kanna-chan's cafe

Hey guys, kanna here. This one is going to be relatively short. Final exams are coming up soon, and I'm not sure if I'll be able to get more Anime Mondays out before my final exams. I'll do my best, but I make no promises.

Let's talk about songs from musical anime. More specifically, my personal Top Ten from UtaPri.

First off, I'd like to start by saying that David Letterman makes this look so easy. Then again, he has a team of writers working for him who go out and survey people. Here at kanna's Cafe, it's all me. I have no one to talk to or bounce things off of. It's not like I can go to someone and say, "Hey, what do you think of this?" and they'll say, "Oh, I think...". No, it's all me. I don't mind, but these Top Ten lists are hard when you don't have anyone to talk to or survey for their opinions. Just saying.

This list is will have an honorable mentions section, and there are some songs that I like that won't be included in the list (just like my last Top Ten list).

Additionally, some of the song titles will be in Japanese. What I'll do is put the Japanese title with the English title in parentheses, as well as the name of the singer or group that sings each song.

Two last things: This list is also based off of what I could find on YouTube and DailyMotion. The songs that I couldn't find but wanted to include will be in the Honorable Mentions section. Lastly, if I couldn't find the full version of a song you wanted, just comment below, and I'll look for it on another site and post the link for the song.

Let's get started!

#10: 七色のコンパス (Seven-Colored Compass) - Maji LOVE 1000% - Tokiya Ichinose


This song is sung by Tokiya Ichinose in Uta no Prince-sama Maji LOVE 1000%. If you want to go by voice actor names, Tokiya's voice actor is Mamoru Miyano. This song was featured in episodes 1 and 7.

Why #10: I LOVE Mamoru Miyano. I'm a huge fan of his. But this song...just isn't one of my favorites from this season of UtaPri. Don't get me wrong, it sounds great (nothing less from Mamoru Miyano). But I feel that this just doesn't measure up to the other songs in the first season of UtaPri.

Speaking of the first season of UtaPri...

#9: マジLOVE1000% (Maji Love 1000%) - Maji LOVE 1000% - STARISH
Note: I'm pretty sure Maji means "serious" or "real," but I'm not 1000% (tee hee...1000%...and it's the name of the series...okay, bad joke) sure.


This song is sung by all the members of STARISH from the first season of UtaPri. In other words, this version was sung without Cecil, who (spoiler) doesn't join STARISH until the second season of the anime. We have Natsuki Shinomiya (Kishou Taniyama), Tokiya Ichinose (Mamoru Miyano), Ren Jinguji (Junichi Suwabe), Otoya Ittoki (Takuma Terashima), Syo Kurusu (Hiro Shimono) and Masato Hijirikawa (Kenichi Suzumura). I would have included the Rainbow version, which has all seven members, but that one sounds pretty much the same. The only difference is that Cecil is the one who introduces the song. Yeah. He only gets ONE LINE in the entire song. I understand why, but they couldn't have adapted the lyrics? Really?

Why #9: I wanted to put this higher on the list. Really, I did. But when you compare this to the songs from the other seasons that came out, I just felt that this song wasn't as good as the others. Not only that, but I feel that the lyrics are a little...lazy? I mean, each character literally names their character song in this song in the second half. It's like the writers couldn't think of anything and said, "Hey, let's just have them name their character songs. It doesn't matter how it fits in; we'll make it work!".

#8: マジLOVEレボリューションズ (Maji LOVE Revolutions) - Maji LOVE Revolutions - STARISH

#5: Original Resonance - Maji LOVE Revolutions - Masato Hijirikawa and Tokiya Ichinose

Sorry for the lack of video, guys. Blame YouTube.

#3: HE★VENS GATE - Maji LOVE 2000% - HEAVENS (as a 3-member group)


As you probably guessed, this isn't the full song. And, as you probably guessed again, I couldn't have this list all be songs by the members of STARISH. This song is sung by HE★VENS before they became a seven member group.

Why #3: THIS SONG IS FREAKING EXPLOSIVE. I don't think I can stress that enough. It's a kinda-sorta-rock-ish song that just leaves you breathless by the end. The voice actors are perfect (again, who knew Daisuke Ono could sing?) and the lyrics have great meaning. This is better than the seven-member version (in my opinion). But there are two songs that top this one.

#2: ポワゾンKISS (Poison KISS) Uta no Prince-sama Maji LOVE 2000% - Quartet Night

Hey guys, kanna here. Well, after going through the excitement of episodes 39-43 of Pokémon XY&Z, it's time we wrapped up the series with episodes 44-47.

