Stop having boring tuna, stop having a boring life

Summary:

We must play these lotto numbers immediately!

Selty is moody since she can barely remember her face anymore and she keeps having a dream where a strange guy busts in at the last minute and foils her attempt to get her head out of a jar.  Even on her first break in 265 days, she can’t enjoy herself and gets mad at Shinra when he mentions how she has an interesting sense of taste.  Selty mopes around for most of the day and hangs out with Shizuo in front of a vacant lot.  In a clear juxtaposition, Shizuo cannot remember what the building in the lot used to look like, even though it was clearly a very large building.  When Selty remembers that it was a crappy blue building, she gets some renewed hope.  This coupled with a makeup dinner with Shinra in which she gets a fortune cookie that tells her she will find that which she lost turns her day around and she finally has a dream where she and her head hang out in a beautiful forest.

Elsewhere, some random guy tries to storm Yagiri Pharmaceuticals with firecrackers, because his girlfriend got kidnapped and the only thing she could remember was Yagiri Pharmaceuticals.  Obviously this retarded plan fails, and Shinra is called in to patch up the idiot.  At the same time Mikado shows up at school after a rough night, and helps Anri find her shoes that somehow got thrown out onto the school field.  Anri doesn’t seem very grateful, however, and doesn’t even invite Mikado into her house.

Reaction:

Hey, how's the view from up there?

I’m kinda sad that this was a boring episode, although there were more subtle hints.  The Russian lady with the wishlist pad showed that Mikado is looking for a connection, which reinforces my theory that he is part of the Dollars, if not the founder or at least the webmaster.  I didn’t understand what happened with Anri’s shoes, but I suspect that Mikado did not simply oversleep that morning.  We also got to see Seiji addressing Mika as Selty, although I’m still not completely convinced it’s Selty’s head on Mika’s body anymore since there would be no point to keeping Mika’s head in a jar.  “Melty” seems to have forgotten everything, and is all paranoid, so maybe it’s time to put down the weed for just a little while.

Selty herself had some interesting info, and it wasn’t clear if she really loves Shinra or not.  His visit to Yagiri Pharmaceuticals (which may or may not be affiliated with North American corporation Nebula) suggests perhaps he knows what happend to Selty’s head, and if that’s the case he deserves that bad fortune cookie that stated his love would be for naught.  As usual, Selty was cute in waking up from her nightmare, and putting her fortune cookie under her pillow.  But what happened to that food that Selty stuck in the Gantz orb?

©2010 Sea Slugs! Anime Blog. All Rights Reserved.

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1. Durarara!! 04
2. Durarara!! 07

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Custom jellyfish helmet

As anyone with sea slugs in her hair knows, sometimes those suckers get dried out and need to be refreshed with a quick dip in the sea.  This piece is by the incredibly talented elsevilla and everything from the colors to the perspective to the composition is amazing.  Every time I find an awesome DA artist, I just follow him/her and sometimes you get lucky when really talented professionals get bored and do commissions to pass the time.  Interestingly enough, this is actually the second version elsevilla did, since we originally had a misunderstanding and ended up with something much different than what I was expecting.  However, being the totally awesome person that he is, he immediately offered to do a second piece and we straightened everything out!

©2010 Sea Slugs! Anime Blog. All Rights Reserved.

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Related posts:

1. Nama-Ko Casual Friday
2. New Mascot Announcement!

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Evil bitch finally showing her true colors this week.

Meanwhile, Uiharu meets up with Kiyama and persuades her to do something useful.

Unfortunately the bitch throws them out.

Of course…. Mikoto isn’t all very happy about that.

Shit… she’s totally channelling Beatrice here.

“Dame da, dame da, zen zen dame da!!!!”

Obviously, getting pwned. No one faces Beatrice without preparation and wins.

Lol, Kongou-san finally gets to do something awesome for a change.

Saten-san’s Crowning Moment of Friendship.

Thankfully, knocks some sense in to Misaka. And the rest too, for a good change.

Saten-san is awesome this week.

And it’s payback time.

The character development and fillers are starting to pay off with this arc finally going in to serious mode, now that Telestina “Beatrice” Lifeline finally outs herself as the Big Bad. Still, the connection with the Skillouts was a bit iffy, them being only guinea pigs for her little side project. I wonder how are they going to deal with that annoying piece.

Obviously, the real hero of this episode was Saten. In a cast where 75% of them are generally stubborn and obstinate, she’s the real guiding voice of reason for everyone else and it’s a marvel to see how her character’s really been developed when you compare it to the manga, where she generally takes a backseat after the Level Upper arc. Someone higher-up in the production committee must really like her a lot. Who needs ESP when you have the power of FRIENDSHIP! Although I still giggled a little when she took a baseball bat to join them for the smackdown time with Telestina.

