Once more, we have anime that is set as a legit part of a game's storyline. We visited this scenario before in post 22 covering Devil May Cry. This time, it's the game Tales of Vesperia, another game created by Namco Bandai games, and it has a prequel anime film called Tales of Vesperia: The First Strike.
Obviously, it tells the events prior to the game's setting, but more so in the past of the protagonists. Continuity is in question, and it isn't entirely clear exactly when this takes place, but supposedly, this is 10 years after the Great War (the game goes into detail as to what the war dealt with.) The story kicks off as the previous Emperor passes away in the Imperial Capital of Zaphias. People use the substance known as aer for day to day living, be it for mere handwork or for defensive purposes. When gathered, large amount of aer is concentrated in a crystallized form known as Apatheia, which people use in inventions known as blastia. Whether to fight off monsters, or to protect the town, Apatheia is used and cores are made, to be used in various blastia, more commonly for Barrier Blastia to fend off monsters from the outside. Even with all of this, and save that there has been no heir prior to the Emperor's death, Zaphias' Imperial Knights still perform their duties of defending the people outside the towns.
Childhood friends Yuri Lowell and Flynn Scifo (both protagonists of the game) are seen as new recruits of the Imperial Knights, fed up with the treatment they were forced to endure within their home, Zaphias' Lower Quarter, thus, wanted to change and uphold the laws from within. With new characters known altogether as the Niren Corps, Yuri and Flynn, alongside the puppy Repede, encounter many trials and tribulations of being a knight (with a conflict that revisits somewhat in-game.) Aside from those three, we also see other characters known from the games: the mage Rita Mordio, Princess Estellise, and the mysterious old man Raven. Protagonists omitted were Judith, Karol Capel, and the PS3-exclusive Patty Fleur. The movie tells of the many conflicts as an Imperial Knight, which leads to his resentment towards being one in the game.
Nearly 2 hours in length, the animation was done in studio Production I.G., also responsible for the animated scenes in game. For now, it's a Japanese release under Kadokawa Pictures, which came out in 2009, a year after the Xbox 360 game was released in both Japan and US. While it's unknown if it'll be dubbed at all, Funimation has gained the license for the animated movie, with release rumored to be sometime in 2012, but this isn't confirmed quite yet. While the concern of continuity was posed before, it poses more of a concern with the Japan exclusive PlayStation 3 game, released the same year. But judging by the dialogue involved within the game, ToV: The First Strike bears some relevance to the game storyline, mainly into Yuri/Flynn's character development.
I enjoyed it, but found it's conflict (late in the film) all too familiar with the game's, save for numerous factors. In any case, ToV: The First Strike gets a 7 of 10 from me, and while I am quite the fan of the game, I was a bit disappointed with the prequel film, for it didn't amaze me much as far as the protagonists' pasts. Still, to be 1 of 4 animated adaptions of the Tales game series, I was pleased.
2011/10/29
1st Impressions: "Mobile Suit Gundam AGE"
Breaking my normal routine once more, I'm introducing a new post called 1st Impressions: mainly to give a POV regarding a newly launched title. To start, I'll use the premiered anime Mobile Suit Gundam AGE.
For the most part, people have blasted this, mainly because it involves a young boy as the protagonist and pilot. Not to restate what others have said before me, but this isn't the first Gundam piece to do so, if people even bothered to look at Mobile Suit Victory Gundam (which was surprisingly darker than expected.) Even so, released still footage and trailers have received what I would like to call pre-release criticism by most of the Gundam fanbase, granted that half of those haven't seen any other works aside from what was shown here, which I would list, but that's not my goal this time.
It isn't popular as of yet (positively popular, anyway), but little by little, we're seeing this anime kick off, mostly online thanks to Gundam.info and whoever streams the episodes. I checked it out, and frankly... I don't see what the huge deal is. The surmise is that it takes place in an entirely new century, in standard tradition, we'll call this the Advance Generation, or A.G. Era, the main story kicking off in the year A.G. 108. Thanks to an attack on the space colony Ovan by the UE (unknown enemy), young Flit Asuno loses his mother in the midst of the destruction, watching her as she is buried under the burning rubble. He is handed the AGE Device, and within it he finds the blueprints for the infamous robot that has quelled conflicts time and again - the mobile suit called Gundam. Using these blueprints, and the several years of his engineering studies, just as the UE attacks Nora, he completes it: Gundam AGE-1.
Oddly enough, this is perhaps the first Gundam title that has a storyline based on generations, with young Flit being the first to pilot AGE-1 Normal. In addition, another first is that this particular title was done in part with game developer Level-5, who worked on a game of the franchise prior to AGE's concept. The character design heavily differs from past titles, which is noticeable when compared to the previous titles that released, those being Mobile Suit Gundam Unicorn and Mobile Suit Gundam 00. As of now, there are only 3 episodes, and being the newborn series that it is, there is no English cast, let alone any plans for US licensing as of yet. As a Gundam fan, I was kinda worried when this was announced, but I was pleased when I actually saw the episode, but kept hearing remarks about it possibly being kiddy, based mostly on the design. Hard to agree with, considering we see the demise of someone close to him in the first episode (which has been a common thing since the original Mobile Suit Gundam.)
Maybe I'm calling it too quick, but I don't see anything wrong with it for the most part. In fact, I'm waiting until they kick it to the second generation of the protagonist, that alone has me curious about the series. I can't say it's a hit, but as of now, I'm not disappointed. That's all for my first take.
For the most part, people have blasted this, mainly because it involves a young boy as the protagonist and pilot. Not to restate what others have said before me, but this isn't the first Gundam piece to do so, if people even bothered to look at Mobile Suit Victory Gundam (which was surprisingly darker than expected.) Even so, released still footage and trailers have received what I would like to call pre-release criticism by most of the Gundam fanbase, granted that half of those haven't seen any other works aside from what was shown here, which I would list, but that's not my goal this time.
It isn't popular as of yet (positively popular, anyway), but little by little, we're seeing this anime kick off, mostly online thanks to Gundam.info and whoever streams the episodes. I checked it out, and frankly... I don't see what the huge deal is. The surmise is that it takes place in an entirely new century, in standard tradition, we'll call this the Advance Generation, or A.G. Era, the main story kicking off in the year A.G. 108. Thanks to an attack on the space colony Ovan by the UE (unknown enemy), young Flit Asuno loses his mother in the midst of the destruction, watching her as she is buried under the burning rubble. He is handed the AGE Device, and within it he finds the blueprints for the infamous robot that has quelled conflicts time and again - the mobile suit called Gundam. Using these blueprints, and the several years of his engineering studies, just as the UE attacks Nora, he completes it: Gundam AGE-1.
Oddly enough, this is perhaps the first Gundam title that has a storyline based on generations, with young Flit being the first to pilot AGE-1 Normal. In addition, another first is that this particular title was done in part with game developer Level-5, who worked on a game of the franchise prior to AGE's concept. The character design heavily differs from past titles, which is noticeable when compared to the previous titles that released, those being Mobile Suit Gundam Unicorn and Mobile Suit Gundam 00. As of now, there are only 3 episodes, and being the newborn series that it is, there is no English cast, let alone any plans for US licensing as of yet. As a Gundam fan, I was kinda worried when this was announced, but I was pleased when I actually saw the episode, but kept hearing remarks about it possibly being kiddy, based mostly on the design. Hard to agree with, considering we see the demise of someone close to him in the first episode (which has been a common thing since the original Mobile Suit Gundam.)
Maybe I'm calling it too quick, but I don't see anything wrong with it for the most part. In fact, I'm waiting until they kick it to the second generation of the protagonist, that alone has me curious about the series. I can't say it's a hit, but as of now, I'm not disappointed. That's all for my first take.
2011/10/23
CLXXIII: "Mortal Kombat: Legacy"
Branching off from what I normally do, I'm going to talk about a miniseries I managed to catch via the Youtube page of Machinima. You may have heard of it, the title is Mortal Kombat: Legacy. This idea was actually derived from the short film Mortal Kombat: Rebirth, and showed promise for a re-imagined live-action piece, something that hasn't been done since New Line Cinema's Mortal Kombat: Annihilation in 1997 (around the time Midway was still active, who had the MK label). While Warner Bros. and affiliate New Line Cinema didn't back the film originally, supposedly, they gave Legacy's director, Kevin Tancharoen, the go-ahead to direct a larger feature in the future.
Mortal Kombat: Legacy has no linear story, and the episodes are more character specific at best, involving Sonya, Jax, Stryker, Cyrax, Sektor, and some others, roughly a fraction of the characters of the franchise, with some original characters involved, with one of the creators, Ed Boon, also taking part. Each episode deals with at least one of the characters involved, not branching into a set storyline like the two movies. It was also a more realistic approach to the MK universe, though in sense features the main story. The episodes were short however, given the little length allowed in a standard Youtube account. Despite this, a second season is proposed, production set to begin sometime next year, with possible inclusions of characters like Kabal and Goro (though details of the latter need to be sorted out.) It was said that as with the movies, it will carry on the plot of the 10th torunament as with the games, but they won't try to include every single Kombatant, something that MK: Annihilation attempted.
