anime: ChronoCrusade

Just finished this anime, and it was great.  Granted, I went in with relatively low expectations(read: entertain me for a few days) and ended up very caught up in it.

note:  I'd use a cut at this point, but the parents' computer thinks that the box is a popup...

The series is about Rosette Christopher a nun(NOTE: the series is only very, very loosely based on anything resembling christian doctrine...it's mostly there for the imagery.  These aren't nuns so much as troubleshooters and demon hunters who happen to be believe in God and wear clothing vaguely resembling a habit.) who made a deal with a demon, Chrono, when she was young to save her brother, Joshua, who had been taken by another demon, Aion.  Chrono had lost his horns, the source of his power,  and the only way for him to use his power without using himself up was to make a contract with a human, where using his power takes minutes off of their life.  The fact that he did a one-sided "love at first sight" thing with Rosette when they met didn't help make him angst any less over that(note:  didn't stay one-sided)

I have extremely high levels of love for Chrono.  He's a demon, yes, but he's always done what he thought was the right thing, only to learn he was being used and followed the right person.  The contract essentially bound him to his young form unless he was actually using his powers, which is rather funny as it made Rosette occassionally a) forget he wasn't really that young and b) occassionally forget he was a guy.  He's a little like Goku from Saiyuki, only without the constant whining for food and a fair bit of Hakkai levels of "I'm an angst ridden mass murderer and have no reason to exist without the one I love but I always put on a nice face because it's what she wants and pretend I don't angst 24-7"  type angst.  However, he has extremely well functioning Rosette filters and tends to remind us that he's the guy who killed 100,000 other demons a while back any time she's hurt or threatened(but it's instant submission the second she's ok or safe) even though Rosette's supposed to be the one who controls when he gets to use his powers(meaning, he could take control anytime he wanted to, but he doesn't because he would kill her)  He knew Rosette was the only one for him the day they met, and that the day she died would also be the day he died.  Know what?  I'm creating a new "angsty demon boys" tag just for him(there's enough of them in my anime and manga to give that tag a decent bit of use)

Rosette was a little too loud for me at first, but I rather liked her.  Like Hiyono in Spiral, her chipperness and good naturedness drop kick the boy out of his angsting just often enough to keep him from drowning in it.  All things considered, she also manages to rescue herself and take care of herself in battles far, far better than most anime girls do(barring the series where the girl is superwoman and the guy is the  hapless fool...she and Hawkeye from Full Metal Alchemist would be bosom buddies and trade war stories)

I also liked Azmaria and Satella, both of whom are character types who usually annoy me.  Azmaria was much more endearing than most OCKs(Obligatory Cute Kid) and, like Yahiko in Rurouni Kenshin and  Toboe in Wolf's Rain, actually served a plot purpose(notes that the OCKs she likes have pretty much all been covered...Chidori in Ceres, Goku in Saiyuki and Rio in Spiral don't count...they're not kids, they're just small) Satella is the kind of character brought in who's initial purpose is to disconcert and upstage the female lead(who she's always a little older than, taller than, better built than and smarter than) and act superior to her.  But in this case, her reasons(loud grl consorting with a demon) are actually pretty justified(her family was destroyed by Aion and she hasn't exactly encountered any worthwhile ones between him and Chrono) and Rosette holds her own against her pretty well.  Off the top of my head, the only other anime character of her type that I like is Megumi in Rurouni Kenshin.  I'm also pretty fond of Remington, the "priest" who essentially took care of Rosette and Chrono after Joshua was taken.  He has a pretty interesting story, and I wish they'd delved into it more.

As an aside, Chrono/Rosette/Joshua made me think a lot of toya/Aya/Aki in Ceres, only without the "lusting after your sister because of the evil spirit living inside you" part.  But in the fact that saving him is important to both of them and he's actually a good, sweet guy who's been damaged and controlled by the Evil One.

