Favorite OPs of 2015

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!!!

I’m alive!! The past few months have been crazy with lots of traveling, family visiting, and the holidays, so I haven’t been able to update much. I haven’t felt like blogging…so I didn’t. I promised myself this blog would never feel like work, and if I didn’t feel like blogging, I wouldn’t force myself to do it. Plus, I haven’t played much otome. I finished Ikki and Kent’s routes on Amnesia, and I played a few small Voltage stories, but that’s it. I finally got a PS Vita, so I can eventually get Code:Realize and Norn9, but I haven’t bought the games yet. I go through spurts, when for a few months I’ll play a lot of otome, then I’ll read a lot of books, then for a few months I’ll watch a lot of anime…but I’m starting to want to play otome again. However, 2015 is over….so, Happy New Year!! I’m going to do something a little different this blog and do a sort of re-cap of 2015, by going over my favorite anime openings.

I am a big fan of openings and endings for shows, and I’ve wanted to do a post like this for a long time. I rarely skip OPs and EDs unless I am pressed for time. OPs especially get me really excited for the show I’m about to watch. So here is my list of top 10 OPs from 2015. I judged these on visuals, music, how everything works together, and basically just how much I liked it. Sometimes a certain piece of the OP will just grab me, and it really sticks with me. I also only judged from shows that I watched, so I didn’t evaluate every 2015 OP. Here we go!

10. Kamisama Kiss season 2

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PLjav84SCew

Why I love it: The chibi characters are cute, and the boys dancing. Plus, I really like this song. It’s catchy but relaxing. In reality, there may have been other OPs that were better, but I personally just really like this one.

9. Aldnoah.Zero season 2

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tUvqH-urkco

Why I love it: The first half of this OP kills me. Poor Inaho and Slaine. You can feel how much they both love and miss Asseylum. Any images with them and her is just beautiful. Plus the song is pretty. It’s by composer Hiroyuki Sawano, who I love…a lot of his stuff will be on these lists.

8. Aoharu x Machinegun

https://vimeo.com/139791269

Why I love it: The OP is sung by the three leads, which is pretty cool. I really like all the images of them together; they are such a cute group. But I’ll be honest, I really just like looking at Matsuoka and Yuki.

7. Ranpo Kitan

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AqGwtakk3CM

This is a terrible video, but I couldn’t find anything better. 😦

Why I love it: The visuals! I love the different characters in their masks, and the image of Akechi facing off against Twenty Faces, surrounded by blue fragments, is amazing. I also love Kobayashi in the empty room with desks, then with the masked people, and finally with Hashiba as the desks become organized. It’s just really cool, and so is the song. It’s different from what you’d normally hear, so it goes along well with the weird images for this strange show.

6. Fate/Stay Night: Unlimited Blade Works season 2

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R7L1QOjv1d0

Why I love it: This is a really beautifully animated show, and so the OP is beautiful also. The fights between the Servants are epic, and this is a great song by Aimer. I love her vocals.

5. Arlsan Senki season 1

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PSGYL-ZD0_Q

Why I love it: The song. The visuals are good, and the fight scenes are pretty bad ass, but I just love this song. UVERworld is one of my favorite bands, and I could listen to this on repeat.

4. Noragami Aragoto

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3oFTHxkOzjE

Why I love it: This is just a great OP. The color scheme and concept are very similar to the first season’s OP, which ties both together. I’ve never seen a show do that before…so that was pretty cool. I liked season one’s song better, but this one really grew on me. And I just really love that image of Kazuma and Bishamon.

3. GANGSTA.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=COBpRXm_CUQ

Why I love it: Again, the song! Stereo Dive Foundation is another favorite band, and I DO listen to this song on repeat. So catchy. Plus, the visuals are different and interesting. I could watch Nico run around with his sword all day.

2. Charlotte

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gB5qUxR6ch4

Why I love it: It was hard to choose between this and Gangsta for what would be #2 and 3…but in the end, this was higher because it’s so beautiful! The song is amazing, and makes me feel all kinds of emotions. And that scene of Yuu and Nao reaching for each other as they fall through the sky gets me every time. Definitely one of my all time favorite OPs.

