Currently Watching: Shingeki no Kyojin (Episode 1-3)

I have a confession to make. I have started watching Attack of Titans before finishing Le Chevalier D’Eon… They are both 20 minutes long a piece but I’ve never been tempted to watch more than two episodes per sitting of the latter. In one sitting I’ve managed to watch six episodes of Attack of Titans avec ma soeur. I guess that means that I'm kinda hooked. So, for now, the Currently Watching series will deal with both Le Chevalier and SNK simultaneously.

I guess it was this year that I realized a serious dichotomy exists in relation to my genre preference. I really enjoy light-hearted, sentimental anime such as Kimi no Todoke (first season only!) but I also love deep dark supernatural series such as this one. Within the first three episodes we meet the Titans, as well as our main characters Eren, Mikasa, and their loser buddy Armin. These Titans are creepy as heck, but I like that they give me real chills. They are so close to human form, balancing on what is a fine line between humans and monsters - it is way too close to comfort. From their small sharp teeth to their beady eyes and an unshapely human form, Hajime Isayama has created a true masterpiece.

Our friends live in a world where the Titans, a human-type monster equipped with insurmountable strength and an insatiable thirst for human meat, terrorize the lives of regular sized homo-sapiens. As a result, the human population have been reduced to a dangerously low number after the invasion of these titans around a century ago. Since then they have protected themselves only by building three layers of walls around human civilization: Wall Maria, Rose and Sina.

Our protagonist and his friends live behind the outermost wall, the Wall Maria, which is 50 meters tall. The three friends meet and start criticizing the ignorance of their fellow peeps. As the three discus the possibility of an invasion at any moment, a Behemoth Titan appears, peering over wall, and swiftly creates a hole in the massive fortitude. Then other smaller (but still gigantic) titans to invade and devour our lovely protagonist’s mother, which fuels the fire to his fiery vengeance.

Rapt with determination, Eren joins the cadets in order to become a soldier, vowing to exterminate the titans who so mercilessly killed his mother. With hard work, he becomes one (obviously), along with his adopted sister/bffl Mikasa, and he is one step closer to his goal.


Until next time! Hasta la Vista.

Currently Watching: Le Chevalier D'Eon (Episode 6-7)

The four are called to meet with the King, and as soon as they arrive they are dismissed from the Secret du Roi, just after they failed to capture Baronsoff. Duke of Broglie tells D’Eon that the alternative is a mission that may cost their lives. They have no choice but to choose the mission and they all separate to do one last thing before they must embark on their mission to track down Baronsoff in Russia. As we see in the next few scenes, these boys have nothing to lose: Tellagory visits his late wife at the cemetery, and Durande, who said he would visit his lover one last time, goes to see Lia in her casket. 

D'Eon in drag, possession

Robin, on the other hand, goes to thank Queen Marie for giving him a place to live and begs her one last audience for D'Eon. Before D’Eon leaves, he insists that he must know what Lia's wandering spirit wants from him. Marie then insists that he must cross-dress in order to really understand what Lia wants from him. So she brings out Lia's dress that she somehow acquired even before D'Eon visited her. He puts on the dress and lo and behold, Lia has surfaced. Marie keeps on asking Lia to who betrayed France and murdered her, but Lia is so hurt and traumatized that she can't bear to say the name. Damnit, Marie! Can't you tell she's in pain? Anyways, Belle finally convinces Marie to back off and D'Eon finds in the mirror in front of him a message Lia left him in something that looks suspiciously like lipstick. It says: "I am with you."

Having finished saying their goodbyes, the four leave for Russia, but unfortunately D'Eon is caught by his fiancé leaving without telling her. He tries to make up excuses and she believes him and lets him go.D’Eon still vows to return to her and she is satisfied. They arrive in Colone, where they are betrayed by the inn keeper and the hunt begins. The Royal Psalms is a book that holds tremendous powers, and when a poet recites its verses, he can use the terrible magic that the verses have. Knowing this, it is probably the Compte who betrayed Lia, got a hold of the book, and bestowed supernatural strength to Caron.

There are two revolutionists who can also recite and use the power of the Book of Psalms. The couple can also communicate with the Compte who writes back to his “revolutionary brethren” ordering them to search and hunt down D’Eon + company.

D'Eon and company are then hunted by these zombified/possessed dogs, and Lia comes to the rescue of frail D’Eon once again while everyone else is able to hold their own, even Robin. She just flashes some light at the dogs and the zombies disintegrate. I’m starting to wonder how she is so powerful – it’s quite suspicious, actually. From the way that she is able to counter magic so easily to the strange words that appears on D’Eon’s sword. Perhaps she got a hold of the magic as well? Anyways, that is a mystery. I leave you with the four amigos, ready for the danger that lies ahead.


PS:

Lia or D'Eon?

