The list has a few interesting titles this year, but a few in particular caught my eye, such as the 14th season of Pokemon, subtitled “Best Wishes” (Black and White), taking place after the story of Diamond and Pearl where Ash travels to the Isshu region (the origin place of the B/W story) where he befriends two new trainers, Arisu and Dento.

Next is the anticipated anime adaptation of the manga Bakuman from Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata, the author and artist of Death Note, respectively. Bakuman is about two ninth graders who want to become manga-ka. With it being from the Death Note creators, there is to be Shinigami and young, borderline diabetic detectives involved: Bakuman is totally the opposite.

Finally, there is the fourth season of my new favorite series, Axis Powers Hetalia, aka Hetalia: World Series. The fourth season will be simulcasted on FUNimation’s website, which be very convenient as I made the mistake of catching up to the latest episodes in under a week watching the first three seasons. ^^;

While it is not on the original chart, there is one title I must include, being a fan of Gundam, and not seeing the second episode of Gundam Unicorn on the list. Although it’s pushing very close to the Winter 2011 schedule, it is my duty to point this out. ^_^

What are you wanting to watch this season?

*Chart credit goes to CF! Warning: link contains mild language.

*Series information and official websites can be found on the FansubWiki.

Final Fantasy Pavilion

With less than a month remaining until the release of Final Fantasy XIV, Rukishou, Jamaipanese, and myself is launching a new Final Fantasy fansite called Final Fantasy Pavilion, or FFPavilion or The Pavilion.

Final Fantasy Pavilion focuses mainly on FFXIV, but there are plans to add other titles in the database of Square’s extensive library of Final Fantasy games and their many spinoffs such as Final Fantasy Versus XIII and Final Fantasy Agito XIII. The site opens to the public on September 30th (the time of the Regular Edition release), but you can check out the site right this moment and become a member, although there’s not much to do until the forum and the site is up and running. @FFPavilion is also on Twitter!

Being a veteran FFXI player, I am fully prepared for what lies ahead in Eorzea. I will be able to embark in just a few months, allowing an invite into PS3 beta or a custom built PC specifically for FFXIV into the month of November…

Satoshi Kon

The anime community is morning the loss of famed director Satoshi Kon who passed away at the age of 47. Kon was the man behind full-length anime films such as Memories, Perfect Blue, Millenium Actresss, Tokyo Godfathers, and Paprika, including the 12 episode anime series, Paranoia Agent.

The first film of Kon’s I watched was Perfect Blue. I did not read about it (and this was a few years before discovering anime magazines), but seeing it in the listings of it being a “Japanese animated” feature film sealed the deal. I watched it from the beginning to the end, and I enjoyed every minute of it. The same can be said for his other works, especially Paranoia Agent during it’s run on Adult Swim years ago.

It was a shock hearing of his death. Watching Satoshi Kon’s movies is impossible to not like. Any of his works is on every anime watcher’s recommendation list, especially mine. Kon-sensei is gone, but definitely not forgotten. His legacy will live on for years to come.

Anime Weekend Atlanta 16

I will be returning to Atlanta for the 16th annual Anime Weekend Atlanta convention on September 17th at the Cobb Galleria Centre. This will be my second time attending the long running convention, but the first time attending as a member of the press!

While juggling getting back and forth to cosplay photoshoots on Saturday as Rukia (Bleach), Pan (Dragonball GT), and Edward Elric (Fullmetal Alchemist: The Conqueror of Shambala), I will be interviewing a guest or two for the blog and the podcast. Who will it be? Vic, Travis, Laura, Lisa, Micheal, or Shinji? But I can’t make any promises (especially since I’m cosplaying as three characters in one day) as the guests may not be able to keep theirs.*

For those en-route to AWA as well, the full guest list (including musical guests Molice and Mayu) and the Gathering and Meetup Times thread on Cosplay.com is waiting for you!

BONUS! AWA 16 will mark the final year of the epic Yaoi After Dark panel. The host of YAD, Violaine, has released a commercial. Being a Yaoi event, it is 18+ (the Friday Meet & Greet is open to all ages), but the commercial is safe for viewing. @yaoiafterdark is also on Twitter!

Volunteers getting ready for Day 2 of Connooga

The 3rd annual Connooga was held in February 19th through the 21st in Chattanooga, TN. It is Chattanooga’s first Multi-fandom convention next to the SciFi only ChattaCon that has been around for more than a decade. Being a multi-fandom convention, it brings the best of both worlds: American Science Fiction and Japanese Animation; something that I couldn’t stand in the past.