Anyway, great series, highly recommended, but keep your hankies ready.

anime: ChronoCrusade

Just finished this anime, and it was great.  Granted, I went in with relatively low expectations(read: entertain me for a few days) and ended up very caught up in it.

note:  I'd use a cut at this point, but the parents' computer thinks that the box is a popup...

The series is about Rosette Christopher a nun(NOTE: the series is only very, very loosely based on anything resembling christian doctrine...it's mostly there for the imagery.  These aren't nuns so much as troubleshooters and demon hunters who happen to be believe in God and wear clothing vaguely resembling a habit.) who made a deal with a demon, Chrono, when she was young to save her brother, Joshua, who had been taken by another demon, Aion.  Chrono had lost his horns, the source of his power,  and the only way for him to use his power without using himself up was to make a contract with a human, where using his power takes minutes off of their life.  The fact that he did a one-sided "love at first sight" thing with Rosette when they met didn't help make him angst any less over that(note:  didn't stay one-sided)

I have extremely high levels of love for Chrono.  He's a demon, yes, but he's always done what he thought was the right thing, only to learn he was being used and followed the right person.  The contract essentially bound him to his young form unless he was actually using his powers, which is rather funny as it made Rosette occassionally a) forget he wasn't really that young and b) occassionally forget he was a guy.  He's a little like Goku from Saiyuki, only without the constant whining for food and a fair bit of Hakkai levels of "I'm an angst ridden mass murderer and have no reason to exist without the one I love but I always put on a nice face because it's what she wants and pretend I don't angst 24-7"  type angst.  However, he has extremely well functioning Rosette filters and tends to remind us that he's the guy who killed 100,000 other demons a while back any time she's hurt or threatened(but it's instant submission the second she's ok or safe) even though Rosette's supposed to be the one who controls when he gets to use his powers(meaning, he could take control anytime he wanted to, but he doesn't because he would kill her)  He knew Rosette was the only one for him the day they met, and that the day she died would also be the day he died.  Know what?  I'm creating a new "angsty demon boys" tag just for him(there's enough of them in my anime and manga to give that tag a decent bit of use)

Rosette was a little too loud for me at first, but I rather liked her.  Like Hiyono in Spiral, her chipperness and good naturedness drop kick the boy out of his angsting just often enough to keep him from drowning in it.  All things considered, she also manages to rescue herself and take care of herself in battles far, far better than most anime girls do(barring the series where the girl is superwoman and the guy is the  hapless fool...she and Hawkeye from Full Metal Alchemist would be bosom buddies and trade war stories)

I also liked Azmaria and Satella, both of whom are character types who usually annoy me.  Azmaria was much more endearing than most OCKs(Obligatory Cute Kid) and, like Yahiko in Rurouni Kenshin and  Toboe in Wolf's Rain, actually served a plot purpose(notes that the OCKs she likes have pretty much all been covered...Chidori in Ceres, Goku in Saiyuki and Rio in Spiral don't count...they're not kids, they're just small) Satella is the kind of character brought in who's initial purpose is to disconcert and upstage the female lead(who she's always a little older than, taller than, better built than and smarter than) and act superior to her.  But in this case, her reasons(loud grl consorting with a demon) are actually pretty justified(her family was destroyed by Aion and she hasn't exactly encountered any worthwhile ones between him and Chrono) and Rosette holds her own against her pretty well.  Off the top of my head, the only other anime character of her type that I like is Megumi in Rurouni Kenshin.  I'm also pretty fond of Remington, the "priest" who essentially took care of Rosette and Chrono after Joshua was taken.  He has a pretty interesting story, and I wish they'd delved into it more.

As an aside, Chrono/Rosette/Joshua made me think a lot of toya/Aya/Aki in Ceres, only without the "lusting after your sister because of the evil spirit living inside you" part.  But in the fact that saving him is important to both of them and he's actually a good, sweet guy who's been damaged and controlled by the Evil One.

Anyway, great series, highly recommended, but keep your hankies ready.

kitties, V for Vendetta, anime, pet peeves

Kitties:

Squeaker must learn that cuteness does not equal my immortality.  Using my legs as a tree to climb is not acceptable while I'm wearing jeans, much less when I'm wearing my far less protective nightgown.  Going after my ramen during the 3 minute wait after adding hot water?  ALSO not acceptable.

