Dog Days’

I’m not dead yet. Not yet! Geez, I hate teachers so much, honestly why do I have to put up with mock exams when I’ve only just finished my actual exams?! Great choice there, I really deserved it. Anyway, enough of the rant season 2 of Dog Days! Hooray hooray ＼(^o^)／

Name: Dog Days’

Japanese Name: ドッグデイズ’

Air Date: July 7 2012 – September 29 2012

Studio: Seven Arcs

Episodes: 13

PLOT

Three months after his adventure in Flonyard, Cinque gets summoned back once again this time bringing Rebecca with him. His cousin and rival athlete Nanami is also summoned to Flonyard as Galette’s Hero. The First Princess of the Principality of Pastillage, Couvert, leads her squirrel-like faction into the battlefield as well with the intention of scouting Rebecca to become their hero.

I had high expectations because season 1 was absolutely amazing! The original cast have reprised their roles which pleased me and that means I get to hear Loran’s gorgeous voice once again ❤

I’m sorry this has taken a while to type up, I’ve had so many things going on at the same time that I had no idea what to do! I’ve never had so much work before and I wasn’t allowed to watch season 2 until I finished all of my work… have to blame the mother for that. Thanks mum, I really do love you (-_-)

I’m watching this with my brother because he finds Dog Days as funny as I do. We’re both anime freaks xD whoo! I’ve got my snacks, drinks, cuddly toys and I’m ready to go! BRING IT ON.

First Impressions

It is now summer and Cinque brings Rebecca and Nanami to Flonyard where he spent his spring break. Cinque returns as Biscotti’s hero whilst Nanami becomes Galette’s hero. Nanami accepts the position and what’s going on with no questions asked. Of course, both heroes enjoy the battle because it gives them a chance to fight each other again. Rebecca prefers to watch the events with Millhiore who is still as adorable as ever ヽ(*´ー`*)ﾉ however, Pastillage scouts out Rebecca to become their hero and joins the battle. It didn’t take long to persuade Rebecca. But seriously, I had no idea what was going on in the first two episodes… it was all mushed together so quickly, my brain couldn’t even process it properly xD

Loran… you’re still so beautiful! I never forgot you because I love you that much *･゜ﾟ･*:.｡..｡.:*･'(*ﾟ▽ﾟ*)’･*:.｡. .｡.:*･゜ﾟ･* same goes to you Bernard! They haven’t changed at all! These men are wonderfully skilled as demonstrated in episode 2 and they work together very well. Teamwork is the best way to go! My teamwork is pretty good if I do say so myself, hate to brag but it’s true. I hate working alone, it’s more pressure so if you work together it’s shared between everyone. Am I right? Of course I am.

Cinque is still a dork as always (๑´ლ`๑) I love how he didn’t explain anything to Rebecca so when they jumped through the portal, Rebecca was in a state of shock. Poor thing. Cinque! You should have just told the girl everything. His friendship with Rebecca is lovely and it’s obvious that she has a crush on him…I’ve seen the way you blush girl! Don’t you go denying! *Insert sassy attitude* Cinque is as lively as ever though and when he returned to Flonyard I thought his reaction was the sweetest thing ever, I was filled with happiness (*´ω`*)

N’aww, they look so adorable together!

Éclair is still a tsundere! That never gets old, I think she’s rather adorable in some ways. Hehe, like when she wags her tail and says she’s not happy… liar! It’s written all over her face! Well, what’s a show without a tsundere? I do love tsunderes but everyone has a different opinion about them. But I do love how they eventually warm up to the other characters, I think Éclair has done this as she’s nicer to Cinque. It’s really subtle (^^)

Midway Impressions

Goodness gracious! Who is that hottie in episode 5? It was a feast for my eyes indeed (((o(*ﾟ▽ﾟ*)o))) that said hottie is Isuka Makishima, the older brother of Brioche d’Arquien… SAY WHAT?! I almost fell off my chair xD older brother characters are hot so I’m not complaining at all. Keep it coming, keep it coming!

