Archive for July, 2009
A Koushien-esque Cross Game Blogging Ambition Once Forgotten
July 31st, 2009
I once thought of doing an episodic-blogging (or multiple-episode-coverage per post) for Cross Game, because it’d a waste if I don’t. As I’ve noticed, when I’m not writing about what I’m watching (or if I’m not compelled to write about what I am watching), I’m simply, well, watching. Passively. Just like how it was before. In turn, my appreciation for the anime and the luster of my animu-loving Kokoro no Tamago, weakens.
Blogging makes me feel more alive; Simply having the URGE to write is enough proof that I still have that PASSION burning within me, and I find that really comforting. It’s like, wow, I’m still able to nurture the Natural Child ego within me, I’m not as jaded as I thought!
“I want to capture the awesome moments of Cross Game!”, I once told myself, especially after episode 5 — but then where is that dream now? Gone with the wind?
Jiji– I mean Coach Maeno, the coach of the Prefab baseball team (aka the “rejects”) of Seishuu High makes me want to relive that ambition again. He might not seem like it, but he’s one GAR grandpa. Things are heating up in Cross Game, if seeing Coach Maeno all FIRED UP to beat the elite baseball team isn’t enough (I’m totally pretending I still haven’t seen episode 16-17 here). For years, he held onto his love for baseball, and while that allowed him to gain extensive knowledge about the game, his lack of competitiveness made him passive throughout the years — dreaming of Koushien while not really being into winning. Now things are different; with his position and the kids’ Koushien dream at stake, he couldn’t afford to just sit around and do nothing. If there’s any better time to kick the asshole infamous results-obsessed elite coach’s ass, it is NOW.
Thanks to Kou, Akaishi and Nakanishi, together with the rest of the team, he found himself the golden opportunity to not only dream of Koushien, but finally make it come true — on the way to that Road to Glory.
When you’re burning with PASSIONATE LOVE for something, you’d find yourself discontent with being lazy. For anime fans, it’s the “Simply watching is not good enough!” or “I have to watch MOAR” kind of mindset — either we indulge in an amassing behavior or expressive one. You feel as if you want to pimp what you’ve watched to the whole world as you want people to know that THIS IS F*CKING AWESOME!! Someone has to draw the line between Healthy Passion and Delusional Fanaticism, of course. But I digress.
One thing I realize is that when I don’t set my mind into blogging a series, I find myself being a casual and semi-apathetic viewer, and I hate it when I do that, especially for something as awesome as Cross Game. And by “setting my mind into blogging a series” I don’t mean it like “simply watching for the sake of blogging”, but rather wanting to be moved or entertained enough by what I’m watching (and keeping my FOCUS on it) so that I will be compelled to write about its AWESOMENESS later on.
Rewatching the past episodes of Cross Game and rereading this post of mine made me go “I want to write MOAR of this! Not this!” So yeah, right now I really want to WRITE MOAR about Cross Game, and let’s hope I’ll have enough creative juices to produce blog posts. As much as I don’t wanna miss out on the new season’s offerings, I wouldn’t want to spread myself too thinly by watching a lot and ending up just watching them and nothing else. Awesome shows like Cross Game deserve all the attention they can get.
I’d want to look back years after and pride myself on being an anime fan who didn’t just watch anime, but became a Productive Individual in the process even though I sacrifice some work time to slack off and write blog posts like this instead of focusing on my work 
P.S. I really want to watch Tokyo Magnitude 8.0 right now because I’m pretty positive it’s the kind of show that’ll make me chatty and blabber a lot. But man, I can only do so much as to want to GIVE LOVE to them great animus TT__TT
Posted in 
Sales figures, SDCC wrapup, emotional responses
July 30th, 2009
ICv2’s latest Insider’s Guide is out, and it includes the news that graphic novel sales were down in the first half of 2009, although with this important caveat:
The Bookscan figures do not include graphic novels racked in Kids and YA departments in bookstores, which probably means that the decline is less than 8% over-all.
Yes, that seems like an important omission. ICv2 also posts charts of the top manga, shonen manga, and shoujo manga properties of the second quarter of 2009. Shojo Flash does a bit of analysis.
