Random Curiosity

Macademi Wasshoi! - 02

ED: “Pastel” 「パステル」 by Murata Ayumi (村田 あゆみ)
Watch the ED!: Mirror 1, Mirror 2, Show Streaming ▼

After watching the first episode of Macademi Wasshoi! last week, I had pretty much already decided that I wasn’t going to follow the series, but I decided to give it the benefit of the doubt for another episode. With the second episode centered around Professor Frankum Stein giving everyone animal ears with his crazy invention, and a side story about both the Gods and the Demons going after Tanarot though, I can’t really say I’m inclined to see more. To be fair, this series might turn out a lot better than I’m foreseeing, but aside from the cast and my interest in Erneus (Kawasumi Ayako), there isn’t a whole lot else I’m looking forward to. While the introduction of Miyabi (Nabatame Hitomi) and Synclavia the Siren (Kobayashi Yuu) was a nice change of pace, Tanarot’s high-pitched voice and naive child-like antics are slowly getting to me. I should point out that the TV broadcast is continuing to censor most of the ecchi scenes with claymation too, which went uncensored with proper animated scenes in the PVs. With that said, if you like how this series is going so far, I’m by no means trying to discourage anyone from continuing to watch it. For me though, I really need to start cutting down on the number of series I’m following (or else I’ll end up with 30 again), so dropping Macademi was a relatively easy decision to make.

That said, there was an ending sequence this week, so I’ve uploaded it as usual. “Pastel” is performed by Murata Ayumi, who I only know from her small role as Mochida Hinako in Myself; Yourself. She doesn’t appear to be cast in Macademi Wasshoi! though, so it’s kind of weird to see her performing a theme song for the series. As for the song itself, I can’t really say much about it one way or another, so I’ll let everyone decide for themselves.

Kyou no 5 no 2 - 02

Despite the poor feedback Kyou no 5 no 2 received due to its artwork, character designs, and change in cast, I was interested enough to want to see more. Not dwelling on the comparisons between this TV series and the OVA, I still find the jokes here pretty amusing. While the overall production isn’t spectacular, it still keeps me entertained for a good twenty minutes, making it a fun series to unwind with on Sundays. The ecchi-ness picked up a bit this week, causing all sorts of misunderstandings for Ryouta, much to my amusement. Aside from inadvertently walking in on the girls when they were changing, watching him get locked into the Phys. Ed. storage room with a terrified Natsumi was just too funny. After two weeks, I still find Natsumi (Asumi Kana) one of the funnier characters to watch, whether it be her tearful screams, her serious tone, or her adorable “Neee~!”. On another note, I still like the ending song a fair bit, so I was a bit disappointment to find out that barely anyone checked it out. If you haven’t given it a listen yet, it’s here if you’re interested. Going against popular opinion, I think I’m going to continue following this series just for own enjoyment. If you felt you had enough from the OVA though, that’s fair enough. If you haven’t though and are willing to look beyond some screenshots, you might just find a little diamond in the rough.

P.S. This is some serious jailbait.

Skip Beat! - 02

If there’s one series this season that stands out a lot to me seiyuu-wise, Skip Beat is it thanks to Inoue Marina’s portrayal of Mogami Kyouko. Using a voice that she rarely ever does, Marina’s acting here makes me wonder why she’s always wanted to play male characters instead (…something she’s revealed in the past). In any case, it’s quite refreshing to hear her female character voice for a change, which she does an exceptional job with. This week focused on Kyouko’s attempt to get into showbiz after moving out of her apartment with Shou and into Darumaya, where she works in the evenings. Having tormented/stalked Sawara Takenori (Hamada Kenji) of the talent division at Shou’s rival company “LME” for days on end, Kyouko managed to score an audition where she’ll try to impress the panel with her daikon peeling skills. I found things pretty interesting when she ran into the star of LME, Tsuruga Ren (Konishi Katsuyuki), since he discouraged her more than anything else. I had read that things were supposed to get “interesting” between him and Kyouko, so seeing things start off like this was kind of a surprise. However, I enjoy watching how Kyouko perseveres in such situations, so I’m looking forward to seeing how she turns things around. Production-wise, everything still looks good much like the first showing, but I particularly like the comedic scenes where the characters’ faces turn all silly-looking. As things stand now, I find Skip Beat! more interesting than Itazura na Kiss after two episodes (…which only got better later on), so this is definitely one series I plan to keep my eye on.