Sunday, December 29, 2013

BLOG -- My "Christmas" Wishlist

Now this is more of a fun entry for me -- I don't expect anybody reading this to buy me anything. Some of the stuff is kinda rare, so... no. Maybe this would give some of you a better idea of what sort of things I like (besides the usual video games and anime, though there is some of that). Even though I call this a Christmas Wishlist, it isn't good for just Christmas; it's good for any gift-giving occasion! ;)



With that said, here it is:

Wednesday, December 18, 2013

Black Butler Review (English)

Remember a couple weeks back, in my Night Raid 1931 review, when I mentioned I hadn't seen Black Butler yet? Guess who finally watched decided to watch it?



Black Butler is an Action/Fantasy/Comedy series based on the ongoing manga by Yana Toboso and Square Enix, with Yen Press as the North American licensor. The 24 episode series, Black Butler, comes from A-1 Pictures and director Toshiya Shinohara for the Fall of 2008. It is currently licensed by FUNimation Entertainment (US), Manga Entertainment (UK), and Madman Entertainment (AUS). An additional 12 episodes and 6 OVAs of the series under the name Black Butler II were released over the course of a year beginning in the Summer of 2010. A-1 Pictures and director Hirofumi Ogura are masterminds behind this series. Black Butler II is licensed by the previously mentioned companies. The OVA episodes will not be covered in this review.

Tuesday, October 29, 2013

Clannad

Clannad is one of those shows that I love and hate at the same time because sometimes I feel like; OH MY GOD, THIS IS AMAZING! and other times I have a disappointing feeling like; really?



This show revolves around the lives of Tomoya and Nagisa (and an assortment of other people such as friends, family, and landlords) and I get that there supposed to be all "hormonal" with "impaired judgement" along withhaving "rough teenage lives" but some of the reasoning that goes on in their head really does not compute (in my opinion.If any of you found Clannad to be an emotionally powerful story I don't mean to say that that sounds silly.)

Tuesday, October 22, 2013

Ghost in the Shell

So I've written about my favorite anime TV show (Mushi-shi), I've written about my favorite manga series (Bleach), now I shall write about my favorite anime movie; Ghost in the Shell.



Not much can be said about this movie without revealing its plot, and the plot itself is so complicated I don't think I could properly describe it.I had to watch the movie three times before I understood its entire plot; there are many pieces to the story, and the film itself is not long so viewers really have to pay attention to every detail.

Tuesday, October 8, 2013

Death Note

This week's post will be about the anime show and manga series Death Note.



My favorite anime show and manga series has changed countless times over the years I've spent looking at all the available material, and even though my favorite anime series is Mushi-shi, and my favorite manga series is Bleach, Death Note vol. 1 is the best manga book I have ever read.

Saturday, October 5, 2013

Anime Review: Mushishi (2005-2006)

GENRE: adventure, drama, mystery, psychological, supernatural

RELEASE DATE: 2005-2006

EPISODES: 26

Tuesday, September 24, 2013

Mushi-shi

First, I'd like to say Netflix is being stupid because all anime on Netflix Watch Instantly is now in Japanese so anyone wanting to watch anime goodness on Netflix Watch Instantly has to read subtitles.Also, Sgt. Frog is no longer streamable for some reason beyond my own.But all is not lost, there's plenty of sites where you can stream all anime ever made for free.



This post is going to be about the best anime show ever; Mushi-shi!As always, I will try and refrain from giving too much story and detail away about the anime show, only giving a synopsis.Mushi-shi is a very ambiguous show in short.The main character's name is Ginko, no last name, and he is what is called a mushi master.To describe a mushi master, I must first describe mushi.Mushi in Japanese means insect and in Mushi-shi these beings, in their nature and existence, as a whole are not articulated in great depth, though the individual "species", if you will, are described in depth.The best characteristic I have found to describe all mushi are spirit animals.They dwell in an alternate world that coexists with ours, and their behavior is more instinctual than sentient.Mushi come in many different shapes, sizes, and colors, some fly, some crawl, some swim, some are parasitic, some are symbiotic, and some are just there.There are very few mushi that can actually talk, in fact I can only think of one.Now as for mushi masters, they are the equivalent of pest control, exclusively for mushi.They go around exterminating mushi that are infesting or bothering other citizens.Ginko on the other hand has a different approach.His angle on mushi is that if possible, there are better alternatives to killing mushi, however that is not always the case.

