The Discussion of...

Review - Banner of the Stars

2010-07-02T16:48:00.000-04:00

Banner of the Stars represents the worst - and occasionally, the best - aspects of modern anime (modern being used in a grand sense, as I realize the show is ten years old). The "best" comes from some excellent space battles and genuine concern with military tactics, something we don't always see in even the most military minded shows. The "worst" comes from the numerous, aggravating tropes that it relies on otherwise, tropes which give a bad name to both the medium and it's fans.

The best way to describe Banner of the Stars is that it is indicative of the subtle, at times disturbing subtext that often creeps its way into anime. You start watching the show, thinking you're going to see a riveting space opera. But there are certain elements which seem out of place, and subjects which are of an inordinate amount of concern to the characters. The show is about a large scale conflict between an alliance of human nations, and the Abh Empire, the Abh being genetically-engineered space elves who are more beautiful and superior in every way. We are never given a reason as to why we should be worried about the Abh instead of the humans (perhaps the reason is more clear if one watches the prequel show, Crest of the Stars, though I somehow doubt it). The clearest reason I can think of is that the space loving Abh insist that they are the only ones that can bring sophistication and enlightenment to the planet loving humans. This is the same notion that every empire has believed throughout history, including the ones that had a penchant for genocide. If they were presented as a race who simply wishes to be left alone, I could understand the decision, but this is clearly a faction out for conquest and power. That we are supposed to relate to them based on nothing more than the trust of the author is absurd.

In addition to the Abh personnel who dominate the cast, there are a few normal humans hailing from conquered territories who have made a career for themselves in the military. One of them is Crest/Banner's main male protagonist, Jinto. All in all, Jinto is a fairly typical teenager; he worries about his future and his place in the vast universe, as well as where his career might take him. When he's not thinking to himself, he tends to be fairly teasing and smart alecky. The fact that he's not a walking angst machine is a relief, but I still don't like him. Perhaps the most defining aspect of Jinto's character is that he has royal status in the Abh Empire due to his family acting as turncoats. Based on what the show (and a bit of internet research) suggests, this status was granted before his escapades in Crest. He has been made better than his the rest of his kind by default, and that's that. There's an attempt to make us sympathize with the fact that he has no longer has any home or family, but it ends up being predictably half-assed, a vain attempt at making him human to mask the fact that he's been given several opportunities of a lifetime.

Alongside him is Lafiel, an Abh princess. Her character type sounds nearly identical to that of Hoshino Ruri from Nadesico (this may or may not be coincidence, as Banner was in book form when Nadesico first ran, meaning the anime version of Lafiel could have very well been tweaked in response). She has the body of a late teen and the personality of a computer, speaking coldly and logically, stopping every so often to call people stupid. She's one of several proto forms of the tsundere and generic moeblobs in general. The fact that such an important character is made so boring and insufferable is one I still can't wrap my head around. It's almost as if she is made this way so she is forced to learn how to be a person through Jinto, in turn making their romantic future an inevitability. But no, that would never happen in an anime.

The show's only interesting characters are the Abh's older fleet commanders. While they are all bored, pretentious space elves, their penchant for cutting each other down leads to quite a few excellent burns. I wouldn't have minded watching them bicker for longer. This would have been a possibility too, considering that most of the 13 episode show is spent watching characters talk. Unfortunately, the early episodes instead feature Jinto and pals wasting time, which is far, far less interesting. It also gives the creators an excuse to show long shots of random female Abh personel bending over or giggling with each other. This fanservice is some of the most bizzare I have ever encountered. It is possible that these shots are meant to represent the wandering eye of the male crewmembers as they unwind, but this angle is never explored or addressed. The alternative is that these scenes are meant to put a more human face on the Empire, though this is done in the creepiest way possible. You can't get rid of fanservice, but at least be honest about it.

In any case, any conversation that isn't about military strategy tends to go nowhere. We here arguments for the virtues of cats (which are clearly superior to dogs in the eyes of otaku everywhere), which gives one of the crew an excuse to creepily hover over Jinto throughout the show (if only he managed to sleep with her. The ensuing chaos would have been worth it). We also get exchanges between Jinto and Lafiel that are as exciting as watching two real life teenagers bickering.

But as I mentioned before, the battles and tactics are thrilling, even when they spit in the face of physics and come up with hairbrained concepts in order to govern the rules of engagement. The show does a fine job of explaining how war is waged in this setting, and it gives every battle a proper sense of danger, as if the heroes - or anyone else for that matter - can be blown to pieces at any given moment. I find this to be a crucial addition. I may not like the crew, but I can tolerate watching them fight, knowing that actual skill and intuition is what gets them through. Furthermore, despite the fact that the humans are hardly personified, they are shown to be capable in battle. Until the very end of the show, both sides of the conflict continue to outsmart and outmaneuver each other, to the point where the war almost ends in stalemate. Having the conflict come down to the wire keeps it interesting, though at the same time, it makes the decision to focus on the Abh to be that much more peculiar. Despite all of their advantages, they cannot simply wipe the floor with their enemies. They certainly don't fight like faceless goons, and yet that is what they remain as.

The bottom line with Banner of the Stars is that, if I want to reach a little, and act like a dick, then the answer to all of my questions and observations is simple. This show is escapist fantasy for otaku masked as space opera. Insecure kids who are unhappy with their homelife and who have undefined notions as to why they are superior to everyone around them would eat this shit for breakfist. Jinto is both the person they imagine themselves to be and the person they wish they could become, while Lafiel is the girl of their dreams. The Empire, then, is the perfect and wonderful race whom they'd rather be with, even if the reasons as to why they should be amongst them are nonexistent. If people like to see that kind of junk, that's fine by me, but I'd appreciate it if they did so in a much more clearly defined way. Instead, they sneak it into something like Banner of the Stars, which has all the potential to be a wonderful space epic, and instead exists as something far more mundane and pathetic. I wanted to like this one, but it gave me every reason in the world not to.

Review - FMA Brotherhood Volume 1

2010-06-17T12:06:00.000-04:00

Seeing as he is the biggest Fullmetal Alchemist fan in the family, I'm sure Rich will review FMA: Brotherhood in its entirety sooner or later. For now, I'd like to chime in on the 13 episode first volume that Funimation has put out on Blu Ray and DVD. My experience with the original anime consisted of less than a dozen full episodes, a few more half watched episodes, and a few explanations from Rich and others to fill in the gaps. I have a general idea of what happened, but the "when" and "how" are vague to me. So while I'm not completely alien to FMA, my perspective will be guided by very few direct comparisons.

To refresh our memories, FMA: Brotherhood is less a remake of the original show as it is a redo. Like any number of shows, the original FMA was based on a manga, one that was far from being finished at the time. In order to compensate, they stretched the story out as much as they good, and eventually had to branch out in a completely different direction. The result was still beloved by many, but as the manga soldiered on, I guess it became clear that the "true" story needed to be brought to life as well. The result is FMA: Brotherhood, which follows the manga right to the end, and in fact both the show and the comic will wrap up right around the same time. A nifty idea to be sure, but there's one problem; there is so much new material to cover, that all the storylines that FMA Classic actually shared with the manga had to be compressed into a much smaller batch of initial episodes.

Apparently, almost all of this content is covered in this first volume, which may make it the most painful for seasoned fans. From my perspective, however, it works well enough. This volume has a very brisk pace, quickly jumping from one event to another. This is something of a sticking point with anime fans, as Brotherhood seemingly breaks one of the great pillars of anime - character development. With everything happening so rapidly, the motivation for each character, as well as the payoff for each new revelation, are potentially weakened. I agree that there are instances in this volume in which this does indeed occur: I can think of at least two scenes in which someone tells the Elric brothers that they cannot help, to which Ed replies with a quick, unemotional "okay", as if he was chatting with a coworker he ran into in the hallway. You get the feeling that if the writers didn't have to include these scenes for consistency's sake, they would have never found their way into Brotherhood, as they aren't given nearly enough time to simmer.

On the other hand, the Elric's first adventure in the City of Lior, once a two parter, is salvaged by being condensed into a single episode. The original version of the story is a good example of how anime can drag o by taking too long to say or do anything of importance. The new version just feels right, while also being shorter.

The problem with Volume 1 of Brotherhood is twofold. The first is that most of us who are trying to critique it are doing so with limited information. For instance, I know that certain characters and scenes are given the short stick compared to what goes on in FMA Classic, but I have no idea if these episodes are playing out more closely to the manga, or whether the manga strictness only starts at a certain point in the show. If all one has to go on is the events of the first show, then they are making the wrong comparison. Are they really writing out a character too quickly, or were they given extra screen time previously? These are the questions which must be asked in order to get the right sense of just where Brotherhood succeeds and fails. I don't have the answers myself, but then again, I'm far from being a diehard anime fan. In the meantime, all I can do is state that the plot compression works on a case by case basis.

The second issue is that anime fans sometimes have a warped view of what "character development" actually entails. Sometimes, I think most of them would define it as "any instance in which characters spend a lot of time talking about themselves." This stems from the incorrect belief that trying is equal to doing. You would think that lots of dialogue between two characters would help us learn more about them, but it is hardly a guarantee. And even if it is done well, if a character is later rendered unimportant to the story (see most of the cast of Final Fantasy 7), then all of their character development becomes wasted. There are lots of ways to shape a character, and in turn, lots of ways to ruin them. The reason that Brotherhood's compression is so hit or miss is because each scene and conflict is affected differently by it. Taking a black and white stance on these changes is easy, but it also distorts the product.

The other noticeable aspect of Brotherhood is its more frequent use of wacky comic relief, which is sprinkled liberally throughout otherwise serious situations. This bugs quite a few critics, and rightfully so, but once again, I don't think it is universally terrible. Furthermore, I think the show's over-reliance on humor makes a case against the quality of the show's writing. FMA has always been a serious affair, often to the point of melodrama. If you played any the joke scenes straight, they would look just as ridiculous, if not more so. There is rarely room for any grey areas in FMA's dialogue. You're either making a grand speech and talking in platitudes, or you're running around flailing your arms about in an effort to mix things up. You never see effective casual speech, or slang, or anyone that sounds like they would during day to day chatter. Screaming Chibi characters are the only way to keep the show well grounded; the only way to round out a character going toward one extreme of characterization is to put them into the opposite extreme every so often.

This might sound as if I am disparaging Brotherhood, but the truth is that I consider it a show that makes its intentions very clear. The melodrama works because the show is built with it in mind. It isn't shocking to see ridiculous feats of alchemy when Major Armstrong is ripping off his shirt and yelling hilarious declarations at his enemies. If you took one away, however, the other would look silly on its own. The comedy bits achieve the same level of balance for the rest of the cast. Brotherhood may falter a bit with its dialogue, but it is also affected by an anime fandom who's idea of proper tone and script writing need calibration. FMA doesn't sound like poetry in motion, but it doesn't need to. On that note, it may not be the greatest show in history, but again, it doesn't need to. It's a fun adventure with an interesting setting, that so far has managed to keep me watching from one episode to another. Volume One may be the weakest episodes in the bunch, but they're far more serviceable than anyone has given them credit for.

We're all F-ing Nerds

2010-06-02T11:24:00.000-04:00

Today I have a bit of psuedo Psychology. Apologies if you find it unbearable....

I want to talk about two kinds of fans, which are in some ways dramatically different, and in other ways incredibly alike. Let's start with the more classic example. I don't know if this fan has a special name (though if it does, I'm sure TV Tropes has coined it), perhaps because it doesn't need one, but for now I will call him The Itchy Nerd. The name comes from the classic Simpsons scene in which diehard Itchy and Scratchy fan complains about a minor animation discrepancy, who Homer puts down by essentially calling him a Big F-ing Nerd. We all laugh at this scene, but deep down inside, we know that we have been the Itchy Nerd at some point. He is the kind of person who uses minor details and specifics to drive home a point that no one else tends to care about. There are many reasons for why he may do this, but they tend to be self serving. He may be trying to defend an extreme opinion, or he may wish to put someone down in order to make himself feel better. Whatever the situation, the Itchy Nerd has no concept of a middle ground. You are either with or against him, and even those who don't agree just as passionately, or act just as obsessively over a show will find themselves in the "against" camp. For the Itchy Nerd, his culture is a battlefield, where he must take shots and build a defensive wall.

The trouble with this type of fan is that his rage is not only misguide, but misinformed. As children, we nerds tend to find ourselves at odds with the norms of schoolyard culture, and we are told that our problems would go away if only we could change. At this age, we fail to understand that this change does not have to be complete, and that it is extra challenging for someone who finds acting "normal" to be so odd. We make excuses, avoid the work, and cling to what we love and lash out against anyone who tries to take it away. If instead we were to try and become more social, while also partaking in our favorite parts of geek culture, we'd find ourselves with the same amount of struggle, but we'd get a much better future result. Those who do make the change tend to do so when they're adults, when they've had more life experience and no longer have to prove themselves the same way they had to back in school.

The Itchy Nerd sprouts when one fails to change, and instead dives deeper down into the realm of misanthropy. Their continued struggle is answered with justifications. The Itchy Nerd also tends to abuse science, either because they don't know any better, or because they think they can get away with it. They behave as if a piece of literature can be analyzed like a science experiment. Since they delve into so many minute details, they can easily present the most facts, which makes them (and anyone who falls for them) believe that their argument is water tight. In reality, their examples may be entirely insignificant, but that kind of qualitative analysis has no place in their world, despite the fact that they care very much for the quality of any given work. The Itchy Nerd makes discussion tough, by focusing on all the wrong things, and exhausting anyone interested in the topic with a deluge of information. They make fans look petty and narrow minded.

Now we turn to the other fan, who my younger brother and I long ago dubbed as "cool nerds". Cool nerds are the kind of fan who loves all sorts of geeky stuff, but are afraid to show too much of their hand. They are something of a reaction to the Itchy Nerd; much of what they do is in hopes of not looking like that kind of person. They often speak using generalities and short, concise statements. Depending on their opinion, this approach will serve different purposes. If they merely like a show, they will appear to be only mildly interested, as if it is only worth some of the valuable time they pretend to have. If they hate it, it looks as if the show is so bad that it isn't even worth a paragraph of writing. If instead it is something they adore, there is an air of mystery. It looks as if they know more than they let on, but are unwilling to share the details. If you can't figure out why it's awesome on your own, then tough luck.

In truth, the Cool Nerd is usually just as bored and misinformed as anyone else. However, they believe that their approach will allow them to look cool and knowledgeable amongst their fellow fans, while having to do little to no work for it. Other like minded individuals can then echo agreement and reap the benefits. The Cool Nerd's lack of verbosity means that they will often try to backpedal, or simply change their mind, knowing that there isn't enough pin any semblance of hypocrisy on them.

However, should you try to do so, or should you try and argue their point with some sort of evidence, this kind of fan will try to win by quickly pulling out the Big F-ing Nerd card, to paint you as someone who is trying too hard or acting obsessive. If they have succeeded in earning the respect of others, this is a battle you often cannot win.

The thing about the Cool Nerd is that their behavior is caused by the same faults and desires that creates the Itchy Nerd. They too failed to change, but rather than holing themselves, up they ran into the kid in High School who skips class by hiding in the bathroom and smoking, and for whom everything in the world sucks unless it is something that their brother in college introduced them to. The two types are also similar in that they are entirely self serving. The Cool Nerd isn't trying to justify themselves, but they are trying to boost their image by trying to at once both distance themselves from geek stigma, while also trying to take on a "mysterious stranger" persona. This is less of an archetypal nerd, and more akin to the common internet addict. They stifle conversation by making it meaningless, and assume that for the rest of the world, their likes and opinions are understood as a matter of course. The Cool Nerd is why the Internet isn't Serious Business, except for when they want it to be, in which case they'll scold your jovial attitude with a single sentence.

Together, these two types of fans demonstrate why "Talking About Things on the Internet" is more frustrating than it should be. The 'net should be our home for grey areas, but instead we treat everything as being black or white. By writing this post, I am even engaging in this appeal to extremes. What perpetuates this is an odd, communal belief that writing or replying to anything must follow some intangible set of rules. Every time I see a debate on moe, or the quality of the webcomic XKCD, or the definition of hipsters, I feel like I'm reading the output of a computer program. The statements, responses, and assumptions made are always the same, and usually in the same order. It is like they are responding via muscle memory, because they all fail to see that the very same discussion occurred among the very same people only a month earlier. It makes you wonder if the Cool Nerds or Itchy Nerds are playing a part handed to them. All the world's a stage, even if the players live on the Ethernet.

You get what you need

2010-04-27T13:02:00.004-04:00

I've been reading several news items which, in different ways, all trace back to the grand issue of pirating anime and manga. This isn't a new debate by any stretch of the imagination, but it is only recently that I began to notice a specific trend among the fansub/scanlation crowd; more and more, one of their primary justifications is that they simply refuse to wait for any product to come to our shores. If the western side of the industry cannot give them a new episode or manga volume at the same time it releases in Japan, then they have instantly failed in the minds of these folks.

This is a classic example of debate on the Internet, in which the conflict stems less because one side is "pro" and the other is "against", and more because one side is arguing philosophically, and the other practically. Each side can bring up both good points and extreme positions, but the fundamental differences between each camp means that resolution is nearly impossible.

In the case of fansubs and scanlations, the practical camp is obvious - anyone who can't wait for a product to be localized sounds like a petulant child, especially considering that anime is quite the luxury in the grand scheme of things. The practical fan wonders whether their impatient peers have nothing else to do with their time, whether they are cognizant of any other form of entertainment or leisure. For the practical anime fan who also happens to enjoy video games or foreign cinema, the situation is even more puzzling. Japanese games (and foreign films in general) have gotten better at releasing as close to simultaneously as possible, but there are still many instances in which one must wait. For the most part, gamers may agonize over having to wait a few more months for the next Final Fantasy, but they still do it. The only people who rush to get the Japanese release are a minority of diehards who rarely show up outside of websites like gamefaqs.com, who are mostly laughed at as they boast about an experience that they can barely figure out.

As you can probably tell, I personally fall into the practical side. But that doesn't mean that the philisophical arguments are entirely lost on me. As a lover of computers and technology, I understand that we live in a global, wired world. East is not isolated from West, and the youth from both cultures feel much more connected to each other than their parents and grandparents did. For the young anime fan, their favorite form of entertainment doesn't look as foreign and exotic as it is made out to be, and the fact that it can be delivered to them so quickly through digital means makes them wonder why they should have to wait. Usually the answer is that it takes time to do a quality localization, but this observation is not nearly as immediate.

There are enough differences between anime and video games that most comparisons are not apt. The fact that games are often tied to a closed platform has a huge affect on how people perceive and buy them, if for no other reason than that it forces both the producers and consumers to pay attention to hardware and embrace new technologies. But with all that being said, I think that the cause of the industry's struggles, and the root of the fansub/scanlation problem, is the same one that has affected every other entertainment medium. The only reason we focus on it more with anime is that, being far smaller than Hollywood, gaming, or music labels, it is affected far more strongly.

This cause, of course, is the Internet. We still don't how the hell to deal with it, and it is becoming more and more obvious that not everyone is in agreement on how we should handle it in the future. You have older techies (AKA any geeks in their mid 20's and older, myself included) who knew a world without the Internet, who saw it evolve and take shape in some form or another. These folks understand the awesome power of the Internet, which has the ability to connect the globe, as well as free information in a way that no invention has managed to do since the printing press. For the techies, it is society, rather than the Internet that should be changed, but their love and knowledge of the 'net's power means that this isn't something they wish to rush. They want to observe, to ask questions, and ultimately find a way for everything to coexist peacefully and responsibly. Unfortunately, such vague and high concept ideas are of little interest to anyone in the Real World, and so these ideas fall on many a deaf ear.

Then there are the younger generations who have known the Internet all their life. These people also know how powerful it is, but they're too young to know or care about what it all means. They just know it can give them stuff for free, and in their mind, it is up to businesses to find a way to adapt to this, despite the fact that it contradicts everything that the business world has ever known. They may be the future, but for now, they don't understand that the concept of "making entertainment that no one has to pay for" is far more sweeping and involved than they think it is. There may be a day in which capitalism vanishes, but for now, the concept of paying for luxuries isn't going away, nor is it that horrid and obsolete. We have a generation who have yet to receive a single diploma who are ready to jump into Star Trek, in a world where the United States can't even figure out health care.

The businesses are the last group, and they're the ones who are most grumpy about the Internet. They've finally realized that it's free and open nature can barely coexist with the traditional concept of asking people to pay for something they want. They're finally trying to "fix" this dilemma by focusing on the 'net as delivery method, while ignoring every other aspect that makes it work. If you want a look at what this future might look like, you need to look no further than the increasingly walled off garden that is the Apple iPad and iPhone, which are doing their best to convince consumers that taking control from them is in their best interest, while also trying to make them forget that they're paying a premium for digital versions of products such as newspapers. For the techie crowd, this is an absolute nightmare scenario.

So, we have three groups, none of which see entirely eye to eye, and in the middle is a concept that is changing civilization. No one has the answers to these huge, sweeping questions. In this light, I no longer find it surprising that anime doesn't have the answers either. I don't want to see the industry fail, but if it does, it sure as hell won't be alone. And that's the scariest thought of all.

2010

2010-02-24T04:18:00.000-05:00

Changes Coming Soon!!!!!

What we Watch

2010-02-05T15:48:00.006-05:00

With anime, localization is inevitable. The bottom line is that unless you know Japanese, there is no possible way to see an anime (or read a manga) in an unaltered form. How much alteration one should strive for is the topic of much debate in the fandom. There are a lot of valid opinions on the topic, but lately, I've been tired of how certain fan beliefs have a tendency to warp and mangle potentially decent productions.

Here's a good example. I was recently watching Gundam 00 on Bandai's Youtube channel. I enjoyed it, but I felt as if there was something off with the dub. The voice actors seemed to be quite capable, but the dialog, as well as the delivery, felt so awkward and stiff. I talked about this with Rick, and he had a possible explanation. Many of my favorite dubs are those which are not afraid to take certain liberties with script translation, in order to make it work well for english dialogue. On the other hand, the actors may end up working with a script that amounts to little more than the text you'd use for subtitles, which doesn't work nearly as well when spoken. After hearing this, I figured that Gundam 00 probably used the latter approach, so while it was serviceable, I could hardly consider it great.

Imagine my surprise, then, when I saw how many people claimed that is was one of the best examples of a dub they had seen in a long time. Why did they find it so appealing? Rick explained it as such:

"It probably resembles the conversations they play in their head as they're reading a fansub."

Another example is this announcement from game localizer NISA in regards to the new Disgaea visual novel. This an official announcement, from a professional publisher, and not only does it have typos, but it reads like the first draft of a school essay. When I see such bloopers from NISA (and they happen quite a bit), I can't imagine myself supporting a publisher that allows such shoddiness. Yet NISA has quite a dedicated fanbase! I read someone who pointed out that the above link reads like your average manga scanlation, which probably explains why people don't look at it and laugh their asses off. To them, it sounds completely normal.

Now there are times and places where we can debate the validity of opinions. This isn't one of those times. The fans are promoting dialogue that actively ignores the rules that quality spoken or written English, and companies have no qualms giving them what they want. There are several reasons for this trend, each of which snowballs into the other.

Back in the early days, anime fans couldn't be very picky. It didn't matter how poorly localized/translated a work was. With anime being so new, so fresh, so exotic, you weren't going to turn anything down.

But you can't stay in the baby phase forever. Today, anime is in its "adolescent" phase. Which isn't to say it consists of only teenagers (it mostly consists of them), but that the overall maturity level of the fandom is still developing. As we all know, adolescents have a habit of doing stupid things in their desire for acceptance as adults. In the anime community, that meant taking a new perspective in regards to localization. We started learning more about Japanese language, text, and culture, and we decided that there was something off with our anime. Being at an adolescent level, the fans didn't always know what was different, nor did they know that there might have been a very good reason for why things had changed. In reality, the quality of localization was getting better, but we told our angry young selves that we knew better.

Thus began the movement for more literal translations, AKA the reason why the above examples sound terrible. Localization is, for the most part, an all or nothing thing. You need to make something comprehendable for your audience, even if that means changing certain things. However, the argument for literal translations claims that by localizing, you "lose some of the original meaning in the process". By keeping it to a minimum, you can instead preserve as much of the original intent as possible

This is great in theory, but I don't think it works so easily in execution. I'm not an expert in Japanese, in any way shape or form, but from what I do know, it seems quite a bit different than your Romance Languages. I once heard an anime director put it as "If English is addition, then Japanese is subtraction".

So let's apply some common sense. You have this language, with its own rules that allows it to express certain things well. You translate it into a language with another set of rules, as well its own strengths. If you try to preserve the meaning and the power of the original language, you pretty much have to apply its rules to the destination language, which in turn means you have to ignore most of the rules that makes the destination language work.

If you consider yourself a reasonable and intelligent person, this approach is bewildering. I can accept the fact that, while digesting entertainment from a foreign culture, I may have to do a little bit of research. What I don't want to do is have to wrack my brain because a line of text or a piece of dialogue sounds like nothing you would hear from a native practitioner of English. By trying to preserve the original meanings, you end up with no meaning, or perhaps something that is just as incorrect as a liberally altered (but well flowing) english script.

Back in the old days, a fansubbed movie might have been crap because the undergrad translating it had no idea what he was doing (and would readily admit to it). Now we get that same quality and call it a job well done.

So why do we see this from professional efforts? Because the industry is desperate for sales. If they know that this kind of work will get fans to support them, they would be crazy to say no. And so bad practices are encouraged everywhere.

