This is a great Anime that is more unexpected then typical fantasy comedy romance ones. The story starts with Ririchyo a Girl who comes from a very wealthy family whom is sent to live in a special Hotel with other special wealthy people who each get their own Personal Body Guard. This one starts very typical with a few silly moments put in here and there. Until it gets to a point where some would be thieves decide to rob the residents. Its then revealed that the reason for the tight security and the Body Guards is not to Protect the Residents from the outside, but actually to protect the outside from the Residents. Every Resident and Body Guard are not what they seam and are actually quite powerful and dangerous if they want to be. In addition to this revelation, the viewers are also introduced to a budding love story between Ririchyo and her would be Body Guard. What makes this an excellent series is how it introduces the Audience to all the characters.

Their personalities couldn’t be more different; she hides her shyness by being harsh with everybody and he is so desperate to please her that he is almost obsequious. Over the course of the series it becomes clear that she has feelings for him but it seems impossible that she will find away of expressing them. The other characters are an entertaining bunch which includes a self-styled delinquent who turns into a cute tanuki (Japanese raccoon dog) Ririchiyo’s ‘fiancé’ Kagero who believes everything is either sadistic or masochistic and Zange, a character who doesn’t appear to take anything too seriously. I rather enjoyed this series; at only twelve episodes it did not outstay its welcome; in fact I wouldn’t have minded if it had been longer. The characters are an entertaining bunch that provided plenty of chuckles. While it was fairly obvious that by the end Ririchiyo and Soshi would end up together there were some twists and turns along the way that made it seem possible that they wouldn’t.

A background is given for all of them to give them all depth. This allows a viewer to understand the point of view of each character no matter who they are. Also an excellent attention to detail from one episode to the next is kept. What i mean by this is that if there is damage or something happens in a previous episode, this is recalled later which has an effect on the later episodes. Each episode is mostly encapsulated story wise so that the viewer doesn’t have to recall every single episode to keep up. And the comedy is superb with its flare of making fun of differing character types. It should be noted though that this series has a story that does not follow the Comic/Manga exactly. In essence its a retelling of the story in a differing way. With superb Animations and dialogue this is a definite must watch for anyone who is interested Fantasy/Comedy/Romance genre animes.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=krjnRF7esOc

This DVD collection offers all 12 episodes from the series along with another “episode” that appears to be three shorts that I had never seen before. The shorts do require that you see the series to fully understand but no one in the client-agent class of residents from this apartment complex is left out. These shorts also touch upon later issues of the first manga series. Personally I found the English voice actors to be good but there were a few awkward moments when they spoke over each other and a voice seemed out of place; that’s an issue for the English version director. The subtitled version does not seem to have these issues. A very unusual romance with absurdity and a touch of kink makes this not for children but perhaps also not for every adult. The comedy is fairly gentle with little to offend and there isn’t too much fan service… although some viewers may think Nobara, the large chested blonde girl crosses the line a few times! Overall this is a fun series which is well worth watching if you want something fairly light to pass the time.

Running Out Of Time was a box office success. Johnnie To decided to create a sequel to the film with Lau Ching-Wan coming back to reprise his role as Inspector Ho but something was missing. Andy Lau is nowhere in sight to cause havoc for Inspector Ho. Instead, Ekin Cheng replaces Andy Lau and plays the thief who will give Inspector Ho fits. How would their chemistry compare to the irreplaceable chemistry between Andy Lau and Lau Ching-Wan’s characters? How would Inspector Ho deal with this new adversary? Is Ekin Cheng a magician? Sorry, that last question isn’t really relevant. Or is it?

Ekin Cheng plays a nameless thief (cause what’s cooler than a character with no name?) who brings Inspector Ho back into his comfort zone: a cat and mouse game with thieves. Inspector Ho is puzzled by this nameless thief and tries to figure out why this nameless thief is doing the wrong that he is doing. Later on, he teams up with a businesswoman played by Kelly Lin who is involved with the nameless thief because he has three priceless artifacts insured by Lin’s business. There is something about 20 million Hong Kong dollars in fake money and an eagle because the nameless thief trains birds.

