NKDS

All right, as a fan of UC Gundam, I do feel the need to spread this far and wide. So here goes:

So there you have it, the details of the Gundam Unicorn ep5 screening. You can bet that I will definitely be there!

This is Julius Firefocht, signing off.

The Messiah has arrived.

A year ago, I made a similar post regarding the best of anime in 2010. At the end of the post, I speculated that Puella Magi Madoka Magica might become the best anime of 2011. Looking back at 2011, Madoka Magica would indeed have dominated if not for the sheer storytelling brilliance of the staff behind Ano Hi Mita Hana no Namae o Bokutachi wa Mada Shiranai, better known as AnoHana. These are the two giants of the anime industry in 2011, all other titles fade away in significance when compared to these twin titans.

For the record, I consider anime like Fate/Zero and Kyoukai Senjou no Horizon to be 2012 titles, since we will only know how good the final product is when the second season ends.

So, the top 10 anime of 2011, in my opinion of course. Titles will be listed in alphabetical order. Read the rest of this entry »

Remember our last post about Metronome, the group that Bjorn, Sentinel011 and me set up? We were talking about our Anaru and Menma t-shirt back then, but concepts and ideas have since turned into reality. Metronome is proud to present our first product, featuring the delectable Anaru from the anime series AnoHana!

Each t-shirt costs $29.90, and you can place your orders through our Facebook page here: http://www.facebook.com/metronomist

We have a lot other interesting plans up our sleeves, so please look forward to it!

This is Julius Firefocht, signing off.

Bjorn, me and Sentinel011 from Bonkurasu… well, let’s just say we have not been entirely idle. The three of us are starting up a new group called Metronome, and here are our first products:

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“If someone tells me its wrong to hope, I will tell them they are wrong every time. I could tell them that countless times.”

This is the one sentence that got me, in the entire 12 episodes of the remarkable anime known as Madoka Magica. And Urobuchi Gen, the troll-master, was not lying after all. Madoka Magica did turn out to be a heartwarming anime, just that it took him 10 episodes and 3 Puella Magi to get to the good parts.

It remains to be seen if Madoka Magica will reach the legendary status that the Nanoha series has claimed, but in my opinion Madoka Magica has already carved its mark into animation history. Years from now, people will name Madoka Magica as a masterpiece of storytelling (episode 3….damn..), within the limitations of a magical girl anime. The production staff took a risk in bucking the trend of a typical Mahou Shoujo anime, and it paid off handsomely when viewers began following the series with cultish devotion. For me, I watched every episode with the hope that Mami would somehow return, which was why Madoka’s pronouncement of hope really resonated with me. I stuck with the anime, and I was rewarded with the return of Mami, but at the same time I was hit hard by Madoka’s heroic and selfless sacrifice.

It’s funny how sentiments can change in a mere 2 episodes. Before ep10, I was sneering at that fact that Madoka was a wuss who dared not take up the gauntlet that was thrown at her feet, while friends around her died or turned into witches. By the end of ep12, I was full of admiration for Madoka, who had now literally taken up every single gauntlet that was thrown at her, and then some. Before ep10 I was wondering why this anime was called Puella Magi Madoka Magica; by the time I was done with ep12, I knew there was no way this anime could have been named anything else.

A lot more can be said about Madoka Magica, and no doubt a lot has already been said. Long story short, just know that Puella Magi Madoka Magica is a title that has single-handedly revolutionized the magical girl genre while breaking new ground in nearly every aspect of anime production, and it is practically required watching if you are a Mahou Shoujo fan. Stick with this if there is a season 2, because for all you know we may be witnessing the birth of a franchise that can rival Nanoha and finally challenge Nanoha’s dominance of the Magical Girl genre.

I shall end off with this:

Don’t forget.

Always, somewhere,

Someone is fighting for you.

As long as you remember her,

You are not alone.

This is Julius Firefocht, signing off.

ハートキャッチプリキュア、無限シルエット！！

Last Sunday marks the last day of the 7th year of precure. An awesome end with a combined henshin on a higher level than Super Silhouette. Love will win them all ♥

For some reason, they chose to use Blossom’s image with twintails for the Infinite Silhouette. Now we get a giant twintail Blossom.

We will see them again on the 19th March on the big screen again

And this Sunday shall mark the beginning of my eighth year with precure ♥

Truth be told, this year can be considered a bit of a cop-out, at least where anime is concerned. No one title really stood out from the competition and there was nothing that was really big or started any sort of funny trend. This is unlike the glory days of K-ON, Clannad and Haruhi, when people can look at a title and say “Yeah, this is the best shit of 20XX. Can’t beat this shit.”

That’s not to say that this year was all bad. The way I see it, instead of one awe-inspiring and breathtaking masterpiece that would dominate the anime industry for this year, there were more of the smaller bite-sized works that were competent and entertaining in their own right. I think that’s ok; a dozen average but entertaining anime series is preferable to one masterpiece and eleven pieces of incoherent nonsense.

Opinions are like assholes. Everybody’s got one and everyone thinks everyone else’s stinks. Well, here is my list of good anime in 2010, in my opinion. This list is probably going to stink to high heaven, so take it with a pinch of salt.

Other NKDS writers might pitch in with their own lists later on, so stay tuned to this post.

Read the rest of this entry »

Finally, their next form. Precure Super Silhouette!!

Here’s a bit of promotion for a local Gundam-related event. Bandai will be holding a Gundam Unicorn OVA ep2 screening this coming Saturday at Shaw Bugis Junction, and tickets are being offered with every $30 purchase of Bandai Gundam model kits at BHG Singapore. There will also be a Gundam model kit exhibition held in the area, and who knows? Maybe Bandai will bring down the Perfect Grade Strike Freedom Gundam and it might be possible for members of the public to take a look at it.

I’ve been looking forward to ep2 of the Gundam Unicorn OVA ever since the Gundam 00 Movie, and from what I’ve heard this installment of the OVA is excellent. So see you at the screening, if you are a Gundam fan!

This is Julius Firefocht, signing off.

Holy shit. They really did it. =O

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