I went down to check out Connooga on Saturday only to see what the convention was really about, and to overcome my fear of attending such conventions. After purchasing my pass, I headed to Pennsylvania Station for Connooga’s Anime Track, hosted by the guys of JAMPcon. When I arrived, everyone was still setting up for the second day of activities, though I got a chance to see how the volunteers made sure the Track is a success. In fact, I was almost a volunteer for Connooga, but I decided against it this year due to limited transportation and lodging (but it should not be a problem for next year).

Grell from Black Butler

Waiting for the convention to resume, I went down to the Dealers Room to check out what Anime goods they had… Not many to choose from, with the majority of exhibitors catering to pure Fantasy and SciFi series and lore merchandise, save the for Artist Alley on the other side of the room, featuring Dan Jolley, author of TokyoPop’s World of Warcraft: Death Knight OEL manga.

Being a Poster Otaku (having an addiction to posters and wallscrolls), I couldn’t help but buy a few from a dealer who frequents Connooga and several other conventions in the South. In my possession, two Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood posters and a Bleach poster featuring Hitsugaya.

Before heading out of the room, I stopped by the GaijinUSA booth to check out their selection of Mystery Boxes that sold for $10… well, it’s not much of a selection when they’re packaged in the same boxes. Inside the box is… a collection of Crying Freeman manga from Viz Media dating back to 1992! Along with the books were a few other goodies like a back of beads and a few pieces of Kasugai Gummy candy. That wasn’t a bad deal at all! ^_^

Back to Pennsylvania Station! The first panel was underway: “Dan Dan Japanese: Adverbs Better Than Kawaii”. Having previously remembered the past and present conditions and the dialects used in different parts of Japan, this panel refreshed my memory: for example: “taberu” (たべる): “to eat” / “tabeta” (たべた): “had eaten”. Then there is the most important part of speaking and writing Japanese… sentence structure: Subject->Object-Verb, compared to Subject-Verb-Object in English.

After the panel ended, I stayed around to help out with a friend with volunteer work: though I did not volunteer directly with the convention, I voluntarily helped to make sure visitors had their badges. I also got to hang out with her discussing all things K-Pop and watching an MV of B2ST‘s “Bad Girl” on my iPod Touch. ^o^

A couple of hours later, a friend from BBAMAJAM who is now a part of the Konoha Corner Naruto podcast, Jiraiya (my cosplay battle “rival” from MTAC and JAMPcon in 2010), held a panel on Cosplay Skits. He showed various videos of what to expect (including the audience) when acting out a skit. One of the videos shown was the popular Baccano!/Lucky Star skit from Fanimecon 2008 and the famous Narutard no Jutsu.

Storm Troopers ready for action!

I couldn't help but do a fangirl squeal when I saw these Oozaru (from Dragonball Z) cosplayers

A lucky fan gets her picture taken with Samantha Newark of 'JEM'.

A fan-made replica of R2-D2!

I met up with my friend again to check out the dealers room. She bought a TVXQ poster and a CD (under their Japanese name, Tohoshinki). I also found the previously mentioned FMA: Brotherhood posters; I wanted to buy the DBSK posters too…but I couldn’t decide which one..or all! And I have enough posters as it is. D;

We looked around the dealers room some more before heading back to Penn Station for the AMV Contest. But first, it was time for lunch.

I went to Silver Diner Pizza-that is located on a train! (nostalgia kicks in of Shinigami eating on the train back during JAMPcon 2008) I had a small pizza with pepperoni toppings, nothing special since I was on a budget-though I had a lot more to spend due to the minimum quantity of Anime merch found.

After lunch, the Anime Music Video contest was already underway. I missed a few couple of videos, but there were plenty to see. This was the first time watching a live AMV Contest (with the MVs already made, of course) at a convention before. The contest ran for 45 or so minutes: a lot of the AMVs featured Bleach, Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children, Dino Crisis, and Lucky Star. Here are the AMVs that took home the Connooga 2010 awards.

“Sailor Girl” (Lucky Star) -- Best Overall

“I Believe in Yesterday” (Clannad) -- Best Overall Runner-Up

“Kingdom Bleach” (Bleach/Kingdom Hearts) -- Audience Choice for Drama/Romance

After the end of the AMVs, the rest of the day was shortened having to leave early due to attending the con at the last minute, with the lack of funds to stay for a night, but I still had a lot of fun! Before leaving, I checked out Zippy’s J-Drama panel and the Old School Anime panel hosted by a fan of the Rebel Alliance! ^^

There are many things I missed, including the costume contest: it was supposedly won by the Snuggie Warriors, which sparked a bit of a controversy as the though the costumes were not created from scratch as per the contest rules. Maybe it won for originality. Eh…

Attending Connooga has changed my view of going to multi-fandom conventions, but it will take a few more weekends (in days) worth to fully rid of my “phobia”. I’m just not a huge SciFi fan as everyone else, with the exception of Star Wars; maybe if it was a Gundam convention, I wouldn’t mind attending! ^_^

I will end the recap with a skit from the 2010 Connooga Skit Contest called “Jiraiya’s Dating Game” featuring Jiraiya of Konoha Corner, recorded by YouTuber and Shinra Chronicles creator, Byohazrd13.

