Update 12/21/14

Guys, can you believe that 2014 is almost over? There are about 11 days left of the year. Or something like that. I can’t believe it either. It feels like just yesterday I was ringing in the New Year with Sasuke.


What are your guys’ plans over the winter break? I am going to be blogging, drawing, filming a podcast, spending Christmas with the family, watching anime with my best friend, and I haven’t decided what I will be doing for New Year’s yet but I certainly have a full schedule.

Let’s get this blog started.

Now Playing

So I have a new playlist that I put together on my computer called "Blog Playlist" and it is full of all the songs that have inspired me to write my blog the last couple of weeks. 


1. "Rising Hope" by LiSA 
2. "Be as One" by w-inds.
3. "Crossing Field" by LiSA
4. "Goyanomachiawase" by Hello Sleepwalkers
5. "Bad End Night" by Hitoshizuku
6. "Crazy Night" by Hitoshizuku
7. "Ignite" by Eir Aoi
8. "Biju Counting Song" by Junko Takeuchi
9. "If" by Nishino Kana
10. "Otakebi" by Kamiji Yusuke
11. "FANTASTIC TUNE" by Kensho Ono
12. "Tokohana" by Nagi Yanagi
13. "SPLASH FREE!" by Style Five
14. "Black Bullet" by Fripside
15. "Spirit Inspiration" by Nothing's Carved in Stone
16. "This game" by Suzuki Konomi
17. "Take Off" by 2pm
18. "MOON PRIDE" by Momoiro Clover Z
19. "Moonlight Densetsu" by Momoiro Clover Z
20. "unravel" by TK from Ling tosite sigure
21. "Kagayaku Sorano Shijimaniwa" by Kalafina
22. "Enamel" by SID
23. "Cantarella" by WhiteFlame
24. "Liar Mask" by Rika Mayama
25. "Skyreach" by Sora Amamiya
26. "Twilight nighT" by Hitoshizuku
27. "STRIKE BACK" by BACK-ON
28. "Guren" by DOES
29. "X-encounter" by Maon Kurosaki
30. "Go!!!" by FLOW
31. "Sign" by FLOW
32. "Senbonzakura" by WhiteFlame
33. "Silhouette" by KANA-BOON
34. "Kimi Ja Nakya Dame Mitai" by Masayoshi Oishi
35. "LOVEST" by SCREEN mode
36. "Ginsen no Kaze" by Suzuki Konomi
37. "Seven Doors" by ZAQ
38. "heavenly blue" by Kalafina
39. "aLIEz" by Sawano Hiroyuki [nZk]:Mizuki
40. "Tsuki Akari" by Sora Amamiya
41. "Konna Sekai, Shiritakunakatta." by Miku Sawai
42. "FLAME" by Dish//
43. "MASAYUME CHASING" by BoA
44. "Tokyo Zero Hearts" by Faylan
45. "Attitude to Life" by Galneryus
46. "grilletto" by GARNiDELiA
47. "True Force" by Hitomi Harada
48. "Blade Dance" by Ni-Sokkususu
49. "Biran no Kaze" by Ryuuki Aoki
50. "Trust in you" by sweet ARMS
51. "Kyuusei Argyros" by Yousei Teikoku
52. "Daia no Hana" by Yoriko

What music do you listen to that gets you in the mood to do things? I know that if I am cooking I am either rocking out to 80's music or dancing to 90's music. However when I am writing it is going to be a lot more like this playlist. But you didn't come here to read about what music I am currently listening to, let's get on with this blog. 

Non-mainstream Anime

Non-mainstream anime. What does this mean? Well, shows that aren’t well known like One Piece, DeathNote, Sword Art Online, Fairy Tail, Naruto, Bleach, etc. that have so much notability with just the mention of the show or the character. (Just on Friday a coworker asked if I was into anime because on the back of my badge I have a picture of a Chibi-Neko version Izaya and he then said he knew shows like One Piece and Pokemon). These are shows in my eyes that could hold their own against those mainstream shows. Do you remember when SAO, Free, and Blue Exorcist were non-mainstream? They took off real quick one day. Especially after getting picked up by North American streaming sites.

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Note: If you see a show you think should be on this list but isn’t, let me know and I can definitely add it to the list. These shows are all shows that I have seen (off the top of my head).

07-Ghost

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11 Eyes
A Dark Rabbit has Seven Lives
Aesthetica of a Rogue Hero
Ai no Kusabi
Akane Iro ni Somaru Saka
Amagami SS
Ano Natsu de Matteru
Astarotte's Toy
Bladedance of Elementalers
Blast of Tempest

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Brave 10
Broken Blade
Demon King Daimao
Diablolik Lovers
Dragon Crisis
Fortune Arterial
Gakuen Heaven
Good Luck! Ninomiya-kun
Haganai
Haganai NEXT
Haiyoru! Nyaruani
Hakkenden: Eight Dogs of the East

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Hakuoki
Hiiro no Kakera
Inugami-san to Nekoyama-san
IS: Infinite Stratos
Jyu-oh-Sei!
Kamigami no Asobi
Karneval
Love, Election, and Chocolate
Magical Warfare
Maid-sama
Maoyuu Maou Yuusha
Monthly Girls' Nozaki-kun
My Little Monster
Myself, Yourself
No. 6
Nogizaka Haruka no Hinitsu
Nura: Rise of the Yokai Clan

