Archive for October, 2008

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Ongoing Investigations: Case #017

October 31, 2008

Ai Morinaga saw a clearly untapped niche in the manga market and capitalized on it. Japan did not have (and needed) a manga about abusive homosexual human/frog relationships. The Gorgeous Life of Strawberry Chan fills this void as only it can. It has the standard Ai Morinaga fascination with mean-spirited comedy told with jerk-faced characters. For some reason she does it in a way that I enjoy. I think a good litmus test of your enjoyment of Strawberry Chan is the fact that Strawberry Chan’s owner sticks a straw up his butt and inflates him like a balloon to blow off stress. If you find this funny then try Strawberry Chan. If that makes you feel anything else you might want to go elsewhere.

I mentioned last week that I have been reading a lot of anthologies and a stand out one was X2. This series of shorts is done by the manga-ka of Monkey High! which I recently gave a glowing review of the first book. It captures the sweet and funny moments of new love. It was fun and hopeful and it gave the characters enough of a life that I could understand their feelings in a such a short amount of time. I also ready SOS which had a good range within its pages. We move from happy but dark underneath, to sweet and sad, to hopeful. But one deals with first love in its own way. I particularly enjoyed the last story involving a shooting star, but I am just a sucker for such things.

Maria-sama ga Miteru shows that your lesbian Catholic school fantasy is most probably not as interesting as you would think. I bought the first boxset due to Nozomi Entertainment getting some oddball shows which I encourage with my wallet. Also I have seen that it’s one of those super love it or totally hate it shows. I did periodically crack up with the thought of a roving band of bad girls that go through the school and jump girls to improperly tie their ties and get them in serious trouble. They would never physically hurt them. Heavens no! The disgrace of an off center tie would be worse than any physical pain. Other than that it always seems like it wants to be an over the top drama fest but never dares break the carefully constructed placid world. Slow and subtle are the watchwords for this show.

Man, this show. I grant it that the second episode was mildly better than the first but still it struck me as rather boring. Everyone is proper and quite and it made me crazy! I just wanted to leap through the TV and cause a ruckus! Even the most outspoken and wild girl is still whispering her wildness. It doesn’t move into comedy and it isn’t outlandish enough to be a over the top drama. I am kinda of curious to watch a little more just to see if they can actual get me to feel any sexual tension in this show which there wasn’t in the first two episodes.

Pani Poni Dash! is the exact opposite of Maria-sama ga Miteru. The show has no time to smell the roses because it has the next joke to get to. Pani Poni Dash can be subtle at times. In fact, it’s easy to miss the subtle humor because of the in your face kind going on. There is constant blackboard comedy in the background which is often non-sequitur but sometimes sets up jokes. All the various characters are rather amusing but I can’t say that I really have a strong love for anyone. The ADV pop up liner notes are really well done but are best watched after you have seen the episode once through without them on.

Kaichou wa Maid-sama is everything it should be. A ridiculous, over the top, shojo romance comedy. Misaki is the first female student body president of a recently made co-ed high school. She is an insane hard-ass who is trying to reform the guys. At the same time she is desperate for cash because of her family situation so she has a job at a Maid Cafe. Obviously she wants to keep this a secret but one day her biggest rival Usui happens to see her in uniform. Let the games begin! In only 8 chapters this is what I have learned about Usui, our male lead, he is of course really hot; he is the best student in school; he is also the most bad-ass fighter in the school and probably elsewhere; he is a master chess player; he can cook like an Iron Chef; he can jump off the roof of the school and only have scratches; and he can show up anywhere at anytime (they actual reference and make fun of this fact). I love that it doesn’t just go half way to insane, it is full-throttle!

One Piece came out with it’s newest popularity poll. Nami is back to were she belongs. She will never overtake the popularity monster that is Chopper or the immovable three but at least she is not the least popular of the Straw-Hat crew. I guess they had to remind everyone that she has nice tits and they all come back. Traitors! Your Nami love should be about more than that! I found it interesting that Brook has become popular so quickly but when you are a talking skeleton with an Afro then the only surprise involved was that I was surprised. I was also amused that Vivi was so high on the list because as far as I can tell many American fans still hate Vivi with an unfounded passion.

I wrote up a little blurb on 4chan for the Chunnel. I tried to stay about as neutral on 4chan as possible. I tried to mention both the good and the bad. I know there was so much more I could say but 4chan is big enough and strange enough that you could write a series on scholarly papers on it.

Posted in Anime, Manga, Ongoing Investigations | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a Comment »

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NYAF 2008 Ryu Moto Interview

October 28, 2008

Not only was the NYAF the first convention your lovely gumshoes attended as press, it was also the place where we did our first interview. From the point of view of my mind-numbing, I-can’t-eat-or-I-will-lose-it, state before the interview I felt it came out okay.

Ryo Moto is probably best know for his character designs for Petite-Evangelion. Petite-Evangelion is a franchise in which all the Evangelion characters and some of the mecha have SD forms that all go to the same school. It has countless pieces of merchandise based on it including a calendars, figures, and a DS game. He has done other collaborative projects with GAINAX including a Gurren Lagann doujinshi anthology. Ryu Moto has not just limited himself to the Japanese market as he recently worked with Image Comics in the U.S. and is looking to do more work abroad as well as in Japan.

