J-drama: "Antiquarian Bookshop Biblia's Case Files" or Biblia Koshodou no Jiken Techou"

I just finished watching the whole series over 2 to 3 days on Crunchyroll.  I didn't know anything about the series when I first started watching it.  I figured if it was about a book store I'd be down with that.  Turns out it's a Nero Wolfe-like mystery series where the proprietor Shinokawa Shioriko (played by Gouriki Ayame) solves literary-bent mysteries surrounding antique books and their past and current owners.  Goura Daisuke (played by AKIRA from "GTO") is her newly hired assistant and Shida Hajime (Takahashi Katsumi) is her housemate/old book buyer.  She deduces things using her vast knowledge of the history of Japanese publishing and Japanese and world literature.  Each episode revolves around one piece of literature.  It sounds like a snoozefest, but it's actually very entertaining and tugs at heartstrings several times.  My only complaint is the same techno song, that while catchy, is overused in each episode.  But that is a small complaint.  The characters are all extremely likeable and the show is earnest in its premise that books really do connect people together.  Now that I've watched this, I want to find another J-drama to watch.  Still looking... any advice out there?

"My Love Story!!" or "Ore Monogatari!!" episode 6

Turns out what I suspected was true... Yamato doesn't want to be put on a pedestal, she wants to hold hands...and stuff.  Ai confronts Yamato with Suna.  It's hilarious while Yamato starts talking about how sexy Takeo is and Ai is wholeheartedly saying "amen that, sister," Suna is figuratively and literally slowly backing away from the conversation.

We also find out why Ai started to like Takeo.  She was a little cougar in the sixth grade when third grader Takeo innocently complemented her.  

Ai and Suna convince Yamato to talk to Takeo about her feelings.  I don't think any boyfriend would back off if his girlfriend wanted to hold hands, and Takeo is no exception.  His awkward first attempt is funny.

Ai leaves town heartbroken but happy for Takeo.  Suna has his own problems when Takeo turns up in his room...to practice kissing.  Poor Suna.  A LOL moment to end the show.

Oh, and the heroic thing Takeo does this episode is rescue a kitty from a tree.

"My Love Story!!" or "Ore Monogatari!!" episode 5

What could go wrong with the cute couple this episode?  It's still a mystery... but first...  Takeo saves a life, literally, again, this time a little boy who almost drowns.  Suna gets the thank you again, but Suna tries to set the record straight.  It makes no difference though.  

We also met Suna's beautiful older sister, Ai, who unexpectedly, has a crush on her little bro's best friend, Takeo.  She does not take the news that Takeo has a girlfriend very well.

She "accidentally" meets Takeo, Suna, and Yamato at the park (she stalks Suna by GPS) in order to inspect Yamato.  Yamato says how beautiful Ai is, and Takeo says how kind Ai is as we see her wipe Takeo's nose as a child in a flashback.

In a cute scene, we see Yamato offer up her latest cooking creation of cookies.  Turns out she mistook the salt for sugar and they are terrible.  But Takeo doesn't bat an eyelash.  It's all good as long as Yamato made it.  Aw.  As Ai observes Yamato, she notices she is hiding something.  In fact, the main "problem" of the show is that Yamato is hiding something from Takeo.  Takeo finally notices it himself and tries to figure it out by reading a teen magazine.

Ai runs into him (in a real coincidence this time) and stops him from this embarrassing behavior by promising to help him find out what Yamato is keeping secret.  

It seems like Yamato is troubled every time Takeo says how "pure" she is or states that he won't lay a hand on her until she is an adult.  Maybe Yamato wouldn't mind at least holding hands or something...

"Rin-ne"

Mamiya Sakura is high school girl who sees spirits.  They bother her, but she doesn't let anyone know she sees them.  One day at school she meets her classmate Rokudou Rinne who is sometimes invisible to everyone else except her.  Turns out he's a shinigami that makes regretful spirits to go into the "Rinne no Wa" ("Ring of Reincarnation" that looks like a big red wheel in the sky) to be reborn.  Sakura can see spirits because she was led into the spirit realm as a young child by a shinigami who coincidentally is Rokudou's grandmother.  Due to circumstances, Rokudou has to do shinigami work while being extremely poor and relies on offerings and donations to survive.  It reminds me of "Noragami."  Sakura gets caught up in Rokudou's busy life.  It's a very funny show and has a very nice retro-shojo art style.  Only four episodes have aired, but I have a feeling it I will enjoy this show quite a bit this season.