Not much really happens in episode 44, except for everyone rebuilding Lumiose City. Clemont fixes Clembot, but its memories are gone because he kinda-sorta died (see previous post). A challenger comes in, wanting to challenge the Lumiose City Gym and won't battle anyone but Clembot for a rematch. Despite the fact that Clembot needs assistance with battles, the challenge takes place and the challenger gets his Gym Badge. Yay...? This was basically a filler episode, I think.

The next episode is a Serena focused episode. If you remember the beginning of the series, Serena went on her journey because she didn't want to become a Rhyhorn racer like her mom, and decided to become a Pokémon Performer. To cheer up the citizens of Lumiose City, she decides to put on a showcase with her friend and rival, Shauna. Jessie, in disguise, also joins in the showcase.

After the showcase, Serena has thoughts about her path going forward and she doesn't know what to do. Her mom arrives in Lumiose City, and Serena spends the night at the hotel with her mom as she thinks about what she wants to do going forward. Her mom decided not to keep her at home to be a Rhyhorn racer, so Serena wasn't sure what she wanted to do going forward.

The day after, Serena's mom leaves. We then find out the paths that Shauna, Trevor, Tierno, and Sawyer have chosen, before Ash suggests to Serena that they have a battle: Pikachu vs. Braixen. During the battle, Serena comes to a decision. She calls Palermo, Kalos Queen Aria's manager (?), who had previously offered to take Serena under her wing and mentor her so she could become Kalos Queen.

Serena declines the offer and reveals to Palermo that she wants to go places other than the Kalos region and thinks that she would behave like a spoiled child if she went with Palermo. Palermo reveals that this was her intention and that Serena was the first person to turn down her invitation. Serena reveals that she has no destination in mind at the moment, but then Palermo suggests that she go to the Hoenn region, where they have Pokémon Contests, and show her Pokémon off there.

Serena reveals her plan to Ash and co., who wish her the best.

The next episode is definitely on the more emotional side of things.

Ash releases Numelgon--I mean Goodra--back to its home, the wetlands. It's a pretty emotional goodbye. Even little Dedenne is in tears over it. It really kind of sucks that they had to release Goodra, but I understand why they did it.

After leaving the wetlands, Greninja jumps out of its pokéball and suddenly, a vine...ivy...thing from when the mind controlled Zygarde attacked Lumiose City comes up from underground. Greninja manages to destroy it by becoming Ash-Greninja, but we then find out why the vines are still coming up. One of Team Flare's members, Xerosic (I have no idea what his name is in the English dub, but this is how the subs refer to him, so we're going with it), wants to revive Team Flare and re-obtain Zygarde's power to get the world Lysandre wanted. He kidnapped a few Zygarde cells, as well.

Clemont gets kidnapped and Ash has Greninja follow the van...truck...thing that has Clemont. Xerosic reveals his sinister plan: he wants to reform Team Flare by brainwashing humans, and Clemont will be his first "member." Clemont gives up and asks to wipe his glasses as a last request. This is granted.

Cut back to Serena, Ash, and Bonnie. Ash continues to see through Greninja's eyes what's going on, and it's basically a game of cat and mouse, until they finally manage to catch up with the truck...van...thing that can apparently fly and turn invisible. Greninja manages to get them on board, and they climb inside the thing.

They see Clemont, but Xerosic is there, as well. He orders Clemont to go after Ash and the others, before Clemont reveals that Xerosic's plan was a failure. When Clemont went to wipe his glasses, he attached a device that...you know what? It's basically techno-babble from here, so I'm just going to move on. Point is, Xerosic's plan didn't work.

Ash and Clemont battle against Xerosic, who loses in the end. He then decides to (I'm not kidding here), jump out of the plane without a parachute. But Clemont manages to catch him with the Aipom Arm (one of his inventions) and Xerosic is later arrested by Officer Jenny. All seems well and good, until another vine comes out of nowhere and is about to attack Bonnie. A green light slices through the object, cutting it in two. The smoke clears, and...it's Squishy!

Bonnie hugs Squishy, but now isn't the time for a happy reunion, as Squishy asks Greninja to come with it. Greninja follows Squishy, and Greninja is followed by Ash and co., where they see Zygarde in its 50% forme. Zygarde and Squishy use telepathy to explain that the vines...ivies...whatever that were coming up throughout Kalos originated from negative energy deep within the land. What Zygarde destroyed was only the surface.

However, the wound from the incident with Team Flare caused was deep, and Squishy and Zygarde's 50% forme have been wiping out the vines scattered throughout Kalos one by one. You'd think this is easy, right?

You'd be wrong. Very wrong indeed. Pinpointing the location of the negative energy is a difficult task, even for Zygarde, but for whatever reason, Gekkouga--I mean Greninja--is able to see the negative energy. Zygarde asks for Greninja's help, but everyone realizes that this means they'd have to say goodbye to Greninja.

