One of my favorite recent series, Black Lagoon, will now apparently not be finished. While dubs are not the first thing I look at in these shows, Geneon's were far and away the best. Black Lagoon had one of the best acted and directed dubs ever.
This was a quality outfit and it is very sad to see them go.
1
They're not closing up shop completely. At least, they're finishing other shows that were in production already, so it's not beyond belief that they'd finish shows that were even further into production.
Posted by: Avatar_exADV at Sat Sep 29 11:00:13 2007 (LMDdY)
All That and a Bowl of Grits
Well a few weeks ago in that narow window just after I returned and just before things got hectic, I managed to see the first 4 eps of Sayonara Zebutso Sensei. It has lived up to its considerable hype. (hype-hype)
The story revolves around a high school teacher, his intense despair, his suicide attempts and his efforts to come to grips with his homeroom class....which has representative cases of several mental illnesses....some rather less benign than others (ranging from total introversion to....optimism).
This is one of the best, most original comedies I've seen in awhile.The minimalist art, the superb soundtrack and quirky animation mesh perfectly with the short sketches. It is very densely written and as literate as it is twisted. The show sometime takes at least 2 viewings to get most of the gags (and plot points). It is delightfully morbid and the humor is often quite black, so if your tastes don't run that way, be warned.
However, if your a twisted, poorly socialized geek like me you will enjoy this.
1
I am not a big fan of Sayoko. Also... I remember how one famous pianist said (I think it was Richter): "If I do not play one day, my fingers notice it. If I do not play two days, I notice it myself. If I do not play three days, listeners may notice."
And they want me to believe she can perform like she did after spending years sleeping in a cardboard box? Please! My suspension of disbelief is being over-taxed here.
Posted by: Author at Sat Sep 15 03:35:06 2007 (9imyF)
"If I do not play one day, my fingers notice it. If I do not play two
days, I notice it myself. If I do not play three days, listeners may
notice."
Yes, yes, yes..... I do what I can. I've been superbusy, am starting school, and now I'm drilling with the CGR. I swear I'll post more.
Posted by: Ken Talton at Sat Sep 15 16:49:39 2007 (V5zw/)
3 Actually, I didn't recognize the character....I thought it was a random dancing girl with a bonsai tree on her head.
Posted by: Ken Talton at Sat Sep 15 16:49:54 2007 (V5zw/)
4
It's probably ok not to recognize her. But I used to be the world's expert in all things Mahoraba in my other identity, at least according to Google, so...
Posted by: Author at Sat Sep 15 23:13:34 2007 (9imyF)
5
Okay, that's really wierd to look at when you just happen to be listening to "The Safety Dance".
Posted by: David McKinnis at Sun Sep 16 18:55:19 2007 (AreTj)
I've been ill, jet lagged, and returning to both work and school. Unfortunately, while I was out Stephen Den Beste completely jumped the shark.
Mechs....stupid? Of course aside from the first 3 words in his post title, it is an article utterly devoid of merit...just some prattle about ground pressure and tensile strength and square cube law.
The sheer fallacy of the thesis is astounding given the ample evidence to the contrary....
That is not stupid.. THAT is kewel!(HT: Danny Choo)
I mean are YOU going to call this guy stupid? Stupid...no way...scary perhaps if you are an uninformed bystander, annoying if you are tasked with filling potholes, and grimly tragic if you are a sewer worker...but not stupid.
Using the photo evidence I would guess that Mr. Den Bestes' pessimistic ground pressure assessments were way off (which is surprising as I thought that was why Mazinger Z generally fought in the forests on the outskirts of town....but I digress).
...and the best ones lend themselves to heavy metal as well ....but to deal with the main thrust of Den Bestes thesis..... that Giant Mechs are STUPID....well, just using the first generation of giant superhero robots (and the dubiously legal miracle of you tube) I can refute that handily.
That is not stupid...that's the 36th COOLEST THING I'VE EVER SEEN!!!
And that doesn't even deal with later generations of mechs..Likely the best known in the states are Macross (thanks to Robotech) and Go-Lion, (the more popular of the two franchises brought over for Voltron). Gundam, in all its iterations both poignant and utterly wretched, generally had cool mechs (and even turn A Gundam was saved by a good story). Of course some of the best mech shows are hardly remembered now....more is the pity.
Then there were the next generation of Mechs such as Evangelion....
OK....bad example....
