Well, i mentioned Bost TV when they first launched, but now they’ve got something quite promising going on…

Two Gonzo titles that start airing in April (The Tower of Druaga ~the Aegis of URUK~ and BLASSREITER) will also be on Bost subtitled the same day as the broadcast.

That’s not all though… Gonzo will also officially be putting those subtitled episodes on Youtube and Crunchyroll for free.

Now i wonder what Bost will be doing to tempt people to pay to watch an episode instead of watching it for free on youtube, lol… is a slightly higher stream quality enough, or will they be offering full high quality downloads? They mention something about “extra goodies” on their forums… staff/cast interviews maybe? I guess we’ll find out in the coming weeks or so.

As for the series themselves… i’m never too sure when it comes to Gonzo, lol… too many times i’ve watched their stuff and thought “wow, this is possibly some of the worst animation i’ve ever seen”, though then again a few of their shows have been pretty good (Romeo x Juliet for example). I guess i’ll give The Tower of Druaga a chance, but that Blassreiter… blah blah blah, demons, dead people coming back to life… yeah… i’m sure it’ll be a hit with all the emo idiots. *sigh* (the sad thing is it probably will)

But yeah, a step in the right direction for the anime industry (though not so sure about sticking it on youtube for free though, lol).

EDIT: Just realised… they’ll probably make a bit of money from a share of the advertising on youtube, so maybe not a bad decision afterall.

I’ve always said Kimagure Orange Road is the greatest anime that ever has, and ever will be made, and as i re-watch the show again for the first time in years i’m reminded of just why that’s the case.

(Probably the defining moment of the entire series, not counting the ending or movies. Anyone who has seen Kimagure Orange Road will have that scene with the hat at the top of the stairs burnt into their memories forever.)

Re-watching it really does just remind me of why it’s so great, compared to all the modern anime with it’s fancy colours and absurd storylines Kimagure Orange Road just feels so much more real, the characters all have such a realistic depth to them that you just don’t seem to get with modern anime.

There are no robot girls, or pink haired screechy characters, no magical girls, no transformation sequences, no girls turning into foxes halfway through the series, just plain believable characters. Madoka, Hikaru, and Kyosuke, they could all be real people going to school in Japan. And because they’re such believable characters you gain a greater emotional attachment to each of them, following Kyosuke through his ups and downs with the two girls each episode. And when he finally makes his decision in the first Kimagure Orange Road movie, it really hurt, and i mean *really*. Not because of his decision or who he chose, but because you really feel emotionally attached to all of them, i was almost in tears for the entire movie the first time i watched it, i’d say that’s quite impressive.

As for the animation… while old (the first episode was broadcast a mere 16 days after i was born, lol) it still has a warmth to it that doesn’t exist these days. The hair, the slightly rounder faces, the more natural animation, it’s just so much better than most of the generic crap that’s churned out by all these sweatshops of late. Even the little things in the series, the use of photographs to take a snapshot of the defining moment towards the end of the episode while Kyosuke sums everything up, the use of flashbacks, the saxaphone solo moments, not only is the animation great, but the directing is masterful too.

And last but by no means least… the music, hearing that first opening and ending theme again for the first time in ages just brings back a wave of emotion. It’s all so 80′s, and that’s the way music should stay.

 

Kimagure Orange Road will always be the greatest anime ever produced, it’s just an absolute masterpiece that sets you off on an emotional roller-coaster ride throughout the series, finally culminating in the events of the first movie. No-one can ever come close to matching it. Ever.

 

“Daaaaaaaarling!!!!” <3

Thought it deserved it’s own post, lol… but after hearing the Swedish entry i seem to have changed my mind, lol, and i really think this song has a pretty good chance of winning.

Am i tempted to put my money where my mouth is this year (especially considering i’ve never successfully backed a song that’s won before, lol)… i think i am, i think Sweden will win.

Latvia’s entry is still entertaining though (much like Ukraine’s last year), it however won’t win.

After one package sitting in customs for a week doing nothing, and another being delivered to the wrong address, and then being returned to the depot without anyone informing me, it’s all finally here, lol. The great British postal service working at full force there. *sigh*

I haven’t actually had a chance to listen to the album yet (and as i type this i realise i have now packed it into a box so it’s not going to get listened to until April >_<), however i did watch the DVD. The lyrics for Sunday early morning amuse me… entirely in English, i wonder if she wrote them just for her overseas fans? The PV for Chuo Line is really sweet. And also not to mention the footage from connichi (managed to spot myself during the clips from the concert again), and the brief clip of the fanclub event on the last day brings back really happy memories! Komugi beer……. ^_^