Ash asks Greninja what it wants to do, but it's unspoken that Greninja wants to help Zygarde. They can't have another incident like the one Team Flare caused happen again. After some sentimental stuff about how their meeting might have been fate, Ash wonders if it all led up to this moment in time.

In the end, Greninja decides to go with Zygarde, and the two share a pretty emotional goodbye. I mean it. They hug and everything. It's not as sad as when Ash released Charizard to the Charicific Valley, but it's still pretty emotional.

Squishy tells Bonnie it might be a while before they see each other again, but Bonnie understands and says that when she becomes a Pokémon Trainer, she'll find Squishy and they'll go on another adventure together. Everyone says goodbye to Gekkouga--I mean Greninja--and we go on to the next (and final) episode.

In the last episode of the series, this is the one where everyone goes their separate ways. Serena is off to Hoenn to participate in Pokémon Contests, Clemont is going to stay in Kalos with Bonnie, and Ash is heading back to the Kanto region. The only one who hasn't quite come to terms with all these goodbyes is Dedenne, as it's still a young Pokémon.

When everyone gets to the airport, all the Pokémon say goodbye to each other, but Dedenne throws a fit and runs away. Bonnie explains that she feels the same way as Dedenne, but understands that everyone has their own dreams they want to follow and tells Dedenne that her dream is to become a Pokémon Trainer, with Dedenne as her partner. Dedenne jumps out of hiding and right into Bonnie's arms.

All right, so after that, it's time for Serena's flight to Hoenn. Everyone says their goodbyes to her, but Serena has one last request from Ash. She goes up the escalator that's going down, and (I'm not kidding here) kisses Ash.

Okay, to be fair, that was more implied if anything. But if you saw the looks on Clemont and Bonnie's faces afterwards, then you could be pretty sure that they kissed.

Serena then heads off to her flight, and everyone says their goodbyes. It seems as if Ash has a lot of time, since his flight isn't until the evening. So Clemont suggests they have a battle: Bunnelby vs. Pikachu. And...that's kind of where it ends.

We get this little montage of flashbacks and what the characters are doing currently (including Goodra and Greninja), before Ash finally arrives in his hometown.

Thoughts: I WAS NOT READY FOR THIS SERIES TO END.

Seriously. It was that good. The animation was great, the writing was excellent...I feel like I could go on and on about how amazing this series was. Both XY and XY&Z were fantastic. When the final episode aired and I saw it (granted, it hasn't aired in the US yet, so I saw it with English subtitles), I was almost in tears because I wasn't ready for it to end.

There were so many twists and turns. I didn't expect for Ash to release Greninja, let alone for the idea to even come up. This series was emotional, and you could connect with each of the characters on an emotional level.

Well, see you guys next time! ~k

Hey guys, kanna here. Well, now that this season of Pokémon has concluded, it's time for me to give it what it deserves. Let's get started!


I'll be talking about the tail end of the series (episodes 39-47). Because this is so many episodes, I'm making this two parts. So this post will cover episodes 39-43, and the next will cover 44-47. Not that the rest of the series isn't important, but I feel that these last few episodes were the highlight of this season of Pokémon. Additionally, I'll be using the names of the characters and Pokémon that are used in the English dub and the games. I feel it will make things less confusing. However, if I slip up, I slip up. I'll correct it.

So, after a long and intense battle against Alain in the final round of the Pokémon League, Ash lost (again). I have to ask: is it statistically impossible for this kid to win a Pokémon League? It seems like there's some mathematical formula the writers are following to make it so that he loses every single time. I just...ugh! Writers, sometimes you make no sense.

Anyway, after a long battle against Alain, these vines...ivies...whatever come out of nowhere and start destroying everything in sight. A Zygarde in its 50% forme

Zygarde 50% forme

created by merging Z-2 (one of the sentient cells to form Zygarde) along with other Zygarde cells

Zygarde Cell

Zygarde Core (this is Squishy)

wreaks havoc on Lumiose City as it's controlled by Team Flare. Squishy (aka Z-1) merges with other Zygarde cells to form Zygarde's 10% forme (I don't know why the spelling is the way it is), which takes the form of a large dog for some reason (don't ask; I don't get it, either. Also, sorry I can't put a picture...stupid Blogger).

Meanwhile, Ash gets kidnapped by Team Flare and he and Alain find out that Alain was being used by Team Flare's boss, Lysandre, the entire time. Lysandre tries to use the same energy that controlled Z-2 (aka Mega Evolution energy) to control the power of the Bond Phenomenon between Ash and Gekkouga--I mean Greninja (told you there would be slip ups). However, he fails in this, and Ash is set free thanks to the Bond Phenomenon between him and Gek--I mean Greninja. This is REALLY hard.