Unlike the first film, which gave Andy Lau’s character a reason for doing his cat and mouse game with Inspector Ho, the reason that there is a cat and mouse game in this film is not given. The character just smiles for the camera and acts like a complete clown. To put it lightly, their chemistry is nowhere near as relevant as Andy Lau and Lau Ching-Wan’s. The acting is okay with Lau Ching-Wan being the only real reason to smile but everyone else is just there to get a paycheck. Assistant Commissioner Wong Kai-Fat becomes even more of an idiot in this film and he almost destroys Inspector Ho’s case in the process which begs the question; why is he still a police officer? Shouldn’t he be fired? Did he get his brain removed? Does he owe Inspector Ho a favor or something?

Kelly Lin’s acting is also unreliable and while she looks good, her acting is anything but. Ekin Cheng had to resort to using smoke bombs and magic tricks while Andy Lau just left without making a sound. Either Ekin Cheng’s character was a super genius or the cops in this movie were very, very stupid. While the film is mildly enjoyable, there is nothing here to truly recommend for people to watch. If anything, check out the first film because that film is a film that showcases Johnnie To’s directing abilities. The humor usually falls flat and the drama does not add any tension at all and it feels like everyone was trying WAY too hard to top the first film. If this film was in any other person’s hands, this film may have been a much worse film but regardless; this is a miss in Johnnie To’s resume.

Modestep is a four-piece bass orientated band from London who are quickly rising to the top of every music lovers’ playlist. Armed with over a half a million fans total on social media, and selling out concerts worldwide, we are very honored to have one of the members of this iconic band. Enter Nick Tsang, since turning professional in 2004, Nick has already toured extensively throughout the UK and internationally, plus amassing a wealth of session, touring, recording, and songwriting credits. We sit down and talk about his overwhelming success, playing at Coachella, Asian films, and more! Read below for the full Q&A…

Would it be accurate to say there aren’t too many Asian musicians in the dubstep scene? How did you find yourself in the place you’re in now? Did you have aspirations growing up as a child?

Nick: I can’t speak world wide because I am sure there are Dubstep musicians in the far east, but I have to say I haven’t met many Asian Musicians in the Dubstep scene in UK and US. The only guys I know of are xKore and one of the members of the band Subsource. My last band was the Ting Tings, and when that finished a friend called me and asked if I was interested to meet a band that he was working with called Modestep. I went to meet the guys and we clicked from the start. The day after we met they asked me to join the band and three days later I was was performing my first show with them at Download festival. To be honest I never knew what I wanted to be growing up, but I knew I loved music. I was a bit of a failure academically so I thought I might as well pursue my passion. So here I am still with my six strings. Bit of a joke really!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bparw9Jo3dk

What have you learned so far during your North American tour. Did you guys have any expectations from performing in the U.S. for the first time?

Nick: I’ve learnt that there is a huge difference in the Dub step scene in UK and the States. In UK, the people who come to dubstep shows generally are ghetto boys with new era caps and their hoods up. Its a very grimey and dark scene. In US its a rave thing. Everyone turns up in UV glow paint, glow sticks, juggling toys and bright pick tutus. Because of the big delay with the release of our album, I thought that the US would have forgotten about us. So it was pretty crazy to have sell out shows on our first ever US tour.

You most recently hit Coachella. What was that experience like?

Nick: Coachella was mind-blowing. We have been on the road for about two and a half months performing nearly everyday. Because of the routine of it, we felt like we had conquered the stage nerves. Coachella knocked the nerves right back into us! As soon as we saw the crowd that we were about to step in front of, we all shat our pants! The whole energy of the crowd, and the stage production got us all amped up more than any other of the US shows we had done. Hopefully our nervous energy translated into a good performance on stage.

There are lots of styles and sounds in your music like dubstep, rock, and other various musical elements. Since joining the band what unique attributes have you contributed to the sound of Modestep?

Nick: I guess I introduced guitars and help bring the rock element to the Modestep sound. oh and the asian factor obviously.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-qpUChC6iU4

And how did that carry over into your new album ‘Evolution Theory’? What was the creative process like on that LP?

