Category: Guides

Fall 2010 Anime Guide: A Musical

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Sunrise, sunset
Sunrise, sunset
Swiftly fly the years
One season following another
Laden with happiness and tears

– Fiddler on the Roof’s Sunrise, Sunset

Another season of anime has come and another set of season previews is upon us and we both try to find some new shows to watch and learn a few shows to avoid like the plague. This time around we spiced things up with some lyrical thoughts on each show before the main previews. As a reminder, we don’t review ongoing series, sequels, or anything that we are more than likely not going to like.

Iron Man

Nobody wants him
He just stares at the world
Planning his vengeance
That he will soon unfold

hisuiconSadly the Iron Man TV series is exactly the anime I suspected it would be and not the anime I had hoped it would be. A show that basically understands the Iron Man formula that made the movies so successful but is just off enough that it never clicks. It is sadly never mecha enough to be the Japanese Iron Man nor American enough to be the Marvel Iron Man. The show’s greatest sin is that the action scene are so quick that if you turn to talk you might miss them. Also Nanami, the Japanese reporter, seems utterly superfluous at this point and she does not even fulfill the eye candy position like a Bond girl. I never thought it was bad but I was also never gripped as well. I might watch more if it goes streaming but until then I am fine. Speaking of which I still don’t see why they are waiting for 2011 to play in on G4. This should have been simulcast on day one in Japan and the U.S.  I am curious to see how well the sales and ratings will be in the casual market despite the fact that it will be fully fan-subbed before  anyone can see episode 1 on American TV or buy the first DVD.

Oh Iron Man how I looked forward to you. This must have been my great downfall. This show felt weird from the get-go from the pacing to the character designs that seemed right out of 90’s man-ime. The best way to describe the feeling of this show is clunky. Iron Man kept fading to black after every scene, many of which were only a minute or two long, and then ending up not so far from where they already were. The best example is Tony asking the reporter for a ride while standing next to the car. After she says yes, the show fades to black, and then the next scene is them driving along. You couldn’t animate him getting in the car? Iron Man seems underserved both in story and animation so I can’t say I was intrigued enough to watch anymore.

Kuragehime (Jellyfish Princess)

So never judge a book by its cover
Or who you gonna love by your lover
Love put me wise to her love in disguise
She had the body of Venus
Lord imagine my surprise

– Aerosmith’s Dude Looks Like A Lady

hisuiconIt would be easy to say that Kuragehime is another wonderful noitaminA show that you need to watch and leave it at that but that would be a shame because there is a lot of good things to talk about with this show. It is a show about a house of girl geeks that are well, actually geeky, and not just fetish fuel for the male viewers. The “nuns” of the all female Amamizukan apartment building are amusing and colorful and we see everything from a doll fanatic to a warring states fangirl. Tsukimi seems an awkward but likable and being a jellyfish otaku is definitely an unusual hobby. The stylish Kuranosuke Koibuchi is an interesting wild card added to the mix. I am curious to see where the show is going but I have confidence that it is going in a positive direction. It is further proof that there are some amazing Josei properties that could appeal to an older anime fan market if promoted correctly.

In honesty, I was a little on guard when I started this show. What with a recent slue of otaku series that are a lot more fetish than I’d like to see, I was cautious treading here. My fears quickly dissipated as the cast slowly revealed itself. This story is full of quirky characters, yet quirky in that relatable way even though their particular obsessions are unique, and the feeling of camaraderie was wonderful. Kuragehime is a geeky sitcom but it has a couple of mysteries in its midst and maybe even some romance later. And with a sweet opening, I am incredibly excited for this show.

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Otaku NYC: Worship at the feet of Hello Kitty.

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I very rarely find myself in midtown Manhattan, it is just too busy with tourists and expensive to boot. But I do go up there for Meetup.com now and then. While walking to the train one day I happened upon this statue, a tribute to a well-known icon.

Now, this wasn’t the first time I’d seen this giant, more than a story tall, Hello Kitty, but for some reason it became just another piece of the background and I’d smile, then promptly forget it before having a chance to write it down. Finally, I got my act together to share it! This is the outdoor art space of the Lever House on Park Ave. between 53rd and 54th street. It is a building of slick architecture housing art exhibitions among the business in its halls. I have never actually been in the building come to think of it. But you don’t have to step foot inside to see some unexpected art. There is no designated time frame for how long you can encounter larger-than-life Hello Kitty by Tom Sachs, it has already stood since mid-2008, but it is worth stepping out to see. There is also a Miffy statue to behold in the plaza as well.

People Still Watch Anime?: A Guide for Fallen Fans

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hisuiconRecently my old friend Ben McGraw, make a post request that we  felt was a brilliant idea for the site. He wanted a list of anime that he could watch as someone who loved Cowboy Bebop but had not watched anime since. Regular readers of the blog may have seen most if not all of these shows. That is because this list is not directly for you. This is a list for your friends, family, and coworkers. We picked 10 newer shows that will appeal to fans who have either fallen out of anime fandom or were never that into it in the first place. Everything on this list is licensed, has a dub, and is easy to obtain so there is no major obstacles to overcome when watching any of the shows below.

I know I certainly have friends who aren’t in on the anime scene anymore, so this list is something that runs perfectly along those lines. They are probably never going to stay up on what’s new each season or even want to spend enough time digging through all the new shows to find the ones for them. While this list is of course not the only shows that we would recommend, they all are good, most even great, and have enough to make the impact on fans who have been down and out for a while. It’s not a bad idea to remind people why they started watching anime in the first place.

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