I first encountered Petite EVA through toy shopping with some friends in NYC. As many an anime fan can tell you, the Evangelion franchise has a staggering amount of merchandise, but these stuck out as something new and exciting. Ryu Moto’s work is both stylistically appealing and incorporates a lot of humor. He likes to play around with licensed characters and his own creations to make it fun for the audience. If you don’t know him yet you are surely missing out on his vibrate, sharp imagery. You can see much of his work on his deviantART account.

Ryu Moto was very accommodating and delightfully charming. He even gave us free singed copies of his latest sketchbook after the interview. I then bought an older sketchbook as well. We totally forgot to take a peek at his latest sketchbook. I really wanted to see if he drew Hisui. I hope he comes back to the U.S. so I can buy the sketchbook he did while at NYAF.

Reverse Thieves: Could you tell us a little about yourself?

Ryo Moto: I am Ryo Moto. I’m from Japan. I’m [a] manga artist. I am working mainly in Japan but I have also started working overseas and am looking for other opportunities in the work field outside Japan.

RT: We read you got your start in doujinishi and were then asked to do Petite EVA is that right?

RM: Actually I was a professional in college, while in school I did illustration and manga work for publishers in Japan. And while I kept doing work I was then asked to do character designs for Petite EVA. Actually I started my doujinshi work after I became a pro. More for self-promotion.

RT: Wow, that seems rare.

RM: I’d say so. [laughs]

RT: Continuing along the line of doujinshi, since many Americans don’t know a lot about it. . . . Have you sold stuff at Comic Market (Comiket)?

RM: Yes. Some of the books I brought for New York Anime Festival are ones I have sold at Comic Market.

RT: Can you tell us what Comic Market is like? Do you like winter or summer Comiket better?

RM: It’s about ten times the people as the San Diego con in three days. It is really crowded all over. I prefer the winter . . .it’s not hot. I hate hot. Many people come to Comiket in summer time and it is so hot. Because there so many people in the summer their sweat vaporizes and makes a cloud inside!

[laughs]

RM: Well, it is foggy!

RT: Have you noticed any major trends emerging in the modern doujinshi scene?

RM: I think it is basically right after a new anime comes out it will be at Comiket. It doesn’t keep going and going. There is not a phenomenon like Sailor Moon or Haruhi. It is always changing now. [There are] not as many big shows that stay. Probably for next Comiket it will be Gundam 00, Code Geass, Macross Frontier, oh and maybe Hatsune Miku. Have you heard of that? It is a computer program, a vocal program, with a girl’s voice, she has long green hair. It is not the software but the illustration on the package, in a way a virtual idol. The image of the girl has lots of merchandise.

RT: Do you have a favorite circle?

RM: Right now I’m not doing doujinshi. But I really liked Chocolate Shop, he is the designer of Xenosaga. His mecha designs are very good. His doujin quality is very high with glossy paper and high design. I also liked Mine Yoshizaki’s [Manga-ka of Sgt. Frog] circle. He has quit for about three years but he used to do a lot.

RT: You mentioned how you got started with Petite EVA but how is it working with GAINAX? EVA is such a huge franchise, what kind of creative freedom do you have with it?

RM: So far I have felt pretty comfortable working with GAINAX. The reason is, there aren’t many limits from GAINAX at this point. But when I’m working with Petite EVA I try not to be too off from the original characters. I respect the characters first, then I do Petite EVA.

RT: Having worked in both the amateur and professional markets, what are the biggest differences?

RM: There are no editors! The editors don’t yell at you. [laughs]

RT: So how influential are editors?

RM: Well, from what I have [seen], editors are individuals. So even if they are in the same company there are editors that like me or some that yell a lot. But it depends on the editor. From the people I have worked with, of course there have been ones that didn’t go well, but basically I have worked with editors who like my artwork and like me as an individual.

RT: So you’ve mentioned starting working abroad, and I know from your blog you like American comics a lot. Anyone in American comics you would really like to work with?

RM: Mike Mignola [creator of Hellboy]. He has been an inspiration. I have always admired him.

RT: How much professional training have you had?

RM: I was going to art school but I was learning design so I actually haven’t had any training in drawing.

RT: What was your first work as a professional artist?

RM: I think my first word as a pro was an illustration for a novel. It was published in 2002 through Tokuma Duel Bunko (Tokuma Shoten). The author was Sara Yajima and the title was Kero Kero Midori no Chikai. My first manga as a pro was published in 2004 titled Gyu-Nabe Damussu. It was an original title by myself. I drew a manga for my web-site using one of the character that appears in the afore mentioned manga. It was done in 2006.

RT: Can you tell us about your original works?

RM: One of my comic books that has come out is called White Chaos. It is about a girl whose former life was very pure, she didn’t do anything bad. So in this life the devil comes and makes her a devil, then asks her to do something bad. It is mostly comedy. This is one of my favorite works so far.

RT: Has any of your work been animated?

RM: Petite EVA is coming out on DVD in the spring. It is a 3D CGI production. I have samples at my booth. You can search it on YouTube. [laughs]

RT: So how much were you involved when they animated it?

RM: Basically I just do the character designs. But once they finished I do package illustrations and publicity art as well.

RT: Can you tell us about the work you have done overseas?

RM: My first official work overseas is COMPASS published through Image Comics last year. But before that I did an art piece for a book called Comic Artists Asia. Which was sold in English speaking territories. The book focused on introducing Asian artists [to overseas audiences] and I was asked to do a piece in Japan. I was surprised to know that many people at overseas cons knew about this book. Of course I was happy about that!

