Recently in harem anime Category

Before anyone goes on a warpath and tries lopping off my head for liking this show, let me set something straight.

"Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei" which translates to "Farewell Despair Teacher" or "Farewell Mr. Despair" is a comedy definitely not meant for the kids or anyone pure. We are dealing with gallows humor here folks. The main character, Nozomu Itoshiki, is a pessimist of the first order who thinks nothing of hanging himself whenever life gets him down. In this case, pretty much every day.

The first episode begins with a high school girl waxing rhapsodic about spring. She is surrounded by cherry trees in full bloom and soon spies a young man intent on hanging himself. She somehow "saves" him and her too cheerful outlook on life makes him leery of her. She pooh poohs his suicide attempt, declaring that he was just trying to make himself taller. She tells him her father tried to make himself taller when he got laid off, when the company closed and when the debt collectors came calling at the family home. She even calls a trash can "a treasure chest for the homeless."

The gal is called Kafuka Fura although that is not her real name. The moniker comes from Frank Kafka. We find out that she is one of Itoshiki's students.

Yep ya got that right. The man who is a walking black hole of despair is currently a homeroom teacher to high school students who definitely deserve someone more cheerful.

Since this is also a harem anime (gasp, did I just admit to liking another harem anime?) Nozomu becomes the object of affection for several of his female students which include the stalker Matoi Tsunetsuki. According to the Wikipedia entry on the show, her name is a pun on the phrase "always following about."

Matoi needs to know what her current love is doing every minute of the day so she bugs his room and stalks him. When she switches her affection to Nozomu, she dresses in a kimono and follows him everywhere even to the men's restroom. Kafuka thinks stalking is just "deep love."

"Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei" had me laughing out loud and I've only seen seven episodes. The show, which has 12 episodes, also pokes fun at other shows be it American or Japanese. While it's not essential, a bit of anime know how helps too. It would explain why the blonde-haired student often ends up in situations where one can see her panties. She's the character destined to appease the fan boys.

I repeat, this is NOT for the under 16 crowd or for anyone who doesn't get sarcasm. You have been warned.

The show just finished airing in Japan and isn't licensed yet for distribution in America. I've only seen fansubs so far.

My inner fangirl would like to show some more of the reasons why she likes "La Corda D'Oro". Five reasons actually and they all wear pants. Sigh. Please excuse me while I throttle her into silence.

Here's an animated music video created by Tsukimorifanatic and posted on YouTube. The song used is "Trouble with Boys" by Loreta.

Attention fangirls. Let the squealing commence. I will now die of embarassment.

Shoujo anime usually feature a pretty girl, some bishounens (beautiful boys), a romantic triangle or polygon and lots of pointless sparkles, swirling flower petals or spring breezes that suddenly appear around the heroine and her love interests. And don't forget the angst and romantic hand-wringing.

"La Corda D'Oro" or "Kiniro no Corda" as it is called in Japanese is a shoujo tale set in the middle of a musical competition at a high school that offers a regular curriculum and a music curriculum. The students in the music program think they are waaay better than the regular students.

The show, which translates to "The Golden Cord" in English, is based on a manga which originated from a dating simulation game by Koei. I've never played a dating sim. My video game preferences run toward action adventures where I whack monsters with a samurai sword or a high-tech gun. And if I can, I try not to rescue simpering damsels in distress.

The heroine is Kahoko Hino, a second year student in the regular section of Seisou Academy. She arrives late to school one day and encounters a tiny fairy by the name of Lili who is surprised that she can see him. Lili was the fairy saved by the school's founder. The fairy gives Kahoko a magic violin and she suddenly finds herself competing in the school's annual concours with five music students and another regular student. Apparently, regular students didn't participate in the contest before. Kahoko is a pioneer of sorts.

Kahoko doesn't know how to play the violin really. She does, however, have a heartfelt appreciation for classical music. In short, she plays with her heart. But she feels like a fraud later on because she knows her violin with the lone golden string is the one that actually makes her sound like a prodigy.

I know I've stated that I hate harem animes but somehow my inner fangirl likes this show which is a reverse harem. Instead of one guy and a bevy of beauties, there's one girl and a slew of handsome willowy love interests. Swoon. There's classical music to boot.

