reader//watcher [girl]: 2015

10/11/15

[AOW] Young Black Jack

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Let's be really honest for a second or so, this season of anime (Fall 2015) is off to a pretty lame start. I feel as if last season was really good so I honestly went into this one expecting at least one or two stand out anime but so far all of them are pretty average at best. [here's a post I'll be updating as I watch the first few episodes of each anime this season I deem worth my time. I'm skipping a lot this season such as Attack on Titan High School because the manga is so laaaame] The only two I was truly excited for this season was today's feature and One Punch Man. So far, Young Black Jack is well animated but the stories so far (i've watched both episodes that are out so far) are pretty typical. Nothing too exciting, though I have to give this one credit. A lot of surgeries that can be done today without having to be too concerned (in episode 2 there's a focus on heart transplants which now a days organ transplants from one live donor to another are far simpler and no one bats an eye as much as they did in the days YBJ takes place) are being showcased as pretty risky. I have hopes this anime will excite me more as it gets into later episodes but even if not, the young Black Jack (which he's not known by this name yet) happens to be some nice eye candy!

[previous AOW 's]

Type: Manga Adaptation

Genre(s): Drama, Shounen, Surgery, Doctor Drama

# of Episode(s): 12

Synopsis:

The year is 1968, and the world is swept up in the Vietnam War and student protests. In this time of turmoil, a mysterious young man with white and black hair and a scar on his face is enrolled in medical school. His genius skills with a surgical knife achieve many a medical miracle and are getting noticed. This hero origin story reveals how this young man earned his medical degree and the name of Black Jack.

9/20/15

[AOW] [throwback] Dennou Coil

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Sunday may be a few days away from Thursday but there haven't been any stand out anime on my list lately so I've decided to do a throw back post to an AOW I did way back in the day when I started up this little blog of mine- Dennou Coil. When I first started publishing this AOW series I simply gave some basic details about the anime but not my quick thoughts on it so I'll remedy that for Dennou Coil now. It's a great sci-fi series from back in 2007 when more anime were 20+ episodes rather than a quick 13. I think this can tell you a lot about the state of anime now. Most series are at most 13 episodes per season, except those that are ones such as a Shounen Jump adaptation or an ongoing series such as Detective Conan. This means a lot of anime ends on a cliff hanger where you are lucky to get another season because anime is released in such high numbers now to an audience that has a much smaller attention span that 8 years ago. Anyways, this anime is great which is partially due to it being made with one of the animations behind some Studio Ghibli films.

Check out my old post for this anime here.

9/2/15

[AOW] Silver Spoon

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Rarely does an anime catch my attention these days to where I have to marathon it. Silver Spoon is the first anime in a long time that is just feel good and makes me want to do what has been done in the anime- learn various agriculture business' such as dairy farming and how to raise pigs to make them into bacon. I may be too late to learn such things, but one can dream can't they? Anywhosildoodles, this one is by the same manga-ka as Fullmetal Alchemist buuuut it's very different from that.

[previous AOW 's]

Type: Manga Adaptation

Genre(s): Comedy, School

# of Episode(s):22

Synopsis:

Yugo Hachiken dreams of life separated from his family, so he takes the initiative by enrolling in an agriculture school. He thinks, with his talent in studying, no problems will arise no matter what kind of school he attends. He is proven wrong very quickly. Raised as a city boy, he is forced to uncover the inconvenient truth about agricultural life. Enjoy the story of Hachiken, as he tries to keep up with his new friends, farmers' heirs, who are already accustomed to the harsh world of farming. With no clear goals or understanding of farming life, how will Hachiken survive this new, cruel reality? The story of a sweat, tear, and mud-stained youth begins!

8/27/15

[AOW] Prison School

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I really wanted to be disgusted and turned off by this anime just based on the trailers and media hype around it... but after watching the first 4 episodes I was hooked. Luckily for me the manga is getting an English release thanks to the folks over at Yen Press. I might have to order it online because despite volume 1 having released in July, $20 is a hefty sum for some manga. I'm actually really loving this anime. Maybe because I've been on a mature trip lately with what I've been reading and I'm not really into the teenagery romance anime lately, nor the overly ecchi that seems to be so saturated in the market these days (probably why I haven't watched any of Monster Girls yet). Anyways, if you also seem to be turned off from this anime without having watched any of it, I encourage you to give it a chance. (note: there is an uncensored version coming out but I've been watching the censored version as episodes come out. There are also some English language releases)

