Sifting through the backlog.

The problem with working so much is that all the anime I accumulate lies dormant until the weekend, at which time I must plant my ass down and start withering the list down.
I polished off the final episodes of Innocent Venus today, as well as got through three more episodes of Nana.
Innocent Venus I felt ended nicely. Wasn't a mega-happy ending by any stretch, but it was, for lack of a better term, nice. I actually found it a bit inspirational. Overall the series wasn't bad. Definitely worth watching, but I doubt I would have bought the twelve episode series.
On the other hand, I'd love to see a full DVD treatment for Nana. I can't help but love that series. I find that stories that are character driven really find that loose hoop and hooks me. Nana's characters are certainly well rounded and I identify with all of them in some way or another. You'll never find me watching The View or anything of the sort, but give me a good chick anime series and I'm in. Call me a sap. I'm just in tune, man.

One last thing, I've compiled a list of series that I've decided to ignore, and let it slip by the radar. Because of hard drive limitations along with not wanting to get caught up in series that I find are crap or simply don't interest me, I actually ended up categorizing everything that's been coming down the pipe. If you're curious, the following is a list of things I am NOT watching:

• Tenpou Ibun Ayakashi Ayashi
• Negima
• Shounen Onmyouji
• Sumomo mo Momo mo
• Yamato Nadeshiko Shichi Henge (VERY, VERY, GAY)
• Candy Candy
• La Corda D'Oro
• Tenpo Ibun Ayakashi Ayashi
• Night Head Genesis
• Gintama
• Red Garden
• D.Gray Man

I hope this makes up for my lack of postage this week.

Technorati Tags: Anime, Innocent Venus, Nana, Otaku, Review

Almost through the guantlet.

Just a shorty.

Spent the majority of the weekend sifting through tons of downloaded fansubbed anime, playing guitar, downloading Chinese lessons, and drinking tea.
A new series of note in particular would be Kanon (the remake). Great looking series. Hooked me at the opening. It's pretty obvious where the game/series AIR got its influence from. Simply spectacular. I imagine this will get licensed pretty quick. Tokimeki Memorial and Death Note are also doing their part.
On a negative note, a series to stay away from would be Yamato Nadeshiko Shichi Henge. I say stay away from it, unless you're into man-love. GIVES-ME-SHUDDERS. But hey, if you're into that kind of thing, go to town.

So now I'm tired and require sleep before a long day of work tomorrow. Wokao.

Technorati Tags: Anime, Guitar, My Life

Two down, umpteengabilllion to go.

I was able to digest Nana 22 and Bakura Ga Ita 15 today. Not even close the the goals I had set for myself. I was hoping to get at least half my viewing itinerary completed, but so much for that.

Instead, I felt the compulsive need to pick up the guitar and play. Three hours later my fingertips are feeling pretty raw, but manageable. More importantly, I have a new song in my limited repertoire of songs I can play the chords for. Today I added the popular, "Hate Me" by Blue October. I'm trying to learn how to play Michael Bublé's "Home", but I'm a problem with F and Bm in that I CAN'T DO THEM. Other than that, it's all good.

So back to the anime, Nana was good. The series is great for grabbing at raw emotion. Sure it's a Josei series, but that's what makes it so good. If I had a faster iBook, I'd watch the Nana movie I downloaded. Unfortunately, it runs like a bad internet connection.

I'm kind of surprised that I've begun to enjoy Bakura ga Ita, though. A shojo series that will use a lot of stagnant backgrounds and is pretty weak on animation quality. I guess it's the not so predictable story that keeps it interesting.



So perhaps I'll get into a couple of shows before I go to bed. I'm getting pretty sleep as it is, and subtitles will probably knock me out completely, but it's worth a shot.

Technorati Tags: Anime, Bakura ga Ita, Guitar, My Life, Nana

I need to lock myself in a cave.

