Soooo. I just realized I’ve never covered this. I have covered my favorite animangas, but just not my favorite characters. So…I guess here we go? x3

10. Sakura Kinimoto – Cardcaptor Sakura

What can I say? I grew up with that anime. I love love loved it and even now when I feel reminiscent I just go and pick up an old Cardcaptor Sakura manga. (Funny story, my brother’s actually watching it right now.) Sakura was so cute and I loved her when I was a kid, and I adored seeing her again in Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicles. (Another great animanga! I heard it ended recently.) The idea of the cards was just so intriguing to me, and it’s still very creative. I love the idea and concept, and I’ll always hail Cardcaptors as one of my vintage animes.

9. Toshiro Hitsugaya - Bleach

Always will be my absolute favorite Bleach character. I’m not a fan of Bleach itself, but Hitsugaya…he’s just so awesome! A boy genius shinigami with a super crazy cool bankai- and he looks really awesome too! Hyorinmaru! <3 <3 <3 He’s so sarcastic all the time and quiet…it’s great! He is the youngest of all the shinigami captains if I recall, and his past is very intriguing. His relationship with Hinamori and Matsumoto doubly so. Hitsugaya, you rock!

8. Shikamaru Nara – Naruto

I have often expressed distaste for Naruto, but I will always continue to love Shikamaru. Another boy genius character, his IQ is ridiculously high and he’s a really really lazy ninja. Isn’t that some sort of oxymoron? I was so happy when I saw him again in Shippuden all grown up, and the scene with Asuma in the manga made me cry. He’s a well-developed and somehow heartwarming character, even if he spits out insults and sardonic remarks half the time. He always seems sort of rough, but in those little moments, it’s easy to see he cares about his friends and those close to him. Always going to be a favorite~!

7. Kallen Stadtfield – Code Geass

Lelouch is a psychotic freak, Suzaku is an I-don’t-even-know-what, and the rest of the characters don’t even matter. THEN COMES KALLEN! Blazing gunfire and totally freaking amazing, I. Love. Kallen. She’s one of my favorite important girl characters because…you know what? She’s a tomboy and not afraid to show it. She’s a fighter and a proud Eleven at that, she controls one of the most influential Knightmare Frames in the series, and she is pure incarnated awesome. She beats up Suzaku. ’Nuff said.

6. Winry Rockbell - Fullmetal Alchemist

Winry. Oh lord. She’s a wrench-wielding mechanic that has heart and soul and attitude. Without her, half the humor and emotion of the entire series would be gone. She is a motivator for Edward. She is *ahem* the main love interest. Having lost her parents and grown up with Edward and Alphonse, she’s known them since early childhood and has supported them throughout their whole quest: She was one of the two that attached Edward’s signature automail. She’s a mechanic freak and a violent girl but she without a doubt is one of my top favorites. Go Winry!

5. America/Alfred F. Jones – Axis Powers Hetalia

ALFRED! ALFRED! HOW I LOVE YOU! Alfred appears in a lot of comic strips/a ton of episodes, and even if he’s always slurping on soda and eating burgers and can’t read a map to save his life (*holds up map of US* “SO WHERE’S JAPAN? >:D”) he’s adorable and funny and a Hero. I’m not particularly patriotic, but Alfred makes me laugh so hard whenever he appears with his loud voice, and he’s among my top top favorites in Hetalia itself. He’s consistently annoying, but he’s ridiculously endearing and that’s just what makes him such an unforgettable character. And he can sing too! x3 Not really…but he’s so cute when he tries.

4. Roy Mustang – Fullmetal Alchemist

Need I say more? For one, his english voice actor is Travis Willingham. For two: “I LOVE DOGS! TINY MINISKIRTS!” Roy has made me laugh to the point of hysterics, he has made me bawl my eyes out- I love him so much as a character it hurts. Platonically. I mean, besides being “dead sexy”, his alchemy power is cool and his character itself is…wow. At first he comes off as a self-centered, shameless womanizer, but he slowly shows his past and his true character. Who didn’t tear up a little at Hugh’s scene? Who didn’t start crying at Envy’s scene with him and Riza? (Don’t answer that. I know I’m a crybaby already.) Mustang can play my heart like a harp, and somehow I love him for it. (Is anyone else up to date on the FMA manga? AHH! MUSTANG! RIZA!!!)

3. Yamamoto Takeshi - Katekyo Hitman Reborn

Yamamoto makes a close run with Gokudera Hayato (8059…>:3) for my favorite character in KHR, but inevitable it comes out as the Shigure Souen guy. Yamamoto…what is there even to say? He’s strong, he’s funny, and oblivious. He laughs at everything and makes me smile whenever he does; he loves everything! His laugh is adorable, his seiyuu is adorable, and even though he’s totally carefree, he has the ability to go into srs bzns mode and just make your heart stop. He will give up what he has to to keep his family safe, he will devote himself to the sword for Vongola. And it’s that just the sweetest thing? Yamamoto, keep protecting your family because it’s what you do best~!

