Ponyo: The Little Fish With The Round Tummy

I can't believe that, as many times as I've watched "Ponyo" since I started this blog, I have never voiced my opinion on it!!!!!!!!!!  But after watching "Moonphase," an anime with a major focus on vampires, I felt I needed something a little more lighthearted!!!!! 
"Ponyo" is an animated adventure centered on a 5-year-old boy (Sosuke) and his relationship with a goldfish princess (Ponyo) who longs to become human. Ponyo confirms Academy Award®-winning director Hayao Miyazaki's reputation as one of the most imaginative filmmakers working today. Loosely based on Hans Christian Anderson's "The Little Mermaid," Ponyo is a magical celebration of innocent love and the fragile beauty of the natural world. The daughter of the sea goddess Gran Mamare (voiced by Cate Blanchett) and the alchemist Fujimoto (Liam Neeson), Ponyo (Noah Cyrus) begins life as an adventurous little goldfish. Chafing at her father's restrictions, she goes in search of adventure and meets Sosuke (Frankie Jonas), a good-natured 5-year-old who lives by the sea. Sosuke adopts Ponyo and quickly wins her heart. Fujimoto uses magic to bring her back, but Ponyo's love for Sosuke proves stronger than his elixirs. She transforms herself into a human girl and returns to him during a spectacular storm at sea, but her metamorphosis upsets the balance of nature, precipitating a crisis only Gran Mamare can resolve.
I may be prejudiced by my love for almost anything Miyazaki, but "Ponyo" definitely gets the highest rating in my book!!!!!!!!!! 

"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!!!!!!!!!

Back 2 "Nana"!!!!!

I took advantage of the fact that the family decided not to attend today's services at church to watch some anime.  I watched the second box set of "Nana" this morning!

Careers, friendship, love--can two bright young women named Nana manage to have it all? Nana K.'s Tokyo experiment is in jeopardy when she finds herself strapped for cash and her relationship with Shoji on uncertain ground. Nana O.'s love life takes an unexpected turn when she's reunited with her old flame, Ren from Trapnest. With such a close connection to her favorite band, will Nana K. get to meet the man of her dreams--Takumi? Sometimes dreams do come true...

I guess this is the part of the blog where I talk about what I liked and didn't like about the anime.  That's going to be incredibly difficult!!!!!!!!!!!!!  I guess the characters are so real that it's hard to find one to dislike!

I am definitely enjoying this anime and can't wait to purchase the 3rd box set from the Dealer's Room at this year's Anime USA convention in a few weeks!!!!!!!!!!!  (Along with a few other anime titles!)

Chobits On The Chopping Block?

I just finished watching the final episode of "Chobits," and I'm not sure what to think.  While it's not on the sugary level of "Fancy La La," I didn't find it interesting enough to give it the high rating of "Angelic Layer," either. 
"Chobits" tells the story of Hideki Motosuwa, who finds an abandoned persocom, or personal computer with human form, that he names "Chi" after the only word it initially can speak. As the series progresses, they explore the mysteries of Chi's origin together and questions about the relationship between human beings and persocoms. The manga is set in the same universe as Angelic Layer, taking place a few years after the events of that story, and like Angelic Layer, it explores the relationship between human beings and electronic devices shaped like human beings. Chobits branches off as a crossover into many other stories in different ways, such as Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle, xxxHolic and Kobato.
I will say that there was one slightly annoying character, Sumomo, but she was still likeable.  As I said, I don't know what to think of this series.  I didn't fall asleep on it, so that says something.  However,  even though the series was set in the same universe as Angelic Layer, I still didn't enjoy it nearly as much as I did the first time I saw Angelic Layer, which is my #1 favorite anime series of all time!

"Fruit's Basket": A Plum Of An Anime

After being prejudiced by my Hubby's negative opinion of "Fruit's Basket,"  I avoided it for most of my years of anime fandom; that is, until a friend expressed his love for it and suggested I check out an episode via YouTube.  I enjoyed that episode so much, I added "Fruit's Basket' to my Anime Wish List.  Surprisingly, my hubby bought it for me at Otakon 2011!  (Thanks, Boo!  I know how much you must've hated doing that!  I owe you big time!)  "Fruit's  Basket," or "Furuba," tells the story of Tohru Honda, a 16 year old orphaned girl who gets invited to live in the house of her classmate, the handsome boy Sohma Yuki, and his cousins, 16 year old Kyo and 27 year old Shigure. However, these young men and parts of the rest of their family (both close and distant) hold a curse; if they are hugged by the opposite gender, they transform into animals of the Chinese Zodiac. Everyday is an adventure for sweet Tohru, as she gets to know everyone in the large family better (especially Yuki and Kyo), in both common and bizarre situations. But, the Sohma Family curse is certainly no laughing matter... it also holds horrible cruelity and heartbreak.   Of course, there are characters loathed and loved.    The aforementioned main characters are quite amusing, and more or less endearing, while other characters--such as Momiji Sohma and Hiro Sohma--seemed to be a pain in the ass!  There was one character that had me asking WTF....Ritsu Sohma!  All things considered (characters, sugar level, plot), "Fruit's Basket" was pretty entertaining, and may be worth a second look sometime in the future!

