Month: June 2012

Ongoing Investigations: Case #173

1 Comment

Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated has finally started season two! Considering the ending to season one if they did not have a second season I am fairly certain Narutaki might have been prompted to do something drastic to the executive board of Cartoon Network.

After the end of season one of Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated it was clear they would have to begin with getting the gang back together. So when a terrifying clown baby starts to wreak havoc in Crystal Cove the new mayor decides to try to resurrect Mystery Incorporated with the help of a mysterious stranger. As always such things never go easy with one member being far harder to win back than the others.

The first episode of the new season hits the ground running. The news season has that same wonderful mix of dry and zany humor that made the first season such a loving tribute to everything that has been wrong and right with the franchise. Scooby saving Private Hippy, Dawn of the Doughnuts, and Shaggy’s speech to the town council all showed they were firing on all cylinders. The ending was even a bit of an unexpected twist of the Scooby-Doo formula.

Crazy hobo Fred stole the show. There is no doubt about that. The only bad thing about crazy hobo Fred is I am not really sure how they could top that in the rest of the season. But if everything is just one or two levels below that then we are looking at a great season. Highly recommended.

Okay, I seriously just had an inkling that somehow the new season of Scooby Doo! Mystery Incorporated had started. And I was right! Only it is running in on Cartoon Network . . . in the UK. And the U.S. has not announced anything about it.

The beginning where a mysterious stranger in a trench coat and hat tells the new mayor she better get Mystery Inc back sets a great tone for the episode. The subsequent parts of what everyone has been up to since they were separated are a delight. As Hisui said, nothing beats Fred in this episode but then again he was consistently been an amazing piece in the series. Pleasepleaseplease let Fred stay HoboFred for at least a couple more episodes.

I also had some really good laughs with the hot movie star guy who is in town, he is famous for playing a were-turtle! The comedy was going full force in this story all around.

The mystery itself surprised me at the end but wasn’t really the focus or all that interesting during the rest of the episode. And I’m curious if there is going to be a new over-arching plot along with tying up things from the last season.

Continue reading →

The NEXT Best Thing

3 Comments

hisuiconIt appears that I will be doing a solo run at AnimeNEXT this year. For everyone who wanted to see Narutaki at a NE convention they will just have to wait for Otakon. Until then I will be there with my reporters hat on taking in everything there is to see. I am a little disappointed there are no super keen Japanese anime guests but such is life. That usually just means that 2013 will have someone amazing. I did notice a good deal of abridged panels. That and Pokemon panels. Odd to see so many of them.

For the three people who care that also means that my Fate/Zero review will be delayed. Not EXACTLY sure when I will get that out but I will try to write it up sooner rather than later. No promises.

Until then here is my tentative schedule. As always this is subject to my fickle whims as well as my need for food and sleep.

Friday

1:00 – Spoilers! The Good, the Bad, and the WTF of Anime Endings
2:00 –  Martial Arts Fight Scenes 3: The Video Games Connection
3:00 – Professor Layton Bingo
4:30 – 15 Recommended Manga for Grownups
6:00 – Yokai Nation
7:00 – AMV Contest Screening
9:00 – Adaptations in Anime/Manga
10:00 – Science in Anime
11:00 – The Changing Faces of Manga
12:00 – Berserk Panel (Why Kentaro Miura Will Never Finish the Series) [Is this secretly an iDOLM@STER Panel?]

Saturday

10:00 – Legend of Korra Discussion Panel
11:00 – Obtain the Pass, Attend the Con, Visit the Homestuck Panel
2:00 – Cartoons of the 80s and 90s
4:30 – Satsuki Q & A
6:00 – Making Your Nerd Job a Reality
7:30 – Style and Substance: 50 Years of Anime Openings
9:00 – The Secret World of Arrietty
11:00 – Chipocrite Concert

Sunday
10:00 – Jojo’s Posing School
12:00 – Satsuki & Toshihiro Fukuoka
2:00 – Sinigami in Anime

Kuroko’s Passing Technique Seems Familiar

2 Comments

For anyone unfamiliar, Kuroko’s Basketball centers around a guy who has the ability to make uncanny passes to his teammates on the court. He is hyper-aware of where people are and where they are headed. Well, in the anime they like to depict this in the above stylized manner.

Whenever, I see Kuroko passing the basketball in said magical way, all I can think of is . . .

. . . Akira’s motorcycle light trails.