ArizUtaku

Top 50 Anime of the 2000s, Part 3: #40 - #36

DarkYummi@gmail.com (Jay Gee) — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 18:54:00 +0000

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And here we go with Part 3 of ArizUtaku's "Top 50 Anime of the 2000s." If you enjoy reading this, then spread word about it. The more people reading this, the better.

#40 - Ponyo on a Cliff by the Sea

Hayao Miyazaki's latest film is not his greatest, but it is great enough to make it onto the lower half of the list at #40.

Plot Summary (from ANN):

A young boy, Sōsuke, befriends a strange looking goldfish whom he names Ponyo. Unbeknownst to Sōsuke, Ponyo is a magic fish who has decided that she wants to live with Sōsuke and the other humans. Unfortunately, Ponyo's decision to give up her underwater life creates a crack in an ancient magic spell, and places the world in danger. Together, Sōsuke and Ponyo must set things right.

After Miyazaki put out what is easily his worst work in Howl's Moving Castle, I began to think that he'd lost his touch. After seeing him return to form with Ponyo, however, I now know that he actually does have some left in the tank after all. Ponyo certainly isn't as complex as a Princess Mononoke or a Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind, but even so, Ponyo is still a highly enjoyable fairy tale of a film. When Miyazaki is on his game, everything resonates with him, even when his story doesn't have much of an actual plot as in Ponyo. What we get is a delightfully charming story of young romance with a bit of a supernatural twist and terrific (and imaginative) animation. Disney's dub of the film isn't bad either. Save for Tina Fey's grating, inconsistent performance, I didn't have much problem with the dub.

#39 - Last Exile

Range Murata art = awesome

Coming in at #39 is Studio Gonzo's last great original anime production, Last Exile. Since then, they have really fallen from grace.

Plot summary (from ANN):

In a world that looks like the 19th century with anti-gravity devices, Claus and Lavie are pilot and co-pilot of a Vanship and act as couriers. They become involved with a mysterious mission after rescuing a little girl from a strange star-shaped killing machine. Not willing to let the girl die, they complete the mission by delivering her to the legendary mercenary ship Sylvana, only to become part of the crew as fighter pilots.

To start off, this series is absolutely stunning to watch. This being Gonzo's 10th anniversary work, one can tell instantly that they put a lot of money into making this. The CG still looks pretty good today, the animation during the flight and battle sequences is terrific and the Range Murata character designs are to die for. Couple this with a great story and you've got a winner. Like many good stories, patience is virtue as the story unfolds very slowly. Many of the characters have a aura of mystery about them as well, so you've got to keep on watching if you ever want to learn more about them. The ending maybe could have been handled a bit better, but overall the experience is an excellent one. It's a good thing FUNimation rescued this series. Otherwise it may have faded into obscurity.

#38 - Baby Blue

At #38 is a recent, yet relatively unknown work by Shinichiro Watanabe.

Plot summary (from ANN):

"What if we just forget about today or the future" A phrase that gives start to a small adventure of two young students, to go anywhere they can in just that one day, to live what they want or just can, to reach the longest distance with only the money in their pockets, to enjoy that day without caring about the rest, just be together. Love is bittersweet, but just for that day lets stay with each other.

This 15-minute short film is one of the many entries in the Genius Party anthology. This one though, is by far the best. It is a low key, yet emotionally potent story about two young lovers who ditch school to spend a day with one another. It is such an honest portrayal of young love that I couldn't help but fall in love with it myself. Especially considering the bittersweet, yet beautiful ending.

#37 - Le Chevalier D'Eon

The series at #37 is rife with delicious intrigue and scintillating sword fights.

Plot summary (from ANN):

During the time when Louis XV still ruled France, a certain woman was found dead in the coffin floating through the Seine river. D'Eon, the woman's brother, determines to search for the killer of his sister, Lia. But there are some strange movements in France. And things become more strange when Lia's soul enters D'Eon's body...

This series is a novel take on a real historical figure: D'Eon de Beaumont, who was a man who believed himself to be a woman and actually dressed like one. In the anime, they have taken this and given it a supernatural twist by having his sister Lia's soul enter his body. When she takes over, D'Eon also undertakes a slightly more feminine appearance. What makes this series so great is the political intrigue and also the sword fights. The series was directed by Kazuhiro Furuhashi (who also directed Rurouni Kenshin) so the excellent swordplay should come as no surprise. The political side of it should also come as no surprise, considering that the series is set in the 18th century of all times. All of the noblility and royalty are either on the side of D'Eon or they aren't (and sometimes which side they are on is ambiguous or they change sides when you least expect it) so not knowing who to trust in the series really adds to the tension. The ending is a bit of a let-down, but only in how the pacing up to that point forced the final episodes to be a bit rushed, making the final wrap up is a bit of a head-scratcher. Still, this series kept me on the edge of my seat from the very get-go up until the very end. Go watch this series if you haven't already.

#36 - Kino's Travels: The Country of Sickness -For You-

At #36 is the second of the two Kino's Journey movies.

Plot summary (from ANN):

Kino travels to a country divided into two parts: the very clean and peaceful city, closed off from the surrounding wastelands. She meets a little girl in the city suffering from a disease which is constantly being researched. The girl, however, does not know just how the reasearch is being done.

The first Kino movie was not directed by Ryutaro Nakamura (the director of the TV series), so it suffered a bit. Also, it dealt with more of Kino's backstory, which made it a little less interesting than her actual travels. However, the second was directed by Nakamura, and on top of that, Chiaki J. Konaka wrote this one. Whenever these two guys team up, the finished product is always great. I'm not sure if this is an entirely original story, or if it was adapted from the novels themselves, but even so, this ranks of up as one of the best Kino stories. The idea of people protecting themselves from pathogens is nothing new, but the tragic twist in the latter stages of this film is not only heartbreaking, it says a lot about the nature of humanity. If we were ever in a situation like these people, would we do the same thing?

And thus concludes part 3. Ami from Toradora! reminds you to look forward to part 4!

Soul Eater English Dub Sneak Peek | Part 3

DarkYummi@gmail.com (Jay Gee) — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 20:06:00 +0000

Sneak Peek 1
Sneak Peek 2

FUNimation has put up two more clips of Soul Eater's English dub. The third clip is from episode 3, meaning we get to hear Death the Kid, Liz, and Patty.

I figured I'd have trouble jibing with Todd Haberkorn as Death the Kid. I've never liked the sound of his voice, plus I knew that there was no way he would ever match Mamoru Miyano's original performance. For one, he is making Kid sound a bit too playful when he's in "serious mode." However, in this scene Kid quickly reverts into his obsessive-compulsive state, so we get to hear Todd go crazy over symmetry for most of the clip. I'm not sold on that aspect of Todd's performance either. It's not that he's isn't putting enough effort; to me it sounds like he's giving Kid a slightly homosexual vibe, which I don't like. Of course, I am very biased as I love Mamoru Miyano and don't like Todd all that much, but It's still early on in the series, so Todd definitely has plenty of time to work out the kinks in his performance. As I have in the past, I'll probably just get used to him as well.

On the other hand, I am really loving Cherami Leigh as Patty and Jamie Marchi as Liz. I knew from the get-go that Cherami has the perfect voice for the role, and she's handling the very childish nature of the character very well. I love her line: "Garbage is ew, and you're not." Jamie Marchi, on the other hand, has recently become one of my favorite FUNimation actresses, so I'm glad that she got the role of Liz -- she's perfect for it. She captures Liz's sarcastic nature excellently, which is exactly what I expected. Her voice is perfect for lines dripping with sarcasm like: "Oh wonderful; here we go." Her snapping back at Kid does sound a bit forced, but hopefully Jamie will get more accustomed to getting upset at the drop of a hat.

