From pleasant surprises to bitter disappointments..

I have recently gotten back in touch with my otaku self after finally giving in to the powers of crunchyroll.  Sure I had been following the latest episodes of Naruto Shippuuden and One Piece, but then watching an episode or two of shonen anime every other week hardly makes me an otaku.  (Side note: I wonder what the English subbers are doing? Spanish subbers seem to always beat them in releasing episodes.. Is it easier to translate Japanese to Spanish than English?)

Anyways, I have picked up three anime series over the weekend I will start off with some good news.  During my first venture into the crunchy world using my sister’s account, I couldn’t make heads or tails of the damned sight and ended up picking whatever was on the recent popular media thingy.  The first anime featured there was Antique Bakery.

I hesitated for a while because I didn’t like the art style I saw in the thumbnail. But then, since I had no idea what to watch, I decided to go for it anyway. I’m glad I did. I watched it until 4am and couldn’t stop laughing out loud even though my siblings were already asleep. This is how shounen ai should be: daring and ridiculously funny! I’m tired of emo bishies chasing each other, naked or otherwise.

Following my luck, I went on to watch Bartender, which was on the related anime list of Antique  Bakery. I assumed it was also shounen ai since they were supposed to be RELATED. I was only slightly diappointed when I saw that it wasn’t shounen ai at all (NOT shounen ai at all, people. But I’m sure fangirls would find shounen ai in any anime as long as there are at least two biologically male characters in it, anyway). Regardless of the lack of gay charm, Bartender was mesmerizing. It’s the most episodic anime I’ve ever seen in my life, yet I don’t really mind at all. It’s not as striking as Antique Bakery but nevertheless a good find.  Whoever directed it is a genius~!

Lastly, having run out of ideas, I decided to watch something I’d seen a lot of people recommend: Nabari no Ou. That was a mistake. I was hoping the adoring masses would lead me to something like Naruto or One Piece, or Prince of Tennis or any other mainstream anime which I would enjoy watching despite it’s sellout nature. Weeellll… The adoring masses sure outdid themselves in picking this one. In itself, Nabari no Ou is a sound anime. Plot, characters, development, are all good. BUT, if you’ve seen Naruto, One Piece, Bleach, Prince of Tennis, Air Gear, and Gravitation before, the damned series is one long deja vu ride… Seriously, can you name a character from Nabari no Ou which you’ve never “seen” before? Even the plot points are cliche. It’s like the ultimate alternate universe crossover written by someone who has seen too many shonen anime and decided he wanted his own one. I’m utterly disappointed…