Also check out additional photos in the gallery!

Review

For those who are still figuring out what the heck is going on, as this is NOT a second season of the 2003 FMA anime as everyone thought at first when it was announced. As pointed out by reader IchigoxGaraa, Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood is a straight re-telling of the manga (like Dragonball Kai).

Everything we’ve seen from the first FMA anime in Brotherhood is retold (the canon parts), except that it’s a lot shorter (no pun intended, Ed…) than the original. For example: the events of the “controversial” 25th Episode of the first series is explained the 8th episode in Brotherhood. Although, there is the original “untold” story from the first episode, about the Ice Alchemist.

After some uncertainty from fans, Scar returns!

FMA: Brotherhood gets better around episode 15 when Ling Yao, the Prince of Xing, is introduced. This is first time seeing Ling in the anime adaption, when they could have found a place to put him in FMA: Original, even if it had to be filler. Though it breaks through the boredom of watching a part of the manga that I read already, it needed more episodes to pick up the steam. Enter Episode 20 when Ed finds more answers on the Philosopher’s Stone when he returns to Risembool involving the late Trisha Elric.

Admittedly, the first 20 episodes of FMA: Brotherhood is boring, because a lot of people already know what happens from the manga and the original anime. But let’s say you’re a new FMA admirer and just started watching the first series, then stopped to watched Brotherhood (or for us FMA vets, the manga), it won’t be so hard to go through as there will be new parts to the story that doesn’t make sense in the original (read: half of the original FMA is nothing but original material/fillers, with the help of Arakawa-sensei herself, or so the story goes).

Is it just me, or does Old Man Fu look a lot like Old Snake from Metal Gear Solid 4?

But the pacing of the episodes compared to the manga takes a load off of the fact that manga followers had the wait for the new volume to come out (only to be read in 3 days flat, like I did). One volume of the FMA graphic novel is explained in just 1-2 episodes (Episode 30 -> Volume 15), but it’s doesn’t help much for the anime viewers had to wait every week to see what happens, but it’s a lot better than months (now that it’s finished, it can be done in a month, tops).

For someone who has not finished the rest of the manga (following the Viz releases, stopping on Volume 17), it was a refresher witnessing the outcome of the story. Watching on a screen bought out a lot of emotions than reading them in the palm of your hand, and it lasted a long time. Not to mention the special effects on few of the episodes! ^_^

Ling Yao of the Yao clan appears in Brotherhood, unlike the previous series where he is no where to be seen...

Lastly, the music in FMA puts a new light on the series. The original music is memorable, such as L’arc-en-Ciel‘s “Ready, Steady, Go!”, Asian Kung-Fu Generation‘s “Rewrite”, and Porno Graffiti‘s “Melissa”. But I’m afraid that the new music has shadowed the originals. When was the last time I heard the aforementioned songs? No problem. The new ones are just as good, but it’s not as “exciting” like back in the day. A few noteworthy tracks in Brotherhood are “Again” (Yui), “Lie” and “Rain” (SID), and “Hologram” (NICO Touches the Walls). Although I would have liked the artist lineup like my predictions post-series re-premiere.

Summary

Whatever is happening in this scene, Ed will never hear the end of it.... Ever.

When it was first announced that Fullmetal Alchemist was coming to an end, it was hard to accept it. But on a positive note, it saves the series from being dragged on forever, like a few anime series currently on the air. If you’re following the manga from Viz’s releases, you’re very far behind from the events in Brotherhood (but it’s surely catch up to the end, now), but they will be told eventually (unless they do a speed-up release). However, you can find out what happens by jumping into the [new] anime.

You have to… no, you must watch Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood, or else! Like Cowboy Bebop and Death Note, I think FMA is a series that is impossible to not like, even if you hate it at first, watching just a few episodes [of the anime] will get you hooked overnight. It’s hard to explain why it would be liked, but I guarantee that it will be eaten up in a 3-day marathoning session.

Rating:

Where to Watch

Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood can be watched on FUNimation, Hulu, and YouTube.

The meal of hired mercenaries?

I found a package of CalorieMate from the folks over at Wizzywig Collectibles at AWA after camping out at their booth of awesome Japanese snacks, including a pack of Melon Bread! CalorieMate looks like something you would find in a non-Japanese supermarket with it’s 1950′s appearance, but it’s really a Japanese snack intended as a diet snack. They don’t call it CalorieMate for nothing!

I’m sure many have heard and eaten Pocky, which is almost a fad in the Anime fandom (in the US, anyway), but “CalorieMate” may sound familiar to those who have played a certain video game that was released 5 years ago: Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater.