Ash and co. find out that Puni-chan--I mean Squishy...G-d this is hard--is actually Zygarde. Alain decides to join forces with Ash and fight Lysandre. However, just when things seem to be taking a turn for the worst, Malva (I might have her name wrong, but that's how I think it's spelled; in the Japanese version, it's Pachira), a member of Team Flare, turns against Lysandre. She didn't realize that he wanted to destroy the world, and wants to put her faith in Ash and Alain. So the fight becomes three on one.

Cut to Serena, Bonnie, and Clemont. They're fighting off Team Flare admins to regain control over the Lumiose Gym, when they're joined by Prof. Sycamore, Blaziken Mask, and Mega Blaziken. Bonnie goes after Squishy, because she can "sense" (I'm using that super loosely) Squishy is losing. Clemont leaves to go and take back his gym with Clembot, and the two manage to take the gym back, but not without great sacrifice.

Yep, Clembot sacrifices himself to destroy the machine controlling Z-2. While I'm sure there are a million other ways this could have been done, it was actually pretty sad for Clemont to sacrifice his invention. The two actually share a pretty emotional moment before Clemont is forced to push the button that will ultimately destroy Clembot.

Squishy tries to communicate with the mind-controlled Z-2, but Z-2 can't hear anything because of the mind control. Eventually, Squishy ends up transforming into Zygarde's 50% form, which looks like the Zygarde we all know and love. This is exactly what Team Flare wants. They brainwash Squishy, and both Z-2 and Squishy start wreaking havoc on Lumiose City.

Serena, Mairin, and Prof. Sycamore infiltrate the Team Flare Laboratory with the help of the Hoenn League Champion, Steven Stone and Team Rocket. They rescue Mairin's Harimaron--I mean Chespin--who is still asleep and glowing green. Well, that can't be a good thing.

Cut back to Bonnie, who has gone after the mind-controlled Squishy with Mega Blaziken and Blaziken Mask. Upon finding Squishy, she shouts at it and says stuff like "You don't really want to do these things, do you?"

Unfortunately, this doesn't work and Bonnie is nearly killed by an attack from Squishy, until she is saved by Blaziken Mask. She continues to try to reach Squishy, but ends up falling to her hands and knees in tears. In one last attempt, she sings Squishy's song, and through the power of love, is able to break Squishy's mind-control. I couldn't make that up if I tried.

OK, maybe it wasn't the power of love. But that's what I'm going with, because...I have no other explanation. They don't share a Bond Phenomenon like Ash and Greninja do, so I'm going with the whole "power of love" thing (as cheesy as it is).

For the record, it's probably going to be better in the original Japanese than the English dub. The English dub of episodes 42-47 haven't aired in the US yet.

Ash, Malva, and Alain defeat Lysandre, who says that this won't be the end of his plan, and he (I'm not kidding here) falls off the edge of Prism Tower. I really wonder how they're going to handle this in the English dub. I mean, it's not like they show people falling off of tall buildings to their untimely demise in kids shows. Right?

Um...following that, Ash and Alain go to Clemont at the Lumiose City Gym, as he grieves over the loss of Clembot. He regains his resolve and rejoins the fight. They all board this giant helicopter...thing.

We cut back to Serena, Mairin, Steven Stone, and Prof. Sycamore, who are trying to...I'm not really sure what, but there's this crystal in the room that emits the same energy as Mega Stones during Mega Evolution. Mairin's Chespin gets absorbed by the crystal, and it comes to life. Serena, Mairin, Steven Stone, and Prof. Sycamore manage to escape the laboratory, but the crystal transforms into a giant crystal Zygarde (the English subs from the original Japanese referred to this as a megalith. I'm not sure what they'll do in the English dub).

Meanwhile, Bonnie and Squishy encounter Z-2, who still has hatred towards humans after being mind-controlled and forced to wreak havoc on the city. Squishy urges Z-2 to give the humans a chance, so Z-2 joins Bonnie, Blaziken, and Blaziken Mask as it observes the humans' attempt to defeat Lysandre.

The giant crystal Zygarde starts heading to Anistar City, home of psychic Gym Leader Olympia, who issues a psychic call (don't ask). All hope seems lost until our heroes are reunited with the Kalos League Champion, Diantha, as well as the gym leaders. Everyone makes a pathway for Ash and Alain to get through so they can get inside the crystal Zygarde and get Mairin's Chespin out. They do, and everyone attacks the crystal Zygarde, just to make sure it's down for good.