The fourth clip is from episode 5, so we get to hear Professor Stein for the first time.

Not quite sure what I think of Chuck Huber's performance yet. Chuck sounds uninterested in this scene, but I believe that is supposed to be intentional. Other than that, I wasn't really impressed with him, but then again FUNimation didn't pick a very good scene. What I'm looking forward most to is Stein's decent into insanity later on in the series and all of the interplay between him and Medusa. I bet Chuck will have loads of fun with that.

Keep it up, FUNimation! I really want to hear Vic Mignogna as Death Scythe (Maka's dad). Medusa would be nice too, considering how much I love Luci Christian.

Top 50 Anime of the 2000s, Part 2: #45 - #41

DarkYummi@gmail.com (Jay Gee) — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 20:02:00 +0000

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I hope you enjoyed reading Part 1. What is in store for you in Part 2? Well, we've got a couple of ultra-popular, hyper-violent titles, one of the most heartwrenching anime ever made, a sports title, and a mighty fine feat of experimental animation. What are they? Well, you can find out after the jump.

#45 - Black Lagoon

My brother has a funny, yet perfectly valid way of describing Revy (L): "Revy is badass and has a nice ass."

Coming in at #45 is Black Lagoon. This is one of those series that is just pure high-octane, badass, foul-mouthed, violent fun. You also can't ignore the fact that it has one of the greatest opening themes EVER. What really makes this show stand out for me is the superb English dub, especially Maryke Hendrikse's performance as Revy. The dub is unabashedly filled with profanity (especially the F-word) and you can tell that all of the actors are having the time of their lives. The story is nothing to write home about in terms of sophistication. The series follows the adventures of Rokuro "Rock" Okajima, a former Japanese business man who gets caught up with the Black Lagoon crew after being kidnapped and held for ransom. Abandoned by his employers, Rock decides to join the pirates. What follows are several story arcs of the crew and their exploits. Still, the series is just so fun to watch. The characters (especially Revy) make you laugh over and over again and the slick action is well-animated. Plus, the background music is kickass too. In short, this series is boatloads upon boatloads of fun.

#44 - Hellsing Ultimate

If vampires were real, then the female ones should all look like Seras Victoria and have a British accent to boot. HAWT!

Speaking of kickass fun, Hellsing Ultimate is next at #44. Plot summary (from ANN): Vampires exist. It is the duty of Hellsing, a secret organization sponsored by the British government, to hide that frightening fact and protect the blissfully unaware populace. Along with its own personal army, Hellsing has secret weapons. Alucard, an incredibly powerful vampire, has been controlled by Hellsing for years. It is unclear how he feels about being a servant to the Hellsing family, but he certainly enjoys his job as a vampire exterminator. Seras is a fledgling vampire and former police woman. Although reluctant to embrace her new self, she is a valued member of the organization. Integra Hellsing, the current leader, is usually fully capable of fulfilling her duty, but lately, vampire activity has been on the rise. Unfortunately, the cause is more alarming than anything she could have imagined. A group long thought dead has been plotting in secret since their apparent destruction over 50 years ago. Plotting to plunge England, and perhaps the entire world, into war. Why is it one rung higher than Black Lagoon? Well, for starters, it is even more violent and crazy than Black Lagoon, then when you add supernatural elements, Nazis, and crazy European accents (in the dub) into the mix, and you've got something certifiably insane. Yeah, the plot doesn't really make much sense, but who cares about all that when you've got loads of over-the-top, ultra-gory violence? Hellsing Ultimate is one of those series that leaves you with a goofy grin on your face every time you finish an episode. It really is too bad that the music in Ultimate isn't as good as it is in the original TV series though. Maybe Ultimate's musical shortcomings are intentional, so we Hellsing fans don't forget the forgettable TV series. Now if only more episodes would be released in North America...

#43 - SaiKano

Though I have only watched the number #43 anime on this list only once in my life, I am certain that it would drive me to tears just as easily as it did the first time. SaiKano is just so heartbreaking to watch. Shuji and Chise are high school sweethearts in a budding relationship who seem to have not a care in the world. Then, out of nowhere, a squad of enemy jets from an unknown country attacks the city in which the two of them live. However, when things have become dire, the jets are destroyed by a tiny red light flying across the sky. Shuji soon learns that this very light is Chise -- that she is a cyborg whose sole purpose is mass destruction. Just by reading the premise you get a sense of just how horrible this series is. Finding out the one you love is a weapon? How's THAT for a wake-up call? That's not even the saddest part about this series, let me tell you. Things just keep getting worse and worse until you run into the saddest part of all: the ending. Oh boy, I couldn't stop crying for several minutes once it was over. It is a beautiful ending, yet at the same time my heart was torn in two. Now, I know I'm going on and on about how this series made me cry and not saying much else about it, but it has been so long since I first watched this series. Basically all I remember is how it kept tearing my heart out over and over again. How Shuji and Chise's relationship quickly deteriorated and how they were able to patch things up by the end, only to have it all taken away. Man, I'm tearing up a little just writing about this series. Highly recommended if you can handle just how depressing the series is. Of course, one must be able to sympathize with the characters. If you aren't able to do that, then this series will do nothing for you.

#42 - Fighting Spirit (Hajime no Ippo)

My brother actually considered getting into boxing after watching the first series. Just goes to show just how inspiring Fighting Spirit can be.

Fighting Spirit (Hajime no Ippo) is a series that is woefully underappreciated in the States. Why sports anime never seem to do well over here, I don't know, but this is why we can't have nice things like Mitsuru Adachi anime/manga and Major. The premise of this terrific shonen anime is simple: Ippo is saved from bullies by Takamura, a boxer. Takamura's skills inspire Ippo to become a boxer himself and as they say, the rest is history. The series is a lengthy one, but it is well worth your time. Even if you're like me and don't consider yourself a fan of the sport of boxing, it is very hard not become engaged in watching this series. Watching Ippo become stronger on his way to becoming the Japanese Featherweight Champion is incredibly addicting, plus all of the fights are well animated. Also, in the first series you've got Tsuneo Imahori providing the music, so you know it has to be good. (The second series, while still great, suffered terribly on the music front since Imahori wasn't involved.) Perhaps the worst thing about loving this anime is the fact that the boxing isn't realistic. Watching real boxing after watching Fighting Spirit made me want to cry, as it seemed so ungainly compared to the fights in the anime series.

#41 - Franz Kafka's A Country Doctor

Finally, at #41 we have the fantastic experimental anime: Franz Kafka's A Country Doctor. Plot summary (from ANN): A hapless country doctor describes with breathless urgency a night-time summons to attend a young patient. Events soon take on a surreal aspect as "unearthly horses" transport him instantaneously to the bedside. The doctor, preoccupied with personal distractions and grievances against those he is employed to care for, fails to find what is revealed to be a vile, fatal wound. He is humiliated by the villagers, who are "always expecting the impossible from the doctor," and doomed to an endless return trip, losing everything. Koji Yamamura's adaptation of Franz Kafka's short story of the same name may be difficult to get into for many people. This anime is very "weird," so if you don't go into this short film with an open mind, you probably will have a hard time making your way through it. Not to mention many things are shown in a surreal manner rather than said, leaving it up to the viewer to make sense of things (especially if you are not familiar with the original story as I was). Still, being shorter than an average anime episode, this is a short film that won't take much of your time if you do ever watch it, and I highly recommend that you do. Check out other Yamamura shorts in the process, like the Academy Award-nominated Mt. Head for instance.

And that does it for Part 2 of ArizUtaku's "Top 50 Anime of the 2000s" series. Look forward to part 3 next Thursday!

