Normally, dealing with the undead would leave to some pretty creepy anime, but despite this stereotype, there's been a few exceptions, one of which in the form of Gegege no Kitaro. Korewa Zombie Desu Ka?, or Is This A Zombie?, is another, and is somewhat similar to Gegege no Kitaro, save for it being newer and... different.
Ayumu Aikawa is a normal high school student... well, scratch the normal part. Like our potty-mouthed hero Yusuke Urameshi of YuYu Hakusho, he's one of the dead early, rather hin Ayumu's case it's from the first episode onward, perhaps preceeding even this. Why this is so mainly stems from a serial killer lurking from his surroundings, and trying to save a screaming woman, he meets not only the killer in the dark, but also his end... as a human. Thanks to the silent Necromancer Eluciwood Hellscythe, he is brought back as a zombie, but not the kind that are brainless and blood-craving, as are the ones from Highschool of the Dead. Rather, because of his status, he can use as much power as he pleases, as well as recieve multiple wounds and still rise... and transform into a Mahou Shoujo... wait, WHAT?! I kid not, through some circumstance, he has the powers of a Mahou Shoujo, normally wielded by Haruna, with whom he had a grizzly meeting with, so to speak. With a Necromancer, a Mahou Shoujo, and later a pair of special ninja, Ayumu has to figure out and stop the one behind the killings, especially since the culprit is responsible for his death.
This series has 12 episodes and an OVA made to be the 13th, while there is a second season titled Kore Wa Zombie Desu Ka?of the Dead, which ended June of this year. It has the same episode count, yet 2 OVAs. Both are licensed by Funimation for English release, and the first season is dubbed and released in full. Is This A Zombie? of the Dead is currently going through the dubbing process, set to be a 2013 title. Both titles were made in Studio Deen. The first season made its short run in Japan last year, and I assume this was the year it made it's run on English TV. Eluciwood undergoes many voices in this title (this I'm not sure why...), but Ayumu Aikawa is voiced by Austin Tindle, who voiced in other works like Deadman Wonderland and Sgt. Frog. Moreover, it's speculated that Tindle will reprise his role in the next season.
I enjoyed it, even amist all the wierdness and semi-perverted moments it has. I'll easily call this an 8 of 10. To me it's funny, and grew to be a new favorite of mine. I hope season 2 follows this.
2012/12/23
CCXV: "Kodomo no Jikan"
(This post will be at face value a mere review, but there is a Seiko's Thoughts moment in regards to the title. Just making it clear! - SW)
Wow... I'm at a loss of words for this one. I'vce covered titles like Kiss X Sis, M!, the hentai Sexual Pursuit, and many others I scratched mynhead at, most of which I ended up enjoying. I''m kinda thrown about this one, called Kodomo no Jikan, mainly because it deals with a scenario that seemingly only happens in H-manga: an elementary student falling in love with her teacher. Something like this is controversial in the real world, obviously, but this title isn't the real world, but it offically didn't reach the states because of this. That aside, let's peel the skin off of this odd fruit...
In Kodomo no Jikan, Daisuke Aoki is the male lead who landed his first teaching job at Futatsubashi Elementary School, and he manage this withoutn any prior teaching experience/training, so he's hopeful, but has to work his ass off to be a proper teacher. Of course, it's not long after that he has a rather peculiar matter. A precocious third grader by the name of Rin Kokonoe develops affections for Daisuke, and tries anything possible, even going as far as sexual innuendo, to claim him, even going as far as to outright declare Rin as his girlfriend. Then there are others like Kuro, who's quick to nail barbed remarks towards him, mainly on his virgin status. With all he has to deal with, keeping track of the class roster and assignments merely scratches the surface of his troubles, as Rin's actions could cost him his job!! How will this newbie teacher fare?
I've seen stuff like this happened here at home on the news, though I can't say that, as far as they've gone, they weren't even remotely mutual, but more so criminal. I guess it's because of this, as well as the "anti-lolicon" law of sorts that this title was shut down, even when it made it as far as Los Angeles. In fact, responses to this following the LA-based Seven Seas Entertainment's refusal to publish this has been unfriendly, but somewhat legit. I mean, flip the roles around and Mahou Sensei Negima! comes to mind, and that's a success here in the states. Toren Smith, who used to be a manga editor, cited this and criticized that the people who supported the reverse gender scenario in Negima! were hypocrites. Harsh, but I see his point, considering that this would be classified as shotacon. I acually have reviewed Negima! whose series has since then concluded, and made no mention of these terms until today, and I feel it's only fitting that I get into this a little. Before I forget, and I'm sure some of you heard of this term before, but Lolicon is what's classified as underage girl fetish, and is derived from the term "Lolita Complex." Kodomo no Jikan is an example of this. On the flip side of things, Shotacon is similar in nature, though with genders reversed, meaning it's the fetish for underage boys. Like it's female counterpart, it's a hybrid from the term Shotaro Complex, in which Negima! is an example of. I don't get how one could be approved yet another can't, but in my book, I call this a classic double-standard, but I digress.