1. Seraph of the End season 1

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aNgT6MxOURQ

Why I love it: There was no question in my mind this would be number one. This OP is pretty much perfection. The song combined with the visuals is so well put together. I was hooked after the first time I saw it. Another Hiroyuki Sawano song, this has become one of my favorites. I have listened to it A LOT ever since I heard it. Definitely the best OP of 2015.

And that is all for now! Agree or disagree with me? Please feel free to let me know! I’ll be back in the future with Ikki and Kent’s reviews, and probably whatever else I feel like writing about. ^.^

 

Amnesia: Memories – Shin

Intro: So, everything in my life has been on hold since this game came out!!! Ahhh! I’ve been so excited, patiently waiting for months for this game to come out! And finally here it is!! 😀

I watched the Amnesia anime when it came out in 2013. At the time, I had a vague idea that it was based on a game, and what the game involved…but I didn’t quite understand what an otome game was lol. I remember liking the characters, and thought the show was very pretty…but the jumping around between different parallel worlds confused me, and I wasn’t a fan of the ending. So I am VERY happy this game was translated so I can experience these characters and the story the way it was meant to be experienced.

I don’t have a PS Vita yet, so I ended up getting the game on Steam. I also got the special edition set. It’s very beautiful and quite a nice set…but to be honest, I don’t have much use for the items. I’m afraid to use the coasters because I think they will get ruined, and I don’t think my husband will like it if I use the pillow case with all the pretty boys on it lol. I will probably listen to the soundtrack some, but really I bought this because I wanted the art book. The sketches and info on the characters are nice, but I wish it would have included just more images of the art work.

Speaking of the art work, this game is BEAUTIFUL! I’m glad I’m playing this on my laptop screen and not a tiny Vita screen. The backgrounds are kind of strange, but the characters are so colorful, they really stand out that way. And I apologize for the terrible quality of pictures I took in this game! Since it’s on my laptop, I just snapped a picture with my cell phone since that was the easiest/quickest way for me to get the image at the time. In hindsight, that wasn’t the best way, but ah well. Now…on to Shin!

My Thoughts: Shin was my favorite guy from the anime, and I think he’s the most attractive, so I knew I would play him first. In reality, I think I wouldn’t get along with a guy like him…but this is otome!

You can tell right from the beginning that Shin is very perceptive and in tune to Heroine. They are obviously childhood friends that have become closer over time. By the third day I was already feeling bad for him. He was obviously very close with Heroine before, but now that she has amnesia, he’s trying to help her out and be respectful of her boundaries. But you can tell he really misses her. 😦

As the story goes on, Shin shows he is a very impressive guy. I like how hard he tries, and how much he studies to try to turn his life around. Due to a bad accident with his dad, his family is judged very harshly and they have a difficult time. Besides Heroine and Toma, Shin has built a wall around himself to protect himself from others, but he is still working hard to become a better person. Even though Shin is younger then Heroine, he acts so mature! I guess that is due to his hard life. He probably needed to be there for his mom.

Look at that adorable face!!

Shin’s happy end was soooo happy! I almost cried. They are really cute together. When Orion is gone, Heroine starts talking more, and you can see that she is really a good match for Shin. While she has a sweet disposition that lets most of his harshness roll off her, she has a bit of a backbone to fight back and give him a hard time. The five minutes with her having a personality was really great! I love Orion, and I realize she has amnesia so she will be a bit of a blank slate…but I wish we had more of the talkative Heroine! The bad ends were obviously…bad. The normal end was still cute, and you get to keep Orion longer.

Overall: I love Shin! I love that he and Heroine understand each other so well. His toughness on her pushes her to improve, and she is able to goad him into being sweet and kind as well. I really hope we get a fan disc, and that Heroine keeps her personality for it. I used this walkthrough here: https://welcometowonderland.wordpress.com/2015/08/26/amnesia-memories-shin-walkthrough/
It was immensely helpful. Very well done. In the end, I’m really glad I watched the Amnesia anime before playing this game. It gave me kind of an idea of what the overall story is, and what the guy’s routes are about…even if I don’t remember specifics. I don’t remember everything that happened, so it feels familiar and new all at once. Mostly, I am wary of Ikki’s crazy fan girls and Toma, and feel bad for poor Ukyo lol.

