19.95 for the first 9 episodes of what is a very highly regarded show. OK...sure.

I'm really not impressed with the art style or the animation.

 Hmmm...2 male leads...one is an idiot...one is a nebbish.

feh...

OK, the Nebbish hero (?) is a digger in a Dystopic underground village...
It's like Logans Run meets Dirty Jobs....
Good grief...is there such a thing as "Gainax Opening"?

This show was heavily hyped.

This makes it is clear that the popular culture has passed me by. I think I'm gonna...wait..what..?

more...

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Art by Tony Taka and is from the PS2 game Shining Tears.
_{(TonyTaka link NSFW)}

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Ubu Roi has a good overview of the Funimation buy-up of ADV and Geneon  titles with some informative updates and comments.

_{(Thanks to PulpJunkie for the links)}

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Some of the upcoming anime shows that were/are premiering in the next few weeks.

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Via Chizumatic comes the news that ADV is again having problems. It seems they have put several titles, including the excellent Welcome to the NHK on indefinite hold.

Founded in 1992 by John Ledford and Matt Greenfield two Texas anime fans, ADV is one of the more established and prolific outfits to focus on licensing anime here.

Now it appears they, like the much larger and better financed Geneon may have fallen victim to the fact that it is pretty damned impossible to really compete with fan-subbers who's overhead consists of Mountain Dew and pretzels.......... as opposed to rights, distribution infrastructure, advertising, translator and tech salaries, taxes, legal fees, printing, inventory and rent or property taxes on the spaces needed to house said overhead.

This is not good.

<sub>UPDATE: There is very good discussion in the comments at the Chizumatic post.

ADV's website is currently down.</sub>

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M. Night Shyamalan has produced some of the absolute best suspense films  of the last several years. His works are  highly regarded for their atmosphere creepiness, quirkiness, and  totally unexpected twists.

Now, with "The Happening" Shyamalan hits his viewers with what may be the most superbly crafted "GOTCHA!" of his career.

...a film that sucks ass.

Being familiar with the mans body of work I was utterly unprepared for this.

Thus another feather in the mans cap I suppose.

This is not to say that it is not a creepy film, at least at first...
There are some truly  horrific moments, all the more terrifying for their matter of fact presentation. The film , however, doesn't really get out of a sort of one trick pony rut except to preach about the irredeemable ills of industrialized civilization, and, with not a hint of irony, expound on the inherently evil nature of rural people (who as everyone in Hollywood knows are crazy, murderous, or both). There is also provided as comic relief, a befuddled military enlisted man who seems to be based on Gomer Pyle and a crazy, hot-dog-munching hippie couple who are, of course, a fountain of insight.

All of this is paint by the numbers situation normal for Hollywood...which given that this is a Shyamalan picture is really surprising...so you get 2, count them 2 utter surprises in one film!

The above list of Brickmuppet pet peeves would certainly be forgivable if the film were satisfying PC Greenpeace claptrap, but the last 20-30 minutes of the film tends to rather amble along and then just sort of ends....most unsatisfingly I might add... and that is simply not forgiveable.

I could have seen the Hulk...

1.5 Bricks

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Pixy provides us with this version of Hatsune Miku doing the caramel dance...

No really, you should click on it...



Wait for it....

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Not one of mine...found on the interwebz....

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...from John C. Wright...

....And then there are the triple-backflipping ninja-Viking deathcars, covered with spikes, that try to mug Our Hero with their hidden weapons systems. And there are ninjas. And a monkey.

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Over at Chizumatic, Steven explains why he feels a cold wind blowing. Oddly, this is based on the small number of ads in Protoculture Addicts, which is basically a very professional fanzine, however I fear his chilliness is not unwarranted, as has been suggested more than once .
 There is some interesting discussion in his comments. Go ahead and comment over there.


Update: Colder still (via)


Sad girl in snow is a screen cap from Kanon...obtained via the default source for all sad girl in snow needs.

