Senyu (2013) 戦勇

the story took place in a world where an evil being called Satan ruled over the land through fear. he invaded the human world, along with his demon underlings, spreading madness and chaos everywhere. the king decided to send a hero to battle him. he declared to grant a title and great fortune to the one who defeated Satan. Alba and his attendant Ross too was part of the heroes that signed up for the quest.

despite the serious plot, the series was random and absolutely hilarious. it was visually simple yet very well drawn. like its plot, there were also no in depth character development. like Hetalia (2009-2013), the episodes were generally 5 minutes long. the series was unexpectedly addictive starting from the very first episode.

Skyfall (2012)

Bond's latest mission went wrong, causing agents around the world being exposed and the MI6 main office targeted. during the mission, M was forced to make a tough decision and it wavered Bond's loyalty towards her. it was later discovered that the man behind all these was a past agent named Silva. when Silva returned to threaten M, Bond had to aid and protect her from all harm.

as the James Bond films continued to progress, it became gradually ridiculous and unconvincing. the recent 2 Bond films that uses Daniel Craig had its own appeal, where a darker side of Bond was shown. unlike previous sequels where Bond was kept emotionally distance and mysterious at all time, this installment focused partly on his relationship with M, even revealing a small part of his past and childhood.

Tamako Market (2013) たまこまーけっと

Tamako was a normal young girl whose family made mochi (餅) for generations. one day, she came across Dera, a talking bird that claimed to be a royal court attendant, who was in search of a bride for his master. after their encounter and falling in love with mochi, Dera decided to stay with Tamako and became part of her life.

there weren't much plot for the series to based upon. while Tamako was an adorable and obviously likable character, Dera was unfortunately irritating. the series revolved around new mochi that was made for different occasion, which was definitely informational for us who are always interested. while the story followed Tamako around her small community, it showed their everyday life in a simple yet heartwarming ways.

Iron Man 3 (2013)

the world was slowly torn apart, led by a terrifying terrorist called the Mandarin. before Tony was able to do anything, his mansion was bombed down, destroyed by an enemy he made during his most successful days. now that his past came back to haunt him, he was pushed against the wall. he had to survive, putting his wit and machines together, while protecting those he held deary.

having watched all the previous sequels, this installment surprisingly turned out to be the best among the trio. having seen Tony in his greatest moments, seeing him now in the lowest point of his life became extremely engaging. he became relatable, more human than superhero. the humor was brilliant, often came unpredictably. there were also plenty of action and drama from its very beginning until the end. every change of scenarios was also absolutely entertaining.