[previous AOW 's]

Type: Manga Adaptation

Genre(s): Comedy, Romance, School, Seinen, Ecchi

# of Episode(s): 12

Synopsis:

On the outskirts of Tokyo stands Hachimitsu Private Academy, a storied all-girls boarding school for elite young women full of potential and good breeding. But as the new school year rolls around, one tradition is going out the window: For the first time in the school's long history, boys are being allowed to enroll. But on the first day of school, only five boys make the cut. Kiyoshi Fujino, one of the lucky few, is thrilled by this discovery, his heart leaping with joy at the thought of being surrounded by all those girls, day in and day out. But little does he know of the shocking fate that awaits him.

7/21/15

[AOW] K

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Lately I've been tuned in an out of the anime scene more than normal, so instead of watching current series as they come out I've been holding off on them until all the episodes are out or I'll forget about the series long enough until a dub or sub version has been released on Netflix. K is one of these anime... it came out long enough ago I just completely forgot to go back and watch it until a few days ago while building a gundam kit. Since it's a nice short series it proved to be the perfect length for a mini marathon. Best part is a second season is getting ready to premier!

[previous AOW's]

Type: Manga Adaptation

Genre(s): Action, Supernatural, Super Power

# of Episode(s): 13

Synopsis:

Set in a world where history has taken a slightly different course from the one we're familiar with, K follows the story of a young boy whose life is caught in a psychic war between seven kings. Ashinaka High School is known for its unique setting: the entire campus is built on an island. Yashiro Isana, aka Shiro, is having lunch with a cat on one of the school rooftops. After his lunch break, Shiro goes on an errand for his classmate Kukuri to prepare for their upcoming school festival, only to be chased by some intimidating-looking men.

6/15/15

[AOW] Oh! My Goddess (TV)

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This anime goes by several other titles such as Aa! Megami-sama, Ah! My Goddess... but I chose Oh! My Goddess because that is the version of the English title I have always known this franchise by. I have never had the chance to watch all of the TV version; though I am currently working my way through it now. The dub is fantastic. Usually if I am watching a series through for the first time I'll watch it it's native tongue (unless the series was released both in English and Japanese I'll typically try out the English first). With Oh! My Goddess I've heard nothing but good things about the dub so I thought why not watch it in English so if I need to I can blog and do other things while watching ^_^ This anime has a very iconic opening them so I've decided to feature that as the video this week. Let me know if you too love this series as so many do. It's a "harem" done right.

[previous AOW's]

Type: Manga Adaptation

Genre(s): Comedy, Romance, Magic, Supernatural

# of Episode(s): 46 +special eps

Synopsis:

When Keiichi found his grandpa's diary and saw a treasure map inside, Skuld and Urd started to feel a great urge to search it. With the company of his friends, Keiichi arrives to Honda Inn, the place indicated on the map. Once the party is inside, they meet Honda Chieko, who seems to share a certain promise with Keiichi. Apart from all that confusion, it's time for Keiichi to have enough courage to say the words "I love you" to Belldandy.

6/8/15

[GashaponR] Sailor Venus (star wand) [S.M.Wands Gashapon Can Set 2]

[MyFigureCollection][Figure.FM]

This review is way over due! I actually posted about buying this wand about 3 weeks ago with every intention to post up a review, but due to life I just never got the chance to sit down long enough to write up my opinions. Sorry for this and I hope the wait wasn't too much. To make up for it I'm not only going to be giving away a spare I have of this wand (I was given a spare due to a shipping flaw where 4 of the same wand were sent) but I'll also be trying to find a few other goodies to be given away. In order to win this wand read the details at the bottom of this post, as for the other goodies I'll be posting that give away up on a different post before June is over.

