Timeless Dreams Anime Blog

Behold: The cornyness of Fushigi Yuugi. It is so corny that it’s laughable.^^ I have never seen something that could be this bad.
Some may call me insane for watching this. True, I can’t deny that I didn’t call me that either at some points of this anime. I know I dislike romance anime. No, dislike is a small word. I hate it. Why would I watch this? The answer is simple: Because it’s so stupid it becomes funny and I just want to critisize the hell out of it. It’s an ancient anime, produced in the year of 1997, one of the first great anime. And you can describe this anime with two words:
1) Shoujo!
2) Soapopera. 
Yes. It is really stupid. When you combine shoujo with soapopera, of course something stupid like a girl who falls in love with a guy and a lot of problems and bla bla bla.. you know it.
Also reminded Fushigi Yuugi me of Excel Saga. And that may be possible, because Excel Saga makes fun of a lot of anime. We can really see the Fushigi Yuugi reverences in Excel Saga. A lot of sparkles when the atmosphere becomes romantic, a lot of nice soft backgroundcolors, and the same stupidity when it comes to romance. That made Fushigi Yuugi even more fun than it already was.

Anyway! Let the critisize begin. You have here the prototype of a shoujo anime. Really. This bitch manages needing to be saved every episode, at least one time. Sometimes it’s even four times in ONE friggin’ episode. Of course she fell in love with one of her heroes (and she confessed to him only after FOUR friggin’ episodes! Even in a regular shoujo anime, that is really quick. We can’t underestimate the hormones of this bitch, can we?) and she is just whining about him EVERY episode that is really sickmaking or if you want to laugh, laughable. She has an annoying voice, is stupid as a cow, loves to eat, is stupid as a cow, is naive, hasn’t got a clue what’s going on, ruins every plan the other makes up, when she acts on her own she is saved 2 minutes after that (because, she is lost, scared, feels guilty, feels sorry, etc etc), can’t be honest with herself and others and she wants to commit suicide if she does something wrong again (of course, she is saved the moment she jumps in the river..), manages to walk with guys she doesn’t even know and after that she is suprised that she almost gets raped (of course, she is always saved the moment it’s starting to get really serious. And this happesn four episodes after each other that she is almost raped! That can become a bit.. annoying) is supposed to save the world, is supposed to change the hearts of the ones around her and of course: She is only 15 years old. Say ‘hello’ to Miyaka. The cow of this anime.

The side characters are as stupid as ever. We have for example the Tensai kid, but he is just worthless. Despite his tensainess, he has only succeeded in doing a good thing for one time and he even let himself be possesed. If that is a tensai, then there are a lot of miracles that I don’t know of. And that’s the problem with all of the characters! We’ve only seen the cast of four people, and the rest hasn’t got a personality, and is the stereotype of the his part. It’s a bit weird because we have something like 16 characters, and only four are lightened out. And also, when characters die, ten episodes later, they are already forgotten. That was too stupid. The badguys are as corny as ever, because this idiot wants to be a god of himself. How corny can be your reason? He manipulates everyone for it, and everyone buys it.

The plot of Fushigi Yuugi is also a really stupid one. We have the normal schoolgirls, and they are sucked into a book and become priestesses to summon some weird gods. The maincharacter leads a happy live, gets a boyfriend and a lot of friends. The other one doesn’t. She comes in the enemy country of Miaka, and is convinced that she is raped. Because of that, she tries to blame it all on Miyaka and the two of them become enemies. Really nice reasons, though. Yui doesn’t realize that you have to be a virgin to summon a God, so it was a bit weird to see her like that. It can be understandable, but the fact remains that she has lost her sence to think, and forgets that her friend Miyaka crosses the country of the enemy, almost gets killed a couple of times to see her friend again. And still Yui tries to blame Miyaka for what all happened. The real badguy is just a badguy because he is a badguy. He hasn’t real motives except the fact that he of course wants to be a god himself and wants to rule some people. He manipulates and everything what he has done in this anime, is according his plan. This makes the goodguys even more stupid because they come with NO strategy at all (and they even have a tensai kid among them..). In fact, the only one who comes with plans is Miss Brainless herself, and her plans are SO stupid you can’t even imagine.