And to wrap it all up, we have the Internet to thank for most of this. Usually, silly notions about what makes for good writing and language are wiped out by schooling and plain ol' growing up. But the Internet's ability for people to shelter themselves from criticism and support themselves with like minded individuals allows their opinions to remain static. Or maybe people do grow up, and are immediately replaced by a new batch of 17 year olds.

Though considering the shit that still passes for analysis when discussing a show like Evangelion, something tells me I'm wrong about that last one.

The decade in review

2010-01-04T12:26:00.006-05:00

Rich and I both listened to the two part Decade in review podcast over at Anime News Network, and once I get a hold of him I imagine we will still have much more to talk about. Personally, it was a revelation, if for no other reason than it put the last ten years into context. Since 2000, I have watched anime with either great fervor and great indifference, and have followed the industry at times closely, and other times with barely a glance. I always had an idea of what happened, but never an idea as to when. Listening to what shows were released when, as well as the dates that certain companies went under, I found that my own mental timeline was completely off. Simply put, the bubble grew and then burst far earlier than I thought it did.

I have two theories as to why this is the case. The first is that, as even in your mid twenties, time goes fast. Once you get into some sort of routine that lasts for years, without the yearly markers that come from schooling, everything tends to go by in the kind of blur that makes you forget just how much time has elapsed between when something happens and when you look back on it. The fact that more and more events accumulate in your history also makes it difficult to sort them all out. For example, I could have sworn that Geneon closed up shop in 2009, because during '09's holiday season, Rick and I talked considerably about the number of old Geneon releases lying around for purchase online. But then I remembered looking at the earliest re-releases of Geneon's material via Funimation back last spring, and suddenly the sequence of events made a lot more sense. At first, I didn't believe that their dissolution in '08 would still be felt so strongly a year later, but with a slowing industry and so much material sitting in warehouses, it actually made a lot of sense that I was seeing so much of their product over at rightstuf and other shops.

The other problem is the odd anti-anime field I lived in for most of college, and my return from it last year. During an ill fated attempt to generate a college anime club, I watched a handful of subbed episodes of Last Exile, not knowing it came out in 2003, two years earlier. In the years after, far after the club failed, people would spend time in the computer lab watching torrents of junky shows. I never realized that the reason they were doing so was because there wasn't much else to watch (at least if you were only keeping up with the newest releases). When I got out of school and started buying anime on DVD for the first time, I never sought to discover just when some of these shows had been released. I bought Mushishi, Samuarai 7, Zeta Gundam, and Ergo Proxy all within the timeframe of January to April of 2009. All of them were fairly old, yet because they were still on the shelves, in my mind they must all have been fairly new releases (and because they were all box sets, perhaps those specific versions were). My mental timeline of this decade in anime was messed up because I wasn't really paying attention to what was going on now at any time of the decade. Rather, I was playing catch up by cherry picking the very best (or at least, the most notable) releases of the last five years. I lived in my own personal wonderland of good shows, away from the reality in which everything had gone to hell for quite some time.

Now that I have everything straight, I vow to pay more attention to the next ten years in anime history (if it even lasts that long =0 ). There is a method to this madness (which I use to follow the gaming industry) - I simply need to be more familiar with all the players.

Quick Shot Reviews

2009-12-08T13:08:00.002-05:00

Hi folks. Sorry for the blog taking a while to update. Rick has been busy with a lot of things (including watching a bunch of shows), and the general lack of interesting series in the current anime season has given him little to post about. I figured I'd stop in and give a few quick assessments of some shows I have watched and rewatched lately. Rick has seen some of them too, so you'll have to wait for his review to get a deeper critique.

Samurai 7 - a 26 episode retelling of Akira Kurosawa's classic film "Seven Samurai". This was a pretty big deal when it first came out, being one of those high budget showpieces that the entire industry notices. Personally, I wasn't sure how it would fare in combining a classic film with giant robots, but the end result is pretty great. The changes to the cast and setting exist mostly to justify the action scenes and romantic subplots we often expect in an anime, but they manage not to step over the central conflict. Likewise, the English dub manages to be dramatic without being stilted and forcefully old fashioned. All in all, it winds up being a solid interpretation of the classic tale without disrespecting it, and in the end it also manages to make it its own. All of this without stooping to fanservice, otaku in-jokes, or excessively confusing plot tweaks. This is the kind of show that has something for everyone, as cliche as that may be.

Last Exile - I watched most of this show back in college, and I wish those memories weren't erased by having now watched it in full. Back then I had to piece together the missing parts of the story in my mind, and the result was something a lot more satisfying and adventurous. But taken from start to finish, Last Exile falls apart. Like Samurai 7, it tries to offer a lot of thrills - gunfights, exploration, infantry battles, and comedy - but it never lingers on any of them long enough for them to be enjoyable. The show takes a sharp turn in direction near the halfway point, and from then on you get a lot of unfinished plot threads and an ending that comes out of nowhere. This is one of the first examples I have personally seen of the "Gonzo runs out of money and pulls the rest of the show out of their ass" trope, and it was rather horrifying. I hear that it works better if you have some of the supplemental material that exists in Japan, but I don't like the idea of that kind of documentation being a complement, rather than a supplement, to a work. On one last note - I wonder if Range Murata ever played Skies of Arcadia on Dreamcast? The parallels between the stories/settings are remarkeable.

Macross Plus - I've only seen half of it, but how the hell does a four episode OAV be so good? There's so much to cover, and yet I've only seen a bit under two hours of footage. I know the OAV market has pretty much dried up, but if I could get more stuff like Macross Plus, I wouldn't mind seeing it back (cue old diehards who will warn me about how much they would cost).

Blood: The Last Vampire - This just doesn't work as a standalone movie, especially one so short. I read someone who said it feels like the pilot for a full blown series, and I would agree. The illusions to Vietnam in the end credits made me wish they had covered that war instead (vampires or not).

it's Winidng Down

2009-09-06T22:53:00.007-04:00

Yes that is right, the Summer season in terms of weather and anime are both coming to a close. It days and nights are getting cooler, and soon enough the leaves will begin to turn. Sure enough, there is only about a month left for most shows before the new Fall season take over. I am looking forward to both of the changes. I've always like the fall season. True, I hate the cold, but three's something about Fall that makes everything so crisp and pleasant.

Let's talk about the shows I'm looking to watch this Fall. My lineup isn't huge, but that is due largely in part that there just isn't a lot of good shows being produced right now. I've got three shows I'm looking at; A Certain Scientific Railgun, White Album, and Soul Eater. True, Soul Eater is not a new show, but FUNimation is releasing two episodes subbed every week, so I am adding it to my lineup. The other shows are a spin off and sequel respectively. A Certain Scientific Railgun is the spin off from A Certain Magical Index that aired last fall. While Album aired last winter and is airing it's second season this fall. Neither are going to be amazing shows, I know that from the start, but they should still be entertaining nonetheless.

I mentioned Soul Eater and how FUNimation is releasing two subbed episodes per week. Ive grown to really like this show. It's a bout a school full of students called meisters. These meisters have a chosen partner, who also serves as the weapons meister. You might ask how is a partner going to serve as a weapon? The answer is quite simple; the partner who is human literally turns into a weapon. It seems that certain students have the ability to be meisters and some weapons. The goal is for each meister to get their weapons to be Death Scythes, the ultimate weapon uses by Lord Death. Lord Death is the creator and principal of the school which is called the DWMA. In order to reach their goal, the weapon must eat 99 Afreet eggs, and one witches soul.

That is only a brief description of the show, but it gives you the general idea. I wont say it's the most original show, but it is definitely entertaining. The artwork is very well done and different from what we usually see. The voice acting for the subs is top notch, and FUNimation just recently finish announcing the English voice cast. The cast is as follows:

Death Scythe: Vic Mignogna

Death The Kid: Todd Haberkorn

Patty: Cherami Leigh

Liz: Jamie Marchi

Franken Stein: Chuck Hubert

BlackStar: Brittney Karbowski

Tsubaki: Monica Rial

Death: John Swasey

Maka: Laura Bailey

Soul: Micah Solusod

This cast is stellar. I could not have cast it better myself. There are a few casting decisions that are curious, but only in the way that I a m not sure how the actor will portray said character. An example would be Todd Haberkorn. While I am a fan of his, I am not sure how he is going to pull Death The Kid off. I am not saying he can't play the character, I am just not sure which way he is going to take it. I am very much looking forward to seeing his performance. There are others, but it's pretty much the same deal. Regardless, I believe this cast will be very successful.

Now that I've talked a bit about the upcoming fall season, let's move on the the closing Summer season. I say Summer season, although to be honest all the shows I have been watching are just shows that started in the Spring and carried on over to the Summer. The four shows I am referring to are FMA: Brotherhood, Cross Game, Valkryia Chronicles and The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya. While it's been real, I am ready for these shows to end. FMA and Cross Game have been a pleasure to watch, especially FMA. The show did a complete 360 after episodes 15. Cross Game has been a very nice consistent show to watch with good character development and a few laughs. Valkryia and Haruhi have both been a roller coaster. One week it's good, the next not so much. The good news is that after a hiatus, FMA should return. I'm guessing we will see a Winter or Spring return. Cross Game I am not certain on. It has 3 episodes left at this point. While they could possibly close the story altogether, I get the feeling we may have a third or fourth season in the future. Time will tell.

It's news time. The biggest and most talked about news in the last week is the recent announcement that ADV is closing. I'm not going to go into the details about it because I am sure most have already read the articles and speculation about it. If you have not read anything about it you can do so here. What it basically comes down to is ADV itself is shutting down and selling off it's assets to companies that are pretty much ran and owned by the people behind ADV. In other words its a big corporate restructuring to prevent the company from going bankrupt. As it stands right now, no titles or licenses are going to be lost and nothing is planned to go out of print. My personal opinion on the matter is while I am sad to see ADV go, I understand that from a business side this move was necessary. I'm just glad it didn't go the way like Geneon did, who seems to be alive somehow in name alone.

That's it for this post. I am in the middle of my Gunslinger Girl review which I will probably be working on after this post. That should be up in a couple of weeks. I have to watch the show subbed as well as watch the second season subbed. I will probably watch them both back to back and then release the reviews at the same time. I am also going to try and fit Chrono Crusade somwewhere in there. Hopefully I'll have enough time for it all.

The Endless Eight is over!!!!

2009-08-15T19:27:00.012-04:00

Konbawa minna!!! (Good Evening everyone). I trust all is well. There's a couple of things I want to discuss tonight. Let's start out with the last bunch of episodes from the seasonal anime. The one that stood out this week was hands down FMA: Brotherhood. Let me just say this; if you are a fan of Roy Mustang in any way, there is no better episode whether it be this series or the first to watch. He was kicking ass in all ways. It was phenomenal. As far as the other shows it's hard to say. Cross Game has been MIA for about 3 weeks now and Haruhi I want to save for a discussion by itself. I guess that would leave Valkryia Chronicles, but honestly what is there to say about that show. Isara died and everyone is sad. There I just encompassed the last two episodes in one sentence. I guess I might as well move to Haruhi.

For those of you who have lived under a rock for the past 5 or so years, by Haruhi I do mean the ridiculously popular show The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya. Now as most of you know the show started re airing months back. What you may not know is that When the show first aired, it was not done in chronological order. It skipped all around, and left out stories told within the first three light novels. With this new re-airing, the show is airing in chronological order, with new episodes sprinkled in between to fill out in story gaps that were originally left out. Now at this point all the original episodes aired have aired. Most of those episodes came from the first two light novels. It had about 3 new episodes air during that time from what I can remember before switching to all new episodes. Originally I thought this was great; I mean new Haruhi? I thought it would never happen despite the constant rumblings that it was going to happen. The worst was that it was confirmed news by Kadokawa themselves. That excitement was short lived though, because soon after they decided to start the absolute most pointless story arc ever, The Endless Eight. This story was covered in the light novels and was about a two week span in the summer that kept looping over and over. The characters kept feeling this very strong sense of deja vu, but couldn't explain it. What Kadokaw did was use the same animation, with slight differences, over and over for a period of nine weeks. I am not exaggerating when i say you saw the same episode nine times. Eventually I stopped caring and was watching it while doing other random things. I practically had the dialogue memorized, that's how bad it was. Now here comes the pisser. Episode 9 comes along. I'm all excited, fully expecting a completely new episode to wrap things up. What do I get? The same freakin' episode I have been watching for the last 2 months. Unbelievable. I continue watching waiting and hoping that something new will happen. Well, My wish came true. The last 5 minutes or so of the show was indeed new. How do they wrap things up? I'm not one to spoil something for others so I will say this. Watch the first two episodes, skip the rest and go right to the finale. That will give you the best experience.

There may be some of you out thee asking "Rich, why so angry."? I'm angry because I know Kadokawa are being a bunch of asses. Sorry Kadokawa, but changing the style and color of Haruhi's bikini does not do it for me. Kadodawa know how popular Haruhi is not only in Japan, but in the US as well. They know people are going to watch it no matter what. All they are trying to do is see how much crap they can put out and still keep their cash cow alive. Think about it; the economy sucks in Japan right now. Anime studios are being hit very hard. How much money can they save by recycling 90% of their animation for 9 episodes? This is especially the case if you know for a fact your fan base will accept it and continue to watch. Is it right? No of course not, but thems the breaks.

Haruhi is not pleased Kadokawa

I want to see how all this will play out in the end. This is not widely known, but in Japan they release their DVDs two episodes a volume, unlike here in the States where we get 4-5 episodes a volume. The number of episodes per volume is not only different, but the price for a DVD in Japan is two to three times more expensive. So what it boils down to is all there Japanese fans are going to have to buy four volumes worth of the same episodes. I don't know how they can do that. I know there are some die hard fans out there who will buy it, but the bulk of people I cannot see doing the same. And as far as licensing? Is Bandai going to be interested in licensing a season where nine of the episodes are exactly the same? How will they market that to sell in the US? I'm saying it right now, it won't sell. Yes the die hard fans will, but the majority of fans will not buy that. I, for one, will not buy it, and I love Haruhi.

With my rant now over I want to move on to something that has absolutely floored me, in a good way. As I previously stated in my last post, I started watching this series. I was first introduced to it by a very harsh and in my opinion unfair and inaccurate review on Anime News Network. This review intrigued me and propelled me into this cruel world of assassins. Since that post, I have bought finished the first season and seen four episodes of the second season which I have also since bought. I have not been so moved by a series in quite some time. If this series does not rip out your heart, there is something wrong with you. Where as the reviewer on ANN stated he could no recommend this series, I must do the opposite and insist you watch this series. With so much media out there to desensitize you to violence, this is a show that does the complete opposite, forcing you to see and recognize actions that are not at all outside the realm of possibilities for our world.

As for what is on the slate for this week the second half of Romeo x Juliet is in the front seat, followed by Gunslinger Girl: Il Teratino. Should be a very good week. News wise the biggest thing is the upcoming announcement of the cast for FUNimation's future release of Soul Eater. I myself have just started to familiarize myself with this show via the streaming episodes FUNimation has posted of the sub version. An interesting show I must say. More to come on that as I see more of it.

New Week = New Shows

2009-08-10T19:29:00.004-04:00

It's Monday. I hate Mondays. All that aside Monday does mean the start of a new week, and with that comes a slew of new shows. This week will be a bit hectic, largely due to the fact that I do not know what DVDs I will have, nor when I will be getting said DVDs. Romeo X Juliet: The Juliet Collection comes out tomorrow. I have it sitting at the top my Netflix queue. Unfortunately with new releases, especially anime new releases, Netflix is not the greatest at getting enough copies. This results in having to wait a week at best, but more then likely 2 weeks to a month before you get a copy of said release. Will this happen to me? I of course hope not, but if it does I am prepared.

I recently read a review for a show entitled Gunslinger Girl on Anime News Network. I must say, this was the harshest review I have ever read from any of the writers there. From a technical standpoint like animation and music, it scored very well. The aspect of the show that did not sit well with the writer was the story. He felt that the story itself was implemented and written well, however the consents of what the story is about had him literally disgusted. He said right out that he cannot recommend this show to anyone. That is a bold statement. After reading the review i was very intrigued. How could this show be so disturbing, that it would warrant what was a warning to stay away? Well, I decided to find out for myself. I knew about the show and was always curious about it. I knew FUNimation held the license. Knowing that, I went to there video portal to see if they had any episodes I could watch. It turns out they had the first two which i then proceeded to watch. I was instantly fascinated with it. The story, while tragic as a story could be, immediately captivated me. It makes you ask yourself all kinds of questions about morals and questions like do the ends really justify the means. I liked it so much and wanted to see more I bought episodes 3, 4, and 5 on Itunes. For six bucks it was worth it. I am now excitedly waiting for the box set to delivered so I can finish it. I would whole heatedly recommend this show to anyone with one warning. Be prepared. This is not a sugar coated show. It is very real, and very tragic. It will rip your heart out emotionally, but it is well worth it for such a great story to be told. Future full review will follow.

Right on the heels of Gunslinger Girl, Gunslinger Girl: Il Teratino is coming out next week. This is the direct sequel to the first season and comprises of another 13 episodes. Needless to say I am going to watch that ASAP. FUNimation already has the subs up on their website,along with two of the dubs. I have a feeling I will watch the two dubs and end up buying it without even bothering with Netflix. Also on the list is Chrono Crusade which I talked about briefly in a previous post. This looks like another fun show. It has also been brought to my attention that the show Avatar: The last Airbender is quite a good watch. While I know it is not anime, I have been told it has similarities to anime and quite a good watch.

That pretty much gives a good idea of what I will be watching for the next month or two. it's a pretty good slate of shows with all having the potential for a buy. Also coming up in the next month or so is the Eurkea Seven movie. It will be playing in a theatre near me for one night. I already have the day majored on my calendar to buy tickets.

As far as news is concerned I have nothing to report since my last post. With that I am signing off.

Kino's Journey part 2

2009-08-06T00:45:00.004-04:00

So this will not be the traditional review that I have done on the blog in the past. The reason for this is because Christian has already posted a review that pretty much covers's all the base's I am simply going to add to it, giving my own thoughts on the show. I will also give it a grading to keep things consistent. Think of this as merely a part 2 to the original review.

Christian gave a description of the show, so I will forgo that in my review. As to how I felt about the story, I thought it was good. I cannot say that it was mind blowing, or that every episode had me ensnared, but overall it kept me entertained. In actuality there were some episodes I just plainly disliked. An example of this would be the first episode. Out of all the episodes, I would have to say that this was the weakest. To counter balance that, one of the best episodes I found was in episode 4, so while it did start out weak, it quickly rebounded. The danger to that with a short series like this is you do not have a lot of time to begin with, to waste an episode so early in the game is quite shameful.

From the standpoint of the artwork I have to say I honestly was not all that impressed. I thought the character designs were bland at best. Kino herself looked more like a boy then a girl. I can understand where they were going with that in the sense that Kino is sort of a tomboy, she doesn't have a lot of tendencies you would find in girls her age. But to draw her in such an opposite sense does not jive with me. Quite often throughout the anime you wonder, is this really a girl we are watching? I am not the only one who was confused by this. The perfect example is the description that can be found on the Netflix sleeve the DVD's come in. The decryption depicts Kino as a boy. I'm not saying the good people at Netflix actually sat down and watched the DVD's. I frankly do not know if they do an sort of previewing. What I do know is they probably at the least looked at some box art and thought the character on it was the main character and it has to be a boy.

The backgrounds that are used are equally bland. The countries differed in some ways, but largely were the same. It seemed the time period it was set in was the early 1900's, although this was never specifically stated. It gave a very European feel to it, but this has been done over and over in anime. Overall I will not say the artwork was an eyesore to look at, but I never got thrilled with either.

The music served as a minor character. It played out, but always took a second seat to what was going on. I cannot say there were any memorable tracks except for the opener. I thought it was a very nice song and it fit well with the opening scenes that played during it.

The only other point I would like to touch on is the audio tracks. I will say that I enjoyed the Japanese track more then the English track. The English track was not bad, but I believe it was miscast. Kiino sounded way to old and flat. The filter that they put on Hermes in the English dub does not exist in the Japanese sub. In the Japanese version, Hermes sounds like any other character. The filter they decided to put on in the English version makes Hermese sound very mechanical and inhuman. This I believe is detrimental, because you do not get to seer Hermes the way Kino does. Kino does not see Hermes as just a motorcycle she rides on. Hermes is her partner and best friend. Other then those points the rest of the dub is good. The script for the most part stays faithful to the direct translation.

Kino's Journey is a good anime, but I cannot say that it is anything special. I have heard people compare it to Mushi-shi, but now that I have seen Kino's Journey for myself, I do not agree with that assessment. Both shows are about travelers and the places they see, but the similarities stop there. Kino and Ginko are both very different characters, with very different reasons for their traveling. They also interact with the people they meet very differently. In the end, it's best to watch both shows with the mindset that they are different and shouldn't really be compared.

Artwork: C
Music: C
Dub: C
Sub: C
Overall: C

I like stuff!

2009-07-29T20:36:00.006-04:00

Greetings all. I hope all is going well for everyone. Let's dive into things shall we?

First on the agenda is how the weekly shows are progressing. FMA: Brotherhood has regained it's awesomeness that it seemed to have lost. The last 3 weeks have been damn good. Valkryia Chronicles is continuing to suck, but not a huge surprise there. Cross Game is the as stable as ever. which is fine with me.

As summer continues to move along, I find myself looking forward to the Fall season, It's not that I'm getting bored or tired with the three shows mentioned above, but I am looking forward to a change of pace. This is the first time I have felt this way since I started to regularly follow anime in the Japanese seasons. I think it's because this is the first season that I have not picked up any new shows. Keep in mind, most shows only last for one season or if there is a second it is usually a year or two after the first season aired. Every season I have picked up a a new batch of shows, while the previous batch ended. I may have carried over the show here or there that was slated for 26 episodes like Toradora, but that was not a regular occurrence.

I just recently finished Kino's Journey. It was good. I can't say I fell in love with it but it was a good watch. i will give it a brief review later on in a separate post. I am now currently watching Romeo x Juliet. It is an anime done by Gonzo in 2007. FUNimation released the first half of the series a couple of months ago, with the second half being released next week. I've seen the first six episodes and so far I like it. It's taking a bt longer then I thought for certain aspects of the story to get going, while others are moving along quite fast. For example, the overall story of the waring families of Capulet and Montague is slow to start, while the romance between Romeo and Juliet is moving along quite well. I am going to start disc 2 of the first part tonight. I think things are going to pick up starting with episode 7.

What will be for tehse two legendaary star crossed lovers?

After RxJ I think I'll watch the anime Chrono Crusade. This is not to be confused with the video games Chrono Cross or Chrono Trigger. It seems pretty cool from what I've seen. It reminds me a lot of Kurokami in the way it has contractors and contractees. This has been a trend I myself have been seeing a lot in my anime viewing. The last few series I have seen all have this trait in common. Kurokami is one, Moonphase is another, and hell you can also throw in Kino's Journey if you consider Kino's and Herme's relationship a contract as they do. And lets not forget Negima where Negi makes probationary contracts with his entire class! I know the plot device isn't new, it's been aroudn for ages, but I am coming into contact with it a lot lately.

On the news side of things I don't have to much to report on. The only bit of news is something I found out just today in that 4Kids is up for sale. I don't really have much details on it because quite frankly I can give a crap about it. 4Kids is the bane of anime's existence. Every title they get is complete crap, and then by some unholy means, they turn make it even worse. Who will buy them? I have no clue. I doubt that the big distributors like FUNimation will bother. I can see maybe Toei picking them up since their properties fits more with their lineup. We'll have to see.

That's it for this post. It's short but hey it happens. As I get further into RxJ I will post more to give my thoughts on it.

Random things

2009-07-21T21:23:00.004-04:00

Time for another update. So the con season is in full swing. AnimeExp and Otakon are already done and over with. So what has come out of these cons? News? Announcements? Let's take a look shall we?

AnimeExpo didn't bring much in the way of exciting announcements as far as I am concerned. Otakon however, we had some pretty big license announcements. First off we have Bandai announcing they have acquired the rights to Kannagi: Crazy Shrine Maidens. If you remember I covered this show throughout it's Fall '08 broadcast in Japan. I was a fan of the show. I can't say it was the greatest, and it's not going to make it on any Top # lists for me, but it was entertaining. Not only did Bandai announce the acquisition, but on the same day released the first DVD and started streaming the show via Anime News Network's streaming service. The simultaneous announcement and released was pretty big on Bandai's part. Kuddos to them.

The second big announcement that came way during Otakon was FUNimations announcement of it acquiring the rights to Eden of the East. As anyone who has read this blog knows, I am a huge fan of this show. The fact that FUNimation out of the four big anime licensees has acquired it makes me even more thrilled. It's slated for a released sometime in 2010.

FUNimation also released the casts for two of it's shows they are planning on releasing at the end of this year. The first is called Nabari No Ou, the second title being Spice and Wolf. Interesting casts for both of them, most notably the fact that Brina Palencia has the leading female role for both of them. This brings me to my next point.

I have of late become a big fan of Brina Palencia. I have always known about her, but up until recently haven't seen a whole lot of shows with her voicing any significant characters other then Mikoto in School Rumble. I have just completed both of the Negima series, and in both she plays the significant character of Yue. I really like how she can deliver that unique dry sense of humor so well. She also plays the role of Georgy in Shin-chan, who I think is hilarious. I was looking forward to the release of Spice and Wolf, but am now very excited of the prospects after learning that Brian will play the female lead of Holo. Should be interesting.