"My Love Story!!" or "Ore Monogatari!!" episode 4

Another touching episode from "My Love Story!!"  This time it's about having Takeo meet Yamato's friends during a group blind date or goukon.  It's funny how many male fan/friends he has at school.  He has no problems finding guys for the goukon to meet Yamato's friends.  At first things are going swimmingly, but a couple of friends let it slip out how disappointed they are at finding out how Takeo looks after hearing how cool he is from Yamato.  But they are proven wrong in a fantastical way when he saves their lives by rescuing those same friends from the burning building where they are holding the goukon.  The best part I think is when Yamato is crying about her friends hurting Takeo's feelings, but Takeo says he's not hurt at all in his mature way.  He is actually happy she was complimenting him to her friends so much.  Suna is important in this episode too.  When it looks like Takeo is about to give up  and croak in the burning building, Suna calls Takeo on his cell phone saying himself and Yamato would be sad if he were gone and Takeo suddenly gets that superhuman strength again and bursts out of he burning building.  Everyone realizes Takeo is actually a great, cool guy.  It's a pity he has to be a hero before some people realize it.

"My Love Story!!" or "Ore Monogatari!! Episode 3

This episode was a shocker.  Spoilers===============> 

OMG the misunderstanding is cleared up in a mere three episodes!  Suna is the bro-est of bro's when he causes Yamato to confess to liking Takeo when Takeo is hiding (under the bed, not sure how he fit under there).  The relationship between Takeo and Suna is almost more important that Takeo and Yamato in this episode.  Takeo muses on how great Suna is after realizing Suna dissed all those girls who confessed to him because they talked smack about Takeo behind his back.  Way to go, man.  The question is, where does the story go from here?  I expected the misunderstanding to drag out to at least episode eight!  

"My Love Story!!" or "Ore Monogatari!!" episodes 1 and 2

It's a charming story of Gouda Takeo, an unlikely protagonist of a romance anime.  He's big and tall, and not very handsome, but very straightforward and kind, though a bit hotheaded.  His best friend Sunakawa Makoto (aka Suna) is very handsome, so handsome even grade school girls do a double take when he walks by.  All the girls Takeo ever liked always liked Suna instead.  But Suna ruthlessly turned them all down.  

One day on the train, Suna alerts Takeo to a suspicious man.  Takeo sees the man groping a high school girl and saves her.  She is Yamato Rinka who is just Takeo's type.  He instantly falls in love.  She is grateful and visits Takeo at home while Suna is visiting.  Takeo automatically thinks Yamato actually likes Suna.

Takeo, being the bro that he is, decides to let go of his feelings for Yamato, and try to matchmake her and Suna.  Yamato, however, keeps inventing reasons to meet up with Takeo, mostly involving homemade sweets.  Takeo invites Suna along each time, thinking she's actually into Suna.

A funny part of episode two is when Takeo is trying to find out what kind of girls Suna likes. But Suna's answers are a little vague.

One part of episode two that was strange was when an iron construction beam falls and Takeo catches the beam to save Yamato.  That is a bit of a trope, but it does offer the opportunity for Takeo to save Yamato again.   Suna and even Yamato help Takeo with the beam and don't just bail.  Seeing Yamato try to lift the beam causes Takeo to go superhuman and throw it off of him like a boss.

Finally, Yamato invites Takeo to meet again, but specifically WITHOUT Suna.  Takeo, being the dense nice guy, thinks it's just for love advice.  Hope Takeo puts two and two together soon!  I have a feeling Suna does really actually like Yamato though...  The triangle begins?
I like the simple art style.  There is not much motion in the story, but I like how there are little "air thoughts" sometimes that add comedy.  Suna is a fox and he looks like Taichi from "Chihayafuru" so he is eye candy (falling for the surface again like the grade schoolers).  The voice actors for Takeo (Takuya Eguchi) and Suna (Nobunaga Shimazaki ((Haru! from "Free!")) are excellent.  

Winter 2015 Season Wrapup

Last season I finished several two season shows like "Parasyte- the maxim," "Yowamushi Pedal- Grande Road," "Aldnoah Zero," "Shirobako," "Yona of the Dawn," "Your Lie in April," and "Shonen Hollywood- Holly Stage for 50."  I also continued watching "Jojo's Bizarre Adventure."

"Parasyte" was almost appointment anime.  Each episode ended in a very effective cliffhanger which made me think "No! Don't stop there!"  There was a sense of horror since there was the "Invasion of the Body Snatchers" component since the parasites were indistinguishable from the humans.  (Although they all DID have the that dead-eyed look... and were eating people.)  Shinichi the main character struggles to protect himself and his loved ones while coming to terms with his situation of becoming "more than human" after becoming host to a parasite he later names Migi.  The ending of the show is a little flat, and it is still unexplained as to where the parasites came from and where they ultimately went.

"Yowamushi Pedal" season two stretched out the inter-high bike road race to forever and a day, but it was all worth it.  We get to spend time with cyclists from at least four different teams as they all struggle to win the three day race through the mountains.  Onoda is pure sunshine the whole time.

