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#AnimeVice: Five Anime 4Kids Should Destr-- Err, Dub: So, word on the streets is that 4Kids, better known as "those... http://dlvr.it/KYLz
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Nothing amazing, but it'll make shoujo romcom fans laugh!
My Darling! Miss Bancho # - My Darling! Miss Bancho volume 1
IntroductionMy Darling! Miss Bancho is the latest shoujo comedy from CMX manga. Its Japanese name is Aa Itoshi no Banchousama, and it's serialized in Hakusensha's LaLa anthology-- the same anthology that features titles like Ouran High School Host Club, Vampire Knight, Natsume Yuujinchou, and plenty of other shoujo hits. If I may note, particularly the ones that do fairly well among male readers as well!But can Miss Bancho hold up to her illustrious (and popular) counterparts?  My Darling! Miss Bancho Volume 1Publisher: CMX MangaRelease Date: 03/16/10 MSRP: $9.99 Length: 192 pages  PlotSouka is about to become a high school sophomore. Living with her newly-divorced mother, she decides on her own to transfer to a tech vocational high school, focusing on subjects like chemistry and architecture-- it'll be cheaper than her old private school and she'll have an easier time getting a job after she graduates.But the school she decides turns out to not only be MOSTLY male-- it's ALL male, because the boys fight so much that all the girls transferred out at the end of the prior year. Souka worries about whether she'll even survive her first day, but she manages to make it through a few days as she learns that her scary classmates are, in fact, really nice guys. In fact, they're all just overgrown, easily-excited children. At least until the school bancho comes back from a suspension! He immediately starts in on Souka's only semi-aware classmate, Yu, and in an attempt to help him in the fight Souka winds up beating up the bancho...and, by school tradition, becoming bancho herself.  ToneAt the beginning, Souka's accidentally becoming bancho and subsequent protectiveness from her classmates (particularly Yu) when another senior makes a move to take over by defeating her was starting to worry me a little bit, but then Souka took a stand against the senior, effectively supressing my concerns that she was going to be more damsel-in-distress than fleshed-out character. Sports tournament arc: begin! Actually, we've seen all of the archetypes in this story before, and to some extent we've seen the story before, even if the particular mechanism used to surround Souka by nothing but men is mildly different. The only thing that sets My Darling! Miss Bancho apart is that its comedy is, in fact, pretty strong-- things get increasingly silly throughout the book, and the mangaka (Mayu Fujikata; this is her first ongoing manga) throws in a lot of asides, fourth-wall breaking, and just plain goofy situations. (A random note: Fujikata's younger brother attended a tech school like the one depicted here, and she has some interesting notes-- she'll point out when she does things that aren't like the reality of such schools, but she points out things that are, like during a school sports festival, female students only sat back and watched while the boys competed.)  As such: this is the kind of manga where I have to say, if you like this kind of thing, you'll totally dig My Darling! Miss Bancho-- but I don't think it has enough going for it to really break out of its category into that "great manga all around" level. But it accomplishes what it sets out to do, and I found myself chuckling and laughing out loud while I was reading, so even if it's not a "great manga all around," it's still a pretty good one within its world. Pros/ConsPositives
Negatives
If, Then, ButIf you like these, then you might like My Darling! Miss Bancho. But...
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Mere hours after I offered that I was still on the fence about Durarara!!-- and in which I posited that this might be more sci-fi than fantasy --I was proven wrong by episode four, which blew me away. I am 100% sold on this show now.