As I mentioned before, I have completed both Negima series. I must say, contrary to what others have said, I like the second season better then the first. Not so much the animation or music as while they are both different in those regards, I enjoyed both equally. I think the flow and direction of the show was much more stable then the first. The first series had identity issues throughout the show. It seemed like it never really knew what kind of show it wanted to be. I'm not sure if the manga had this problem in the beginning, but I do know for at least the first twenty or so episodes the anime pulled it's story from the manga, so it is possible. The second series was fresh and new from the start; it wasn't based off of anything. The only similarities between the two are the characters and some of the overall backgrounds to them. In the beginning of the series, it seemed like it would suffer the fate of the first; not knowing what the hell it wanted to be. By episode 5 or so though, it stabilized and went with the more comedic aspect. It still had an overall story, and there was some magic battles, but it played the role of a minor character; there to enhanced the show and give it a structure for the comedy to be based around.

With Negima completed, I thought I'd give some attention to a show that I watched a couple of years back. I saw it through fansubs, then realized that ADV had the rights to it. Shortly after I realized this and before I could go out and by the series, ADV lost the rights to the show. This being the case it fell into a sort of limbo. Then FUNimation picked up the rights, finished releasing the last two singles, and then released the series as two half set seasons. The aforementioned show would be Welcome to the NHK. I plan on watching the series dubbed all the way through. It was a great show so it will be nice to revisit it.

To wrap things up the San Diego ComicCon is coming up within the next few days right on the heels of Otakon. I'll be on the lookout for more announcements. With Kannagi and Eden of the East licensed the next anime on my personal wish list would be Toradoa. I'll be honest, I am kind of surprised Kannagi got licensed before Toradora. Not that Kannagi wasn't a good show, but it's a niche show with a niche audience. Toradora would be an instant hit and appeal to a wide variety of people. I am almost positive we will see Toradora licensed, it's just a matter of when. All I can say is whenever it is licensed, I defiantly want FUNimation to get it. I wouldn't mind an ADV release per se, but FUNimaiton has more resources at it's disposal. Time will tell. Later.

Where have I been??

2009-07-14T19:13:00.010-04:00

This is a good question. The answer? Around. I've been rather busy with work, and I just got back from a vacation in Jamaica. That being said I'm back and ready to dive in.

First topic on the agenda is the Spring season. It ended a anywhere for 1-3 weeks ago, depending on the show. How was the season as a whole? I would say it was successful. There was a nice mix of shows that ranged anywhere from being mediocre to extraordinary. Out of the five shows I viewed regularly this season, only two actually ended. The remaining three are each 26 episodes and as such are going into the Summer season. I'll give a quick rating on each to wrap things up for Spring and then move onto Summer. Here goes. For this I'm using a star system. 1-5 with 1 sucking, 3 being good, and 5 rocking it out.

K-ON!: 3 stars (Some people love it or hate it. I just thought it was a fun show to watch.)

Valkryia Chronicles: 2 stars (I really want to love this show but it's making it hard)

FMA Brotherhood: 3 stars (I love FMA but this is missing something right now to make it great)
Cross Game: 3 stars (Another fun show.)

Eden of the East: 5 stars (Best show hands down. Not enough can be said about it)

So let's talk Summer season, or lack there of. I started watching anime as the seasons change at the start of the Fall '08 season. As such, this is my first Summer viewing season. Looking at what's available I have come to the conclusion that Japan does not consider the Summer season a great time to debut big shows. This makes sense. It's Summer, and much like America people in Japan are out and about doing summer stuff. For myself, this has meant that I am not picking up any new shows for the season. The biggest show seems to be the second season of Spice and Wolfe. i have not seen the first season so this is a mote point for me.

This however does not leave me anime-less for the season. On the contrary, I still have the three shows that bled over from the Spring season, FMA, Valkryia, and Cross Game. Those shows should keep me plenty busy until the Fall. Speaking of which I already have two shows lined up for Fall '09, the second season of White Album, and A Certain Scientific Railgun.

As far as series that I have been watching as of late, I have been pretty engrossed with the Negima series the last month or so. There are two seasons, totally unrelated story wise, with 26 episodes each. Both have been licensed by FUNimation. They have been interesting series. I find myself torn between liking them and being frustrated by them at different times. The first season seemed to try to be funny and serious at the same time. It couldn't seem to find a balance between the two. The beginning started out light, then moved to serious action, then light, stayed light, stayed light even more (at this point it seems to be having issues moving the story along) then moved to serious with what was an anti-climatic ending. The second season, which really wasn't a second season so much as a second series, started to have the same problem. As the series has moved on however, it has grown more into it's own and really made itself more into a comedy then anything. I'm fine with this. This is what I wish the first series had done, pick whether it was going to be serious or funny and stick with it. Now that the second series has made it clear on what it is, I find myself having an easier time enjoying the show for what it is.

I have come across by way of Netflix's streaming services by way of the name Desert Punk. What is there to say about this show. It is lude, crude, and very rude. This show is by no means meant for anyone under the age of 17. This is mainly due to the very adult humor that is used. That being said, this is one of the funniest shows I have seen. It goes places shows just do not visit. I kind of marathoned through this one, and I only watched the dubbed version. That being said from what I have read, the subbed version is no where near as funny and the FUNimation rewrite. While I am a very big advocate of watching both versions, this will probably be the few exceptions where I will only watch the dub.

News-wise I'm not sure there is really a whole lot to report. It is con season, so all the companies are busy with those. With this, the dub premiere of Evangalion 1.0 You Are(Not) Alone is making its way around.

Could this site be a sign that a certain anime I have written about may be licensed soon? I am certainly hopeful.

That's all I've got. I'm going to finish the second Negima over the next two days, then move on the Welcome to the NHK. I've seen it entirely in it's subbed version, and some of the dub. I
figured it's a good time to knock the dub out while I have the time. Until next time.

Kino's Journey

2009-07-01T19:00:00.006-04:00

After being incredibly pleased with Mushishi, I looked around the 'net to see if there were any shows similar to it. The one name that came up on a consistent basis was Kino's Journey. With so many anime fans recommending it, I decided it was worth a shot. Apparently this was a good time to make the choice. With ADV being dead and all, it appears that the DVD box set is becoming a bit hard to find. In any case, I found it, watched it, and have some thoughts about it.

Kino's Journey is similar to Mushishi in that they are based around the same general framework. In each show the main character is a traveler on what is, for all intents and purposes, an endless trip through a fictional version of some long past era(feudal Japan for Mushishi, 1800's Europe for Kino). During their travels, they meet a variety of townsfolk dealing with their own lives, conflicts and troubles.

Beyond this framework, the two series begin to diverge. Mushishi's protagonist Ginko travels because he has to (staying put will flood an area with Mushi demons), though he turns this hardship into an oppurtunity to make a living, by helping villages with their Mushi troubles. Kino travels because she wants to, and doesn't have an apparent source of income. In fact, she tries hard not to interfere with the problems of the people she encounters, whereas this is the entire point to Ginko's life. Lastly, while Ginko sometimes fails at his job, Kino is skilled at everything a traveler needs to survive.

Neither Ginko or Kino are meant to be people for the viewer to relate to. Both are in some ways removed from society and the world at large. However Ginko still has a connection with other people. He needs to live, and thus needs to work for others. Because of this interaction, he tends to serve as a catalyst for the actions and choices of others. Aside from giving him a bit more humanity, it ensures that every episode of Mushishi will have some interesting development or resolution which will reveal something about family and human nature.

Looking at the case for Kino, her reluctance to get involved makes for less consistent storytelling. When she doesn't act, she feels cold and heartless. Even if she is meant to be a cipher, this is still a human character who often watches as bad things happen. Furthermore, she has a reluctance to get involved. That means it still happens, and when it does it often involves someone getting killed. Since this isn't a character who is meant to grow and develop, she still feels cold and heartless after these events. Lastly, those episodes in which Kino can fully play the role of observer are often the most boring. The English dub for the show is mostly solid, but even the best voice actor can only do so much with a character in an episode where most of her lines revolve around permutations of "Thank you", "The pleasure was all mine", and replies to "Can I ask you a question?"

Without a desire to act, the strength of any given episode of Kino's Journey relies solely on the people that she meets. In the first half of the series, this is not a problem. The best episodes play out like a good short story, introducing a set of characters, their plight (usually a rather curious situation), and some twist at the end to wrap it all up. The story will often deal with some element of the human condition, and both Kino and the viewer are left to ponder on what it means. Sometime around the halfway mark, the show has a two part story in which the conflict and the observations are incredibly pedestrian affairs detailed in many other works of fiction. It fees like a loss of two episodes, and afterwards the show never quite finds its footing. Some eps play out in the short story format, though with less interesting topics or characters. Another tackles a subject matter that is too large to deal with in 24 minutes. Still others hint at continuity and backstory which the show does nothing with, and thus feel like a waste (unless you discover that it is covered in the movie, which is kind of a dick move).

Ultimately, the biggest difference between Kino's Journey and Mushishi is consistency. Mushishi's set patterns help to guarantee a certain level of quality without being predictable. Kino's unpredictability makes it so that you do not know what you are getting. At its best, it equals surpasses the best of Mushishi, and at its worst, it doesn't quite get there.

This risk versus reward structure might be acceptable in a longer show, but unfortunately Kino only gets 13 episodes with which to prove herself. Normally I hate factoring cost and length into my judgement of a work, but something this short demands more consistent quality, and it just isn't there. Toss in the $30 price point and it becomes even less desireable.

As an aside, I also believe that like Mushishi, Kino's Journey is best watched by an older age group. It requires a certain amount of world weariness to understand the point of the show. I can already envision some sixteen year old that feels that Kino represents them, some special flower that is different and better than the masses, who can become free from the laws and chains of society. As much as I am frustrated by the inanity of society, trying to drop out is not easy or safe, and it isn't what the show is suggesting.

On one final note, I was asked by the blog owner to discuss animation and music a bit. I still have yet to figure out if it is just me, but I swear that the entire show is drawn with some kind of visual filter to it. Something that makes it look like you are viewing it through some fictionalized viewscreen. However, this may not have been an intentional effect, but rather something due to the HDTV I was watching on. In any case, the show has a clean and simple look based on Old Europe. There aren't many striking vistas, and the simplicity makes for few exotic characters, but the architecture of the cities and the near constant blue skies give it a dreamy feel. The music is of the most subtle sort, often arriving in the form of ethereal chimes and tones that arrive to set the tone for certain scenes. It helps enrich the experience but is not intended to be memorable.

So, do I regret watching Kino's Journey? Not at all. My favorite episodes will stick with me far after other anime fades from my memory. I only wish that I could say the same about the series as a whole, as it would have been an instant classic. Instead, what we have is something worth seeing, but is only worth so much effort to track down. A fitting dilemma for such a philisophical show.

Grand Slam

2009-06-13T20:27:00.010-04:00

It's hard to believe, but we are almost done with the spring season for this year. Read about my predictions for the current lineup of shows I'm watching. Can a girl's baseball team compete against the all male high school baseball league and get to the Koshien? The answer can be found in a great anime called Princess Nine. After an extended down time, FUNimation's video portal is back up, but what will the consequences be for the leaked episodes? Lastly, is it possible for a magical girl anime to be any good? Read my thoughts on a show I just happened to tumble upon. You may be surprised by my reaction to it.

It is just about time for shows to start wrapping up their spring seasons. Some may be going on into the summer season, some may have sequels later on, and others will be all said and done in a few weeks. This season has been a mixture of pleasant surprises and unexpected disappointment. Despite the ups and downs, I would say for the most part it has been a successful season.

Let's start off with the shows that will most likely not return for a second season. These shows would be K-ON!, and Eden of the East. I have heard rumors on the net that K-ON! Will not return for a second season. This makes sense. It seems that the show will span the entire 3 years of high school by the time it is over. At this point in the show I believe they are in their second year right around the time of the yearly cultural festival. They can finish with the last year in the three episodes they have left and wrap up any storylines they have left. There is really no need for a second season, as there really hasn't been too strong of a story from the start. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, I have said from the start that K-ON! is purely mindless entertainment. As long as you take it at face value it can be quite entertaining.

This brings us to Eden of the East. This has been my favorite show of the season hands down. There is no sign that there will be a sequel to this show, but instead a movie that is set to open sometime this summer. This movie is believed to be the true closing of the story. Already in the anime we can see signs of the story being wrapped up. At the time of this post there is only 1 more episode left which will air next week.

Now for the shows that will most likely have a sequel. FMA: Brotherhood and Valkryia Chronicles are the two shows that will have sequels. FMA has to have a sequel. The show thus far has barely scratched the surface, mostly retelling the story that has already been told in the previous anime and manga. The only question with this show is if they are going to take a break, and if they do when that break will occur.

Valkryia Chronicles has been rumored to be slatted for 26 episodes, which would mean it has another season left in it. According to these rumors it has been commented by the director that the show will be 26 episodes, although I have no concrete evidence this is true. I lean towards the side that it is true, because honesty this show has not had much story development or progress. The show has been spinning its wheels these last few episodes and there is no way they can have a conclusion with only 3 episodes left.

The last show that has not been discussed yet is Cross Game. Honestly I do not have much information on this show. Judging on the way the story has been going, I would say yes there will be a sequel. I would say another 13 episodes should allow for the show to develop to its full potential and have a good ending. Keep in mind that is all speculation. I haven't even heard rumors about any of this. For as great as this show is, and it is great, the popularity seems to be lower then I would expect.

When thinking about baseball you probably think somewhere along the lines of "America's past time". You may or may not know however, that it is also hugely popular in Japan. So popular, that three is a whole slew of anime based on the sport. Princess Nine is an anime about nine girls all recruited to create the first high school girls baseball team. Their main goal is to get to the famous Koshien tournament. Throughout the anime they have to suffer through the trials any new amateur team must go through, along with the prejudices for being a girl's team trying to compete against boys.

Right now I am half way through the series. So far it has been solid in all aspects. The story is intriguing and rarely gets boring. All the characters blend nicely together, which is a must since it is an anime about a baseball team and all teams need to get along well. The art is nothing to scram about, but it is not unpleasant to look at either. I would say if you are a baseball fan you should give this series a check out. Even if you are not a fan still give it a shot. I don't like baseball at all but after watching this series along with Cross Game I am finding myself a bit more interested in the sport.

FUNimation's video portal is finally back up. It's been down for the better part of two weeks. FUNimation's link to the portal led you to a page saying it was down for maintenance. This held true up until this last Saturday, where they brought the portal back online. This is all do to the leaded episodes of One Piece and Phantom, which I discussed in previous posts and can be read about on Anime News Network. The reason given by FUNimation for the extended down time was to place enhanced security measures to ensure future leaks are prevented. This caused a week of FMA: Brotherhood to be missed along with the other simulcasts. It seems even now they are still working on the enhancements per the disclaimer at the top of the page stating that there may be sporadic outages and playback issues until all is said and done. I for one am just glad it's back up. Hopefully everyone learns from this and leaks like this can be avoided in the future.

The magical girl genre of anime is something I have never been into. Truth be told it is often the subject of ridicule for me. It's not so much the actual genre that bother's me. My attitude is if you like it then you shouldn’t have to justify why you like it. Everyone has there own tastes, that's what makes this world work. Take Sailor Moon; arguably the most popular and well done magical girl anime. While I may not be a fan of it, I can respect it for what it is, and appreciate what it did. However, the genre has somewhere along the way took a bad turn, and has not been able to find it's way back on course. The genre is exhausted with over done plot lines and character archetypes. Nothing new or original has come out for it in years. This, along with the retarded amounts of fan service for disturbing otaku types has all but killed the genre.

Enter Sasami: Magical Girl Club. Now right from the start this title may make you have a gag reflex. It's OK; it did the same for me as well. Furthermore if you take a look at some screen shots or even the box set cover art, you may feel like your eyes are going to bleed from the cuteness overkill. Again, it's OK. I don't think anyone would blame a reaction like that. But this is not a reflection of the contents inside. This show seems to breathe a bit of new life into the genre. Yes, you have the typical themes of any magical girl show, but it also parodies itself and those themes.

Sasami is a family anime. You can sit down with your family to watch it, and everyone will enjoy something about it. The little kids will enjoy it because they can relate to Sasami and company, and the adults will enjoy it for some of the witty and funny dialogue that comes with the show. That is in my opinion where the show really shines. I have only watched the dubbed version thus far, but I can say no matter how far it may or may not have strayed from the original Japanese script, the writing is terrific. The dialogue is witty and fresh, often times laugh out loud funny. Yes it has the corny life lessons, and it is a bit over the top at times, but that is part of the genre. All in all it's an enjoyable show. The hard part is giving it the chance it deserves. You have to give it a few episodes. Some of my favorite lines would be:

"You bastard. I'm not impressed!!" - Washu

"mmm tastes good" as she takes a bite out of a talking radish - Tsukasa
"So does your mom" - Talking radish

"Give me back my first kiss you slut box" - Washu

That's only a few of them and I haven't even seen the whole series yet. Any anime that can drop a mom bomb is worth a watch. I suppose that old as hell cliché saying you can't judge a book by it's cover still holds true even today. Do yourself a favor. If you have some spare time where you're bored as hell and have nothing better to do, go to funimation.com/video and check it out. The whole series is online free to watch. You can't beat that. If you don't like it then at most you wasted an hour or two. But let's be honest you could do a lot worse with insert craptacular show title here.

That’s it for me. I had a lot to say. Look for in the near future for a review on Samurai 7 in which my fellow co-author Chris will be joining me on giving his thoughts on the show. Also, I'm thinking of doing some casual video reviews of some anime I have seen recently rather then a written review.

What the hell?

2009-06-01T00:38:00.006-04:00

Ya Hoo!! It's update time. A lot has been going on so let's jump right into it.

Can you believe that we are more then half way through the spring season? It is crazy when I think about how fast it has flown by. Some shows have been great that I was not expecting much out of and vice verse. Valkryia Chronicles was the anime I was most looking forward to, and while it has been a good show, it has not been the best. Eden of the East which I had no expectations of in the beginning has turned out to be the best show of the season. Cross Game, which I was not even sure if I would watch all the way through has turned into a nice story. K-ON! has been some nice fluff in between and Fullmetal Alchemsit: Brotherhood is stile the show I'm not sure where I rank. All in all it has been a pretty good season. Looking at what is coming up in the summer, there isn't anything right now that catches my eye, but I know it's still early and not all the shows are announced yet.

I have been watching the series Samurai 7 the last couple weeks. This is the series based off of the world famous 1954 movie "Seven Samurai" by Akira Kurosawa. I have always known about this series, and I did want to give it a try, but I was in no rush. My brother, who has written several pieces for this blog, told me he started watching it. Every so often he'd tell me how awesome it is. I decided that I needed to check this out for myself. This series is awesome, and then some. It has been quite some time since I have gotten so excited and ravenous for a series. The sub is great, the dub is great, the art and music is great. I am going to finish the series off tonight and I will be sad to see it end. It is needless to say that this will defiantly be a buy for me.

News time. Let's start with the biggest story which also happens to be the most recent,;FUNimation's servers being hacked leading to the early release of the first episode of One Piece that was to be simulcasted with Japan. The early release ended up being leaked before Japan had time to air it. As a result, FUNimation has said the simulcast has been cancelled indefinitely. FMA: Brotherhood has also been taken down, most likely as a preventative measure while they investigate the situation. FUNimation has not given much information on it other then the brief post on their blog site.

This is not good for FUNimation right now. They have made so much progress in the last year with getting acquisitions as well as these wonderful simulcasts. If the Japanese companies do not feel secure in FUNimatiosn ability to keep their media secure, we may not see them anymore. this would be a shame since the whole simulcast stage is just in it's infancy. I can only assume Toei Animation, the Japanese licensor of One Piece, is not very happy about this. Hopefully, things can be smoothed over. Whether this will continue to affect FMA's simulcast is still uncertain. Right now all the videos are off of FUNimation's site, but are still available on Hulu.com. At this point, it is all speculation. I will be looking to FUNimation's blog tomorrow in hopes that some more detail will be shed on the situation.

More FUNimation news. FUNimation announced at Anime Boston the acquisition of the anime series Spice and Wolf. This series is about a traveling merchant named Lawrence who meets a harvest goddess name Holo. They travel together in hope that Holo can return to her home. I know it is not a great synopsis of the show, but that is really all I know. I've heard of the show and know it aired in Japan during the winter 2008 season, and a sequel to the series is slated for this summer. It looks like it may be interesting. I do know it was quite popular while it was airing in Japan there was a certain buzz on the Internet. I'm still looking for Toradora to get licensed though dammit.

Last weekend, the first new Haruhi episode since the series had it's first run aired. It was titled "Bamboo Leaf Rhapsody". I thought it was amazing, and was very glad to see these familiar faces again. This new development has me baffled though. Does this mean we should expect to see more new episodes? Is this what we are getting instead of a new full blown season. In other words it seems like they are talking the series as outlined in the light novels, taking the episodes they have now, and making new episodes to fill in the gaps of story line that were never animated. Doing this would give a more genuine reflection of the light novels. If that is the case, and there has been no official confirmation if this assumption is correct, how will the fan base feel about it? Personally I kind of like the idea. I always loved Haruhi, but the series while being awesome, could have been so much more awesome if they made more episodes. They had plenty of material to work off of back then, so why did they not do what they are doing now? It may be that they knew Haruhi would be such a hit, and wanted to milk the "cash cow" for as long as they could. While as a fan I don't appreciate that, looking at it from a business perspective i can't argue with the logic. At this point only Kyoto Animation and Kadokawa Pictures knows the fate of Haruhi. I for one hope for more new episodes soon.

That's all I have folks. I''m gonna go finish off Samurai 7 now. Do yourself a favor and get this series. Later.

TA DA!!!!!!

2009-05-12T19:01:00.000-04:00

Man, it's been awhile. It's been a bit rough lately, hence the lack of posts. At this point in time, we are in full swing for the Spring '09 season. Most shows are hitting there half way points this week, if you can believe it. It's funny how fast this season seems to have gone by compared to last season. Maybe it's the weather and season change. Whatever the case let's do a little recapping shall we?

I'll combine these two since they are on the weekends, Valkyria Chronicles and Cross Game. Both shows are six episodes in, with 7 to go. They are fun, and entertaining shows. Valkyria seems to be doing a nice job balancing itself with being true to the game, and adding necessary filler to round out each episode. Cross Game, while a good watch, doesn't seem to be as good as people were expecting it to be be. Many were saying if there was any show to watch this season, this would be it. That should not take anything away from the show, it just means people were jumping the gun a bit to early.

Next we have Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood and K-ON!. Both will be airing their 6th episodes this Thursday. Fullmetal, while having a bit of a shaky start, is making a rebound and coming into it's own. It is strange to see how close the show is to the original, yet at the same time see the huge differences. K-ON! continues to be my guilty pleasure of the season. To this date nothing substantial has happened. The biggest change since the beginning of the show is Yui can now play the guitar with at least some competence.

This brings us to the true "show to watch" for this season, Eden of the East. This show was like a super nova out of the pile of shows that have come out this season, and it continues to shine brightly. This show does everything right. There isn't an episode where I have felt that it did not use it's 24 minutes wisely. The animation continues to blow my mind in both character design (Saki is so damn kawaii!) and background. If i h ad to choose a show to be licensed in the U.S., this would most certainly be it. I pray that it is picked up. I've already started to make my own cast list in my head. Perhaps I will share that another time.

What will be teh fate of these two?

News-wise not a whole lot to report on. There was a very interesting interview done by the people at Anime News Network under the Chicks on Anime column. They interviewed Even, a member of FUNimation's Anti Piracy Team, about issues what exactly it is that his team does, the process, and the legal logistics behind it all. It is quite an interesting read and they ask some very good questions. Evan does a very good job at answe ring all questions and gives a good insight into the industries standpoint on fan subbing and piracy. It can be found here.

Along the lines of what licensed shows I have been watching, I just finished up a series called Kiddy Grade. It's an older FUNimation title, released around 2004/2005. It revolves around two female characters, Eclair and Lumiere, who are partners working for a gala tic organization known as the GOTT. They are both gifted with superhuman abilities and work as interstellar police or ES members as they are known as throughout the galaxy. It's a good show. I was a bit on the fence with it at first if for nothing else then the title. I too this day don't understand why they named the show what they did since it seems to have no relevance to the show at all. That put aside however, it is quite an entertaining show that reminds me quite a bit of Solty Rei. This should be no surprise since they are were both Gonzo properties. I especially like how it resembles Solty in it's pacing. It gives that kind of slow start feel to it, but then you realize later on that slow start was actually nice in that it gave you time to really know the characters before all the heavy story lines hit. Expect a full review in the near future.

Speaking of reviews, I am aware that it has been quite sometime since I did one. I believe the last one I did was for Air TV, and that was months ago. I had originally planned on doing a review for Eureka Seven, however I have come to realize that it has been quite some time since I have seen that anime. While the story and characters are still fresh in my head, it would be hard to review it from a critiquing standpoint without giving myself a refresher. This brings me to the problem of time. Between my actual life (while I do love anime, I do not consider it my life), work, and time spent on watching current anime, I do not have a whole lot of time to dedicate to re watching a 50 episode series. So I am going to put that on hold right now. When i get more time to re watch it I will give it a review.

Melancholy Wedensday

2009-04-18T20:41:00.000-04:00

Yo Yo everyone. It's a pretty dark day out today, perfect for staying in and watching your favorite anime. Unfortunately for me, I have to work, but I have some down time so let's talk about what has been going on in the anime world.

