fixing a PS2

For a change I tried to remember that I study Electrical Engineering and not CS or AI, MAS, AOSE or whatever ... so how can I prove this to myself ?

Well, I gutted an old PS2, in hope to fix it ... how hard could it be?


Actually not at all !!!

OK, let me be a little bit more precise; my ex-flat-mate sold me his old PS2, TV, games and several other stuff at a really low price (actually the cab I got to carry the stuff home costed 1/3 of the total). And if you have looked at this blog a couple of times you can guess that I wanted to play japanese import games ( say Melty Blood ). But, to do that I had to use Swap Magic and consequently "break" open the DVD tray, which as a dump dojiko (clumsy child), managed to really break it. Thereafter trying to fix all the damaged done to the DVD-drive and who knows what else !?


After gutting the whole thing (the ~30 screws seen above), cleaning the laser lenses (sorry, no images there, due to the sensitivity of the photo-electric components) the culprit was found ... a god damn disconnected flat data cable !!!


That simple !!! So even if you are even a 10 year old can figure that! Just consult a credible source and you can fix the usually simple problems that you get!



I hope I get a chance to explain within the academic year how you can use all this really powerful hardware for video and audio processing ;-) Read more!

Hidamari Sketch

ひだまりスケッチ

Yuno has just begun school where she always wanted, Yamabuki High School. She moves away from her family to an apartment by herself in a complex called Hidamari-so, right in front of the school. There, she meets a classmate, Miyako, as well as, two seniors students, Hiro and Sae. Yuno's days become hectic as she begins socializing the these strange art-students that live in her complex. Although she's not used to her new life style, she begins to actualize her dream while being with these gentle friends.




Hidamari Sketch is based on a synonymous yonkoma revolving around the daily lives of a group of young girls all living in the same apartment where artists gather. It was first serialized in the seinen manga magazine Manga Time Kirara Carat in April 2004, published by Houbunsha. Yen Press licensed the manga for English language distribution, and released the first volume on May 27, 2008. A twelve-episode anime based on the manga under the original title Hidamari Sketch aired between January 11, 2007 and March 29, 2007. Two more special episodes were aired on October 18, 2007. A second season entitled Hidamari Sketch× 365 began airing on July 3, 2008. Two light novels have finally been written, with their story drawn directly from the manga.

AniDB, AnimePlanet, ANN, Official, Thread@AnimeSuki, TV-Tropes, wiki
AniDB, AnimePlanet, ANN, Official, Thread@AnimeSuki (x 365)

Studio: SHAFT
ef, Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei, Negima, Rec, Pani Poni Dash, Tsukuyomi, Geneshaft, Generator Gawl

Director: Shinbo Akiyuki
ef, Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei, Negima, Pani Poni Dash, Tsukuyomi, Cossette, Nanoha, Triangle Hearts, SoulTaker

Character Design: Ito Yoshiaki
Gakuen Alice

Original Creator: Aoki Ume

Series Composition: Hasegawa Nahoko
Zero no Tsukaima: Princess no Rondo

Animation
Typical SHAFT ... surreal images, occasional two-color backgrounds, real photos over drawing, etc. Surrealism and minimalism actually help a lot to divert the viewer's attention away from the technical details and focus it on the dialog and atmosphere. In general, I came to love this approach and its a pity we do not see it outside this studio. As for the character designs, well ... the characters look a couple of years younger then they are supposed to be, but since this is not a fun-service feast, I do not mind it. They are very well drawn and animated consistently.



Sound
OP and ED of both seasons are light and easy-going j-pop, fitting though with the overall atmosphere of the series. The BMG is very subtle, most of the times even unnoticeable, because it always manages to integrate flawlessly with the atmosphere of the scene it accompanies. The VA were very well done, conveying the appropriate emotions and was very distinct for each character's personality.

Plot
Actually, the lack of one is apparently the case here. The series is character driven and deals with the every day lives of the four main characters. Also of note is the shuffling of the chronological order (each episode title corresponds to the date its events take place within a single year). This shuffling though confusing at first actually works well, in the sense that takes away the viewers focus from the events themselves and redirects it to how the characters deal with them.



Characters
As with the plot there is little true development of the characters during the timeframe shown in the series. But, all four characters are very well developed and feel like real persons with distinct and interesting personalities.

Yuno,VA:Asumi Kana
Yuno is a young playful girl and the main protagonist of the series. She lives in the Hidamari apartments, along with her close friends and neighbors Miyako, Hiro, and Sae. Her friends think of her as a very nice person. She dreams of being a great artist someday. Although she is a skilled artist overall, she considers painting and drawing her specialties.