Where the other characters still feel cartoony to an extent that I like them, but have trouble "caring" about them, Celty (Selty) Sturlson is now completely fascinating to me-- she is immensely different, but not in a "oh man, I gotta make something DIFFERENT!" way, but in a way that feels completely natural. Love it. |
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The StoryA simple formula: Kodomo no Jikan - Fanservice - Child abuse - ~4 years = Hanamaru Kindergarten.Okay, it's an oversimplification, but it'll get you to the right overall plot. A precocious and energetic kindergartener, Anzu-chan, is waiting for her mother on the street, and Tsuchida, a recent graduate and new kindergarten teacher, spots her alone. Wanting to make sure everything's okay he talks to her, and she immediately decides he's "hitting on her." And then he turns out to be her teacher, of course; cue introductions of the rest of the cast. It's that simple! The ReviewBut this isn't KoJika, and the hitting on doesn't lead to serious contemplation of Tsuchida being a pervert...mostly. Anzu also doesn't come from an unusual (and arguably dangerous) home setting, but is rather the daughter of a young woman who married her high school art teacher. So it's no surprise Anzu may develop a crush on Tsuchida, who of course turns out to be her art teacher.I won't spoil other aspects of the plot, but another big difference: while Anzu is absolutely adorable, it's her mother who's a bit over-the-top, and definitely amused me.  ...To my currently five-year-old daughter.  All in all this looks like it could be a really cute, fun comedy. So far it's not ecchi at all, unless you count a semi-almost-kinda upskirt (it was a long skirt so you didn't actually see more than a bit of lower-thigh). Unless, of course, you count seeing up the "skirts" of all the little preschoolers, but I personally don't find a big fat diaper very titillating. If you do, well...don't tell me about it. Anywho, it's Gainax, so I'm sure there'll still be some euphemism, and quite possibly some out-and-out fanservice, as we go on, but I'm actually surprised at how non-fanservicey it seemed, given what I was prepared for. So if Kodomo no Jikan made you uncomfortable, I think you'll still be okay with Hanamaru Kindergarten. Once again it's Gainax, so I need hardly tell you that the animation is good-- not at Gainax's peak levels, of course, but very strong. I'll tell you one little item that I noticed that made a big difference to me: when Anzu is waxing philosophical about being hit on as shown on TV, Tsuchida reacts WHILE she's speaking, rather than after. It's a small touch, but an appreciated one nonetheless. The voice acting is strong and the ED theme is decent musically, but the really cute visuals pick it up a lot. You'll recognize Gainax's touch a bit more there than other parts of the series, probably, although it also made me think a lot of Junko Mizuno, especially palette-wise.  And I think that's about that's about all I can say about Hanamaru Kindergarten for now. It's really cute, with a lot of potential for silliness, but nothing particularly deep or ground-breaking but some characters that I think people will really get into.  P.S. I LOVE HII-CHAN. |
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I sat down to write this review, and all I really want to do is gush.
Last night I decided to soak in the tub for a bit, and as is my wont I grabbed a book to read while I was there-- Ooku volume 2. Oh, man. I liked volume 1 of the manga, to be sure; it had strong characters and an interesting premise. But volume two just about broke my heart. Leave it to Yoshinaga to be able to create a manga so completely beautiful and yet so completely "real" at the same time. Granted, I'm no Japanese history buff, but for the time I was reading this manga her version of the shogunate was decidedly more real to me than the actually history I'm familiar with. The characters and story really resonated-- and not because I feel any particular relation to an alternate-history Japan in which females have taken on the shogunate in response to a severe shortage of men, but because her writing makes every single character she touches human. Even a character with a relatively minor role-- a rapist, among other not-so-good things --is made human by a single line of dialogue and facial expression. Suffice to say, after finishing the book I sat in the tub an extra 5-10 minutes just absorbing what had happened. It is, in short, a romantic tragedy-- but not a fluffy, sparkly affair. It's a sad joining of lonely people trapped in situations they did not want and have even attempted to escape from. Which is not to say that the manga is depressing overall; in fact, true to Yoshinaga form, there's quite a lot of humor and wit in the dialogue and characters, even a few moments towards the end of the volume. I can't think of a better way to say that it simply feels "real." The story is not presented as a grandiose period epic, though with the beautiful art and attention to detail it could easily pass for one. In the end the story is about the characters themselves, who are grounded in reality and are complex and conflicted as the real humans I interact with day in and day out. The way they act, what they are motivated by: it's all there for the taking. I don't think I can recommend this book highly enough-- and thanks to a trick of Yoshinaga's plotting, you can pick it up before reading volume one if you need to. I really hope that you'll do so. |
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A stronger addition to the franchise than you might expect!
Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann # - Gurren Lagann Vol. 003
 Gurren Lagann Manga v3
Disclosure: This review is based on review copies courtesy of the publisher. The StoryOkay, I probably don't need to tell you guys the story of Gurren Lagann anymore, so I'll keep this part blissfully short: set in a world where most humans live underground, young Simon is buddies with a slightly older guy named Kamina who is obsessed with breaking through to the surface. One day their underground home is invaded by a giant mech and a busty young woman mid-battle, and Kamina and Simon take their chance to move to the surface-- which is under the control of the Beastmen, who attempt to slaughter any attempts by humans to settle on the surface.The Review Gurren Lagann Manga v1 Having now read volumes 2 and 3 though, I'm revising my opinion: if you're someone who just kinda liked Gurren Lagann, you should still probably skip the manga...but if you're an obsessive Gurren Lagann fan, it's worth your money. Especially if you start from volume two (although volume one isn't terrible by any stretch).  Gurren Lagann Manga v2 Finally, it really starts to come across in volume three that Mori is a fantastic artist. While it's really hard to compare to the anime in terms of the over-the-top action, he does a fantastic job at rendering some scenes, particularly the ending of the Gurren-dan's battle with Thymilph. So there you go: if you're more of a manga person but want to know the fuss about Gurren Lagann, the manga will get you through, and if you're desperate for more Gurren Lagann content-- you know, the kind of desperate that gets you flying across the country to see the second movie --you'll enjoy the new tweaks. But half-hearted Gurren-dan members need not apply. |
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The Story Look familiar? Itazura na Kiss was made into an anime in 2008. Kotoko also has a crush on a guy at her school: Naoki Irie, the top-scoring genius of class A. The manga opens with Naoki rejecting Kotoko's love letter, refusing to even touch it, much less read it or respond. In the wake of her complete rejection-- in front of the rest of the school, no less --Kotoko and her father move into their newly-built house, which proceeds to crumble when a small earthquake hits. Kotoko and her dad are offered a place to stay by Kotoko's father's friend "Iri-chan," who-- can you guess? --turns out to be Naoki's dad. So Kotoko is stuck living with the guy who rejected her. Naoki turns out to be something of a douchebag, going out of his way to embarass or annoy Kotoko, especially if it involves pointing out her academic deficiencies. Even his little brother Yuuki gets in on the act. Blah blah blah, will love blossom, etc. The Review Oh, I think we know where this goes...but that doesn't mean the journey isn't still fun. Even I can't exactly say why, however. Most of the time reading I just found myself appalled by how poorly Kotoko gets treated by Naoki and wondering why she continues to crush on him even when she's mad at him. I also found myself really irritated at the "she's just an idiot, no helping it" attitude, which may be kind of a cultural thing-- in the US we're sort of trained to believe that if we work hard, as Kotoko does, then we'll be rewarded, which she rarely is (unless Irie is blackmailed or challenged into helping her). And yet, here I am, itching to read what happens after the end of the first volume, which sees Kotoko and Irie through their college entrance exams. There is nothing here that is new, and that's perhaps the draw of the series: the story is simple but gratifying, leaving the focus more on the characters than on random happenstances (although some of those pop up too, mostly due to Kotoko's friends being nosy jerks). Kotoko can occasionally be charming, and watching Naoki's not-always-predictable path to being less of an ass has its merits as well. Some readers may find the late Tada-sensei's art a bit hard to get into; it's old, and compared to most flowery, heavily-toned shoujo these days, it looks very simple. I found the art style kind of refreshing after so much really heavy art, like in Vampire Knight, personally. If you can get past the old flavor (or outright like it), there's plenty to enjoy here. A few technical items: there aren't really any omake in the book, and no translation notes page, although there are in-line notes for the few things that need them, so I don't think anyone will feel the lack. Honorifics have generally been left in as well. The book is pretty fat-- 300 pages versus the usual ~200 --and in terms of height is about the same size as a standard VIZ/TOKYOPOP release, rather than the larger trim size that DMP sometimes favors. If you're someone who enjoys series like Marmalade Boy, another '90s shared-housing romantic comedy squarely in the shoujo category, Itazura na Kiss will give you a nice flashback. If you prefer your shoujo manga with stronger heroines more along the lines of Ouran High School Host Club or Kaichou wa Maid-sama!, then you probably won't get what you want out of ItaKiss, at least based on the first volume. |
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A superb YA fantasy with just a touch of adult darkness.
