In my Tsukihime round-up I finally got around to the Tsukihime PLUS+DISC. Mostly a few little stories added to promote previous releases of Tsukihime and Kagetsu Tohya. The Alliance of Illusionary Eyes is the main meat of the content of the disc and is mostly from the point of view of Akira Seo and her first meeting with Tohno Shiki. Her appearances in Kagetsu Tohya make much more sense after reading this. The other three stories are much sillier but sometimes enlightening. Geccha 1 and 2 are little behind the scenes looks at unanswered questions, plot holes, and unused material in a Type-Moon told in a comedic manner. I wonder how many people ship Arcueid and Ciel as they fight like pair that would surely be hooked up in yaoi fanfiction. Sad Birthday Girl fans can see unused Satsuki’s path material. There is also the utterly weird Kinoko’s Masterpiece Experimental Theater. This is mostly weird to be weird. There is no hidden material here. Just uncle Nrvnqsr Chaos. There is nothing vital here other the Alliance but there is a lot to enjoy. Plus I can attest that you can read all of this in just one lunch break if you put your mind to it.
I was so pleased to find Trigun: Badlands Rumble showing at Otakon this year. The movie plays out like an extended TV episode. This is one last hurrah for the fans really so as such it isn’t the place to start for the unfamiliar. Badlands Rumble features Vash’s legendary good-nature as he tries to protect Amelia who is looking for revenge against notorious bandit Gasback who is rumored to be heading for Macca City. Meryl and Milly are dispatched to keep an eye on things since their insurance company has insured a statue in the city for $$5,000,000,00. Wolfwood gets in on the action too, but I won’t say exactly how. I must say it was wonderful to hear the cheers and claps when Wolfwood appeared for the first time. Everything comes together in a spectacular action-packed end. Beyond new animation, there is nothing to say this wasn’t just a part of the show. I saw it dubbed and it didn’t quite have enough force behind it so I’ll be curious to watch it again on DVD. Trigun: Badlands Rumble is good fun with characters that you love.
As far as directors go, Makoto Shinkai is one of my top choices to hear talk about his work. So imagine my delight when Otakon announced his first U.S. appearance would be right there in Baltimore. Despite being relatively young in the business, nine years, he has produced memorable and beautiful films. To top off his interactions with his fans, we were privileged to see the English-language premiere of his latest movie Children Who Chase Lost Voices from Deep Below.
There was one Japanese guest that everyone was looking forward to (unless you are a major Hetalia: Axis Powers fan) and that man was Makoto Shinkai. He is known for his mostly solitary work on Voices of a Distant Star, his longer work on The Place Promised in Our Early Days, and his stellar work on 5 Centimeters per Second. His distinct visual style and reoccurring motifs make him stand out in people’s minds. So when he came to the U.S. to promote his latest movie, Children Who Chase Lost Voices from Deep Below, even people outside of the normal mega geek blogging circles took notice. Narutaki was able to attend the premiere and a panel while I had a chance to hear him speak at the press conference.
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