Az első dolog, amit a Shining Tears kapcsán tanultam: mit kapunk akkor, ha legyőzzük a főgonosz molylepkét? Egy meztelen, bishi-elf lelkét! Maga az anime nem lett volna annyira szörnyű, ha 1) nem sietik el ennyire 2) nem raknak be ennyi sekélyes szereplőt 3) nem szúrják el a történetet, amit nagyon jól kivitelezhettek volna, de ugye ez nem sikerült.

Ami még nagyon szembetűnő volt: maguk a készítők is érezhették, hogy ez elég gyengécske lett, ezért próbáltak minél több igényes, neves seiyuu-t bepaszírozni a több ezer többé-kevésbé felesleges szereplőhöz. Mizuki Nana, Horie Yui, Ishida Akira, Souchiro Hoshi, Kawasumi Ayako, Kuwashima Houko egy animében…? Lényegében ez volt a legfőbb ok, amiért megnéztem. De sajnos ismét sikerült bebizonyítani, hogy egy jó opening, egy közepes ending és egy nagyon jó seiyuu cast NEM elég egy jó animéhez, maximum a guilty pleasure kategóriához.

De kezdjük az elején… Adott négy (plusz egy, de csak később fontossá váló) főszereplőnek látszó középiskolás (Souma, Kureha, Kiriya, Seena), akik jó barátok. A városban egyre több ember tűnik el rejtélyes módon, és egy napon megjelenik Mao, egy félig szörny, félig ember lány, aki Zero-t keresi. (Már itt megjelenik a sok kérdőjel: ki az a Zero/Mao? Nem sok új karakter ez így egyszerre? Lényegtelen.) Souma-ék megbeszélik, hogy később találkoznak az iskolánál, és utánanéznek az eltűnéseknek. Souma és Kureha érnek oda először, ahol összefutnak Mao-val és még egy névtelen szörnnyel, akit ejjdeügyesen, percek alatt le is győznek. Valahogy mégis sikeresen eltépi a köteleket, amikkel megkötözték (mert hogyan máshogyan fognánk el egy nálunk kétszer akkora mutáns-farkast), és eltör egy tükröt, amivel Mao az ő világából (End Earth) az övékébe jött. Így nagyon kreatív módon Souma és Kureha End Earth-be kerül, ahol egyből megtámadják őket. (Ez már csak így megy…)

De Souma olyan hihetetlenül imba, hogy puszta kézzel is le tudná verni őket, ha nem lennének százan! Szóval le is győz egyet-kettőt, de ígyis vesztésre áll. Ilyenkor jön a következő wtf-jelenet, ami az egész anime alatt végigkísér minket: Souma kihúz Kurehából egy kardot, ami Kureha Soul Blade-je. Souma meg Soul Blader. Ergó, mégis mindenkit lever (és ez mind a 13 részben így is lesz).

Röviden, a legtöbb Soul Blade lány. És a mi három Soul Bladerünk (Souma, Kiriya, és a plusz egy, Saionji) fiú. Érezzük már a felszínre törekvő fanservice-t? Ha nem, akkor később majd igen, csak lágyabb formában (–> jelmezek). A Soul Blade-ek a lelkek kézzel fogható formája, és ezért mindenkié máshogy néz ki, továbbá, van akié erősebb, van akié gyengébb. Mindenesetre, ez az infó a történet egyik alapköve.

Az egész cselekmény alatt találkozhatunk új szereplőkkel, akik először fontosnak látszanak, aztán ugyanolyan sekélyesnek bizonyulnak, mint a többiek, a végére pedig a levegővel lesznek egyenlőek (a történet szempontjából). Talán ez az egyik leggyengébb pontja az animének. Ha kicsit hosszabbra tervezték volna, talán több idő jutott volna a karakterek bemutatására, fejlődésére, vagy egyáltalán szükségére.

