End of Claymore

Sayonara, Claymore fans. "I won't say when. But let us meet again" (Miria)

Claymore finally ended at episode 26. I really liked the whole series and wished that it wouldn't have ended so early. That said, it is only the end of season 1. Many people complained how it deviates from the manga since episode 20, and it turned out very bad and boring. I didn't read the manga at all, so I shall not compare the two (perhaps they really were true, but...). From my point of view, it wasn't the best ending I've seen so far, but certainly not a bad one. The conclusion of many main characters' plot were satisfying, though many others were left out; but hey, its only season 1, what more could we expect!? Even this last episode delivers a very nicely directed and planned ending, not just any crash course ones we'd see in many typical anime. The fight with Priscilla was not ended too quick nor too dragged on... (ok, maybe the whole North campaign thing was a bit long winded, from the fights with the 3 Awakened Being, to Rigardo, and then back to Priscilla, thus giving me the feeling "it should end by now~").

Final showdown between Clare (above) and Priscilla (bottom).

Nonetheless, the final blow by Clare is slightly off the scale. The almighty Priscilla was surprisingly caught by Clare's sudden counter attack... and the whole fight is over. If we follow the story closely, there is certainly no way Clare is anywhere near Priscilla's level, let alone the 'fully awakened' Priscilla (for no apparent reason at all). This did not appeals how strong Clare is, only how weak Priscilla had became (makes me wonder how strong is Number 1, 2 and 3). Nothing like what we've seen in the whole series. And, yes, Raki is there again to pull Clare back to her senses. Through out the series, what started as a dark themed anime, loses out its tension at the very last (be it for the better or worse).

Almost every episode promises a suspense, and the suspense is broken with often unexpected conclusions. This is what makes the whole thing so much enjoyable and addictive. This is the reason I insisted not to read the manga or even read any spoilers (and boo-ed manga readers who talked too much about it)!! But the final scenes just screams otherwise. No one could've guessed wrongly how the last episode would have ended. Clare will somehow overpower Priscilla, Raki will get Clare back to her senses again, and everyone just goes back home merrily. However, I must clarify that I did enjoyed the final episode (although it could've been better).

Jeanne returning Clare's favor by saving her. I really liked Jeanne, why does she have to die!!? (just like Teresa...)

Raki and Clare reunited at last.

I still must emphasize that Claymore (the anime) is really beautifully made. I love the characters, the plots, the fights, the theme, the colours, the music, the sound effect... everything about it is just great! Can't wait for the next season of it (if there really is...).

Farewell by Teresa. "Live as a human."

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Long time~

Ah, has been almost 2 months since I last updated my blog. Feeling guilty for being lazy and not continue or even end what I started. Was hooked on the "outdated" game of Ragnarok Online: TrinityRO (yes, its a private server) in the month of August, and then stucked onto Pirate King Online (game addict, tsk tsk...) in Sept. Not to mention that I am still grinding on the dramas Drive of Life and Steps.

Pirate King Online (http://www.piratekingonline.com/): Enniesse@Server Engine

Claymore is nearing its end (ok, season 1 ended at episode 26, but I haven't get to watch it yet!), Naruto manga getting a bit more interesting(?), Heroes is out with season 2, Gundam oo is premiering soon, and... College started!! New semester, new subjects, bad results (previously) equals more hard work this year(hopefully), and definitely more pressure (being the final year and all~).

I am planning to get the new PSP slim, still scouting around for prices and good offers though. Definitely, definitely looking forward to FF7 Crisis Core and FFTactics: The Lion's War!! Any good games to recommend, drop by a comment please. :) Other than that, I'm thinking of Monster Hunter Freedom 2, Ace Combat X (I'm an AC freak!), MGS Portable ops, Jeanne D'Arc, and probably Valkyrie Profile: Lenneth though it'll be a replay of the PSOne version.