Kai-Ming Cha reports that no one seemed too down about the economy at SDCC, and in fact the manga booths were bustling. Of course, it’s possible to read between the lines and make a list of who wasn’t there. Kai-Ming also talks to Ultimo creator Hiroyuki Takei, and Anne Ishii chats up IKKI editor Hideki Egami for PWCW.
Translator twins Alethea and Athena Nibley write about cover copy and Comic-Con in their latest column at Manga Life.
Melinda Beasi is moved to tears by a passage in the lastest volume of Pluto.
David Welsh notes that the last volume of Parasyte is out this week.
At Heart of Manga, Laura explains Japanese secondary schools, often a source of confusion for new manga readers.
News from Japan: ANN has an update on Shuho Sato’s online publishing project; he just put up 500 pages, including big chunks of Say Hello to Black Jack and The New Say Hello to Black Jack, online for free. ANN also has the latest Japanese comics rankings.
Reviews
Matthew J. Brady on vols. 2 and 3 of 20th Century Boys (Warren Peace Sings the Blues)
Dan Polley on vol. 1 of Ballad of a Shinigami (Comics Village)
Michelle Smith on vol. 28 of Bleach (Soliloquy in Blue)
Julie on vol. 10 of Crimson Hero (Manga Maniac Cafe)
David Rasmussen on vol. 1 of Dogs: Bullets and Carnage (Manga Life)
Ysabet Reinhardt MacFarlane on vol. 1 of Kimi ni Todoke: From Me to You (Manga Life)
Carlo Santos on vol. 12 of Oh My Goddess! (ANN)
Lissa Pattillo on vol. 7 of One Thousand and One Nights (Kuriousity)
Clive Owen on vol. 6 of Rosario + Vampire (Animanga Nation)
Michael May on Samurai 7 (Robot 6)
Ysabet Reinhardt MacFarlane on vol. 18 of Skip Beat! (Manga Life)
Lorena Nava Ruggero on vol. 3 of Swan (i heart manga)
David Welsh on Tea for Two (Precocious Curmudgeon)
PR: Del Rey to publish Airbender manga
July 30th, 2009
OK, here’s the official 411 on Del Rey’s Airbender manga, which was announced at SDCC. Now, I don’t watch a lot of TV or movies (I’m too busy reading), so this is one of those projects that would elicit a big ol’ “meh” from me, except for the awesomeness of the creators. Dave Roman? Nina Matsumoto? Sign me up! Read on for more.
DEL REY MANGA AND NICKELODEON/VIACOM CONSUMER PRODUCTS
ANNOUNCE NEW AVATAR: THE LAST AIRBENDER AND THE LAST AIRBENDER MANGA RELEASES
SAN DIEGO, CA – July 25, 2009 – Del Rey Manga, an imprint of Ballantine Books at the Random House Publishing Group and Nickelodeon/Viacom Consumer Products (NVCP) announced at Comic-Con International in San Diego, four new manga style releases – an artistic and storytelling stylized comic book set in black and white. Based on Nickelodeon’s international hit animated series Avatar: The Last Airbender and the upcoming feature film release “The Last Airbender,” directed by M. Night Shyamalan, this partnership marks the first manga tie-in for Nickelodeon.
The two original black-and-white manga will be written by Dave Roman (Jax Epoch and the Quicken Forbidden, Agnes Quill). The prequel manga, scheduled for publication in April 2009, will be illustrated by Nina Matsumoto (Yokaiden) and the movie adaptation, to be published in June 2010, will be illustrated by Joon Choi (This is Pop).
“We’re excited to partner with Del Rey on these upcoming manga releases,” said Paula Allen, SVP of Nickelodeon Global Publishing. “Recreating and adapting the layered storylines and incredible, animated martial arts of the Avatar series and upcoming feature film in the manga style will allow fans to experience their favorite moment from the show over and over again.”
The Avatar: The Last Airbender animated series and The Last Airbender live-action movie follow the epic journey of Aang, the Avatar. In an ancient world where armies of the four elements—fire, earth, water, and air—are constantly at war, the Avatar, a master of the elements, is meant to restore peace and order. Aang is the newest reincarnation of the Avatar, and is also the last airbender, harnessing the power of air and wind. Freed from a century-long sleep inside an iceberg, the 12-year-old is responsible for saving the world and finds both friends and hostile enemies on the path to his destiny.
