According to Anime Blog Muyo!, Funimation announced that it has licensed Kiddy Grade. This was one of those shows that I was kind of enh on at first, but by the end really enjoyed. If they do as good a job with it as they have Fruits Basket I'll be very happy.
After the 'more', notes on the first episode of Ultra Maniac, and episode 8 of Last Exile.
Ultra Maniac - Episode 1
Very light shoujo show about a high school girl named Nina who is a magician that isn't very good at magic and her best friend. The first episode was kind of fun, but I'm not sure that I'll watch more. It was your typical, girl casts spell that causes trouble and then casts another spell to fix trouble that causes more trouble kind of story. I will probably end up watching one or two more episodes, just to see if it gets any better.
Last Exile - Episode 8
A bit of an interlude after the action of the last few episodes. The ship is in for repairs and the crew unwinds with some gambling and a bit of a bar brawl. Not much of the overall story get's pushed along here (except for a bit of a cryptic conversation the captain of the Sylvania has). I'm still digging this show a lot. Oh yeah, and this episode had Chocobo races!
I've decided I'm going to play around a bit with writing episode reviews. Hopefully this way will let me hide them behind a link. There are most probably spoilers ahead.
Naruto 35 felt kind of like a bridge episode to me. It took us from the conflict of the last few episodes to a new level of conflict after a bit of a lull. We see the return of (name) from earlier episodes in this arc as he leads them closer to the tower. I'm still trying to figure out if he's a good guy or not. He seems it, but being a ninja it's hard to tell. Especially when this test is involved. He does give some good insight into how the test is taken. As I should expect by now there's lots of interesting ways to look at taking the test. While one might go through and just fight and kill all the enemies they run into, another might collect scrolls to use to bargain for help in a later test.
I kind of liked this episode, though it was definitely a bit slow compared to the last few. It looks like the next one we get a bit more of that Naruto shadow replication action. can't wait!
Gregory pointed me at the link to a translated manga Bleach.
I read the first three volumes licketysplit last night. It definitely feels like a Shonen Jump comic. Perfect for little boys to read. I enjoyed it very much.
It was weird reading it translated into English. It came across as being more juvenile than I think it may have if I were reading it in Japanese. I'm not really sure. Reading it translated also helped me realize that dialogue is pretty sparse and what an impact the illustrations have on if I like a series or not.
I was very impressed with the quality of the way the translation was applied to the pages of the comic. I don't know how good the translation is, but the writing flowed well.
I have an issue with subtitles in videos as well. They are great for getting meaning out of the dialogue but my eyes keep flicking towards them whether I want to read them or not.
I always fight with myself whether to get the Japanese DVDs for a video right away which is expensive but immediate, or wait for it to come out to the U.S. which would include subtitles and maybe extras, and best off all, much cheaper.
The times I have waited, my interest has petered out to the point that I don't usually pick up a U.S. version unless I had missed hearing/watching it during its Japanese release, or until after all the volumes come out and I can get it for a discount or I happen upon it at some store as an impulse buy. Guess I'm more the type that better strikes while the iron is hot.
I just got an email with the latest announcements from TechTV. They've got some cool shows lined up for the coming months. Starting on June 24th they've got The SoulTaker, then on July 16th, they've got GateKeepers 21, and July 28th they've got Boogiepop Phantom. Not bad, they're definitely showing some cool stuff. I haven't seen SoulTaker, but I've seen the other two and they're both quite good.
it is with great great GREAT joy that i announce MediaBlasters as of yet unofficially announced acquisition but listed via BestBuy and another etailer, one of the great anime of last year: Figure 17.
i personally am stoked. having seen the first two episodes knowing i would like it, i did. and not i get to have it on glorious r1 dvd. w00t! :D i highly recommend this anime to anyone and everyone, along with Brigadoon which MB is also releasing. one of the characteristics/traits of MB that i have always grudgingly admired is that they are willing to liscence the smaller, lesser known, less mainstream and thus slightly more risky titles.
~bows~ thank you, MB ^_^
now, as for the actual dvds, i expect a BOX along with a lovingly encoded anamorphic video on dvd9s with absolutely no noticeable layer change break.
A bit of blog admin stuff. Here. I believe I've successfully made it so that any new comments added will never link to a user's email address. Though I am still requiring them to post.
So it will work like this, if you include a url a link will be made for your name to that url. If there is no url and just an email address, only the name with no link to the email address will be displayed.
Thanks!
I can't remember if I've said much about this show. But, Last Exile is quickly becoming one of my favorites of this season. First off, it's a Gonzo show. For some reason I seem to like a good 90% of what they get involved with. This one started out a little slow though. The first two episodes were really kind of setup for everything else going on. As a result, not a lot was going on. But with the last few episodes things are getting a little more interesting. They are definitely not rushing the plot though, which is a good thing IMHO. Alvis also gets my vote for one of the cutest characters this season. They've done a really good job with the writing for her.
The other interesting thing with this show is that there is much noticeable computer animation in this show. For the most part though, it works. It isn't as jarring as I've seen it in other Gonzo shows. And this is another show with a great theme song. Very interesting sounds.
(I really need to stop posting this stuff to my real blog first by mistake.)
Just watched the first two Nanaka 6-17 and Tenshi Na Konamaiki.
Nanaka is under my line for wishing to continue. Cute enough, interesting premise, but just not enough intrigue for me. LOL I am taking this too seriously.
Tenshi Na Konamaiki?
GET IT!
WATCH IT!
ENJOY IT!
THIS ROCKS HARD!
I sat down and watched Narue no Sekai up to six. I like this one a lot. It at a level of cute cheap animation and story that does not go so deep for me to just veg out and enjoy very much. The bishoujo characters just keep coming!
The other series I watched is Kino no Tabi 1 & 2. My brother gave these to me thinking I would like them. I indeedy do. Same Director Ryutaro Nakamura as Lain and it shows. Based off of a novel series. I am noticing the "adventurer" archetype which the character Kino is. Prince Ashitaka from Mononoke Hime as well. Traveling around seeing the world but not judging. "Seeing with eyes unclouded" kind of stuff. Six novels, a PS2 game, one DVD, one CD so far announced/available for this series.
The world isn't beautiful, therefore it is beautiful.
I can't remember if I've posted about Scrapped Princess yet. This is another of the new shows this season. So far we're only up to episode five, but things are quite interesting so far. The story is about a young girl who is due to destroy the world when she turns 16. They haven't really been quite clear as to what that means exactly, but an oracle predicted it and supposed it will definitely come true.
The show itself has a nice feel, it moves between having comedic moments that are quite fun, and more serious, bittersweet moments. As is typical in many shows, there's much more to what's going on than meets the eye. I have some theories, but they are really only half theories because I don't have enough information. Hopefully, number six will come out soon!
Well, the good news is that someone has licensed Shaman King. The bad news is that it's 4kids are the ones who have it (along with Sonic X). This just about assure a dub only release (and probably cut). Someone needs to let these folks know how much they are annoying anime fans. I've only really just started watching Shaman King, but it's quite fun (even though definitely more kid oriented).
I haven't posted over here in a while, mostly because I haven't been sure what to post about. This morning I decided to post about a show I've been watching lately, Shaman King. Originally in Shonen Jump, this show is about Yoh Asakura, a young Shaman who is working to become the Shaman King. It's a fun little action/adventure show. Nothing too deep, but I've been having a lot of fun watching it. Oh yeah, and it's also a Hayashibara Megumi show, she's the seiyuu for Anna, Yoh's fiance.
If you're looking for something fun to watch I recommend highly. I wouldn't be surprised to see this show get picked up in the US for Cartoon Network or something similar.