Monday, December 30, 2013

[anime] Little Busters: Refrain

Finally, Little Busters! Refrain is achieved as anime. OVA were announced. Little are the happy about it.



Little Busters! is originally a Visual Novel from KEY, the company that wrote Clannad, Air, Kanon, Rewrite and Angel Beats (in addition of other titles..).

Sunday, December 29, 2013

New Premieres in TV: December 29th

SUNDAY, DECEMBER 29TH



SISTER WIVES, winter premiere at 9pm on TLC

Attack on Titan (manga, vol. 1) by Hajime Isayama, translated and adapted by Sheldon Drzka, lettered by Steve Wands

Attack on Titan is a DYSTOPIAN FANTASY series. I got this volume via interlibrary loan.



SYNOPSIS:

Winter Break

LISTENING TO: FIRST SNOW AND FIRST KISS - YOSEOB (B2ST) & DALMATION

FEELING: SICK BUT HAPPY

Not quite sneezing but I didn't have an emoticon for coughing out a lung for the past few days. It was pretty terrible during exams, but man, I'm glad that nightmare is over. Three exams in three straight days is exhausting! But now, onto the fun stuff!

The Best TV Shows Ever: Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood

* This is guest post written by Klara Zalokar



Although placing an anime next to renowned TV series such as The Sopranos, Breaking Bad and The Wire may seem a little childish; this particular one shiningly stands out of the awesomeness that is the anime universe.

Saturday, December 28, 2013

Random Thought (December 28, 2013 at 11:13PM)

Random Thought 568



Since Winter Anime Season 2014 is coming next week, I think it's the right time for me to reveal my picks this coming season. More than half of my picks are plainly based on my anticipation due to the fact that I am already familiar with their source material. The rest would be by thoroughly reading their synopsis and watching the PVs. Without further ado here is my potential but still tentative Winter 2014 watch list:

Friday, December 27, 2013

The 12 Days of Anime Day 11: Why Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood was the Best Show I've EVER Seen

I haven't seen too many anime, but out of the ones I have seen, Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood is by far the best. I was hesitant to start watching it mainly out of spite (Josh nagged me on a biweekly basis to watch it and drove me crazy), but I am SO glad that I finally caved and agreed to watch it with him. There are a million reasons why this show is the best thing ever, but unfortunately I don't feel like writing a novel of praise so I'll limit it to the one element I thought was the most successful: character development. This version of FMA was also based on the manga, which I thought was a definite improvement on the "original" FMA anime.



Here's a quick synopsis of the show, courtesy of MyAnimeList, for those of you who haven't seen it yet:

Thursday, December 26, 2013

Comentario 4

Pens es al atoires.



* Eliminating thoikh funerary cannibalism. Funerary cannibalism is actually an idea I find intriguing, and apparently the fact many human populations are resistant to suggests it was once a widespread practice. But the thoikh (all of whom are psychometers) cannot abide to be in the same room with Foucaultian transgressivists, so having them practice any kind of cannibalism weakens the theme. Also cannibalism is over-played (e.g. the Bosmer in Elder Scrolls, although how they can still join Namira's cannibal-cult when for them it's the worship of an Aedra is never explained), which is kinda a freaky little fact about our pop-culture.

Tuesday, December 24, 2013

Getting Hype for Space Dandy

It's the day before Christmas, and all through the house - blah blah blah, whatever. I'm more looking forward to next year and the premiere of Space Dandy on Toonami! And what's not to love? It's directed by Shinichiro Watanabe, who also directed Cowboy Bebop, and animated by Studio Bones, who is behind such series as Soul Eater, Fullmetal Alchemist, and Wolf's Rain.



Space Dandy may be the second coming of Cowboy Bebop, but it has an aesthetic all its own. It's shiny and slick and there's robots and spaceships and animal sidekicks and so much fan service. So much fan service.

Let It Be For Kids

There's some great children's media being produced these days. Cartoons may have been pushed out of Saturday mornings, but Nickelodeon, Cartoon Network, and Disney are still running new shows on television, and animated films regularly reap massive box office rewards. Heck, many of the biggest franchises these days are aimed at younger audiences, particularly in the fantasy-action genre. It's no wonder that many of these properties have attracted adult fans.