RT: Having been to New York Comic-Con and New York Anime Festival, have you notices any differences between American fans and Japanese fans?

RM: I don’t see a big difference, but what I like about American fans is that they speak out about what they like. Japanese fans are more shy.

RT: Are there any anime or manga you think Americans should know about?

RM: One of the titles is called Noramimi it is based on a manga but I recommend the anime. It is very Japanese oriented, Japanese cultural things. I would like to see what Americans would think of it. It is like a sitcom. Like Doraemon. For manga, I would say Yotsuba. I think it is one of the manga Japan can be proud of. It is for everybody.

RT: How was New York Anime Festival?

RM: It was fantastic! I have participated in other overseas conventions in the past, but it was my first anime con and was actually a bit nervous. But I was able to meet a lot of people and had fun.

RT: Is there anything fans should take away from your work?

RM: In my work I always do exactly what I want to do. So if I do that the fans will follow. You don’t have to do what is a trend. You should do what you think is good and your fans will come with you. When I just started in the industry, the editors scolded me and told me my art wasn’t very good. They told me to imitate other popular artists, but I never listened to that. I always tried to do what I wanted. When I found my own way in art, then the work came, too.

*Special thanks to Akihide Yanagi for helping us by translating.

Posted in Conventions, Events, Interviews, NYAF | Tagged , | 3 Comments »

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Con Survival Series: Introduction and Gameplan

October 27, 2008

Helmuth von Moltke the Elder is famous for saying that, “No battle plan survives contact with the enemy.” This is especially true of any and all planning done for cons. I have yet to go to an anime con where everything went exactly as planned. Something or someone will always fall through often at the worst possible time. Vital items will be forgotten or left behind. The posted schedule almost always changes day to day sometimes hour to hour. Oddly enough though even though this is a truth you are doomed if you don’t have a plan for going to a con. A small amount of planning can turn a disastrous or boring anime convention into one of the highlights of your year.

But therein lies the problem, if there is no plan nothing will get accomplished. The plan will inevitably change. No matter what. The only way a plan can run perfectly is for only one person to be involved, so unless the con is just you in your basement it will involve others. If you are going alone you still have to worry about traveling (which involves all manner of other people) and the con itself may not run smoothly so your plan even less so.

I will tell you that Narutaki is correct. I was the only person at Hisui Con 2007 last year in my basement and it went off without a hitch but I found that it had no atmosphere what so ever. Roald Amundsen said that adventure is just bad planning. My friend Ben’s infamous road trips always stick out in my mind as to what happens when you take no care to plan you trips in advance. Ben is famous in my little circle of friends for spontaneously planning road trips at the last second and having many a horror story because of it. Tales of him driving half asleep in misty unknown parts of North East while trying to find somewhere to stay for the night before falling asleep at a rest stop to find people rather creepily staring at him when he awoke immediately spring to mind. So much of Ben’s interesting little “adventures” could have been avoided by some planning before setting out.

Disaster can be averted! The first thing you do, is decide to go. So let’s start now! Okay, so the first step has been taken and you haven’t broken a sweat. So why not take the bull by the horns and plan your trip yourself, leave it to no one else!

I myself have up until recently have been more of a passive participant in convention planning. I have always been fortune enough to either have anime conventions near me or to have someone in charge of planning things for me. Narutaki is usually our group’s main chief of planning. But when CLAMP was at Anime Expo 2006 Kohaku and I were forced to make plans for ourselves. It turned out fine but it was the first time I had to fend for myself. I’m also had to plan out my solo journey to the Providence Anime Conference. I will say the the less people you have to plan for the easier it is but the more good friends you bring the more likely you will have a good time.

I have worked with people to plan for 20 and to plan for 2. I’m slowly but surely becoming a seasoned organizer for these types of excursions. Every year something new is learned and every year something unexpected happens. So our guide will be a multiple post, ongoing series initially coming out once a month (the last Monday of the month).

The Con Survival Series:

Why are we doing this? As the average age of the typical anime fan gets younger and younger while the number of people going to anime conventions increase it means that many con goers are totally green to the con going experience. Just look at any message board for you local con and you will invariably see a thread asking for advice and suggestions. Having the battle scars of years of mistakes, failures, learning experiences, and triumphs we have decided to pass along our wisdom in hopes of teaching first time con attendees what to do and what to avoid in planning their first con experience. Heck old timers might pick up a new trick or two as well.

Okay, yeah, we are going to tell you the mostly overly detailed way of doing things. To the point of madness at times, but this is just a guide not a set of laws. Heck, we may even forget to do some of the things we’re going to tip you off to. The goal is to remember all the great stuff about the convention, not the screw-ups. So hopefully a little help from us you can accomplish just that!

Posted in Con Survival, Editorials, Guides | Leave a Comment »

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Ongoing Investigations: Case #016

October 24, 2008

Narutaki and I both lost our Internet connections so oddly enough it has led me to watch MORE anime than usual. Without the World Wide Web there to distract me it has left me some time to catch up with my unwatched anime.

I picked up the first Girl Who Runs Through Time manga released by CMX. I’ll just take a moment and mention how much I like CMX’s manga line as they consistently pick up over looked but good series many of which are short. After seeing The Girl Who Leapt Through Time I have been anxious for this manga to come out. While the movie clearly pays homage to its predecessor, they are still different entities. It was quite good with a fun and spunky heroine. Our two romantic rivals and the all knowing friend to round it all out. Though I am not sure how it can be resolved in just one more volume. This also reaffirms my hope that someone will pick up the original novel.