Unfortunately, this doesn't work, as Lysandre survived the fall (no, I don't get it) and the device he wears around his wrist is what's controlling the crystal Zygarde. It continues to advance and attack, and ultimately knocks our heroes and everyone else to the ground. Blaziken Mask's identity is revealed to be Clemont and Bonnie's father.

Z-2 comes to the realization that there are good humans in the world and it needs to believe in them. So Z-2 and Squishy join together with every Zygarde cell in the world to form Zygarde's 100% forme (sorry for the lack of a picture...apparently Blogger will cooperate with some pictures and not with others). Zygarde defeats Lysandre. Rather, it kills Lysandre (I'm really not sure how they'll do this in the English dub), and Lumiose City is left to rebuild and ultimately start over.

Thoughts: I freaking loved these episodes. I was a little sad because this conflict meant that we were drawing close to the end of the series, and this is arguably one of the best series since the Diamond and Pearl era. I'm sorry, but Black and White sucked. This definitely made up for it. Diamond and Pearl was just okay, Black and White sucked, but XY and XY&Z were ultimately the best since Diamond and Pearl. 

The animation is fantastic, and while it does feel like the "Ash-Greninja Show," we see almost all the Pokémon helping out. The "bond phenomenon" is an interesting concept that had never been done before in Pokémon. While it isn't explained how it differs from Mega Evolution, other than the fact that it doesn't need a Mega Stone or a Key Stone, it's still an interesting concept that I wish the writers had delved a little deeper into.

Overall, these were some of the best episodes in all of XY and XY&Z. See you guys in part 2, where I talk about episodes 44-47.

Hey guys, kanna here. And...

Hey guys, kanna here. And welcome to your second Anime Monday of Halloween Month! I'm still looking for a good name for this, so suggestions are welcome. If nothing clicks, at least let me know (please).

Today's anime that we'll be taking a look at is a little bizarre, but that's to be expected for Halloween. We're looking at supernatural/horror anime this whole month. And this one is a little more on the supernatural side...with a few bits of creepiness thrown in. This is...Parasyte -the maxim-.


One night, worm-like creatures known as parasites (by the way, don't ask about the spelling for this series, I have no idea why it's like that) come to Earth and start taking over the brains of most of the humans. One parasite tries to get into Shinichi's brain by entering through Shinichi's ear.

However, Shinichi is wearing headphones, so the parasite then tries entering by burrowing through Shinichi's right arm. Shinichi feels this, and manages to stop the parasite before it reaches his brain. This results in the parasite taking residence in Shinichi's right hand and both his brain and the parasite's being able to retain their own intellect and personality.

Shinichi has to learn how to coexist with the parasite that now resides in his body and has a mind of its own, so he names it Migi (the Japanese word for right--as in the direction). This causes several problems for Shinichi, however, because other parasites who have managed to successfully take over human brains realize that Shinichi's brain is still intact try to kill him and Migi.

Shinichi eventually feels compelled to fight against these other parasites with the help of Migi (who doesn't feel emotions...pretty much anything, so he just goes along with Shinichi because he doesn't really have a choice).

Much like a superhero with a secret identity, Shinichi has to come up with all kinds of excuses to explain his parasite-fighting. Eventually, he starts to form a somewhat-one-sided bond with Migi as the two fight off the parasites so that Shinichi isn't used as a lab experiment or anything like that.

Rating: um...wow, this one is actually really hard to give a proper rating. I guess I'd have to say 5/10, but that's not really a rating I'm proud of. Help?

Why: First off, it's Madhouse, so most of their anime series are hit or miss. And...while I feel like this was more on the miss side of things, it's not entirely Madhouse's fault.

Sure, the animation could be better in some areas, and the fight scenes are incredibly hard to follow, but most of the fault for why it's more of a miss than a hit lies with the overall storyline, which the anime adapted from the manga.

It's not that it's a bad storyline, it just...isn't executed well. I don't know why; it's a relatively simple storyline. I don't understand how they couldn't properly execute it. I mean, the idea of aliens taking over people's bodies has been used countless times in TV and movies (Invasion of the Body Snatchers, anyone?), so you'd think this would be an easy storyline to execute. But, no. It didn't carry over.

The story can't seem to decide what genre it wants to be: romance, sci-fi, horror...it's too confusing. The character development is all over the place. I just...it's hard to really describe what's wrong with this show, other than I consider it overrated.

I will say this, though. The opening, "Let Me Hear," by Fear, and Loathing in Las Vegas, is pretty awesome. It's their first (and I think only) song that's almost entirely in English, and while their English does need some work, it's an overall good effort, and I applaud them for trying. I didn't think I'd like the song, considering it's a heavy metal song, and I don't really like heavy metal. I don't hate it; it's just not my favorite genre and I'm kind of picky about it. The ending, "It's the Right Time," by Daichi Miura, was just okay. Not good, not bad, just okay.

