Well, maybe not “all kinds” of awesome…but, it’s at least two or three types of awesome.

I’ve only two more episodes left, but I already know I’m going to miss this one. I broke down, finding myself on a frantic google search for the plot summary a few moments ago.  I usually don’t try and spoil the ending of a show for myself; yet, I found myself eager to know what was going to happen.

It isn’t really a spectacular plot or intricate story. It is incredibly fun. There are lots of explosions and such.

Plus, there are giant robots. I was starting to go through a bit of giant robot withdraw.

I like everything about Eden of the East. The Op and Ed are done very well. The characters are interesting enough. The story is getting off to a good start. After three episodes there is enough information with abundance of mystery to keep me awaiting each new installment.

I found it interesting that the show starts off in the US and quickly returns to good ‘ol Japan. Although, I struggle to find the reasoning behind it. Other than the benefit of unique scenery (for an anime), what was the reason? I can’t see it being a big part of the plot, unless the US is bombing Japan. That would be interesting, but I don’t think they’ve made any allusion to that. It was mentioned that some of the Japanese population thought this, but that doesn’t really count.

Eden has highlighted one thing very explicitly.  Apparently, the best way to pick up cute Japanese girls is to expose yourself. Also, the best way to get pants (trousers for you English folks) in the US is to show off your fun parts.  Without a doubt, the best way to get out of trouble with a female police officer is to whip out Johnny.

…I learn so much from anime.

I’m sure you are asking yourself what exactly I could mean by “experiment.”  It’s simple really. While watching the first episode of Saki, I found myself being fairly entertained by something I know little to nothing about. That being the game of Mahjong. I don’t know how to play. I don’t know the rules. Nada. My little experiment will be to see what will happen if I continue to watch this show. Will I be able to enjoy a show about something I know nothing about? Will I decide to learn how to play the game, or will the show become annoyingly specific to Mahjong players, ruining the experience?

I don’t really think that the last option will be the case. After all, there are plenty of examples of anime based on card games that do well despite the viewers having no real interest in the game.

There is always the off chance that something entirely unexpected will happen, too. I’m sure it will all be very exciting. Well, not for you, probably. Unless you are following the show as well. It sure makes Mahjong seem awfully entertaining with all the lighting, smoke, and sound effects.

After finishing Asu no Yoichi, I am forced to admit that it is indeed a far superior anime than Toradora. It accomplished in twelve episodes what Toradora was unable to do in twenty-five and one crappy SOS parody.

I know what you are thinking. If Asu no Yoichi! was so awesomotastic, why wasn’t I blogging about it? In fact, I actually spent last month’s post blogging about Toradora and not God’s Gift to Anime Asu no Yoichi.  I know it will be hard to understand for most people, but sometimes when something is of such a high quality and infused with such emotional significance, even a blogger such as I becomes lost for words.

But, what exactly made Asu no Yoichi such a good show?  The answer is more simple that one would imagine. It was grandiose monologues about the heroic nature of the other characters given by Yoichi.  His directly pointing out the noble actions of other characters is what made the show “work.”

Well, that and hair bows. Yeah, hair bows and giant boobs…and exclamation points. Exclamation points are the mark of a great series.

Taiga and Ryuji are the only characters in Toradora that have experienced any “growth” throughout the series. I say that very sparingly because it wasn’t as if their character changed as much as it was that they were shown to have been accepted by those around them.  The key point here is that they were always the way they have been portrayed in recent episodes. For instance, Taiga has always supposedly been hyperactive and cheerful. Albeit, the presumed history would say it was only around her best friend Minori. This is shown in both the opening credits of the show (both versions) and in her interaction with Minori during each episode.

Taiga and Ryuji share the same distinction in that they were “misunderstood.”  The other characters have diverged from their set personalities at times or we were given some small glimpse into their inner thoughts, but for the most part all the characters are the same as when we were first introduced to them in the beginning. It is that we know more about them now, in particular, Taiga and Ryuji.

From my last Toradora post:

If there is one common vein in the connections between characters in Toradora, it is that the characters were fixed in a direction and they continue in that direction no matter the results.

I think this is what people have been seeing in the story that has kept them watching. Toradora’s story is about people being people. We’ve all grown accustom to characters having some type of revolutionary change.  There is always some event that forever alters the landscape of the plot and the characters themselves. Whether it be the average school boy who turns out to be the only one who can pilot a giant robot to save the Earth, or the Magical Girl who turns out to be the only one who can control the legendary power that can save the world. Most of all, we are conditioned to look for an antagonist, or something approaching that of an evil opponent that the hero/heroine must face in order to save that which need saving.  That conveniently distressed something-or-other.

It isn’t that Toradora is without these antagonist who are the enemies of our beloved characters. No, this is very much not the case. As a matter of fact, it would seem that there are an equal number of opponents, one for each of our cast. Each one has somebody to face off against in the final battle for all our salvation.  Of course, they may be a bit hard to find if you aren’t looking for them. Because, like you or I, the opponents that are most challeging to the characters in Toradora are they themselves. With each character, the one who is constantly tripping, stifling, and getting in the way of their wants is nonother than the same person who wants.