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  • Steve 10:26 pm on January 29, 2009 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: , Animu,   

    Steve’s First Impressions of Winter aka Time to Rip Apart Some Animu! 

    Lets get this party on! Hit you with a laser gun!
    Let’s get this party on! Hit you with a laser gun!

    Steve: First of all, I blame Minnie for not informing me of a deadline on the first impression post. Now, I have to work my ass off to get one done in time for her to stay happy and not sentence me to years of becoming her personal slave. I am watching almost all the animu this season so this will be one long post. Or not. You’ll see what I mean once you enter my realm where knives and chainsaws are free for the taking.

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  • Ric 2:22 pm on January 26, 2009 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: First Impressions, , , Sora O Kakeru Shojo, ,   

    Ric’s Big Wintery Post of Impressions! Part 1? 

    I've been dying to use this picture so long, I've even forgotten the caption! Lovely!

    I've been dying to use this picture so long, I've even forgotten the caption! Lovely!

    Ric: Hey everyone, I’m back I suppose, though first I would like to apologise for being gone so long, I’ve not been well recently. I think my immune system figured out that it was winter and just decided “Hey, let’s go on holiday, he won’t mind!”

    So with that and a pile of tissues in a bag next to me, on with my list of “first impressions”.

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    • Katt 6:20 pm on January 26, 2009 Permalink | Reply

      Image-stealeeeeeer! =O

      Defs watch more Kurokami soon. I mean, it may very well be the fact that you haven’t witnessed the follow-up to the little girl being hit by a truck that is causing your immune system to weaken. Weaken with unresolved tension!

  • Katt 11:33 am on January 25, 2009 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: , , , , ,   

    Katt’s [Not Quite] First Impressions of Winter 2009! 

    Time for another blogger's opinion!

    Time for another blogger's opinion!

    Katt: I guess it’s a tad late in the season to really call this a first impressions post, but I wanted to wait until at least the first Kemono no Souja Erin episode was subbed before I wrote this. So now it’s more of a Not-Quite-First Impressions Post, but shh! The intention is still there! I have not tasted nearly as many of the season’s series as my fellow bloggers, and I haven’t even bothered watching series that I predicted would not interest me at all. Why waste my time, right? In any case, my impressions~

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    • Minnie 12:41 am on January 26, 2009 Permalink | Reply

      I love your first impression post TZM. I believe we agree again on everything. XDDDDDD Especially the Kuro and the Touya thing. Gosh, I hate that bastard. ^_^;;; And it’s only been three episodes. XD Your Kurokami section is full of win. Ric loved reading it too. ^_^

      I will definitely watch Kemono sometime this week. I already rate the OP very high in my other post so I’m looking forward to the anime itself. Thanks for the post TZM!

    • Katt 6:08 pm on January 26, 2009 Permalink | Reply

      How am I not surprised that we agree on everything? XD How horrible that we both loathe Touya so much! You’re not supposed to hate the main character of a romance, hahaha! In retrospect, my Kurokami comments are pretty, erm, interesting, aren’t they? Heh.

      Watch iiit! And the second episode is out now, too~

  • Minnie 1:35 am on January 18, 2009 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: , , , ,   

    Minnie’s First Impressions of Winter 2009 Part II~ 

    Second Week (sort of) of New Animes so... More Impressions!

    Second Week (sort of) of New Animes so... More Impressions!

    Minnie: I have no idea what week of anime this is but I should post my Part II already since I don’t want to make it too long and bulky. I hope everyone knows what I mean. The Winter Season has been good to me. There hasn’t been many animes I hate. Actually, I don’t think I hate any anime thus far. Everything is plausible at least. Let’s see what I have to say about then eh?

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    • Katt 3:26 pm on January 18, 2009 Permalink | Reply

      Of these, I’ve only watched Ride Back thus far…and surprise surprise, I totally agree with your opinion, Minnie. XD I’m not totally sold on it yet, although a lot of your thoughts are identical to mine when I was watching it. Especially the avoidance of fan service, hahaha.

    • Minnie 3:31 pm on January 18, 2009 Permalink | Reply

      This is why we’re twins. XD I actually want to see if there will be any shows you like that I don’t. That’ll be interesting. ^^

    • Katt 4:15 pm on January 18, 2009 Permalink | Reply

      Hmm, I wonder~ So far it looks like our opinions are pretty similar, since you’ve given your “first impressions” on all of the series that I’ve had a look at. Heck, I am even being like you by watching all of the first Natsume Yuujinchou series, hahaha! (Though I watched the first two episodes of the new season before doing that, heheh.)

