Happy New Year 2014!

Happy New Year! It’s the first post of the year so here’s an update on what you can expect to see from Otaku Daydreams this year. Since Kyoukai no Kanata and Kyousougiga have ended, the only ongoing anime I have left are Log Horizon and Nagi no Asukara. I’m still debating whether or not I’ll review the individual episodes of Nagi no Asukara, but I’ll definitely do an overall review for it when it’s completed. So, what else will I write about? There’s Fairy Tail which will be returning in April. (I’m so excited!) Also, I’ve checked out synopses of new anime for 2014 and one anime that caught my attention is Noragami.

Noragami 

Yato is a minor deity who lacks even a single shrine. In order to build his own shrine, he scrawls his cell number on the wall of a downtown bathroom telling people he will help them in exchange for a 5-yen offering, becoming a self-styled “delivery god.” Hiyori, the daughter of a respectable family, is almost in a traffic accident, but is rescued by Yato. This causes her to become a “hanyou,” a person who can easily lose her soul. She chases Yato down, and they begin to work together. Yato also finds a boy named Yukine who becomes a “sacred treasure” that can be used by a god. The three of them battle “you” who bring harm to humans as Yato’s hidden history is gradually revealed.

Source: http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/anime.php?id=15585

I think that the plot is interesting and there are many voice actors in this anime that I am familiar with, namely Hiroshi Kamiya (Memphisto from Ao no Exorcist), Yuuki Kaji (Finnian from Kuroshitsuji), Aki Toyosaki (Yui from K-ON!), Daisuke Ono (Sebastian from Kuroshitsuji), Jun Fukuyama (Grell from Kuroshitsuji) and Rie Kugiyama (Happy from Fairy Tail).

I’m not sure how much time I will have for blogging this year once school starts but I’ll try to post as often as I can. Other than anime reviews, I’ll also write about other related things.

Here’s wishing all of you a great year ahead!

Kimi ni Todoke

After a great deal of procrastination, I finally watched and finished Kimi ni Todoke. I now understand why so many people like this anime. In the beginning, I felt that the pace was too slow, so I stopped after a few episodes. But it was just me, since I was more into fast-paced animes at the time. But after taking a break from dark, confusing storylines to watching Kimi ni Todoke, I started to like it.

Kimi ni Todoke is unlike other shoujo animes. The main character, Kuronuma Sawako, stood out among other main shoujo characters. Sawako’s background was interesting, like how she got her nickname “Sadako” when one of her kindergarten classmates accidentally called her that. Since then, all her schoolmates have been calling her that, with rumours spreading that “Sadako” could see ghosts and many more.

The story is about how Sawako’s life changed when she met Kazehaya Shouta on her way to school for the entrance ceremony. Later, they became classmates. To her delight, Sawako made friends but at first she wasn’t sure if it was counted as friendship since she had been alone for a long time. Rumours began to spread about Sawako and her friends. Her friends, Yoshida Chizuru and Yano Ayane misheard a conversation and thought that Sawako didn’t want to be their friend. However, after being encouraged by Kazehaya, Sawako had the courage to confront the people who were spreading rumours. Chizuru and Ayane came up to protect her from the bullies, then their friendship was confirmed.

After that, the story was focused on Sawako and Kazehaya’s feelings towards each other (It’s cute how they keep blushing awww). A new rival named Kurumi arrived, I hated Kurumi when I first saw her since she seemed to be causing a lot of trouble for Sawako (I always support the main characters!) Sawako, on the other hand, always thought that they were friends. My favourite scene of all in Kimi ni Todoke has to be when Kurumi got rejected by Pin, who she didn’t even like in the first place, and the conversation was overheard by Kazehaya (much to Kurumi’s embarrassment when Kazehaya told her he wouldn’t tell anyone). Poor Kurumi. I really pitied her that time. It’s the worst situation you can ever be in.

Chizuru is my favourite character. She’s known for being a delinquent back in her middle school, but she’s not as mean as everyone thought. In fact, she can be a big crybaby at times. The funniest thing about her is how dense she is. As for Ayane, she’s like a big sister to Sawako and Chizuru. She’s the one who understands Sawako and Chizuru’s feelings. They add to the fun and comedy of Kimi ni Todoke.

I think that Sawako and Kazehaya make a cute couple. I’m also looking forward to seeing Chizuru and Ryu get together. They make a very interesting couple!

I’ll start with Season 2 soon. And to those who like sweet, school life romance animes, Kimi ni Todoke is one you shouldn’t miss!

Death Note

Image from http://my-love-is-winter-forever.tumblr.com/post/67210286563

I just finished watching Death Note (yes it’s very late since the anime was aired in 2006). Watching it was an achievement for me as I finished it in 4 days. If I were to describe Death Note in one word it will definitely be: ADDICTIVE. That’s right. It’s the main reason why I could finish watching it so quickly. If you haven’t watched it yet, you should. You’ll definitely get addicted to it too.

My favourite characters are L and Light. In my opinion, Death Note became much more interesting once L got into the picture. Watching L and Light outwitting each other was the best part of Death Note. They truly are geniuses. (spoiler) It really saddened me when they both passed away. I had a feeling that Light might die, but it was horrible when he did. As for L, I never, ever expected him to die. It was so sad that both my favourite characters died! It never happened before! T.T

L, did you know? Death gods… Only eat apples.

My favourite scene in Death Note is when L was trying to find clues from the notes the deceased criminals had left behind. I didn’t expect Light to come up with something so amusing.

Another interesting scene was Matsuda’s escape by pretending to jump off the building. It was funny when Aiber had to pretend he was ‘dead’ Matsuda by lying on the ground. I started laughing when he said “This is the worst role.” XD

On to more serious matters…

My impression of Yagami Light is that he is a genius but he gets bored easily. It was probably the reason he was so curious about the Death Note. At first, he thought that it was all a joke, but once he tried using it, it changed his entire life. Driven by his sense of justice, Light was determined to clear the world from criminals. Everyday, he would write many names of criminals. He felt that it was the only way to make the world peaceful. I feel that Light’s aims are not wrong, but his method of achieving them is wrong. Getting the Death Note made him too ambitious. In the last episode of Death Note, when Light was dying, I felt that he regretted what he did. He thought of his past, where he had a wonderful life. He was intelligent, an outstanding student and a nice family. However, it all changed when he got the Death Note.

The picture of L in the last episode shows one thing, which is justice will prevail in the end. It was the end of Kira.

All in all, Death Note is an exciting and gripping anime. It was really sad when it ended. I cried. And I think that from now on, whenever i see someone writing in a black notebook, the first thing on my mind will be “Kira”.