So in episode 6, Cinque and Couvert accidentally release the Demon King (Valério Calvados) and chaos ensues when he peeps on all the girls… seriously? A pervert? What is the world coming to? Anyways, everyone gets pretty pissed off with him – especially Cinque – but then suddenly the Hero King appears to save the day! Turns out, the Hero King is Couvert’s ancestor and she’s a girl. Weird how she’s named King but she’s a girl. Well, Valério and the Hero King – named Adélaïde Grand Marnier – prepare to go back to their slumber however they can’t because the stone they were sealed in broke. Now they have to stay in Pastillage until it’s fixed. I’m kinda glad actually because I’ve grown to love Valério ❤

Cinque and Gaul look so manly it’s so cool! This happened in episode 7 where they have to defeat this large mouse demon. They had protective jewels and when they used them… BAM! They turned into hot grown ups o(≧▽≦)o god I turned bright red when I saw them! Plus Mamoru-san used his low voice when Cinque was grown up…it was incredibly sexy. I could get used to this xD and I found out that every time they use those jewels, they turn into grown ups! Yay!

Don’t you wish they could stay like that forever?

Overall Opinion

People who want wacky battles are in for a treat with season two. When there aren’t battle episodes, the series is filled with self-contained episodes that have a small conflict and is usually resolved quickly. There is no real conflict and the only drama in the season is one episode featuring Éclair questioning her and Cinque’s relationship and whether she should confess or not. Those who watch the show initially thought that they would be introducing a big bad character mid-season due to the character’s portrait being shadowed in the opening (yes it’s the perverted Demon King, Valério Calvados!) but that character turned out not so bad after all.

Seven Arcs did a pretty decent job with art and animation. The action sequences were really fast-paced and exciting and the art is good when it needs to be. As far as character design and costumes go, Dog Days’ is absolutely stunning. All the characters are really unique and well thought out. We get a new race of squirrel people and they all have big bushy squirrel tails as they should. Nanami and Rebecca’s hero outfits/barrier jackets are stunningly designed with really cool colours and even the generic soldiers had neat looking uniforms. Whoever did the designs for this series is a genius. Einstein even! Season two kept up the unique art direction season one had and the bright shiny colours kept me smiling with the feeling that the brightness was very appropriate for an anime where everything is happy. Overall, the art was very good.

The opening was done by Nana Mizuki who voices one of the new heroes and Ricotta. The ending is done by Yui Horie. Still, Fearless Hero is an amazing track that compliments the opening animation and lets you know this is a show with plenty of action and adventure. Yui Horie’s song is simply played as the ending theme over a scrolling cast of chibi characters also showing the cuteness Dog Days’ originally has.

The all star cast from season one returns and on top of that we get Aoi Yuki as the new squirrel princess as well as Eri Kitamura, Kousuke Toriumi, and others. Aoi does an amazing job being the high-pitched annoying excitable squirrel, as you would expect from a small rodent. Nana Mizuki returns as Ricotta and continues to make me smile every time she says “de arimasu~” after a sentence. Eri voices a new older character that says “nanodesu~” quite often. The voices are an absolute pleasure to listen to and I’m curious as to what talent they will get for season three. I want to see Valério again (^^)

The Hero King is the blonde haired girl…and then there’s Valério and Isuka (๑´ლ`๑)

As far as development goes we do see a bit. We get backstory about Yukikaze and Brioche. We also find out more about their world, summoning and the possibility that there have been Flonyardians that go to Earth. Millhiore and Cinque don’t get much development in their relationship, Éclair has roughly half an episode dedicated to her and her feelings for Cinque, whilst Rebecca’s and Cinque’s relationship is only slightly developed at the end. Cinque is a great lead character as he’s not giving into any of their obvious advances, and plainly acknowledges that he knows about their feelings but he has better things to do. I found it impossible to hate Cinque!

Dog Days’ was very character driven even though many characters could have been fleshed out more. They introduced so many amazing characters, that many times I just wanted them to stop introducing characters so they could expand upon the ones they already have.