2. Lal Mirch - Katekyo Hitman Reborn

I cannot finish this without mentioning Lal. LAL, YOU ARE MY HERO. She’s strong, for one, though she’s a bit useless in the future arc. Her relationship with Colonello makes me cry sometimes- it’s a heartbreaking one. She’s a great fighter, she looks amazing, and she’s…gah! She was even the original Rain Arcobaleno! Who else would outright attack to attempt to kill the Juudaime as a test upon arrival in the TYL!Verse? Who else would beat him up on a near daily basis? Lal has guts and a spartan attitude, which is exactly what I adore her for. And like I said before…like most characters, she can sing!

1. Riza Hawkeye - Fullmetal Alchemist

No matter what happens, Riza will always be my favorite anime character of all time. In other animes, the female characters get thrown to the side. They’re not important. They can’t fight. If they do, even if they’re strong, they get the crap beaten out of them for angst. Not Riza. She’s a trigger-happy, gun-toting scariest military woman alive and she is fantastic. Her scenes are powerful, her lines are brilliantly sarcastic. Men FEAR HER. She’s strong and amazing  and she is always going to be my hero <3.

Also, to get with the program, I’ve included a special link to the preview of the soon to come out Hetalia Song. Santa Claus is coming to town. I mean, seriously, have you been to the mall lately? It’s Christmas already! I mean..Pfft, obviously. >____> If you don’t get it…don’t worry. I definitely don’t either.

- Vanessa

P.S. What are your favorites? Comment below!

Ohmygoshohmygoshohmygosh. I can’t believe I just realized I should do a review of Axis Powers Hetalia. In fact it totally slipped my mind, until I was on the bus yesterday thinking “Hey, I should do a new blog post! What have I been watching lately?”

DING DING DING HETALIA DUH?

So I guess I’ll start off by telling you what it is about, and before you laugh, let me tell you it’s adorable and brilliant and just wonderful. Readers, please suspend your disbelief and be a little tolerant, because it is stereotypical, but it’s funny because of it. It’s personified countries. Like, Japan is a young man with a bowl cut thing who’s really really polite and a bit culture-shocked by the western countries. America is a hamburger-eating, loud Hero who’s one of my FAVORITES. <3 And China? China’s an immortal Asian guy who always has a panda, a Hello Kitty knockoff friend “Shinatty-chan”, and says “-aru” a lot. And they’re remarkably cute cute cute and funny.

The first season is set during World War II, if you can’t tell from the title, and generally centers around Italy (CUTE!), Germany, and Japan. But they don’t really get into politics or pointing fingers or anything. It’s all just for fun and it’s a great concept. (Also, just a warning, there’s not really any blood or anything but there is nudity for the guys, censored with nicely placed pandas and flowers and stuff…and a lot of crude jokes. Haha. Only in the manga though, except for episode 35 if I recall…so if your parents have issues with that, don’t read the Christmas strips. Seriously. Don’t. xD)

So in the anime, it’s 5 minute long episodes. Why? Because it’s just little stories. There is no technical manga, except for formal collections of the strips that the mangaka (Hidekaz Himaruya) posts on his website, and they’ve even greenlit a movie! So excited! And in all the insanity I know people out there are going like “Ummm, how can they make an anime, much less a movie, about some people who represent countries?” Well it’s a confusing mix at first (the cast is massive, it took me ages to figure out who anyone was) but eventually you fall in love with the characters and the history they personify. And their relationships with each other tend to mirror real life relationships, in the past or present (Liechtenstein is Switzerland’s adopted and adored little sister, Poland is Lithuania’s best friend, and Belarus for a reason I have yet to discover is obsessed with marrying her brother, Russia.) Countries get “sick” when there’s an economical crisis in their country, their bosses are their prime minister/president/whatever it may be.

I’ve learned so much from this anime, it’s kind of embarrassing. I can list at least 10 things off the top of my head that I’ve learned, like that Lake Belaton is in Hungary, or that Prussia and Sealand…er…exist/existed…and I know I’m CRAZY interested in asian history now. (I’m biased, my favorite characters are definitely all the east asians. Taiwan, Hong Kong, China, Japan, Vietnam, Korea, Thailand! <3)

I have a firm belief that Hetalia is the only thing that will lead me to passing World History next year. =3=;

And the history and thought that goes into it is astounding. Almost every strip has a reference to culture or some event that happened in the past. There’s even a long strip with America having a very sad and heartbreaking flashback to the American Revolution, and another sad one about how China raised Japan. But it’s rare for the strips to be sad- it’s generally just crazy fun. I’m trying to recall some, and one of the first that come to mind are America watching scary movies with Japan, Japan talking with Greece about whether he ever gets angry…one about France trying to “get married” to England. And remember what I said about references? That strip is a reference to an attempted English-French Union from 1956 during the Suez  Canal crisis. I learned something~!