“We’re excited to be working with Nickelodeon to bring these great stories to the manga audience,” says Dallas Middaugh, Associate Publisher of Del Rey Manga. “Avatar: The Last Airbender has shown incredible crossover appeal with manga fans. The release of The Last Airbender movie and original tie-in manga gives us the chance to share completely new stories with Avatar fans looking for more about Aang, Zuko, and their favorite characters.”
ABOUT THE AUTHOR AND ILLUSTRATORS (THE LAST AIRBENDER)
Dave Roman currently works for Nickelodeon Magazine as an associate editor. The co-creator of the Harvey Award-nominated series Jax Epoch and the Quicken Forbidden and the Ignatz award-winning Teen Boat, he also pens his own webcomic, Astronaut Elementary. Roman, based in New York, is also the creator of the comic Agnes Quill, and he co-wrote Del Rey Manga and Marvel Comics’ X-Men: Misfits with his wife, Raina Telgemeier.
Nina Matsumoto is the creator of the original English-language manga series, Yokaiden, which debuted in November 2008. Matsumoto gained notoriety on the internet for her original piece, “The Simpsonzu,” a manga-inspired illustration of the characters of The Simpsons cartoon. She is a penciller with Bongo Comics, home of The Simpsons comics, and lives in western Canada.
Joon Choi is the art director at Studio Joon Toon and an Animator at This is Pop, he is also an illustrator and animator whose work has been seen on Adult Swim, Cartoon Network, Nickelodeon and Gameloft.
I can’t get married anymore….
July 30th, 2009
Don’t you just love onsen’s?
(For those who have been waiting, sorry for the lateness of this post, was busy with politics earlier)
Yuri-flag triggered!
God damn it, Hinagiku’s so bloody cute!
Nishizawa, breaking women’s gaydars since 2009.
And finally, a little service for the lolicons. WAH and Shin will probably love this.
©2009 Kurogane’s Anime Blog. All Rights Reserved.
Sora no Manimani Episode 03 – My God, It’s Full of (Projected) Stars.
July 30th, 2009
(Whew, after rushing through making posts for 1-3, I’m finally caught up to current, just in time for the next raw to come out.) As other students are just becoming noticed, Saku plans to ride out the rush of introductions avoiding attention and burying his nose in books. Instead we get some big time double entendre from Mihoshi, yelling in front of his class about what great nights she had with him and how she won’t let him sleep that night either, spreading both scandal and, to some, admiration for Saku. The Astronomy Club now begins to plan its next activities as Saku gets cold feet about being a member and voluntarily ‘goes missing.’
She’s in your classroom, ruining your reputation.
Double the amount of double entendres.
Yes. Yes they are.
Even the dwarf is not immune from hearing or passing on the gossip.
Overcome from the gossiping and several nights of no sleep from stargazing, Saku bolts from the school at the end of the day, leaving a note saying not to look for him. However, this is not before falling asleep in class and having a dream about he and Mihoshi when they were young, apparently after Mihoshi’s fall from the tree, then turning into Saku being teased for hanging out with Mihoshi and transferring schools so often. While he has ‘gone missing’ Saku heads to the local library where he encounters the Dark Queen and tries to refute the rumors she’s heard about him and Mihoshi.
Dreaming of character backgrounds.
Fancy meeting you here.
Like the UAV and alien hunters that share the term, they all get their prey.
Saku, don’t you just want to spend the day inside, curled up (at the feet of your Queen!) with a good book?
Returning home Saku realizes that his worries about what people think are pitiful and recognizes the virtue of Mihoshi being so forthright about spreading her love of the sky. Something he realizes he also shares, to an extent. Once there he finds Mihoshi waiting at the gate where she apologizes for being so forceful. Perhaps realizing that such heavy handed use of force has driven him away, she gets him to return to the club. We also get a brief view of Hime’s life at home and her sister’s Dwarf hair classification system.
The victory of soft power.
Much more pleasant than the younger sister.
Morning at the Department of Homeland Hair Security.
Later at school Saku and Edogawa find a room full of zombies! Mihoshi lays seemingly dying on the floor from not being able to see the stars and Roma is passed out as always under the futon, bleeding from the mouth. With the rainy season in full swing the club is confronted once more by Fumie and has to scramble to find something other than stargazing while the poor weather persists.
