Top 10 anime ratings ranking (3 Jan 10)

1)New Year's Eve Doraemon Eiga mo Terebi mo 30 shuunen! Zenbu misemasu Gentei SP (TV Asahi) 7.0%

2) Fresh Puri Kyua! (TV Asahi) 3.3%

3) Gyakukyo Burai Kaiji (NTV) 2.6%

4) Emmy Awards Kinen Shin Short Tokushu (NHK General) 2.2%

5) Meitantei Conan Shinshun SP (NHK General) 1.9%

6) Uchi no Sanshimai (TV Tokyo) / Jewel Bed (TV Tokyo) 1.7%

8) Anime Erin Tokusen Kemono no Souja Erin (NHK Education) 1.5%

9) Yugioh Duel Monsters GX (TV Tokyo) / Kemono no Souja Erin (NHK Education) / Ashita no Joe (NTV) / Kemono no Souja Erin (NHK Education) 1.4%

Aoi Bungaku Series ~ Sakura no Mori no Mankai no Shita (Eps 5 & 6)

As I had never heard of this story nor the author Sakaguchi Ango prior to the production of the Aoi Bungaku series, I had no prior expectations about it. This could be good in a sense because I won't be prejudiced against the presentation of the story. However, right from the first three minutes or so, I already felt that this story didn't interest me. Or should I say handled really badly. Although it got better at several points, I still felt that the story left a bad aftertaste.

Compared to Ningen Shikaku, I find myself getting really irritated with this story at many junctures even though it spanned two episodes only. First of all, the character design got me riled up. From the very refined and detailed drawings in Ningen Shikaku, the drawings of the scene and characters are so coarse as if this anime was produced many years ago when technology wasn't that advanced yet. I do not know whether this is supposed to be the drawing style of Kubo Tite (the author of BLEACH) but this style certainly doesn't go down well with me. At the very beginning, it felt as if I was watching the chibi version of an anime. The first few scenes were terribly done and simply set things off on the wrong foot. It's kinda stupid to see Shigemaru fighting in such a manner with the man whom he robbed.

In addition, humour was also added in at the wrong time and in the wrong way. The story is supposed to be set in the 12th century but what's with the IPod and mobile phone camera jokes? If the producers wanted to make the viewers laugh, I'm afraid those jokes were pretty lame. In fact, it spoilt the mood which was building up especially for that part when Shigemaru was lamenting his inability to cope with living in the city. Another eyesore was the sudden fighting scene where Shigemaru's wife, Shoko charged towards him as if she really wanted to kill him. That was really dumb because it failed to add anything substantial to the story.

A lot of detail and effort was put into those scenes when Shoko was singing. I'm sure those background visuals took a long time to produce. However, I didn't really like those scenes and wished that they could end earlier. I didn't know that Mizuki Nana was the VA behind this character though as I couldn't recognise her voice. Nonetheless, I thought her potrayal of the role was pretty good although I thought singing was seriously not warranted for the story to progress. It's not so much to do with whether her singing was good. To think that there were so many songs in just two episodes! The time could have been spent in a better manner.

This time round, I thought Sakai Masato didn't do well. Frankly speaking, a lot of Shigemaru's emotions were not depicted in such a way that it will leave an impact on the viewer. The limited scope of the character development coupled with the fact that he had to do some of those jokes which I mentioned earlier made it difficult for me to like his potrayal of the role this time. He is just not suited for showing the violent, crude or corny sides of Shigemaru. As such, I think it's better for him to steer clear of such "twisted" roles which require him to balance gyagu with the serious stuff.