The second week of the Spring season has passed, and we are right in the middle of week 3. I must say, all of the shows I am following, (go down a few posts for my initial thoughts of each show) have been at the very least entertaining. Eden of the East is still my top show so far. Fullmetal had a bit of recover from it's somewhat disappointing first episode, and K-ON! continues to be nice mindless entertainment.

I found an interesting post on FUNimation's blog. It was a brief survey asking your gender, and age range. Along with that it gave a list of current shows running in Japan right now and asked of these shows,, which would you buy and which would you recommend to a friend. I find this very peculiar. Is FUNimation trying to acquire some, or all of these shows? Never have I seen them come out and ask it's fan's about shows currently airing in Japan, unless they already had the rights to them. This means that FUNimation is outwardly showing they are aware that it's fans do watch fansubs, and are very much in tune with what is being aired in Japan at the moment. I think this is great of them. They are showing that they want to make a effort to get anime out to us legally as soon as possible. I of course was happy to take their survey. While they let you pick as many shows as they offered, I was only interested in Eden of the East. I even took the time to leave them additional comments in the space they provided. I encourage everyone to take this survey. If you are an anime fan you MUST support the US industry in anyway you can. They are asking for our help so let's all give it to them!!!!.

Along same note, I took a look at the load of comments that were left under the post. Many were positive, but I noticed even more posts asking why K-ON! was not included in the list of shows in the survey. As I'm reading the posts I am thinking that while yes K-ON! is popular right now, and yes it is a entertaining show, it is not the blockbuster of the season. Reading these comments however, you would think that this show is the biggest thing since sliced bread. I'm sorry, but I cannot agree with that. This show has nothing unique about it and it's story is nothing groundbreaking. As I have stated in my previous posts however, if you can get past this fact and just enjoy the show for what it is, you will be pleasantly entertained. Saying it is the best show of the season though, is a bit much. If you are of that mind set, I beseech you, go out and expand your range of shows. There are plenty of stellar shows out there, many licensed in the U.S. for your convenience.

Now I would like to switch gears to a recent blog post by SEGA, pointed out to me by my brother. The post is about Valkryia Chronicles, specifically the video game. It reports last week the game was in the top 5 PS3 games in terms of sales, and in Japan it was the top selling game overall on Amazon. This is great news, because this is a truly great game. The problem I have however, is that the article credits this huge and surprising jump in sales, to the ever loyal fans, and their word of mouth of how great the game is. Now I will be the first one to give credit where credit is due. I am sure the dedicated fans have helped, but let's be honest, a sudden jump in sales a week after the anime based on the game premieres is no coincidence. This is especially true when sites like Kotaku.com are being completely irresponsible and posting the streaming fansubs right on their site. The fact is the anime is popular, and that effect will most definitely trickle down to the video game. Let's not face those facts though, right SEGA?

Can this anime be the cause of this sudden jump in sales?

That pretty much does it for me on this post. I finished up Comic Party last night, and will be starting a new series tonight or tomorrow. New episodes of Eden of the East and Fullmetal will also be in my lineup for this weekend.

Mushishi Review

2009-04-15T11:52:00.001-04:00

Without a doubt, the greatest strength of Japanese animation is that its creators understand the true power of animation. That power, of course, is similar to the one found in books. You can take the viewer (or reader) to any place imaginable, without having to worry about actors that look the part, or building a set that resembles an ancient palace. Simply put, if you can illustrate it, you can make it happen.

Of course, this is not true to all intents and purposes. Anime may have a lot of creative freedoms, but it is still a business, and business is in the habit of making money. Anime can take you to the wildest corners of your imagination, but it is more likely to take you to a place with j-pop theme songs, karaoke credits, disproportionate bodies, and a story line that insists on getting dead serious for the last twelve episodes. The reason for these and other tropes are that they are popular, and thus make money. Of course, these may not be to your liking, and even if they are, you can still admit that reliance on them can lead to overexposure.

It took me a while to realize it, but this reliance on trends was one of the main reasons why I burned out on anime for the last two or three years. Does all anime follow the same formula? Absolutely not. But how to find the buried treasure, the bold new works, when your hardcore otaku college friends rush to watch the latest fansub of a show involving high schoolers sealing away demons? This leads to the other reason for my falling out - it is harder to sort the wheat from the chaff when dealing with a community of fans who, apparently, have viewing criteria as simple as "if it is Japanese, it is worth watching."

I suppose this explains why I was so quickly drawn to a show like Mushishi. While not entirely free from traditional tropes, it ignores many other conventions in order to tell its tale however it needs to. The result is one of the best, most adult anime I have had the pleasure of watching.

Mushishi tells the tale of Ginko, a traveler who wanders a fictional Japanese countryside in order to help people deal with mysterious beings known as Mushi. They are said to be the most basic form of life, and in their own struggle for survival, they often cause trouble for the humans that live alongside them.

Part of what makes Mushishi so enjoyable is that it is almost subsersive by being so honest and straightforward. You may think there is a reason why Ginko travels through ancient Japan, yet wears modern outdoorswear, but this was simply a holdover from early design concepts. You may also expect the Mushi to resemble the various nasties which anime often use to represent traditional Japanese demons, but most of them take the appearance of simple plants and animals, which are problematic not due to malice, but due to their own survival mechanisms interfering with those of humans. There is no overarching plot, no final battle with some Mushi king, and very little delving into Ginko's past. We learn enough to understand his choice in career, and beyond that we simply join him on his never ending journey, as he helps one village or another with Mushi problems large and small.

The style and pacing of any given episode is unique as well. Mushishi is an incredibly quiet show, keeping dialogue to a minimum, and relying on a suite of simple musical pieces to set the tone for each scene. The point here is to sit back and relax, soaking up the beautiful artwork and scenery and allowing the mystery of the day to unfold. Many may consider this to be "boring", and indeed Mushishi does not have many addictive qualities. Of course, this is in fact yet another strength. This not a show meant for marathon viewing, but instead to enjoy one episode at a time, letting the images and messages sink in for one to think and meditate upon later. Because of this, even the most mundane episode has rich lessons to ponder.

And just what are those lessons? I read one anime blog that puts it best. Whether or not you can see the theme of Mushishi says less about your intelligence and sophistication as it does your age. The show is about family, nothing more, nothing less. Ginko and the Mushi are not the stars, but rather the catalysts that make each episode's cast recognize the importance of one's family in their lives. Sometimes they offer the kind of support that only family can provide, and other times they may cause strife through honorable but misguided feelings of protection. Ginko may not always grant them a happy ending, though it is clear that his ability to discover a cure is based less on his own skill and more on the decisions of those he is trying to help, and even then, there is sometimes little that can be done but for the family to stay strong and live with the curse of the Mushi.

It is a simple yet powerful theme, one that stems almost entirely from maturity. If a fourteen year old anime fan were to find themselves uninterested in Mushishi, I would not be surprised, nor would I even debate them. Adolescence is the time for adventure and excitement, when one has seemingly infinite amounts of energy with which to live and love. Feelings of death, loss and responsibility are still some time away, and for these people a wild adventure or a sappy romance are just what the doctor ordered. It is when some years have passed that one understands the importance of survival, and thus the importance of kin. Mushishi is practically made for an audience over drinking age, and for those viewers it should prove to be a magical and poignant experience. There may not be a lot of anime quite like this, but it is a work that counts for more than cheap entertainment, and that counts for something in any medium.

My five shows

2009-04-13T19:41:00.000-04:00

Konbawa minna!!!! (Good evening everyone!!) Now that we are a couple of weeks into the Spring 2009 season, it's time to give some impressions of the shows I am personally watching. Some I have mentioned before, and some I have recently found over the last week. All have at least one episode under their belt, with some having two episodes.

Before we get started with that, I wanted to give my final thoughts on Shikabane Hime, which just finished up this last Friday. I have mixed feelings for this show, as you can see if you look at my previous posts that are tagged with Shikabane Hime. The first season, entitled Aka, was good, but there was defiantly a slower pace that ground on my nerves a bit. The second season Kuro, is a lot faster paced, with more action and story development making it the better of the two seasons. The ending however, was a bit disappointing. There was really no closure to the series. The main villains are still alive and well. The ending scene shows Makina pummeling the Shikabane Hokuto, during which Makina is stating that they are both alive, and then it ends. While it was not the worst ending, it certainly was not what I was expecting. This happens all to often in anime unfortunately. Despite this, I still recommend the anime, because regardless of the ending, it still is a good show.

Now lets get started with the Spring shows.

I'm going to start with Valkyria Chronicles. I thought the first episode was well done. From what I can tell by watching clips on YouTube of the video game, it stayed pretty true to the prologue of the game. I love the drawing style and shading effects they are using for the characters and scenery. It is almost as if they took the images out of a sketchbook. The story was well paced. It covered just enough ground in the first episode so that the second can really get us into the story. As far as a rating for this first episode, I would give it a 3. I will be watching the second episode tonight, and I am expecting good things from it.

Now that is a tank!

Cross Game is sports/romance anime. The sport in the spot light would be baseball. Now these anime seem to be a dime a dozen these days. I'm not really into them. If you add the fact that I am also not into baseball at all, then you may ask what I am even doing writing about this show. In all honesty I didn't watch it because it screamed "awesome" to me. Anime News Network had it in their spring preview. Everyone who wrote about it said that it was going to be the show of the season. I figured if this many people are saying the same thing about one show, it can't be all bad. After watching the first episode, I can say that it does have potential. They did not waste anytime making the audience scramble for tissues, as a tragic accident occurs that will surly alter the life of the main characters. This episode was a sort of a flashback episode, where starting with episode two there will be a time jump to present day. The story seems solid, and the animation is OK. I am not going to rave about it like everyone else, but I am definitely going to follow it for a bit to see where it will go. Rating wise, I'd give it a 3.

From sports to rock band, that is the transition we are going to make with our next show, K-ON!. Let me say right up front, I originally had no intention of watching this show. People are raving about it on the forums, but it just didn't look like anything special. With the show load I have this season as it is, I figured I did not need a show full of fluff. However, last night I found myself board and with nothing to do so I decided kill some time and watch the first two episodes. The show is exactly what I believed it to be; no more, no less.It is complete fluff. The scenery and characters are very nice to look at. The studio is defiantly playing up the cute factor, but they aren't trying to hide that so I'm fine with it. The story isn't entirely original, and you can tell the characters are not going to have any great development, but again it's fluff. My whole take is not every show has to be ground breaking or unforgettable. Some shows are just mindless entertainment. There is nothing wrong with that. Hell, half the shows on American TV are like that; of course you are going to have anime, which is Japans version of prime time TV, throwing on fluff shows. Sometimes you just want to be able to sit down, watch a show, have a few laughs, and escape from reality without having some twisting story or nail biting suspense. That is exactly what K-ON! will be this season for me. I would give it a 2.5 rating.

Rockin it out

The next two shows are going to be the biggest shows of the season in my humble opinion. The first is the new season of Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood and the other is Eden of the East.

The first episode for Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood premiered in Japan on April 5, and we in the States got it that following Thursday via FUNimation's video portal. So what was the first episode of the remake for one of the biggest anime's of all time? To be completely truthful, it was average. The show takes the liberty of assuming if you are watching this show, you have at least scene the first anime or read the manga before hand. The show jumps right into the action, leaving no room for any character introduction or explanations as to what State Alchemists are. The animation is defiantly different, but I am undecided if it is for better or worse. The voice acting seems to solid, even with the few minor changes in some of the actors. Judging it only on the first episode, it is certainly missing something that the first series had. With the first series, I was sucked in right away. I do not feel the same about this series, no matter how much i may want to. There is a silver lining in all of this in that this is only the first episode. How many shows have we all watched where the first episode was kind of shaky, but by the end of the series you were completely engrossed by it. This show is going to be on for awhile, so there is plenty of time for things to go right for it. I am a little worried about it right now, I can admit that, but I am still hopeful that this show will pull off something amazing .

We now come to the last show, Eden of the East.What is there to say about this show other the it is sheer brilliance. I am going on record now, this show is the sleeper of the season. Within the first 5 minutes it had me sucked in, and there's no going back now. The story is about a girl who is on her way back from her school trip to New York City. On her way, she diverted herself away from the rest of her class so she could make a detour and visit Washington DC. She has a fascination with our nation's capital, referring to it as the center of the world. she humorously tries to throw some American coins from behind the gate into the fountain, but to her shock she was to far away. On the other side of things there is a mysteriously young man, who is completely naked, and doesn't know why, In truth, he doesn't know who he is at all. These two seem to be bound for an adventure of epic proportions. I'm not sure where it will take them, but I am going to sit back and enjoy the ride.

I cannot say enough about this show

That;s all the shows on my list for this season. I am taking on a little more then I expected, but I don't mind. I have a nice mixture of potentially really great shows, and some shows that may not be great, but at the very least fun to watch. As I did with last season, I will be sure to keep the blog updated with my thoughts of each show and where I think it is going. Here's to a hopefully fruitful Spring season.

What a Novel Idea

2009-04-09T08:44:00.000-04:00

A few days ago, I found a link to what Rich would eventually point to me as a fansub of the first episode of Full Metal Alchemist: Brotherhood. While I had my suspicions about the legitimacy, I figured I simply got my dates mixed up. After all, why else would this small (yet seemingly legit looking) anime site be putting a streaming video of it up?

Of course, Rich pointed out that a deal like the one Funimation has gotten to stream new episodes days after the original Japanese airing is going to come alone with strict dates, and that there was no possible way it could be legit. So I had to face the reality that some small (but seemingly legit) anime fansite had the stones to link to a streaming video of a fansub of one of the biggest shows of the year (it is one of the biggest shows of the year, right? Help me out?).

Fast forward to this morning, when I discover a similar scenario. This time around, it was a subbed, streaming video of the first episode of Valkyria Chronicles. The site in question? Kotaku.com

Now, this isn't entirely shocking in its stupidity. For those who do not know, kotaku is synonymous with "unfiltered dreck" in the world of video game journalism. As the gaming destination of the Gawker media network, the site embraces all the nasty habits of many entertainment blogs. Forcing you to give them clickthroughs to the full story, non existent investigative journalism, and paying their bloggers by the submission, which leads them to fill posts with poor writing and biting, unecessary snark in order to make it worth posting. Essentially, they are dumb and flippant enough that I am not terribly surprised to see them link to something illegal. Still, I am shocked to think of the possibility that they did not care, or worse, did not know, even if anime is not their topic of discussion.

For even more fun, check out the comments. There are some that remind the site that they're rolling a dangerous pair of dice, and there are others that show a clear confusion about fansubs and their legality. While they can certainly seem like a grey area at times, something tells me that a link like that on a major website is probably not a good idea. In addition, there are others that use the page to makeclear their opinions on licensing (kotaku commenters have never understood being on topic). I particularly enjoy the one that assumes that the majority of anime DVDs come with only an English voice option.

In the end, the moral of this story is that opinions aside, the actual knowledge fansubs, the industry, and all they entail are mixed up in the minds of a few fans, perhaps more than we might expect.

Spring 2009!!!!!!!!!!

2009-04-05T01:08:00.000-04:00

Greetings all. It's been quite sometime since my last update. I got a lot to talk about so lets get to it.

Before I get to my Spring 2009 mini preview, let me first wrap up with my closing thoughts on Winter 2008.

A Certain Magical Index - I had high expectations for this show. Unfortunately it did not fully live up to the potential it had. The show had a very interesting beginning. Mixing the magical world with the world of technology and science was an intriguing idea that I had yet to see before. The Touma and Index characters had a humours relationship, yet they truly did care about each other and it was fun to see that bond grow. Unfortunately, we did not get to see much of this. Even thought the title of the show was A Certain Magical Index, the index character for much of the show, was non existent. It had the Touma character go from situation to situation helpings different people, usually females, in various predicaments. The show had gave more screen time to the Misaka character then the supposed title character. That should never happen. As it is the Misaka character is getting her own spinnoff show this coming fall, entitled A Certain Scientific Railgun. Towards the end of the show it did seem to get back on track, and was starting to get good again, but it was too little too late. The show ended its 24 episode season with a cliff hanger. This should mean the show will come back for a second season, and from the looks of it there should be a lot more Touma/Index centric storyline. I have not lost all hope on this show yet, so here's to a hopefully better second season when the time comes around.

White Album - This show never got me very excited, yet I found myself sticking with it throughout the entire first season. What can I say about this show? The story is ok, the characters, are ok, and the art is ok. I can't rave about it, yet I can't really knock it either. It was one of those fluff shows for lack of a better word. Will I continue with it when it comes back in the fall? Yeah I will, if for nothing else but to see where everything ends up in the end.

Shikabane Hime: Kuro - While this show still has 1 more episode left, it's close enough to where I can give my impression. This season was defiantly the better of the two seasons. It had plenty of action, and the story really took off. It's so good right now that it will be sad to see it end at it's peak. There has been no word if there will be a third season, and the way it is looking the series will probably wrap up with next weeks episode.

Toradora - The sleeper juggernaut this season, Toradora was by far the most entertaining show on Thursday nights for me right behind Supernatural. This show had everything; awesome artwork and character design coupled together with a great story and character development. You really could not ask for more. The romance/comedy/slice of life genre is veer hard to be in right now, simply because there are so many being made. Toradora took great care to separate itself from the rest. While I am saddened that they ended it in such a way there will be no second season, they did it to where I am completely satisfied and feel three were really no loose ends left behind.

Now that we have Winter out of the way, lets move on to Spring.

Tonight marks the official start of the Spring 2009 season for myself. What's being served up? A nice helping of Valkyria Chonicles. Based off of Sega's hit RPG for the PlayStation 3, this anmie has potential to expand the story of the video game and grow it's fan basis to even larger numbers. I myself, have never played the game, so I am not really knowledgeable on the story. I do not currently own a PS3, making it impossible for me to play the game; so when I heard an anime was going to be based off of it I became quite excited. It will be interesting to see how closely it follows the video game. Usually games that are turned into an anime I have at least some experience with prior to watching the anime. This is the first time where it will be in reverse and I will have watched the anime before playing the game.

Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood premieres Sunday in Japan, and will be put up on FUNimation's video portal on Thursday. Yes, you have read correct. It was announced on Friday that FUNimation has acquired the full rights the the new series, including TV and DVD rights. Everything that needs to be said about this has already been said everywhere else, so all I'm going to say is this news is damn exciting.

Currently these are the only two shows I plan on following. That is not to say that I won't follow any others, but I have not come across them yet. I am open to suggestions.

In other news, the Eureka Seven movie is set to premiere this month. It has been a long time coming for this movie. I absolutely loved the TV series, and there has been rumors of a continuation of the TV series or a possible movie for years now. We finally received confirmation that a movie was green lit a year ago. Despite this, information on what the actual movie will be about has been scarce up until just recently. It seems to be a complete re telling of the anime, with the only connection to the original series are the actual characters and the themes of the original story. The trailer looks amazing. and I cannot wait to see if it gets licensed here in the states.

FUNimation has struck a deal with Toie which allows them to put up Toei animation FUNimation's video portal. Some of the shows that are set to be put up include classics like Fists of the North Star, and Galaxy Express as well as others.

That wraps it up for this post. Next week should have my first impressions on the new shows I mentioned. Until then anyone who may have a suggestion for a new show this season leave it in the comments section.

It's getting closer

2009-03-17T20:20:00.000-04:00

Greetings all. I hope all is well with everyone. So let's get right down to business.

Well it is getting down to the wire. We officially have 1 more episode of A Certain Magical Index, and 2 more episodes of Toradora remaining. This is a bit of a let down. A Certain Magical Index has, for the last few episodes, been very entertaining. Then there is Toradora, which I have been giving nothing but praise to. I will be missing this show very much when it is over. I can only hope it will come back for a second season.

There is a bright side to this in that with shows ending comes new shows premiering. Fullmetal Alchemist has about a half month until it's premiere. That alone is enough to get me excited for the new spring season.

I started Kenichi: The Mightiest Disciple this last weekend. I have almost gotten through the entire first volume subbed and dubbed. My first impressions are that it is a decant anime. The animation is pleasant to look at, character's are interesting enough, and the story is intriguing enough to where I'm not bored out of my mind. It is not the greatest show in the world, and it will never be considered that; this much I can tell already.

That's it for now. I wish there was more news to talk about, but there really hasn't been much going on. Later.

Laura Bailey rocks....that is all

2009-03-17T06:01:00.001-04:00

How do we watch anime: TV on PC?

2009-03-10T17:00:00.000-04:00

Hi everyone, Christian here. I made a blog post for my brother Rich a while ago about Japanese RPGs, and since then he's given my authoring privileges. Expect to see me poke my head in from time to time, with thoughts and observations from a casual anime fan. I promise not to be too scathing!

Today's post is about how we watch anime, specifically in regards to what format we watch it in. I have recently begun to explore the various streaming video services that provide partial or full seasons of popular anime. The logic behind these offerings make a lot of sense; many people are going to hit up torrent sites to watch their favorite anime for free, so distributors might as well put some of it up themselves. Not only is it quick and convenient, but a sprinkling of ads can also make it profitable (or at the bare minimum, make it break even). Furthermore, the hope is that if a fan likes a show enough, that they will go out and buy some DVDs, which of course feature better sound, picture, and language options.

Suffice to say that I have fallen for this plan hook, line and sinker. I watched just one episode of Mushishi on Hulu.com before I knew I needed to own it. There are a few other shows that I intend to eventually stop watching and finish on disc. For me, the streaming videos are a perfect setup. They allow me to get a decent idea of a show's quality, but they aren't an optimal way to watch it. I have to get up out of bed to shut down my PC at night, the video quality is merely okay, and the picture is squished on my already small monitor in order to fit the widescreen format. This is all perfectly fine by me, since once I know I'll enjoy a show, I have no qualms about (and in fact prefer) watching the rest of it on DVD. Doing so allows me to plop down on a comfy couch, use remote controls, and enjoy surround sound and a crisp picture courtesy of a nice HDTV. Mushishi was an even better experience this way, and I'm glad I didn't burn through any more of it on Hulu. Hell, even if I still had my old CRT set and a pair of 2.1 speakers, I'd have still preferred it on DVD.

So, mission accomplished for Funimation and the rest, right? I'm not so sure. My own viewing and buying habits may be the what they are trying to encourage, it does not appear to be the norm. From my own observations, it seems that many fans are quite content to watch low quality video if they don't have to pay. Most of these fans would also scoff at streaming services, and point out to me that torrents offer them HD quality, and "good" subtitles. I still think this is a compromise, as I do not understand the appeal of watching Television via a monitor and computer chair/desk. Even if the picture and subs are better, there is something of a sacrifice in comfort. There is the option of hooking up a good media center PC to a TV, but considering many anime fans who post about their love of free content have troubles with basic spelling, I get the feeling they aren't all doing this.

And so I remain curious. Do people really watch most anime via their PC? Do they do so from a swivel chair as well? Maybe most of them just take a laptop to the couch? Are viewing habits based on age? I want to say 'yes' to the latter question, as it answers a whole lot, but generalizations do us no good. Feel free to share stories and theories in the comments. I already know I missed out on a few important points and situations, but they would have made the post rambling and unorganized. That's where you come in!

The seasons are starting to change in more ways then one.

2009-03-08T18:35:00.000-04:00

Winter seems to be coming to a close here in northeast PA, with spring gently knocking on the door. The last two days we have had 60 degree temperatures, which compared to what it was a week ago is downright balmy. This is fitting, since we are beginning to wrap things up on the winter season of anime. Most shows have 4 or 5 episodes left in their respective seasons. Some will start to tie things together to close the story, others will wrap up current story arcs if they are renewed for another season. With that in mind I'd like to give my thoughts on how I think certain shows will fair when all is said and done.

Id like to start off with the juggernaut this season, Toradora, which in my opinion has been the most enjoyable show to watch this season. I do not know how this season will end yet, but I have a feeling that this show is not done yet. First of all, it is based off a light novel series that has spanned into the double digits volume wise. While I cannot say I have read the light novels, I have read that the anime follows very closely to them. That being said, I cannot see how a 25 episode series could possibly cover all that story material. This is a good thing, because that leaves room for a second or even third season for the anime. Taking all of this into account along with the sheer popularity of the show in Japan, and I think there is a pretty good chance we will see this show again, My guess, based on what I have seen so far in the way the seasons seem to be determined in Japan, is that it will go to another fall/winter season.

Next up is White Album. Unlike all the other shows I have or will talk about today, White Album is the one show where I have concrete information about. The second sea on has been green lit and slated for the Fall '09 season. That means this current season will end up with 13 episodes in total and should finish up by the end of March or beginning of April.

Third in our list is A Certain Magical Index. This show has been a bit of a roller coaster for me. At times I love it while at otter times I wonder where the hell it is going. Much like Toradora it is based off of a light novel series with a decent amount of volumes under it's belt. The chances of all of that material being used up with this first season are slim, especially given the fact that it still feels like we have barley scratched the surface with who Index really is . The difference between Toradora and A Certain Magical Index lies in their popularity. While we know Toradora is quite popular, A Certain Magical Index has not exactly reached that level. Due to that difference, this show's future is a bit more uncertain for me. While I would very much like to see it continue, I know my personal preferences mean absolutely nothing in that decision.

Last on the list is Shikabane Hime. While it is true I have been following this show since the beginning of the fall season, I have not been able to see enough of the second season to make any speculations on it's future. This is due largely to the fact that the U.S. audience is 3 weeks behind the Japanese broadcast. At this time no speculation can be given.