Kodomo no Jikan isn't a long title, which has 12 anime episodes, and 3 OVAs, one of which is composed of 4 episodes. It's not a new one either, as this began in 2007, the 4-episode OVA releasing in 2009, and the last one releasing January of last year. While I can't verify this of the last OVA at the moment, all animeted works were made in Studio Barcelona, never licensed for the US, so there is no English version, and based on the controversy of its content, most likely never will be. The manga itself, also never officially released here, is still ongoing. In both works, there is a censored and uncensored version.
For what I've seen, normally this would be hard to stomach, but as a romantic comedy, it seems innocent enough at face value, though personally, I find this similar to B Gata H Kei: Yamada's First Time, and with that's said, I'll leave this ar a 7 of 10 before I can give a more accurate rating.
Wow... I'm at a loss of words for this one. I'vce covered titles like Kiss X Sis, M!, the hentai Sexual Pursuit, and many others I scratched mynhead at, most of which I ended up enjoying. I''m kinda thrown about this one, called Kodomo no Jikan, mainly because it deals with a scenario that seemingly only happens in H-manga: an elementary student falling in love with her teacher. Something like this is controversial in the real world, obviously, but this title isn't the real world, but it offically didn't reach the states because of this. That aside, let's peel the skin off of this odd fruit...
In Kodomo no Jikan, Daisuke Aoki is the male lead who landed his first teaching job at Futatsubashi Elementary School, and he manage this withoutn any prior teaching experience/training, so he's hopeful, but has to work his ass off to be a proper teacher. Of course, it's not long after that he has a rather peculiar matter. A precocious third grader by the name of Rin Kokonoe develops affections for Daisuke, and tries anything possible, even going as far as sexual innuendo, to claim him, even going as far as to outright declare Rin as his girlfriend. Then there are others like Kuro, who's quick to nail barbed remarks towards him, mainly on his virgin status. With all he has to deal with, keeping track of the class roster and assignments merely scratches the surface of his troubles, as Rin's actions could cost him his job!! How will this newbie teacher fare?
I've seen stuff like this happened here at home on the news, though I can't say that, as far as they've gone, they weren't even remotely mutual, but more so criminal. I guess it's because of this, as well as the "anti-lolicon" law of sorts that this title was shut down, even when it made it as far as Los Angeles. In fact, responses to this following the LA-based Seven Seas Entertainment's refusal to publish this has been unfriendly, but somewhat legit. I mean, flip the roles around and Mahou Sensei Negima! comes to mind, and that's a success here in the states. Toren Smith, who used to be a manga editor, cited this and criticized that the people who supported the reverse gender scenario in Negima! were hypocrites. Harsh, but I see his point, considering that this would be classified as shotacon. I acually have reviewed Negima! whose series has since then concluded, and made no mention of these terms until today, and I feel it's only fitting that I get into this a little. Before I forget, and I'm sure some of you heard of this term before, but Lolicon is what's classified as underage girl fetish, and is derived from the term "Lolita Complex." Kodomo no Jikan is an example of this. On the flip side of things, Shotacon is similar in nature, though with genders reversed, meaning it's the fetish for underage boys. Like it's female counterpart, it's a hybrid from the term Shotaro Complex, in which Negima! is an example of. I don't get how one could be approved yet another can't, but in my book, I call this a classic double-standard, but I digress.
Kodomo no Jikan isn't a long title, which has 12 anime episodes, and 3 OVAs, one of which is composed of 4 episodes. It's not a new one either, as this began in 2007, the 4-episode OVA releasing in 2009, and the last one releasing January of last year. While I can't verify this of the last OVA at the moment, all animeted works were made in Studio Barcelona, never licensed for the US, so there is no English version, and based on the controversy of its content, most likely never will be. The manga itself, also never officially released here, is still ongoing. In both works, there is a censored and uncensored version.
For what I've seen, normally this would be hard to stomach, but as a romantic comedy, it seems innocent enough at face value, though personally, I find this similar to B Gata H Kei: Yamada's First Time, and with that's said, I'll leave this ar a 7 of 10 before I can give a more accurate rating.
