Category: Manga

Ongoing Investigations: Case #128

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Blade of the Immortal 23 finally came into my hands, every time one of these comes out it seems cause for celebration. It takes far too long. This volume is still a transitional book as everyone starts to get in to position, and much traveling occurs for each group, for the final act to commence. This book actually doesn’t feature Manji and Rin all that much, despite their very recent reunion, instead putting the focus on the Itto-Ryu and Habaki’s deathrow Rokki. Since Anotsu and gang are fleeing, they set a number of traps for their pursuers. It is nice to see Magatsu around again, though I had to laugh when Soma attempts to take him on solo, better luck next time lady. There are also some tender and powerful moments between Maki and Anotsu. A good volume, as usual, but mostly a set-up for things to come.

If anyone was ever curious the person who does most of the links on the blog is me. In doing so I often stumble upon little bits of information like the existence of the  Slayers – The Hourglass of Falces manga. A complete 4-chapter story that is unusual in the fact that it has the standard Slayers crew we all know and love plus Luke and Milina from the later novels that were never translated. Lina and company are shipwrecked on a tranquil little island that has an idyllic town of friendly people. Due to the strange currents around the island they cannot causally leave. As they look for a way off the island a busty pirate shows  them there is something more sinister going on behind this utopia. Oh and there is one other major difference between this and the normal Slayers stories people are used to: Massive amounts of T&A. I don’t know much about Milina but Amelia’s breasts are definitely increased to be Naga sized and there are frequent panty shots. So the fan-service is distinctly on display in the manga. The story is a nice little story that is reminiscent of some of the better filler arcs in a regular Slayers TV series. It even manages to tie together the first and second series of Slayers novels. I just wish they toned down the gratuitous fan service.

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The Accidental Pirate

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A conversation during a dinner at AnimeNEXT alerted me to a possibility that I hadn’t considered before: ignorance of piracy. One of our fellows observed a girl buying Twin Spica vols. 7–8 but telling her mother and vendor that she didn’t need the others because she could read them online. When relaying this story, the teller felt the girl genuinely didn’t know that Twin Spica isn’t distributed online. Similarly, a co-worker recommend an anime to me, when I said I’d check it out she directed me to a site that was streaming it illegally. She literally had no idea the show was actually available for free on Funimation’s own site.

As a blogger and an intimate member of the anime community who has good access to people in the industry as well, I take for granted the notion of knowing when something is a fan-sub/scanlation or a pirated version of an already licensed English release. Actually, just knowing something is licensed or is streaming in the U.S. is even something I take for granted, even though I still miss announcements. I also like to think I know what sites are providing content for free, in English, and are legally doing so.

But many do not.

And as far as I can tell this stems directly from the advent of streaming content be it anime or manga. When you download something off bittorrent or seek something out via IRC, you know exactly what you are getting. But if one looks up “free anime” on Google you will find many a site that looks similar to Hulu or Crunchyroll or whathaveyou but isn’t legal; the same for looking up manga. However, how does one go about knowing that? Why just this morning, a site called Animulu started following me on Twitter saying they provide legal streaming anime, but I’d never heard of them. There isn’t some sign on these front pages saying “WE ARE SUPER ILLEGALLY GIVING YOU THESE ANIMES AND MAKING A PROFIT.”

How do you personally know the difference? How do we educate fans about it?

The Speakeasy #018: Ghostbuster, A Kekkaishi Introduction

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Anime 3000 presents The Speakeasy Podcast:
Drink #018: Ghostbuster,
A Kekkaishi Introduction

As impossible as it sounds there is actually a shonen fighting anime and manga that goes overlooked despite the fact that it is really good. That series is Kekkaishi. As a show with a protagonist with a power and personality that is outside the norm, a strong female lead with skills different but equal to the main character, and an actually developed romantic subplot that is constantly in the narrative but not overwhelming, it is sad to see it so overshadowed. With the manga ending, the anime finishing its run on Adult Swim, and the box set finally coming out in English it seems like the perfect time to do a little analysis on this series and what sets it apart from the pack. Stop complain about shonen fighting and support something that actually approaches the genre well!

(Listen)

And now your helpful bartenders at The Speakeasy present your drink:

Ghostbuster

Shake with ice and strain into a highball glass.