Reaction, Reviews of Random Anime, TV series, Movies, Cartoons and whatever comes to mind
Wednesday, October 2, 2019
BIRDS
OF PREY
With a new Birds of Prey movie coming out next year, I might as well do a quick one on this since I did watched the Birds of Prey series that came out last 2002 to 2003 which was aired here in the Philippines some years back.
An
all-female superhero team under DC Comics which started since 1996 which was
composed of Black Canary and Barbara Gordon who has adopted the codename Oracle
for its timeline. The comic series was created y Jordan B. Gorfinkel and Chuck
Dixon.
The
Birds of Prey Team is mainly all female team but, in some occasion, some male
characters become a member of the team. The core team is made up of Barbara
Gordon also known as Batgirl or Oracle and Black Canary, and they are later
joined by other superheroines teaming up with them. Not only does this team
sometimes gets male members but some known supposed villains under the Batman
series also gets to join the Birds of Prey, just to name some are Catwoman and
Poison Ivy.
The
team Birds of Prey has made their appearance in some animated series like
Justice League Unlimited where the team was composed of Batgirl, Huntress and
Black Canary and two male members acting as their dates while doing their
undercover mission. Another appearance of the team was in Batman: The Brave and
The Bold series and this time the members are Huntress, Black Canary and
Catwoman. So the members or team composition depends on what characters exists
in the series leaving only the core members to recruit additional members, just
like in The Brave and The Bold, Black Canary is the recurring core member since
Barbara Gordon exists in the series only as Batgirl.
Birds
of Prey was represented by Black Canary in the Injustice 2 game.
The
comic book series also received a live action series titled Birds of Prey starring
Dina Meyer as Oracle and Ashley Scott as Huntress and is later joined by Dinah
as the third member. Barbara here is paralyzed and is often seen in their
headquarters on her wheelchair and Huntress introduced here as the daughter of
Batman and Catwoman. The series aired from 2002 to 2003 the series only had 13
episodes with the trio facing off with Harley Quinn as the main villain in the
series.
I
was not able to watch all 13 episodes of the series as far as I can remember,
but the series for me during that time was something that I would wait for each
week, and since I rarely had internet connection back then nor did I cared how
many episodes does one series has during that time I just watch it until they
do a rerun or a new series takes over its timeslot. I am not a total DC or
Marvel geek but knowing that a series is a supposed part Batman I think that
was a reason why I got glued in the series specially when Huntress was said to
be the daughter of Batman and Catwoman that peeked by interest to watch it. The series by the way was a so-so rating for my taste, I just watched the series thinking Batman will later appear later in some episodes.
Now
jumping to 2019 a trailer for the a new Birds of Prey series came out where
this time the main character is Harley Quinn as she teams up with Black Canary,
Huntress and Renee Montoya to protect a young girl named Cassandra Cain (who
also later goes by the name Batgirl in later stories). The new Birds of Prey is
out to protect Cassandra Cain from Black Mask, the supposed main villain for
the new Birds of Prey.
His
new Birds of Prey is a film that will take place after the Suicide Squad
storyline where Harley Quinn is seemingly left Joker and has teamed up with
Birds of Prey members Huntress (Helena Bertinelli), Black Canary and Renne
Montoya.
I
have not seen Suicide Squad yet so since this movie will be out by next year I still
have a chance to go and find me a copy of the Suicide Squad movie since Birds
or Prey and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn is said to be events
to take place after the story of the other movie.
Other than the regular team up of the various members of the Birds of Prey, for me I sometimes consider the random all girl team up in DC may they be pure superheroines or some female villains joining their ranks, I consider them as the Birds of Prey. So yeah I know some will disagree on that but that is just my own opinion on their random team ups that later ends up fighting against the same opponent. Since Birds of Prey is often composed of women from both sides teaming up you can expect some of them will be fighting or performing in a rather not so conventional ways or how others are used to seeing them fight their opponents. Rather also Birds of Prey is most of the time out of the box mix of heroes and villains teaming up against one opponent.