I've always been a big fan of Sailor Venus. She's just in my opinion the perfect scout. I don't think this opinion of mine is clouded by the fact that Venus is my ruling planet based on my birth day, but because Minako herself is just a well balanced yet believable character. She was doing the whole scout thing on her own before any of the others including Sailor Moon herself was discovered, has a fantastic personality, a really good head on her shoulders, can be a "background leader", doesn't have to be part of a team but does a good job of being part, and best of all just looks so pretty! I can see why the other scouts as well as Luna thought she was suppose to be Princess Serenity in Earth form.

~~~Packaging~~~

The wand arrives in a "can" of sorts that opens in half to reveal a 6 pocket pouch that contains the various pieces for the wand. The creates a do it yourself type of assembly which makes the wand feel like it is your own because you had to take the time to piece it together. It was very easy to put together! The can also comes with an insert that shows the other wands in the series (2 for Sailor Moon and one for Sailor Jupiter). At the bottom of the insert is also directions on how to assemble the wand. I'll go a little more into this in a bit.

Here's a comparison shot of the wand by the can.

The can itself is a matte pink, where as the first set

was a more shiny pink. I actually like this matte

version more.

~~~Assembly~~~

Assembling the wand can be done in pretty much any order you want but I started with the fake nail polish which is made with a plastic bottle and sand. You can't really take off the top... I actually ended up breaking it a bit because I was curious but it still looks good on display. The star is a ring you place over the nail polish cap.