Brave Story (Novel) # - Brave Story (Novel)
Let me first note that you should probably go over to my First Date Review for my thoughts on the first chunk of the novel, which revolves around the setup and the main character's final entry into the fantasy world of Vision. (But don't worry, I'll still go over the basics of the story, for those of you who ignore my well-meant advice. *sniffle*)
Disclosure: This review is based on a review copy courtesy of the publisher. The StoryWataru is an 11-year-old who's had a bit of a tough time of it: his dad is leaving the household for another woman, leaving Wataru in a state of constant confusion and self-doubt, not to mention leading his mother into a moment of near-insanity. After a strange encounter at an abandoned building, Wataru begins hearing a strange voice and before he knows it, he's landed himself an invitation into Vision.Vision is a mystical fantasy land created from the minds of Wataru and the other people from the "real" world who have traveled there. (That's not a spoiler; Wataru learns this very early in his journey.) In this world they have an opportunity to meet the Goddess of Fate and ask her to change their destinies, and Wataru wants to ask the Goddess of Fate to fix up his family. In Vision, Wataru is met not with the usual good versus evil mentality. Instead, the world is plagued with, of all things, intolerance-- primarily racial and religious. The races of Vision aren't based on skin color, but on animality: there are humans and there are "beastkin," humanoids with animal characteristics, like Lizardkin, Kitkin (catpeople), and the like. In other words: furries. Except not always furry. Oh, and there are also dragons, but as you can imagine they don't suffer from a lot of poor treatment. Along the journey Wataru must also deal with Mitsuru, a boy who he meets briefly in the real world before his entry into vision. Another real-world Traveler, Wataru and Mitsuru both seek an audience with the Goddess of Fate...but as they later discover, only one will make it there successfully. ...I think that's about all I can give away to you without spoiling the major plot points here. The ReviewFor all that I was worried about getting through its 820 pages, I really, really enjoyed Brave Story. That's the short version of what you need to know.The novel works sort of like a compacted bildungsroman-- for those of you who don't remember your high school literature class, that's a genre revolving around the development of a character over time, albeit usually over considerably more time than what's covered in Brave Story. That doesn't mean that Wataru doesn't develop just as much as Jane Eyre, just that it's in a much shorter, high-stress time. I was particularly impressed that Wataru, who I sympathized with but didn't really "like" in the initial chapters, really developed over time into a character I both sympathized with AND liked, slowly and surely, bit by bit, as he became both more assertive and more thoughtful, not to mention more empathetic himself. A little spoiler now... Wataru's assorted companions on his journeys are all reasonably well-rounded while remaining very firmly secondary to Wataru himself in importance. It's very interesting to see the difference between Wataru, who befriends people in Vision regardless of their quasi-fictional status, while Mitsuru sees them as virtually non-beings. All in all, Brave Story is an intelligent book for pre-teen and teenage readers, especially those who delight in the challenge of length, though its massive size may scare off some as well. As such it's a perfectly strong read for adults, especially since several moments of massacre and parental mayhem are considerably darker than standard preteen fare. |
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The Story Night Head Genesis: The Anime  Night Head: the J-Drama After the death of "old man Misaki," whose spiritual powers kept the boys bound to the facility, the twosome head out into the real world, where they're quickly swept up into trying to save the world from a disaster predicted by a man who sees visions of the future. Night Head Genesis is a manga based on an anime that was based on a live-action television drama called Night Head. The Review Cantarella But the art is beautiful and I can't fault it here. Higuri also has a good balance between detailed and less-detailed backgrounds, packing the panels with story and information without overloading them. ...Unfortunately, there's story to deal with. Bishounen fans will probably find something to like between Naoya's meek sweetness and Naoto's constant righteous anger, but I find them both rather whiny. The story's pacing is a little off: the boys are born, kicked out by their parents, kept at the facility, then grown and gone from it within the first chapter. They mysteriously have enough money for a nice apartment, clothes, food, and everything else that they need, as well as a woman on their heels who wants to kill them because she thinks they're the key to the world's destruction. The story is so fast-paced I never felt like I was really grounded in the characters, their powers, or their world before we ran headlong into a world-saving plot, and by the end of the book I still can't tell you anything about either boy except that Naoya is a wuss and Naoto is protective and sometimes a jerk. The story slammed into this book could easily have been drawn out to two or three volumes. If they wanted to move ahead into whatever comes next that quickly, I would rather they had referred back to this story as a flashback than actually cover it. And actually, I'm a lot more interested in their time at the facility than anything else that happened so far. This is a Del Rey Manga release, so the translation is solid and flows well. There are translation notes, and a word from the original creator (George Iida) and the mangaka (You Higuri) at the beginning and end, respectively. All in all, I'm not very impressed with NHG. But if you like your boys pretty and emo, and your stories simple and dramatic, you could probably kill a half-hour with this book...I just recommend borrowing it from a friend or the library. There are better ways to spend your cash. (Might I suggest a couple of other Del Rey supernatural dramas, like xxxHOLiC or Ghost Hunt?) |
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Is there a word that's more epic than "epic"?