Pictures from the internet credits to the owners of the pictures
Youtube channel The Rap Sheet for the video of 2002 Birds of Prey
Youtube channel KinoCheck International for the Birds of Prey 2020 trailer
Beakman's World an Educational TV series aired in 1992 up to 1998 with 91 episodes.
The series was mainly for educational purposes where the host Paul Zaloom portrays Beakman an eccentric scientist who performs comical experiments and demonstrations crafted for viewer mails. The series mainly takes on scientific approaches on experiments made in the show.
I remember watching this series every weekend, so other than watching cartoons back then in the 90's I also watch these live action learning series as well.
He has other hosts in the series a giant rat and a girl who helps him in his experiments.
The series is a bit crazy and a bit out of control at times but that is part of them being comical so that younger audience will not get bored watching the show since it is mainly experimenting and younger audience, if not entertained by the show would choose not to watch and do something else of change the channel.
The series did not seemed to have aired many episodes in the Philippines at the same time I somehow remember getting a glimpse of an episode of two being dubbed in our native tongue, not really sure if it was this show or another show.
So yeah, back then when internet was still new and not yet fully available to those who has no computer, modem and phone line at home to check the internet for scientific topics at the same time Youtube does not exist yet during that time, much less online streaming. Educational TV programs were being aired for younger audiences for them to be able to learn more at home and some schools I believe have video tapes of similar educational videos for students to view at school as a study aid used by teachers and not just using books for study references.
If Beakman's World is available somewhere in the internet, hey kids search for this show and learn how we learned stuff during our days when internet was still new and online streaming is not yet a thing.
video not mine (credits to the owner of the video and pics used in this review)
I previously made a rush review regarding Traps and Reverse Traps so this time I willl tackle Harem.
Harem
anime where one male character gets to have a flock of female characters loving
him all at the same time. In other words, polygamy where a person gets multiple
partners for themselves. In anime there are two types of harem genre, the regular
harem where the main character is a male character and the reverse harem where
the main character is a female character.
The
first recognized harem genre anime series is Tenchi Muyo Ryo-Ohki anime series
which aired in 1992 up to 2017 that has 4 OVA with a total of 24 episodes and
rumors has been going around in the internet that the fifth OVA is in
production which will have 6 episodes and still no announcements as to when it
will be aired. This harem is about an ordinary male high school student named
Tenchi Masaki who suddenly found himself surrounded by a number of alien
females who look so much like humans that no one could easily tell that they
are aliens unless they show their real powers as well as their ages.
Tenchi Muyo Ryo Ohki
As
for the reverse harem version the first anime series to be recognized is the
Fuushigi Yuugi aired in 1995 where Miaka an ordinary high school girl was
dragged inside a mysterious book and there she met with a prince who mentioned
that she can wish her way home once she has recruited the legendary guardians
of Suzaku which she is to represent. Some of the male guardians have shown
feelings for Miaka which somehow also included some of the opposing team male
guardians.
Fushigi Yuugi
There
are many other harem and reverse harem in the anime world but among all of them
that I have watched it would seem Tenchi series is the only harem series that
made a mix of harem and reverse harem in one series as well mixing in a furry
and goddesses in the mix as well. Forgot to mention the loli since Sasami is a
loli in the current release of the series.
In
my own perspective for the harem series has become one of the most popular in
demand genre in anime. One of the famous harem series so far is High School DxD
where the main character was resurrected and turned into a demon pawn by a
high-level demon whose bloodline is in line with the Gremory Clan one of the
powerful demon clans in the demon world. Issei Hyoudo the resurrected human
also became a powerful pawn that gained an ancient power and now aims to be a Harem
King. DXD currently has three seasons with total of 48 tv episodes and four OVA
and some specials as well. Fans as of the moment are waiting for the fourth
season of the series.
High School DXD
For
the best harem it would seem To Love-Ru is on the number one spot where a
clumsy low charisma Rito Yuuki who cannot draw out any courage to confess his
feelings towards the girl that he likes ends up being surrounded by a number of
alien girls and decided to live with him and marry him. (information from
reeldown forums)
To Love Ru (Motto)
For
the reverse harem it would seem that Ouran High School Host Club took the
throne basing from the forums that I have been checking in the internet. A
story about a girl who got accepted in a prestigious private co-ed school
filled with the rich and spoiled kids of influential people of the society.
