Category: Anime
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Top 12 anime of 2012
Read More →: Top 12 anime of 2012The last time I wrote a list like this was back in 2007. Can you believe it’s been 5 years since then? 5 years since Gurren Lagann? I don’t know how I’ve lasted this long. The pace of my blogging has slowed since then, too. In 2007, I made 82 posts; in 2012, this will…
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Head/heart
Read More →: Head/heartBeing an anime fan at the moment is fun. The Autumn season has really upped the ante, with two series in Shin Sekai Yori (From the New World) and Psycho-Pass proving fascinating in different ways. I’ve already written about Shin Sekai Yori. It’s a series that stole my heart almost as soon as it appeared, through…
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I Get to Burning For Nadesico
Read More →: I Get to Burning For NadesicoRightstuf is on a streak of licensing critically-acclaimed, but undervalued, shows. They released Utena in 2011 and announced the future release of Rose of Versailles. My favorite recent Rightstuf release remains Nadesico. Unlike Utena, Nadesico has always been available used at an affordable price even after the ADV release went out of print, so I was surprised…
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Say I love you or they won’t want you; sexual capital in Sukitte Ii Na Yo
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Read More →: Say I love you or they won’t want you; sexual capital in Sukitte Ii Na YoI read quite a bit of shoujo manga. As such, I was quite pleased to see that Sukitte Ii Na Yo received an anime adaption this fall. It’s an interesting one, because, while stubbornly about teenagers’ romantic involvements, it really isn’t. If you’re watching Sukitte Ii Na Yo, or if you’ve written it off as ‘just another shoujo show’,…
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Broken Apple: Shin Sekai Yori
Read More →: Broken Apple: Shin Sekai YoriMany of us are optimists and like to think there’s an innate sense of goodness within us all, but given a God’s power, how would we react? Shin Sekai Yori (From the New World) answers that question within its first 3 minutes: upon the discovery of psychokinesis, civilisation regresses into a thousand year-long dark age,…
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Survive, you shit!
Read More →: Survive, you shit!There’s no denying that I adore survivalist fiction. For example, I love Romero’s zombie films because they are all about surviving (and inevitably failing in) an impossible situation: a world overrun with violent madness. In terms of anime, I’ve often talked up Blue Gender, but there’s also Gantz, Infinite Ryvius and Highschool of the Dead:…
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A distant light: Hyouka
Read More →: A distant light: HyoukaSomewhere between its Autumn lights and shifting leaves, there’s a warmth in Hyouka. Warm is a good way of describing the series, emotional is another. Not emotional in a melodramatic sense, but rather, one feels a liveliness coursing through every table leg and dusty bookshelf in the series. It has the sense of a story…
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Life imitates art: the TED Prize
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Read More →: Life imitates art: the TED PrizeIn a somewhat odd series of events, the TED prize (associated with the eponymous talk-producing website, naturally) – normally $100,000 USD has increased to a total sum of $1,000,000. Moreover, the process by which the prize is awarded has changed slightly. To quote the organization’s blog post: “But, while historically the prize has been awarded to…
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Anime still has it: Space Brothers
Read More →: Anime still has it: Space BrothersFor a while there, I stopped believing that the anime industry was capable of crafting shows like Space Brothers (Uchū Kyōdai.) When I seriously started getting into anime, there were series like Planetes, Gankutsuou, Monster and Mushishi all being released in and around the same time. These were series not influenced by other anime and…
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Virtual/Reality: Sword Art Online
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Read More →: Virtual/Reality: Sword Art Online“There is no doubt that this is a virtual world, that everything we see and touch is an imitation created from data. But to us, our hearts do exist within this reality. If that’s true, then everything we’re experiencing here should also be true.” Asuna, Sword Art Online I’ve never played an MMO, but I’ve…
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Lost in Transition: Gunbuster the Movie
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Read More →: Lost in Transition: Gunbuster the MovieI had low expectations when I bought the Gunbuster movie on blu-ray. The visuals looked underwhelming, as did the plot summary. Still, I felt that as an anime fan I had an obligation to watch a Gainax classic, and I’m happy I did. Gainax could have created a forgettable story about girls battling aliens with giant…
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Liking Muv-Luv Alternative: Total Eclipse? See also…
Read More →: Liking Muv-Luv Alternative: Total Eclipse? See also…Earth’s invaded, humanity’s out-matched and Japan’s moe legions are our first line of defence. Would you feel confident?