This will be pretty brief, as I'm rather tired. I've been such the busy boy as of late. Work sometimes has a habit of keeping me away from my beloved wife and iBook (not one in the same). It also keeps me away from watching all that I've downloaded. In total, there's a gauntlet of 28 episodes of various series' waiting to satiate the visual senses. Let's test my math skills. 28, multiplied by approximately 22 minutes a piece equals.. a heck of a lot (616 minutes which is also about 10.25 hours..eesht). Will I be reviewing them all for you? Not bloody likely. I'm not a machine. I'll give the highlights of what's cool though. That's all you can expect from me.

More tomorrow. Now it's sleepy time.

Technorati Tags: Anime, My Life

Too Old to be Otaku?

Some people will argue that you're never too old for anything. That sounds all too good in theory, but in reality the majority of us know that this is not true. There comes a point in time where it becomes harder and harder to fit in.
Maybe I'm just self conscious, but when I start surfing the user forums of various anime-related sites I feel like a freak. It's obvious with the topics at hand as well as the writing styles that the majority of the users are high school and college/university students. Here I am, 29 in less than a month, and I'm trying to hang out with the young-ins. It's kind of like that one guy in high school that never leaves; always coming in for a visit or participating in events related to his past scholastic institution. What kind of loser am I?
I find it all rather frustrating, as I feel my youth slowly slipping away and knowing that there's not a single god damned thing I can do about it. That's probably why I'm here. That's probably why I want to take part and join in on all the fun I used to have. I want to feel young, but every time I try and feel that much older. What a conundrum.

Technorati Tags: Anime, My Life, Old, Otaku

A Glance at Tokimeki Memorial

Good stuff. A precursor to what will be a sparkling initial review.

Riku Aoba arrives for his first day at his new school to find that things there aren't what some might consider normal. Imagine Furinkan High without the Anything Goes Martial Arts. This place is completely nuts.
After being awarded pink cat ears, the Student Council President, Sakurai, announces that the person to catch the one with the cat ears will receive Amamiya Sayuri's email address. An email so coveted that only the student council has it. If it isn't obvious, Amamiya-San is the one that is sought after by the entire school for her good looks, charm, and overall goodness. The only good thing for Riku is that if he gives his ears to Amamiya, Sakurai will give the email address to him instead.
With one episode under my belt, I can say that I'm enjoying the series so far. If you're a fan of Nakahara Kiyotaka's work (Tenchi Universe), then I'm sure you'll appreciate the designs. Plus, I'm pretty sure there will be a hint of fan service in the coming episodes, which is good for those who might be a little hard up.

Glance Rating: A Must See.

Technorati Tags: Anime, Review, Tokimeki Memorial

My g33k r00tz.

I enjoyed the Section-9 project. It started off back in 2001 along with two friends of mine basically as a blog and news portal. Now, five years later, all parties have new lives (ie. now married and far removed from college/university) and thus have different priorities. It's only natural that Section-9 would fall by the wayside. I don't regret it, as I'm still friends with all it's former members and will continue to be after the domain expires in December.
Now I have LRP, and I'm damned excited about it. It's always an interesting adventure when have to rebuild from scratch. Where my old website was becoming a bit of a chore and less of a hobby, this page gives me a new sense of purpose. It allows me the opportunity to talk and take part in something I love (anime.. duh), which is also a throwback to what I enjoyed during my high school and college years. Hell, I'm already getting myself psyched for Anime North and CN Anime in 2007. These will be my first cons since college, and I may even go cosplay-style; something of which I have NEVER done.
When you're working on a group project, you are somewhat limited in what you can do, especially when you don't necessarily share in the same hobbies. If I were to post about anime all the time on Section-9, it just wouldn't fit in with the motif. With LRP I'm free to immerse myself into whatever and share it with you. Feel lucky, punks.

Although I've been posting here for nearly a month, I still kind of feel the need to welcome you to my new home. I hope you enjoy it. The welcome is always out, and the door is always open to the Otaku inside.