Soul Eater English Dub Sneak Peek | Part 2

DarkYummi@gmail.com (Jay Gee) — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 00:46:00 +0000

Sneak Peek 1
Sneak Peek 3

FUNimation put up a second clip back on Monday sampling Soul Eater's dub. This time it is a clip from episode 2, so we get to hear Black Star and Tsubaki in action.
Brittney Karbowski is voicing Black Star, so FUNimation is in effect copying the Japanese by casting a female in the role. Problem is, Black Star sounds far more feminine in English. Then again, Brittney does not come off nearly as irritating as Yumiko Kobayashi did, so maybe Black Star sounding more like a girl is not all bad.

On the other hand, Monical Rial is passable as Tsubaki. While she doesn't have the voice to match Kaori Nazuka in tone, Monica seems to be doing a decent job despite the fact that she makes Tsubaki sound quite a bit older than she actually is. This is a problem that plagues most dubs, however, so it doesn't really bother me that much.

Keep the dub samplings coming, FUNimation!

Top 50 Anime of the 2000s, Part 1: #50 - #46

DarkYummi@gmail.com (Jay Gee) — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 00:15:00 +0000

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What do you think of the logo? Pretty snazzy, no?

List compiled? Check. List trimmed? Check. List ranked? Check. Logo created? Check. ArizUtaku's "Top 50 Anime of the 2000s"? Underway!

And here we go! Let's get this party started.

#50 - Natsume Yūjin-Chō

Based upon Yuki Midorikawa's manga of the same name, Natsume Yūjin-Chō is about a high school boy named Takashi Natsume who can see spirits. He inherits a book that once belonged to his grandmother Reiko that contains the names of many spirits. The spirits whose names are in the book are in a binding contract with the book's owner; and upon discovering this, Natsume decides to free the spirits by returning their names.

As you can probably guess, this is an episodic series. It is kind of "monster-of-the-week," though that isn't really the best way to describe it. I like to compare it to Mushi-Shi myself. Like Mushi-Shi, what makes Natsume Yūjin-Chō so great is its very laid-back feel. Natsume is a very laid-back kind of guy and his "sensei" Nyanko is the same way. Even the direction is very laid-back, to the point of perhaps being a turn-off to people who don't enjoy slower-paced series. However, nearly every episode of this series tells a good story. We get to know about each of the spirits and their human-like qualities and how they ended up in the contract in the first place. Also, the production values are very good. The artistry is very pretty, and the also laid-back background music and sounds add a lot to the atmosphere. The series is at its best when all of these elements are perfectly in sync during the many great emotional moments. Especially when one has become attached to the featured spirit of the episode. Not to mention Nyanko-sensei often provides some nice comic relief. All of this makes for a fantastical, very involving series with some laughs on the side.

You know you are getting a "Top 50" list off to a good start when a series like this one is ranked at #50. Natsume Yūjin-Chō is such a wonderful series indeed.

BroEl's thoughts: A very impressive way to top off a top 50 indeed. Natsume Yujin-Cho ended up being one of my top favorite series of 2008 and is still currently up there as one of my more favorite recent series overall. Though I personally have to admit there was actually a lot that turned me off about it, what I ended up loving about it in the end more than made up for what turned me off. In fact interestingly enough a lot of what I didn't like about it at certain points actually eventually turned out to evolve into be a major part of what I ended up absolutely loving about the series. That more laid back feel about it that made it's direction style and overall atmosphere kind of dull I really felt made things kind of uninteresting and boring at some points in the series. But in the more emotionally involving and engaging moments, and really just some of the more light-hearted moments where it couldn't have flowed more perfectly was actually where that very feel that grabbed right onto my heart and never let go. Essentially I would say that probably what did it for me for the most part is exactly how much I feel I can identify with Natsume and how much he reminds me of myself in a lot of ways. In some ways he actually even looks like me, strangely enough..... But a good portion of it ended up being just it's sheer ability to tell a very beautifully touching story overall. In the end, definitely a very highly recommended series if you can handle that more laid back feel.

#49 - Ninja Nonsense

I'll say it straight-out: Ninja Nonsense is an absolute riot at #49!

Shinobu is a ninja-in-training. There's just one problem: She is an extremely naïve and is the student of a perverted master! While on a mission to steal the panties (yes, panties) of high school girls, Shinobu is caught in the act by Kaede. The two quickly become friends and soon become caught up in many a misadventure.

The entire series is nonstop, raucous, parody fun. Onsokumaru (the yellow guy at the bottom of the image) is the "perverted master," and his shameless perverseness is what drives the series. He and the other male ninja in the dojo (who all look identical, by the way) never quit when it comes to taking advantage of Shinbou's naïveté. Thankfully Kaede is there to stop them, but even so the antics of the male characters in the series never cease to be hilarious. Though many of the jokes do fall flat and even get repetitive towards the end of the series, the jokes that do work will often leave you literally rolling on the floor laughing. This happened to me so many times while watching this series that I had to either have the wherewithal to pause the DVD while laughing, or simply rewind it when I was finished laughing. This series has to be commended for its confident writing when it comes to the humor. Many of the jokes are just so bold that you may literally hear yourself say: "I can't believe they put that in there!" It's a really great, woefully underrated series for viewers who can stand very perverse humor.

#48 - Ouran High School Host Club

Moving from one parody to another, Ouran High School Host Club is #48 on the list.

Haruhi Fujioka is a poor, tomboyish girl attending a school that is inhabited majorly by the hyper-wealthy. One day, she stumbles across the Host Club, but shatters an expensive vase while trying to leave. In order to pay for her debt, she initally is forced to do odd jobs for the Club. However, the boys in the Club don't realize at first that she is a girl, and decide that she could be an asset. Haruhi becomes an instant sensation and the Club members even decide to keep her own after discovering the truth regarding her gender.

This is a series an anime fan of any gender can enjoy. How it plays up common shojo tropes and pokes fun at them makes for a truly amusing show. Each of the male characters is a parody of the usual character archetypes found in shojo manga and even certain female characters fall into this category. Also, how the series makes usage of the heroine Haruhi's androgynous character design adds yet another layer onto the humor, amongst other things. This is a perfect example of an anime that must be seen to be believed. While the rushed ending leaves a bit to be desired, overall this is a fine example of parody done right.

#47 - Aoi Hana

At #47, Aoi Hana is the most recently produced anime on this list, and the only 2009 anime to make the cut.

Fumi is a shy, bookish, lesbian girl who had her heart broken just prior to her freshman year of high school. Around the same time she encounters Akira, a close friend from 10 years ago who is attending a different high school. Fumi soon after enters into another relationship with an upperclassman from her school.

This is a series that badly needs a sequel, however I am very happy with what was animated. For one, the production values are stunning. The animation is terrific, and the watercolor backgrounds are outstanding. The low-key music adds the perfect extra element to each scene it is used in, and Kenichi Kasai's (Honey and Clover, Nodame Catabile) skilled, yet sensitive directorial hand elevate this series into the top tier. Not only is it the best yuri anime I have never watched, it is one of the best romance anime I have ever seen period. It is such a heartfelt portrayal of the importance of relationships with such endearing characters that I just had to include it on this Top 50 list. Sure, the relationship of Fumi and Akira is never really developed and plenty of things are left unresolved in the end; but I don't care all that much. This series hit such a chord with me emotionally (this is coming from a straight guy, mind you) that I couldn't help but love each and every nanosecond of it.

#46 - The "Ef" Series

For #46, I am going to cheat a little bit and talk about two closely related series: Ef - a tale of memories and Ef - a tale of melodies. When it all came down to it, I couldn't chose one over the other and I didn't want to waste an extra slot on the list, so I'll use one slot for both. This won't be the only time I do this either.

