Hakuouki!

I have a new anime love, an anime based off a girl's dating game from Japan (obviously). It is a series based on the shinsengumi, and of course we get to be a girl who is amongst all these famous samurai, with obvious fictional elements...but that's what makes them interesting...(the art is beautiful! I love it).

I fall for the artwork every time I see it, because the characters are done so well. the individual look of each samurai boy, plus all the detailing in their costumes...

Chizuru the female protagonist is not hated by me, am I not the type of "fan girl" who puts hate into the female protagonists, rather I support the couples, how else do you expect romance anyway? the men can't fall in love with themself, and they cannot fall in love with you, either...so just suck it up, and enjoy being happy for them >_>. That being said, I do hate some female characters....I hate the annoying ones, the ditzy preps, there are some I just cannot stand, and I hate them even more when they take any of the decent males, esspecially from another female character.  I really hate the females that are hyperactive and bouncy, who think they can claim any man for themselves, who hate all other girls and cling to the protagonist, proposing they be married asap so the other girls won't take him, even if he doesn't want to.

Now I got that over with...I will focus on the main idea again...
Considering this is a 13 episode series based on a dating game, I'd say it was pretty good..I mean really, as long as I generally enjoy it, I won't bother critisizng it...unless there really is no romance. I mean really, you cannot label your show romance-based if there's no romance...it's unsatisfying for the view, pointless and bland...but you find reasons to watch it still if you are me....

So far ,Chizuru has the most feelings for Hijikata. Actually if you rewatch episode one again, it's obvious. Basically some of the first subtitles I read were her admring him, the way he looked, and how his hair flowed....she did not do that for the other men.
Why is there a girl with the shinsengumi?
Chizuru was on the run for one reason or another, and ended up into a group of posessed samurai...and was saved by no other than the great Hijikata. (Also when she started admiring him)
because her father went missing, and since the men are also looking for him, they let her stay. She was kept captive for a bit, as it was a suspicious time and after seeing the possessed men, she wasn't really just going to be set free. Also being it's a place full of men only, she was confined to a room....but all the main male characters grew fond of her and let her come out when she wasn't allowed XD...than Hijikata allowed her to join in on patrols, as she wore her male clothing and pretended to be a guy, but we all know the men here are fond of her regardless of how she dresses, she is still a female, and she tries to pacify them when she doesn't like violence...but she soon realizes some things are inevitable.

Also, did I mention how they react when she's dressed up as a woman?

words like "cute" and "babe" made her run out of the room embarrased, as she is quite shy about it. Than she sees Hijikata outside...and I'm pretty sure deep down inside, he feels more than those boys do :).

also, if he did not, why would he be shown seperately and last? it had importance, and he was calm about it, which made her more relaxed..perhaps he already saw she was pretty before she was forced into a kimono, and expected no less?

I think Saito's design is wonderful. I love his scarf and the way his hair sits, and the color of it looks nice with his overall appearance.

Awhile I do miss their traditional shinsemgumi uniforms, the western style ones look amazing too. It is easy to tell that regardless of the west influence, there is much flair if Japanese in it. For example, the subtle patterns on their coats, ie Okita's has koi fish. It is quite amusing to see Chizuru walk around and notice how all the men look, and naturally, the last one is Hijikata :)...and how she does notice him XD. He sits there, calm and natural as if it was made for him, and she is in awe.

 Sadly we have to say goodbye to their artistic-inspiring long hair that used to flow quite pretty when they were fighting, and welcome their shorter hair styles....but they don't look that bad to be honest.

Chizuru

<3 Hijikata...so composed, how could Chizuru not stare? Lol.

and as you see, the anime version has less fine details...but sacrifices have to be had for animation..you still have the nice still images to look at...plus, they got their own style, I really do like both.

Now, considering this is based off a date sim, I guess it's fair that I conclude who my favorite pairing possibilities are:

Saito x Chizuru

Okita x Chizuru

Hijikata x Chizuru.

and yes, there is blood...come on, it's a samurai-based anime...blood is quite important here XD..for more than you realize if you haven't seen it yet *cough*.

Personally I'm not a fan of Heisuke, the younger boy that is the same age as Chizuru. They may have their youth to share and relate to....but really, I think she's best off with one of the above three, and they are more capable of protecting her too.

plus....did you see half the artwork of Heisuke? he looks like a freak XD...what's with that expression? I don't know, he's just so uncomposed and noisy looking...he makes the entire group artwork look bad, it barely even matches the other's expressions. He might also spout cute hero things, but he is still a child in some ways. If he dies, I might miss him a bit...but I'd miss him far less.

And for those who go on about how Chizuru is useless...at least she tries to take care of the stubborn guys...and, don't forget when she stood infront between Sen and those armed men, when she could've just expected the guys to do it.

I'd like to write about season 2...

however, there are no subtitles released yet, as anyone anticipating this sequel knows. I looked again today, as episode 3 should be available...I watched the previous episodes raw, so I can tell you so far: possessed gunmen vs samurai=cheap. Hijikata showed some affection towards Chizuru, nothing quite major, in a sense...but cute. All the guys are dressed in their western-influenced clothing, Chizuru seems quite amused...really, she probably enjoys staring at the guys more than she admits. I don't recall what all happened, it's been a week already. Considering the danger of the situation I mentioned, it is to be assumed that someone is going to die...actually, about that....oh, nevermind, I won't say anything :P.

You know, by posessed gunmen, I mean like this...only not wearing cool samurai clothing, and more hatable since they want to hurt our characters...which being "organized" gunmen, they all walk together shooting, like a slow mob of zombies...something like that anyway...their minds arent much worth credit.


but wait...why are they possessed? that potion was shinsengumi-related, not really public knowledge...why are they in this state? well they are evil, obviously!...that poses a silly question when you don't really think about it, because evil armies always have something, which makes me ask "Who is doing this? is Chizuru's father supplying these men?". Kazama thinks that potion is stupid, and the man making it is "on his side"...so who?, or, why?
I have never played the games, sadly I do not know Japanese...otherwise, yes, I would go play them...I hope they release one of the PSP titles in north america...please! XD....Atlus could pick it up, they do great with indie titles that are always wonderful...(although I've only played Persona and Dokapon Kingdom for most of my atlus gaming experiences, 2 of my other titles are as hard as their reviews told me >_>)

My wish is to see this series licensed by someone, or have a well-done subtitled dvd release that we can watch. I also wish someone would release an english-subtitled release of Iroha(Bakumatsu Kikansetsu Irohanihoheto).....I don't want the over-popular-lization of a major license company to touch either of these 2 series, not because I hate them, but I dislike the annoying fanbase audience that ruins the enjoyment of a good show... just subs is good for me there...english dub is okay, but the re-cast would mean higher price unless lots of copies were made.

and that is the end of my Hakuoki post....sadly. I take into consideration that I am not here recap word for word what wikipedia tells you, and I'm not an official "blog" of anime updates...so, I hope I give enough.

I'd love to say how excited I am about buying the latest merchandise related to this anime as well...but unless you got a hole burning in your pocket, don't even LOOK at the products! or you will be having less than a hole in those money pockets, crying inside and/or remorse for those who CAN afford them and show off to the world.....am I jealous? XD...Duh. and if you do buy them...don't tell me o.o