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 I've watched the DVD set of third season of Dr Who over the last few days. After the stellar first two seasons I had highly anticipated this.

Good points:
About the hottest "companion" ever. Freema Agyeman give a superb performance as Martha Jones, a savvy, and gorgeous med student who joins the Dr. on his trips through time and space. Martha is sharp as a tack, a fast learner and quite level headed.

Capt Jack is back! Woot!

Daleks...screeching and killing (while screeching).

The cat dude in the traffic jam...and his family.

Several interesting stories with neat ideas, great effects and superb pacing.

Bad points:
Most of those stories were saddled with tedious subplots ripped  from the headlines of...er...ABC afterschool specials.

Not enough Daleks screeching (and killing while screeching).

The 'Docktah' is not just PC, but seems to be channeling Leon Kass at times.

Pig people...which go a long way to cancel out Daleks....

The Doctor comes off as even more of a pompous, callous ass...

...and he keeps pining for Rose (a previous companion).
****************************************************
I did not see "Blink" as it refused to play on my computer.

Very uneven season, most disappointing were the Dalek episodes, (which was a very interesting concept muddled by silly, unnecessary subplots, pig-people and a high pitched squeaky voice) and the season finale, which started off absolutely superb, built fantastically and petered out with a Gainax ending of sorts. "Kumbyah "is not an acceptable way to end a trancendental alien threat

Nevertheless it was, still enjoyable, though it is by far the weakest of the 3 I've seen thus far. I hope this trend doesn't continue.

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Via Wonderduck

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Hunters...


A fangirl relaxes with a good book.

OK...a book....

                                     


A cat...blogging...
                    

Blogging more than me right now actually.
                              

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Astro posts on the assembly of his super-dimensional,  wave motion,  Minovsky modulated, paxis enhanced, shizuma powered, media optimized PC.

More importantly, at the end of said post he  reveals  that  Welcome to the NHK volume 4 is not just a forlorn hope to be cruelly dashed...but an actual tangible item available for purchase! He has spoileriffic video to prove it!

Wo0t!!

This black comedy is tasteless, merciless, and sadistically cruel to its target audience. It is also one of the better character shows in recent years.The neurotic ensemble is very well realized and several of the characters are actually quite poignant.

One thing that is remarkable about this series is the dub. I'm more tolerant of dubs than many fans as I often am doing other things while the TV is on, however this, hands down, one is one of the best I have ever heard  for a TV show. Only Black Lagoon had voice acting and direction this good.

As to volume 3, it was excellent and the ending left me really fearful of the possibility that #4 would never ship due to ADV's recent issues.

( Being slow, I did not realize what was up until she tossed the cellphone.)

Anyway, I highly recommend this show. 

Please avail yourself of spoiler tags in the comments.

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Though an expert on silver screen obscurity,  Pulpjunkie does not do anime reviews for the most part, and a hand injury has kept him from blogging for some time, but he recently E-mailed, to a mailing list I belong to, this overview of the upcoming shows and I've reprinted it with permission adding you-tubes of the OP's or promos where available.

April is one of the big premiere months for anime TV shows (January, July,
and October are the other 3). and this year is a doozy! Over 30 anime
shows begin this month. The first few fansubs are trickling out, and, as
expected, the harem shows are first. Still, I'll try to give some brief
reviews of first episodes as I watch them.

Browsing the "calendar" section over at anidb.net, I find the following:
8 sequel/returning shows: Yu-Gi-Oh 5D's; Kyou Kara Maou! 3rd series;
3XHolic Kei; Blue Dragon: The Seven Dragons of the Sky; Da Capo II Second Season; Code  Geass Lelouch of the Rebellion R2; Neo Angelique Abyss; and Hidamari Sketch x 365.