Technorati Tags: Anime, Convention, Cosplay, My Life, Otaku

The Onslaught: Five New Anime 25-Word Impressions

I said I would, so here it is. The 525.

Angels Feather: Many gay men in one school. Not that there's anything wrong with that. Simply too gay for me. I need something wholesome. Fan service anyone?
Glance Rating: Forget it. (please, please forget it).

Death Note: Highlight of my night. Power to kill people by writing their name in a black book. Avoid passing this book to Kim Jong-Il or my sister-in-law.
Glance Rating: A Must See.

D.Grey Man: Souls become the machines of the devil. Why do exorcists where funny hats? Funny how killing undead is become rather en vogue. Ghosts aren't scary.
Glance Rating: Give it a chance.

Sasami Magical Girl Club: I used to like the Tenchi Universe. It all went to hell with Tenchi in Tokyo. Washu is not crazy enough. Designs don't look right.
Glance Rating: Forget it.

Crescent Love: Princess wants to live amongst commoners for peace between the Earth and Moon. Candidate for fan service and pretty funny. Will show them my moon.
Glance rating: A must see.

So now that those are out of the way, an additional two have been added to the cue. After Shounen Onmyouji, Chou Mashin Eiyuuden Wataru and Negima, you can add Asatte no Houkou and Tokimeki Memorial. Will it never end? Then again, I don't really want it to.

Technorati Tags: Angels Feather, Anime, Crescent Love, D.Gray-Man, Death Note, Review, Sasami Magical Girl Club

The Onslaught - Sweet Merciful Crap

I was actually a little bit late getting into the fan-sub BitTorrent scene. When I used to teach in China, I was able to find any number of pirated subs on DVD. There was the odd the odd BT I'd download, like Air for example. On the grand scale of things however, it just wasn't needed. Especially considering the quality of internet connections in that country. Eesht.
The past few months have been a different story altogether. Since my return to my homeland, I haven't been able to land that high paying job I once held before I left. That being said, fansubs are really my only anime recourse because I'm too poor to buy anything. The fall of 2006 is my first real onslaught of new series, and sweet merciful crap there are many. In the past week, I've seen the first episodes of:

• Black Blood Brothers
• Pumpkin Scissors
• Angels Feather (that series is so gay.. literally)
• Death Note
• D. Grey Man
• Sasami Magical Girl Club
• and Crescent Love

But that's not all. Currently sitting in my cue are Chou Mashin Eiyuuden Wataru and Shounen Onmyouji. I'm also waiting for Negima to finish downloading. Not everything I've downloaded has been enjoyable (namely Angels Feather and Sasami.. how disappointing), but overall the experience has been good. Over the next couple of days I'll do the Onslaught 25 words or less impressions for everything I've seen thus far. Also, if you're not careful, there also might be a Video Podcast.

Ladies and gentlemen, I'm back. How I've missed being otaku.

Technorati Tags: Anime, Bit Torrent, My Life, Otaku

A Glance at Pumpkin Scissors

It's three years after a war between empires has ended. During these three years the population has suffered through famine and poverty. Many old war-time veterans have resurfaced as gang leaders, forsaking their military background.
Some of the more recent military graduates have become Relief Soldiers and have been dispatched to various communities. Alice Malvin is the leader of her squad, known as Pumpkin Scissors. This lieutenant is somewhat of a go-getter looking for action, wanting to defend those around her from evil and tyranny.
After a brief encounter with a military gang boss, Grauwolf, Alice encounters another veteran by the name of Randal Orland. When what appeared to be a blank shot was fired from Grauwolf's tank, the local citizens become fatally ill and it's up to the Pumpkin Scissors to find the anti-thesis to this biological poison.
During their attack in search of the cure, Orland displays a mysterious power after he turns on a small lantern that he carries. Who is this guy, and why is he such a freak?

After an episodes introduction to the series, it seems like your average post-war chaos story of an unknown culture with strange technological mishmashes.