I can now understand why AWO says that GaoGaiGar gets better and better as the series goes on. The next to the last battle in the series is so epic and satisfying. The last battle is a little more of an emotional climax than any world shattering climax but it is still fun. I am still pretty sure that no one is going to like this show that is not in it to win it from the beginning. The final episodes are definitely better but I don’t think they would ever win over anyone. Still it is manly robot anime with fiery courage and bravery saving the day. I am going to take a little break before I throw myself into GaoGaiGar Final and/or Grand Glorious Gathering.  I might also go out and pick up Betterman before that for the minor connection. Because I am a nerd like that.

THANK GOODNESS GUNDAM 00 IS BACK! I am truly enjoying every minute. It is great to see all the storylines converging. It was great seeing Sumergai back in action! And with the return of my beloved Allelujah, well I’m happy! The next episode looks to be just what I wish for, too. I have been itching to watch the first season over again. I’m really looking forward to the DVD release. P.S. Black Haro is clearly the big villain, not sure why no one else sees it.

Shakugan no Shana ends pretty well. I was a little surprised that the final fights are mostly inconclusive and short. I suppose it was better that they worked on an emotional climax rather than a physical one but I wanted some more melee. I was also a little disappointed that we never see this supposed sword vs. spear fight between Shana and Sydonay as promised in the second opening. I suspect they don’t want to kill off the Bal Masque either because they realized it was popular enough to get a second season and/or they wanted to stick closer to the original light novels. It’s another series that while I could watch more of I am in no rush to download it when I am trying to catch up on watching what I have legitimacy purchased. Plus the second Shakugan no Shana has a decent chance of getting licensed especially if the box set sells well enough for Funimation.

Watched some more Code Geass and am happy to report the last couple of episodes on the first disc were not a fluke. The show is indeed good. I also found it great to be enjoying a fluff episode like 6 where the cat steals Zero’s helmet. It gave the series a nice uplifting episode but also reestablished the friendship between Lelouch and Suzaku. This disc made me really liked Shirley as she wanted to befriend Suzaku despite everyone else. I am also really loving Shirley and Kallen’s friendship. Still waiting for C.C. to really show some of her powers although she does prove usefull in this disc. Oh and apparently me and Kohaku are the only people on the internet that really like Suzaku.

I saw Genius Party with Kohaku and Scott from Anime Almanac. It is seven short animated shorts by different artists. Like most anthologies you are going to like certain stories more than other. The first eponymous titled Genius Party is a quirky little short about the creation and spreading of ideas. It has very striking visuals which is a necessity since there is no dialog. It has little stone coconut heads who create and transmit little heart shaped ideas and the scarecrow bird that preys on them. The second short is Shanghai Dragon which is a fun little story about a snot nosed kid who has to save the earth from alien invaders with a magical pen. The best part for me about this short was the two cyborgs that defend the boy and his female friend until he can come into his role as savior of the earth. Their seinen manly heroics against impossible odds were stylish and cool. Deathtic 4 was a odd little piece that was all 3D CG reminiscent of Gregory Horror Show or Reboot. I was entertained with the story of a team of self-proclaimed super hero zombies that try to get a frog back to the world of the living. It had a amusing little nod to the Fantastic 4 and filled with kids humor (aka fart jokes) in a macabre world. Doorbell is the story of a student who finds that another version of him has started taking over his life. Whenever he gets somewhere and his duplicate has arrived before him the people there seem to take the duplicate as him and can no longer see him. So a race starts between the two to see who can claim this existence. An odd little story with a seinen feel to the character designs. If I ever watch Genius party again on DVD I am sure to skip Limitcycle each and every time. Limitcycle is a rambling soliloquy about mans’ relationship to God. It basically has no plot and often times bewildering cyberpunk visuals that incorporate alchemical diagrams and seemingly random numbers. It was the most self indulgent piece I have seen in a long time. I don’t mind a little navel gazing but this meanders in such a unabashedly personal manner that it is incomprehensible to anyone but the author. Happy Machine is clearly by the man who directed Kaiba. Everything from the character designs to the relentlessly disturbing feeling under the pastel coloring. It is the second short in the anthology to be almost completely without dialog. It is the story of a baby who lives in a child rearing machine until is starts to break down and he is forced to survive in a hostile alien world. I say without hesitation that Baby Blue would have been Narutaki’s favorite story had he gone to see Genius Party. A warm little story of an almost love. A boy invites a childhood friend of his to skip school and go on a little adventure with him to the beach. They have a fun little bittersweet adventure as they spend the day together.

