Album released by:
-nipponsei

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Hatsukoi Limited Original Soundtrack
Release Date: August 5, 2009

Artist:

1. feel your heart
2. Future Stream
3. Otome Hiyori
4. Harikitte Iko~
5. Koi no Shunkan
6. first love impression
7. Uwasa no Yajuu Z
8. Soyokaze ni Notte
9. Chiisana Koujitsu
10. Koi no Etude
11. Genzai Shinkoukei
12. Kokoro wa Kumorizora
13. Nayami no Genin wa…
14. Wonderful Days
15. Yume no Naka no Waltz
16. Sae nai naa…
17. Anata no Yokogao
18. Kono Koi no Tadori Tsuku Basho
19. Soshite, Aruki dasu
20. Amanojaku na Kare to Kanojo
21. Sorette Dou nano?
22. Trouble Some Time
23. Sono Hitomi ni Utsuru Mono
24. Note no Rakugaki
25. wishful thinking
26. Panic Web
27. Bonnou no Sasayaki
28. Narande Arukou
29. Renai no Kousaten
30. pure heart
31. Gensou no Basho, Sorezore no Michi no Ue (OST ver.)
32. Setsunasa wa Itoshisa
33. Kono Kimochi, Tsutae Takute
34. Sunao ni Nare nai
35. Motsureru Kotoba
36. Anata ga Suki Dakara
37. Hatsuki limited (TV size)

Without CDscans

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Summary

The boys continue their journey of self discovery as they are faced with the realities of life. They are tired and hungry but they still cannot seem to forget their troubles and why they want to change. The boys continue biking as they sharing their reasons for wanting taking the journey in the first place. Sogabe shouts that he wants to be a better man while Mamoru declares that he wants to get back up in his feet. The two of them then ask Kusuda why did he take the journey and to shout it out. Silence then engulfs the guys as they see the beautiful ocean. In Kusuda’s blank mind, Kei appeared. Unable to hold his emotions back, Kusuda runs towards the ocean and the other two quickly follow. They then shout and declare their love for Kei, Chikura, and Misaki. The girls appear and asked if what the guy’s said was true. Shocked, the guys make a run for it and the girls quickly gave chase. Sogabe reaches a mutual understanding with Chikura, though they aren’t together they will support each other. When Kei catches up to Kusuda, she reveals that she also likes him. With that, they all head home.

Later Ayumi is wondering which brother she should go for. She gets advice from her classmates and friends then finally works up the courage to finish things once and for all. She then visits the Zaitsu residence and explains that she cannot give up on her first love.

Onibaku

So with the hectic college life on pause I can finally blog again. Woah my favorite color set as the motif in the episode. That sunset has got to be one of the best drawn things i’ve ever seen. So anyway…

This episode was good in that the animation quality was a step above anything that the previous episodes showcased but the downside unfortunately, was that the story got sacrificed due to time constraints. I was actually wondering if they were going to able to fit everything in 12 episodes and though they did, I can’t help but feel a little bit disappointed in how they rushed through the latter part of the show.

MisakiXYuuji, ChikuraXSogabe, and maybe even KeiXKusuda’s stories have taken a slight beating in the anime compared to the manga especially for Misaki’s story. Some great Misaki story elements was cut and thus, her story feels more like an unimportant side story that can be looked over. We did not get to see the “real” or “cute” side of Misaki which I had been hoping for. I can only hope they cover some stuff in a bonus DVD episode or something though I sincerely doubt that will happen. The ChikuraXSogabe thing was ok but I didn’t really feel anything from it. Sogabe just seemed like a character seeking others pity, which I did not want for him. The KeiXKusuda story wasn’t lacking at all, in fact it may have been too much. Their relationship’s over exposure proved a little too much as we see them do the same things over and over again, we can’t help but get a little numb.

