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Ongoing Investigations: Case #155

February 3, 2012

All good things must come to an end and so I wrapped up Carnival Phantasm season 3. Last week I wrote about Fate/Prototype but it was just an extra added in with the last disc of Carnival Phantasm. Otherwise the last 4 episode stick to the comedic tone of the rest of the series. We start with the best new episode right out of the gate. The Holy Grail Grand Prix is just amazing. The Lion-Go will win your heart with its cuteness, Gilgamesh pops in during the middle to ruin everyone’s day (like he always does), and it is nice to actually see Assassin get to participate in a sketch. A good deal of joke time bombs in this episode. The Akiha story is straight out of Take Moon with Kohaku up to her normal tricks but the Brainwasher Detective skits that end the episode were the star of the show. The third episode is a Final Destination homage all around Lancer and his Kenny like tendencies. The final episode wraps everything up with the conclusion to the dating plan from the first disc and a round-up of all the pieces of the Type-Moon universe. While they were not voice acted they included characters from Fate/Zero, The Garden of Sinners, the Mobile Site, and even Notes. I am sad to finish Carnival Phantasm but maybe one day down the road we will get another season after a few more games come out. Surely Mahou Tsukai no Yoru, Fate/Apocrypha, and maybe even Girls’ Work will warrant revival of the carnival.

Thermae Romae came to an end just after three episodes. But a delightful three episodes they were. In each subsequent adventure Lucias spent more and more time in Japan soaking up the culture. Because he celebrates each new experience in Japan with such enthusiasm, it spills over to the audience (maybe because so many of us non-Japanese fans long to go as well). And each time he returns to Rome things get weirder from smelly bandits to being courted by the emperor to a village of baths. Perhaps a few more episodes wouldn’t get stale but I definitely think they let the series go out while it was still a quirky surprise and that’s a good thing.

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

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Let’s ratchet up the drama in Uta no Prince-sama Maji Love 1000% S2!

February 1, 2012

My first reaction after finishing Uta no Prince-sama Maji Love 1000% S1 was hoping they would make another season. It is a completely open-ended finale to the romances and there is plenty more that can be done with everyone’s music careers. Luckily just this past month another anime (Love 2000% ?) was announced for it but with no real details. That being the case, I came up with my own ideas.

Since we ended S1 with the group debuting, they will now try to navigate the waters of the real idol scene. But since the headmaster is also the president of the talent agency, he will still keep up his crazy games because let’s face it, the show wouldn’t be nearly as good without Norio Wakamoto. We can add a new guy to be the agent/manager of ST☆RISH though. The group would get to travel a lot for appearances causing bonding and drama. The guys would be gaining a fan following that would lead to plenty of trouble, too. Some international traveling would be a lot of fun as well as paying a visit to relax at Haruka’s grandmother’s in the country.

At the top of my list though is a scheming rival boy band. They can all be similar to the main cast but done in a darker coloring of our guys, kind of like the alternate costumes in fighting games. These guys would conspire to steal away Haruka to be their songwriter. For good measure the lead in the rival band can also be a childhood friend of her’s. This will make Haruka naturally torn between new and old. This could even build to Haruka being blackmailed to leave ST☆RISH creating a supremely melodramatic climax! As far as the romances between her and our bevy of suitors goes, again I doubt we will get a conclusive pairing at the end of the season.

Anyone who has played the games have a real idea of what we may have in store for S2?

Posted in Anime, Editorials | Tagged | 2 Comments »

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The January Line-Up

January 31, 2012

Starting new for 2012 we will posting the newly licensed, newly streaming, and newly announced anime and manga for each month. More than anything, I wanted to keep a list like this so I thought why not make it a blog post at the end of the month to keep me on top of doing it. It is amazing how much was announced this month, I guess it is because it is the beginning of the year!

I have to say this is a brilliant little idea from Narutaki. If you have ever done a year in review article you will find that the while you might remember the last week’s news crystal clear what was licensed and when all tends to blur together after a few months. Hopefully this monthly post will help us, and anyone who needs it, have a clearer picture of what was picked up over the year.

