Recently in Jpop/Jrock Category

I was checking out YouTube and saw this courtesy of Top 5 Anime. I have no idea if the contest was just a fan-driven thing. The tunes are nice though.

In order of presentation they are:

1. "Hare Hare Yukai" by Ayano Hirano which was used as the closing song to "Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya"

2. "Rewrite" by Asian Kung Fu Generation which was one of the opening songs used in "Full Metal Alchemist"

3. "The World" by Nightmare which is the first opening song in "Death Note"

4. "Undo" by Joker also used as an opening song in "Full Metal Alchemist"

6. "Grip" by Every Little Thing which heralded the arc involving the seven Shichinintai in "Inuyasha"

7. "Asterisk" by Orange Range which is the first opening theme song in "Bleach"

Personally, I would pick "Asterisk", "The World", "Go" and "Rewrite." I'm crazy that way.

It's that time of year when folks make resolutions or start cracking on whatever promise they made to themselves. OK here's mine. This year I resolve to watch more anime that I enjoy and be less forgiving with shows that belong in the reject pile.

No more sitting through 5 or 10 episodes of the cliched, the trite and the truly awful. One or two episodes will be the maximum. I am leery of imposing a zero tolerance policy on anime since some shows improve after several episodes.

Anyway, here's the third opening of the D.Gray-man series which is still running in Japan and hasn't been licensed here yet. I like the show and I prefer this opening song than the previous two. It's called "Doubt and Trust" by Access. Yeah it's JPOP.

The YouTube video is courtesy of someone called "The Bleeding Wrath."

Here's the opening song to "Ghost Hound" which hands down wins the award for best production values out of the slew of anime shows aired in Japan this fall. Thanks to a YouTuber by the name of "explodedrunes", I am able to show you the quality of the animation used for the series.

For some weird reason, I feel the need to dress all in black and snap my fingers a la Beatnik whenever I hear this song. I also dig the two-toned ghostly cat that passes by the hero. Cool.

Although the series makes me want to scratch my head sometimes with its talk about the subconscious, out of body experiences and the mysteries of the human mind. I don't remember signing up for a psych class when I opted to watch this show.

I liked "Shakugan no Shana" and looked forward to the second season. But now I think I was too optimistic.

After watching six episodes of "Shakugan no Shana II" I want to claw my eyes out.

Shana the red-eyed Flame Haze with the flaming sword and fiery master, Alastor, is back with Yuji the Mystes and the rest of the gang. The opening and ending songs are passable cute Jpop tunes. One could even say the opening song is Jrockish.

To recap, the world is a hunting ground for the denizens of the Crimson Realm who steal a person's flame of existence. These denizens are the bad guys and the good guys are lords like Alastor and their Flame Hazes who try to maintain the balance of this world. (Cue pompous-sounding music.) A torch is a replica of a person whose flame of existence has been snuffed out. Torches are temporary and fade away when the flame inside their chest goes out.

Yuji Sakai is a Torch but a special one called a Mystes since he carries a treasure inside him. In his case it is called the "Midnight Lost Child" which reignites his flame at midnight. Technically, Yuji can live for a long, long time thanks to this. So everyone wants this treasure especially those baddies which include the Bel Masque group.

This season has disappointed me a lot. I wanted to see action but all I got so far was stale fare.

"Shakugan no Shana II" has degenerated into a high school love drama. Yeah yeah, the love triangle and pairings were visible in the first season but at least there was a more action-oriented bent to the show then. Now the viewer is subjected to episode upon episode of Shana or that boring girl who can cook (I think her name is Yoshida) getting jealous of Yuji and the latest transfer student.

The fact the transfer student looks remarkably like Hecate, one of the villains last season hints there might still be a plot that will compensate me for the hours I wasted watching this wanna be-Jdorama. Someone puhleez irk Shana so she can slash them with her sword. Anyone? Anyone?

I am happy to anounce that there will be a second season of "Sayonara Despair Teacher", "Kekkaishi", "D.Grayman" and "xxxHolic". The latter refers to the adventures (he would say misadventures) of orphan Kimihiro Watanuki when he meets with the time witch Yuuko.

Watanuki can see spirits and they like to chase him around. Seems he's downright delectable to the denizens of the spirit realm. He is working as the housekeeper/cook/gofer/etc. at Yuuko's shop in order to earn enough credit to get his wish. Yuuko grants wishes for a price.

The show is ugly at times because what looks elegant on paper (the elongated style of the drawings) doesn't translate that well to animation. But the characters' quirks came through loud and clear though.

Here's the opening song of the first season courtesy of a fan who posted it on YouTube.

I still consider "Shell" by BANA one of the better anime songs I've heard. The song was used in the series, "Witch Hunter Robin", which is readily available here on DVD. The soundtrack should be easy to get too.

It's the guitar part that I like so much about the song. That and the fact the singer doesn't sound like a squeaky gerbil. Here's the opening animation to the show courtesy of some fan who put it up on YouTube.

Robin does some weird thing to the TV screen. I suppose she's getting all swoony over Amon who broods, shoots and generally looks cool during the entire show. But who wouldn't swoon over such a bishounen (beautiful boy) , neh? And like any brooding anime hero, Amon wears all black plus a trenchcoat. I'm getting the vapors now. Just kidding.

I love the artwork in "Death Note" the manga which was faithfully rendered in the anime. Some anime blogger said it was very clear what show sucked up most of the budget for last season's crop of anime. Well it shows.

"Death Note" has a new opening and ending song beginning with episode 20. I loathe them. Here's the first intro song which fits the protagonist's motives to a T. Just remember that Light Yagami is a sociopath who believes that the ends justify the means.

I summarized the show in two previous entries so I won't repeat myself.