Month: December 2011

All Points Bulletin: The Brave Red Dragon

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If you have any suggestions for what to highlight on an APB drop us a line via email or Twitter.

Hisui’s picks:

Narutaki’s picks:

  • Manga Awards in France
    As you probably know, the French consume a hefty portion of the international manga market. They also get some wildly different titles from us in the U.S. These nominees for the Festival International de la Bande Dessinee will give you a good idea. And of course it once again shoves in our faces how they get Saint Young Men and we never will.
  • Interview with Brave’s Brenda Chapman
    Brenda is the original creator of Brave and helmed the project as director but was replaced because of “creative differences.” You don’t get any better answers on that question but you do get backstory for the film. There is also a Part 1 of the interview where she talks about her time at Disney and other projects.
  • Gunpla Builders World Cup in Japan
    I’m sure it will come as no surprise that the representatives for Japan in the World Cup are freakin’ ridiculous. The sets they build for the mecha are an added bonus of amazing. 
  • Twin Earth Found!
    Well, kinda, it the planet discovered that is most like our own (so far). It is 600 light years away! There are still many unknowns about the planet like whether it is mostly rock, gas, or liquid but it is still one of those cool finds that gets you giddy with science-fiction possibilities.
  • The X-Men is the Next Logical Step
    Brain Michael Bendis has announced he is exiting as writer for Avengers/New Avengers in the summer. I can’t imagine anyone else writing New Avengers, which he formed, probably because no one else has. This Op-Ed is about speculating that he will move over to writing X-Men which he has yet to do. I am really excited about this possibility thanks to the article and it softens the blow about New Avengers a bit. Now let’s just hope this article was predicting the future!
  • Behind the Scenes of Arthur Christmas
    This in-depth talk with the creators went a long way in making me want to see this film. From visual technique to the life of the story, everything is touched upon. This might be my next favorite holiday film!

Let us not forget that Japan is still rebuilding and readjusting after earthquake:

Fate/Zero TV #011: Rider is the Greatest Raoh Tribute Character EVER!

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Nothing says based on a light novel like three mortal enemies who are trying to kill each other having a leisurely garden party as they discuss philosophy over a barrel of wine. Only a light novel would have such a long conversation in the middle of a war. But don’t worry. This episode is nor completely a roundtable think tank on what it means to be a king. Rider unveils his greatest trump card and it is quite a doosey. Also the first Servant falls in the Holy Grail war and it is oddly enough not Caster who lives to commit atrocities another day. In the end there was a huge heaping of  Saber this episode so I was a happy camper even if she was rather emotionally tormented the whole time.

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Ongoing Investigations: Case #147

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As I stated when I went to the Vertical wine tasting event The Drops of God is one of those unusual manga that has an effect on the world outside of the otaku domain due to its ability to effect the wine market. That fact alone made the series something I had to check out. To put the manga in perspective it is somewhere between Bartender and Yakitate!! Japan. The main storyline distinctly has a tournament set up. To inherit his father’s insanely expensive wine collection Shizuku Kanzaki has to defeat his father’s adopted son Issei Toomine in a contest to identify 13 wines. Also they like to do the super visual descriptions of the wine like the bread tastings in Yakitate!! Japan but far more sedate and refined manner. The characters in The Drops of God will be much more likely to compare a wine to a famous Renaissance portrait than a series of Galaxy Express 999 gags. But overall while there is a healthy amount of humor the series is far more of a drama than a comedy. Also all the characters are adults with careers so no plucky young teenage protagonists. On the other hand while is is not as sedate as Bartender most of the stories do not seemed centered on just the battle on the inheritance. There sare a good amount of other stories outside of the main plot line that still involve wine. It has many of the healing stories that something like Bartender has but at the same time there is more urgency and drama. Also with a set number of wines as part of the competition you always feel that progress in being made. With some manga you can always be left wondering if you will ever see the end of the story. With the drops of God you clearly see a beginning and an end with with clear demarcations of progress. Toomine Issei is quite the turbo douche. He of course has the money, connections and wine knowledge that should instantly make him the winner. The fact that he does things like taste soil from all over France to give him an edge does not hurt. He would make a great slimy 80’s romantic rival. Shizuku starts off the series with almost no knowledge of wine as he rejected the world of his famous wine critic father. But he does have the abilities of a supertaster thanks in part to harsh flavor training as a child. He befriends an attractive young trainee sommelier named Miyabi Shinohara who supplements his knowledge of wine with her own training. Together they have enough knowledge to challenge Issei. If you are interested in manga for an older audience or in alcohol related manga it is definitely worth a look.

Wonder Woman issue 2 cements this story as one of the more awesome in the New 52. We continue to deal with a much more mythology based plotline than anything resembling superheroes (with the exception of Wonder Woman’s outfit). We glimpse Olympus, make it back to the island of the Amazons, and get further entrenched in the soap opera that is the love lives of Greek gods. The art really pushes this new feel a long way being both dark yet highly saturated. This is the first time I’ve ever been real into Wonder Woman, and I like it!

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