TiME LEAP AND FEEDBACK


★ Maybe everything you wished for won't become stars.
But if you have a dream to believe in,
They'll be thousands of the most glittering jewels in the night sky... ★

[Rabid Fangirl Rant Ahead. You Have Been Warned.]

Uta no Prince-sama ~Maji Love 1000%~ is a visual novel-turned-anime series with 13 episodes. It tells the story of Nanami Haruka, a simple girl from the countryside who is inspired to become a composer so that one day she can write a song for her idol. To pursue this dream, she enrolls into the prestigious Saotome Academy, which offers a one-year music program for students to be trained and groomed into performing artists. In this school, she encounters six men, each with a different personality, but all drawn to her and her music.

Thanks to Rei's blog posts and her new lay-out, I have been drawn into this madness! THESE SIX B E A U T I F U L MEN are currently my latest drug! Let me introduce you to Ichinose Tokiya, Ittoki Otoya, Hijirikawa Masato, Jinguuji Ren, Kurusu Shou and Shinomiya Natsuki -- perhaps, better known by their group name, ST☆RISH. I still can't decide which of them is the right prince for me. They're all so gorgeous, can't I just pick ALL OF THEM~❤ !?!?. But if I were to rank them for now, then I'll go for ♥Dark Natsuki♥ (he is just TOO HOT!) followed very closely by ♥Ichinose Tokiya♥ and ♥Ittoki Otoya♥.

They are not only pretty on the outside, but they also make really lovely music (the pop boyband type~♪). I don't usually watch OP and ED themes, but for this anime, I faithfully sat through all of them! It's been a while since I've gone bonkers over anime character songs, perhaps the last time was still back from my med school days, when WeiB Kreuz and Gravitation music tracks accompanied me during my study nights. But now, I'm so obsessed over ST☆RISH to the point that I've gotten hold of all their soundtracks, including drama OSTs and game OSTs! I have also been re-watching their "song scenes" over and over and over. My most favorite songs are the following (in order of the frequency I've re-watched their scenes): Nanairo no Compass by Ichinose Tokiya, BRAND NEW MELODY by Ittoki Otoya and the group's Mirai Chizu. IMO, I think the 3 strongest singers are Ichinose Tokiya, Shinomiya Natsuki, and Jinguuji Ren. But that doesn't mean I don't like the other three. I JUST L❤VE ALL OF THEM~!!! ^___^



I guess eargasm is much expected, as this anime houses a powerful cast of voice actors which includes Sawashiro Miyuki, Miyano Mamoru, Suzumura Kenichi, Suwabe Junichi, Shimono Hiro, Taniyama Kishou, and Terashima Takuma. I think I've fallen in l♥ve with the voice of Miyano Mamoru (the CV of Ichinose Tokiya). Incidentally, he also did the OP theme, ORPHEUS, which is just so awesome. I know he's already a really popular seiyuu with a huge fanbase but now I'm officially jumping into the bandwagon! I think I can listen to him forever! Sakamoto Maaya's so lucky~! But then, he's also lucky to have her. I think they're just a perfect match!!!❤

Well, enough of the colored fonts and ♥hearts♥ and going back to the anime itself....

As I've been ranting, the ARTWORK is eye-candy and the boys are just drawn so beautifully. At first I found Haruka's eyes too pale and weird, but I eventually got used to it. PLOT-wise though, there is not much to be expected.

I think Inagaki Goro might make a great Ichinose Tokiya,
but he's already TOO OLD for the role.

It is a stereotypical reverse harem show, complete with a playboy, a snob, a traditional guy, a mister congeniality, an airhead, a shortie, an eccentric, a mysterious being etc etc etc. The story, in all honesty, is weak and illogical. There are elements like music prodigy (can learn to read music after only one night in ze library WTF!), split personality, secret identity, a mysterious being etc etc etc that I find too far-fetched. And I just can't understand why Ichinose Tokiya and more than anyone, Hijirikawa Masato are trying to be pop idols. They are JUST TOO STIFF AND FORMAL! Hijirikawa is the old-fashioned kind of guy who sports a retro hairstyle and uses a brush to write his letters... and yet he dances perfectly in sync with well, N'SYNC! [ i has proof! click HERE! ]. Ichinose Tokiya, on the other hand, reminds me of Inagaki Goro, who looks so refined and elegant but in my opinion, always looks so out of place in SMAP. BUT RLY... WHO CARES!? When I saw ST☆RISH singing and dancing to Maji LOVE 1000% in the opening of episode 1, I no longer cared about unsubstantial storylines. I just know that I was sold and I've been converted into a *drooling-ogling* fangirl. It was humorous and exciting enough to make me look forward to the next episodes. There were also some scenes that really strike you right in the heart. Two of the most notable moments for me were:

Satsuki's stand-off with Hayato in episode 6, where he expresses his disgust over the latter's halfhearted performance...

"You're in the spotlight, but your true feelings hide in the pitch dark shadows.

It pisses me off.

I'm the dark side of Shinomiya Natsuki, but I don't lie to myself!"

... and in the last episode where Haruka breaks down in front of her grandma ...

"It was so hard, being right there and only looking on...

No matter how much I think about it, I can't understand why I'm not good enough..."

(Somehow, I empathize with her cos in one way or another, I've been through something like that in my life as well.)

Despite the drama-rama in the last two episodes (which Rei has kindly warned me in advance, thank you very much!), in the end I still got all teary-eyed and my heart still went ★DOKI DOKI de kowaresou sen-PAASENT LOVE~ HEY!!★. (un)Fortunately, Haruka doesn't really choose among the six boys cos she's too greedy she wants all of them and they all end up happily ever after. I'd rather remove Haruka from the picture though, and end the anime with THIS:

♥ ♥ ♥ YEHEY FOR BL PAiRiNGS!!! ♥ ♥ ♥

WHAT!!?? With the fanservice they were offering, this was inevitable!!!! I browsed through image sites and all I got were yummy delicious boys love images, fanarts, doujin arts...  *ahem!* I mean, I just want everyone to know that this is a perfectly normal heterosexual anime series, and there's no *cough!* bromance whatsoever *cough!*. I'm looking forward to playing the PSP game, listening to all the albums, and even more enthusiastic for the upcoming second season of the anime. Yes! A second season is very much on its way! And so this is not the last time we will be enchanted by our adorable princes, and definitely, not the last time you will hear me fangirl over them! *winks~*