Végül még az is kiderül, ki Zero. Ő lenne az egész történet egyszemélyes háttértörténete, aki igazából több szerepet nem is kap. Néha segít, néha ott van, néha figyel, de lényegében az egész munkát Souma-ra hárítja. A háttértörténet tökéletes első évad lehetett volna, de még egy OVA is tökéletes lenne a “meséljük-el-5perc-alatt-miért-is-vagyunk-szarban” helyett. Az anime elején lévő in medias res nagyon hatásos volt, de tényleg nagyon elsiettek mindent. (Még egy-két potenciális szerelem kibontakoztatására sem jutott elég idő…)

Karakterek szempontjából, a főszereplő, Souma, a legidegesítőbb. Ha egy szóban kellene összefoglalni: Naruto-Ichigo-keverék. Az a tipikus shounen anime-főszereplő, aki az elején nagyon gáz, utána nagyon menő lesz. ^-^ Zero sokkal jobb lett volna erre a szerepre, és ezt még csak az elfogult Souichiro Hoshi-fangirlizmusomnak sem tulajdoníthatom, mert mindkettő seiyuu-ja ő!! A tengernyi lányszereplő közül Blancneige (Kawasumi Ayako <3) és Zechti (Kuwashima Houko <33) emelkedett ki valamennyire, de ők is elvesztek a nagy káoszban.

Említettem, hogy az opening, az anime többi részéhez képest kiemelkedően jó. És megint, nem (csak) a Souchiro Hoshi-fangirl beszél belőlem: lényegében sikerült az anime egész történetének nevezhető valamit másfél percbe besűríteni, élvezhető módon. Az ending zenéje is tetszett, de maga az ending rémesen gyenge (valami nagyon unott/lusta személy készíthette). A háttérzene pedig végig az Oroszlánkirályéra emlékeztetett. xD Ami nem rossz pont, mert szeretem a Disney-t, de mégis… ^^”

A legfőbb baj a Shining Tears x Wind-del, hogy rémesen kiszámítható és átlagos. Az összes cliché elemet sikerült felhasználniuk, és a végén már erősen facepalm volt. Nem beszélve az erőteljesen három muskétás-feelingről a végén.

Grafikailag viszont nagyon szépek a színek, a jelmezek kiemelkedőek, és az egész karakter design nagyot lökött az animén. A harcokról nem jut eszembe semmi emlékeztes, vagy különös, szóval ez a része is felejtős volt. (Nem beszélve arról, hogy Souma mindenkit legyőzött 2 perc alatt. MINDENKIT.)

Egy szóval: fail. A seiyuu-k és a cosplay ötletek miatt lehet érdemes megnézni, de egyébként nem egy igényes darab. Mentéségére szóljon, hogy egy játékadaptáció. (Ezzel a poszttal még csak véletlenül sem próbáltam meg a frusztrációmat az iránt, hogy a Shiki Senri-féle hangot használó Zero [seiyuu-ja] nem kapott több szerepet, kiadni.)

http://i241.photobucket.com/albums/ff10/doriiiii/tori/shining3.jpg

Album: Claymore Intimate Persona
Performed by: Clare (Kuwashima Houko)
Composed by: ???
Lyrics by: ???
View kana or translation?

shinshoku no tsukiakari
shuuaku wo terashidasu
haiiro ni somaru sora
kuroi hane habatakezu ni

nageki no chi no ame ni mutarete
fushoku shite iku hana no shizuku
yami ni idakarete ochite yuku…

kono karada kiesatte mo
horibi yuku sadame demo
anata wo aishita “kioku” dake wa
nando demo yomigaeru watashi ga watashi de aru
koto no akashi wo shimeshite kureru
daredemo sou se wo muketa
iyasarenu kako no kizuato wo
seoi ikite iku mono
kanashimi ni make takunai
tsuyoku aru tame ni ima
subete ni kaete
kono ” kioku ” dake mamori tsuzukeru