Miyako,VA:Mizuhashi Kaori
Miyako is Yuno's close friend, classmate, and next door neighbor in the apartment building where they live. She has an active personality and is always trying to have fun with her friends. Her exuberance frequently borders on the childlike, but she is undeniably creative. She is very spontaneous and claims the word "plan" does not exist in her dictionary. She loves to eat and has frequently asked for Hiro's leftovers when she is on one of her diets. She sometimes points out that Hiro may be gaining weight, which earns her a punch on the head by Hiro. Miyako's energy is frequently excessive and misplaced. Her rent is cheaper than that of the other girls because her apartment is in poor repair, which is fortunate because she has less money than the other girls most of the time.


Hiro,VA:Goto Yuko
Hiro is a year older than Yuno and Miyako, living directly under Yuno's apartment. Although she tries to be a supportive senpai to the girls, she tends to worry excessively about her weight, causing her to go on diets for periods while occasionally binging on sweets. A childhood friend of Sae, she is one of her neighbor's principal sources of support when she is involved with a deadline or other crisis.


Sae,VA:Shintani Ryoko
Sae is an upperclassman and good friends with Hiro. Her artistic specialties are photography and fiction writing; she writes fiction professionally and enrolled at the school specifically so she could learn how to illustrate her own work. Sae, who is tall, athletic, and generally mature, has a playful side that can be at the same time enigmatic and cunning; she has a habit of giving Yuno just enough warning about potential problems for the younger girl to fail to avoid them. She also has a fondness for playing detective when faced with such anomalies as Miyako's apartment. She tends to get upset when Miyako refers to her as having masculine qualities. She also gets very uncomfortable when asked about her love life, frequently inventing a history for herself that even cursory examination would show to be absurd, while blushing furiously.


Yoshinoya-sensei,VA:Matsuki Miyu
Yoshinoya is Yuno and Miyako's homeroom teacher and art instructor. She is buxom, exuberant, and a cosplay maniac. So much so, in fact, that she will frequently wear incredibly complicated things that are at times truly inappropriate. She has a fondness for modeling for her class, displaying her latest outfits whenever she can, and showing off in general. It is later revealed that Yoshinoya still resides with her parents, and would often be criticized by them for not being mature. When asked her age, she will answer "eternally seventeen".


Kouchou,VA:Chou
The Principal is a thin, aging and balding man whose teeth are almost always chattering. Although he sometimes exhibits inexplicable behavior, when he appears it is most frequently to chastise Yoshinoya over her latest excess. Miyako can do a frightening effective imitation of him.


Ouya,VA:Sawashiro Miyuki
The Landlady is the female owner of Hidamari Apartments. She has quite a few masculine characteristics as she often wears baseball cap, goes out for a fishing in her spare time, and is a heavy smoker. Although she has a very laid-back personality, she is often seen very busy doing various part-time jobs.


Chika,VA:Kugimiya Rie
Chika is Sae's thirteen-year-old sister. She is more spontaneous and energetic than her older sister. She enjoys cooking and has an infatuation with a Kabuki actor. She has no artistic talent and prefers music and home economics to art.



If you like high school slice-of-life comedy with a healthy dosage of surrealism, try also: Azumanga Daiou, Pani Poni Dash and Sketchbook

Or if you liked the surrealism and minimalism of SHAFT's animation try Shinbo's other works: ef: a tale of memories, Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei, Negima, Pani Poni Dash, Tsukuyomi, SoulTaker Read more!

Beginning of Autumn Season '08

Several promising series and a lot of new seasons from older ones. At last, after many barren seasons this one looks really solid! First of all the second part of ef - a tale of melodies finally airs; additionally, the delayed second season of Penguin Musume Heart has already started. Also, there are several promising series, at least judging from their promos (Ga-Rei: Zero, Kannagi, Chaos;Head, Kurozuka, To Aru Majutsu no Index, Toradora, Yozakura Quartet, Hyakko). Finally, Kyou no Go no Ni gets to air on the TV and Jigoku Shoujo gets a third season, though for these two I am not so sure that can keep up with their predecessors.

EDIT: How could I have missed Shikabane Hime from GAINAX !?!

Click on the links below to find more about the upcoming series (links, descriptions, promo images and ... videos) !!!

