Nayu's News #57 Anime Awesomeness! Slash review of AKB0048 anime

I think this is from the anime Sacred Blacksmith which I haven't seen.

Today it feels right that instead of a review I post about anime. Unless you are a new follower (in which case hi!), it's a given that I love my anime. Take a peek at other Nayu's News posts to see how many anime pics I love using (none are drawn by me). I've conveniently added a Nayu's News tab to the menu at the top of the blog, so you can see them all together! A random cool fact is that one of my Nayu's News posts involving anime has 10999 views! ^o^

Some anime I watch I know I won't watch again. They are good, but not ones I absolutely love. Examples include Shakugan No Shana

Lots of evil demons to fight!

Note: all links take you to a site with a synopsis of the anime

Read Or Die The TV Series

These girls have paper magic!

and Paniponi Dash. 

This is an extremely random & bizarre anime (fun too)

I have watched these a few times over the years I had them, but where I am right now in my life they aren't for me, so I no longer watch them. I have passed them on to people who will enjoy them. 

There are the anime which I know I'll watch a lot, like Negima! 

This is the entire cast - after watching the series a few times you get to know & recognise all of them!

Strawberry Marshmallow 

These friends have lots of fun - and lots of different costumes too!

and, getting a French one in, Loulou de Montmartre.

Loulou has a tough life as she learns to dance and find out who her real family is

 I won't necessarily watch these every day, but they do get cycled in my 'watch' list over time, depending on  how the mood takes me. 

Do I want something that's really funny? Or really upbeat? Decisions....

Then there are the Mega Awesome Animes. These are the ones that rank as high as my all time favourites which are...

Winx Club 

The girls in their season 5 Harmonix transformation outfits

 This cool fairy anime honestly kept me sane in the years while I was trying to get pain relief that worked. It's funny, clever, has lots of magic, is about friendship and fun. The transformation are amazing! I remember when I first got it, and I watched the 1st season over and over until I got the other 3 seasons. It's all I watched, and is my favourite anime. I'm delighted I can see season 5 as it is airing, and the dvd isn't too far behind (the English version. No idea when I'll see the French one, which is the one I have on dvd)

Then along came Shugo Chara! (all 3 seasons) which soon came on a par with Winx.

The main character, Amu, in her Amulet Spade transformation (with her artistic chara Miki)

The transformations are spectular and frequent, there are many plots to ponder on, the costumes are cute and the charas are funny. At the moment I'm hugely into Hoshina Utau's charas, Iru and Eru (yes they are meant to be angelic & demonic). 

Iru loves winding Eru up, Eru loves anything romantic and can be rather forceful in her demands.

There are some sad moments, just like Winx Club, but it's an anime I try to watch every day (I watch either Winx or Shugo Chara, although sometimes I'll watch both in the same day). 

After Shugo Chara along came a magical girl anime about girls who became magical singers to help save fairyland - the girls are based on fairy tale princesses. Which anime is this? I mention it quite a bit on my blog, it's.....

Lilpri!

Lilpri is more light hearted than Shugo Chara, super cute and every episode ends well. I watched that every day until I finished it, and even  now it's added into the Winx Club/Shugo Chara mix. 

Just as I think I've seen all the mega awesome animes which would probably rate a triple E rating on my blog, (instead of 10/10 E -> 10/10 EEE), I find another. 

Awesome anime!

AKB0048 is actually based loosely on a real group in Japan (several groups) who are very much focused on their fans. Confession, because of the way the anime is listed on Crunchyroll I ended up seeing the second season (which is really just the 2nd half of a 24-26 season) first. That would be why I was so confused about what was going on, why some things weren't explained that well because the viewer usually will have watched the first season. I watched 9 episodes, then started season 1. Season 1 had all the explanations I wanted, so I'm happy. I'm now rewatching Season 2 because there are a few new episodes coming (it's a simulcast anime). 

All members of AKB0048

You can find more info on AKB0048 here. I love it because it's a little like Lilpri. The girls want to sing to bring fun and happiness to people. They only fight because they have to. They try not to hurt people. They work so hard at being as good as they can be. They help each other through the tough times (even when certain people are stubborn, like Chieri). They struggle on rest days because they are so used to working that's what they want to do - they get told off about this. That's kind of like me - having a day free of reading/blogging/writing can be a tricky thing for me to do. 

The AKB0048 trainees relaxing

The songs are catchy, and quite a few are inspirational. It's possible they may be intended for romance (I'm not sure) but to me they come across as uplifting. There is some mature content in the series to make it a teen + rating, but nothing completely indecent and it can easily be skipped. 

The kiraras are pretty special, this picture sums it up 

They detect when the girls are shining within themselves, brimming with confidence and love of making people happy, sort of like Nagisa in this picture, 

Note the kirara!

or a group of the trainees in concert here

The girls are singing their hearts out

although definitely in this one taken during a concert. 

