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(Shite Ageru......)
"I'll Do It For You......"
Yuuto continues to establish himself as a male protagonist who's different from your typical harem leads. Instead of finding ways to sneak into Mika's all-girl's middle school, he's more concerned about looking like a criminal and getting arrested.
The Wall Street Journal posted an interesting article along with the video above about the current state of the anime industry. I'm sure everyone's heard of the decline in sales for the past few years, but they also discuss the low wages of animators and competition from China and South Korea. There was a big online discussion a few of years ago about the unglamorous life of animators and seiyuus (which Riuva did a nice job summing up), so the ridiculously low paying wages and long working hours were really no surprise to me. Regardless, it's still a worthwhile read, especially if you aren't aware of how poorly things are going on the other side of your weekly anime fixes. The video also gives you a good idea of what Akihabara and the inside of a studio are like.
Note: If the video doesn't start for you, try pausing it and pressing play again.
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(Konpyuutaa Obaachan)
"Computer Grandmother"
We have air conditioning problems at Hakobune and the unbearable heat brings about an unexpected problem -- Arashi is known to lose it and wreck havoc once she reaches her limit. This is what a history of strict family customs and pent up rage leads to. She's like a volcano on the verge of erupting!
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(Chito (Matsuri) wa Da ga Tame ni)
"For Whom is the Bloodbath (Festival)"
Wow, what an episode. What starts off as an innocent festival quickly turns into a cork gun survival game with 10 million yen (~$100k USD) on the line. For that, we have to thank Mikako and the undertaker-like target practice store owner she hired. However, things take a turn for the better when Nymph releases the protection on Ikaros' memories and unintentionally restores her abilities as well.
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(Shirubetto Sueedo ni Au)
"Meeting Sylvette Suede"
Nooo, not Gauche! When you take into consideration that Lag's looked up to him for the past five years, and that Gauche is his motivation in life to this very day, his tears are completely understandable this time. I felt pretty sorry for Lag, but even more so for Sylvette, who's lost all hope for her missing brother.
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The single for Asura Cryin' 2's opening theme "Alternative" was released two days ago. Along with the limited edition version came the PV for the song you see above. While Asura Cryin' isn't a series being covered here, I have been following it since the first season's debut back in spring. It's never a series I get terribly excited about, but the story has taken an interesting turn with all the first world / second world stuff going on now. Originally, I was a bit overwhelmed with the number of characters and student councils introduced early on, and a bit underwhelmed with no clear indication of where the story was going, but the insanely diverse cast that stars the likes of Irino Miyu (Saji Crossroad in Gundam 00, Zwei in Phantom), Tomatsu Haruka, Tanaka Rie, and Nonaka Ai kept me watching. I'll refrain from potentially spoiling anything from here on, but thought I'd share one of the many songs the Japanese pop band angela performs for the series.
Comprised primarily of atsuko and KATSU (angela is the group name and not the vocalist's), the group was formed in 1993 and started as street performers before debuting in 1999. However, it wasn't until 2002 that they had a breakthrough via anime, which allowed their musical careers to really get going. In my case, I didn't know of the group's existence until last year when I heard their songs in Shikabane Hime, but was quickly hooked on their upbeat OP/ED songs "Beautiful fighter" and "My story" there. As such, when I learned that they were performing the songs for Asura Cryin', checking out the series was a given. That said, I still don't like "Alternative" as much as the aforementioned songs, nor season one's opening "Spiral", but it does sound pretty good when the pace picks up.
As for the PV itself, KATSU's visual-kei-like style and flamboyant behaviour are still kind of creepy to me, but they actually make him look younger than atsuko. I'm not a big fan of the blond wig atsuko's wearing, but there are parts where she doesn't have it on. In any case, I'm pretty indifferent to their appearance and more into their music, which is kind of special since they write, compose, and perform it themselves, being former music school students and all. Included below is the opening sequence for the series, which those of you who aren't watching it may want to check out.