    • Minnie 5:16 pm on January 18, 2009 Permalink | Reply

      You’re watching Natsume! That makes me really happy. XD What do you think of it so far? I really love that anime. ^_^;;; Also, Ric is probably not up to blogging Zoku Natsume this Winter so if you want to, you can. Only if you want to though. ^^

    • Katt 7:06 pm on January 18, 2009 Permalink | Reply

      Well, the best way to describe what I think of it is… I started watching it Friday, and am now done. XD What a beautiful series! If Ric is not up to blogging Zoku Natsume, then I would be giddy to do it (especially since Kemono no Souja Erin has yet to be subbed!).

  • Minnie 1:35 am on January 18, 2009 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: , , , ,   

    Minnie窶冱 First Impressions of Winter 2009 Part II~ 

    Second Week (sort of) of New Animes so... More Impressions!

    Second Week (sort of) of New Animes so... More Impressions!

    Minnie: I have no idea what week of anime this is but I should post my Part II already since I don’t want to make it too long and bulky. I hope everyone knows what I mean. The Winter Season has been good to me. There hasn’t been many animes I hate. Actually, I don’t think I hate any anime thus far. Everything is plausible at least. Let’s see what I have to say about then eh?

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    • Katt 3:26 pm on January 18, 2009 Permalink | Reply

      Of these, I’ve only watched Ride Back thus far…and surprise surprise, I totally agree with your opinion, Minnie. XD I’m not totally sold on it yet, although a lot of your thoughts are identical to mine when I was watching it. Especially the avoidance of fan service, hahaha.

    • Minnie 3:31 pm on January 18, 2009 Permalink | Reply

      This is why we’re twins. XD I actually want to see if there will be any shows you like that I don’t. That’ll be interesting. ^^

    • Katt 4:15 pm on January 18, 2009 Permalink | Reply

      Hmm, I wonder~ So far it looks like our opinions are pretty similar, since you’ve given your “first impressions” on all of the series that I’ve had a look at. Heck, I am even being like you by watching all of the first Natsume Yuujinchou series, hahaha! (Though I watched the first two episodes of the new season before doing that, heheh.)

    • Minnie 5:16 pm on January 18, 2009 Permalink | Reply

      You’re watching Natsume! That makes me really happy. XD What do you think of it so far? I really love that anime. ^_^;;; Also, Ric is probably not up to blogging Zoku Natsume this Winter so if you want to, you can. Only if you want to though. ^^

    • Katt 7:06 pm on January 18, 2009 Permalink | Reply

      Well, the best way to describe what I think of it is… I started watching it Friday, and am now done. XD What a beautiful series! If Ric is not up to blogging Zoku Natsume, then I would be giddy to do it (especially since Kemono no Souja Erin has yet to be subbed!).

  • Minnie 5:57 pm on January 16, 2009 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: , Genji Monogatari Sennenki Episode 1, Hikaru Genji, , Tale of Genji Episode 1   

    Tale of Genji Episode 1: “When I Get Taller and Stronger, I’ll Be Able to Grant You Any Wish and Protect You From Anything” 

    A Rated R anime?! No, not really. Read to see why.

    A Rated R anime?! No, not really. Read to see why.

    Minnie: I’ve been anticipating this anime for a long time. A very long time. Or at least, it feels like a long time. It doesn’t matter anymore because it’s finally here! Tale of Genji’s first episode is here and subbed for everyone to see. Today, I am supposed to go to the movies but it’s been canceled at the last minute so guess what? I’ll be here to blog this anime the minute it comes out. Yippee~

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    • Dave Baranyi 6:52 pm on January 16, 2009 Permalink | Reply

      You should read the Wiki article on the Tales of Genji, it will clear up a lot of things for you. For example, Genji never did become Emperor.

      BTW – despite what the Japanese like to think, there are a number of novels that are nearly a thousand years older than the Tales of Genji, including novels from ancient Rome, ancient China and ancient Greece. Remember, literacy only came to Japan in the 8th Century.

    • L-chan 6:53 pm on January 16, 2009 Permalink | Reply

      FYI, Genji isn’t an Emperor, he’s just a Nobleman. He’s the son of the Emperor, but he’s denied the throne because his mother was never made Empress on account of her lower status. So his father made him a “commoner” by giving him a surname, Genji. (royalty didn’t have surnames back then)

    • Minnie 7:19 pm on January 16, 2009 Permalink | Reply

      My respond: Poor Genji T___T Oh well. We’ll be watching about a nobleman instead of an Emperor then. Thanks for the info guys!