There are a total of 9 episodes, and despite the shortness of each, they'll be seeing a home release to DVD and Blu-Ray, though the episodes are still very much present under Machinima's Youtube page. The second season of this is trying to see an outlet for television, but little is known beyond this regarding the show's platform. Involved with this production are Warner Bros. and their subsidiary game company NetherRealm Studios (which was formerly WB Games Chicago, and before that Midway Games Chicago), who created the 2011 reboot game Mortal Kombat (still called MK9 by players.) For something done solely in US soil, this received high praise as a webseries.
In lieu of the original adaptions from the MK universe, it remains to be the better adaption of Mortal Kombat as to date, and scores 8 of 10 from me. Here's hoping that the rumored film, as well as the second season, lives up to the reception of Legacy's first season.
Mortal Kombat: Legacy has no linear story, and the episodes are more character specific at best, involving Sonya, Jax, Stryker, Cyrax, Sektor, and some others, roughly a fraction of the characters of the franchise, with some original characters involved, with one of the creators, Ed Boon, also taking part. Each episode deals with at least one of the characters involved, not branching into a set storyline like the two movies. It was also a more realistic approach to the MK universe, though in sense features the main story. The episodes were short however, given the little length allowed in a standard Youtube account. Despite this, a second season is proposed, production set to begin sometime next year, with possible inclusions of characters like Kabal and Goro (though details of the latter need to be sorted out.) It was said that as with the movies, it will carry on the plot of the 10th torunament as with the games, but they won't try to include every single Kombatant, something that MK: Annihilation attempted.
There are a total of 9 episodes, and despite the shortness of each, they'll be seeing a home release to DVD and Blu-Ray, though the episodes are still very much present under Machinima's Youtube page. The second season of this is trying to see an outlet for television, but little is known beyond this regarding the show's platform. Involved with this production are Warner Bros. and their subsidiary game company NetherRealm Studios (which was formerly WB Games Chicago, and before that Midway Games Chicago), who created the 2011 reboot game Mortal Kombat (still called MK9 by players.) For something done solely in US soil, this received high praise as a webseries.
In lieu of the original adaptions from the MK universe, it remains to be the better adaption of Mortal Kombat as to date, and scores 8 of 10 from me. Here's hoping that the rumored film, as well as the second season, lives up to the reception of Legacy's first season.
CLXXII: "Super Street Fighter IV OVA"
Once more, like in the previous post, Capcom has a knack for building much publicity over their products. Not taking jabs at Yoshinori Ono, the producer of the Street Fighter IV series and soon to come Street Fighter X Tekken, but this is clearly what people think in regards to spinoff games, OVAs and stuff. Despite this, they continue with Super Street Fighter IV, and much like in post 87 covering Street Fighter IV: The Ties That Bind, there was, to my surprise, an OVA attached to the upgrade as well.
Shorter in length as the sibling OVA before it, you would expect that it lacks any key additions. Well, a bit of a heads up before we get into that. Between Street Fighter IV to Super Street Fighter IV: Arcade Edition (the latest entry), the story changed quite a bit, with the addition of new and returning characters from the franchise: some significant, others just to be there, I guess. Canon-wise, it's hard to say if SSFIV really means anything. I mean, SFIV is the preceding chapter to the Street Fighter III series, and even with the inclusion of characters Yun, Yang, Ibuki, Dudley (all from SFIII: New Generation), and Makoto (from SFIII Third Strike: Fight for the Future), it's very doubtful that their placement in SFIV bears any significance storywise, and somewhat doesn't show in the SFIII games.
That said, along with the game's story, the OVA has a different tale to tell also. While the mainstay antagonists are Shadowloo's S.I.N. Organization and it's leader Seth, there appears a new antagonist, who makes her debut in the game as well. Carrying a Feng Shui Engine in her left eye (akin to Seth's Tanden engine in his torso) the Korean fighter Juri Han causes torment for her former allies, who defected from S.I.N. Doing so, however, endangered the lives of many, all to display the power of the small engine, which was still in the prototype stage. Encountering her was Chun-Li, who didn't last too long against her, and would have been killed, had Juri not spotted Cammy White and Guile approaching. After seeing the damage Chun-Li sustained, the two set out to the conglomerate Sonsa, Juri's next target. Under orders from Seth, she proceeds to beat the pulp out of Bison's brainwashed dolls (remember Juli and Juni from Street Fighter Alpha, anyone?), which upsets the former Killer Bee Cammy, having been one of them herself, and Guile gets in on the action as well. Just who is this Juri Han? Is she merely a pawn of Seth's, or is she hiding other motives like that eye of hers?
The animation itself isn't very long. Someone who voiced their thought on the matter called it a 30+ minute animation with what looks as if merely 10 minutes of work was placed on it. To add to this, it had fewer characters involved, with Ryu, Sakura, and Ken Masters in particular being absent. That aside, the team that created The Ties That Bind, and the animated/still cutscenes for each character in all 3 games worked on this title and this was the last animation that bore Keiji Inafune's name as the executive producer, due to him leaving Capcom afterwards. Studio 4°C and Tatsunoko were absent from this OVA, with production done by Capcom and Gonzo Studio, who did titles like Basilisk and New Fist of the North Star. Officially, it doesn't bear a surname like it's sibling OVA, and wasn't released officially for the US, at least not to my knowledge. I could only assume that in regions like Asia, it was another bonus downloadable that came with SSFIV Collector's Edition, as opposed to a separate disc when SFIV was first released here in the states. Given that bit of info, it's safe to say that the cast of the Japanese language of the game took part, with additional voices for various characters, among which Juli and Juni being voiced by Sachiko Kojima and Haruka Kimura respectively. Needless to say, there was no English VAs for this piece at all, since it wasn't released for here, let alone dubbed.
While it is short, it served its purpose just like its sibling: as a backstory to the game's plot, though essentially there isn't THAT much of a difference in transition between the games. I'll say a 6 or 7 of 10, since it was made as a teaser to the game, save for it being shorter than the former.
Shorter in length as the sibling OVA before it, you would expect that it lacks any key additions. Well, a bit of a heads up before we get into that. Between Street Fighter IV to Super Street Fighter IV: Arcade Edition (the latest entry), the story changed quite a bit, with the addition of new and returning characters from the franchise: some significant, others just to be there, I guess. Canon-wise, it's hard to say if SSFIV really means anything. I mean, SFIV is the preceding chapter to the Street Fighter III series, and even with the inclusion of characters Yun, Yang, Ibuki, Dudley (all from SFIII: New Generation), and Makoto (from SFIII Third Strike: Fight for the Future), it's very doubtful that their placement in SFIV bears any significance storywise, and somewhat doesn't show in the SFIII games.
That said, along with the game's story, the OVA has a different tale to tell also. While the mainstay antagonists are Shadowloo's S.I.N. Organization and it's leader Seth, there appears a new antagonist, who makes her debut in the game as well. Carrying a Feng Shui Engine in her left eye (akin to Seth's Tanden engine in his torso) the Korean fighter Juri Han causes torment for her former allies, who defected from S.I.N. Doing so, however, endangered the lives of many, all to display the power of the small engine, which was still in the prototype stage. Encountering her was Chun-Li, who didn't last too long against her, and would have been killed, had Juri not spotted Cammy White and Guile approaching. After seeing the damage Chun-Li sustained, the two set out to the conglomerate Sonsa, Juri's next target. Under orders from Seth, she proceeds to beat the pulp out of Bison's brainwashed dolls (remember Juli and Juni from Street Fighter Alpha, anyone?), which upsets the former Killer Bee Cammy, having been one of them herself, and Guile gets in on the action as well. Just who is this Juri Han? Is she merely a pawn of Seth's, or is she hiding other motives like that eye of hers?
The animation itself isn't very long. Someone who voiced their thought on the matter called it a 30+ minute animation with what looks as if merely 10 minutes of work was placed on it. To add to this, it had fewer characters involved, with Ryu, Sakura, and Ken Masters in particular being absent. That aside, the team that created The Ties That Bind, and the animated/still cutscenes for each character in all 3 games worked on this title and this was the last animation that bore Keiji Inafune's name as the executive producer, due to him leaving Capcom afterwards. Studio 4°C and Tatsunoko were absent from this OVA, with production done by Capcom and Gonzo Studio, who did titles like Basilisk and New Fist of the North Star. Officially, it doesn't bear a surname like it's sibling OVA, and wasn't released officially for the US, at least not to my knowledge. I could only assume that in regions like Asia, it was another bonus downloadable that came with SSFIV Collector's Edition, as opposed to a separate disc when SFIV was first released here in the states. Given that bit of info, it's safe to say that the cast of the Japanese language of the game took part, with additional voices for various characters, among which Juli and Juni being voiced by Sachiko Kojima and Haruka Kimura respectively. Needless to say, there was no English VAs for this piece at all, since it wasn't released for here, let alone dubbed.
