Oh, how happy I am to be done with that. No rest for the weary, though. The new house won’t be ready until late March, so it’s motel life for me until then. It’s not all that bad, I suppose, but there’s one tiny little problem: the internet access sucks.

I mean, it’s bad. Really bad. It’s DSL, but the connection is so marginal that it might as well be ISDN. Actually, I’m not even sure it’s that fast. It’s good enough for the most basic of web browsing, but downloading fansubs is pretty much out of the question. There is some good news, however…

Longmont, high-tech hippy enclave that it is, has something like 50 coffee shops. In fact, the area ranks seventh in the nation for most coffee shops per capita. They’re everywhere. And, luckily, the majority offer free wireless internet. So, for the price of a double latte, I might be able to jump on IRC every so often and go on a downloadin’ bonanza. I’ll go in search of the best “coffee” in town some time tomorrow.

If that doesn’t work out… well… you might have to put up with me babbling about oldies for a month.

I’m drowning in a sea of boxes!

No time to blog, I’m afraid, so I’ll take my leave now. When I return later this week, I’ll be blogging from 5000 feet above sea level. In a motel. Next to a liquor store.

Until then, you know what to do.

Good News: Viz confirms Full Moon wo Sagashite license, plans June 2006 release for first volume.

Bad News: Quarterly release expected, meaning final volume won’t hit store shelves until Summer 2009. Planned failure? All I know is that I’ll be 31 years old by then. Hopefully, I’ll still have all my hair.

Good News: Mitsuki doesn’t die.

More Good News: Kimi ga Nozomu Eien licensed by Funimation. Monthly release of three volumes expected, beginning October 2006. In other words, the entire show should be out before the end of the year.

Sort of Bad, but No Big Deal, Really, News: Name changed to “Rumbling Hearts”.

REALLY Bad News: Mitsuki doesn’t die.

You know, the Nadesico movie would have been so much better had they ditched the whole Akito/Lapis/Hokushin storyline completely. A few tweaks here and there, and it could be removed with little detrimental effect to the rest of the story. Granted, it would have required cooking up some sort of future for Akito (have him die of food poisoning or something), but anything would have been better than what the existing script had to offer.

Otherwise, it’s a very cool film. That’s why it’s such an awful waste to see so much time devoted to a half-baked, half-coherent, and half-finished plot thread. Ruri deserved better!

Stupid wind. I go out to shovel the drive, and one end has a half a foot of snow while the other end has half an inch. Have you ever tried shoveling half an inch of snow?

Anyway, congratulations to BluWacky for posting the 100th comment here at Hop Step Jump! One hundred comments in two weeks? I couldn’t believe it, either.

I’m a little behind with this past week’s anime episodes, as I took a timeout to rewatch Nadesico. Why? I don’t know. Either way, I have the final episode and Prince of Darkness to watch tonight, after which I can attack my backlog. I haven’t even watched Mai-Otome 18 yet.

Regarding this coming week, the movers will arrive Monday to start packing things up, and I plan to be on my way to Colorado for good come Wednesday. I don’t plan to be without internet access for any length of time - assuming I don’t end up stuck in North Platte in the middle of a raging blizzard - but posting could be light for a few days. Hopefully, it’ll be an easy move. The fact I don’t have to pack much of anything myself makes all the difference in the world.

When I first learned Sakurabi Katsushi would be directing Yomigaeru Sora: Rescue Wings, I couldn’t help but ask, “Will it get the (competent) Gunparade March treatment, or the (disastrous) Tsukihime treatment?”

The answer lies somewhere in between, I think - or somewhere else all together. Rescue Wings overflows with the sort of tension found in Gunparade March’s most serious moments, all the while plodding along at the same careful pace as Tsukihime. The difference, I think, is that, unlike Gunparade March, the tension in Rescue Wings doesn’t come and go like Shinji’s fleeting manhood. And, unlike Tsukihime, stuff actually, you know… happens.

Before, I described Rescue Wings as “slice-of-life”. Now, I’m not so sure. Indeed, the show serves up a big slice of one man’s life, but an exciting life it is, all things considered. Following an initial introductory episode, the show kicks into high gear with a gripping two-parter which ends on a surprisingly candid and somber note. The following two episodes are left to character development, but the intensity of the show’s introduction can’t easily be forgotten. More is on the way.

Of course, for a show that masquerades as slice-of-life, character development episodes are especially important. While Rescue Wings doesn’t necessarily disappoint in this department, it has yet to impress. Our crew of pilots, mechanics, and rescuers are human to a fault, yet show little in the way of individual personality. And, unfortunately, the show’s lead is awfully one-dimensional, despite possessing an interesting backstory. There is a bright spot, however, in the show’s female lead, Hasegawa Megumi (voiced by Noto Mamiko).

This role is made for teh Mamiko. No doubt about it. And what a fascinating character Hasegawa Megumi is! Due to the show’s realistic character art, I’m not sure if Megumi is supposed to be physically attractive - she’s plain and bookish, that’s for sure. Yet, despite that, I find her to have such an appealing disposition. The reason, I think, is that she’s “real” - that is, she’s no standard anime archetype or caricature. Somewhere in Japan right now, Hasegawa Megumi is walking around, flesh and blood. It’s the tangibility that makes her so tantalizingly attractive.

And it’s that same tangibility that makes Yomigaeru Sora: Rescue Wings such a pleasure to watch. Sakurabi Katsushi has a hit a home run with this serious, realistic, and taut piece. The question I now ask, however, is, “Is anyone watching?”

Take that, Jun’ichi!