Madhouse Studios News

Hey Anime Vice and welcome back for another episode of "Dunce Cap"! Today's episode is pretty simple even though it may seem I''m behind the times. Anyway, let's get to it. Today's topic is the Madhouse animated, Warner Bros. released, FUNimation dubbed, Blu-ray release of Summer Wars!

 WARNING! This video contains explicit language. Also, this video is not edited in any way.

     

Please feel free to provide suggestions for an anime or manga for me to talk about and I will do my best to oblige. Also, if you are curious about anything discussed in this-or previous-episode(s) don't hesitate to ask me for more information/opinions.

Last episode: Cats Cause Trouble in Paradise

-Will McQuigg ( sotyfan16) is your everyday anime/manga enthusiast. You can also find him on Twitter ( bildo_88). 

 Background Reading - is going to become my sporadic attempt to put together a series of articles based on various books about anime and manga - to give give long time fans like myself, burgeoning fans like our own Tom Pinchuk, and absolute newcomers something to check out to give them background on the genre, recommendations for new to watch, or general explanation of various cultural idiosyncrasies. What better way to start then a general primer on the medium, eh?

Finding a “canon” of important works in any field is generally difficult to settle on. Do you go by popularity, artistic merit, influence on other works, early works of prominent creators, or a combination thereof?

The Rough Guide to Anime, by Simon Richmond – in Penguin Books Rough Guides series, probably has the best “canon” list of anime titles available, and certainly makes for the best English language primer to anime currently in print in the US, and makes for interesting reading for long-time fans and newcomers alike.

As the title states, this book is a “rough guide” - not only in terms of the series, but in terms of the depth of the book. It's not supposed to be any sort of academic text to the appreciation of the medium. It simply tells you what you need to get your feet wet. The book opens with a brief history of animation in Japan, from before World War Two to the present, discussing the evolution of the medium and its outgrowth from manga. We get some general information on some of the big names (Tezuka in particular), and some basic background to set up, in terms of Japanese society, where we are when we get to our “Canon”

The “Fifty Greatest Anime” takes up the majority of the book. Lists tend to be generally controversial, but the list in this book manages to be successful at not only being “safe” but also “comprehensive”, a difficult task at best. Unfortunately, this also means that many titles on the list are also out of print, or will be out of print soon as of this writing. Classic works by Tezuka like Jungle Emperor Leo and Astro Boy make the list, as well as the complete filmography of the late Satoshi Kon (still alive when the book was written), and many of Hayao Miyazaki's works. Other classics like Evangelion, Mazinger Z, Cowboy Bebop and Utena have made the list as well. It's a fantastic list, and I simply cannot disagree with any of the choices on the list.

The later section of the book covers various genres, like Eastern and Western Fantasy, comedy, and historical fiction, as well as names to look for, in terms of studios, directors and writers, and voice actors, as well as a basic tourism guide. The genres and names sections include examples of works by those names, studios, and in those genres. All of that is generally useful, though unfortunately they don't do a good job of indicating whether the shows mentioned are licensed or not. While I have no doubt that Richmond would rather his book be ever-green and have to worry about license statuses of some of the works he mentions – considering that Legend of the Galactic Heroes has not been licensed and likely will never, ever be licensed, it would be probably have been helpful to mention what series would not have been available in the US at the time of the book's printing.

Nonetheless, long time fans of anime and newcomers to the fandom alike will find a lot of value in this book, both through background on the medium as well as recommendations for new series and films they might otherwise have overlooked.

 

The Canon

In The Rough Guide To Anime, author Simon Richmond lists these films and series as his "canon" of the greatest and most important anime in the history of the medium. Reasons for their inclusion are listed in the book, and they are presented in the order they are listed in the book (ISBN 978-1-85828-205-3).

	1. Akira
	2. Astro Boy All three Astro Boy series are included under one entry.
	3. Barefoot Gen
	4. Castle in the Sky
	5. Cowboy Bebop
	6. 5 Centimeters Per Second
	7. Fullmetal Alchemist The TV series and movies are included in this entry.
	8. Gankutsuou: The Count of Monte Cristo
	9. Ghost in the Shell
	10. Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence
	11. Grave of the Fireflies
	12. Gunbuster
	13. Howl's Moving Castle
	14. Jin-Roh: The Wolf Brigade
	15. Kiki's Delivery Service
	16. Kimba the White Lion
	17. Little Norse Prince
	18. Lupin III: The Castle of Cagliostro
	19. The Super Dimension Fortress Macross
	20. Metropolis
	21. Millennium Actress
	22. Mind Game
	23. Mobile Suit Gundam
	24. My Neighbor Totoro
	25. Nausicaä of the Valley of Wind
	26. Neon Genesis Evangelion
	27. Night on the Galactic Railroad
	28. Ninja Scroll
	29. Only Yesterday
	30. Panda and The Magic Serpent
	31. Paprika
	32. Paranoia Agent (TV)
	33. Patlabor The Mobile Police (OVA)
	34. Perfect Blue
	35. Porco Rosso
	36. Princess Mononoke
	37. Puss in Boots
	38. Revolutionary Girl Utena
	39. Samurai Champloo
	40. Rurouni Kenshin: Trust and Betrayal
	41. Serial Experiments Lain
	42. Star Blazers
	43. Steamboy
	44. Spirited Away
	45. Taro the Dragon Boy
	46. Tekkon Kinkreet
	47. Tokyo Godfathers
	48. Urusei Yatsura
	49. Whisper of the Heart
	50. Royal Space Force: The Wings of Honneamise

