If you were not aware of it, I had frowned upon the pacing of the 2nd episode of Nodame Cantabile Paris-hen and was pondering over whether the show itself was worth an episodic blog treatment. Surely I would still watch the show for my love of classical music and Nodame’s antics, but whether I would write about it on a frequent basis would be another story. Anway, all is forgiven! The show is still decent so I shall return to blogging about it.

I could write a summary of what took place in the previous episodes but I shall, instead, simply write about my feelings about the relationship between Chiaki and Nodame. The key word is: dependence. Back in the first season, we shall Chiaki as a man of austere, independent and cold. As you can see, the Chiaki in the second season is much in need of what we can call mental support from various people, mainly from Nodame of course. Perhaps what really sparked this change in the prince was Chiaki’s exposure to the ‘wonders’ of friendship back when he was in Japan. As for Nodame, it seems to be the opposite as she is coming to terms with the fact that her pursuit in music is something that is for her sake and not just to impress Chiaki. If I am not wrong, Nodame chose to participate in that particular competition back in the first season as an act to prove to Stressemann that she is able to stand levelhead with Chiaki in the music world.

So we can see a gradual shift in the relationship between Chiaki and Nodame shifting from being one of elusive attractions, to one that comprises of two individuals forming a strong friendship-like bond, supporting each other. Sounds contradictive since Chiaki is starting to rely more on Nodame for support but he is still a relatively independent chap and I doubt he is the kind of guy who will become emo, and dependent on our moongoose lady. That is not going to happen!

Yeah Nodame! Show Son Rui who the boss wife is!

The second episode was a surprise to me because the Platini Competition, which was an arduous trial to Chiaki, was covered quickly and concluded within the span of the episode. And I noticed that the animation for the arms of the musicians was very ‘computerised’… is that the way one is supposed to describe it? Just before the end, Elise, Stresseman’s manager, is seen making a phone call and talking about ‘Operation Prometheus’. If you had seen the Live Drama’s Special Edition, you would know what her words meant; If you do not, it is just a plan to kidnap Chiaki and force him to go on a tour with our favourite ero conductor. OH SHI-

Anyway, Nodame tried her best to make this episode as enjoyable as possible with her antics but her efforts had less effect than the first episode. I wish the Platini trial could have been covered in two episodes at least. There was simply no satisfaction is seeing that part of the story cleared so quickly. Rushed episode was rushed. Mukya~!

Chiaki is a lucky man.

Paris will never be the same.

A while ago, I stated that I am not interested in doing episodic blogging but Nodame Cantabile Paris-hen is one anime that I wish to share my opinion and joys of it with everyone. Having seen the first season, I became an instant fan of the show because of its easily likable characters and casual story that was ODDLY CAPTIVATING and that served to inject more charm in the characters themselves.

If you have seen the live drama special then this episode would not be much of a surprise to you;as a result, you would be simply watching this first episode of the paris arc casually since it is more like a repeat of what you have seen in the live drama special.

The first episode was a very plain one and Nodame, the engine of spunk and humor (i am troubled between using USA english and UK english), was trying her best to keep this episode as interesting as possible with her antics. But still, Noda fans will have no qualms about this episode because WE ARE FANS!

Wow

Also, we learn one lesson and that is that anime is the gateway to learning new languages! Because of Nodame’s admirable/spooky efforts in learning French through a dubbed version of Purigorota, we have no join but to assent to the claim that anime is indeed the gateway to learning new languages.

It is a good thing to study in an English speaking country. Mukyaa~

The Sojourner: I LOLed at Nodame’s “Someone please call the police! I am being raped!”

Krauser II: DID YOU JUST SAY ‘RAPE”?

The Sojourner: I will continue to blog about this because I am such a Noda fan.

For this eyecatch post, we are going to talk about how the summer season has been to us as we welcome the new season of anime shows plus some random thoughts.

The P-Meister

Gundam 00 is a must watch as i just finished my Throne Eins model and lost its gun while painting its legs. Stupid me. Now I will need to find a new model, obviously from the second season.

Clannad is something i might skip and take Akane Iro ni Somaru Saka. A show where sausages will gather in the tavern when i blog about it. If it is bad, I’ll always go to Clannad.

The DMC movie is a must watch too.