Wednesday, September 11, 2013

Mononoke Review

A while back, I reviewed Ayakashi: Classic Japanese Horror Tales. I mentioned that my favorite tale out of the three in the series was Bake Neko which featured a Medicine Seller as the main character. Well guess who ended up with their own series after that?



Mononoke is a 12 episode Mystery/Horror series based on it's predecessor Bake Neko from Ayakashi in 2006. Kenji Nakamura and Toei Animation return to helm this series and it aired during the Summer of 2007. A manga spin off was also released that same summer and was published by Square Enix. Sadly, as of this review, Mononoke has yet to be licensed and is not available for legal streaming.

Tuesday, September 10, 2013

When the Otaku in You Grows Up: Part 1

I spent much of early puberty soaking it up watching anime and playing video games, a reality my parents had to give into when they uprooted their only child from our old home in the suburbs where we had the security of a village and neighbors with kids. I actually had a childhood that I spent running around outdoors, learning to ride a bike, had grand (mis)adventures. But when we had to move to the city, the child who would be impossible to stay indoors was suddenly forced to stay put with no where to go, and no one to play with.



Guilt easily set in with my parents (mwehehehehehe) and I was suddenly granted my first gaming console, and exposure to cartoons from Japan (thanks to the local networks and Laserdisk rentals). Though I've watched some anime in the '80s, nothing really stuck to me in the way YuYuHakusho, Sailormoon, Slayers, Ranma 1/2 and a host of other titles did. I became an Otaku, a term that didn't exist back in the '90s here in the Philippines but best described me then.

Monday, August 26, 2013

RETURN Hard Version, Joukyou Monogatari, Gatchaman, Hakuoki First Chapter Kyoto Wild Dance, Space Battleship Yamato 2199 Chapter VI I: And Now the Warship Comes and Other Japanese Film Trailers

This week I thought I'd be a hero and try and get lots of reviews done as well as the Anime UK News Autumn Anime Preview Guide. I actually did achieve quite a bit of it by finishing the guide and most of the reviews. I finally finished up my reviews with and . gets released tomorrow. I also posted about all of the Japanese films taking part in the this year. I'll post about the autumn anime I'll be watching next week and take the rest of the week off to get some more reviews finished before starting a mini Kiyoshi Kurosawa season and following that up with a Takashi Ishii season.



What's released in Japan today? A lot of HK films including .

Sunday, August 25, 2013

Books of Blood: Thom Carnell ensures that No Flesh Shall Be Spared

Welcome fiends to one of my soon-to-be-continuing articles I'm entitling Books of Blood after Clive Barker, this is where I'm going to review all the gorey, bloody text to grace the page. First up only fittingly is another reprint from the ZomBcon files a review of thebook and then and interview with the author of No Flesh Shall Be Spared author, close personal friend and all around badass Thom Carnell.