I have been reading a lot of one-shot and one book shojo manga of late. It’s actually quite a challenge to make the reader engage with the characters and at the same time tell a complete story. So I’ll just mention a few that did the job. A manga-ka who is quickly becoming a favorite is Tsukuba Sakura and luckily just about everything she has done has either been licensed or scanlated. I read two shorts by her but the one that stuck out was Shiro no Keiyaku. It is about a pure white crow who is ostracized by his flock. One day after being injured he falls to earth and is fixed up by a girl; he immediately falls in love with her. The story takes him to a devil to make him human and spend his time with her. It has the fairytale aspect down pat complete with happy ending. Sakura does a great job of combining a dash of fantasy with a sweet love story. Another fairytale one was Otogibanashi no Fude in which our lead male is the keeper of a sacred tree. He stumbles upon the secret of the tree which is a beautiful water goddess kept inside of it for hundreds of years. He is the only one able to summon her and as he continues to spend time with her he inevitably falls in love. This story has more of a bittersweet under score to it but still makes you smile in the end and be hopeful. This story also made me immensely interested in reading more by this author, Akizuki Sorata. I also re-read 7th Period is a Secret which deals with that ever popular taboo, teacher x student. Shun has transformed herself but she doesn’t truly feel at easy with her friends. Her young teacher Jun sees right through her and she finds him understanding her better than anyone. So beings a romance! Even though our guy is supposed to be older, it exudes the first love sweetness for both of them. It also doesn’t have any real tragic ending, in fact we are lead to believe they will stay together. I just picked up another series by Chiba Kozue and I am reading more short stories as I write this so I’ll be talking about them a lot in the coming weeks.

Posted in Anime, Manga, Ongoing Investigations | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments »

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Fall Into Me: Fall 2008 Anime Guide

October 20, 2008

Every season tend to have it’s own flavor and for better or for worse they tend to have a a bunch of show with similar themes and motifs. This is just the way TV works. This fall the in thing is supernatural action. 7(?) of the 17 shows we are doing first impressions of have a supernatural theme to them. I like supernatural themed shows so this is good thing but can be just as bad if not worse than any other genre.

There are always a ton of new shows coming out. Alas there are only so many hours in the day so we have to be selective. We are not reviewing sequels, ongoing shows (yes, of course, we are watching Gundam 00!), or any show we are pretty sure, like 99% sure, we will not like. And be aware we are reviewing these shows after watching just one maybe two episodes, so it is just first impressions.

Tytania

Tytania is the story of the nasty Tytania clan and their attempts to take over the UNIVERSE! It is set in a space fairing future not unlike the Traveller universe which although humanity has high space technology but with all the stylization of European nobility including dress, titles, and antiquated personal weaponry. We are quickly introduced the major players in the Tytania clan and we see although they do not officially rule the empire they do so in all but name. And boy are they boring so far. But there is hope in the form of Fan Hulic and his rebels from Euria. Fan actually seems likable and someone you want to root for. I really hope the story is about his awesome fight against the Tytania bastards like the ending suggests or this is going to be rather lame. I guess they could also make Tyania more sympathetic and interesting but I think I would rather see Fan’s excellent adventures. I recommend this show to anyone who is running out of Legend of the Galactic Heroes to watch and needs their next space opera fix.

Character designs by Haruhiko Mikimoto who did original Macross, woo-hoo! This is very seriously a show about the biggest jerks in the universe and their pompous, pampered lives. Please for the love of all things mighty, take them down FAN (pictured above)! I was really worried that he was just going to be another conquest but looks like he has some hidden cunning. I really wasn’t interested in the show until I realized he had something up his sleeve. My suspicions are the same as Hisui’s in that this show will be about the rebels taking on the empire so to speak. Which you would never know from the opening sequence. Which by the way sounds like it is an anthem for the Tytania clan.

Hokuto no Ken: Raoh Gaiden – Ten no Haoh

So this episode is about the sensitive musician Raoh. He is trying to cross the world and make it a peaceful place through the sound of music. Or it is about Raoh a man, five times the size of any punk he runs into, who can only walk in a straight line. He also has two minions one who he gives a fist pound to in greeting and one who is almost molested which was surprising because it was only almost. The opening sequence reminds us that what we are watching is pure, awesome, raw power while the ending sequence implies that there is some touching story behind it all. I think we know why we are all here watching this and it has nothing to do with depth. Also since this is just the beginning of Raoh’s journey he has not yet donned the fantastic armor.

Most people might not realize that Raoh from Hokuto no Ken is actually much like Narutaki. They are both the King of Fists and they both live life without regret. Clearly since Narutaki is a real human being it was Roah that was based on him. So does Raoh Gaiden live up to the greatness that is Narutaki’s life? The answer is clearly YES!For those not in the know this is a side story to the original Fist of the North Star series with the big bad guy as the star. Set in a post-apocalyptic world where the strong prey on the weak and the ultimate weapon is martial arts. Roah plans to save the world from its sorry state by conquering it. He and his two lieutenants make their first step towards world domination by taking over some poor saps fortress. For some reason, to minimize the damage to the fortress I suppose they go in disguised as a performing troop. This leads to unintentional hilarity. Roah then proceeds to school this guy and name himself King of Fists. Is the animation super awesome? No. It’s serviceable and a little out dated. Is the plot super deep? Hells no. Why are you going to watch this? Roah at one point is confronted by the random encounter enemies of any post-apocalyptic world, the biker punks. He confronts their leader and punches a whole the size of a cow in him…and the building in the distance, too. If that sells you than welcome aboard this crazy train.

Ga-Rei ZERO

This show really started out very typically with decent action. Dark pasts with some messed up supernatural elements running around the city. But the girl does fight these zombie like things using her motorcycle. Awesome! But I felt the mission didn’t have any suspense. It was all over and wrapped up in the blink on an eye so it didn’t have that edge of the seat spirit. Then they throw you for a loop, like really do. As you sit there with your mouth hanging open you will wonder what just happened. Then fade to black….WHAT? Now I have to see what happens!