Fushigi Yuui is so predictable and SO stupid that it becomes laughable. People walk into each other for no reason at all and that happens a lot. You already know what is going to happen, every time as Miyaka needs to get saved, you can count till three and her hero stands before her. 

In the first season they focus on finding all the characters and on the lovey-dovey of Tamahome and Miyaka. But the second season, that was so amazingly.. stupid. The creators tried to kill off every member in the cast, leaving only Miyaka and Yui behind. People die for no reason, families are murdered for no reason at all. But it became laughable, so laughable that I laughed myself through these episodes..^^ The deaths were SO stupid that I couldn’t stop laughing anymore. Especially the death of Nuriko was really stupid, there is NO way that he could die from a wound of his back. Especially because he jumped above his aganonist. After that we get a five minute during song and some screens of Miyaka and Nuriko shopping. That was such an unbelievable horsecrap that you can’t imagine.

I guess that Fushigi Yuugi has tried to get some fans with the character design. There are a lot of bishounen, and a lot of bishoujo’s too. Fushigi Yuugi focussed too much on the design of the characters, then on the personality of the characters. They don’t have a personality at all, and when they do have one, it’s just an stereotype and a plain character. It’s a real shame, because the creators could have done much more out of this concept, but they didn’t because they had to focus on the lovey-dovey of Miyaka and Tamahome.
Further the creators have tried to make it a comedy as well. But the humor repeats itself a numberous times, in which the humor became too forced and corny so it does no longer become any funny. The jokes are corny, and there is no originality in it.

At last, the music. Ooh the horrible music! The same tune is used in all the episodes, and that can be a real annoyance. The music is horrible, the tunes are just weird, don’t fit the atmosphere of the anime, is used a lot of times for no reason at all. The cliffhangers are also really annoying because the creators decided that every episode should end with a cliffhanger. Sometimes the cliffhangers are so stupid that I couldn’t stop laughing.

I don’t recommend Fushigi Yuugi, except those who love to watch stupid anime (remember Wolfs Rain^^). I could critizise this anime much and much more, but I guess I already made my point in this.  For the other ones: Don’t. Really. Only if you want to watch some ridiculious anime, you might like it. But this anime is so stupid, that I can’t believe that it has so much fans running along with them. Don’t watch this anime if you have just started to watch anime. It might give you a wrong image how anime is. Really. Don’t.
Ratings: 30/100

Once again a dissapointing episode. This will be the final arc of the Black Lagoon anime and they are going to Japan. At least, Levi and Rock go to Japan. Dutch and Benny are left behind. It’s a real shame because those guys are also the guys that made Black Lagoon shine in the first season. But now the creators have decided to focus on putting Rock and Levi in all kinds of situations. Their actions become forced. And it is annoying. And the other really, really dissapointing thing of this episode was the Engrish. Oh that was so painful. The creators realised that Levi can only speak English and Chinese, but she can’t speak Japanese. Balalaika can speak English and Russian. Not Japanese. But all the characters have been speaking Japanese since the beginning. Now Rock, Levi and Balalaika in a surrounding that only speaks Japanese and not English, the creators were forced to Levi and Balalaika to only speak English. But it doesn’t relaly work but they switch to Japanese all the times when the sentence became too difficult for the voice actors. They sounded HORRIBLE. It was so annoying that I even didn’t try to understand what they were saying. It’s a real shame because this episode was going to be a episode to build up the tension towards the crazy gunfight that is going to happen. But because the Engrish, it wasn’t believable anymore.

