Month: August 2014

Fate/kaleid liner PRISMA ILLYA 2wei! #005: Bath Time Fun for Everyone

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\hisui_icon_4040 Before we begin I would like to mention to anyone attending Otakon that I will be running a panel about the themes of Fate/Stay Night on Saturday. The panel is called “The Measure of a Man. The Nature of a Hero: A Fate/Stay Night Panel (18+)” and it will be in panel room 6 at 1 AM. I have a feeling that most of the people reading this post before the panel takes place will not be people attending Otakon but I figured it was worth a shot. If nothing else I will give a little report on how the panel went next week in this same space.

But enough shameless plugging, let’s get to the fact of the matter: nakedness. There is quite a bit of nakedness. Some of it is quite impressive. Some of it is quite BL. The rest of it is sort of creepy. They even manage to sneak in some story. But mostly near the end. Because that is how 2wei! rolls.

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Otakon 2014: Looking for a Mai Mai Miracle

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(note: No Type-Moon Weekly News Round Up
or All Points Bulletin this week.)

It is that time, chaps! Time to get hype for the biggest anime blowout on the East Coast! All the guests, music, and fans you can handle. There isn’t much to be said about the road to Otakon that we haven’t already said before. Hope to see you there!

We got panels, be sure to attend!

New Anime for Older Fans
Friday, 11:15AM, Panel 7

The Visual Stylings of Kunihiko Ikuhara
Saturday, 9:30PM, Panel 1 

The Measure of a Man.
The Nature of a Hero:
A Fate/Stay Night Panel (18+)
Saturday, 1:00 AM, Panel 6

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Pre-Otakon 2014 Podcast

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Our tentative schedule for the convention:

Friday
10:00AM – Legend of the Galactic Heroes: Making History
11:15AM – New Anime for Older Fans
12:30PM – Ninja in Anime: The Sweet and (Mostly) the Stupid
12:30PM – Kaiju or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Cancel the Apocalypse
01:45PM – AnimEigo
02:00PM – Yusuke Kozaki Autograph
03:00PM – How to Pilot a Mecha in Today’s World
04:15PM – Journey To The Stars
05:30PM – Kurosawa: Romancing of the Samurai
07:00PM – ALTIMA Concert
07:00PM – Fire Emblem Photoshoot
07:00PM – Revolutionary Girl Utena Photoshoot
09:30PM – Otakon Game Show
10:00PM – Friday Night Fan Parodies – Classics

Saturday
09:00AM – Amazingly Obscure Anime: Over 30 Titles You’ve Probably Never Heard Of (But Are Awesome)
10:15AM – Satanicartoons: The Devil in Anime
11:30AM – Drawing with Yusuke Kozaki
12:15PM – Yura, Kozaki, Ishii Q&A
02:00PM – Maruyama/Mappa Q&A
03:15PM – Matsubara Q&A
04:30PM – Sunao Katabuchi Q&A
04:30PM – Anime Sols and Crowdfunding Classic Anime
05:45PM – Ramen: Japanese Soul Food
05:45PM – Jump The Shark: When Good Anime Goes Bad
06:00PM – Gundam Series Photoshoot
07:00PM – Ai Yazawa: The Retrospective
08:15PM – A Brief History of Anime: 100 Years in 50 Minutes
09:30PM – The Visual Stylings of Kunihiko Ikuhara
11:45PM – Ninjas, Spider Monsters and Cyber Criminals: The Great Worlds of Yoshiaki Kawajiri (18+)
01:00AM – The Measure of a Man. The Nature of a Hero: A Fate/Stay Night Panel (18+)

Sunday
09:00AM – The Visual Novel: Psychology of the Unrecognized Narrative Art
10:15PM – REAL NINJAS!
11:30AM – From Anime to Live Action: You Can (Not) Adapt
12:30PM – Yoshiki Concert
12:45PM – Maruyama & Matsubara Q&A

Manga of the Month: The Heroic Legend of Arslan

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The Heroic Legend of Arslan (アルスラーン戦記)
by Hiromu Arakawa and Yoshiki Tanaka

narutaki_icon_4040 Finally, the first volume is coming out in print in August! So it is a perfect time to talk up this epic fantasy from the creator of Full Metal Alchemist, based on the novel series from the author of Legend of the Galactic Heroes.

Young Prince Arslan, adept with a sword but more of a thinker, is the son of an undefeated warrior king. The king and queen look upon their son with coldness and disappointment. But when the country is overtaken by a neighboring theocracy after a disastrous battle, everyone’s fate is in Arslan’s hands as he and a few loyal retainers plot to retake their homeland.

Much like in Legend of the Galactic Heroes, the rivals in this series are more of tacticians than soldiers. And much like LotGH there is a huge cast of fascinating characters, many more bad-ass than the next.

The story is based in part on Persian myth which gives a twist on the typical fantasy setting we’re used to seeing.

Ms. Arakawa’s precision in action and anatomy really shines in this series. From grandiose, and graphic, battle scenes to the horses character’s ride, her artwork is perfectly suited to pages of intrigue and war.

Politics and action blend together in Heroic Legend of Arslan to create a sweeping fantasy everyone should be reading.

~ kate