As this story isn't straightforward (in terms of relaying its message), I would have preferred spending more time trying to understand what the author was trying to convey rather than seeing senseless pranks. Actually, right till the end, I was kind of puzzled as to what the story was driving at but after thinking through for a while, here are my conclusions and views about the various parts of the story:

1) Why Shigemaru was scared of the sakura tree and why he moved to the city
Unlike the modern era when people marvel at the marvellous sights of sakura in full bloom, the sakura tree was viewed with awe and fear at the same time. People loved the beauty of the sakura tree but they were also scared since there was a common belief that the sakura tree was masked in some mysterious veil unknown to them. This could be why Shigemaru was so scared of the tree. Then again, why did he keep going to see the tree despite his fear? This seems to reflect human nature. Sometimes, we know that someting is wrong and yet we still go ahead to do it. Likewise, Shigemaru knew he wasn't suited for city life yet he was tempted by Shoko's description of that unknown place. People are all curious and greedy but sometimes, when something is not suitable for us, we still hang on to it. I get the feeling that this could be the main message in the entire story.

Although I am not convinced that there is anything in the city which is so important to Shoko that she wanted so much to return there, I think it could be partly due to her desire for control. In the mountains, she was totally reliant on Shigemaru for her survival. However, in the city, she took on the role of a master. Shigemaru's inability to adapt to a change in environment switched the tables this time. And since Shoko isn't the typical traditional type of Japanese woman depicted in that era, it is of no surprise that she wants to do something unlike the norm i.e. controlling her man instead of letting him call the shots.

2) Why Shoko told Shigemaru to kill his wives
Actually, I didn't know the woman's name until I checked the official website. Either they did not mention her name at all or I was not paying attention. Anyway, on the surface, it may seem like jealousy. However, I think Shoko's motive for doing this wasn't so much of wanting sole attention from Shigemaru. She knew that he was already eating out of her hand when she wanted him to find that hairpin and carry her back home. No matter what she said, he would listen. Or I should put it this way, he would fall for her bait whenever she taunted him. I feel that Shoko's reaction of disdain when she saw the wives was because she felt that the wives were in a lower class than her. She didn't think that they deserved to be living in the same place with her especially when she saw people who were dressed shabbily, looking unhygenic and behaved rudely. Her princess complex was probably what drove Shoko to instigate Shigemaru to kill.

3) Whether Shoko was a ghost
I'm inclined towards the view that she wasn't a ghost. Shigemaru might have been hallucinating when he was standing below the sakura tree thus he killed Shoko. In any case, Shigemaru's obsession with the sakura tree was the primary driving factor for his life which had gone awry. Coupled with the fact that he had been suppressing himself so much when he was in the city, the sakura tree or rather his imagination took over and caused him to kill Shoko. Maybe deep down in his mind, he feels that Shoko is the biggest cause for his unhappiness. And the sakura tree was merely the trigger for the explosion of his emotions.

4) Why Shoko left a note saying that she would be back soon
Shoko was very confident that Shigemaru would listen to her. She had absolutely no intention to return to the mountains because that wasn't what she wanted. She pretended to be understanding towards Shigemaru and expected that he would be persuaded to return to the city with her. However, her biggest problem was that she underestimated Shigemaru. She expected that Shigemaru would not be able to live without her but in fact, I feel that she's the one who cannot live without him. She needed Shigemaru to bring back the heads for her pleasure. That was why she bothered to pacify him. If Shigemaru was totally useless to her, Shoko would have let him go when he wanted to go back to the mountains. And this in turn resulted in her murder.

I'm very disappointed with the presentation of this story especially when I contrast it with what Ningen Shikkaku had to offer. I can only hope that the remaining stories will turn out well and not fall short of expectations given their reputation as literature classics.

Top 10 anime ratings ranking (27 Dec 09)

1) Sazae-san (FujiTV) 20.5%

2) Chibi Maruko-chan (FujiTV) 14.8%

3) One Piece (FujiTV) 10.5%

4) Dragonball Kai (FujiTV) 10.0%

5) Meitantei Conan (NTV) 6.3%

6) Pocket Monster DP (TV Tokyo) 5.8%

7) Tamagocchi! (TV Tokyo) 4.9%

8) Inazuma Eleven (TV Tokyo) 4.4%

9) NARUTO (TV Tokyo) 4.2%

10) Metal Fight Beyblade (TV Tokyo) 4.0%

Top 10 bestselling manga for the week ended 4 Jan 10

1) Hagane no Renkin Jutsushi Vol 24 (886,135)