I really like that there is a Good, Normal, and Bad Ends for this game. For my first run through, I like to get the Good Ending, because I want happiness after all that time and effort! I play the Bad Ends after, and it’s always sad to leave the guy on a Bad Ending. So! For this game I have done the Normal Endings after the Bad ones, so I can leave the guy in a sort of happy, hopeful way. I really like Shin’s Normal Ending…they technically aren’t a couple at the moment, but they know they feel something for each other, and Heroine tells Shin to “Come and get me.” Love it!

Well, Ikki will be next. Toma and Ukyo are crazies, but I think Ikki was my least favorite guy…Hard to judge from just the anime though. We’ll see how it goes!

Scandal in the Spotlight – Ryo Chibana (Main, Epilogue, Sequel, Sequel Epilogue)

Intro: I’ve taken a break from Shall We Date: Demon’s Bond, because I noticed that Ryo was finally released in Scandal in the Spotlight!! I’ve wanted to play him since the prologue, and it took a long time to get here. But before I get to him, I just want to mention that I might be slow with blogging for awhile. My schedule changed at work and it’s kind of stressing me out and giving me less time. I have quite a few posts I’d like to write, so hopefully I’ll get around to it. I’ve also been nominated for two more awards by Krystallina and LitaKino (Thank you thank you!!!), which I will be posting about too. 🙂

Now, on to Ryo! (Some spoilers ahead)

Overall: I’m going to start off by saying that I had a huge smile on my face almost the entire time I was playing this game. Obviously I wasn’t grinning when we got to the drama later in the story, but I was just so happy to finally see Ryo and learn about him! Plus, he was so sweet and helpful, I couldn’t stop smiling! Since they are both writers, MC and Ryo get along well from the beginning. MC admires Ryo, and starts falling for him almost immediately.

And I don’t blame her. He was so sweet and cute, I couldn’t believe it! Quite a few times through the story I was thinking, “Is he secretly evil?” “Does he have ulterior motives?” “HOW IS HE THIS NICE?!?!” I guess Ryo has been so shrouded in mystery since the beginning of this game, I had a hard time trusting him lol. But he’s not secretly evil, just ridiculously stubborn and in denial. I wanted to give him a good shake.

While Ryo thought he was finding a new, better lyricist for Revance, what he really found was a muse for himself.

MC helps him find the inspiration he is lacking. It is a little similar to Taka’s story, but I feel MC influences Ryo and helps him through the problems a lot more then with Taka.Speaking of Taka, he was scary as hell yelling at MC! I couldn’t believe how mean he was. It was a bit of a shock after playing his route lol.
(Noooo Taka I love you! Don’t hate me!)

In the sequel, Ryo becomes a full-fledged member of the band and starts performing with them. I’m not sure how I feel about that. I don’t find it that plausible that they could suddenly train him into a good enough singer and dancer, especially with how high their standards are. I also kind of liked that he was a little more normal. But, it’s nice to see him with all his friends again, and working so hard to make up for everything in the past.

Overall: In the end, it’s really amazing to see Ryo with all the guys! Especially up on stage. After playing all the routes, it felt really satisfying to see all the boys with Ryo again. They missed each other so much! While I’m happy for MC, I was mostly just happy for all the Revance boys to be together, after seeing what they all go through in their own stories without Ryo.

And oh goodness, the little side story with Kyohei, Taka, and Ryo as kids was ADORABLE! They get yelled at by their moms! Hahaha! Look at these cuties in high school uniforms!!!

So now I have played all the guys from Scandal in the Spotlight. I kind of miss them already. I will definitely be playing any sequels they add, but I’m probably going to move on to a new Voltage app for a bit. Because of reviews from Jessichi Notebook, I really want to play Star Crossed Myth!!! Stay tuned!!

Shall We Date: Demon’s Bond – Kazutake

Intro: Finally!! Kazutake!!!

He was the guy that immediately grabbed me from the prologue, but Chitose and Kazuya seem to be the “main” guys, so I wanted to play them first. I don’t know why but this guys really does it for me…I feel like a silly teenager with my heart pounding when I look at him! He’s just SO sexy and manly and cute all at once! Seriously, look at this sexy face!!

