(Planned) December Viewing – Anime Edition

While I was banging through the shows at the beginning of the month my re-subscription to World of Warcraft half way through November more or less fucked my viewing plans (and all other plans I had). So I didnt mange to get through a lot of the stuff from the last entry. God I wish I could say it was because I was busy with Nanowrimo as opposed to World of Warcraft, but thats a topic for a different entry. Considering Cataclysm is out in less than forty eight hours I imagine this month will be even worse. Still some kind of plan is better than none at all.

Heres what I managed to get through in November. While there isnt as much as there was in October the quality of it was universally excellent. In particular Dance in the Vampire Bund was fucking amazing. Even the weakest of the shows, Vampire Knight, was very good for a “typical” shoujo anime (and I suppose upon reflection it wasnt that typical).

To Watch:

Shikabane Hime – Aka
Dance in the Vampire Bund
The Tower of Druaga – Sword of Uruk

To Rewatch:

To Aru Majutsu no Index
The Tower of Druaga – Aegis of Uruk

Unplanned Viewing:

Shikabane Hime – Kuro
Vampire Knight
Vampire Knight Guilty

To Watch:

Umineko no Naku Koro ni / When the Seagulls Cry

Plot Summary: Umineko no Naku Koro ni takes place in the year 1986, during the time frame of October 4 and October 5 on a secluded island named Rokkenjima. The head of a wealthy family named Kinzo Ushiromiya, who lives on and owns Rokkenjima, is near death, and eight of his family members arrive on the island to discuss how Kinzo’s assets will be divided once he is dead. Also on the island are three family members who live there, five of Kinzo’s servants, and his personal physician. After the eight family members arrive, a typhoon traps them on the island and shortly after people start to get mysteriously murdered.

Ōkamikakushi

Plot Summary: Kuzumi Hiroshi moves with his crippled sister and his father to the remote city of Jouga, which is famous for its hassaku citrus and the rumors that a species of enormous wolves once lived in the area. While some of the residents are more than friendly, when people begin to vanish suddenly, it becomes apparent that something sinister is afoot…

First Squad (Director’s Cut)

Plot Summary: During the winter of 1941/42, the Second World War comes to a temporary standstill on the Eastern Front yet both Nazi and Soviets are putting everything they got in order to turn the tide in their favour. Meanwhile Ahnenerbe, Nazi occult organization within the SS, calculates that the next “moment of truth” (a rare moment when actions of a single man can determine the outcome of an event, a battle or even the entire war) is approaching on the Eastern Front. The man is some anonymous Soviet officer and unless he is eliminated, his actions are going to bring success to some local Soviet offensive. To eliminate him, spiritualists of Ahnenerbe summon the long-dead baron von Wolff from the world of the dead. To counter this plan, special occult branch of the Soviet Intelligence, called 6th Division, deploys it’s best agent – 14-year-old esper girl Nadya, the only survivor from the special operations unit of 6th Division – the “First Squad”.

Katanagatari

Plot Summary: This story takes place in the Edo era where Yasuri Shichika is the seventh head of the Kyotou school of Japanese sword martial arts living in Fushou Island with his sister Nanami. With the order from a female samurai general Togame, he sets out for a trip to collect the twelve treasured swords created by a legendary swordsmith Shikizaki Kiki.

Summer Wars

Plot Summary: When timid eleventh-grader and math genius Kenji Koiso is asked by older student and secret crush Natsuki to come with her to her family’s Nagano home for a summer job, he agrees without hesitation. Natsuki’s family, the Jinnouchi clan, dates back to the Muromachi era, and they’ve all come together to celebrate the 90th birthday of the spunky matriarch of the family, Sakae. That’s when Kenji discovers his “summer job” is to pretend to be Natsuki’s fiancé and dance with her at the birthday celebration. As Kenji attempts to keep up with Natsuki’s act around her family, he receives a strange math problem on his cell phone which, being a math genius, he can’t resist solving. As it turns out, the solution to the mysterious equation causes a hijacking of the social networking site through which most of the world’s social and business traffic flows.