Gurren Lagann The Movie 2: The Lights In The Sky Are Stars
 Gurren Lagann the Movie: Childhood's EndSo I actually first watched Gurren Lagann: Childhood's End, the first of the two Gurren Lagann remake films, at Anime Expo this year in a room full of major Gurren Lagann fans. My experience at the New People Center's showing was a bit smaller-scale, but otherwise similar: lots of hoots, hollers, jokes, and everyone yells along with the GIGA DRILL BREAK. It's almost like anime's own Rocky Horror Picture Show.The first movie retells the story up until just before the final battle with Lord Genome, the Spiral King. Most of what happens will be pretty familiar to you, but the ending chunk is almost entirely new footage (while still tying into essentially the same story). Basically, the first Gurren Lagann movie is an excuse to yell at the screen with your friends or random strangers-- with a few surprises to make the already over-the-top show even BIGGER. Buy it and show it at a geek party. I can almost guarantee you'll get laid. (It just might be by your best pal who's a mech freak instead of the hot Kamina fangirl.)  Gurren Lagann the Movie 2: The Lights in the Sky are StarsThe second movie addresses everything that happens post-timeskip. Unlike the first movie, however, movie #2 is much heavier on new content-- almost half of it is, according to reports (and my memory). Where the first movie was a party, there was silence for most of the second, even though the story itself wasn't hugely different. Why the silence? It's all pure awe, my friends. Pure. Awe. Gurren-Lagann the TV series was all about going over the top, and walking into the first movie, you wonder how they can top it-- and they do. Then the second movie starts and you wonder how they can top the first-- and they do. Hands down, 100%, no matter what else you think about the movies.Gainax did a really fantastic job piecing together the story in a much shorter package. In some cases they actually manage to make light of the fact that they can't go into the in-depth explanations or introductions to various aspects of the plot, such as the...unique navigational tool they wind up using to navigate their way to enemy headquarters. It's really good, very enjoyable stuff that adds to but doesn't muck up the whole Gurren Lagann canon, either. The Sum-Up Imagine going through all this in 4.5 hours. The only people who should NOT see these movies (yet) are those who want to watch the TV show but haven't yet. The movies are so much about taking the TV series and doing it bigger that I think watching them in the reverse order would make the TV series seem less crazy. The most awe-inspiring thing about Gurren Lagann isn't how creative Gainax is at creating epic battles-- although that is pretty amazing --but how much the series has resonated with people, possibly even as much as Evangelion did 13 years prior to TTGL's release. The contrast between the two couldn't have been more different, though: a major theme of Evangelion is our personal demons and failures preventing us from moving forward with our lives. By contrast, in a time of such cynicism and pessimism, Gurren Lagann is the ultimate statement that determination and belief in oneself is most, if not all, of what we need to break through the walls we perceive to be in front of us. It's a message I'm thrilled to see connect with so many people. |
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Gurren Lagann the Movie: Childhood's EndSo I actually first watched Gurren Lagann: Childhood's End, the first of the two Gurren Lagann remake films, at Anime Expo this year in a room full of major Gurren Lagann fans. My experience at the New People Center's showing was a bit smaller-scale, but otherwise similar: lots of hoots, hollers, jokes, and everyone yells along with the GIGA DRILL BREAK. It's almost like anime's own Rocky Horror Picture Show.The first movie retells the story up until just before the final battle with Lord Genome, the Spiral King. Most of what happens will be pretty familiar to you, but the ending chunk is almost entirely new footage (while still tying into essentially the same story). Basically, the first Gurren Lagann movie is an excuse to yell at the screen with your friends or random strangers-- with a few surprises to make the already over-the-top show even BIGGER. Buy it and show it at a geek party. I can almost guarantee you'll get laid. (It just might be by your best pal who's a mech freak instead of the hot Kamina fangirl.) Gurren Lagann the Movie 2: The Lights in the Sky are StarsThe second movie addresses everything that happens post-timeskip. Unlike