Er.... Anyway....let's look at this from the other side...
Giant mechas have cool theme songs? Have you ever seen Megas XLR?
Posted by: RickC at Sat Sep 1 11:56:06 2007 (PoCOp)
2
I am not disturbed so much by the fact that you think that clip is the 36th coolest thing you ever saw, as I am by fact that you have a list of "Coolest Things I Have Ever Seen" that is at least 36 places long. That bespeaks a measure of obsessiveness that may require professional help. I urge you to seek it....soon.
The Youtube you have labeled as "cool theme songs" -- what is that vocalist's native language? He's got the weirdest accent, and I can't place it.
By the way, don't try to saddle me with somehow praising/defending UFO Princess Valkyrie. All through the period in which I was buying it and writing about it, you'll find me ridiculing it. Only the second series is any good, and even it only rises to the level of "OK".
And when, exactly, did I talk about Ah! My Goddess! as one of my favorite shows? It isn't. The OVA is monumentally dreadful. The TV series is pretty good, but I've got a lot better things in my collection.
Jeeze, if you're going to quote me, at least quote me accurately. I gave the second UFO Princess Valkyrie series 2.5 stars, and all the others are worse. The Ah! My Goddess! TV series got three stars -- but I've given 3 stars or more to 31 series. Neither of those particularly stands out among my reviewed series.
...I like mecha shows. I do aknowledge that they are pretty stupid, but still rather fun.
Of course one of my favorite parts of Infinite Ryvius (a show I really liked) is when they all laugh at the Vital Gaurder for being a bipedal humanoid robot. Then again...it isn't used anything like mecha...it doesn't run, it doesn't jump, it doesn't punch things or have a knife/sword/axe. In short...why was it humanoid?
Posted by: Arson55 at Sat Sep 1 22:48:34 2007 (CtQJP)
The Youtube you have labeled as "cool theme songs" -- what is that vocalist's native language? He's got the weirdest accent, and I can't place it.
No, that is Isao Sasaki who was one of THE big vocalists for old school anime theme songs. He was commissioned to do a version of the Mazinger Z theme for a proposed American version of the show a decade before Tranzor Z...He sang it phonetically.
As I understand it that show ran into the same perfect storm of standards & practices/ Federal Culture Control/ leftie nonviolent emasculating hysteria that gave kids in the US such cutting edge fare as Superfriends and Speed Buggy and it was never aired in the US with the possible exception of Hawaii and perhaps a few UHF stations.
By the way, don't try to saddle me with somehow praising/defending UFO Princess Valkyrie. All through the period in which I was buying it and writing about it, you'll find me ridiculing it. Only the second series is any good, and even it only rises to the level of "OK".
Hmmm ...you have a whole category dedicated to UFO Princess Valkyrie. You go on at length about the sympathy you have for Chorus and about other charachter points. I certainly got the impression that you at least enjoyed the series even if you didn't consider it high art...which is why I thought it was a perfectly appropriate foil to my Giant Robot Post.
That being said, I see your review for #3 at least IS a thumbs down.....I sit corrected, and will have to come up with some appropriately self-flagelating post...
And when, exactly, did I talk about Ah! My Goddess! as one of my favorite shows? It isn't. The OVA is monumentally dreadful. The TV series is pretty good, but I've got a lot better things in my collection.
You seemed to mention it a lot, on Chizumatic 1st season more than your new one, it is listed with 3 stars here and you refer to it approvingly in this post (and make points that I fully agree with).Thus I stand by my scurrilous tarring of you on this point...as being in perfectly good faith.
Like UFOPV, it seemed to be a show you enjoyed a lot but didn't necessarily consider high art which made it a good fit for this post.
Posted by: Ken Talton at Sun Sep 2 05:41:01 2007 (l1XAG)
7
I feel compelled to respond to your mischaracterizations of Ah! My Goddess!:
In none of the various versions of the story did Keiichi wish for Belldandy to fall in love with him. He wished for her to STAY with him, leaving open the possibility that she would stay with him and make his life miserable. That didn't happen because they are both nice people.
In both the manga and the TV series she has numerous chances to get out of the contract, but chooses not to. And why not? All of the goddesses seem to regard life on Earth as a carefree vacation from their stressful life in Heaven. And Belldandy genuinely likes Keiichi. He would happily walk through Hell for her, and demands nothing from her in return.
If all you have seen is the OVA you can be forgiven for missing these points, since it did not touch on them at all.