2012/12/16
CCXIV: "Marvel's Black Panther"
I never thought I'd be back to dealing with Marvel so soon, but ever since running into this, I've been curious. BET, a network I've long stopped watching for obvious reasons, collaborated with Marvel in making the Black Panther TV series.
I can't shed much light in terms of the show itself, but as far as on TV appearnces, this wasn't his first. A premier black superhero, he actually debuted on TV in one episode of the Fantastic Four: "Prey of the Black Panther". From then, he has appeared in other works, his latest being Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes, as an on-and-off part of the Avenger roster. The TV series is animated, in form of a motion-comic. In this one, T'Challa is the new Black Panther following the assassination of his father King T'Chaka. However, much like that in the United States, there is a corrupt force back in the exotic area of Wakanda, an area concealed from the outer world. However, a group was formed to take over this land, the man behind this being Ulysses Klaw: an adventurer who is responsible for T'Chaka's assassination. Spurred by revenge and honor, and aided by known faces, T'Challa must prove himself as Wakanda's leader and defender. His foes better watch their backs around this cat...
As cool as it looks, it's lifespan is short, given that there are only 6 episodes, each running 20 minutes a piece. Aside from heroes and villains, not normally heard from, there are plenty of familiar faces on both sides: such as Juggernaut, Ororo (Storm), Logan (Wolverine), and Scott (Cyclops) that appear in the series. T'Challa is voiced by Djimon Hounsou, who is also known for the role of Mateo from the film Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life, and appeared in televised work, among which delaing with 6 appearances on the show ER. Singer Jill Scott took the role of Ororo Munroe, or Strom from The X-Men, and Stan Lee himself got involved as the voice of General White. It premiered in Australia from January 16th-30th, 2010, while in the US, the dubbed version debuted and ended on BET the following year between November 15th-29th. With only 6 episodes, it wasn't a worthwhile stay for the black hero, but acceptable either way.
I call this one, despite it's shortness, a 7 of 10, mainly because I rarely seen motion-comic works so nicely done. And with that, I'm hoping Marvel will give Black Pather more exposure, like in another film, perhaps... I hope so, at least!
I can't shed much light in terms of the show itself, but as far as on TV appearnces, this wasn't his first. A premier black superhero, he actually debuted on TV in one episode of the Fantastic Four: "Prey of the Black Panther". From then, he has appeared in other works, his latest being Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes, as an on-and-off part of the Avenger roster. The TV series is animated, in form of a motion-comic. In this one, T'Challa is the new Black Panther following the assassination of his father King T'Chaka. However, much like that in the United States, there is a corrupt force back in the exotic area of Wakanda, an area concealed from the outer world. However, a group was formed to take over this land, the man behind this being Ulysses Klaw: an adventurer who is responsible for T'Chaka's assassination. Spurred by revenge and honor, and aided by known faces, T'Challa must prove himself as Wakanda's leader and defender. His foes better watch their backs around this cat...
As cool as it looks, it's lifespan is short, given that there are only 6 episodes, each running 20 minutes a piece. Aside from heroes and villains, not normally heard from, there are plenty of familiar faces on both sides: such as Juggernaut, Ororo (Storm), Logan (Wolverine), and Scott (Cyclops) that appear in the series. T'Challa is voiced by Djimon Hounsou, who is also known for the role of Mateo from the film Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life, and appeared in televised work, among which delaing with 6 appearances on the show ER. Singer Jill Scott took the role of Ororo Munroe, or Strom from The X-Men, and Stan Lee himself got involved as the voice of General White. It premiered in Australia from January 16th-30th, 2010, while in the US, the dubbed version debuted and ended on BET the following year between November 15th-29th. With only 6 episodes, it wasn't a worthwhile stay for the black hero, but acceptable either way.
I call this one, despite it's shortness, a 7 of 10, mainly because I rarely seen motion-comic works so nicely done. And with that, I'm hoping Marvel will give Black Pather more exposure, like in another film, perhaps... I hope so, at least!
2012/11/02
CCXIII: "JoJo's Bizarre Adventure"
Once a strictly film/OVA/manga franchise, JoJo's Bizarre Adventure gained so much popularity that here in 2012, an anime series is in the works under this name. But it wasn't by those alone. There was even a game series that was made, and apparently, it was so well known, the words "ZA WARUDO", which is English "THE WORLD", just rolls off the tongue. But I digress. Even now, other things, such as the MUGEN build-it-yourself titles, often feature characters that mimic, if not the aforementioned phrase, then the oher bizarre, insanely unnecesssary, yet brutally entertaining moves he performs... down to the steamroller! If I come across this game, I'll mention it in the gamer blog, but for now, let's go strictly anime here.
