime and the rest of his friends home. If Ulquiorra did not stop him, Ichigo would mostly likely take the girl and leave. He is not a threat to Las Noches, No.4. He is a threat to YOU. Killing you is protecting Las Noches. Admit it, Espada-san, you can't come up with a better excuse to kick his ass because he is about to steal your woman.

For someone who doesn't like to rush, Ulquiorra is pretty quick at drawing his sword. Ichigo notices too. Ulquiorra wasn't this quick even during his first fight with Ichigo. But here, he sees Ichigo as a serious rival. Ulquiorra is dead serious about this.

I see you as someone who must be destroyed. Of course you do, No. 4, he wants to take your onna away from you.

After giving such a painful monologue to Orihime about dying alone, not being of any use to Aizen anymore, and telling Ichigo that he will kill her as soon as Aizen gives an order, Ulquiorra surprises us with yet another gigantic contradiction. That girl is already one of us . WHAT?!? But...didn't you just say...? Doesn't he seem desperate to convince Ichigo to give up? Despite Aizen's orders, Ulquiorra seems to be pretty set on keeping Orihime with him.

Ichigo reveals something very important here. He notices that he is able to keep up with Ulquiorra. Ulquiorra's defenses are down and his movements are predictable. Did he become more human? Ulquiorra is stunned at the realization. A quick closeup of Orihime makes that revelation even more authentic. She is the only human he's spent time with up till now. She made him more human. (Shock!)

Why is he talking again? Ulquiorra is in the middle of a fight! Pay attention! It's not like Orihime's shield did anything! Is Espada-san jealous again? (WHAT?!?!) Apparently you also have a need to point out that Orihime...might be in love with Ichigo?! (Shock!) Strawberry, why did you have to interrupt his jealousy fit?

After Loly threatens Orihime, Ichigo the Turd throws his Getsuga Tensho at her without realizing that Orihime is right there next to her. The fight between him and No. 4 is instantly forgotten as Ulquiorra sonidos in front of Ichigo breaking the attack. Then he turns around and tells Loly that he was not helping HER. Whom exactly were you helping, Espada-san? *wink wink*

The fight between Ichigo and Ulquiorra is taken to a whole different level. It has a much deeper meaning than the superficial test of strength Ichigo had with Grimmjow. Seems like Ulquiorra doesn't care about winning or even fighting Ichigo. He is telling him to give up. But didn't he initiate this fight in the first place? Does it mean that fighting Ichigo is the only way to show him that Ulquiorra is superior in strength, which would make Ichigo give up and go home? That brings back memories of their first fight, where Ulquiorra impaled Ichigo in the chest without killing him and told him to go home or die right there. But since Ichigo is such a stubborn and righteous hero, he won't give up, although he knows that Ulquiorra is stronger. Ulquiorra knows that too. So why would he release his second form when he is perfectly capable of killing Ichigo without it? This is his last resort to make Ichigo give up, to show him "true despair". Wait a minute, how does he know what despair is? Isn't he supposed to be devoid of all feelings and emotions? As a UlquiHime fangirl, I might be a bit biased about this, but there is a method to my madness. I strongly believe that Ulquiorra DOES have feelings, he just doesn't know them, being a hollow and all. In anime he did tell Orihime that he was annoyed with her, and his eyes widen when he is surprised. Surprise is an emotion, isn't it? So, he isn't completely different from other Espada who throw emotional tantrums all the time: Grimmjow, Nnoitra, Szayel, Nel. It sounds like Ulquiorra is trying to project his own feelings on Ichigo. His despair is that Ichigo won't give up and Ulquiorra will probably have to kill him. Despair is that Orihime is beyond his reach. Ulquiorra is absolutely desperate to keep her with him, and he is running out of ideas to make Ichigo see that he cannot win without getting himself killed. Ulquiorra probably doesn't even want to kill Ichigo if it means upsetting Orihime.