Further. Ah well it was a bit boring. Rock has accepted a translate job from Balalaika who is making some deals with the yakuza, the Japanese maffia. Levi came along because she was worried about him and they talked a bit. Finally the feathers appeared in the anime that are in the OP, and it showed the first time that Levi had killed someone. They talked about the parents of Rock and that he would have make a visit to them because he isn’t arrested yet. There is still time. But Rock well.. he doesn’t want to see them, even when he doesn’t want to show Levi that he doesn’t want to see them. There is going to be a story behind this, but this.. it was dissapointing. Really. Please, make the last episodes better! Onegai!

Ah. Another arc ended. And this ending. It didn’t impress me, in fact it wasn’t original at all and a plain gunfight episode. We’ve got the expected gunfight, and all the enemies are taken care of. First was the ‘yes-it-is-onee-chan’, who was shot down by Eda while Levi distracted her while Eda distracted her before Levi did it. Levi got slightly hurt and that was one enemy down.
Second: ‘the ghost woman’. She was blabbering her introduction, and lost her voice machine and got into a depression. The roof collapsed and she was down too.
Third: Rozon the Wizard. Took too much time with his introduction and was shot by Levi. But he wore a bullet proof vest so he is still alive. Meanwhile a pissed off Dutch arrived because his dock was set into a bonfire, and Benny. Levi, Eda, Rock and Jane got on the boat, took off. A few people jumped on too, but Dutch decided to rock the boat a bit with really nice turns. That’s fourth.
Fifth: The fatty exploded because Levi shot through him.
Sixth: Eda shot the cowboy to hell, not before revealing that she is part of the CIA. That can be very interesting because she is in this city investigating, or on the run. I had to bet on the second part because she wouldn’t be so violent like that if she wasn’t innocent.
The end. Jane and Benny liked each other, Rothon and ‘Yes-it-is-onee-chan’ became a couple too. Happy ending?

What to say about this episode. It was a lot of action. And when I say a lot, I mean a lot. And it was so much action and so much shot downs, that it became a bit too forced. I didn’t really enjoy myself this episode, because it were just gunfights. And you know that Levi and Eda were going to win anyway. Because the strongest of them all got shot down first, I kinda lost my interest in this episode. It was once again, a bit randomn. I liked the last episode better with the evil blackmailing Eda and the episode before that one with the weirdest church ever. Anyway, only six episodes to go.

Okay. Now I’m really convinced: Gintama is art. I’m going to blog it, otherwhise I will regret it one day. If you can make such a .. recap episode, you are really talented. I have never thought that eating nabe would be so interesting. It’s so well done, because original, this would be a recap episode for celebrating Gintama in the third season. So, the characters are going to eat something really delicious and rare: sukiyaki if I remember it correct. It was the plan that one of them would tell the best points of the anime, but one second after that, the characters are already distracted: If one pays no attention to the nabe, the rest will eat it without any mercy. Here you can really see that the characters have such an inpact on the story. Even they know that they have to give a recap episode, they just don’t feel like it and they don’t plan to give a recap episode either.^^

This recap episode turns from a recap episode to a nabe-eating game. The one who can eat the most meat, wins. I’m really suprised they could hold out that act for the whole episode! They are just staring in the pot, and that is the whole episode. Seriously, and make that look interesting? That has got to be art.  This episode focussed on strategy, weird arguments and eehr.. strategy. Shinpachi made a really gamble, to throw his chopsticks away and saying that he didn’t really want to eat. To do so, he forced the others to throw their chopsticks away too. Or something like that. Kagura was meanwhile still angry because they tricked her in apologizing, and Shinpachi and Gin were really in a shock because they didn’t know what to do anymore. In this killing silence, Kagura’s tummy rumbles and the ice is broken.

They all agree that it should be a waste to not eat the sukiyaki. Not that they ‘care’ (in fact: Gin wants to eat the meat and Shinpachi hasn’t eaten meat in six months), but it is a waste to just leave it. And Kagura tummy rumbles, she is hungry. And Gin and Shinpachi just can’t let her not eat because she has to grow! So they have to eat, all. Shinpachi gives Kagura something to eat, and the next problem: who gets something to eat next? Because Shinpachi already refused the sukiyaki, it would be weird for him to get the sukiyaki. The same goes for Gin.

