What I’ve Been Watching/Listening/Reading

I’ve been doing alot recently. I mean, aside from schoolwork. Alot of anime, some reading, and a portion of new music as well. Hit the jump for lots of pictures and some opinions on the stuff I’ve been watching.

Anime

Baccano!

Baccano! is an anime that came out last year and completely passed me by. I can’t believe I missed it, as it is a gem of a show. Spanning 13 episodes and based off of a series of light novels in Japan, Baccano! focuses on a group of seemingly random and unrelated people. From the bumbling and lovable robbers, Isaac and Miria, to the sadistic Ladd, the characters are as varied and interesting as they come. While you may find it confusing at the beginning, stick with it, as everything slowly comes together and previously indecipherable messages suddenly make sense. Earlier scenes (the show jumps around in time and date, from 1711 to the 1930s) will fit into place and the character’s motivations clash or fit together perfectly.

In addition to having a great story and a good vocal cast, Baccano! excels in the realm of animation and style. From the awesome intro to the fast-paced battles, the series works well (I did however, notice a few places where the same animation was used twice. This however, happens rarely).

Simply put, Baccano! is a great series. Mafia, immortals, and a complex story all make for a delightful and fun show that’s worth your while.

D. Gray-man

Focusing on a group of exorcists that hunt down demons and creatures intending to destroy the world, D. Gray-man is an unique show based off of a hit manga. Centering mainly around Allen Walker and his friends, they go around the globe collecting valuable objects called Innocence that can give an Exorcist their powers. Of course, the villain, the Millennium Earl, is also attempting to destroy these before the Exorcists can get to them.

It’s really quite a good show, when it follows the main storyline. It’s still ongoing, currently at episode 77. However, earlier in the series it deviated into side plot and unnecessary filler plots that are useless to the story. If you plan of watching the series, it’d be a good idea to look up the filler episodes and avoid them. These episodes generally stink and even if they are cool, little help the progression of the main thread.

D. Gray-man is definitely enjoyable when on the main plot, however it occasionally feels drawn-out in some scenes, while others go by way too fast. Yet, the awesome design and fun characters keep me coming back. Definitely look into it, and if you like what you see, go for it.

Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann

Simply put, Gurren Lagann is pure awesome converted into TV format. Very few other shows I’ve watched have made me laugh, sniffle (real men don’t cry! …much), and yell “HECK YEAH!” all in the same episode. The show focuses on a young driller named Simon, his adoptive big brother of sorts, Kamina, and the red-haired rifle-wielder, Yoko. Eventually other characters become important as well, but for the most part, Simon stays as the focus of the show. In a nondescript future world, everyone lives underground, often terrified of earthquakes that might bring the cave roof down on them. However, one day, Kamina and Simon find a small face-like robot underground, along with a key for it. Moments later, a huge robot crashes through the roof of their cave, along with Yoko chasing after it. They use the small robot (later named Lagann) to defeat the intruder, which sends them onto even more crazy and exciting adventures.

In the simplest sense, Gurren Lagann is about giant robots fighting each other. However, the show knows not to take itself too seriously. It realizes that the whole idea is insane as it is, so why hold back? Physics are broken and gravity defied. It often parodies other gundam-like shows. It’s meant to be fun and silly, but it really does touch you at certain parts. Even the over-dramatic screaming and yelling in fight scenes is entirely on purpose. Basically, it initially sounds run-of-the-mill anime fodder, (giant robots and hot chicks) but it really turns into something awesome and incredibly fun. And I didn’t even get to mention the beautiful animation.

Claymore

Set in a fantasy world where shape-stealing monsters (Yoma) terrorize the land, the sole people who can combat the encroaching creatures are the Claymores. Women enhanced with the Yoma’s flesh and blood gain superhuman speed, strength, and healing ability. Using these powers, they protect humans. The series focuses on Clare, a Claymore, and her adventures. During the series, she is joined by a young man named Raki. They organization Clare works for is shadowy and nameless, giving her and the other Claymores assignments as they please (they are requested to rid a town of Yoma by the people there). While the Claymores are powerful, if they use too much of their Yoma powers, they will eventually fully turn into a monster themselves.

There’s lots of beheadings and slicing of various limbs in Claymore. Any desire for bloodletting will be fulfilled, to say the least. Oftentimes, important characters or skilled warriors will suddenly be beheaded or be chopped to pieces. It’s a very action-packed and serious show, but I did enjoy it, but only to a point. After episode 24, the anime diverts from the manga’s storyline and creates its own to finish the series. And it shows. The final episodes are really not that good, and desperately try to wrap things up, but leave many threads hanging. My advice would be to watch up to that point and then read the manga from there. Claymore at times is slightly weird or disturbing, but it portrays a unique struggle of human side vs. animal side and the need to resist primal urges.

Lucky Star

I’ll say it right now: if you consider yourself too manly to watch teenage girls discuss cake, anime, and daily life, don’t watch Lucky Star. It appeals to a small segment of people: otaku, ie, anime/manga fans. Plenty of in-jokes and plays on words abound, with regular humor all sprinkled in to create an overly-cute show about Konata, a blue-haired girl who obsesses over video games, anime, and manga. Neglecting her homework and working in a cosplay restaurant are her primary jobs.

The show simply follows Konata and her friends on their oddly ordinary lives. Sometimes whole episodes will be dedicated to them lounging around talking about the weather or how to eat a chocolate coronet. While often entirely “boring” in a sense, it’s equally hilarious. The series just has a loose sense of humor. Simple but funny, Lucky Star is a great show that will entertain any otaku (but if you’re already one, you’ve probably watched Lucky Star a gazillion times over by now). Is this moe?!

Books

Timeline

I had to read this book for literature class at school, and I actually enjoyed it, despite me normally hating time-travel stories. It’s not exactly new, so I’m sure most people know of it. Basically, from Jurassic Park creator Michael Crichton, comes a story about people who travel back in time to the middle ages. Well written and exciting, it’s a good book to enjoy over the summer. However, the ending is ridiculously cliched and is entirely predictable. Aside from that, however, the book stands as a fun adventure.

Music

Apocalyptica

4 cellos. And they play metal. From Metallica to their own stuff, Apocalyptica is about as unique as you can get. Awesome sound, awesome band.

Kiss by L’arc en Ciel

Kiss is the latest album from Japanese sensations L’arc en Ciel. The whole album is has cool sound — there are very few tracks on it I could even get close to saying I “dislike.” L’arc has always had great quality music, and their latest work is no exception.

Smash Bros. Brawl Soundtrack

Wow, over 300+ tracks of pure amazing from the greatest composers in the video game industry. You can’t go wrong here. Every genre of music aside from screamo and punk are covered in this album (yes, there is jazz, rock, harpsichord, and even the horrible Sonic songs!). Basically, this is the ultimate video game soundtrack. Not gonna put this one down for a while!