Sentai Announces Maria†Holic and Skull Man

Today Sentai (or Section23, or ADV, or whatever they’re called this week) announced that they will be distributing Maria†Holic and Skull Man in February.

I haven’t seen either, but I’m excited for Maria†Holic after gia from AnimeVice showed me the ED to the show. Yes, I judge an anime by its OP and ED. Ok, not really, but I really do love good artistic OP/ED sequences, and they do affect my enjoyment of a show.

So I will most definitely be buying Maria†Holic, not sure about Skull Man quite yet, as I’ll need to research that a bit more.

Expect these releases to be sub-only, which I’m fine with. Dubs would be nice, but by now Sentai has pretty much established that they’re not doing dubs.

I’m very glad that Sentai is licensing some of the more niche titles. I can only hope though that these titles will sell, and can help restore them to their former glory that was once known as ADV.

The Gundam Chronicles: 002 – The 08th MS Team

My first Gundam experience was indeed a pleasant one, with 08th MS Team. As I was told, the characters in this series are indeed excellent. I particularly enjoyed the love story between Shiro and Aina, which kinda reminded me of Romeo and Juliet – a kind of “forbidden romance” between members of opposing sides. Eledore, Michel, and Kiki were among my other favorite characters from the show.

I also very much enjoyed the battle scenes. Considering the time this was made in, the animation is very well done. The music was great, especially the OP theme song, which got me into the series immediately. I forgot that Gundam has such awesome music. I have actually been a fan of Nami Tamaki and HIGH and MIGHTY COLOR for a long time, and I’m familiar with the songs they did for Gundam SEED and Gundam SEED Destiny.

I also watched Miller’s Report, which was bascically a recap of the series in a 51-minute “movie.” Even though it was mostly stuff I had already seen, it was nice to have a recap, especially since I tend to miss things the first time I watch something.

The only thing I didn’t like about 08th MS Team was the final episode, which many people had warned me about. It seemed very out of place and unnecessary. Most of the episode involves Kiki and Michel spending time in a town full of children, although in the end it turns out the children don’t actually exist. So they were some kind of hallucination? Or ghosts? Whatever it was, it just doesn’t seem to fit into a Gundam series.

My next Gundam series will be Gundam Wing. I ordered the box set from Amazon.com and got it yesterday. Unfortunately, the DVD case was damaged, and I need to send it back. Hopefully I’ll be getting a replacement soon. In the meantime, I will be watching Blue Drop.

Anime Review: Sola

One of the biggest problems with anime adaptations of manga and visual novels is that in many cases, the pacing of the anime just doesn’t live up to that of its original work. Pacing is tough to manage, especially since most anime series are limited to 13 or 26 episodes, each of which must be around 23 minutes long. Some anime deal with this problem brilliantly, and others, not so much. Unfortunately, Sola falls under the “not so much” category.

Sola is a story about Yorito, a young boy in high school who loves to take pictures of the sky. His older sister Aono has been in the hospital for several months, and is visited frequently by his friend Mana and her sister. Yorito doesn’t devote much time to seeing Aono in the hospital, and Mana gets annoyed by this. Instead of caring for his sister, he prefers to spend his time taking pictures of the sky. On top of that, he has been becoming close to a mysterious girl named Matsuri. What he doesn’t know is that Matsuri has her secrets, and there may be more to her than meets the eye. The story is actually pretty good. It’s fairly original, and the addition of supernatural elements into what would be a typical slice-of-life drama make it more interesting.

Unfortunately, the story is very stretched out. Most of the first half of the episodes consist of “filler fluff” where nothing really happens. There are some good plot points, but they are few and far between, and when something interesting does finally happen, the plot immediately slows down again. The story doesn’t get all that interesting until more than halfway into the series, which is way too late.

The characters seemed bland to me. Aono is the generic “silent girl” role that’s starting to become very overused these days. Even though I usually like the silent types, Aono did nothing for me. Mana plays the typical “childhood friend” (although I don’t think she’s technically a childhood friend, she acts similar to that role), so there’s not much interesting about her either. Matsuri was the only character I found somewhat interesting, but I still didn’t feel for her that much overall.

Visuals are pretty standard, and aren’t impressive, to say the least. They’re not bad, but I think my enjoyment of the series would have been greatly amplified if it had better animation and a more unique art style. The music, however, is very good in some parts, and is one of the aspects I enjoyed the most about the show.

Ultimately, Sola is a good story to sit through if you have a great deal of patience. Unfortunately, I don’t, and it greatly impacted my enjoyment of the series. It’s sad that such a good story is essentially ruined by poor pacing. Perhaps I should consider reading the manga sometime, as I may enjoy that more. The series is available on DVD from Bandai Entertainment, although I would very much recommend True Tears instead.

ENJOYMENT – Uninteresting

RECOMMENDATION LEVEL – Probably not

REWATCH VALUE – Definitely not

The Gundam Chronicles: 001 – And So It Begins…

Most of you who follow this blog and/or follow me on Twitter can probably tell by now that I’m a very new otaku. The vast majority of the anime that I’ve seen is stuff that’s been made in the past decade. Additionally, with the exception of Macross Frontier, Str.A.In., and Neon Genesis Evangelion, I haven’t seen much mecha anime. I’m hoping that Gundam will fix that.