Hurr, so next week, final episode? Gonna be sad to see it end.

©2010 Kurogane's Anime Blog. All Rights Reserved.

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So finally, after 9 months of the movie being out and me generally avoiding the spoilers (or ignoring them), I got to watch Evangelion 2.0 in full cinematic glory.

First off, the story is finally diverging from the TV series and generally I like this new direction.

Shinji is lot more hot-blooded this time round. I was expecting to go “fuck yeah, Asuka” for the movie, but it was pretty much “fuck yeah, Shinji” a lot more. The parts when he faced off the Eighth and the Tenth Angels was more from Gurren Lagann than Evangelion. Seriously, I went like “Is this really Shinji?!” a lot of times in the movie. Overall, I think his character’s really changed for the best and while it’s weird to say this, but Neo-Shinji really earns my respect for his actions.

Oh god, Asuka’s new test plugsuit!

This version of Asuka is a lot more… tragic compared to the TV series. She’s still the same obstinate person from the TV series, but she opens up a lot more this time round. There was two really tender scenes in the movie, firstly when Asuka has a sleepless night and crawls beside Shinji, and one more while she was talking to Misato about how she always thought being alone was fine, but ever since meeting the others, she started thinking that being with others can be nice as well. I almost cried a bit then. Maybe it’s also the lack of screentime as well, but Rebuild Asuka also comes off a little less overbearing as well. Too bad she’s the unlucky Unit 03 test pilot this time .

Rebuild Rei is possibly the most extreme change of characterization so far, with her starting to develop real emotions for Shinji and actually taking action to “make him feel warm and fuzzy”. Man, that elevator faceoff between Asuka and Rei was pretty legendary as well. I was like “oh wow, is this Rei?!”. Plus, she’s actually smiling a lot more now! Probably a huge change for Rei fans to take in. And Shinji x Rei fans are probably going to talk about the final 30 mins of the movie for years to come.

Very casual

New character Mari, very convincingly voiced by Maaya Sakamoto (she has the best English of the whole Japanese cast!!), is truly a force-of-nature on her own. An attention stealer at every scenes she appear, she has feral quality to her that makes even certain doom seem like casual everyday life for her. But thankfully, she never steals the thunder out of from the old cast, which was something I was hoping not to happen. Still, she is different and unique enough that she does deserve a place in the Evangelion pilot roster.

Overall, the new character dynamics makes them a lot more “human” than previously, especially Asuka with her. I really like this version of Asuka, as she is more honest to herself. Rei is finally starting to have a real character of her own, instead of being the idealized doll of the series. Mari is proves to be an interesting addition to the whole series and we have yet to see her true role in the big picture. Finally, Shinji is pretty much turning in to Simon, a good or bad change depending on how you like the original series.

Other aspects of the movie I’d like to mention out is the technical quality. While the first movie had a lot recycled scenes from the TV series, 2.0 is where the new vision of Evangelion truly shines through. The Angels look extremely amazing, awe-inspiring yet threatening at the same time. The Eighth and the Ninth was truly visual eyecandy, not to mention 8th was done in by a Inazuma Kick homage by Asuka. Tokyo 3 is a less sterile city as well, thanks to the addition of the scenes that show how daily life around the city is like. While minor, it makes the city feel more alive and adds to the “ugh, ouch” scenes where parts of the city is destroyed. Oh and the part where Kaji brings the gang out for a trip to a Marine Life Restoration Center also makes the world of Eva feel very post-apocalyptic as well.

Another is the accompaniment music pieces chosen for two important scenes of the movie. Firstly, Kyou no Hi ha Sayonara played during the destruction of Unit 03 was truly a mindfuck. On the other hand, Tsubasa wo Kudasai was a profound choice for the climax of the movie. On one hand, it was pretty awesome, on another hand, I felt it was rather LOLRANDOM. I had thought it was a weird the OST had those tracks in it, but now… yeah, I can see why.

I’d really like to rewatch the whole thing again, but the epic cockblocking censorship of the local screening copies don’t really make it worth it. Well, the Blu-Ray’s coming out in 2 months time! That’s an acceptable waiting time. Hoping to get an Asuka scene for the filmstrip this time.

©2010 Kurogane's Anime Blog. All Rights Reserved.