Ulquiorra's monologue sure raises a lot of questions. In his earlier conversation with Orihime, he had no idea what a "heart" was. He denied its very existence since he believed that unless he can see it, it doesn't exist. What exactly does he mean now? From an objective point of you, it could just be his observation that Ichigo's heart will be his ultimate demise, because he won't give up. But could there be a deeper meaning in his words? Could this scene be where Ulquiorra finally realizes what a heart is? (contrary to the popular belief that he acquires one moments before he turns to dust) From UlquiHime's point of view and my personal take on it, Ulquiorra's ultimate pain and despair is Orihime, and this whole fight is about Orihime. He knows that he can't have her and that she will be his undoing. (not to mention that he is awfully chatty again)

Ulquiorra seems to be pretty obsessed about what Orihime thinks of him. This is not the first time he asks her this question. Are you scared of me? Even though he seems to be talking to both Ichigo and Orihime, when he says that he finds [them] interesting, he looks only at Orihime. She is the last person he sees in his final moments and she (probably) gives him peace by assuring him that she is not scared. He wants to touch her, but in this bittersweet moment, her hand goes right through his as he disintegrates.

This is the climatic scene that makes us UlquiHime fans so convinced that the pairing is real, but in a very subtle way. There are no fancy confessions, tears, and kisses. But the fact is that a wisp of a girl made a badass Espada feel makes it so much more powerful. Before he died, Ulquiorra found his heart in his hand, the hand that SHE almost touched. Perhaps, she is the heart that he was so much longing for. Perhaps he gave his heart to her. Or perhaps, she only guided him to his heart by simply being human.

Some would argue that Ulquiorra fell in love with Orihime. Others would say that he was only fascinated by her humanity. Maybe both. But the undisputed fact is that he definitely felt for her one way or another. Perhaps, by being an Arrancar, he didn't have enough time to figure out what it was. Nevertheless, their relationship goes far beyond the one of a captor and his prisoner.

Final thoughts:

What fascinates me the most about Ulquiorra x Orihime is their completely uncharacteristic behavior when they are together. When they are by themselves there is nothing special. He is a silent, pragmatic, unmovable robot. And she is a typical damsel in distress unable to stand on her own, a generic shoujo character. Put them together, and we have a chemical explosion. He gets awfully chatty, almost emotional, and starts to give a damn. And she is actually able to stand up for herself without relying on others to do it for her.

"I am acting on Aizen-sama's orders" stopped making sense after the scene where Espada-perv wanted to tie Orihime down and force the food down her throat. Perhaps, Ulquiorra could not deal with his growing attachment (because he is a Hollow who can't understand human interaction), and still tried to convince himself that he was following some imaginary orders. It is even more obvious in the later scenes. How some people don't see it is beyond me. Perhaps, they don't read the manga and just watch the anime for the sake of action.

Overall, I find them the most exciting pair in the entire series. And who said that a villain cannot be redeemed? It happened before in other stories. In his last moments Ulquiorra did get his redemption through finding his heart. I am sad that Ulquiorra is gone, but I am optimistically hopeful that Kubo will bring him back with a boom.

I don't expect Kubo to pair everyone one up and turn Bleach into Marmalade Boy. But his characters and their relationships seem way too complex to just be platonic. I think subtle romance will bring a nice kick to the story.

HOWEVER, Ichigo could really benefit from some toning down. For a human (even though he is half shinigami), he is disgustingly overpowered.

Fin

Itazura na Kiss

2009-07-31T18:02:00.000-07:00

Itazura na Kiss has a very interesting premise where the story does not end once the main couple gets together, but continues throughout their lives together for a decade or so. Unfortunately, the idea of a good story ends there. The execution and the characters are terrible.

First of all, Kotoko and Irie are completely mismatched. She is a klutzy idiot, he is a stoic and cold genius completely devoid of all emotion. Kotoko reminded me too much of the Sailor Moon character and it made me dislike her even more. After they finish college and begin working, Irie becomes even less likable in his treatment of Kotoko. The writers try to excuse his behavior by him always being perfect in the past, which prevented him from feeling jealousy. Um, despite his personality, isn't he human too? But nevertheless, no matter how badly he treats her, she still forgives him and at the end they live happily ever after.