If you haven’t watched season one, do yourself, me and the anime world a favour and go do so. If you are watching Dog Days’ hoping for edgy drama or conflict, you will be disappointed. The final episode of Dog Days’ strongly hinted another season which has been green-lit.

Dog Days’ isn’t the perfect sequel, but when you go into it expecting character-driven action-adventure cute-fun instead of grimdark plot, it’s as perfect as a franchise like this is going to get and that’s good enough. To me, Dog Days continues to be a breath of fresh air.

I’m debating on whether I should watch Ao no Exorcist, Junjou Romantica, Campione! or all three seasons of Hakuouki… should I pick out of a hat again? Or should I go eenie meenie? Decisions decisions.

Dog Days

This is the first season of Dog Days… there’s too much cuteness!

Name: Dog Days

Japanese Name: ドッグデイズ

Air Date: April 2 2011 – June 25 2011

Studio: Seven Arcs

Episodes: 13

PLOT

The Republic of Biscotti faces a predicament by the invasion of Galette Leo Knights. In order to save the country, Princess Millhiore summons a ‘hero’ from the outer world. Cinque Izumi, a junior high school boy living in Earth, is chosen as the hero to fight for Biscotti.

Whoo! Mamoru Miyano voices Cinque! I really do love this man ❤ Daisuke Ono, Takahiro Sakurai and Takehito Koyasu are also voicing characters in this so I’m mega excited! Yui Horie voices Millhiore so I have a hunch that she’s going to be freaking adorable…

First Impressions

Cinque Izumi is a 13 year old half British, half Japanese boy from Cornwall. He’s very athletic and straightforward which makes him super cute! Before spring break, he gets summoned by Princess Millhiore to be the hero for her battles against neighbouring countries. What Millhiore didn’t realise is that Cinque can’t return home or contact his family… oops xD Cinque is really adorable though, I just want to squeeze those cheeks! He’s like a younger Tamaki! And he’s funny; his reactions to many things are jokes ＼(^o^)／

From the moment they meet, Cinque and Éclair immediately argue. It’s quite amusing seeing them bickering, it almost relaxes me which is a weird thing to say (^_^;) Cinque doesn’t realise that Éclair is a girl until he accidentally grabs her boob. He got a good punch out of that xD

The rules of battle in the world of Flonyard are different, basically no one dies. Instead if they are unable to battle, they turn into… how do I put it? A ball. A round, ball of an animal. PWAHAHAHA! I wet myself when I saw it, it was so darn hilarious ﾌﾟｯ(※థэథ)∵.*.∵

I’m in love. Seriously in love with Loran Martinozzi right now. It’s not just his looks, it’s also the voice. That voice. THAT VOICE! Thank you Takehito Koyasu for voicing such a wonderful character! Loran is also the leader of the knights, that makes things all the more better! I would love a knight, especially one as hot as Loran ❤

Loran and Cinque look so brave (๑´ლ`๑)

Midway Impressions

I’m stupid. I’ve just realised that nearly every character in this series is named after food LOL. On the bright side, I’m very impressed with this series so far! It’s enjoyable to watch and it’s light so there’s no way I can get confused xD

Millhiore is so adorable it’s unbelievable. I want to cuddle her like a real dog… I’m jealous of you Cinque, you got to stroke her hair! I love how she wags her tail when she’s really happy, that made me go ‘awww’. Forget that! Now I want a puppy, a really fluffy puppy that will keep me warm through winter. Like a hot water bottle! Thanks a lot Millhiore (^^)

Millhiore is patting Éclair’s head?! Why not me Millhi?!

So Princess Leonmichelli Galette des Rois of Galette Lion Dominion declares a surprise war on Biscotti and proposes a wager… the sacred swords of their countries. Biscotti have Pallidion and Excelide whilst Galette Lion Dominion have Grand Vert and Ex Machina. The reason Leonmichelli announces this war is because she read the stars and found out that the holders of Pallidion and Excelide – Cinque and Millhiore – will die. Of course she doesn’t want Millhiore to die because they’re like sisters so she’s trying to hide the swords where no one can find them. That’s understandable, I wouldn’t want my friends to die so I’m hoping that this war will help prevent unnecessary deaths. Nobody understands the true motives though so they think it’s just for fun.