Motorcycle-fu is quite a site to behold. Sure the main guy uses, your now standard, double pistol gun-fu but, girls wielding the combat motorcycle skill is still woefully underused. Other than that it starts out with the standard NPC troops getting hosed by monsters so our young team of protagonists have to come in a show them how it’s done. Tooru wants to get revenge on the main baddie who killed someone precious to him, and our combat motorcycle girl is obviously interested in him. You have got the big guy with a scar and tech nerd to round it out. They take on two monsters in rather standard form and then just before the end as every review will surely mention they throw something quite unexpected at you. This is based on a manga but so far it seems to be based in the same world but with a different set of characters.

Kuroshitsuji

Ciel Phantomhive is the twelve-year-old head of his family’s toy company. Since his parents have passed away in a as yet unexplained fashion he is in the care of his demonic butler, Sebastian Michaelis. There are also four other servants in his household but they can barely take care of themselves let alone their young master. This series reminded me of Count Cain and it’s continuation God Child. It has that same creepy Victorian setting with an undercurrent of supernatural always in the background. The main problem is Count Cain has a handy formula that Kuroshitsuji has yet to learn. Each story in Count Cain would start with humorous hijinks and slowly as the story actually started would lose the comedy and turn grim until its usually dramatic or grizzly conclusion. When the next story began they would restart the formula so the comedy would refresh the pallet from the darkness that came before it. The director either needs to stick closer to Count Cain formula or learn to switch back and forth between tones a little cleaner.

This series is an odd duck. I am rather a fan of the combination of morbid and comedy. When done right it is hysterical. This series jumped between the two readily. The humor was very funny but sometimes the transitioning between the horror and light-hearted moments was just off. It starts off very dark and creepy and then booms you with hilarity, which is good, but it didn’t totally work for me because the horror seemed like it wanted to be taken seriously. That was a little hard to do when Sebastian is pulling table clothes off like a magician and the hired help being a most clumsy group of people. I think if it could even out the movement between the genres it could be good.

ToraDora!

This show seems like it has a lot of potential. Ryuji is a very funny, quirky and likable protagonist (and he is kinda cute despite his Yakuza eyes!). The poor boy can’t get from one end of town to the other without people cowering in fear and his obsession with cleaning things is great. As for Taiga, I think she could be a full realized character not just a fetish. She is a delinquent that is for sure, brash and hot-tempered. However, I actually imagine her trying to be quiet, sweet, and nice around the guy she likes rather than her normal self. There is a story behind her attitude and that story and development of her is what could make or break this show. The odd friendship that pops up between these two was nicely done. And while I know they will eventually be something more than friends, I wouldn’t mind watching their hilarious interactions without it.

When Ryuji and the petite “Palmtop Tiger” Taiga find that they have crushes on eachother’s best friends a rather unusual friendship forms between them. Ryuji may seem scary but he is actually a domestic genius and has a fondness of making mix tapes for girls he can never ask out. Taiga is a slovenly, delinquent that hides an inner bashful young maiden. They have an amusing dynamic that will be easily and quickly by labeled as tsundere by the Internet but I feel is more complex than that. Tiaga is voiced by Rie Kugimiya who also voiced Shana from Shakugan no Shana. Your enjoyment of both shows hinges on your liking the main female character. If you enjoy Tiaga like Narutaki and I did then your will be able to follow this show and determine if you ultimately like it. I did enjoy that in the second episode someone clearly expresses their feelings for some one. There is at least no pussyfooting on that front. I have a feeling that ToraDora! could fall into a repetitive cycle of Tiaga being nasty to Ryuji and having it kill the comedic value of their relationship but hopefully it will remain fresh.

Hyakko

Imagine if the first episode of the The Irresponsible Captain Tylor was only Yuriko Star and Makoto Yamamoto. Since they are both the straight man characters it would be sort of boring and only illicit some chuckles at best. It takes Justy Ueki Tylor and the rest of the crew playing off them to truly make them funny. This is the problem with the first half of Hyakko. Ayumi and straitlaced Tatsuki are lost on the humongous campus. They wander about the campus until they finally run into Torako jumping from a second story window followed by her friend Suzume. Things take a turn for the more interesting when the quartet is finally formed because Torako starts to get them into amusing little predicaments as they try to find their homeroom. When they finally arrive we see several other classmates who are sure to be regular characters but so far they have barely been introduced. The show really only works when they are all together. If they can keep up the high energy comedy I think this might be the funniest comedy of the season but they can’t break up the dynamic they they have running.

Thank goodness this show is not the first half of the episode, boring. It really started to pick up speed once all four girls came together and were running around the campus. All of them are distinctly different personality types ranging from shy and quiet to loud and belligerent. And quite frankly if I never learned another about them I wouldn’t be upset. The leader that will surely continue to get them all in explicable situations is Torako who in the first episode jumps out a window, throws a brick threw one, and punches a teacher in the gut. I know that she will surely garner a huge fan-base that will know no limits. All of these characters play off each other so in this case the sum is greater than all its parts. It is still slice of life but bordering on complete hijinx comedy which is the only kind I like.