chi no hate ni ankoku no
taiyou ga nomarete ku
kurenai no shinkai ni shizun de ku toai ni zutto

yami nobu ru kanaderu senritsu
azawarau monokuro no piero
kainarashi te ku kai raku wo

kokoro kara yasurage ru basho ga aru to sure ba
kitto kono “kioku” to tomoni aru
anata ga soba ni ire ba
watashi ga watashi no mama iki teru imi o atae te kureru
ushinatta hito no taisetsu sa to kanashimi o
tsuyoku ikiteku “kakugo” ni kae te
tokini anata no sugata watashi ni kasaneawa se
watashi no naka ni iki tsuduketeru
“kioku” no kakera

nageki no chi no ame ni mutarete
fushoku shite iku hana no shizuku
yami ni idakarete ochite yuku…

kono karada kiesatte mo
horibi yuku sadame demo
anata wo aishita “kioku” dake wa
nando demo yomigaeru watashi ga watashi de aru
koto no akashi wo shimeshite kureru
daredemo sou se wo muketa
iyasarenu kako no kizuato wo
seoi ikite iku mono
kanashimi ni make takunai
tsuyoku aru tame ni ima
subete ni kaete
kono ” kioku ” dake mamori tsuzukeru

Note: Though not written in the official lyrics in the CD booklet, I’m pretty sure that the rapper that comes on around three minutes into the song is saying “So no I can’t forget your memories / And now I know I’m livin’ and it’s still with me / Cryin’, cryin’ / I’m tryin’ to be the one”.

Album: Claymore Intimate Persona
Performed by: Clare (Kuwashima Houko)
Composed by: ???
Lyrics by: ???
View romaji or translation?

侵食の 月明かり
醜惡を　照らし出す
灰色に 染まる空
黒い羽根　羽ばたけずに

嘆きの血の雨に打たれて
腐食していく　花の雫
闇に抱かれて　落ちてゆく..

この体　消え去っても
滅びゆく宿命でも
貴方を愛した “記憶”だけは
何度でも甦る　私が私である
事の証を示してくれる
誰でも　そう背を向けた
癒されぬ過去の　傷跡を
背負い生きていくもの
悲しみに負けたくない
強くある為に　いま
すべてにかえて
この“記憶”だけ　守り続ける

地の果てに暗黑の
太陽が　のまれてく
紅の深海に　沈んでく
永久にずっと

闇のぶル奏でる旋律
あざ笑う　モノクロの道化師
飼い慣らしてく 快樂を..

心から安らげる　場所があるとすれば
きっと　この“記憶”と共にある
貴方がそばにいれば
私が私のまま　生きてる意味を与えてくれる
失った人の　大切さと悲しみを
強く生きてく　“覚悟”に変えて
時に貴方の姿 私に重ね合わせ
私の中に　生き続けてる
“記憶”のカケラ

嘆きの血の雨に打たれて
腐食していく　花の雫
闇に抱かれて　落ちてゆく..

この体　消え去っても
滅びゆく宿命でも
貴方を愛した “記憶”だけは
何度でも甦る　私が私である
事の証を示してくれる
誰でも　そう背を向けた
癒されぬ過去の　傷跡を
背負い生きていくもの
悲しみに負けたくない
強くある為に　いま
すべてにかえて
この“記憶”だけ　守り続ける

Note: Though not written in the official lyrics in the CD booklet, I’m pretty sure that the rapper that comes on around three minutes into the song is saying “So no I can’t forget your memories / And now I know I’m livin’ and it’s still with me / Cryin’, cryin’ / I’m tryin’ to be the one”.

