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 #3 Winx Season One Disc 2

Cover of French version season 1

Note: I watch the French version, but I'm pretty sure that all the versions are similar. 

This evening (14th May 2012)  as I was feeling sleepy and therefore not up to heavily concentrating on Shugo Chara which is still relatively new to me I opted for Winx. I smiled when I realised it was the episode where Professeur Paladium tests the girls in the magical simulator.

Winx standing in the simulator

Think of it as a big holo deck like the ones in Star Trek. It's very awesome, not only creating environments to test the students, but as a magical gateway to sending the Winx to Domino in later episodes.

Bloom takes the lead in this episode, with o one volunteering to take the test first she's chosen by Professor Paladium. Kiko, her adorable bunny, loves her dearly and doesn't want to miss out on the fun so he stows away in Bloom's bag.

Bloom oblivious to the stowaway on board. 

 

Little did he know he'd end up duplicated like a hologram at the end of the test as the simulator broke after the Trix's mischief.

Thanks to a computer glitch there are lots of Kikos!

Bloom is distressed when they appear and force Kiko to fall into lava, so mad that she becomes consumed by powerful flames.

 You don't want to any Bloom!

At this point she has no idea just how powerful a fairy she is or who her family are, whereas the Trix recognise her power & want it for themselves, hence their interference to see if she is truly powerful.

Being a fairy involves lots of acrobatics as Bloom dodges the Trix's attacks. It involves keen powers of perception, such as when the Winx realise there is a soporific atmosphere in the second episode I watched. Tecna uses her technolgic knowledge to identify the problem and create a bubble which purifies the air. Only by working together once they've woken up do the Winx dispel the soporific odour & neutralise the enemy who is making the tortoise whose shell is the base for the trees grumpy.

Tecna saving Bloom from the sleep inducing mist 

I love how peaceful the girls look when they are asleep. They are just like us in the way they wish to be left alone to sleep some more. Musa has a rough time for earlier she gets "eaten" by the tortoise. Im not quite sure how she avoided drowning while captured, prior to being rescued, as she didnt have a bubble of air so she could breathe, which the others created. Bloom makes the tortoise sneeze which is a genius way to get it to open its mouth.

The girls get to use their own specialised abilities in some episodes with Flora's bond to nature help provide fast growing cover for the water nymphs to build their homes underwater and receives a gift in return.

In other episodes the girls' personalities - both positive and negative aspects play a role. Stella is overly curious and doesn't know when to hold her tongue - although usually the girls forgive her and laugh about it after she's insulted them. It's so funny when Tecna loses her infamous cool self - who can blame her foe getting mad at Flora's invented plant trapping her in the wardrobe for hours. Musa doesn't pry like Stella so didn't concern herself with the odd noise coming from Tecna's temporary prison. Flora hates arguments and is prone to getting upset.

A sad Flora - this was the best picture I could find (probably not to do with the episode I'm talking about) 

 

She pleads forgiveness for her enthusiastic plant experiments which the girls concede to at the end after her nature magic helps save the day.

There is just so much packed into each 25 minute episode that the themes covered are as complex and intense than non cqrtoon dramas. Go try an episode, filled with ups & downs of friendship and life challenges.

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!

Pop Pixie Season 1 Volume 1 (French version, children's dvd)

As a huge fan of Winx, I was delighted to get my hands on the spin off series, Pop Pixie! It's all about the Pixies. I confess that I looked on a certain reference online source for the gist of the series. I'm glad I did, because it is set in a sort of alternate world to Winx. There's no mention of Winx, the Pixies can have transformation powers, some of them are boys (including Digit, but I haven't really seen her/him yet), they live with gnomes, are pestered by elves, have jobs. In short, it's fun! 

I love it almost as much as Winx - I give it 9.9/10. The -0.1 is for the theme tunes. They are very catchy, with fun graphics. However, they seem a little short. I understand the episodes are shorter than Winx episodes. It sort of makes sense, as the series is more about the lives of the Pixies rather than several large story arcs. The opening theme song is virtually long enough. But the ending song feels as if it's cut off suddenly. And that annoys me every time I see it. 

Otherwise Pop Pixie rules! There are lots of new Pixies, but old familiars are there too. I haven't really seen Piff, I've seen Tune who is supposed to be younger in PP (she looks it). 