4 shows for children/families: Net Ghost Pipopa (Pokemon-esque); Onegai My Melody Kirara (Hello Kitty-esque); Uchi no 3 Shimai (family comedy); Chi's Sweet Home (something about a kitten); plus two more from the sequel list
(Yu-Gi-Oh and Blue Dragon). This sort of answers Ken's question to me from a couple of months ago regarding whether the little kids have any cartoons to watch over there. Surely there must be some other kids' shows on thatstarted earlier. A quick glance at AniDB's "schedule" section shows me that, yes the little kids are alright: They've got plenty of shows that
don't involve panty shots, improbable cleavage and bloody carnage. It
seems they're still watching  Chibi Maruko-chan, Doraemon, Pokemon, GeGeGe no Kitaro, Sgt. Frog, Crayon Shin-chan, and Pretty Cure plus shows about
cute little ninja, or talking food or something. they got it covered.

2 shoujou school romances: Itazura no Kiss and Special A.

7 scifi war/adventure shows: Allison to Lillia (orphanage pals hunt for
treasure while a war rages around them; Real Drive (more VR hijinks from
Masamune Shirow); Crystal Blaze (near(?) future private eye); Library Wars
(hi, Barb!); Blassreiter (mecha vs. demons); Kaiba (can something be retro
and avant garde at the same time?); and Macross Frontier, of course.

9 contemporary action shows: Kurenai; Zettai Karen Children (trio of
powerful ten-year-old epsers work for government agency; maybe should be
in the kids' section); Soul Eater (shinigami school action; so last year);
Nabari no Ou (ninja action);  Vampire Knight (shoujou vampire romance with guns); Monochrome Factor (Perfectly Ordinary Japanese Teenager chosen to fight shadow demons); Himitsu: the Revelation; Golgo 13 (...); Daughter of 20-Faces (teen girl is daughter of master criminal; based on an Edogawa Rampo character).

2 period action shows; Mugen no Juunin (ronin cursed with immortality
can't die until he slays 1000 evil men); Amatsuki (modern teen trapped in
virtual Edo).

What's left? A few magic girlfriend/harem show love comedies: To-Love-Ru
(alien princess); Kanokon (fox-girl); and Wagaya no Oinara-sama (another
fox-girl; are they this year's shinigami?). Kyouran Kazoku Nikki might fit
here, too. Need more info. Jonjou Romantica is a shounen ai series. Moving
along now... Druaga no To: the Aegis of Uruk is a fantasy adventure/comedy
(not sure about the comedy part; art looks serious; hoping for the best).

Which brings us finally to: Kamen no Maid Guy. Yep, Kamen no Maid Guy. A Perfectly Ordinary Japanese Teenager discovers she's going to inherit a
fortune when she turns 18. In the meantime, she's been assigned a pair of
bodyguard/maids (and I quote): "Fubuki, a young and beautiful maid, and
Kogarashi, a big burly maid guy with a mask." So there you have it.

Plus: Lupin III: Green Vs. Red TV special. Good times.

Any thoughts, sirs and ladies?
T

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Persepopolis, the autobiographical  graphic novel by Marjane Satrapi detailing her childhood in Iran in the years leading up to and during the revolution is now an animated film. The book is quite good and I'm looking forward to the movie. I'm glad to see they kept the look of the comic.

Here are some clips....




I'm pleasantly surprised that the film got made, but even more surprised to have found these .gifs on....er....4-chan of all places. 



more...

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I hold in my sweaty little palms volume 3 of Welcome to the NHK!

I had just about given up on this given ADV's recent troubles but tonight I look forward to being as offended and appalled by this merciless expose' of dysfunctional otakuism and others at the fringes of society as I was in the first two volumes.

This show is merciless, but strangely touching and funny as hell...

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   This weekend I drove up to Maryland to see some friends and watch some of the new anime.

A few notes

Ghost Hound...