Naked Snake: Spokesperson and Actual User of CalorieMate

A box of the stuff would appear throughout the game in place of a ration when one wasn’t available. According to Naked Snake, “It’s Delicious!” I don’t think so… It comes in many flavors and forms: Can, Block (the one I had, which looks like small, thick bread sticks), and Jelly for the forms, and in flavors of Cheese, Maple, Chocolate, and Potato-which I had the misfortune of tasting, as it was horrible! Yuck!

Thinking back, that was the only flavor the dealer had (unless the popular flavors were already long gone). Either way, it was an honor of eating the same snack of the legendary Naked Snake Big Boss ate during Operation: Snake Eater in 1964. Now that I know that there are other flavors, I’m going to give this another chance… why won’t Snake just stick to a Red Bull knockoff, as seen in Metal Gear Solid 4?

It looks like Char, but... it looks like Char.

The second episode, “The Red Comet”, is expected to reveal Banagher’s potential as a (Newtype?) pilot, and his new rivalry between Full Frontal. I’m sure this and the next episode will follow the mandatory character development as in the original and spinoffs, unless there’s a surprise…

The first episode may have been a little confusing (but not too confusing) with the story, but as always, the episode that’s filled with epic space fights is sure to keep story exciting--with the exception of having to wait a few years to see the entire story unfold.

Unicorn Gundam is cleared for battle!

A word of warning: the trailer will spoil the last few minutes of the first episode for those who have yet to see it, but the rest is the preview of The Red Comet. Episode 2 will be released November 12th, 2010 on Blu-ray (with Japanese and English dub, available for pre-order on CDJapan) and DVD (Region 2 only), and on October 30th on Playstation Network.

If you are just tuning in on the action, check out my review of Episode 1 of Unicorn: “The Day of the Unicorn”!

Me? Blogging on this site? AWESOME!

Anime has always been apart of my life – or so it seems. For as long as I can remember there have always been Asian influences in my life. My father is a karate instructor since before I was born so I was around people that enjoyed Asian-related hobbies. There is always anime that fans can barely remember watching, but know that they did. I know for a doubt that before my first known anime I had been watching it forever.

In 1996, a good friend of mine told me about an amazing “cartoon” that played on the channel USA before school. I am not an early bird – not in the slightest. So there was no way I was going to wake up earlier then I had to just to catch some cartoon. The friend begin to record the show – commercials and all – on VHS (whoa, long time ago!) and let me borrow them to watch.

That “cartoon” turned out to be Anime. And that Anime was Sailor Moon.

Might I just say I was hooked after that.

Since then, I have watched hundreds upon hundreds of series. On VHS, DVD, streamed online, downloaded. Any way I could get them as the times changed. These “cartoons” from Japan were better then what I watched on American TV. They were more thought out, more developed. They offered more then just slapstick comedy. They had action, adventure. Romance. Horror. There were different ratings – from children to adult.

I was thrilled.

So now, at 22, I am delighted to have watched that dusty VHS of Sailor Moon. It was a doorway opened that will never be closed. That doorway has lead to other doorways for me – like cosplay and Lolita – and I have met some of my greatest friends.

Other then loving Anime, I have my Bachelor’s in English and I am pursuing a teaching career and to get my feet wet with freelance journalism (as I LOVE to write!). I’m a hardcore film geek – love writing reviews for all films I watch – and a shopaholic.

Missing out on spring cleaning, I’m doing a little summer cleaning around the website for the new design, only to end up procrastinating and surfing a website for two hours straight. But finding a news piece or five of my favorite anime franchise snapped me back into action!

1. Pardon the Mess!

As I discussed in the fourth CTM journal for the blog’s third year anniversary, I would be making changes the to the site design. Sherbet News is pretty much a failed theme as I failed to add other stuff I was hoping to add weeks after it was launched. But with WordPress 3.0′s new template tags, the new theme will be a piece of cake without having to spend hours adapting custom PHP coding… for now.

With this said, I’m also testing new plugins such as Disqus and LinkWithin in preparation for the new theme.

2. TVTropes



…Instead of adding new features to AniBroad and working on a revamp of the blog, I wasted time reading TVTropes. It’s a site featuring lexicon of various themes that are found in every Anime series, Video Games, SciFi series, and in other popular media (Books, maybe? lulz?) for writing fiction.

An example of one of my favorite “trope” is the “Hot Dad” of the story: in Fullmetal Alchemist (very mild spoilers), there’s Van Hohenheim and Maes Hughes… but there’s a third one. If you’re nearing the conclusion with either the manga or the Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood anime, you will be very surprised!