Posted by: Jonathan Tappan at Sun Sep 2 23:01:35 2007 (Zimal)
8
All I have seen is the OVA...and it filled me with horror, not only because of its content but because soooo many people thought that it was a sweet love story.
Kinda' like that old Police song "Every Breath You Take" was a heartwarming love song.
I may have to watch the later version at some point.
Posted by: The Brickmuppet at Sat Apr 26 21:35:34 2008 (V5zw/)
A Mystery Solved Bleach has a lot of things that are fantastic and strain credulity...magic, superheroes, multidimensional travel, invisible monsters and psychic powers. But few things strain credulity like the fact that Orihime, is pining after our hero and he is either oblivious or is ignoring her attentions....
This should fail the suspension of disbelief test...she's a bit odd, indeed goofy on occasion.... ....but she's a very interesting, intelligent person with a strong moral compass and general decency and is cute (and a chesty Asian redhead!?) Yet he is utterly oblivious to her attentions.
1
I've got no idea what you were trying to say there.
That clip is actually sort of soothing. Maybe memorizing is a better word. I could watch and listen to that for hours.
Posted by: astro at Fri Jul 27 23:06:47 2007 (q4NkN)
2
Gah! I was kidding before, but now I can't stop listening to it. What the heck is it? It sounds like a jazzed up version of a Russian folk song with nonsense syllables in place of words. It is driving me nuts.
Posted by: astro at Fri Jul 27 23:16:07 2007 (q4NkN)
It's a Jewish folk song, not Russian, and her hair clip is replaced by a Star of David. He doesn't like her because she's a Jew.
Not so funny now.
Posted by: astro at Fri Jul 27 23:34:25 2007 (q4NkN)
4
Nononono...it can't be like that!
As I was entranced by the spinning leek, I'd missed the Star of David...(that was a cute touch)
I was entranced by the spinning leek.
No I don't think anti semitism is involved this time.
Just
can't
get
tune
out
of
head.....
Posted by: Ken Talton at Sat Jul 28 00:26:44 2007 (U/bc0)
5
I wondered how I missed this, and then I realised that this was posted the week I was dead of food poisoning.
We're both a year behind the event. I don't know whether that is good or bad...
Posted by: Pixy Misa at Sat Sep 15 22:54:03 2007 (PiXy!)
Diet Aids
Few things are as unhealthy as snack chips. Now the Japanese have found an innovative way to not just discourage people from eating nabs but actually give them such a sour stomach that they may skip lunch altogether! more...
Stephen Den Beste recently posted on fansubbers as one challenge the US anime market is facing. I think that is only one of several problems facing what are fairly young industries.
IMHO quality is a big one, though this applies more to Manga than anime proper.
There
are some good anime/manga series out there right now, but those being
liscenced and particularly the Manga being released are really haphazard and far
lower in average quality than (I think) a random sampling would be. A
few hits are being brought over and some of them are actually quite good, but
several of the few gems are wallowing unnoticed.
I
suspect that the distributors are just buying the crappy cheap
properties. I further suspect that this issue is doubly true of girls-Manga as the
distributors largely don't even have the beginings of a clue what to
look for.
I think the US import comic market
is being sustained primarily by faddishness and a group of kids at 'the
age of disposable income'....when these people become discriminating
consumers, the importers will have to become discriminating buyers....or
collapse. Note that given the current size of the import companies this will be a hard thing to do quickly.
I think a retrenchment is inevitable (and indeed seems to
have already begun). In its short history (10 years or less) there
have, of course, been ebbs and flows of the manga market. (The anime market has been somewhat steadier in part because the greater capital investment slightly disciplined purchases. ) However, I think
there may be a Marvel type retrenchment for both on the horizon. Soooo much
of the current product line from most companies seems to be crap intended to fill shelf
space.
I have no evidence that there is any psychological maladjustment on the scale of Marvels monomaniacal focus on market share in the early to mid 90's. However, the current market, particularly the manga market (where the only real growth lately seems to be in yaoi manga), seems rather unsustainable in its current form.
I think that many of the same problems, less pronounced perhaps, are going to afflict the anime market.
Yes there have been retrenchments already...I just think there's a rather larger one coming.
As I said, I think this applies much more to Manga than Anime, but the US Anime market has to deal with this and other issues as well.