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Lots of good stuff to read this weekend: Here are parts three and four of Matt Thorn’s interview with Moto Hagio at The Comics Journal, and at the same site, Shaenon Garrity explains why Hagio is so awesome. At comiXology, Jason Thompson discusses why incest is such a common theme in manga, while at io9 he takes a look at the morality of action manga.

One more: When I read this article, by some guy who hates manga but didn’t totally hate Scott Pilgrim, I totally disregarded it. Kate Dacey, on the other hand, was inspired to offer a primer for the clueless on how to write about manga, even if it’s not your favorite medium. I certainly think that even if we don’t care much for superhero comics, most manga readers could come up with a more intelligent critique than “It’s in color and the pages are too big!” (Also, I may be going out on a limb here, but I have never regarded Scott Pilgrim as manga, and I don’t believe Bryan Lee O’Malley does, either.)

ICv2 has the February sales numbers from Diamond, which distributes comics and graphic novels to comics stores. Graphic novel sales were up a touch from this time last year, the first uptick since last March. Here’s their list of the top 300 graphic novels for the month featuring Naruto and Berserk in the top ten.

Wondering what to do this summer? Why not go for an internship at Tokyopop?

Here’s an interesting review of a San Diego restaurant that keeps manga around for its patrons.

Reviews: The Manga Moveable Feast continues with David Welsh’s look at vol. 10 of Emma. Other reviews of note:

Lissa Pattillo on 9th Sleep (Kuriousity)
Ed Sizemore on vols. 4-8 of Alive: The Final Evolution (Comics Worth Reading)
Chris Zimmerman on vol. 1 of Arata the Legend (cbs4.com)
Connie on vol. 3 of Astral Project (Slightly Biased Manga)
Michelle Smith on vol. 2 of Banana Fish (Soliloquy in Blue)
Shaenon Garrity on Blood Honey (About.com)
Julie Opipari on vol. 4 of B.O.D.Y. (Manga Maniac Cafe)
Sarah Boslaugh on vol. 1 of Bokurano Ours (PLAYBACK:stl)
Snow Wildsmith on vol. 1 of Dorohedoro (ICv2)
Carlo Santos on vol. 1 of Eureka Seven (omnibus) (ANN)
Sadie Mattox on GoGo Monster (Extremely Graphic)
Billy Aguiar on vol. 1 of Hanako and the Terror of Allegory (Prospero’s Manga)
Snow Wildsmith on vol. 1 of Hanako and the Terror of Allegory (ICv2)
Tangognat on vol. 13 of High School Debut (Tangognat)
Julie Opipari on vol. 1 of Loudest Whisper (Mania.com)
Lori Henderson on vol. 3 of Rin-ne (Manga Xanadu)
Snow Wildsmith on Ristorante Paradiso (ICv2)
Connie on vol. 6 of St. Dragon Girl (Slightly Biased Manga)
John Zakrzewski on vol. 1 of Samurai Harem (Mania.com)
Melinda Beasi on vol. 1 of Stepping on Roses (Manga Bookshelf)
Russell Williams on vol. 4 of Sunshine Sketch (Manga Jouhou)

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A rather solid episode this time, balancing character development and action.

I quite liked the owner of the Deviant Blade this episode, Tsuruga Meisai, since she’s pretty much the first sane owner of the swords that we’ve met so far. She had a genuinely good purpose in life and a tragic backstory, plus she was rather awesome as a character (like how she tried to use some “tactics” on Shichika on the eve of their battle), so I was rather sad that she had to die at the end of the episode.

But, as Shichika said, she was, alas, also “poisoned” by the sword and probably wouldn’t have gone on too well without it, so in a way it was a mercy killing by him. Well, I sure hope Togame makes sure their guarantees to her will be kept.

So far, those Maniwani guys are turning in to the generic small fry of the month and I really gotta say it’s a bit LOL after all the fuss about them in episode one. At least this month’s Maniwani wasn’t as annoying as last month’s backwards talker. Sabi Hakuhei’s catchphrase is really LOL no matter how many times I listen to it and next month is going to be about him. The preview sure looks promising on the action aspects, with rocks and islands getting sliced and diced.

Not much else to say about this episode, apart from Togame being rather cute when Shichika carried her, himesama-dakko-style up that 1000-step staircase.

©2010 Kurogane's Anime Blog. All Rights Reserved.

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And that's why they call me 'Tripod'

Summary:

Wait till her dad finds out that Shota took her cellphone virginity

The semester is coming to an end, although retards like Chizuru have to stay behind for remedial classes.  To cheer the dumb kids up and also the single kids, Shota announces a Christmas Eve party that everyone is invited to.  Sawako badly wants to go, and even pre-made Ayane and Chizuru’s gifts already.  Unfortunately, her obtuse doting dad is making such a big deal about the celebration that Sawako cannot bring herself to ask permission to go to the party.