Loran is still as gorgeous as ever and he has quite a hot friend there ヽ(*´ー`*)ﾉ his name is Bernard Sabrage and he’s voiced by Daisuke Ono. No wonder! Bernard has long hair which makes me think of all the long haired characters Daisuke-san has voiced (￣^￣)ゞ

Why hello soldier ❤

Overall Opinion

Dog Days was one of those series that surprised me. The series just kept getting better as I went through each episode and it just goes to show that there are anime that’s good all round.

The series starts off like a number of fantasy series with our protagonist getting summoned to another world to assist with a war that is currently going on. Although the word ‘war’ makes it sound like something big is going on, a war in Flonyard is more like a game with a protective barrier to prevent anyone from getting seriously harmed. However as the series goes on, a catastrophe begins to develop and the characters are forced to stop it.

When the series first started, it looked like it wouldn’t actually have a plot because the series was all happy and cheerful. Flonyard seemed like a perfect world. However one plot twist would change all that and gave the series a foundation to build a plot on. The plot twist itself was also unforeseeable because it completely changed the mood from happy and cheerful to something more serious and dark. The plot itself is pretty simple, it doesn’t over complicate things and is pretty easy to follow. The story is also paced well too as it doesn’t try to squeeze it’s plot into 2 episodes like some series, and because of this the plot actually has time to develop. Dog Days also excels in an area where I’ve seen a number of series fail, the ending. Not only is it emotional and heartwarming but it also gives hope for a second season. Despite getting off to a slow start, for a 13 episode series the story is really well developed and paced. This definitely exceeded my expectations!

The animation was beautiful. The vibrant colors really added to the happy and cheerful mood that the series had initially. Also during battles the visual effects used to animate the magic are visually appealing too. The fights themselves are well done, they certainly weren’t lacking. With the exception of the protagonist and the minor characters from earth, all the other characters are half animal. They still look like humans, they just have animal features like ears and tail which make them look super cute.

The opening fit the anime because of the heroic feel it had to it. The ending sounded more sweet and had a really catchy rhythm. All the voice actors matched the character they were playing especially Yui Horie voicing Millhiore, it was a perfect match. All around a pretty solid job on sound.

I’ve noticed that a number of recent series have these weak and useless protagonists that really don’t do much, but this is not the case in Dog Days. The protagonist Cinque is called the hero for good reason; he’s always ready to fight and plays a significant role in many of the battles. For a human he has incredible strength and speed. He’s also able to handle the other character’s emotions really well being able to cheer them up when they are down and is a nice and likeable character.

The main female Millhiore is a gentle, soft spoken and well mannered princess but she does have some unique qualities that separates her from typical princesses. During the middle of the series and toward the end she fought the demon with Cinque showing that she can fight and defend herself. Also as an added bonus, she can sing and the songs she sings are always nice to hear and on top of that being half dog makes her extremely cute!

A lot of other characters also play a role in the story instead of just being pushed to the side. Ricotta helping with her artillery support and trying to get Cinque home, Éclair assisting Cinque in battle and also Leonmichelli who’s secretly trying to prevent the catastrophe.

SPOILER: At the end of the series Cinque is finally going home but before he leaves, Millhiore confesses her love for him. Cinque replies that he loves her too and then he leaves to go back home.

To be honest when Dog Days first started, I thought it was fun to watch but kind of stupid. But as the plot slowly revealed itself, my desire to watch Dog Days also increased. The random comedy at times was also hilarious which was enhanced by comedic facial expressions etc. and overall was an enjoyable watch.

Dog Days started out slow but once it got going it never looked back. The plot that was presented was simple but it’s well paced and well developed which is definitely worth the watch.

Cinque: “Haha! Of course this series is good, I’m in it!”

After watching this, I’m even more hyped about season 2! I can’t wait; I’m literally jumping on my bed because I can’t contain my excitement xD season 2, here I come! But I’m awful sleepy too so… (( _ _ ))..zzzZZ