3. Gundam Predictions



Remember the post I wrote last year about how 2010 will be the return of Universal Century Gundam in North America? My predictions were very close! Last month at San Diego Comic Con, Bandai Entertainment secured the rights to the 1999/20th Gundam Anniversary series, Turn A Gundam.

It was a surprise of them licensing a series that should have been shown before the original Mobile Suit Gundam aired on Toonami and after Gundam Wing aired, being a little over a year since Turn A was shown in Japan. Turn A Gundam is also in an alternate universe as Wing, taking place on the moon. It’s also a sign of Bandai returning to their roots of the Wing era of releasing the older Gundam series instead of focusing on recent series of the likes of SEED/Destiny and 00 (with the exception of Unicorn)—which was what I was hoping for.

In other Gundam related news, there’s a new G Gundam and Gundam Wing: Endless Waltz manga greenlit to be published in the upcoming issues of Gundam Ace magazine. In addition to Universal Century, I love both G Gundam and Gundam Wing-my first love! I think a DVD marathoning session of both series is in order to celebrate! ^_^

Warning: This review contains spoilers. Read at your own risk!

Watching all 47 episodes, it does change the game late in the series. As originally thought, it seemed like the show would adjust over time from seeing (the infamous scene of) Bright Noa with a Chicken on his head, to the final fight between Glemy Toto’s Zeon and Haman Karn’s Neo Zeon: that is what exactly happens.

The first 30 episodes of ZZ Gundam deals with Judau getting acquainted with the Argama crew after being apprehended by Captain Bright for attempting to steal the Zeta Gundam mobile suit to sell as scrap for cash to support him and his sister, Lina. His friends Iino, Beecha, Mondo, and Elle also become a part of the crew, being close friends with Judau (and helping him in the first place). Judau has a hard time accepting them, but he has no choice when Shangri-la is under attack by colony tycoon, Gemon Bajack (“Gammon” “Blackjack”…really?) with the help of Mashymre Cello (…”Marshmallow?”) of Neo Zeon.

I'm so envious of Emaly... But Bright, What About Mirai?!

Of course, familiar characters return from the first Gundam and the previous series, Zeta: Hayato Kobayashi makes a reappearance as a member of the Karaba group after learning that Zeon forces are planning to drop a colony on earth in Dublin, Ireland, “to make a point”. Fa Yuiry and Kamille Bidan from Zeta return later on after their earlier appearance at the beginning of Double Zeta, but they are reduced to being stand-ins once again.

After the events in Dublin, the Argama crew return to the La Vie En Rose to upgrade their warship to the Nahael Argama, which looks a lot better than the original Argama—and more like the original White Base that Captain Bright commanded during the One Year War. Before things are taken to the next level (in story), Bright suddenly disappears from the story when he saves Shinta and Qum (Zeta clones of Kika and Letz from 0079) from floating in space, leaving the captain duties to Emaly and… Beecha, respectfully.

Mashymre Cello: No Longer the wacky Haman fanatic we know and love.

Mashymre Cello, the Haman Karn fanatic who is seen as comedic in the earlier episodes, eventually becomes brainwashed into a Cyber Newtype (“mass produced” Newtypes): makes you wish he was his normal self, even if he was annoying. Most of show’s story is watching Lina get kidnapped again and again by Glemy for [inexplicable] political reasons, then saved by Judau repeatedly until-things go too far (re-worded to avoid actual spoilers). Glemy eventually fades from the spotlight for a moment, showing the ideological rivalry between Judau and Haman. Ah, good ole Universal Century.

Glemy orders Puru Two to finish off Judau, but she *wants* to refuse...

Then there’s the introduction of Elpeo Puru, an artificial human made solely for the intent of war using the Quebely mobile suit-but it appears that she’s a failed attempt at being a weapon of mass destruction with her admiration for Judau and disobeying Glemy. Enter Puru Two: a clone of Puru One and the Puru that should have been, along with an improved model of the Quebely, the Quin Mantha. Like with Mashymre, Puru Two is another disappointing character whose original personality drove you up the wall, but you end up feeling sorry for them, wishing they were back to their “Oh, STFU, will ya!?” selves.

Neo Zeon's Chara Soon... plotting on the side of the AEUG?

A few more disappointments with ZZ Gundam is the sudden absence of Captain Bright (IMHO)-but this is no long a problem when he reappears along with another character (or two) we did not expect to see since the end of Zeta Gundam. Hint: this character of the Earth Federation Force, had a huge role towards the end of the One Year War, and is a “distant” relative of another popular character from 0079 and Zeta.

It was saddening to me… romance-wise, because, well.. one is a reason that involves spoilers: pay close attention to Bright when he meets Emaly on the La Vie En Rose… all the way to the end (Hey! I can’t help it, being a Bright fangirl. ^_^). Also adding the fact that the show ended so suddenly without an all-out “let’s do this!” attitude from the One Year War. Lastly, it appeared to bring out the worse of the characters who were once badass (i.e.: Yazan from Zeta Gundam) into clowns. But it finally puts an end to the war between two factions of the same family that didn’t see eye-to-eye.