Kara no Kyoukai – the Garden of sinners

Plot Summary: Mikiya Kokuto finds himself intrigued by two things. The first is by Shiki Ryougi a beautiful, yet rather unsociable, girl and the other is the strange series of violent deaths that start occuring in his town. As he attempts to get closer to Shiki, he soon learns that the two are connected and that there are many supernatural forces at work which could very likely get him killed as well.

Durarara!!

Plot Summary: Ryuugamine Mikado is a boy who longs for the exciting life of the big city. At the invitation of his childhood friend Masaomi, he transfers to a school in Ikebukuro. Masaomi has warned him about people he doesn’t want to cross in the city: a champion fighter, an informant, and a mysterious gang called “Dollars.” Nervous from Masaomi’s stories, Mikado witnesses an urban legend on his first day in the city, the Headless Rider astride a black motorcycle. From then on, the existence of supernatural cases and a gang called the Yellow Turbans will rise to the surface, and Ikebukuro will pushed to the breaking point.

Golgo 13

Plot Summary: Duke Togo, a.k.a. Golgo 13, is a highly-skilled assassin hired only by those who pay top-dollar for his services – whether it’s the FBI, CIA, industrial corporations or mafias. Regardless of who the target is or what situations he encounters, Golgo 13 always gets the job done.

Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood

Plot Summary: Two brothers lose their mother to an incurable disease. With the power of “alchemy”, they use taboo knowledge to resurrect her. The process fails, and as a toll for using this type of alchemy, the older brother, Edward Elric loses his left leg while the younger brother, Alphonse Elric loses his entire body. To save his brother, Edward sacrifices his right arm and is able to affix his brother’s soul to a suit of armor. With the help of a family friend, Edward receives metal limbs – “automail” – to replace his lost ones. With that, Edward vows to search for the Philosopher’s Stone to return the brothers to their original bodies, even if it means becoming a “State Alchemist”, one who uses his/her alchemy for the military.

Heroman

(The second image may be a clue as to which famous american comic icon was involved in its creation)Plot Summary:An American kid named Joey lives in an urban city & has always wanted to become a hero. Unfortunately he's just an orphan working part time to support his grandma and himself. After he watched a toy commercial on a new robot action figure, Joey believe he'll gain strength if he obtains one. The only robot toy he can get his hands on is a broken one that was abandon by a rich school bully. Feeling pity for the trashed action figure, Joey took it home to repair it. Little did he know, that once he repairs the toy, it'll make his hero dream become a reality.

Highschool of the Dead

Plot Summary: Takashi Komuro is a normal highschool boy, until an infection breaks out that turns people into zombie-like creatures. Along with his friends & the school nurse, they fight their way out and continue their journey to find out what exactly has happened to the world.

Baccano!

Plot Summary: Each of the stories in the series involves several unrelated plots intersecting and crossing each other as events spiral farther and farther out of control. Immortal alchemists, mafia operated speakeasies, and many other elements of pulp fiction mashed together for a world straight out of the movies.

Canaan

Plot Summary: Two years ago, Shibuya was ravaged by a biological terrorist attack using the deadly Ua virus. Maria Osawa was saved when her father inoculated her against the virus, but is left with partial amnesia from the shock. She works as a cameraman when she reunites with a girl named Canaan in Shanghai, China. A gifted assassin with synesthesia, she is under orders from an unknown organization for a yet unspecified mission.

Casshern Sins

Plot Summary:After the murder of Luna, the robot society that rules the planet starts to rust and decay. Death and despair spread through the land like wildfire. The only one unaffected by the affliction that becomes known as "The Ruin" is Luna's assassin, Casshern. Unable to remember if he really triggered this capital sin against the entire mechanized civilization, Casshern embarks on a journey to unravel the mystery that connects him, Luna, and the plague.

Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion R2

SPOILERS

Plot Summary: It's been one year since the failure of the Black Rebellion and the supposed death of Zero. Britannia has assigned Area 11 a "correctional education" status, where Elevens are made an example of by brute force, to try to prevent any future uprisings and suppress rebellious thoughts. Unsuspecting high school student Lelouch, oblivious to his rebellious past as Zero, stumbles upon a scheme on his life and the life of a mysterious woman known as C.C., who reveals to him his forgotten purpose and his "true" self. Destroying his assailants and declaring himself Zero once again, Lelouch sets out to finish what he started

Detroit Metal City

Plot Summary: Detroit Metal City (DMC) is a quickly rising independent Death Metal band. They garner fame by performing wild live shows and writing songs filled with hate, violence, and rape. The band is fronted by Sōichi Negishi who takes on the stage name Krauser II. On stage he is a wild-unchained beast. Off-stage he is a tranquil, tender-loving person who enjoys Swedish Pop music. He hates himself as Krauser and his two personalities collide making his private life very difficult.

