Blog 061 > Just Eleven So Far

In 2006, I watched 58 anime series in 8 eight months, or 7+ series per month! Sadly, in 2007, I’m off to a pathetically slow start: Just 11 anime series in 4+ months. The reason for this: Amazing live-action series like the new Battlestar Galactica – Season 3, new Smallville – Season 6 and rewatching the older Star Trek Voyager – Season 4 (1997) which introduces “Seven of Nine” (Jeri Ryan) for the first time. And now, my best bud Vanessa convinced me to start watching her Alias (2001; Jennifer Garner) in exchange for her watching my Dark Angel (2000; Jessica Alba), lol.

So now, in an attempt to catch up with my anime, it’s time to give my long-delayed reviews of the 11 series I’ve seen so far this year, ranging from the super-cute 1992 series Sailor Moon to the ultra-violent 2006 series Black Lagoon – The Second Barrage … I hope you enjoy the ride!

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post 413 ~ more japanese TV


“fruits basket” (anime; 2001-2)


“you’re under arrest” (live-action; 2002)

“NANA” (anime; 2006)–>

post 413 ~ more japanese TV, hehe ;)

  • fruits basket ~ last night, finally finished the 26-episode series via netflix!… and WOW, i never would’ve guessed that i’d find myself so fond of yet ANOTHER (seemingly stereotypical) high-school-teenaged story (like “shuffle” or “negima”)… but like many of these anime series, what starts out as funny and cute — emotively hooking you and forging bonds with the characters — then dramatically evolves into a darker drama, exploring the more profound depths of the characters and interrelations… here, the concluding 3 episodes were simply powerful… so what i initially and instinctively assigned as 4 stars rightfully earned 5 of 5 stars!…
  • you’re under arrest ~ last night, finished this too!… just 9 live-action episodes based on the comedy-action anime… and yeah, the acting was pretty cheesy… but perhaps that’s what made it lovable as well… sad to say bye to “miyuki” and “natsumi” and “nakajima” after such a short run… 4 stars!
  • NANA ~ finally!!!… after about a month, the newest download finally made available… episode 22’s new opening theme rocked!… and once again, everything — humor and drama and twists and music — were all packed again into yet another half hour… according to wikipedia, there are a total of 26 episodes, and so far #22 will be the 24th episode (including 11.5 and 21.5), so only two more shows for this 5-star season… a continuing second season is definitely likely, i hope!… lol, can’t wait!

post 407 ~ sunday break from anime?


“lady vengeance” (2005)


“ultraviolet” (2006)


“my sassy girl” (2001)

post 407 ~ a big sunday break from anime?.. yup, that’s right folks!… spent a lazy sunday watching FIVE downloaded titles!