Dying message.
Zombie comin up the bed right now! Shoot em in the head! Shoot em! Grab the shotgun!
Sayo, Goddess of Mercy who has cared for Mihoshi through many years.
I didn’t know this series was set in Pittsburgh.
Bow before her radiance! Fumie is an all-weather, multirole school overlord.
Mihoshi suggests a quiz game, but at the first question Hime and Saku find that she didn’t bother to hook up the buzzers. But Saku has a plan, and the club heads off to the local planetarium and space science museum. Edogawa has a blast running around the museum and trying to hit on the lovely ‘navigator’ Haruko. Going into the planetarium for the show, Saku recalls a trip there with Mihoshi and her father long ago. We get another dramatic pause when Saku mentions her father before the show begins. After leaving Hime and Mihoshi have a small skirmish in their larger war and we find out that the inevitable overnight trip is coming up.
Aren’t you a little short for a stormtrooper an astronaut?
Mihoshi approves!
Edogawa is certainly smitten. I wonder if she’s going to be a recurring character?
You can take away his space suit, you can even take away his space orb, but you can never, ever take away Edogawa’s space game.
The Prince of Space, minus the goatee.
Edogawa is starting to manifest Maria Holic levels of visualizations. May his powers continue to grow.
Another short flashback. They’re certainly stingy with revealing their pasts.
And some accompanying memory-related dialogue.
However Hime will not let her adversary’s provocation go unanswered.
Final Thoughts: – Another fun episode, though while we had some small reveals about Mihoshi and Saku’s past nothing too substantial on that front yet.
- I have to wonder if Hime’s sister and Haruko will come back in future episodes or not. I would think so given the introduction, lines and time they were given.
- I liked the zoom out from the projector that swept up to the illuminated planetarium dome. More shows could use some varied ‘camera’-work like that.
Sora no Manimani Episode 02 – Red Dwarfs and Other Celestial Objects
July 30th, 2009
(Posts are coming in kind of rapid succession, but once I’m caught up to the current episode I promise to stop monopolizing the front page. Ep 03 post sometime late today or tomorrow.) We find the members of the Astronomy Club in despair as their prospects of finding the fifth member necessary to be officially considered a club are bleak, not helped by President Roma coughing up blood as he tries to recruit others. But the presence of the second years in Saku’s classroom has drawn the attention of others.
Their darkest hour.
Edogawa, meanwhle, must follow his dreams with the Photography Club.
You’re not really sorry.
Enter: Hime Makita, Saku’s classmate who has a crush on him and a complex about her curly hair due to being teased about it as a child. A moment of kindness on the train when her hair got caught on Saku’s button has ignited her burning desire to get closer to Saku. Only Mihoshi is in her way. Confronting the upperclassman for being in the First Years’ room, she begins her war for the heart of Saku.
Confidence is good, but don’t underestimate your opponent.
Returning to the same room later in the day for school duty with Saku, Hime thinks she will have access to him since they are classmates. Only to find the Astronomy Club occupying the room, frightened off by Fumie’s plotting of their demise outside the club room. She pushes them out for some alone time with the object of her infatuation.
I love the glaring cat eyes Mihoshi has here.
No rest for the wicked.
However discouraged Hime may have been when she first learns from Saku that he’s known Mihoshi for seven years, she returns from her dejection with renewed resolve. Again we see the possibly developing theme of memory, as Hime is determined to have Saku remember her, even if just from their incident on the train.
That’s one way to be remembered.
Today, at 05:35 Ep. 02 playback time, Hime Makita formally declared war on Mihoshi Akeno. We are now at war. We are now at war.
Perhaps being remembered isn’t as important as which person remembers.
Confession intercepted!
Breaking Hime out of her moment of bliss, Mihoshi brings Hime and Saku up to the school roof to look at the first star of the evening, Venus in this instance. Repeating information about the planet and when it’s visible, Saku causes Mihoshi to go all rabu-rabu in admiration while plunging Hime once again into another short lived bout of despair. But Hime’s hopes rise again as Mihoshi tells her that her and Saku aren’t going out. Seeing her chance to get closer to Saku, Hime immediately volunteers to join the Astronomy Club.
Talking about astronomy turns Mihoshi adorably chibi, reminiscent of a cell phone charm.
These eyes glow with an awesome power!