That does it for my speculations. As far as the spring season goes, other the the new FMA series I have yet to find any other new shows. I am sure I will find one or two, I always do. In otter news, I am almost done with the first two season of Kodocha (or Kodomo no Omacha aka Child's Toy). As I've stated in previous posts this show rocks and I can't get enough of it. I'll probably finish the remainder sometime next week. After that I am going to take a week off from Kodocha ( there are another 50 or so episodes to the show that were never localized by FUNimation. This means I am unfortunately going to have to rely on fansubs for the second half of the show) to start a new show that is being released by FUNimation this week entitled Kenichi: The Mightiest Disciple. I have heard a lot of good things about this show and look forward to it. After that I will go back to Kodocha, finish that up, and then probably review it.

As for now I am going to work on my Japanese studies, and then get a portion of my Eureka Seven review written. Unitl next time.

How do we watch anime?

2009-03-03T11:16:00.002-05:00

Hi everyone, Christian here. I made a blog post for my brother Rich a while ago about Japanese RPGs, and I'm back today for a more general discussion: How do we like to disgest our entertianment, and is there a best way to do so?

My interest in this topic came about when I was examining the intensity that many of us demonstrate when playing games. I myself am known to blast through a quick action game in the course of a single Saturday. Still others enjoy playing RPGs for 80-90 hours, earning all the best weapons and maximizing character stats. This is done in a similar vein in MMORPGS, where content intended to last the community for several months is completed in the course of just one week. I found myself alarmed at how easily we could sucuumb to these tendencies, and wondered if there was something about games (and gamers) that lead to such obsessive qualities.

The more I thought about it, the more I realized that people behave this way with all sorts of entertainment. Whenever a new Harry Potter novel was released, fans would push through and finish it in the span of a day, two at most. When we watch shows on DVD, we often blast through a disc at a time. We may even finish an entire series in a week's time (and for still others, a week may be too slow)!

For the longest time, I have never found anything inherently wrong with this approach. It is our time (and in most cases our money) to spend - who is to tell use how we spend it? Furthermore, in the case of DVDs, we often buy them so that we do not have to wait for a network to air episodes in whatever timeslot, order, or pace they so choose. Watching a show at rapid pace appears to be a natural consequence of the freedom that DVDs grant us.

I began to go against this thinking recently, when my housemates and I attempted to watch a popular show together. We began slowly, only watching when we all had definite time to spend on it, and only two episodes max at a time. But they began to get into it, hook line and sinker. They started to make time for it, polishing off an entire disc (almost four hours total) during a single work night. I found myself in a perpetual cycle of catch up. It wasn't just that I didn't have time to spend my entire night on the couch - I realized I didn't want to anyway. I like as much as anyone to be able to plop down and unwind after a long day's work, but I also know that there always small chores to be done before night's end. I also know that I have a lot of shows, games and books to finish, articles to write, instruments to practice. Spending such huge swaths of time on one show while ignoring everything else seems like

That was that and This is this....

2009-03-01T18:12:00.001-05:00

Greetings all. It's been a couple weeks since my last post I believe. To be honest there hasn't been a whole lot to write about. I have some free time though, so I might as well write a little something.

I am in full swing with Kodocha. I freakin' love this show. If I had to describe it with one word it would be balance. It has crazy, hyped up 24/7 Sana along with her crew making you laugh non stop but at the same time it has it's serious and dramatic moments to help drive along the story. It's a very complete show that any anime fan should (and needs) to watch. I'm up to volume 7 right now. It's a damn shame that the second half of the series is not localized. It's even more shameful that the chances of it coming to the states is relatively low right now.

I've been keeping up with the usual shows I watch weekly. They are all going along nicely, particularly Shikabane Hime and Toradora. Their respective stories are really outstanding right now. It's depressing knowing that Toradora only has 5 more episodes starting this week. I know this anime is based off the light novels, and that there are about 10 or so volumes, so I doubt that the anime has used up all the material available. This means there is a chance of a second season. Judging by the popularity of the show, I'd say the chances are pretty good.

I watched the xxxHolic OVD the other day. The first episode of two in total was released a couple of weeks ago. I have to say, I wasn't overly impressed with it. It was enjoyable to watch, but it lacked that certain something that makes xxxHolic what it is. I believe that something is a combination of things. There was a total lack of Yuuko, which is a huge disappointment. She brings so much to the table. The episode was very Watanuki and Doumeki centric. While this is not necessarily bad, I love Watanuki and Doumenki, it did steal time from Yuuko. The lack of Mokona and even Maru and Moro could be felt. We'll have to see what the second episode brings, which I believe is due in May.

I decided what my next review will be. It is one of my top 3 anime of all time, Eureka Seven. This is going to be a big one, lots to talk about so I am not going to give any time frame on when it will be out. I do want to start it this week, but that's all I can say.

That's pretty much it. News is scarce right now. There will probably be more in the coming weeks with the spring anime season right around the corner. I am so ready for the new season of FMA!!!!

Happy Monday!!!!

2009-02-16T15:56:00.000-05:00

Week of 2/16

2009-02-16T01:47:00.000-05:00

What's up everyone. I got my xxxHolic review up, finally. I just wanted to check in at this point. First off, the latest episode of Toradora was possibly the best yet. The animation was so crisp, and the story took some major turns. JC Staff seems to be doing everything right with this anime, which is refreshing to see after some of the mistakes they took with Zero No Tsukaima.

Shikabane Hime is another show where again, it just keeps getting better and better. The episode on Friday left you with a major cliffhanger. I won't spoil it, but damn I did not see that one coming.

Has anyone checked out the first Haruhi-chan web short? Kadokawa has released it on Youtube and it has English subs. It's pretty entertaining for a web short.

Some really big news for anime fans by me locally. Vic Minogna is going to be vising a local college here this coming Saturday. He is doing a 3 hour interactive panel from 10am-1pm, and then in the evening he is holding a concert where he will perform his music. I freaked when I found this out. I may be attending if I can get my hand on a ticket for the panel. Unfortunately I will not be able to attend the concert due to the fact I have to work that evening. I would have taken the day off if I found out about the event sooner, but as it happens I just found out this last Friday. We'll see what happens.

That's it for now. I am hoping to catch the new episode of A Certain Magical Index tonight, along with volume 3 of Fruits Basket. I hope to get Fruits Basket done by next week, because I am really itching to get into Kodocha full swing. Later.

xxxHolic review

2009-02-12T20:59:00.000-05:00

Throughout the ages there have been countless stories about people with the ability to see spirits or ghosts. It is a very popular type of story, with each writer putting their own little twist on it. xxxHolic is one such story. It is about a high school boy named Watanuki Kimihiro (being a Japanese name the family name is first and the given is last) who, for as long as he can remember, has been able to see spirits. These spirits seem naturally drawn to him, despite his disdain for them. Due to this unwanted ability, Watanuki is always very mindful of his surroundings. For example, he does not like going to movie theaters; being dark it makes a perfect place for spirits to gather. Festivals set up by temples are also places he generally does not like to be around. It is a tiresome way of living, and Watanuki would like nothing more then to get rid of this "curse". How perfect for Watanuki, because his wish is literally about to be granted by the ""Dimensional Witch", Ichihara Yuuko. Watanuki one day stumbles into her wish granting shop by way of his legs taking him there, against his will. Watanuki quickly learns it is no coincidence he came to this wish granting shop, for as Yuuko quickly teaches him "there's no such thing as coincidence, there is only inevitability". Yuuko will grant Watanuki's wish, but there must be equal payment. In Watanuki's case, he will become Yuuko's employee, tasked with doing whatever Yuuko deems fit. This includes tasks such as cooking her meals, doing the laundry, cleaning the store house, basically anything that could be considered a household chore. As Watanuki spends more time with Yuuko and her "customers" he learns that humans are much more then meets the eye, as well as learning about himself along the way. Next on "The Discussion of", xxxHolic: The Review. Shall I grant your wish?

Story
xxxHolic is different then other anime I have reviewed in the sense that the show is more episodic then most others. Anime such as Solty Rei or Rumbling Hearts have stories that go in a specific direction. The story is driven and advanced with each episode. xxxHolic has an underlying story, but it is much looser and serves more like a minor character, showing up every now and then.

As for what then main story is actually about, the introduction I gave above gives you a good idea. Rather then talking about that, since it plays more of a minor role, I thought I would talk about the pacing of the show. This is what really makes the show stand out. Each episode is more or less self contained, and each one has a "client" who makes their way to Yuuko's shop. Each one of these client's is of course looking for a wish to be granted, whether they know it or not. Many of these "clients" are suffering from despair or some sort of bad habit (hence the title xxxholic, where the xxx serves as a variable. IE: alcoholic) that are usually self inflicted. Despite the fact Yuuko is the "Dimensional Witch", and obviously holds supernatural powers, she often ends up not using them to grant the client's wish. In some cases she will impart some sort of wisdom, or logic, other times she will use Watanuki, sending him on some sort of errand to help the client. When this happens Watanuki is usually clueless of Yuuko's intention for him to be the tool to grant the client's wish. In times where he is aware of his role, he doubts that he can be of any help. Whichever the case, by the end of the episode all is made clear to him. Each of these episodes more or less plays out this way. This is why the pacing is so great in this show. If you have read any of my past reviews, you will know that I consider the pacing of a show very important. Without good packing, you either get board to fast because all the good parts of the stroy are exhausted by the half way point, or it is so slow you cannot stay interested long enough to get to the good part of the story. Either way you look at it, poor pacing can often turn a potentially good show into a disappointment. xxxHolic, if paced poorly, could have ended up being a very predictable and boring show. Each episode has the same basic formula that I described above. When this happens shows often get stuck in a rut, and the audience gets bored with it relatively fast. A great example of this is Inuyasha. I used to like this show, but after seeing the same thing over and over with a different flavor of the week villain, I got tired of it and stopped watching it altogether. xxxHolic takes each episode and puts a different spin on it, keeping the audience always intrigued. The show's use of it's characters also helps to keep things moving along very nicely. The main characters are of course very intriguing, but the "clients" who are used for one, two episodes max, are also very fun to watch. The added use of the main story as that minor character, also helps to freshen things up when needed. Every so often, a little piece of the puzzle that is the main story comes into view, and when it does it rarely disappoints.

Yuuko and Watanuki. I have a lithograph of this image personally signed by Colleen Clinkenbeard.

Impressively, the show is able to keep this pace up for 24 episodes without missing a beat. There is not a boring episode in the mix, each one is intriguing in it's own way. Another nice point to the show is since it is more episodic then other series, it si not necessary to watch the show in order. For the initial viewing, I would still recommend watching it in order, because you want to be able to pick up those little details of the main story and put them together. After the first run, you can pretty much pop any disc that has your favorite episode and go nuts. Shows like Fullmetal Alchemist or Kanon for instance, are not as easy to just pick up a random volume and watch.

Music
xxxHolic's music is not the most memorable soundtrack, but in being so I believe it serves it's purpose. Here is my reasoning for this. This show has such great writing and dialogue between the characters, that when I am watching the show I am completely engrossed in what is being said. The music is lightly in the background which is nice, but it is the dialogue that I am tuning into. If the music did have more of a presence, whether it be louder or more forceful, it might distract the viewer.

The show has one opening song and two closing songs, which switch half way through the series. The opening song is tolerable, but I have heard better. This holds true for the first closing. The second closing song is pretty catchy, and pairing it with the animation makes it quite humorous. The cost of a wish granted by Yuuko, your most precious asset. The cost of Maru, Moro, and Mokona on air instruments, priceless.

Artwork
I love the artwork in this anime. It does not have super cute characters, or brightly colored backgrounds that seem to saturate anime these days. This anime uses dark tone and neutral colors for the most part. Also the character design is like nothing I have ever seen before. The characters are all very long and spindly. This is not limited to extremities. The character's torso and necks are all drawn in such a manner that make the character's seem very stretched out in the vertical sense. At first when I saw this I was not sure how I felt about it. It was a very new style to me . Shows like Air TV and Kanon, which are beautiful in their own way, look nothing like this. As I watched the show I began to appreciate it more for the fact that it is so different. It is a bold move on the artists part. People are stuck in the mind set that anime needs to look a certain way. The formula seems to be big bright colors for anything and everything, with super cute characters with super big bright eyes and hair which defies all laws of physics. This seem to be the norm; and damn all who try something different, or at least that is what the otaku will have you think. I applaud CLAMP (the original creators of xxxHolic) for using this artistic style.

One other point about the artwork is the gimmick they use when drawing the people in the backgrounds. In the show, if the character's are in a public area where there might be a crowd, the people are drawn as mere gray silhouettes, with features like hair, eyes, and mouths non existent. By doing this, I believe the artists are trying to tell the audience that the main characters are of the same world, yet at the same time they are not. Watanuki and company all have special abilities; Watanuki himself can see and attract spirits, Doumeki while not able to see spirits can repel them, and Yuuko is the "Dimensional Witch" who can grant any wish. They are special people who are aware of things that normal people are not. It is as if they have their own special world; everyone else is an outsider looking in, a part of the world, but not.

Subtitled Version
The voice work by the Japanese seiyu are all spot on. The five main roles were cast very well. The seiyu kept the characters appropriate to their respective ages and personalities. The cast is comprised of Ohara Sayaka playing the character of Ichihara Yuuko, Fukuyama Jun as Watanuki Kimihiro, Nakai Kazuya as Doumeki Shizuka, Itou Shizuka as Kunogi Himawari, and Kikuchi Mika rounds out the cast as Mokona Modkoki.

The script for the subbed version is clean and precise, with no noticeable grammatical or spelling errors. The only inconsistency that sticks out in my mind is the gender of Mokona changed in one episode. It was referred to as one gender in one episode, and then later in another episode it was referred to as the opposite gender. The subbed script does stick closer to the original Japanese script then the one they use for the dub. Less liberties were taken with it, which is on par with a FUNimation production. I will say that while I found no huge discrepancies or problems with the subbed script, I felt it did not flow as well as the English script.

The performances by the Japanese seiyu took a little while to grow on me. I first watched xxxHolic in it's dubbed version, later going back and watching the subbed version. As I will go into more detail later, the dubbed version was very good, the best I have seen in awhile. When I started to watch the sub, I was not to sure how I felt about it. It took me a good volumes worth of episodes to get into the Japanese mind set. I know that may sound weird, but if you think about it, it does make sense. The two languages are very different, grammatically as well as in the tones used. Myself being an English speaker, it is very easy to acclimate myself to dubs, but going from an English mindset to a Japanese mindset takes a bit longer. I truly believe this even more so now since I am learning the Japanese language.

I think out of all the subbed performances, Ohara-san's was my favorite. The delivery of her lines was impeccable. Yuuko is a complex character. She has different moods that she shifts from quite often. This is not to say she is bi-polar, but she can turn from a serious mood into demanding a bottle of osake in a flash. It helps to bring some humor and lighten up the mood.

Fukuyama Jun and Nakai Kazuya as Watanuki and Doumeki worked really well together. Scenes with these two characters were always great. The two character's are polar opposite of each other. Watanuki is always going into some sort of rant, whether its because of the spirits he sees or because he thinks Doumeki is trying to steal Himawari from him. Doumeki is very calm, always collected and tries to let Watanuki work whatever it is that set him off out of his system. Doumeki isn't always innocent though, often times provoking Watanuki into a rant, such as eating food Watanuki has prepared specially for Himawari. The two actors play off each other very well. This is due largely in part that they are actors together when they are recording. This is something that dubs lack; dub actors record in a booth alone. I give the American VA's credit, acting in a booth alone is not something easily done and they do a pretty good job with it. At the same time, however, having that other actor there with you is something that I believe gives the Japanese a bit of an edge over dubs in some cases.

Dubbed Version
For xxxHolic the dubbed version is my personal preference. I found that while FUNimation took their usual creative liberties with the script, none of the changes had a hindrance on the show. In fact, I believe that the dubbed script was an improvement on the more literal subbed script. The cast of the dub, much like the sub, was chosen very wisely.

As stated before, FUNimation did make some modifications to the script. In most cases these changes were minor, usually for the better. Most of the cultural references were kept intact. There was one significant cultural reference that FUNimation did change, the concept of hitsuzen. Hitsuzen is a Japanese concept that has no direct translation in English. It basically means that everything that happens in life is fate, or inevitable. Every action has an impact on future events, and without these action the future events would not exist. Actions and events are always connected, therefore, there is no such thing as a coincidence. FUNimation translated hitsuzen as inevitability, rather then keeping the actual word hitsuzen. This is contrary to what Del Roy has done with the xxxHolic manga, where they have kept the concept of hitsuzen intact. Personally, I do not find FUNimation changing this a problem, especially since it does not have a direct English translation, but people will make the argument that they should have kept the original concept since they kept it in the manga.

In regards to the performance of the dub cast, it is stellar. We start off with Colleen Clinkenbeard who plays the infamous Yuuko. Next up we have Todd Haberkorn as Watanuki. The remaining three cast members are Michael Tatum, Cherami Leigh, and Carrie Savage as Doumeki, Himawari, and Mokona respectively. To begin with I am a huge fan of Colleen Clinkenbeard. I loved her in Solty Rei and Rumbling Hearts. Her performance as Yuuko is my new favorite for her. She is equal to the Japanese seiyu, if not in some ways better. Yuuko has a lot of long speeches, usually when she is giving an explanation to a supernatural event or lecturing Watanuki. These speeches tend to be on the lengthy side, so it is important to have a voice actor that can keep the audience engaged at all times. Colleen also does a great job with transitioning between Yuuko's serious side and her "party girl" side. Often it is required for her to change it up on the fly. I imagine when you are playing a character and they are in a certain mind set, it is not always easy to just jump out of that and into another.

Yuuko rocks!

As far as Watanuki's voice actor Todd Haberkorn, I have read mixed reviews from others on his performance. Todd uses a somewhat high pitched voice, and when he goes into his rants it goes even higher. Some complained that this was annoying and made the character sound more like a girl then a guy. I disagree on this stance. If you watch the subbed version, while not as high, the Japanese seiyu uses the same approach. It is just the way the character was designed. Could Todd have toned it down a bit? I suppose he could have, but even if he had I doubt it would be so noticeable to make a huge difference.

Overall
xxxHolic is a great anime. The story's are engaging, and with it's ever changing supporting cast, there's always something new. Both versions are well done, so no matter if you are a sub or dub fan, you should be pleased. xxxHolic is a 24 episode ride that gives you different perspectives on life while nicely tying in some philosophy. At the same time you cannot help but laugh at some of the high jinks that are pulled off by various characters. While this first season doesn't have the overall story advance to much it does a nice job of laying the ground work and experiment with the characters in different situations. Fortunately, there is a second season comprising of 13 episodes. We see in this second season the story advance a bit more. While it is not licensed in America yet, I am confident that given the popularity of the first season, we will see the second, hopefully sooner then later.

Story: A
Music: C
Artowrk: A
Sub: A
Dub: A
Overall: A

Oh Sana's sweet mood goes up and down!

2009-02-11T18:27:00.000-05:00

Whoever can guess where the title for this post comes from gets a gold star. With that out of the way onto the news. More and more hype seems to be building around the net for the new Fullmetal Alchemist series which starts April 5th. Trailers and teaser commercials are being streamed on the official Japanese websites. I of course am completely psyched for this and cannot wait. Even more so I cannot wait to see when as well as who gets the license for the show. I am praying FUNimation gets it. I do not think there is a single person out there that can deny the awesome work FUN did with the first series.

I finished Suzuka last week. Overall it was a pretty good anime. There wasn't anything to really rave about, but it was a pleasant watch. The only gripe I had was the ending. There was closure for somethings, but others were totally left open. You are left feeling that it ended to abruptly.

With Suzuka done, I have stated Fruits Basket. I've seen 10 episodes so far. I'll say this, it's not a bad anime. I'm not sure if I understand why it has become the phenomenon that it is, but it does have some good qualities.

Another show that I have been dying to see is Kodocha. This show looks so crazy it has to be good. I have 3 volumes sitting at home. Even though I am currently in the middle of Fruits basket, i could not help myself and watched the first volume of Kodocha dubbed. I am not disappointed so far. I want to enjoy Fruits Basket, but at the same time I kind of want to fly through it so I can get to Kodocha. So much anime, not enough time.

Shikanbane Hime keeps getting better and better. The story is really picking up now and every week I'm left with wanting more. The same can be said of Toradora as well.

I can finally say my xxxHolic review is done. I just have to get some graphics to go along with it, and it'll be posted. I am going to try to be a little more strict with my deadlines. At first I was getting a review a week out, but that has changed to a review once a month. I probably won't be able to do once a week, but one every two weeks is possible. That said I think my next review might be for Kanon or Fruits Basket. I'll decide sometime within the next few days.

Love is not a spectator sport...

2009-02-04T02:13:00.000-05:00

Or so thee tag line for the anime Suzuka says. Greetings all. It is the first week of February, and I cannot wait for winter to end. It is cold and icy and I want no part in it. Thankfully I have plenty of anime to pass the time on these bitter days. Let's talk about what's been going on.

As you can probably tell already, I am currently watching the anme entitled Suzuka. Suzuka is about a girl by the obvious name of Suzuka, who is a star track and field athlete and has just started her first year in high school. She meets a boy named Yamato, who quickly falls in love with her. The problem is Suzuka does not seem to reciprocate these feelings. That doesn't stop Yamato though as he joins the track and field club so he can try and win Suzuka's heart.

I have found this show for the most part to be pretty enjoyable. The characters are well built, and the story is engaging. I find myself able to get behind and root for Yamato, which I can not say is something I am often able to do in the romantic anime genre. All the male protagonists seem to be soft and indecisive and just plain annoying. Yamato seems to know what he wants, and is not afraid to go after it. I am currently on volume four, which leaves two more volumes after that.

Toradora continues to be an interesting show. It seems to be switching focus a bit, becoming a tad more serious. It also seems we are going to get a bit of a better glimpse of what some of the characters are really like (Minorin) and what their true feelings are.

It was announced today that the official "relaunch" of the Haruhi anime series will debut in April. Some are speculating what the "relaunch" really is. Some say that it will be an alternate retelling of the first series, some say it will be the first series re aired, and some say it will be the original concept of the second season which is based off the fourth book in the light novel series entitled "The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya". My guess is that it will be a new season following the fourth book. Evidence has already pointed to this, as several months back character sketches and designs were released in Japan's NewType magazine. In those photos it showed new character designs for Haruhi herself with long hair and a school uniform similar to the one she wears in the light novel. The logic can also be used that the first season cannot be retold, since the events that take place are from the first three novels, and since the anime follows the light novels very closely it would make no sense to retell them. Doing so would then make the show deviate away from the novels, which if that was an intention, they would have done so from the start. (edit 2/4: It has been reported today that a representative from Kadokaw has indicated that the annoucment in NewType is in no way in regards to a second season. They are indeed only reairing the first season on a couple of networks.)

My xxxHolic review is coming a long nicely. I'm about 60% done with the first draft. I would like to say I will have it up by Sunday, but with the way things have been randomly popping up I don't want to guarantee that. That's it for now. Have a good rest of the week.

Xenosaga: The Animaiton review

2009-01-31T01:19:00.001-05:00

The Palmtop Tiger will get you......

2009-01-24T21:24:00.000-05:00

Yes, I know my subject is a little random but I couldn't think of anything else that would fit. There are a few things I want to address tonight. The first being that I finally decided to do that video review of Xenosaga that I have mentioned on and off again. I should be posting that on Google video tonight or tomorrow. I would have had it up on Youtube, but apparently since it's 12 minutes long it was rejected. So I'm going to try Google video and hope they do not have the same restrictions with length. I will warn everyone right now, I was not kind with this anime. I'm not apologizing for it, I just want to let you know what you are in for if you watch it.

Secondly, if you recall in my last post I talked about the uncertainty of Shikabane Hime's future in the US. The Aka series had ended and no word was given by FUNimation on whether or not they had acquired the license for the Kuro season. The answer to this question was given this last week with FUNimation posting the first episode of Kuro exactly one week after the finale of Aka. They are labeling it as episode 14, rather then episode 1. The rationale I use is there is really no difference between the seasons (not even the OP and ED are different) they did not see the need to break the show into two series like the Japanese have.

I have caught up with Toradora to the current episode. I have to say I was a little weary with this series at first, but I've really taken a liken to it. It's humours, but can be serious when it needs to be. The friendship and bond between the two main characters is interesting to watch as it continues to grow and change.

Now I would like to discuss a recent Hey Answerman column on ANN. It was for the week of Jan 16th. In it a question is brought up about how one never hears English voice actors in anything else but anime and video games and why anime companies do not hire B or C list actors to play their parts. Answerman attempt to answer the above question, but at the same time manages to take some pretty low blows the the English voice actors. He uses the fact that many voice actors do community theatre as an answer as to why you never see them in anything else. Forgive me, but I didn't realize that community theater, or theater in general, was not considered a respectable form of acting. He goes on to say that big actors have been cast in a few well known movies, but they didn't really make a difference. So the argument then is why bother spending that kind of money when you can just use Johnny Young Bosch? I'm sorry again, but what is wrong with Johnny Young Bosch? In my opinion he would probably do a better job with an anime role then any A or B list actor. Why? The answer to that is simple. Dubbing anime takes more talent then just acting. First, you are in a booth all by yourself. You have no other actor to play off of. You have to basically have a conversation with other characters who aren't even there with you. Second, you have to be able to match mouth flaps which is not always the easiest thing to do. Throughout his answer he makes it quite clear that he does not like dubs, stating they are often flat and weak. That's really great, lump all dubs into that. I will be the first one to admit, there are some pretty bad dubs out there. At the same time however, there are some really great ones. it is unfair to judge dubs and even subs as a whole. You have to take each performance for each show and judge them separately. If not you may be missing out on some pretty good performances.