Ef - a tale of memories plot summary (from ANN):

The anime revolves around two protagonists, Hirono Hiro and Asou Renji. On Christmas Eve, Hirono Hiro meets a girl named Miyamura Miyako who was chasing a purse snatcher. Hiro later finds out that Miyako also goes to the same school as he does and they start hanging out together. This made Hiro's childhood friend, Shindou Kei, feel left out. Kei then tries to compete with Miyako for Hiro's affection and a love triangle ensues. The anime also tells the story of Asou Renji. Renji meets a girl named Shindou Chihiro at an abandoned train station. He soon learns that Chihiro suffers from a type of amnesia where her memory span only lasts for 13 hours. He also discovers Chihiro's dream of writing a novel, but she has never been able to fulfill that dream due to her condition. Renji then decides to help her fulfill that dream.

Ef - a tale of melodies plot summary (from ANN):

The anime once again tells two stories. The first story takes place in the past. Himura Yuu meets a girl, Amamiya Yuuko who seems to know him, but he doesn't know her. However, he soon remembers that she was a girl whom he knew from long ago. Yuuko then tells him something which he never knew. He was her first love since then, and her first love has not ended yet. The second story takes place in the present, just after the events of ef - A Tale of Memories. Shuuichi Kuze meets the cousin of Aso Renji, Hayama Mizuki and spends a lot of time with her. Unknown to Mizuki, Kuze had contracted a fatal illness and has little time left to live. Kuze had decided to break all romantic ties, but things go bad when Mizuki tells him that she loves him.

Kind of a lot to take in, no? That's why I opted to copy and paste the summaries over typing out my own version of each. These posts are already taking up enough of my time as it is!

Anyway, these two melodramas are some of the most emotionally and mentally draining anime you will ever watch. Each story contained within these two series do a superb job of getting you attached to each of these characters. You may feel to urge to cry when something heart-wrenching happens, and you'll be overjoyed when something uplifting happens. Both series are intense roller coaster rides from start to finish with numerous emotional and mental twists, turns, drops and rises along the way. Couple this with highly stylized animation, tons of onscreen text, and gorgeous artistry and you have an anime that screams for an requires your undivided attention. Some problems with this series are the fact that it is very moé, over-stylized at times, and all the onscreen text is a bit of an annoyance to read; but I still love both series to death nonetheless. They were able to suck me in to their little world and get me to fall in love with them in spite of my misgivings, and for that they are to be commended. If these series were ever to be licensed, I would almost die of happiness. Almost.

Whew! That does it for Part 1 of ArizUtaku's "Top 50 Anime of the 2000s" series. Look forward to Part 2 next Thursday!

The Summit of the Gods, Volume 1 Review (MV)

DarkYummi@gmail.com (Jay Gee) — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 17:20:00 +0000

My latest Manga Village @ Comics Village review is now up on the site!

The review is of the first volume of The Summit of the Gods (Story by Baku Yumemakura, Art by Jiro Taniguchi). I have some negative things to say about the first volume, but overall the review is a very positive one. If you have not checked out this manga already, you really should do so. Buy it along with Fanfare and Ponent Mon's other recent release A Distant Neighborhood (Story & Art by Jiro Taniguchi). I highly recommend both series.

A Taste of Things to Come OR Top 50 Anime of the 2000s: Prologue

DarkYummi@gmail.com (Jay Gee) — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 19:00:00 +0000

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With the decade now being nearly over, I recently got the idea of a massive new anime-related project for ArizUtaku. What is it? Well, you can read more after the jump.

No, it is not a silly idea (contrary to what the lolcat image above may suggest), and I did not get this idea from a cat either. The idea I have is compiling what I think are the "Top 50 Anime of the 2000s."

Sorry, Cowboy Bebop, but you will not be making the cut. It is shocking, I know; but let's face it: you are a little too old.

First things first, my basis for a series being from the 2000s is this: I will be going by the earliest vintage date listed for the anime in question on Anime News Network (ANN). This means anime that originally aired/ran in theaters/were released to video or DVD during the 1990s and earlier in Japan but were not released in the US until the 2000s WILL NOT COUNT. This also means classics like Cowboy Bebop, Berserk, and Neon Genesis Evangelion, just to name a few, will have to be excluded. Having to leave out such great series is unfortunate, but I think that will help to make this list a bit more fresh in the long run. Of course, there are also series that originally began late in 1999 and carried over into 2000, but again, I am going by when the anime originally began. Anything whose vintage date does not fall between 1/1/2000 and 12/31/2009 will be overlooked. There will be no exceptions to this rule. Period. So if you ever wonder why a certain highly-regarded anime was not included, first check the vintage date on ANN. This is by no means a "Top 50 Anime of All Time" list, so chances are it does not fit the criteria I have set. Either that, or I simply do not feel it deserves to be included.

This will not be exclusive to titles licensed for North America either. I realize that there has been a lot of debate over fansubs recently, but I do not want to be any more exclusive than I already am. Plus, it goes in line with me going by the original Japanese airing date rather than when it was released in North America. Also, I can show support for anime that I would buy in a heartbeat if they are ever licensed in the future.

I can show support for titles like Mononoke, for instance.

Here is how the "Top 50 Anime of the 2000s" posts will work: Starting this coming Thursday, I will post about the first 5 titles, starting from #50. I will then talk about the next five series up the ladder the following Thursday, and so on. That way, I will be making my final post on Thursday, December 31st, which so happens to be the final day of this decade.

All of this said, I am very excited, yet at the same time overwhelmed. This will be the most comprehensive project I have ever undertaken as far as ArizUtaku is concerned. It is a big commitment, and it is sure to wear me out mentally; but if I can complete it, then I know that I will be able to take on similar large projects in the future. This will also help to keep this site updated this site with new content more frequently, as this site tends to go through long stretches of stagnation from time to time. This will help to change that and also help keep my writing juices flowing. Once these 10 weeks are over, it will also be time for a new season of anime in Japan, but hopefully by then I will have come up with more things to write about besides that.

Paprika is one of the many movies on my preliminary list.

Lastly, if anyone wants an early idea of what qualifying titles may or may not be on this list, you can go here for a peek at my ~~preliminary~~ list. At the time of this post, I have 89(!) anime on that list, so I will be forced to trim it down by 39, which will be especially tough. Then I will have to rank them, which should also be an interesting (and hopefully fun) challenge. The list has now been narrowed down to 50 and ranked.

Wish me luck ...

Fall 2009 Anime "First Impressions Awards"

DarkYummi@gmail.com (Jay Gee) — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 23:13:00 +0000

Having watched at least one episode of every new fall anime I was planning on watching plus one, I think it is time to hand out some awards.