Nick: In the songs written before I joined such as Up, Bite the hand and Feel Good, there were little or no guitars on the recordings. Within the two day I met the boys, I was straight into laying guitars for ‘To the Stars’ and since then, we have recorded guitars for every track. The most guitar dominated track is ‘Freedom’, where you can probably hear my Rage Against the Machine influence creeping in. For the creative process of the LP, all the band members would sit in the studio together and start bouncing ideas for a song. The idea would come from anything from vocal hook, piano chords, guitar riff, drum groove or even a synth sound. If we all like the idea, then we all start building on it together.

Dubstep originated in the U.K., do you guys experience any pressure making music to such a pure audience?

Nick: We don’t consciously make music to fit in the Dubstep scene and we don’t claim to be a dubstep band. We consider ourselves more as a rock band with electronic influence. We all sit in the studio and we write music that we all love. We have such diverse music tastes between us, from old skool rock n roll, to soul, to garage, to metal and even classical. You can hear all our influences on our debut album and it’s just so it happens that dubstep is also a part or our influence to add to the mix.

A lot of times with these “underground” sub-genres people get worried about keeping the integrity when it gets big and mainstream. Now that the Grammy Awards are recruiting musical acts like DeadMau5 and Steve Aoki, do you think this is a great thing for music?

Nick: I think It is a shame that artists get slated for being successful at what they do. As long as the artist still enjoys the music that they are making then for me their integrity is still intact. For me, if an artist writes music that they love and it so happens to become successful mainstream, that to me has more integrity that hanging on to writing a certain style of music just to keep the ‘underground’ cats happy.

What are some of your favorite Asian films?

Nick: I am a huge fan of Studio Ghibli films. Princess Mononoke is one of my all time favourite films. And Dragon Ball of course

Nick: I started my music career in a different place from the rest of the boys. I was playing tiny toilet venues across UK for about 3 years when I first started performing. Back then I definitely was not doing it for the lifestyle. I was losing money every gig and I remember looking at the back to sofas scraping together pennies hoping I can afford petrol to get to the next gig. Even with the money problems and the fact I used to get really bad stage fright, it didn’t stop my passion for playing music. I later went on to do session work where I would play for different signed artists. In all the music work I did before joining Modestep, I worked with lots of amazing people and a few difficult ones. From these people I learnt how I want to carry myself and what reputation I want to build for myself in music. The fact that I was grinding away at the bottom for a good number of years taught me to never take anything for granted and always be grateful of the position I am in.

Nick: The album is very diverse and spans across many genres, but we do also try to have some sort of consistency across every track, whether if it is the electronic element or the rock guitars. Everyone in the band are great musicians in their own right, so we value each others opinion and contribution towards a track. it’s easier to write a balanced track when there are multiple creative heads in the room. If there was only one person writing the track, it could easily go off into a self indulgent journey which no listeners would get.

Nick: The internet is not only good for Facebook and watching porn. It is also one the most powerful tools for music marketing. Use it wisely.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3r26y–evIw

Want to know more about Modestep and Nick? Check out the links below and be sure to purchase their new album ‘Evolution Theory’:

http://www.nicktsang.co.uk/
https://twitter.com/NickTsangMusic
http://www.modestep.com/
https://www.facebook.com/modestep
https://twitter.com/modestep

Godzilla 2000 is a 1999 Japanese kaiju film directed by Takao Okawara and written by Hiroshi Kashiwabara. It was the twenty-third film released in the Godzilla series and only one to feature Orga a kind of weird thing I don’t know how to describe. I don’t really like this one, it doesn’t do anything other movies haven’t done better and it doesn’t add anything new to the series. Remember the neatness of the 80’s series how they all flowed into one story? Well this film is the first official movie in the millennium series whose continuity is all over the place. The millennium series unlike the Hesei series ignores continuity established by any previous Godzilla films except for the first one. But a few of them share continuity with a few other Toho features. It’s a mess. Godzilla 2000 is the last in the Godzilla series to make a North American theatrical run until the upcoming one in 2014.

