Emma Ep 8: Tokei (Clock)

An emotionally heavy and sad episode. :-(

William tried to convince Richard to let him be with Emma but the latter refuses by making William think about his responsibilities as the eldest son of the Jones family. And he's powerless to fight back even though he does love Emma.

On the other hand, Emma knows that William is putting up a losing fight and confides in Kelly who wants to support her in this matter. However, Kelly passed away suddenly, leaving Emma to fend for herself. Now that her employer is not around, Emma might not be able to stay in the city anymore. This will probably create more problems for them...

Yakitate Japan Ep 30

Seems like the Monaco Cup arc is going to be extremely interesting....It's probably going to be quite confusing remembering the contestants who will appear though. Anyway, Azuma and Suwabara are quite a good match in terms of their skills and the Pantasia team should win the Monaco Cup (according to anime world logic). The issue here is whether Kawachi will agree to being the clown and lose deliberately to increase the odds against the Japanese team.

The OP and ED changed too....Well, at first hearing, the OP is OK but the ED doesn't go down well with me due to the screechy vocals...Hopefully, it will get better after repeated hearing. Anyway, the OP was unchanged since the start so it's been on for more than 6 months. The ED keeps changing though...

Emma Ep 7: Crystal Palace

Wow wow...so romantic! I was swooning and giggling all the way through this episode. If not for this episode, I would have almost forgotten that this is a love story. ^__^ Anyway, just a quick rundown on this.

William brought Emma to the Crystal Palace (something like an exhibition mall) and they got locked in because they were too engrossed in talking and did not know it was closing time. And being together in the same place helped them to progress quickly when they KISSED!!! Oh, that was simply sizzling...Well, it's not so much of a passionate kiss but it was so sweet seeing them finally admitting to each other about their feelings.

I have the urge to rewatch this episode again, especially that kiss scene...

Monster Ep 50 and 51

Johan doesn't appear in these episodes while Runge, Tenma and Grimmer appear quite a bit. Anyway, I'm starting to realise that Johan and Anna's (Nina) mother is linked to the Franz Bonaparta who was not only an author. He also holds a PHD in medicine and is a psychiatrist. That means he must have done something to Johan and Anna when they were kids. I'm getting all hyped up over what would happen next. And it seems like the truth can get pretty ugly because Johan's experiences so far have been quite traumatic e.g. wandering at the Czech-German border, living in 511 Kinderheim. Besides, the letter which Runge found behind that potrait in the Mansion of Roses, that seems to suggest that Franz Bonaparta could be the father of Johan and Anna? And where did their mother go?

However, Tenma has been arrested in Prague so he's going to be sent back to Germany. What will happen now that he's in captive? Won't there be anyone to go after Johan anymore? And where is Nina and Dieter now? Lots of questions but only bits and pieces of facts so far. When will the pieces of the jigsaw puzzle fall into place?

I'm going to have to wait for the subs to come but in the meantime, I'll satisfy my curiousity with the raws first and hopefully, they don't use a lot of German or Czech to confuse me. ^__^

Emma Ep 6: Houmon (Visit)

I think William's dad, Richard seems to know what is going on between him and Emma. He's an old, wise, willy fellow and he looks almost the same as William. I couldn't differentiate the two initially. ^__^

Anyway, that's why he decided to visit Kelly out of the blue when he heard that she was injured after falling from the stairs. Of course, his visit is not just to see Kelly and his words would definitely cause some trouble for William and Emma's budding relationship. He said that in England, although it is one country, there are two types of people i.e. the nobles and the others. As such, he is implying that these two groups should not mix and to Emma, it is an outright rejection of her and spells doom for any hopes of being accepted by Richard into the Jones family. And William is unable to speak up as he does not dare to go against Richard. In addition, Richard also mentions about letting William and Eleanor get married where William objects vehemently but he cannot reveal that he's in love with Emma. Unless William has the guts to rebel against Richard, there is no way he can be with Emma.

Hakkim's presence is in a way good for William because he's the only one whom William can speak his mind to. However, I think Hakkim is also quite unhappy with William's wishy-washy attitude and weak stand against his father. I doubt he is as frivolous as he seems and when he chats with William, that air of wisdom from Hakkim is quite strong.

I can't wait to see how William handles the situation...He knows that he loves Emma but he also knows that he cannot throw away the Jones family label without a care since he's the eldest son. He just doesn't have the courage to give up everything for love in such a period where social classes matter a lot in society. It's so sad to see Emma being crestfallen over Richard's words and William not being able to console or even talk to her...

Yakitate Ep 29

This episode is simply...exaggerated and a bit ridiculous! Well, Yukino got some bakers from St Pierre to fight against Minami Tokyo but they found out about her scheme after eating Azuma's black bamboo bread. However, what's that sci-fi footage doing there?! They even had to put a reminder on the screen so that people know that the anime they are showing is indeed Yakitate Japan. I hope they don't do so much of this in future...

