Month: September 2006
-
New layout, same person
Read More →: New layout, same personDeveloping in the background for a fair few weeks now, I’m pleased (though… perhaps relieved is a better word?!) to finally unveil the colourful new layout of “Bateszi Anime Blog”! In an attempt to break away from my conventional (boring) grey style, I’ve ended up with a “passionate” red colour scheme – gasp – if…
-
Welcome to the NHK! – Anime or manga? Yawn
Read More →: Welcome to the NHK! – Anime or manga? YawnAnime or manga, one is inevitably better than the other – whether it’s just another case of elitism or not, you can always bet on the jumped up manga fans hating the anime adaptations of their favourite stories. This is because the voices you hear in your head will always sound better in comparison with…
-
Naruto – 201 – Weapons of mass destruction
Read More →: Naruto – 201 – Weapons of mass destructionIt’s those damn terrorists again! As we’re all aware, the war on terror knows no bounds, and now, not even our anime is safe! The beloved hidden village of the leaf (known to gurning locals as Konoha) has become the target of crafty suicide bombers – who could have suspected berserk eagles with explosives strapped…
-
Hunter X Hunter – First Impressions
Read More →: Hunter X Hunter – First ImpressionsI make no secret of my affection for Shounen Jump anime, from Dragonball Z to Rurouni Kenshin, by way of Naruto and One Piece, it’s a genre – incredibly formulaic though it is – that I drag myself back to again and again, pumped and ready for another sweaty training montage and trash talking decidedly…
-
Naruto – 200 – Filling time with ninja
Read More →: Naruto – 200 – Filling time with ninjaIt has been a while since I last caught up with Naruto – still its a series I treasure deep within my heart, but these ever enduring “filler dark ages” are even dwindling the concrete enthusiasm I once felt for master Rock Lee and his “spring time of youth”. True to Naruto’s emphasis on fighting…
-
Sci-Fi Harry – Does exactly what it says on the tin
Read More →: Sci-Fi Harry – Does exactly what it says on the tinUneducated and ignorant, my first taste of this most leafy of seasons is the earnestly dubbed “Sci-Fi Harry”. I knew absolutely nothing of this show before today and the only reason I figured I’d give it a try is because of the wonderfully unprentious name. It is literally what it says on the tin –…
-
Welcome to the NHK! – 9 – Sparkling festival fireworks
Read More →: Welcome to the NHK! – 9 – Sparkling festival fireworksAn unusually positive and uplifting instalment of NHK!, I wasn’t planning on commenting on this episode but the sparkling festival fireworks always get me. So bright, so beautiful, so romantic. Even Yamazaki gets some lovin’. This is so far the best episode, a dizzy mixture of jilted love and romantic despair, it astutly comments on…
-
The sudden realisation of a tired anime fan
Read More →: The sudden realisation of a tired anime fanI’ve had so much fun watching Giant Robo for the first time this weekend – an impossibly epic, jaw dropping spectacle set against frame after frame of sprawling neon-lit cityscapes and the kind of fluidic action packed excitement you just don’t see anymore in modern anime – it has again sparked that raw enthusiasm for…
-
Mushishi – 25 – Even without eyeballs, tears run
Read More →: Mushishi – 25 – Even without eyeballs, tears runAlthough it would be harsh to say Mushishi had been in the doldrums of late, I must admit that the episodes succeeding number 20 have often flattered to deceive. It still looks as gob-smackingly beautiful as ever, but feels like more of a remote beauty, something I can admire but hardly love. I’m rejoicing then…
-
Elitism within anime circles
Read More →: Elitism within anime circlesFor many people being an anime fan is like holding on to precious secret deep within one’s soul – and if said secret were suddenly revealed, it would lose all value and be cast aside like last weeks old news. Mirroring the music scene when the underground trendy band signs for a major record label…
-
Welcome to the NHK! – 8 – Meet the parent
Read More →: Welcome to the NHK! – 8 – Meet the parentIt’s time to meet the parents, only Satou doesn’t have a girlfriend, or a job, or a life outside of his apartment, making the whole arrangement pretty awkward from the get-go. If only Robert De Niro was his Dad – what laughs we would have! Judging by his mother’s phone call in the previous episode,…
-
Trapped in an ice cold back log hell: September
Read More →: Trapped in an ice cold back log hell: SeptemberSuch is my addiction to the routine of watching anime – I horde a ridiculous amount of fansubs, promising myself I will catch up with them sooner or later, yet knowing deep down that it may never happen. As I enviously cast my eyes across the blogsphere, I usually get the urge to write one…
-
Elfen Lied – 8 through 10 – Subverting the cute
Read More →: Elfen Lied – 8 through 10 – Subverting the cuteAgain Elfen Lied defies it’s pretty style and delivers a trio of episodes that are anything but. Subverting the look of its cute characters, it clearly delights in extreme mental and physical abuse — the disgusting bludgeoning of a helpless young puppy aptly symbolises how innocence and weakness is exploited in Elfen Lied, and that’s…