A "Fairy" Nice Surprise! A "Fairy Tail" & 2 "Castle" Stories!

I love days like this! Days where I can just relax and let loose the "anime-niac" within me! This entire day has been very "anime-ted," in spite of the fact that I woke up after 7 a.m. I decided to give "Ah! My Buddha!" one more chance before returning it to Netflix. It's not my cup of tea. Then I was wondering what to do next and realized that I had not watched-had not even opened-Volume 4 of "Fairy Tail!" Across the Fiore kingdom, great wizards join guilds and make their pay by filling magical needs - but there's one guild with a reputation as the roughest, rowdiest, most dangerous of all: Fairy Tail! Forced to face her demons at the Tower of Heaven, Erza is in real danger of becoming a live sacrifice in Jellal's demented plan - which spells disaster for Fairy Tail's strongest team! As the Council prepares to wipe out the island with the Etherion beam, Erza's allies endure a heart wrenching battle to get her back! Big surprises await the comrades as they return for Magnolia's annual Harvest Festival. But the celebrations are cut short when Master Makarov's grandson hotwires a contest to determine who's the fiercest wizard in a supercharged scheme to take over the guild! I think I have forgotten the chain of events that preceded the episodes on this disc. I guess I'll have to go back and watch the first 3 volumes of "Fairy Tail!" Some of the characters had me thinking "Who are you and where did you come from?" There was one sad moment for me--the moment when Erza sacrificed herself to save the others. The anime won't be the same without her!!!!!! The question is: Is Erza really dead, or is something big about to happen? I'm not saying one way or the other, but I find it hard to believe that a central character like Erza would be killed off completely! At any rate, I hope that Funimation decides to release the rest of the series in America. In the meantime, I think I'll finish off today's marathon with a few more of Hayao Miyazaki's movies! After all, January is his birth month (and mine!) What better way to pay homage to such a brilliant director than to watch some of his best movies! (Even though I've already watched and blogged about them on several occasions!) I'm concluding today's anime marathon with "Castle In The Sky" and "Howl's Moving Castle!" HAPPY BELATED BIRTHDAY, MR. MIYAZKI! MAY YOU CONTINUE TO REIGN OVER THE ANIME WORLD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Miyazaki's Masterpieces

After being unable to immerse myself in "Girls Bravo," I decided to pay tribute to Hayao Miyazaki, one of the greatest and most well-known directors within the anime community.    Miyazaki celebrated his 71st birthday on January 5, 2012.  In his honor, I decided to watch his films in chronological order.   I watched the frst 6 movies yesterday, and spent most of today watching the last 3 with Anaiya, my 9-year-old niece and  Cameron, my 5-year-old nephew.
 1. Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind, 2. Castle in the Sky, 3. My Neighbor Totoro, 4. Kiki's Delivery Service, 5. Porco Rosso, 6. Princess Mononoke, 7. Spirited Away, 8. Howl's Moving Castle, and 9.Ponyo!
 I love all of them, but when I asked  my niece, Anaiya,  she said that her favorite was "Princess Mononoke."  I guess that will be the next one I buy for her!  I've already given her "Spirited Away" and "My Neighbor Totoro."  I hope that she will one day want to attend an anime convention with me and my Hubby Chris!  In the meantime, I can't wait to see Miyazaki's latest release, "The Secret World of Arrietty"!  The film is scheduled to be released on February 17, 2012 in North America by Walt Disney Pictures.  Maybe my niece will want to watch it with me!!!!!!!!!!  I am definitely getting it when it is released on DVD!!!!!!!!!  I'm expecting it to be as good as his previous releases.   I can't think of a better gift to give the man who continues to bring so much joy to me and many others within the anime community than another successful film under his belt!!!!!!!!!!!!  HAPPY BELATED BIRTHDAY, MR. MIYAZAKI!!!!!!!!!!!!!  MAY YOU CONTINUE TO RULE OVER THE ANIME COMMUNITY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

"Moonphase" Phase Out?

I've spent the majority of the time since I woke up this morning watching "Moonphase." This anime most definitely does not fall under the "sugary" anime category, but something about it makes me think that when I'm done watching it, my final opinion won't be that favorable.....
All Morioka Kohei wants to be a regular photographer, but all he ever seems to capture on film is ghosts! With 70 percent of his photos inhabited by the undead, Kohei has managed to gain not only a reputation, but also a job at an occult magazine. Things couldn't be more "normal" until he is sent to a obscure castle where he photographs a mysterious girl with a knack at disappearing, thus piquing his interest to return. And thus, Kohei sets out on a journey that takes him into the heart of the occult, on a mission to help the cutest vampire in existence find her long lost mother!  What started out as a seemingly cute anime about a vampire eventually evolved into a martial arts battle for survival!  But it once again diverted itself back to the original storyline.  All in all, not a bad series, though I did find Haiji, the little spirit, to be slightly annoying!  On a positive note, one of my fave voice actresses (Monica Rial) has a role in this particular anime!  I'm not sure what rating to give this anime, but it was neither the worst nor the best I've seen since I became interested in anime  about 10 years ago!!!!!!!!!