"Aldonoah Zero" was a hot mess.  It looked great, but didn't make much sense.  I found it difficult to follow the mecha battles, but they were pretty.  I like the character designs by Takako Shimura, the mangaka for "Wandering Son."  **MILD SPOILERS** -->>>>>

(-->>>The subtitle for this show could have been "Let's torture Slaine."  I still feel sorry for him.  He got the worst deal out of everyone, even Inaho with his injury.)

"Shirobako" was a delight.  At first I thought this was a silly slice of life show, but it turned out to be a revealing look at the workings of a real anime studio as it struggles to make a quality anime ON TIME.  Best part was watching the relationships of between the characters.  Credit to great writing.

"Yona of the Dawn" was a very pretty shojo fantasy anime.  Yona is a princess who escapes the palace after her father the King is murdered.  While fleeing for her life, she realizes how sheltered she was and it wakes her up to the realities and injustices of the world she never knew.  She also meets up with her predestined support crew of four handsome men who embody dragon spirits. The story of the Blue Dragon made me tear up.  Solid action show, with eye candy for the ladies.  It never falls into reverse harem mode, since it's very obvious she has eyes only for Hak, her loyal bodyguard.

"Your Lie in April" is gorgeous looking anime, that really tugs are your heart strings.  It is a bit manipulative, but what do you expect when one of main characters has an unexplained illness.  Kousei is piano genius, but is psychologically unable to play due to trauma involving his deceased mother.  Kaori sweeps into his life like a hurricane, and encourages him back to his music.  

"Shonen Hollywood" is a strange but soothing anime.  Five male teenage idols struggle to find themselves as they navigate the suprisingly hum drum lives of an idols-in-training.  It's not the flashy "UtaPri" you may expect at all, but a mellow show that makes you relax rather than fangirl.

"Jojo's" continues to be awesome.  Each show usually has at least one outrageous WTF moment that makes you LOL.  Joseph is still my fave character.

Onward to Spring Season 2015!

"Shonen Hollywood"

"Shonen Hollywood" is an idol show, but not the kind you would expect.  It is about five young men who are recruited to be a boy idol group.  You would expect shallow hijinks and backstage melodrama.  But instead it's a very earnest take on the lives of idols.  It's almost silly how the show meditates on the principles of being an idol, as in, being "on" all the time, even in private life, treating your fans with utmost respect, giving your performances your all, being aware of the fleeting nature of the business, etc.  But it's so earnest in attitude it's not silly.  The art style may not be for everyone, but the characters have a somewhat realistic look to them that is refreshingly different from today's style.  The music is not that catchy to me, but the OP of the second season is the song I like the best.  Each episode has a different ED featuring different voice actors which is impressive.  There are a couple of episodes that are almost experimental in style.  One episode involves the boys acting a play about flight attendants (yes flight attendants) in which the viewer has the POV of an audience member.  Another episode has the viewer "watching" a TV episode of a music show in the style of the Japanese music program "Music Station" with the boy group as newbie guests.  The second season is currently being streamed on Funimation in North America and Crunchyroll elsewhere.  I still haven't figured out the meaning of "Holly Stage for 49" or  "Holly Stage for 50" which are part of the titles for season one and two.  Maybe it has to do with the background of the anime being from a novel.  Try out this show if you're looking for something different.  

"Time of Eve" Movie International Blu-ray

"Time of Eve" has several incarnations.  There is an six part ONA available for streaming on Crunchyroll and released as a Blu-ray.  There is also a movie version of the story that was released on iTunes and as a Kickstarter funded Blu-ray. I backed the Kickstarter and received the Blu-ray, the soundtrack, and a bonus book as a box set, plus some art cards in a separate envelope.

It's an excellent release with an excellent English dub and subtitles in several languages.  It also has detailed translations of the on screen signs and text.  The disc menu is easy to navigate.

The movie itself is a science fiction story set in the near future where androids that are indistinguishable from humans are commonly used as labor, including as house servants.  Rikuo is high school student who has an android he calls Samy.  Looking at her activity log, he notices she has gone to an unfamiliar location without instruction.   He secretly goes there with his best friend Masaki and learns it's a cafe where androids and humans mix as equals.  How should society treat androids that exhibit human behavior?  Maybe someday that will be an issue in reality.  I like the art style which is not overly "moe" and there is some humor to break the tension.  There is one part about a "disowned" house robot that was funny and touching at the same time.  The movie is bookended by scenes involving the government's role in android control that I still don't understand completely, but I like the kind of movie where things aren't spelled out.  I think science fiction lends itself to that kind of set up where the viewer has to think about the world of the story more than usual.  The creator is Yasuhiro Yoshiura who also made "Patema Inverted," another science fiction anime movie that is a bit hard to understand (for me anyway).  Maybe I'll write about that some day.