While it is short, it served its purpose just like its sibling: as a backstory to the game's plot, though essentially there isn't THAT much of a difference in transition between the games. I'll say a 6 or 7 of 10, since it was made as a teaser to the game, save for it being shorter than the former.
2011/10/15
CLXXI: "Mahoromatic" series
Oh wow, combat android and maid. Of course, there were titles of the like, while not exactly the same in theme. An example of this is Steel Angel Kurumi, a series I have long reviewed over. Mahoromatic is sort of like that, but plotwise, essentially different.
Mahoro appears to be a normal maid... right. In all seriousness, she's a combat android from a secret organization Vesper, who retired from working on the frontlines to carry out the last of her days as a maid. This is something proven very early as she handles some robbers on the bus, the same one that Suguru Misato just happens to be on. Later, after making herself unannounced in his yard, she tells Suguru about herself, and later becomes his maid. Of course, this sudden change doesn't sit well initially with some people, among which a few of his classmates and his teacher who is after him (wait, what!?) Already alone, Mahoro's arrival seems to bring a spark in Suguru's life, even though they have something in common: the death of a certain man. It's enough that life becomes hectic for Suguru, especially with Mahoro and his teacher Saori Shikijo butting heads, but when her enemies reveal themselves, she must be ready to take arms once more and fight for her life... while she's at risk of losing that peaceful life, and her time is dwindling!
From first glance, I thought the anime would be on the sugary side, but watching just from episode 1 alone, I was off. While it is peaceful and warm in setting, the action picks up when the antagonists reveal themselves. It still has its comedic moments, and it is also a harem anime, so it has its 'moments' here and there. It also contains nudity in some areas, so if it's not your thing, or if you're too young, don't bother looking. Together, the anime in general is "standard length", as it runs for 26 episodes in all. Separately, they aren't much. Mahoromatic: Automatic Maiden lasts for 12 episodes, with the succeeding Mahoromatic: Something More Beautiful featuring 14 episodes. Studios Gainax and Shaft worked on these titles, licensed for US and Canada under Sentai Filmworks. It is also old, dating back to 2001 during its original run of the first anime, and 2002 of the latter anime. But as it is a tragic drama, you can expect some serious moments. The endings are different, and while I say this all the time, this is a case where it can be somewhat similar in result, but the fate of the characters differ. I will say, though, that this title does follow through somewhat to its manga counterpart, but with a few situations taking place there and not in the anime (and vice versa). Mahoro is voiced by Bridget Hoffman in the dub, while Suguru is voiced by Derek Stephen Prince (who, in another harem anime Love Hina, voices Keitaro Urushima), with Wendee Lee providing the voice of him as a child.
Once more, the ending displeased me, as it was a bittersweet one, but overall, I say an 8 of 10 for Mahoromatic, which is ironic because this is how I felt about Witchblade (which is a much more serious anime), the one I FIRST reviewed... Oh well, until next time!
Mahoro appears to be a normal maid... right. In all seriousness, she's a combat android from a secret organization Vesper, who retired from working on the frontlines to carry out the last of her days as a maid. This is something proven very early as she handles some robbers on the bus, the same one that Suguru Misato just happens to be on. Later, after making herself unannounced in his yard, she tells Suguru about herself, and later becomes his maid. Of course, this sudden change doesn't sit well initially with some people, among which a few of his classmates and his teacher who is after him (wait, what!?) Already alone, Mahoro's arrival seems to bring a spark in Suguru's life, even though they have something in common: the death of a certain man. It's enough that life becomes hectic for Suguru, especially with Mahoro and his teacher Saori Shikijo butting heads, but when her enemies reveal themselves, she must be ready to take arms once more and fight for her life... while she's at risk of losing that peaceful life, and her time is dwindling!
From first glance, I thought the anime would be on the sugary side, but watching just from episode 1 alone, I was off. While it is peaceful and warm in setting, the action picks up when the antagonists reveal themselves. It still has its comedic moments, and it is also a harem anime, so it has its 'moments' here and there. It also contains nudity in some areas, so if it's not your thing, or if you're too young, don't bother looking. Together, the anime in general is "standard length", as it runs for 26 episodes in all. Separately, they aren't much. Mahoromatic: Automatic Maiden lasts for 12 episodes, with the succeeding Mahoromatic: Something More Beautiful featuring 14 episodes. Studios Gainax and Shaft worked on these titles, licensed for US and Canada under Sentai Filmworks. It is also old, dating back to 2001 during its original run of the first anime, and 2002 of the latter anime. But as it is a tragic drama, you can expect some serious moments. The endings are different, and while I say this all the time, this is a case where it can be somewhat similar in result, but the fate of the characters differ. I will say, though, that this title does follow through somewhat to its manga counterpart, but with a few situations taking place there and not in the anime (and vice versa). Mahoro is voiced by Bridget Hoffman in the dub, while Suguru is voiced by Derek Stephen Prince (who, in another harem anime Love Hina, voices Keitaro Urushima), with Wendee Lee providing the voice of him as a child.
Once more, the ending displeased me, as it was a bittersweet one, but overall, I say an 8 of 10 for Mahoromatic, which is ironic because this is how I felt about Witchblade (which is a much more serious anime), the one I FIRST reviewed... Oh well, until next time!
2011/10/14
CLXX: "Desert Punk"
Some anime deals with a post apocalyptic setting, and the setting for Desert Punk seems to fit the bill. A title filled with action and weird western traits, this anime is surely not for the younger crowd, thanks in particular to one character...
A nuclear attack reduced the once lavish Japan into a burning desert, where humans that remain struggle to survive. The Great Kanto Desert keeps on its grounds many guys with guns, working for profit or just for their humor. Among these individuals is the protagonist of the story, Kanta Mizuno. He is a 17 year old member of the Handyman Guild, and he is rather openly perverse when it comes to women, especially those with huge boobs. To top it off, he has a crude mouth, never afraid to say something in the witty and smartass category to whoever he speaks to. Despite this flaw, among some others, he is highly skilled. He is recognized as the Demon of the Desert: the legendary Desert Punk. The anime follows his exploits: from his encounters with Junko, his acquiring of an apprentice, and the many antics that ensue with his friends and foes alike.
Desert Punk is definitely a title you should keep away from the young, as it is filled with crude talk, and mature content. The anime series is 24 episodes long, and was shown here in the US under Starz Edge, which you NEEDED a subscription of Starz to get. It was also shown on the Russian network 2x2, which did do English voices, but unless you were somehow lucky enough to get such a channel, there is no way for you to get it by normal cable box means. It's original run started in October of 2004, ending March of the following year, with Funimation licensing it for US and Canada. Common to Funimation licensing, the anime featured voices that you have heard before, in a different way, but still. Keeping with that transition, we have Kanta voiced by Eric Vale (the voice of Yuki Sohma of Fruits Basket and Teen/Adult Trunks of both Dragon Ball Z and DBZ Kai), and Kosuna by Luci Christian (who also did the character Honey of Ouran High School Host Club, as well as Full Metal Panic's Kaname Chidori and One Piece's Nami)
Desert Punk is absurdly humorous, and crudely watchable. I could only grade this a 7 of 10, while I laugh my ass to the dialogue, some situations I just wouldn't feel okay watching with the little ones.
A nuclear attack reduced the once lavish Japan into a burning desert, where humans that remain struggle to survive. The Great Kanto Desert keeps on its grounds many guys with guns, working for profit or just for their humor. Among these individuals is the protagonist of the story, Kanta Mizuno. He is a 17 year old member of the Handyman Guild, and he is rather openly perverse when it comes to women, especially those with huge boobs. To top it off, he has a crude mouth, never afraid to say something in the witty and smartass category to whoever he speaks to. Despite this flaw, among some others, he is highly skilled. He is recognized as the Demon of the Desert: the legendary Desert Punk. The anime follows his exploits: from his encounters with Junko, his acquiring of an apprentice, and the many antics that ensue with his friends and foes alike.
Desert Punk is definitely a title you should keep away from the young, as it is filled with crude talk, and mature content. The anime series is 24 episodes long, and was shown here in the US under Starz Edge, which you NEEDED a subscription of Starz to get. It was also shown on the Russian network 2x2, which did do English voices, but unless you were somehow lucky enough to get such a channel, there is no way for you to get it by normal cable box means. It's original run started in October of 2004, ending March of the following year, with Funimation licensing it for US and Canada. Common to Funimation licensing, the anime featured voices that you have heard before, in a different way, but still. Keeping with that transition, we have Kanta voiced by Eric Vale (the voice of Yuki Sohma of Fruits Basket and Teen/Adult Trunks of both Dragon Ball Z and DBZ Kai), and Kosuna by Luci Christian (who also did the character Honey of Ouran High School Host Club, as well as Full Metal Panic's Kaname Chidori and One Piece's Nami)
Desert Punk is absurdly humorous, and crudely watchable. I could only grade this a 7 of 10, while I laugh my ass to the dialogue, some situations I just wouldn't feel okay watching with the little ones.