The little incidents during their married life, starting with their honey moon where a random woman tried to break them apart, do not fit into the story at all. They are episodic and have no impact on any of the major characters. None of them learn from those experiences and they continue behaving like nothing happened.

Overall, I found the series superficial, boring, and too cliche. There is no natural romance here, just a couple of mismatched characters who were forced to fall in love because the writers decided so.

Hana Yori Dango (live action)

2009-07-31T17:28:00.000-07:00

I didn't find anything likable about the live action version of Hana Yori Dango. I didn't like the acting at all. The actors tried to act like anime characters with exaggerated mannerisms and conversations. It looked really stupid for normal people to behave that way.

The love story is extremely superficial and uninspiring. There is no chemistry between Tsukasa and Makino. It seems that they fell in love because the scrip said so. What happened to the passion and heart wrenching confessions? Even their bickering doesn't look convincing. Tsukasa's and Rui's characters are almost completely switched around. It wasn't Tsukasa who comes to Makino's rescue anymore, but Rui. And instead of being emotionally unavailable, he is turned into a warm and caring guy.

A lot of important parts of the story are taken out, most of which are where Tsukasa comes to Makino's rescue. There are only two scenes where he actually helps her. The first was combined with Sakurako's and Junpei's incident. And the snowstorm rescue is absolutely ridiculous. The writers suddenly decide to create their own plot where Tsukasa loses his memory of Makino (only) and throw in the annoying character of Umi for a few episodes who suddenly falls in love with Tsukasa after knowing him for what...one day? She sends Makino to look for Yuki in the snow storm. Tsukasa rushes to her rescue while still having amnesia, because their bond is supposedly that strong. Talk about the overdose of cheese and cliches. The ridiculous character of Umi has absolutely no place in the series, why didn't the writers stick to the original idea that made a whole more sense?

The girls getting slapped around is beyond disgusting. It didn't look good in the anime, it looked even dumber in the live action. Tsukasa constantly slaps and pushes everyone around him. He was noticeably violent in the anime, here he is just disgustingly annoying. I was actually hoping that Makino would dump him and go with Rui.

Hana Yori Dango (anime)

2009-07-31T16:54:00.000-07:00

To me the best thing about Hana Yori Dango is the love story. There is a great chemistry between Makino and Doumyoji (Tsukasa) and their personalities seem to mesh well. But I didn't fully like any of the major characters.

My biggest problem with shojou genre is the lack of strong female leads, but Makino showed great promise at the beginning. She is not needy, winy and clingy like many of the other shojou girls. She is strong, she fights back the bullies and stands up to the F4. But as the story progresses she shows a different side of her personality. I found her to be generally flaky and ungrateful. Even though she acknowledges everything that Tsukasa has done for her, she doesn't seem to ever appreciate it. She continues chasing after Rui for half of the show, and leading Tsukasa on. It only takes the entire series for her to finally realize whom she is in love with, and she doesn't even confess it at the end. Her reasoning is immature for the most part and it's really unclear why she would not accept her feelings for Tsukasa, even though it is pretty obvious that she is in love with him. It seems like the writers needed a reason to keep them apart, which made their actions seem forced.

I don't really know why Rui and Tsukasa ever became friends. They are absolutely different and the writers never really gave them any balance. Rui is too cold and emotionally detached. His mind always wanders and I cannot think of one reason why Makino would ever like him. Tsukasa is too easily excitable, violent and boorish. But I like Tsukasa. He is the only one who matured in the series. Even though he starts out as a jerk, he learns love and acts genuine and generous towards Makino. Later on he changes from a jerk to literally a life savior.

My biggest problem with the show is the continuous violence against women. Girls at school constantly get slapped for every little thing. When Tsukasa's older sister slaps him around it looks funny, but when Tsukasa does the same to girls, it looks ugly. The writers overdid it to such an extent that it just became disgusting.