Humans are a brutal species by nature and always have been; from the dawn of time when two monkeys clubbed each other over the heads with rocks, to the Roman coliseums where gladiators fought to the death for the Caesars' pleasure, to boxing wrestling and mixed martial arts. Even after mankind is nearly erased by the undead plague, the people need entertainment. Bill Hicks sums the need quite nicely in Revelations pondering about American Gladiators," 'Is Gladiators too violent? And what are we doing watching it? Is it really good for us to watch? Is it too violent?' NO! Fuck it! Give these guys chainsaws! Let them fuck each other up good. It's not violent enough. Let these fuckin' morons kill each other in that God Damn pit! ManI want to see a fuckin railway spike go through their eyeballs.They want to kill each other, I'm filming it!Like many zombie enthusiasts I have a penchant for liking sharp toys, the cover to Thom Carnell's book NO FLESH SHALL BE SPAREDcaught my eye almost immediately at last years ZomBcon. There's nothing like a giant bloody blade to catch the eye. Carnell would later sum up the novel to me as:"Gladiator meets Dawn of the Dead as seen through the eyes of [Legendary Japanese film director] Akira Kurosawa."The story starts with a careless truck-stop mother accidentally smothering the son she never wanted in her sleep. Thus the Apocalypse begins, not with a bang like everyone expected, but only with the tiniest whimper. She wakes up only to find junior has awakened from hisdirt nap and is chewing her to death.From there we fast forward to a world just barely recovered from the brink. The people need entertainment and the latest bloodsport from the Undead Fight League is just the thing. The game is quite simple: kill the zombies that come out of the turnstiles, stay alive and make it look good for TV. Our man Cleese is just our man for the job, having earned a reputation for clearing out hordes of zombies nothing with a bottle of Jack and a bat during the Apocalypse.His entry into the UFL is mentored by the older, grizzled cage-veteran Monk; whose job is to take the tough-talking wiseass and turn him into an economically viable trained killing machine before he can retire in peace. Monk teaches him all he knows, how to fight and how to utilize the weapons provided. When the cameras aren't on Cleese finds himself drawn to the mysterious woman ninja Chikara [Japanese for strength]. Except that just because the television cameras aren't on doesn't mean no one is watching.As his ratings begin to rise, he begins to notice that something's just not quite right. Cleese decides it's time to opt for early retirement. If he's not careful about he plays the game it might wind up being someone he cares about trying to tear his throat out on the sandy arena floor, that is if he can live long enough not to end up one of the losers coming out of the turnstiles.Really what's not to like about this book? Zombies, Gladiators, Samurai philosophy, guns, knives, swords! Even from the beginning of the story Carnell doesn't bullshit you, this is not going to be a happy story with a happy ending, Thom Carnell takes the term bloodsport to a whole new level and assures thatNo Flesh Shall Be Spared.Last year at ZomBcon I met a lot of awesome people with a lot of similar interests aside from the zombie genre. The leather-jacketed local horror journalist, author and cinemaphile extraordinaire Thom Carnell was definitely one of these people.Now almost a year later he and I finally go mano-a-mano and head to head in this epic t te- -t te that goes all 13 rounds that follows:

Saturday, August 24, 2013

Netflix Wins: North & South, Mushi-shi, Frasier, and The Life of Mammals

I've decided that I should try to put all my time in front of the TV to good use. Kind of. Maybe?

You see, I know how frustrating it is when you finish a decent series on Netflix and you just don't know where to go next. I watch a little bit of everything, so, hopefully, as I review four of my new favorites, I can help give you some new viewing ideas.

And, in return, you tell me some of yours! Yay for movies and series!!!

Friday, August 23, 2013

Mushi-Shi

SUMMARY



Mushi-Shi is an anime first aired in Japan on October 22, 2005 with the standard anime Season of 26 episodes. It's final episode was released June 18, 2006. It was originally a manga series written by Yuki Urushibara and published in Afternoon Magazine from 1999 till 2008 with a total of 10 volumes.

Matsuricon Welcomes the Flame Alchemist, Travis Willingham

Columbus, OH (July 19th, 2013): Matsuricon is proud to announce that the Flame Alchemist himself, Travis Willingham, is coming to Matsuricon!



Travis Willingham is known for his many popular roles in anime, video games, and original animation projects. You can now hear Travis as Thor in

Flowers of Evil Review

Well, the Spring season is over. I wanted to pick something to review like I did with Say I love you and Amnesia. It was really hard to find something to review out of the batch of shows that made it through my impressions. And this is the first that I've managed to follow all six of the passing shows to completion. I guess, this time around, I'll pick my favorite out of the bunch.