Also, yesterday while I was cleaning their litter box, Patches was waiting for me to put it back with a "what TOOK you so long?" face and then stared at me until I left the room so she could do her business(I kid you not...and if you peek, she stops and glares at you until you leave)  Today, Squeaker was staring at me while I was cleaning it, and was almost in the thing before I finished putting it back down.  (What are those two doing?  Holding it in until I clean out the litter box?)

Also, they still don't like my sleeping schedule...too bad for them that their bops on my sleepy head don't have a lot of affect.

Pet Peeves:

So, today and on Sunday, I encountered two of my pet peeves(oddly, the 2 are direct opposites of each other, but anyway...)

On Sunday, I went to Waldenbooks to see if they had Mushishi because James gave it a pass(he used Blade of the Immortal comparisons...just the art, but he knows my weaknesses)  Would have ordered it, BUT while I was there, there was a woman and her daughter trying to order a book.  The daughter was about 15-16, and when the cashier said it wasn't available, but had been rereleased in a 2-in-1 omnibus with the sequel, and that she could order it.  The girl asked her mother if it was ok, and then said she was going to but the book she was holding(so she could find the title) back where she got it.  No whining, no attitude, perfectly polite and well behaved and, hey RESPONSIBLE with no prompting.  So, with her daughter being a good customer, she says, lodly, with her daughter three feet away "she's such a pain in the butt."  

HUH?  First of all, parents should never badmouth their children in public, especially in their presence, it's only going to encourage them to misbehave.  Second of all, WHY?  Her daughter was behaving, was being polite, and was being conscientious and putting the book back where she got it.  I mean, if your kid is being good, praise them, don't badmouth them.

The other was today at the post office, picking up some of my anime. Two little boys about three and four were running around, clearly having gotten away from their mother and almost knocked me down and then later in line, they were horseplaying and one of them(for lack of a better word) fell on me.  Now, kids get away from their parents, and tey get bored and horseplay.  99% of the time, the people who have to dodge the kids don't mind and understand and don't get annoyed with the parents, etc.  However, most of that 99% of the time, the parent will actually, you know,  APOLOGIZE to the person their kid bumped into, or who had to didge their kid, especially after the second time.  As opposed to deliberately looking away the first time and then loudly talking to their companion the second time.

Unfortunately, those 2 varieties seem to be more and more common...acting like their kid was bad just because it's a kid, and not attempting to control or take responsibility for their kids.  It's even worse whenthe parents like that seem to look down onthe more responsible parents.

Anime:

The first batch of the anime I ordered has arrived:  Full Metal Alchemist, Full Metal Panic: Fumoffu, Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex Season 1, Saikano, and Samurai Champloo.  Samurai 7 was SUPPOSED to be in the batch, but wasn't.  Haven't heard back from the seller as to why.

Still coming are:  E's Otherwise, Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex Season 2,  Revolutionary Girl Utena, Those Who Hunt Elves, Hellsing, Tsukihime: Lunar Legend, and Someday's Dreamers.  And, one way or another, Samurai 7.  In theory, I should be set for anime for a lllloooooooonnnnngggggg time, but knowing me, it won't last long, given the anime mood I've been in lately.

V for Vendetta:

And finally, I got to sit down and watch V for Vendetta(many moons after most of the rest of the f-list)  I figure pretty much everyone here knows about that one and the basic plot(1984-ish near future in England where a young woman gets caught up in the plot of a "terrorist" with a Guy Fawkes fetish, to give absolutely the most basic description possible) so all I'll say is that it's absolutely excellent and everyone should watch it just so they can listen to Hugo Weavings dialogue and diction.  And V in the apron(I require icons of that)  And the dominoes.  And a weird romance.  But mostly for the dialogue.

kitties, V for Vendetta, anime, pet peeves

Kitties:

Squeaker must learn that cuteness does not equal my immortality.  Using my legs as a tree to climb is not acceptable while I'm wearing jeans, much less when I'm wearing my far less protective nightgown.  Going after my ramen during the 3 minute wait after adding hot water?  ALSO not acceptable.