Kahoko gets to spend time with the aloof but brilliant violinist Len Tsukimori, regular student and piano whiz Ryotaro Tsuchiura, cheerful trumpeteer Kazuki Hihara, two-faced flautist Azuma Yunoki and sleepy cellist Keiichi Shimizu. Shouko Fuyuumi the clarinet player is the only other girl in the competition and idolizes Kahoko.

It has a nice theme song too. "Brand New Breeze" by Kanon fits this swoony music tale. But if you're not into shoujo and pretty boys who look alike except for their hair color and facial expressions then by all means steer clear of "La Corda D'Oro."

My inner fangirl adores Len out of all the bishies so I sometimes let her out of solitary confinement to watch a fansubbed version of the show. Then when I cannot stand her squealing anymore, I shove her ruthlessly back into the inner recesses of my mind so I can go back to watching action-oriented shows.

I'm in the middle of an "Ouran High School Host Club" withdrawal. The final episode aired Sept. 26 in Japan and I saw it the next week via a fansub. Since then, I've watched all 26 episodes three more times.

Waaaah! I can't believe it's over! My only consolation is that the manga is still ongoing.

"Ouran" deals with Haruhi Fujioka's life at the affluent high school and with the all-boys Host Club who spend their time flattering and entertaining the ladies. Haruhi is a scholarship student who broke an expensive vase the club would have auctioned off. She ended up becoming a member of the club and pretending to be a boy to pay off her debt.

The characters are a hoot from the overly dramatic club president Tamaki Suoh to the unflappable Haruhi. Yes it is shojo anime which means Haruhi gets romantic attention from the boys in the club. There's drama since some of the characters have experienced personal tragedies while others carry emotional baggages of their own.

But "Ouran" is also a hilarious show. A couple of episodes were a dud like the spoof of "Alice in Wonderland." The manga version of that was brilliant though.

Some fans also groused whenever the show veered away from the manga. Personally, it didn't bother me since the show was pretty faithful to the original source.

SPOILER ALERT. DON'T READ IF YOU DON'T WANT TO KNOW THE ENDING. The last two episodes introduced a character who doesn't appear in the manga. Eclair Tonnere (I'm not sure how you spell her last name) becomes Tamaki's fiancee and he announces that the club will disband after the two-day school festival. Eclair's ace is that she knows where his mother is. The Tonnere company is also buying Japanese businesses so Tamaki's nasty grandmother is using him to become part of this rich French family.

Tamaki also thinks that his selfishness is causing problems for the other members. And it is up to them to convince him otherwise. The ending includes a chase, Hunny and Mori beating up the Ohtori private police force and Haruhi/Tamaki moments. However, the epilogue hints that Haruhi is still a free agent.

My personal preference is to see her paired with the club's vice president - the brilliant, manipulative and cute Kyoya Ohtori. But alas, the pairing is a long shot in the manga. In the anime though, Kyoya's father tells Tamaki's dad he wants to marry Haruhi to his son in the future. The other man wants the same thing for his son.

The show ends with a seated Haruhi surrounded by the other members extending an invitation to the viewer to visit the club.

As I sit here in front of my trusty computer battling some kind of flu that hasn't let up in 5 days, I wonder what would Keitaro do.

I don't think Shinobu would be of any help. With her crushes, and her cooking, all I can expect is a heart shaped rice ball, if there is such a thing.

Don't even get me started on Motoko. Sure, she kicks butt and fights ghosts. She can carve a figurine out of wood without even looking at it. That's the problem. I need someone more delicate. She has a big sword. Not a good idea to confront her in my condition. My kung-fu grip is not as strong as usual.

Kitsune? hmmmmm, she is always fun. No! Alcohol can cure many things, unfortunately colds is not one of them. Although some people disagree. Anyway, I would probably end up without my wallet. I think I'll pass.

Kaolla is definitely out of the question. With all her brains and her inventions, she is no medic. I don't think I could trust her. Are you kidding? I don't want to end up strapped to some super mega extra special edition fighting robot turtle.

...I guess my cold is not that bad after all