2) HUNTERxHUNTER Vol 27 (488,446)

3) Ookiku Furikabutte Vol 13 (301,130)

4) XXXHOLiC Vol 16 (281,589)

5) Kekkaishi Vol 27 (98,347)

6) Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Kai Minagoroshi Hen 4 (87,398)

7) Umineko no Naku Koro ni Episode 1: Legend of the golden witch 4 (85,847)

8) Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Kai Matsuri Bayashi Hen 3 (85,259)

9) Kei-on! Vol 3 (81,252)

10) Suzumiya Haruhi-chan no Yuutsu Vol 4 (79,549)

Higashi no Eden Gekijouban 1 The King of Eden breaks JPY 100m mark!

Higashi no Eden's movie version Part 1, The King of Eden started screening on 28 November 2009 and has broken the JPY 100m mark in box office takings within 38 days. The movie is screening in 10 cinema complexes nationwide and has attracted 75,647 movie-goers as of 4 January 2010. Despite opening in just 7 cinemas initially, this was an extremely good result given the scale of the screening.

The movie will be shown in other cities such as Niigata from 16 January, Yamagata from 23 January, Ibaraki, Mito, Kyoto, Fukuoka and Ogura from 30 January. Nagasaki will start screening the movie from 13 Feburary while Hiroshima will start in spring. As such, box office takings look set to rise further.

Part 2 of the movie "Paradise Lost" will be shown in March.

Review of Aoi Bungaku Series ~ Ningen Shikaku (Eps 1 to 4)

It's been ages since I last posted a review and this marks the first in 2010. I've been neglecting this blog for so long and it's time to get things going again. For the past 1 or 2 years, I've not had the urge or interest to check out the newer animes because the genres tend not to be my cup of tea. I think the last series which I followed faithfully was Higashi no Eden but that was kinda disappointing at the end.

As such, getting started on the Aoi Bungaku series was a step back into the anime world for me. Based on the fact the anime is based on the signature works from some of the best Japanese authors, I was assured that the story wouldn't be too bad. Coupled with the fact that Sakai Masato was chosen as the navigator and main voice actor for the series, it gave me a boost of confidence about the quality of the series. People who have seen his dramas and movies would probably agree that this guy can act. Of course, voice-acting is different and more challenging because we can't see the voice actor's facial expressions. However, this also shows us the depth of acting one can achieve just by relying on the voice. In addition, looking at the cast list which consists of many notable names in the seiyuu world like Park Romi and Noto Mamiko so this series did looked like a sure-win on paper.

After finishing the first story Ningen Shikaku which spans four episodes, I'm impressed.

Ningen Shikaku was written in 1948 by Dazai Osamu and is one of his signature works. The novel was actually released in three parts and just before the final installment was published, Dazai committed suicide with his lover. As such, this novel was seen as a suicide note by him. In addition, as there were some parts of the story which seemed to reflect Dazai's real life e.g. the names of the women whom he was involved in appeared as women in the lead character Youzou's life, there was talk that Dazai was potraying his own life through Youzou.

As the general atmosphere in the story was rather gloomy and pessimistic, the colour scheme in this anime wouldn't be considered vivid or impressive given today's standards. I can accept that since this is consistent with the storyline. If you are looking for light entertainment, you might want to give this a miss. Another point to note is that whenever I look at Youzou, I'm reminded of Yagami Light in Death Note. I guess this is largely due to the fact that the revised version of the novel has a brand new cover drawn by Obata Takeshi thus the resemblance is striking.

The story weighs heavily on the viewer because Youzou's life is simply like a tragedy played out before your eyes. Although he was born into a rich family, being sexually abused by his caregivers made his personality twisted. Coupled with his father's expectations, he was forced to retreat behind a socially-acceptable but unreal facade which he had to create in order for him to live on. He started to put on a pretence before people and gradually found it difficult to show his true self. He was constantly haunted by his past and he could never find a way to break free other than drift along in life. Coupled with the fact that he didn't have anyone to accept him for who he was, Youzou suffered. Time after time, just when he thought he had got over a hurdle, another challenge came his way. It was as if he was trapped in a maze and could never find a way out. However, when you come to think of it, Youzou didn't really try to do anything to get out. He was merely riding on the kindness that people showered on him and when things went awry, he started to blame everyone except himself.

