Category: Type-Moon

L: Consulting Detective and Other Great Anime Spin-offs

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hisuiconA common complaint I hear about series is that the main characters are bland but the side characters are far more interesting and nuanced. It seems almost epidemic in shonen fighting. In fact Shonen Jump just started a spin-off magazine whose whole purpose is to put the spot light on some of the more popular minor characters in their magazine. The announcement of Super Strong Jump was just the catalyst we needed to bring out one of our post ideas from the back burner about our favorite side characters who would do just as good if not better in their own feature title. Remember that Gunsmith Cats’ Rally Vincent is a spin-off from the original Riding Bean series and look how far she has come.

This post has been brewing for a while, and is by no means a complete listing. But before it got totally out of hand, we had to think of which characters could really use their own stories beyond the fact that we just like them a hell of a lot. This is mere sampling of some of the great side characters that we’re pretty sure could hold their own in a series. Eventhough the title of this post mentions L, he already has a spin-off albeit a bad one, so we’ve come up with a list of other great spin-off options! Oh, yeah, 1/3 of our picks are still detectives though!

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Ongoing Investigations: Case #103

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hisuiconSince it seems that no one is interested in licensing Michiko to Hatchin I decided to finally check it out especially after Sean Ryan mentioned it would have made a great addition to the fallen fans guide. It is a road trip movie in which the journey is far more important than the destination. In fact if anything my major complaint about the series is that the destination seems extremely anti-climatic after everything than comes before it. I feel in many ways this was hinted that it was going to be like this but it did not make it any less disappointing. That said they journey before then is filled with some grim parables, touching vignettes, and great action scenes. We see Michiko and Hatchin grow from interacting with each other and fundamentally shift how they look at the world. It is a touching and compelling journey that should be watched for the experiences you get along the way more than the prize at the end. The audience in a way experience exactly what the characters in the show do for better and for worse. But overall I think you will be glad you went on the trip.

There was no down time for Ichigo as Yumeiro Patissiere Professional started just a week or so after the original Yumeiro Patissiere finished its TV run. This is a couple of years in the future as Ichigo returns to Japan from studying abroad in France. We know very little about her time there beyond her learning more skills, but not losing her charming naiveté, and that something happened between her and Kashino. Things at the end of the first season were a little over the top in Henri’s plans but things just get crazier with this new series. Henri now seems to be some sort of eccentric, semi-diabolical pastry chef that pits the students in a competition of opening their own pastry shop in this playland of sweets he has created. After 4 episodes I can firmly say it is still plenty amusing and cute. So far we have seen the dispersion of Team Ichigo with the exception of Kashino, and the return of Lemon plus the new addition of incredible caricature, American Johnny. The competition is also a lot different from what was seen in the original as this goes into business and customers as well as creating that perfect dessert. As this series is slated to be much shorter than the original I’m curious where it will end up.

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Witch on a Type-Moon Lit Holy Night

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hisuiconLet us all run over to our favorite import games website and pre-order the new Type-Moon visual novel, Mahoutsukai no Yoru (Witch on the Holy Night). Based on a novel written by Kinoko Nasu in 1996 this is the back story of Aoko Aozaki aka Miss Blue the Magic Gunner. As Aoko is one of my favorite minor characters in the Nasuverse I cannot wait to see what is revealed about her past. She has always had a delightfully upbeat and whimsical personality while still being a capable and serious character. The fact that she is utterly my type is just a bonus. I know that mysterious characters can have their popularity ruined by a poorly done back story but since this was written before most everything else in the Nasuverse I am not too worried about the Boba Fett effect. Also it is will not have any sex scenes thrown in so you don’t have to worry about awkward kinky sea life metaphors in the middle of your reading experience.

hisuiconAs a special treat the ED has been announced to be Hoshi ga Matataku Konna Yoru ni (This Star Sparkling Night) by Supercell. You can already buy the single that also contains the 14th Naruto Shippuden Ending. Also lvlln at Borderline Hikikomori was nice enough to post an English translation of the song as well. Unless this utterly bombs I cannot see why we would not get an anime adaptation somewhere down the line as well especially considering how well the Kara no Kyōkai movies have done. If you are any sort of Type-Moon fan this will be the release of the year. You should preorder it if for nothing else it comes with an art book which is always a wonderful thing.