Currently Watchin: Le Chevalier D'Eon (Episode 4-5)

Meet King Henry XV. Now, this isn’t at all what I expected since when I think of French kings. I guess I presume that they always look fat and pompous with rosy cheeks and red lips...but I digress. He shows up with his trusty sidekick Duc d'Broglie to confront D’Eon about the papers that were delivered to him with the list of high ranking Russian officials, and reprimand him for not handing them over sooner. The King finally explains to D’Eon that his sister was a part of Le Secret du Roi, which is a secret organization that he has scattered all over the world to act as spies. Lia happened to be stationed in Russia, and I think that we can therefore assume that the letter sent to D'Eon was from his sister. The King then offers D’Eon an opportunity to follow in Lia’s path by joining Le Secret du Roi, which D'Eon accepts.

Later we somehow find out that the Duc d'Orléans was associated with Lia by acting as a conduit (meaning he passed information to and from her). In my humble opinion, before I pass top secret information along, I would try to make damn sure that my accomplice is trustworthy. But I guess if they were half as sensible as I was they wouldn't have an interesting plot line...hehehehe I joke. We also get a closer look at the Marquise de Pompadour who made a very short cameo in the first episode. She is the King’s mistress, and in this episode she is touting a radical speech in the palace courts. That slutty traitor! If you're going to sleep with the king, you probably shouldn't commit treason...or I guess it gives you the perfect opportunity. In any case, I don't really know how I feel about her. She is the enemy after all.

D’Eon and his comrades continue their search for the Russian, who is aided by the Duc d'Orléans and his trusty advisor Compte de Saint-Germain who looks like a creepy eunuch. Our foolish protagonist fiercely refuses to allow Lia to possess him because he believes that his sister would never kill so mercilessly - and because he won't let her take over, he is about to be killed by Caron who has now received even greater power by the Compte. Caron, then instead of killing D'Eon, wastes precious time to give a grand speech. Personally, if the victim's going to die anyway, I would kill first and then give the speech. But I actually liked Caron speech, and it did affect D'Eon, because he says something quite poignant and relevant to everyone in any society. He ridicules our hero, scoffing at his laughable knightly status, mocking him as he is at the mercy of his sword. He asks D’Eon how it feels to be beaten by a commoner who scrapes to get by day by day, the scum of society whom D’Eon and his noble peers turn their powdery cheeks from, living in ignorant bliss. Well, something like that but only much more poetic and eloquent. But of course, Lia steps in and kills Caron for good this time.

The King has by now realized that his uncle, Duc d'Orléans has been plotting against him. The King then comes all the way to Paris to deliver a few lines to the Duke and pretty much kick his arse. Unfortunately for the "good guys" the Duke and Count are successful in aiding Baronsoff the Russian out of France. As Baronsoff leaves France, he is accompanied by a dashing young blond Parisian, quoting a few lines Dante's Inferno.

I find our enigmatic newcomer quite intriguing. I think he's evil, but he's probably a likeable antagonist. Right?


*Duc d'Broglie will also be referred to as Duke of Broglie or Broglie
*Marquise de Pompadour will also be referred to as Pompadour
*Comte de Saint-Germain will also be referred to as Count Saint-Germain

Currently Watching: Le Chevalier D'Eon (Episode 2-3)

So I actually wasn’t going to write about the second episode, but I decided why not? There are a lot of important things to discuss anyways…

In the second episode we discover that 1) Lia has been possessing D’Eon to seek vengeance, as her raging lost spirit wanders the earth 2) The queen and king are definitely up to something, and play a much bigger role than I initially assumed and 3) This series has some serious supernatural happenin's. The queen, whom we discover has been (secretly?) talking to Belle, a creepy talking skull, has sent Robin to assist D'Eon on his journey. On the last episode, some things happened that had sent D'Eon back to Versailles unconscious. He asks Queen Marie about the mysterious code NQM, and there is an in depth allusion to the book of Psalms in the Christian Bible. Throughout the anime I’ve noticed the characters quoting either biblical verses or other famous religious lines, but this is a whole 'nother level. Any who, D’Eon leaves Versailles once again, and on his quest is also accompanied by Durande, his sister Lia’s lover/friend/companion, and his old fencing teacher Teillagory. It’s funny because as soon as the last member joins the group, the opposition unleashes an army of zombies on our heroes as if they were hiding in the alleyway waiting for them to have a chuckle before going out to destroy them. Caron, the series’ most powerful enemy yet, appears to finish off D’Eon while his companions are distracted trying to un-zombify the entire horde. However, Lia possesses D'Eon again and kicks Caron's ass and they manage to capture him. Durande, pretending to betray his companions, releases the enemy in order to have him run back to his masters. The dimwit of an enemy leads D’Eon to the Duc d'Orléans, who has been behind this operation this entire time, and is conspiring against the King. Dun Dun Dun...

 

Currently Watching: Le Chevalier D'Eon (Watch With Me!)

I don’t know what really intrigued me to start this anime. I had never even heard of it before, but I’m excited. First of all, the imagery is gorgeous, and the drawing style I must say is my favourite: almost Miyazaki-esque. The first episode opens up with a casket found in the river with a dead girl. She is Lia, the sister of our main character D’Eon who embarks on a hunt for his beloved sister’s killer. 