Glance Rating: "Give it a chance."

Other "Glance" ratings:
"A must see" and "Forget it."

Technorati Tags: Anime, Pumpkin Scissors, Review

Black Blood Brothers Mini Review: Episodes 1-4

It's time to get past the initial impressions now that I'm four episodes into the series.

Jirou is actually a vampire who's also a Vampire hunter. Ten years ago there was a bloodline of vampires called the Kowloon Child that spread vampirism like a disease. He worked with Company to help eradicate this line. A decade later it appears that this line is resurfacing, with the help of what appears to be an old Acquaintance of Jirou.
Although the first episode was rather humorous, the following episode seems to drop most of the funny stuff in favour of good story building, only to end the first story arc with more of it.

Jirou seems to be a likeable character, who despite his vampirism, seems to be rather polite, friendly and noble. His younger brother, Kotarou, is probably a yet-to-be revealed important piece to the overall story, though his actual purpose is yet to be determined. As with all "young" characters in anime stories, I wish he'd die. He bugs me and should face a horrible death.

For the most part, I'm enjoying this series. Not too grim, not too light. It seems to be the right mix.

Overall Rating: 7.5 - 10

Stay tuned for my initial impressions of Pumpkin Scissors.

Technorati Tags: Anime, Black Blood Brothers, Review

Black Blood Brothers: Initial Impressions

I just watched the first episode of Black Blood Brothers.
From what I can gather after the initial episode is that Vampires are heading to Yokohama as it is supposed to be some sort of Vampire sanctuary. The main character, Jirou, appears to be an über (does anyone still use that word) vampire of ancient origin. His "little brother" Kotarou is also accompanying him to Yokohama.


At first glance I thought this was going to be a toned down Vampire Hunter D / Hellsing knock off, but I was quickly proven wrong with a lot of physical humour in the form of immortals bashing each other around all slap-sticky like. Like with many other stories told in this medium, there are also layers of heartbreak and troubled past that follows the protagonists which will undoubtedly be played out later.
With one episode digested, I'm under the impression that it's worth the bandwidth to watch, but I doubt it'll reach a truly great status.

Technorati Tags: Anime, Bit Torrent, Black Blood Brothers, Review

My New Apartment on the Street

The heading is actually a reference to one of my favourite Sci-Fi novels. Two points to whoever guesses it correctly.

Although the rest of the world doesn't really know it yet, and by the rest of the world I mean about 15-20 people, my original site will be coming to an end shortly. That being said, I needed to find a new home and I have found it over here at Blogger. I could be in a better blogging situation, but this will certainly meet my needs for the time being. Welcome friends.

Being that I'm going to focus more towards Anime now, I should get to the actual meat of what I wanted to discuss today.
The fall season is now upon us, which means new shows and thus, new subs to download. There's a handful of series that I've recently downloaded that I have yet to dive into, along with a couple of new ones I just started downloading today. Those being D.Gray-Man and Pumpkin Scissors.
While I'm thankful that fansubs have become so prevalent since the onset of BitTorrent, I still can't help but wonder how much they effect sales in the North American market and exactly how much they hurt distributors. I'll be honest and say it's something I've considered trying to get into; especially since I read This Article in Forbes about the CEO of ADV. If I'm not going to make money of something because people are sharing it online for free, then obviously I won't want to.
I digress. I'll give the skinny on D.Gray-Man and Pumpkin Scissors later.

Technorati Tags: Anime, Bit Torrent, D.Gray-Man, Pumpkin Scissors

Funny Stuff.

As found on the Workopolis Website:

Shaver Poultry Breeding Farms is looking for a motivated individual to fill the position of CHICKEN SEXOR; specialized training (Chick Sexing School) 7-8 years of experience as Chick Sexor.

Please contact Mr. Tom Ikeda
phone 519-621-2220 or
fax resume to 519-621-9407.

I wanna ruffle some feathers.

Technorati Tags: Chicken, Funny, Sex