Overall Awards

Best series: Kūchū Buranko
Best series runner-up: Aoi Bungaku Series
Worst series: To Aru Kagaku no Railgun
Worst series runner-up: Kämpfer
Guilty Pleasure Award: Kämpfer
Most underrated series: Winter Sonata
Biggest surprise (tie): The Sacred Blacksmith, Winter Sonata
Biggest Disappointment (tie): To Aru Kagaku no Railgun, Fairy Tail, Jungle Emperor Leo
Best first episode: Sasameki Koto
Worst first episode: To Aru Kagaku no Railgun
Biggest second episode improvement: Kūchū Buranko
Biggest second episode letdown: Sasameki Koto
Most uplifting series: Kimi ni Todoke
Most depressing series: Aoi Bungaku Series

Production Awards

Best opening theme (tie): "Upside Down" by Denki Groove (Kūchū Buranko), "Prophecy" by Mami Kawada (Shakugan no Shana S)
Worst opening theme: "Snow fairy" by FUNKIST (Fairy Tail)
Best ending theme (tie): "Shangri-La (Y.Sunahara 2009 Remodel)" by Denki Groove (Kūchū Buranko), "Miracle Happy Day" by Aki Toyosaki (The Sacred Blacksmith)
Worst ending theme: "Light of Dawn" by Annabel (Tatakau Shisho - The Book of Bantorra)
Best animation: Kimi ni Todoke (Production I.G)
Worst animation: Miracle Train (Yumeta Company)
Best art design: Kūchū Buranko (Toei Animation)
Worst art design: Tatakau Shisho - The Book of Bantorra (David Production)
Best background music: Winter Sonata
Worst background music: Kämpfer (Tatsuya Katou)
Best voice actor: Tetsu Inada as Ioryogi (Kobato.)
Best voice actress: Aya Hirano as Lucy Heartfilia (Fairy Tail)
Best male lead: Irabu Ichiro (Kūchū Buranko)
Worst male lead: Natsuru Seno (Kämpfer)
Best female lead: Sawako Kuronuma (Kimi ni Todoke)
Worst female lead: Akane Mishima (Kämpfer)

Miscellaneous Awards

Tearjerker Award: Sumika and Ushio's tender moment in the library in Sasameki Koto episode one
Eye-roll Award (tie): Kuroko Shirai's numerous lecherous lesbian moments in To Aru Kagaku no Railgun episode one, the cross dresser in Sasameki Koto, the overt Code Geass feel of Jungle Emperor Leo
Most Refreshing Change of Pace Award: Kūchū Buranko
"I'd Rather be Watching One Piece" Award: Fairy Tail
"I'd rather be watching The Lion King" Award: Jungle Emperor Leo
Humor Award: Shakugan no Shana S
Takes Itself Too Seriously Award: Tatakau Shisho - The Book of Bantorra
"Wow, this got stupid fast" Award: Sasameki Koto
"Why did Aoi Hana have to end?" Award: Sasameki Koto
Most Shameful Audience Pandering Award: Miracle Train
Best Reference Award: "Pedro Martinez" (Kimi ni Todoke, episode three)
Most Likely to be Related to Light Yagami Award: Oba Yozo (Aoi Bungaku Series, "No Longer Human" arc)
"Stop calling me 'Griffith!'" Award: Sigfried (The Sacred Blacksmith)
Fan Service Award: Kämpfer
Biggest Waste of Voice Cast Award: Fairy Tail (Aya Hirano, Rie Kugimiya, Tetsuya Kakihara, etc.)
Biggest Waste of Directorial Talent Award: Miracle Train (Kenichi Kasai)
Biggest Waste of Production Studio Award (tie): Fairy Tail (A-1 Pictures, Satelight), The Sacred Blacksmith (Manglobe)
Lucky Bastard Award (tie): Oba Yozo (Aoi Bungaku Series, "No Longer Human" arc), Luke Ainsworth (The Sacred Blacksmith), Natsuru Seno (Kämpfer)
Most Wanted License Award: Kūchū Buranko
First Expected License Award: Fairy Tail
This Might as Well be a GONZO Series Award: Tatakau Shisho - The Book of Bantorra
Oddest Fetish: Injections (Ichiro Irabu, Kūchū Buranko)
Most attractive female (tie): Hamyuts Meseta (Tatakau Shisho - The Book of Bantorra), Mayumi (Kūchū Buranko), Aria (The Sacred Blacksmith)

Well, I've run out of ideas for awards. Considering how much fun I had writing this post, I think I just might make this a regular thing every season.

Aoi Bungaku Series | First Impressions

DarkYummi@gmail.com (Jay Gee) — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 23:44:00 +0000

The next new series to grace my presence is Madhouse's Aoi Bungaku Series (Blue Literature Series). After last year's Mōryō no Hako (Box of Goblins), it is great to see Madhouse adapting more literary works. This time though, they are adapting six separate works by four different authors. Different staffs are adapting each story, and in addition, three Shonen Jump artists are designing the characters. Takeshi Obata (Death Note, Hikaru no Go) is designing for two stories; Tite Kubo (Bleach) is designing for three stories; and Takeshi Konomi (The Prince of Tennis) will be designing for one story.

The first story to be adapted is Osamu Dazai's No Longer Human, and the character designs are by Obata. If anyone is interested, the English version of the original novel may be purchased here.

Who am I? And why do I look like Light Yagami?

I haven't read the original novel (though I think I soon will), so I cannot comment on the quality of the adaption itself, but I can say that I found the first episode to be very interesting. No Longer Human is also getting the most screen time (four episodes) out of all of the stories to be adapted, so that has to be a good sign.

The protagonist of the story is Ōba Yōzō (voiced by Masato Sakai), is a young man who feels alienated from his fellow human beings but has learned to hide his deep sense of dread under a façade. He has felt like this ever since childhood due to his strained relationship with his father, amongst other things. He meets a woman who harbors similar feelings to his own and they agree to commit double suicide. However, things don't go exactly as planned.

That is a LOT of Bloody Mary right there.
You sure you'll be able to drink all that, Yōzō?

This seems to be Madhouse's highest profile product this season, evidenced by the fact that this is their best-looking series this season. The art direction is dark and gritty, but this is highly appropriate given the dark tone of the original work. Plus, dark series like this are Madhouse's forte, so of course they know how to do this right. The animation is above average too, though not nearly on the level of Production I.G's stunning Kimi ni Todoke. In short, the series looks great so far in this opening arc.

Madhouse's anthology Blue Literature Series is off to a very strong start. The No Longer Human arc has definitely piqued my interest, and hopefully the remainder of the stories to be adapted will be just as great, if not better. Looking forward to the segment directed by Tetsuro Araki (Death Note anime, Kurozuka), and also the segment directed by Ryosuke Nakamura (Mōryō no Hako).

Looks like Yōzō has accepted the fact
that he is Light Yagami's previous life.

Fullmetal Alchemist, Volume 20 Review (MV)

DarkYummi@gmail.com (Jay Gee) — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 17:00:00 +0000

It has been a little while, but my most recent Manga Village @ Comics Village review is now available. This time, the review covers the latest volume of Hiromu Arakawa's Fullmetal Alchemist.

You may read the review by transmuting your way here.

Interesting tidbit: This is the volume on which the currently airing Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood was first announced in Japan.

Kūchū Buranko (Trapeze) | First Impressions

noreply@blogger.com (BroEl) — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 05:22:00 +0000

An example of some of the rotoscoping this series uses.

Without a doubt, if anything else this series will definitely be by and far the most visually impressive series out this season, if not the most in a real long while. Much like he did with Mononoke, Kenji Nakamura delivers his brilliantly unique directing style with such mastery, and also like with Mononoke, the animation style of this series really is quite literally unlike anything you've ever seen. Granted a lot of it is quite obviously rotoscoped (that is, taking live action shots and animating them up within an animated world), which let's be honest, isn't something that hasn't been done before, but that doesn't make it any less amazing to watch. But along with some of the impressive rotoscoping that is utilized, I'm more impressed with just the sheer amount of innovativeness of the art style, which can always be expected from the same people that did Mononoke. I think for me the most impressive thing to look at were the paper cut-out visions of all the background people. Simply put, this series from the previews looked very, very impressively trippy and odd yet highly innovative, and visually, I must say it definitely delivered in that area.