King Louis the XV reigns over France from his palace in Versailles at the time D’Eon finds his sister dead. As I love studying, reading and learning about the royal court life, I enjoy that this anime dedicates itself to realistically capture that era. Kings, earls and marquise donning fanciful dresses practicing traditions and customs have a cameo in every episode. D'Eon indeed is a nobleman who has the right to be present at court, but he leaves his privilege behind to unravel this mystery that will soon plague the nation.

Quickly the setting changes as D’Eon leaves Versailles and Anna, the girl who so desperately dotes on him, for Paris. He arrives in Paris to become part of the secret police who works under King Louis XV. Of course, when he arrives, he realizes that his sister's murderer is no ordinary criminal or abductor. Instead, an entirely dark side of religion, government, and high society is exposed as they grow closer to the truth. In search for a Russian suspect, they go into the Duc d'Orléans’s estate to look for him, and the Duke is obviously sketchy.With the permission of the Duke, they find inside the Russian’s residence, dead girls hanging up on the walls with strange tubes attached to them. They also find letters written in blood with a list of France's high ranking government officials. D’Eon reveals to his friend Bernis, that just before his sister’s death, he had a letter sent to him with a list of high ranking Russian government officials, signed by “NQM." 

We come to discover as the episode goes on that Lia was no innocent little girl herself. She was also involved with a secret society and kept many secrets from Anna as well as her brother. With all of this talk of secret organizations and whatnot, the first episode is actually quite hard to follow, but it left me intrigued with the twisted plot nevertheless.


*Duc d'Orléans will also be referred to as Duke of Orléans

Air TV

Gao. This blog is dedicated to a hot thing. Just kidding.

I had every intention of splitting this series into arcs to blog about, but it so happened that it was only twelve episodes long. Not only that, but when a series is so short, the plot seems to matter less and the content is extremely dense and meaningful. I'm not going to lie and say that this anime didn't confuse me. In fact, it confused the heck out of me. For example, why does Yukito turn into a crow? Hummm....

Anyhow, there happen to be several arcs in this series that include mini-stories of the people that Yukito Kunisaki impact or is impacted by. I'm amazed that I liked every single character in this anime and even empathized with them. I guess character development has to be perfect when the plot is of secondary importance.

At first we meet Yukito Kunisaki, a man who is looking for a girl in the sky with wings...and he happens to meet a girl named Misuzu Kamio who will tell him that she's been having these strange dreams of the past. As if this isn't predictable or obvious enough, Misuzu turns out to be the re-incarnation of that girl in the sky except she never shows her wings.

I love both Misuzu and Yukito. I love them together. At first did I think that it was creepy for them to fall in love? Absolutely...but in the end it's kind of pure and selfless and it's more like a deep friendship than anything else. I think that it's rare for me to like every single character in an anime series including the heroine or hero sometimes, but it is not the case here.

Within this already mini-series, we get two tinier stories embedded. One is of Kano, a girl who thinks that she has inherited magical powers but is possessed by a wandering mother's spirit. The other, which is of Minagi Tohno, is by far my bias. I loved this story so much. I'm not going to ruin it by summarizing the story (which I never do anyways), but if anything, I loved everything about this arc. Yukito discards (not really) Misuzu for a little while to create a pseudo-family with Minagi and her sister's spirit, Michiru. Then Minagi leaves and then...

we are suddenly without warning thrust into 994 CE, or a thousand years ago. This is the first summer, when Misuzu's former self Kanna is cursed as she flees by the monks who fear her and her power. Why it happened is not that important, in my honest opinion. What is important is that she falls in love with Ryuuya (Yukito's ancestor) and he promises to save her from the curse by leaving behind a child with Uraha (this part made me lol so hard). This entire thing with the curse is really confusing, but it was cute nonetheless.

One thing that I love about this series is that every moment is so significant. Every person or animal that gets a ten second screen time reveals his or her importance later on. I guess in a way that can make the story a tiny bit confusing, but it's not that hard to follow the main idea. I know that the theme of friendship, love and family is really cliche, but it's implied in a way that left an imprint on me. I didn't cry like my friend Hot Thing predicted, but it did leave a heavy feeling in my heart, which is an indicator that the story is really good.

Unfortunately, the ending is sad. This little reunion between Misuzu and her aunt-slash-adoptive-mother is pretty short-lived. One thing I think is really cool is that I think Haruko is supposed to be Uraha's counterpart, and that the three of them are family as Uraha, Kanna and Ryuuya were.

So I leave you with my favourite character, the winged doll of Yukito. No, I didn't like the fact that he turned into a crow, any yes, I'm not going to write about that because I'm childish. Next I'll be updating with my review of Castle in the Sky by Miyazaki. Hasta la vista sooner than later!

So, apparently according to Hot Thing I should rewrite this because she hates me. So I will after I rewatch it... :D

Quick Update and Chopper

I have to make a quick shout out to my supportive friend Latina who gave me this sweeeeet little cell phone strap of Chopper to commemorate the start of my blog! Isn’t he so cute? I’m so enamoured with this one. Apparently, it’s limited edition from Japan, and each city has their own version of the One Piece Characters…I think this one was either Tokyo or Osaka… Anyways, I’m still watching Air, so…toodle-la-doo!