Overall, if you're into psychological/sci-fi/kinda-sorta-horror thrillers, then this anime is for you. If not, I'd suggest checking out a different anime this month.

Sorry this was on the shorter side of things...I'll try to make my Anime Mondays for this month longer, promise!

Leave suggestions for next week's Anime Monday in the comments! It must be horror/supernatural! ~k

Hey guys, kanna here. And welcome to Halloween-month! Um...ani-ween? Hallo-me? We really need to come up with a better name for this. I mean, the Nostalgia Critic has Nostalgia-ween, and that works, but I can't come up with anything for my Halloween-themed posts. Nothing sounds right. Suggestions? Hm...now that I think about it, nothing really works, so we'll just call this Halloween Anime Mondays (but that spells H.A.M...now I'm overthinking this).

Anyway, I thought I'd start the month off by reviewing something that's more of a comedy, but has monsters in it, so therefore, it counts for Halloween. Say hello to Rosario + Vampire.

So, where to start? Well, Rosario + Vampire originally started out as a manga written and illustrated by Akihisa Ikeda. Inspiration came from the manga series, Kaibutsu-kun (a monster manga series), as well as some works by the the warped mindset of Tim Burton, such as The Nightmare Before Christmas and Edward Scissorhands (not that those aren't great movies, and Tim Burton is a talented director, but some of his movies are a little messed up).

Like I said, this series is a little more on the comedic side of things. So I'll try to make this as funny as possible, but given my sense of humor, I make no promises.

The series revolves around a boy named Tsukune Aono, a middle school student who failed the exams to get into the local high schools. However, there was one school that he could get into, despite his bad grades: Yokai Academy. The twist: Yokai Academy is a school for monsters, and if a human comes into the picture, the penalty is death. So Tsukune has to keep his human identity under wraps.

The first person Tsukune meets is a vampire named Moka Akashiya, and through this meeting, he is convinced to stay. Moka wears a rosary around her neck that she can't remove herself, but if someone took it off, an "honest to goodness vampire" would come out. Tsukune also meets Kurumu Kurono (a succubus), Yukari Sendo (a witch), and Mizore Shirayuki (a snow fairy). They all become friends, and the girls fight over Tsukune.

There isn't really much of a summary to give, as the show is pretty formulaic. So this is going to be one of my shorter reviews, and we'll just skip right to the rating.

Rating: um...4/10

Why: The show is pretty formulaic. We have a monster of the week that has to be fought, so Tsukune takes off Moka's rosary. Tsukune shows his kindness and acceptance of the other monsters, and nothing of major importance really happens until the end of each season.

There is fan service, but it's geared more towards boys, and most girls (excluding the LGBTQ community) would feel pretty uncomfortable seeing all these up-skirt angles and Tsukune being a total pervert.

This series tries to pass off as a romance series, but the romance is actually sexual harassment. Don't believe me? Look at what someone on MyAnimeList had to say about it: Seven Anime That Pass Off Sexual Harassment as Romance. Rosario + Vampire is towards the bottom.

Additionally, there isn't really anything that defines the characters beyond their physical appearance. While they do have their own personality traits, these are all downplayed by all the fan service that the animators want to give the audience. It's really kind of annoying (but that could be just me, because I'm a straight female, and clearly not the target audience).

The few things that give this series its redemption are the different songs used for the opening and ending, which are all sung by Moka's voice actress, Nana Mizuki. The opening for the first season was "Cosmic Love," and the ending theme was "Dancing in the Velvet Moon." For the second season, the opening was "DISCOTHEQUE" and the ending was "Trinity Cross."

So...yeah. One of my shorter reviews, but the others will be longer (I hope).

Hey guys, kanna here. Well, after a lot of thought and talk with my friends, who suggested I review Mushishi and Re:Zero, I decided to do my thoughts on the new Yu-Gi-Oh! movie, The Dark Side of Dimensions. Why? Well, there's two reasons for that.
1. Mushishi and Re:Zero aren't that short, and given it's mid-September and I'm dedicating October to horror/supernatural anime, I needed something short (or another top ten list).

2. October will be here before we know it, and my Halloween posts need to be ready and raring to go. Speaking of Halloween, what are you dressing up as (if you're dressing up at all)? I'm planning on going as a Ghostbuster!

So, here we go!

Hey guys, kanna here. Well, now that I'm all moved into my new dorm (I love it, by the way), I had some time on my hands to watch Mamoru Hosoda's Wolf Children.

Hey guys, kanna here. I know I promised Wolf Children this week, and rest assured, that is coming for the next Anime Monday. However, with me moving into my dorm in just under a week (the time just flies by, doesn't it?), I wanted to get a quick Anime Monday out. So, without further ado...