Being mistaken for as a boy the heroine Haruhi is forced to work as a new host
of the Host Club in order to repay her sudden debt of a million yen just
because she bumped and broke a highly expensive vase. She was exposed as a
female but was still accepted as a host and doesn’t mind crossdressing as a boy
while working her way to repay her debt. Surrounded by the boys of the Host
Club that seems like they have feelings towards one girl, Haruhi.
Ouran High School Host Club
For
a harem series specially when the members of the harem are mostly females, it
is normal that male fans are mostly after the fanservices and sudden nude
scenes which are often included in the harem genre. Crazy scenes like having
sexual innuendos inserted in most parts of every episodes of a harem series.
Some harem series that barely has any of these elements were most likely
forgotten or never got another series if it ended up short or got 13 episodes
or even less. But regardless to this there are some harem series that became
popular back then without having too many of these elements and the viewers
were happy to see the clumsy guy who has no charm at all gets all the hot girls
that other side male characters have been dreaming to have for themselves.
There are also harem anime where the girls will do everything and I mean
everything up to the last straw of available option of service is rendered
towards the male character.
A
quick example of this is the anime Hanaukou Maid-tai where a young man suddenly
inherits a huge fortune from his grandfather, his only living relative, the
huge includes him inheriting a large amount of fortune, a large property with a
mansion and huge number of maids that are ready to give him all the services
for him and protect him. There are many types of maids in the mansion trained
in various services, maids what cook, maids that will escort him, maids that
will clean even his body, maids that will protect him since there are military
trained maids in the mansion, maids who are also inventors, and many other
types of maids. The maids were also trained to give him services which includes
all the way services. The catch of this series is that the main character this
time has allergy towards all females or what others may call gynophobia.
Hanaukyo Maid-Tai
To
sum things up about harem anime, this is just an anime series for those who
wants to see a bunch of fanservices and this does not just go with male
audiences but also with female audiences and it doesn’t matter if it is harem
or reverse harem due to preferences of the viewers.
But
due to the content of the said genre it is not for the audiences below any
legal ages of whatever country it is available.
If
someone will ask me what harem anime is ok to watch I will just give them a
list of titles but it is up to them what to watch since they have their own
personal preferences and I am just a guy who has seen some anime under the said
genre.
disclaime:
pics are from kissanime, information of top harem and reverse harem from reeldown
The remake of the anime adaptation of the manga Dororo which aired in 1969 is coming in the homestretch of the series.
A series that I have been following since the first episode of the 2019 remake and also watched the 1969 version, a product of the legendary Osamu Tezuka.
Will be making a comparison review of both series once the 2019 version has ended. Both version for now is filled with action, blood, gore, flying limbs, mutilation and many more. Character growth and change as well as emotions filled the series as well. There were changes made in the 2019 version and I am still waiting for the series to end and will be watching it again once or maybe twice before making a comparison from both versions. For the manga I am still thinking if I will be making a review on that.
The basic layout of the series is about the young man named Hyakkimaru who was born with almost nothing and literally almost nothing. His body was almost consumed by 12 demons (42 demons in the original anime adaptation) when his father Daigo Kagemitsu traded his first born to the 12 demons in the Hall of Demons in exchange for the prosperity of his land and territory. Hyakkimaru was still unnamed during that time, he was saved by a goddess statue and he managed to survive up to the day he was adopted by an old man who makes prosthetic limbs for both the dead and the living. He was given artificial eyes and limbs as well as arming him with a pair of swords hidden within his forearms which when detached the swords are revealed. He then traveled in search of demons after learning that he can regain his lost body parts every time he manage to kill a demon linked to his lost body parts.
The next character which the series follows is Dororo, the titular character of series, a young orphan thief who survives by stealing from people and his fellow thieves and scamming them. He later meets Hyakkimaru by chance in some small town and began to follow him. From then on both of them traveled together, this changed Dororo from stealing but uses his skills of tongue to convince people that they can help exterminate demons for a price.