This ice is broken by Katsura and Elizabeth. They had to ‘hide’, and just barge into the window. Katsura said that there was a ’situation out of their control’, and begins with the weirdest food pun lines, and just invites himself to dinner with them. Gin already sees through that plan but it would be rude to tell Katsura. Shinpachi breaks that ice and invites Katsura to dinner because they are all friends in here.

Gin, isn’t really happy (^^) with that because Katsura really has himself invited into dinner, and the situation starts over once again. Who is going to be the Nabe Shogun, the ruler over the pot? Who opens fire first by reaching towards the sukiyaki? Because the one who will open the fire, willl become the Nabe Shogun. And apperantly, everyone wants that.  Would it be Kagura? She is already eating so it would be normal for her to get another part of the pot. But she is still eating, so Gin and Shinpachi don’t have to worry. Would it be Katsura? No. He is a guest and that would be rude to open fire. Elizabeth? That would be unlikely, because Elizabeth can’t hold chopsticks but she/he can fold origami (but I don’t know why^^). So the real threat for Gin is Shinpachi, because he offered food to Kagura. Shinpachi meanwhile is in a shock because he only offered food to Kagura and not to Gin! Meanwhile is Kagura almost finished with her first bowl, and Shinpachi and Gin can’t offer her another bowl because this is her second and she wants to be in control of what she is eating. Shinpachi gambles it all and opens fire. But Gin has seen past that act and removes the pot because he claims that the fire is too low. Shinpachi throws his chopsticks into the pot, but no! Gin has taken them, and on the last moment.. Zura and Elizabeth open fire too. Gin and Shinpachi screwed up. XD. And Kagura sneezed into the pot.
 
Game over. XD Gin, Shinpachi, Katsura and Elizabeth can’t eat anymore of the pot, because it’s grose, and Kagura claims it all. While everyone was still thinking that she was a child and innocent.. She wasn’t. She had planned it all. And she consumes it all.^^ Otase and Catherine barge in, and big shock: What Kagura was eating wasn’t beef. It was Pork! Onooo! Kagura was defeated, by the plan of Shinpachi and Gin. Also Katsura went down, because he couldn’t take the shock that the meat was pork. Two down, still five to go. Round two!

The opponents are ‘one old lady with already one foot in the coffin’, and ‘a middle age woman with one food in the mud’. A man who is almost dying of his injuries (Katsura), and a suspicious alive weird creature. Gin and Shinpachi think that the battle is between themselves, and Shinpachi tries the same move again: offer one food. But it doesn’t work. Shinpachi screwed up, everyone has acces to the pot. but Catherine and Otase open fire. And REALLY open fire! I have never seen people in anime eating with such an intense power and I even count Light Yagamis ’special powers bag of crips opening’. Shinpachi, Gin, Katsura and Elizabeth don’t have a slightest chance of winning.

But! Shinpachi and Gin don’t give up so lightely! The only opponent to win this, is Kagura. And Kagura consumes it all.. Once again.^^ But she prefers pork.

Game over.

This was a fun episode too, but it didn’t reach the goodyness of the last episode, that’s a real shame. It was a bit too much action, which became forced. But that is just a side note, we are not going to complain about that! We have seen more action in Black Lagoon and it can always be funny. We begin this episode with Rock, explaining the dangers of the city. He knows it, but Jane doesn’t. And that has realy put her in a weird situation because she does not know how to save her own life. Remember the last episode? Eda told those weirdoes were Jane was? Eda made a really good plan out of this. She told the guys were Jane was, but not in which room she was. She told them that she was in the room next to hers. Also she had a lot of papers hanging on the ceiling with circuits which way you had to go to save your own life. After that, Rock, Levi and Eda had just to wait until Jane would come and make a deal with her. And how Eda planned everything, so it went, even the gunfight.^^ The Lagoon crew escapes due the gunshots of Eda and Levi and the driving skills of Rock and they are headed to the ocean. The plan was that the Lagoon boat was going to be there and that Jane would be taken into safety.

