So…as I was exploring the interwebs this fine Thanksgiving Day (Thanksgiving for those of us in America, anyways), I remembered that I had a blog…details, my first blog entry in many months, and my early New Year’s Resolution behind the cut!

When I began this blog over the summer, I had planned to have it be one of those review-every-episode anime blogs…but, as I’m sure you can see, I could not accomplish this. My life was (and still IS) too busy to do one of those types of blogs. However, stumbling back across this abandoned section of the tubes, I found that it was not nearly as abandoned as I had thought. People are still linking to my pages, and I’m still getting feedback…believe it or not!

So, inspired by this strange turn of events, I have decided to pick this blog back up! I have learned enough to know that I cannot keep trying to run it the way I was before – hence, this blog will now be mainly anime news, whole series reviews, and wallpaper/art posts (I am a graphic design student, after all…).

Thanks to any readers left, and to any new readers beginning. I promise to blog with all my heart, now! I can’t promise a daily update, or massive screencaps, but I can promise quality entries about worthwhile topics. Let’s try again blogosphere – welcome back ENIMA ANIME v. 2.0!!

ps. That picture at the top of this page is a wallpaper for you, colored by me, from the series Paradise Kiss (or ParaKiss for short…you may notice the striking similarity to the header…>.<). It’s my apology for having such a shitty blog, and my promise to improve, beginning today!

Behind the cut lies the information…

Yup, it’s true – our favorite chibi alchemist returns to the TV screens with Fullmetal Alchemist 2, a continuation of the series that will follow the recent manga chapters! Check the legit info here at Anime News Network!

The announcement was made by BONES via the front wrap-around cover of the latest manga…

Thoughts? Worries? Excited? Le me know!

Ok, so I’ll admit that it feels a bit presumptuous to post one of these big essay-type things for this Round-Robin topic after I’ve done such a half-ass job of getting caught up after I was gone for a week. I can offer you no excuses, except that life just ate me – so many things and responsibilities just crashed down on my head this past week-and-a-half, that I’ve barely had time to accomplish all the things I need to in real-life; much less in the blogosphere. I know I’ve probably lost any readers that I once had, but I’m posting this anyway…wishful thinking, perhaps?

Anyway, this Round Robin topic is about Strong Women in Anime: the Stereotypes and the Roles they Play. Please read (and maybe even comment, if you feel like it! *gasp*) – this topic continues behind the cut…

In almost every anime (especially harem anime of any flavor), there’s the stereotypical “strong woman” character – she never gets the guy, she never gets the spotlight, and we usually only get a small glimpse of her backstory – so why is she even there? Answer: She’s there to contrast the other moe~moe girl, and make her look even more moe-licious then before. Yes, I said moe-licious.

Moe-licious (adj.) Full of or overflowing with moe. See also: Moe-tastic.

The rough girl contrasts the softness of the other; the loud girl makes the silence of the other even more noticeable; the angry girl highlights the forgiving nature of the other. They say that to comprehend cold accurately, you also need to have experienced heat – this works in the same way. To get a full understanding of how kind a character is, they need to be balanced with one who is harsher. The personality and backstory for this character are then built into the story, so they don’t feel too random to the viewers and ta-da – we have our “strong woman” character!

The most obvious example I can think of is Clannad. Both Tomoyo and Kyou are of the “strong women” stereotype…we get a glimpse of their past life (but nothing compared to what the main character gets), they hang around to provide comic relief and such, but we know from the start that they’ll never get the guy. As soon as we meet moe~moe Nagisa, we KNOW that she’s gonna be the lucky gal. Kyou and Tomoyo’s tsun-tsun personalities (if you aren’t familiar with the word tsun-tsun, it means aggressive, pushy, strong, or forceful. You may know it better as the first half of “tsun-dere”) are there to contrast Nagisa’s weaker, more moe personality.

Another example is that of Asuka from Neon Genesis Evangelion; she contrasts the quiet, almost un-human personality of Rei. In this case, even though neither one of the girls are going to “get the guy,” the watcher’s attention must be drawn to the extraordinarily silent and strange portions of Rei’s personality for the big reveal at the end to hold any meaning (I won’t give it away, if you haven’t watched it…). There is one point at which Asuka actually slaps Rei for being so silent and expressing no opinion – this is one of the strongest moments in which we see the differences between the two girls. Rei is destined to have the bigger backstory, however, so it is important that Asuka is there to make sure the details of Rei’s character don’t go unnoticed.