Both characters found out each other's secrets as they traveled, both are practically similar to each other a young orphan and the other was cast away by his father after he was traded off to a bunch of demons. Dororo was later revealed to be a girl who was brought up as a boy her parents, no reason was mentioned but by judging the atmosphere of how Dororo and her family were living back when they were all together, she was surrounded by a bunch of thieves and murderers who her father does not seem to fully trust as well and the only way to save Dororo was to bring her up as a boy to avoid some conflicts. Dororo lived a rough life not to mention having to witness many strange things as she traveled with Hyakkimaru, including witnessing many deaths of people samurais or civilians. Dororo had also witnessed things that she cannot even explain if she tells them to Hyakkimaru just like in the incident when she witnessed their female friend whom Hyakkimaru fell in love with was doing lewd business with samurais in order to earn money and survive so that she can buy rice for other orphaned children she lives with.
Doror became the anchor for Hyakkimaru for him to stay sane after all the killing he has done in order to retrieve his body. Along with the old monk who they constantly meet along their travels, a monk who has similar skills as Hyakkimaru, who guides them and teaches them what to do in certain times.
Along his travels he is reunited with his family, his father Daigo who sold him to the 12 demons, his mother Nui no Kata who tried to protect but in the end almost denying his existence as well and his younger brother Tahomaru who at first almost became friends with each other.
As the series is nearing the end Hyakkimaru is almost complete in regaining his body but at what cost. His remaining parts are both his arms and both his eyes. Both his arms were given by the last demon to the loyal subjects of his younger brother whom both arms were decapitated by him and both his eyes were given to his younger brother.
Both his arms have been retrieved now only his eyes remain and his brother is in possession of both his eyes being used as tools so that Tahomaru can keep up with his older brother who has gained incredible speed and strength while fighting off demons in his entire life.
Since the prosperity of the land of his father flourished because Hyakkimaru was sacrificed before he was born, what will be the price that has to be paid once he has retrieved his remaining body parts.
Dororo is scheduled for a 24 episode run and episode 23 just aired a few days ago, now we wait for the final episode coming in a few days.
Disclaimer:
I do not own the videos used in the review credits to their respective uploaders/owners
An
anime series from 2006 with 26 episodes that featured a Reverse Harem theme the
opposite of the Harem theme genre where the main female character is with two
or more male characters in the series.
The
series is about Haruhi Fujioka who got a scholarship to study at a prestigious
school called the high school known as Ouran Academy where normally students
are from the rich and famous and the influenced families.
Haruhi Fujioka
In
that school she stumbles upon a room which she thought was empty so that she
can study in peace. But instead the room was turned into a place where a group
of her male school mates where they entertain their female schoolmates by
accommodating them and servicing them as hosts.
Haruhi got stuck with the club by accidentally
bumping onto an overly expensive vase worth a million Yen which she cannot
repay due to her being part of the average earning families or as the school
calls them “commoners”. Haruhi in order to pay back the vase she was forced to
be part of the Host Club and work until she has fully paid the worth of the
vase by collecting points which she earns each time she successfully services a
customer of the club. She was at first mistaken as a male student due to her
appearance fashioning boyish hair style and dressing up like a boy and also
flat. Her identity was later revealed as the first episode progressed where her
identity was discovered one at a time by the six original members of the Ouran
Host Club. Despite her being female she didn’t mind joining the club not
because she has to repay the vase but also, she found the group fun to be with.
This
series is just one of the reverse harems that I had watched from start to
finish considering that it seems the main target audience of the series are
female audience but the series appealed to my liking. The amount of comedy and
antics of the characters of the series was entertaining enough as well as how
the series characterized the mind sets of the rich characters of the Host club
as being ignorant of the real world, spoiled and some being airheads much like
how American series portrays the rich blondes being airheads.