(Tune)

Chatta is typical Chatta, always chatting!

(Chatta)

 I wish that Lockette would quit her job at the hotel because she always looks so busy and her boss is stingy. 

(Lockette)

I haven't really seen Digit yet, but I have seen Amore and oh wow! Amore has a potionery (ok, so not quite sure what it's called - apothecary?). She is quite a character, still timid in some social circumstances but can pack a powerful punch. 

(Amore (plus Chatta's arm))

Another feature which is rather sweet is that when the Pixies cry, lots and lots of water comes out - they have to use umbrellas, or grab buckets to catch the tears. Or worse, when the weather fairy comes on the scene. 

I totally recommend watching Pop Pixie. You needn't have watched Winx to enjoy it, although watching Winx will provide a bit more insight to the main Pixies' characters. 

Winx Season 4 review

Reading has been on an all time low this week as I haven't been well. However, I have been watching dvds, so I figured I can review them too! 

Today I'm having a brief look at Winx, season 4. Oh, it does contain spoilers (sorry), so if you haven't watched it all you might want to not read the review. 

(not entirely sure why it only has 3 of the girls on the front, and Roxy (the last Earth fairy) on the back....but it's still cute!)

I have the French version (I prefer it in French too). I love season 4 because although the world is in serious danger in the later part of the series, it is a lot lighter (apart from Naboo's death). Season 3 is really cool because of Enchantix, but there's a lot of tough challenges for each of the girls and sometimes I find it a bit too heavy. 

Season 4 sees the girls living in Gardinia as they try to find the last Earth Fairy, and free the other trapped Earth Fairies in a magical realm. There are the Fairy Hunters, who are super strong, and only Layla and Bloom's attacks affect them...that is until the girls get the power of Believix! 

(top row from left to right: Musa, Flora, Techna, bottom row from left to right: Stella, Layla, Bloom) 

I love all the transformations. Believix is really cool because watching all the Winx transform, they look so  happy. Considering that Believix is people's faith in them, and that as graduated fairies with immense power within them and being guardians of the world, no wonder they look utterly content! I love the hearts on Bloom's outfit, Flora's outfit screams 'nature girl', I love the colours of Stella's clothes, Techna looks more girly (which I like - wasn't all that fond of her outfit in season 1), Layla is Layla, Musa...I'm not overly fond of her outfit. And there's the plait which just looks a bit weird sometimes. (I realise I haven't gone into the different powers of Believix, or Lovix or Sophix, that will have to be for another time) 

It's fun watching the girls as they try to get people to believe in them, because they learn that although their powers can help people, people need to be dealt with carefully in order to believe in magic. Once they do start to believe in the girls, then chaos descends as the plot heats up. 

Okay, two final things before I go (I've no doubt I'll be back discussing more details another time). One huge, wonderful thing which I simple A.D.O.R.E in season for is the pet shop for the magical pets. It's really cool how the girls all run different parts: Bloom is on reception, Stella is on clothes and hair, Musa teaches the pets music, Flora looks after their health and Layla helps the pets keep fit. The magical pets are super cute, and pretty funny with their own personalities. Their owners also have personalities which make the show funny. The way the girls have to run the store, as well as fight their enemies is more realistic than if they didn't have a job. The store provides many light moments, as well as a few heavy ones. 

(These are the outfits the girls wear at the pet shop, along with their own magical pets) 

The final thing is the musical theme of this season. All the songs in all the seasons are fun. This season is more enjoyable because Musa starts to get her music career on Earth, but...wait for it...all the girls become a band! The songs are funky, and often rooted in meaning with what's going on in the story. Layla's on drums, Musa and Bloom sing, Stella's on guitar, I honestly can't quite remember what Flora's doing, I think she's on guitar too, and I think  Techna's on keyboard (but don't quote me). The music is an important part of the plot, and it's another creative outlet for the girls. 

(CD cover for one of the albums...yes I have the season 4 album, and the Winx in Concert dvd (English versions which are mostly easy listening))

Right, this is it for now. I love Winx each and every time I watch it. (& I've watched it a lot). I just notice more details in each episode, I understand the characters better, I love the girls and it's almost the only show I can say which cheers me up 100% (even when Naboo dies, the strength of friendship between the girls is a positive message to take away).