Cardcaptor Sakura 【HD Rewatch】16

There’s really not much to say about this episode because there’s no real conflict concerning the Clow Cards. As a matter of fact, it’s pretty relaxing, with Sakura and her family going to the countryside for a vacation. She meets and befriends a kindly old man living alone there, who in actuality, is her great grandfather.

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Wahfuu Revisit! Fate/Stay Night

It was the best thing I had. Sue me.

You know, some people say that I’m overly optimistic about VNs that I take on, and I think that’s true. See, I always do try to find the good even in the worst of things when it comes to VNs, but sometimes I throw it under the bus really quickly if the beginning/middle/one route isn’t really that good. Yet, I’ll almost always give it a try. I don’t try to be some sort of higher intellectual that knows the intricacies behind what makes writing beautiful or what makes everything flow so well. No, I’m just a guy. A Canadian guy. And a guy who has read a damn lot of visual novels.

See, now you are probably wondering where I’m going with this! Well, when I was a wee lad, I was just getting past a lot of entry level VN stuff. Moege, random this and that shenanigans, what have you. Fate/Stay Night was one of the first super-power VNs I ever got into. And I wasn’t expecting much. Foolish, I was. Stupid. Ignorant of all the real VNs out there. I picked up Fate/Stay Night expecting nothing really at all, but holy shit. Damn. Seriously, damn.I hate using the word epic that much, but that might be the only thing that describes the visual novel. Which might be why I always give something the benefit of the doubt, because giving Fate/Stay Night the chance blew my damn mind. And it was great.

So, discovering that Fate/Stay Night had an updated patch that I was totally negligent about when I first read it, I decided to re-read the tale and share the review with you all! Fun stuff.

I can sing Fate/Stay’s pros forever, I think. Yet even things I love have imperfections. Like the fact that what makes it awesome makes all the hypothetical what-ifs and jabbering seem terribly off-putting, so sometimes you can full into a lull when all you want is to keep getting to the next twist or hardcore part. The VN gets called overrated a lot. I don’t really see it, but I can see why it wouldn’t be amazing to everybody. Especially if you’re an artfag – the game’s a bit old.

Either way, F/SN will always be one of my favorites. Not out of nostalgia, either, out of simply just sheer “holy shit” factor. It’s pretty damn good. I mean, really good. Now, you might ask what I think of the anime. I think the anime isss….. bleghk. Bad in comparison. Does a pretty good stand-alone job, but not for me and I wouldn’t recommend it to anyone if they ever planned on reading the original. Fate/Zero I’m also a bit iffy on. Shoving grimdark into my face over and over doesn’t make me like it anymore, but, either way, I can understand the attraction.

So, I’ve rambled on enough. Time for the Wahfuu Review of one of my favorites, F/SN!

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The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya Part II

Continuing the planned series of Haruhi-rewatch blog posts that started with the first episode, during the beginning of 2008  (yes, I’m *that* bad). Considering it was 2008 back when I wrote that, these subsequent posts won’t be from the same viewing – by this time (the end of 2012), I’ve already re-watched the series AGAIN over thirty times (might be exaggerating, but it is one of my favorite anime and light novel series of all time). And, of course, I promised to resume this along with my Cardcaptor Sakura posts in my summer anime blogging list. This may also be the first in my series of “finishing things that were never finished being blogged as an apology for the fact that Mikoto is a lazy dirtbag that lets life get in the way too much” posts that revisits crap I never gotten around to finish blogging.

Same as the first post, screenshots are taken from my The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya complete first season set and I’m planning on doing these posts in chronological order. Oh, and guess what? I’ve brought Kyon back.

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Cardcaptor Sakura 【HD Rewatch】15

“Hey beautiful, whatcha’ doin’?”

Sakura and Kero get into a fight, leading to Kero wandering off on his own little adventure, under somewhat involuntary circumstances (a.k.a. getting crazy drunk off of alcoholic chocolates).

Remind you of any particular recent anime series?

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Cardcaptor Sakura 【HD Rewatch】14 – Crossdressing Episode #1

Tall women get me going. *growl*

These crossdressing-play episodes are full of hilarity. There’s a “Princess Syaoran and Prince Sakura” chapter in the manga, which is adapted into a later episode in the second season, but I love it how Madhouse basically one-upped the manga by giving Touya a crossdressing episode as well.

Oh yeah, aside from hilarity, those strange fangirls probably found some sick pleasure in seeing Touya in drag.

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Perfect Blue – Review

If anyone were to name a significant lost for the anime industry, Satoshi Kon would be one of them. I still hold onto the idea that his Paranoia Agent remains one of the best anime that has aired on television. He was just one of those directors that constantly proved again and again that anime isn’t just for children through his own works that showcased a blend of psychology and societal problems – they should easily be considered some of the best Japanese films in general, not just animated. Right up there with the likes of screenplay writer Chiaki J. Konaka and director Hideaki Anno in terms of quality work in anime.

To honor this man, let’s look into one of his first and best works – Perfect Blue. A psychological thriller flick that delves into sense of identity, losing your grip on reality, as well as the stressful and paranoia-fueled “dark side” of celebrity life.

