I'm probably really behind on anime news... I didn't know about this anime until I saw the comments on a post I wrote about a year ago...

Apparently, AYAKASHI IS now being made into an anime. But judging from the first couple of episodes, it didn't quite live up to what I had hoped...

The open theme song in the game, which IMHO is one of the best opening theme songs I've heard, is absent in the anime. In its place, a mediocre opening sequence I couldn't bare myself to watch... Licensing issues, perhaps? Then again, the anime kept all the BGMs...

Some of the characters are barely recognizable. This may or may not be a bad thing. It departs away from the game, but it also feels refreshing(and they do look quite good, none the less).

The anime IS keeping itself fairly close to the original on its story. However, due to its not-so-adequate length(13 episodes), it'll probably feel like a brief summary rather than a full anime series to those who have played the game...

Just received my pre-ordered copy of "Suzumiya Haruhi no Yakusoku SUPER Premium BOX", the thing cost me an arm and a leg, but it's loaded with goodies, and it's making me a very happy man!

The box, looks delicious, makes you wanna take a bite out of it.

The back of the box, got colorful pictures.

PSP stand for the clock.

The pre-order special figurine, didn't expect much, and I'm sure glad I didn't.

The PSP sock. Looks cozy.

This is one of those collector's items that aren't aesthetically pleasing.

This is one of those collector's items I'm not sure what to do with.

Here is one more of those...

I think these are posters, but they are quite small, you'll probably have to sqeeze your eyes to see them if you hang them on the wall.

Other than the game itself, this is my favorite out of the bunch! It's a pretty picture book featuring Haruhi and the gang!

Inside!

The game itself! ... Well, it's actually just the case, but it's close enough.

All hail the almighty...

Anyhow, I'll post out more stuff once I actually get started on the game(or when I finish it)...

I think this is my favorite anime this season(it's currently on the 9th episode).

It resembles Honey and Clover in a lot of ways, like soft lighting(washed-out colors), background settings(college), the comedy style, and spinning objects in the ending sequence, maybe even the music. The character design is actually a little like Sumomomo Momomo, where you get a guy who's intelligent/attractive/serious, then you get a heroine who is madly in love with the guy, who's not too intelligent. The character art style is actually not of my taste, but the comedy is great, you gotta love how Nodame says "GABU!" everytime.

The story is about a piano student from a music school who wants to become a conductor, and with a little romance mixed in the process. The guy also suffers from aviatophobia, which happens to be his biggest obstacle in becoming a successful musician.

One thing to note is that, the voice actress(Ayako Kawasumi) of Noda Megumi, the heroine, is the voice actress of Atoli from .hack//G.U., who also did the voice of Saber from Fate/Stay Night. Can you believe that Saber and Atoli were done by the same voice actress? That's quite a shocker for me...

The song is the ending theme. Not of typical Crystal Kay style, but I really enjoyed it.

A new anime this season that is based on the 19th century novel, and it's currently on the 4th episode(yet to see a sub group to pick this one up).

The story takes place in early 19th century France. Cosette is the daughter of Fantine. Unable to secure a job as a single mother, Fantine decides to pay an inn keeper couple to look after Cosette, while she tries to find a job on her own. However, being cruel and corrupt, the couple treat Cosette in a manner Fantine can never imagine...

With a little girl been left behind by her mother, and found herself in an unimaginable situation, I found the anime to be very emotional. I've never read the novel, so I can't comment on how closely it sticks to the original story. But according to the sources I've looked at, the original novel had a "multitude of plots", and most likely, the anime will only focus on Cosette's childhood.

The art style is a lot like some of the western styled animes from the 80s(something I really enjoyed as a toddler), and it's airing in full HDTV glory.

The attached song is the ending theme.

I thought the title is kinda strange(it does have some meaning to it, which the anime hasn't reveal yet), but the anime is really good.

After the end of a war, a veteran soldier from a special battalion joined up a division called the Pumpkin Scissors, its job is to clean up the aftermath of the war, and to help the citizens to get on with their lives. But after several incidents involving nobles, they realized they may be fiddling with things they shouldn't fiddle with...

The story didn't catch that much of my attention. I like war time stories, but not after-war time stories.

What I really liked about is the character design. The main character is a veteran soldier from a top secret battalion, who is somewhat mentally unstable, who also waves around a big ass gun(sounds like a good combination to me). Then there is the young princess from a noble family, who is naive and enthusiastic. And she resembles Saber from Fate/Stay Night(from her look to her personality), I wanted to see more characters like Saber, so that was a good thing to me.

Like most animes, it's based on a manga(which I enjoyed). The anime follows the manga closely.

Check it out if you like psycho + princess kind of combinations.

Oh, and happy Halloween.