Interestingly enough that the series is pretty long by itself. But this is expanded on by generation-specific characters, much like that of Mobile Suit Gundam AGE, but longer. The eight generations mentioned makes 8 Parts to the plot, taking place in a certain location, with each featuring their proper title and "JoJo" protagonist. Here's the rundown, but I'll leave you to find out their connections:
Part 1 - Phantom Blood - Johnathan Joestar
Part 2 - Battle Tendancy - Joseph Joestar
Part 3 - Stardust Crusaders - Jotaro Kujo
Part 4 - Diamond is Not Cash - Josuke Higashikata
Part 5 - Vento Aureo - Giorno Giovanni
Part 6 - Srone Ocean - Jolyne Kujo
Part 7 - Steel Ball Run - Johnny Joestar/Gyro Zeppeli
Part 8 - JoJolion - "Josuke Higashikata"
Despite being a physical key player in parts 1 and 3, Dio Brando is the series' main villan, and while physically absent from the other 6 parts, his death more or less influences the plot further. JoJo's Bizarre Adventure started animation-wise as a 6-episode OVA title. A prequel to this, titled JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: ADVENTURE featured 7 episodes, both done under Studio APPP, and licensed by Super Techno Arts for North America. The 6-episode OVA debuted November of 1993, ending on the same month a year later. In addition, the latter OVA set debuted May of 2000, and concluded October of 2002.
There's also a film based on the Phantom Blood arc, and properly titled so. It was made in Studio APPP as well, premiering February of 2007. Now on present day, the anime production is in full swing. An accurate episode cound can't be vouched for, but based on the promotional images of Jonathan Joestar and Dio Brando, thoughts point to the anime beginning from Part 1. I will update this as I see the actual episodes released.
For what I have watched, JoJo's Bizarre Adventure isn't in the perfect circle... yet. But with what I have found, a 9 out of 10 is appropriate, as the series is indeed a good one. Here's hoping that the anime performs as highly as the other titles.
Interestingly enough that the series is pretty long by itself. But this is expanded on by generation-specific characters, much like that of Mobile Suit Gundam AGE, but longer. The eight generations mentioned makes 8 Parts to the plot, taking place in a certain location, with each featuring their proper title and "JoJo" protagonist. Here's the rundown, but I'll leave you to find out their connections:
Part 1 - Phantom Blood - Johnathan Joestar
Part 2 - Battle Tendancy - Joseph Joestar
Part 3 - Stardust Crusaders - Jotaro Kujo
Part 4 - Diamond is Not Cash - Josuke Higashikata
Part 5 - Vento Aureo - Giorno Giovanni
Part 6 - Srone Ocean - Jolyne Kujo
Part 7 - Steel Ball Run - Johnny Joestar/Gyro Zeppeli
Part 8 - JoJolion - "Josuke Higashikata"
Despite being a physical key player in parts 1 and 3, Dio Brando is the series' main villan, and while physically absent from the other 6 parts, his death more or less influences the plot further. JoJo's Bizarre Adventure started animation-wise as a 6-episode OVA title. A prequel to this, titled JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: ADVENTURE featured 7 episodes, both done under Studio APPP, and licensed by Super Techno Arts for North America. The 6-episode OVA debuted November of 1993, ending on the same month a year later. In addition, the latter OVA set debuted May of 2000, and concluded October of 2002.
There's also a film based on the Phantom Blood arc, and properly titled so. It was made in Studio APPP as well, premiering February of 2007. Now on present day, the anime production is in full swing. An accurate episode cound can't be vouched for, but based on the promotional images of Jonathan Joestar and Dio Brando, thoughts point to the anime beginning from Part 1. I will update this as I see the actual episodes released.
For what I have watched, JoJo's Bizarre Adventure isn't in the perfect circle... yet. But with what I have found, a 9 out of 10 is appropriate, as the series is indeed a good one. Here's hoping that the anime performs as highly as the other titles.
Still Alive!!
Hello again. Yes, I know I've been away for a long while, but... stuff happened. I won't dwell on this though, as I'm here to simply say that I, along with this blog, are still alive. My next review will be a while though, as I've haven't been watch anime as often as before, due to circumstances uncontrollable.
However, I am finfing new material, and recommendations are welcome. I just thought I'd shed some light on my absence (as if people care that much...) Still, I'll be back as soon as I have my next topic. Till then, otaku!
However, I am finfing new material, and recommendations are welcome. I just thought I'd shed some light on my absence (as if people care that much...) Still, I'll be back as soon as I have my next topic. Till then, otaku!
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