September 17, 2010
Ookami-san to Shichinin etc. Ep11: A Man is (Re)born
Say what you want about Ryoushi, even at this point nearing the conclusion of the series. He might still be sort of a coward but he tries his damn best every time he needs to. Manliness isn’t something you feel the need to perpetually show every moment of everyday, but a quality that shines forth from you when it is required of you. Ryoushi managed to show how important this is, as the only person capable of saving Ryouko.
And of course he’d succeed. He’s the lead male after all!
August 30, 2010
Ookami-san to Shichinin etc. Ep9: Sister’s Act
I find a bit odd that while she’s been presented maybe once or twice before in previous episodes, there hasn’t been any sort of suggestion that Ringo and Himeno shared something in their past. She took a bit of spotlight as the winner of Miss Otogi contest but other than that it feels a bit manufactured that Ringo’s entire issue with her suddenly came out of left field despite her previous appearances.
Not to say that it’s bad, actually for the most part the drama was done reasonably well, but it came a bit sudden honestly. In a way it feels like it was made just to let Ringo have an original reason to be in Otogi City.
Oh well.
August 19, 2010
Ookami-san to Shichinin etc. Ep8: Teh “Truth” About Dem Womens
Do you like them short or tall? Fat or thin? Flat or busty? Demure or deranged? Active or lazy? Smart or stupid? Savvy or lame? Curious or dull? Clean or messy? Nice or naughty?
There are so many girls in this world ripe for the taking! I claim this at the risk of sounding sexist! This is the truth! Take your pick! It’s easy! Just close your eyes and point!
Unless of course you’re a 12 year old rich kid with a butler who knows the in and out truths of every type of women in this world from the wonders of the pettanko to the effects of gravity on anything that is bigger than a C cup. I don’t know whether to call this butler weird or wise. Perhaps both. Maybe.
August 13, 2010
Ookami-san to Shichinin etc. Ep7: Damaged Goods.
If I had a cute but creepy stalker girl sneaking into my house to make my bed, my meals, reading through my porn and basically rolling on my bead and sniffing my scent off of my pillow, I’d consider myself the luckiest maderfacker on the face of this planet.
Of course this is an anime, so things like this fantasy of mine don’t happen in real life.
More than that of course, the whole date job thing was pretty much just a vehicle to move Ryouko and Ryoushi’s relationship to the next level. A rather traumatic, if cliched, motion.
August 5, 2010
Ookami-san to Shichinin etc. Ep6: When Trust is Gained
Trust is really one of those funny things. You can spend an entire lifetime trying to gain this from a person, yet they can take it away in a microsecond. Some people give their trust freely to others while others rarely trust anyone, if at all. It takes a lot of thought, planning and understanding to try earn it yet a single slip of the tongue and it is gone forever. More often than not, trust is not so easily given.
Of course everyone has the right to decide who to trust and when. Each person has their own criteria for trustworthiness. It is a very subjective thing, but given all the requirements people apply before they give, the truth is that there is really no sure fire way to know if the person in front of you is worthy of it. With that, perhaps, a Nobel Prize winning author said it best:
“The best way to find out if you can trust somebody is to trust them.” – Ernest Hemingway
July 30, 2010
Ookami-san to Shichinin etc. Ep5: Demon Hunting
An episode far, far removed and far, far more involved than the previous one.
I’m sure the story of Momotaro isn’t something us Western viewers would be familiar with. I myself have only heard about it once not too log ago playing Okami, and honestly beyond the demon fighting I really didn’t know much about it. Since this is story time in kindergarten, the basic premise of Momotaro is that of a boy, born from a peach, who befriends a bunch of animals and goes of to do what badasses oft do. That is to say, kick evil ass in the form of demons. He goes of to the Island of Demons, beats them into submission, returns home and lives happily ever after.
The thing is, at least for our dear Wolf, this isn’t a happy ever after. At least not yet.
July 23, 2010
Ookami-san to Shichinin etc. Ep4: Returning Favors
Eh… at some point I was expecting that when I started blogging, there would be at least one episode that I really won’t like so much so that I can’t even make a proper blog post about it.
I didn’t like this episode. It felt flat 2/3 of the time, which is sad because the comedy and the character interactions were what propelled this show beyond the cliches and the stereotypes. Maybe it’s because I didn’t like Ootsume. She comes off as a really flat, one dimensional character. Even with her background I just found myself very disinterested at her predicament and her obsessive-compulsive need to render service to everyone who does something for her.
At least two things were good in this episode:
1. So far the best narration in the series. While the narration was one of the only funny things in this episode, the narration actually manages not to be obtrusive the entire time and still deliver. I wish the narration becomes like this for the rest of the series.
2. 
July 15, 2010
Ookami-san to Shichinin etc. Ep3: The Hare and the Hare
While it is traditional for a series like this to explore its side characters at some point, it’s a bit surprising that they decided to do it rather early in the series. Granted I can’t remember right now how many episodes this series will run, but it’s always interesting to see the supporting cast get their time in the spotlight, especially with a bizarre supporting crew such as this. For this episode, we get Touru and Otohime.
July 8, 2010
Ookami-san to Shichinin etc Ep2: The Girl Who Tried Wolf
It’s kind of hard to make a witty label with a series title that long…
I was initially surprised at the fact that this was the fairy tale they would attempt to use for the second episode. Not to say that the Boy Who Cried Wolf isn’t a fairy tale but I was actually expecting them to use the more popular ones that were popularized by such people as the Grimm’s and Hans Christian Anderson. As of this writing I can’t exactly remember the origins of the tale and who were the ones to popularize this story but here’s a refresher gist on the unlikely chance you’ve never heard of the tale:
July 2, 2010
Ookami-san to Shichinin no Nakama-tachi Episode 1
Let me get this out of the way: I was lured on the premise of the main heroine being a mix of Toradora’s Taiga and Spice and Wolf’s Horo. As someone who loved both series, I cannot call myself a fan if this did not intrigue me even the slightest. Of course I’m no fool. I know most of these comparisons tend to be blown WAAAY out of proportion and the fact that the show pretty much on the same cliches and dynamics Shounen shows have been using for years. Still, Toradora managed to prove that even old cliches can still work, so with that in mind (and with a lack of things to watch this season I went ahead and gave it a try.
Medical Student vs. Anime 