Animax’s Blog

Kyou Kara Maou Christmas © Tomo TAKABAYASHI, KADOKAWA SHOTEN/NHK, SOGOVISION

I have no great
fondness for termites, after having my electricity disconnected for
more than a week by the little fiends. Up to now, I could not fathom
how the devilish creatures managed to chew through a thick steel cable.
Anyway, it’s bad enough that they disrupted my work routine, the
destruction they caused sucked my wallet dry and left my brain frazzled
that I couldn’t write anything. Needless to say, it has also
robbed me of my vitality to write the Shohoku Team interview. I’d leave
it for AFTER Episode 101 of Slam Dunk has aired on Animax…because I’m pretty sure that a lot of you will be asking what happens after that last episode.

Since the loss of
electricity has deprived me of quality TV viewing fare, which includes
watching a large bag full of anime DVDs and the latest episodes of House, M.D. and Nip/Tuck, let’s do a rundown of some anime that you (and I!) are sure to enjoy with your family this Holiday Season.

* * * * * * * * * *

Of all the manga/anime projects by CLAMP, it’s Card Captor Sakura that
has that magical touch reminiscent of the Holidays. Plus, it has a real
good-looking angel too in Yue/Yukito (Mustn’t forget Touya though!).
While it may be impossible to do a marathon of the anime unless you
have the DVDs, there are two specific episodes that I’ve always enjoyed
and fits the gift-giving theme of Christmas. First is the episode
wherein Sakura gets sick and asks the Mirror Card to take her place in
accompanying Touya to buy a present for their father while she hies off
on a mission. Of course, Touya knows that the Mirror Card is
not his little sister, but goes with her just the same. In the end, he
gives the Mirror Card a ribbon for a gift, which she is seen to wear
later on in her card form. The second is the episode wherein Sakura
decides to give a birthday gift to her grandfather, not realizing that
this sweet gesture will eventually help heal the rift between her
father and grandfather.

This is the anime
that I was watching prior to the termites’ disconnection, and I would
strongly recommend this to everyone who loves the art of One Piece or simply wants to watch a sweet romance set amidst the realities of High School life this Christmas. Lovely Complex
focuses on the efforts of pretty and charming Koizumi Risa to capture
the heart of good-looking and sports-minded Atsushi Ootani. Problem is
Risa is very tall while Ootani is very short. The comedic repartee
between the two leads (with questionable assist from their friends, a
droll rapper, and a hunky teacher) is priceless. But what struck me the
most about Lovely Complex is that it’s a story that anyone and
everyone can easily relate to. I must admit that it has certainly
brought back a lot of fond High School memories for me. After all,
Christmas is about reminiscing happy moments in the past.

It’s been said that Christmas is about family and friends. While you would not consider D. Gray-man as
typical Holiday fare, the story arc focusing on misfit
human-turned-misfit vampire Aryster Krory is a nice tale for the
season. Krory spent much of his life in an isolated castle with his
eccentric grandfather and his cannibal plants, and shunned by the
people in the nearby town. His life is turned upside down, however,
when he meets and falls in love with the demon Eliade. Needless to say,
it’s up to Allen Walker and Lavi to save him from Eliade’s evil plot.
Krory may seem to be a bumbling buffoon, but everyone (demon included!)
ends up becoming touched by his innocence and his eagerness to do good.
Once feared by people, through the purity of his heart, Krory soon
finds himself accepted into the kooky but heartwarming family of the
Exorcists of the Dark Order. Indeed, Krory’s tale is proof of that
timeless saying, "You find love (and friends) in the most unexpected
places."

If there’s one anime I’m sure to re-watch this Christmas, it’s Gintama. Lord knows that after the termite fiasco, I need to stock up on humor, and Gintama is
loaded with jokes (many of them rather "green") and slapstick scenes
that are sure to give you gas pains later on. However, the anime took a
surprisingly serious turn in Episode 27. The episode had Gintoki and
Okita investigating a syndicate hosting underground death matches. When
Gintoki decides to trail the bloodthirsty champion of the illegal
fights, he discovers him to be a kind-hearted man named Doushin, who is
taking care of many orphans. Tired of the fights, Doushin decides to
flee from the syndicate with the kids, but ends up getting killed in
the ambush. Gintoki, Kagura and Shinpachi, together with Hijikata,
Okita and the rest of the Shinsengumi then go forth to avenge his
death. While this episode may seem inappropriate for Holiday viewing,
still, it drives home the point of the importance of caring and
protecting one’s family and friends.

Since nothing on
Earth could convince me to watch the Tagalog version of this anime, my
best friend decided to give me the subtitled DVDs of Tactics instead.
I personally did not find it all that special…until I watched the
last episode. I really hate to give out spoilers (and it’s one hell of
a spoiler!), because this is one episode that is best watched
than narrated. I could say this much though. The story is about the
touching sacrifice of one little girl to restore the deep friendship
between Buddhist scholar Kantarou and demon Haruka that has been ruined
by distrust and betrayal. It’s a heartwrenching episode, which left me
and my friends who watched it in tears. If you want to know how far a
true friend could go to in order to save the one he or she loves, you
must watch this episode.

It certainly is rather timely that Animax happens to be airing both of these series right now. Both Saiunkoku Monogatari (a.k.a. Colourcloud Palace) and Kyou Kara Maou (a.k.a. God (?) Save Our King)
are engaging and uplifting shows that everyone is sure to enjoy and
love this Holiday Season and beyond. Aside from that, all those
gorgeous guys….

Anyway, I KNOW someone will ask this question. Geneon has decided to STOP distributing dubbed anime, and this includes Kyou Kara Maou Season 2. Because
of this, there is a delay in the airing of Season 2 to allow the Animax
dubbers to finish the work that Geneon has abandoned. So don’t be
surprised about the change of voice actors from Season 1 to Season 2.

I’ve always had a soft spot in my heart for Solty Rei,
especially since I love the father-daughter relationship between Roy
Revant and Solty. While the anime itself emphasizes the importance of
family relationships, of all the episodes of Solty Rei, it has
to be the last two episodes, which drove the message home. To those who
don’t know, the last two episodes were NEVER aired in Japan; they are
special episodes that were included in the official DVDs of the series.
Refreshing your memory, the special Solty Rei episodes focuses
on Solty’s quest to find the answer to the question "What is
happiness?" The viewer is then made to witness seemingly mundane events
in the characters’ lives, but all pointing to the answer — that true
happiness is being with your loved ones. Isn’t this what Christmas is
about after all?

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!! MAY YOUR HOLIDAYS BE HAPPY AND TERMITE FREE!!!!