My Thoughts: So poor Kazutake is going through a hard time. He has agreed to guard the human Mitsunari so that his clan can regain their ancestral land to build a permanent village. Right now they are “wayfarers” which means they have no permanent home, and just have to wander around trying to survive. So he’s gone against the Alliance’s commandments of not getting involved with humans, because he wants to regain his clan’s homeland with his own two hands. Kazutake is kind to everyone, but he seems to like Yukina since she is a fresh perspective on things (being younger).

As for Yukina, unlike the other two routes, she is always very aware of Kazutake, right from the beginning. Every time he touches just her shoulder or head, she notices it and becomes somewhat flustered (I would too!).

Because of Yukina’s awareness of Kazutake, the route felt somewhat more romantic then just them being comrades. Everyone kept implying they were a couple, and especially towards the later half they seemed to realize each other’s feelings without ever actually saying anything. So the progression of how they fell in love is very believable and sweet, but the route also feels somewhat less romantic because they never out and out say anything or kiss till the very end. With Chitose and Kazuya, the confession and kiss happened more like 2/3 through. Anyways, it feels more romantic for certain reasons, but less romantic for others…I’m sorry that’s confusing!

This route made me cry multiple times…let’s start with the big one: Elder Koto!

OMG! I knew it was coming, I did. But I wasn’t prepared! He’s the nicest, sweetest elder, and he loves Yukina so much. You even find out Gin-o was his paper animal sent to watch over Yukina…ugh! It hurts. I loved that she was able to use his power that he passed on to her though. Also, Mitsunari Ishida. I really thought he was a jackass at first, but he grew on me. He’s not evil, just proud…and he does care about the people around him. When he was worried about Yukina and Elder Koto after one of the battles I was like, ‘Awwwww you do care!”

I knew he wasn’t going to make it even from the start of his route, but since he grew on me so much, it was still hard. I also felt really bad for Shu, the main villain in this route. Poor thing. : (  I wish they would have found a way to make him happy.

Yukina seemed to be a much better fighter in this route, and got to do a lot more, AND turn into a true demon! So I was happy. Kazutake is such a badass, he really needs a good fighter to rely on and “watch his back” as they said. 🙂

Overall: I LOOOOVED Kazutake! Dear otome gods, please let Shall We Date bring over the fan disc, because I NEED more Kazutake in my life! He is the perfect mix of sexy, kind, badass, funny, and cute all rolled into one amazing package. That rarely happens!

I will say that while I loved the characters in Kazutake’s story, I think his has been the least romantic so far.   A good story, but not as romantic as I would have liked. Just another reason to get that fan disc!!!

Shall We Date: Demon’s Bond – Kazuya

Intro: Shortly after meeting Kazuya, this is one of Yukina’s first impressions of him, and it’s pretty accurate to his personality and their relationship. Kazuya rarely shows too much emotion, and has a very composed, grown-up manner about him. This pretty much sums him up lol.

My Thoughts: Kazuya gives off a quiet, sullen air, but he doesn’t seem like a bad person. That’s just his personality. He can actually be very sweet, but he closes himself off because he knows he will be judged for allying himself with humans. And I can’t really blame him because that’s what happens with Yukina. Once she meets Tokugawa Ieyasu and learns about his relationship with Kazuya though, she starts to feel differently about humans.

Kazuya no longer wants to hide in the mountains like the other demons, but find a way to prevent the coming war, or at least make it shorter. Ieyasu was the one that taught him this. I like that Kazuya doesn’t want to just sit on the side lines and wait things out…it makes him very brave.

Eventually Kazuya and Yukina warm up to each other as they spend time together. There is a part in Chapter 9 that is from Kazuya’s perspective and you can see that he is starting to care for her. It’s very sweet. And I hated when he had to fight with Kazutake!

Major dislike. But when Yukina jumped between them and almost got her head taken off, Kazuya’s shocked reaction was so cute. Although I felt bad for him because he was so scared that he could have killed her. After Elder Tsuki’s death, they have a really sweet moment connecting. The music and the CG were just beautiful to go along with the moment.

She finally makes him realize that she is there for him. They are a team, and he can’t keep going off alone. It takes a lot to break through Kazuya’s icy cold shell, but Yukina does it!

