Summer anime watching~

Long wordy picture-less post ahead~^^ I haven't posted about anime & manga for quite some time now!! I did pick up a few series right before Anime North but I took a bit of a break due to my summer school assignments...but now I'm done with that ^^I remember I used to watch a lot of anime during my summers in high school, haha.. I really missed it. So, here goes my little review~

Series Finished:
Inu X Boku: Secret Service
So I thought I would hate this series after reading the summary but the more I watched, the more I fell in love with it...I really don't wanna give any spoilers away but it is SUCH a sweet love story, essentially. The characters are unique and so much fun to watch as they interact with each other. Most of all, the main character, Ririchiyo, has a personality that reminds me so much of my own so I guess that's why I enjoyed this series so much! At 12 episodes long, it's a short but sweet series. 5/5 stars!!
P.S. Damn I wish I had a man like Miketsukami!!

Persona 4: The Animation
I was so excited to finally get to watch this anime so I could have an idea of what the game was all about since I don't play video games yet I saw tons of fan arts from this series! (I heard the anime did a pretty good job at capturing the aspects of the game?) I love the vibrant vectors and gradient style of this anime/game very much! I loved all the characters, the animation was awesome and some of the episodes were so funny. I finished this series quickly because it kept such good pace and was never boring!! :D

Uta no Prince-Sama - Maiji Love 1000%
Usually I stay away from reverse-harem animes (based on otome games, ie. 1 girl x n guys, like Starry Sky, La Corda D'Oro, etc.) but... the guys in UtaPri are in a boy band. Can't say no to boy bands! This turned out pretty alright to watch (the opening dance and singing sequence made me lol) if I just ignored the main girl and just shipped the guys with each other (because they obviously pair off evenly for a reason, right?!) I heard there will be a second season come this fall? Anyway, Tokiya and Otoya are my favourite (*cough*couple).

Sakamichi no Apollon (Kids on the Slope)
I heard about this series from a friend and I really recommend this to anyone, even if you're not into jazz music. It focuses on a love triangle as they go through high school together, and music is the underlying thing that seems to bring them all together. This is something you have to watch all in one sitting because the story feels just so real and heart warming. It goes by really quickly too, as the three years of high school (it's 3 years in Japan as opposed to 4 years here in North America, I think) was summed up in 12 episodes.

Usagi Drop (Bunny Drop)
I watched this after reading some reviews and I thought for sure it would make me cry ('cause I cry easily orz) But it didn't... I was kinda disappointed lol. Basically it's about the struggles/joys of parenthood? Or something? I honestly don't really get it... But although it may be very sweet to watch (Rin is so cute omg) I have this awkward feeling of what their relationship may turn out like when Rin grows older since she rejects Daikichi as her father, so what will he be to her...?

Another
To be honest I usually stay away from horror animes. However, this series was not that scary (mainly because they make dolls look creepy and stuff, but I collect dolls myself so I'm totally immune to it by now). It did confuse the hell outta me at the end and I actually read the spoilers before watching the last ep because I was so paranoid haha. Overall, not bad, but some may find it scary (especially the death scenes, but I enjoyed those LOL)

From Up on Poppy Hill (movie)
This is actually a movie that I found out about last year, it is directed by Goro Miyazaki, who also directed Tales from Earthsea. I didn't really enjoy Tales from Earthsea much but this movie was okay, though I felt like it would be better suited as a live-action movie. I found the character's expressions to be rather flat though (especially the main girl's) and the movie itself is quite short (1hr 30mins). But the backgrounds are vibrant and beautiful, as expected and this movie is quite enjoyable to watch in the summertime.

Tiger and Bunny (blogged about before)
I should also note here that I FINALLY finished Tiger & Bunny! Note that most of the series I reviewed above are short (at around 12 episodes) because usually somewhere around the middle for most series, for some reason I stop watching (lol short attention span..?)... but I still wanted at least to finish them off! Tiger and Bunny was one of them. Somewhere in the middle it got interesting again to the end! I hope there's a second season because it still feels like there's some unfinished business. I loved all the Heroes and found them to be a really interesting concept (the product placement amuses me). My favourite Hero is a tie between Blue Rose and of course Barnaby! ;)

Ao no Exorcist (Blue Exorcist)
Not sure why I stopped in the middle of this too since I did enjoy watching it, but the ending of this series was particularly well done in my opinion!! I don't wanna give any spoilers away but I'm so glad I finally finished this too! >< I don't read the manga so I can't compare, but overall I loved this anime!~

No.6
The ending of No.6 was so disappointing...I don't have much to say about it lol. Despite the fact that Nezumi and Shion are both guys that obviously care for each other (they even share two kissing scenes), this is not a BL anime. So I don't know, this felt really weird to watch because... I found the plot to be confusing and my questions weren't really answered. I love the opening sequence though, it gives me chills and makes me feel nostalgic for some reason >_>.. I wish I could read the novels but I don't think any of them are translated. This reminds me of Durarara, I wished I could read the novels = =...

Series Ongoing:
La storia della Arcana Famiglia
An ongoing series that's currently airing. I found the plot summary to be intriguing and the characters looked super cool (not to mention I saw a photo of this AMAZING cosplay group), but then I realized, it's also a reverse harem type anime that was based on an otome game. ^^; I thought it would jump right into the action and gore, considering how the characters are all in the mafia and have really cool weapons and fighting abilities, but no... typical slow, PG content. ^^; I like how the girl isn't some weakling and is pretty good at combat herself, but overall she is pretty boring and lacks character. The art is gorgeous though and my favourite character so far is Liberta (he's like the Otoya in UtaPri, pretty much, I think every otome game has a happy-go-lucky, foolish type of guy and I always tend to like them). It's so amusing watching him and Nova bicker! ^^ I hope the ending won't disappoint~!

Moyashimon Returns
I really freaked out when I heard there was going to be a second season!! *u* After making many charms of these microbes, no doubt I'm a little obsessed with this series (after the failure of the live-action.. - -) I recommend this if you're a science geek, or if you just like seeing cute talking microbes xD! I think I may make some more microbe charms to celebrate! :D

That said, it's been raining these couple of days and I don't feel much like going out. The humidity seems to affect the properties of my clay glaze so I'm not very happy about that... :/ I may look into something else soon. I'm working (slowly) on many new items that will be in my shop because it's rather empty at the moment!

Finally, I'm debating whether or not to put my etsy shops on vacation mode because I'll be going to Japan for two weeks in September with my friend. This will be my first big trip in ten years and my first time in Japan!! :D I've been wanting to go since high school so I'm super excited and hope everything will work out smoothly since we will be planning it ourselves. I guess I still have a lot of time to think things over. ^^;

That's all for now! It's been a while since I typed so much here, thanks if you read it to the end! :)