• Clannad - "Dango Daikazoku" (insert song)
• Clannad After Story - "Small Palms" (insert song)
• Pokemon - "Pokemon Theme" (opening 1), "XY&Z" (opening...who the heck is even counting anymore? Anyway, it's the third opening from the XY series from the original Japanese)
• Yu-Gi-Oh! - "Yu-Gi-Oh Theme" (English opening), "Warriors" (Japanese opening 4)
• Inuyasha - "Dearest" (violin ver.) (ending 3)
• Here's the real version (I just think the violin version is better, but Ayumi Hamasaki -- the singer of the original version -- has a wonderful voice and the original version is good, too)
• Diabolik Lovers - "Mr. Sadistic Night" (opening 1)
• OK, before you all think I'm 100% bonkers for putting this as an honorable mention, be thankful I didn't put it as #1. YES, this anime sucks (teehee, sucks...and it's about vampires...get it? OK, bad joke). YES, the anime is worse than Twilight. HOWEVER, this song is the ONE redeeming quality this anime has. It's dark and addictive. I'm actually listening to it while typing this bit. It's a rock song, which is even better for those of us who love rock (note that rock and metal are two separate genres). Hikaru Midorikawa and Kosuke Toriumi are great singers, and this song proves it. I was actually surprised when I found out that Kosuke Toriumi sang this. Why? Because before I saw Diabolik Lovers, I just finished the most recent season of UtaPri and was used to him singing ballad-y love songs. I get voice actors have a lot of different variety in their roles, but I was still surprised to hear him sing this and actually sound good. Overall, while the anime sucks, this song is still worth a listen.

Yeah, those of you Pokemon fans out there had to know this was coming. It wouldn't be a complete list without it. This is, by far, my absolute favorite insert song (could change over time, but it hasn't yet). It's a beautiful song, the orchestra fits in great, and the ocarina by itself is just wonderful. Just when you think an orchestra wouldn't fit in, it does.

This version of the song is actually BETTER than the original Japanese version. Don't get me wrong, they both sound great. This one just sounds...sadder, but more hopeful at the same time. It's beautiful, perfect, and sets the tone for the end of the movie. A quote from the movie is, "The Guardian shall arise to quell the fighting, but alone its song shall fail," and this definitely sets the mood.

I still get emotional when I hear this song, because Pokemon 2000 is my favorite Pokemon movie, because how much this reminds me of my childhood, and because it's just such a beautiful piece of music that only a genius could compose. If only I knew who this composing genius was...

Anyway, that's my Top Ten Anime Openings, Endings, Inserts, and Background Music! What are some of your favorite openings, endings, inserts, and background music? Leave them in the comments, and get ready for Anime Monday #24: Wolf Children! Bye for now! ~k

Hey guys, kanna here. Because my writer's mind has decided to torture me and keep me in the realm of vampires (oh, joy), we're going to keep the theme going with...Vampire Knight.


You guys are lucky I still have my sanity after Diabolik Lovers. I could barely make it through the first season, let alone start the second. And if the rumors of making a third season are true, then I pray for EVERYONE'S sanity.

A bit of background.

Vampire Knight started out as a manga series by Matsuri Hino. You might recognize her from...actually, that's all you'll recognize her from. Vampire Knight is the manga that she's known for. She's done other work, but none of it is well-known. Kind of sucks for her, don't you think?

Anyway, aside from being known from only one manga, this manga was so popular that an anime adaptation was in the works thanks to Studio Deen, who produced some pretty popular anime, such as Higurashi no Naku Koro ni and Rurouni Kenshin. This anime had two seasons: Vampire Knight and Vampire Knight: Guilty. I'll get to which season was better later and why, but for now, let's talk about the plot of the first season.

The story is set at Cross Academy, a fictional school split up into two divisions: the Day Class and the Night Class. The twist: the Day Class consists entirely of humans, and the Night Class consists entirely of vampires.

Now, I know what you're thinking. "How is this possible?" Well, the headmaster, Kaien Cross, believes that humans and vampires can coexist without vampires feeding on humans. However, the Day Class doesn't know the secret of the Night Class, so the headmaster assigned two "guardians" to keep the secret at Cross Academy.

Our first "guardian" is Yuki Cross, Headmaster Cross's adopted daughter, and the overall protagonist of the anime. Yuki has no memories of her past. In fact, her earliest memory is of a stormy night in winter when she was attacked by a rogue vampire and then saved by Kaname Kuran (more on him later). She later became Headmaster Cross's adopted daughter and became friends with Kaname and eventually developed feelings for him.