My final example is Tohru from Fruits Basket (and it is going to be full of SPOILERS, so don’t read if you don’t want to know!)…she is contrasted by her “rival in love,” if you will – Kagura. While they are not directly contrasting each other at the beginning of the story, they grow to oppose each other as Tohru begins to show her feelings for Kyo over Yuki. Their differences are especially highlighted in the way Kyo deals with them, and they way they deal with Kyo. Tohru is even directly contrasted with Kagura when Kagura speaks about seeing Kyo’s true form. She tells about how she ran away in fear, while Tohru was called to stay with him because she was so kind and caring. Eventually, of course, it is Tohru and not Kagura that ends up with Kyo.

Of course, we have become so accustomed to this that it feels strange to have the strong woman as the main character. That has been enough, on some shows, to set it apart from the mold and make it a wonderful success! People can’t always put their finger on what it is that makes those shows special, but they go “Yeah, that was neat – that was original!”

Examples of this include Suzumiya Haruhi no Yuutsu (The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya, for my friends who prefer the English translation), Ouran High School Host Club, Furi Kuri (or Fooly Cooly, or FLCL – whichever way you like it!), Paprika, Clannad ~ After Story, and BECK (to an extent, but not as much as the other shows I mentioned).

What are your thoughts on this? Do you prefer anime with a moe~ main character to one with a “strong woman” main character? Do you always want the main character to get the guy, or do you root for the strong woman character? Are you more attracted to moe~moe or tsun-tsun? Let me know guys!

Ok, instead of a typical review on Nogizaka Haruka no Himitsu, I’d like to talk a bit about the role/presentation of otaku in this anime as compared to the real world. This was a theme that was focused on very much in Episode 3 (and received mixed reviews), so I would like to throw my two cents into the blogosphere too – why not? ;)

This anime has focused on the issue of otakuism in a way that is different from anything I have seen before. It took what was always there in the undertones of Genshiken, and brought it to the front lines – the shame and embarrassment that simply is a part of being an anime fan (btw, I am going to use the word “otaku” from now on, even though I know it’s not a literal translation). Now, before you go all troll on me, let me clarify – I am NOT saying that being an anime fan is anything to be ashamed of for ANY reason. I am simply saying that 99.9% of otaku have felt moments of embarrassment (at the very least) on account of their hobby.

Genshiken avoided this issue (mostly) by putting all the otaku characters in a club together and showing very little of their social interactions outside of the club room. The only character who demonstrated a serious anti-otaku attitude was Saki, and she grew to understand and (dare I say?) like the people of the club for who they were – not what they liked as a hobby.

In Nogizaka Haruka no Himitsu, however, the roles are reversed – otaku are presented as the minority, and “normal” people spend pretty much all their screen-time otaku-bashing. The hate that is shown in this anime, while grossly exaggerated, certainly has its base in truth. In the same way that I think anime fans have been embarrassed of their hobby at least once, I think “normal” people have had these kinds of thoughts about otaku at least once.

I can testify to this one, having been on both sides of the deal. Before I was an anime fan (which was many years ago at this point), I remember that there was a girl in my church who wore an FMA shirt to youth group. The shirt had a picture of Alphonse’s blood seal on the front, which (if you are not familiar with the anime) looks like this:

Well, to me it looked a lot like some kind of dark magical circle – something that seemed grossly inappropriate for church. I certainly gave her a hard time about it – for watching TV shows (anime) with dark magic in them and telling her that they weren’t safe. Now, I can look back and see how wring that was – in the anime, that was a symbol of healing – one of the characters saved another’s life with that seal. I judged (wrongly) that that kind of symbol meant that anime had lead to my friend dabbling in the dark arts. It only confirmed my dislike of anime/otaku at that time. It wasn’t until my friend finally got fed up with my behavior (or so I imagine was the impetus) and made me sit down and read the first volume of Fruits Basket…lo and behold, it was love. As I got more and more into the culture and such of anime, I had to disregard my stereotypes and assumptions as they were disproved one by one.