However, too often I've run across grown-up fans who try to justify watching "Adventure Time" or PIXAR movies by declaring that they're not really for kids. Many creators sneak in elements that only adults would pick up on and understand. Media has often been so rigidly segmented, that some viewers are convinced that anything that appeals to adults must be aimed at adults to some extent. However, there's a pretty big difference between something that appeals to grown-ups and something that is explicitly targeting them.

Monday, December 23, 2013

2013 Favorites: TV Shows

So as 2013 comes to a close, I just wanted to share my top TV shows that I was completely obsessed it.The genres range from historical fiction, to science fiction thrillers. As the winter break comes along for most people, I think it would be a great time to catch up or start a new show either online or on Netflix of Hulu. And now, let the list begin!

CWTV:

1) Reign

Sunday, December 22, 2013

Saturday, December 21, 2013

Friday, December 20, 2013

12 Days of Anime #6

For those who don't know, back when I worked at my last work-place, I realized I'm not watching enough anime, and that some shows I can only get through by watching one episode a day, rather than trying to marathon them, so for a couple of years during my lunch break I'd put on headphones and watch an episode as I ate my lunch. Also important to note, this was an open office environment.



Share this whenever you see someone doing the "duckface" un-ironically?

Thursday, December 19, 2013

Fullmetal Obsession

Remember how awhile ago when I did a post on my favorite animes? Definitely have a new favorite. Fullmetal Alchemist was a favorite to begin with, but for the past two days I've been watching Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood non stop. I'm already on season 3 (which is not normal). It's my new obsession, and it's much better than the original series. Brotherhood, from my understanding, is meant to follow the manga a lot more closely than the original series did.



If you've seen the original, then you know how it ends. I think everyone can agree that the ending was weird. I watched it a long time ago, so the major events and most of the story are lost to me, but I remember enough to see the similarities between the original and Brotherhood. I've never read the manga, so I can't talk about similarities and differences within Brotherhood when compared to it.

Blast Off into 2014 at the Same Time as Japan with Space Dandy on Animax Asia

Animax, Asia's first channel specializing in anime programming, is set to usher in 2014 with the brand new blockbuster anime TV series Space Dandy in January! As Animax's latest simulcast title, the fun, tongue-in-cheek and over-the-top show will debut across Asia as it airs in Japan!



Space Dandy is set to premiere on 5 January, airing on Sundays at 10pm (SG, MY, HK, PH, TW) / 9pm (JKT, TH) in a same-time-as-Japan simulcast, first and exclusively on Animax. In addition, Space Dandy will debut in India on the same day, at local primetime 10pm (IST) also on Animax.

Winter 2014 Anime Preview

Hey all, it's season preview time again - doesn't time fly!?Anyway this upcoming Winter season is surprisingly decent looking, which is a good thing since it's cold and I don't want to go outside.These days it feels like the quality shows are being more evenly spread out over the year, rather than being clustered into the Spring & Autumn seasons - those seasons are still bigger, but Summer & Winter are definitely much more packed now than they were in the past.Hopefully the trend continues!