Bokura ga Ita

2009-07-25T03:26:00.000-07:00

Bokura ga Ita has one of the best dramatic story lines I've seen among the shoujo genre. The conversations between the characters and their inner thoughts are a great combination to make the story line unfold naturally. The characters are extremely well developed and realistic. I think they are a bit too realistic for the high school theme and the drama part is a bit too mature, but nevertheless, it is still very enjoyable.

Perhaps I am biased when it comes to these types of stories, but I usually do not like the female characters in them. And I wasn't very impressed with the character of Takahashi. She is too needy, clingy, and insecure. But as the story develops, I get to understand her flaws more and I actually sympathize with her, because she is trying to deal with Yano's past and his emotional baggage. Their romance is a bit of a cliche, where a clumsy and awkward girl falls in love with a popular guy, but the story of his past brings new twist to it.

Takeuchi is my favorite character. But I feel like his presence is generally irrelevant to the entire series. The writers attempted to created a love triangle, but it never really became one. I wish his relationship with Takahashi would've been more complex. Since the series took on a more serious and lifelike approach, I think it would've been better for Takahashi to stay with him at the end. Yano is too complex of a character and as Take said, a relationship that is full of emotional hardships needs to be ended. And that is how I felt about Yano and Nana. If feels that no matter how much that tried, they never really meant to be together.

The ending itself leaves a lot to the imagination. Almost every character's future is unclear. I wish there would've been more closure and certainty. But perhaps, there will be a sequel to clarify all of that. At least I hope for one.

Lovely Complex

2009-07-24T15:03:00.000-07:00

I don't usually watch anime about high school romance, but I really liked the premise of Lovely Complex. There is nothing special about it - a boy and a girl are high school friends who always argue but later realize they like each other. Seems generic enough, doesn't it? Except for the fact that she is 14 centimeters taller than him. A love affair between a "midget" and an "amazon. *gasp*

I liked the fact that the writers really gave them a reason to be friends. Even though they constantly bicker, they like all the same things and enjoy doing them together. The first half was fun and interesting as Raza was slowly realizing that she had the hots for Otani. And Otani was blisfully oblivious, but not completely emotionally detached.

Unfortunatelly, after Raza confessed her feelings, the story started spiraling down. She turned into a love obsessed puppy chasing after Otani and crying in every episode that he was not returning her feelings. Otani turned into somewhat of a jerk who couldn't make up his mind about Raza. Even after he realized he liked her and they became a couple, they didn't even act like one. He seemed to be much nicer to Raza before the whole romantic drama started. I didn't like the fact that he was constantly smacking her and telling her that she has to work hard to make him love her. I didn't know whether to feel sorry for Raza or to be mad at her for acting so pathetic towards a guy who didn't even seem like he cared much about her.

Some of the characters I found pointless, like Haruka, who would have been much more likable if he created a love triangle between him Raza and Otani and made Otani sweat. The little cute girl who ended up to be a boy was a bit of an overkill.

Full Metal Alchemist

2009-07-22T13:50:00.001-07:00

After reading so many positive reviews about Full Metal Alchemist, I did not see what the big deal was at the very beginning. It starts out a bit slow and follows the same routine just like any other anime of the genre. Ed and Al are two brothers who search for a mysterious Philosopher's Stone and help other folks along the way. At the very beginning there is plenty of action and humor, but the story starts to really develop after about 15-20 episodes. What starts out as a generic action/comedy, turns into something a lot bigger than that.

Every episode develops the story further on. Every single character is significant to the plot, even the ones from the very first episode. The story is a lot more than just searching for the powerful artifact, it tests human character and resolve to survive. And most of those characters change and grow as the story progresses. Full Metal Alchemist is so craftily put together, that I didn't even feel like I was watching a cartoon, but someone's life unfold. It is wonderful story, characters, setting, plot twists. I cannot think of any faults, maybe except for a bit of a slow start.

The story of Ed and Al is one of the most tragic ones I've ever seen. The relationship between the brothers is both comical and endearing, and the song "Brothers" (which is sung in Russian) made their story so much more heartbreaking. For them it wasn't just a journey to reclaim their bodies, but also the loss of innocence and childhood, and "Brothers" hits it right on the nail.