Saturday, 6.9
Penguin Musume Heart
Sunday, 28.9
Hakushaku to Yousei
Wednesday, 1.10
Toradora!
Casshern Sins
Rosario to Vampire Capu2
Hyakko
Thursday, 2.10
Shikabane Hime
Kuro Shitsuji
Yozakura Quartet
Clannad After Story
Friday, 3.10
Tales of the Abyss
Hokuto no Ken Raoh Gaiden Ten no Haoh
Kurogane no Linebarrels
Saturday, 4.10
Jigoku Shoujo: Mitsuganae
Kannagi
To Aru Majutsu no Index
Sunday, 5.10
Kidou Senshi Gundam 00 2nd Season
Ga-Rei: Zero
Kyou no Go no Ni
Skip Beat!
Monday, 6.10
Vampire Knight Guilty
ef - a tale of melodies
Tuesday, 7.10
Kurozuka
Thursday, 9.10
Chaos;Head
Tytania
Nodame Cantabile: Paris-Hen
Saturday, 11.10
Junjou Romantica 2


Hakushaku to Yousei
伯爵と妖精
AniDB, AnimePlanet, ANN, Official, Thread@AnimeSuki, TV-Tropes
The story is set in 19th century England and centers on a "fairy doctor" named Lydia. Her life takes a 180-degrees turn when she meets a legendary blue knight count named Edgar and his crew. He hires her as an adviser during his quest to obtain a treasured sword that was supposed to be handed down to him by his family.
Studio (Artland) and director (Soutome Koichiro) are the same as in Umisho and Bokura ga Ita, which are like day to night, especially in animation style. The concept seems also a bit too shoujo for my taste, though sometimes they turn out to be good. On the other hand, when anime deal with historical (or semi-historical) Europe, a lot of things tend to go wrong.


Toradora!
とらドラ！
AniDB, AnimePlanet, ANN, Official, Thread@AnimeSuki, TV-Tropes
Despite Ryuuji Takasu's gentle personality, his eyes make him look like an intimidating delinquent so he is utterly hopeless about his chances of getting a girlfriend anytime soon, and does not have many close friends either. After being greeted by his hungover mother in the morning, Ryūji goes to school and is happy to find that he gets to be in the same class as his best friend Yūsaku Kitamura and crush Minori Kushieda. However, it is then that he unexpectedly knocks into "the school's most dangerous animal of the highest risk level" — Taiga Aisaka — who just happens to also be in his class, and is a good friend of Minori.
From J.C.STAFF, which is at least a guarantee that the series will be watchable. The director (Nagai Tatsuyuki) has also done IDOLM@STER and the second season of Honey & Clover; Okada Mari is responsible for the series composition, has also supervised Simoun, Aria and Kodomo no Jikan (among others) and is tried and tested against not ruining the original work. All in all, apart from the fact that most love comedies turn out to be boring, this can be an exception ... time will tell.














Shikabane Hime
黒執事
AniDB, AnimePlanet, ANN, Official, Thread@AnimeSuki, TV-Tropes
The title "Corpse Princess" belongs to Makina Hoshimura, an undead girl who seeks to hunt down 108 corpses in order to go to heaven.
Promo looks pretty interesting and being animated by GAINAX at least ensures two things: 1) fan-service and 2) weird ending ;) What I am really worrying about is the director Murata Masahiko (of Jinki & Gilgamesh, both of which had serious, if not crippling, problems). On the other hand, the script is handled by Aikawa Shou, who has worked on a lot of my favorites (12Kingdoms, Miyu, Urotsukidoji, among others) and conveys the original work successfully on the animated versions (a crippling problem especially with Jinki).


Kuro Shitsuji
黒執事
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One of the noble families of England Phantomhive's butler Sebastian Michaels
has got unquestionably perfect knowledge, manners, talent with materials, martial arts etc but is also able to serve a 12 year old master. Wearing a gray tailcoat, gracefully brewing the worlds strongest red tea ... how such a perfect butler copes with such a master?
The studio (A-1) has recently done Birdy the Mighty and Persona, both of which had several issues with their animation consistency. Series composition is again from Okada Mari (see Toradora! just above) and character designs from Shiba Minako who also did them for Noir, .hack//SIGN, Madlax and Rental Magica, which IMHO are very good (the designs, not the series). My only problem is how interesting the original plot is; based on a shounen manga with protagonists a bishounen and his "über"-butler ... makes me quite doubtful.