Flowers of Evil is a 13 episode Psychological Thriller/Drama based on the manga by Shunzo Oshimi and published by Kondasha. As of this review, the manga has yet to be licensed. The anime is from director Hiroshi Nagahama and Studio Zexcs, the same studio behind Mushi-Shi and Say I love you. As for Nagahama, previous work includes Mushi-Shi and Detroit Metal City. Flowers of Evil is currently licensed by Sentai Filmworks, but has yet to have a physical release.

Haibane Renmei

SUMMARY



First aired on the 9th of October and finishing on the 18th of December with 13 episodes. It was originally a series of comics started in 1998 by Yoshitoshi ABe, but the anime quickly overtook those and they have never been finished. The anime was also written by ABe though, so at least he was able to finish the story.

An Intro to Occult-driven Television and Anime

Can you tolerate the many quirks, stereotypes, conceits, and, let's be frank, the sexualization of young women in Asian animated series? If so then you may be amply rewarded by their matter-of-fact supernaturalism. The occult is EVERYWHERE in these series. It's a well-worn trope that stands nearly as tall as the monsters in Kaiju films (like Godzilla). If you want secret knowledge, forbidden spiritual powers, mystical or mythical creatures, then TV has definitely got you covered. How it all fits together? Well, I'll continue to explore that in the future here, but for now I just want to direct readers to a few worthwhile islands in this vast media ocean.



I should also note that I'm no expert on Japanese religions. I do appreciate Japan's cultural products- was the first television series that totally blew me away when I found it. As an scholar of American religion and religious theory, I'm always approaching this material for how it might be used to illustrate the way religion works. The differences between Japanese and Western products help me see how differently we treat the supernatural in our pop culture.

Thursday, July 18, 2013

Beginner's Guide to the World of Japanse Anime

Sorry about the huge gap between postings! I got distracted with other things and I didn't have anything that I thought was post worthy yet. But apparently I'm still on an anime kick. I thought of this post after talking to people and realizing that many people don't know much about anime. Since Japanese anime is an extensive category, many people get a little lost when they're first venturing into this genre. So this post is a guide for those who are interested in Japanese anime, but don't know much about it, or aren't sure where to start in watching anime. I'll be giving you a series of tips that will help you understand better the genre of Japanese anime and know what kind of shows you would be interested in watching. Here are the following tips when immersing yourself in the world of anime.



1. UNDERSTAND THE CULTURE OF ANIME

Wednesday, July 10, 2013

An Okay Way to Spend an Evening

So recently I've been spending a lot of time watching anime series. For the longest time I was against it. Why? I really have no idea. Until college I had seen a little Gundam through my siblings and some Pokemon when my parents weren't home. I got to college and that quickly changed.



My room mate at my first college was appalled that I had never seen any anime. So I decided to humor him and watch one. I selected Gundam SEED because I was familiar with Gundam and SEED itself was touted as one of the best by many. I watched SEED and SEED Destiny in two weeks. I was hooked. I watched mostly Gundam at first, but expanded my horizons over time.

FML…I mean…FMA

FMA. Fullmetal Alchemist. I'm late on the FMA boat but still taking the cruise.My best friend and I have decided to do a little 'anime club' where we pick a series we don't know about and watch five episodes of the series at a time per week.



Episodes 1-5 were our first endeavor in this 'project' of sorts and here is my recap, review and several thousand thoughts!

Thursday, July 4, 2013

Mushishi • L'Intégrale Blu-ray

RESUME EDITEUR : Ce ne sont ni des plantes, ni des animaux. Ils sont juste différents des autres formes de vie. Ce sont des formes primitives, connues seulement sous le nom de « mushi ». Peu de gens connaissent leur existence ou même leur véritable ...