Newly Licensed in the U.S.

Newly Streaming in the U.S.

New Anime/Manga Projects in Japan

Posted in Anime, Editorials, Industry, Manga | 2 Comments »

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Act your AGE!

January 30, 2012

SPOILERS FOR GUNDAM AGE EPS. 1-15

Gundam AGE takes a lot of steps to try to combine the old image of Gundam with a more appealing aesthetic to children. While trying to bring kids into the Gundam fold isn’t a totally new approach for the franchise, attempting to grab both young and old audiences at the same time in the same main show can be hard to serve up. This is most difficult because of its ardent fans and long history, as opposed to working on something completely new. Gundam AGE makes great efforts of this balancing act in the first arc of its multi-generational story.

I think it is very important to note that Gundam AGE was originally supposed to be a Gundam video game by Level-5 until Bandai decided to green light the story to be a full anime series. Everything was originally written out to be for a younger video game audience with the pacing, characters, and story structure of said players in mind. I think the main disconnect between the traditional Gundam fan base and the anime is that they kept much of that same scenario in mind when they created Gundam AGE. With a younger audience turning more toward video games for their entertainment it makes sense on a certain level to try to court that audience with the same vibe of storytelling they seem to prefer. How well this is going to work has yet to be seen but there is a method to the madness. It all comes down to how well they adapt this game into an anime now that they have chosen that as their medium.

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Ongoing Investigations: Case #154

January 27, 2012

We received a copy of Nozomi’s re-release of Gasaraki. The story follows a war between the Americans backed by the Japanese and the fictional nation of Belgistan. Both sides have bi-pedal robots with main pilots possessing odd connections and powers. It is worth noting that I have tried to watch Gasaraki before, many moons ago and didn’t make it very far. I wanted to give it another chance but this time around I was only able to get one episode further. Despite people’s assertions that this show is a realistic depiction of mecha, I just can’t find it anything but slow and uninteresting. Also my thoughts on what is realistic must be different because this show has Noh dancing magic. . . . In any case, a good portions of episodes revolve around people talking, typing, or staring at screens. Talking heads and computer screens can be made interesting (just ask Evangelion) but Gasaraki fails to put passion or facial expressions into its scenes. This also makes the dub doubly painful since at least the Japanese put some inflection in their voices. The battles are compelling in moments but they are too short or interrupted by looking at screens. The show didn’t capture me in any way.

If I have nothing else kindly to say about Gasaraki I will say that it tried to do certain things that most mecha shows don’t often attempt. Ryousuke Takahashi tried for a more realistic version of modern mecha combat and politics while mixing in some magical elements to spice things up. The fact that there are only two types of mecha in the whole show and the commentary on the Gulf War make the show stand out. The only problem is the show is so amazingly and mind numbingly boring. It takes the tedious parts of part of war and magical conspiracy and focuses on the most mundane aspects of each to the to the point where only the most hardcore fans of realism will find the show interesting. Ryousuke Takahashi showed that you can do a more realistic mecha show like Armored Trooper Votoms and make it compelling. But this swings so far toward the nitty-gritty details as so suck away any enjoyment. They even focus on the boring aspects of the shadowy magical conspiracy behind the mecha action in excruciating detail. When the plans of the magical cabal feel like a run down of someone’s tax audit you know something has gone horribly wrong. I will say that this show has a reputation for a completely magical ending that comes out of nowhere but as far as I can tell the freeky deeky occult aspect of the show is apparent from the first episode. I admit that the few actions scenes are the only parts of the anime that are easy to stay awake so that makes them the most memorable pieces but there is unmistakable and unnerving mystical element present in the show from the beginning. Like Narutaki I watched this show years ago and I wondered if I could come back to the show as a more mature fan and gain a greater appreciation for a show I had disliked in my early fandom. But this show still deserves the infamous reputation it gained with me and other fans so many years ago.

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Posted in Anime, Cartoons, Comics, Manga, Novels/Light Novels, Ongoing Investigations | Tagged , , , , | 5 Comments »

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