The only anime from prev seasons which i’ll be following will be Soul Eater. Hopefully after To Love Ru and Macross Frontier end, I might be able to find the time to pick another. I can’t wait to find out who Rito and Alto would end up with. The drama… *sigh*

Anyway, even if i were to pick up something, i was thinking of shifting to manga or divert a little into figurine collection/crafting and even RPGs. Other interesting activities are re-watching Slam Dunk again whilst figuring how to pass my second year exams. Dang! I’m spending most of my time studying at the moment.

misakichii

I can expect fall to be a great season for anime. Its the season for sequels! Gundam00, ef – a tale of melodies(EPIC WIN), shugo chara! 2, Clannad after story, Rosario Vampire and penguin musume heart. Not to forget the OVAs, Lucky Star and Seto no Hanayome.

There are the usual eroge to anime series (akane iro, chaos head), but whats special is the animefication of the popular “tales of” RPG series, Tales of Abyss. I had no idea it would be on TV when I started playing it 3 weeks ago. And boy, I’m at 40 hours of gameplay but I dont think I’m halfway through the game yet. Story is average, but the seiyuus that are made of pure win makes up for it. Yukana, Momoi, Takehito Koyasu and George Nakata. I started to have a liking for Yukana since i watched Oinari-sama.

Other new series include Tetsudo musume (I wonder what can they make up a plot with trains), Kemeko Deluxe and Toradora.

It was a pretty slow start for me for summer. Sekirei, Hidamari Sketch, ZnT and Nogizaka. They were ok, but they did not satisfy me much, especially Nogizaka, it was bad. But then came Strike Witches, which I started it while it was halfway through. It was the only anime moe enough for me.

And for my pick for weekly review? ef – a tale of melodies.

The Sojourner

I have to say that the shows that I have been following are mainly from the spring season with only Strike Witches and Nogizaka being the shows from the summer season that I am watching. It might be the case that I am just very picky but after seeing the AWESOMENESS of Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann and Nanoha A’s, the shows of recent have been unable to excite me much. But Macross Frontier has been able to entertain me pretty well. It is epic but not EPIC and Ranka’s Ai Oboteimasuka was hauntingly beautiful but so inappropriate when it was sung. I have confidence that Kawamori and his team is able to pull off a decent ending for Frontier so I believe I am in for a treat when the conclusion arrives.

Moving on, I am fascinated by the ever changing online community as more blogs are born and new approaches in blogging are being discovered. I can guess that when anime blogging was new back then, the community was small and that made things very personal. But with more fans discovering the convenience of expressing their passion of the visual culture through the Internet, blogs and all sorts of sites have sprouted at a exponential rate (lol I am exaggerating)! Maybe it is right to say that the community is no longer the same but it appears to me that the anime loving community is simply branching into different ‘circles’ and it is the birth of such ‘circles’ that is creating new milieus for different means to express one’s unique love for Japanese culture. And it is the illusion of being overwhelmed by the evolution of the community that prompts an old-timer to think times have changed. The old path is still there, but there are new paths that have been paved that lie parallel to the old path.

And now I look towards the new season of anime. I am not really crazy about Clannad but having seen the first season of it, there is an obligation to follow the AFTER STORY arc. Apart from Clannad AFTER STORY, the second season of Gundam 00 is another show that I have to watch because I have seen the first season. So while Clannad and Gundam 00 are in my to-watch list because of self-imposed obligations, I express real interest in watching Nodame Cantabile 2. But wait! It is like a sequel as well!

You know what? I might just start episodic blogging for Nodame Cantabile.

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ID SOJOURNER

You want my opinion as well? Well I have one for Code Geass! The show is like the Wall Street financial crisis! Things are so messed up, and I do not know who to blame, but now the studio as a whole [like the government] is trying to sort things out to make a decent ending [through the purchase of those lousy bonds].

SO WHAT AM I GONNA WATCH FOR THE NEXT SEASON?

LEMME GIVE YOU A HINT!

REMEMBER THIS?

Awesome news came to me while I was doing pushups. The information from Nagato, comes from Shin acquiring it from Setsukyie, states that there is going be a new season for Nodame Cantabile. I am such a failure for relying on others but I am definately good at spreading the love. YOU GUYS ROCK.

The official website says that… uh… the new series will be broadcasted around October I think. Am I a happy fan? Yes I am.