Anyway, they are heading off to Monaco in the next episode to take part in the Monaco Cup. Seems like Kuroyanagi is also going. What about Matsushiro, Kanmuri and Tsukino? Well, I'll find out next week.

Talking about this episode, that peacock belong to Kirisaki can use the public phone to call him and it understands human speech? How intelligent it is! Or should I say that they are going a bit overboard on these seemingly illogical stuff?

Emma Ep 5 - Bansankai (Dinner Date)

Not much happening between Emma and William. Main focus is the interaction between Emma and her employee Kelly and she finally admitted to Kelly that she's attracted to William. ^__^ I think I know why Kelly likes William so much and put his photo at home. He looks very close to Kelly's late husband who died 2 years after marriage when Kelly was just 20. Maybe William reminds Kelly too much of her husband so she takes a keen interest in what is going on between him and Emma. Another cause for concern is William's father finding out that he has been going to Kelly's place frequently. Of course, at this stage, he is unaware of Emma's presence but he's going to find out soon that William goes there to see Emma, not Kelly. And when that happens, he's probably going to stop this relationship from developing further by putting William and Eleanor together. Well, I can be a scriptwriter, right?

This seems to be where the story is heading towards. It doesn't take a genius to figure that out but what's keeping me glued to this anime is the style it's being made. Of course, the story may be cliched but the quality of this production is good. A refreshing change from some of the animes I'm watching like Yakitate Japan.

Yakitate Japan Ep 28

Now that the Pantasia Newcomer arc is over, I think the Monaco Cup arc should be starting soon since Kanmuri has made known his intentions to everyone. The thing is whether Kawachi will agree to making a fool of himself in that international competition so as to raise the odds against Azuma and Suwabara and earn enough money to overthrow Yukino who is planning to sell Pantasia to St Pierre's owner. It's a messy state of affairs since that owner should be the guy who inspired Azuma to make bread and Meister Kirisaki who holds great power in Pantasia is actually that owner's son. And Meister eavesdropped on Kanmuri and Kawachi's conversation about losing deliberately so what will he do? I really don't know if he's considered a friend or foe in this case. My only hope for the Monaco Cup is that they will make it harder for Azuma to win or else he would beat every single opponent who comes along and it would be rather boring and unconvincing. Of course, I recognise the fact that he's got to win the Monaco Cup but then, what's success without a few hitches along the way? ^__^

Monster (Up to Ep 49)

A very engaging anime and it's still continuing. I guess it should be completed by this year since it's already at Ep 52 and the general word is that it should be done by Ep 78. Too bad the sub versions are only at Ep 49 so I'm still waiting for the rest to be out and downloading raws in the meantime.

The story is well-thought and very much organized. Things which appear to be totally unrelated would definitely have a meaning in the later stage. I'm very much into mystery and investigative plots so this goes down well for me. Unlike the usual animes set in Tokyo, this is set in Germany from 1986 onwards to 1997 or so (at least that's the year so far in Ep 49) and the story has moved on to Prague, Czech Republic where Tenma, Grimmer, Nina and Lunge are on the journey to find out the roots of Johan and Nina. I have a feeling that Johan and Nina are related to that guy who was in the Czechoslovia secret police and wrote that eerie story book about the nameless monster. Somehow, the storybook seems to be reflective of Johan's life and we'll see the connection soon since Tenma, Grimmer and Lunge are supposedly going to the Rose Mansion to find out more about that author.

Johan and Nina certainly look so similar to each other and I would never have noticed it if not for Johan impersonating as Nina and killing a number of people who would have spilled the beans about his past. Why is he so desperate to hide this and what is he trying to achieve? I do not believe the theory that Johan has split personalities and has no control over what he's doing. To me, he's definitely consicious of the things he's doing and he's always one step before Tenma to stop him from knowing more. Johan is intelligent enough to make everyone spin round and round so it's scary to know that someone like him is messing around with your life.

Maybe when I get to the end of the anime, I might consider getting the manga. Heard from people that the ending of the manga would be different from the anime. And the manga has only 18 volumes so it would be easier to get a complete set...

Emma Ep 4

A little progression for William and Emma... He didn't actually confess his feelings to Emma but Hakkim already knows what is going on. I wonder if Hakkim is really in love with Emma or he just wants to get William anxious about him snatching Emma. The way I see it, Hakkim seems to be rather taken by Emma so I doubt he proposed to her for fun. William and Hakkim were so funny when they were browsing pornographic books in the bookstore and happened to meet Emma. Both sides were embarrassed for their own reasons i.e. Willaim reading a porn book while Emma borrowed a romance novel. And since Eleanor is obviously in love with William, she's proving to be an obstacle between William and Emma if his dad gets wind of his meetings with Emma soon. Maybe an arranged marriage is coming up? I can't deny this possibility though. Much as the story seems to be getting predictable, I am still watching because I think the graphics are nice, the music is soothing and of course, I'm interested to see how things evolve between William and Emma. I'm not a sucker for such love tragedies, i even doubt that there is a tragedy in place since they probably won't do a Romeo and Juliet thing but it's going to get painful when they get separated because of their social status gap...