The only reason I ever started watching Kaiba was for the cast: an all-star cast with Kuwashima Houko starring as Kaiba, Noto Mamiko as Neiro (Kaiba’s lover), and Paku Romi as Popo, one of the main antagonists. However, this series turned out to be a bunch of hits and misses with me. *please keep in mind that everything I write is based on the subbed version I watched… meaning I may have misunderstood parts of the original*

Without giving too much away, let’s start with a quick summary of the whole series. Hilariously enough, Ureshii, one of the subbing groups that did this series, often jokingly compared the series to a Shakespearean tragedy. In a way, they’re correct (lots of dead bodies everywhere). While the series itself carried a rather depressing undertone, there were instances where there would be an explosion of emotions, whether they were happy (not likely) or sad (90% of the time). Despite being a thoroughly depressing series, Kaiba presented several interesting ideas: the idea of one’s life being equal to one’s memories, the idea of evolution through unity (which I will talk more about later), and the greed of humanity. There were many hints at other substantial ideas, but eh, I watched this series through a 3-4 month span, I can’t remember everything.

On with the summary. The story begins with a man waking up without his memories. He is found by Popo, who proceeds to name him Warp. Suddenly, a wild chase begins, and apparently everyone is after Warp’s body (which contains strange markings and a hole in his chest). Warp eventually escapes by transferring his memories into another body. After a series of depressing events, he somehow manages to obtain the body of a young girl he met, and thus wins the favour of a sheriff on board the ship he was travelling on. Using this body, and with the accompaniment of the sheriff, Warp embarks on several adventures. Through some unfortunate incident (which I cannot really talk about without giving the story away), Warp ends up losing the girl’s body and transported back into his own body. He then finds out that Popo (the guy who saved him) is part of the Issoudan, an organization hell-bent on killing Warp (not the main character, but another Warp), the King of the Overworld.

Apparently, everyone in the world of Kaiba is living under suppression from the King, who employs an electrolytic cloud to prevent people from reaching him. The cloud has the ability to dispel memories, and thus ending one’s life (keep in mind that in this world, memories are transferable, so as long as you have your memories, you’re not dead). Neiro, a member of Issoudan, is sent to kill Warp (the main character), as he was FORMER king. Popo, as ambitious as he is, wants to kill ALL the Warps, regardless of whether they are the current reigning king or a former king.

The system by which the Kings are chosen is quite complex: there are clones of Warp stored inside the palace of the Kings, and whenever the reigning king dies, a new king is born. However, only 1 in a million (or 10 million, I can’t remember) of the clones is fit to be king, because they are endowed with a special body (marked by the markings you see on the main character’s body). However, as things would have it, because Warp went missing, a fake Warp (one without markings) took over the throne and has ruled since then.

And thus Popo initiates his scheme to take over the world: he alters Neiro’s memories and makes her believe that Warp is the murderer of her parents, and sends her to kill Warp (who is actually her lover). He then sends people to kill the fake Warp, and believes that he succeeds. The real Warp is shot down, and at that point, the past of Warp (called Kaiba by Neiro) and Neiro is unveiled.

Popo, believing all who stood in his way has died, makes his way to the heavens using a special ship. He then pronounces himself king. However, before he can rule anyone or anything, he is shot down by one of his comrades, who is in turn, shot down by the fake Warp (who didn’t die) and his buddies. The fake Warp proceeded to destroy the Warp-cloning system, wanting to leave only ONE Warp (himself) in the world. However, he is stopped by Kaiba, who did not die from Neiro’s attacks, and is overwhelmed by darkness because his lover had tried to kill him. Neiro regains her memories (some of them), and tries to convince Kaiba to fight the darkness growing inside of him (the hole in his chest was the physical indicator of his pain). While this whole power struggle ensues, the legendary monster plant, also named Kaiba, is drawing closer to the world. What will happen? Will Kaiba be able to defeat both his earthly enemies and save his world from being eaten?

Bleh, my summary turned out to be a lot longer than I expected it to be. Onto the hits and misses.