The
members of the Host Club are Tamaki Suoh the club president, Kyoya Ootori the
vice-president also the brains of the group, the twins Hikaru – Kaoru Hitachiin
the pranksters of the group, Mitsukuni “Honey” Haninozuka the cutest member of
the group and seemed the youngest despite being same ages as the other members
of the group and Takashi “Mori” Morinozuka the muscles of the group always seen
together with Honey. They are the members of the Ouran Host Club with the
addition of Haruhi Fujioka due to being forced to join because of her
unexpected debt to repay the broken vase worth a million Yen and in order to repay
it she has to continue to charade as a boy and entertain her female schoolmates
who are also clueless that she is actually a girl, the group are the only ones
who knows that Haruhi is actually a girl. The second female to join the group
is RengeHoushakuji who fell in love
with Kyoya and pronounced herself as his wife, she ended up being the club
manager after she forced herself into the group after transferring from a
school abroad.
Mori
Honey's guardian at school and the muscles of the group. Despite being protective of Honey, Mori is also protective towards Haruhi.
Honey
The cutest boy of the group, he loves sweets and Mori all the same, he also loves being with Haruhi every time they are together.
Kyoya
The brains of the group and the one that controls the loose cannon Tamaki every time he comes up with crazy ideas, but this guy is much crazier when it comes to taking drastic measures.
Hikaru and Kaoru
Can't remember if there were characters in the series that can tell these two apart from one another other than Haruhi who can tell the difference between them that nobody else can see. This became the bridge that made the twins accept Haruhi as well as develop feelings towards her.
Tamaki "King"
The self proclaimed "King" of Hosts, he and Kyoya are the ones who came up of making the Host Club and recruited the others as members of the group. He is a loose cannon and after finding out Haruhi was a girl he proclaimed himself as Haruhi's "father" at school.
The
story mainly revolves Haruhi and her school life trying to cope with a bunch of
airhead and spoiled rich schoolmates who seemed clueless how average people go
with their everyday lives. Although this is just for the series comic relief
since I don’t think most well-off people are that ignorant to the real world
since this is just to fill the comedy part of the story and this is not the
only show that uses that kind of personification of those kinds of people.
Haruhi
was introduced to be another character who had lost a parent or both which
seemed to have become a norm in some anime series, in this case she lost her
mother prior to the start of the story and she has been living with her father
who works as a host as well but he is an Okama who had chosen to love Haruhi’s
mother but still works as a hostess for their everyday expenses. It was also
revealed that Kyoya took in the liberty to report to Haruhi’s father from time
to time since they have taken in his daughter and it was the wise move since
Haruhi is surrounded by mostly boys in most of her time at school. Feeling safe
of the group after her father met them, he had come to the point of accepting
the fact that one day Haruhi will someday come to a decision to either live
with the one she loves or go on and live with her father.
Haruhi parents Ranka and Kotoko
Despite
the showcase of personifying the rich members of the cast of Ouran they still
gave them enough marbles to show that they are not all ignorant always and that
they just know how the world works on how it was shown to them as they grew up.
This was shown as the growth of the characters in every episode of the series
as they come to a realization on how they approach Haruhi and how they cope
with their feelings towards her. For Haruhi it was her growth on enjoying her
student life with her friends and not just staying inside the shell that she
had created after her mother died. she had taken care of most of the house
duties since her father works multiple jobs so that they can keep up with their
expenses and Haruhi for her share worked up to raise her grades to get
scholarships for free or discounted school tuition fees.
The
anime is one of the enjoyable series that watched from start to finish and this
is not the only reverse harem that I had watched, there are others and I might
do a review on them later on.
I
would recommend the series to all those who want to watch something with comedy
and high school life and this one seemed to be safe for all ages since the only
fanservice that we will be getting from this one is Haruhi wearing normal girl
clothes and not just her male school uniform which she wears every time she
goes to school. She did on some occasion wear a girl’s school uniform which
clearly shows her feminine self. She can also be considered as a reverse trap
as well since she looks way more like a boy with her school uniform.
Won’t
spoil it too much anymore much better for those who have not seen the anime better
check it out and I might as well read the manga for a comparison review or just
a manga version review of the story. All in all the series itself did not made
me feel being left hanging thinking of how the story will end for the group, it
was more or less fulfilling as a stand alone if there are those who prefer
watching rather than reading a manga or light novel version from which an anime
was adapted from.