Also, yesterday while I was cleaning their litter box, Patches was waiting for me to put it back with a "what TOOK you so long?" face and then stared at me until I left the room so she could do her business(I kid you not...and if you peek, she stops and glares at you until you leave)  Today, Squeaker was staring at me while I was cleaning it, and was almost in the thing before I finished putting it back down.  (What are those two doing?  Holding it in until I clean out the litter box?)

Also, they still don't like my sleeping schedule...too bad for them that their bops on my sleepy head don't have a lot of affect.

Pet Peeves:

So, today and on Sunday, I encountered two of my pet peeves(oddly, the 2 are direct opposites of each other, but anyway...)

On Sunday, I went to Waldenbooks to see if they had Mushishi because James gave it a pass(he used Blade of the Immortal comparisons...just the art, but he knows my weaknesses)  Would have ordered it, BUT while I was there, there was a woman and her daughter trying to order a book.  The daughter was about 15-16, and when the cashier said it wasn't available, but had been rereleased in a 2-in-1 omnibus with the sequel, and that she could order it.  The girl asked her mother if it was ok, and then said she was going to but the book she was holding(so she could find the title) back where she got it.  No whining, no attitude, perfectly polite and well behaved and, hey RESPONSIBLE with no prompting.  So, with her daughter being a good customer, she says, lodly, with her daughter three feet away "she's such a pain in the butt."  

HUH?  First of all, parents should never badmouth their children in public, especially in their presence, it's only going to encourage them to misbehave.  Second of all, WHY?  Her daughter was behaving, was being polite, and was being conscientious and putting the book back where she got it.  I mean, if your kid is being good, praise them, don't badmouth them.

The other was today at the post office, picking up some of my anime. Two little boys about three and four were running around, clearly having gotten away from their mother and almost knocked me down and then later in line, they were horseplaying and one of them(for lack of a better word) fell on me.  Now, kids get away from their parents, and tey get bored and horseplay.  99% of the time, the people who have to dodge the kids don't mind and understand and don't get annoyed with the parents, etc.  However, most of that 99% of the time, the parent will actually, you know,  APOLOGIZE to the person their kid bumped into, or who had to didge their kid, especially after the second time.  As opposed to deliberately looking away the first time and then loudly talking to their companion the second time.

Unfortunately, those 2 varieties seem to be more and more common...acting like their kid was bad just because it's a kid, and not attempting to control or take responsibility for their kids.  It's even worse whenthe parents like that seem to look down onthe more responsible parents.

Anime:

The first batch of the anime I ordered has arrived:  Full Metal Alchemist, Full Metal Panic: Fumoffu, Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex Season 1, Saikano, and Samurai Champloo.  Samurai 7 was SUPPOSED to be in the batch, but wasn't.  Haven't heard back from the seller as to why.

Still coming are:  E's Otherwise, Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex Season 2,  Revolutionary Girl Utena, Those Who Hunt Elves, Hellsing, Tsukihime: Lunar Legend, and Someday's Dreamers.  And, one way or another, Samurai 7.  In theory, I should be set for anime for a lllloooooooonnnnngggggg time, but knowing me, it won't last long, given the anime mood I've been in lately.

V for Vendetta:

And finally, I got to sit down and watch V for Vendetta(many moons after most of the rest of the f-list)  I figure pretty much everyone here knows about that one and the basic plot(1984-ish near future in England where a young woman gets caught up in the plot of a "terrorist" with a Guy Fawkes fetish, to give absolutely the most basic description possible) so all I'll say is that it's absolutely excellent and everyone should watch it just so they can listen to Hugo Weavings dialogue and diction.  And V in the apron(I require icons of that)  And the dominoes.  And a weird romance.  But mostly for the dialogue.