Junjou Romantica 4 and the Highly InAppropriate Subs

Uh-oh... Usagi's been watching Higurashi!

Thanks to aarinfantasy, I can now shut off one more part of my brain whenever I watch Junjou Romantica (you know, the part that has to translate cheesy dialogue), I can just sit back in some hazy stupor and watch the subtitles do all the talking (plus it eliminates me having to think of captions for screenshots, not that I'm stopping :P):

Hmm, doesn't that remind you of somebody else, Misaki?

Still can't believe that that was the 'first' (near enough) thing everyone else saw of you...
(well, not like we could see anything in the first place)

The next few ones speak for themselves (Got to hand it to aarinfantasy here XD):

AKA 'subtext'

Err, am I the only one thinking Kamichama Karin?

(I don't remember her looking so alien in the rest of the episode, oddly enough, besides the BRIGHT red lipstick anyways. Women in BL always seem designed to have hate lumped on them by the indignant fangirls anyways)

About the episode itself... You know, I can hardly remember anything despite having just watched it since everything that happened seemed to have been taken out of the yaoi plot device checklist or something - obligatory fits of jealousy and "Why am I thinking of you so much" blah blah blah cheese blah blah blah "Don't touch me!" blah blah blah "Touch me!" blah blah blah "I think of you all the time too!" blah blah blah Buttsecks blah blah - oh, that's it?

I think the second couple was more watchable (and is apparently the 'best' of the three). Maybe I actually have to turn on my brain once in a while when I watch the next episode. But since it's still currently in 'off mode' right now, I think I'll go watch some Kamen no Mad Guy now...

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Junjou Romantica 3: Someday My Prince Will Come (Oh god that just sounds awfully wrong!)

I'm trying to keep this post short, since I'm starting to feel guilty as the only person in the 'study' room currently not actually studying (Okay, so I have my Physics book and electronic dictionary on the table, but neither of them are open -_-" Also reading 5 pages for homework has never been this difficult to me thanks to the horror that is kanji...)

Anyways, since I can't think of anything else to blog about right now and having taken up usagijen's raw watching advice and applying it on... Junjou Romantica of all things last night (instead of watching more Toshokan Sensou raw, I watched the sub of episode one instead, lol. Saiunkoku Monogatari was on TV too last night, but I've watched the episode before and keeping up with the dialogue when there's no pause button is difficult enough in a show that's not set in an ancient China-like setting -_-"), I might as well toss up another JR post since those seem to receive the most comments

This scene totally cracked me up with the cheesy line Nowaki used :"Hiro-san wa boku wo moratta!" (I'll be taking my man toy Hiro now if you don't mind) XD

Side note: Hiroki's voiced by Kentarou Itou and Nowaki by Nobutoshi Canna. For those like me before this who have no idea who these people are (and aren't likely to remember anyways), Nobutashi Canna also did Ryuuya in Air (for the fanboys) and Fushigi Yuugi's Tasuki (for the old school fangirls) as well as Saiunkoku's Tei Yuushun (which one was that again?). Kentarou Itou is La Corda's Tsuchiura (green haired soccer pianist-kun, but the fangirls know that), Saiunkoku's Ensei (possibly the only anime character I know who appears with and without facial hair at different times in the series) and for the fanboys(? I don't think so...) Soul Link's Shuhei (*urgh Soul Link*)

Anyways, there's one point about episode 3 that's bugging me a little (and no, it's not the compulsory buttsecks. Seriously though, if there's at least one buttsecks episode per episode, then like those guy friends I have who shamelessly proclaim to be desensitized to porn after after watching so much of it, I have a feeling that the same thing will happen to me with regards to 'subtext' by the end of JR -_-"). A ridiculously common feature of most BL stories is that it has to take extraordinary or downright ridiculous circumstances to get the guys to actually start loving/hating (love/hate being another common factor) on each other (See Gravitation) The current arc of JR exhibits this trend more than the previous one (though since this one doesn't start with raeping and leaves the subtext till after the romancing, its slightly more 'palatable' -_-").

With Hiroki and Nowaki, it takes a rocket (Hinano just had to turn it into p3n!s pump, LOL) and one look at Hiroki's sad-because-I-was-raepd-by-a-guy-who-pretended-I-was-someone-totally-else face before Nowaki decides that he's 'fallen in love with Hiroki at first sight' and wants to make him happy. A little too convenient, don't you think?