2011/10/12
CLXIX: "Venus Versus Virus"
Perhaps the least spoken of anime wise, Venus Versus Virus is a title I waited for, but strangely didn't become as big a name as I would expect. In fact, this series is rarely looked back on at all (which makes me kinda sad). Anyway, here's the backdrop on this particular title.
While the opening scene is perceived as something to come, the anime centers on two girls: Sumiere Takahana and Lucia Nanashi. Upon discovering Lucia's secret, she soon finds herself as a part of the Venus Vanguard, an organization that's devoted to hunting down demons called "Virus", and this organization is led by her adoptive father Nanashi. While hunting them down, they try to seek the roots of these creatures. In the course of doing so, Lucia learns that Sumiere, once initially not much help to her, is a great asset, thanks to a power that awakens once shot by a Vaccine Bullet. Stepping in Berserker Mode, she becomes a living Anti-Virus, but because of this, she is indiscriminate in who she attacks, harming friend and foe alike. Lucia has a few secrets as well, one of which being her left eye. The two must cooperate in hunting down the Viruses, as well as crushing the origin behind them.
Venus Versus Virus is a Fantasy and Action title, featuring a yuri element. Not my place to say, but a trait normally found in hentai, namely yaoi and yuri, aren't often seen as a genre of a televised anime. That's not to say that it never happens, but this is one of the handful of titles I've seen where this is specifically mentioned. This was stated in a magazine prior to the release of the anime. Speaking of that, the anime is a short one relatively, lasting 12 episodes. It was made in Studio Hibari, and licensed by Funimation Entertainment. This series saw TV airing on Anime Network, and I found this title back then through their On-Demand service under Comcast/Xfinity. The series began, and ended, during the first quarter of 2007. Common to most, the 8 volume manga had more to it storywise, and showed different sides of characters from the anime, the biggest of changes coming from Lucia, who still had a battle-hardened nature, only opening very little in the anime itself. In the manga, she is shown to exhibit more emotions. The voice of Lucia is done by Joanne Bonasso, who voiced Mama in the Halo Legends OAV (based on the popular Microsoft Xbox series Halo.) Sumiere is voiced by Natalie Arneson. Both of them voice acted together on the anime Kanon as well, with Bonasso voicing Akiko Minase, and Arneson voicing Sayuri Kurata.
I'm not going to be "that fanboy" and say that it's great, but I was somewhat pleased. I grade Venus Versus Virus a 7 of 10 in an estimate. It's regrettable that there isn't anymore to the series, beyond the short anime, the manga, and the drama CD, but like I said: this title wasn't deemed as popular as others.
While the opening scene is perceived as something to come, the anime centers on two girls: Sumiere Takahana and Lucia Nanashi. Upon discovering Lucia's secret, she soon finds herself as a part of the Venus Vanguard, an organization that's devoted to hunting down demons called "Virus", and this organization is led by her adoptive father Nanashi. While hunting them down, they try to seek the roots of these creatures. In the course of doing so, Lucia learns that Sumiere, once initially not much help to her, is a great asset, thanks to a power that awakens once shot by a Vaccine Bullet. Stepping in Berserker Mode, she becomes a living Anti-Virus, but because of this, she is indiscriminate in who she attacks, harming friend and foe alike. Lucia has a few secrets as well, one of which being her left eye. The two must cooperate in hunting down the Viruses, as well as crushing the origin behind them.
Venus Versus Virus is a Fantasy and Action title, featuring a yuri element. Not my place to say, but a trait normally found in hentai, namely yaoi and yuri, aren't often seen as a genre of a televised anime. That's not to say that it never happens, but this is one of the handful of titles I've seen where this is specifically mentioned. This was stated in a magazine prior to the release of the anime. Speaking of that, the anime is a short one relatively, lasting 12 episodes. It was made in Studio Hibari, and licensed by Funimation Entertainment. This series saw TV airing on Anime Network, and I found this title back then through their On-Demand service under Comcast/Xfinity. The series began, and ended, during the first quarter of 2007. Common to most, the 8 volume manga had more to it storywise, and showed different sides of characters from the anime, the biggest of changes coming from Lucia, who still had a battle-hardened nature, only opening very little in the anime itself. In the manga, she is shown to exhibit more emotions. The voice of Lucia is done by Joanne Bonasso, who voiced Mama in the Halo Legends OAV (based on the popular Microsoft Xbox series Halo.) Sumiere is voiced by Natalie Arneson. Both of them voice acted together on the anime Kanon as well, with Bonasso voicing Akiko Minase, and Arneson voicing Sayuri Kurata.
I'm not going to be "that fanboy" and say that it's great, but I was somewhat pleased. I grade Venus Versus Virus a 7 of 10 in an estimate. It's regrettable that there isn't anymore to the series, beyond the short anime, the manga, and the drama CD, but like I said: this title wasn't deemed as popular as others.
CLXVIII: "Lupin the 3rd"
An oldie, but a memorable title somewhat. Lupin the 3rd followed the exploits of a famous thief and womanizer, accompanied by a beautiful femme fatale, a sharpshooter that smokes, and a lethal swordsman, and sought after by a famous, yet clumsy Interpol inspector. Spanning movies, anime, manga, and even a crossover or two, who knew that Monkey Punch's well dressed expert thief would come so far? On a related note, Maurice Leblanc created a novel series dealing with the gentleman thief Arsene Lupin, and, hence the title, this particular anime deals with his grandson.
The anime, as I said follows the exploits of a band of thieves, and they're pretty damn good too. The leader of this outfit is Arsene Lupin III, who is the most wanted thief. However, he's not your common brand thief: when stealing, he makes it announced that he'll do so to whoever's owning or guarding them, and he's generally successful in that aspect. At times, however, he may foil the plans of more serious crimes, showing that he has some honor as a thief to uphold. He's never alone in his works, and he is assisted by his closest ally: a skilled marksman and chain smoker named Daiskue Jigen. Occasionally helping him, but much less often, is Goemon Ishikawa XIII, whose blade is said to cut just about anything. With him being the 13th generation of the renegade samurai, his skills as a swordsman isn't for show, and he is flashy, yet efficient, in whatever he cuts down. Even with him being loyal to Lupin, the master thief still annoys him with his antics from time to time. The last member to appear is Fujiko Mine, Lupin's love interest. While his infatuation with women is seen as Lupin's weakness, this is especially true whenever she's around. She is perhaps the only one to rival Lupin in her skills in thievery and disguise. For her own interest, she can be seen working for, or against him given the situation. She is usually forgiven for double crossing him, but she is the one making off with most, or ALL of the loot when the job is done. Even so, she does care for him in some way.
However, there are people after them as well during their exploits, and one of them will always be Inspector Koichi Zenigata, and he has a bit of a history in chasing around Lupin (though he is never truly successful in capturing him.) He is usually the one seen getting hurt a lot for comedic reasons, but despite their initial meeting, he does hold some form of respect for him, which is why he never go as far as to kill the mastermind. Even with his bitterness, they are shown at times to be on much friendlier terms, though on his part, he is rather reluctant to exhibit this, unlike Lupin. If he and the police aren't after him, other thieves are, and usually with the intent to do away with him. Lupin has his hands full, and hopefully with his crew and even Zenigata helping him at times, he might just survive!
The anime is indeed a lengthy series, broken up into 3 parts. Lupin III Part I had 23 episodes made. This is the shortest of the trio. The longest one happens to be Lupin III Part II, which had 155 episodes made. Concluding this is Lupin III Part III, which had only 50 episodes, which is 1/3 of its previous series. All made in the TMS studio, the only one licensed was Lupin III Part II, and this was done by Geneon Entertainment. This one featured him in his signature red jacket. Also, contrary to most media, it has all the key players assembled in the initial episode, in which they know each other personally. Aside from this, there were films made, one of which is more like a predecessor to Part I, rightfully addressed as the Pilot Film, but due to budget issues, this film was never released in theaters, and was later packaged as part of Lupin III's Secret Files. In addition there were two versions of this, but this, too, is most likely not licensed. There was another title that spoke of the origins of how they met, titled Lupin III Episode 0, which was a TV special. Again, not licensed under US, this wasn't dubbed either, but it was told through Jigen's perspective on how they first came together. Fujiko and Lupin are after an artifact for their own reasons, while Jigen, part of the Mafia then, guarding it. Goemon is after ancestral treasure, and Zenigata is pursuing after Fujiko, as a Japanese police officer back then. This special shows how they first met, and what became the trigger to Zenigata starting his relentless pursuit against Lupin.