Concerts aren't just about singing on stage - the girls get to fly around as they sing on funky moving squares. 

A floating square

The girls are prepared to defend themselves - thus making being a member a tough but rewarding career, bringing smiles to their fans despite many governments opposing entertainment. 

*happy sigh* 

So I now have 4 anime series which I can watch again & again as they are upbeat. I'm not including the anime Aria, which is inspirational, because it is a much quieter anime. 

Life as a traineer gondolier (known as Undine in Aria)

It's funny and relaxing, as the girls continue to train to be gondoliers on a manmade planet in the future. Becoming an undine is constant hard work, just like the girls in AKB0048 (although no fighting on the planet Aqua). There's a lot of self-exploration, heaps of humour and tears from all 3 trainees. 

When I need a mental boost, be it after a long day or just when I'm feeling a bit blue 

I head to one of my Mega Awesome Animes which make me feel top of the world!

So, what show do you watch when you need a boost? Which shows can you just watch again & again? It doesn't have to be anime!

Looking forward to hearing your thoughts!

DVD review #4 Shugo Chara Doki Episodes 1-22

Shugo Chara! Doki
 

I had heaps of fun resting up a few weeks ago with this fun anime filled with lots of plot twists. At times the plot veers away from the enemy company Easter and the hunt for the special Embryo egg which will grant its user a wish. All of that fades away with the fun and hilarity of Amu, her charas and friends.

In these episodes, the main focus was on Amu's growing romance with Tadase. Personally I prefer the chara changes, the fights and how Amu changes people's hearts (and turns them away from evil), but the the relationship between the two was sweetly hidden for a while, then hits the rocks just as it was going public. Tadase is hurt by a few events, but he puts protecting Amu above his jealousy and eventually lets her explain what happened.

What happened was....very mixed up. Ikuto is in trouble, & somehow always ends up in Amu's room & bed, which should be creepy but they do have a connection and the way Ikuto is hurt has me feeling sorry for him. In the past he usually saved Amu from harm - some of the time

 Ikuto and Amu

I did wonder why he didn't visit his sister Utau, as she is outside of Easter, but I guess he didn't want to cause her more trouble.

 Ikuto and Utau 

Yoru, Ikuto's chara, cares a lot for Ikuto, seeking help from the strongest person - Amu - even though they are sort of enemies.

Yoru

Amu feels terrible when the truth about Ikuto is discovered by her mother, and then by someone else. 

 Amu's mother when she's suspicious 

 

Her guilt is well portrayed, especially when things with Tadase aren't so hot. She struggles to deal with the outcome, yet forgets the strength of her friendship with the other guardians and charas. She learns that she is never alone. 

 Most of the charas

All the charas are having little adventures alongside and outside the person they are bonded to. The house which Ami, Amu's younger sister gave the charas gets used as a base for meetings. It's hilarious when Miki, Ran and Sue fall out over who Amu likes the best (she uses Ran the most). Dia comes out of her egg for a few moments to tell them to get along. 

They don't, and their discord prevents Amu from transforming with them. Things look dire as even with the help of the other guardians it is a super tough fight without being able to transform. Miki and Ran began working together to distract the enemy prior to an attack of tickling which made the enemy release the captured Sue. I know Dia rarely makes an appearance, which I think is a shame, but I think she's adorable and intuitive. She manages to communicate with Nagihiko, 

 Dia in her egg communicating with Nagihiko 

who is sad not to have a chara. I have a theory that his two eggs might hatch when he tells Amu the truth about Nadeshiko who is comfortable with who he is.

Nagihiko's eggs (the pink one is Temari, who was around when Nagihiko was in training to be a Japanese dancer and was portrayed as the girl Nadeshiko)

I love all the opening and end songs which change several times - sometimes I would like a bit longer between changes just so I can learn the words! It focuses on both guardians and charas. I'm hoping Ami will get her own chara, and that Utau will feature more as Elu (the good one on the right) and Ilu (the evil minded one on the left) are hilarious.

This show is on a par with Winx! The charas are like the Pixies/Mini fee, don't you think? 

Winx with their pixies/mini fee

The powers of Amu and the others grows and becomes incredible, but that's needed with the power of the enemy growing, This is one anime I will watch every week even once I've finished the entire series, just like Winx. I do have to read episode summaries after I watch an episode because I'm stlll avoiding the subtitles, but I understand more than I realise from the body language as well as the japanese.

What series do you keep watching over and over? 

DVD review #1: Shugo Chara (to ep 31)

Before you wonder whether you're on the right site, don't panic! This is still a book review blog. It's turning into a dvd review blog too, just because I watch so many and it frees up space in my Nayu's News posts. 