...has already been commented on by Don and Astro. It seems that it is going to concern a group of school kids dealing with the supernatural. Moody, dark and subtly atmospheric, the first episode starts quite slow but becomes very intriguing as it progresses.  By the end we all found it quite fascinating. I only saw episode one, but I'm quite eager to see more. The series has a feel reminiscent of Hammer film or British telephantasy from the 70's or 80s.. No actual horror occurs in the episode though some is hinted at via flashback. This one looks good. The only downside was that we only had episode one.

The soundtrack is quite good too...

Rosary and Glompire Vampire...

  ...has been commented upon by lots of people. It is actually an interesting high school romance/sitcom, but its likable protagonists, and good characterizations are somewhat undercut by the copious, over the top fan service.

Young hero gets sent to a new school. Unfortunately he discovers that an awful bureaucratic mistake has been made.

The school has 3 main problems.

1:It is a school for monsters...man eating shape shifting monsters of various types. (Our hero is not a monster)

2: The "bus" only comes once in a blue moon.

3: The uniforms are an outlandish shade of teal that go with nothing....unless someone has, say, pink hair.

 Fortunately he befriends a young vampire who is quite impressed both by his general decency and the fact that he is full of fresh human blood (a rare commodity at the school). She agrees to keep his secret and, it turns out has a few of her own. His other lucky break is that everyone is required by school rules to maintain human form. This is quite hard for many of them, but our hero is likely going to get an "A" in Maintaining Human Visage 101....if he lives long enough.

Spice and Wolf

Pagan wolf goddess is released from the village field to which she was bound and takes up in a bale of wheat (!?) in the possession of a medieval trader in the land of Psudohistorieurope....As paganism is on the wane, the Goddess, (whose human form is, unsurprisingly, a teenage human girl with wolf ears and a tail)....asks the trader to take her to the far north.

Our unlikely team go from town to town trading pelts for apples and apples for wheat and....generally give the audience a lesson in barter level economics.

Very dry show....but strangely engaging.

They are my Noble Masters

In order to escape an abusive father Ren Uesugi and his sister Mihato run away from home. They end up camping out in the city and Ren ends up saving a wealthy heiress. Taken to the mansion where she lives for a thank you dinner they try to get hired as servants, and, after getting into a fight with the wait staff, are allowed one week in which to prove themselves.

Mad scientist-lolis, maids, combat butlers, and various other horrors await our brother and sister team.

I laughed.

One funny thing about this obvious Hayate clone, they are quite aware they are the "other butler show"....and mock themselves for it. 

Minami-ke Okawari

Pleasant, understated and somewhat odd slice of life show concerning three sisters who live alone. Wonderduck will love it. It made Don uneasy.

The show is fan service free...but still ruthlessly mocks the censors....

 In other news Astro is not actually gone, he is blogging elsewhere..update your bookmarks!

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1 Oddly, the bloom fell off the rose with Minami-ke and myself.  I haven't even finished the first series yet.

Posted by: Wonderduck at Tue Mar 11 00:55:42 2008 (Hrqgp)

2 Wolf and Spice is wonderful. Don't listen to the haters. With that and Shigofumi this season has been surprisingly good.

Posted by: astro at Wed Mar 12 21:12:37 2008 (DSm6K)

3 I really liked it (Spice and Wolf). It is quite low key but interesting on a number of levels.

I'm in a minority though, I got the disbelieving stare when I asked to see ep 4 

Posted by: The Brickmuppet at Wed Mar 12 21:26:16 2008 (6MFde)

4

Please note, for the record, that I'm still watching Spicy Wolf.  I just can't imagine a situation where I'd recommend it to anybody.  It's too dry.  GOOD, but dry.

Shigofumi, though... good stuff there, I just need to dig up some time to catch up on it.

Posted by: Wonderduck at Thu Mar 13 08:26:31 2008 (gwUM9)

5 I'd seen that shorter Spicy Wolf, but I didn't get it until I read this post.  Doh!

Posted by: Pixy Misa at Mon Mar 24 05:05:04 2008 (PiXy!)

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Chun-Li turned 40 on Saturday!

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