tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-157501002009-02-21T06:05:48.764ZMaria-sensei, MATERIALISE!Hopelesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04681885239480884696noreply@blogger.comBlogger271125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15750100.post-1147683857855620252006-05-15T10:01:00.000+01:002006-05-15T10:04:17.856+01:00

is http://hopeless.wordpress.com/. The efforts of blogger to make me give up blogging in frustration shall all be in vain. I'll be removing this location from the annals of history shortly, so please update any links!

Hopelesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04681885239480884696noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15750100.post-1147474432029040702006-05-12T23:52:00.000+01:002006-05-12T23:53:52.046+01:00

Due to the continuting annoyance with Blogger in general, I'm going to move this to blog to everyone's favourite system; during that time, everything is going to look even uglier than usual. Thanks ^^

Hopelesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04681885239480884696noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15750100.post-1147449348252686282006-05-12T15:18:00.000+01:002006-05-12T23:29:20.113+01:00

I can recall the glory days of Death Note, when each chapter managed to be either chillingly human or unbelievably intense. When the first arc of the show drew to a suitably powerful and bittersweet conclusion, however, the series gradually wound down. Reito's idealistic humanity had all but ebbed away, replaced by, as Near puts it, "a crazy mass murderer." The development of the character was

Hopelesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04681885239480884696noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15750100.post-1147378403798035912006-05-11T20:51:00.000+01:002006-05-11T21:18:13.933+01:00

Crime: Dress sense Punishment: Mysterious plant-related disappearance Jyo-oh-sei, you have been charged with failing to meet the lofty expectations placed upon you by, err, me. Let the prosecution speak first. Crime: Trying to be a manipulative bishi Punishment: 6 years wearing that vest The Prosecution: I really, really wanted to love this show. I looked forward to it for so long, moreso

Hopelesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04681885239480884696noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15750100.post-1147296195538365982006-05-10T22:05:00.000+01:002006-05-10T22:23:59.830+01:00

Sunrise know what we all want. While many shows may bombard the senses with comedy, none of them can equal the power contained in the single greatest joke of all time - maki maki. In fact, after recieving a huge shipment of invisible letters asking for more maki maki, Sunrise has finally complied to everyone's demands and unleashed four whole minutes of maki maki upon the world. Blessed be ye,

Hopelesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04681885239480884696noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15750100.post-1147114029043381292006-05-08T19:40:00.000+01:002006-05-08T19:59:38.323+01:00

I have taken to wearing this mask so that no one will recognise me whilst I undertake questionable acts. Day Two I am already in love. Young and innocent, yet truly caring, I feel she is the perfect partner for me to spend my life with. No-one else compares. Aruruu, please become mine. Oh, she has a sister too, but she is far past her prime. I mean…over half my age! That is just so wrong. I

Hopelesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04681885239480884696noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15750100.post-1147041366291622632006-05-07T23:26:00.000+01:002006-05-07T23:42:07.343+01:00

Against all expectations, this episode covers an absolutely massive section of the manga, although it edits the original liberally. Piffle World is perhaps the longest world the heroes visit, but in the anime in could be one of the shortest. This episode deals with Tomoyo's investigation, then commences the real race, before Fye and Syaoran both leave the race due to sabotage. Syoaran

Hopelesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04681885239480884696noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15750100.post-1147025521213868692006-05-07T19:11:00.000+01:002006-05-07T19:12:01.230+01:00

While Sakura is meant to be the star of this arc, Rin is easily dominating it. I do wish that this section of the show will be longer than it seems to be, but if not, it will still stand one of the highlights. I'm hardly addicted to action, but Saber and Assassin's rematch here was unbelievably intense for a fight we know Saber will win. While it looked (and sounded) like it had been ripped out

Hopelesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04681885239480884696noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15750100.post-1146912729393400352006-05-06T11:08:00.000+01:002006-05-06T12:38:05.850+01:00