Godzilla is a force of destruction to Japan (what else is new right?). The Godzilla Prediction Network studies the mutant dinosaur and predicts his landfalls. Meanwhile, the scientists of Crisis Control Intelligence find a sixty million year old UFO deep in the Japan Trench. As CCI attempts to raise the UFO to study it, it takes off into the sky on its own. Godzilla arrives and battles the Japan Self Defense Forces in just about the only worthwhile scene, but the UFO appears, searching for genetic information that only Godzilla possesses. It fights Godzilla to a standstill, driving the monster underwater, and then lands to replenish its solar power. Yawn.

The founder of the GPN discovers the secret to Godzilla’s regenerative properties but so has the UFO. Which has begun to drain all the files about Godzilla from Tokyo’s master computers. The rest of the film is an incredibly drawn out scene where Orga appears monsters lamely fight and the two scientists groups argue. The story is extraordinarily boring. I am not sure how the 1998 film gets so much hate but this one is relatively unknown. It’s slowly paced, drawn out, confusing, and all around not fun to watch. This was the first Toho flick to use an abundance of CGI and it looks so out of place. There is a scene where Godzilla swims underwater and it looks like it was thrown together in 5 minutes with Photoshop. Orga’s space ship looks like a giant brown nut and when it flies its very laughable. Orga himself looks ok as does Godzilla when they are both not CGI of course. But none of the sets feel real there is never any sense of dread except for a scene near the beginning that has the GPN being chased through a tunnel.

None of the characters are memorable, I don’t even know if they gave many of them names. There are a lot of random slap stick scenes that pad the run time with nonsense. Did I mention there is nothing interesting happening in this movie? So on top of not being invested the audience is just left bored. I remember seeing this movie in theaters and being left really confused because I genuinely thought I was walking into a sequel to the movie I had enjoyed a few years earlier although to be fair the first time I saw it was the last day of my summer vacation at the time so it has always left a bad taste in my mouth. I don’t think this one is worth your investment despite it having one of the last original monsters.

Since the 1500′s, man has been searching for the answer to eternal youth and beauty. People have resorted to witches or voodoo queens and dermatologists have come out with skin serums but nothing seems to satisfy the public. Writer, Lillian Lee brought us the short story Dumplings, putting a modern twist on the demand for eternal youth for the film Three Extremes. Fruit Chan directed both the short film and the full length feature and both are fantastic. Showing us brilliant writing, acting and cinematography, Dumplings deservedly won awards for all of the above.

Ms. Li is a middle-aged, former tv star and your regular woman with normal problems. Her successful husband is beginning to look at younger women but she blames herself. She doesn’t feel like her old self and doesn’t look like her either. She had been hearing women all over Hong Kong speaking of a woman named Mei who makes special dumplings that, apparently, make you years younger inside and out. Li (Miriam Yeung Chin Wah) has more than enough money to spend and is desperate to get her tongue on those dumplings, so she finds out how to get in contact with her without hesitation. “Aunt Mei”, played by Bai Ling (The Crow) is immediately charming. She sits Li at a small table while she works her magic in the closed-off kitchen to eventually reveal the most amazing dumplings she had ever tasted. Within a day, she already begins to feel more youthful… but she wants more. The power she feels in the dumplings is intoxicating and she begins leading herself down an obsessive and destructive path.

I will not give anything away specifically, but what is inside the dumplings is what brings up a most interesting discussion topic because it is not as foreign as you’d think it should be. The closest example would have to be the cultural taboo of Placentophagy, which is rising in popularity in means of natural rejuvenation, much like the dumplings in the film. There are controversial subjects all throughout the movie and while it may not be for the squeamish, there’s no doubt that the dialogue between Li and Mei will get your brain ticking. It’s a great story that builds and explodes with plenty of gore, sex and feminine power. What’s not to love?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ixdhYr3a6g

There are not enough reasons to watch this amazing film, but half of those reasons could also be why you shouldn’t watch it. Many people were repelled by it’s overly graphic displays as well as with one of it’s main topics. If you are uncomfortable with subjects such as abortion than you should not watch this film. As for everyone else, I highly recommend Dumplings. It is an intelligent and twisted look at humanity that shouldn’t be missed.