All in all, though I do have many qualms about this show, the fact is that this show got me hooked and that is all an anime needs right? With great character designs and many plots to keep you entertained as well as stirring up emotions in people that I myself don’t understand, I would say this is a great series and I will definitely buy the original. If it is blue ray of course :P

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Hatsukoi Limited Character Song 1 – Enomoto Kei & Dobashi Rika
Release Date: May 27, 2009

Artist: Itou Shizuka & Kotobuki Minako

1. Hitorigoto -Kei-
2. Koi no ribbon
3. Hitorigoto -Rika-
4. Kou no Kage
5. Koi no ribbon (instrumental)
6. Kou no Kage (instrumental)

With CDscans

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Hatsukoi Limited Character Song 2 – Yamamoto Misaki & Watase Meguru
Release Date: June 24, 2009

Artist: Tanaka Rie & Shiraishi Ryouko

1. Hitorigoto -Misaki-
2. Utsuri Yuku Kisetsu wo Norikoete
3. Hitorigoto -Meguru-
4. start!!
5. Utsuri Yuku Kisetsu wo Norikoete (instrumental)
6. start!! (instrumental)

With CDscans

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Summary

After Kusuda shouts at Kei, he realizes that he would always run away when things got hard for him. He meets with Mamoru and Sogabe and they decide to travel together for some soul searching.  The girl’s soon discover that the guy’s didn’t go to school. Ayumi gets worried so the girls go to visit Mamoru’s place.  Before the girls can reach Mamoru’s house, Misao jumps out in a rampage of worry for his brother. Kei nearly calls Kusuda but stops when she remembered that he said he hates her. Ayumi grabs the phone from Kei and calls Kusuda.  Kusuda absentmindedly picked up the phone which later reveals their location.  After having some doubts, Kei gathers some courage and decides to go after the guys.

Onibaku

The series started out strong most likely because they didn’t deviate much from the original plot. However, my love for this show is somewhat declining due to the lack of character development of some characters and the overall lack of time in the show which forced the producers to rush things. Throughout this part of the manga, I felt as though I connected with characters and felt their “pain” so to speak but I feel nothing with the anime adaption. Sogabe seems like a baby who is whining about how he wasn’t blessed with good looks as opposed to him seeming like a guy who wants to be reborn into a greater man for the sake of the person he loves. Mamoru wasn’t given too much character development either so he just feels like a backup character. I can’t pinpoint exactly what is bothering me about Kusuda and why I liked him better in the manga but i’m willing to bet it has something to do with the way his story was told. It’s probably because they made Kei’s feelings way too obvious and i’m still just irritated that Kusuda wouldn’t act upon that. Not a very good start to my favorite arc, unfortunately.

The main thing I’m worried about is if they will short-change Yamamoto. She is my favorite herione and her story was my second favorite in the whole series. The producers butchered a good part of her story by making Arihara(Yuuji) go to what looks like a date with Yamamoto. Though I am very hopeful that they will put a twist in her story and possibly make it better than it was. I just really hope that they will show Yamamoto’s other side.

Next Ep: Final – It all depends on this episode whether I buy the DVD’s when they come out.

Summary It’s the first day of school for a new semester and Kusuda enters the classroom happy to announce that there were many big breasted freshmen. Kei, as usual, argues with Kusuda and insults him with the usual “kappa-face” name. The word “kappa” attracts Fudounomiya Sumire, the head of the drama club, who is looking for someone to play the kappa part in her play. She tries various ploys such as sex appeal and cucumbers to try to swap Kusuda into playing the part. Kei does not want Kusuda to join and repeatedly urges kusuda to ignore her.

Meanwhile, Megumi is still concerned about her breasts being too big when her old rival,Kyuuma Nanoka, arrives to challenge her to a swimming match. Megumi loses the match and falls into a state of depression. She then meets with Kei and they have a discussion about self confidence and breasts(wtf?). Megumi races Takei senpai but loses. Takei asks why did she quit though she is frustrated when losing. Megumi reveals to Takei that she is embarrassed that her breasts are too big. Takei tells her that he likes big breasts and so, Megumi is happy(wtf?).

Kusuda has declined Sumire’s offer for the part in the play and Kei is relieved. Kusuda is asked to deliver a love letter to Kei for one of his classmate’s. He reluctantly gives her the letter and they end up arguing yet again. Kusuda is now depressed so Sumire offers to listen to him and so he accepts. Kei sees this and picks yet another fight with Kusuda. Kusuda finally snaps and shouts at Kei.

