I happened to chance upon 5 centimeters per second while I was browsing for some new animated movies to watch. The wonderful artwork, CG rendering and the Studio Ghibli-esque (I am a huge fan of Hayao Miyazaki's work) rendition of its characters instantly captivated my lenses and made me decide to pick this one up. I admit though, being somewhat uninterested in the romance genre of movies, not to mention the drama that goes along with it, but being one critically-acclaimed anime and receiving lots of positive reactions and high ratings in anime sites, I really ought to give this one a try.
   
5 centimeters per second is a collection of 3 short yet touching episodes that chronicles three chapters in the life of a young boy, Tohno Takaki and his continuing love for a girl, Akari Shinohara. Tohno and Akari have been very close friends since childhood and eventually their friendship had blossomed into something greater at a very early age. Unfortunate for the two, fate seemed cruel that both their families had to move slowly drifting the two apart. As time went by the two lost communication between each other yet Tohno still held on the hopes of seeing Akari again.
  
This movie, in my opinion definitely catches the sad reality of the slow pace in which some people who have started together but due to the inevitable, drift apart from each other. The slow yet painful realization and process of moving on in life and leaving the past behind, hence the title 5 centimeters per second.
  
Hats off to its director and writer Makoto Shinkai for such a wonderful yet somewhat a tearjerker of a movie. Though I don't usually go and pick up titles of this sort, I'm definitely adding this to my favorite movies of all time. Great storyline and majestic artwork and animation, not to mention the great ending song which landed the final blow and made my eyes go watery, it really kept me glued to the screen 'till the end and made me realize again that I had a soft spot too for some drama since Grave of the Fireflies.
  

Yesterday I had a dream.

A dream of long ago.

Within the dream, the two of us were still thirteen.

Standing upon the vast fields blanketed in snow as far as the eye could see.

In the distance, the lights shimmering in houses were set sparsely, far and wide.

All that was left upon the newly fallen snow were our footprints.

Just like that, we wished without hesitation that one day the two of us would be able to see the cherry blossoms once again.

      
 Interestingly different, Hyakko OVA doesn't seem much of an OVA, in my opinion, as much as I would expect an OVA to be some sort of a short movie. Running for about 10 minutes, this OVA could only pass as a short special or as one of its regular series episodes showing a very different side of Kazamatsuri Touma since in this one she hangs out and gets infected with her wild opposite, Torako's antics.
  

What makes Hyakko OVA seem more like a regular episode is that it chronicles another crazy day in the lives of Kamizono Gakuen students, much like how a regular fun-filled episode of the Hyakko series would go, only in this one, It's just Touma and Torako trying out a bunch of different sweets.
  

Touma's favorite café has closed down and apparently she is looking for another quiet spot where she and her reading fetish could hang out. Torako happened to overhear the situation and impulsively pounced on the chance to catch Touma's friendly side. With Torako's legendary persistence, Touma unwittingly, and just as to shut Torako up, accepted the offer. But it isn't just the quiet café, the weirdness of its "master", or the mounds of pastries and sweets. It's more of Torako's crazy and infectious antics.



I have read some reviews about the OVA mainly showing the disappointment of some fans, perhaps due to its length or the lack of a better and proper story, yet in my opinion, its not that bad or perhaps it could have been released with other, maybe similar, story shorts although I would say, this is better than nothing. Still, I had a good laugh.

     
I remember watching this television series from ANIMAX years back when we still had cable TV. Being one such action-packed show with the heroines' amazing power to control paper and use it as weapons, shields and summoned creatures really astounded me. But what really made me remember this awesome anime is its cool opening theme. Really funky basslines, jazz horns and that cool guitar vibe (combination of tremolo-delay-wah effect for those who have technical know-how on guitars) gives you that super-agent, James Bond-esque kind of feel. Not to mention, its similarly cool ending theme with its relaxing, feel-good reggae beat and that smooth sultry singing voice which is Kazami, one of my favorite singers in anime music.



ROD The TV is a sequel to its three-episode OVA, Read Or Die. The TV series' story revolves around three sisters who are, like Yomiko Readman from the OVA, are papermasters (not to mention bookworms with an exception to the youngest sister) - wielding the power to manipulate and control paper and turn it into weapons and tools of sorts - and Nenene Sumiregawa, a prodigy writer and novelist and is a close friend of Yomiko Readman. She has been unable to produce new material for some time due to Yomiko's sudden disappearance which happened after the destruction of the British Library (where Yomiko worked as a secret agent) 5 years prior to this series.

Having a keen and extraordinary talent, the three paper sisters have formed an agency called the "Three Sisters Detective Agency" and have been doing odd jobs requiring their unusual skills and have been working as super agents for Dokusensha, a company similar to the British Library (from the OVA) with underlying shady businesses regarding collecting books which are said to contain unimaginable powers.



Eventually, the Three Sisters Detective Agency was hired out to protect Nenene Sumiregawa during her trip to Hong Kong where her latest novel was to be made into a movie. During an autograph signing, as expected by Nenene's managers, an attack threatening Nenene's life was executed by a local novelist who was extremely envious of Nenene's achievement. Lucky enough, Nenene escaped certain death having hired the paper masters as bodyguards. With her life under constant threat, her paper master bodyguards, had to stay in her apartment as part of their job of protecting her. Although it was a bit too much trouble for Nenene having to put up with the sisters' eccentricity - especially with the spitfire, hot-blooded Anita - eventually, they formed a bond of friendship.

     
Another great comedy anime, Baka To Test To Shoukanjuu (Idiots, Tests and Summoned Beasts in english) really kept me teary-eyed laughing on all 13 crazy episodes. The anime TV series, based on a manga of the same name, is a romantic comedy (with bits of ecchi on the side... really, should I mention that? LOL), fantasy genre anime that revolves around the "Baka", Akihisa Yoshii and his ragtag idiotic bunch of high school mates and their unique school that employs tests and "Summoning Battles" as a competitive style of rising up the academic ranks and the school's unique "caste system".


Students take a placement exam upon their enrollment in Fumizuki Academy. Based on the results of their placement exams, they are placed in sections A to F where the classrooms' quality, furniture and added facilities dwindle respectively. Class A has luxury seats, desks, laptops and even a snack bar while Class F enjoys the comfort of a drafty dusty room in moldy tatami mats furnished with old wooden tables with broken legs and worn-out throw pillows for seats. Although lower sections may choose to engage in ESB's (Exam Summoning Battles where students battle as a section against other sections where they summon beings with strength depending their test scores on certain subjects.) to prove they are worthy of moving up and the winning team can have the privilege of exchanging facilities with the losing team


Too bad for Akihisa, aside from being branded by their Disciplinary Officer, Tetsujin, as one hell of a "Baka", he ended up in class F. But more unfortunately for Mizuki Himeji whom Yoshii met during the placement exam. Mizuki is a very intelligent girl whose intellect deserves to be in class A but due to fever on the placement exam, she fainted and got a zero in the end thereby landing her in class F. Akihisa though, despite having "Baka" written all over him, is really a kind-hearted young fellow and is determined to give Mizuki the classroom she deserves. With the help of the "Baka" gang of class F, they're determined to win ESB's (Exam Summoning Battles) rise to the top, claim class A's facilities and prove to everyone that grades aren't everything.

Introducing: the "Baka" bunch!