the first movie, however, movie #2 is much heavier on new content-- almost half of it is, according to reports (and my memory). Where the first movie was a party, there was silence for most of the second, even though the story itself wasn't hugely different. Why the silence? It's all pure awe, my friends. Pure. Awe. Gurren-Lagann the TV series was all about going over the top, and walking into the first movie, you wonder how they can top it-- and they do. Then the second movie starts and you wonder how they can top the first-- and they do. Hands down, 100%, no matter what else you think about the movies.Gainax did a really fantastic job piecing together the story in a much shorter package. In some cases they actually manage to make light of the fact that they can't go into the in-depth explanations or introductions to various aspects of the plot, such as the...unique navigational tool they wind up using to navigate their way to enemy headquarters. It's really good, very enjoyable stuff that adds to but doesn't muck up the whole Gurren Lagann canon, either. The Sum-Up Imagine going through all this in 4.5 hours. The only people who should NOT see these movies (yet) are those who want to watch the TV show but haven't yet. The movies are so much about taking the TV series and doing it bigger that I think watching them in the reverse order would make the TV series seem less crazy. The most awe-inspiring thing about Gurren Lagann isn't how creative Gainax is at creating epic battles-- although that is pretty amazing --but how much the series has resonated with people, possibly even as much as Evangelion did 13 years prior to TTGL's release. The contrast between the two couldn't have been more different, though: a major theme of Evangelion is our personal demons and failures preventing us from moving forward with our lives. By contrast, in a time of such cynicism and pessimism, Gurren Lagann is the ultimate statement that determination and belief in oneself is most, if not all, of what we need to break through the walls we perceive to be in front of us. It's a message I'm thrilled to see connect with so many people. |
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In this episode we get to see the process of summoning and contracting a Celestial Spirit thank to Lucy, who summons a "spirit pet," a Nicolas variety (looks kinda like a cute little snowman) that she names Plue. After that, Natsu and Happy get Lucy to join them as part of their team within the guild, and they take on their first job.
The animation has remained consistant from the first episode, which is good-- it'll probably never go super high-caliber, but if it doesn't drop off to QUALITY! over time, that'll be very nice. I wonder how many episodes they're planning to do? The story follows the manga pretty closely so far, and this is our first two-part episode so far. |
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Vital Stats:Title: Astro BoyStudio: Imagi Based On: Osamu Tezuka's classic manga The StoryThe ReviewLet me say from the get-go: I enjoyed the Astro Boy film. It had its faults, to be sure, but most of them were small or very, very understandable.Now, the question is: will YOU like it? And to answer that, I'd have to ask what kind of Astro Boy fan are you. If you're more familiar with Naoki Urasawa's grown-up take on the concept, Pluto, or interested in Astro Boy from a more historical stance than anything else, then this film is probably going to be way too kiddie-oriented for you. I've seen plenty of critics complain that it's merely fluff, but I wonder if its historical significance, as it were, doesn't raise their expectations slightly. One of the main themes of manga-- the difference between humans and robots, between programming free will and actual free will, and then between programmed emotions and human emotions --are all there, but it's with a light touch. This is at its core aimed at being a kids flick, to get kids into the Astro Boy franchise, not like Urasawa's mature, more in-depth take. Additionally, I think it's a bit unfair to expect the film to cover everything that Tezuka managed to cram into 16 years and 23 volumes of manga (or anything close to it) in a 90-minute pic. All in all, I thought it did a fair job of touching on these concepts for a children's movie. Which is not to say that there aren't some missteps. Side character Cora is okay, but not terribly interesting (in fact, her resolution is downright boring), and the main villain-- a politician whose desperation to get re-elected is more belief-defying than the machine guns in Astro Boy's butt --is less interesting than Nathan