There will be spoilers in dvd reviews. Just so I can possibly have someone understand why I'm so flabberghasted at particular plot changes. Please do comment if you enjoy the same dvds!

Shugo Chara Season 1 up to episode 30

 This week has been pretty exciting, as I made good progress watching Shugo Chara Season 1. Season 1 is a misnomer, because there are 51 episodes, and the way chapter 26 ends and 27 starts with a new opening tune it might as well be 2 individual seasons. But it isn't, so it remains season 1 for all 51 episodes.

Here's a brief summary I've found on Anime News Network: 

Every child has an egg in their heart, unseen at first, an egg with the would-be self of their dreams. Hinamori Amu, part of a group called the Guardians, protect those eggs from becoming x-eggs, eggs filled with resentment and resignation that gives children troubles. Amu's job is to capture and restore x-eggs to their orginal form. She does this with the help of her three Shugo Chara (guardian characters or her would be selves), Ran, Miki and Su. Thanks to them she can change her character and abilities, and so fight against the mysterious organization Easter which aim is to find a special egg called Embryo using the x-eggs.

To say I love this anime is an understatement. I adore it! It's on a level with Winx, which is really saying something. The moment I started watching it I just knew it was for me. (I had seen a clip before I bought it). 

 (Amu, the heroine with Ran (red, sporty chara), Miki (blue artistic chara) & Su (Green, cooking & all things cute chara) 

The graphics are predominantly bright and cheery, which makes a nice companion to parts in the story that are less cheerful. The charas can provide Amu (and anyone else with charas) support by changing their character - something about the character changes: for Amu it's her hair slide which changes to the suit of cards each chara represents. There are character transformations (in line with other Magical Girl genre anime shows). These are incredible. I love the video sequences in the transformations, and the music. It's so easy to imagine being Amu and merging with her Chara's.

Changing with Ran - Amulet Heart

This is the first transformation which Amu experiences. Ran brings out Amu's sporty side. It provides her with great atheletic skills to outsmart enemies. In partial changes Ran gives Amu wings on her shoes to help her fly in the air - with an acommpanied 'Hop, Step, Jump'. It's in Amulet Heart mode that Amu can neutralise X-eggs, turning them back into chara eggs so their owner can pursue their dreams. The video sequence for that is very wow! Only recently in the episodes I've been watching has Amu received a staff to help with her attacks. Just as when she first transformed, initally she doesn't have a clue what to do. I suspect she'll learn more tricks with it soon.

Over the next few reviews I will put the spotlight on the other charas Amu changes with. I'm trying to keep this a reasonable length without getting carried away with all the detail that's involved in Shugo Chara. 

Why I love Shugo Chara - the messages conveyed to the viewer

One of the biggest reasons I like Shugo Chara beside the transformations, charas & graphics, is the focus on people improving themselves, always striving to do their best. In the beginning Amu is at risk from having her own charas disappear because she doesn't believe in them. She is understandably confused by everything that happens, and doesn't 100% enjoy the world she finds herself in. Slowly she becomes happier and her confidence increases as she helps protect other charas. When the episode focuses on a character who endures the process of their chara egg turning into an x-egg, Amu and her fellow guardians are usually on call to help battle against the character's negative thoughts into positive ones. The observations are really insightful, and are very relevant to all viewers. 

Plot changes so far - episode 30

It was a huge surprise to discover Nadeshiko was actually a guy, whose family requires he lives as a girl while learning traditional Japanese dance. I was quite bowled over by that.  More bowled over than discovering that Ikuto and Utau are siblings. 

(not seeing the similarity) 

I miss Nadeshiko - just as Amu is now missing her/him (Amu doesn't know the truth - all she knows is Nadeshiko is studying abroad). Amu is struggling a bit with herself, but something about her is changing because another chara egg appeared - the diamand chara. Such a shame it became an x-egg and has now bonded with Utao

(Utao (right) & Da) 

Tonight I'm watching some more Shugo Chara. I hope that the new Jack guardian gets revealed as the bad person he is - he's an Easter Agent! Slowly the new Queen guardian is thawing out. I honestly thought she might become the joker, just because Rima's character was more like Amu's when the series first started - before Amu had her charas and was more standoffish to protect herself from looking stupid.

I'm sad that Amu won't be united with her tainted egg for many, many episodes (yes, bad me I lookd this up online, such was the horror of Amu not having her fourth and rightful egg). But I do like the little box she has to keep her chara trio in when she's out and about. 

It took me over 30 minutes to find this image. It seems to be hard to find one of Amu with her bag! Below is Amu in her school outfit minus the bag.

I hope you've enjoyed today's review, I'm hoping to stick to a similar style for all DVD reviews. Stay tuned - there will be more Shugo Chara  soon!