World Baseball Classic Final
Japan 5, Korea 3

That was a good few hours spent watching the game, and it sure brought some fond memories back. I'm never active in sports, but I used to watch Taiwanese professional baseball back in the days. For some reason, baseball lost its appeal to me once I crossed the Pacific Ocean and I rarely paid any more attention to it.

We were kind of rooting for Japan during the game and were glad that they won out in the end, though there were some intense moments. Congratulations, Team Japan! You go, Ichiro! XD

Now I can go back to my non-sportive lifestyle... Until the Canucks get somewhere in this year's play-off, that is.

I've said before that I would try not to judge an anime by its cover and decide for myself after giving it a shot. That's what I'd like to do, but due to time and space constraint, I don't always get to do this. I've probably missed out on a number of good shows as a result, and I almost walked away from one of the best series I've seen of late if it weren't for Neko-tan's enthusiastic comments on Gmail Chat.

The series is Toradora, which grabbed my attention with just the first episode and easily climbed up to my all-time top anime list by the fifth (I'm at ep.10 right now).

At first glance, the series appears to be a typical high school love comedy with cute girls and a lead loli female. The fact that two of the main girls are voiced by Kugimiya Rie and Horie Yui adds to the impression that the series is selling the tsudere and moe of the girls. But it's not like that at all!

Indeed, the series is a typical high school love comedy, but the characters and their interactions are so interesting and well scripted, it's hard to tear one's eyes away from this spirited display of youthful fireworks. I often find myself holding my stomach from trying to contain the laughters, and I also find myself smiling warmly at the things they say and the way they act. I haven't found myself tearing up or feeling the heart ache so far, but judging from the amount and depth of character emotions and sentiments in the show, I won't be surprised if it happens by the end of the series.

The last anime of which I felt this much emotion was Honey & Clover. Toradora actually reminds me a lot of Honey & Clover. The settings are similar, where one's main cast is consisted of three guys and two girls in a university, and the other one is two guys and three girls in a high school. Both have down to earth characters and respective issues, and both delve deeper beyond the superficial romantic relationships which is common in many shoujo works.

Having said that, Toradora and Honey & Clover are geared toward different demographics and therefore have different view points and approaches on various themes. I think I'm feeling for both because Toradora speaks to my emotions due to my lack of experience in love, while Honey & Clover speaks to my logics and reason due to my experience and knowledge in life.

Speaking of which, I just finished watching episode 4 of the second season of Honey & Clover (yeah, I haven't finished it yet) before writing this. I didn't like the pairing of Mayama and Rika at all when I watched the first season or read the manga. For some reason, I didn't dislike it as much as I thought I would when I watched the episode just now. I actually found reasons to support them. The seiyuu may have played a part in this change of heart, but I'd also like to think that I've grown more mature over the years.

Seiyuu-wise, the only seiyuu I was familiar with for the main cast of Honey & Clover was Ueda Yuuji, so I didn't really pay too much attention when watching the first season. I did start to notice Kamiya Hiroshi and Hamada Kenji after that, though. As mentioned above, I'm now able to appreciate the characters in H&C II better because of my growing experience with seiyuu. Sugita Tomokazu and Oohara Sayaka are great as usual!

Also as mentioned above, the only seiyuu I know for the main cast of Toradora are Kugimiya Rie and Horie Yui, neither are on my top female seiyuu list and usually aren't reason enough for me to watch an anime. My opinion of Kugimiya Rie used to be stereotyped because of her natural voice, but it has slowly changed over the past few years, starting with her role in Fullmetal Alchemist as Al. Once I see past her moe voice, she's got really great acting skills. Same with Horie Yui. I'm not familiar with Majima Junji, but he seems pretty good. I'll start watching out for him.

I'm still hesitant about buying the H&C manga because of the art style and am waiting for the DVD if it would be made available. I'm definitely buying the DVD for Toradora as well if it makes it and am pondering whether to buy the original light novels or not. I saw one of the spin-off volumes the other day when I went to Book Off, but that was before I started watching the anime so I didn't get it. orz

BTW, the OP song for Toradora, sang by the seiyuu for the three girls, is strangely addictive. I don't usually go for denpa songs, but this is just cute. XD

Kidou Senkan Nadesico

I just finished re-watching the series after almost five years and, even with all those other anime under my belt now, I still find it a great series. Actually, I probably appreciated it more this time around with all the knowledge and 'common sense' I've gained from watching other anime.