Onibaku

I have some good news and some bad news. The bad news is that the production team did a horrible job with the choice and timing of the music. The scene where Megumi races Kyu-chan should have played music that would suite a competition, but instead we heard “Hajukeru limited tomaranai omoi…”(huh?). Don’t get me wrong I love the song but it didn’t go well with a racing scene that she would eventually lose because the song is simply too uplifting. The last scene in particular annoyed me. It was a great scene where Kusuda finally let out his frustration but unfortunately, the outlet was Kei. You could feel your heart sink as he shouted at her and the depression that would soon follow… but then suddenly…… “Hajikeru Limited! Tomaranai Omoi!” ….T_T. Same song, same problem. It’s like singing Merry Christmas in a funeral mouuu. One other thing that bothered me was that they were making Kei’s feelings way too obvious but all the while, Kusuda did nothing about it. I suppose you could say that he lacks confidence but that “tsudere” attitude was way too conspicuous in my opinion.

Despite my rantings, there is hope, good news! As I said I didn’t like how Kei’s feelings were way too conspicuous. Although they were conspicuous, it made Kusuda’s confusion toward Kei’s feelings much more prominent. It was way too obvious in everyone’s eyes that Kei liked Kusuda but then she would completely deny it and insult Kusuda to top it off. This made Kusuda’s line “leading me on, you’re the type of person I hate the most” make way more sense in the anime than it did in the manga, which would be a first :D Linking the two stories together using the common theme “breasts” didn’t really appease my disheartened soul, but at least they linked them both together somehow right?

So animation wise, I was a bit disappointed in the quality drawings, or rather the lack of. The episode mostly showed faraway shots of the characters as they were poorly drawn. The only good quality scenes I saw were in the pool. I won’t, however, let this get me down because the art in this show is still way more than other shows. I just hope I get some more leverage in the drawing department in my favorite arc, which is coming up next yeah!

Summary
It’s now the aftermath of Ayumi’s and Koyoi’s chocolate bomber plan and they seem to not regret anything as Kei scolds them. Kei tells them to imagine how they would feel if they were in their loved ones shoes. The pair realize their mistake and rush over to apologize. Meanwhile Kei is brooding over the valentines gift she gave Kusuda.

Chikura meets a talented senpai (Renjou) who painted her favorite picture of sakura blossoms. The two seem to get closer as Renjou helps Chikura with her own painting. Renjou then shares his dream about being a volunteer. Chikura supports Renjou’s dream with a smile. Renjou hugs Chikura because supported him on his dream. The next day Chikura waits for Renjou in the clubroom as usual only to find out that he had already left the country to pursue his dream. Cue dramatic music and a long scene with Chikura crying.

Onibaku

This episode didn’t do much for the melancholic side of me but i’d say it was still pretty good. I am really enjoying the Koyoi and Ayumi pair. As I have said before, the producers like to stick Koyoi in every episode to lighten the mood and I am completely thankful that they do. The range of facial expressions in this show is great and keeps me pressing pause so I can look at them longer.

There was a pretty long segment of Chikura reacting to the news that Renjou left. The ending song (sora ni mau) was an amazing song that fit well with Chikura’s segment. Although Chikura’s segment was pretty well done, it didn’t really evoke much emotion in me and I feel as though they spent a little too much time on it. They could have given some of that time to Sogabe as he deals with seeing Chikura happy and drooling over another guy.

The animation quality is still going strong with some great wallpaper worthy scenes. I am glad that they made an anime for this series because there are some great facial expressions that did not appear in the manga. I like the staff’s attention to detail and hope it continues.

Next episode is the Melancholy of Kusuda! I am definitely looking forward to that. The next episode after that will be the start of my favorite arc.

All are nipponsei releases.
#nipponsei @ irc.rizon.net

Please report to us if there are any broken links. You can send your reports here.

Summary
It’s nearly valentines day and as usual, both girls and guys lose themselves and go crazy. Yamamoto buys chocolate for Arihara but is wondering if she should give them to him. Since she looks troubled, Bessho offers to listen to her. Yamamoto later finds out that Bessho has feelings for her and so, she puts distance between herself and him. All the while, Mamoru tells Misaki that he wants Honmei choco (love chocolate) from her. Misaki is now troubled with two people who have unrequited feelings for her.