Our second "guardian" is Zero Kiryuu, the lone survivor of a vampire attack that killed his entire family. Zero was taken in by Headmaster Cross after being bitten by a pureblood (more on that later) vampire, Shizuka Hio, who also killed his family. Due to the attack, Zero hated vampires and did not trust them. He believed they were all just blood-sucking monsters and did not share the belief that Headmaster Cross and Yuki shared of vampires and humans being able to coexist. He is a childhood friend/brother of Yuki's and it has been shown that he has feelings for her and often gets jealous when Kaname is around.

The first season basically shows the struggles that take place between vampires and humans coexisting, along with the struggle of keeping the Night Class's secret from the Day Class. We also learn a little bit more about vampires and the different "levels," and we get a lot of character development on Zero Kiryuu. It's kind of like a "day in the life of..." season, with a few twists and turns scattered throughout.

The second season shows Yuki trying to discover more about her past and why it was hidden from her. We get a lot of character development on Yuki's end, and learn something really shocking about her towards the end of the season. I'm doing my best to keep this review spoiler-free, but I will explain a few things.

Let's start with the different "levels" of vampires. There are five "levels" of vampires, which vary according to the purity of their blood.

The highest level, or level A, is the pureblood vampires, and there aren't many of them. They're the strongest and most powerful vampires out there, and their blood is known to have many different properties, so it is sought after by weaker vampires.

They have no human blood in their family line, so to reproduce, they often intermarry to reproduce. For those of you who don't know what that means, it means that, for example, a brother will marry his sister so that they can keep the pureblood line pure, without a single trace of human blood. Disgusting, right? What sick mind would come up with this?

Additionally, a human bitten by a pureblood vampire will become a vampire.

Level B is the aristocrat vampires. They're the elite vampires with special abilities beyond normal vampires. They are also very powerful vampires, but are not as powerful as the purebloods, due to the small traces of human blood in their family lines. They also have super strength and speed.

Level C is just the commonplace vampires. They're not really that special and don't really make an appearance in the anime, so we're going to skip over them.

Levels D and E are the lowest levels. They are ex-humans who were bitten by pureblood vampires. While Level D vampires can be tamed by a vampire hunter, Level E stands for Level End, meaning that the end of that vampire's life is near and will be ended by the Hunter's Association.

We talked about Zero and Yuki already, so let's talk about Kaname. Kaname Kuran is a pureblood vampire, and as such, is in charge of the Night Class. He's the one who saved Yuki from the rogue vampire when she was young. He, too, has romantic feelings for Yuki.

So, rating: um...wow, this is tough. Let's just rate by season.

Vampire Knight: 8/10
Vampire Knight: Guilty: 5/10

Why (overall): This anime is actually pretty good, and the first season sets the second season up pretty well. The animation is great, as is the character development. There's comedy throughout thanks to Headmaster Cross, and the romance is actually somewhat believable. Keyword being somewhat. Why? Well, let's get back to what I said about pureblood vampires. It almost feels like their forcing the message of incest being okay (which it might be in some countries, I honestly don't know) down our throats.

As far as the characters go, this is basically the anime version of Twilight (minus the werewolves). Heck, this whole series is basically like this:

Yuki: Bella
Zero: Jacob (minus the werewolf bit)
Kaname: Edward

The only differences are that Yuki is a bigger dimwit than Bella (didn't think that was possible), Kaname is just a big abuser, and Zero isn't a werewolf.

What makes the series interesting is the different "levels" of vampires and the Vampire Hunters that are in the series. But that's all taken away from (and I'm going to spoil it here), the Team Kaname/Team Zero thing. Yuki chooses Team Kaname, decides to become a vampire, and we learn that not only is she a pureblood vampire, but she's Kaname's younger sister.

The music is probably the best part of the entire series. The openings for both seasons are sung by ON/OFF, and the endings for both seasons are sung by cellist and singer Kanon Wakeshima. The music videos for the songs are actually pretty cool to watch, too. I'd definitely check them out. The opening for Vampire Knight is "Two Beats and a Red Sin" (ふたつの鼓動と赤い罪), and the opening for Vampire Knight: Guilty is "Rinnie -Rondo-" (輪廻－ロンド－). The ending for Vampire Knight is "Still Doll," and the ending for Vampire Knight: Guilty is "Sand Castle" (砂のお城).

Well, that's my review of Vampire Knight and Vampire Knight: Guilty. I hope you enjoyed it, and look forward to Anime Monday #23, which will be...I have no idea. I'm considering Akatsuki no Yona, among a couple others, but we shall see.

ALSO: I'm moving into my dorm in a couple of weeks, and that entails a lot of packing. So, naturally, I might have to go on a short hiatus. Sorry!!!