Oh btw, the two themes for Sony Ericsson w810i (or k750i or whichever compatible) I made few months ago had been uploaded to lasyk.net. Feel free to check it out:

1. Suzumiya Haruhi
2. FFX2 Yuna

p.s.: Naruto - The theory of the Uchiha Clan: Trust me, read this if you haven't!!! http://forums.narutofan.com/showthread.php?t=106576

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Code Geass 24 & 25 (Season Finale)

Finally got to watch Code Geass' season 1 finale after such a long wait. Impression? As usual, the story progression begs for more surprises (albeit not shocking ones). The invasion plan of the Order of the Black Knights gone haywire right after Lelouch decided to turn tails and chase after his sister Nunnally who was captured by V2 (correct me if I'm wrong...). This really shows the importance of the morale of an army. Although Toudo is just as good a strategist as Lelouch (or the other way round perhaps), but the situation turned ugly not because of their strategy failing, but the confidence and morale of the army dropped largely (Diethard commended on the same thing as well). The whole season still ends in a cliff hanger after such a long wait, and the episodes wasn't anything more spectacular than the usual. Seriously, I didn't think it'd make a big difference now with or without episode 24 and 25. However, I do concur that if the series went straight up to 25 (without stopping for the long wait), then it'd be a tid bit more significant, giving a proper season ending for all the main characters, Lelouch, Suzaku, C.C., V.V., Nunnally, Karen, and the likes.

With 24 and 25 wrapping up the whole season, lets see what are the more memorable scenes:
Straight from my mind, I'd think the most memorable one is the existence of Mao, appearing in the episode Geass v Geass (episode 14). His Geass of mind reading which is the biggest advantage of the genius Lelouch is intriguing. A resemblance of Death Note's L vs Kira(Light/Raito) perhaps; both trying to outwit each other. Although Mao's arc main objective is to introduce to Lelouch the danger of overusing his/her Geass, and the fact that there is actually more than 1 Geass user like himself.

My favourite skirmish scene is of course the first battle Lelouch confronted. Lelouch had only used his Geass to obtain a Sutherland. The rest of the battle was fought with his wit and strategy against the Britannian Empire! Of course the rest of the battles that follows through the whole season is great, but there is too much a use of his Geass to impress me. The second most commendable one would definitely be the battle at Narita where the Order of the Black Knights guise their attempt to trap Cornelia by defending the stronghold at Narita.

Battle scene? The thing about Code Geass that separates it from the likes of Gundam and many other mecha animes is their little focus on mecha battles. Most of the battles were short, with most emphasis on their war-scale strategies. Any fight scene between the two aces, Suzaku of the Britannian and Karen of the Black Knights is great. Other than that, a good fight scene would be at episode 24, Cornelia vs Gawain. This fight really shows off to us that Lelouch despite his great planning strategies is a weak combat fighter, even with the Gawain, he stands no chance against Cornelia's Gloucester.

Code Geass is certainly a great anime, one which I would definitely rank it above Suzumiya Haruhi, on par with Claymore. Looking forward to season 2!

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Naruto Manga Chapter 364

The Naruto Shippuuden arc of the manga had always been a bit lame and uninteresting (IMO); The story plot sees little progression of the characters. Naruto had gone back to becoming weak again (for the purpose of more character development in the future?). Sasuke's power is even further apart now from Naruto who fought as equal during the fight at the waterfall (3 years ago?).

Furthermore, the almighty Akatsuki when first introduced seems strong enough to take down even the most powerful jounins like eating bread; with their level of power at no less than a -Kage's level. However, 4 already fallen like the leaves in Autumn. Sasori's fight, being the first death of the Akatsuki was commendable. The same could be said to Shikimaru's fight with Hidan; all brains with little brawns. However Kakuzu's fate seems a bit down-played, the seemingly immortal Kakuzu is taken down easily by Kakashi and Naruto. He should've been more experienced (considering the fact that he even got the first Hokage's heart!!) to even be touched by Naruto, let alone a killing blow which takes away 2 hearts of his. Deidara's one was laughable! Although we all expected Sasuke to win, but honestly, looking at how he fought, just gives you the feeling that mangaka Masashi Kishimoto got a bit lazy thinking of a better ending for him. Oh, and don't forget how the all mighty and powerful Orochimaru lost to Sasuke (in spite of being sick and all that...) just like that.