Sawako tries to cheer herself up by making a cute hat for Shota, but her dad ends up hijacking and loving the hat for yet another parenting snafu.  As their party is coming to a close, Ayane and Chizuru call up Sawako’s landline and ask her to at least stop by for a bit, and her parents notice Sawako crying with frustration.  They finally realize what’s going on and relent, and before she leaves, Sawako gets a cell phone from her dad.  By the time Sawako arrives at the party, everyone else has left, but fortunately Shota waited for her.  He gives her a 4-leaf clover cell phone charm, and in return gets the stomach band that was originally supposed to go to Sawako’s dad.

Reaction:

Juiz, bring me Shota and a large bottle of massage lotion!

It felt so good to get away from Chizuru’s story that I was able to enjoy this episode in spite of the massive amounts of parenting incompetence.    Sawako’s dad is still trying to get Sawako to believe in Santa?  She didn’t have a cell phone before this episode?!  Of course, while I can understand Shota’s desire to get lucky, why in the world would he buy a cell phone charm for someone without a cell phone?  Was it supposed to be a hint?  These questions really bothered me throughout the episode!  Everyone knows he should have gone with Christmas lingerie!

Sawako’s dilemma was also extremely frustrating.  Why couldn’t she just spend the whole morning and afternoon with her family and then come back after an hour or two at the school party?  Who wants to spend that much time with her parents?  She’s not even in college, so why would her parents want to spend that much time with her?  The thing about it being her expected due date was dumb too, since 1 week late is not really that big a deal and remembering original due dates is like remembering your 3-month anniversary.  I also found it interesting that her super-concerned dad wouldn’t even give her a ride to the party?  It’s sad that all that trash-run training didn’t work out for Sawako, but maybe if she had some Yak-trax (they rock and you really can run in them) and some garbage bags, she would have made it on time.

©2010 Sea Slugs! Anime Blog. All Rights Reserved.

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Gardena, CA (3/11/10)- Digital Manga Publishing and Libre Shuppan are proud to announce the licensing of the Finder Series by Ayano Yamane! The Finder series has been one of the most heavily requested series from our readers, and has been considered by fans of the yaoi genre to be the quintessential yaoi title. From one of Japan’s top-selling yaoi mangaka, Ayano Yamane, DMP is proud to release the Finder series beginning with volume one in the summer of 2010 under the June’ imprint. For more information, news updates, and to keep on top of all things Finder, visit the Finder website at www.finderseries.com!

From our friends at Libre Shuppan:

We are pleased to announce that Kazuma Kodaka’s KIZUNA-絆- and Ayano Yamane’s Finder Series, both of which were previously licensed by Central Park Media, are now acquired by Digital Manga Publishing (DMP). For these series, all volumes will be newly translated and will be published under DMP’s June imprint. Finder Series is set to be released in Summer of 2010 and Kizuna is scheduled for September of 2010.

For further inquiries regarding this matter, feel free to contact us at rights@libre-pub.co.jp or Digital Manga Inc, at contact@emanga.com We would like to take this opportunity to thank you for reading our books and for your continued support.

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FINDER VOL. 1: TARGET IN THE VIEWFINDER, Rated M+ (for ages 18+), MSRP: $13.95, Available: SUMMER 2010, SIZE: B6, June’ Imprint

While out on assignment trying to document the illegal activities of the Japanese underworld, photographer Takaba crosses paths with the dark and mysterious leader Asami. Asami takes Takaba captive, in an attempt to subjugate and possess him. But when the son of the Chinese mafia enters demanding evidence that Takaba may have, will Takaba be able to survive being caught in the crosshairs of a deadly underworld feud?

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SAVOR A TASTY MANGA TREAT WITH NATSUME ONO’S RISTORANTE PARADISO
NEW FROM VIZ MEDIA

New VIZ Signature Release Comes From The Talented Creator of HOUSE OF FIVE LEAVES And not simple

San Francisco, CA, March 10, 2010 – VIZ Media, LLC (VIZ Media), one of the entertainment industry’s most innovative and comprehensive publishing, animation and licensing companies, has announced the release on March 16th of the manga -Natsume Ono’s RISTORANTE PARADISO. The story, a romance among the staff at a bistro in Rome, is offered in a single volume and will be published under the VIZ Signature imprint. RISTORANTE PARADISO is rated ‘T+’ for Older Teens and will carry an MSRP of $12.99 U.S. / $16.99 CAN.