Higurashi no Naku Koro ni

Plot Summary: On one hot summer day in 1983, a transfer student named Maebara Keiichi comes to a peaceful rural village in Hinamizawa. There, he befriends his classmates Rena, Mion, Rika, and Satoko. Accepted as a full-fledged member of the "club," Keiichi and the gang plays all sorts of activities ranging from card and board games to hide-and-seek. But just as Keiichi was beginning to be assimilated in simple rural life, he stumbles upon the dark history of Hinamizawa. As Keiichi dives deeper into the mystery, he finds that his new found friends may not be all what they claim to be.

Magic Users Club

Plot Summary: The aliens have been defeated, and the Bell has been transformed into a gigantic cherry tree. Now, the brave Magic User's Club must reconvene to deal with a new problem. Apparently, some inconsiderate persons left a skyscraper sized cherry tree in the middle of Tokyo, and it's become a major inconvenience to everyone in the city. Even though they have no idea who could have done such a thing, the Club feels strangely responsible and springs into action. Meanwhile, a mysterious person is spying on the magic club in the form of a small boy.

Mouryou no Hako

Plot Summary: The story follows a series of bizzare murders of schoolgirls who have been dismembered and stuffed into boxes. The private investigator hired by a missing daughters mother joins forces with an antique book seller and others to unravel the murder spree.

Spice and Wolf & Spice and Wolf II

Plot Summary: Kraft Lawrence, a 25 year old peddler travelling from town to town selling and buying various things to make a living during a period much like Europe in the Middle Ages. One night when stopped at the town of Pasroe, he finds in his wagon a 250 year old pagan wolf deity girl named Holo. She appears to be that of a 15 year old girl, except for a wolf tail and ears. She introduces herself as the town's goddess of harvest who has kept it blessed with good harvests of wheat for many years. Despite having the responsibility to watch over the town, she wants to go back to her homeland in the north called Yoitsu, she believes the people have already forsaken her anyway and that she has kept her promise to maintain the good harvests. She manages to bargain her way out of the village by making a deal with Lawrence to take her with him. As they travel, her wisdom helps increase his profits, but at the same time, her true nature draws unwanted attention from the church.

The Sacred Blacksmith

Plot Summary: As the newest head of the prestigious Campbell household, young Cecily Campbell is following family tradition by becoming a Knight Guard of the Independent Trade City of Housman and taking up the family sword. While being attacked by a crazed veteran knight, she was saved by Luke, the Sacred Blacksmith. Alongside Lisa, his assistant, Luke has the power to forge powerful swords capable of defeating the so feared demons. Demons which could once again bring the world close to an end.

To Aru Kagaku no Railgun

Plot Summary: Academy City is a highly developed place in terms of technology. It is said to be 20 to 30 years ahead of the rest of the world. 80% of it's 2.3 million residents are students. The focus of studies here is directed towards esper powers. Misaka Mikoto, one of the top level espers in town, shares a room with Kuroko Shirai, another high level esper who is a member of Judgement, a law enforcing agency composed of students. Both attend to Tokiwadai, a private school reserved for the high-leveled and the rich. Kuroko's partner at Judgement, Kazari Uiharu, is a low level esper who studies at Sakugawa middle school. Her best friend and classmate there is Ruiko Saten, a level zero (no esper powers). Together, the four encounter several adventures in the exciting scientific town.