I won't go as far quite yet as to toss it aside as yet another astonishing visual masterpiece that fails in all other areas though, seeing as how this is just the first episode. And quite frankly, with series like this we usually stand a bit confused after just one episode anyways. Honestly though, even then it was far from failing. Just not quite as interesting as I was thinking it would be based off of the previews is all. But like I say, this is just the first episode and I'm sure there are plenty more aspects of the basic premise and main idea as well as the actual storyline that are yet to be explored more deeply. It does set up a pretty fairly interesting concept with this with this Irabu Ichirou's different personas and how he uses them to treat his patients psychologically. Based on what I can tell from the next episode preview, it almost seems like it'll be exploring all of the different people involved with the circus' trapeze show, with Irabu Ichirou helping them out with their different psychological issues. But I'm probably way off on that, who knows.

Once again though, I have to say I really enjoyed the BGM of this series. Mostly just a bunch of upbeat techno, but really catchy and awesome sounding ones at that. Both the OP and the ED I was very, very impressed with. Here are examples of both:

I must say, I'm really looking forward to seeing how much more this series is capable of. It already looks promising enough, even if not as much as I was hoping it would. But I'm sure the best is yet to come.

Fairy Tail | First Impressions

noreply@blogger.com (BroEl) — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 05:31:00 +0000

Luffy..... oh, sorry, I mean uhh.... Natsu prepares for the big battle!!

Truth be told what had initially gotten me to want to give this series a watch was how similar I've heard it was to One Piece. And given that I am a pretty darn huge One Piece fan, not to mention shounen fan in general, I naturally felt the need to check it out. Even though certain people had specifically used the word "ripoff" or "plagiarism" in regards to it's similarities to One Piece, I essentially disregarded them as the typical shounen fare in the sense of complaints about one shounen series being way too similar to another.

But to tell you the honest truth, from what I could tell just off of this one episode, I really didn't see that many similarities to One Piece in the first place. Not to say that there weren't any, because fact of the matter is there were indeed quite a bit. A lot of the character traits, especially that of the main hero's, were quite similar to characters from One Piece for one, and of course as you can obviously tell the art style of this series is practically right off the page of Eiichiro Oda's style. Plus that and I guess I can sort of see the whole Wizard's Gild = Pirate Crew thing as well. But other than that, it did seem to be very much in a lot of ways it's own thing with it's own ideas. Clearly inspired by One Piece no doubt, but hardly a ripoff save for possibly the art style.

All in all though, I actually found this episode to be quite enjoyable, which apparently makes me a dribbling idiot unfortunately.... (yes, I did read Andrew Cunningham's ~~rant~~ review. :P ) Was it necessarily one of the better shounen series I'd ever seen? Oh heaven's no. If you're looking for a good shounen series to indulge yourself on then quite frankly there are plenty of far, far better, far more well made ones out there that you could do so with. Was it so mind-numbingly terrible that it'll make you dumber for having watched it? Not by a longshot. Basically at it's very worst, it's kind of just a standard typical generic shounen series that doesn't really have anything all that particularly special about it, and that's about as bad as it gets. The comic relief in it I will admit is probably a lot more annoying and cliche than it was funny, and the animation and the overall execution of the episode were quite fairly unimpressive, if not really, really poor. But other than that I didn't find anything too particularly terrible about it. I will say though that even though neither the OP or the ED were particularly anything special, I actually did like the BGM for this thing quite a bit. If anything, it's worth watching at least for that anyways.

Granted keep in mind that most of what I'm saying about this thing is pretty much limited to just one episode. It could get better, it could get worse, who knows. What I can definitely say for sure about it though is that based off the first episode, I see it as at least a fun little enjoyable shounen series that I feel entertained enough by it to at least keep watching if nothing else.

Kämpfer | First Impressions (Episodes 1 & 2)

DarkYummi@gmail.com (Jay Gee) — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 02:47:00 +0000

I never planned to watch this series in the first place, but I was bored and needed something to watch. Slypheristic told me on Twitter that I should watch Kämpfer, so I decided to give the show a cursory look. I still needed to find my guilty pleasure series for this season anyway.

Free fan service is a nice perk for a guy who is also a girl.
So nice that it is enviable.

Let's face it, the premise of this series is probably the dumbest of the season. The main character, Natsuru, is just an average high school boy with a major problem. The problem? He's been chosen to be a Kämpfer, whose sole purpose is to fight other Kämpfer. It gets worse. All Kämpfer must be FEMALE, meaning Natsuru has to transform into a girl in order to use his powers, plus Natsuru has no choice in the matter regarding whether he wants to be a Kämpfer or not. It gets worse. Sakura, his childhood friend and love interest falls for his FEMALE FORM! His school is also separated into a "boys' side" and a "girls' side," which are separated by a Berlin wall of sorts coupled with strict security. The funny thing is, all of this actually manages to WORK, as crazy as that sounds. No, this isn't going to be the best show of the season (more like the trashiest), but for what it's worth, Kämpfer actually manages to be quite entertaining and enjoyable.

Isn't it nice how the sun always seems to
smile upon on pretty anime girls?

First off, Sakura (above) is voiced by Megumi Nakajima, making her instantly likeable. Secondly, Natsuru's partner Kämpfer Akane is voiced by the ever-endearing Yui Horie, and that's not all. Akane undergoes quite the drastic change when she transforms into her Kämpfer form. Not only does her appearance change, her personality becomes the polar opposite of her human personality. When she is human, Akane is an incredibly shy, glasses-wearing brunette girl who has a humorous fixation on sex. She constantly takes things completely the wrong way when it comes to things Natsuru does and says (though the unabashedly suggestive dialogue doesn't help matters), which almost never fails to induce a good chuckle. In her Kämpfer form, she becomes a foul-mouthed, very aggressive redhead girl who doesn't wear glasses and also loves to fight. (Coincidentally, Kämpfer Akane also looks a lot like Minori from Toradora!, who was also voiced by Yui Horie.) She also never seems to take certain dialogue the wrong way either. Akane is also quite jealous of Sakura, which is much more prevalent in her Kämpfer form.

Akane is quite embarrassed over her Kämpfer form.

With all of this comes the usual hijinks of Natsuru struggling with his female side, and with that comes fan service. Of course, as previously mentioned, Sakura is attracted to female Natsuru, but at first Natsuru has no control over when he transforms, which leads to some funny moments. Another funny thing is how the script pokes fun at many of the voice actresses with lines like: "Shut your trap, you Yui Horie sound-a-like!"

Isn't it also nice how anime girls can conveniently turn

into lesbians, AND have no feelings whatsoever for the
male half when the guy who likes them is also a female?
Oh, happy day!

The Kämpfer fighting Kämpfer plot doesn't make any sense after the first two episodes, and the production values are throwaway, but who honestly cares about that? We get plenty of action with girls fighting other girls, and the yuri subplot with Sakura makes way to plenty of laughs to go along with the other humor and fan service present in this series. Plus, with the Student Council President Shizuku being an enemy "Red Kämpfer" (Akane and Natsuru are both "Blue Kämpfer"), things could really get interesting. Especially with the twist at the end of episode two in which Natsuru is forced to transfer to the female side of the school in order to keep other students from finding out about the Kämpfer. (Rumors had been spreading about Natsuru's female form, you see.)

The face of evil sports white hair in her Kämpfer form.

In all, this series looks to be a keeper. Yes, Kämpfer is definitely stupid and trashy, and plenty of folks are bound to hate this series; but it is entertaining, and that is all that really matters to me. It is pure dumb fun that will definitely keep me coming back for more, and I have no problem with that.

Yup, no problem at all.

Kimi ni Todoke (Anime) | First Impressions

DarkYummi@gmail.com (Jay Gee) — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 00:33:00 +0000

Production I.G's latest series, Kimi ni Todoke, was the next to try and worm its way into my affections. Being an adaptation of Karuho Shiina's popular manga, the question is: Is it a good adaptation?

They nailed moments like this one, so that's a good start.