In Nogizaka Haruka no Himitsu, I think it also accurately portrays the fear that Haruka felt at having her secret revealed. Obviously, as the hate is exaggerated, so is the fear, but I believe that for the fear (like the hate) the base in real life is the same. Haruka is obviously not the 100% eat-breathe-and-sleep-it otaku (I’ve mentioned that before in the reviews) and she is not surrounded by people who share her hobby; therefore, is it not natural for her to fear others finding out about her unusual hobby? When a non-otaku friend of mine heard that I went to Anime Mid Atlantic, he responded, “You? At a comic con? Really? I would have never guessed you were one of those types!” Even that (which wasn’t even a very direct insult) made me hesitate a little and feel that sting of shame before I responded that yes, I was one of those types, and it was an anime con, not a comic con. Not that that helped my case much…XD

But anyway, while I think that the ending where Yuuto told Haruka that she was not alone and that he liked Haruka for Haruka was definitely over the top (although VERY moe-moe~!), I found the rest of the episode to be incredibly relatable. Some of those insults that the classmates were flinging at Haruka stung a bit, because I’ve heard them too. Did any of you feel the same way?

Anyway, I’m sorry for this stream-of-consciousness ramble (I can’t even pretend to disguise it for anything else). If you stuck around to the end, you win the internetz!

Do you guys have any feelings on this subject? I know it’s vaguely similar to an earlier Round-Robin topic, sooo~

ps. In a completely unrelated note, the position in the picture below reminded me INCREDIBLY of one that Sunohara took at some point in Clannad…but I can’t rememeber when, so I have no comparison pic for you. Do any of you Clannad fans know what I’m talking about??

]]> http://enimaanime.wordpress.com/2008/08/09/nogizaka-haruka-no-himitsu-episode-3-kind-of/feed/ 1 enima01 http://enimaanime.wordpress.com/2008/08/05/nogizaka-haruka-no-himitsu-episode-2/ http://enimaanime.wordpress.com/2008/08/05/nogizaka-haruka-no-himitsu-episode-2/#comments Tue, 05 Aug 2008 14:59:20 +0000 enima01 http://enimaanime.wordpress.com/?p=124 ]]>

On a quest to obtain the Portable Dream Station (lol, it’s a DS!), Haruka takes her first trip to Akihabara on a date outing with Yuuto! Behind the cut: figurines, cosplayers, Haruka’s gashapon gambling problem, and a maid café!

It’s not a date, it’s not a date…just keep telling yourself that, Haruka…

Today we see Haruka and Yuuto walking to school together while talking about Clumsy Aki-Chan…awww! Well, it would be incredibly romantic if it wasn’t for the horde of murderous students looking to wipe Yuuto’s existence of the face of the Earth. Eventually, they are forced to make a run for it, but escape unscathed.

Haruka seizes this incredibly romantic moment (lol) to ask Yuuto out on a date (she’ll deny it, but that’s what it is). Yuuto is happy to accept until he finds out where they’ll be going…Akihabara!

Where else would an otaple go on a date? (otaple = otaku couple, for all ya’ll who haven’t watched Genshiken~)

Anyway, Yuuto meets Haruka at the station, and they decide on their route (based on a laughable map made by Haruka). Much frivolity ensues, but since I’m trying to make these summaries shorter, I’ll only hit the highlights.

Highlight 1: Haruka and doujin. Remember that Lucky Star episode where Kagami picks up that yaoi at ComiFest? It was like that, but cuter (if possible)…I think it was the little “Nyah~!” noise that she made as she fainted…

Don’t worry Haruka, you’ll learn to love it!

Highlight 2: Haruka and foreigners. Yuuto looses Haruka in the crowds, only to find her surrounded by some burly foreigners, who…just needed directions? Lol, only in anime! Haruka would have been beyond raped if that happened in the real world…

You tell ‘em, Yuuto?

Highlight 3: Haruka and gashapon. It’s an addiction – I mean the girl has a PROBLEM! It was so funny to watch…only because I can totally see myself doing the same thing! Better hope Haruka never goes to Vegas!

One more try!

Highlight 4: Haruka and the Maid Café. Or, more accurately, Haruka and the maid cosplay! It was like a moe-xplosion! Plus, the picture was cute…now they have one more secret!

Of course, the PDS was sold out by the time they got there, but Yuuto did the “it wasn’t a waste because I spent the time with you” speech, as he was supposed to. All things are right with the anime world.

EPIC MOE.

Impressions

I know that some people are turned off by the super sweetness that is Nogizaka Haruka, but I’m a sucker for that kind of stuff…I mean, really, this girl is more moe than Mikuru! She’s so moe, it’s downright disgusting! As somewhat ashamed as I am to say it, I love this anime!

And, as I keep watching (because I’ve watched up to episode 4, even thought I haven’t blogged them all), I keep liking the way that Haruka is portrayed as an otaku. Her fears, her hesitations, her excitements – they’re all exaggerated (to make it fun to watch), but at the base, they’re very realistic. Expect more on this topic after episode 3.