The wand itself is just two pieces, which is nice because it makes this piece of merch look more professional than something that had to be painted. It snaps together nicely and can just as easily be taken apart for storage

~~~Various Pics & Thoughts~~~

As you can see from the far right image I cracked the nailpolish top on one side when trying to see if it would open >.> terrible idea. If you end up buying this or winning the one I'm giving away please do not attempt to take the top off. Also as you can see the ring has an interesting back that is screwed on. The ring only fits my pinky and has that cheap play jewlery feel to it so I personally will just be keeping it on the wand for display. Other than that the material for the wand is really nice and feels wonderful in hand. While the nail polish does not snap on the top piece it does stay in place pretty well even when moving the wand side to side. I'm not too sure if it is anime accurate size, but it looks really nice in person and if I had a transformation wand in real life this would be a good size.

Overall I am really happy with this item. I got it for a nice price at Robo Gato which is a local anime/ Gundam shop I've been going to for many years now. If you're looking for new Sailor Moon merch defiantly check that place out. He's almost always current with releases and takes deposits if you'd like to reserve items so they don't sell out on you (this has happened to me several times but he has been able to get re-releases so if something does sell out on you don't hesitate to ask if the shop is able to get more). This is mainly if you live in El Paso or Las Cruces though >.<

Now I bet you've either read this review or skipped to the end wanting to win your very own Sailor Venus star transformation wand. Welcome either way to the rules ;P

1) Be sure to like R//W[G] on Facebook

2) Post a comment about why you love Sailor Venus

3) also include your email in the comment so that I may contact you if you Won!

4) Share this blog entry or the post about it on Facebook for bonus points

I'll be posting the winner on my Facebook page around the end of June and I will email you if you won. I'll also handle the cost of shipping if it's not someone local to me who wins. I may even throw in a surprise goodie for the winner. Best of luck <3 br="">

6/6/15

[AOW] Shingeki no Kyojin: Kuinaki Sentaku

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Attack on Titan is possibly the most well known current hype anime along side Sword Art Online. When both of these anime came out both fans and non-fans of this animation style that comes from japan at least knew about these shows. I personally really loved AoT. The animation was just so eye pleasing and the music was just so hype. I loved the story, and the maneuver gear concept was and still is possibly one of my all time favorite contraptions in anime that I hope one day becomes a reality. I currently have been playing the game that recently came out in the Nintendo eShop. Also I've been keeping up with the English releases of Before the Fall. I never really liked reading the original manga, but this one is just so interesting. Anyways, I decided to not feature the original AoT ova but the 2 episode one about Levi before he was part of the corps ^_^

[previous AOW's]

Type: Manga Adaptation

Genre(s): Action, Fantasy, Shoujo, Supernatural

# of Episode(s): 2

Synopsis:

Levi, currently living in the Underground as a criminal boss with his two close cohorts Isabel and Farlan, is given a choice; either be turned over to the Military Police and be tried for his crimes, or join the Survey Corps. After joining the Survey Corps with an ulterior motive, the three realize there might be something on the surface worth more than they expected. Something worth sacrificing their lives for.

3/23/15

[AOW] Your Lie in April (3/22-28/2015)

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I try to rarely feature anime I haven't at least seen the first episode of, but since this gem of a series was recommended to me by several of my good anime watching friends I decided to feature it the same week I'm going to be starting it. I did watch half an episode back when this premiered but for some reason I never finished the episode... nor did I remember about the series. Maybe the episodes I had got deleted when I lost a good chunk of my anime a few months ago. oh well! I'm going to be watching it now and that's all that matters :3 You might notice this anime started in fall of 2014 but didn't finish until March 20th 2015. Kind of strange since it's only 22 episodes. Maybe there was a delay or something between episodes!

[previous AOW's]

Type: Manga Adaptation

Genre(s): Drama, Romance, Shonen, Slice of Life, Music

# of Episode(s): 22

Synopsis:

Piano prodigy Arima Kosei dominated the competition and all child musicians knew his name. But after his mother, who was also his instructor, passed away, he had a mental breakdown while performing at a recital that resulted in him no longer being able to hear the sound of his piano even though his hearing was perfectly fine. Even two years later, Kosei hasn't touched the piano and views the world in monotone, and without any flair or color. He was content at living out his life with his good friends Tsubaki and Watari until, one day, a girl changed everything. Miyazono Kaori is a pretty, free spirited violinist whose playing style reflects her personality. Kaori helps Kosei return to the music world and show that it should be free and mold breaking unlike the structured and rigid style Kosei was used to.

3/9/15

[AOW] ISUCA (3/8-14/2015)

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Well... this was kind of a surprise. ISUCA has one of the most shocking first episodes of an anime I've seen in a while. I actually watched this one having no idea what it was about; I started it because I was out of anime to watch for this season so I decided to try a few of the shows I hadn't started yet or ones I originally was not going to watch (in this case was ISUCA and Yuri Kuma Arashi). This anime kind of gave off an Inuyasha vibe at first... but then took a complete turn... so yaaaaa. I'm not sure when I'll get around to watching more episodes but it wasn't a bad first episode.

[previous AOW's]

Type: Manga Adaptation

Genre(s): Action, Comedy, Seinin, Super Natural

Synopsis:

Shinichirou decides to look for a job in order to pay his rent, and his teacher suggests that he work for someone at their house,doing housekeeping. However, the person who hired him was Sakuya, a girl who is the 37th head of the Shimazu family, and her job is to exorcise and eliminate unwanted creatures. Shinichirou accidentally releases one of the creatures that Sakuya captures and they cooperate to catch it. A story of comedic creature hunting begins!

3/6/15

[AOW] Working!! (3/1-7/2015)

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Lately I've been posting darker anime or those that I keep wondering why I even gave a chance. Well, today things change! Today I'm featuring a fun series that has 2 seasons for you to enjoy.

Type: Manga Adaptation

Genre(s): Comedy, Slice of Life

# of Episode(s): 26

Synopsis:

Set in a family restaurant in Hokkaido, the northern prefecture of Japan, 16-year-old high school student Souta Takanashi works part-time along with his strange co-workers: Popura Taneshima, a high school girl who's a year older than Souta, yet easily mistaken for an elementary/middle schooler, and Kyoko Shirafuji, the 28-year-old store manager who doesn't bother to do any work at all.
Read more at MAL

2/20/15

[AOW] Shinmai Maou no Testament (2/15-21/2015)

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Normally these "why'd I bother" specials are of an anime I already finished watching. I believe in giving each series a full watch through before I can declare if it really was a waste of my precious anime watching time, but this anime is a special case because it's still airing and yet I still find myself making sure I at least have the episodes to watch when I need something to either not pay too close attention to or if I'm out of current anime to watch. From what my boyfee has told me, this anime is way too much like Highschool DxD which seems to be madly popular with the male anime watching demographic though I do know some females who have enjoyed it... which sadly gives me even more of a reason to never bother watching Highschool DxD if it is so similar to SMnT.

For the most part, I have nothing really so say about this anime other than it's really not my cup-o-tea. I'm not saying this just because it's so fan servicy, but because the story is so over done. There's nothing really original or an original take on such a plot so this one sits in the "pretty boring" pile of series'.

Type: Light novel Adaptation

Genre(s): Action, Ecchi, Harem

# of Episode(s): 12

Synopsis:

"Hey, you said you wanted a little sister, right?" First-year high school student, Toujo Basara, was suddenly asked by his father and fell into a state of panic. On top of that, the eccentric father told him he will be getting remarried.
He then departed overseas after bringing Basara two beautiful step-sisters. But Mio and Maria's true forms are actually the newbie Demon Lord and a succubus!?
Read more at MAL

2/10/15

[FigureReview] Gloomy Bear x Super Sonico (GBG Racing PVC figure)

[Buy one here][Akia's MyFigureCollection]

Konnichiwa minna-san, it is I Akia here with something you don't see too often on this here blog- a figure review. I've been wanting to do one of these for a while buuuuut I was waiting for a figure I haven't seen many reviews of on this interwebs; this opportunity presented itself when my local anime goods shop Robo Gato announced he'd be selling the Gloomy Bear x Super Sonico (Gloomy Bear Grand Prix) Taito prize figure (boy that is super a mouth full of a name) and then my lovely boyfriend bought her for me. She was a fair price ($40) considering a shop like this not only has to pay more for the figure than you would in Japan but also has to pay some sort of shipping. I've checked out a few listings online. She's usually in the $35+ price range with $8+ shipping so time and money was saved by getting her locally. If you'd like to see the pictures in more detail, all you have to do is click on them to get the full size view :3