Great artwork, great characters, amazing concept- I can’t find anything that’s not to like about Hetalia, unless you’re overly sensitive to satirical stereotypes. =/ I adore Hetalia, and I’m quite sure you’re allowed to download the translated strips off community.livejournal.com/Hetalia because…the author posts the originals on his website for free. FREE! It’s great~! You should try to watch it if you can too, and if you’re at all interested in world affairs and history (or even if you’re not- I wasn’t…) then GOGOGOGOGOGO NOW! Now I will spam you with beautiful beautiful pictures! WHY IS HE SO GOOD AT DRAWING? It makes me want to cry ;A;

Axis Powers! Left to right, Italy (Feliciano), Germany (Ludwig), Japan (Kiku)! <3 <3 <3~

LOVE FOR THE NORDIC COUNTRIES MAN! Left to right, Iceland, Norway, DENMARK!!!, Sweden (Bernwald), Finland (Tino)! <3

ALLIED POWERS <3 ! Russia (Ivan), AMERICA! (Alfred), UK (Arthur), France (Francis, how unique) and CHINA! (Wang Yao)

Cheers!,

Vanessa

P.S.  If you want to see MORE beautiful beautiful artwork, go to Himaruya’s blog over here! And since I’m biased, check out how cute Taiwan is~! And here, large fan image is large, but this is just one of those things that make you want to believe in world peace~! And if you want to see the Allied Powers looking totally awesome and amazing and epic, go here for a treat~ (Asajdsijioajfsoudhf I LOVE YOU AMERICA AND CHINA *fangirls wildly*)

Finished with KHR, season 4. Again, I LOVED IT!

This time I have more nitpicks than I did with season two, but this idea is just so original. Epic wuv. I’ll outline the plot now:

So Reborn is hit with Lambo’s 10-Year Bazooka. And uh oh…well…no one appears in his place. So to try and get answers, Tsuna accidentally gets blasted into the future and finds out two things. One: In 10 years, Sawada Tsunayoshi will have lost his life. Two: The 10-Year Bazooka is malfunctioning. He’s going to be staying a while.

Without further ado, within several episodes all of his guardians except Hibari and Ryohei have been sent to the future with him, and most of his family, as well. Big changes. For one, rings and boxes are the new way to battle, and if they don’t learn how to use them, they don’t stand a chance of surviving. Also, Vongola is being destroyed by another family called “Millefiore”, and they want to…do something bad. Not sure what it is yet. But it’s bad. This has to be the most amazing season of them all so far. The entire thing is a training arc in itself, but its really fun to watch. Yamamoto, Gokudera, and of course, Tsuna, grow up a lot. And not just because they’re in the future. You get true insights into their characters and see exactly how much they all have matured, especially Tsuna. It shows a lot about him in two critical scenes, the first and second time he lights his Sky Ring, and when he meets his Vongola predecessors.

The first time, Reborn first reminds him that he doesn’t have to be cool, in fact he can’t. The only way for him to fight in this world is to remember that his only goal isn’t to be a hero–it’s to protect his family. Through his realization and acceptance of that truth, he learns how to light his ring and passes the first hurdle in fighting in the TYL world. (TYL = Ten Years Later) And when he meets the past Vongola bosses, that’s a seriously powerful, turning scene. The Vongola Ring gives him images of all the crimes the Vongola has commited, most notably among those…murder, blackmail, betrayal. Crying, dying from lack of oxygen, he screams out “I don’t want this kind of power! If you’re going to make me succeed all of these mistakes…I’ll destroy the Vongola!” Tsuna truly is a kid with a big heart, and everyone knows he would destroy the Vongola before he would kill to let it survive. I think that shows more about him than anything else.  On that note, Tsuna’s still fighting his fate! But he’ll get used to it…soon enough >:D Kufufufu…

Anyway, nitpick time! It takes quite a while to get into the plot. You’d think in their situation that there would be no time for mini-episodes (the future arc begins from the first episode) but apparently, there’s always time for a mini-episode! And I mean, a 3-4 episode long streak of people getting out of HQ and getting almost caught. Do they never learn? There’s a pretty big plot hole too: They introduced a new form of Mosca robot that could track ring signals, though whenever any of them used their rings after that one second episode with one, they never appeared. I wonder whether they were forgotten or if its on purpose. And also: WHY SO MANY RECAPS? Every single episode (as far as I can tell) there is at least a 3 minute long recap of what’s happened so far this season. Honestly. I just skip it, its pretty much recycled animation and narration. Kind of irritating.

Plus still no good girl characters. The only reason Chrome is semi-useful is because of Mukuro, and future I-Pin is out of the picture. Rrr. Lal Mirch is an alright replacement, I suppose, but she’s an adult…and the ratio is severely unbalanced. I mean, really. 1:somewherearound10maybe? Bianchi isn’t bad either, but she isn’t exactly used for serious combat for more than a couple episodes at most. But the ending of the season will definitely leave you going “WHAT!?” So cliffhanger-y. I’m really excited to get onto the Milliefore Battle Arc, which should start…next episode! There’s a promise from Reborn to Yamamoto to let him know what his “secret” is as well, very intriguing. You probably won’t hear from me about KHR for a while, since as I said before, KHR is ongoing. Its currently on season 5, and I’ll only be writing my review when I finish the entire season…meaning they’ll have to air and subtitle it first. Sorry! But I leave a really pretty Opening for you guys (number 4) and I honestly hope you’ve taken my advice already and WATCHED THIS ANIME! Please! Don’t let this be in vain…(The song is “88″ by LM.C by the way.)

Awesome. Music.