There were plenty of theatrical films made as well, as well as a TV specials. One of those I've mentioned before is Lupin III vs. Detective Conan, a movie where Lupin and co. cross paths with the young, but tenacious Conan Edogawa of the Detective Conan/Case Closed series. Adding to his fame are, of course, manga, OVAs and video games, the last title seeing US soil thus far being Lupin the 3rd: Treasure of the Sorcerer King, which faced mixed reviews overall. While licensed in US, this series was dubbed by various companies, three of which being Streamline Pictures, Funimation Entertainment and Pioneer Entertainment. The titular thief is voiced by:
The anime, as I said follows the exploits of a band of thieves, and they're pretty damn good too. The leader of this outfit is Arsene Lupin III, who is the most wanted thief. However, he's not your common brand thief: when stealing, he makes it announced that he'll do so to whoever's owning or guarding them, and he's generally successful in that aspect. At times, however, he may foil the plans of more serious crimes, showing that he has some honor as a thief to uphold. He's never alone in his works, and he is assisted by his closest ally: a skilled marksman and chain smoker named Daiskue Jigen. Occasionally helping him, but much less often, is Goemon Ishikawa XIII, whose blade is said to cut just about anything. With him being the 13th generation of the renegade samurai, his skills as a swordsman isn't for show, and he is flashy, yet efficient, in whatever he cuts down. Even with him being loyal to Lupin, the master thief still annoys him with his antics from time to time. The last member to appear is Fujiko Mine, Lupin's love interest. While his infatuation with women is seen as Lupin's weakness, this is especially true whenever she's around. She is perhaps the only one to rival Lupin in her skills in thievery and disguise. For her own interest, she can be seen working for, or against him given the situation. She is usually forgiven for double crossing him, but she is the one making off with most, or ALL of the loot when the job is done. Even so, she does care for him in some way.
However, there are people after them as well during their exploits, and one of them will always be Inspector Koichi Zenigata, and he has a bit of a history in chasing around Lupin (though he is never truly successful in capturing him.) He is usually the one seen getting hurt a lot for comedic reasons, but despite their initial meeting, he does hold some form of respect for him, which is why he never go as far as to kill the mastermind. Even with his bitterness, they are shown at times to be on much friendlier terms, though on his part, he is rather reluctant to exhibit this, unlike Lupin. If he and the police aren't after him, other thieves are, and usually with the intent to do away with him. Lupin has his hands full, and hopefully with his crew and even Zenigata helping him at times, he might just survive!
The anime is indeed a lengthy series, broken up into 3 parts. Lupin III Part I had 23 episodes made. This is the shortest of the trio. The longest one happens to be Lupin III Part II, which had 155 episodes made. Concluding this is Lupin III Part III, which had only 50 episodes, which is 1/3 of its previous series. All made in the TMS studio, the only one licensed was Lupin III Part II, and this was done by Geneon Entertainment. This one featured him in his signature red jacket. Also, contrary to most media, it has all the key players assembled in the initial episode, in which they know each other personally. Aside from this, there were films made, one of which is more like a predecessor to Part I, rightfully addressed as the Pilot Film, but due to budget issues, this film was never released in theaters, and was later packaged as part of Lupin III's Secret Files. In addition there were two versions of this, but this, too, is most likely not licensed. There was another title that spoke of the origins of how they met, titled Lupin III Episode 0, which was a TV special. Again, not licensed under US, this wasn't dubbed either, but it was told through Jigen's perspective on how they first came together. Fujiko and Lupin are after an artifact for their own reasons, while Jigen, part of the Mafia then, guarding it. Goemon is after ancestral treasure, and Zenigata is pursuing after Fujiko, as a Japanese police officer back then. This special shows how they first met, and what became the trigger to Zenigata starting his relentless pursuit against Lupin.
There were plenty of theatrical films made as well, as well as a TV specials. One of those I've mentioned before is Lupin III vs. Detective Conan, a movie where Lupin and co. cross paths with the young, but tenacious Conan Edogawa of the Detective Conan/Case Closed series. Adding to his fame are, of course, manga, OVAs and video games, the last title seeing US soil thus far being Lupin the 3rd: Treasure of the Sorcerer King, which faced mixed reviews overall. While licensed in US, this series was dubbed by various companies, three of which being Streamline Pictures, Funimation Entertainment and Pioneer Entertainment. The titular thief is voiced by:
- Under Streamline Pictures: Bob Bergen
- Under Funimation Entertainment: Sonny Strait (voice of One Piece's Usopp and Dragon Ball Z's Krillin)
- Under Pioneer Entertainment: Tony Oliver (voice of Vandread's Hibiki Tokai and Tenchi Muyo GXP's Seina Yamada)
2011/10/09
CLXVII: "Suzuka"
I spoke of this earlier when I reviewed Peach Girl, but Suzuka deals with the similar concept, but with a different setting and different flow of problems. Unlike Peach Girl, this title has a more sporty theme to it, something that titles like The Prince of Tennis and Hajime no Ippo feature heavily.
Suzuka centers on Yamato Akitsuki, a boy who moved from a rural prefecture to the big city in Tokyo, and Suzuka Asahina, the titular character and his next door neighbor. Falling in love with her, he decided to join the track team in hopes that he would impress her, with Suzuka herself being a skilled high jumper. Through the course of this however, he soon discovers his talent as a sprinter, with potential to become the top runner of the 100-yard dash. However, mixing romance and sports isn't easy, and with his log-time perverted friend Yasunobu Hattori, as well as other girls fitting in the picture, tension standing between Yamato and Suzuka builds up pretty fast. Will he ever get his feelings for her reciprocated? He has to worry about this while trying to carry out his school, sport and social life.
Aside from the change in plot, and the difference in characters, it shares a few traits seen in Peach Girl. In fact, with the addition of sports, it's the exact same genre as the other. Also made in Studio Comet, this anime lasts for 26 episodes, premiering on the second half of 2005, which is interesting given that Peach Girl was shown on the first half of the same year. Likewise, it was also licensed under Funimation Entertainemt, and was featured on their channel, it's time slot not that far from Peach Girl's. Aside from the exploits of the track and field team, it had the same dose of romantic comedy/drama, making it another close to home, and somewhat emotional, anime title. Yamato is voiced by Todd Haberkorn in the Dub, with Suzuka voiced by Leah Clark.
Suzuka is another anime that just didn't click like most do, yet, I still give it a bit more fanfare that of Peach Girl, giving it an 8 of 10. Even with that, I do comment it for being a breath of fresh air from the usual zany, chaotic anime.
Suzuka centers on Yamato Akitsuki, a boy who moved from a rural prefecture to the big city in Tokyo, and Suzuka Asahina, the titular character and his next door neighbor. Falling in love with her, he decided to join the track team in hopes that he would impress her, with Suzuka herself being a skilled high jumper. Through the course of this however, he soon discovers his talent as a sprinter, with potential to become the top runner of the 100-yard dash. However, mixing romance and sports isn't easy, and with his log-time perverted friend Yasunobu Hattori, as well as other girls fitting in the picture, tension standing between Yamato and Suzuka builds up pretty fast. Will he ever get his feelings for her reciprocated? He has to worry about this while trying to carry out his school, sport and social life.
Aside from the change in plot, and the difference in characters, it shares a few traits seen in Peach Girl. In fact, with the addition of sports, it's the exact same genre as the other. Also made in Studio Comet, this anime lasts for 26 episodes, premiering on the second half of 2005, which is interesting given that Peach Girl was shown on the first half of the same year. Likewise, it was also licensed under Funimation Entertainemt, and was featured on their channel, it's time slot not that far from Peach Girl's. Aside from the exploits of the track and field team, it had the same dose of romantic comedy/drama, making it another close to home, and somewhat emotional, anime title. Yamato is voiced by Todd Haberkorn in the Dub, with Suzuka voiced by Leah Clark.
Suzuka is another anime that just didn't click like most do, yet, I still give it a bit more fanfare that of Peach Girl, giving it an 8 of 10. Even with that, I do comment it for being a breath of fresh air from the usual zany, chaotic anime.
CLXVI: "Peach Girl"
Let's see... there are titles that I watch sometimes, and even after watching the entire series, just doesn't have me all that interested. Then again, half of those aren't even meant for my eyes, when I think about it. Peach Girl is definitely on that roster, but I'm not bashing the title, it's just wasn't something that wowed me.
Peach Girl deals with Momo Adachi. I suspect those who have actually seen the show perceived her as a Ganguro, because of her tanned skin. Well, to clear up all assumptions, she is a tan girl, but not for that reason. Anyway, the anime centers on her little love triangle between two boys she falls for: Kazuya Toujigamori, or Toji: the guy she loved for many years, and Kairi Okayasu, who has this disdainful reputation of being a playboy, but is actually carefree, yet perceptive. Adding fuel to the fire is Sae Kashiwagi, who's like a complete opposite to Momo in terms of skin and nature. Amidst rumors and the love conflict between the two guys, Momo has a tough school life ahead, even more so because of her unique skin tone.