Final Review

4.5 / 5

I just noticed that I’ve given 4.5/5 to all the anime episodes this season (except Natsu no Sora, but I’m not blogging that anymore.)…

Ps. If you haven’t seen Scrumptious Anime’s post on Nogizaka Haruka no Himitsu and the Real Otaku, I highly suggest it. Link is here.

Wow – I am SO sorry for the delay on this! Wouldn’t you know, as soon as I apologize in a post and say I’m gonna hop right on the late reviews, the internet crashes – hard! I mean, the system was DOWN, yo! Anyway, the exceedingly late review of Natsume Yuujin-Chou: Episode 2 is behind the cut…finally!

Summary

This episode begins with Natsume being approached by his class rep, who wants him to sign up for a trial of courage – he signs, but has to make a quick departure as his is found again by one of his “friends.”

Lulz for the most un-moe moment of the summer anime season...

That night at dinner, Natsume is surprised again (lol) by a small man who helps himself to his dinner. Of course, this is another “friend” who wants his name (Tsuyukami) back. However, when Natsume locates the name in the book, they find that it is stuck to the name next to it as a result of Reiko’s poor table manners. Since they can’t rip it apart by force without dealing serious pain to the poor little guy, they decide that the only way to return the names is to return the names on both pages together, all at once.

Poor table manners seem to be an ongoing theme in this anime...

While Natsume is out walking, on his way to go visit Tsuyukami, he runs into an old woman who has dropped her bag of peaches on the ground. When he stops to help her, she offers one to him. But that’s not important right now…anyway, he gets to Tsuyukami’s shrine and hears his story. Turns out Tsuyukami is not actually a god – he just entered an empty shrine and (by chance) shortly after that the land recovered from a devastating drought. Encouraged by this, the people began to make frequent trips to the shrine to pray, and Tsuyukami began to feed off the attention. When the shrine-goers eventually stopped coming to pray, he began to shrink in size. Now, with only one faithful worshipper left, he is small enough to hold in the palm of your hand.

Tsuyukami’s past worshippers.

In order to return Tsuyukami’s name, Natsume must find the spirit whose name is stuck to the other side. Unfortunately, since the name side is the side that is stuck, he can’t just call the “friend” to summon him – he must find him. Guided only by Tsuyukami’s laughable sketch of this spirit, Natsume begins the search. While searching, he runs into the old lady (Mrs. Hana) who dropped the peaches before – she is praying at Tsuyukami’s shrine. We learn that she is that one faithful worshipper who is left, and that she has been praying here since she was a schoolgirl. She even saw Tsuyukami once, but was afraid that if she talked to him, he would disappear.

His drawing skills rival those of Kuchiki Rukia or Nogizaka Haruka, no?

Mrs. Hana in her schoolgirl days, praying to Tsuyukami.

The search is fruitless, and Natsume returns home. However, later that night Tsuyukami knocks on the window to tell Natsume that he has seen the spirit they were searching for! Once they are in the woods, the spirit makes itself quite apparent. While it has Natsume in a stranglehold, Natsume gets his vision of Reiko interacting with the “friends.” He learns the story and (more importantly) the name of this spirit, and is able to return the names to both him and Tsuyukami.

Tsuyukami disappears…

Unfortunately, this is too late for Tsuyukami. Mrs. Hana has passed away, leaving him with no worshippers. He shrinks to a point where he eventually begins to disappear. Natsume tells him to wait – that he will come and pray to him, but Tsuyukami refuses, stating that they are friends so that is impossible. Soon, he is gone completely.

On the way home, Natsume stops to pray at an empty shrine, having learned that caring and dedication is what truly matters.

Tsuyukami and Mrs. Hana – reunited.

Impressions

I still love this anime. I thought maybe the charm would wear off, but it hasn’t yet – I love the story, I love the artwork, and I love the pleasant combination of humor and melancholy. Especially in this episode – I thought Tsuyukami’s disappearance was well-handled without being overdramatic enough to ruin the scene; I must applaud that. The only thing I’m not a huge fan of at this point in time is Natsume’s loneliness complex. I know they’re trying to get across the feeling of isolation and such, but it’s really turning me off. During those little flashback scenes, I wonder whether I’m watching Natsume or Shinji from Evangelion – I just want to yell at the screen, “SUCK IT UP, PANSY!!” Maybe I’m being too harsh…

Final Review

4.5 / 5 (because of Shinji’s Natsume’s crybaby scene)