Trinity Blood

2009-07-22T08:51:00.000-07:00

I have a lot of mixed feelings about Trinity Blood. Even though there are a lot of very visible flaws, I still liked the series. The story takes place in a futuristic, post-apocalyptic world were the Vatican rages a war against the vampires. It is a combination of mecha mixed with a Gothic fantasy. Such variety should've produced a fairly interesting plot, but unfortunately, Trinity Blood borrows too much from other anime with the same overused characters as everywhere else.

Abel is almost identical to Vash from Trigun - a gentle blubber mouth, who hides a dark side below a friendly exterior. He is always broke, tends to act silly, but then he turns into a terrifying monster with god-like powers. And just like Vash, he has the polar opposite brother-like nemesis, who is conveniently named Cain.

Besides coping from other anime series, Trinity Blood lacks a well developed story line. Is it about vampires and humans trying to co-exist, or Abel's personal struggles? The series doesn't seem to be episodic on purpose, but there is very little focus and it jumps between the characters without any visible purpose. The ending takes the series a full circle. It seems like Trinity Blood didn't really accomplish anything, because it ends right where it begins. There is absolutely no plot progression of any kind. It's full 24 episodes of none stop action, nuns with big racks and space ships, very flashy animation and very little story line. It's not that the writers didn't know how to write a good story, I really liked the development between Esther and Ion and many of the real historical references gave it an edge, they just seemed to have problems with focus and closure.

After listing to so many negative aspects of the show, one would ask: why do I still like it? Simple, I found the premise and characters very interesting despite the lack of development and copycat ideas. With better writing, Trinity Blood could have been turned into a fully blown saga of apocalyptic proportions. And so many plot twists should've been made into a lot more than just a mere 24 episodes with a huge window for a sequel. The only possible redemption for the series is a long sequel with a more centralized story line. It looks more like a clumsily put-together prologue to something bigger, than anything else.

D. Gray-man

2009-07-22T08:06:00.000-07:00

D. Gray-man is another great title from the shonen style anime. It starts out fairly basic - a young boy with strange powers, Allen Walker, joins a secret organization, Black Order, and becomes an exorcist. Exorcists use a divine phenomena, Innocence, in their fight against the dark phantom called Millennium Earl, who wants to fulfill an ancient prophecy by destroying the world. He targets those who are in mourning and creates Akuma (demons) from the dead.

The beginning episodes follow the general outline where Allan, Kanda, Lenalee, and later Lavi fight Akuma from one episode to another. The episodes circulate between these characters and their missions separate from each other. I like the fact that the episodes do not only concentrate around the main guy, Allan, but show the capability of the rest of the characters, who can function without him. Lenalee is surprisingly strong for a female character. She doesn't require any help in fighting Akuma, and manages to destroy a level 3 demon all by herself.

I didn't like the morality trips between the characters. Their holier-than-thou, "I want to fight even though I'm badly injured and I don't care if I get in the way" attitude to be extremely annoying. A lot of the dialog revolves around convincing each other that even though they are valuable assets, they should stay on the sidelines and not get in the way. Why? Because you are injured and you will get in the way! Also, there are some very heavy Christian themes that might be offensive to the religious folks. Some of the biblical stories are twisted. If you are religious and tempering with the Bible stories offends you, do not watch this.

If you're a fan of Bleach, you will mostly likely like D. Gray-man. It is not as comedic and violent as Bleach, but the story is very interesting and many of the characters are similar to Bleach's. But more importantly, there are no filler episodes!

Darker Than Black

2009-07-14T21:23:00.000-07:00

Darker Than Black had a lot of promise at the beginning. The premise is about superhuman assassins or contractors fighting amongst each other and their effect on humans. But after a few episodes the whole series started spiraling down.

There is no concrete story line. It's very episodic and without any real focus. I didn't see any significance in most of the characters and most of the episodes did not make sense. Once there is a seemingly interesting development, the next episode is about something completely irrelevant. It felt like the writers did not know what to focus on - Hei or everyone else around him. There is also no explanation about where the contractors came. What did it take for a human to become a contractor? And the ending was too abrupt and without any real closure.