Sorry if that sounded like a rant, but I had to get it off my chest. When I read that, I got pretty heated. I just don't think he was being fair to dubs. That pretty much wraps it up for me. This post may be dated 1/24, but right now as I type it's actually 1/26. I am currently pretty sick right now, so I have not been able to really work on anything, including finishing this post. Since I'm feeling a bit better for the moment, I figured I should finish this while I can. I will say I did do a video review for Xenosaga, but it has yet to be put up, again due to illness I have not had the energy to fiddle with it. Ill have it posted soon though. And now i think I'll go lay down.

And yet another week...

2009-01-22T00:50:00.000-05:00

Greetings all. Another week, another news post. Seems I've been doing a lot of these, and not so much reviews. I really thought after the holidays that I would be able to bunker down and get some reviews hammered out. Everytime I say i will though, something gets in the way. Whether it's work or having to spend 4 hours at a mechanics to get my car fixed, I have just not had the time. Thankfully I was finally able to get started on my review for xxxHolic. I'm excited to write about this show, so look forward to it.

There isn't a whole lot in the news that interests me this week. I will say that since my last post I have thorughly gotten into "Toradora". It defintly took some time, and for awhile I wasn't sure if I was going to actualy watch more then 5 episodes. I would say it wasn't unitl probably episode 6 or so when I really started to get into it. For me at least, it was one of those shows where the story and characters didn't grab me right from the start, they had to grow on me. It's a fun little show. There isn't anything especially unique about it, nor is there some big twisted plot. Just a nice show when you are good and tired to sit down and relax too.

Shikabane Hime:Aka ended this last Thursday. I jumped inot season Kuro right away. It literally picked up right where the first season left off; I mean it had the same freakin intro and everything. Except for the title there really isn't any distinct difference between the two seasons. You almost ask yourself why even make the distinction, just make the whole series one big season and keep the name. Still no word as to whether FUNimation is picking up season Kuro. My guess is either they are not, or since again there is realy no distinciton between the two season, they do have the rights and don't plan on making any official announcement, just to continue with the series making this week episode one of Kuro.

That's pretty much it. Here's to finishing my xxxHolic review!!!

Been awhile......

2009-01-13T18:44:00.000-05:00

Hey all. I have realized that I have not posted in quite some time. There are reason for this. Holidays for one have made things quite crazy. Thankfully they are all over and things are returning to some normality. I blame the lack of reviews on Netflix which I will get into a bit later. Now for the news.

Naruto Shippuuden officially started streaming for paid subscribers last week on Crunchyroll. The first episode was episode 91. Starting this Thursday, that episode will be available for free to everyone. The episode will also be available on Viz Media's site as well as Joost and Hulu starting Jan 15th.

Shikabane Hime: Aka is down to it's last episode for us in the states. Japan will be going into the third episode of season 2 which is titled Kuro (which stands for Black). Still no news yet as to whether FUNimation plans to do the same with the seconxd season as they have been doing. I don't know if they just have no plans for it yet, or if they do but are keeping it under wraps until the last minute.

I started watching a few new series this last week. Toradora, xxxHokic: Kei, and White Album. Toradora started this fall. I had seem postings about it in message boards but never paid much attention to it. I read a blog I frequent and the person highly recommended it so I decided to give it a shot. i have seen 4 episodes so far. I am not yet sure how I feel about the series yet. I don't really see anything special about it. The story so far is nothing outstanding, the animation is plain, and the voice acting is average. I'm going to continue with it for a bit longer to see if it is one of those shows that takes a little longer to take off. Another show that just started last week is White Album. This is a more serious romance/slice of life anime. I don't have much of an opinion on it yet since there is only one episode released, but I'm going to add it to my weekly lineup. Lastly, I started xxxHolic: Kei this week after finishing the first season of xxxHolic. I am a little less then half way through, and I must say I like this season even more then the first. It seems where as the first season's 23 episodes were loosely tied totterer, each episode in the second season builds off one another. I really like this show all around and hope it is continued. There should be no problem on story line, since the manga is already at almost 200 chapters and still ongoing. The anime hasn't even scratched the surface of the overall story.

Now that the news and what not is out of the way let me explain why there has been a lack of reviews this last month. While it is true the holidays have made things a little crazy and I have not had time to sit down and pound out a review, there is a larger problem that I have been having as of late. That problem would be Netflix. I rely on Netflix to provide me with the bulk of my anime. It is true some of the series I do buy, but the initial viewing is usually done by renting the DVD's. Netflix has recently changed the way they ship DVD's. Where as before if they did not have a DVD at your local shipping center they would ship it from another of their 55 centers throughout the country, they are now shipping DVD's primarily from your local center. This means the cross shipping between centers has been drastically reduced, putting the brunt of the shipping for any given area on the local center. This is causing massive wait times for DVD's that before had no waits. Just last week Netflix skipped the remaining xxxHolic DVD's I had yet to watch along with several other series, and in the end my 18th pick of Suzuka Vol 1 was sent. Why they thought they should send that I have no idea. It came to my door, and I mailed it right back out. I'm so frustrated I have a free trial of Blockbuster going on right now to see how it compares. I am getting the last two volumes of xxxHolic either tomorrow or Thursday, so once I get the subbed versions watched on both of them, I can finally start the review. I can only hope Netflix straightens up their act, because I do not like how they are operating right now.

That is pretty much it. Now that everything is settled down I am looking forward to getting some reviews written and seeing how the year goes for anime in this country.

Happy New Year

2008-12-31T18:08:00.000-05:00

Happy Holidays everyone. It has been a busy couple of weeks for me, as I am sure it has been for everyone. I hope everyone has enjoyed themselves during this holiday season. I know I had a very pleasant Christmas. Tomorrow will be the start of 2009 and I am excited for what will happen in the coming year.

With the start of any year, you have the inevitable ending of the current year as well as the end of Japans fall season of anime. Kannagi came to an end this last Sunday, and Shikabane Hime will be ending tomorrow (of course this is in Japan, here in the US we still have 3 more episodes to go). Kannagi ended very nicely in my opinion. I enjoyed this show very much. It had a couple of flaws to it, mainly a slow middle, but it ended on a strong note with the last three episodes. The show had a very open ended conclusion, so a second season is defiantly possible and in all likelihood probable. They still have plenty of material to use, and given the popularity of the show in Japan, it would be foolish not to make a second season. There has been no word of any plans to make a season yet, but I will be on the lookout for the announcement. Hopefully we will not have to wait to long for a second season if they do decide one one. I'm thinking a summer release may be possible, but they may decide to wait until the 2009 fall season. At this point it's all speculation.

Switching gears to Shikabane Hime, in Japan the last episode will be airing this Thursday, but here in the US, we still have 2 more episodes after this week. Starting in January, Japan will start the second season of Shikabane Hime to kick off the Winter 2009 season. Still no word as to if Funimation will do a simulcast as they have done with the first season. I am keeping my fingers crossed that they will.

A Certain Magical Index is continuing right into the winter season with no breaks. Right now it seems the show will go into at least March. I am becoming a big fan of this show and am glad to have it continue a bit longer.

As far as my next review is concerned, I am thinking of doing a video review of Xenosaga over the weekend. My next written review was going to be Kanon, but I'm considering putting that on hold and instead doing a review for xxxHolic. I found this show shortly after starting Tsubasa Chronicle, due to it's main female character crossing over between the two series. It turns out that I like this show even more then Tsubasa, go figure. I hope to start that sometime next week when the holidays are all over and things start to calm down.

That's all I have. I hope evyerone has a safe and Happy New Year, and I'll be back in 2009!

Air TV Review

2008-12-22T03:31:00.000-05:00

Air TV is based on a visual novel developed by Key that you play out on a computer. You play as the character Yukito, and the decisions you make in the game will determine how the story plays out. It was then later adapted into the anime produced by Kyoto Animation. The story of the anime, like it's visual novel counterpart, is split up into three story arcs. Episodes 1-7 are contained in the Dream arc, 8 and 9 comprise the Summer arc, and 10-13 round out the series with the Air arc. Each arc when looked at by itself may not make much sense, but put together they tell a very beautiful story.

Air TV is centered around a girl named Misuzu Kamio and a young man Yukito Kunisaki. Misuzu is a girl who is always alone. She has weird habits, and because of these habits, she has a very hard time making friends. She lives with her Aunt, Haruko Kamio, who took Mizusu in at an early age when Misuzu's mother passed away. Despite the fact that Misuzu lives with and considers Haruka her mother, the two live very separate lives and have very little interaction with each other. In the opening episode, Misuzu meets Yukito Kunisaki, a young man who is in search for "the girl in the sky with wings". Despite the fact that Yukito is a complete stranger to Mizusu, she quickly attaches herself and takes him in. As Yukito gets to know Misuzu, he starts to feel a connection to her. Can it be the girl he has been looking for all this time is actually Misuzu?

Story

The story for Air TV is split up into three arcs: Dream, Summer and Air. By doing this the story plays out much like a novel, with each arc containing a different segment of the story. While all the arcs are somewhat self contained, they all tie in together and should be watched in sequence to get the full effect of the story. In this way it plays out much like a novel; this makes sense since it is based off a visual novel, but the anime did not necessarily have to take that approach.

The Dream arc is used to set up the main story and characters. We are introduced to the three main characters Misuzu, Yukito, and Haruko as well as other supporting characters. Out of the three main characters, if there was one that was focused on more in this particular arc, it would have to be Yukito. Being new to the town the story is set in, Yukito spends much of his time meeting the residing people. There are several residents which he builds friendships that create sub stories and plots. While these sub stories may not seem to have much of a correlation with the main story, they do have a connection. Towards the end of this arc the story shifts back to center around Yukito and Misuzu.

The Summer arc is between the Dream and Air arcs. This arc takes us back in time 1000 years where we meet Kanna, one of the winged people. Winged people are said to be messengers of the gods, and hold the planet's memories in their wings. They are feared by mortals, and as such, Kanna is isolated from the world, constantly being moved from temple to temple. She meets Ryuuya, a guard recently assigned to where Kanna is being held. We are also introduced to Uraha, Kanna's attendant. These three serve as the characters in this two episode arc. While this arc is the shortest of the three, it is not any less important to the overall story.

The Air arc concludes the series. We take another time jump, ending up back in modern day Japan, at the beginning of the story. This arc allows the viewer to re-watch the events of the Dream arc, but from a completely different point of view. I can imagine from the staff's view this arc was the hardest out of the three to actually produce from the standpoint that they had to retell story that has already been told, but at the same time make it different to keep the viewer interested. To illustrate this point let's examine a scene from the second episode. Misuzu and Yukito are walking to a temple where Yukito can perform his puppet show and earn some cash. On the way, they spot Haruko on her motorcycle coming from the opposite way. They wonder to themselves what she is doing, but quickly brush it aside. At the time of the second episode it is not a very important scene, but by the third arc it's significance becomes clear. Watching the third arc, you get to see what Haruko did during that time, which explains certain questions about her and Misuzu's relationship.

The story's use of this arc system is certainly not new to anime. Many anime use the system, although not all make an effort tolabel these arcs or denote which episodes fall under which arc. To go along with that, most anime that use an arc system such as this are generally much longer. Air TV has everything laid out very nicely, and each episode uses it's time to the fulles extentt. The characters are inspiring in striving to reach their goals. The story itself is pure fantasy, but the underlying meaning is very real.

Yukito and Misuzu

Artwork

Kyoto Animation produced Air TV, so it is no surprise that this anime is one of the most beautifully drawn series I have seen. The endowments are simply stunning. The show is set in a seaside town in the summer. The colors they use are all very bright, with a lot of blues, green's and yellows being used. One of the most beautiful scenes is where Yukito is sitting by a river watching Misuzu trying to catch fish. The sun was setting on them, and the water was glistening, giving it a touch that made it look so real. Another great scene is in episode 3. The character's are standing by a fountain, and the effect of making everything behind the flowing water blurry yet coherent was very well done.

The character models are on par with the enviormental artwork. Each character is drawn to have their own unique characteristics, such as Yukito's hair or Misuzu's eyes. There is a quality to the characters that show the artists drew each character on an individual basis. it is hard to find show's that give as much attention to detail as Air TV.

One last point to make about the artwork is the physics between the character's and the enviorment. For example, close attention is paid in how the wind blowing will make a character''s hair sway, or how if a character with somewhat long hair is walking, it will sway or move slightly as they are moving along. These are small details, but they are what separates a truly well drawn anime from the rest. For this reason I consider Kyoto Animation one of the best animation studios out there today.

Music

Air TV does not use a huge variety of music like other series, but what it lacks in quantity it more then makes up in quality. To start with, the OP and ED songs are taken directly from the visual novel. The two songs are beautifully performed by Lia of "I've Sound". When combined with the opening and closing animations, it really sets the mood for the show. The important thing to keep in mind when watching this show is the genre; it is primarily a drama. It does have some supernatural themes, but that is not the primary focus. As such, music does not always play a big role in this types of show, as compared to some sci-fi or action oriented show. When a drama such as Air TV has such moving music to go along with it's well written dialogue and clearly outlined relationships, it is allowed to move to the next level. It goes from being a good series to a great series.

With that said the music is a bit predicable. For every character, you have a theme song. In other words you have a scene where the main focus is one character. That character's theme music will thus be played. Enter second character, and now the music changes to their theme. While there is nothing wrong with this formula, it is a bit repetitive. That is my only qualm with the music.

Subbed version

The subbed version of Air TV is good, but there really is not a whole much to write for it. The Japanese seiyu do a well enough job. None of the Japanese seiyu were miscast for the roles and they get the emotion needed across. It was an average performance by the entire cast, and while this is not bad, I at the same time cannot praise it. I will say that my favorite actor was Aya Hisakawa, who played Haruko Kamio. She was hilarious with the delivery of her lines and I really enjoyed her performance.

Dubbed version

The dubbed version of Air TV is my preferred way of watching. Everyone gives stellar performance, and the script stays very faithful to the original, even down to Misuzu's "Gao". The three main voice actor's who play Misuzu, Yukito, and Haruko are Monica Rial, Vic Mingona, and Luci Christian respectively. All three actors fall into their roles very early on, which is vital to their terrific performance given fact the show is only 13 episodes.

The dubbed performance really shines in the beginning and end of the series. In the beginning there is a lot of interaction between Misuzu and Yukito. Monica and Vic's performances really hit the audience in a way that the subbed version was lacking. Monica does such a great job playing the lonely sad girl; one cannot help but to emphasize with her. Towards the end of the series, in the last arc, the audience gets to see a lot of interaction between Misuzu and Haruko. Through much of the series, the two do not have much interaction. This new interaction becomes a breath of fresh air (no pun intended).

Honorable mention should be given to the voice actors who play Kanna, Ryuuya, and Uraha. Despite having only two episodes dedicated to their story, they give memorable performances. It is a shame that the arc was not lengthened a couple of more episodes to give it a total of four episodes. They did make an OVA called Air in Summer, which depicted the actual journey the three take to go see Kanna's mother. Fortunately they did include these episodes in the last volume of the US release, but they are technically not apart of the actual 13 episode anime. People in Japan had to wait for these episodes, where as the US audience lucked out and got them bundled with the series.

Overall

Air TV is defiantly a must watch for any fan of anime, and a high recommendation for newcomers. It is everything an anime should be with intriguing characters, an engaging story, and beautiful artistry. I would recommend watching this show on a nice warm summer night with a clear sky and a cool drink (perhaps some sake) in hand. Sit there and let this show take you away on a heartwarming story about people who change each others lives forever, who never give up on reaching their goals.

Story: A

Art: A

Music: B

Sub: C

Dub: A

Overall: A

Little change up

2008-12-18T20:42:00.000-05:00

So my brother is a huge video game fan. If I have a question about a game, he is my main source. He recently asked me if he could write a piece about jrpg's and the connection they have with anime. I was more then receptive to this. So here it is. All commens can be directed to Taidan19. Enjoy!

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Games have been indebted to anime for nearly as long as they have existed. In the early days, primitive hardware forced many games to graphicially represent their world with heavy abstraction. As two other forms of pop entertainment, anime and manga became the perfect sources for visual cues that could kickstart a gamer's imagination. Alone, the images in the original Dragon Quest aren't terribly interesting. When bolstered by artwork from Akira Toriyama, the adventure becomes much more interesting. A familiar license or a common narrative theme from anime could be used to attract players and help them understand the action on screen, or as the launching point for the game's action. A good example is Dragon Quest IV. DQIV has simple story about a chosen hero destroying a great evil, with party members based on anime stereotypes. The first half of the game is broken up into small chapters, where the player controls the party members individually as they go on personal quests. The characters give the pacing and combat in each chapter a unique flavor, and when the entire troupe comes together for the second half, we have a sense of who they are and what they are fighting for. This approach could be done in an anime, but the interactive nature of gaming allows us to better bond with the party members as we spend time exploring dungeons and solving mysteries. This kind of creativity was necessary at the time. Most game stories were simply not original, but could remain entertaining when a clever interactive spin was placed on them.

Eventually this creativity began to vanish. If we want to look at the 'when' and 'why' behind this, the best starting point would be Final Fantasy 7. As was usual for games, FF7's story is a hodgepodge of ideas from other sources, used worse than in any of the originals. The religious and philisophical themes of the story were straight out of Evangelion, while the rivalry between Cloud and Sephiroth strikingly mirrors the relationship between Guts and Griffith in the Beserk manga. The list goes on, and in retrospect this isn't very surprising. What was surprising was that Squaresoft failed to make the story interesting through creative gameplay. Instead they were obsessed with using the potent Playstation hardware to fill the game with CGI cutscenes and pre-rendered landscapes, and the storage space of CDs allowed for a bigger quest with a longer script. Tradition and alone was reason enough for FF7 to be a hit in its homeland, but the Japanese came to also love its changes, and to this day hold the game in high regard. FF7 was the moment in which the gaming industry realized that they now had the technoogy to make something with near the spectacle and visual splendor of anime. The old limitations were gone, and with that went the need to work around them. Games no longer needed to look up to anime; they could compete with them, work with them, and maybe even inspire them. The jRPG Boom began.

FF7 changed Japanese RPGs, and sent ripples of influence throughout the entire industry. In retrospect, this was not a good thing. FF7 was an early experiment in 3d gaming. It needed refinement, but instead it was used like a bible. The bad ideas to come from it are tremendous. Traditionally, RPGs were broken up into gameplay and passive scenes dialogue that told the story. Post FF7, games made both parts longer. The bigger a passive section is, the closer it becomes to an anime episode (or a volume in manga) in length. At that length, a passive experience demands a good story to be worth watching. Instead games continued to ripoff old cliches rather than working towards original scenarios or quality scripts. This alternate goal would still be impossible. The active nature of games means that they simply cannot divert the majority of their resources towards storytelling, meaning there is little incentive for a good writer in anime or manga to jump ship and write for games. Furthermore, the purpose of the quick passive dialogue of old games was to serve the active sections. Longer passive scenes instead work against them by breaking up the flow of the experience.

All in all, this is a horrible way to design a game. Yet for about a period of ten years it was as dominant, and made Squaresoft a juggernaut. Part of the reason for this is that FF7 was released right around the time when most of us in America were learning what anime actually was. What was old hat in Japan was exotic and new to us, thus the game's uneven story and miserable translation were still seen as the pinnacle of the industry. We ferverously bought Square products regardless of quality, because everything looked good. Such strong sales made jRPGs far too popular, while fun and challenging games from other genres failed to leave Japan. Of course, as the anime/jRPG fanbase grew, it was filled with people who were purposefully ignorant and not nearly as wordly as they liked to believe. The same people who annoy you when they insist that nothing is better than Naruto are the same ones who supported bad games (and refuse to denounce the mistakes of their youth - Xenosaga and Chrono Cross still have apologists).

Curiously, the symbol of the Boom's fall was another Square product. Final Fantasy 12 sold on name alone, but from a critical perspective, most fans hated it. Conversely, people who grew tired of jRPGs years before found it to be stunning. FF12 was the result of Yasumi Matsuno, whose distinctive mark was left on games such FF Tactics and Vagrant Story. It tried to tell a classic tale of war and political intrigue where the main characters are more realistic and not the center of the entire game. This drove fans in all regions nuts, as it flew straight in the face of everything they had enjoyed in the genre. FF12 was quickly forgotten, and since then the jRPG approach to storytelling and production have fallen by the wayside. Games are much more focused on providing good stories that occur during the gameplay, and savvier gamers can now trace back the roots of their favorite games to anime and games from the 80's and 90's that they never experienced. The Boom may be over, but its influence still lingers. jRPG fans are a smaller but vocal niche that prevent franchises like Dragon Quest from rooting themselves in the west, while encouraging Final Fantasy to revert to its old silliness. They also refuse to see the many influences behind their favorite older games, and cannot draw the conclusion that the poor and confusing story of the Xenosaga anime is reflective of the poor and confusing story of the games it was based on. jRPGs and the like will not go away, but at least there are some series like Shin Megami Tensei that aim to make the story bits quality and the game bits charming. If we can learn from the past, we can have a better, less schlocky future.

Getting down to the end

2008-12-17T18:42:00.000-05:00

So we are getting down to the end of the fall season of anime in Japan. Shikabane Hime has two more episodes left in it's Aka season. Kannagi looks like it's first season will be 13 episodes in total as well, leaving only two more left. We know Shikabane Hime will continue in January with it's second season. No word whether FUNimation will pick that up like they did with the first season and run it parallel with Japan. I am hopeful they saw good results with airing the first season as they did and will continue to do so with the second. As far as a second season for Kannagi, as it stands we do not know if there will be one, but given the huge reception it has been getting I cannot see them abandoning it after only one season.

As far as the remaining episodes for these shows, I am very much looking forward to them. Shikabane Hime has been on a role the last three weeks with some very good story development and cliff hangers. Kannagi has been lacking a bit the last few weeks but really picked it up with this last episode. We are finally getting back to what makes the show so good, Nagi and Jin. If they can keep this focus going for another two weeks they first season can end on a high note.

Tsubasa is coming along nicely. I have watched up to volume seven, which I plan on starting tonight. I have been reading reviews of the show and some people have given it some harsh reviews. Notably Anime News Networks review. I can honestly say I do not understand where the reviewer is coming from, but to each their own..

While on the subject of Tsubasa, I have also become very interested in it's sister series, xxxHolic. Very interesting and different show from what I normally watch. The art alone is like nothing I have scene before. I have watched half of the series, and only the dubbed version. I plan on watching it the first half subbed and then get into the second half of the series. Yuko = awesomeness, and if you want to see Colleen Clinkenbeard in her best role (in my opinion) then defiantly check this series out.

Another show I have gotten into is A Certain Magical Index. It's a really cool show about a girl who is a Sister who also happens to have 103,000 grimoires(magic books) perfectly memorized. The church is after her for this reason. She meets a boy in a city that is completely comprised of schools and students. These students are espers, each with a certain ability. The girl, named Index, meats a boy with the ability to negate and esper or magical ability with his right hand. I like it so much mainly because they manage to mix the magic world and science world very well. Both are equally powered and create a balance in the world. It began in October and I have caught up to the most recent episode. Looks like there is two more in it's season. Check it out if you have some time.

Going back to Kannagi for a bit., it seems the manga-ka was actually ill, as it was reported she had come out of surgery recently. No specifics as to what was wrong with her, but it is said she came out of it fine and will make a full recovery. She is also reported to be eager to get back to writing. It seems the rumors of her stopping her manga due to threats made from enraged fans did not pan out. I for one am glad this is the case and hope she makes a quick recovery. This is great news for all Kannagi fans.

Video

2008-12-13T15:44:00.000-05:00

Here is that video I said I would put up. I have been stalling on putting it up, every time I say I should I just put it off. Procrastination is a wonderful thing. Anyway, here it is. Keep in mind it may not be the greatest video you have seen. I am not a YouTube pro, nor do I intend to be. This is just a simple video to try and get my blog out there.

The Air TV review is still in the works. I am consistently working on it. It is just taking longer then the others. I am hoping to get a good chunk done tonight. More to come tomorrow.

Weekly Update 2

2008-12-09T01:15:00.000-05:00

So to build off of my last post let's talk about what happened last week in anime. The biggest news is that manga-ka (a manga's artist) for Kannagi: Crazy Shrine Maidens, has put her manga on hold due to "health issues". It was not reported as to exactly what issues she was suffering from, but it is suspected by some that she is actually in good health and there is a different reason as to why she is putting the manga on hold. The main suspected reason is due to a certain development in the manga concerning the main character, Nagi. This development has outraged certain fans and it is rumored she may have received threats from said fans. This happens quite often unfortunately in Japan. Fandom for anime and manga tends to go a bit to far for certain people to the point where it becomes a sickness. This would not be the first manga-ka to have threats made on their life due to a plot turn or character development they made in their work. Manga-ka's are not the only targets, voice actors and pop idols are often targeted in this way. This is not to say that all fans in Japan are like this. These people are in the minority, but it unfortunately gives fans a bad stereotype. This development does not have an impact on the anime as of yet due to it being in the early parts of the manga still. Hopefully this hiatus will not be for too long.