The last fight Yukina got to be pretty badass. She had a great quote…”If you’re going to fight for me, then let me fight for you!” Even though I felt she was finally more of an equal with Kazuya, they could have gone a little further. She didn’t get to take on the “true demon” form like in Chitose’s story. And she got that really cool technique from Elder Tsuki, but she only uses it once!

(I really love this “true demon” form they all have)

Overall: I really like Kazuya. He’s beautiful, and so cool with his two swords! I have a thing for guys that use two swords…I think his story is slightly more interesting then Chitose’s. It seems to have more weight to it since they are working with Tokugawa Ieyasu, but it’s also more annoying because that evil Masanobu Honda is in it. And the Flashback Ending made me cry. Oh that HURT.

Chitose and Kazuya are (quite literally) like fire and ice, so what kind of personality you like better will be the deciding factor I think in which story you like better. Overall, I like them both. Now on to my sexy Kazutake!!!

Shall We Date: Demon’s Bond – Chitose

Intro: I just finished Chitose’s route for Shall We Date: Demon’s Bond. This is a prequel of sorts to Hakuoki, since it is set in the same world, but takes place many years before. This time around it focuses more on the demon side of things though. I’m going to discuss this game and the app, then move on to Chitose.

My Thoughts: I’m going to start off with saying that this game is not as good as Hakuoki. I don’t think the story is quite as good…but other then that, I can’t say exactly why. Overall I think it is a good game, but not as great as Hakuoki. If you go in with high expectations, you’ll be disappointed.

Let’s start with the good things. First off, this game is BEAUTIFUL. Hakuoki had great art, but Demon’s Bond is a newer game, so I feel the overall character art, backgrounds, etc. is even better. I was Googling art for the game and I kept saving image after image, because they were so pretty! Also, the characters are good (and gosh are these boys hot). I’m not quite as attached to them as the Hakuoki guys, but I’ve only played one route. They do have a bit of a head start in my liking them though, simply because of the families they come from. Chitose is from the Kazama clan, and I love Kazama from Hakuoki, so I already had a soft spot for him! I think it’s interesting how they tie in all the families and show more of their culture that we didn’t see in the original game. I also really like the music. Every time the battle music came on, it pumped me up and I kind of danced around a little on my sofa LOL!

Most of the things I dislike have to do with the platform/app. I’ve never played a Shall We Date Game before, so I didn’t know what to expect. I REALLY wish I had this game on anything that would give me a bigger screen, because the art was so pretty. I was squinting to see the CGs. And there doesn’t seem to be a way to save a better version of the CG in your phone other then taking a screenshot. What a let down! Other then that it was just minor things I didn’t like, such as the skip feature not being fast enough, or trouble with the bookmarks…anyways, on to Chitose!

And O.M.G…what a cutie he is. But, other then their beautiful crimson eyes and their last name, Chitose has nothing in common with Kazama! LOL! I feel like Kazama would be very exasperated with his ancestor heh. While Kazama is very calm, cool, and composed…Chitose is pretty hot-headed. He’s quick to jump to conclusions, but seems to be a much kinder, friendlier person then Kazama. Overall I really liked him, and think he makes a good match for the stiff, straight-laced heroine Yukina. Speaking of Yukina…I liked her, but sometimes she got on my nerves. I liked that she was a fighter, although she didn’t seem to do much in this route. But she’s still in training, and female demons are weaker then males. I liked that she could go into battle and do SOMETHING, versus Chizuru who couldn’t fight. And Yukina was quite badass and useful right at the end at least.

I also liked that she wasn’t a super girly girl, but it was annoying when she kept saying “I’m a chieftain and the Princess’ protector before I’m a woman!” Or something like that. Thank goodness Toyohisa made her realize you can be ALL THOSE THINGS at the same time. I also was annoyed when she kept hesitating to take out the demons that were trying to attack them. Maybe I’m cold hearted, but they are trying to kill you woman! They are obviously evil. You gotta take them out!