For the bunch with ‘Yes-it-is-onee-chan’ and all those other weird guys, the things might get a bit complicated. Levi and Eda are so infamous that they demand more payment on the head of Jane otherwhise they don’t do the job.^^

Meanwhile Levi, Rock and Eda and their job are already in the harbor, and they expect the boat to be there, but.. it isn’t. Another job came by and Dutch and Bennie have taken the boat and they expect to return later. With a pissed off Eda they’ll have to wait. And what do you do when you’ll have to wait? Of course. You’ll start drinking.^^ All I’ve seen this past episodes are Eda and Levi drinking and it might be a bit entertainment after a while. Meanwhile Jane is trying to break into her own bankaccount but she can’t enter it. And I think she’ll never be able to enter it again because that buddy of her installed it but that buddy is shot down.

Anyway, you can’t expect different from this situation to get out of control, because the assisants arrive. And a real gunfight is broken lose, (their car is used as a shield and explodes. Levi was really angry about that one because they only just had got it fixed after Roberta messed it up in episode 9.^^) some idiots set the place on fire, Levi and ‘Yes-it-is-onee-chan’ meet once again, and the situation is becoming worse and worse by the second. But you can’t really tell about that one because it’s just a gunfight. Rock and Jane hide on the roof, and the next episode we’ll see more action, and a miracle or something like that and Eda and Levi save themselves and Rock and Jane too.^^ Interesting.

(And I know! It’s a really, really, really late post. But who cares?^^ I’ve already said it a numberous times: I’m really busy. School and stuff like that. Black Lagoon was forced to stay on a hiatus, because I simply had no time at all.)

The second season of Jigoku Shoujo. We all know the concept. A website, can only be accesed at midnight, and when you enter the name of the one you hate, the one you hate will go to the hell. However, when you die, you’ll also fall into the shadows of hell. I was rather happy that this one has a second season. I felt that there were some questions left and I couldn’t get just enough of it.

And yes. The second season is different from the first. First I thought the cases would be more disturbing. But that wasn’t true. Then I thought that the cases would built on the ‘Hell Crew’. We did get more information about the Hell Crew, but not in the end of the anime. It was just to built on the climax and the plottwist. But that was a good point for me, because I was wondering in the first season how the hell crew came by Enma Ai. We get in the second season more information about that, how those persons were when they were still alive (in some cases) and how they met Enma Ai. And I found it great to see. Really.
But talking of Hell Crew characters, this season there is such a small brat. She annoyed the hell out of me in most of the episodes, she isn’t useful and her character isn’t worked out at all. She is just the annoying brat. And she can be funny calling the other members of the Hell Crew ‘baldy’ or ‘grandma’, but this can annoy after a few times. At the last episode I understood a bit why Kikuri was in the anime, but even then it was a vague reason. I think you could call Kikuri the worst point of this anime, because I can’t see the real reason for her to get such a big part.

When the first season focussed on the morals of the hotline to hell and Tsugumi and Hajime, we barely hear of them this season! Only in the last episodes. I can’t say that I didn’t miss them, but well. I can say that this anime has the best ending ever. We see case building. In the beginning, you would see that it was another case, but it kept coming worse and worse. I watched it with a sickening feeling in my head because it was becoming worse and worse with the second. My compliments to that ending, because the feeling that it all ended was even greater after that. After this I think we can consider Jigoku Shoujo as art. It was beautiful made. I was never so happy that it was over. Because I felt so sorry for the character.

Another great point of this anime is that the music even became better! I adored the first soundtrack, I worship the second. The ED is great, the OP is even greater. I loved it and it gave another turn to the anime.

Further, of course. Some of the cases are a bit weird, and not really relevant. But I can’t see for anyone who has seen the first season, shouldn’t check out the second. You won’t be dissapointed.
Ratings: 87/100