Speaking of Kannagi the anime, I did see it last night. It was an interesting episode with it spending most of it's time depicting the character's singing their favorite songs in a karaoke bar. It was comical at times, but if I want to listen to music I'll plug in my Ipod. The last few weeks the spotlight has been taken off of Nagi and has been focusing on things such as Daiettsu and his issues with Nagi. Now we have an episode with mostly singing. That is not to say the show did not have it's moments. The funniest moment by far was when it came time for Nagi to sing. Anyone who has seen Kannagi from the start was probably waiting for her to start singing the show's opening theme song. If you were, such as myself, then you would be very wrong. Nagi's song of choice was a theme song for a brand of beans sold in Japan. The serious look on her face as she belted out this humours jingle was priceless. I have said it before and I will say it again; the funniest parts of this show are with Nagi and her often weird outtakes. Hopefully they start focusing more on her along with Jin like the early episodes of the series. That is what got me hooked on this show.

I have finally started Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicles. I must say I am thou roughly enjoying this show. I like how we are constantly being introduced to new characters and worlds every four or five episodes. It helps to keep things very fresh. The character's are all very interesting and dynamic. The music for the show is out of this world and fits it perfectly. Currently I am done with volumes 1 through three and waiting for the fourth from Netflix. I had to take a slight break from the show due to finally getting my hands on The Familiar of Zero. Finally I can get this show done and over with.

Now that I have transitioned to Zero lets talk about it some. I have seen this series subbed, so I am using the DVD's to watch the dub. So far after watching the first volume I can say that I am impressed. This cast is full of newcomers who have only been in four or five anime total; with most of the cast being in the same four or five shows. The person I am most in pressed with is the girl who plays Louise. Her name escapes me right now but she is impressive. The role I am most worried about is Saito. The person cast for him has to deep a voice for a teenage boy. He sounds more like a young man in his twenties. We will see how the series as a whole pans out in the end, but so far so good.

That is pretty much it. I want to post the video I put up on YouTube, but I do not have access to it right now. I'll post it sometime this week. Hopefully the review for Air TV will be done by end of week as well. This review is giving me issues. I write something, realize I do not like what I wrote, and start it over. A bit of writer's block I guess. I finally have a bit of a flow now, so hopefully that means I am past it.

Weekly update 1

2008-12-07T21:46:00.001-05:00

Hey everyone. I decided to make a video to put on Youtube to promote this blog. It's a short video It took me quite a few takes to make it. It's surprising how much you can mess what you are saying by simply sitting in front of a camera. I have never put a video up on Youtube so this is all new to me. Depending on if it brings any readers in I may even do some video reviews sometime in the future. That would be a bit down the road though. I will post it on the blog later on tonight. I only had a chance to actually record it, I have yet been able to post it. Kannagi is on tonight so I plan to watch that later. I saw Shikabane Hime last night, and Tsubasa is turning out to be a pretty good series so far. I will write about that stuff in the second update along with the video.

Holiday Madness

2008-12-01T22:52:00.000-05:00

I hope everyone had a safe and pleasant holiday, I know I did. So now we are in the holiday season full swing. That's going to mean a lot of craziness for everyone. I can honestly say I do not like this time of the year. It is not the holiday so much, that I like. It is everything that comes before it that I am not a fan of. With that out of the way lets talk about some anime.

There is not a whole lot to talk about this week. As far as news goes there was not any ground breaking news like we have had the last couple of weeks. I can, however, tell you what I have been doing as far as anime is concerned. Last week I watched the anime Xenosaga. It was definitely not the greatest anime. It is hard to even call it good. The only thing going for it was some pretty good voice acting in the dubbed version. Since I watched it on Netflix's Watch Instantly service I was not able to watch the subbed version.

I wanted to start Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle over the holiday. Then I found that the Volume 1 disc was cracked and those plans got ruined. I should have a replacement tomorrow so hopefully I will finally be able to start it. Of course right as I am about to start that, The Familiar of Zero finally comes off of wait status. Now I will probably have to stop in the middle of Tsubasa to finally get the dubbed version of that watched.

Shikabane Hime and Kannagi were both good this week. They both did not have anything ground breaking going on so I really do not have much else to say about them.

there has been an anime that I keep seeing around on the web by the name of Shuffle. From what I understand like Kanon and Air TV, it is based off of a video game. It is of the romantic comedy genre with at least a bit of harem dropped in. I do not know much more then that, but since it is all over the place (FUNimation has it up streaming for free at Hulu.com) I decided to watch the first episode before I left for work today. The jury is still out on it, I think I have to watch another episode before I know if I add it to my Netflix queue.

Speaking of Air TV I have not started that review yet. Last week was hectic, this week may be even more hectic. I want to start it tonight but I just do not know if I have the energy. Maybe this coffee will give me a boost. That's it for me. Everyone have a good week.

Solty Rei review

2008-11-26T12:08:00.000-05:00

"Solty Re"i is an anime produced by the studio Gonzo, who has also given us hits such as "Full Metal Panic" and "Welcome to the NHK". The series has a nice combination of action, drama, plus a bit of sci-fi sprinkled into it. It is primarily about a man named Roy Revant who lost his daughter 12 years ago in a natural disaster called the "Blast Fall". Roy now lives alone and works for a Hunter agency, which is pretty much a legal business of bounty hunters. During one of his jobs, he gets himself in a tight spot. Out of nowhere a girl plummets through the roof of a building, crashing into Roy's bounty, thus saving him. The girl miraculously looks unharmed, but is unconscious. Roy takes her back to his apartment to look after her since she did save him, albeit unintentionally. The girl wakes up the next morning unaware of who she is or where she came from. Reluctant at first, Roy takes her in. Little does he know what he is actually getting himself into.

Story

The story for Solty Rei is best looked at as two parts. The first part deals mainly with introducing the characters and putting them in small conflicts; the second part focuses more on the main story line and conclusion. Approaching the story in this manor allows the viewer the chance to really get involved and connected to the characters. This is something that not all anime does well. Often times they will jump right into the main plot. While this will get the show off to a fast and exciting start, it is often that it cannot sustain this pace and starts to slow down considerably later on. This leads to a bit of a let down, resulting in the viewer losing interest. Solty Rei takes the opposite approach. It starts off slowly with the first two episodes squarely dealing with Roy and Solty. Solty does not even get her name until the end of the second episode if I am not mistaken. The rest of the episodes up until 13 has the characters being put into minor skirmishes and some humorous events. The approach to watch these episodes is to just simply have fun watching the characters and not worry about any large overlapping story lines. If you do that the first half of the series will be very enjoyable.

The second half deals with the major drama and the ultimate plot of the story. All of the questions that one ends up asking themselves about the city, and Solty herself are all eventually answered in the second half. In this way the second and first half work very well with each other, presenting questions and mysteries that are eventually solved. This brings up the point of pacing and the way the writers and directors give you tidbits of information, but never all the answers at once. Whether a new mystery is uncovered or solved, the viewer is always kept interested. This is aspect is important, because as well as "Solty Rei" handles this, there are even more anime that handle this very poorly, leaving many plot holes and questions unanswered. This leaves the viewer with a sense of frustration and can really hurt the series overall.

The ending is well done. It leaves you with a satisfied feeling, and it gives closure to all the characters and story. One could debate that they could have used an entire episode to close things up, especially given the circumstances of what happens to Solty in the end; but it is not necessary and does not take anything away from the anime by not having that extra episode.

Music

The music in "Solty Rei" can be best described as different; not only in tone but in the way it is used. The music is present throughout the show, but for much of the series it lies dormant in the background. In order for you to really notice it you have to specifically listen for it. When the show calls for the music to set a tone, such as with a big dramatic scene, it makes itself heard very well. The phrase quality over quantity best suits "Solty Rei" in the music category. Along with the standard J-pop opener and closer, it has some really good non instrumental songs found within the show that really set the mood.

Artwork

I am a big fan of the artwork in "Solty Rei". There are several aspects of the artwork that make it stand out from the rest of the anime out there. If I had to compare it to another anime it would have to be "Fullmetal Alchemist". To anyone who has seen the show you may be asking what is he talking about? Let me explain, because I know it is a bit of a stretch. When I say it reminds me of "FMA" I am strictly speaking in the sense of the two worlds the shows are set it. They both have worlds where there is that 1930's-esque European feel to them. I personally love these kind of settings, especially when they are used correctly. What makes "Solty Rei" different form "FMA" is the futuristic aspects that are mixed in with the older style buildings found in the city. They have cars, modern computers, and electronic billboards, to name a few examples. Mixing the two styles works so well in this show. It also holds value story-wise which is explained later in the series. Pay special attention to the old man as he is giving his "lesson" about the history of the city and you will know what I mean.

Color management is also very well done in "Solty Rei". The backgrounds are colored with a lot of gray and dark tones. This blends well with the older style drawn buildings as well as the interior of those buildings; again it all goes back to that older feel that they are trying to portray. The use of gold tones is also present in much of the backdrops. On the opposite side of the spectrum, the characters are drawn with a lot of bright colors. Solty herself is the perfect example with a lot of green, red, and orange being used in her. Also skin tones vary widely with the characters, which you do not always see in anime. It really helps to bring out the characters and differentiate them. Along with the bright colors used for the characters, inanimate objects such as cars are brightly drawn, which again contrasts really well with the backdrops.

The artwork has a nice crisp feel to it. It does not do anything new or unique; it sticks to the fundamentals, but by doing that it makes for some pleasant viewing. The one point I was a bug fan of is the CGI they used. I just do not know if it was necessary. Given the extra cost from a monetary point of view to get those shots, they may have been better off leaving them out. It seems that every anime these days feels the need to use CGI to make it flashy and stand out, which is sad since it will sometimes hinder the animation if it is poorly placed.

Solty and Roy in action

Subtitled version
The subtitled version of "Solty Rei" is well done; but is it the shining star of this series? The answer is no. While the scripting and voice acting are both well done there is no stand out performance here. The first time I watched "Solty Rei' was using the subtitled version. The reasons for this are threefold. One, I am in the process of learning Japanese. I find it advantageous to listen to the language as much as I can. What better way then anime, which is something I watch anyway. I am entertained and get to learn all at the same time. The second reason, I like to compare the performance of the actors and work as it was originally intended to the localized version the American companies create. Lastly, I just like subtitled versions, plain and simple. With all that being said while I did enjoy the subbed version, it was not mind blowing.

Just because I did not find the subbed version to be a stellar does not mean that there were not any bright points to it. On the contrary, there were two bright stars; Momoko Saito and Jouji Nakata, the Seiyu of Solty and Roy Revant respectively. These two gave very good performances for each of their characters. Momoko is fairly new to the scene of anime with only fifteen titles under her belt. With that few titles, Solty Rei is a fairly big break for her considering she got one of the lead roles. This is quite a nice feat especially considering her young age of only 26. Jouji on the other hand has been in quite a few series, Code Geass and Gundam to name a couple. These two really brought the characters of Solty and Roy to life. It is no surprise that some of their best scenes are when their characters are together, but I think the best work for each of them are found in the first few episodes after episode 13. The two, due to unforeseen circumstances, have been separated from each other and are both trying to find themselves again. Each goes through an internal struggle and the acting is top notch for each of them.

Dubbed version

The localization of "Solty Rei" is done by FUNimation. Overall the localization is pretty good. The script they used has it's usual modifications that FUNimation likes to make, but it is less then other shows they have been apart. The dubbed version for "Solty Rei" is as good as the subbed version, if not slightly better. The voice actors that were cast for the series really had an outstanding performance, and this factor may be what puts the dubbed version over the top of the subbed version.

As anyone who is familiar with FUNimations series knows, they tend to be on the more liberal side of modifying a script to make it sound more localized. This is true for "Solty Rei", but with this series they took a more conservative approach. As I have made clear before, I am a advocate of staying as close to the original Japanese script as possible. I was pleasantly surprised when I saw the dubbed version for the first time. Their modifications fitted very well. A good example to look out for is the little puppet show that Kasha and Solty put on as part of the pre-opener scene. They almost completely changed the wording in this scene, yet the overall jokes and humor of the scene was kept completely intact. After listening to both several times I actually like the dubbed version of that scene a bit better.

As with the subbed version the two best performances for the dubbed version are Chris Sabat as Roy, and Carrie Savage as Solty. Chris naturally has a deep voice so it fits the persona of Roy very well. All he has to do to create the character is make his voice sound a little gruff to add that older age in, and you get Roy. The great thing about Chris' performance is he paid great attention to the scenes where Roy is vulnerable. Since Roy is very made to be tough and closed off he does not show emotion well. This makes it is vital for the actor to properly convey the few scenes where Roy does let that emotion show.

When I think of Solty, Carrie Savage's voice is the first thing that pops in my mind. She owns that character in every sense of the way. It is funny, because at first when I watched the dub, I was not sure how I was going to feel about Carrie as Solty. She quickly grew on me, and now I do not think there is any voice actor who could have given the performance she did. I think that this is due in part too how much she relates with the character. Watch the commentary of episode 13; you will find out that in some ways she is very much like Solty.

Overall

"Solty Rei" is a solid series through and through. There is not a part of the series in which it fails. Is it groundbreaking in any way? No. Will it be remembered for all time? No. But if you want to watch a solid show with entertaining characters and an intriguing storyline, "Solty Rei" is a great pick.

Story: B

Music: C

Artwork: B

Subbed: C

Dubbed: B

Overall: B

Continuing on from last week

2008-11-24T20:15:00.000-05:00

Greetings. I apologize for the lack of updates, specifically my review for Solty Rei. Last week was hectic. I do have it written and mostly edited so expect it tonight or tomorrow.

In the news we pick up from where we left off from last week. Dattebayo, a popular fan sub group, whose main work includes fan subbing Naruto and Bleach, has officially announced they will stop fan subbing Naruto as of Jan 15th next year. This directly coincides with the date Viz will start streaming current episodes of Naruto Shippuden for free. Dattebayo states with Viz taking this action they feel that it is only right to stop fan subbing the series. They claim Viz has never asked them to stop fan subbing the series, and with the move they have made to start streaming the show, they know that Viz would have to ask them to stop. Dattebayo does not feel this would be something they want to make Viz do, so they are taking the proactive approach and stopping before that happens. They will continue to fan sub the show until Jan 15th.
This is great news. While I think most fan sub groups out there would take a similar approach, it is good to have that affirmed. Kudos to you Dattebayo.

As usual we had new episodes of Shikabane Hime and Kannagi. Shikabane Hime continues it's trend with another fantastic episode. The show is really coming into it's own. it seems that the Ouri character is more then just an ordinary high school student, but they haven't given to much information on it yet. Kannagi was a bit of a let down this week. It was good, but after the laugh out loud antics we had last week it did not really compare.

That pretty much it. Air TV will most likely be the next review I post. Depending on how much I get to write this week with the upcoming holiday, I may or may not be able to have it up by the weekend.

A new week and big news.

2008-11-17T18:13:00.000-05:00

Hey everyone. It is the start of a new week and we have plenty to talk about. There is big news for Naruto fans, Shikabane Hime takes off, and more fun with Kannagi.

FUNimation put up episode 4 of Shikabane Hime on Friday as they have been doing on a weekly basis. Last weak I talked about how the show seemed to be going at a slower pace then I had originally expected. Then there was news that there was going to be a second series starting in January. I hypothesized that the reason why it is moving at a slower pace is because it is not restricted to only 13 episodes like we were originallny led to believe. This put my mind at ease somewhat. With episode 4 however, I am completely confident this is going to be a great series. There was a good amount of character development. We got to see Ouri and Makina have a nice conversation with each other. It is also made apparent that Oukri cares about Makina by him refusing to let her find the Shikabane alone. Ouri also gets to learn how his "brother" is the contracted monk with Makina; thereby answering all Ouri's questions about why his brother would come home with injuries. This is the first week where I am counting down the days for the next episode. I am psyched.

Kannagi was hilarious this week. Nagi talking from within a closet, refused to come out due to something Jin did while she was talking a bath. The episode has you thinking throughout what in the hell could Jin have done to make her so angry. The methods by which Tsugami and Zange try to get her out is hilarious. Nagi, even though we do not see her until the last 2 minutes of the show, has some of the funniest lines of the series to date.

Major news for Naruto fans; though to be honest this is big news for anime fans period. Starting in January Viz Media, the company that holds the North American license for Naruto, will start to stream legal episodes of Naruto Shippuuden only a week after it's original Japanese broadcast. They will also start to release about 8 episodes a week of past Shippuuden episodes in order for audiences who have not seen Shippuuden yet to catch up. TV Tokyo also announced that it has partnered with Crunchyroll to release Naruto Shippuuden episodes only an hour after the Japanese broadcast for paid subscriptions, and seven days later for free accounts.

It seems companies are taking notice to what FUNimation has started to do with Shikabane Hime and are all getting in on the action. This is very exciting news. To be able to get anime content this close to the original Japanese release is what anime fans have demanded for so long and are now finally getting. I for one will be supporting these companies and watching their streams to let them know they are on the right track. If you are an anime fan it is vital to support the US anime industry. If you do not you have no right to complain about the lack of shows or their quality.

That is it for now. I am starting my next review tonight. I wanted to do The Familiar of Zero, however sine I still hav enot been able to get my hands on the dubbed version through Netflix, I have decided to go with Solty Rei for this week. Look forward to it.

Rumbling Hearts review

2008-11-15T03:14:00.000-05:00

When you think of anime, what is the first picture to come to your mind? It might be giant mechs. Maybe it is the ever abundant shounen style show. Whatever it is, it is safe to say that anime today cannot be considered the most realistic genre of entertainment. There are however, shows out there where the story and characters are put in very realistic situations. If you happen to watch one of these shows you may find yourself easily relating to the characters and their story. These shows are real gems and convey the aspects of how great anime can be. If you are looking for a show such as this then "Rumbling Hearts" may be for you.

"Rumbling Hearts" is a 14 episode anime following the lives of a group of four friends; Takayuki Narumi, Haruka Suzumiya, Mitsuki Hayase, and Shinji Taira. The four friends are all third year high school students (in Japan they would be considered seniors; Japanese high schools differ from US high schools in that they have three years rather then four) and are all relatively happy with their lives. The first couple of episodes make you think that this will be a nice fluffy romance with two of the friends becoming a couple and falling in love; this could not be further from the truth. The show quickly takes a tragic turn, by putting one of the two girls in a coma, caused by her being a victim of a traffic accident. Fast forward three years and we see the three remaining friends have all grown up and become adults. the audience gets to see how that one event has drastically changed all of their lives, and not necessarily for the better. Little do the friends know that soon they will be faced with another life altering event, that of their comatose friend finally waking up from her deep slumber.

Story

Now that you have a bit of an introduction let me go on to give you my thoughts on "Rumbling Hearts". As I mentioned before this anime is very realistic in the sense that any of the events the story depicts can, and most likely has, happened to someone in the world in some fashion. People lose loved ones every day. Whether it is due to a traffic accident or natural causes, they are all tragic and change people's lives forever. These people have to learn to accept and live with these changes, and this is what I truly believe the story of Rumbling Hearts is all about.

The story is on a different level in that it is not your ordinary anime where any kid off the street is going to be able to watch it and relate to what is happening with the characters. This is not Bleach or Naruto (keep in mind I am big fans of these shows, but lets be honest here, they are not the deepest stories out there, and if you are convinced they are then please reevaluate yourself as an anime fan). To begin with, all the characters are adults, and they are all dealing with adult situations and problems. They have to deal with going to college or working in the real world. Along with that comes with having to manage their adult relationships whether they be personal or professional. These are all things a child is not going to be able to relate with, or even want to for that matter. There is the added fact that there are a number of love scenes in which there is nudity. It is not pornographic, but they are love scenes like you would find in any rate R movie. Again, the main characters are adults and with any adult will come with a love life and the directors do not hide this fact. For this reason I would not recommend it to anyone under 17 and even then I don't think they would fully appreciate the story to it's fullest.

Take all these points, some great pacing, add a bittersweet ending, and you get a very entertaining story. The show is sad, tragic, and will most likely put a tear in your eye at the very least. Even with that said if you pay close attention you will be able to take quite a bit away from the show and it's very endearing characters.

Artwork

The artwork in in "Rumbling Hearts" is fine, yet at the same time I would not say it stands apart from any other anime. The character design is well done. They for the most part, are well proportioned aside from some of the girls being a little overly well endowed in the bust area. The background and settings are also drawn well, but do not stand out enough for me to say it is unique to other anime I have seen. I would have to give it an average rating. There really is not anything to praise it for, but at the same time it does not have any true faults that I would point out.

Music

Much like the artwork, the soundtrack is good. There is only one opening and closing theme for the series. I could take or leave them. The underlying music does it's job to help bring out the emotion of the scenes, but it does not give you the sense that the scene absolutely needed that undertone to get the full emotion conveyed. I suppose in that regard you could say that the soundtrack was not all that great, but keep in mind the type of show "Rumbling Hearts is. It is primarily a drama, and as such, is not as reliant on the soundtrack as other types of anime are. The show is more driven by it's story and characters. Those two aspects are where you will get your primary drive. The music is there only to support it.

Sub version

The first time I watched "Rumbling Hearts" was with the original Japanese audio and English subtitles. I will first talk about the Japanese seiyu (the name or title given to Japanese voice actors), and then go into the script and subtitles provided for the series.

The seiyu chosen for "Rumbling Hearts" all did a great job with their performances. Most notably I would have to say are Kishou Tamiyama's performance as Takayuki and Minami Kuribiyashi as Haruka. These two really gave a stellar performance, especially when they had scenes together. This may be partially due to the fact that Japanese seiyu record their sessions together. So when Takayuki and Haruka are having a conversation, the two seiyu are there together allowing them to play off each other and really get the emotional undertone of the scene nailed. One of my favorite scenes is when the Haruka is given a monologue where she tells a story of a children''s picture book that she has always loved. It is in the last episode of the series and she delivers it so well that it did bring a bit of a tear to my eye. I believe you can really see the flexibility of Mr. Tamiyama if you compare and contrast the scenes with Takayuki and Mitsuki wiht the scenes where Takayuki is at his part time job. The character changes his tone and personality so much depending on which situation he is in. When he is with Mitsuki, he is often very somber and troubled due to the fact that she reminds him of what happened to Haruka. He also feels a sense of guilt for being with Mitsuki, feeling he has betrayed Haruka who he loved very much. When he is at his part time job at Sky Temple, he is often seen with two female waitresses named Ayu and Mayu. These two characters bring the bulk of the comic relief in the show. When Takayuki is with these characters we see his lighter and more cheerful side. Other seiyu include Tomomi Uehara who plays the role of Haruka's younger sister Akane, Masaki Andou as Shinji Taira and Kiyomi Asai as Ayu Daikunji.

The script they used for the subtitles is well written. It does a good job staying faithful to the original Japanese script; even includeing the Japanese honorifics. Honorifics are used in Japan to show respect, and depending on which one is used; there are quite a bit of them (san, kun, chan, sama to name a few), and they will give you an overall impression to what type of relationship people have with each other. They also are used to show respect toward another person who may be in a higher position of status, whether it be at work, school, family and even socially. Since this specific anime is set in Japan, it is an important aspect and should not be overlooked. Keeping them intact is a nice touch, especially for fans of subbed versions of anime where honorifics are generally not included. The script, because it stays so faithful, gives a good look at the differences between the Japanese and US cultures. The Japanese tend to talk in a very polite tone to one another, especially in cases where the two parties are not very familiar with each otter; because of this a conversation between two people in Japan and two people in the US can be very different. Taking this into consideration the writers could have chosen to adapt the script to sound more localized and American sounding. Thankfully they did not, and as a result good depiction of how the two cultures differ is presented.

Dubbed version

Localizing anime for the American audience is never easy. There are many factors that have to be taken into account; cultural difference and language being the biggest two. For example, I mentioned before that Japanese society is much more polite and formal in their everyday conversations compared to the US. A translator and writing staff has to take this into consideration when writing the script for the English localization. There may be an instance where a sentence that is kept very close to the original translation will not sound right coming out of an English speaker''s mouth. In a case such as this, the line may have to be tweaked and changed around to sound more natural for an English speaking audience. At the same time, this is a show that was originally created in Japan. As such, there is a line that has to be drawn as to how far you can change the script. The original context of the show must be kept in tact. This "line" is not clearly drawn, and each localization company has had different standards and tendencies to how much they may or may not change a script. Due to this gray area there has been a wide range of quality in dubbed versions of anime.

The dubbed version of "Rumbling Hearts" is a good example of a localization company taking it's creative licensing a bit far and did some heavy modifications to the script. FUnimation is the company that localized and distributes the show. Depending on on whether you watch the subbed version, dubbed version, or both, you may or may not know that FUNimation is known for taking more liberty in modifying scripts. How much of a tweaking they give to any specific line or conversation varies; sometimes it is minor with a word hear there changed, while at other times it is completely reworked. The saving grace is they are generally very careful to keep the meaning of the scene the same.