In celebration, the club gets together for snacks and plans an outing to look at the stars that night. Hime and Mihoshi engage in their first battle, waged with refreshments. Student Council President and deliciously evil adversary Fumie appears to remind her enemies that she still lords over them, tempting Saku once more by mentioning that the Literature Club meets regardless of the weather. Perhaps she used her dark magicks to command the skies, because the planned outing ends up rained out. Luckily for the club and not so much for Saku, Mihoshi obtained his phone number and calls to get permission to head to Saku’s house.
Saku is perhaps feeling a little like Poland.
Much as with various forms of international solidarity, the fellowship of first year students is cast aside at the convenience of great powers.
President Fumie: beautiful and terrible as the dawn! Treacherous as the sea! We shall love her and despair!
At Saku’s, Mihoshi is received warmly by Saku’s Mom. His many admirers try to get a look at his room, but he manages to outrun them. After drying off and Saku’s Mom trying to ruin his cool image, the club members leave. Here we have another drama element, as Mihoshi is silent and stares blankly for a long moment after Saku’s Mom tell her to say hello to her parents for her.
A warm welcome.
The next day another outing is planned, and plans of another nature are also afoot. Daydreaming about being able to wear her best clothes in front of Saku and riding on his bike to the observation area, Hime is ultimately thwarted by Mihoshi’s precautions against mosquitoes and Roma’s bike being the only one with a back seat. Unfortunately for her, he goes into one of his fainting/bleeding spells while driving on a downhill that would fit well into an episode of Initial D. We end the episode with some real astronomy knowledge, Edogawa referencing Fist of the North Star and Ultraman, and Sayo and Saku having a chat.
No plan survives first contact with the Astronomy Club. Also the sign says ‘White Horse’, but you get the point (and I’m just nitpicking.)
No! It’s an electrically assisted bicycle driven by a fainting student!
More potential drama setup.
Your weekly astronomy lesson.
Final Thoughts: – Some more setup/foreshadowing of possible dramatic plot threads.
- Hime was a rather different character than I expected to be the fifth member.
- I don’t think it’s going to be any surprise that Mihoshi’s parents probably died (no spoilers from the manga reader please!), but I’m hoping that whatever her long pause was caused by will make for good character development.
- This show makes me want to buy a telescope. This and other shows are obviously a conspiracy between anime companies and manufacturers!
Enlightened by a female smart-aleck
July 29th, 2009
Girlamatic has been home to some nice online manga over the years, so it’s good news that it is being relaunched with a new, all-free format. I talked to editor Diana McQueen about it in this week’s Unbound column at Robot 6. I also interviewed Scott Christian Sava, creator of The Dreamland Chronicles, for Graphic Novel Reporter. (Yeah, busy week—that’s why I haven’t been on Twitter much.)
Kate Dacey and Red Baylon look over this week’s new releases.
Lorena Nava Ruggero has a very informative report on the women in manga panel at SDCC.
And Kate Dacey has an interesting poll at The Manga Critic: What was the most exciting licensing news that came out of the con?
In international manga news—well, I don’t think I can say this any better than The China Post:
Yiin Chii-ming, minister of economic affairs, has buckled under pressure to apologize for an offensive manga designed to promote his priority economic cooperation framework agreement (ECFA) between Taiwan and China.
The comic strip, published by the Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA), depicts a dolt being enlightened by a female smart-aleck polyglot on the pact Taipei wants to sign with Beijing — an act that is considered a sellout of Taiwan by the pro-independence Democratic Progressive Party (DPP).
First of all, in Taiwan they use manga to promote economic agreements? Who knew! But if you’re going to go that route, you have to accept that “dolt being enlightened by a female smart-aleck something-or-other” is a standard storyline, and just go with it.
News from Japan: ANN has news of several new series debuting in Evening magazine, including one by Makoto Kobayashi, the creator of Where’s Michael? and Club 9. Canned Dogs reports that Sanrio will be selling official Hello Kitty products at Comiket (one hopes the accompanying illustration is a parody and not one of the items on offer).
Reviews: Connie has an interesting look at some vintage manga, including Tezuka’s New Treasure Island, at Slightly Biased Manga. This one gets my vote for post of the day. Ed Sizemore posts brief reviews of some recent Del Rey releases at Comics Worth Reading.