First things first. As expected, this series is gorgeous!!

And those are just some the outdoor backgrounds/vistas! The backgrounds inside the school are also nicely rendered, as are the character designs. The animation sequences of the opening and ending themes are also very pretty and colorful (but not to the point of being garish). The songs are nice as well.

The character animation is also superb. Production I.G proves yet again that they are one of the best in the business, churning out yet another series with beautiful, fluid animation. They do fall back on the usage of super-deformed characters a bit, but this same art style was also present in the manga so it is nice to see I.G sticking with it. The music is barely noticeable most of the time, but when it is it adds to the atmosphere quite nicely. Especially during the more horror-styled moments.

Finally, we have the story. The prologue chapter of the manga is adapted perfectly. That doesn't mean that the story doesn't have it's flaws, however. The dialogue is repetitive, the characters could be called "ridiculously nice," and Mamiko Noto, surprisingly, actually manages to grate on the nerves a little. Still, the story has such an undercurrent of warmth about it that I found it hard not to like it. Your mileage will vary, though, as it really depends on how well you can handle the high levels of sentiment. Even so, Kimi no Todoke the anime is off to a strong start. Hopefully it (supposedly) only being a 12-episode series doesn't end up being a bad thing.

Sasameki Koto | First Impressions

DarkYummi@gmail.com (Jay Gee) — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 20:28:00 +0000

OK, it is a new week, so it is time to get back to work, as it were.

The next new show to cross my path was the yuri title Sasameki Koto (Whispered Words). Did it get off to a good start?

Hm. A bookish, glasses-wearing lesbian with long, dark hair.
Where have I seen THAT before?

......

Oh ... right.

To answer, my own question: Yes, it did get off a good start. Heck, Whispered Words got off to an excellent start.

The masterfully handled opening scene sets the tone for the entire series. (The previous link leads to another blog, Fuzakenna!, with a brilliant breakdown of the scene.) If that scene doesn't get to you, then you probably won't like this series. Understanding the emotions of that moment is key to buying into the two leads' relationship.

Sumika (the girl in the first screenshot above), a closet lesbian, has feelings for her classmate Ushio (below screenshot), who so happens to be openly lesbian. The problem? Ushio only likes "cute girls" and Sumika doesn't fit the bill; not to mention Ushio likes another girl. So, Sumika has decided not to reveal her feelings despite the pain she has to endure and hide. Her resentment of the other girl leads Sumika to say hurtful things to Ushio, creating a a bit of a rift between the two of them. Still, Sumika hates herself for saying such things, worried that she'll lose such a valuable friend.

"You'll just get crushed again."

This is merely a taste of Sumika's harsh words.

This series isn't nearly as pretty to look at from an aesthetics perspective as last season's Aoi Hana, but it is just as powerful from an emotional perspective, if not more so. The direction is just as deft and sensitive as it was in Aoi Hana, as moments without any dialogue speak just as loudly as moments with. The music adds so very much each scene is it used in, and the facial expressions and other little subtitles are just brilliant. While this series is sure to bore many anime fans to tears, Sasameki Koto is unquestionably the best series so far this season in my opinion.

This scene had me on the verge of tears.

Addendum: While writing this, a song from Muse's latest album came to mind. It's called "Undisclosed Desires," and I think it fits the tone of Sasameki Koto very well -- just listen to the lyrics. It's not a perfect fit, mind you, but I think someone could make a nice AMV using this song once the series is complete.

Kūchū Buranko (Trapeze) trailer

noreply@blogger.com (BroEl) — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 00:29:00 +0000

From Eastern Standard.

Dude. Can anybody say "acid trip"? Which of course makes me a happy panda, because that means this thing is going to be bloody brilliant. Totally am looking forward to this now for certain. 8-)

Soul Eater English Dub Sneak Peek

DarkYummi@gmail.com (Jay Gee) — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 21:53:00 +0000

Sneak Peek 2
Sneak Peek 3

FUNimation just put up short clip previewing the dub of Soul Eater. In the clip, we get to hear the English voices of Maka and Soul for the first time.

Laura Bailey seems to be a good fit as Maka and so far betters the Japanese voice actress. Then again, Chiaki Omigawa's debut performance was wooden anyway, so it isn't surprising that a seasoned veteran like Laura fares much better. On the other hand, newcomer Micah Solusod seems to be handling the title role just fine.

Though this is only a minute sampling, the dub seems to be pretty solid so far. Assuming that FUNimation will be giving us more "sneak peeks," I am looking forward to hearing more.

Anime Banzai VA guest #2: Chuck Huber

noreply@blogger.com (BroEl) — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 05:11:00 +0000

Well it looks like we've got ourselves another VA guest coming to Anime Banzai this year, and as it would seem, it looks like it'll be just two. Along with Michelle Ruff, we'll also be having Chuck Huber, who is probably recognizable as Hiei from Yu Yu Hakusho or Shou Tucker from Fullmetal Alchemist. Should be interesting, seeing as how I've actually always appreciated how well he's been in a lot of the roles he's played.

Unfortunately though, it looks as if his Friday panels are going to be the only VA panels I attend this year, seeing has how all of Michelle Ruff's will be on Saturday, and I have a marching band game that day....

And this would be precisely how I feel about that.... ;_;

Hopefully I'll still be able to go to her autograph session though. Doesn't look like they've come out with a printable schedule for the con yet even though they have officially announced the times for each of the panels. So hopefully when they do they'll at least have a session on Friday anyways. I'm pretty sure they might, seeing as how they did last year as well. Who knows though, especially considering it did make the switch to a 3 day con this year, so there's no doubt been a ton of changes. But, I suppose I can at least keep my fingers crossed anyways.

Monster English Dub | First Impressions

DarkYummi@gmail.com (Jay Gee) — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 00:45:00 +0000

Twelve clips are available on Manga.com of Monster's English dub. Head here to check them out.

I watched all 12 clips (each running from around two to two-and-a-half minutes each) and I am very pleased. We get to hear what many of the major players sound like. We hear Dr. Tenma, Detective Lunge, Eva Hienemann, Nina Fortner/Anna Liebert, Johan Liebert and several others.

Loving the fact that good old Liam O'Brien is playing Dr. Tenma. Liam is one of my favorite English anime voice actors, and from what I've heard, he captures the character quite well. Richard Epcar is playing Lunge and he has absolutely nailed the detective. Lunge is perhaps my favorite character, so I am very happy to find out that he has been expertly cast. Johan has been also been cast well. I don't recognize the voice, but whoever he is has also nailed the creepiness of the role. Tara Platt seems to be a good fit has Eva, though we don't get to hear that much of her, and I'm not sold yet on Nina/Anna (don't recognize her voice either). Still though, the clips have left a very favorable impression, especially from minor roles like Junkers and the deranged gardener in the final clip (entitled "Anna"). Monday just can't get here soon enough. Looking forward to experiencing the animated version of Naoki Urasawa's Monster once again, only in English this time.

Addendum: Apparently the clips on Manga.com are region blocked, so I have uploaded all twelve clips to YouTube. I have embedded a playlist of all of the clips below. Enjoy!

Kobato. | First Impressions

DarkYummi@gmail.com (Jay Gee) — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 22:04:00 +0000

Next to grace my television screen is Madhouse's latest CLAMP-related anime, Kobato.. Is it a charming dose of fluff, or is it an irritating one?

Kobato's toughest test: Crowd control.

Bookending this series are to very nice themes. The opener, "Magic Number," is sung by the great Maaya Sakamoto.

The ending theme, "Jellyfish's Confession," is also very pleasant as it is sung by Megumi Nakajima (a.k.a. Ranka Lee from Macross Frontier). Nakajima also has a role in Kobato., though her character hasn't appeared yet.