- Vanessa

The main cast of season 4. SO COOL RIGHT? xD

I was so, so wrong. For one, I went on Friday and Saturday. Saturday is the biggest day of AZ because…because…it just is. More people, more excitement, omg. I got picked up from school with my friends Yang and Sunny, and we met up with our friends after a registration line. (I got my 3-day pass! ) and we met up with Jackie, who I’d never met before in person even though she goes to kungfu with Kevin and I. She’s a freaking amazing artist (iyagi.deviantart.com if you don’t believe me) and so is Sunny (thecamcafe.deviantart.com … my friends are ridiculously talented >>) so they set up a booth with someone who was an Axel cosplayer in Artist’s Alley…so it ended up becoming our hangout. XD If you ever got lost, head to Jackie’s booth! SOMEONE will end up there eventually. And even though I didn’t attend any events this year (no appeal…) it was still awesome. I went insane in the Dealer’s Room- I had no idea there was so much cool merchandise. And I actually had money to spend that time. I bought art. I found my best friend in the Dealer’s Room…now, check out photos and see JUST how improbable that is. XD

And hey- go to AZ ‘10! It’s their 13th Animazement and it’s going to be amazing. Say hi to me, if you see a small asian girl walking around in red chinese clothes- I’m going to be I-Pin from KHR with a bunch of friends. COSPLAY GROUP~! (Kevin WILL be Tsuna, Kevin WILL be Tsuna. xD_

So with Comic Con so recently gone by (if you don’t know what Comic Con is……) I decided I should probably mention Animazement, which is North Carolina’s smaller but still epic Anime Convention. Well, clearly Comic Con isn’t all about the anime, but it’s still got a good portion devoted! But anyway, back to Animazement…

Can I just state this now? I look forward the entire year to that thing. Why? BECAUSE IT IS AMAZING.It was more fun than the state fair with the same friends that went to AZ. It was more fun than going out of the country. Is it because I am a total anime dork and enjoy mingling with people who actually know what I mean when I shamelessly plug Code Geass? Is it because I love buying pointless stuff that isn’t really that pointless in retrospect? Is it because I like seeing other animetards face to face? Probably. But it doesn’t make it any less fun. Even my non-anime-devoted friends went and they liked it. The people there were so nice, and absolutely rocked. This passing AZ (‘09) was my second ever Animazement.

So let’s go back a little in time. Whenever AZ ‘08 was, I was pretty lonely at AZ because…well, I was planning to go with two friends and I couldn’t find them. Yes, I did find them eventually though, and we had a blast. Being obsessed with Fullmetal Alchemist at the time, I went and saw the panel and got autographs from the ever amazing American Seiyuus. (VIC MIGNOGNA WAS THERE WITH CAITLIN GLASS AND KYLE HEBERT AND -takes deep breath- KARA EDWARDS) But because of bad planning… : ( I only got to go Sunday cause it was cheap. Of course. Thus, only the winding down stuff. I walked through Artist’s Alley, but I didn’t look at anything. I went into the Dealer’s Room- and anyone who knew me at AZ ‘09 will never believe this- but I didn’t buy anything.

So I didn’t expect anything new from this AZ.

I was so, so wrong. For one, I went on Friday and Saturday. Saturday is the biggest day of AZ because…because…it just is. More people, more excitement, omg. I got picked up from school with my friends Yang and Sunny, and we met up with our friends after a registration line. (I got my 3-day pass! : D) and we met up with Jackie, who I’d never met before in person even though she goes to kungfu with Kevin and I. She’s a freaking amazing artist (iyagi.deviantart.com if you don’t believe me) and so is Sunny (thecamcafe.deviantart.com … my friends are ridiculously talented >>) so they set up a booth with someone who was an Axel cosplayer in Artist’s Alley…so it ended up becoming our hangout. XD If you ever got lost, head to Jackie’s booth! SOMEONE will end up there eventually. And even though I didn’t attend any events this year (no appeal…) it was still awesome. I went insane in the Dealer’s Room- I had no idea there was so much cool merchandise. And I actually had money to spend that time. I bought art. I found my best friend in the Dealer’s Room…now, check out photos and see JUST how improbable that is. XD

Oh yes. Friday was amazing.

THENTHEREWASSATURDAY. I ended up convincing a bunch of my kungfu friends to go with me to AZ that year: that being Mark, Timothy, Ed, and Kevin. (Haha, Kevin.) So we went, and ended up standing in line for like, a million hours. Now, they went and signed up for the Brawl tournament. Which was not smart, because they pretty much stayed their the entire time, their loss. But there was much combing of Artist’s Alley to do (I loved the pins. I adored the pins.) and merchandise to get in the Dealer’s Room that day. (I WANTED A HAT SO BADLY!) We got to see the NOIZ concert, that had fanservice to the extreme. There were pedobears going around for hugs (or maybe just one, my friends Diana and Coco got chased up stairs by him), there was much lovely Caramelldansen going on, Hare Hare Yukai, people posing for pictures. Argh, it’s Animazement. And at the end of the day, we played Red Rover.

Let me say it plainly here: You. Do. Not. Mess. Around. In. Red. Rover. I can literally say it’s like a battle. People plan strategies. It sounds stupid and really, really pointless now, but wait until you see a line of people in cosplay duking it out and you may get it. A little. xD I remember hearing that one guy, between two of my friends, complained because they always, always go for the little asian girls. That being me and a couple of my friends. I nearly squeezed the arm off the lady next to me when they barelled towards me, but I’m proud to say I actually didn’t give. XD (To the woman in red next to the small asian girl with star earrings and the leaves in her hair, I am really, really sorry about that…)

I’m not even going to speak about what amazing, beautiful cosplays there were. They can speak for themself. I put a photo slideshow at the bottom with commentary, so just check that out if you’re interested.

