mDuo13.com - The Amorphously Collected Thoughts and Works of Rome Reginelli

Dennou Coil is a 2007 anime by Madhouse, cryptically subtitled COIL A CIRCLE OF CHILDREN, which indeed follows a circle of children (and some adults) involved with mysteries related to cyberspace-viewing glasses and the strange beings reflected in them. Along the way it manages to explore themes of compassion, coming of age, and the nature of reality. The show's also known as Cyber Coil, which makes sense because attaching den- (electric- or cyber-) to the front of anything and everything is kind of a running theme.

As a quick aside, I had been kind of thinking about watching this show for a while, but receiving it as a recommendation Reverse Thieves' Anime Blog Secret Santa project was the impetus that forced me to get around to it. I also intend to watch and maybe review the two other recommendations I received, the Ghibli-sans-Miyazaki1 movie Only Yesterday and Yoshitoshi ABe's classic Haibane Renmei — but not before Christmas. As it is, with this season of anime being particularly above average in the number of enjoyable shows, and DJ Max Technika 2 also releasing around Thanksgiving and subsequently commanding a shameful amount of my time, I ended up putting off the show until the last few days and watching 23 of the 26 episodes in a whirlwind of 2 days.

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Heroman. It's a title that's sounds so generic and trite that the show could just be amazing. As a collaboration between the reputable Studio Bones and Spiderman-creator Stan Lee, it seemed like a show that could really deliver. I watched one episode when it aired, and decided that it didn't seem to be the case. But due to the prodding of a certain someone, I'm giving it another chance. So far, while there are things to like about it, there are many more aspects of the show that get on my nerves. I'm hoping for many of these to change, but until they do (if at all), I need to vent. The rest of this post contains spoilers for episodes 1-5 of Heroman.

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Seikimatsu Occult Gakuin, or just Occult Academy, is a recent series by Aniplex studio A-1 Pictures, part of their "Anime no Chikara" project that also includes So-Ra-No-Wo-To and Ichiban Ushiro no Daimao, with the goal of creating quality original anime series (not based on manga or other works). Set in 1999, follows Kumashiro Maya, heir to a school that specializes in the occult, and Abe Fumiaki, an ex-psychic who has been sent from 13 years in the future to search out and destroy "Nostradamus's Key", the artifact that will cause an catastrophic dimensional rift on the 21st of July. Aside: I like how the time travel in this show almost becomes 12 Monkeys and Back to the Future - two competing models for cinematic time travel - at the same time!

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The following are (more-or-less spoiler-free) patch notes for K-ON!!, the recently-finished follow-up to Kyoto Animation's wildly popular series K-ON! about high school girls who usually don't play music. Those looking for advice on the series should first ask themselves the question, "Does a series need to have a plot for me to watch it?" If the answer is no, then familiarize yourself with the first season before upgrading.

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Now that I've finished watching Asobi ni Iku yo!, I figured I may as well continue in a previous vein and summarize what made the show amazing for those who've got too-good taste to actually slog through the whole thing. Overall, Asobi ni Iku yo! was a pretty fun watch: it never made me mad, nor bored, nor upset, and it did make me laugh. The second half wasn't quite as hilarious as the first, but the show found its rhythm and balance between action and fanservice, and managed some trite but successful character development on a few characters, while further fleshing out its improbably-convenient setting. The only real disappointment about the second half was the general lack of Uncle Yuuichi. Warning: the rest of this article contains major spoilers for episodes 6-12 of the show!

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I was thinking of reposting some old reviews that I had written back on Anime Remix some time ago, but in the end I decided to write a new review, for something a little more recent and a little less exceptional: Ookami-san and 7 Companions (or just Okamisan as Funimation calls it), a 12-episode series that just finished airing. Following on the heels of Toaru Kagaku no Railgun, Ookami-san is yet another J.C. Staff adaptation of a light-novel series, like Railgun's predecessor Toaru Majutsu no Index as well as the ToraDora! and Shakugan no Shana franchises.

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