[SHT] Singing What Rider Who?!

What's up my milleniums? BlackWinged Magician is back with- this is not AR where the hell am I?

That's right, since AR closed down, things have been all over the place and it might have been the end of the BlackWing name! But Akiya, or now better known now as Reader Watcher Girl, has allowed to make her sight available to me so I can continue my favorite, segment-!

(for those who're new, just think of this as an insight into shows with men and women in spandex fighting rubber monsters? Get it? Got it? Good.)

Alright! It's been a while so let's dive into Kamen Rider Hibiki and oh God what is this?!

So I'm gonna skip the usual backstory exposition and all that cause quite frankly, I'm barely watching this... and I have no idea what the hell is going on... I'm serious this show is already giving me feels that are WEIRD and I've only watched up to episode 3. But let's just start at Episode 1.

Ok so we start out with the normal warning-

Oh God what've I gotten myself into...

For one, this one of the only Kamen Rider Series that I've seen that does not have an intro with lyrics (I understand that all Heisei Riders have intros with lyrics save for Hibiki). Personally, I think it makes the intro a little more epic in a way.

We then cut to a kid riding a bike through town while noises are being played rhythmically.

Singing what...

Why's everyone singing?

WHAT IS GOING ON?! Ok so from what I gather, people sing randomly and kanji just pops out throughout the episodes at random.... What is this Japanese High School Musical ft. Kamen Rider?!

Ok so we cut to Asumu(this kid I guess) and his mom on a boat. They're going to some island or something.

And some weird guy who sings about everything he sees, cool.

What.

Whose kid is this?

Hey, does this child belong to ANYONE?!

Ok so stupid baby is stupid and falls off the ledge but weird singy guy saves the day. Oh and you'll never guess this guys name. No really guess. His actual name is Hibiki, which cool/weird and slightly lazy. I don't know I guess there'll be an explanation later.

Who the hell are these two. Why does he sound like a she and why does she sound like a she. I'm not judging or anything I'm just really confused.

Gee, you think Hibiki's gimmick is singing about everything that happens around him? It's kind hard to tell at this point! *SARCASM*

And Hibiki has some pretty cute sidekicks, cool.

We see Hibiki take out a CD that turns into a bird.... just watch it. Ok so Asumu is annoyed by his family, as all prepubescent teens, and his mom's *cough*hot*cough* friend whisks him away to have fun in the mountains. I'm sure NOTHING wrong is gonna happen.

Well what'll you know, Hibiki is on the same trail as these two! What coinky-dink!

What spider webs what. Hot friend kidnapped, I don't- what is going on.

So they find hot lady friend and Hibiki makes Asumu stay with the hot unconscious lasy.... Ok.... And he goes off and transforms (WITHOUT saying Henshin I may add) and jumps around the woods for a bit. Oh and he kills the guy-I mean girl- I mean guy- I mean- what ever the hell that thing is.

Alright, so obviously this is NOT a normal Kamen Rider series. I mean, just imagine how confused I was when I was actually WATCHING this. It's VERY different and deviates HEAVILY from even the most basic Kamen Rider cliches. Hibiki doesn't even say henshin when he transforms, a staple of Kamen Rider's transformations. Also, they're not really Kamen Rider so much as Oni. You know, Japanese Ogres/Monsters? The series form what I understand is heavily based on traditional Japanese lore and music. Also, the series itself had a complete change in writers right in the middle... This is gonna be a fun one to watch. Overall though, it's just weird. Not to say it's bad or anything, it just feels like a Kamen Rider series and not at all at the same time. It deviates completely from the norms that the Kamen Rider series that came before it set, which is refreshing. But in a way, it deviates a little too much. It's still interesting, I'm interested enough to continue watching, it's just.... Watch it and you'll get. I will give it props though, for having one of the most BEAUTIFUL suit designs EVER in Kamen Rider. That counts for ALOT.

[AOW] Tonari no Kaibutsu-kun (11/11-17/2012) [#69]

At the time when I started watching this anime, only 2 episodes were out. I specifically wanted to watch some romance anime that were almost like Kimi no Todoke but without all the bull shit bubbles and sparkle fillers that KnT was (and it's quite stupid to go two full seasons without so much as a confession!!!!!).

Image © Brains Base

I am really enjoying this anime. At first it had that ToraDora feel, but without the angry female lead and the male lead isn't really misunderstood due to angry looking eyes- he really is a trouble maker. There are a lot of feels in this anime, and I can see this as being one of my favorites if not my only favorite this anime season :3 Also, who doesn't love an anime where the title translates to "My Little Monster"?

Type: manga adaptation

Genre(s): comedy, drama, romance

# of Episodes: 12

Synopsis:

Bookworm Shizuku Mizutani has few interests besides her grade and future career. Requested by her teacher, Mizutani brought handouts to Haru Yoshida, a boy who should have been seated next to her but was suspended due to injuring another student in a fight on the first day of school. Because of the favor, Yoshida now considers Mizutani a friend, and she also learns that Yoshida is in fact a very nice, gentle guy.

Shizuku Mizutani only one goal in life, to secure a lucrative career, and to that end she dedicates her life to studying to get good grades. She is bribed by her teacher to deliver homework handouts to Haru Yoshida, a boy who should have been seated next to her but was suspended due to injuring another student in a fight on the first day of school. Because of the favor, Yoshida now considers Mizutani a friend, and she also learns that Yoshida is in fact a very nice, gentle guy has no social skills and who is prone to violence at the drop of a hat. Mizutani has to decide if she will let Yoshida into her life to be friends, or perhaps more than friends.