Posted by: Ken Talton at Thu Jul 19 21:20:56 2007 (V5zw/)
3
Not what I'm hearing. People that were pretty glum last year are starting to get optimistic again. People that were overworked last year are practically at death's door these days. ;p
As far as specific titles not having come over yet, well, that comes of dealing with the Japanese. If you're used to moving a million copies in Japan, it's hard to scale down mentally to the kind of money that the US market is really worth. This isn't so much the case for anime anymore, because the US market for anime is actually pretty large by comparison to the Japanese one, these days; but the US manga market is smaller, and the Japanese one is way, way, way bigger, so the differential there is greater.
To put it bluntly, the US manga market exploded in size when the bookstores started stocking manga. The market continued to grow rapidly until it ran up against the limits of space that the bookstores were prepared to devote to it; in that time there was certainly a lot of crap licensed (some of it by us, heh.) Then came a crunch, and now there's fewer titles (and the retail buyers are being pickier, too.) But the shakeout is essentially over - Del Rey got in and a couple of the smaller players got out, still plenty of good stuff coming over. Nobody who was a manga fan through the 90s is complaining, I assure yez. ;p
Posted by: Avatar_exADV at Thu Jul 19 22:34:45 2007 (dlP4b)
There was a girl at AnimeNEXT who was cosplaying WH Robin. In a corset. A really tight, exposed corset. Talk about missing the point... at least she had the handle-bar hairdo.
Posted by: Mitch H. at Mon Jul 16 09:26:27 2007 (iTVQj)
Fireworks Carnies and Samurai...Oh My!Don has a nice post on Oh! Edo Rocket!, which I've mentioned in passing before.
My observations, having seen just 2 eps pretty much jive with his. That is, the show is cool. The weird amalgamation of seemingly incompatible character designs is, distracting to some. Aside from the odd Matsumoto show I haven't really seen design variations in a show this extreme in nearly 20 years. This show is fun but not really fluff, the villains we've met are actually scary, and there is the cool bit about it being based around actual historical events. (It's almost certainly occurring in 1840s during one of the later crackdown on "luxuries" ). The protagonists are a bunch of carnival types put out of work by the sudden illegality of their trade.
They've combined October Sky, Freaks, Kolchack :The Night Stalker and any number of martial arts shows...(some of my favorite things )and made a cartoon out of them. I am going to HAVE to watch this show...after all it's target demographic is....me.
Update: Don also has a videoblog now....which includes amongst other things...The Abacus Dance.
BTW, blog all fix! It was a glorp in your header template, setting the base URL for the page to "page.base" instead of "[page.base]". The square brackets are very important.
Posted by: Pixy Misa at Sun Jul 8 06:47:20 2007 (PiXy!)
4
The code in the header template sets the base href for the page for relative paths (this is needed to make relative-path images work in category and archives pages, for example). What's happening is that IE is using it incorrectly for paths that are absolute but not full URLs, where Firefox handles it correctly. Or it could be that the standard is the other way around... who knows.
Posted by: Pixy Misa at Sun Jul 8 10:24:48 2007 (PiXy!)
Guilty Pleasure...So Much Guilt Needs More Pleasure
I just found out via Ubu's site that Stephen Den Beste is ordering Godannar...I can't help but blame myself. I was remiss in my blogging duties, I did not warn him.
Rather than struggle with explaining the rather complex setup I'll rely on ADV's own ad, which, to their credit is one of the best, most honest, series trailers ever.
1
Heh. I'd forgotten that ad. Yep, it sums up the series perfectly. Good spot on Dr. Aoi's, uh, accident there. Somehow I missed it completely. What episode was that? And how much of the series did you watch in slo-mo, hmmmmm?
I echo the complaint; there are NOT ANY VILLAINS. The mimetic beasts are a very, very, thin excuse for opposition. It's obvious at time that they're acting with intelligence, as they even execute a strategy to take down Dannar base, which failed only because of a specific design feature (given away in the "second season" previews). I kept expecting some sort of grand revelation as to what or who was really behind it all, something like we got in Shingu. I figured someone we knew was going to have a secret role.
Well, I was right about that last bit. Just not how I expected. I don't think it's a good thing when you see "the major plot revelation of the series" and break out in howls of laughter at how stupid and illogical it is. I mean, no "refrigerator moment" here; no such appliance was going to wait that long. Instead, it came over to the computer and mugged me.