There are quite a few scenes where the heavy use of modification can be scene. For example, there is a scene where Mayu, a co-worker of Takayuki, is bragging that she has received a "golden license". In Japan one can obtain this if one is accident free for a certain amount of years. The joke lies in the fact that since Mayu doe not drive at all, it is no surprise that she is accident free. Takayuki is quick to point this out much to Mayu's displeasure. That is the way the scene went down in the subbed version. In the dubbed version, Mayu brags that she just got her license. From this one change the scene is already drastically different. She continues to brag about how easy the test was and that anyone could pass it, even Ayu. Both scenes have the same direction and humor, but the reason why they are funny is different. There is also the problem that the English scene leads the viewer to believe that Mayu is much younger then she actually is. In Japan the legal driving age is 18. That means for her to get her "golden license" she would have to be at least 20 years old. The English version of the scene makes her look like she is around 16, very misleading. When looking at a scene such as this I ask two questions. First, is the scene able to get across the original point it was intended for? Second, do the changes they made make sense from a cultural standpoint? Based on this criteria I will determine if I find the change acceptable or not. To illustrate my point we can use the above example. Take the first question; is the scene still able to get across it's original meaning? This scene is obviously a comedy scene. It is meant to be light and provide the viewer with some comic relief. The answer is yes, it does fulfill that requirement. Did the change make sense from a cultural standpoint? This question is a bit tough. If it is a cultural difference that would be hard for an American audience to understand and thus make the scene pointless, I can accept the change. The key is, and this is very important, the scene would have to be rendered pointless and go over the viewer''s head completely. In this case I do not believe that the American audience could not understand the show is set in Japan, and as such, may have different driving laws then the US. For the second question I would have to answer no. After obtaining answers for both questions, I have to conclude that the scene did not warrant a rewrite. From a cultural stand point it would not go over the viewer's head, and the comedy would be still be intact if the lines wer not modified.

Another instance is how slang is used. For much of our slang or insults thee is no direct translation, and vice verse. Therefore to make a scene sound more natural the writers may replace a Japanese insult word with one of our own. For example, one of the characters called another an idiot or something to that affect. In the English dubbed version the character called them a "tool". It is different, but it works because that would be something an English speaking person may say a bit more naturally.

The cast is a real winner for this series. They all give very solid performances. The three main stars are Carrie Savage as Haruka Suzumiya, Colleen Clinkenbeard as Mitsuki Hayase, and Kevin Connolly as Takayuki Narumi to round things out. All three actors show there abilities and talents in different parts of the anime.

Carrie Savage plays the part of Haruka Suzumiya. Haruka is a very soft spoken character. She often tends to be shy to those she does not know well, at least until she starts to warm up to you. After that she becomes very affectionate and caring. Carrie Savage was the obvious choice to play Haruka. Anyone who has heard Carrie knows she has a very unique voice. It is naturally very soft and girlie. It also has a high pitch to it which helps to sets her apart.

Collen Clinkenbeard plays Mitsuki Hayase. Collen has been in quite a bit of popular titles such as Fullmtal Alchemist and Solty Rei. Colleen has one of those voices that is very versatile. She can play it so to when you hear it you just want to have fun with her. One the opposite side she can also play a character very serious and down to business. The two perfect examples of these two sides are when she plays Mitsuki, compared to when she plays Riza Hawkeye in Fullmetal Alchemist. Mitsuki is the character played with the lighter side of Colleens voice. Mitsuki is very outgoing right from the start. She is the complete opposite of Haruka. Her more serious side can be shown in the character of Riza in Fullmetal Alchemist. Riza is a very serious, down to earth character. She is all about business and you certainly would not want to get on her bad side. My favorite scene for Colleen in "Rumbling Hearts" is the scene where she finally breaks down emotionally. The setup is Mitsuki has finally had enough, she is at her breaking point. She is about to go to a hotel with a complete stranger. Her friend Shinji just happens to see her and proceeds to stop her from making a big mistake. Shinji punches the man Mitsuki is with. Couple this with the fact he is obviously not happy to have his chance of getting some ruined, proceeds to have a fist fight with Shinji. Mitsuki sinks to the ground and just sits up against a wail looking at the sky and starts laughing. This is not a "ha ha" laugh", this is a "I cannot believe my life has gotten to this point" kind of laugh. I am not an actor, but I have to believe this is not an easy scene for an actor to convey properly, but Colleen plays it like a pro.

The one weak point in the show might have to be Kevin Connolly. He plays Takayaki Narumi as the male lead. Kevin does a well enough job, but there are scenes where I cannot get behind the character. He tends to play the Takayuki more static, not really changing his emotional state when the time requires it. The important thing to remember with the Takayuki character is that he has suffered some major trauma. The love of his life was suddenly taken away from him. To make matters worse, he arrived at the scene of the accident and saw Haruka's hair tie lying on the floor bloodied up. He is obviously suffering from some depression, made especially evident during the scenes that show him shortly after the accident. The Japanese seiyu plays the Takayuki as someone who is a bit emotionally unstable, some of that is lost on the way Kevin plays him. Bottom line he just does not show as much emotion when the character's emotional states changes throughout the show.

Other notable performances are by Luci Christian and Monica Rial, Mayu and Ayu respectively. I am very big fans of these to actors. Luci plays Mayu possibly better then the Japanese seiyu. Mayu is a very fiery, loud, and outspoken character. This type of role is where you will see Luci at her best. Ayu is the quirky girl, and Monica having a bit of that quirkiness herself, is perfect for this character. These are only supporting roles for them but they do such a great job.

Overall

"Rumbling Hearts" is one of those rare gems. I was not seeking out this anime, I just stumbled on it, and I am very glad I did. No matter what version you watch, you will be pleased. The strongest points are obviously it's story and characters. The best part of this anime in my opinion, is the ending. I do not want to spoil it, but it is a very bittersweet ending. It is happy, yet sad at the same time. It is a very fulfilling ending which will leave you quite satisfied.

Story: A

Art: C
Music: C
Sub: A

Dub: B
Overall: B

Amendment to grading

2008-11-15T00:47:00.000-05:00

Just a quick post to advise I am changing the grading scheme by adding a new score for the story. This is something I had meant to add from the beginning, but some how forgot. Everything else is staying the same. The Rumbling Hearts review is done except for some final adjustments. I may post it tonight, but if not then I will tomorrow.

More Shikabane happieness

2008-11-12T22:41:00.000-05:00

Please forgive the double posts today, especially since part of this post directly relates to my earlier one. I had written the earlier post last night but only now posted it. Some interesting things were announced today. One announcement sheds some light on "Shikabane Hime" while the other brings us some news on the distribution company Geneon.

It has been revealed a website for the second "Shikabane Hime" series, titled "Shikabane Hime: Kuro". I have been writing about this show as FUNimation has been releasing episodes on it's website as well as otter streaming sites like YouTube, Joost, and Hulu. The episodes are only three weeks behind the original Japanese broadcast, which up until now has been unheard of. According to the website the new series will start in January. It is probably safe to assume it will pick up where the first series, "Shikabane Hime: Aka", leaves off; however I cannot confirm that for certain. This is good news. As I talked about in my previous post today, I was a little concerned how the show was being paced a bit slowly considering it will only be 13 episodes. With this revelation I can now understand why they are pacing it the way they are. This new series obviously gives them more time and will allow them to take it at a slower pace. There is no news whether FUNimation will stream this series for free as they did with "Aka". My guess is it will greatly determine how popular "Aka" is. I would not be surprised if FUNimation at the very least announces in the coming weeks the acquisition of the license for the second series.

The company Dentsu has announced today that it will merge with Universal Pictures International Entertainment. Click on the link provided at the bottom to get the full details on the story. This is interesting because it is unclear if this will impact Geneon US, which is currently defunct with FUNimation releasing the titles it was not able to release before it's downfall.

Keep your eyes open for new details on these topics. I'm sure we will be getting more details relatively soon.
Shikabane Hime: Kuro
Geneon

Mid-week update

2008-11-12T19:28:00.000-05:00

A post or two ago I brought up "The Familiar of Zero" and how I had planned on watching it. Well, I finished the third season of the show last night. You might say wow that sure was quick, but keep in mind each season was only 12 episodes except for the first which ended at 13. All in all not a huge series. My general opinion on it is it definitely has the elements to be a great anime. Unfortunately, it does not always use these elements to it's benefit and that is why I can only say it is a good anime. Up to this point I have only seen the subbed version. I am still waiting on Netflix to get me the DVD's so I can see the dubbed version. If they can ever come off of very long wait status and I can actually give them a watch I'd like it to be my next review after "Rumbling Hearts". We will have to see though. If not I am thinking of "Full Metal Panic" or "Solty Re"i to follow "Rumbling Hearts".

I was also able to watch the new episodes of "Kannagi" and "Shikabane Hime" last weekend. Both continue to grow into strong shows. Kannagi seems to be pacing itself rather fast if you compare it to the manga it is based off of. I have not read the manga intensly but i have skimmed it and the anime seems to cover about two chapters of manga an episode. This worries me because I am afraid if they do not pace it at a slower rate they will quickly run out of material. I am not one to advocate for filler episodes, but possibly some filler content might help to slow things down a bit. Then again they may only plan to make this anime a 12 episode show and that is why it is being paced the way it is. It is hard to say since I cannot obtain a list of how many episodes they have planned.

"Shikabane Hime" on the other hand, has taken the complete opposite approach. This show we know is only going to be 13 episodes long, yet it is being paced a little slower then I had anticipated. This coming Friday we will be at episode 4, about a quarter of the show already in the bag. While the writers are feeding its audience enough bits of information to keep them interested I am worried that if they do not pick things up soon they will run out of time and then start rushing the story.

I am starting Mai-Hime tonight when I get home from work. I will keep you posted of my thoughts on it. I am hoping to get the review for "Rumbling Hearts" done by Friday but I do not want to make any guarantees on it. I am reworking the layout of the review compared to my FMA review so it may take me a bit longer. I will keep you up to day on that as well. Until then have a good one.

Next review and other tidbits.

2008-11-09T01:23:00.000-05:00

Hey. So the FMA review is up. Not to bad for my first review if I don't say so myself. Not that there isn't room for improvement but I'm pleased with how it turned out. I have decided what my next review will be. Rumbling Hearts is what I chose. I have mentioned this series before and I just recently seen it. It is a good show because it did a lot of things right but it wasn't perfect so it should be a fun write.

I am up to the third season of Zero no Tsukaima (The Familiar of Zero). I will say this about the show; the first season is pretty good, the second season was lacking a bit, and the third season is unknown since I have only seen the first episode. More to come on this at a later date.

We got the third episode of Shikabane Hime last night and will get a new episode of Kannagi tomorrow. I will probably write more about the two tomorrow.

That's pretty much it for tonight. I'd like to write more but my head hurts too much.

Fullmetal Alchemist

2008-11-08T02:11:00.000-05:00

"Humankind cannot gain anything without giving something in return. To obtain, something of equal value must be lost."

Anyone who has seen Fullmetal Alchemist knows this as the First Law of Equivalent Exchange. Anyone who has not will quickly learn it.

Fullmetal Alchemist is an anime based on the hit (and still ongoing) manga by Arakawa Hiromu. The story is about two brothers set in a world where Alchemy has taken prevalence over other sciences such as physics and chemistry. The two brothers end up tradgically losing their mother to an unspecified disease. In an attempt to bring their mother back, they turn to alchemy to try and pull her soul back and place it in a new body created from the basic elements that compose a human. Things end up going terribly wrong for the two brothers. The eldest, Edward Elric, loses his left leg while the younger brother, Alphonse Elric, loses his entire body. In order to save his younger brother's life, Edward sacrifices his right arm in order to be able to put his brother's soul in a giant suit of armor. The two set out on a journey in hopes to undo their mistake and restore their bodies to normal.

Now that we have a background established let me say that FMA is my all time favorite anime. That is part of the reason why I am choosing it as my first review. I want to start off with the artwork. It can simply be described as stunning. The characters are beautifully drawn with even the minor details being paid close attention too. The best example, in my opinion, is a scene in the first episode. Edward is revealing that his right arm is actually automail ( artificial limbs as in the world of FMA) by ripping the sleeve off of his tattered shirt. As he is pulling the fabric off we gett a close up of his arm and see all the different wiring and mechanical parts that are now somewhat exposed where his arm comes into contact with his mechanical shoulder. It iss so detailed it is almost creepy. There are of course examples one can find throughout the show, but this example has always been one that has stuck with me. The world of FMA is also very well done. They use a mix of our modem day world and the world back in the time of WWII. In a day where much of the anime watched are set in futuristic worlds with giant skyscrapers and robots it is refreshing to see that you can have a world with a rustic feeling yet still be completely drawn in to it.

Season 2 tin.

Another aspect of the artwork is the great facial expressions that the characters make. Even the tiniest change in a character's face brings with it some sort of emotion. America is very big on feelings being conveyed through dialogue; if a character wants to express something they have to express it through some sort of words or sounds. Japan is different in that they like to use facial expressions and body language to convey emotion. Some of the most powerful scenes in several great anime were completely silent, yet you can feel the emotional undertone of the scene better then any amount of dialogue. FMA is no exception to this.

Season 3 tin.

It goes without saying that whether you are watching a TV show, movie, play, or any other form of entertainment you need a compelling story. The general rule of thumb I use is an anime has five episodes to draw me into the story. If it fails to do that I will not necessarily give up on the show, but at the same time I start to lower my expectations. I think five episodes is just about right for any given show to get you sucked in. This will allow the show to set up the general direction of where the story is going to go as well as establish all the main characters.

In FMA's case the show sucks you in right the first episode. For one thing you get thrown into the story where the brother's are already a couple years into their mission of trying to restore their bodies. They are visiting a town in order to obtain clues on the legendary Philosopher's Stone. It takes off from there and never stops. Each episode has value to it and time is never wasted. Other shows could take a lesson from FMA in regards to how it is paced. There may not be an action scene every five minutes; in all honesty action scenes are not heavily used in the series. These points are not just true for the Elric brothers. Even the supporting characters and their stories are intriguing and you get a genuine concern for them all.

Musically speaking the score for FMA is tough to beat. I myself am not a huge fan of instrumental music. There is absolutely nothing wrong with it, I just do not find myself listening to it often. The FMA soundtrack however, is so well done that I find myself making an exception for it. Each song or melody has a specific tone and feeling to it. Combine that with fitting the perfect scene to it and you have a winning combination. For as much as facial expressions and body language can convey emotion, a good soundtrack will convey as much or sometimes more emotion for any series. In the case of FMA, I would say that the soundtrack is probably the most instrumental tool for doing this. The opening and closing theme songs are great to rock out to as well. It is your standard J-Pop but I don't care what anyone says, it kicks ass.

For any anime voice acting is very important. On the same hand the script is just as important. Without both working together you will end up with failure. This is true with any aspect of entertainment, but even more so with anime. In anime the actor's voice and script are their main tools which they use create a character. They do not get to use body language like an actor in a live action TV show or movie. If the actor fails to properly convey a character it could have detrimental effects on the entire show.

Strictly speaking for FMA I have only seen the entire series dubbed. It is one of the few series of whicht I have not watched its subtitled counterpart. That being said it is not because I think any less of the subbed version. Quite the contrary; I will for the most part watch a show subbed first and then dubbed. FMA was a series where at the time I did not pay attention to the Japanese performances of anime. I was a dub fan. I did not hate subs like other fans of dubs, but at the same time I never would consider watching the sub versions. Due to this I have no outlook to give on the subtitled version.

Allow me to be frank for a moment. It is my belief that the cast put together for FMA is the greatest ensemble of voice actors ever put together. If you are thinking to yourself that is a very bold statement you are correct; however it is not one I am unprepared to defend. Honestly there are so many characters in this anime, and every actor does such a good job that I would be able to write a 20 page article if I went through every single one. So for the purpose of keeping this to a respectable length I am going to go over the three main characters that were my favorites.

To start out with we have Vic Mignogna as Edward Elric. Many will say this is his defining role. His name has become synonymous with the word Fullmetal. One could almost say the role was made for him. What is most impressive with how Vic was able to portray Ed is not how he was able to completely change his voice to sound like a young teen; it is quite the opposite of that. It is how by only slightly altering the pitch and tone of his voice, he was able to find the perfect way to portray Ed. Vic is not going to give you the wackiest voices. His voice is just not cut out for that. What he will do is adjust his voice to fit the appropriate age of his character and let his acting abilities create some of the best characters in anime. If you want to see anotehr great example of his talent watch Air TV.

Aaron Dismuke was chosen to be cast as the younger brother Elric, Alphonse. As amazing as Vic was as Ed, Aaron was just as amazing as Alphonse for one simple fact; he was only around 12 when he played the part. This is an important fact to remember. Voice acting is not easy, especially in ADR. When a voice actor records for an American animation the voice recording is done first and then the animation is done around the vocal performance. With ADR, which is the process of taking a foreign audio tract and dubbing it in a different language, the animation is done first and the voice acting has to be done around the animation. This means whatever the voice actor says has to be able to mach the mouth flaps of the character. In addition voice actors do not record together. They record alone in a booth. This adds another aspect of difficulty because you do not have any other actors to play off of. If two characters are having an argument each voice actor has to do their respective lines by themselves. Picture having a literally one sided argument in your head. Both of these aspects can be challenging for any voice actor, let alone a 12 year old boy. Yet watching FMA you would never be able to tell it. Aaron pulled off a performance that any seasoned veteran would be jealous of. Hearing one of Ed and Al's heated discussions you would never be able to tell that they recorded those lines alone and most likely not even on the same day.

Caitlin Glass plays the role of Ed and Al's childhood friend Winry Rockbell. Caitlin is a fairly new and upcoming voice actor. Her breakthrough role, much line Vic, was FMA. While there were many episodes where there was no Winry that does not make her character or role in the anime any less significant. Due to Caitlin's rendition of Winry it is definitely one of the most memorable performances of the show. Winry is the type of character who once you befriendshe will always be by your side. The amount of caring she has for both the Elric brothers, especially for Ed, is very touching. At the same time Winry does have a bit of a short fuse, so it is important for the actor to be able to be loud and angry as needed. Caitlin is able to do all of this flawlessly A great episode that really shows the charm of Winry and Caitlin is episode 26, "Her Reason" I do not want to give away any spoilers, but pay close attention to it. The episode is a real gem and really shows off Caitlin's talents. Caitlin has continued to grow in her roles. Her latest role is in "Ouran High School Host Club". While this is not an anime I can really get into I did watch the first couple of episodes. She plays the lead, a girl named Haruhi (no not Haruhi Suzumiya, but I sort of wonder if they writers were not trying to capitalize on the name) who has to pretend to be a boy in an all boy club. I will be honest, I did not know it was Caitlin until I looked up the cast list. She was able to change her voice so much in order to sound like a boy. It had me totally fooled. This just shows how much she has grown as a voice actor since FMA.

To conclude things FMA is a great anime. One of the best, and certainly my favorite of all time. This of course brings with it a problem. I cannot come up with anything negative to say about this show. I have seen a lot of anime. There are many I like and even some I love. No matter how much I like a show though, I am always able to point out aspects that I may have liked to have seen changed. Whether it is the script they used in the dubbed version, the voice actor chosen for a particular character, or the artwork; I usually can talk about an area where their could have been some improvement. This show is the one exception. So now for the grading. For an explanation of the grading system please see my post on November, 6th 2008.

Art: A
Music: A
Sub: N/A
Dub: A
Overall: A

So lets hear what you think. What do you agree on? What do you disagree on? Let me here your opinion of FMA.

Grading scheme

2008-11-07T00:01:00.001-05:00

Quick post for tonight. I have my FMA review all typed up. All that is left now is to edit it. I should have it posted by tomorrow. Before I do that I wanted to explain how I will grade an anime. It is not based on any exact science but here it is. Each anime will be judged on these categories:

Story
Art
Music
Sub
Dub
Overall

Each of these should be self explanatory except for maybe Sub and Dub. For the Sub and Dub category I will base each on the voice actors' performance as well as their respective script. These two aspects together will be used to judge these categories.

As for what scoring technique I will use it will be letter grades. "A" for excellent, "B" for good, "C" for acceptable, "D" for sub par, and "F" for failure. "N/A" will be used if for some reason I have no way to judge an aspect of the show. For example if I did not watch the dub version, I will simply give it an "N/A". There will be no plus or minus,' that will be to confusing. I will use this scheme starting with my FMA review.

Kannagi, Zero Louse and more

2008-11-04T00:47:00.000-05:00

Hey everyone. I hope everyone had a pleasant weekend. Mine was (although my weekend is technically on Thursday and Friday since I work on Saturday and Sunday). I was able to finish off Rumbling Hearts and got through the first half of the dubbed version of School Rumble Second Semester. Rumbling Hearts is a great show. It is a very serious and tragic story that is very real in the sense that any part of it can, and probably has, happened to someone in real life in some fashion. This is a rare find for that reason alone, because as any anime fan can tell you most anime cannot be considered "real". If you are looking for something like this give it a shot. It is sad an most likely will put a tear in your eye but it tells the story so well and has such a satisfying ending you are robbing yourself if you do not give it a try. Another plus would be it is not to long being a 14 episode anime, so it's a nice quick watch.

Kannagi

I was also able to watch episode five of Kannagi. Once again hilarity ensued. It is still unclear as to where exactly the writers intend for the story to go but right now it is not really a big concern for me. I am just having to much fun watching Nagi and Jin. Those two crack me up.

FUNimation was kind enough to promptly release episode two of Shikabne Hime. This episode was defiantly more action packed then the rest. The male lead Ouri for the most part gets the full picture of what a Skikabane is. This helped to progress the story further. This show has to be careful because it only has 13 episodes to tell a story that could go very deep. Pacing is everything for short shows like this.

Zero No Tsukaima

Has anyone ever seen a show called "Zero No Tsukaima", or under the English title "The Familiar of Zero"? It is being released by FUNimation tomorrow. I did some research and the show apparently spans three seasons; the third wrapped up this summer. From what I gather it is set in a different world then ours. In this world there is the heavy use of magic. Those that can use magic are nobles, those that cannot are commoners. The setting is a school for up and coming mages to learn the ways of magic. The main character is a girl named Louise Françoise Le Blanc de La Vallière, and yes that is her full name it is not a typo. Louise has gained the name of "Zero Louise" or "Louise the Zero" (not sure which one the official US translation will use). The reason for this nickname? Her total lack of success for any attempt at using magic. Since Louise is a second year student it is time for her to summon her Familiar. A Familiar is a servant under a contract made by itself and the mage who summoned it. The main task of a Familiar is to serve the mage and be a sort of partner. All of the other students seem to summon some sort of a creature such as a mouse, salamander, or mole to name a few. Louise somehow manages to summon a human boy named Saito Hiraga from our world as her Familiar. Whether this is due to Louise's zero talent as a mage, or that she is on a totally different level then everyone else is unclear. I don't know if the show is going to be any good, but I have it in my Netflix queue so I plan on giving it a watch this week. If anyone has seen it let me know what you think. There seems to be mixed opinions of it on the Internet.

I am still working on my Fullmetal Alchemist review. I did say that I would have it out by last Friday but that did not go as expected. I didn't have time to write anything this weekend. The sad thing is it was not because I was doing anything great or important; I just do not know where the time went. The good news is I have it about halfway done. I will probably finish it tomorrow and then proof read it on Wednesday. It has been awhile since I wrote anything serious so I am a little out of practice. Until then take a look at Shikabane Hime and Kannagi and let me know what you think.

Couple of shows to take a look at

2008-10-29T00:10:00.000-04:00

Hey all. So we have just recently entered the new fall season for anime in Japan. There are a couple of good shows out there that I myself have started to watch. One is already licensed in the US by Funimation. The title is Shikabane Hime. The really great thing about this is they are broadcasting a subtitled version on their own website along with YouTube, Hulu, and Boost. This is big because never has the American audience been able to watch a show at the same time as the Japanese audience does. Now granted the American audience is three weeks behind the Japanese audience, but this is forgivable. I mean we have to give some time for Funimation to sub it and encode it. Basic story is that there is a girl who is a Skikabane Hime (corpse princess) who must kill 108 other Skikabane in order to go to Heaven. Think of Skikabane as living dead who prey on the living. A Shikabane Hime is a Shikabane on our side who hunts other Shikabane. It is defiantly a darker anime but if you're looking for one of those this is perfect for you. At the very least it'll be something good to watch on Halloween.

Next up is Kannagi: Crazy Shrine Maidens.

This next one I had heard was coming down the pipeline but nerve really bothered to learn much about it. I just happened to read about it on Anime News Network Fall Preview and decided to give it a shot. I like it. It's about a teenage art student named Jin who carves a statue out of a sacred tree. The spirit of the tree possesses the statue and brings it to life. We find that the girl/deity is named Nagi and she is the land deity of the city from which the title takes its name from, Kannagi. Nagi ends up living with Jin as we follow their crazy antics. The show is at it's best when Jin and Nagi get into one of their hilarious arguments with each other. Nagi has such a strong personality and vile mouth, she holds nothing back. Jin is no pushover either. It is defiantly a show worth watching. I am not to sure where the story is heading sine it is only in it's 4th week of broadcast. The first four episodes mainly deal with introducing the characters. Now that the stage is set and characters are all in play we can see where this thing is going.

I am working on my review for Fullmetal Alchemist. I hope to have that up by end of week at the latest. Unil then stay safe.

My first post!!

2008-10-28T00:28:00.000-04:00

Hey I'm Rich. Welcome to my blog. If you're here I assume you like anime, or at the very least you are curious about it. Well to you I say welcome. In this blog you will find reviews and opinions about certain anime's that I have seen, written by yours truly. My hope is you will enjoy my unique views on different titles as well as share your own. Feel free to leave a comment, even if you disagree with something. I'm always up for a good discussion.

Any suggestions you may have please feel free to leave a comment. Whether it's about a topic you'd like me to talk about specifically (music, character's, design), or a show you'd like to suggest, let me know. I have quite a few series I'd like to write about but I'm always looking for a new show to get into.

That being said the first show I will probably write about is a classic. I know it's been written about before and everyone has their own take on it, but I think it's a good show to write about for a first review. That show is Fullmetal Alchemist. I'll hopefully have something up in a couple of days so look forward to it!