Jon Lee Brody is an actor and Martial Artist (he is a second degree black belt in Tae Kwon Do) with a dual degree in Accounting and Finance. Jon was accepted for admissions to prestigious law schools like Harvard and Northwestern, but he instead chose to go against the grain and pursue his other childhood dream: acting. He didn’t wait long to buy a one way ticket to Los Angeles, and since then he hasn’t looked back. You can see him TODAY in the giant summer blockbuster sequel to Star Trek – Into Darkness. We talk about his various projects and what lies ahead in his career in this exclusive interview. Read below for the full Q&A…

You have done work on TV series, films, wrote, directed, the list goes on. What was your journey like to become so multi disciplined in so many areas?

JLB: Well, when I first started, I was focused on acting. I definitely had a passion for all aspects of filmmaking but I knew that I had to take things one step at a time. Sometimes people try to learn everything at once and that very seldom works out.  I knew that I had to make sure my acting was on point, and I am still a perfectionist when it comes down to it. Then as my career progressed, I started to explore editing. The editing started when I was cutting together demo reels. And then I started applying what I learned on various movie sets to directing. That entire time, I was learning how to write screenplays. I was always a pretty creative writer, but screenplays are a different animal.  But like I said, all of these things came to me one step at a time. The journey has been great. I’m still learning and when it comes down it, I’ll always be learning. I think as my career goes on, I want to keep improving and keep learning new things.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z2WIeH7vbcs

You stated you were a big fan of Good Will Hunting and Titanic. It seems dramas and well written films initially motivated you to get into the business. How has your body of work thus far correlated to the types of projects that inspired you years ago?

JLB: You’ve certainly done your homework! I’m impressed [laughs]!  I saw both of those movies when I was in junior high. And that is when I truly fell in love with cinema as an art. Up until then, movies were just a fun thing to do with friends. But it was after seeing those movies that I started to appreciate the art of filmmaking. I’m not sure if my being a fan dictates the kind of projects I take on, but they are definitely two movies that I look to for inspiration.

As an multi-racial actor, do you find it a struggle to interact with casting directors based on your Korean ethnicity? Has this situation decreased due to your resume building over the years?

JLB: Casting has actually been pretty good to me and I’ve had a chance to play a variety of roles. I’m very grateful for that.

You’re very tall and you are passionate about sports. Down the line, could we possibly see you take the leading role in a Jeremy Lin bio pic? Would that be of interest to you?

JLB: I do love basketball. Jeremy is a guy who I admire. He had an uphill battle just getting to the NBA. And then another uphill battle to stay in the NBA. And those battles will continue. As far as playing him in a movie, that’s a tough one to answer. Ultimately, it’s not up to me. But if the director and producers thought I was the right fit then sure. But the most important thing is that his story would be told right.

Of course you are in the big summer blockbuster Star Trek Into Darkness. What could you tell us about your character?

JLB: I play a Star Fleet Security Officer. Not much I can say other than I am a redshirt. I’m sure any Trekkie knows what that means…[laughs]!

Interestingly enough, the producers’ background on the film is in TV, which means there’s always a last-minute possibility of changing story, dialogue, character points, action beats, etc. Having worked in TV as well, were you able to adept a bit better on-set to how things operated?

JLB: Well, there’s that possibility on any set. Because things can change on set and you have to be prepared for that. My improv training helps because that keeps you on your toes just in case something doesn’t go as planned. I always make sure I’m well prepared for my roles no matter how big or small, because any change at that point is a cakewalk.

Moving forward in your career what kind of actor would you like to become. I can see you acting alongside Meryl Streep but at the same time blowing up a building in a new Expendables film. Which route would you prefer as an actor without getting pigeonholed?

JLB: That’s very nice of you to say! Thank you! First and foremost, I just want to make sure I’m the best actor possible. I want to make sure that what I do comes off as authentic and real. As far as what kind of roles, I do love action or superhero movies. But I also love comedy and drams. I guess I’d like to be able to dabble into lots of genres.  I’ve gotten more into directing lately and I actually would like to explore deeper into that realm.