The slap (from Judau) to end all slaps of the Zeta era

I did enjoy watching ZZ Gundam, but it could have been better with the ending. I still hope that Bandai will release this show on Region 1 DVD or Blu-ray (even better). The humor is not all that bad as it will get better later on under Zeta laws. If you’re a fan who is choosy of what they want in their Gundam (or any anime series), I suggest giving it another try, especially if you’re like me and want more Universal Century Gundam after 5+ years of waiting patiently.

Rating:

The biggest hit in recent years is Axis Powers Hetalia (aka Hetalia: Axis Powers and Hetalia: World Series). Maybe not the biggest hit-second… maybe fifth hit biggest you see fanart and 100+ cosplayers dressed as characters from the series. But it may vary depending on the fan’s preference. You might not have watched the show before, but seeing a character with a hair antennae that’s not Edward Elric’s is spot on.

Axis Powers Hetalia is a World History Comedy anime-a rare sub-genre for such a show. It started off as a webcomic then into a manga series by Hidekaz Himaruya and was turned into an anime series you see before your eyes. As most of the title implies, the main character of APH is Italy, a shy young man with a passion for Pasta(aaaa!) and wine who dreams of becoming a powerful country, following in the footsteps of grandfather Rome.

He looks up to Germany, the leader of the “Axis Powers” group who has to put up with Italy to the point of insanity in every episode. Germany is not all that mean: he’s a tsundere-type character like we see in many anime series. There’s also Japan, who is also a stereotype of a young Japanese man who has a soft side for reading manga and is shy around others and keeps to himself.

Russia, a 'yandere' (opposite of 'tsundere') character, shows his soft side, for now...

The other main cast are America, China, France, England, and Russia. Like the “Hetalia” group, America are allies with said countries (like in real life situation). In several, (or dozens) of episodes, America’s group is seen ambushing the camp of Germany, Italy, and Japan on a beach. There are over 35 characters and counting in Axis Powers Hetalia. The characters are often seen poking fun at their own qualities, such as America’s obsession with hamburgers, recklessly declaring that he’s the “leader of the world”, and his sibling rivalry with England. The many of the arcs are based on actual world events: World Wars I & II, the Revolutionary War, and the G-8 Summit, for example.

The characters are named after the country they represent, but they have real names as well: America->Alfred, Germany->Ludwig, Russia->Ivan, etc. APH is also popular with female fans, thanks to a 80% cast of males. It is sometimes referred as a Moe series for females, especially where many Shounen-ai references are made through most of the series.

A serious scene between America and England during the Revolutionary War.

Each episode of Hetalia is 5 minutes long, so it’s really easy to get into if you’re curious or just want a quick series to get into. But there’s a word of warning: it can be hard to watch as the first several episodes run too fast, but it will all make sense soon enough.

An important fact about Axis Powers Hetalia is that it was supposed to air on TV, but due to controversy of the character Korea in the series, it’s being streamed online instead. (However, thanks to observations from fans, it seems Korea makes a very, very brief appearance in an episode. Although Korea’s role is more frequent in the manga.)

After listening to recommendations from fans, I am now a Hetalia convert; being a series review and not a “first impression” review, I also recommend checking it out (and to support it you local *legal* streaming website)! With it still on the air and my catching up to the aired episodes in one week, it would be a while before I would have written a final review. ^^

Speaking of streaming online, Axis Powers Hetalia can be watched on FUNimation, YouTube*, and Hulu* (*account required to watch due to TV-MA rating).

Rating:

I’ve mention many times on Twitter and on this blog… but failed at the right time to write about it due to neglecting the blog earlier in the year. But as we catch up with the events from that part of 2010, I would like to talk about my role of being a Guest Contributor on BBAMAJAM.org.

Officially launched in February, the website of the Boogie BAM Anime Jam club based in Chattanooga, TN, is the home of news, con reports, reviews of Anime, Manga, Video Games, J-Dramas, the original webcomic, “Oh My Otaku!”, opinions, and so much more from BBAMAJAM’s resident writers.

The writing team is made up of ProdigalNick (President of BBAMAJAM), Zippy (host of Tokyo Tower FM and Vice President of BBAMAJAM), Erica, Noodle, and Phantom Dark. Guest writers of Thom, The Cay (co-host of Tokyo Tower and Konoha Corner), and myself–the club secretary, also contribute to BBAMAJAM.org’s growing library of content.

A few examples of content BBAMAJAM.org has to offer is a review of Le Portrait De Petit Cossette from Thom, The Cay’s interview with LittleKuriboh of Yu-Gi-Oh!: The Abridged Series, and Zippy and ProdigalNick‘s recap of (Swi)MTAC.