I teared up a few times (mostly with Toyohisa, the grandpas, and the endings), so this game definitely has the feels like Hakuoki does. It’s not quite so heart rending, because not as many people die I think…at least in this route. I only played the Sweet Ending and the Flashback Ending, because I couldn’t find a walk through for the sad ending. I’m gonna try to get it on my own, but the Flashback Ending was sad enough…so I may not want MORE sadness. Here is the page with the good walkthroughs I used:

http://otomeios.blogspot.com/2015/06/shall-we-date-demons-bond-chitose-main.html

As for the other guys, I’m going to play Kazuya next, since I’m interested in what Chizuru’s ancestor was like. Shin I had an immediate dislike of (although I’ve heard he has the best route), and Kazutake! Oh come to me now! He is sexy and I can’t wait to get to him! Senkimaru definitely seems like he has a lot of secrets…so he will be last.

Overall: This game is good, but not amazing. The art and characters make it good enough for me to keep playing though. If you are a Hakuoki fan, I think you will like it. It’s heavy on the historical fantasy and drama, not so much on the romance though. I already wish we could get the fan disc for this game! Shall We Date seems to have brought over the fan disc for their Hiiro no Kakera game, so hopefully they will do the same here. I think the fan disc for Hakuoki was the best part! 😀

Real Neat Blog Award

I was nominated for the Real Neat Blog Award by Krystallina of Daiyamanga! I am SO grateful! It makes me so happy that anyone reads my ramblings at all lol. She has a really awesome blog that I love, with great manga reviews and info on deals!! Def check her out. 😉

The Rules:

1. Put the award logo in your blog.

2. Answer 7 questions asked by the person who nominated you.

3. Thank the people who nominated you, linking their blogs.

4. Nominate any number of bloggers you like, linking their blogs.

5. Let them know you nominated them (by commenting on their blog).

Here are her questions:

1. What recent news from the entertainment and/or pop culture world (TV, movies, video games, books, etc.) has got you excited?

The most recent thing I can think of is the news that there will be a Deadpool movie! I thought this project was dropped, so I was ecstatic when I found out it was happening, and with Ryan Reynolds!! I love the character, so I can’t wait!

2. If you opened your own personal theater, what would be the first movie you’d play on your new big screen?

Oh good one. Probably one of my favorites that I re-watch all the time, like a Disney movie or Ever After.

3. What is (or was) your favorite board game?

Life! I loved all the different options of how your life could turn out.

4. Cats or dogs?

I like both, but I prefer dogs.

5. If you could set up a teleporter from your house to anywhere in the world, where would you pick?

Probably somewhere very far away that requires a long plane ride, like Japan or Bora Bora.

6. Name a Disney song that fits your life.

Oh this was a hard one, since I’m a big Disney fan. I know it’s a re-make, but I’m going to go with “Life Is A Highway” from Cars. This song is very upbeat, and I tend to be optimistic. I think the happy feel fits me, and the song always puts a smile on my face when I hear it.

7. Pick a book or book series and briefly explain why it’s so good.

OOOOOOH even harder! I could make a whole blog post on this alone! I think I’m going to choose The Infernal Devices by Cassandra Clare. I LOVE this series! It is the only series I know of where there is a love triangle, but it ends well. Not just well, but perfectly. It’s just so beautiful also because all three people love each other so much. I cry happy tears every time at the end. I think this series and the characters are immensely better then Clare’s other series The Mortal Instruments. It is only 3 books, so everyone should read it!

Now here are my questions:

1. Do you have a favorite myth or fairy tale?

2. Is there anything you’ve seen from a sci-fi movie that you wished existed today?

3. What is your favorite genre of story?

4. What is your favorite place that you have traveled?

5. What is your favorite book or book series?

6. What got you into anime/manga?

7. Who is your favorite character (from any series)?

And I nominate:

Bearza-chan’s Anime Blog A great review site with some interesting articles!

Mochi Wonderland Another great review site with some otome walk throughs

Fearless Façade This site has interesting book reviews, and some anime also

Jessichi Notebook Oh my gosh these girls are FUNNY! Their reviews crack me up! XD

Summer Anime Season 2015

I’ve been on a long vacation, so this post is a little late, but I’ve been able to watch 2 episodes of the new shows instead of one, so that helps me get a better idea of what they are about.

