Month: August 2010

Watching Dragonball Z Kai and Yu-Gi-Oh 5D’s just got harder.

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So a couple of weekends ago I was checking out the Saturday morning fare of cartoons. The channels were run through from Nicktoons to Cartoon Network and finally to the CW where it stopped at an episode of Dragonball Z Kai followed by back-to-back Yu-Gi-Oh 5D’s episodes in a block known as “Toonzai.” TV stations nowadays always have their logos in the right corner and many more have some information running in the left corner perhaps telling you what is coming up next, etc. But I was pretty shocked when this came flying across the screen:

That bright blue wave, with a dude surfing atop it, with orange glow lines coming off him . . . not part of Yu-Gi-Oh 5D’s which is playing behind it. And though I didn’t capture the sound, he actually yells “TOONZAAAAI!!” as he hurtles across the screen. Let me reiterate that the show is going on when this happens, characters were talking and events were happening yet all of that is obscured by the obnoxious logo that tells me something I already know: that this is part of the Toonzai cartoon block. This happened during Dragonball Z Kai as well and I can only assume in all other shows in these timeslots. What exactly is being accomplished here that wouldn’t be if it were just in the left-hand corner of the screen without sound? The complete disregard for the audience is phenomenal.

The Speakeasy: A Reverse Thieves Podcast – Drink #008

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Anime 3000 presents The Speakeasy Podcast:
Drink #008: The Joker, Making sense of humor.

We are talking about comedy this month. We are not talking about the Shakespearean comedy, the Divine Comedy, or the Studio 4C short film but comedy as it relates to anime. So often anime comedy strikes viewers as quite different than the comedy they are used to but why is the question. What about the aesthetic makes it so different from the comedy we know? What makes it so different from the comedy you see on Japanese dramas as well? We will also examine the different styles of humor you see in anime. Plus the most important question: Why do people think K-ON! is funny?

(Listen) (Show Notes)

And now your helpful bartenders at The Speakeasy present your drink:

The Joker

2 shots vodka
2 shots cointreau
2 shots advocaat
6 parts orange soda
Top up with lemonade

Mix together with lots of ice and stir.

Professor Layton and the Eternal Diva: A franchise’s leap to the big screen!

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I love, love, LOVE the Professor Layton games, at least the two that are localized and I’m eagerly awaiting the next installment to be released state side near the end of November. The characters of Luke and Layton are instantly memorable plus the quirky towns, people, and puzzles combined with a European art style there is just a lot to enjoy and makes an easy transition into anime.

hisuiconI would bet money that while playing the Professor Layton games a majority of people had the same thought pop into their heads. “This game is fun but boy I wish this was an anime.” And so OLM, Inc. and Level-5 used their special machine to break into dreams (and more specifically Narutaki’s dreams) and make this movie. The question is can a game with a few (albeit very well done) short animated cut scenes be strong enough to stand on its own as a full length movie.

hisuiconThe movie begins at the end of a case with Professor Layton foiling another dastardly caper. As Luke and Layton settle in after a hard days work they are reminded of an old case they worked on that started with a letter from a student of the professor named Jenis Quatlane. Jenis’ friend who died recently has come back to life as a small child. She believes that her friend’s resurrection and several other odd incidents in the area are all related to a mysterious theater. While Luke and Layton are attending an opera at the theater everyone in the audience in locked in a series of life of death trials to determine which one of them will receive the gift of immortality. Layton must discover how all these mysteries tie into the greater puzzle of the quest for eternity.

A major concern of mine going into this movie was not wanting to have plot points spoiled from further games that haven’t been released in the U.S. yet. I was doubly worried as I saw the film’s opening sequence with a short narration about the franchise and then the case we are thrown into took place very much in the present, though it was joyous to once again see Don Paolo. However, things take a turn when Layton and Luke listen to an old record as they are reminded of the famous young woman who sang it and a mysterious case involving her many years prior.

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