Hits:

• An all-star cast with Houko voicing a great Kaiba, Mami voicing Neiro, and a spectacular Romi voicing a deliciously delirious fool of a villain.
• Concept of transferable memories, and humanity’s attempt to escape death using such a method.
• The idea that ultimately, memories do not make up the entire person. The heart matters too.
• Fantastic side stories to illustrate the flaws of the whole memory transferal system.
• Character design (not the art, I mean the actual characteristics, their stories, their pasts, etc) was phenomenal. Each character carried an abyss of darkness and hatred within them, which they either fall victim to, or eventually fight to overcome.
• A beautiful battle driven by human greed. It was fascinating watching the things people would do just for the sake of standing above others.

Misses

• The.bloody.art. I got used to it by the 3rd episode, but the floating blobs and retarded bodies really really turned me off.
• The concept of evolution by unity. Neon Genesis Evangelion, anyone?

Otherwise, the series itself was great. I seriously loved almost everything about it. However, I don’t think this is a series I’ll be able to watch more than once or twice. Some of the side stories are worth a 2nd or even a 3rd viewing, but the main storyline, once everything is made known or clear, isn’t really worth the time to sit through once more.

Still, for anyone looking for something with a little more depth, no fan-service, and thoroughly depressing, please watch Kaiba.

Kilka bardzo ładnych zdjęć ładnej pani seiyuu:

Kyoto Animation has already taken on Air and Kanon, so why no take another Key work, Clannad, as well? Omni has some screenshots and more info over on his blog. It’s something most people have wondered about for awhile, and now it’s come into being. Interesting enough, Toei has already announced a Clannad movie. Toei had also worked on the original Kanon series and the Air movie. I do not claim to be an expert in anything Key because I haven’t played any of their games. I’ve done my share of online reading though, pretty much like everyone else. Anywho, what I cared most about Omni’s post was the announcement of the seiyuu cast. For me, seiyuu cast is usually more important than animation quality or even overall story. My reasoning is that a crap story will always be a crap story, but at least a good seiyuu cast will make things interesting. It’s not always the case, but more times that not a good mix of veterans and rising stars make for some interesting episodes.

Usually when a new anime season roles around, I tend to be more interested in who is voicing who when coming up with a list of stuff I’ll check out. I don’t end up watching everything, but every so often a good performance outweighs a crappy series. For others it’s who is directing what or who is animating what. It’s my little quirk. Everyone starting in Clannad is a seiyuu that I always watch out for (with the exception of Hirohashi Ryou).

Nakahara Mai (ANN)
Mai – Mai HiME/Otome
Miina – Onegai Twins
Nagisa – Strawberry Panic
Rena – Higurashi no Naku Koroni
Miu – DearS
May – Kaliedo Star

I’ve always been on the fence with Nakahara Mai. I do not dispute her talent, but she’s never been a top tier favorite on mine. She does have excellent range, having done cutesy roles and more aggressive roles. What I think her selling point is though, is that she’s quite good at being bi-polar with characters (i.e., Rena in Higurashi). When you actually look at what roles she has done in the past, it’s definitely not a long list, but for the most part, what she has done have been memorable.

Nonaka Ai (ANN)
Mika – Manabi Straight
Konoka – Mahou Sensei Negima
Kana – Iriya no Sora, UFO no Natsu
Shima – Stellvia
Ichijou – Pani Poni Dash

Nonaka Ai’s voice is either love it or hate it voice. It’s almost annoyingly cute. Almost all of her roles have been ditsy characters and aloof characters. However, she’s one of those seiyuus that has one tool, but uses it well. I would think most people know her mainly from Pani Poni Dash or Negima, but I think her best roles were in Stellvia and currently in Manabi Straight. Although she plays a low confidence and somewhat aloof character in Stellvia, she did a great job conveying the character’s range of emotions using her usual voice. I think she’s finally moving beyond staring in less popular series and being a side character in the more popular ones, especially in Manabi Straight. Even though she’s casted with Horie Yui and Hirano Aya, I have been more impressed with Nonaka Ai in that series. It’s feeling a lot like Horie Yui breaking out in Love Hina or Nabatame Hitomi breaking out in Ichigo Mashimaro. Okay, maybe it’s not to that extent, but she’s been very impressive. Whether or not Manabi Straight becomes Nonaka Ai’s breakout role, I think she will be remembered for it.