And hey- go to AZ ‘10! It’s their 13th Animazement and it’s going to be amazing. : D Say hi to me, if you see a small asian girl walking around in red chinese clothes- I’m going to be I-Pin from KHR with a bunch of friends. COSPLAY GROUP~! (Kevin WILL be Tsuna, Kevin WILL be Tsuna. xD) Details at animazement.com

Cheers!
Vanessa

So there are a lot of places to get manga: A local library, a store . . . it’s pretty easy to find. But where do you find anime? I have several places I get mine, so I’ll list off a couple of good, legal places right here.

Well…the most well known place is probably Youtube. And I’m not talking about the illegally put up videos either. xD I mean the ones legally put up on Youtube by companies. That’s where I’m currently watching Ouran HSHC, where I watched Code Geass and Ghost Hunt, but it’s generally not the greatest source. Youtube is reliable, but the selection they have isn’t too great. They do have some really good ones though. You can find them here: http://www.youtube.com/shows

Crunchyroll.com is another legal place to get them, though I find it’s a little irritating that if you’re watching an ongoing anime (…KHR……) they’ll place the first couple episodes, the most recently subbed, and then the ones in the middle are gone. Bam. Poof. Yay. Thanks. I watch the most recent episodes of Katekyo Hitman Reborn there, and I know they have many other ones. A lot of the series are only for paying members though, which makes me go ):<. Like the original Naruto. WHAT? Dx The site is here: http://www.crunchyroll.com/

Another site is Hulu, great site since it’s still legal. I mean, it’s not the greatest source (so few anime T_____T) but it’s not terrible either. Still, not the greatest place to go but when it has the anime, it has pretty much every single episode, which is epically awesome. (Contrary to paying for Naruto at Crunchyroll, you can find the entire original anime there as far as I can tell) Find them at http://www.hulu.com/

Of course, you could always just tap them at the source. Funimation puts up new episodes for people to watch at their site, and I know a lot of other places do the same. I watch Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood at the Funimation site, and it works fine. x3 And I’ve heard they have the whole xxxHolic there, and several others.

Some places you can actually rent anime from are Blockbusters, Netflix…those usual places. The problem I have with this though, is that you generally cannot get an anime unless it’s been dubbed already and then released. Makes it a bit more difficult, but it still works. You can rent an entire season from Blockbusters, though only generally through mail…I tried searching Naruto and none of the stores in my area carried it. Dx Thus I’m not sure about prices. I’m quite sure it would probably be the regular price. For, you know, shipped stuff. o_____o -no experience in these affairs-

http://www.rentanime.com/ Rent Anime seems to be a good site to get it from. You get a flat rate of about $20 a month, and you can rent as many anime as you like. Of course, if you’re going to be busy I wouldn’t suggest this method, but if you’re going to have lots of spare time maybe you could try it out. The selection looks really good and they have a 2 week trial period. If you’re bored this summer, why not try out the trial?

I would also like to mention I once went to a really great store (perhaps a year ago) at the Cary Towne Center full of anime and manga paraphernalia and lots of selection on top of it. It was amazing. I never caught the name though, and I haven’t been able to go back and look for it, so I’m not sure if it was shut down or not. You could purchase anime from them, however, so I would just like to get that out there. It was awesome. (There was Ramune. If you aren’t spazzing out, you must not have read that last line correctly. THEREWASRAMUNE. *_____*)

And just a note, you can even get some titles on Itunes. You heard me right. Itunes. This was news to me. o______o;;; though of course, it costs money. (Small price, I say.)

D: RAMUNE.

Cheers (go watch some anime now! Or read manga.),

Vanessa

OK, so I’ve gotten off my KHR obsession for a moment so I can tell you about an extremely popular shonen manga I really don’t need to recommend to anyone (since you’ve probably heard about it anyway): Naruto! Since the anime annoyed the mess out of me (English. Dub. Does. Not. WORK.) I’m reverting back to good old manga, because this is one of the occasions where I believe the manga did work better than the anime. I’m reviewing arcs one and two of the manga, the Introduction and the Land of Waves arcs.

So let’s get started with a summary of the Introduction:

So the story starts out with Naruto, and to say the least he seems like a bratty kid who doesn’t work enough and just goofs off all the time. But he has a dream that seems to exceed what he can achieve…by far. He wants to be the next Hokage, the leader of the village. But the villagers hate him, the kids laugh at him, and he ends up failing his test to become a shinobi…for the third time in a row. Then one of the test instructors goad him into stealing a very valuable (and dangerous!) scroll, and reveals a secret it seems everyone but Naruto and the kids know. As it turns out…Naruto has the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox sealed inside him, a beast that destroyed the village, killed many people, and murdered the 4th Hokage. After a vicious fight between Iruka and Mizuki, Naruto appears and completes a majorly high level jutsu- a feat no one thought he could accomplish.

^______^ That made me smile.