Posted by: ubu roi at Sun Jul 8 11:37:36 2007 (6Gqgi)
2
From that description it really does sound like Gravion. Some of the later revelations in the second Gravion series were less "Shock!" than "You can't be serious!" or "You guys can't be that stupid!"
I some ways, Paprika may actually be Satoshi Kon's weakest film.
It is quite important to appreciate the context of that statement....as this is one of the best movies this year. This film is superbly disturbing and strangely inspiring. It is tightly paced and exactly the right length, a lesson many of todays filmmakers would do well to learn.
I highly recommend it, I also strongly suggest not blinking .
In the far future, Mankind has traveled across the stars from the Earth to boldly forge a new life on the unforgiving world of Taraak. But they soon learned that they were not alone! A vicious, territorial and predatory species from the nearby planet of Mejare ruthlessly attacked them in their new home. Now over a century later, this lonely outpost of Mankind steels itself to fend off a terrifying, incomprehensible enemy that seeks to loot their cities, and feast upon the livers of men. The name of this incomprehensibly alien race...WOMYN!!
Hobby Space News of the commercial space industry A Babe In The Universe Rather Eclectic Cosmology Encyclopedia Astronautica Superb spacecraft resource The Unwanted Blog Scott Lowther blogs about forgotten aerospace projects and sells amazingly informative articles on the same. Also, there are cats. Transterrestrial Musings Commentary on Infinity...and beyond! Colony WorldsSpace colonization news! The Alternate Energy Blog It's a blog about alternate energy (DUH!) Next Big Future Brian Wang: Tracking our progress to the FUTURE. Nuclear Green Charles Barton, who seems to be either a cool curmudgeon, or a rational hippy, talks about energy policy and the terrible environmental consequences of not going nuclear Energy From Thorium Focuses on the merits of thorium cycle nuclear reactors WizBang Current events commentary...with a wiz and a bang The Gates of Vienna Tenaciously studying a very old war The Anchoress insightful blogging, presumably from the catacombs Murdoc Online"Howling Mad Murdoc" has a millblog...golly! EaglespeakMaritime security matters Commander Salamander Fullbore blackshoe blogging! Belmont Club Richard Fernandez blogs on current events BaldilocksUnderstated and interesting blog on current events The Dissident Frogman French bi-lingual current events blog The "Moderate" VoiceI don't think that word means what they think it does....but this lefty blog is a worthy read nonetheless. Meryl Yourish News, Jews and Meryls' Views Classical Values Eric Scheie blogs about the culture war and its incompatibility with our republic. Jerry Pournell: Chaos ManorOne of Science fictions greats blogs on futurism, current events, technology and wisdom A Distant Soil The website of Colleen Dorans' superb fantasy comic, includes a blog focused on the comic industry, creator issues and human rights. John C. Wright The Sci-Fi/ Fantasy writer muses on a wide range of topics. Now Read This! The founder of the UK Comics Creators Guild blogs on comics past and present. The Rambling Rebuilder Charity, relief work, roleplaying games Rats NestThe Art and rantings of Vince Riley Gorilla Daze Allan Harvey, UK based cartoonist and comics historian has a comicophillic blog! Pulpjunkie Tim Driscoll reviews old movies, silents and talkies, classics and clunkers. Suburban Banshee Just like a suburban Leprechaun....but taller, more dangerous and a certified genius. Satharn's Musings Through TimeThe Crazy Catlady of The Barony of Tir Ysgithr アニ・ノート(Ani-Nouto) Thoughtful, curmudgeonly, otakuism that pulls no punches and suffers no fools. Chizumatic Stephen Den Beste analyzes anime...with a microscope, a slide rule and a tricorder. Wonderduck Anime, Formula One Racing, Sad Girls in Snow...Duck Triumphalism Beta Waffle What will likely be the most thoroughly tested waffle evah! Zoopraxiscope Too In this thrilling sequel to Zoopraxiscope, Don, Middle American Man of Mystery, keeps tabs on anime, orchids, and absurdities. Mahou Meido MeganekkoUbu blogs on Anime, computer games and other non-vital interests Twentysided More geekery than you can shake a stick at Shoplifting in the Marketplace of Ideas Sounds like Plaigarism...but isn't Ambient IronyAll Meenuvians Praise the lathe of the maker! Hail Pixy!!
invisible monsters and psychic powers. But few things strain credulity like the fact that Orihime, is pining after our hero and he is either oblivious or is ignoring her attentions....
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