I like Sakai Masato's potrayal of Youzou especially in the first two episodes. Without even looking at his facial expressions or what Youzou was doing on screen, the despondent and resigned attitude showed through Sakai's voice. It does bring out the sadness in Youzou's life. This has made me more excited to see how he will potray the other roles for the remaining stories. On the other hand, I thought the BGM and ending theme were quite lacking so I was a bit disappointed about that.

On the whole, this anime shows a lot of promise and I hope the other stories will be handled as well, if not better than what Ningen Shikaku had displayed. At the very least, the anime has sparked my interest in trying to find the novel so it is considered successful in this sense.

Bestselling Anime DVDs of 2009 (Oricon)

General DVD Category:
Most number of units sold: Kake no Ue no Ponyo (841,000)
Highest sales in yen: Kake no Ue no Ponyo (4.15 billion yen)

Anime Series / OVA Category Top 5:
1) Gintama Jump Anime Tour 2008 & 2005 (76,000 units)
2) Pieces of love vol.1 Tsumiki no Ie (54,000 units)
3) Kido Senshi Gundam 00 Second Season 1 (34,000 units)
4) Usabicchi Season 2 (30,000 units)
5) Usabicchi Season 3 (29,000 units)

Anime Movies Shown in Theatres Category Top 5:
1) Kake no Ue no Ponyo (841,000 units)
2) Biohazard The Generation (121,000 units)
3) Wall E (96,000 units)
4) Tonari no Totoro (87,000 units)
5) Wall E Special Edition (69,000 units)

General Blu-Ray Disc Category:
Most number of units sold: Evangelion Shin Gekijouban Jo (96,000 units)
Highest sales in yen: Evangelion Shin Gekijouban Jo (590 million yen)

Anime Series / OVA Blu-ray Disc Top 5:
1) Bakemonogatari Daiikkan Hitagi Blub (51,000 units)
2) FINAL FANTASY VII ADVENT CHILDREN COMPLETE (49,000 units)
3) Bakemonogatari Mayoi Mai Mai (47,000 units)
4) Bakemonogatari Daisankan Suruga Monkey (44,000 units)
5) Kei-on! (1) (40,000 units)

Anime movies Blu-Day Disc Category Top 5:
1) Evangelion Shin Gekijouban Jo (96,000 units)
2) Biohazard The Generation (42,000 units)
3) Wall E (29,000 units)
4) Koukyou Shihen Eureka Seven Pocket ga Niji de Ippai (Limited Edition) (17,000 units)
5) Lupin Sansei Kariosutoro no Shiro (11,000 units)

Top 10 anime ratings ranking (20 Dec 09)

1) Sazae-san (FujiTV) 17.5%

2) Chibi Maruko-chan (FujiTV) 13.9%

3) One Piece (FujiTV) 10.4%

4) Dragonball Kai (FujiTV) 8.9%

5) Meitantei Conan (NTV) 8.7%

6) Fresh Puri Kyua! (TV Asahi) 7.2%

7) Stitch! Itazura Alien no Daibouken Christmas SP (TV Asahi) 6.4%

8) Tamagocchi (TV Tokyo) 5.5%

9) Inazuma Eleven (TV Tokyo) 5.2%

10) Pocket Monster DP (TV Tokyo) 5.1%

First day screening of "Nodame Cantabile Saishusho Part I"

The first day screening of "Nodame Cantabile Saishusho Part I" was held on 19 December 2009 at Yurakucho's TOHO Cinemas Nigeki 1 where cast members including Ueno Juri, Tamaki Hiroshi, Wentz Eiji, Yamada Yu, Yamaguchi Sayaka, Fukushi Seiji and Takenaka Naoto made appearances. The screening was attended by 950 fans. Toho had also confirmed that Part I will be screened in Hong Kong and Macau on 4 March 2010, 5 March 2010 in Taiwan and 11 March 2010 in Singapore. As for South Korea, the screening date has not been confirmed.