Yozakura Quartet
夜桜四重奏 〜ヨザクラカルテット〜
AniDB, AnimePlanet, ANN, Official, Thread@AnimeSuki, TV-Tropes
Akina, Hime, Kotoha, and Ao are four members of the Hiizumi Seikatsu Soudan Jimusho (Hiizumi's Everyday-life Consultation Office), which, in addition to helping kinder-garteners deal with tough times, strives to preserve the peace of their little town, Sakurashin, by hunting down the troublemakers who dare threaten it. Hime is a super-heroine. Ao can read minds. Kotoha can conjure up anything with the right word. And Akina…well, he's just a regular guy, surrounded by three super-girls! Together, they protect the town of Sakurashin. But that's not easy, as the town faces demon dogs and other supernatural threats!
Produced by the team of Rozen Maiden (Studio Nomad, directed by Matsuo Kou, series composition by Hanada Jukki and character designs by Kikuchi Satonobu), gives me some hope about animation quality and certainly reassurances about its consistently, but falls flat on my expectations on plot and character development. Maybe the material from the manga is good, but still I am very doubtful since its branded as shounen.


Tales of the Abyss
テイルズ オブジ アビス
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Luke fon Fabre, the son of Duke Fabre of the Kimlasca Kingdom, is 17 years old. He is the Light of the Sacred Flame who is destined to bring prosperity to Kimlasca. But since being kidnapped seven years ago by the Malkuth empire, he has been kept confined to the Fabre family mansion. The shock of the kidnapping erased all of Luke's memories prior to the event. But one fateful day, a mysterious woman breaks into the mansion and sets off a chain of events that will change the world forever...
Produced by the fan-service giant ... Sunrise (Code Geass, Mai-Hime/Otome, IDOLM@STER, etc.) and directed by Kodama Kenji of Kekkaishi; I expect a healthy amount of fan-service and all the shounen trappings. As for plot ... well first it is based on a game, second it is a fantasy game and third it is a japanese fantasy game ... I can hardly think of a couple of anime based on that combination that were even watchable!


Kurogane no Linebarrels
鉄のラインバレル
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Kouichi Hayase was involved in an accident and falls into a coma for half a year. Due to this accident he becomes depressed and lonely. However, unbeknownst to him he attained a great power and three years later a giant robot (Linebarrel), which was the cause for the incident, appears before him, causing Kouichi's life to change.
OK, this has what might be the ultimate recipe of utter failure:
1) animated by GONZO
2) directed by Hidaka Masamitsu of Pokemon
3) it a mecha


Kannagi
かんなぎ
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An art student named Jin Mikuriya carves a statue from the wood of the Kannagi tree only to have the statue come to life in the form of a goddess, who has now taken over the statue. He and "Nagi" work together to destroy the impurities that are gathering in the town.
Now things are getting interesting composition and screenplay are from Kurata Hideyuki of Read or Die and Ima Soko ni Iru Boku, which for what concerns plot and character development were excellent. On the other hand the animation studio (A1, see Kuro Shitsuji, above) does not offer many guarantees, as is the case with the rest of the staff. The story sounds interesting, though hardly original.


Ga-Rei: Zero
喰霊 -零-
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Freshman Nimura Kensuke has the ability to see ghosts, and his life changes when he meets Kagura, a girl with the power to summon a "Ga-Rei" called Byakuei. The two work together to find evil spirita and devour them with the Ga-Rei.
Animation by asread of Shuffle and Minami-ke, directed by Aoki Ei of Rakyo of Fuukan Fukei and Girls Bravo, series composition by Takayama Katsuhiko of ef and HanTsuki and character designs by Horiuchi Osamu of FMP, BakuTen and Hayate are certainly a winning team. But, if the original material, with which I am unfamiliar proves weak, nothing and no one is capable of salvaging a show based on it.

























Skip Beat!
スキップ・ビート！
AniDB, AnimePlanet, ANN, Official, Thread@AnimeSuki, TV-Tropes
Kyoko has devoted her life to Shotaro. When Shotaro came to Tokyo to debut as a singer, she followed him and worked to provide for him. But one day, Kyoko overhears Shota telling his manager that Kyoko means nothing to him. She's just convenient, a housekeeper. This makes Kyoko furious, and she vows revenge on Shotaro. But Shotaro just laughs at her, saying she won't be able to touch him because he's now a popular singer and she's a nobody. So Kyoko decides to get into showbiz and become even more popular than Shotaro to humiliate him. Unfortunately, Shotaro has destroyed Kyoko's ability to love, and she discovers that it is a prerequisite for her to debut from her chosen company, LME. The president of LME puts her into a new section made for those who caught his eye but have something missing. It's name... Love Me Section. On her way to become a pro actress she's meeting new people like Kanae Kotonami, Maria Takarada, Yukihito Yashiro and the important person in this story - Ren Tsuruga.
Oh my god, hardcore shoujo romance! OK, for the record the studio (Hal) is pretty good, but these kind of shows are not my cup of tea ;)