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The girl who became a zombie
Read More →: The girl who became a zombieI’m utterly torn by Sankarea. It has beautiful art direction and some fascinating ideas, but it’s also about as exploitative as anime gets. There’s just so much to like about it though, starting with the girl who became a zombie. Of course, to become a zombie, one must first die. Sanka commits suicide because her…
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I'm scared of you, let's have sex: Time of Eve
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Read More →: I'm scared of you, let's have sex: Time of EveTime of Eve is about a Japanese society assisted by intelligent, human-form androids. It draws heavily from the robots of Isaac Asimov’s books. Asimov’s and Time of Eve‘s robots are bound by a set of three laws that prevent them from harming humans or allowing humans to come to harm. Both Asimov’s and Time of Eve’s…
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Out of print: First world problems
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Read More →: Out of print: First world problemsLast night I started learning French. Why? Because I want to read manga. This all started earlier in the year, when I noticed how a lot of English-translated anime and manga were going out of print. And when stuff goes out of print, it either gets expensive (often ridiculously so) or just totally disappears. I…
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God mercifully sent an angel to this pathetic, powerless girl
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Read More →: God mercifully sent an angel to this pathetic, powerless girlThere are actually three main characters in Berserk. Guts and Griffith are two, but the other is Casca, the fiercely loyal female commander of the Band of the Hawk.
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A life as a martyr to his dream
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Read More →: A life as a martyr to his dreamEpisode 10 of Berserk is amongst the finest episodes of anime I’ve ever seen. From the moment Guts kills the boy Adonis, we’re forced to re-evaluate the righteousness of Griffith’s conquest and whether it’s worth its price in blood. “But there is one other thing more precious to a man beyond all else. Something one…
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Girls with Guns: Men Please Apply Within
Read More →: Girls with Guns: Men Please Apply WithinFor a different perspective on Phantom see bateszi’s review here. After eight years, three series, six girls, and lots of guns, Bee Train has revolutionized the girls with guns genre by adding… a guy. Men, you too can aspire to be a professional assassin, the last bastion of gender inequality has officially fallen. Joking aside, Phantom:…
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Birdland
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Read More →: BirdlandAlthough I’ve been writing this anime blog for a long time now, over 6 years, in fact, I’m still not sure of the kind of blogger I am. I’m not disciplined enough to write every few days, nor do I enjoy deep analysis of anime. I don’t even really enjoy discussing it to any great…
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A journey into Fate/stay night begins
Read More →: A journey into Fate/stay night beginsUntil Fate/Zero appeared, I’d never planned on watching Fate/stay night. At the time of its airing back in 2006, it’d always seemed a tad too pandering for my tastes. I knew nothing about it and was happy to keep it that way, but then, last year, I tried watching Fate/Zero and realised that I wanted…
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Veteran Creator Meets Disruptive Business Model
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Read More →: Veteran Creator Meets Disruptive Business ModelCaptain Harlock’s recent availability on Hulu and the release of OZMA highlights the career of Leiji Matsumoto. Matsumoto had a role in seminal 70s and 80s works like Captain Harlock, Starblazers, Galaxy Express 999 and Space Battleship Yamato. With OZMA, Matsumoto returns with a work that harks back to his earlier successes. The series is…
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A missed opportunity: Jormungand
Read More →: A missed opportunity: JormungandI really wanted to like Jormungand. It’s a series about illegal arms dealers and child soldiers, which is not exactly typical fare for anime and sounds interesting. Comparisons to 2006’s fantastic Black Lagoon abound, then, but after 3 episodes, I’m giving up. I realised I had to stop half-way through episode 3, when child soldier…
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Being swept away
Read More →: Being swept awayI have many a faint and fond memory of Eureka Seven, but wasn’t sure how to feel about news of its sequel. It ended with a quite profound sense of finality, after all. Everything that needed to be said, was, and underscored with probably the finest insert song ever used in anime, too. I’m using…
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Sexuality in anime: Mine Fujiko and Faye Valentine
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Read More →: Sexuality in anime: Mine Fujiko and Faye ValentineLike any potentially great anime, the new Lupin the Third: Mine Fujiko to Iu Onna has given us much to talk about already. It’s a beautifully animated, adult series the like of which we haven’t seen in TV anime for a while.
