Light Novel Review: Kantai Collection Kakuyoku no Kizuna Vol 1

Hello everyone! This is my review of the Kantai Collection light novel series-Kakuyoku no Kizuna volume one! Since I have already watched the anime series, I will be comparing it to the novel version since most people are familiar with the anime series. Furthermore, I am reading the Mandarin version since I knew how to read Mandarin.

Synopsis: The setting is the present day and the oceans of the worlds are invaded by a mysterious force known as the Abyssals. All conventional weapons are useless against the Abyssals. The only ones who can stand up against them are the reincarnation of the navel ships of the past, now young girls with the strength of an one man army. The war has been going on for a while and newly awaken aircraft carrier girl-Zuikaku is the latest to join the fleet. Together with her older sister, Shoukaku, new allies and the Enigma Admiral of the base, how will Zuikaku fare in this new but familiar environment?

If I have my way for the anime series, I will use this novel as it's baseline. From the beginning of the first chapter, you are introduced to the world of Kancolle and how it's operated through Zuikaku's eyes since she is the focus of the story. The Admiral (who finally talk) unlike the anime series gave a run down on the history of the Abyssals and how the technology of the Kan Musume came about.

Zuikaku who is nicknamed "Lucky Aircraft Carrier" due to her past life being unharmed in the sea was all pumped up to help defeat the Abyssals. However her enthusiasm caught up with Kaga and self proclaimed rival, Hiyou after a successful maiden mission. But thanks to Shoukaku and other allies, Zuikaku learn how to be a better Kan Musume and not relying on her past history.

Zuikaku is the typical female lead who is strong and cared for her friends like Fubuki in the series. However she doesn't take rejections easily and even headbutt with the Admiral after one of his decsions is considered suicidal. The Admiral himself is the typical male lead who is a cross between Ogami Ichiro of Sakura Wars and evey hentai male lead who like to tease on every girl that become his secretary for a day.

Shoukaku is lovely as the calm older sister similar to her anime counterpart but more thoughts were given to her psyche since she get a bit overprotective to Zuikaku and almost make the ultimate sacrifice in the novel. The rest of the girls were given more personality like the four Kougo sisters worked well as a team. Akagi and Kaga were like their anime version with Kaga being the straight person but she is the first one who understand Shoukaku's weakness and took the hard approach on her.

The rest of the book also introduce the Submarine Musume which we didn't see in the anime and the appearance of a new Abyssal that took out a big chunk of the fleet. Without spoiling too much, this volume was a great introduction to the world of Kancolle and if you like Zuikaku and Shoukaku as your lead, this is a great start to begin with. I am almost finishing reading the second volume and so far, it is way superior with better characters and storyline compared to the anime series.

Overall, if you get a chance to read it whether it is in Japanese or Mandarin, you won't be bored every step of the way!

Go Princess Precure Ep 25 Top 3 Moments and Review: Fire and Water

Gokigenyou! This is my review of Go Princess Precure episode 25 and it is the beginning of the Summer holiday and everyone went to stay at Haruka's hometown!

No 3: Welcome to Haruka's hometown!

Haruka invited everyone including Towa (who has no idea what to do for the holidays) back to her home town for a stay-in. The town reminded me of a classic era of Japan (Look like the 1920s) When they arrived at Haruka's home, her family especially her father was too happy to see her again.

Haruka! Daddy is here!!

Minami...your cheek...

The girls also helped around Haruka's family cafe and later did some activities together like-Naka Soba, eating watermelons and enjoying the sights of the town.

Minami actually brought three large suitcases for the trip and in her first suitcase was filled with melons fruits. The second was filled with firecrackers which they later light it up at night. Although what was in the third suitcase which they never revealed in the end?

No 2: Towa still has nightmares about her past.

Despite having fun with everyone, Towa still has an uneasy feeling about her being Twilight. She had a nightmare of Dyspear chasing after her and when she woke up, Minami was beside her. Towa admitted to her that she feared every night since it reminded her of being Twilight and the things she did with Dyspear.

During the fireworks session, Minami told her there is nothing to fear about the darkness and assured Towa that she can always rely on everyone if need be. Although Towa teased Minami about ghost stories and she was embarrassed about it.

No 1: Fire and Water sometimes do Mix!