Tytania
タイタニア
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In a future where mankind is spread amongst the stars in the vastness of space, the TAITANIA family has been able to build a large empire through intimation and economic might. In the year 446, the city-state of EURIA rebels against the tyranny of TAITANIA control. Their isolated act of revolt starts a sequence of events which strains the careful alliances and agreements within the empire, as factions and associations take action to exploit the situation to their best advantage. In the ensuing turmoil, ambitious members of the Taitania Royalty begin to move against each other in an effort settle old grievances and seize control of the family. What started as an act of rebellion in EURIA, quickly expands to a civil war - with the wealth and power of the empire up for grabs for who ever is brave enough to aspire for it.
Another show by Artland (check Hakushaku to Yousei, in the beginning) and directed by the space opera veteran Ishiguro Nooboru. If you're into this kind of stuff, I think this is a very promising series ... for you!

Kurozuka
黒塚
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Kuro, a 12th-century man, flees into the mountains after losing to his brother, where he meets a strange, beautiful woman named Kuromitsu. Kuro falls in love with Kuromitsu but realizes she conceals a dark secret. She is unable to die and continues to live for thousands of years as Japan evolves into a future society.
Animated by MADHOUSE, which is capable of the best and the worst, directed by Araki Tetsuro of Death Note (which at least for what concerns direction was pretty good) and character designs from Shino Masanori of Black Lagoon and GunGrave. The original story sounds promising, though I will not enumerate in how many ways it can go wrong ...


Chaos;Head
カオス；ヘッド
AniDB, AnimePlanet, ANN, Official, Thread@AnimeSuki, TV-Tropes
Takumi is a troubled young man who struggles to distinguish reality from his delusions, while being pursued by the perpetrator of a series of bloody murders, (or so he thinks). His travels take him in and around Shibuya, Tokyo and his adventures bring him in contact with various pseudo-scientific themes such as the concepts of matter, antimatter, and the Dirac sea.
Another show from MADHOUSE (as Kurozuka above). The promo seems promising, though I am somewhat doubtful about the combination of pseudo-science, psychological thriller and harem ;)


To Aru Majutsu no Index
とある魔術の禁書目録
AniDB, AnimePlanet, ANN, Official, Thread@AnimeSuki, TV-Tropes
Set in a city of scientifically advanced superhuman students, but in a world where magic is also real. Toma Kamijo's right hand, the Imagine Breaker, will negate all magic, psychic, or divine powers, but not his own bad luck. One day he finds a young girl hanging on his balcony railing. She turns out to be a nun from the Church of England, and her mind has been implanted with the Index-Librorum-Prohibitorum - all the magical texts the Church has removed from circulation.
Animation by J.C.Staff and directed by Nishikiori Hiroshi (Azumanga Daiou and Boukyaku no Senritsu). The story doesn't sound all that exciting, but given that the characters are fleshed out well it can actually prove to be good. Also the promo is quite interesting.


Casshern Sins
キャシャーン SINS
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Cassern is about a cyborg who rises against the robotic armies that have subjugated all of humanity. Remake of Shinzou Ningen Casshan, of which I have seen a couple of episodes dubbed when I was a kid.
Well as I said before MADHOUSE is capable of making both art and crap, my guess is that this falls into the later category.


Hyakko
ヒャッコ
AniDB, AnimePlanet, ANN, Official, Thread@AnimeSuki, TV-Tropes
Hyakko is a manga whose main heroines were four girls when the story started. But as the story goes, many unique classmates show up. Those girls sometimes twist the heroine around their little finger or vise versa. In many situations, they all have noisy get-togethers with each other, and that is really fun.
The studio Nippon Animation only works in children series and with the exception of Locke (yes, the one from 1984) I have not seen anything else from them. So except from the obvious comedy / slice-of-life featuring exclusively girls, I have no idea what to expect from this one.


OLD SERIES, WITH NEW SEASONS

Penguin Musume Heart
ペンギン娘♥はぁと
AniDB, AnimePlanet, ANN, Official, Thread@AnimeSuki, TV-Tropes
Sakura Nankyoku is a total otaku. Due to a fluke, she gets elected as her class' Student Council President. Everything takes off from there into a series of crazy misadventures revolving around Sakura, her family, and her classmates.
Finally, the second season of 7-min. insane humor has started! As another blogger said, this is like Lucky Star, only FUNNY!