Also bought the spice and wolf ending theme (top right), because that song amuses me too, entirely in English and kinda seems like something The Beatles would sing, sort of reminds me of Strawberry Fields Forever. “I cut myself a slice of sunshine pie…”

And bottom right is the DVD of that film we watched on the flight to/from Japan. Now looking at the bonus footage on it, it seems clear that AKB48′s management have obviously given the film company a large under-the-table sum of money, lol, as all of the bonus footage is of Acchan, almost none of the lead actress (who was a better actress really), and they even managed to include interviews with the other AKB48 girls for some reason, i mean wtf, lol. The DVD packaging also mentions at every opportunity it can get that Acchan is an AKB48 member. Wonder how much they paid them for all that, lol. But yeah, the film looks great on a nice big screen instead of a tiny airline screen.

And finally…

Jun finally arrived! <3 I so want to cosplay him someday. T_T Now if only there were a Mako-chan pillow, lol.

Not sure what to do about the Hatsune Miku cover i bought while in Japan though, since it’s a really odd size and none of the pillow’s fit it properly. I wonder what’s cheaper… getting a custom pillow made, or buying stuffing and stuffing it myself. I do get the feeling the creators want people to stuff it themselves since it has a zip on the bottom of it rather than just being open (or with a fold).

Just some first impressions on this year’s songs (Latvia to win):

France – Following from last year’s good entry, they’re back to their standard terrible songs again.

Germany – Ok-ish… i guess.

Spain – Uhh… wtf… utter utter shite.

UK – Ok-ish… again won’t win.

Andorra – Pretty good song, i like it, hopefully they can get past the semi-final.

Armenia – Interesting, not bad, better than the “ok-ish” ones. Standard Eurovision fare, i think it may grow on me with more listens.

Azerbaijan – ………….. (i don’t think there are words to describe how badly sung this song is, and since when were they allowed in Eurovision o.o)

Belgium – Well you can imagine driving through the hills with a glass of wine on the way to a picnic in Belgium with this on the radio, maybe some cheese and biscuits too. Won’t win, but oh well, lol.

Bosnia & Herzegovina – Boring until the song gets going for about 20 seconds, but too much boring.

Estonia – They’ve obviously recruited a couple of guys from the nearest pub. I bet they’re good at darts.

Finland – Yeah it’s not gonna work twice Finland, the song’s pretty crap.

Greece – A standard Greek Eurovision entry. Ok-ish, will probably get a few votes.

Ireland – lol great, i could see myself DDR’ing that, great protest song too, maybe there’ll be crazy people that would vote for it. Great line… “we’re sorry for riverdance” lol (though i probably would start burning whole villages if it won).

Israel – Boring.

Moldova – Boring. Should probably stick to singing in the corner of wine bars.

Montenegro – Not bad, better than the ok-ish songs.

Netherlands – Good singing voice. Not bad song. I can see this picking up a few points.

Norway – Hmm, average.

Poland – Boring again sounds like it should be a church song (man, where are all the happy upbeat songs this year).

Romania – *sigh* another boring song.

Russia – …another boring song.

Slovenia – That’s more like it, lol… and the chorus sounds vaguely like the evangelion opening (sort of, lol), yeah i quite like it, hope it does well (as in at least gets to the final, lol)!

Albania – Boring.

Belarus – Looks like someone singing karaoke, but hey at least the song isn’t boring. Better than the ok-ish songs.

Bulgaria – …interesting… could do with some more lyrics though, lol, again, at least it’s not boring.

Croatia – The old guy at the beginning seemed entertaining, he looks like he’d enjoy life in Japan, lol. As for the song… ok-ish.

Cyprus – Ok-ish. Standard Eurovision fare.

Czech Republic – Not very good.

Denmark – Not bad, upbeat and happy, seems to have stolen lyrics from old english/american songs though, lol.

FYR Macedonia – Starts off with some whining, continues with some karaoke that’s worse than i’ve heard in the average British pub. Terrible.

Georgia – Ok-ish standard Eurovision song.

Hungary – No. Sounds like it should be in a Disney film.

Iceland – Not bad, better than the ok-ish songs.

Latvia – Haha… YES!!! These guys should win!!!!!! DEFINITELY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Lithuania – Boring again. Why would i want to spend hours watching depressing songs on TV, go away.

Malta – Looks entertaining, upbeat, like it!

Portugal – Hmm, no.

Switzerland – Yet another boring song.

Turkey – Sounds different for Turkey, not bad.

Ukraine – Not bad, upbeat once it gets going.

Haven’t heard San Marino, Sweden, or Serbia yet, so i’ll probably leave a comment on this post once i’ve listened to those.

But yeah LATVIA TO WIN!!

Andorra 2nd, Slovenia 3rd.