You're So Lucky, Lucky, Lucky....

The one good thing about not having a job is that I have a lot of time on my hands (or maybe thats a bad thing). So when I'm not looking for a job or cleaning the house I spend a majority of my time watching anime. Here are a couple of series that I've been watching:

Paradise Kiss:



Short Summary taken from Animenewsnetwork:

Yukari is a typical high-school student who listens to her parents and attends school everyday. As she starts to question her way of life, she encounters a group of fashion design students who has a clothing label known as "Paradise Kiss". The group needs to find a model to showcase their designs in an up-coming fashion show and decides to pick Yukari instead. Initially, Yukari was reluctant to be associated with this seemingly eccentric group, but eventually, she realises that they are really nice people. Furthermore, their passion and enthusiasm to follow their ideals and dreams make Yukari realise that she has not been enjoying her life and motivate her to pursue her own dreams. The story follows Yukari as she gets involved in the group and eventually falls in love with the leader, George.

My Impression:

This show is awesome! The animation is great and from the six episodes I've been able to watch there doesn't seem to have any drastic changes as far as quality is concerned. And the characters are fun and interesting. But, most importantly the music for the show is awesome. The opening theme "♥Lonely in Gorgeous♥" is by Tommy february6 and despite being a Jpop song I can actually listen to it without wanting to stab my ears out. The ending theme "Do You Want To" is by FRANZ FERDINAND. :) I was extremely happy when I heard the ending theme for the first time (I'm still wondering how they got the rights to this song though). Hopefully it will be licensed soon.

My Rating:

9.5 out of 10- I can't give it a ten out of ten until I've seen the other six episodes but so far it's great.

Noein



Short Summary:

One day during the spring break, Haruka saw a man standing in blue shining snow on the roof of the church. He was Karasu, who came from a world 15 years in the future, known as the “Dimension La'cryma.” Karasu was a Dragon Knight of that country. Actually, he was Haruka’s childhood friend, Yuu -- only he was 15 years older than the Yuu she knew.
In that world, 15 years in the future, a severe war had been waged between Dimension La’cryma and Dimension Shangri-La for 10 years. La’cryma was trying to save the world using the 'high technologies', while Shangri-La was trying to demolish the whole of the dimensions. Before the overwhelming power of Shangri-La, La’cryma was loosing ground with every battle. The only hope to resist Shangri-La is “Dragon Torque”. High command noticed that, so they sent Dragon Knights, including Karasu, to the world 15 years in the past to retrieve the torque.
Meanwhile, Yuu decided to run away from home out of depression, and Haruka came with him, citing a childhood promise to run away together. However, the older Karasu reappeared in front of them with the blue snow. At that moment, Haruka’s neck began to shine and the “Dragon Torque” appeared.

My Impressions:

This show has been one crazy ride. The animation is a little strange but it's refreshing to see some different styles of animation rather than the same cookiecutter styles that we've been seeing. I'm also enjoying the way the show uses time travel and parralel universes it's not really something you see often in anime (or done well for that matter). Some of the themes are a little heavy such as the quantum physics stuff (even simplified it's confusing. And the opening and ending themes are somewhat forgetable.

My Rating:

9.0 out of 10- The show's quirky animation and all the quantum physics jargon might scare some folks off. But if you are willing to look past that it's really a good show.