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Nyan Koi!
Nyarko-san: Another Crawling Chaos
Onee-chan ga Kita
Oreshura
Orphen
Pandora Hearts
Phantom: ~Requiem for the Phantom~
Princess Lover
Qwaser of Stigmata
Recently My Sister is Unusual
Rumbling Hearts
Sands of Destruction
Say "I Love You" 
Shuffle!
Strange+
Strike the Blood

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Sukisho
Suzuka
Tears to Tiara
The Pilot's Love Song
The World is Still Beautiful
This Ugly Yet Beautiful World
Tokyo Ravens

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Uraboku
Viewfinder
Witchcraft Works
Z/X Ignition

Now, I am not entirely sure if I have hit every show, but these are the ones I could think of. I have watched every one of the shows I have listed here. While they all have a fan base, they aren't quite mainstream enough to be like the big ones. 

What is your favorite non-mainstream show to watch? If I had to choose it would either be Tokyo Ravens, Uraboku, Karneval, Nura, or Hakkenden. 

Black Cat Anime Review

It has been a while since I have done a good anime review. So while we are on the subject of non-mainstream anime, here is a good example of a show that kind of falls in between both non-mainstream and mainstream. Anyway...on with the review!

"I've come to deliver you some bad luck" - Train Heartnet

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This 2006 anime is a personal favorite. A story about twenty-one year old (he is twenty-three in the manga) Train Heartnet who works for Chronos as the elite assassin Black Cat who starts to question how he has lived life up until he met a girl named Saya. 
Funimation's description of the show: 
Sven is your run-of-the-mill sweeper (a.k.a. bounty hunter) – down on his luck, haunted by the perpetual grumbling of his stomach and looking to make enough cash just to get by. When a damsel in distress enlists his aid, Sven crosses paths with the worst possible luck – Black Cat (a.k.a. Train Heartnet). At odds now with the branded assassin, Sven seeks to save a young girl before the unlucky Number can carry out his mission.
But fate has brought these three together for a reason, as Sven adopts two stray pupils – The former Chronos Eraser Train and the young bio-weapon Eve. As these new found companions seek out a new way of life, the past proves unwilling to let them go free. Sought by both the Chronos Numbers and the Taoist revolutionary group risen against them, the Apostles of the Star, their happy ending will require more than just luck…
(Source: http://www.funimation.com/shows/black-cat/home)
The fact that this show can be crazy goofy one minute to completely serious the next makes it stand out on top. Yes the anime takes a turn about halfway through from the manga but somehow it works. Yeah it would have been really cool if they had followed the manga to a T but how often does that happen anymore?

The show is addicting in both Japanese and English. This Funimation show is an extremely captivating series with an extremely captivating cast.

Train Heartnet - Jason Liebrecht
Sven Vollfied - Brandon Potter
Eve - Brina Palencia
Rinslet Walker - Jaime Marchi
Creed Diskenth - Chris Patton
Sephiria Arks - Lydia Mackay
Echidna Parass - Stephanie Young
Saya Minatsuki - Caitlin Glass
Train Heartnet (Young) - Luci Christian
Zagine Axeloake - Christopher Sabat
Torneo Rudman - Grant James
Tim - Colleen Clinkenbeard
Charden Flamberg - Kent Williams 
Kranz Maduke - Victor Walker 
Adam - Alison Viktorin
Baldorlas S. Fanghini - Justin Cook
Belze Rochefort - Mike McFarland 
Durham Glaster - R Bruce Elliott
Elly - Majken Bullard
Emilio Lowe - Orion Pitts
Flitt Morris - Todd Haberkorn 
Gallom - Greg Dulcie 
Jenos Hazard - Troy Baker
Kosuke Kanzaki/Doctor - J Michael Tatum
Lacdoll - Eric Vale
Layla - Kate Oxley 
Leon Elliott - Aaron Dismuke
Lin Shao Lee - Jerry Jewell
Maro - Bradford Jackson
Mason Ordrosso - Randy Tallman
Nalzer Bruckheimer - Daniel Penz
Preta Ghoul - Tallesin Jaffe
River Zastory - John Burgmeier
Shiki - Greg Ayres 
Silphy - Gwendolyn Lau
Tanya - Trina Nishimura
Tearju Lunatique - Brina Palencia
Touma - Sonny Strait
Willzark - R Bruce Elliott
Woodney - Jeremy Inman
Kevin McDougall - Brad Hutson
Kyoko Kirisaki - Monica Rial
Mr. Goda - Chuck Huber
Ash - David Wilson-Brown
Gyanza Rujike - Chris Rager 
Igor Planter - Mark Lancaster
Lib Tyrant - Bob Carter 
Madame Freesia - Linda Young
Race Donovan - Ian Sinclair 
Saki - Carrie Savage
Merie - Jenny Phagan
Gilberth - Mike McFarland
Victor - David Wilson-Brown