"Rumbling Hearts" Settle Down

I just finished watching "Rumbling Hearts," and I'm not sure what to think of it.  It did get better after the initial episodes, but I think it was overloaded with drama.  What do people think is gonna happen after waking up from a 3-year nap?  Would you expect the person you loved to still be waiting for you?  Then again, if the last thing you remember happens to be being with that special someone, to wake up and find they had moved on with someone else would be a shock, I suppose.    "Rumbling Hearts" is the story of  four fast high school friends – Haruka, Takayuki, Mitsuki and Shinji. Life’s promise shines brightly on these companions, until one day a random accident leaves Haruka in a coma. Her boyfriend, Takayuki, cannot forgive himself and seems determined to follow Haruka into a comatose state. Mitsuki dedicates her life to taking care of this tragic young man, and the pair salvage what they can, falling into a self-destructive relationship floundering in guilt. When Haruka awakens three years too late suffering from anterograde amnesia, everyone has to act as if not a day has passed. Torn between his unhappy real-life train wreck with Mitsuki and the warm and fuzzy daydream high school romance with Haruka, Takayuki watches what little silver lining was left in life be mercilessly and methodically stripped away.  I'm not sure what kind of rating I'd give this.  It doesn't come close to "Angelic Layer," which  is my #1 fave anime, but it doesn't fall to the disappointing level of  "Fancy La La" either.  It was more of a teenage soap opera.  On the whole, in spite oaf a questionable beginning, I found myself enjoying this romantic earthquake of an anime, which is appropriate considering the tremors that rocked the DC metropolitan area on August 23!  I don't think anyone who was around will ever forget where they were when it hit!  I know I won't!  Anyway, I'm going to try to squeeze in  some more anime before calling it a night!  I think I'm in the mood for "Lupin The 3rd Episode 0: First Contact!" Lupin is after mafia boss Galvez's single most precious treasure: a treasure within a treasure. Jigen is Galvez's hired gun who fails to kill cat-burglar Lupin in his first attempt on the treasure and seeks revenge. Fujiko is the girlfriend of Lupin's rival, Brad. Zenigata travels from Japan to America to find and arrest Fujiko. Goemon seeks the almighty sword that cuts steel, Zantetsuken. This sword is mysteriously connected to the treasure in Galvez's vault.... After a series of twists and turns, these complete strangers become acquainted in their "First Contact," an epic adventure!

Is "Rumbling Hearts" A Heartbreaker?

An hour ago, I was wondering if I made a mistake in wanting the "Rumbling Hearts" anime.  2 or 3 episodes in, and the best scene was 2 of the main teenage characters almost being caught together in bed by the girl's sister!  However, just having finished the first DVD, I find that the drama was climatic, and I'm looking forward to seeing what happens!  Friendship and faith, love and betrayal… And guilt. "Rumbling Hearts" weaves a tale not of superheroes or science fiction, but of the silent sufferings of any potential passerby. This is real life. Happy endings are bittersweet at best.
Meet four fast high school friends – Haruka, Takayuki, Mitsuki and Shinji. Life’s promise shines brightly on these companions, until one day a random accident leaves Haruka in a coma. Her boyfriend, Takayuki, cannot forgive himself and seems determined to follow Haruka into a comatose state. Mitsuki dedicates her life to taking care of this tragic young man, and the pair salvage what they can, falling into a self-destructive relationship floundering in guilt. When Haruka awakens three years too late suffering from anterograde amnesia, everyone has to act as if not a day has passed. Torn between his unhappy real-life train wreck with Mitsuki and the warm and fuzzy daydream high school romance with Haruka, Takayuki watches what little silver lining was left in life be mercilessly and methodically stripped away.
While at first this seemed like a cutesy anime of the "Fancy La La" (a sugary anime that I absolutely hated and ended up falling asleep on) variety, I quickly discovered that adult situations kind of nixed that theory!    Who's sleeping with whom?  Strange love triangles.  One guy who can't be with his true love.  So, I guess for now, I'll say that "Rumbling Hearts," isn't a heartbreaker, but merely a soap opera, anime-style!  Final judgment to come later!  Now, on with the show!