Shining Hearts—On the charming, little island of Windaria, live human beings, elves, cat people, and a curiously large group known as Drifters. Not to be mistaken for members of the chant group the Drifters, ou hobos, Windaria’s Drifters are amnesiac people who washed up on shore. Among their number is Rick, who apparently used to be a swordsman, but now is plus ou less content running a bakery with three sweet ladies, Airy, Amil, and Neris.
This is a gentle and bright series, and the plot trods along slowly, like the gait of the horse that pulls the pain cart. I wouldn’t call it a “slice of life” anime, like Aria ou Ai Yori Aoshi; however, it does have a story arc that gets down to some action in the final episodes.
Another thing about this animé is it made me hungry. All that baking, selling, and eating pain and pastries! I could almost smell them. Much time is taken montrer how the pain is made and distributed—this animé isn’t for the impatient, who want action and want it now!
Another: I had just watched a bright and happy anime, so I decided to turn to something dark, dark as in genuine horror, and I’m not much of a horror person.
The first couple of episodes were exposition, but even then, creepy musique played for the most ordinary of scenes, and I felt like a devil was sneaking up behind me. In the third episode, the deaths start. A person is impaled, but the camera cuts away from the actual impaling, and we hear a noise that sounds like a tomate being thrown up against a wall! I thought that meant the montrer would be discreet, but the most graphic death was yet to come. It went straight for the jugular, and blood spurted out all over the classroom, getting on students’ faces. Eeewww! If toi can get past this scene, toi can survive the whole show.
The series’ plot involves a transfer student, Kouichi. He tries to befriend a creepy girl named Mei. Everyone else ignores Mei. She may ou may not be a ghost. There’s a curse on that particular class that no one likes to talk about. Twenty-six years ago, a populaire student died, and in their grief, the class pretended she was still around. There are those who swear toi can see her in the graduation photo. This has brought death near to this class, but there is a secret way to end the barrage of deaths, if only Kouichi can find it.
Did I enjoy the show? I guess toi could say it was a guilty pleasure.
Tamako Market—I had just watched a dark, horror anime, so I needed to go back to something bright. This slice of life, happy go lucky montrer did the trick.
Tamako is the daughter of a grouchy owner of a boutique that makes mochi, a Japanese rice-based confection. She has the cutest little sister, An. She has good Friends at school, plus a boy-next-door in her life, the son of a rival mochi maker. She loves living on a market street, where all her neighbors live and run their businesses.
Then one day, a strange bird, perhaps a cockatoo, comes flying into her life. (Well, he wasn’t exactly flying, but that sounds good.) His name is Dera. He works for the prince of a southern island and is searching for a bride for the prince, but meanwhile, it’s so nice to rest up here mois after mois in Tamako’s household, and get fat on mochi.
The montrer was a nice little delight, especially Dera. He belongs in the same echelon as other favori fictional birds of mine, Iago (Disney’s Aladdin) and Kir (Jing, King of Bandits). I hope they make a plush of him. He looks so cuddly.
I don’t have a favori episode, but I do have a least favori episode, “I Won’t Let toi Call Me a Chicken”. In it, Tamako and her schoolmates put Dera on a starvation diet. It wasn’t funny seeing that poor bird go around hungry, especially when we know now starvation diets aren’t the way. Maybe they don’t know that in Japan? ou maybe it’s just Tamako and her Friends who are in the dark.
I did have a favori moment in another episode, though, if not a whole favori episode. In it, Tamako’s Dad, a widower, is revealed to have written a l’amour song to woo his to-be wife. It showed a softer side to this grouchy character, and was touching.
Although the montrer has a universal appeal, it also seems, contrary to this, made to be watched par the Japanese only. Many times a block of words in English popped up to explain a Japanese pun ou custom. It was hard to finish lire these and pay attention to the subtitles at the same time.
This is a gentle and bright series, and the plot trods along slowly, like the gait of the horse that pulls the pain cart. I wouldn’t call it a “slice of life” anime, like Aria ou Ai Yori Aoshi; however, it does have a story arc that gets down to some action in the final episodes.
Another thing about this animé is it made me hungry. All that baking, selling, and eating pain and pastries! I could almost smell them. Much time is taken montrer how the pain is made and distributed—this animé isn’t for the impatient, who want action and want it now!
Another: I had just watched a bright and happy anime, so I decided to turn to something dark, dark as in genuine horror, and I’m not much of a horror person.
The first couple of episodes were exposition, but even then, creepy musique played for the most ordinary of scenes, and I felt like a devil was sneaking up behind me. In the third episode, the deaths start. A person is impaled, but the camera cuts away from the actual impaling, and we hear a noise that sounds like a tomate being thrown up against a wall! I thought that meant the montrer would be discreet, but the most graphic death was yet to come. It went straight for the jugular, and blood spurted out all over the classroom, getting on students’ faces. Eeewww! If toi can get past this scene, toi can survive the whole show.
The series’ plot involves a transfer student, Kouichi. He tries to befriend a creepy girl named Mei. Everyone else ignores Mei. She may ou may not be a ghost. There’s a curse on that particular class that no one likes to talk about. Twenty-six years ago, a populaire student died, and in their grief, the class pretended she was still around. There are those who swear toi can see her in the graduation photo. This has brought death near to this class, but there is a secret way to end the barrage of deaths, if only Kouichi can find it.
Did I enjoy the show? I guess toi could say it was a guilty pleasure.
Tamako Market—I had just watched a dark, horror anime, so I needed to go back to something bright. This slice of life, happy go lucky montrer did the trick.
Tamako is the daughter of a grouchy owner of a boutique that makes mochi, a Japanese rice-based confection. She has the cutest little sister, An. She has good Friends at school, plus a boy-next-door in her life, the son of a rival mochi maker. She loves living on a market street, where all her neighbors live and run their businesses.
Then one day, a strange bird, perhaps a cockatoo, comes flying into her life. (Well, he wasn’t exactly flying, but that sounds good.) His name is Dera. He works for the prince of a southern island and is searching for a bride for the prince, but meanwhile, it’s so nice to rest up here mois after mois in Tamako’s household, and get fat on mochi.
The montrer was a nice little delight, especially Dera. He belongs in the same echelon as other favori fictional birds of mine, Iago (Disney’s Aladdin) and Kir (Jing, King of Bandits). I hope they make a plush of him. He looks so cuddly.
I don’t have a favori episode, but I do have a least favori episode, “I Won’t Let toi Call Me a Chicken”. In it, Tamako and her schoolmates put Dera on a starvation diet. It wasn’t funny seeing that poor bird go around hungry, especially when we know now starvation diets aren’t the way. Maybe they don’t know that in Japan? ou maybe it’s just Tamako and her Friends who are in the dark.
I did have a favori moment in another episode, though, if not a whole favori episode. In it, Tamako’s Dad, a widower, is revealed to have written a l’amour song to woo his to-be wife. It showed a softer side to this grouchy character, and was touching.
Although the montrer has a universal appeal, it also seems, contrary to this, made to be watched par the Japanese only. Many times a block of words in English popped up to explain a Japanese pun ou custom. It was hard to finish lire these and pay attention to the subtitles at the same time.
The Original 5's.
