Archive for the '2008 Winter Season' Category
True Tears: Episode 13 (END)

Rating: 8.5/10
Overall Series Rating: 9/10
Impressions:
I’ve never been a fan of endings, as I’m usually left wanting more. But strangely, True Tears does such a nice job of wrapping things up, that I don’t really feel like watching any more anyway. Everything feels complete (except for how I was hoping Noe would finally cry in the end). All in all, a great romance/harem series, and a great ending as well. The story, music, pacing, and especially the quality, are all exceptionally high. And you can always argue about whether the characters are well-picked or not, but in the sense that they make the show interesting, I will have to say the writers came up with a pretty nice cast.
Popularity: 9% [?]
23 commentsTrue Tears: Episode 12

Rating: 8/10
Impressions:
I hate how animes can change a character completely in one episode. I liked Hiromi’s personality. Quite a lot actually. But quite obviously, she has been portrayed as the ‘villain’ in this episode, with her ‘leave us alone’ rant and tears/makeup, acting all high and mighty…and I can’t help but like Noe better. I also think it more likely that Shin ends up with Noe, which would be a good move if the writers wanted to NOT follow the traditions of harem anime. Noe has always been the main girl anyway, so I guess it would only be natural. She simply doesn’t seem like hte romance type though…
Popularity: 8% [?]
22 commentsTrue Tears: Episode 11

Rating: 9/10
Impressions:
Uh oh, the part I’m most worried about now is Hiromi’s vengeful glare after informing Shin about Noe’s disappearance. I definitely hope the story doesn’t become highly unrealistic, like School Days, though a bit of fighting or angst wouldn’t hurt. I still have doubts that Hiromi will end up with Shin, but of course this is the path I would like the show to take. Perhaps the uncertainty at the moment is what’s creating a large portion of the excitement—even the well executed kiss-on-beach scene doesn’t wrap anything up. Ai making up with Nobuse was a quick and efficient way of concluding the two up, but also shows that they were never really in the heat of things.
Popularity: 6% [?]
8 commentsTrue Tears: Episode 10

Rating: 9.2/10
Impressions:
Hiromi is love! Aiko has definitely lost what little chance she had with Shinichiro, while it doesn’t seem like Noe is having much luck either. I guess the next few episodes are either gonna have Shin break up with Noe, or re-realise his love for her. I like the former idea much better, as you would imagine. Shin still has to confess to Hiromi, who I’m sure he is now hot on the trail for after discovering they really aren’t related (though in a real situation, there’s always the possibility that the parents are lying, or have been deceived themselves). I really hope they finish this awesome series well.
Popularity: 5% [?]
7 commentsTrue Tears: Episode 9

Rating: 9/10
Impressions:
Just about everything turned out just the way I wanted it—the misunderstanding between Hiromi and Shin being siblings has finally been cleared up, Shin’s mother has ultimately realised her wrongs (though personally I wanted to see something bad happen to her for being such a bitch), and of course, the thing that all Hiromi fans probably would’ve liked; Noe brushing Shin off. From now, I guess there’s still a chance of her getting back with Shinichiro, but the fact that she went to Shinichiro first usually means she won’t be the one who ultimately ends up with him, as suggested by many other harem shows. It would be more suiting if she just got her tears back, IMO of course. xD
Popularity: 5% [?]
5 commentsOokami to Koushinryou: Episode 8

Rating: 7.8/10
Impressions:
So apparently episode 7 will only be released on DVD or something. I have no idea what it even entails, but oh well. Again, the value of the story of Ookami to Koushinryou is quite high, while character development continues at a nice pace. Hopefully, it won’t be long before Horo and Lawrence become much more intimate than they are now. It seems like they only view each other as travel partners—perhaps inseparable ones, but only that at most. The animation quality recently hasn’t been as high, but definitely at tolerable levels. Quality has little effect on a show like this anyway.
Popularity: 5% [?]
6 commentsTrue Tears: Episode 8

Rating: 8.5/10
Impressions:
The fact that Noe is becoming so close to Shinichiro when there’s still 5 episodes left suggests that the current pairings may not reflect the end result very accurately. Of course, it could simply be a sign that the two will come across some obstacle in the near future, and must work to overcome it, but this obstacle may well be the cause of their possible undoing. I sure hope so, since I just can’t come to like Noe’s personality. Hiromi is still my favourite, though I have to admit all three girls have undergone some significant character development that has changed their original behavioural patterns quite a bit.
Popularity: 6% [?]
10 commentsH2O ~ Footprints in the Sand: Episode 6

Rating: 5/10
Impressions:
Honestly, I forgot about this show. But sorry anyways for being so behind. I find it rather annoying how simple things have gotten. If you take a look at all the complicated issues that the show once had, including Hirose’s blindness and the relationships between some of the characters, you’ll see that practically all of that has been settled. The problem is, these aspects of the show never produced anything other than badly executed quasi-drama and blatant harem comedy. I seriously can’t believe Yui and Kohinata’s relationship turned out so ‘friendly’. I hate to admit it, but this show has something wrong with just about everything it’s done…
Popularity: 4% [?]
6 comments