I wasn’t excited about last season, but it ended up having quite a few good shows! Seraph of the End definitely ended up being my favorite, and I’m going to start reading the manga. Yu started off as a typical, arrogant, shounen hero, but I feel he got a lot better towards the end. He learned to work as a team member, and not always charge blindly into situations. And the reunion with Mika! Oh good heavens, that was intense. Considering this is a shounen show, I’m surprised at how “coupley” Mika and Yu seem. And Shinoa was amazing! I’d watch the show for her alone. I can’t remember a girl character like her in quite some time. Her amazingness deserves it’s own blog post. I can’t wait for fall for more of this show!

While Seraph ended up being my personal favorite show, I can’t say it was the best show. That I believe would be Blood Blockade Battlefront (and it seems most people agree with me). BUT! The last episode has been delayed!! So I’m reserving final judgment until I see the ending. I also really loved Food Wars, and will probably get the manga. The foodgasms in the beginning I thought were weird, and they still are…but this show about cooking is somehow awesome. I really love Soma. He’s a great character, and I like in the final episode he was able to learn something and finally realized that being at this school will turn him into a better chef. I also love Megumi and Isshiki. I’m so glad this is getting a second season.

Now onto the new shows! Sadly, this is another season where I was excited for very few shows. I was really only looking forward to Aoharu x Machinegun and Snow White with the Red Hair.

Shows I’ll Be Watching:
Rokka – Braves of the Six Flowers-
Charlotte
Aoharu x Machinegun
GATE
Rampo Kitan: Game of Laplace
Snow White with the Red Hair
Gangsta

I may watch Overlord, Chaos Dragon, and Castle Town Dandelion…I haven’t decided yet.

Shows I’m continuing from last season include:
The Heroic Legend of Arslan
Food Wars
My Love Story
World Trigger
Sailormoon Crystal

I ended up dropping Rin-ne, Mikagura School Suite, Plastic Memories, and Gunslinger Stratos, although I may watch the last two at some point.

Of the new shows, Rokka really surprised me. It was the first new show I watched and really started the season off with a bang! The first 5 minutes had amazing animation, I think the best I’ve seen in awhile. Adlet ended up being a really cool character, and I can’t wait to be introduced to the other Braves. The overall story is really interesting and I can’t wait to see where this goes.

Charlotte was not what I was expecting. It was incredibly beautiful to look at, but the first episode had me cracking up due to main character Yuu’s split personality. I don’t know if his deviousness was meant to be so funny, but I thought it was. I’m hoping the other characters whip him into shape and turn him into a less selfish person. While the first episode was funny, the second took a sad, serious turn. Knowing who the creator of this is, and the studio behind it, I’m expecting more of that…

And, I loved Aoharu x Machinegun! This is another one that I wouldn’t say is the best show, but it caught me. It reminded me a little of Ouran High School Host Club with a more grown up, violent feel. A show revolving around survival games seems incredibly random to me, but it will certainly be different. Plus, hot guys!! And I love all three main characters. I love girls that can kick ass. Can’t wait to see where this goes!

The biggest surprise so far for me has been my crush for this season…more then Prince Zen from Snow White or Masamune from Aoharu, I can’t help but be drawn to Nicolas from Gangsta! I don’t know if it’s the tribal tattoos, the dog tags, or what…but he’s just so badass swinging around his samurai sword in his suit. And the fact that he’s deaf puts a really interesting spin on the character. I really want to know more about him! I really love the opening for this show too…Stereo Dive Foundation is one of my favorites.

This season has surprised me so far, so hopefully these shows continue to be good!

Scandal in the Spotlight – Takashi Ninagawa (Main, Epilogue, Sequel, Sequel Epilogue)

Intro: I’m not really into quiet guys (Nagito and Kyohei have been my favorites so far), but I was interested in Takashi from the beginning. I AM really into guys that are creative, especially musically. If they can play a musical instrument, I am all over that. I know all the Revance guys are musically talented – they can sing, and have helped MC with the lyrics in their stories. But Takashi is different. He writes all their music and plays the piano (I assume other instruments as well). Plus, he was just so stoic, it was hard to imagine him being interested in anyone romantically.

My Thoughts: MC is impressed with Takashi right from the start. Like me, she is intrigued by his musical genius. Not only does he write music for Revance, but many other artists also that request him. He is REALLY busy. Taka pretty much ignores MC in the beginning. He doesn’t do it on purpose, but he is so caught up in his own little music world, and he doesn’t acknowledge her talent yet, so she’s pretty much invisible to him. When he does notice her existence, it’s pretty much to say that she is not like Ryo.