Kanda Akemi (ANN)
Asuna – Mahou Sensei Negima
Kazuki – Tonagura
Miharu – Da Capo
Rico – Witchblade
Nina – Ultra Maniac

Like Nonaka Ai, Kanda Akemi is another love her or hate her voice. Also, like Nonaka Ai, she’s a seiyuu that seems to have one similar voice, but uses it well. She’s probably most well known as Asuna in Negima, but I would go as far as to say that I enjoy her in Tonagura and Witchblade more. She has called herself a tsundere and does a pretty good job with those kinds of characters (i.e., Asuna and Kazuki). She also does a good job with overly genki side characters (e.g., Miharu or Kana in OtoBoku). However, unlike Nonaka Ai, she really hasn’t had a chance to have any sort of breakout performance. Because of that, I’m always watching out for roles she takes and I usually make an effort to watch those series.

Kuwashima Houko (ANN)
Yurika – Nadesico
Natarle, Flay, Stellar – Gundam Seed and Gundam Seed Destiny
Kirika – Noir
Kagura – Azumanga Daioh
Quon – Rahxephon

Kuwashima Houko has to be one of the most underrated seiyuus out there (in a Tanaka Rie way), despite having an impressive list of roles. She’s got the range of more well known people, such as Orikasa Fumiko or Chiba Saeko, but usually goes unnoticed because she rarely has major roles in popular series (again, similar to Tanaka Rie). Even when she does, there are usually more popular seiyuu that steal the spotlight. She voiced THREE characters in the Gundam Seed universe, all of where were quite contrasting personality. That right there is an accomplishment few seiyuu can hang their hats on. When you think Kuwashima Houko, you think aggressive deeper voices like Natarle in Gundam Seed or Gurageif in Simoun… however, her DEBUT role was a ditsy Yurika in Nadesico. There’s a contrast!

Noto Mamiko (ANN)
Enma Ai – Jigoku Shoujo
Aya – Ichigo 100%
Yakumo – School Rumble
Ana Copola – Ichigo Mashimaro
Masane – Witchblade

I’ll probably get booed here, but even as a self-proclaimed Noto Mamiko fanboy, I’ve been really disappointed by her showing as of late. Looking back on what she has done, she does demonstrate the ability to voice different personalities ranging from dark in Jigoku Shoujo to perky in Ichigo Mashimaro to aggressive and trite in Witchblade. However, for the most part, she’s ridiculously typecasted and really only has one or two main voices to work with. If you close your eyes and listen to her roles and had no idea where they were from, you could categorize them as either Nodoka in Negima or Ana Copola in Ichigo Mashimaro. Her range is pretty limited. That all being said though, she does an extremely outstanding job at what she does, using what she has. I guess my disappointment comes from her lack of really exhibiting what she really could do and me ending up thinking, “That’s the same old Noto Mamiko.” I’m never surprised by her roles and can identify her immediately, but you can’t always say the same thing about someone like Mitsuishi Kotono or Kawasumi Ayako.

Hirohashi Ryou (ANN)
Sora – Kaleido Star
Rinna – Stellvia
Rakka – Haibane Renmei
Alice – Aria the Animation/Natural

Out of everyone listed her, Hirohashi Ryou is the one I am least familiar with. I’m most familiar with her roles in Aria and Kaleido Star. I wasn’t all that fond of her in Stellvia, but loved her in both Aria and Kaleido Star. Both characters (Alice and Sora, respectively) were quite different, so she’s definitely got vocal range. I’m just not that familiar with her overall to say more.