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(Romantikku ga Tomaranai)
"Don't Stop the Romance"
Meganekko and bishoujo henshin. I never knew the two of them were related. Normally you'd expect the magical transformation to happen after the glasses come off, but it's the exact opposite with Kanako.
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I gather Stereopony doesn't need much introduction after their "Namida no Mukou" song earlier this year, but I'll redirect you to my introductory blurp here if you do. I know I tend to say this a lot with songs, but I found "Tsukiakari no Michishirube" (Moonlight Guidepost) catchy right when I heard it. Here though, at least I can say it's because of the tune in the chorus. With the release of the single still several days away (09-11-04), it's nice to finally get to hear the full version of the song. However, since it's a direct extension of the TV size version, it can start to sound a bit repetitive if you listen to it too much (which I found out firsthand while writing this). As for the PV itself, it's fairly simple with Aimi (guitar, lead vocals), Nohana (bass), and Shiho (drums) performing on a barren wasteland while weathering a rainstorm, but Aimi's new hairstyle looks really good. That's probably the farthest thing from an analysis of their music, but what can you do -- I'm talking about a PV here, so enjoy the eye candy!
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(Ikidomari no Machi)
"Dead-End Town"
Things spurred on with a new character's personal aspirations to go to Yuusari, but the fight over Lag's crossing permit was enough to warrant a multi-episode continuation. Better yet, Niche was cute as hell this week. Cue Ryuuguu Rena's "Hau! Omochikaerii~!"
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(Aguni Shuwattasu)
"Agni Schiwatas"
If you don't like my one-off posts because you tend to follow a series via weekly coverage, feel free to ignore this one. For those watching though, this week of NEEDLESS was full of all kinds of awesome and if I watch something awesome, you can bet I'm going to talk about it! This series also features Aruka Schild, the girl who willing goes nopan. Need I say more?
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Aside from her role as Solva in NEEDLESS, I admittedly don't know much about Imai Asami. Based on her previous work, she's been a fairly low profile seiyuu in the anime industry for the past eight or so years. Her more notable roles have been in video games, with Kisaragi Chihaya in THE IDOLM@STER standing out in that department. Despite her relatively uneventful career, I wouldn't mind seeing more of Asami in anime, since her psychotic portrayal of Solva is absolute money. (Oh I can just hear the "Magnetic World" screams now!) Because of her role there, it's hard to believe she can sound as sweet as she does here for the Nyan Koi ending theme, but she has displayed some incredible range voicing Solva.
In undoubtedly Nyan Koi style, the PV features a cat to increase the cuteness factor. As for the song itself, "Strawberry ~Sweet and Painful Tears~", I didn't think much of it when I first heard it, but it's surprisingly catchy the more you listen to it. As such, I'd recommend giving it a few more listens if you've been watching Nyan Koi but haven't really bothered taking notice to this song. It may just grow on you like it has for me.
For those interested, this PV was released along with the single about a week and a half ago (09-10-21).
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episode III-VII - swindles
Okay, totally random out of the blue post here, meant entirely for those watching this series. After watching this episode, I felt compelled to talk about a promising turn of events.