There is also my own contributions to the website, such as reviews on Mobile Suit Gundam and Metal Gear Online for the PS3, and a couple of personal stories on my life in Vana’diel moving to Eorzea and what it’s like being an Otaku culture blogger.

The BBAMAJAM is also dedicated in bringing you convention reports from various conventions in Tennessee, Georgia, Florida, North and South Carolina, Kentucky, and Alabama, including the recent PersaCon convention in Decatur attended by Zippy the convention weekend.

BBAMAJAM is also working with GaijinUSA and Sukoshi Con in Birmingham, AL, the latest arrival in the tread of One-Day conventions in the Southeast US. If you register for VIP membership on the Eventbrite page, a percentage goes to helping out the club!

Let’s give BBAMAJAM.org a warm welcome to the family! Please do stop by and leave comments! And don’t forget to subscribe! ^_^

The official first episode of the podcast edition of CEN.TAKU.ME is out! In this episode, a podcast version of “Anime at Large” is discussed. What anime series has been “captured” by myself and put in my collection (jail), and an oldie, but a really a new game: Dragon Ball Online.

Show Notes

Anime at Large
The concept of the “Anime at Large” series of posts is explained, and in the two years of the series, I go over the series I’ve finally caught thanks to special perks and the evolution of (legal) online streams.

• Check out the “Anime at Large” archives!

Dragon Ball Online [Impressions]

Talked about two years ago on the blog, the online Dragonball game everyone has been waiting for… maybe. The first Dragonball MMORPG, Dragon Ball Online was released in South Korea mid-Spring 2010. It has yet to see the light of day in North America—including Japan.

• Check out the preview of Dragon Ball Online from the archives!
• Dragon Ball Online Official Website (in Korean)
• Dragon Ball Online Community: Website | Game Description

Ni-Ongaku Spotlight
The first attempt of a music segment on the podcast. Ni-Ongaku (J-Music) Spotlight features music from independent Japanese artists (I could just play Anime music, but we’ll play it (pod)safe for now. Besides, J-Indies are awesome! ^_^)

• Artist: SUNS TO FAST
• Song: “Collection Agent”
• SUNS TO FAST’s Website (in Japanese)
• Muzie.co.jp Page (in Japanese)

July 17th marks the third year anniversary of CEN.TAKU.ME! It was the day the website launched for the very first time after a few years of sticking around LiveJournal and Blogger for my writing needs and carefully mapping out plans for my next website. It was also the beginning of becoming a full-time Anime blogger after my return from Vana’diel and Azeroth, settling down doing what I love the most.

In 2007, I came up with the name “CEN.TAKU.ME” as a merger of my other blogs, including the short lived NA.KI.ME Anime blog in 2006. “The Center of Otaku, Anime, and Games”, or Center of Otakudom and Anime as gaming can be defined as a sub-interest in Otaku culture and the fact that I cannot bring myself to play Final Fantasy XI or World of Warcraft anymore. ^^

The first year of CEN.TAKU.ME consisted of my continuing journey through Azeroth as a Level 70 Blood Elf Warlock on the NA Stormreaver and WarHammer servers. But the enjoyment playing WoW wore off; it was time to get down to the real business at hand.

The later part of 2007 saw more posts focusing on Anime reviews and culture from a personal perspective. There were a few posts here and there about Azeroth, but it came to an end when I couldn’t find the time to play—until Wrath of the Lich King was released. It was then that I created a Tumblr blog, Wrath of the Nak(ichi) just for WoW related posts.

No more WoW: it was time to move on to creating a full fledged Otaku and Anime culture blog, picking up where I left off from the NA.KI.ME blog.

The second year of CEN.TAKU.ME went by quietly, but this makes up for it. There are a few plans in store for the third year of the blog. Instead of griping about the cons of the community, it’s time to enjoy it.

First off: spending years as a fan, it’s time that I level up. For the third year, I plan on using my press status to conduct interviews with members of the Anime industry: fellow Anibloggers, podcasters, and voice actors… maybe the CEO of an licensing company! ^_^

Secondly, this is a perfect opportunity to begin The CEN.TAKU.ME Podcast, which is now listed on the iTunes Store. It is the beginning of the “CTM” brand expansion.

Thirdly – and very importantly, I am going to focus more on reviews, convention reports, and a monthly look at my fandom life through the new CEN.TAKU.ME Journal series. I’ve realized that several of my recent posts are filled with rants about my past run-ins with rabid fans. I also feel that I may (advanced warning: or would) have offended some innocent people with the things I said that I really didn’t mean: when I’m ranting about one thing, my grammar suffers along with it. And if I offended anyone, I apologize. If you there’s something wrong with the post, feel free to speak up! ^_^

But that does not mean the blog will be clear of rant posts in the future. It’s what makes a blog a blog when you have something you want to get off your chest. Although I will only post them only when various conditions are met; I’ll reward myself and post it when I really, really, really want to say something.