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Cardcaptor Sakura 【HD Rewatch】 13

FML

An episode about visiting the zoo couldn’t be any stranger when it’s an episode of CCS. Giant penguin slides being turned upside down, playing tug of war with elephants, etc. Probably the weirdest (written) supernatural occurrence in Tomoeda, right next to the raining flowers!

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Cardcaptor Sakura 【HD Rewatch】 12

“I’m NOT cleaning the toilet again!”

I love time loop episodes, with the exception of the anime version of The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya‘s Endless Eight in which they decided to troll us with eight episodes of the same crap. Unlike Endless Eight, though, CLAMP’s lovable magical girl and her future boyfriend are immune to the memory-resetting effects of the time loop and therefore adverted certain doom. =P

Interestingly, I’ve always noticed in this episode that not only did it contain signs of Nanase Ohkawa promoting Syaoran’s role as compeition in the anime, but also alludes to other aspects in regards to a certain other CLAMP series (hint: it also contains Syaoran).

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Cardcaptor Sakura 【HD Rewatch】 11

“I had thought that an angel fell from the sky.”

Translation: Hubba-hubba! Heaven must be missing an angel.

Fujitaka’s approach to pickup lines in a nutshell. So yeah, another episode dedicated to showing us how special Sakura and her mother are to Tomoyo and her mom.

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Cardcaptor Sakura 【HD Rewatch】 10

I love the festival episodes in this anime, but this pales in comparison to the others. I mean, the others involved crossdressing plays, maid/butler cafés, Suppie going drunk off of sweets, and one ended with a heartwarming Syaoran/Sakura scene. This one? War of the parents with raining flowers.

Still great, though. Insight on Sakura’s family tree is always welcome. And seeing Sakura fail with her baton will never get old. xD

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Cardcaptor Sakura 【HD Rewatch】 09

Is everyone from Hong Kong a giant tsuntsun?

Sakura starts her day by attempting to flatter Syaoran, telling him that she thinks his Chinese battle costume was cool and that she saw it in a dream.

Usually when an anime protagonist tells someone of the opposite sex that they “saw him/her in a dream,” they’d take it the wrong way (a la Digimon Tamers, as in a totally bad pickup line). Luckily for Sakura, she’s from a  CLAMP series, so premonition dreams can easily be explained to a character that’s savvy with magical powers and whatnot without embarrassing misunderstandings. =P

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Cardcaptor Sakura 【HD Rewatch】 08

RAITEI SHOURAI!

Finally! Episode 8 is when the series really starts to spice things up with the introduction of our token male tsundere,  Syaoran Li.

李 小狼, Li Xiaolang. Known as “little puppy” to his fangirls (and Sakura in my head canon), and a pretty cool dude to the male fans.  He starts off providing the role of a rival to Sakura, even more so in the anime where he becomes actual competition for the Clow Cards, and eventually becomes one of Sakura’s most dependable friends (and even more than that).

Continue reading MIKOTO FANTASIZING ABOUT HIS TOYSHIP BEFORE SEASON 2…

Cardcaptor Sakura 【HD Rewatch】 07

Sakura: The Next Leonardo De Vinci

On this episode of Cardcaptor Sakura, MADHOUSE demonstrates the true meaning of “work of art.”

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Cardcaptor Sakura 【HD Rewatch】 06

GAAAAAOOOOOOOOOO

Haha, if ONLY this was Kero’s true form! :p

By far, one of the sweetest episodes out of the earlier ones. Pretty much any episode that has anything to do with Sakura’s deceased mom watching after her daughter in spirit is guaranteed to be a heartwarming one.

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Cardcaptor Sakura 【HD Rewatch】 05

What Chiharu would do to Yamazaki if he didn’t lie all the time. ;P

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Cardcaptor Sakura 【HD Rewatch】 04

Rain, rain, go away, come again everyday ♫

No, seriously. Some of the Clow Cards look way too adorable to be the sources of abnormal catastrophes. xD;;

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Cardcaptor Sakura 【HD Rewatch】 03

Sakura’s “first date”

And she sure is happy about it! ;P

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The best way to spend your birthday… giant nostalgia cake!

Today, I become 19. I am no longer barely legal, just… legal. How boring. ):

Well, what better way to spend your birthday than to watch a bunch of Cardcaptor Sakura episodes with you little sister. She seems to be just as in love with the show as I was when I was in grade school. That’s great, knowing that I’m supplying her with wholesome amounts of awesome. >:D

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Cardcaptor Sakura 【HD Rewatch】 02

“Poses and trademark spells are the basics of being a magical girl!”

Tomoyo definitely is a wonderful friend. And extremely genre savvy to boot.

It’s not a stretch to say that Tomoyo is the greatest best friend character in any shoujo. No one can top her awesomeness, except for Sakura herself.

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Cardcaptor Sakura 【HD Rewatch】 01

It doesn’t matter if it’s the first, second, or tenth time. Watching the first episode of Cardcaptor Sakura and starting the series up again will always be a magical experience! JOIN ME IN RELIVING MY CHILDHOOD.

If there’s one memorable scene from the first episode that reappears throughout the first season, it’s that shot of Sakura’s precognitive dream sequence where she’s standing in front of the Tokyo Tower. Definitely an animation highlight of late 90s shoujo, or anime in general.

Continue reading Cardcaptor Sakura 【HD Rewatch】 01…