The TV anime went for 25 episodes, aired in 2005 overseas. Studio Comet created the anime and it was Funimation Entertainment that licensed it, even appearing for a while on their channel here in the US. Full of comedy, romance and drama, this isn't the usual anime filled with over the top antics and hilarity. Watching this, it felt like someone taking the typical love troubles of high school and animating it, which they did a good job of doing. Sadly, I just wasn't into it, yet I still managed to complete the title regardless. Though different, I watched the anime Suzuka alongside this, and felt that they were, in some way, similar. But I digress. The titular character Momo (the name translating to peach), is voiced by Kate Oxley in the English dub. If you're into the romantic dramas, or are somehow entertained by how anime portray normal school life, this title is up your ally, I guess.
Like I said, it didn't click to me, but I'll give recognition where its due, and give about 7 of 10 for Peach Girl. It's a little too lacking for my tastes, but hell, anime has its variety as well.
Peach Girl deals with Momo Adachi. I suspect those who have actually seen the show perceived her as a Ganguro, because of her tanned skin. Well, to clear up all assumptions, she is a tan girl, but not for that reason. Anyway, the anime centers on her little love triangle between two boys she falls for: Kazuya Toujigamori, or Toji: the guy she loved for many years, and Kairi Okayasu, who has this disdainful reputation of being a playboy, but is actually carefree, yet perceptive. Adding fuel to the fire is Sae Kashiwagi, who's like a complete opposite to Momo in terms of skin and nature. Amidst rumors and the love conflict between the two guys, Momo has a tough school life ahead, even more so because of her unique skin tone.
The TV anime went for 25 episodes, aired in 2005 overseas. Studio Comet created the anime and it was Funimation Entertainment that licensed it, even appearing for a while on their channel here in the US. Full of comedy, romance and drama, this isn't the usual anime filled with over the top antics and hilarity. Watching this, it felt like someone taking the typical love troubles of high school and animating it, which they did a good job of doing. Sadly, I just wasn't into it, yet I still managed to complete the title regardless. Though different, I watched the anime Suzuka alongside this, and felt that they were, in some way, similar. But I digress. The titular character Momo (the name translating to peach), is voiced by Kate Oxley in the English dub. If you're into the romantic dramas, or are somehow entertained by how anime portray normal school life, this title is up your ally, I guess.
Like I said, it didn't click to me, but I'll give recognition where its due, and give about 7 of 10 for Peach Girl. It's a little too lacking for my tastes, but hell, anime has its variety as well.
A break from reviews
Hey, me again, and this isn't a review or event post. No, this is more like a heads up for general in anime. Now the batch this time around has me excited, for good reasons.
For starters, in case you didn't know, the new anime Yu-Gi-Oh! Zexal will be premiering a week from now on CW, I forget the toon block it's on, but it'll be next Saturday. For a while, Konami has made and released the new cards for the trading card game, back when Zexal was still in Japan. I can't wait to see what they do with this series.
Speaking of long overdue titles, one that I have reviewed back in post CXVIII, named Rosario + Vampire, is seeing a Region 1 Dub release, thanks to Funimation. It's been backed up for a while, but some time ago, they did make an official dub trailer. Skeptical as to whether this is going to be put on TV, but it's enough to know that it will be on DVD and Blu-Ray, and it'll be for both seasons, if I read correctly. While some thought that it would release around Halloween (which would be ironically fitting, given the characters involved), that doesn't appear to be the case. No, we're looking at a late 2011 release, December to be precise, so chances are this will make a great gift to fans of the anime.
Another rising title is one of the Gundam franchise. I had a feeling they might, but I never thought that Bandai would be so eager to do so, nor did I suspect Sunrise, who makes the anime, to hatch a new title at us. Being a fan of the Gundam franchise in general, I was kinda excited when I heard talk of Gundam AGE. I thought that it would be a joke at first, and one thought it would be equal to the SD Gundam series, but as I seen recently, it's not the case. And frankly, I'm itching to see where it goes, because like G Gundam and Turn A Gundam (which I've yet to cover), it has it's uniqueness that strays from the rest, but I'll let you find out what that is. I will say though that it takes elements from other titles (like the recent Gundam 00) and is developed by the gaming studio Level 5, which you may have heard of in games like Dragon Quest VIII. People are bashing on it already, even though Episode 1 never surfaced yet (who does that!?), but I personally am glad that even after 30 years, Sunrise throws another title to show.
Next, though I can't say I'm as excited for this as I am for the other 3, Hetalia is coming a month before Rosario + Vampire, also under Funimation. After hearing the terror behind its fanbase, I was reluctant to even look at the subbed episodes. Officially, it's called Hetalia: Axis Powers, but I heard talk that the title may change to Hetalia: World Series, but that maybe because the third season onward went by that name. Not how I would expect one would mix the history of the world with anime, but the show itself isn't awful. And if they're talking about characters with accents in the dub, I can't wait to see how they pull that off.
There are others that are coming soon too, but only a few of them seem to interest me, frankly. More titles I'm looking forward to are Fate/Zero (the prequel to Fate/Stay Night), Shakugan no Shana III, and though this may come back to bite me in the ass, Chibi Devil! As usual, if I watch them successfully, I'll post my take on it with any need-to-know info as time passes. For now, this concludes my little break from reviews. Until the next title comes, otaku!
For starters, in case you didn't know, the new anime Yu-Gi-Oh! Zexal will be premiering a week from now on CW, I forget the toon block it's on, but it'll be next Saturday. For a while, Konami has made and released the new cards for the trading card game, back when Zexal was still in Japan. I can't wait to see what they do with this series.
Speaking of long overdue titles, one that I have reviewed back in post CXVIII, named Rosario + Vampire, is seeing a Region 1 Dub release, thanks to Funimation. It's been backed up for a while, but some time ago, they did make an official dub trailer. Skeptical as to whether this is going to be put on TV, but it's enough to know that it will be on DVD and Blu-Ray, and it'll be for both seasons, if I read correctly. While some thought that it would release around Halloween (which would be ironically fitting, given the characters involved), that doesn't appear to be the case. No, we're looking at a late 2011 release, December to be precise, so chances are this will make a great gift to fans of the anime.
Another rising title is one of the Gundam franchise. I had a feeling they might, but I never thought that Bandai would be so eager to do so, nor did I suspect Sunrise, who makes the anime, to hatch a new title at us. Being a fan of the Gundam franchise in general, I was kinda excited when I heard talk of Gundam AGE. I thought that it would be a joke at first, and one thought it would be equal to the SD Gundam series, but as I seen recently, it's not the case. And frankly, I'm itching to see where it goes, because like G Gundam and Turn A Gundam (which I've yet to cover), it has it's uniqueness that strays from the rest, but I'll let you find out what that is. I will say though that it takes elements from other titles (like the recent Gundam 00) and is developed by the gaming studio Level 5, which you may have heard of in games like Dragon Quest VIII. People are bashing on it already, even though Episode 1 never surfaced yet (who does that!?), but I personally am glad that even after 30 years, Sunrise throws another title to show.
Next, though I can't say I'm as excited for this as I am for the other 3, Hetalia is coming a month before Rosario + Vampire, also under Funimation. After hearing the terror behind its fanbase, I was reluctant to even look at the subbed episodes. Officially, it's called Hetalia: Axis Powers, but I heard talk that the title may change to Hetalia: World Series, but that maybe because the third season onward went by that name. Not how I would expect one would mix the history of the world with anime, but the show itself isn't awful. And if they're talking about characters with accents in the dub, I can't wait to see how they pull that off.
There are others that are coming soon too, but only a few of them seem to interest me, frankly. More titles I'm looking forward to are Fate/Zero (the prequel to Fate/Stay Night), Shakugan no Shana III, and though this may come back to bite me in the ass, Chibi Devil! As usual, if I watch them successfully, I'll post my take on it with any need-to-know info as time passes. For now, this concludes my little break from reviews. Until the next title comes, otaku!
2011/10/02
CLXV: "Working!!"
I am not kidding on the title. It is as it says, Working!! deals with, well, work. Well, to be more precise, it deals with the workplace of unusual employees in the Wagnaria family restaurant. Another title that, to me, came from outta nowhere, starting as a 4koma, then a Square Enix manga, and now an anime.
A slice of life comedy, there isn't much plot to it, when you look back on that fact. The anime deals with Sota Takanashi, a 16 year-old high school student who is hired as a new recruit to the Wagnaria restaurant, after running into the slightly older, but shorter Popura Taneshima. From then on he meets, and works alongside a rather unique group of people, while living his life normally. Well, that's all there is to say about it mostly, as it follows pretty much the lives of those working in Wagnaria, as well as the comedic antics that ensues.