(Source: www.behindthevoiceactors.com/tv-shows/Black-Cat/side-by-side)
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My favorite characters are Train and Creed (well Jenos too...but he doesn't matter for this part...). The relationship between these two is something different. I like it...a lot. Creed is OBSESSED with Train to the point that he is willing to kill those around Train to keep him as Black Cat. Train sees Creed as the target of his vengeance. He desires to kill Creed in order to avenge Saya. Plus...it's Jason Liebrecht versus Chris Patton. How awesome is that?   
FUN FACT: When Jason Liebrecht was in a motorcycle accident during the dubbing of D. Gray-Man. Chris Patton took over as Lavi until Jason could return. (This is discussed when Monica Rial, Jason Liebrecht, and Brina Palencia did the commentary on an episode in season two of the show). Another actor who helped out Mr. Liebrecht was Todd Haberkorn who took on the role of the Millennium Earl temporarily. 

This 24 episode anime is definitely worth the watch. 

So you're probably wondering what has happened to my (unhealthy) obsession with discussing music. Patience young grasshopper, I have just saved the best for last. 


This beautiful opening featuring "Daia no Hana" by Yoriko pulls together all the elements of the show and fits it into a minute and a half. 


This first ending is goofy and cat-filled but it tells the brighter, happy side of the story. 


This second ending is sad and emotion-filled while telling the darker, sad side of the story. 

This series overall is a beautiful story and my rating is: 

8.5/10

Character of the Week

This week's character of the week is one that I have been planning on doing since I first started doing Character of the Week. I haven't because I have been holding out on this, but now is the moment. The character I have selected is:

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Jack Vessalius from Pandora Hearts.

Jack is a character who existed over a hundred years prior to the story. He was involved in the main conflict. The thing about Jack is that despite dying he actually still exists within the protagonist Oz Vessalius.

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Originally the third son of the Vessalius family he was a lazy, laid-back young man who liked to make music boxes and play around at his friend Oswald's house. Oswald was a reincarnation of the main antagonist Glen Baskerville and the older brother of a girl of conflict known as Lacie. Lacie was the inspiration for Oswald and Jack's creation, a pocket watch featuring the song "Lacie".

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Jack appears many times throughout the series to Oz and you only find out later why Oz has a serious connection to him.

Jack's voice actor is Daisuke Ono who is best known for his role as the hellish butler Sebastian from Black Butler. Now, I was thinking really hard...who would play him if they ever dubbed this show into English? So I came up with two suggestions. FUNimation voice actor Eric Vale who is best known for his roles as Sanji from One Piece, Yuki Sohma from Fruits Basket, and Loke/Leo from Fairy Tail. VIZ Media voice actor Grant George who is best known (by me) as Rikuo Nura's yokai form. Both actors have voices that would fit for the smooth but powerful character that Jack Vessalius is.

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This is my favorite character from the show and despite his mischievous nature he is an important key to the series.

What character would you like to see in Character of the Week?

So that is it for this week. Well almost. Here enjoy this video that I have been obsessed with as of late.


I found this video a while ago but I love watching it over and over. It reminds me of this video.


Next week I plan on doing a manga review and then talking about presents. I hope you guys have a great holiday season. Merry Christmahanakwanzika! (Do you guys remember when that came out? I laughed and I like to use it all the time.)

Also...

Recommend It!

So I have three series that I am recommending this week over on Kat's Anime Corner's Facebook page. 

First is: Millennium Snow by Bisco Hatori 

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Second is: Laughing Under The Clouds

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Third is: Free! (both Iwatobi Swim Club and Eternal Summer)

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See you next week to those besides whoever reads Bleach and watches Fairy Tail. Until then.

SPOILER SECTION

SPOILERS! - READ AT YOUR OWN RISK - SPOILERS!

Bleach

Ywach is "almighty". Great. Now we have yet another "unbeatable" bad guy. What next? Is Aizen gonna team up with him? Plus...I forgot that I hate Uryu's guts right now. Hasn't Ichigo kicked his ass yet? Tch. This will be figured out eventually. I hope. 

What do you think will happen when Ichigo finally steps on the scene? Do you think Tite Kubo has any other twists up his sleeve? One twist I hope for is Grimmjow's revival and him teaming up with Ichigo (only so he can fight him again). 

Fairy Tail

The Celestial Spirit Arc is still going. So remember when I said Gajeel was turned into a cat? Well there was more than just a cat. Gemini turned him into a lot of animals. It was very amusing. Though watching cat Gajeel kick the ass of a boar, a bear, and a wolf was highly entertaining. 

So nearly all of the Celestial spirits are back in the spirit world, however Loke has now set the final stages of the plan in motion and the only one who can stop him is Natsu. Who do you think is controlling the Zodiac? What do you think has twisted them so much? I find it hard to believe that it was just the Princess' mistake that caused this. We shall see though. 

Loke vs Natsu, Libra vs Yukino, and Lucy vs Virgo are still going strong. 

Let's do this Fairy Tail!

So that is it for this week. I will see you guys later! I am hoping to have a ton of awesome things planned for the coming 2015 year and I will share it with you all at some point. 

Until next week. 

Ja ne!

xx Kat
=^.^=

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