It kinda got me thinking about 'Prince Charming' syndrome in anime, where the (usually) female (that part doesn't apply in BL, obviously) protagonist yearns for that gangly Prince to come save her from her bitterly unromantic life. What I always find interesting is the different ways this theme has been played out in different show. Like in Utena and more recently Toshokan Sensou, the female leads decide after first encounters with their certain 'Prince Charmings' to not just sit around waiting and pining, but to go ahead and emulate their princes in a bid to become closer with the often mysterious entity that is the 'Prince'. Probably just as fantastical, but it's nice to know that they're putting some sort of effort into it rather than moping about in a park waiting for some random projectile to fall at their feet -_-" (Not as significant, the OP song to Rozen Maiden Traumend, Seishoujo Ryouiki has the line "I don't believe in a prince on a white horse". Makes me think of the new Code Geass OP sequence..)

But this deal about things happening conveniently to bring together couples is of course just a detail of fiction being fiction for the sake of a story. And BL is mostly catering to the imaginative fangirl crowd as opposed to actual guys who like guys (homo/bi/tri, what have you) anyways, so realism can go straight out the window in the hopes of bringing out that inner "KYAA, that was SOOO sweet!!! *hearts*" reaction in the viewer.

There's nothing wrong with all that I suppose. But I do wonder if one day perhaps we'll have a WTF BL show featuring a non-bishie male lead who spends his time in gay bars stalking prey... *shudders*

And one final point: Who sends flowers to a florist???

So much for a short post -_-"

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Can't think of a more interesting way to say "Random Spring Season Update"

It's suddenly become a weekly tradition for us not to get back to our dorms till 5 or 6 in the morning on Saturday mornings after staying up all of Friday night doing inane activities like... Not watching/blogging anime. Yes, I have screwed up priorities, blame it on the lack of sleep and the overdose of fried chicken I had today. First and last time I'm 'indulging' in that rip off that is 'KFC's all you can eat for one hour at only 1320yen' nearby. And no, I'm not having Pizza BHut any time soon either. Since I've not posted for a few days, and I don't have much concrete material on any one series to constitute a proper post, here's a random update post for which I failed to come up with a witty title to (as always).


After wildly random and immensely entertaining 2nd episodes, Kyouran Kazoku Nikki and Kamen no Maid Guy (yes, Kamen no Maid Guy. And for the record, I actually loved watching Magikano, so there :P) enter my watchlist at number 6 and 7 respectively, displacing everything from Nabari no Ou downwards downwards still and at more risk of being dropped. Which brings me too...


Special A still sucks may just be the first shoujo series I'll ever drop. Even if the first few jokes of the 3rd episode were actually funny, and Hikari doesn't look as anorexic anymore, it's still too WTF when her skinny limbs are able to destroy kitchen utensils -_-" And the cannonball onigiri joke was only funny in Keroro Gunsou. Right now it feels like I'll only be able to like Special A if they got rid of Hikari and Kei (and especially the student council guy)... which would make the show rather meaningless, wouldn't it? Though speaking of actually dropping series...

Huh? Cry-blah?

Dropping Crystal Blaze after second episode (where I literally zoned out halfway, but that was because it was late and I was tired). psgels assures us it's a solid show, and I kinda believe so... but if my guess is right, even if I do continue watching, it'll just end up being one of those shows where I go 'well I guess that was okay' in the end before forgetting that I've ever watched it in the first place. On the other hand...


I may actually continue watching Kaiba and Himitsu instead. Need subs though. And speaking of subs...


Toshokan Sensou has finally been subbed! *!!!Goes to rewatch episode!!!* Those who haven't caught a glimpse of it, go do so, NOW. Also...


Junjou Romantica has finally been subbed! *...nyeh, prefers snarky NicoVideo comments* Let's talk about something more interesting....


Itazura na Kiss, Code Geass, Allison to Lillia remain very much entertaining for their own individual reasons (which seem wildly divergent from one another, especially when it comes to Code Geass XD). I really should remind myself to watch Nabari no Ou and Tower of Druaga every week though... Probably not a good sign that I'm starting to forget about them already. But it happens when the awesome-r series stick to mind, like...