Ah, so the whole world is turning due to the drama about blogging overdilation kicked-started over on suki and spread to the emerald green pastures of the blogsphere. I cannot help but wonder what the readers think, and what the statistics say - does blogging episode after episode with summaries prove popular for the blogs' audience? I use the Antenna and Blogsuki rather than bookmarks to read

Hopelesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04681885239480884696noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15750100.post-1146909418080935952006-05-06T10:30:00.000+01:002006-05-06T10:57:21.876+01:00

I adore Firiel. While the general anime heroine recieves protection and help from the dull male protagonist, here she is very much the focus, the one who needs to help and protect Roux. Firiel is impulsive in her concern for others, even when they do not return it to her. She actually does things based on what she believes in, rather than leaving it for others to do. She's able to adapt into

Hopelesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04681885239480884696noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15750100.post-1146858367650636672006-05-05T19:26:00.000+01:002006-05-05T20:46:07.843+01:00

Ah, I finally have another series which demmands to be blogged. Saiungoku is a political pseudo-historical series set in a gorgeous Chinese setting (I love historical oriental settings. If an average anime is set in one, I can't help but call it good). Scion of an anicent but finnanically lagging clan, Shuurei leaps at the chance to pull her family out of the red by becoming the wife of the

Hopelesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04681885239480884696noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15750100.post-1146764751018437732006-05-04T18:24:00.000+01:002006-05-04T18:45:51.623+01:00

At long last, the second H&C special is subbed. Now that we know of the second series, though, the tension and mourning at the passing of the series is lifted here. While this isn't as constantly hilarious as L, being H&C makes it all good. The animation and art here are hardly the best the series has thrown up, but this is offset by the humour. The star of this episode has to be Miwako. She

Hopelesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04681885239480884696noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15750100.post-1146472465747011352006-05-01T09:14:00.000+01:002006-05-06T08:24:18.656+01:00

This is just what I was expecting and hoping for with this show. While not a fairy tale in the actual details, stylistically this has everything one would associate with the format. The presentation of the show is remarkable, because it achives a look I can only describe as "modern retro." Some of the designs are as pristine and detailed as those of modern anime (the lords at the ball even

Hopelesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04681885239480884696noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15750100.post-1146438200613782372006-04-30T22:51:00.000+01:002006-05-01T09:10:02.763+01:00

Higurashi is yet another anime I didn't plan to watch until the first episode was subbed, and now it has risen to become one of my favourites in this high-performing season. Perhaps the most interesting part of the show is something that hasn't occured to this quality since Monster and Spiral - the mystery element, fitting in the different pieces together. Possession? Where Mion and Rena aware

Hopelesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04681885239480884696noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15750100.post-1146430052578322032006-04-30T21:30:00.000+01:002006-04-30T21:47:32.603+01:00

These two final episodes are by some degree the most intense in the show, and easily those with the most claim to horror, as the family and the medicine seller are imprisoned in the house by the Baka Neko demon, and must discover its secrets along with those of themselves. This makes from some dramatic and compelling viewing, alternating with more serene visions of past events and complimented

Hopelesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04681885239480884696noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15750100.post-1146391316550982622006-04-30T10:51:00.000+01:002006-04-30T11:01:56.566+01:00

Tsubasa Chronicle is back, and takes joy in rearranging the manga! Instead of going to the Land of Jungle Bunnies and then Samurai Shoujo World, Fye and his party have moved onto the virtually endless Minigame Republic of Piffle, the only location where Sakura proves herself to be useful, even if marginally. Shocking, I know. I do hope greatly that they are just moving this lighter (well, until

Hopelesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04681885239480884696noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15750100.post-1146347634234892202006-04-29T22:27:00.000+01:002006-04-29T22:53:54.250+01:00

Ah, a superior episode in the series after the laughable CG dragon and Ilya harem episodes. Caster and Kuzuki enter as the new antagonists, and manage to prove themselves more powerful and interesting than the previous foes. Shirou, Rin and Saber are easily beaten by Kuzuki's magic-enhanced physical prowess, which should come into light with some backstory. More interestingly, though, Sakura is

Hopelesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04681885239480884696noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15750100.post-1146006108907714732006-04-25T23:41:00.000+01:002006-04-26T00:01:48.926+01:00

This episode is very, very different from the last story visually. Different from other anime, really. It has been produced to look like a work of traditional art, and in this manages to stun. While some character designs fall into the trap of being generic and bland, the lead figures look ornate, proving that this is where the budget cut from last episode has gone. Animation is purposefully

Hopelesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04681885239480884696noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15750100.post-1145982833342836292006-04-25T17:00:00.000+01:002006-04-25T17:33:53.523+01:00

Nana is such a product of its time. While many veterans of the huge anime sector known as "slice of life" will have stumbled across superior shows for drama and romance, and many more will have seen masterpieces like KGNE or Honey and Clover, Nana manages to inflitrate mainstream consciousness. Many would argue that it is far from the manga-ka's greatest work, but few would also say that it is

Hopelesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04681885239480884696noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15750100.post-1145917367730732632006-04-24T23:07:00.000+01:002006-04-24T23:22:47.756+01:00

Ah, MMORPGs. I'd love to one day play one, and sit around staring at the rendered backgrounds for hours, or omniously talk to other PCs. Sadly, The World doesn't fully exist, so most games revolve around levelling up and completely quests. Such a shame. After two enjoyable but unremarkable episodes, Roots finally manages to entrench itself as a worthy successor to Sign. Haseo's seemingly easy

Hopelesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04681885239480884696noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15750100.post-1145793904218087872006-04-23T12:40:00.000+01:002006-04-23T13:08:30.353+01:00

Predictably, the first eight minutes of this episode are devoted to action, and, fast as Berserker is, the scenes never quite manage to be as exciting as Archer's last stand or Rider and Saber's climatic encounter. It is all very much centered Shirou, and how he has the same ability Archer had, letting him create duplicate legendary weapons to cheaply slay Berserker in a single blow

Hopelesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04681885239480884696noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15750100.post-1145742442619280582006-04-22T22:37:00.000+01:002006-04-22T22:47:23.656+01:00

Ayakashi's second tale of woe and dramatic death scenes ends here, and does so in a much more spectacular sense than the first "horror" story is, even if said "horror" has still failed to compute. The episode basically sees legions of humans being wiped out with ease, but occasionally managing to bring down the Forgotten Gods. Even Uba-sama dies, but does so on the side of the protagonists,

Hopelesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04681885239480884696noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15750100.post-1145658272985874482006-04-21T23:05:00.000+01:002006-04-21T23:24:33.003+01:00

With the growing influx of titles being fansubbed, I've found there is no room for mercy (as Laharl above demonstrates) when it comes to dropping those series which so clearly deserve to be thrown into the scrapheap (never may they emerge again). I used to uphold a noble principle, one of watching at least four or five episodes before dropping in series, but then Law of Ueki destroyed all

Hopelesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04681885239480884696noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15750100.post-1145656778105292542006-04-21T22:31:00.000+01:002006-04-21T23:00:38.516+01:00

A slight serious element is introduced to the show with the introduction of some episodic plots that the Host Club solves, and, being Ouran, these work well. Otherwise, it's buisness as usual, and thus almost unbearably hilarious. Episode 3, in particular, dealt with the typical high school anime "health check episode" wonderfully, turning it into a device to laugh at Tamaki, who has actually

Hopelesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04681885239480884696noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15750100.post-1145568775927749592006-04-20T22:16:00.000+01:002006-04-20T22:32:55.950+01:00

The final death blow to any individuals of power La'cryma has is dealt here; finally Yuu faces the perils Haruka was subjected to earlier, and we learn in fact what the Dragon Torque actually does. Kuina exits the show well, crumbling into pieces as has been his way throughout, and does so with a realisation of his own follly. While he has only served as a minor player with his own faction

Hopelesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04681885239480884696noreply@blogger.com0