More insight is given, and then WHABAM! Team assignments are given, since Naruto has now passed the test for saving Iruka and completing Kage Bunshin no Jutsu. He’s paired with a dark cloud with a boy attached, and a pink-haired, violent girl who happens to hate Naruto. Oh, and a ninja genius for a teacher who never shows his face. >>; He likes Sakura, hates Sasuke, and doesn’t know what to think about Kakashi. Sasuke turns out to be extremely ‘cool’ and wants to kill someone, and Sakura’s obsessed with Sasuke. Great, great…But then they go into a challenge of getting bells from Kakashi, a little story that made me lulz out loud and taught a great lesson. “Those who break the rules in the ninja world are trash…but whose who abandon their teammates are worse than trash.” That was the best line ever. And in the end…there’s Team 7! : D

And then you get to the Land of Waves arc, something that really takes way too long to complete (20+ chapters! NOOOOO!) but does serve to flesh out the characters very well. Naruto complains their missions are too easy, so they get assigned a C-rank that turns out to be more dangerous than anticipated…in fact, it turns out to be a B-rank. Kakashi reveals he’s uber powerful, Sasuke gains a bloodline limit, Naruto gains what he thinks is the closest bond possible to a friend. Oh, and the Nine-Tailed Fox comes out. Crap. But in the end, they complete their mission and come back stronger and more wise than before.

I personally have no problem with blood, or violence, so you can find me reading this and going “OMG YES STAB HIM! YEAHHHH!” while some other people might be going “…so…so violent…T______T”. So this is a warning: Naruto has swearing. Naruto has lots…and lots…and lots…of blood. And lots of nice sharp, pointy objects to draw it with. (Kunai and shruiken! Total awesome in a small deadly form.) This is like the epitome of shonen, and Naruto’s one of the poster boys of anime/manga. New Naruto chapters come out weekly in Shonen Jump and are featured prominently, to say the least.

And I’ll put it here: I think people underestimate Naruto. When they hear about it, they’re like “Oh whee, it’s ninjas. How cliche.” It may be cliche in some ways, but Kishimoto-sama did a brilliant job creating a very complex, interesting world and it should definitely not be taken lightly. When I got into it, it was because my friends were playing a game on the Wii or XBox, something similar, and it looked interesting. I picked up a manga, flipped through it, and it didn’t look bad. Then I saw the anime and turned away for a while (“Believe it!” Do not get me started on that catchphrase. Just don’t.) until my friend convinced me to take a good stroll through the first two books. They’re amazing.

The art is good, the action is very much there, and the comedy factor has been worked in very nicely. Seeing Sasuke and Naruto grow stronger together is a very heartwarming story, and often makes me smile happily because the emotion is there. Of course, Sakura kinda doesn’t do anything. What is it with shonen and under-working the girl characters? But eh, I digress…And the characters do tend to be stereotypical. The love-struck girls, the quiet ambitious boy, the loudmouth, the lazy genius, and etc….but I do love the character designs and how all of them are super unique. The detail is very nice to see.

I hold a little soft spot in my heart for Naruto and the manga, and anyone who likes shonen should really pick it up. Naruto is a great, fast-paced manga that has been strongly advocated by too many people to count, and I’m one of them. Head off to your library and pick one up- or reserve it here.

Check back soon, I’ll be reviewing the Chuunin Exam arc and KHR Season 4 soon. Haha, Chuunin exams…it’s been a long time. (And dude, that’s a really really really long arc…>.<;;;)

Cheers,
Vanessa

Team 7. ……ISN’T IT COOL!? *fangirl flail*

Dictionary:
Jutsu – A skill powered by chakra. More in depth explanation here.
Shinobi – A male ninja
Kunoichi – A female ninja
Kage Bunshin no Jutsu – Shadow Clone Jutsu. Produces clones that actually have weight and mass…unlike normal illusionary clones. Major high level skill.
Kunai – Throwing knives
Shruiken – Those spinny disc thingies. The sharp ones. Ouch.

Hey! So it’s Vanessa here again, and it’s time for a debate!

…If you can imagine evil music playing in the background, please do.

Anyway…so Kevin Zhu (a new blogger) and I are going to do a debate that animetards and mangatards have been fighting tooth and nail about for freaking ages: Which is better? Anime or Manga? I’m defending Anime, and I’m going to tell you guys why Anime is better than Manga.

So. Why?

Well for one, anime is in full color. I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m superficial, but I happen to like that. I think anime is prettier, the art is cleaner, and it’s more fun for me to watch. When reading manga, it’s sometimes hard to tell what’s going on, especially in fighting scenes. And anime doesn’t have this problem for a second reason: It’s animated. Instead of being just pictures that can occasionally have problems conveying actions and what on earth is going on, in anime things are just generally easier to see and figure out.

On top of that, there are different dubs and subs of anime just as there are different translations of manga. If I’m super busy- say, I want to watch some Code Geass or something while I’m working- then I can just pick up an English dub and listen. I know this can make you sound lazy though…”Oh, you don’t want to read, you just want to watch TV, psh. : P” But it can make multitasking easier. The key reason I watch anime is so I can continue to multitask.