Disclaimer:
I do not own the videos presented in this review credits to the respective owners of the videos.
Pictures from the anime itself print screen and cropped by myself, credits to the uploader of the anime.
Anime
based from a manga by Minatsuki published June 2015 and currently with 5
volumes. The anime adaptation came out January 9, 2019 to March 27, 2019 with
12 episodes.
The
series follows the relationship of Subaru Mikazuki and his adopted stray cat
whom he named Haru. This also follows how Subaru opens up to other people that
surrounds him like Atsushi Kawase his editor and Hiroto Yasaka his childhood
friend.
He
later meets other people like the pet shop clerk Nana Okami and her brother
Yugo Okami who were also his fans through his books that were popular.
Subaru
was an only child left behind by his parent due to their untimely death in a
tragic bus accident when they were on their way to a vacation trip supposedly
for the three of them but Subaru decided to stay at home feeling that he is
always being forced by his mother every time to go on a trip with them. He grew
up surrounded by many books in his room which looked like a mini library. He
became friends with Hiroto who was the same age as he is. After the death of
his parents Hiroto has been coming to his house visiting him, checking on him,
keeping him company as well as bringing him groceries of food made his mother
from time to time. He has been making sure that Subaru is not skipping meal too
much.
Other
than Hiroto, his editor Atsushi has been keeping an eye on Subaru just like
what Hiroto has been doing everytime he visits. He also makes an effort for
Subaru to come out of his house every now and then to expose him back to
society after he had secluded himself from the outside. He was more of a friend
than an editor who forces his writers to be on time in submitting their
stories.
When
he found Haru at his parent’s grave, Haru appeared out of nowhere and began
eating his offering to his parents. He later decided to take in Haru thinking
that they are the same. Haru has been alone as well after her younger siblings
got lost or died in the process of trying to survive for being stray cats.
Subaru took her in and kept her as a pet giving her a home, food and warmth.
Hiroto,
Atsushi and Haru were the main instruments for Subaru to open up once again to
other people and meet new friends. Meeting Nana Okami the pet store clerk whom
he met when he went out to buy Haru some catfood and a collar.
Since
Haru was a cute little cat she became popular with Hiroto and his siblings as
well as Atsushi who was revealed to be a cat lover, Nana and her younger
brother who not only was attracted to Haru but were also fans of Subaru through
the novel that he wrote.
The
novels that he wrote also became a bridge for him to meet new people specially
those whom he met in his first autograph signing event at a bookstore. It was
also the event when Nana found out that Subaru was the author whom her brother
idolizes. This opened another new door for Subaru making him realize that
interacting and meeting new people were important not only for interacting but
for learning new things as well.
I
can somehow compare this series with Garfield an 80’s to 90’s classic cartoon
series that has a similar theme of man and a pet cat instead of the usual man’s
best friend the dog. Usually cats are
involved as a pet in shows if there are witches since cats are commonly the
familiars or animal spirits of the witches that assists them in their magic. Even
though there are other shows that presents cats as the main pet of the main
character of the series but giving a cat and other animals their own point of
views separates from the humans and at the same time giving us what they see
and understand humans in their point of view. Also, since animals cannot
understand human language, the words that they commonly hear like their supposed
names they understand that as if it is a word for food or meal time.
Having
two points of views in this series was something else for me although not sure
if there are other series that used a similar idea, but this is new to me. This
was the main reason for me to follow the series weekly of 12 episodes and was
very interesting as well since the growth of the main character was shown in
the series from episode 1 from when he was too secluded and slowly grew and
opened up to other people.
Highly
recommended for all viewers no age restrictions for all viewers specially for
pet lovers. credits Funimation for the video
An
anime adaptation of the manga released from July 1998 to November 2006 with 23
volumes. The anime was released July 2001 to March 2001 with 26 episodes. Another
manga was released titled Fruits Basket Another Sept 2015 to March 2019 with 3
volumes. A new anime adaptation of the manga was recently aired April 6, 2019
and no estimation on how many episodes this new anime will be.