Moreover, Akatsuki's objective of world domination seems very childish to me. When their objective was first announced, I thought it must've been some form of a joke; maybe Masashi Kishimoto really got bored of thinking for a better reason for Akatsuki to exist. Seriously, I stopped chasing up closely for the latest chapters of Naruto already, only downloading and reading a few chapters at a time when I'm free/remember to do so. However Chapter 364 begs to differ.

If any speculation was right, it would perhaps be that Uchiha Itachi was really a good person, joining Akatsuki just to be an undercover to discover their real true purpose. Pain, the leader of Akatsuki does looks really a lot like the 4th Hokage, but for the few dots in the middle of his face. Luckily, the pathetic purpose of world domination is really just for show (how glad!!). There seems to be another purpose IS definitely a conspiracy behind Akatsuki. As expected (again), the seemingly carefree and childish Tobi (who did nothing but running away from enemy so far) is strong, possibly the strongest in Akatsuki. And, Tobi (Ok, he didn't die when Deidara exploded! Yippee!!) is actually the real black hand of the Akatsuki. With his eye that shouts Sharingan, he is actually Uchiha Madara (if you would recall, when Sasuke entered Naruto's vision with the Kyuubi, the Kyuubi did mention Madara's name...). It really seems that the fateful night of Uchiha's clan is the doing of Madara instead of Itachi after all.

I guess the story plot could only be more interesting from now on. This chapter really spices up the whole Naruto Shippuuden since it first published! I really look forward to the continuation of it!

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Byousoku 5 centimeter - Episode 1: Okasho

Byousoku 5 cm is a short drama series/story centered on a boy named Takaki Tono. Literally, the title translates to 5 centimeter per second, referring to the speed at which the petals of Sakura (Cherry Blossom) falls. It consists of only 3 episodes; Episode 1: Okasho (Cherry Blossom Extract), Episode 2: Cosmonaut, and Episode 3: Byosoku 5 Centimeters. I could only get a hold of Episode 1, and as the film is licensed, it is difficult to get the remaining episodes of it from the net.

The movie is set in present time Japan. Although it is centered on high schoolboy Takaki, I wouldn't say that this is the regular laugh out loud high school genre anime. In fact, quite the opposite. Taking the point of view of Takaki, the drama guides us through the struggles one faces against time and people and even distances in the real world. It is the problems everyone faces in their everyday life. A melancholic, sentimental theme I would put it.

Takaki Tono is just an ordinary high school boy. The first episode introduces us to his relationship with a childhood friend Akari Shinohara. Both of them met often in the school library and eventually got very close together. However, after finishing elementary school, they couldn't get into the same junior school and was forced to part ways with each other. The continue to write to each other until one day Takaki found out that he has to move away to another town, now even further away from Akari. Thus he decided to meet with Akari once (and maybe the last time) before moving.

The graphics are certainly beautiful, being a short series meant to be a theater movie, one would expect nothing less. However, I would dare to say that the movie is anything but exciting. It was not meant to be. Nonetheless, it IS a quality one as the movie does not capture the hearts of audiences through its comedies or actions, but one which captures the realities and ordinaries of life (that's why it is a Drama), sentimental and touching (one could not deny). By looking through the eyes of Takaki alone, I wouldn't be surprised you'd be moved till a tear accidentally slipped past your eyes. The directing and narration of the film was very good from the start until the very end. Although the story is simple, it captured every essence of a good animation and story telling. It packed a lot of meanings in it provided you could appreciate it.

A definite must watch if u are a fan of dramas. But if you are not the type that can stand slow paced story telling, then stay out.

I just hope I could get a hold of the remaining 2 episodes of it.


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