I finally got started with the second season of Spice and Wolf. The OVA or episode 00 was released last week and it was fairly interesting with the usual Spicy Wolf quirks. The animation studio team changed so that might explain the slight drop in animation quality, but however the positive side is that the series got brighter or more ‘lighted’ up in terms of the animation. Overall, I guess I just got to get used to the slightly different artwork.

Wolf and the Sudden Split



- Lawrence and Holo are travelling to a pagan city delivering nails when they meet a young, fairly successful trader called Fermi Amati who was very taken with by Holo and helped them as a result.

- Holo is disturbed when she keeps thinking about how the duration of Lawrence’s lifetime is but a blink of an eye to her.

- Lawrence is disturbed by how his friends are also aging and doing well with their own shops while he’s still a travelling merchant, despite arguably being a better merchant than them.

- This is compounded when he realized that Holo does not have a clear idea how to get back to Yoitsu, her hometown, and hence the journey might be quite long, so he informs her that he might not be able to follow her all the way, a statement which he promptly regrets uttering.

Spice and Wolf II -

OP : Mitsu no Yoake

ED : Perfect World

Related posts:

1. Spice and Wolf Season II Episode IV
2. Spice and Wolf Season II Episode II
3. Spice and Wolf Season II Episode VI

End of the road for Tora-dora. It was a really interesting journey, bitter-sweet in retrospect. The series was both touching and amusing and at times left me either exasperated or pensive. I am really glad I came back to the series after I initially dropped it after episode 1.

For the last episode, their teacher Yuri Sensei made a very wise observation when she announced that Taiga was transferring / withdrawing from school. Basically, she said that throughout your life, you will come to many crossroads. Regardless of whether you wish to turn back or stay on your path, you still have to make a decision. Sometimes no matter which path you take, you will let someone down but it’s for the best as no one can get the best of both worlds. Yuri Sensei is their form-teacher who provided some comical relief and yet was grounded in reality throughout the entire series. She has a rather interesting life and philosophy although she is constantly in despair over her single status. Not sure why she’s complaining though. I guess it will be equally interesting if the focus were more on her although I’m not complaining! ^^

It was also interesting to note the casual camaraderie among all the members of the class, as opposed to the beginning where they rarely interact as a group. It is this sort of progression which makes me feel wistful every time I think of the series. Overall, it has been a great anime and makes me feel really glad that I have watched it. The ending had a sense of closure to it unlike some other anime (macross frontier anyone?) and although it was a happy and predictable ending, the journey there was anything but.

I also liked how they alluded that true love is a rare and elusive object and how they stumbled upon it and then refused to let it go despite their many tribulations. Faith in each other pulled them through their last year as it time-skipped at the end. Towards the end, at the graduation ceremony, the audience was treated to a 3rd party perspective of this bunch of people whom we have followed throughout the series as a junior in the school. Kitamura was said to be continuing his studies in America, with his beloved senpai. Minori looked like she received the MVP for the school softball league and continues to head towards her dream of representing Japan in the World Series. Ami stayed on and graduated, receiving many bouquets from her adorers as she was leaving the school for the last time. And then the Ryuji x Taiga ending which brought an end to the entire series.

It’s quite funny when you think that the voice actor for Ryuji is the same one as the ‘poor’ teacher from Kodomo no Jikan. Anyway, I leave you with this from a Tora-dora scene. Goodnight and goodbye for now.

Tora-dora:

OP 1 / OP 2: Pre-parade / Vanilla Salt

ED 1 / ED 2: Silky Heart / Orange

Related posts:

1. K-On Madness Ahead! The Attack of the Goth-lolis
2. Spice and Wolf Season II Episode I
3. Benjamin Button vs School Rumble

Just some background info, GDH is the parent company of Gonzo and they just announced that they will be merging with Gonzo after firing around 75% of its staff. The name of the joint company will remain Gonzo and this looked like it has cost saving and reduction in cost written all over it.

GDH was more known for its mobile phone gaming business and I guess the Gonzo name will provide it with better recognition among the general public. Brand strengthening will also be the order of the day for GDH here.

Still, Gonzo always have a place in my heart for their Strike Witches, Kiddy Grade, Burst Angels and most of all, Last Exile, one of my all-time favourite. The studio seemed like slightly schizophrenic with some great/good works (including Welcome to the NHK & Speed Grapher) scattered amongst many mediocre efforts which make you wonder why do they even bother.

Last Exile OP: Cloud Age Symphony

Last Exile ED: Over the Sky

Picture via otaku.com

Related posts:

1. Spice and Wolf Season II Episode I

Life isn’t measured in minutes, but in moments.

Welcome to AlternateSam.com. I guess I do have to start somewhere so here it goes

I watched The Curious Case of Benjamin Button and it struck me that it was similar to School Rumble. I know that SR ended quite a long time ago but I only picked it up recently. And it was really really good, in the sense that I will remember it for a long time. Its funny and the plot might be illogical at times, but always fun and entertaining.

The message I took back was that life can never be perfect forever. In some frame of your life, you might be very happy but in times to come, this will certainly end. We are meant to lose the people we love, for this is the only way to know how important they are. Just as in SR, life cannot be purely what you want, but rather what is best for everyone involved. Like Harima, he took the choice of letting someone he loved be happy instead of being selfish and making himself happy at another person’s expense.

Its odd how a comedy like SR can be analyzed for its life’s messages and reasoning. Somehow, you think that it was all based on life experiences. In any case, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button was really good and thought-provoking. As what Benjamin said, your life is defined by its opportunities… even the ones you miss.

School Rumble OPs/EDs -
Season 1 -> Scramble / Onnanoko Otokonoko
Season 2 -> Sentimental Generation / Futari Ha Wasurechau

Related posts:

1. Tora-dora Episode 25, The End
2. K-On Madness Ahead! The Attack of the Goth-lolis
3. Spice and Wolf Season II Episode I