  • 1 – what the [bleep] do we know (2004) ~ following a recommendation from , i decided to check out this part-documentary part-fiction film… so this morning, i watched it (apparently this AVI only contained the first 45 minutes of the full-length; later i’ll download another but unsplit file)… but after those 45 minutes, while it was entertaining, it still felt like another PBS “nature of the universe” science show, or maybe i saw it already… in any case, there wasn’t anything new about quantum theory… just a bunch of advocates with the same egocentric attitude as ancient scientists who once thought the earth was the center of the universe… so while “nowunraveling” gave it TWO stars, i might give it THREE because i like the actress Marlee Matlin, and of course, Armin “Quark” Shimerman…
    • side note 1 ~ i’m now beginning to think that the number of possible parallel realities can NEVER be completely infinite or completely dependent upon human observation, just as the space and time in the universe aren’t infinite… that is, mathematical probabilities are only a guide, not the reality… and just as subatomic particles can pop into and fade away like bubbles from this reality (as hawking wrote), so should the highly-improbable parallel universes fade away, and new ones pop into existence in their place…
    • side note 2 ~ just a note on “infinities”… since my “math fair” project in elementary school, i’ve known that there are multiple orders of infinity, not just one kind… for example, the infinity of possible points on a line segment is “lesser” than the infinity of possible line segments/paths within a 2D area… which in turn, is “lesser” than the infinity of line segments/paths within a 3D volume… this is due to the lack of “one-to-one correspondence” among these orders of infinity… so in terms of parallel realities, i perceive the possibilites NOT as the infinite number of points on a line that stretches infinitely long in both directions, BUT on the “lesser order” of infinite number of points within a defined line of limited length A-to-B… and even then, not an infinite number of points…
  • 2 – [sympathy for] lady vengeance (2005) ~ finally found time to watch this korean film!… with a pretty leading lady, and the ever-tortured Choi Min-sik to play the primary antagonist… beautiful cinematography and some shocking moments, but afterwards, the film left me unsatisfied… if anything, the sublime vivaldi-like soundtrack was the best element of the film… just as beautiful as the MP3s i acquired more than 12 months ago!… THREE stars…
  • 3 – ultraviolet (2006) ~ again, finally found time to watch the rest of this sci-fi flick… hmmm, while the gravity-defying matrix-style martial arts and slick “sky captain”-like comic-book look were definitely eye-catching, the story was pretty flimsy… it’s one of those movies that makes me think that, as tantalizingly super-sexy as she can be, Milla Jovovich should’ve stuck with singing… fortunately, “the fifth element” saves her… again… THREE stars…
  • 4 – my sassy girl (2001) ~ yet again, finally watched this korean romantic-comedy!… a cute leading lady, and awkward leading guy… with some funny moments, some fiction-within-a-fiction action moments, some tender moments, and a warm-and-fuzzy goosebumps conclusion… between THREE and FOUR stars, haven’t decided yet ;)
  • 5 – you’re under arrest (2002) ~ based on the popular action-comedy anime series, finally watched episode 1 of 10 japanese live-action parts… with the stunningly beautiful Misaki Ito as “natsumi”… hmmm, but unlike the anime, “miyuki” seems more forceful and impulsive than “natsumi”, who didn’t seem to get her fair share of important dialogue… nonetheless, THREE stars so far…

post 392 ~ japanese beauty


Misaki Ito
post 392 ~ japanese beauty… just had to post about Misaki Ito… according to her wikipedia article, she is “considered a great beauty within Japan and has been the face of Shiseido Cosmetics since 2000″… and her bright smile kinda reminds me of chinese actress ziyi zhang

  • densha otoko (train man) ~ i first saw her in the 2005 romantic comedy “densha otoko” about an anime otaku (geek) who defends a rich and beautiful woman (her) from a bully on the subway… funny and touching…
  • you’re under arrest ~ but then after downloading the 2002 live-action drama “you’re under arrest” based on the anime i’ve been praising and downloading… about two strong and beautiful police women, i immediately recognized her as one of those women!
  • must be fate, lol ;)

post 390 ~ under a restful sky!


“you’re under arrest” (1994 japan; 2004 usa)


“me in the backyard again”

post 390 ~ yup, under a restful sky!… get it? under a rest?… ah, forget it… ;)

  • you’re under arrest ~ after watching previews of this anime months ago and then more recently, i finally decided several weeks ago to download and watch it for myself… and after watching the first 34 of 52 episodes (just the 1st season, there’s a 2nd season plus more!), i was surprised how good it is!… even something from the 90s!…

    it’s about two japanese policewomen Miyuki and Natsumi, who have fun catching the bad guys, getting into trouble with each other, and enjoying their friends and vehicles, hehe… i’m already attached to these characters… this is what i’m aiming for in my own fiction!

    so if you like keichi’s love of motorized vehicles and the playful humor from the “oh my goddess!” and “ah my goddess!” manga/anime, this is the same creator/writer Kosuke Fujishima!… highly recommended 5 of 5 stars!… yup, i finally had to say it!!!

    in fact, i like YUA so much, i’ve downloaded season 2, the original manga, the artbook, and the original soundtracks!… and i’m still downloading the live-action series that followed, as well as the anime movie!… just by the quantity and quality of material, i can sense how popular these were, and still are, in japan!

  • random photos ~ also took a few photos to update my site or journals or something… or maybe just to have them… or maybe i felt good today after accidentally finding a solution to opening a corrupted Word DOC, and then completing that high-priority project in a couple hours… who knows? ;)