Rosario to Vampire Capu2
ロザリオとバンパイア Capu2
AniDB, AnimePlanet, ANN, Official, Thread@AnimeSuki, TV-Tropes
The new season is set to continue to follow the manga, introduce new characters from the manga and characters created strictly for the anime. This series is just for the fan-service and GONZO to make money in order to produce crappy mecha (see Kurogane no Linebarrels above).


Clannad After Story
AniDB, AnimePlanet, ANN, Official, Thread@AnimeSuki, TV-Tropes
Events in After Story take place immediately upon Tomoya graduating high school. After declaring his love to Nagisa, they begin to have a close relationship. BUT, Nagisa is hiding a secret from Tomoya and the truth of it will change their lives forever.
I dropped the first season in the midway, it was too much like Kanon and Air ... a.k.a. boring!
Plus I am getting increasingly pissed with the studio, which promotes the second season of Haruhi for one year now, but actually delivers crap like CLANNAD and Sucky Star.


Hokuto no Ken Raoh Gaiden Ten no Haoh
北斗の拳 ラオウ外伝 天の覇王
AniDB, AnimePlanet, ANN, Official, Thread@AnimeSuki, TV-Tropes
Youkow Osada's Ten no Haoh - Hokuto no Ken Raoh Gaiden manga spinoff (pictured at left) will be animated as a series this fall. Unlike most of the previous Fist of the North Star anime, this story focuses not on the protagonist Kenshiro, but on the early life of his oldest brother and frequent enemy Raoh.
I never especially like the whole FotNS franchise, so I do not really have an opinion.

Jigoku Shoujo: Mitsuganae
地獄少女三鼎
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The third season of Jigoku Shoujo. Jigoku Shoujo, the Hell Girl. Enma Ai, what has become of her? At the end of last season she became separated from subordinates; so what will happen to Ichimoku Ren, Hone-Onna, and Wanyuudou now? What stories of hatred, lasting grudges, and revenge are being prepared for us this time? This new season promises to have a newly powered-up Enma Ai and a number of "reunions", so look forward to it!
The "damned" of the week concept got too boring for me and thus I dropped the second season midway, but I will give it a try again since this is the only series where I can hear Noto Mamiko's voice!










Kidou Senshi Gundam 00 2nd Season
機動戦士ガンダムOO 第2シーズン
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2312 A.D. Four years have passed since the final battle between Celestial Being and the UN Forces. Humanity, after having established the Earth Sphere Federation, forms an independent security force, Arrows, separate from the formal Federation army to further unify nations and the will of mankind. But the reality is the inhumane oppression of anti-government powers, doctrines, and ideologies in the name of unity. Setsuna F. Seiei, after surviving the battle four years ago, has decided to once again fight with his Gundam.
I tend to ignore mecha based on concepts before Evangelion, they tend to be somewhat childish.


Kyou no Go no Ni
今日の５の２
AniDB, AnimePlanet, ANN, Official, Thread@AnimeSuki, TV-Tropes
The series portrays the fifth grade in a ... different light.
I really loved the OVA, I just hope that the TV-series keeps the same pace and POV. Though this is unlikely since all staff and VAs are different.
OP of the OVA


Vampire Knight Guilty
ヴァンパイア騎士 Guilty
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Yuuki wants to know more about her true family and her forgotten past and starts a research. The secret will be revealed. Yuki, Kaname and Zero will show the begining of a new mystery and a forbidden love.
The hardcore shoujo alarm sound again!


ef - a tale of melodies
AniDB, AnimePlanet, ANN, Official, Thread@AnimeSuki, TV-Tropes
Continuation of the excellent ef - a tale of memories. From what I've been told the two stories handled here are on par with the previous ones. Also staff and VAs are the same.
This is by far the most anticipated series of the season in my book.


Nodame Cantabile: Paris-Hen
のだめカンタービレ 巴里編
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The two music students now drive themselves and eathother to greater artistic heights, in Japan and now Europe.
I never really got interested in the first season. Hence I have no real opinion also on the second one too.

Junjou Romantica 2
純情ロマンチカ２
AniDB, AnimePlanet, ANN, Official, Thread@AnimeSuki, TV-Tropes
Gay teacher-student "couple" return for more action! I really wonder who watches stuff like this. Read more!