Kure-nai. I suppose any show that's able to make me feel some sort of emotion besides reducing me to laughter (intentionally or not) at a character must be good to some extent. I was totally with Murasaki over the Shinkurou being a doormat in the subway train thing. (on the other hand, I can totally understand why Shinkurou didn't fight back, but I was still furious at how low he forced himself to sink!) The last time I felt genuinely furious at an anime character was at Hachimaki in Planetes after he goes Jupiter. It's totally different from being absolutely appalled at a character like Shinji in Evangelion to the extent that it reduces the enjoyment of a show. Feeling both angry at a certain character's behavior and angry for the other characters who have to put up with it - in poor Murasaki's case, being rebuked and then lectured about society's rules in a way Mawari from Seto no Hanayome could never hope to achieve - isn't something that occurs too often with me, and having character conflict within the show that I can actually connect to, even if it brings out a form of negative emotion in me, and is something I'm actually grateful for. (Hey, this whole paragraph should've gotten its own post -_-"). And finally...


Penguin no Mondai (not to be confused with that other Penguin Musume show which I haven't/won't watch) is probably the most wildly inappropriate 'kids' entertainment' I've watched, ever. Okay, maybe I'm the only one who was fooled into thinking it's children's entertainment... And am I the only one who's watched this? Maybe I'm hallucinating...


I need to get some sleep now. The panda eyes I'm getting in real life or hardly becoming.

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Spring 2008 Ep 2 Impressions - Because ANYONE can do 1st Episode Impressions :P

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The following are 9 of the shows I'm definitely following this season... well, that 'definitely' applies more to the series further down the list (I kinda ranked them from "Nyeh" to "!!!!" based on 2 episodes) while the first few are at some sort of risk of being dropped. It's not a complete watchlist yet since I've not gotten to episode 2 of some of the other shows I intend to, but for a start here goes:


9. S.A. (Not very Special Anorexics) - Needs more TajimaTadashi
Honestly disappointed at how mediocre Special A is turning out to be. Atrocious OP btw, it makes Koi no Mikuru Densetsu sound like the pinnacle of anime music (I'm neither a Mikuru fan nor one who actually believes this). The comic timing isn't very good, the jokes feel rather stale already (most of the entertainment value is riding on the side characters of the S.A. class anyhow) and I don't really care for Kei and Hikari - their relationship is starting to look like an inferior KareKano (an unfair comparison seeing that KareKano's first 2 episodes were real good). Perhaps this feeling of disappointment can be attributed to how well it's shoujo counterpart this season is doing in comparison, but if S.A. can't stand on its own soon, I see no reason to continue watching aside from some form of 'shoujo loyalty' on my part.


8. Junjou Romantica - Obligatory 'a new challenger appears' + passionate 'subtext' episode.
So Junjou Romantica is travelling down the path of generic yaoi - and I'm following for the ride? Usami's such a possessive bitch while Misaki's seiyuu (Sakurai Takahiro) just makes the show seem like Kyou Kara Maou all over again (thankfully, Usami isn't even close to being as annoying as Wolfram is *urgh*), but the show still manages to stay absolutely hilarious (partly because of the Nico video comments. There was one that went : "You just realized this is BL???"). Like how everyone in uni avoids Misaki because they're somehow well informed about the fact that the person sending him to classes is a famous BL author (they must all be jealous closet fans XD). There is 'subtext' involved of course, but I'm willing to tolerate it if it comes after the romancing.

And yes, the OP is actually good (which puts this ahead of S.A. -_-"), and not in the cheesily gay-tastic way that Gakuen Heaven's was, LOL.


7. Tower of Druaga - Generic RPG adventure plot twists
Well, the hilarity of the first episode has been replaced by a somewhat generic RPG adventure story (Tip : If you're ever an eye-witness to a successful assassination, clear out of the way before someone points the finger at you *smacks forehead*) but thankfully that doesn't mean the show has gotten bad in any way. The characters have been revealed to be a rather interesting bunch after all (and not in the "I'm going back to my village to get married!" kind of way XD) so despite the fact that it's no longer anything like ep1, I'll still be watching this to see how it develops to the end.

And yes, while I'm at it, the OP sequence is my favourite this season =P


6. Nabari no Ou - Why should we care if you don't?
Again, another show I probably would pass on if not for the funny (as opposed to laughable) characters. And again, thank goodness Kugimiya Rie is voicing Rokujou, since otherwise there'd be a high chance she'd voice the blonde twintails girl -_-" Rokujou may be the 'king of apathy' but his sneaky devil antics make him more likeable than an annoying 'shounen' lead. The only thing I don't like so much is that the characters here are almost on the anorexic level of S.A., but I suppose ninjas need the speed and agility whereas pro wrestlers... Gah, why pro wrestlers at all S.A., why???