After the assness that was Ironman anime, I wasn't sure how Madhouse next Marvel project, Wolverine, was going to turn out. However, after finally finding a file of it, it turned out ok. First off the ugly faces of Ironman are gone and are replaced with a much cleaner look with the character designs. While Wolverine or Logan was given a slimmer structure, he was still pretty buff and had his trade mark sideburns. The voice actor, Koyama, Rikiya, also helped in making a convincing voice for Logan, if Logan talked in Japanese. Story isn't anything special in terms of Marvel go as Logan is off in Japan trying to get his lover back, Mariko. Of course if you remember in the comics, you know what happens to Mariko. Combat looks pretty good with nice animations and nice shots of Logan get swords and gun shots through him and then show off his regenerating powers at work. 
 
While it isn't the great, it still decent enough to enjoy and a better recommendation than Ironman. 


  Onii-chan no Koto Nanka Zenzen Suki Janain Dakara ne!! (Or I Don’t Love My Brother at All!) is a very long and really silly name. But besides that, this show is a love comedy about Takanashi Nao and her crush on his older brother Shuusuke. Story is kinda pointless with how this show doesn't takes itself seriously and would rather focus on the jokes. Jokes are either funny or just really lame and unappealing. There are the usual sexual gags and "You saw me naked!!" ones that felt very awkward at times but it is the combination of the "secret crush” factor spun into these jokes that do make it some what funny. Also the weird facial reactions also help too. I think the main thing that would really keep me away from continuing watching this is the designs on characters with their oddly shaped and lengthy body parts and bland effects of making anything interesting to look at. It may be a comedy but it is not a looker.
 
I had a hard time watching this with its creepy jokes, the concept of brother loving sister, and the weird character design. If your in to this type of show, go right ahead and watch it. 
 

 

MSN.com has a top article stating the full list of Golden Globe nominees. You can see the full list here. As many of you know, FUNimation applied for a Best Animated Film nod in the 83rd Academy Awards with the animated hit Summer Wars. 16 applicants are needed for 5 to be nominated and if less than that apply then only 3 will be considered. As of November 21, 15 films had been accepted for consideration and you can find that list here. As an anime fan, along with the rest of the AV community and beyond, anime could use a better public image and Summer Wars is surely to help. A nomination would also give FUNimation and Madhouse Studios a good American boost. Directed by Mamoru Hosoda (The Girl Who Leapt Through Time) and written by Satoko Okudera, the Warner Bros. Japan movie has had fans worldwide raving-especially on the web. FoxxFireArt gave you a breakdown and full detail about the US dates here in his blog. 

Now, we all know the Golden Globes and Academy Awards are big deals and the committees have started being more favorable to foreign films in recent years but we could use a 4th win with Summer Wars. Though FUNi did not shoot for the Golden Globes, here are the final noms for Best Animated Film: Tangled, Toy Story 3, How To Train Your Dragon, Despicable Me, and The Illusionist. Personally, I have only seen How To Train Your Dragon and thought it was great. Tangled and Despicable Me look good and a lot of people liked Toy Story 3 but I had never heard of The Illusionist until I saw the nominee list. The competition is stiff this year especially as these same films are going for an Oscar nod as well. Summer Wars still has over a month before the list of Academy Awards nominees is announced so though I have not seen the film yet I encourage those who are in the areas where the film is screened to go watch it.

Keep you heads up anime fans and one day we and our eccentric hobby/job will get the recognition we deserve in other coutries than Japan.

What's a Super Duper Mini Review? Well, since I'm taking a break from written reviews, I decided to put a short list of what I liked and didn't like about the shows I review and put down some notes and fun facts as well. For some info about the show like genre, plot summary, etc., I borrow some info from Anime News Network, Wikipedia, and of course our wiki here on Anime Vice.

Super Duper Mini Review

  Kobato. is an anime based on the ongoing manga of the same name, created by CLAMP.  There are 24 episodes produced by Madhouse and directed by Mitsuyuki Masuhara.  The show originally aired in late 2009 and finished in early 2010.
 
 
Genres: comedy, fantasy, romance, slice of life
  
 
 
Plot Summary
 

Kobato is a girl who came to earth to fulfill her wish, which is to go to a certain place. To fulfill that wish, she has to find a bottle and fill it wich scarred hearts. Together with her "teacher", which is a stuffed animal, she search for the scarred hearts. However she may not fall in love with any person whom she cures the heart of.

 
Pros:

• A charming cast of characters from the super cute Kobato to the long wolf type Fujimoto, it was a great cast.
• Very colorful and vibrant world in Kobato.  From the characters to the settings, it's great.
• A very cute and charming tone to the show that makes it light hearted and fun to watch.
• An enjoyable happy ending.  Not sure if it's in the manga or not, but I liked it.
• I guess this is a CLAMP thing, but it was neat to see other characters from other CLAMP works.
  

 
Cons:

• Gets a little to dramatic with simple matters at times.
  

 

For people that are looking for a fun and charming comedy/slice of life show and don't mind the show being very cutesy often, I highly recommend this show.  While there is some romance, it really doesn't happen till the last few episodes so if you want to watch this for the romance, just be aware of it if you decide to dive in.
 



Sources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kobato. 
http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/anime.php?id=10542
 
 
Don't forget to check out my ongoing blog for my Super Duper Mini Reviews and my written reviews.            :)