I liked the action sequences and the music in the openings, but other than that I could not really follow the story. There is no character development and a lot of plot twists did not make sense. I wanted the plot to focus on something specific, instead I got a lot of segmented and forgettable story lines.

Vampire Knight

2009-07-13T11:54:00.000-07:00

Oh, boy....where do I start.... Even though I actually found Vampire Knight entertaining, I thought the plot and characters were extremely cliche and with the same rehashed ideas as many of the previous vampire stories. This is Twilight all over. And I am not a fan of Twilight.

The story takes place in the world where humans and vampires are learning to live together. The Cross Academy has 2 class sessions - The Day Class for humans, and The Night Class for vampires. The students of the Night Class look older than the human students, more sophisticated and popular. Yuuki is a young girl, part of the Day Class, who is also a guardian with duties maintaining the peaceful environment at the academy. Basically, whenever the vampire students enter the school grounds, she has to fend off hoards of love struck Day Class students EVERY DAY. Zero is her partner and the boy with whom she was raised by the academy's chairman.

But, wait, it gets better! Yuuki has the Twilight syndrome of being extremely clumsy and awkward, but still manages to have everyone fall in love with her. Kaname is the leader of the vampire students, a noble (pureblood) vampire, who is often seen lounging around and daydreaming about Yuuki with a sad face, and he also likes to break his chest pieces. Zero is a second rate "made" vampire who loathes himself and other vampires and doesn't like to open up to anyone. Yuuki, of course, chases after both of them and can't decide whom she likes more. This Yuuki/Kaname/Zero love triangle is just hilarious. She can't maintain her composure every time Kaname-sama talks to her and jumps up every time he says her name, but she is perfectly alright with letting Zero suck on her neck.

I dislike the character of Yuuki. She looks like a midget in comparison to Kaname and Zero. Why girls like that are considered to be popular is beyond me. While both Kaname and Zero look like adults, she looks like a hyper 12 year old who is eager to protect everyone, but hasn't a slightest idea of how to do it.

The series are a combination of drama and comedy but I found the transition between the two to be extremely clumsy. The scenes where Zero deals with his vampire transformation look more comical than tragic. As Yuuki's true identity is revealed, it gave me a better understanding about why Kaname is in love with her, which made it even more disturbing. And the ending left a huge window for season 3.

I've read countless comments on youtube that season 3 will be released in January 2010. If that's the case, I personally hope that Vampire Knight will break free from the kiddie fantasy stereotypes and take on a more Gothic approach. I don't think that Fruit Baskets and vampires mix very well. And I still want to see more of Yuuki/Zero romance.

Death Note

2009-07-13T11:31:00.000-07:00

Death Note is probably one of the most distinct and visually beautiful anime series in the recent years. It tells a story of Light Yagami, a young man with a strong sense of justice, who wants to cleanse the world of evil. He finds a death note, dropped by a shinigami, that gives him the ability to kill. But can he use that power in moderation or will it completely consume him?

The psychological battles between Light and L are mind blowing. It's all about outwitting and out thinking your opponent with the least amount of force. Even though the battles are done in silence, they are extremely psychologically powerful. There is no closure, things just keeping piling up as Light sinks deeper into darkness.

But, unfortunately, Death Notes is not without flaws. The first half of the series was astounding, with an explosive plot. Then, after some characters were moved around and replaced, I found it a bit hard to follow. When the main hero is both the protagonist and antagonist, there is a certain expectation of how the story would end. Until the end I was hoping to be surprised as the plot twists never turned out as I expected. But, unfortunately, the ending was as bittersweet as I predicted.

Julia

Blood+

2009-07-12T17:55:00.001-07:00

I just finished watching Blood+ and I'm in awe. I can't get over about how tragic and beautiful the series are. It is a combination of action/horror/supernatural with a hint of romance and suspense. The story is very interesting but it can be a bit confusing in some parts, as the characters travel around the world chasing the enemy, and I was sometimes confused about why they were where they were. But as Saya's true identity is revealed, it keeps getting better and better. The series are filled with tear jerkers and bitter sweet moments.

