This episode just tried to cram a lot of things into it…it’s mind boggling. Well, I loved the fighting scenes, which were nicely animated. It was quite fluid too, and who doesn’t like mecha fights ^^? All the enemy mechas have Trans-Am now, so the fights aren’t so one-sided anymore. I miss Celestal Being an advantage…it just seems like everyone’s copying them now.

Yes, Loiuse should just die so Saji can be freed from her.

Tracklist:

1. Beautiful World
2. Kiss & Cry
3. Fly Me To The Moon (In Other Words) -2007 Mix-
4. Beautiful World (Original Karaoke)
5. Kiss & Cry (Original Karaoke)
5. Fly Me To The Moon (In Other Words) -2007 Mix- (Original Karaoke)

Beautiful World is a tie-in for the movie Rebuild of Evangelion. The lycis depicts the inner struggle of the characters in the movie, even though the melody might seems cheerful. I must admit that the melody is my favourite part of the song. This song uses synth-like background music; it sounds like something that could be out of Ultra Blue. Utada’s voice seems to have almost recovered from the strain she got from her Utada United tour in 2006. It’s still a bit strained on the higher notes, but it is less obvious as it was in Flavor of Life. The ending is pretty awesome to its own right too, even it’s just repeating the same lyrics over and over again.

The second A-side, Kiss & Cry, starts off with a flashly marching-band styled opening, before the beat of the drums takes over. This song is quite dry compared to Hikki’s usual works; in the verses, it’s usually just her and the beat of the drums, and some brass at the end of the phrases. Kiss & Cry also recylces a part of the melody of Hotel Lobby (off of Hikki’s English debut album). The ‘cup noodle’ part is…interesting, but it is a cup noodle tie-in. Her voice seems completely fine in this song, which is a good sign.

I don’t think I’ve heard the original mix, but Hikki does pretty well in Fly Me To The Moon (In Other Words) -2007 Mix-. The only thing that irked me was her lack of vocal support, and the background music seemed a bit strange and unfitting. I think Frank Sinatra sang the original version.

Overall Rating:
4.5/5

I finally brought myself around to watching the anime (well, a part of it) after following the manga like a fangirl.

Watanuki’s voice is what I imagined it to sound like, but Doumeki’s voice just sounds like he’s a walking zombie half the time. Also, Doumeki seems a bit unproportionate in the anime; was it intentional? His legs looked way too long for his body… Apart from that, the anime seems pretty solid, and follows the manga’s plot quite faithfully. The animation was pretty fluid too, from what I could tell, and the soundtrack made some of the scenes quite memorable.

Not much else to say, but that I’m looking forward to the next part!

I sense that the end is coming soon…(Ep. 25 is the last episode.)

The ‘heroic’ speeches each of the Meisters said, completely with cheesy music, made me laugh so badly. *cue dun dun dun* The end is near…

YES! RIBBONS IS DEAD! (Well, at least I hope he is. Knowing Sunrise, he probably isn’t.) Man, that guy girl guy girl … THING should just kick the bucket. He bores me. Graham Mr. Bushido should just commit suicide and die as well, because he’s gotten annoying…he was fine in the first season, but now he’s just another mindless soilder.

Is it just me, or do the weapons that the A-Law typical mechas have the same sword has Cornealia’s mecha had in Code Geass? It’s like a cone and very pointy on top…is Sunrise reusing their designs?

I think Luke is a clone of Arsch, or why else would they look alike to that extent? Arsch also seems very bitter towards Luke’s happiness and ignorance, so that makes Luke being Arsch’s replacement seem true. Van probably kidnapped Arsch, and sent Luke back to the Duke as a replacement. Why? I don’t know yet. Well, I’m starting to hate Luke more and more; he’s just so annoying…

Tears is trying too hard to conceal her girly side…^^. Too bad being afraid of ghosts doesn’t help a lot.

Yay! The plot has started moving!

If Tales of the Abyss goes as most shows goes, I’m betting my money on Luke being the seventh Fonon (or something like that). Well, he has to be special in some way, since he is the main character. Guy seems to have some secrets of his own too. Five bucks to him betraying the ‘good guys’ somewhere along the show.

Tears is still my favourite character so far. Her character design, personality and voice actor appeal to me. She always seems to hide one of her eyes; maybe it’s a special eye, or the character designer just wanted to make her look kickass. Well, she is so far!

One thing is still bothering me: why do they have glowing blood?

I’d never thought that Tears was Van’s sister, but then again, they have the same last name (maybe I’m just too stupid to have noticed it in the first place). It’s interesting to see her go all ‘kawaii~~~” over the Cheagels though; she seemed more like a typical tomboy warrior princess at first glance. Speaking of the Cheagels, the one that has to follow Luke around has a really annoying voice, and goes “desu” (or some variant…I’ve never taken Japanese before, okay? ) all the time.

Still wondering what Fonon means though.

I needed something to watch, so I thought that this may be good. Yukana is in here, after all.

The first episode started off okay. It isn’t exactly hooking me in right now, but I’ll give it a chance. In terms of animation though: it’s pretty good. The fight scenes were quite smooth, and the character designs were not bad too. Tears’ character design is really good; she looks really pretty ^^. The only thing that bothers me is her heels; they don’t look proportionate. Luke’s hair seems a bit weird too…seriously…red hair that fades into yellow at the tips? Maybe he just got highlights? While I’m at it, Luke’s clothing are a bit disturbing too. I think they’re trying to show off his abs, but the clothing design is quite…odd, in a bad way.

I’m interested to see why Luke lost his memory, and why did Tears suddenly decide to kill Van.

Tracklist:

1. trust you
2. Brand New World
3. koi wa groovy×2 -dj-passion More Passion Remix-
4. trust you -GUNDAM00 Ver.-
5. trust you -instrumental-

trust you is the newest Gundam 00 ED. Unlike your typical techo-like Gundam songs, this song is more of a typical ballad, complete with the strings. Ito seems to have more matured and stronger vocals from her older stuff (which I have on my iPod for some reason). The melody for the chorus is catchy, yet quite beautiful at the same time (the English seems out of place though…). When she reaches for the higher notes near the end of the chorus, she has so much power behind her voice and hits them perfectly (seriously, she improved so much since her 2007 stuff). The song ends with a different and longer version of the chorus, and a nice piano solo.

The B-side, Brand New World, brings us back into more Gundam like music (despite this not being part of the Gundam franchise). This song is more of the typical happy Ito style: the strong beats, fast-paced lyrics, and cheerful melody. Unlike the previous song, she seems to have more trouble reaching the higher notes, but that may be because of the sound effects. This sounds like Beuatiful World for some reason.

Though I’ve never heard the original koi wa groovy, the ×2 -dj-passion More Passion Remix- sounds really Mexican. It has the feel of a dance track (I think that’s what Ito wanted it to be). The bongo drums really bring out the party aspect out of it. I don’t think this is a song meant to be seriously listened to, but just heard while partying. Personally, it’s not my favourite song.

The Gundam 00 version of trust you is basically a TV size version.

Overall Rating:
4/5