I don’t know how long I will last, but my goal is to see as much Gundam as I possibly can. I’m starting off with the highly recommended Mobile Suit Gundam: The 08th MS Team. I’ve seen 5 episodes and I am enjoying it greatly thus far. I just ordered Mobile Suit Gundam Wing off Amazon.com and I plan to start that shortly after I finish 08th MS Team.

I still plan to continue watching other anime as well, but to a lesser extent. If I pace myself properly, I should be able to manage watching Gundam in addition to other stuff. Throughout my “journey,” I’ll be chronicling my experience here in this blog, so be sure to hit the RSS button and subscribe if you’d like to keep up with what I’m up to, as well as my thoughts.

Here are the guidelines I will be following on my journey:

• About 2-4 episodes per day. This should keep me properly paced.
• There will be some days where I won’t have the time to watch any episodes, so in these cases I’ll try to “make them up” the following day.
• I will be purchasing every series I watch on DVD (or maybe rent via Netflix). I have a personal policy of not downloading fansubs of any series that is licensed in the US, and most Gundam series are.
• Other anime will most likely be watched in between series. For example, after I finish 08th MS Team, I’ll probably take a short break to watch a non-Gundam series, and then when I finish that, I’ll watch Gundam Wing.
• I’ll watch everything English-dubbed, when available.

At this point, I still can’t guarantee I will keep up with this, but I certainly hope that I can. The 5 episodes I’ve seen of 08th MS Team have been entertaining enough to keep me interested. Also, considering I prefer space mecha battles over down-to-earth mecha battles, I think I will like the other Gundam shows even more.

If you have any comments or would like to make suggestions on which Gundam shows I should watch, please comment below! As of now, I’m still not quite sure what my tastes are, so please make recommendations based on your personal experience.

Anime Review: Afro Samurai

Having heard many good things about the series, I decided to give Afro Samurai a try. This is definitely not a typical anime series for me, so I didn’t know what to expect. However, despite this not being my kind of anime, I enjoyed it quite a bit!

Afro Samurai tells the story of the appropriately named Afro on his quest for revenge. When he was a child, his father was killed right in front of his very eyes. Many years later, Afro has become the #2 samurai in Japan, and eagerly anticipates the day he will face #1, his father’s killer. The story constantly flashes back to when Afro was a child, telling the story of how he became the #2 samurai and his obsession with getting his revenge. Overall, the story is pretty weak. It’s your basic Kill Bill-style quest for vengeance story, so it’s not all that original. The pacing is also slow at times, which can cause some episodes to drag on for a bit. However, since the series is only 5 episodes long, this isn’t much of an issue.

Presentation is what Afro Samurai is all about. It’s bloody. Very bloody. The fight scenes are astonishingly well-animated. Few corners were cut in the production of this series. The exciting fight scenes deliver nothing short of a bloodbath every time. The visual style is unique as well, and it’s certainly different from what I’m used to. I was initially turned off by the gritty character designs, which just goes to show that one should never judge a book by its cover.

The voice acting is nothing short of superb. Samuel L. Jackson takes the lead role as Afro, which shows that FUNimation went all out in producing this series. Afro is accompanied on his quest by Ninja Ninja, also voiced by Jackson. Afro is very silent, so Ninja Ninja does most of the talking for him while also serving as the comic relief character. Both characters are excellent, and their voices match up to that standard.

At only 5 episodes, Afro Samurai is a very well-produced series that no one should pass up. It does have its weak points, but overall it makes for a very entertaining 2 hours of hack-and-slash action. The title is available on both DVD and Blu-Ray, so if you so desire, you can experience this blood-splattering beauty in 1080p glory.

ENJOYMENT – Very enjoyable

RECOMMENDATION LEVEL – Highly recommended

REWATCH VALUE – Probably not

Finally, an Intelligent Post About Moe!

I guess there are some reasonable people out there, because this article certainly shows it. Rather than being a biased prick about it and passing judgment on moe fans like some people do (see: Daryl Surat, Colony Drop, etc.), this post actually gives an unbiased and intelligent look at moe.

Read on: Moe Loading

If that’s too long for you, here’s a tl;dr summary: Omo and the M-Word

Needless to say, I’m very happy to see this post. Hopefully it will dispel some of the hate and criticism that moe fans get. Probably not, but one can only hope.

Special thanks to @_eternal for bringing this to my attention.

FUNimation Licenses Some Cool Stuff

At Anime USA, FUNimation announced that they have acquired some interesting new titles. Tetsuwan Birdy Decode, Sekirei, Full Metal Panic! and Full Metal Panic? Fumoffu. I haven’t seen any of these series, so I’ll just post my thoughts based on what I’ve read.

Obviously, I’m most excited for Sekirei, which is an ecchi harem series. This is always a good thing. It’s nice to see FUNimation broadening their horizons a bit as of late. I’ll definitely be taking a look at this when it comes out.