The animation is very beautiful and the music is nice. However, I didn't like the final opening. The singing voice was just annoying. But some of the animation sequences have a very nice Gothic quality that adds a certain hint of darkness to the series to emphasize the mood.

Overall, I didn't find any serious flaws here. Blood+ is a great treat for the fans who loved Blood of the Last Vampire. The series unfolded a wonderful story and developed the character of Saya to its full potential. There are a lot of new characters and the story line is full of interesting twists.

Gintama

2009-07-11T09:44:00.000-07:00

I really like a good samurai story with lots of sword fighting for love and honor. But what started out to be good, became a total disaster. I've watched about 45 episodes and I couldn't take anymore of that mess.

The main protagonist, Gintaki, is a former samurai who had to abandon that profession because swordsmanship became outlawed when the Earth was taken over by the aliens. That sounds like an interesting premise to a great series, doesn't it? But that's where the good ends. Don't get me wrong, there are a lot of interesting aspects that make fun and somewhat clever jokes about a number of cultural cliches: geisha culture, pop idols, obsession with comic books (Jump magazine), and more. But there is absolutely zero plot and character development. All of the characters are lazy, loud, and obnoxious. They either don't do anything, get themselves into weird predicaments or just fight amongs each other.

It might've been funny for the first couple of dozen episodes, but further on the dirty jokes weren't funny anymore and the same humor is recycled in every episode. After the 45th episodes I still didn't know what the series were about and I did not care to find out. It is an animated mess that is best left alone.

Bleach

2009-07-11T02:18:00.000-07:00

I can easily say that Bleach is one of my favorite animes of all time. It is a combination of everything that I love about anime - action, comedy, a slight hint of romance. Every character has a unique background that developed throughout the series with a set purpose and direction.

The series doesn't have a set hero and an anti-hero, but rather a collection of characters that change and grow as the series progresses. Even though Ichigo Kurosaki is the main hero, the story does not revolve around him, and all other characters get a fair amount of screen time. There are plenty of backstories that give us a sense of what other characters are like. Each character is an individual with his or her own history, instead of just being support to the main hero. I like the fact that many of them change and grow and became something else later in the series. Although some of the characters, that started out bigger than life, were tuned down later in the series.

The concept of Soul Society is strange. It is supposed to be equivalent to heaven, as Rukia Kichiki explains in one of the episodes, but it very much resembles the modern political structure, which is disorganized, corrupt, lax, and allows incompetent characters occupy high ranking positions. And how is it even possible to die in Soul Society? Technically everyone is already dead there.

Bleach is also a combination of slap stick comedy and action. It can be incredibly silly and random in one scene, but in the next it's violent, dark, and depressing. My whole experience with it ranged from having hysterical giggles, teary eyes, hysterical giggles. Rinse and repeat.

Some of the things I didn't like about it are the filler episodes, simply because they divert from the main story line. However, I did find the Bount arc to be incredibly boring. But other fillers, like the one where Hitsugaya and Kirin play soccer, are fun. Some of the conversation can also be cut down. How many times will the bad guy stick "Kurosaki Ichigo" at the end of a sentence while talking to him? Byakuya Kuchiki and Ulquiorra sound almost identical in their eloquence and calm demeanor. Even their voices are similar.

I've read some fan reviews claiming that the DVD dubbing is good. If it's the same as on the Adult Swim, I strongly disagree. American voices are either wooden or overdone. The actors are not even trying to act the parts. They are trying too much to imitate the Japanese voices instead of holding their own. As a result, they sound awkward and pretentious. I wasn't convinced by Aizen at all, instead of sounding calm and well spoken, he sounds monotonous.

Overall, I recommend Bleach to anyone who loves great story and comedy mixed with action. The plot is full of surprising turns and twists that makes you crave for more. But avoid the English dubbing and stick to the subtitles.

Julia