John Thomas on vol. 1 of 20th Century Boys (Comics Village)
Casey Brienza on vol. 1 of Angelic Runes (Graphic Novel Reporter)
Emily on Aniki wa Tsunayoshi! (Emily’s Random Shoujo Manga Page)
Courtney Kraft on vol. 6 of Black God (Graphic Novel Reporter)
Lissa Pattillo on vol. 2 of Black Jack (Kuriousity)
Julie on vol. 1 of B.O.D.Y. (Manga Maniac Cafe)
Joe McCulloch on The Color of Earth (Bookforum)
Lorena Nava Ruggero on vol. 5 of Emma (i heart manga)
Billy Aguiar on vol. 1 of Gestalt (Prospero’s Manga)
Melinda Beasi on vol. 2 of Ikigami: The Ultimate Limit (There it is, Plain as Daylight)
Alex Hoffman on vol. 1 of Jack Frost (Comics Village)
David Welsh on vol. 1 of Kimi ni Todoke (Precocious Curmudgeon)
Lori Henderson on vol. 31 of Naruto (Manga Xanadu)
Holly Ellingwood on vol. 11 of Oh My Goddess! (Active Anime)
Danielle Leigh on Oishinbo: Fish, Sushi & Sashimi (Comics Should Be Good)
Oyceter on vols. 11 and 12 of Ouran High School Host Club (Sakura of DOOM)
Casey Brienza on Princess Princess Plus (Graphic Novel Reporter)
Holly Ellingwood on vol. 5 of Sand Chronicles (Active Anime)
Greg McElhatton on chapter 1 of Saturn Apartments (Read About Comics)
Courtney Kraft on vol. 1 of Train*Train (Graphic Novel Reporter)
Sandra Scholes on vol. 1 of Treasure (Active Anime)
PR: Viz debuts Shonen Sunday lineup
July 29th, 2009
Viz launched its Shonen Sunday website last week, featuring free online manga from the Japanese magazine of the same name. Here’s the official rundown on the launch titles.
VIZ MEDIA PREVIEWS THREE EXCITING MANGA SERIES TO BE PUBLISHED UNDER THE NEW
SHONEN SUNDAY IMPRINT
AT THE 2009 COMIC-CON SHOW
New Manga Chapters From Each Series Will Be Previewed For Free On The Official SHONEN SUNDAY Website With Print Versions Scheduled To Be Published In 2010
San Francisco, CA, JULY 28, 2009 – VIZ Media, LLC (VIZ Media), one of the entertainment industry’s most innovative and comprehensive publishing, animation and licensing companies, previewed three upcoming manga titles to be published under the company’s newest imprint – SHONEN SUNDAY – for a packed audience at its Anime & Manga panel discussion at the recent 2009 Comic-Con International show in San Diego, CA.
The new manga series will debut in 2010 and will include ARATA: THE LEGEND by renowned manga creator Yuu Watase, MAOH: JUVENILE REMIX based on the original story by Kotaro Isaka with story and art by Megumi Osuga, and HYDE & CLOSER by Haro Aso. Every month, the official SHONEN SUNDAY website at www.ShonenSunday.com will present a new chapter from each of the three new titles online for free, as well as post a new chapter from the ongoing action/fantasy adventure KEKKAISHI by Yellow Tanabe (rated ‘T’ for Teens; published domestically by VIZ Media).
The new manga line-up will complement the current online serialization of another SHONEN SUNDAY series, RIN-NE, which is now available at www.TheRumicWorld.com, the official North American website for all Rumiko Takahashi news. RIN-NE is the first SHONEN SUNDAY manga series to be published simultaneously in Japan and North America, and the graphic novels will go on sale nationwide on October 20, 2009.
“The expansion of our new SHONEN SUNDAY imprint and website with these new titles give manga fans a lot to be excited about,” says Shie Lundberg, Sr. Director, Strategy and Business Development. “The official SHONEN SUNDAY website is a comprehensive destination for new manga chapters, featured previews, trailers, downloadable wallpapers, news, creator interviews and more. We invite fans to visit the site regularly for free updates and keep and eye out for the debut of these acclaimed new series in 2010.”