What about the show itself? Well, the first episode is highly enjoyable. First, we have the titular character Kobato. Many may call her "moe," but I don't agree with giving her such a label. Yeah, she does pretty much fit the bill of an innocent, childlike bishoujo, but she portrayed to naturally be that way. It doesn't feel like her innocence is forced or gimmicky. At least not on the level of a series like K-ON! or Taisho Yakyu Musume. (Taisho-Era Baseball Girls). She just wins you over with her natural charm, a la Yotsuba in the popular manga Yotsuba&! (which is also one of my favorites). Complementing Kobato is the blue, diminutive dog-like creature Ioryogi. His gruff nature makes for a great counter to Kobato's magnetic charms.

Gotta love Ioryogi's sadistic grin.

The first episode is Kobato's origin story. She first needs to pass Ioryogi's test in order to get the bottle she needs to contain the shards of scarred hearts. This is needed in order to grant her wish, as she has someplace she wants to go. Her adventures in the first episode range from throwing away trash, to making nabe, to settling down a crying infant with song. Kobato's singing is easily the highlight of the first episode (her voice actress, Kana Hanazawa has a very nice singing voice) and ends up being the clincher for Ioryogi to award her with the necessary heart-shard-carrying bottle. Top all this off with very good visuals from Madhouse (which is to be expected from them), and you've got the makings of a winner.

I wonder if Kobato's nasty-looking

nabe would really be good in real life.

Miracle Train | First Impressions

DarkYummi@gmail.com (Jay Gee) — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 20:22:00 +0000

The next series I climbed aboard was the bishonen fest Miracle Train ~Oedo-sen e Yokoso~ (Welcome to the Oedo Line). Was the train ride a smooth one, or did it crash an burn?

Ms. Chinastu is, amazingly, unfazed by the

"reverse harem" that she has found herself in.

The main reason why I decided to watch this show were because of the highly enjoyable Hetalia: Axis Powers, which uses a similar gimmick. In Hetalia, multiple nations are anthropomorphised as bishonen characters and it works very well. In Miracle Train, different train staions along the Oedo line are anthropomorphised as bishonen characters, and it doesn't work nearly as well. I was hoping that this would be funny, but the attempts at humor ended up being very dry and the admittedly silly concept also ended up being dry and uninteresting. The questionable production values and lackadaisical voice acting don't help either. The bishonen are, of course, rendered nicely, but the animation is minimal and the overall art design is dull. Apparently director Kenichi Kasai couldn't do all that much with such a limited budget -- a disappointing follow-up to the excellent Aoi Hana (Sweet Blue Flowers), to say the least. Aoi Hana didn't pander to its audience, though it isn't surprising that Miracle Train does the opposite. I am one and done with this far from miraculous episodic series.

If only there were more characters like Akari (L)

in this show. Maybe then it wouldn't be so dull.

Pluto Volume 5 Review (MV)

DarkYummi@gmail.com (Jay Gee) — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 17:59:00 +0000

Next for Manga Village, I examine volume 5 of Naoki Urasawa's Pluto. The review can be perused here.

The Sacred Blacksmith | First Impressions

DarkYummi@gmail.com (Jay Gee) — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 01:28:00 +0000

The next series to cut into my sacred time is Manglobe's latest, The Sacred Blacksmith. Their reputation has taken a bit of a hit lately, as their output has been progressively getting worse even since they created the hit series Samurai Champloo (2004). Ergo Proxy (2006) is a good series, but not as good as it could have been as it dabbled in pretense far too much. Michiko and Hatchin (2008), Manglobe's previous (and by far weakest) effort, also squandered its potential. It had so much going for it too as great production values, a well-researched setting, and slick direction from promising rookie director Sayo Yamamoto were destroyed by disappointingly limp writing. Now Manglobe is actually adapting something rather than creating something original like they have in the past; and what they are adapting didn't appear to be all that interesting at first glance. The question is: Have they gotten back on track?

Demons aren't easy to domesticate.
Seems like rookie knight Cecily didn't get that memo.

Surprisingly, I think we may have an early contender here! Out of all the opening episodes I have watched so far, this is the only one that I have enjoyed from start to finish. Granted, the first episode is far from perfect and is not terribly impressive, but it managed just click with me, and that is all that really matters. As expected the animation is quite good (though not quite as good as it was in Michiko and Hatchin), the background art is crisp and detailed, the character designs are colorful and appealing, the voice work is pretty good (I really like Cecily's voice actress), the ending theme is cute and catchy, and the plot shows some promise. Though not much really happened first episode (Cecily really needs to get out of the rut of repeatedly having to be saved by Luke), but what did happen was executed very well as the cliffhanger really left me wanting to watch more.

With potential winners in Kuchu Buranko, Kimi ni Todoke, and Sasameki Koto in the horizon, I don't expect The Sacred Blacksmith to be the series of the season. But with the very good first episode and with plenty of people (myself included) not expecting a lot out of this series, it has the makings of a good sleeper pick. Looking forward to seeing if it lives up to it potential.

Being a knight and a female does have its advantages ...

... and also its disadvantages.

Letter Bee | First Impressions

DarkYummi@gmail.com (Jay Gee) — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 23:52:00 +0000

Letter Bee was the next new series to take the test. Was it up for the challenge?

Be careful with that gun now, Lag Seeing.

In all honesty, Letter Bee's first episode contained no surprises whatsoever. It covered half of the first manga chapter darn near page-for-page. It merely eliminated some of the manga's exposition about the setting and reworded a few things here and there. Other than that, it turned out to be exactly as I expected. I'd even watched the 2006 Light and Blue Night Fantasy special just to get a taste of what the anime would be like and the first episode of the TV series was exactly the same. Same voice cast, same production design, etc.; even the odd-looking CG used to portray the Gaichuu was brought back. The only real difference is the inclusion of an opening and an ending theme, and the fact that the TV series starts from the beginning, rather than adapting a later manga story.

All that said, this really doesn't make for a good "First Impressions" post, since nothing was new for me. It's just the same old generic storyline with pretty art that I talked about previously in my review of the first volume of the manga. Once the anime gets past the first volume, however, is when things should become interesting again. At least for me, and anyone else who has read the first volume.

To Aru Kagaku no Railgun | First Impressions

DarkYummi@gmail.com (Jay Gee) — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 20:58:00 +0000

A Certain Scientific Railgun was the second series to the run the gauntlet. Did it come out unscathed?

Kuroko and her lesbian antics ... She doesn't know when to quit.
Not that it is a bad thing, however.

This series assumes familiarity with To Aru Majutsu no Index (A Certain Magical Index) and rightly so. There are not many people are watching this who haven't seen Index. Railgun jumps right into the everyday like of Mikoto Misaka, and much of the episode has to do with Kuroko Kurai and her obsession with Mikoto. This provides for a few enjoyable moments and, of course, some fan service. Kuroko also has set things up for her friend Kazari to meet Mikoto (who is something of a celebrity, being the third strongest level 5 esper in Academy City).

How dare you offer to share your crepe with another girl, Mikoto!
You had to know it was going to make Kuroko jealous.

This is all well and good (especially the yuri overtones), but the problem is that all of this is ended up being uninteresting. I went in to this series expecting something enjoyable, but eventually I found myself wishing for some action during all the yawn-inducing slice of life fluff. I got my wish, but even the action was boring and predictable. I hate to say it, but I'm not going to continue watching Railgun. Surprisingly enough, it is actually missing many of the elements that made Index worth watching. Like a plot, for instance. I'll just have to cross my fingers for an Accelerator-centered spin-off now.

Like Mikoto gave Kuroko in this scene, I am giving this series the boot.