And lastly, a complete overhaul of the blog is underway. The Sherbet News theme worked then, but it looks out of date. With the release of WordPress 3.0, it will be easier maintaining many of the elements (post thumbnails, tagging, etc) that originally relied on plugins that are now a part of the platform.

One more thing: I’ve have compiled a list of my favorite posts from the past three years. Relive the memories or indulge in what the blog has to offer.

The later part of the year will including perfecting AniBroad to work the way I want it to work. Plans include adding blog categories, a RSS aggregator, and customized user profiles.

Other plans include something I have talked about for years, adding additional authors to the blog to turn CEN.TAKU.ME into a team blog: it will truly be the Center of Otaku culture! There are so many ideas in store that I have yet to reveal, but those will be kept a secret for the next month.

Thank you all for reading CEN.TAKU.ME and your continuing support! Here’s to another three years! ^_^

(Image via Danbooru; Warning: Contains NSFW Content)

With the eve of the third anniversary of CEN.TAKU.ME, this is a perfect opportunity to travel back to the first year of the blog to the third year. Let’s take a look back at several of my favorite posts from around the blog(/gosphere).

This is also a part of the 7 Links Project from Darren Rowse of Problogger.net.

1. My First Post: DVD vs. Manga

After moving all of my old posts from my BlogSpot blogs, I needed to add ones that were worth reading, letting the world know I recently moved into my new home. Though it’s only small talk about buying DVDs and Manga on sale and which ones were more affordable.

2. My Favorite Written Post: U.C. 2010: The Return of Gundam

With a few months left in 2009, news of a brand new series from my favorite franchise was in the works for 2010: Mobile Suit Gundam Unicorn. After speculating if the franchise will be the way it was during the days of Gundam Wing on Toonami in 2010, I was just about correct.

3. Most Discussed Post: McDonald’s Mega Mac: Talk About an Epic Hamburger

The first viral post for the blog. After reading an earlier issue of Otaku USA, I couldn’t help but show this to others: the biggest Big Mac in the world(?)!

4. “I Wish I Wrote That”: How Communities Will Save the American Anime Industry

Fellow Japan and Otaku culture blogger Xorsyst wrote a guest blog for Ningin in 2008 for their 8 Days of Anime with partnership of the New York Anime Festival. It’s about how communicans* could help the Anime industry survive-and two years later, it seems to be working! (Thank you, Crunchyroll!) It’s also a thought of how Anime communities can work together to help each other out individually.

(*An unintentional typo, but I’d thought I leave it in there since it sounded neat. ^^)

5. Most Helpful Post: 7 Blogging (Media and Gaming) Tools of the Trade

A foray into a writing list posts as I provided readers and (would-be) bloggers the tools I use to help out around the site.

6. Best in (Post) Title: Interesting Find: Homemade Sushi

A post for JapanSoc‘s February 2009 Japan Blog Matsuri featuring “Foreign Foods”. I choose this as a favorite post title because it demonstrates of how effective simple post titles can be when writing posts-and the most important of all that Sushi can be made in your very own home! This also would have been my choice for “My Favorite Written Post”, but I can only choose one. Orz…

7. Most Underrated Post: Underrated Anime Characters

Underrated characters calls… for an underrated post. I published this after finding myself obsessed with Mobile Suit Gundam again since 2003. There is one character I fell in love with who is underrated in the series, but the post itself was buried with better charac-err, stories…

If you have 7 of your favorite posts, all bloggers are welcome to join in. Check out Darren’s post on the 7 Link Challenge.

After being asked, asking around, and contemplating, I’ve decided to branch out to the audio world. Well, here it is! The pilot episode of the official CEN.TAKU.ME Podcast! Be warned: this is my first attempt at recording an original podcast, so please bear with me. D;

Show Notes

In the pilot episode of the podcast, I, Sanjo-chan, introduce myself to the podcast world. I explain how I got this far into blogging, how “CEN.TAKU.ME” was created, and how I became an Anime fan one decade ago.

I apologize if I sounds like I’m speaking too fast. I plan on getting better as the show goes along! 私わがんばってよ！

There’s not much to hear, but I’m testing the podcast waves to see how things turn out. If I remember correctly, the actual first episode in in the works! The next episode should be better than this as there will be a solid topic to talk about. ^^

Also, I also want to get this to iTunes soon when the feed “kicks in” to optimize for FeedBurner… ^^;

Show Related Links:
Otakast Radio Interview with Sanjo-chan
A Glance at Geek Podcasting

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