ARATA: THE LEGEND • Rated ‘T’ for Teens •
MSRP: $9.99 U.S. / $12.99 CAN • Available: March 2010
In a mythical world where humans and gods co-exist, a ceremony marking the new governing princess is about to occur for the first time in 60 years. Only a girl from the Hime Clan may take this position, but the lack of females born to this family means that a boy called Arata must pose for the role. Meanwhile in modern-day Japan, a boy named Arata Hinohara is starting his new life in high school. He wants to put memories of his difficult past behind him, but things aren’t going to be simple when he discovers a mysterious connection to the first Arata…
VIZ Media has also publishes the following works by Yuu Watase:
ABSOLUTE BOYFRIEND
ALICE 19TH
CERES: CELESTIAL LEGEND
FUSHIGI YÛGI
FUSHIGI YÛGI: GENBU KAIDEN
IMADOKI!
MAOH: JUVENILE REMIX • Rated ‘T+’ for Older Teens•
MSRP: $9.99 U.S. / $12.99 CAN • Available: May 2010
“As crazy as your ideas might be, as long as you believe in yourself and tackle the issue head-on, you can even change the world.”
Ando is a high school student who has the power to make others say out loud what he’s thinking. Inukai is the mysterious leader of a vigilante group called Grasshopper, which is at odds with the city’s redevelopment plan. In this chaotic city, these two will come together to weave a story of courage, determination and confrontation.
MAOH: Juvenile Remix is based on the original novel MAOH by Kotaro Isaka.
HYDE & CLOSER • Rated ‘T+’ for Older Teens •
MSRP: $9.99 U.S. / $12.99 CAN • Available: July 2010
Shunpei Closer is your average…well, slightly below average kid in junior high who finds himself in the middle of a great battle of dark sorcery. With cursed dolls coming after him one after another, Shunpei Closer’s life is in danger! If that weren’t enough, Hyde, the teddy bear given to him by his grandfather, suddenly comes alive to rescue him. With Hyde’s help, can Shunpei save himself and live to see another day?
Seika-sama!
July 29th, 2009
Not only she’s cute…
… but cool as well!
One show I’ve been tremendously enjoying in the Summer season has to be Princess Lover! although for some reason, the urge to blog about it never did come until this episode. Teppei is quite likable as the protagonist, helped by his simple charm and his fish-out-of-water situation. The girls too are pretty attractive without being too stereotypical, for example Slyvia, who now kinda has that “Saber” feel to her, LOL.
Of course, episode 4 has tipped my heart’s balance towards Seika-sama, especially with the nice bit of character development they put in to this episode that explains her initial antagonistic attitude towards Teppei and in one fell swoop also manages to showcase her charms to the max. I especially lol’ed at the “under table foot fights”.
Man… summer this year is turning out to be quite a great season.
©2009 Kurogane’s Anime Blog. All Rights Reserved.
Kanamemo: A “Touching” Story, Like Really
July 29th, 2009
A rambling post awaits you, don’t say I didn’t warn you.
You know something’s fishy when someone ends up liking a series for how heartwarming it is, while another one ends up liking it for the lulz factor. Take for example Opinion 1 of deathkillz regarding Kanamemo:
“[...]it was really moving to see how Kana, being 13, is able to be normal whilst to outsiders (her new friends) her state is really pitiful indeed. Her pitiful state can basically be summed up when she was happy about having newspaper for a futon? I felt a sudden urge to cry BWAAAAAAAAAA! along with the other girls. It was just that type of touching story and I am frankly very weak against things like these.”
vs. Opinion 2 of Crazyanimegyrl:
“Couldn’t help it… I LAUGHED MY ASS OFF!!! This Yuri, Loliconess first episode (Alone for the First Time) was funny! [...] Hilarious… downright hilarious. The first episode tickled my funny bone.”
Basically you have one blogger liking the show for its seriousness, who was even moved to tears by its heartwarming charm, while another one cries her heart out laughing at its absurdity — both liking the series for drastically different reasons — a phenomenon that can’t simply be explained by gender bias considering that both of them are actually girls * in before THERE ARE NO GIRLS ON THE INTERNET *
So whom should we believe? Could we say that one of them is right, and the other one is wrong? Well after watching one episode, I have come to conclude that both of the aforementioned opinions are valid and true, since Kanamemo did have its touching parts, as well as TOUCHING PARTS (IYKWIM). The scenes (based on the first episode) would change from melancholic and serious, to comedic lulz, with LOLI GROPING WTF moments and yuri raburabu, then melancholic stuff again, followed by yet another round of WTF Moments — certainly not what I expected based on the promo image. Could you blame me, for not being informed of what this series is going to be, for having the faintest bit of hope that I’d see a heartwarming slice-of-life moe fluff series ala Ichigo Mashimaro in this?
this basically sums up how I feel atm. Sigh.