You have a chance to put your moves to work in ‘Hurricane Kid’. What is the status of that film? 

JLB: We actually haven’t shot ‘Hurricane Kid’ yet. It was put on hold but we are back up and running. We did a full rewrite of the script and decided to not shoot in 3D. Can’t say too much about it at this point but all of the changes are definitely for the better!

What are some of your favorite Asian films or anime?

JLB: Like anyone, I love ‘Old Boy’. You can’t go wrong. But one of my favorite Korean movies is ‘Bittersweet Life‘ with Byung-Hun Lee (GI Joe) or ‘The Man From Nowhere‘. Those are movies that everyone should definitely see! As far as anime, I do like ‘Akira‘ and there’s this anime movie called ‘Princess Mononoke‘ that I really liked. I haven’t seen it in years but I remember liking it very much.

Lastly, what advice do you have for any budding actor out there that wants to pay his dues and earn respect?

JLB: 9 out 10 times you will be rejected. And that 1 other time, you’ll got a 50/50 chance at best.  But it really helps to just have a positive attitude every time you step into that audition room. You also can’t make quitting an option. If you truly want this and truly love it, you’ll find a way to sustain it.  But at the core of it all, you gotta just keep working hard. And even after you get that booking, you gotta keep working harder. Sometimes people get a role and they get complacent. But in actuality, the higher you climb that ladder, the harder you have to work. When you’re on top of the hill, everyone wants to knock you off. It’s tough work getting up to the top, but it’s even tougher to stay there.

J.J.Abrams enjoyed great success in 2009 rebooting the Star Trek franchise to produce a cinematic experience which managed to please both traditional Trekkies and new fans alike. After the inclusion of lots of Asian actors we really felt the need to bring coverage front and center. The film’s premise revolves around Captain Kirk, expertly played by Chris Pine who seems to flawlessly ooze the required arrogance required for the role, pursuing a fugitive across the galaxy, only to discover there are greater forces at work than simply the terrorism or a madman. As the plot unfolds, the safety of Kirk’s crew, or his ‘family’ as he values them, are continuously threatened and endangered, although this primarily comes from treachery within the hierarchy of the federation, as opposed to Cumberbatch’s menacing villain. When Abrams introduced us to his interpretation of the Trek universe, the element of time travel was essential to the first movie’s plot, producing some confusion amongst an otherwise enjoyable storyline.

‘Into Darkness’ places far less emphasis on the time travel aspect. Fan or not, you are going to love this. Because it wouldn’t confuse the ignorants of the back ground either, since it stands as an independent film where characters and scenes have been explained exactly enough to not overdo, keeping the pace on. Even with the unexpected twists, one as an audience would always know where the outline is headed, which can make it dull. But what clearly over-shadows such shortcomings are the various layers. Just when you think it’s all going to be capturing or fighting off John Harrison, you come across the Marcus shade, after that the Harrison betrayal and then the retaining of cryo-pods. Still not to assume it’s over, it has an enjoyable chase sequence between Spock and Harrison where at the end Spock’s asked to keep him alive to use his blood as a cure.

As originally stated the film does move at an exhilarating pace moving the story along, keeping the adrenaline high, and providing plenty of entertaining action. One of the best things about ‘Star Trek Into Darkness’ is the perfect balance it strikes between being one for the fans and also a film that newcomers can readily enjoy. For the Trekkers, there are clever and often funny nods to the franchise (Tribbles! Gorns! Red Shirts!), but for people who’ve never seen anything Trek-related before, this is just as accessible – “The aim was to make a movie that could stand on its own terms”, Abrams outlined. This is a non-stop thrill-ride of a movie with three-dimensional characters, humour, rug-pulls, heart and plenty of lens flare.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QAEkuVgt6Aw

In comparison to its precursor, Into Darkness doesn’t pull off the slick ride of Star Trek. There’s a lot of good stuff here, and the film manages to make even a darkly lit hangar look beautiful. It’s just Abrams’ decision to try and pay homage to a bygone age which has not quite worked as smoothly as last time round. Secrets are revealed, relationships are broken and tough choices are made to walk the thin line between good and evil. Thus making it into a racy cinematic experience which maintains its pace throughout the 133 minutes keeping you hooked to your seats all the time. It’s a movie nobody should miss irrespective of whether you have seen any of the Star Trek movies before. Watch it you won’t get bored even for a minute.