Part II of the movie is slated to be shown from 17 April 2010 in Japan.

Source: Sanspo

Top 10 bestselling manga for the week ended 21 Dec 09

1) ONE PIECE Vol 56 (398,550)

2) BLEACH VOl 42 (162,299)

3) D.Gray-man Vol 19 (156,739)

4) Katei Kyoushi Hitman REBORN! Vol 27 (149,210)

5) Nodame Cantabile Vol 23 (115,047)

6) Hanma Baki Vol 21 (77,385)

7) Souten no Ken Vol 21 (76,934)

8) Vampire Knight Vol 11 (72,522)

9) Chiwayaburu Vol 7 (70,790)

10) Toriko Vol 7 (64,500)

Top 10 anime ratings ranking (13 Dec 09)

1) Sazae-san (FujiTV) 21.7%

2) Chibi Maruko-chan (FujiTV) 14.5%

3) Doraemon Christmas Xmas (TV Asahi) 12.3%

4) One Piece (FujiTV) 10.9%

5) Dragonball Kai (FujiTV) 9.0%

6) Meitantei Conan (NTV) 8.3%

7) Kaidan Restaurant (TV Asahi) 6.6%

8) Stitch! Itazura Italian no Daibouken (TV Asahi) 6.4%

9) Fresh Puri Kyua! (TV Asahi) 6.0%

10) Pocket Monster DP (TV Tokyo) 5.6%

Top 10 anime ratings ranking (29 Nov 09)

1) Sazae-san (FujiTV) 22.9%

2) Chibi Maruko-chan (FujiTV) 16.0%

3) One Piece (FujiTV) 12.2%

4) Dragonball Kai (FujiTV) 10.7%

5) Crayon Shin-chan (TV Asahi) 10.2%

6) Doraemon (TV Asahi) 9.6%

7) Meitantei Conan (NTV) 8.6%

8) Kaidan Restaurant (TV Asahi) 7.9%

9) Fresh Puri Kyua! (TV Asahi) 7.6%

10) Pocket Monster DP (TV Tokyo) 6.7%

Top 10 anime ratings ranking (22 Nov 09)

1) Sazae-san (FujiTV) 18.9%

2) Chibi Maruko-chan (FujiTV) 13.7%

3) Crayon Shin-chan (TV Asahi) 12.1%

4) One Piece (FujiTV) 11.3%

5) Dragonball Kai (FujiTV) 10.4%

6) Doraemon (TV Asahi) 10.3%

7) Meitantei Conan (NTV) 8.3%

8) Kaidan Restaurant (TV Asahi) 7.2%

9) Fresh Puri Kyua! (TV Asahi) 6.5%

10) Stitch! Itazura Alien no Daibouken (TV Asahi) 6.2%　　　　　　　

Top 10 bestselling manga for the week ended 23 Nov 09

1) NARUTO Vol 48 (150,481)

2) Angel Heart Vol 31 (130,195)

3) Gintama Vol 31 (83,337)

4) Bakuman Vol 5 (59,070)

5) CLAYMORE Vol 17 (49,572)

6) STEEL BALL RUN Vol 19 (41,064)

7) LIAR GAME Vol 10 (40,623)

8) Bokura ga Ita Vol 13 (39,110)

9) Sengoku Tenshoki Vol 7 (38,857)

10) Kiss yori mo Hayaku Vol 6 (36,878)

Top 10 bestselling manga for the week ended 16 Nov 09

1) NARUTO Vol 48 (781,619)

2) Gintama Vol 31 (264,895)

3) Bakuman Vol 5 (218,751)

4) CLAYMORE Vol 17 (146,022)

5) STEEL BALL RUN Vol 19 (128,814)

6) To Love-ru Vol 16 (102,242)

7) Beruze Babu Vol 3 (87,761)

8) LIAR GAME Vol 10 (85,014)

9) Kiss yori mo Hayaku Vol 6 (84,448)

10) Bokura ga Ita Vol 13 (81,627)