Ayumi and Koyoi have now banded together in order to lay a trap for Mamoru and Bessho. This is all to make them give up on Yamamoto. The two girls convince Yamamoto to give Arihara chocolate and the trap is set.

It’s finally valentines day and confession time. Kei, while giving Kusuda Giri choco(obligation chocolate), realizes that the chocolate she was about to hand him was not the one she bought. It was replaced when she bumped into Yamamoto the day before. Ayumi finds out and kicks the chocolate out of Misaki’s hands before she can hand it to Arihara. Yamamoto feels relieved that the tension is gone and apologizes to both Mamoru and Bessho. She then shakes Arihara’s hand and says “let’s start off as friends”.

Thoughts

Onibaku

I had some mixed feelings about this episode because it was not exactly what I expected. I was surprised to see that they didn’t show the actual bomber. They replaced the bomber all together with a short segment of Kusuda and Kei. They probably replaced it since accidentally trading chocolate for a real bomb with some random person is highly unlikely, so I thought that was the right choice. I was just slightly bothered by the fact that Kusuda had so much more confidence in here than he did in the manga. I don’t want to spoil too much but Kusuda had confidence issues which should have been resolved later but it looks like the directors might be going in another direction.

None the less, I still enjoyed the episodes because I love watching rejections. You could say I am a sucker for rejection scenes because I like seeing how people go about doing it. Yamamoto didn’t want to hurt Bessho and especially not Mamoru but she had to do it. Rejection is a reality that is something that we all can learn from and grow from, which is why I enjoyed the last scene. I also liked the way Bessho handled it, simply taking it as it comes and walking away from it all is a sign of manliness. They did, however, end the episode with “Are you in love right now” which I thought they would say after every girl’s story is finished but I know Yamamoto’s story isn’t finished which is why I hope that I am wrong because “Rainbow drop” was one of my favorite chapters.

I felt as though the animation quality dropped a little this episode but still had some scenes that have a high wallpaper worthiness. I especially liked my screen of the Kappa! They made good use of shadows and music to create a good melancholic mood for the final scene. I also liked the fact that they never have an episode that is too serious, they have been sticking Koyoi in the middle of every episode to lighten the mood LOL!

Next is Chikura’s story. I know I’m going to love this. Oh, the heartbreak.

Summary
Kei and Dobashi start talking about what happened in the christmas party when the fact that Dobashi has a boyfriend gets brought up. Kei explains that whomever is Dobashi’s girlfriend must be having a hard time since Dobashi doesn’t open up much. This was the problem throughout the majority of the episode. While Terai works up the courage to move forward with Dobashi we are told how they got together through a flashback. Later, Dobashi sees that Terai is working hard to get closer to Dobashi and she kisses him while proclaiming that she will work hard as well.

Towards the middle of the episode we have a small scene where Kei and Kusuda are wearing their christmas gifts. We are also shown the “Hatsumode” of the Bessho siblings and Koyoi’s battle with the “final boss” yamamoto.

Thoughts

Onibaku

The Dobashi arc wasn’t boring like I thought it would be. When I read through the manga, I basically skimmed through this entire chapter. This actually made me reread the arc all over again to see the reason why I didn’t like it in the first place. I found the kissing scene to be the best in the episode. I like the fact that the vending machine lit up when they kissed. It kind of gave the feeling that Terai is now filled up with happiness and confidence inside while all his previous doubts disappeared.

The producers paid a good amount of attention on making the characters as appealing as possible. I personally love watching facial expressions and thought there was a good amount there whether it be Dobashi, Kei, Koyoi, or even Terai for that matter. More over, no matter how many times I see it, I can never get enough of Kei blushing XD. I also saw Dobashi more as a girl rather than a tomboy like I did in the manga. Koyoi came across as just way too cute and yamamoto iwas way too hot =D

As for the animation, I’ve noticed they love using sunsets as a background. Most of the screenshots I’ve taken have beautiful scenery in the back. Mixed in with good animation and great colors, and good acoustics, the episode was a definite winner in my book. They also made Dobashi look whiter in this episode. Was it to make her look more like a girl?