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Hot Topic Meets Anime in Ergo Proxy
Read More →: Hot Topic Meets Anime in Ergo ProxyRemember when goth, and by extension Hot Topic, reigned supreme? Ergo Proxy is basically an anime peopled by fans of Hot Topic. The setting is gritty, and the main character wears black outfits, steal tipped boots and heavy mascara. The color palette skews towards grey and black, and even when the show uses other colors,…
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Giving Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence a second chance
Read More →: Giving Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence a second chanceWhen I first saw Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence I left the screening unimpressed. At the time, it felt like a confusing trip through a philosophical morass. I disliked the Major’s lack of screen time as I loved her central role in the associated TV series. Still, when I heard that Bandai planned to…
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The state of Noitamina and Thermae Romae
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Read More →: The state of Noitamina and Thermae RomaeIt’s fair to say that, critically, 2011 was a poor year for Noitamina and (with Guilty Crown in tow) is currently at its lowest ebb. It’s now suffering from an identity crisis, no longer the bastion of josei anime it once was. Chihayafuru is a good example of what’s meant by that; a series that…
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Returning, being a superficial anime fan and Rinne no Lagrange
Read More →: Returning, being a superficial anime fan and Rinne no LagrangeIt’s been a while since my last post. Around a month, in fact. Through-out February, I took something of a break from anime. I’ve been keeping up with One Piece, but that’s about it. This wasn’t a planned thing, either. I just stopped watching anime. Winter hasn’t helped, either. Although a notoriously poor time for…
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But I'll be Peter Pan forever: To Aru Majutsu no Index and I
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Read More →: But I'll be Peter Pan forever: To Aru Majutsu no Index and IIt’s a common story. A Saturday night, no plans. What do I do? Seek out a new anime to watch, of course.
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Madlax aka What's wrong with the anime industry
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Read More →: Madlax aka What's wrong with the anime industryYoung women with gun skills? Check. Mysterious organization that runs the world? Check. Quasi-religious mysticism? Check. Noir only lasted one season, but if you started watching Madlax and thought it was Noir Season 2 I wouldn’t blame you. Madlax isn’t a complete copy of Noir, it does tread new ground after about 20 episodes or so. And…
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Because you need a little violence in your life: Dr. Mohiro Kitoh's fabulous depression
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Read More →: Because you need a little violence in your life: Dr. Mohiro Kitoh's fabulous depressionOne thing we may deduce about author Mohiro Kitoh from Bokurano and Narutaru is that he probably had a few bad experiences growing up. It’s otherwise very difficult to understand why his stories about children are quite so fucked-up. Case in post, Narutaru, of which I just finished watching the anime adaptation.
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Anime Trends 2011: At least no one (of note) went bankrupt
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Read More →: Anime Trends 2011: At least no one (of note) went bankruptAll told, 2011 was a stable year in the anime business. No anime company of any worth (so 4Kids doesn’t count) went bankrupt, although over in the manga world TokyoPop bit the bullet. The tsunami and resulting nuclear incident will unfortunately overshadow anything else that happened with anime this year. While there were no dramatic…
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Lost Along the Way from Utena to Star Driver
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/ AnimeRead More →: Lost Along the Way from Utena to Star Driverbateszi has already ruminated on the connection between Star Driver and Utena and while I’m a bit late to the party, I wanted to add my own reflections. Right now I’m watching Utena for the first time while finishing Star Driver on Crunchyroll. Fortuitously, I just finished Episode 4 of Utena a few hours after watching Episode…
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Darker than Black is the new black
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Read More →: Darker than Black is the new blackDarker than Black is an enigma. The more I watch it, the less I understand how I feel about it. I wanted to write an article extolling its virtues, for example its deep characters and beautiful art. Then I went back and re-watched season 1 and did a double take, was this the same show…
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An odyssey in Haruhi Suzumiya
Read More →: An odyssey in Haruhi SuzumiyaI sat through all of Endless Eight, or rather, I nearly did. I fully intended to, which is the important thing.
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On Wolf's Rain
Read More →: On Wolf's RainI first watched Wolf’s Rain in 2003, just as I was beginning to ramp up my interest in anime. I remember a few things about it: being absolutely traumatised by its ending and being spell-bound by Yoko Kanno’s music. Following on from the similarly fondly remembered RahXephon, it made a fan of Studio Bones out…
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Dear anime industry, think before you tweet
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Read More →: Dear anime industry, think before you tweetMy name is Dengar and I have a problem. My problem has a name, Twitter. Ever since I joined, I’ve been addicted to getting rapid news updates. It’s particularly convenient as a way to track anime news from companies like Funimation, Aniplex and Viz. Most of the tweets from the companies are acceptable, if not…
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An anatomy of a gaze
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Read More →: An anatomy of a gazeThough I suppose anatomy of a pose might be a better title for this post. I’m in love with by this image of Himari. Rather, boushi-san, or hat-san, as Shouma calls Himari’s possessed form. This image, seen in Mawaru Penguindrum’s second opening, Shounen yo, Ware ni Kaere, has been captivating me for some weeks now.