~~~Packaging~~~

Considering this is a prize figure, it has some pretty nice packaging which shows that this Sonico has an outfit based on one that already exists (as you can see on the sides of the box). Also, the box shows the figure to scale... which was a bit surprising cause I thought she'd be a bit bigger cause other prize figures I've purchased were bigger. I normally don't keep the box for prize figures but I like this one enough that I will prob keep it while I have the space.

~~~The Figure~~~

Unlike other Sonico figures, this one is not a cast off. The only lose pieces of PVC are the skirt and part of the belt; otherwise everything else is solid or painted on. This is the first prize figure I own that has some loose pieces, but I think this is a plus. The lose skirt gives her a more realistic look. The buttons look a little odd and the detailing on the blood is a little off but overall this is a well made figure especially since she is a prize figure. Prize figures usually have a lot more mispaintings and a lack of detail. I'm really happy with her even though she is a bit smaller than I was expecting.

~~~Some Details~~~

The only off detail is the blood drippings coloring is a bit off from the lines but this doesn't really effect the look of the figure from a distance. Her skirt does move but you can't fully take it off without breaking it, and the belt also has some movability. overall the figure is made up of solid and painted PVC. I really like the way her headphones are en-cooperated as part of the bear ears. Most of the Sonico figures I find her signature headphones stand out too much which is not the case with this one. Possibly the best detail on her is her pantsu. The only detail I wish was done better was the buttons on her shirt. They don't look bad from at least a small distance but when you look at her chest up close the buttons are a bit of an eye sore. Her shoes are also nicely done. Instead of being a solid piece of white, some grey detail was added to the bottom to give some depth.

Overall though, very nicely done details!

2/9/15

[AOW] Super Sonico the Animation (2/8-14/2015)

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Not going to lie... I was really hyped for Sonico the Anime when it was first announced. I've always liked her voluptuous character design that made her look more like a real girl than most of these skinny anime b**ches with bewbs running around like %90 of the time they are meant to be eye candy. Too bad her character in the anime is too much of a ditz and cat lover :/ I still really like her tho... just this anime ended up feeling like a waste of potential. If you're looking for a good idol anime you're much better off checking out LoveLive! or Idol Master; heck you could even try out K-on! or even the lesser known Mermaid Melody.

[previous AOW's]

I do not have much to say about this anime... because I was just so let down. I might give it another watch one day just to see Sonico moving on screen but otherwise I'd rather spend my time watching other idol anime.

Type: Game Adaptation

Genre(s): Music, Slice of Life

# of Episode(s): 12

Synopsis:

A series featuring Super Sonico, the mascot girl of Nitroplus.
Read more at MAL

2/5/15

the Manga Collection challenge 2015

*= rereading
+= First time reading

Currently Reading:
*The Innocent (vol 1 of 1)
*Fruits Basket (on vol 19/23)
+Ghost in the Shell SAC (vol 4-5)
+UQHolder (vol 1-2)
+Angel Diary (1-5)

Completed:
Butterflies, Flowers 1-8

2/3/15

Desk Diary #2

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My desk was starting to be overrun by books so I decided to add a plastic shelf to it for the figures... I was also having a hard time seeing them when my laptop was open! I love looking at my figures, it's like they're giving me encouragement to get up and do something with my life which lately has been doing a lot of cardio to shed some weight.