Lane's robot deathmatch host. Not to mention the deus-ex-machina decision that takes place at the end of the film to get Astro back in the action-- eesh. Still, even with those factored in, I found myself enjoying the movie. If you're familiar with Tezuka's work, you'll find plenty of things tucked in here and there for you to enjoy-- the obvious choice is the character made to look like Tezuka himself (glasses and a beret-- early in the film), although my personal favorite is the appearance of the weird pig character Tezuka liked to throw in as a random joke-teller breaking the fourth wall. He appears as a logo on a building that gets smashed towards the end, although possibly also a few other places. I've seen some complaints about Nicolas Cage playing Astro's dad, Dr. Tenma, but I didn't have any problems with any of the voice acting. Some of it wasn't particularly outstanding-- Kristen Bell's Cora could be just about anyone as far as I could tell, and as much as I love Samuel L. Jackson, I would have liked his ZOG better if it had been constrained to the one really awesome line, instead of a few more later on. But Freddie Highmore, who I'm fond of for his turns in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and Finding Neverland, does great as the title character, and as I mentioned before, Nathan Lane's character is great. Visually the film is quite a treat. The style isn't particularly unique, but it's bright, vivid, and pleasant to look at. The design of Metro City and all of the characters are true to Tezuka's original without particularly trying to mimic the original anime or manga. So I'm definitely in favor of that. ...But it's all certainly not on the level of, say, the recent film Up, or the less-recent but really awesome Finding Nemo. So while I think fans of Tezuka's original manga will enjoy it, I wouldn't force yourself through it just for the sake of it being manga related, unless you can enjoy kids' films in general. IF, THEN, BUT If you like these titles, you may like the Astro Boy flick.- Wall-E (but, uh, with more anime and manga style) - Metropolis (but more kid-focused, though this Tezuka work featured similar themes) Release InfoUS Release Date: in theatres Oct. 23rd |
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...Visually speaking. There are a few points where if you pause you'll notice some wonkiness in the art. That's not too surprising with a shounen series, which will usually wind up being rather long and threfore having a smaller per-episode budget than a shorter show (or an OVA or movie).
But I'm still totally loving this show. I'm especially interested in seeing how Niche turns out-- we're only a couple of episodes away from where I am in the manga. Her voice is interesting; reminds me of Rie Kugimiya a bit, but isn't her. |
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In the second episode, Lucy meets the Fairy Tail guild and joins with, as far as we can tell, zero research into her qualifications. Then again, she did just witness the guild's food-fight-turned-magic-brawl, so maybe there just wasn't any point in trying to test her.
Natsu runs off to try and find another Fairy Tail member who's disappeared, Macao, and with a bit of help and/or distraction from Lucy, succeeds. Lucy decides that she's happy to have joined the guild...even though it suffers from a lot of complaints from the Guild Council. All in all another really fun episode, featuring the first appearances of fan-fave characters like Gray and Mirajane, as well as horny monkeys and a couple more of Lucy's summons. |
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Warning: this review may be slightly skewed by the fact that I have now read the first volume of the manga, so I'm a little bit further story-wise than just this episode.
That said, the story continues on strong, and I would be ery surprised if we didn't start seeing people cosplaying Letter Bees-- all they'd need to do, really, is adapt their Fullmetal Alchemist military uniforms, right? --in pretty short order, certainly by next year's convention season. I don't know why, maybe it was because Lag spent so much of the series either playful or crying that resulted in slightly more over-the-top voice acting, but I reeeeally noticed the similarities this episode between Lag's voice and Yoru's in Shugo Chara! (they're both played by the same actor). I found it very mildly distracting, but hopefully you won't. (And if you're not a Shugo Chara! addict like me, well...you won't!) |
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Good, but it's probably a good thing it's only two volumes long.