Skip Beat

Kyoko Mogami kills herself working two full time jobs, living in a apartment much beyond her means, and doing the housework for two people for one reason. It lets her be with her beloved childhood friend and pop idol Sho Fuwa. One day she discovers that he is just using her because he knows that she has a crush on him. You expect her to break down crying. Instead she starts manically laughing and vows to get her revenge. So she makes herself over from Plain Jane to Cool Gal and starts on her road to a grand pay back. The first episode is masterfully set up. We get a likable and sympathetic Kyoko who shifts gears from quiet and meek to her occasional amusing dramatic reaction shots. We get a good insight into why she would fall for Sho and his charming attitude. We also get an equal insight into why he is such an utter buttmonkey that we want her to get him back. I am eagerly waiting to see how Kyoko puts her plan into motion.

Okay, I was very curious about this anime because the Skip Beat manga is pretty good. Well, it would be if it was unnecessarily long (and continues on as we speak). That is where the anime can come in. It can potential have the revenge and the romance at a good, even pace with a wrapped up ending. The first episode did the manga justice as far as I’m concerned. It wasn’t the mostly hilarious adventures of a hard working but slightly insane Kyoko punctuated nicely with moments of drama. It really does a great job a lulling you into thinking this is just standard shojo romance and then WHAM!

Hakushaku to Yousei

This was a series I knew nothing about but was really looking forward to. I love the era and setting (Victorian England) with the added fantasy elements. I think the first episode title says it all, “A Refined Villain.” Indeed that is what the Edgar is. He is ridiculously handsome, much too charming and cunning, sparkles and flowers surround him on occasion, and when he punches someone…well let’s just say it is very dramatic. AND I LOVED EVERY MINUTE.I am happy to say that there is a plot surrounding all of this and it isn’t out of the blue for Edgar to be trying to seduce our pretty heroine, Lydia. But yes it is over the top, girly, fantasy, romance fun!

Lydia Carlton is a fairy doctor. That means she can see and talk to them unlike most people and help people deal with them. She even has a magical fairy cat named Nico that acts as her companion. While traveling to England from Scotland she find a young man who has just escaped from being tied up asking to help him. Edgar eventually tells her he wants the legendary fairy sword. It is his proof of linage and he needs Lydia’s help to get it. Edgar and Lydia are now being chased by people who want the sword as well. I am curious how much of a bastard Edgar really is. They imply that he murders a man in cold blood. We also see Nico reading an article about how Edgar is wanted for larceny and murder. This is mostly off screen and the paper could be wrong so theoretically he could be a decent villain or he could be stone cold evil. I guess wondering is part of the fun.

Michiko to Hatchin

Michiko and Hatchin starts with Michiko breaking out of a supposedly inescapable prison and then raising some hell in the surrounding town. Then we switch to Hatchin who has been adopted by a horribly nasty priest and is equally nasty family. But eventually Michiko and Hatchin’s lives intersect and it ends with them starting a road trip with the police in pursuit. I really liked Michiko and Hatchin but I’m not going to watch another episode fan-subbed because this show is so clearly going to get licensed; it is not a matter of if but when and by who. With Manglobe Inc. working on it it has that same off beat style of Cowboy Bebop and Samurai Champloo.  So far as I can tell it takes place in an unnamed Hispanic country which is not your normal anime setting. It has a great sense to style and cool so far. Unless this show takes a nose dive later on I am just going to sit back and wait for the DVDs.

I don’t think it is surprising that this series has style. From the animation to the characters designs to the music. And the opening animation was quite cool. A nice blend of action and comedy and two lead characters that couldn’t be more different. The story is unconventional and I think that looks attractive in general but it also made me incredibly curious. I in no way have any idea where this show is going. Michiko is a very unpredictable woman if the first episode is any idication. Perhaps, just like Hatchin, I am just along for this crazy ride.

Shikabane Hime Aka

Ouri is an orphan at a Buddhist orphanage who is finally moving out on his own. It turns out that the head of the orphanage secretly uses a corpse princess named Makina to fight other nastier forms of undead. While the series is not bad I can’t say that it hooked me either. The premise is interesting and has potential but is executed in a extremely average fashion. There are a lot of unanswered questions. How do people become undead? Why is she working with Buddhist monks to fight monsters? What role will Ouri play in all of this? Who is this talking cat that keeps showing up whenever Ouri is near? The fact that she fights with duel machine guns sounds cooler than it actually is in execution. Maikina fighting style seems to be charge straight at whatever she is fighting with guns-a-blazin’. Since she is undead she seems not to even try to dodge with leads to rather straight forward fight scenes. Maybe when Ouri gets involved this will change. This is a series I will let the rest of the Internet finish and then determine if it’s worth my money.

I just have to say I am in awe of GAINAX’s recent non-fan-service. All the opportunities were there but they ignored them! The show had an overall even tone mixing comedy and action. Though in just this first episode no one, or should I say our main characters, have not come together yet. They have met but we really don’t know what their involvement with each other is going to be. I think that bears a lot on what kind of a show this is and whether or not it will be worth watching. I felt the action scene at the end was sloppy and not very gripping.

Linebarrels of Iron

I think I did not hate Linebarrels of Iron unlike most reviewers mostly because of lowered expectations. Not that it is a good show. It’s rather bland but I did not hate it. I think the main reason people hate on this show so much is its main character, Hayase Kouichi. He goes from wimpy chump who is resentful of his friends who protect him to power-crazed jerk seinen douche-bag all in one episode. Hayase is running an errand. On the way back a giant mecha and a naked girl land on him. He then befriends said naked girl and uses the mecha to fight the evil mecha than come for her and her mecha. The problem is that he goes crazy with power and become a right jerk when he is is behind the controls of his new toy.  While I feel that such a repressed person might very understandably go a little dark when he is finally given power that does not make him likebale. The plot is totally standard and the protagonist is very hard to like which is going to lead most people to skip this show. Oh mad points to anyone who combines the last line of this episode with Kenshiro.