It’s not like I have anything against yuri, fanservice, and loli in general, just that there’s something about the formula used in Kanamemo that I find off-putting but I can’t seem to out my finger on atm– oh wait this might just be it (from the Kanamemo thread in animesuki forums):
Malkuth: After two episodes, I do not know what to make out of this one. OK, some situations are genuinely funny, while in others it feels that they try too hard to pull out a smile from the audience. Also the whole loli and yuri stuff feel somewhat detached, not comedic. Remove them and you’ll get Mahoraba. Dunno, it seems to me that there is no direction in the writing.
deathkillz: All I can say is that you are probably watching it from a wrong angle or that you have a thing against loli or yuri (which is understandable).
Malkuth: No, I have nothing against these elements in shows as long as they(sic) are there for a reason or the focus. My problem with Kanamemo is that it seems that they were thrown just in order to expand into a specific audience.
emphasis mine.
It’s like one day, the author suddenly thought of working on a comedy slice-of-life, just because. “Ohh, let’s make the characters loli so it can sell to the lolicons!” And then there was the loli protagonist, and the super loli dorm manager. “Let’s add a drunkard into the mix too, so we have the sorry excuse for loli boob grabbing and other fanservice stuff you never thought possible! hihihi~!” Who would’ve thought boob-grabbing lolis is possible?! Pure genius, amirite?! Only in Kanamemo, people! “Let’s make all the characters girls, for GIRL POWER and YURI!” And then there was yuri. There you have it folks, yer loliyuri mix packaged into this one series called Kanamemo!
Unlike Juuden-chan which is just straight-out brainless and absurd and not really meant to be taken seriously, here we have a series that tries to be heartwarmingly serious and fanservice-ly comedic, and ends up suffering from an identity crisis. Or that it leaves me confused since I don’t know what it’s really trying to be. Of course the ones who belong to the show’s target audience can always go “But there is a reason/focus behind these mixed-up elements, we can see it and that’s why we’re enjoying it!”. Either the WTF Kanamemo formula works for you, or it doesn’t — easy as that.
Kodomo no Jikan this is not.
I once mentioned that, hypothetically speaking, all animes can be enjoyed when viewed in the “right light”, and while I know I’m not quite doing this for Kanamemo, I don’t think I’d want to enjoy this. Watching Darker than Black and Cross Game allowed me to see the qualities of an anime that I’d consider “OMFGAWESOMESAUCE THIS [makes me come harder than omo]“; Kanamemo, on the other hand, enlightened me about the qualities of an anime that I’d consider “objectively crappy”. I r elitist yeah.
Much has been said about giving anime a chance, but I can’t seem to bring myself to do that for Kanamemo. Perhaps in another time, another place, when a certain event triggers me to crave for something random and lulz.
Though as hashihime said, “Sense of humor is such a personal thing. [...] So it’s reasonable that some people wouldn’t relate to the humor here”, kinda reminds me of how I managed to enjoy ToLoveRu and My Condolences, Ninomiya-kun, at least for a little while, despite its utter absurdity/stupidity.
Some people are also of the opinion that Kanamemo is a good slice-of-life comedy, and this basically got me thinking, what is a good slice-of-life comedy anyways? I’m thinking it’d be along the veins of Azumanga Daioh or Ichigo Mashimaro” (I still haven’t seen Lucky Star and Hidamari Sketch, among others), especially the latter, which makes me cry true tears and laugh as well (the serious part does not interfere with the comedy, and vice versa) but that’s just me with my limited slice-of-life exposure. Any thoughts on this?
P.S. I can’t help but feel as if this and this are acting as my “conscience” as I write down this post, but uhh whatever. Yeah this is a me-centric vitriolic post, so what?! Even if you end up enjoying Kanamemo I doubt it would change the fact that it’s retarded >:]