Spawning 13 episodes, it was made in A-1 Pictures, and licensed by NIS America for US distribution, but under the title Wagnaria!! The title is recent, completed only a year ago, but it's second season, Working'!! (with an apostrophe, in case you didn't see it) is currently being planned out. As it is a young title, there isn't English voices yet, at least not in record, but with NIS licensing it, that is doubtful for now. Watching this anime, you'll see a lot of personalities, from the androphobic to the yakuza-like personality (that is Kyoko).
If you're not a fan of the slice of life genre, then this probably isn't for you. But in perspective, Working!! or Wagnaria!! gets a 7 of 10.
A slice of life comedy, there isn't much plot to it, when you look back on that fact. The anime deals with Sota Takanashi, a 16 year-old high school student who is hired as a new recruit to the Wagnaria restaurant, after running into the slightly older, but shorter Popura Taneshima. From then on he meets, and works alongside a rather unique group of people, while living his life normally. Well, that's all there is to say about it mostly, as it follows pretty much the lives of those working in Wagnaria, as well as the comedic antics that ensues.
Spawning 13 episodes, it was made in A-1 Pictures, and licensed by NIS America for US distribution, but under the title Wagnaria!! The title is recent, completed only a year ago, but it's second season, Working'!! (with an apostrophe, in case you didn't see it) is currently being planned out. As it is a young title, there isn't English voices yet, at least not in record, but with NIS licensing it, that is doubtful for now. Watching this anime, you'll see a lot of personalities, from the androphobic to the yakuza-like personality (that is Kyoko).
If you're not a fan of the slice of life genre, then this probably isn't for you. But in perspective, Working!! or Wagnaria!! gets a 7 of 10.
CLXIV: "Dirty Pair"
I almost can't believe myself for not covering this before (and I thought I did, actually), but Dirty Pair is not as dirty as the title suggests. In fact, how that name even came to be is a bit humorous... mainly because of what they do.
The world of Dirty Pair is set in the future, between years 2138-2143, to be exact, and humanity has migrated across thousands of star systems in space. To serve the regulator role, the World Welfare Works Association, commonly referenced as WWWA or 3WA, assists the United Galactica Federation (UG) in handling conflicts of the planetary scale, for profit. Their means of assistance is sending agents from 3WA, who go by the titles trouble consultants. Consultants that solves crimes and mysteries are from the Criminal Investigations section, and our protagonists just happens to come from this very section.
The titular duo consists of Trouble Consultant Team 234: Kei and Yuri, code named Lovely Angels. However, almost every mission they go on doesn't end up with "lovely" results. Though they succeed in their work, almost all of them end in disaster, which is there the title comes in: due to leaving destruction in their work, they are nicknamed the Dirty Pair, a name they resent very much. In addition, they also quarrel with each other from time to time, but they remain partners through the thick of it all.
The series is vast in a sense, spawning comics, manga, light novels and anime. The anime of Dirty Pair was made in the Sunrise studio, much like the Gundam metaseries. While dubbed by different companies such as ADV and Streamline Pictures, all works were licensed for US under Nozomi Entertainment, the product division formerly know as The Right Stuf International. The TV anime ran for 24 episodes, with the addition of 2 more episodes in the VHS release. An OVA, titled Dirty Pair: Affair of Nolandia, was made in 1985, with the film Dirty Pair: Project Eden done the following year. In the years 1988-1989, an OVA series was made, lasting 10 episodes. Succeeding this was the 1990 OVA Dirty Pair: Flight 005 Conspiracy. Lastly, in 1994, the final entry Dirty Pair Flash was made, featuring a different take on the characters and plot. The major changes involved the designs, outfits and behaviors of Kei and Yuri, for they quarreled much frequent in comparison to the original anime, aside from wearing new and separate attire. In the original versions, they wore basically the same type of uniform, only sporting different colors, and this outfit appeared in an episode of Dirty Pair Flash, worn by someone else in the flashback of the character Iris.
Starting from the same time as the first OVA series, an original English manga was made called The Dirty Pair, published for US under Eclipse Comics and Dark Horse Comics, and generally dealt with the same characters. Kei and Yuri went by different voices dub wise, as Kei's voices were done by Lara Cody under Streamline, and Pamela Lauer under ADV. Likewise, Yuri was done by Wendee Lee under Streamline, and originally by Jessica Cavello under ADV, with Allison Sumrall replacing her. The dubbing for Dirty Pair Flash was also ADV's doing, with Kim Seiver as Yuri, and Sue Uli as Kei.
Dirty Pair is an oldie, but I loved it more or less. Trying to find all of it in English, however, will be a chore. In general, I call it an 8 of 10, and stands as one of my favorites in anime.
The world of Dirty Pair is set in the future, between years 2138-2143, to be exact, and humanity has migrated across thousands of star systems in space. To serve the regulator role, the World Welfare Works Association, commonly referenced as WWWA or 3WA, assists the United Galactica Federation (UG) in handling conflicts of the planetary scale, for profit. Their means of assistance is sending agents from 3WA, who go by the titles trouble consultants. Consultants that solves crimes and mysteries are from the Criminal Investigations section, and our protagonists just happens to come from this very section.
The titular duo consists of Trouble Consultant Team 234: Kei and Yuri, code named Lovely Angels. However, almost every mission they go on doesn't end up with "lovely" results. Though they succeed in their work, almost all of them end in disaster, which is there the title comes in: due to leaving destruction in their work, they are nicknamed the Dirty Pair, a name they resent very much. In addition, they also quarrel with each other from time to time, but they remain partners through the thick of it all.
The series is vast in a sense, spawning comics, manga, light novels and anime. The anime of Dirty Pair was made in the Sunrise studio, much like the Gundam metaseries. While dubbed by different companies such as ADV and Streamline Pictures, all works were licensed for US under Nozomi Entertainment, the product division formerly know as The Right Stuf International. The TV anime ran for 24 episodes, with the addition of 2 more episodes in the VHS release. An OVA, titled Dirty Pair: Affair of Nolandia, was made in 1985, with the film Dirty Pair: Project Eden done the following year. In the years 1988-1989, an OVA series was made, lasting 10 episodes. Succeeding this was the 1990 OVA Dirty Pair: Flight 005 Conspiracy. Lastly, in 1994, the final entry Dirty Pair Flash was made, featuring a different take on the characters and plot. The major changes involved the designs, outfits and behaviors of Kei and Yuri, for they quarreled much frequent in comparison to the original anime, aside from wearing new and separate attire. In the original versions, they wore basically the same type of uniform, only sporting different colors, and this outfit appeared in an episode of Dirty Pair Flash, worn by someone else in the flashback of the character Iris.
Starting from the same time as the first OVA series, an original English manga was made called The Dirty Pair, published for US under Eclipse Comics and Dark Horse Comics, and generally dealt with the same characters. Kei and Yuri went by different voices dub wise, as Kei's voices were done by Lara Cody under Streamline, and Pamela Lauer under ADV. Likewise, Yuri was done by Wendee Lee under Streamline, and originally by Jessica Cavello under ADV, with Allison Sumrall replacing her. The dubbing for Dirty Pair Flash was also ADV's doing, with Kim Seiver as Yuri, and Sue Uli as Kei.
Dirty Pair is an oldie, but I loved it more or less. Trying to find all of it in English, however, will be a chore. In general, I call it an 8 of 10, and stands as one of my favorites in anime.
CLXIII: "Mobile Suit Gundam: The 08th MS Team"
Frankly we see for the majority of the Universal Century timeline Newtypes as the central characters for the story. Yet again branching from it comes Mobile Suit Gundam: The 08th MS Team, an OVA series set before, according to the timeline, Gundam 0080: War in the Pocket, even though production wise, this is succeeded by the popular Gundam Wing. This OVA series also deals with the One Year War period, viewed in the perspective of the average soldier.
You can say that the plot deals with star corssed lovers, and the story of 08th MS Team is a Gundam series take on Romeo and Juliet. Ensign Shiro Amada is the newly appointed commander of the titular unit under the Earth Federation Army. He is sent to Southeast Asia to assist in a guerrilla war against Zeon forces, who has on their side an experimental mobile suit and its pilot Aina Sahalin, someone Shiro knows thanks to a resuce in space. Realizing who the pilot is, Shiro is reluctant to fight her, which prompts the Earth Federation to arrest him for treason. Given one final chance, he must make a painful choice: lose to Zeon and not kill her, or side with the Earth Federation and lose someone important to him.