Zoku Natsume Yuujinchou

Continuation of Natsume Yuujinchou (see below)

Mobile Suit Gundam 00

Plot Summary: It is the year A.D. 2307. Fossil fuels on Earth have been depleted entirely, with mankind turning to the next available power source: solar energy. During this time, 3 orbital elevators with solar power generation systems are built, each under control by the Union of Solar Energy and Free Nations (formerly United States of America), the Human Reform League (Russia, China and India) and the Advanced European Union. However, not all countries are able to enjoy the benefits of this system, leading to widespread resentment and war. Arising out of the conflict, a mysterious military organization known as Celestial Being appears, dedicated to end all warfare using Mobile Suits called Gundam. This begins the stories of Gundam Meisters (pilots) Setsuna F. Seiei, Lockon Stratos, Allelujah Haptism and Tiera Erde as they are thrown into conflict between the 3 superpowers and the various other factions.

To Rewatch:

Ladies vs Butlers

Plot Summary: Hino Akiharu lost his parents when he was small and was adopted into his uncle's family. But he noticed his uncle is after the inheritance of his parents, so he decides to enter a boarding school, Hakureiryou high school. However his delinquent boy-like appearance frightens the girls, who make up the majority of the students. Being unable to get along with the classmates, Akiharu meets his childhood girlfriend Saikyou Tomomi.

Note: I watched this earlier in the year and listed it as a "nominee" for top ten anime of the year. Unfortunately I cant remember it at all. Which is probably more my fault than its. So I've decided to re-watch it. Unforunately I no longer have the tv encode so I'll have to watch the uncut dvd version. Which is unfortunate because I've a feeling to much nudity is going to kill this.

Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion

Plot Summary: The Empire of Britannia has invaded Japan using giant robot weapons called Knightmare Frames. Japan is now referred to as Area 11, and its people the 11's. A Britannian who was living in Japan at the time, Lelouch, vowed to his Japanese friend Suzaku that he'd destroy Britannia. Years later, Lelouch is in high school, but regularly skips out of school to go play chess and gamble on himself. One day, he stumbles on terrorists 11's who've stolen a military secret and is caught by a member of the Britannian task force sent after them, who is Suzaku. As the rest of the squad arrives, Suzaku is shot for disobeying orders, while the military secret, a young girl, gives Lelouch the power of Geass, which makes anyone obey any order. While Suzaku is secretly made the pilot of Britannia's brand new prototype Knightmare, Lancelot, Lelouch becomes the masked Zero to lead the rebellion to destroy Britannia once and for all.

Darker than BLACK

Plot Summary: ITS MOTHER FUCKING X-MEN MEETS COLD WAR JAMES BOND! *ahem* In Tokyo, an impenetrable field known as "Hell's Gate" appeared ten years ago. At the same time, psychics who wield paranormal powers at the cost of their conscience also emerged. Hei is one of the most powerful of these psychic agents, and along with his blind associate, Yin, works for one of the many rival agencies vying to unlock the mysteries of Hell's Gate.

To Possibly Rewatch:

Black Lagoon

Plot Summary: Okajima Rokuro is a Japanese businessman…in a town full of Japanese businessmen. His normal day consists of social drinking with clients and being kicked around by his bosses. He finally gets a break though, as he’s sent by his company to the tropical seas of Eastern China to deliver a disc…only his boat gets hijacked by a band of mercenaries that were hired to steal it. “Rock” (as he is newly dubbed by his captors) catches the interest of the only female merc “Revy” as she thinks he’s worth a ransom, taking him hostage. However, the disc turns out to be more trouble than its worth, and complicates things both for Rock, and the mercenaries known as Black Lagoon.

Sayonara Zetsubo Sensei

Plot Summary: Itoshiki Nozomu is the world's most negative person. To his way of thinking, there is no hope or meaning in this existence. Even the three kanji of his name become the two-kanji word zetsubou, "despair", when compressed. What an ironic twist of fate, then, that he becomes teacher to a class containing his precise opposite, the invincibly positive-minded Fuura Kafuka.

Yakushiji Ryoko

Plot Summary: Based on a series of light novels written by Tanaka Yoshiki. The story revolves around Ryōko Yakushiji, a brilliant 27-year-old elite investigator with the Tokyo Metropolitan Police. Together with her subordinate Junichirō Izumida, the two often investigate bizzare and supernatural cases. In addition with the paranormal, Ryōko also has a longstanding rivalry with Yukiko Muromachi, another talented police investigator.

Listening to: Bush - Monkey

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