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36 hours wasn't enough? Yet another Hunter x Hunter
Read More →: 36 hours wasn't enough? Yet another Hunter x HunterWhy base your new show, video game, or movie on an innovative new idea when you can instead re-release a 10 year old one? That is the logic behind making endless sequels. It’s the thinking that brought us Call of Duty 8, Super Mario 10 and now a reboot of Hunter x Hunter. The original…
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The eyes of a wolf: Ben-To's awesome
Read More →: The eyes of a wolf: Ben-To's awesomeThere’s a few different tactics one can employ when approaching a new season of anime. You can either jump straight in during the first week or wait a while longer for the dust to settle; neither choice is perfect, but for this season at least, I decided to wait for 3 episodes to be released…
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Sorry women, distributors don't like you
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Read More →: Sorry women, distributors don't like youI love when the mainstream media tackles anime. Tomorrow’s New York Times’ features a story about the business opportunities in streaming anime. In its discussion of what shows work, the articles drops this great quote: “The small but avid audience is made up of mostly male viewers aged 18 to 34. Distributors said comedies, sports…
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How many lawyers does it take to screw up an anime series?
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Read More →: How many lawyers does it take to screw up an anime series?Licensing agreements are usually kept top secret for business reasons. That is, until one company (allegedly) breaches the agreement and then goes bankrupt. At that point the court system takes over and the dirty laundry become public. That is exactly what happened when 4Kids got Yu-Gi-Oh! from TV Tokyo. The upshot of the fighting is…
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Blood-C: one long descent into chaos
Read More →: Blood-C: one long descent into chaosSeries like Blood-C catch my eye. At some point during its airing, I got the impression it was bad: the weekly reviews at Sea Slugs and Moe Sucks say as much and more, but since finishing, I’ve also read takes at chaostangent and S01E01 that say the opposite. Having now seen it for myself over…
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Quantum is .hack as it should have been, albeit now too late
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Read More →: Quantum is .hack as it should have been, albeit now too late.hack//SIGN was one of the first anime shown by Cartoon Network and it left a lasting, negative impression on me: an otherwise brilliant show with a plot that went nowhere. .Hack//Quantum is the latest iteration of the series. It is .hack//SIGN as it should have been. It’s not a remake, just a three episode version…
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A family in One Piece
Read More →: A family in One PieceWhitebeard was always a big, strong guy, then he ate the Earthquake fruit and became feared the world over. He could’ve turned the planet upside-down, but didn’t. He was a cool guy, and watching him lead his men in such an era-shifting arc of One Piece was brilliant.
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Streaming is good, streaming is right, streaming works.
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Read More →: Streaming is good, streaming is right, streaming works.Digital is the future of video media. Funimation’s announcement of a new premium streaming service this weekend shows that it recognizes what it needs to do to maximize its profits. Up until now, Funimation mostly used streaming to advertise its physical disc releases. I think this announcement reveals the company’s true online strategy, to use…
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This place of dreams and ghosts
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Read More →: This place of dreams and ghostsIt was around this time last year that I started watching Aria. I loved the first series, but stalled at some point during the second (Aria the Animation.) This week, though, I came back to it. It felt new to me all over again, that sense of peace so typical of how I’ve felt about…
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September 2011: What we're watching
Read More →: September 2011: What we're watching(dengar) Our monthly (more like quarterly or semi-annual) anime feature continues with an update on several current series we’ve reviewed previously. Read on for a return look at Steins;Gate, Tiger & Bunny and Mawaru Penguindrum. (bateszi) I hope you enjoy the lovely colours I’ve used to mark our names this time! …What was that you mumbled…
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Back to School
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Read More →: Back to SchoolSeptember in the US means the end of summer vacation and the beginning of the school year. Kids spend more of their lives at school than anywhere else and I’d wager that more shows are set in schools than in any other setting. Even though school based shows have the same setting, some of them…