Created in the Sunrise studio, this OVA series featured 12 episodes in total, but only 11 were televised on Cartoon Network's Toonami block, with the final episode, an epilogue episode, included in the DVD release with the others. In addition, a compilation film Mobile Suit Gundam: The 08th MS Team Miller's Report featured a new character, investigator Alice Miller, and the story more or less focuses on the court martial of Shiro Amada for his actions towards the enemy. While it had additional footage, it also borrowed those of the OAV episodes to use as evidence against him. While this scenario isn't exactly unique (since the original Mobile Suit Gundam had a similar scenario, which was repeated), it showed the follies of personal feelings affecting a soldier's judgement during war. Shiro Amada is voiced by Steve Staley in English, while Aina Sahalin is voiced by Emilie Brown. As such, the machines would be featured in games like Gundam Battle Assault and Mobile Suit Gundam: Journey to Jaburo, and even Gunpla models were made afterwards. This series would also premier the Ground Combat Gundam, a model rarely seen in the Gundam universe in general.
Mobile Suit Gundam: The 08th MS Team gets a 7 of 10 from me, mainly because it was a fairly decent take from their usual works, though it does prove once more that romance and war don't go well hand in hand.
You can say that the plot deals with star corssed lovers, and the story of 08th MS Team is a Gundam series take on Romeo and Juliet. Ensign Shiro Amada is the newly appointed commander of the titular unit under the Earth Federation Army. He is sent to Southeast Asia to assist in a guerrilla war against Zeon forces, who has on their side an experimental mobile suit and its pilot Aina Sahalin, someone Shiro knows thanks to a resuce in space. Realizing who the pilot is, Shiro is reluctant to fight her, which prompts the Earth Federation to arrest him for treason. Given one final chance, he must make a painful choice: lose to Zeon and not kill her, or side with the Earth Federation and lose someone important to him.
Created in the Sunrise studio, this OVA series featured 12 episodes in total, but only 11 were televised on Cartoon Network's Toonami block, with the final episode, an epilogue episode, included in the DVD release with the others. In addition, a compilation film Mobile Suit Gundam: The 08th MS Team Miller's Report featured a new character, investigator Alice Miller, and the story more or less focuses on the court martial of Shiro Amada for his actions towards the enemy. While it had additional footage, it also borrowed those of the OAV episodes to use as evidence against him. While this scenario isn't exactly unique (since the original Mobile Suit Gundam had a similar scenario, which was repeated), it showed the follies of personal feelings affecting a soldier's judgement during war. Shiro Amada is voiced by Steve Staley in English, while Aina Sahalin is voiced by Emilie Brown. As such, the machines would be featured in games like Gundam Battle Assault and Mobile Suit Gundam: Journey to Jaburo, and even Gunpla models were made afterwards. This series would also premier the Ground Combat Gundam, a model rarely seen in the Gundam universe in general.
Mobile Suit Gundam: The 08th MS Team gets a 7 of 10 from me, mainly because it was a fairly decent take from their usual works, though it does prove once more that romance and war don't go well hand in hand.
2011/10/01
CLXII: "Abenobashi"
Magical Shopping Arcade Abenobashi was another odd one for me to look at. I remember seeing this years ago, and until now, had no words to describe it. The context of the anime seemed so absurd back then, but then again, it was back when I was actually sane as a common human (According to a good friend, being an anime fan = insanity.)
Anyway, Abenobashi has a bit of a background, but to save time and strength (and because I'm lazy), I'll jump straight into the plot at hand. The anime deals with childhood friends Arumi and Sasshi, and the title is actually the name of a commercial district in Osaka, where the story takes place. Through an accident, they find themselves in a sword and scorcery world, something akin to perhaps Dungeons and Dragons or Tower of Duraga. While they try to return home, they experience other worlds, most likely manifested through the otaku interest of Sasshi. Their quest is that of a bildungsroman at best, as it shows the growth of the protagonist, due to him unwilling to return home. All I can say is: strange, strange, strange...
Abenobashi saw TV airings via the channel G4, a channel that originally had video games as a focal point. Created in the Gainax and Madhouse studios, it was licensed for US by ADV, which is no longer active. The series itself isn't all that lengthy in general, lasting only 13 episodes, which ran from April to June 2002, the manga beginning and ending the same year. Sasshi is voiced by Luci Christian in the dub, while Arumi is voiced by Jessica Boone.
Magical Shopping Arcade Abenobashi is an adventurous comedy dealing with the supernatrual. Still trying to butt heads with it, I'll say a 6 of 10, maybe 7.
Anyway, Abenobashi has a bit of a background, but to save time and strength (and because I'm lazy), I'll jump straight into the plot at hand. The anime deals with childhood friends Arumi and Sasshi, and the title is actually the name of a commercial district in Osaka, where the story takes place. Through an accident, they find themselves in a sword and scorcery world, something akin to perhaps Dungeons and Dragons or Tower of Duraga. While they try to return home, they experience other worlds, most likely manifested through the otaku interest of Sasshi. Their quest is that of a bildungsroman at best, as it shows the growth of the protagonist, due to him unwilling to return home. All I can say is: strange, strange, strange...
Abenobashi saw TV airings via the channel G4, a channel that originally had video games as a focal point. Created in the Gainax and Madhouse studios, it was licensed for US by ADV, which is no longer active. The series itself isn't all that lengthy in general, lasting only 13 episodes, which ran from April to June 2002, the manga beginning and ending the same year. Sasshi is voiced by Luci Christian in the dub, while Arumi is voiced by Jessica Boone.
Magical Shopping Arcade Abenobashi is an adventurous comedy dealing with the supernatrual. Still trying to butt heads with it, I'll say a 6 of 10, maybe 7.
CLXI: "Girls Bravo"
Oh boy. A title that has fanservice as its major trait, Girls Bravo is a title not meant for young ones. Another harem anime, don't be surprised if you see any wackiness with the characters throughout the series.
Yukinari Sasaki is a boy short for his age, with a girlish face and weak physique to boot. His biggest dilemma is this: thanks to being frequently bullied by girls at a young age, Yukinari has this condition where his fear of women causes rashes upon contact. Thanks to a misunderstanding involving Kirie Kojima, he gets knocked into a different world called Seiren, where the population of males is less that 10% (meaning is pretty scarce!!) He meets in this world Miharu Sena Kanaka, and probably thanks to her being from Seiren, she is the only girl he doesn't get a reaction from upon contact. After a rather dangerous encounter (whereas other Seiren residents chased him), he is transported back to Earth, alongside Miharu, and she must stay with them in the meantime. However, with characters like the perverted and rich Kazuharu Fukuyama, and other girls after him, this life comes with its troubles, for sure.
Full of ecchi, and full of gaggers, I say this anime is wild, even for harem standards. Originally 11 episodes, 13 more were made as the second season. Created in studio AIC, it was originally a title licensed under Geneon Entertainment for US release, but was another title picked up by Funimation in 2010, confirmed by a posting on Twitter by Funimation Entertainment. The content is more of the soft, but raunchy side of things, featuring it's tidbit of naughtiness, perhaps more of which than normally seen in harem titles. And while the infamous fansubs try to censor most of it, it got it's Ages 17+ rating for a reason: almost every episode, you can expect to find someone nude, even during the opening sequence. The lecherous behavior of Fukuyama just adds to it, among other things in the title. Yuri Lowenthal voices Yukinari, while Michelle Ruff provides the voice for Miharu in the English dub, which is pretty much with very little censor, in case you're wondering.
Girls Bravo is like "the pervert's anime", in a sense. Still, I'll say an 8 of 10 will do for this title.
Yukinari Sasaki is a boy short for his age, with a girlish face and weak physique to boot. His biggest dilemma is this: thanks to being frequently bullied by girls at a young age, Yukinari has this condition where his fear of women causes rashes upon contact. Thanks to a misunderstanding involving Kirie Kojima, he gets knocked into a different world called Seiren, where the population of males is less that 10% (meaning is pretty scarce!!) He meets in this world Miharu Sena Kanaka, and probably thanks to her being from Seiren, she is the only girl he doesn't get a reaction from upon contact. After a rather dangerous encounter (whereas other Seiren residents chased him), he is transported back to Earth, alongside Miharu, and she must stay with them in the meantime. However, with characters like the perverted and rich Kazuharu Fukuyama, and other girls after him, this life comes with its troubles, for sure.
Full of ecchi, and full of gaggers, I say this anime is wild, even for harem standards. Originally 11 episodes, 13 more were made as the second season. Created in studio AIC, it was originally a title licensed under Geneon Entertainment for US release, but was another title picked up by Funimation in 2010, confirmed by a posting on Twitter by Funimation Entertainment. The content is more of the soft, but raunchy side of things, featuring it's tidbit of naughtiness, perhaps more of which than normally seen in harem titles. And while the infamous fansubs try to censor most of it, it got it's Ages 17+ rating for a reason: almost every episode, you can expect to find someone nude, even during the opening sequence. The lecherous behavior of Fukuyama just adds to it, among other things in the title. Yuri Lowenthal voices Yukinari, while Michelle Ruff provides the voice for Miharu in the English dub, which is pretty much with very little censor, in case you're wondering.
Girls Bravo is like "the pervert's anime", in a sense. Still, I'll say an 8 of 10 will do for this title.
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