Shut was forced to listen to Lock's orders to collect more despair energy and when he saw Towa again, he was filled with confusion on what to do. This led him to turn a volunteer firefighter into a Zetsuborg.

The Zetsuborg attacked Towa but Minami rushed in to save her. The two quickly transformed and at first they have problems with the Zetsuborg. But Cure Flora and Cure Twinkle arrived and they combined their Bubble Ripple and Scarlet Spark to weaken and finished it with Phoenix Blaze. Shut was furious about his defeat but somehow he was attracted to Cure Scarlet..

After the previous episode about Towa and Kirara, this week is about her and Minami. I am thinking that it is to develop Towa's relationship with the other two girls since Haruka has already fullfilled her friendship trust with Towa in previous episode.

Compared to last week, I felt Minami is just being herself and giving advices on Towa on believing in her friends. Towa who still feel guilty of her sins, tried to bottle up her emotions. However Minami see through her and given that Minami also has a similar problem before of shouldering everything to herself, it is fair that she make Towa to trust her friends more.

The rest of the episode is about experiencing Haruka's home town and her family again. The girls did the usual summer activities which is typical in the obligatory summer anime episode. The only interesting thing was Minami was really looking forward to visiting Haruka's hometown and bringing items related to summer showed how innocent Minami can be since this is her first summer with "normal people".

The only thing I was hoping is to see Haruka's father go all over protective on her. Do you think that by the end of the series, Haruka will introduce Kanata or Yuki to her father? It will be one hell of a soap opera to see his reaction!

Overall, I gave this episode a C plus. It is an average episode about the summer activities and how Towa and Minami experienced it for the first time. The rest of the episode was okay although Shut seems to be infatuated by Cure Scarlet. Do you think he will have a change of heart by the end?

Look like it is up to me to save the day, Puffu!

Next episode, Towa suddenly fall ill and the girls are out on errands. It is up to Puff and Aroma to help her! But dangers await them! What will happen next? Find out more next week! Until then, Gokigenyou!

Robot Girls Z Plus Ep 3 Review: What a Gathering!

Hi everyone! This is my review of Robot Girls Z Plus episode 3 and today it is the first Robot Girls festival!

Team Z were waiting in the dressing room although Z Chan claimed they are the strongest and the rest are pushover. Geccha and her team also arrived to add some insult when suddenly Hayato Jin (who came out of a locker) claimed he has created a new team-Team Gou!

Team Gou came on stage to introduce themselves but Team LOD also tried to snatch the spotlight from them. Everyone got on stage and were about to battle when suddenly Bossborokko crashed into the stage, ruining the whole festival.

Is Gre Chan poking Shou's breasts?!

The girls got up and heard an announcement from the mayor that to have everyone together as a big team rather than fighting each other which everyone agreed. However a mysterious lady is about to make her move on them...

This is probably my favourite episode since almost everyone is here. (Poor Jeeg San and Pan San) But it seems like Hayato (who probably went Coco for Coco Puffs) formed his own team-Team Gou which is based on Getta Robo Go. Getta Go (As it was known) is the black sheep of the Getta series since it is the least popular and came up during the 90s where Robo shows aren't interesting any more. Gou Chan is the lively one, Shou Chan is shy and Kai Ojou is proud.

Baru Chan is too CUTE!!!

Next is Team LOD is based of Gaiking: Legend of Daikumaryu. Now called Triple Gai Chan, she is still as hot-blooded like Z Chan whereas Rai Chi is like Liger Sama and Baru Chan is cute! But the best part is seeing Bossborokko crashed into the stage in her Boss Robot suit which in the original canon, it is made out of scrape parts from the leftovers in the Photon Energy Institute.

Poor Team T...

There are also some cameos like Baron Asura and her two followers selling refreshments in the audience stands. The remaining Team T members sulking as they watch Gai Chan and her new team and guess what, Musashi is still around in bandages! Of course, the last scene with the mysterious lady is based on Pikadron from the Getta Robo G vs Great Mazinger movie.

Overall, a great episode and see you next month to find out what happen next!

Go Princess Precure Ep 24 Top 3 Moments and Review: Perfect Strangers (Kudos if you know this title from a 80s sitcom!)