    • ayumikat 7:43 pm on January 16, 2009 Permalink | Reply

      Glad you’re blogging Genji as it is not everyone’s cup of tea. This is one of the shows I anticipated too…mainly because I’m curious as to how this particular adaptation will turn out as it is considered a direct interpretation of the original novel. Aside from the weird choice of OP, the first episode gave me a good impression. The dialogue has an almost poetic and lyrical feel and the bgm is simply gorgeous. Animation wise, the style fits the nature of the series…more adult feel. Btw, spoiler for you: In the tale,Genji was never an emperor though. He was one of the Emperor’s sons and his concubine but he never ascended the throne himself. And yes, the singer for the ED is Kousuke Atari…who sang the ED theme for NYC S1.

    • Minnie 7:55 pm on January 16, 2009 Permalink | Reply

      I can understand that many might not try it because they think they need to read the novel first or something like that. Sort of like Ga-Rei. Anyways, I agree with everything you say. I like everything about the first episode except for the out of place OP.

      I’m kind of sad and happy at the news about Genji too. And I’m glad to hear Kousuke Atari’s voice again. I love that NYC’s ED. Thanks for clearing that up for me.

    • hashi 8:04 pm on January 16, 2009 Permalink | Reply

      I just want to first thank you for blogging this. I totally love the book, and I enjoyed episode one.

      And I want to say to Dave Baranyi that there are reasonable grounds for calling the Genji the world’s first true novel. Ancient Greek fiction like Daphnis and Chloe can be considered more like a string of mythical tales than a novel in modern terms. The Genji includes internal monologues and a lot of psychological subtlety that makes it more like Jane Austen than ancient fiction. There is definitely no Chinese novel as old as this, just short stories. I’m not sure about India or the Muslim world.

      In any case, this is definitely the first novel written by a woman — and it may be the first novel of all.

    • Minnie 8:25 pm on January 16, 2009 Permalink | Reply

      I’m glad so many experienced (for lack of better word) Genji readers are here because I really have no idea what the book is about. An amateur at best. I pick this up because a fellow blogger told me that this anime fit me out of the bunch the best so why not?

      Oh. I see what you mean, hashi. It’s not the first published work but you can argue that it’s one of the first novels, if not the first novel written using the strictest definition of what a novel is. After reading your description about the book, I’m even more interested in reading it.

      Tale of Genji is written by a woman? I have no idea. Wow. Thanks for all the info!

    • Katt 8:29 am on January 17, 2009 Permalink | Reply

      My best friend was talking about being excited for this series the other day; I’ll need to watch the first episode after I’m finished watching all of Natsume Yuujinshou (three episodes to go!).

      As for calling Tale of Genji the first ever novel… it seems unlikely. Japan developed a writing system far far later than most of the world, and I know that an ancient Mesopotamian society had a library filled with a variety of books including the epic of Gilgamesh. I understand where hashi is coming from; novels as we know them now are quite a recent form of writing.

    • Dave Baranyi 10:06 am on January 17, 2009 Permalink | Reply

      Hashi – Have you read the “Satyricon”? Petronius wrote it in the first century AD. Penguin books has a good modern translation. Check your local bookstore or library.

      Even the Chinese “Romance of the Three Kingdoms” is at least 5 centuries older than Genji. I’ll leave it to you to debate it’s status as a novel with Chinese academics…

      Take care -

      Dave Baranyi

    • hashi 10:51 am on January 17, 2009 Permalink | Reply

      @Katt — Gilgamesh is an epic poem, like the Iliad and the Odyssey. There are also the Tamil Silappatikaram and the Sanskrit epics. Wikipedia has a definition of novels as “long, written, fictional prose narratives.” These are not novels because they are in poetry, not prose.

      @Dave Baranyi — The Satyricon is a good example. I’d have to define novel pretty strictly to rule it out: too much poetry and too little seriousness?

      However, the Three Kingdoms may be based on events in the third century, but it was actually written in the 14th century.

      The “first novel” was long said to be Don Quixote, which was written in the 1500s. Now earlier shorter works, none earlier than the 1300s, are also mentioned.

      I think the Satyricon, the Metamorphoses, and Daphnis and Chloe are all arguably novels, but I do think the Genji is closer in spirit to the modern novel than any of them. Its characters seem to me to have more interior life. I think the case for the Genji as the first true novel is at least arguable. It often seems to me like a version of Jane Austen — 800 years earlier.

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