Mouryou no Hako

I…I…uhm…nope…I got nothing. The animation was very nice. Good music choices. It was really creepy! But since the show is supposed to revolve around four investigators and they didn’t really appear much in the episode, it is a little hard for me to judge this one. I would need a second of third episode to full grip it. But maybe it is a good sign that I am atleast interested enough to see the next episode.

Kohaku will watch this show if for nothing else CLAMP does the character designs. That fact aside this is a creepy show. We start with a young man going to visit relatives by train who then wakes up to a strange man showing him a living girl’s head in a box of flowers. And then we get into the weird stuff. It is sort of a hard show to determine if I should recommend it or not. The first episode is set in the 1950 as we see two girls developing a strange friendship that quickly develops into a bizarre codependent relationship. Kanako Yuzukithe more intellectual of the two girls begins to talk about how they are reincarnations of each other and when they die they will become the other one. Yoriko Kusumoto the more passive girl cuts her self off from her mother as she seemingly become more and more draw into her partners madness. Then as both girls plan to take a trip in the middle of the night tragedy strikes. The first episode draws you in with unsettling but beautiful animation and intriguing plots but it turns out that the first episode barley even introduces most of our main characters or the main murder mystery. I am 99% these two girls story in related to the main mystery but how it is related has yet to even been hinted at. I can’t say if I like this show or not but I know I want to see more if for nothing else to try and figure out what is going on.

Kurozuka

Does your anime need sex and gritty samurai violence but you don’t want to watch Ninja Scroll again? Well, step right up Kurozuka. Kuro is on the run in a Monk’s garb while being pursued by assassins sent by his brother. After nearly dying in a fight due to a fever he and his retainer seek shelter in the house a beautiful woman named Kuromitsu. While Kuro is waiting he finds him self increasingly attracted to Kuromitsu. Soon more assassins come and break the peace. Kurozuka is a good action show that has the potential to have some deeper themes and ideas of the plot goes in the right direction. Even if it never decides to take the higher ground of philosophy the cool action sell the show enough already.

I did just recently watch Ninja Scroll actually and I’ll admit that I was really excited about the prospect of something like that stepping out this season. Kurozuka did just that in its first episode. The fights were nicely choreographed, bloody, and took up most of the episode. It was also nice to see them not cutting away or resorting to extreme amounts of flashes during the fights. And when those dudes forearms got sliced off, NICE! Hopefully that will continue. The world is a bit mysterious, definitely a supernatural slant and it almost seemed post-apocalyptic. It was an intriguing first episode and probably one of my favorites overall. Also seems a likely license by Manga Entertainment.

To Aru Majutsu no Index

Kamijo is a student in Academy City which seems to be a city of schools. Apparently people regularly run around with psychic powers in Academy City to the point where there is a ranking system. Toma’s psychic power is that he can cancel out other people’s powers with his right hand. After earning himself a self proclaimed rival he goes home to find a strange girl lying on his balcony. Her name is Index and she is from the church being chased by mages who want the magic spell books locked in her brain Johnny Mnemonic style. Although Toma thinks Index is crazy he takes a liking to her and invites her back any time if she is in trouble. This of course means that their destinies are quickly intertwined. I think Narutaki was spot on in calling that people will cosplay the daylights out of To Aru Majutsu no Index if they cosplay the heck out of anything coming out of this season. I liked the little twist on the standard formula of a guy saving a girl from punks in the beginning. I also thought Index was cute even if she has a mega-lame name. Toma seems likable enough and I enjoyed his rival. Apparently so did Japan because she got her own spin off light novel series and manga. If this show shows up in Yen Plus don’t be surprised.

This show was able to surprise me and make me in laugh in just a few minutes. Kamijo seems to be a capable and fun protagonist which makes him a pleasure to watch. His interactions with everyone are fun to watch. His power could be really interesting since it is more of a defensive technique though he uses it aggressively! Oh, I call every girl in the opening to falling in love with him. Index, who gets props for worst name, is funny and energetic though a bit ditzy. Their first meeting is really funny, in fact Kamijo isn’t incredibly serious most of the time. I found it to be a good time and probably the best straight shonen action show out of the bunch.

All in all I liked this season. Nothing really stood out for me as my next favorite show but nothing was horrible as well. If I had to pick a favorite of the season…Michiko and Hatchin although Tora Dora, Kurozuka, and To Aru Majutsu no Index were all very good. I think Linebarrels of Iron was the weakest show that I watched. Oh, Narutaki and I wanted to watch Tentai Senshi Sunred, Bihada Ichizoku, and the J-drama Bloody Monday but due to both of our Internet connections going out this weekend we could not review those three. I am sure we will try to review them in Ongoing Investigations when we get the chance.

Top 5 Recent Shojo Manga I’d Like to See Animated
5. Monkey High
4. Yamamoto Zenjirou to Moushimasu
3. Chocolate Cosmos
2. Penguin Revolution
1. Nosatsu Junkie

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