Oh! My Brother # - Oh! My Brother 01
Vital Stats:Title: Oh! My BrotherJP Publisher: Hakusensha Licensor: CMX Mangaka: Ken Saito The StoryThe ReviewKen Saito, author of The Name of the Flower, is a pretty strong shoujo creator...but Oh! My Brother is probably nothing to write home about.Those of you who favor a slightly silly but studiously not over-the-top kind of shoujo series will probably like Oh! My Brother. The romance, such as it is, is kept very light in the first volume, although there are a couple of moments where I wondered if there was some incest to be had here-- but for those of you who aren't a fan of the stuff, never fear. This stays firmly in the realm of PG appropriateness. It's a pretty fun first volume, but I kind of doubt that the series could go on for more than just the one-- although it looks like volume two, which comes out in March 2010, will be the finale, so I may still check it out to see if it holds up or not. (I've also seen reports online that it was four volumes in Japan, but there just isn't enough material here for me to fathom that, unless additional stuff pops up, of course.) That said, those less fond of sexual humor will be relieved to know that in spite of a boy living in his sister's body, none of the standard sort of humor-- where she freaks out when he talks to her taking a bath, say, or he criticizes the size of her breasts while making her body fondle them, or anything along those lines --is present here, at least so far. All in all, a good mild read if that's what you're in the mood for, but otherwise, there's probably always something better to be had. IF, THEN, BUT If you like these manga, you might like Oh! My Brother.- Ginban Kaleidoscope (but less ice-skating) - The Name of the Flower (but the family death is different...and that whole possession thing) Release Info:Released: Oct. 13, 2009Length: 192 pages Omake: - Bonus (unrelated) story - Bonus (related) chapter - Note from the mangaka |
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Vital Stats:Title: 11eyesStudio: Doga Kobo Licensor: Crunchyroll Director: Masami Shimoda Based On: Eroge of the same name The StoryThe ReviewFirst off, let me just say: by the end of the episode, I wanted Yuka-chan to get eaten by one of those blobs. She's one of those characters who is nothing but nice and cute, which might be fun in the real world, but can make for a rather grating character...it was especially all her damn giggling that set me off. I really hope the hot redhead who appears in the episode but doesn't really do anything winds up being the real love interest.Let me also note that I noticed several spots throughout the episode where, with my limited knowledge of Japanese, I could tell that the subtitles were significantly different than the literal translation of what was being said. Mostly these subs were aimed at the true implication rather than the literal meaning, which is fine, but in one case it seemed a bit sloppy, if totally minor (one of the characters says "Otou-san! Okaa-san!" and it gets translated as "Mom! Dad!" when it should be the reverse). Getting past these issues, though, you've got a solid setup for a sort of supernatural fighting/mystery sort of show. The character design on some of these kids is great, and I particularly find myself liking Kakeru's design, although I'm not so sure I like him. In fact, I think the only character I really found myself "liking" was Yuka's female friend, who is paired with a pervy guy and gets to beat him mercilessly. That was fun. There are some very random moments in the show, most notably when all of a sudden Kakeru turns to his life-long best friend and asks her why she's "always" carrying a particular penguin-shaped pouch, which (as far as I could tell) never appeared in a single frame prior to that moment. She shows him the toy, which can be squeezed such that a fish comes out of the penguin's mouth, like he's regurgitating to feed his young, I guess. The scene then moves on elsewhere. I don't know if the penguin purse plays a greater role later or if it was just a blatant attempt to market what will most assuredly become a real product, but it was still a very odd moment. The first episode did a pretty good job of introducing the characters, although if you've ever watched a romantic comedy, moe, and/or harem anime, you're already pretty familiar with who these people are-- it's just a matter of introducing their situations, now. And actually, most of them are still a mystery. Hopefully the characters will grow out of their simplified-for-pacing's-sake first-episode selves into something with a touch more depth, but we'll see how it goes. Voice-acting, as always, is solid, except perhaps for Yuka's annoying-ness. They try a couple of funny tricks with the visuals-- in two spots you see the frame(s) go into sort of frozen panels, almost like a comic. I'm not sure yet whether I like it or not, but it was kind of interesting, so we'll see if they keep playing with it. The OP and ED were so-so (the OP for the game is soooo superior), and the animation quality is also very middling. So, to sum up: if moe and drama is your thing, you've got a potential hit here. There's also some potential, I think, for those who want supernatural mystery and/or fighting. Ratings (of 5):Story: ♥♥♥Animation: ♥♥½ Characters: ♥♥½ OP/ED Themes: ♥♥½ Overall: ♥♥½ If, Then, ButIf you like these shows, you might like 11eyes.- Fate/Stay Night (but even moe-er) - Rental Magica (but slightly darker) - Night Wizard (but moe-er AND darker!) Release Info:Released: October 14th, 2009Length: Ongoing; unknown Features: - English subtitles - Simulcast-- watch here (Anime Members-only until one week from release date) |
