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Hallo all! Mushy_Squishy here again! Well, dear Naroki has informed me that it's fine if I want to post my random rantings and reviews of anime-things here. So, I thought I'd start off by pimping what has quickly become my new favorite anime: Kyo Kara Maoh!
Some of you might already be familiar with Kyo Kara Maoh (or Kyou Kara Maou, which many people refer to it as). If that's the case, I'm sorry.
Oh yeah, by the way, KKM is considered a parody/shounen-ai title, so if you don't like shounen-ai (very light Boy x Boy stuff) or crack-humor, then perhaps this isn't for you.
Here's the skinny: Kyo Kara Maoh starts off in present-day Japan. Our main character is a black-haired, black-eyed boy named Yuri (Yuuri) Shibuya. For the most part he's a totally normal highschool kid. He even used to play on a school baseball team. Well, one day on his way home from school, he sees one of his schoolmates, Ken Murata, being hassled by some jerks, and he takes it upon himself to break it up. Unfortunately for Yuri, they decide to pick on him instead, and they take him to the ladies' bathroom and try to flush his head in the toilet. In a strange twist of events, not only is his head sucked into the toilet bowl, his whole body is taken with it. And thus, he is flushed into an alternate world.
After a big of a scuffle with the locals, who are deathly afraid of him, he's rescued by the brave and handsome Lord Conrad (Conrart) Weller. Conrad wisks him away and takes him to a little cabin, where he and another man, Gunter von Christ, proceed to explain to poor confused Yuri that he is actually the king of their kingdom, the aptly named Great Demon Kingdom. They know he is king, Gunter explains, because of his black hair, black eyes, and the fact that he is dressed in black. So therefore, he is the king.
They then go by horseback (with Yuri hitching a ride behind Conrad, since he doesn't know how to ride) to the castle, where Yuri is to meet his adoring public and take his place as rightful demon king, etc etc. At the castle he meets many people, including the skeptical Gwendal, the sexy ex-Queen Celi, and bitchy Lord Wolfram, the youngest son. When Yuri finally realizes he's not dreaming, it becomes obvious to him that he's in way over his head. And by the end of the first disc, he's in way deeper than he could ever have imagined.
The following review-thing is based off of the first disc. (Languages: English and Japanese. 125 minutes. 13+)
Well, first off, the voices didn't kill me. I was so happy! Sure, they were a little strange, but it wasn't hard to get used to. Most of the voices fit pretty well, they were pretty interesting voices I think that actually carried a good amount of emotion, but the only one that really caught my attention was that of Wolfram. He's voiced by a lady named Mona Marshall. The first thing I thought was that it sounded a bit like Zim (Invader Zim), but that's only when he's shouting. And then I realized, Hey, that's Izzy from Digimon! I hadn't heard that voice in quite a while. When I looked it up I found that she also does the voice for Toboe from Wolf's Rain, Minoru from Chobits, and Bikky from FAKE (All of them are boys, btw.), and a bunch more from things I haven't seen. Yuuri's voice is pretty good too, Celi and Gunter aren't bad, and Yozak's voice (and his character) crack me up. ^_^ My least favorite voice was Conrad, but it's still not particularly bad.
The whole show (so far) was a bit strange, but I think that's what attracted me to it in the first place. I already knew what I was in for, for the most part. The animation's pretty nice (not that I'm hard to please or anything) but of course it's not as intricate as a lot of other anime out there. It's just a different style than some. As for the story-line, well it obviously has trouble settling between a serious story and random humor, which is fine for me. (Although it's almost impossible for it to have a completely serious story. It is a sort of parody, after all.) At times you could tell that it was meant to be a parody, how the humor was just so... I dunno, ironic? ^_^; Like the "slap on the left cheek = marriage proposal" thing, and the "pick up a butter knife = challenge to a duel" thing. So random and stupid you didn't think it'd happen, but it did.
I love almost all the characters, in their own way. Yuuri is a definitely likeable sort of person, pretty average, but the kind you'd like to be friends with. In the first disk we've hardly got to see Wolfram's jealous side, except a bit towards the end, but you can just tell from the start that he's that passionate sort of person, although being raised an aristocrat made him stuck up. (I love him! Character-seriously-in-denile #1.) Celi/Cecilie is quite interesting. ^_^ She can't seem to help flirting with anything that walks, but everyone seems to have accepted this, so when she starts flattering her own sons, people know that there's nothing behind it. It's just her nature. Then there's Gunter ("Forgive me! The naughtiest, most irresponsible image just flashed through my mind! *nosebleed* I must go clear my head!") He reminds of of someone... who is it..? Oh yeah! Ritsu, the crossdresser from Fruits Basket! ("I'm sorry, I'm sorry! I apologize to the world!") Well I see Gunter as one of those poor pathetic characters you just want to give a big hug to because everyone takes advantage of them. ^_^ Oh, and then Yozak. (Yuuri: "That's a wonderful pair of biceps you have..") Likes to crossdress for a disguise. He has the roughest voice and most manly arms, I'm not sure how he gets away with it. But it's amusing. (His voice reminds me of Vin Diesel.)
As for music, I hardly even noticed it. So there's not much I can say aboutthe background music, except that it all tends to be rather medieval, to fit the setting. Oh, but I liked the beginning theme: Hateshinaku Tooi Sora Ni. The ending theme isn't bad either. (And I love the ending video: Wolfram and Gunter chasing Yuri around the mini-recap-screen in the middle. ^_^)
In the next disc: Hopefully we'll get to see Wolfram's pink nightgown. I'm assuming Yuuri's mom will want to continue their talk about the black...um, well...thing... *giggle* that she found under his bed. Maybe there will be more cute baby-Yuuri flashbacks. Pirates with horrible fashion sense! Will Yuuri perhaps ever learn to ride a horse so he doesn't have to hitch a ride behind Conrad or Wolfy? (Not that any of them mind.) Will Celi start her journey for "free love"? How many more people will Yuuri encounter in his "private" bathtub? And how many more times will he be called "Urine"? ("Geez! Like I haven't heard THAT one 50 thousand times in my life!") All this and more, whenever the heck the next disc comes out! (Sometime in July, I believe.)
Now, despite the length of that rant, I've left a lot out, and every little thing makes this show even better! So, if it sounds appealing at all, I suggest you go pick it up, or at least find more info on it. The official website (where you can find several clips) is www.kyokaramaoh.com or if there's anything I'm missing, feel free to ask me!