While the setting is fairly Sci-fi with all kinds of robotic devices and advanced technology, Nadesico is really a youthful love comedy at heart. With the battleship and the war between Earth and Jupiter as the grand stage, the crew of Nadesico live out their hearts with fanfare and lots of commotion. At times, there are laughters, separations and tears. At other times, there are arguments, disturbances, and reconciliation. Idiotic displays are intertwined with hot blooded moments. The characters often find themselves lost in life amidst all the wars and uproars, but time and again, they reclaim their hearts and set out once more with better understanding and stronger determination.

One can't talk about Nadesico without mentioning the great cast of seiyuus. Kuwashima Houko as Yurika is, of course, the best part for me (Houko-chan all the way!!), followed by the two Gekigan lovers played by Seki Tomokazu. Those two have come a long way since Nadesico over the past 12 years, and I never cease to be amazed by their display of skills. This is also where I first met Ueda Yuuji and Minami Omi. Their voices and acting skills don't stand out as much, but they're both unique, soothing, and memorable.

A lot of the elements in the series seem clichéd and thus makes the series seem rather ordinary by the current standard, but a good balance of all those elements as well as the excellent integration of Gekiganger 3 is definitely a force to be reckoned with.

The anime series ended with an open end and many mysteries were left unsolved. While it's inconclusive, I think it suits the series. Like Akito said in the series, once the last episode came to pass, it feels like the series really is over. But with an infinite end, one is free to imagine. Surely, the people on Nadesico will continue their adventure with the usual clamour and cheeriness after that last episode, opening new paths in their own style. Let's meet again somewhere else, Nadesico! :)

Look, it's him, Mario!

Well, it's not exactly Mario, but it's a plumber all right. Our kitchen sink got clogged after we ran the dish washer, which gets used once every three months or so in average, the day before, so we called in a long-time acquaintance of Mum's who happens to be a plumber.

A lot of people think it's dirty work, in the literal sense, and would prefer their children choose something else for a career. But, boy, would we be hooped without them.

While we were at it, we decided to have the whole plumbing system in the house checked and cleaned. The job took a good couple of hours and another hour or so to clean up the aftermath, but now all pipes are running well. Yay for plumbers! :)

This post was brought to you by the current temperature, -4°C. XD

I happened to be in the vicinity of Book Off yesterday and, given the rare chance, happily stepped in. And I walked out an hour later with a bag full of CDs and one art book by Toriyama Akira.

Here's a list of the CDs I got:
- Atari Kousuke: Yurai Hana
- Atari Kousuke: Tane o Maku Hibi
- Itou Yuna: HEART
- Itou Yuna: wish
- Shimatani Hitomi: Shinku/Ai no Uta
- SunSet Swish: Mosaic Kakera (the cover song was also what made me a fan of the group)
- Heroic Age ED Single: Azurite
- Polyphonica ED Single: Concordia (I've never seen the anime, but I like Shimotsuki Haruka)
- Mononoke Hime OST

The trip to Downtown was kind of unexpected so I didn't have a chance to do some research on the various DS games I saw at Book Off last time. Hopefully those games will still be there when I go there next time. It'd be even better if there's another 20% off sales... Then I'd buy all three games that I've set my eyes on! XD

During my search for the skytrain station (well, I got lost), I saw EB Games and decided to check it out. The first thing that caught my eyes was Final Fantasy IV, as the title has disappeared from store shelves everywhere else in the last few weeks. I was about to ask the store clerk for a copy when I noticed the words "voice over" on the back. If the game has Japanese voice over, I don't want one with English. Granted, I haven't seen the Japanese version laying around anywhere, but I'm not really in that much of a hurry. The three RPGs (and DQ IV when the price drops a bit) will keep me occupied long enough.

The other game that got my attention was YS I/II. I've never played the YS series and have only seen the OVA. The series is very well known among RPG fans in Japan and is considered as one of the classics, but I'm not sure about the game mechanics and plot...

The FF IV incident prompted me to do a quick search on The World Ends With You when I got home. Yeah, I finally managed to find a copy at Best Buy just last week. I don't know why it's taking them so long to get in a game that's been released for almost a year... Anyway, I found out that this game has voice as well so I guess I'm returning it. All that search for nothing. -__-

Now to find a store that sells Japanese video games in the Lower Mainland...