Every girl dreams of being an enchanted princess, but how many stop to think about all the grim and horrible things that happen in fairy tales? That’s a lesson Tamaki learns all too graphically when she’s attacked on the way to her grandmother’s house by creatures she thought only existed in myths! Fortunately, she’s rescued by an extraordinary young man: one who’s not only part demon; but her future classmate as well, and one of the protectors that Tamaki will need if she’s going to fulfill her destiny as a Tamayori princess. A destiny that no one’s bothered to tell her she’s inherited until now! However, lets consider that this is in part, a reverse harem series for girls. The characters themselves are not badly done. But it does follow very predictable story arcs. She is pretty transparent in who she likes from the first episode, which is similar to traditional harem anime on the boys side too. The romance side plays on it’s tip toes which is similar to regular harem.

This is a very underwhelming series. It should have not been given a full season run let alone a season two. But if you haven’t seen better then I’m sure this series is anime gold. It might not have been professionally made and not everything they do will move you. In fact, some conversations struck me as boring and out-of-topic. The female protagonist doesn’t even carry romantic attachments to the males around her. The romantic element is needed in every good anime so viewers have a relation to the character that they recognize in their daily lives. If there isn’t one you need a bloody gory action packed show like Hellsing.

Honestly, to me it seems like none of the characters have any real personality, they are just too flat and dull in my opinion. I don’t particularly like any character nor do i feel excitement when they “fight”. Also, they seem to contradict themselves WAY TOO MUCH (if you watch it you’ll know what I mean) and it gets annoying after a while. And if it wasn’t bad enough to learn that every plan she’s had for the future has to change, to top it all off, Tamaki still has to start attending a new high school as well! The new girl in school will have to learn how to deal with some very, very old school-type problems in a hurry in Hiiro no Kakera. I loved the short segment at the end of each episode where you spend a private moment with one of the characters. I thought that was so cool and a nice touch. The art work of the characters and scenery is lovely, The music, especially the opening themes, is beautiful! But, I believe I’ve said that already. Must be the lack of good things to talk about!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FNA3j-ALIv4

This series gave me nothing but frustration. Usually cliched characters deliver something, but the guys didn’t even play their romantic parts. They were just sullen and ornery, except when they’d occasionally bat their eyes. We didn’t learn anything about their characters. Normally each harem guy has a back story? They skipped all that. There is nothing new or unique in this anime that hasn’t been used before. I thought that maybe it was just the way too slow pace they set for the show but no… it really doesn’t get any better it’s completely boring. In spite of the poor pacing of this series, the characters are endearing, the setting is lush, and the plot, while not entirely unique, is a strong one. This anime is mainly aimed at fans of the game.

This is a surprisingly good film. Despite the mediocre quality of the visual animation it didn’t affect the entertainment value of the movie not so much. Initially my biggest fear was seeing this cartoon sourcing or stealing ideas from all other existing cartoon films as I noticed some of the creatures had characteristics ‘borrowed’ from the Madagascar Penguins, Powerpuff Girls and so forth. Fortunately, it had enough ideas, interesting elements and sense of humor (which was sometimes very lame in my opinion) to sustain itself.

At the elite St. Claire’s Elementary School it’s day 1 of term, with a whole lot of new students entering through the gates for the first time ever. Among them are Mako, Mi and Mu, three little girls who wander through the vast corridors of the school – though “wander” may not so aptly describe their doings. Mako, to be sure, is zooming and bouncing about with seemingly inexhaustible energy and in complete over-excitement about the life she is about to start, while Mi, proudly of rich descent, is inspecting the hallway decor (Greek marble) only to find it doesn’t quite measure up to her standards. And then there is Mu, whose face we can barely discern behind that curtain of long, dark hair and bangs, her sharp, hidden eye fixed on that insect that’s whizzing about, golden fly swatter poised for attack. Near the old Science Room Blabbermouth, Little-Miss-Luxuries and Geek Girl run into each other and are warned by builders not to enter the place – words that of course have zero effect on three curious kids. In they sneak and stumble across a human anatomical model, soon taking him apart and beautifying him, Renaissance-style.