]]> http://enimaanime.wordpress.com/2008/08/02/natsume-yuujin-chou-episode-2/feed/ 1 enima01 Lulz for the most un-moe moment of the summer anime season... Poor table manners seem to be an ongoing theme in this anime... Tsuyukami’s past worshippers. His drawing skills rival those of Kuchiki Rukia or Nogizaka Haruka, no? Mrs. Hana in her schoolgirl days, praying to Tsuyukami. Tsuyukami disappears… Tsuyukami and Mrs. Hana – reunited. http://enimaanime.wordpress.com/2008/07/30/seperating-the-men-from-the-dogs/ http://enimaanime.wordpress.com/2008/07/30/seperating-the-men-from-the-dogs/#comments Wed, 30 Jul 2008 20:25:58 +0000 enima01 http://enimaanime.wordpress.com/?p=109 ]]>

WARNING: this picture has absolutely nothing to do with the post. I just love Hellsing.

That being said, it’s that time of the anime season where bloggers decide what they’re going to continue blogging and what they’re going to drop – time to seperate the men from the dogs! For more information on the chosen ones, keep on reading beyond the cut.

Ok, out of the three shows I’m currently following, I’m only going to continue blogging two. The lucky two are…*drum roll, please!*…Nogizaka Haruka no Himitsu and Natsume Yuujin-Chou!!

Why not Natsu no Sora, you ask? Well, it’s because I feel like I always have the same thing to say about Natsu no Sora – I think it’s predictable, I think the artwork is laughable, i just generally dislike it, and I’m not going subject all you readers to the same whiny review of a show I don’t like week after week. In addition to these reasons, I don’t want to waste my time blogging a show I don’t even care for in the slightest.

So, I know that only blogging two shows is slightly on the lame side – from what I hear, the Fall season is suposed to be incredible, though! Let’s look forward to that! Hope you all still stick around to see how Haruka and Natsume turn out (plus, I’m going to do the Clannad: Tomoyo’s World episode as soon as I have time to spare – I’ve already watched it and I LOVE it!). Sorry if you were a big Natsu no Sora fan…from what I’ve seen, you either love it or you hate it. I hated it. XD

As the song goes, I really am “still alive” (if you don’t get it, go play Portal. NOW.)…I thought some of you might be wondering after this extended leave that I’ve taken. More details behind the cut.

Yup, I told you guys that I’d be back a few days ago, but then real-life attacked me upon my return. Don’t you hate it when that happens? Family visits compounded with two or three close friends in the hospital took a chunk out of my blogging time – geh.

Just to keep you updated, I have watched all the new episodes that were released between when I left and now (I even took all the screenshots!), but I still need to write up the reviews. I haven’t forgotten about you – I promise! :D

Thanks again for your patience – I do really appreciate it!

As much as it pains me to leave you guys, I’m going to be out of town from today (7/17/08) for the next week-and-a-half-ish (returning 7/26/08).

So, I’ll miss a whole week of new episodes (geh…catch-up is gonna suck!), but they WILL be blogged upon my return. I’m sorry for any inconvenience or any tears shed on my behalf – lol!

ps. The picture at the top is from an under-appreciated little anime movie called Paprika. It’s one of my all-time favorite movies…if you haven’t seen it, I highly suggest it!

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A pleasant surprise all around – read the rest of the review behind the cut!

OP: Tomadoi Bitter Tune” by Miran Himemiya and Chocolate Rockers

I thought this was cute! I liked the song alright, but I can’t say it really stood out to me – in fact, I had to go back and re-watch the OP in order to talk intelligently about the song, because I couldn’t remember what it sounded like!

What really stood out to me were the animations; particularly the beginning part where they’re designing the “Innocent Smile” cover in a Photoshop-style setup. I thought that was really creative! Although I had to laugh at how the sketch was magically inked and colored in .5 seconds…I wish it was really that quick and easy!

I also had a nice laugh at how the big [SECRET] bar would come and cover all the naughty bits just in time…especially with the kiss at the end!

“Clumsy Aki-Chan” FTW!

Summary

The anime begins with an anime (“Clumsy Aki-Chan!”) – something that I thought was terribly Genshiken, but still amusing. The boy (Yuuto) watching it doesn’t seem to be an otaku, judging by his comments, but is watching it anyway. He’s interrupted by the crazy party noises below, and the camera pans to show us…

Enter: Yuuto and his drunken lady-friends, comic relief.

…the other two ladies living in the house, both of whom are 50% dressed but 100% smashed! He gets up and leaves to go cater to their drunken needs. We get a quick shot of a cloaked mystery character watching “Clumsy Aki-Chan” alone in a darkened room before the OP starts.

