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Dated 24 November 2008: Full Moon wo Sagashite DVDs

Mitsuki
If you don't own any Full Moon wo Sagashite DVDs, you're wrong.

How many Full Moon wo Sagashite DVDs do you own? I have seven, and I would own more except there hasn't been a new release since December 2007. Given the shape of the current anime market (i.e. the bubble popped—predictably, I might add), it makes me worry if we'll ever see the six or so remaining discs.

Mitsuki
If you've never watched Full Moon wo Sagashite, you're really wrong.

I understand Full Moon wo Sagashite is somewhat of a difficult title to market. For years, it was often lamented as one of the "this will never get licensed, EVER" shows along with To Heart and Kokoro Library. Well, we got two out of three, but Full Moon wo Sagashite is 52 episodes long and a shoujo clock show to boot. It's got one of the best endings of all time, but how do you get people there? Gunbuster has one of the best endings of all time, too, but it's only a six-episode investment.

Mitsuki
Yes, I'm serious.

How do you convince people to commit to a 13-disc series? Hell, I went years without watching even a minute of the show despite hearing exceptionally rave reviews from people with established credibility I could trust. And I watched it for free. But, come on, it's about a 12-year-old girl dying of throat cancer who transforms into a 16-year-old girl to become a singer.

Mitsuki
You're going to have to trust me on this one.

But it's more than that. I finally decided to give it a chance after seeing a screenshot featuring two shinigami characters. Now, I had watched enough anime by that point to develop a mental image of what shinigami might look like (and no, they weren't anything like Momo, and only a little bit like Rukia). Meroko and Takuto were not what I had in mind.

Daniel and Momo
Daniel and Momo from Shinigami no Ballad.

So I figured Full Moon wo Sagashite had to be at least a little different. I set my reservations aside and gave the show a chance without preconceptions. Turns out, it is different. And it also turns out Full Moon wo Sagashite is really damn good.

Madoka
Madoka should have believed in Takasu who believed in her.

This is one of the very few shows I broadly recommend. And I also encourage all y'all to buy the DVDs, because quite frankly I suspect the title probably could use more sales. I hope the long interruption since the last release (with no release date for the next installment in sight) isn't indicative of abandonment—but even if it is, maybe it's time to put your money where your mouth is. That is, just how committed to "supporting the industry" are you? If ever there was a series that deserves it, it's Full Moon wo Sagashite.

Dated 14 February 2009: In re Girls With Bats

Shimizu Kaoru
Kaoru is the Best Girl in Major. Ryoko has more game, but Kaoru is a peach.

Kasumi
Kasumi from Hand Maid May is one of anime's All Time Babes,
and only partly because she's a natural right-hander
who takes baseball seriously enough to bat left.

Minori
Minori also deserves special mention for batting left and throwing right...

Minori
...and for being kinda broken inside.

Chidori Kaname
Chidori vents some aggression.

Narue
It's Narue's World. We're just living in it.

Mamini
Mamini is this post's Mendoza Line.

Sakaki
Sakaki is pretty athletic, but I'm scoring that at bat E-9.

Iizuka
Iizuka also bats left, but she's a natural southpaw.
I doubt she can hit, but her on-base percentage is pretty good.

Momo and Daniel
I guess Daniel isn't technically a bat, but it's kinda academic, since
you can't really let Momo from Shinigami no Ballad play ball.
People would die.