Truly seeing characters interact, hearing a voice put to a face and personality being wrought into them, is also better. I find I get far more attached to characters when I can hear the emotion in their voice, see their expressions change, and really listen to what they say. You did say, Kevin, that a picture was worth a thousand words, and so a video must be worth way too many words and math. So doesn’t that apply to anime and manga as well? ; )

People generally complain about filler arcs in anime. I certainly know I do >.<;; but it’s not as though manga is without fillers either. Granted, they tend to be shorter and more to the point, unlike the anime where it can take up to 20 or more episodes, but I just want to point out that manga too does have fillers. Pace in anime tends to be slower as well, but I often find sometimes  that manga moves too fast for me. I’ve done a fast read of Naruto before…and I came out blinking, rubbing my eyes, and saying something along the lines of:

“…So…____ fought _____ and then ____ got punted into a wall, so ____ had a flashback and…ugh, what just happened?”

Anime also has an added bonus of epic music. ; )

So that’s my first debate post. It’s all up to opinion, I think, so no one should feel pressured to make a choice over which one they like best. I read manga and watch anime, I just prefer watching anime. Kevin will post his response to mine soon, so tune in. And hey, post a comment down there saying which one you prefer too. x 3

Cheers,
- Vanessa

Isn’t it cute? Don’t get that in manga. >:D

Mmm…Season 3 was ok.

So I did just watch Season 3 of KHR for your sakes (whoever is out there), and I’m a little sad…because they’re all mini-episodes. As I mentioned before, filler. Kind of a letdown from the super intense last season, but it’s a good time to cool down before the next super intense season…which I’m about to watch! Excited…

Ah…totally unnecesary, but since KHR is such a good anime, I’ll overlook it. The episodes were boring to me, just because I know the Future arc is NEXT. So I’m clearly excited. I do dislike fillers, because they are extraneous to the plot and overall something of a nuisance to me. I’m sure next season will make up for it. : )

No change in openings this season either. I should be glad though since it lasted only 8 episodes. If they’d changed it I would’ve been like “…and the point of this was…?”

I was surprised that they went straight back to using regular Dying Will bullets, but I suppose that makes sense since it’s all about comedy. The very last episode of the season had me a little shocked though: Reborn reminds Tsuna that he “can’t stay around forever”, and those words seemed a little too ominous.

I don’t recommend people watch Season 3, unless they truly enjoy the mini-episodes that make KHR what it is. The episodes were very funny, and are classic KHR, but it’s really not something you HAVE to see. Do watch episode 70 though, otherwise you’ll miss a huge reference in the future arc. Like, major major reference that punches you in the face to get you to notice it. XD

By the way, if you want to know, the song I gave you in my first KHR review (in the Opening Theme) is called “Boys & Girls – LM.C” while the second is “Dive to World – CHERRYBLOSSOM”. Just to let you know! : D

-Vanessa

So I realized (more of reminded) that a lot of people still don’t watch anime, even if a bunch of people already do, and unless I give some reasons, my “WATCH THIS IT’S GOOD OMG” is probably not going to cut it with people. So I’m going to give you 10 reasons to start watching anime, or at least 10 reasons anime and manga are good.

So.

1. Anime has no restrictions. ANYTHING CAN HAPPEN, and “Expect the unexpected”, to quote Kero from Cardcaptor Sakura. Unlike in a TV show where they have a budget and concepts might have to be thrown out for costs and stuff, anime is whatever you want. You can literally go into a store devoted to manga and anime and just be shocked at the variety. Ideas aren’t thrown away for mundane reasons. And pfft, who needs physics and stuff that makes sense? That usually just goes out the window. Its fantasy, so who cares?

2. For that, there’s an anime for everyone. Like ninjas? (Naruto) Like pirates? (One Piece) Do you like the idea of reaper ghosts? (Bleach) What about an amazing hair-cutting girl? (Beauty Pop) Or even…an aspiring revenge-getting actress? (Skip Beat) There are so many anime series with so many concepts. It’s impossible to list everything they encompass. Be it your shonen or shoujo, you can find your preferences and act accordingly.

3. It’s a simple and distinctive art style. Unlike cartoons, which so many people seem to think that animanga is, (“Oh, that stuff? It’s Japanese cartoons.”) animanga tends to be a lot more detailed. It’s also not restricted to pure, usually boring, comedy. Anime can be serious. Anime can be bloody. It all depends on what you watch.

4. Culture appreciation! As corny as it sounds, it is good to learn to appreciate other cultures. A lot of anime incorporates Japanese culture into it, and by watching subtitles episodes of some shows, I’ve managed to pick up some Japanese and the form of some sentences. Huzzah : D

5. The soundtracks. Are. Amazing. Sometimes producers will have VA’s (voice actors) sing songs in their characters voices, OP and ED music (opening and ending themes) are always cool, and you’re guaranteed to have never heard the song before on the radio…mostly because it’s Japanese, but I digress. The point is, it’s good. Like, really good. And if you’re into new music, you should definitely check out anime.

6. Anyone can learn how to draw their own animanga. Develop your own style! I know many people who are absolutely amazing at drawing in animanga style, and developed their own from observing other styles. They’re good enough to be mangaka themselves, and I know some aspire to be. Its definitely not impossible with their skill, so if you love it enough and practice, one day you could be a mangaka too.