Fruits
Baskets basically similar to the story of most Chinese Zodiac fable being told
to children where god invited chosen animals for a banquet, all animals were
able to attend the banquet except for the cat who was tricked by the mouse
making the cat unable to become part of the 12 Zodiacs. The cat having been
tricked by the mouse has been seeking revenge for tricking him. But I have no
idea if that is the reason why cats and mice in real life has been at each
other’s throats most of the time.
2001
2019
The
main characters are Tohru Honda the female lead of the story, Kyo Soma and Yuki
Soma two of the lead male characters of the story.
2001 Tohru's mother
2019 Tohru's mother
Tohru
Honda a high school student who has been camping in the woods, which turned out
to be part of the Soma Family property, has become an orphan after her mother
died months before she stepped up to high school. Her father died when she was
3 years-old, making her stay with her grandfather for some time. Until it was
decided to renovate the main house and had her force to decide to live on her
own as well as having to camp out in the woods alone.
Yuki
Soma who was her classmate ended up being a family member that owns the entire
land including where Tohru decided to camp on. He is the main heartthrob of their
entire school earning him the title of Prince.
Kyo
Soma the other main male character of the story who also ended up studying in
the same school, he is the opposite of Yuki.
The
Soma family has a curse. Some members of or rather 13 members of the Soma family
turns into the Zodiac Animals which includes the cat as well. Kyo and Yuki
turns in a cat and a mouse respectively once they are hugged by the opposite sex/gender
and later turns back to their human forms. Same goes with other members of the
Soma Family, I just cannot recall if there was a female member of the Soma
Family that turns into an animal as well which means I need to watch the series
again.
2001 secret out
2019 secret out
Having
to be able to compare both episode one from 2001 and 2019 versions were both
almost mirrored with each other and I guess once played side by side the scenes
and dialogues will be almost the same, except that 2001 starts with the intro
song and the 2019 does not have an intro song and goes directly to the story,
showing Tohru getting ready for school.
The
series itself is basically a reverse harem series one girl and a bunch of guys
surrounding her, in this case she lives in the same house (those familiar with
the Nadeshiko Wallflower almost similar with the set up but the guys are the
ones who crashed the house and the girl is the niece of the owner of the house).
The transforming part, some will say it is the same as Ranma ½ where once the
unlucky souls that fell in a certain cursed spring change forms, cold water to
whatever drowned in the spring and hot water to return to their original forms.
The
story of the series will also be familiar to those who knows the fable of the
zodiacs where the cat was tricked by the mouse which caused the cat not being able
to attend the banquet of the god who invited them and was never given a chance
to become a candidate and be part of the zodiacs. This also caused the cat to
be partially hated by the members of the zodiacs thinking that the cat was just
jealous of something else and was just throwing his frustration on the poor
mouse. The story turns out to be the curse of the members of the Soma Family,
Tohru discovered the curse when she accidentally hugged Yuki, Kyo and Shigure
turning them in their animal forms mouse, cat and dog respectively.
Tohru
has other friends at school Arisa and Saki who has been saving Tohru whenever
she needs help as well as they care for her, which makes Tohru afraid that once
they find out that has been camping out all this time Arisa might go to her
grandfather due to misunderstanding. Saki is somewhat a psychic but also cares
so much towards Tohru.
Not
much drama or mushie stuff in the story but seems to have a balanced mix of the
comedy, a bit of drama as well as the romance that grows within the household. Tohru
is introduced as a strong girl who wants to stand on her two feet and not
trouble anyone so much making her feel indebted towards the people who wants to
help her. She was later offered to stay at the Soma house in return she will be
doing some housework as well. This gave her a proper roof over her head and not
just the cheap tent which she bought with her savings.
Since
it is anime, it did not seem to bother her much that she is basically the only
female that stays at the house where mostly males live.
For
now I will be watching the 2001 Fruits Basket again and return to make another
review of the series and some partial review of the 2019 in some way that I can
give a review on.
For now all I can is watch the Fruits Basket 2001 version it is a good anime to watch before watching the 2019 version since it just started.