Emma Ep 3 - Kokuhaku (Confesssion)

I thought William would be the one to confess his feelings to Emma but it turns out that it was his friend, Hakkim, a royalty from India who got smitten by Emma. Oh my god, here's another love triangle again. It's obvious that Willian and Emma like each other but Eleanor likes William and now Hakkim comes into the picture. I just hope this doesn't get draggy even though I know such twists would make the story more interesting. Unless something happens, I doubt William would dare to make his feelings known to Emma soon in case he scares her off.

This anime is getting to be more interesting than I thought initially. Among the new season animes, it's the only one I'm following faithfully. Did I mention this before? ^__^ Well, I see from the next episode's preview that Eleanor is appearing again so something may happen between her and William. And I don't think it will bode well for William and Emma.

Emma Ep 2 - Futatsu no Sekai

This is the only new anime I'm following since the rest doesn't seem to really interest me. Eyeshield 21 which is in the old Tenipuri slot bores me because I don't like American football and most of the other offerings are genres which I don't fancy like fantasy or yaoi. Oh, I forgot about Monster but it's not a new Spring 05 anime while Kyou Kara Mou is in the second instalment.

OK, coming to Ep 2 of Emma, it was quite sad to see Emma avoiding William because she saw him with some beautifully dressed ladies (actually, they are William's siblings)and seemed to sense the disparity in their status. And William was so disappointed when he waited for Emma the whole day but she didn't appear. Besides, I think the appearance of Eleanor would most probably cause more trouble since she seems to be infatuated with William. Thus, things are not looking good for Emma even though she has the indirect support of her employer cum William's ex teacher. I agree the story is quite old fashioned but sometimes, the simple storyline might be more captivating given that the aesthetic effect of this anime is appealing to me.

Marmalade Boy (so far at 6 eps)

Generally, an interesting anime based on the episodes so far and surprise, Okiayu-san appears again as the seiyuu of Matsuura Yu, the lead character!! Haha, it really must be fate for me to watch three animes which feature him i.e. Tenipuri, Slam Dunk and now Marmalade Boy. This also means that he is in the business for a long time since MB was made more than 10 years back, around the same time as Slam Dunk. ^__^

The female character's voice is a bit screechy though and the graphics not that fantastic. I can't really complain since it's an anime so far back in time so I can't use the standards of today to compare. Anyway, what matters most to me is the storyline rather than the graphics. Besides, I think the picture quality is affected by the relatively small size of the files. Each episode is less than 100 MB so there's not much to expect.

Songs-wise, it's quite catchy and memorable though and is very typical early 90s pop. Just cannot stand the fact that the guys' shorts are really SHORT when they play tennis (tennis again??!! - I can't seem to break away from tennis ^__^ ). It must be the fashion trend back then. I'm thankful that Tenipuri is made in the present day or else it would be so hillarious to imagine the guys wearing such tight and short pants!!!

Will have to watch more episodes if it is really that good as what I hear about...

Yakitate Japan Ep 25

Somehow, this anime is getting a bit boring at times. The reaction is too exaggerated and repetitive. It may be interesting at first but too much of it is getting to me. And what's weird is that the No.3 placing match seems to be more exciting than the champion match with a singing vs dancing French bread clash. Well, I just hope that they don't overdo it and lift expectations too high. Anyway, they are taking a break for the next 2 weeks so I'll be looking forward to it nonetheless.

The next issue is how they will progress from there. Since Azuma has won the Pantasia Newcomer title, there is the chance to go to the HQ to work and to France to learn bread making. Will they end it at there where they send Azuma to France or will new developments come up? Since the manga is also in progress, they might just decide to slow down the anime for the manga to move further ahead... A lot of maybe(s) popping up here and then...

Emma - Ep 1 (Okuri mono - Present)

New anime from TBS. It's better than I thought because its setting is in 19th century England (well, not that ancient since they do have horse carriages and planes) and story is by Jane Austen so it kind of gives me the idea that it can get boring. It's a story about a maid and a rich man's son who fall in love. Typical it may be but I find the graphics and the mood of the anime very soothing and entertaining. And the main character is played by Kinouchi Hidenobu who also plays Oshitari in Tenipuri BUT wait a minute, I visited the official website yesterday and his name is no longer there. I guess he is not playing William after all. Anyway, seems like Kinouchi is in quite a number of animes I'm seeing these days like Monster although I still like Tezuka, Atobe and Sanada's voices the most. ^__^

Coming back to the story, what I find entertaining is the interaction between the couple concerned. So "innocent" and doki-doki when I see them turning red in the face so easily. Sometimes, it's the simple things that make such love stories appear so interesting. Anyway, seems like the first difficulties will crop up in the next episode where the sub title is two different worlds...Sigh, the course of true love never runs smooth...