I really haven't been this excited over an anime for a while. Okay, that's actually a lie, I was absolutely crazy about Shiki...Oh, fine. If we discount Shiki, it really has been years since I've been so impressed by an anime series. I normally don't watch more than a few series for each new season, and I'm glad I managed to pick a good one from the get-go.

...I'll admit, the only reasons I picked Madoka in the first place were because Kajiura Yuki was composing its soundtrack and Kalafina was providing the ED. The title of the series alone didn't sound too exciting. And the CMs...Seriously, go watch them, and you'll understand. I'm not really a fan of moe or magical girls, and they seemed eager to emphasize the fact that there was little more to Madoka than both of those things.

As it turns out, there was a very good reason those CMs were gave that impression. And no, not because Madoka was what it was made out to be.

A lot of people called it. They said, with Shinbo, and Urobochi, there was no way this would be any ordinary mahou shoujo anime. I didn't know Urobochi, but I had some familiarity with Shinbo's work. And he certainly didn't seem like the type to be working on something with such a fluffy premise. I wanted to believe it, I really did.

The first two episodes were a visual feast -- that creepy, surrealistic world within the witches' barriers was gorgeously rendered, and Mami's Unlimited Musket Works mode of attack was delightful in its badassery. If you were searching, you could find what might be construed as hints that Madoka would take a darker tone. But the expected tropes of a magical anime still seemed to be firmly in place. I found myself thinking, "Maybe it really will be just another magical girl anime."

It took just 3 episodes to disabuse me of that notion.

Ohboyohboyohboy.

Hit the jump for more.

...or not, if you're really broke. Ugh, wait, I am really broke. I may have to rethink this.

Guess buying that Magia single will have to wait a while. Well, it's not out for a couple of weeks, anyway. I'm planning on raving about it after its release. For now, I'm enjoying the PV preview and the TV-size ED for Mahou Shoujo Madoka Magica. Now that's a show is going to get its own raving, gushing entry...

And there's still plenty of Kalafina to be enjoyed, regardless of whether you have to cash to blow (well, at least until Youtube decides to delete it). I nearly went crazy trying to find some way to watch this after it aired in Japan, especially after hearing that Kalafina would be covering a certain Gundam SEED theme... But finally, clips of Animax Musix Fall 2010 have hit Youtube, after an eon (okay, more like 8 days) after the airing date.

As biased as I am towards them, I have to admit that Kalafina has a history of not doing so well for non-oneman lives. Although it's a bit unfair to say they suck live -- I mean, it's quite a stretch to expect them to sound as perfect live as they do on recordings. This time round, though, the performance was mind-blowingly awesome. You could attribute that to post-production wizardry (it probably helped, to some degree) , but I prefer to think the credit's due to a combination of them making use of ear monitors for the first time (have they been sticking with those?) and the ladies just finally getting the hang of it.

Watched three clips so far. There was Hikari no Senritsu. Wasn't particularly excited over this one, since there's already been a few recordings of them performing it, but I think this may be their best rendition of it so far. Hikaru sounds steadier on the opening verse than usual -- that's usually the weakest part of the song in lives. As for Keiko and Wakana, well, as far as I'm concerned, they were as close to perfect as they could get.

I'm also really liking Hikaru's falsetto range -- it was a lovely touch at the chorus.


I'm also still coveting Hikaru's dress


And Wakana's gloves


And here is a picture of Keiko, who never needs a reason to have me post her picture

And here’s the Day 2, which I’d been looking forward to for months. Here’s a big part of the reason why:

A/N: For now I'm just gathering the various relevant posts I've made elsewhere onto this blog. Not that there are any more people paying attention to them here than at the sites they were posted at and but hey it's my blog alright? Now leave me to pretend someone cares.


That 'X' is a bit of misleading – it’s only the third time they’ve done this. I guess they thought it looked cooler than putting a good old-fashioned ’10.

Anyway, this was the first time I’d ever attended anything resembling an anime convention, and for Singapore (and probably the rest of Southeast Asia) AFA is the biggest anime-related event every year. The previous AFAs took place right during that crunch time just before my exams, which is why I've never been to one. Actually, it was the same situation this yea,r but I guess this time around I just couldn’t resist anymore.

So here’s my little (okay, it might turn out quite long) take on what went on. It’s nowhere near a complete coverage since I couldn’t be there for everything. Also, I am a crap photographer. People with an actual idea of how to take decent photographs will still cringe but I’ll try to only include the ones that weren’t total eyesores.

Also, when it came to cosplayers...I’m for the most part too shy to ask, so I generally only took photos when they were already posing for a bunch of other people. Didn’t really help the already doomed quality of my photos. Ah. You’ll see for yourselves. Moving on.

Well, depending on your point of view, I suppose.

But there's a whole backlog of entries, just waiting to see the light of day. And I have every intention of making sure they will.