It is a commendable effort from an unknown anime production house. The major flaw that I see is that the progression of the plot is not clean cut. Never mind the visual quality as of course I don’t expect a film such as this to be of the same standard with blockbuster Disney/Pixar cartoons. But I feel the animators had squeezed in too many big actions at a very fast pace – even the dialogues got mixed up and confusing for the audience at times. As a matter in fact, the whole movie looked like a very messy party. Whether this was the intention or otherwise, I feel they had slightly ignored the importance to keep things a little less messy, and allow more focus on the plot that matters, which would have made this movie easier to follow and hence more memorable.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CtB6WeuHZ5w

There are also some definite adults-only jokes, including a strategically placed (and shaped) elephant drawing and a scene that involves an umbrella grabbing some balls that would have never survived in a USAmerican animation. A straightforward and simple story it may tell, yet by getting its characters right and taking care to serve up some amusing details and a good mix of – uncensored – humour and intelligence, Hōkago Middonaitāzu turns out to be more than just a fun ride for the kids and has its heart in the right place with some of the subtler messages it contains.

Kim Jee-woon’s, the indisputable master of violent, disturbingly intense thriller-shockers (A Bittersweet Life, I Saw the Devil), latest project is a consciously minimalistic, yet deeply enjoyable and visually stunning rom-com entitled One Perfect Day. Though it’s only a 35-minutes long short film made as a part of the 40th anniversary campaign arranged by the famous Korean clothing brand Kolon, the film’s still perfectly able to please the audiences with its light-heartedness, and invite them to contemplate on the topic of love and its way of shaping the nature of one’s life.

The film opens with a few brief, subjective shots of a glass filled with water and a woman carefully adjusting her dress. At the table in some fancy restaurant sits a man and a woman, participating in a blind date of sorts. The man (Kye-song Joon), obviously nervous and insecure, tries to impress the lady, with utterly terrible results. Though she leaves the place, he doesn’t feel discouraged and immediately takes another step in order to fulfill his probably long-lasting desire to find a perfect woman – he meets up with other girls in similarly dim-lit, quiet and chic (Shih Tzu being the word in Kye-song’s opinion) spots in the heart of Seoul. While his attention-grabbing skills are rather poor and almost always simply humiliating one of the ladies decides to go with him for a walk to the Zoo. Kye-song, being a person completely detached from the real world, finds out that the places he used to know as a child are long gone. Yet, the memories of his childhood reminded him of a rock-paper-scissors game that couples play on the famous Nansan steps. The rules are simple – the person who wins a round gets to climb a given number of stairs. The one to lose in the end has to grant a wish made by the winner. However, the lady, tired of Kye-song’s unfunny attempts at impressing her, prepares a humorously devilish plan and flees the scene. The protagonist, left alone once more, starts to reminisce about the time his father took him to the stairs, and about the party, during which one lady broke his fragile little heart.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pQZEliPEnLs

His breakthrough moment comes in the shape of a cute puppy that suddenly pops up on the stairs out of nowhere. Kye-song finds out that the dog has been missing for a while and soon delivers him to the owner, a strikingly pretty young woman. Having nothing to lose, the lonely, incorrigible romantic decides to use the rock-paper-scissors game one more time just to see if this could be his lucky day.

One Perfect Day is mostly a rom-com like many others, but with its on-the-spot comical rock-paper-scissors sub-theme and appealing imagery (beautiful shots of Soul at night, along with petals falling carelessly on the ground) it builds up almost a farcical ambiance around its protagonist on a quest to find love. Though there’s no time for character development, the movie presents its story in a coherent manner, bringing to mind only joy and warmth. Kim Jee-woon’s return to homeland marks another milestone, proving that a talented director is able to jump through genres without any troubles.