5. Allison & Lillia - Cosplay time?
Episode 2 of Allison to Lillia (though when does the 'Lillia' part come in?) has affirmed my liking of the show. When they crash landed into enemy territory it started feeling like Crest of the Stars again (just substitute Kawasumi Ayako's cool and spicy Lafiel with the equally awesome Mizuki Nana's Allison). Like Crest, I'm not in the show so much for the setting (since war sucks, but there you go) and more for the interaction between the leads (Crest of the Stars had some of the best banter and lines ever) but I do want to know where this adventure of Allison and Will's will (getting tongue-tied :S) be taking them.

Also the episode eyecatch is just plain adorable =P

Guess who's back...

4. Code Geass R2 - LOLOLOLOLOLOLOL
You know, I could try thinking of purely sensible reasons to why I absolutely love watching Code Geass (Hmm... kick ass mechas, intriguing character depth, ZOMGWTFBBQ plot twists, CLAMP's gorgeous noodle bishie designs? *stiffles laughter*), but I'd rather just tune in every week and tune off my brain and LMAO at every new cheesy 'development' they throw at us, even if it is all recycled plots devices from the first season. (As to how shut off my brain is while watching, I'm probably the only person dense enough not to guess it was Rollo in that new fangled 'my mecha is better than yours!' Knightmare)

And though I'm curious as to what's become of Nunally, I really demand to know why Lloyd and Cecil are nowhere in sight still when even psycho Nina's made an appearance!


3. Itazura na Kiss - Nice BoatPics
Story and character wise, Itazura na Kiss doesn't attempt to be more complex than it should be, which is why it's succeeding remarkably well. Or maybe it seems that way since it's a more entertaining show than 'Special' A has been (come on anorexics, you better be proving this post wrong soon!). Kotoko and Irie may not be as 'aesthetically appealing' as Hikari and Kei (who should audition for Top Model not pro-wrestling!)but it just shows that even in a visual medium such as anime that substance takes precedence over looks (or should, at any rate). Everyone acts in an acceptably believable fashion which makes them likable, except Irie and his brother who are your token jerks, but that's a given. And I wish I never found out that that was once Itou Makoto's voice we're hearing since it's giving me the urge to go sharpen knives when I hear Irie talk now... Thankfully Mizuki Nana's (yes, it's really her!) Kotoko cancels that out =P

Also, real moms cross-dress their children! Just look at Yuri in Kyou Kara Maou XD

Probably one of the more misleading images to portray why this show is good.

2. Kure-nai - Don't worry, you're not a pedophile if you like this show after all... Well, not necessarily anyways.
I loved how episode 2 confirms that despite her lavish upbringing, Murasaki is in no way an annoyingly spoilt brat that at first glance one may expect her to be. Sure, she may not be a Chagum yet in terms of actual maturity, but she knows to take note of her own mistakes and act to correct them in her own child-like innocent (but not childish) way. Sawashiro Miyuki's portrayal of Shinkurou is also my favourite male character voiced by a female seiyuu this season :P (who would've though Kugimiya Rie would be 2nd?) The casual caring interaction between the two is of course one of the highlights of this show, and this somehow flows along with the darker more mysterious elements of the show. Definitely a keeper.


1. Toshokan Sensou - WHERE ARE THE SUBS????
Despite the fact that I felt mostly lost watching the first episode raw, I still ventured on to the 2nd when the lack of subs started leaving me in despair. It just shows I act on blind faith that Library Wars is just that awesome! Episode 2 was much easier to comprehend once you get the situation about the Media Communists (that's what I call them :P) and the Library Task Force (come on, you don't have to be a total book nerd to find that awesome!) and even when the banter gets technical, the gist of it still comes across. And though they're still bickering every episode, Doujo and Iku's relationship is actually developing in a positive direction (He's untsundere man enough to praise and support her) unlike... (okay, that's enough bashing S.A., it's only 2 episodes in after all -_-"). The surprise confession by Tezuka at the end though, throws an interesting wrench into the works. Thanks to Impz for the much needed summaries of course. Hopefully as the weeks progress my own Japanese comprehension skills improve enough to watch the raws competently (or subs finally get released!)


From my First Impression posts, there are certainly other show I'd like to follow this season, and if my schedule permits it I'll follow through with all of them. Otherwise, depending on how their 2nd/3rd episodes fare, I may have to switch out some of the series here with them and stick to under 10 series this time around. Wait, that's still a rather large number isn't it? Err... well, it's all for the sake of improving my Japanese, I guess!

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Junjou Romantica and the Subject of Forbidden Boys Love

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