At the age of 21, Nicoletta travels to Rome to find her mother, Olga, who abandoned her long ago. Nicoletta finds her at Casetta dell’Orso, a charming little restaurant owned by Olga’s husband. The staff of bespectacled gentlemen welcomes Nicoletta warmly, but Olga’s reception is not so pleasant. Olga has never told her husband that she had a child – and he must never know.

In exchange for Nicoletta’s playing “the daughter of an old friend,” Olga offers her a place to live and an apprenticeship at the restaurant. Nicoletta fits in well among the unique personalities at Casetta dell’Orso. She gets along particularly well with the kindly headwaiter, Claudio, a divorced man who, in spite of the many years, has still never removed his wedding ring. As Nicoletta’s feelings for Claudio become complicated, she finds a sympathetic ear in Olga, leading the estranged pair to form a friendship neither expected. But as they grow closer, the pressure of the secret they share may become too much to bear.

“Natsume Ono continues to push the manga genre in intriguing new directions with her minimalist art style and strong, character-driven stories that deliver surprising quirks and touching endings,” says Gonzalo Ferreyra, Vice President Sales & Marketing, VIZ Media. “Two of Ono’s other works, HOUSE OF FIVE LEAVES and not simple, both now available for free preview on SigIKKI.com, have garnered accolades from older readers looking for more sophisticated stories. Don’t miss the opportunity to explore the unique work of this very talented manga creator.”

Natsume Ono made her professional debut in 2003 with the web comic, LA QUINTA CAMERA, and subsequent works not simple, RISTORANTE PARADISO, and GENTE (a continuation of RISTORANTE PARADISO) have met with both critical and popular acclaim. In 2009, RISTORANTE PARADISO was adapted into an animated TV series. Her manga drama HOUSE OF FIVE LEAVES is currently published in Japan in IKKI magazine.

For more information on other VIZ Signature titles please visit www.VIZsignature.com.

Ristorante Paradiso © 2006 NATSUME ONO

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First up is Dorohedoro, a “gritty urban sci-fi/horror series” from Viz about Sorcerers who create animal-human mutants, and the alligator-headed man who hunts them. You can actually read most of the first volume on the Sigikki website right now. I went over and took a look—it’s interesting, that’s for sure. Not your run-of-the-mill manga. Read on for all the details, gory and otherwise.

VIZ MEDIA DEBUTS DOROHEDORO
A BATTLE BETWEEN DIABOLICAL SORCERERS AND THE MONSTERS THEY CREATED

San Francisco, CA, March 9, 2010 – VIZ Media, LLC (VIZ Media), one of the entertainment industry’s most innovative and comprehensive publishing, animation and licensing companies, will publish manga creator, Q Hayashida’s gritty urban sci-fi/horror series, DOROHEDORO on March 16th. The new series under the company’s VIZ Signature imprint, is rated ‘M’ for Mature Audiences and will carry and MSRP of $12.99 U.S. / $16.99 CAN.

In a city so dismal it’s known only as “the Hole,” an underground group of Sorcerers have been abducting people off the streets to use as guinea pigs for atrocious “experiments” in the black arts. In a dark alley, Nikaido found Caiman, a mutant man with a reptile head and a bad case of amnesia. To undo the spell, Nikaido and Caiman hunt and kill the Sorcerers in the Hole, hoping that eventually they’ll kill the right one. But when En, the head Sorcerer, gets word of a lizard-man slaughtering his people, he sends a crew of “cleaners” into the Hole, igniting a war between two worlds.

“DOROHEDORO blends bloody mutant action with the classic horror elements—zombies, demons, and ghosts—and an intricate postapocalyptic urban setting,” says Leyla Aker, Editorial Manager, VIZ Media. “At the same time, the characters are likable, the dialogue’s funny, and I think readers will be surprised by its charm.”

Manga creator Q Hayashida is known for her bold art style and the way she seamlessly integrates alternate universes into her stories. Hayashida made her manga debut with MAKEN X ANOTHER, which ran in Magazine Z in Japan and was subsequently adapted into a video game. She followed with a sequel, MAKEN X ANOTHER JACK. DOROHEDORO is her latest creation and is serialized in Shogakukan’s manga magazine IKKI and also featured on SigIKKI.com, the publication’s innovative online joint venture with VIZ Media.

For more information on SIGIKKI, please visit www.SigIKKI.com.

Cover art: DOROHEDORO © 2002 Q HAYASHIDA/Shogakukan

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