Enter: Nogizaka Haruka, made of MOE.

When we return, it’s breakfast/hangover time at Yuuto’s house. When he finally gets away from the ladies, he’s off to school, where he is equally tormented by his friends. We learn that Yuuto, despite negating any claims that he is homosexual, seems to have no interest in women. The conversation is distracted by some beautiful piano music that somehow is heard by everyone on the school campus.

The piano music is being played by a girl named Nogizaka Haruka who is immensely beautiful and popular. She seems to be good at everything, but has no boyfriend because she turns everyone down.

Enter: Nobumaga, resident otaku. Tail? I don't know, either...

Nobumaga rushes over to bother Yuuto about “Clumsy Aki-Chan,” his anime magazine “Innocent Smile,” and his new Aki-Chan figurines. We notice that Haruka takes a strange interest in eavesdropping on this conversation from across the room, but not much is made of it. After school, the intercom announces that Nobumaga has kept the magazine past the deadline and that he must return it immediately. He asks Yuuto to return it on his behalf as a favor, for some reason which is never disclosed.

Haruka spotted in the library!

When Yuuto goes to the library to return it, he runs into Haruka, who is desperately trying to hide her identity. Through some assorted mishaps (most of which involve panty shots and falling into other people’s crotches), Yuuto discovers that Haruka was at the library to check out “Innocent Smile” because…*drum-roll, please!* she’s an OTAKU!

After a game of hide-and-seek in which Haruka avoids Yuuto for an entire day, Yuuto confronts her on the school roof where he tells her that he doesn’t think any less of her for being an otaku and promises to keep her secret.

The rooftop confrontation!

BUT – the story doesn’t end here! At home, Yuuto gets a call from Haruka. She needs his help sneaking the magazine back into the school library because it’s past the due-date (how short are deadlines in this school, anyway?). If she waits until tomorrow, they’ll call her name (along with the name of the book) out on the intercom with morning announcements and her secret will be revealed!

So, of course, Yuuto runs out in the middle of the night to help her return the magazine. She clings to his arm the entire way (because it’s dark and scary!), and eventually the mission is completed once the set number of flags are triggered (lol). The episode ends with both of them asking the other to use their more familiar first name…cute!

Haruka, after the frightening late-night mission.

Impressions

I’ve seen a few poor reviews for this anime, but I think this is a surprisingly sweet anime for the semi-ecchi it is! I like otaku anime, but I was really afraid of this one being a fanservice-fest; especially after the very beginning with the drunken gals. However, I was happily wrong!

Something I especially like is the portrayal of both a female otaku that isn’t obsessed with yaoi or BL (that we know of…) AND the portrayal of an otaku that has other habits and lives a normal life. I think this is one of the more realistic otaku anime I’ve seen – certainly more so than Welcome to the NHK, but also a bit more than Genshiken. I’m glad to see someone who is clearly an otaku, but doesn’t eat, sleep, and breathe anime.

Art = WAY beyond what I expected!

The art is another thing I was happily surprised with; I was expecting something fairly low-budget and unimpressive (along the lines of Goshouu-Sama, Ninomiya-Kun), but found myself really enjoying the ART in this anime! Even though it doesn’t give a strong impression at first, the closer I watched, the more I noticed – “Hey…this doesn’t really suck the way I thought it would!”

ps. The uniforms remind me of Kanon…is it just me?

Final Review

4.5 / 5

It feels strange to give the same rating for this as I did for Natsume Yuujin-Chou, but I think it truly deserves it! I found this anime full of happy surprises and backed by a solid (and fairly original) storyline. I look forward to the next episode!

Screenshots

I’m starting a new thing here at Enima – with each episode, I will put up a link to a photobucket album with all the screenshots I took (because I usually take anywhere between 50 and 70, but use less than 10). This will be in the last section; Screenshots. The links for this episode are here: tell me if you like this system!

OP Screenshots

ED Screenshots

Episode 1 Screenshots

]]> http://enimaanime.wordpress.com/2008/07/15/nogizaka-haruka-no-himitsu-episode-1/feed/ 3 enima01 “Clumsy Aki-Chan” FTW! Yuuto and his drunken lady-friends, comic relief. Nogizaka Haruka, made of MOE. Nobumaga, resident otaku. Tail? I don't know, either... Haruka spotted in the library! The rooftop confrontation! Haruka, after the frightening late-night mission. Art = WAY beyond what I expected!