Tetsuwan Birdy Decode is a sci-fi series that seems pretty weird. It’s about a guy who… dies… and in order to stay alive, he has to merge his body with another’s. I’ll give it a whirl.

Unfortunately, I’ve never seen any of the Full Metal Panic! series, so I can’t be too excited for this announcement (which is actually a license rescue from ADV). I’ve heard very good things about FMP though, so I will be sure to try it sometime. If they release a box set with all the seasons, that would certainly give me great incentive to buy it.

Anyway, good job FUNimation! Glad to see these exciting announcements.

JANAiBlog Editorial: That Guy Who Married The Game Character

Okay, so this is weird. You’ve probably heard of  this by now, but some guy married a video game character. A character from Love Plus, to be precise.

This is definitely something out of the ordinary. Naturally, some people are finding this creepy. Now, call me crazy, but I don’t think this is all that wrong. Sure, it’s definitely weird. But is this guy hurting anyone? No. Maybe he’s a pervert, maybe he isn’t. But if he is, isn’t it better that he acts out on this towards a fictional character, rather than a real-life person? That’s just how I see it.

Anyway, if you wanna judge this guy, fine. But I won’t. And unless this guy starts doing creepy things to real people, I’ll continue to not judge him.

Anime Review: True Tears

Ah yes, another one of those moe slice-of-life anime series. While many may consider this to be an overdone and stale genre, every once in a while we get a series that stands out above the rest. True Tears is one such series.

Originally a Japanese visual novel, True Tears received its anime adaptation in 2008. However, the anime bears no resemblance to the original work, as it features a different story and characters. While fans of the visual novel may be turned off by this, some may consider it a blessing, as direct visual novel adaptations of anime quite often suffer from pacing issues. This is certainly not the case in True Tears.

The series centers around Shinichiro Nakagami, a high school student with a passion for art. He lives with his parents and his childhood friend Hiromi, who moved in after her father passed away. Despite being a childhood friend, Hiromi has acted coldly towards Shinichiro since she moved in, and the two of them hardly converse. Her attitude at home is in direct contrast to how she acts at school, where she is very outgoing and cheerful.

One day at school, Shinichiro meets Noe, a strange girl he finds sitting on a tree branch. After helping her down from the tree, he discovers that she is caring for some chickens in a nearby coop. When one of the chickens is killed by a raccoon, Noe does not shed a tear. When Shinichiro questions her about this, she says that she “gave her tears away” when her grandmother died, and hasn’t cried since.

Shinichiro frequently spends time with his friend Miyokuchi, who is currently dating Aiko, a girl who helps run a nearby restaurant. Hiromi, Noe, and Aiko are the heroines of this story. Through a series of dramatic and sometimes shocking events, they must face everyday challenges in order to realize where their true feelings lie.

Okay, I know what you’re thinking. There’s not much original about this story. Been there, done that, right? Not entirely. One thing that sets True Tears apart from other series of its type is its pacing. There’s almost always something going on to keep one interested in the plot. The characters are very well-developed, and just like in Toradora!, I really felt emotional for the characters. Any series that can do that to me is ranked very high on my list.

Another thing that sets True Tears apart is its presentation. The visuals, animation, and music did an amazing job at keeping me interested and emotionally invested in the series. Even the background music is very well done. The animation is certainly a step above most other anime as well. While it may not be on the same level as Kyoto Animation’s work, the quality is indeed noticeable.

True Tears is a wonderful series that any drama, or slice-of-life fan will certainly enjoy. While the story may contain common clichés that we’ve all grown way too tired of, its presentation is what indeed makes this anime a true gem. A DVD box containing all 13 episodes is available from Bandai Entertainment, and it’s definitely worth investing money in.

ENJOYMENT – Loads of fun

RECOMMENDATION LEVEL – Highly recommended

REWATCH VALUE – Definitely

8 Questions About Moe

Moe has been a very hot topic as of late. People on both sides of the issue have been at each others’ throats over it. I think the biggest problem is that many people just don’t understand moe (even moe fans themselves). Or perhaps the issue is that no one understands it, because it simply is impossible to do so?

So, I want to ask you a few questions. Please comment below and be mature and honest in your answers.

1. What do you define moe as? Is it a genre? A feeling? A fandom?
2. What is your opinion of moe? Why do you like/hate it?
3. Do you find moe to be creepy/wrong/immoral at all? Or do you feel that it is completely innocent?
4. Do you think moe is killing the anime industry?
5. Do you think that moe fans are any less of human beings because of their interests?
6. Do you view moe as an “intrusion” or an “unwelcome guest” in the world of anime?
7. Do you think moe fans are hyper-sensitive about the issue? If so, why do you think that is?
8. Do you think it’s possible to understand moe? Or is it just simply something that cannot be understood?

Now, I’m really just doing this to collect information. If you’re uncomfortable with a particular question, you don’t need to answer it. Even though I myself am a big fan of moe, I’ll understand if you don’t like it. Everyone is going to have different opinions about this, so let’s try to be civilized here.