Gokigenyou! This is my review of Go Princess Precure episode 24 and Towa began her life in school and a room mate to Kirara!

No 3: The New Team Transformation and Teamwork!

During the battle with a new Zetsuborg created by Lock, the girls finally transformed together and with their new teamwork, they make quick work out of the Zetsuborg thanks to Cure Twinkle and Cure Scarlet's new combination attacks which I explained how this came about in my No.1 moment.

The girls were also surprised that Lock has grown to an adult when they first encountered him. Furthermore, his new Zetsuborg seem to be stronger with it's red horns on the top of their head. Overall, the focus of this episode was not on the battle but the conflict within Kirara and Towa.

No 2: My name is Akagi Towa!

Towa introduce herself to Kirara's class as Akagi Towa. Her family name was given by Principal Mochizuki from last episode. Why she was given this name is a mystery through her family name mean "Red Castle" which is fitting for her.

Although she was pretty serious during her introduction when she announced she is the princess of Hope Kingdom which got Kirara all panicky. Luckily nobody in class took it seriously. Furthermore, she was excellent in many areas like ballet, violin practice and even in academies though Towa claimed she got help from Minami and she is a fast learner.

However Towa still act like a princess and couldn't do simple tasks on her own like wearing her own school uniform or waiting to be served lunch at the cafeteria (Though Towa gain some followers to serve her food) which got the others concerned.

No 1: Kirara and Towa overcoming their problems with a Hug and some Tickling!

In the beginning, Towa was worried that she couldn't get along with anyone and portrayed herself as a proud person. She confined with Haruka and the others which they told her to always start with a smile but she couldn't understand how.

Meanwhile, Kirara was putting unnecessary pressures on herself after she was offered a new assignment which will make her even more popular. It caused her to spend more time on her job rather than helping Towa to adapt her new lifestyle. Worse that it actually affect her in her studies and her model job which she was completely tired when she came back to the dorm late night.

Later, both of them were assigned to clean the laundry for the dorm and one of the sheets flew away. The two of them found it in a forest and discovered a small lake. Towa finally asked how to smile naturally as she felt uneasy in her new life. Kirara replied with some hugs and tickles which got Towa all laughing. Kirara also realised she should do the same thing for her job by being positive and not giving herself pressures.

This is a great picture of Towa and Kirara!

Of course after the battle, Kirara and Towa became better room mates with Towa looking forward everyday to school...

Overall, this episode is a Kirara and Towa centric episode and I like it! Some of you might wonder why Towa isn't a room mate to Haruka or Minami instead. I am thinking that it is probably because of personalities.

If Towa is a room mate to Haruka, Haruka will spoilt her like a princess which is not good since staying in dorms is a good place to learn some independence and if she is a room mate to Minami, both of them will clash since Minami is pretty strict and Towa hated being order around.

Kirara is perfect since her carefree attitude is good for Towa to take her time. Of course, Kirara have given Towa her nickname-Towachi which mean Kirara has accepted her as her friend. Towa also has to learn how to do simple tasks which in the beginning, she couldn't and still wait for Kirara and the two mascots to serve her. Even hanging laundry was a difficult task for her but Shirogane gave her a tip on how to hang properly.

Other moments in the episodes are how Shut was also surprised on Lock's new form which I am sure he is against of Lock taking charge in Dyspear's absence. Kirara seems to get a new manager as I recalled her previous manager was a lady with specs (Did she fired her previous manager?) and she was today's Zetsuborg victim.

Finally, Aroma claimed the girls finally got all twelve Princess Keys however Towa claimed her keys are from Dyspear so it might not be part of the original twelve. If that is the case, it could mean the girls are getting a new upgrade which it is pretty soon if we followed how the storyline of a Precure season progressed.

Principal Mochizuki joined the cast. (It's getting crowded!)

In all, I gave this episode a B since the battle is not as interesting despite the new team transformation. Both Kirara and Towa overcome their problems by having a pep talk and some hugs which is really nice and sweet.

In the next episode, it is the summer holidays and the girls are staying at Haruka's house which double as her family Sweets shop. But Shut was ordered by Lock to do his biding. Will he bite his pride and obey or defy Lock? (I really want Shut to survive to the end since he isn't really a bad person) Until then, see you next week! Gokigenyou!