I never thought about it before, but since Ryo wrote Revance’s lyrics, and Taka wrote the music, they must have worked together a lot, and been very close. PLUS they were childhood friends. So they really understood each other and worked well together. So it is hard for Takashi when Ryo leaves and this new girl is dumped on him. MC really had to prove herself to him, especially since Takashi is such a scary perfectionist.

But she recognizes his talent and always takes his criticism well. As they work together, they grow closer, especially when he learns she can play the piano a little. It’s a very cute scene where he teaches her more and they play together.

The first 2/3 of the story aren’t super romantic. It’s easy to see MC admires and adores Takashi from the beginning, but Taka takes some time to fall for her since he is so absorbed in making music. But they steadily grow closer, so it feels real when they do fall in love. But!! They finally admit their feelings, but Taka says they can’t be together because he is too distracted! His head is full of her instead of music, and he is in a terrible slump.

This was a really hard scene to watch. I almost cried. I was so happy for them!!! And then it went downhill…MC was really strong here though, and had a great line.

I really loved that…All difficult things, even break-ups, help shape you into the person you are. Everything has a purpose. Possibly my favorite Voltage line ever.

Eventually Taka realizes instead of shutting MC out, he should use her as his muse, and when he accepts MC and all his feelings, he gets over his slump. And starts to write a lot of love songs LOL!

Overall: I ended up really loving Taka. Once he opened up to MC and started talking more, I thought he was really interesting and could be very sweet. I think I’m really going to like future stories when they are a couple, because the end of his story and the epilogue were my favorite parts, because they were very romantic, and Taka is adorable when he is jealous! The main story was very good though; I almost cried a few times.

Can’t wait for Ryo! I’m really curious how his story will go.

Scandal in the Spotlight – Nagito Aoshima (Main, Epilogue, Sequel, Sequel Epilogue)

Intro: Finally!! Nagito!!! The past few Voltage guys I’ve played have been…difficult, to say the least. I was so looking forward to sweet, easy-going Nagito! And he did not disappoint. His story took a turn that I was not expecting, but I loved spending time with him. Spoilers ahead for Nagito’s route.

My Thoughts: Normally I jot down some notes while I’m playing, so I can write a blog later, but I didn’t take that many with Nagito! I was too busy relaxing and enjoying the story, instead of scribbling notes about how the guy was pissing me off or doing rude things lol.

Nagi won me over immediately when he covers for MC when she messes up on her first day as assistant manager. He didn’t have to, but he’s such a sweetheart to help out.

He already thinks himself inferior to the other guys in Revance, so he figures he can take the blame for one more screw-up. After Kyo and Taka reject MC’s lyrics, she gets pretty depressed about living up to the great lyricist Ryo. Nagi really saves her though. He cheers her up, and makes her realize that she needs to be herself; that’s why they chose her anyways – not to be a clone of Ryo.

The story took a surprising turn in the middle, when MC (accidentally) announces to Nagi and everyone else that she loves him! It was great that they could be a couple in the middle of the story, and not at the end! Nagito seems to have feelings for MC too, and they go on a trial date to see how they feel.

But of course, it can’t be that easy. Nagi seems to have trouble getting over his first love, whom he could never confess to. Sadly, after MC realizes who it is, she spends a good chunk of the story assuming Nagi will always love her, even though it was pretty obvious to me that he had in fact moved on, and loved MC now. I was REALLY happy that there was not more drama with Nagito and his past love. They could have drawn it out more, but they didn’t. It was enough to give drama, without making it super depressing. Maybe some people will think it was resolved too easily, but it was apparent to me that Nagi started falling for MC early on, and that helped him move forward. I really just wanted a light-hearted, happy story, and that’s what I got, so I was grateful.

Overall: I don’t want to say too much else without giving away all of Nagito’s past. I will say that they always referred to him as the most pervy one in the group…and that was hard to believe! He always seemed like such a nice guy. But! Now I get it lol. He is quite a tease with poor innocent MC, but I liked that about him!

At the same time, he can be a real gentleman, and treats MC really well. Just like a princess, as he says. I can’t wait for more Nagito!