7. It. Is. Everywhereeeee! On Youtube, in your library, in bookstores- It’s so easy to walk in and pick up a book, or rent out a video…or even just stream it through Youtube. You can’t say you’re too lazy to go read some manga or watch some anime, just try to escape it…o________o

8. Cosplaying. Conventions. You have to love the community. If you’ve ever walked through downtown Raleigh on certain days in May, you’ll notice a bunch of otaku walking around dressed as…as…what on earth are they dressed as!? That would be Animazement, darlings, and it’s just about the most fun I have dressing up ever year, even more than Halloween. In fact, its like a 3-day Halloween with a little less candy. Cosplay is very fun, and you really do get recognized sometimes. Conventions are 10.5x that much fun. Even if you’re not into anime, you should go…

9. It’s addicting. It’s a very good way to spend time. It’s like the most simple way ever to make time go faster. Go to your library, pick up one of your favorite mangas, and I swear the hours just fly by when you’re into it. Watch your favorite animes and you can last weeks with some new episodes. Its a great way to spend your summer.

10. The fandom! You can make so many new friends at anime clubs, online on forums (Parental permission pending, of course), and just anywhere animanga is appreciated in general. Look around and you’re sure to find your niche.

My Top Ten of Animanga:

1. Katekyo Hitman Reborn!
2. Fullmetal Alchemist
3. Code Geass
4. Ghost Hunt
5. Death Note
6. Naruto
7. Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha A
8. Air Gear
9. Tsubasa Chronicles
10. Skip Beat

So that about wraps it up here. I really believe everyone should at least try to see if they like animanga, because I remember when I started it was only because my best friend forced me. I thought it was strange, weird, and sometimes it is. But once you start to understand it, you can’t let go. So head off to your local library and go to the manga section- or even just stay on your computer and head off to Youtube. Look around, see if you find something you like. ;3

- Vanessa

Dictionary:
VA = Voice Actor, or Seiyuu.
Shonen = Manga genre mainly targeted towards boys, generally has more violence (Popular magazine is Shonen Jump)
Shoujo = Manga genre targeting girls. It generally features more magic, and much less violence, than shonen. (Popular magazine is Shoujo Beat)
Mangaka = An artist that draws manga, usually for a living.
Otaku= Roughly translated, freak, geek, or nerd.
Cosplay = Dressing up as a character from any franchise.

I literally moments ago just finished watching KHR season two, and it totally beat season one. As in, landslide epic win.

So first season, as I mentioned before, had little plot. Sadly. But this season had a REALLY AMAZING PLOT! Which I’ll outline now:

So there’s an elite assasin team in the Vongola, and they’re called the Varia. And their leader is a power-hungry man,  son of the 9th Vongola leader, called Xanxus, who wants to be the Juudaime. Hey, wait, wasn’t that Tsuna’s position? Ohhh snap. You can imagine. And then something called the “Vongola Rings” are revealed as well, that are the things that are given to show the 6 most trusted subordinates (the “Guardians”) of a Vongola leader, as well as one for the Vongola boss himself. So you need all the rings (that are also split in half) to become the Juudaime. TOURNAMENT TIME!

This definitely gave me a flashback to Naruto Chuunin exams, but I get the feeling this took a little less time. I mean, only one season, and it was a good plot. Anyway, so they’re pitted against the Varia and after half the season being devoted to training (NOT boring, surprisingly) they fight. And fight. And fight. And through the smoke and mirrors, through the deception of the inner politics of Vongola, Tsuna has to figure out how to prevent Xanxus’s rise to power and protect his family.

Even though it seems generic tournament subplot, it fleshed out the characters so much. Everyone learns something and everyone changes, for the better. My favorite part? Tsuna finally begins to grow up. After seeing his friends getting beaten down and hurt, he finally resolves to train and become stronger, if only for the sake of his friends. And Tsuna, as a fighter, is really freaking terrifying. x3 GO HYPER DYING WILL MODE!

I luffed it. : D

Improvements galore too! Not as many mini episodes (though there were a couple), less of Tsuna’s one-track Kyoko mind, and they didn’t end the season lamely. I’m happy.

Nitpicks? Uhh. Well. Some things just kinda didn’t make enough sense to me. In the middle of training, why just randomly go to school? If you’re running out of time to begin with, there’s no point. Reborn’s justification just didn’t cut it for me. Also, slight predictability, but that’s generic anime for you. Its all good, still.

So here’s the 3rd opening to the show, still awesome, and in my opinion, equal in amazingness to the second. As is this entire season, although in my opinion it surpassed the first by far and was really fun to watch. Season two completely beat out season one in just about everything. I give my highest reviewer brownie points to KHR, and I’m really hyped up for season 3 right now, which I’m about to start. Sadly though, I’m about to embark on a dark journey though…fillers.

- cue horror music -

Anyone who knows me in real life knows I despise fillers. This may be why I’m a little prejudiced against Naruto, and I’ll say it now. I have never and will never watch that 100 some episode load of Naruto filler. But at least its only 8 episodes in season 3… So for you, my readers (whomever that may be), I’ll do it. Probably mainly because I really really want to get to the Future Arc in KHR…*____________*

Wish me luck…

- Vanessa