Right on to the preview then~!
Issue #25

December 8, 2013

North Republic Industries

Year End Manga and Anime thoughts 2013

2013 was a year in which the Manga "fandom". For me became less of a part of my life not in giving up or burn out but simply that I don't bother to interact with others online or in real life out of a simple choice to want to be left alone or avoid the more toxic aspects of fandom (trolls, crazy super fans, and creepy perverts). I also buy less part of this is cold hard economics and it's partially I simply don't want to be "locked in" to buying a series I'm only mildly interested in or ambivalent about. Thankfully with the growth of legal online streaming I'm able to watch more Anime for free. As far as thoughts on Anime in general with a few major exceptions (Kill La Kill and Gallie Dona come to mind), Anime releases are very much part of a franchise either being adaptations of a light novel, Manga, or Visual Novel or a continuation of a previous season. Some of these aren't bad but it speaks to the lack of original content and most of them feel like generic re-treads of the same tired concepts except instead of being heavily based around Moe it's mostly Fan Service (this was especially true of The Fall season). As far as what was good in Anime it's debatable as is any kind of art sure there are shows I'm watching that are entertaining but ultimately inconsequential, or leave no impact like Infinite Straitos 2 which is simply a generic harem series with some okay mecha design and action. All the girls simply end up being one note stereotypes or archetypes, while Outbreak Company which from how it was being marketed sounded awful ended up being a pleasant surprise able to juggle real emotion and the some times pander heavy fan service that seems to be what is thought to make money these days. I also have to say that Gingitsune goes down as one of the better series I've seen this year although I watched very little during the summer and spring was depressing due to having to slog through a number of creepy fetishistic harem and light novel derivative titles. As Gingitsune, takes a very Japanese concept a young girl whois the heir to her family's shrine and can see the spirit guardian of the shrine a large grumpy fox named Gin with a fondness for Tangerines and makes it a sweet relateble series about growing up and coming to terms with life while also running a winsome thread of spirituality through it punctuated with slapstick comedy and honest morals to various episodes. Also Non Non No Biyori the spiritual successor to Barasui's Strawberry Marshmallow (in my opinion) holds a special place in my heart for capturing the feel of a real Moe series instead of the multiplicity of series that feel like they where done by committee or made specially just to sell merchandising. Also being produced by Studio Silver Link helps as they are one of my favorite Anime production companies and the only reason I even finished Oniai. As far as thing that where bad or "worst of's" most of the things that where truly bad or uninteresting I dropped the long stalled Blaz Blue Anime was indecipherable after three episodes and did nothing to counter the almost universally low opinion Anime adaptations of fighting games have in Anime fandom. It looked nice but the story seemed to be only a mishmash of references to a series of games I doubt most of the western audience has played while also having parts of it feel like fan service to the fans of the games as several characters seemed to appear just to do their "special move" than disappear. Other low lights include the Madoka Magica Spinoff Manga series which made me think that the reason we haven't seen a lot of really bad "Madoka clone" series the way we did with Neon Genesis Evangelion is because Madoka Partners is doing a fine enough job destroying their own brand with inferior spin offs that have none of the deep philosophical concepts or well written characterization of the original TV series while I have no interest in the movies even if the third movie is completely original the TV ending works just fine for me. Also I'd be remiss if I didn't mention Oreimo in my worst of as this is the best recent example of a series's ending ruining what could have been a interesting concept along with a turgid second season of the Anime that left a lot of people feeling as if they'd been tricked. The second season of Genshiken could also be added to my worst of simply because it goes nowhere and replaces the original cast with a almost completely new cast of characters who all seem the same while the Mangaka becomes progressively more obsessed with one new character to expense of everyone else. My three picks for best New Manga meanwhile are idiosyncratic and obviously not going to be what everyone considers the best but it's my list so their and it's in no particular order from best to worst or anything. #1 Monster Musume by Okayado: This title is simply put a harem series with Monster Girls I think it's one of the best new series out because it's just a harem title it's not trying to be an action series and a harem series or any kind of harem plus anything it's simply the story of a put upon guy who ends up with a bunch of cute monster girls living in his house it's a simple concept but it works and never feels as if it's trying to be more than what it is. #2. Watamote: This is the manga for anyone who hated High School or is tired of series like Kimi No Todeki that paint an unrealistic saccharine picture of High School or alternatively make it like this epic angst riddled struggle like Devil and Her Love Song. Focused around the failures and self deluded antics of Tomoko Kuroki a girl who thinks that everyone else is the problem to her becoming popular. It's alternatively one of the funniest series currently in print and one of the most depressing due to the presentation of Tomoko being so honest and unafraid to present her as an often vindictive and judgmental but ultimately extremely lonely and teenager which I'm sure more than accounts for her extreme popularity online as the ultimate "Anti-Moe" character while also hitting too close to home for some having to drop the series because of that. #3 Helter Skelter Fashion Unfriendly: I did an entire review explaining why I liked this, simply put it's not something you see released much it's a dark jaundiced view of humanity and most Manga that get released is simply escapist entertainment this is a work that goes deep into the ugliest parts of human nature for being that against the current grain of cutesy consumerism that Japan tries to palm off as "Cool Japan." I can't praise this series enough. 2014: Titles I'm looking forward to and trends I want to see die #1. Title: Arpeggio of Blue Steel: Originally serialized in Young King Ours (home to Trigun and Hellsing at one time) is a post apocalyptic Sci-Fi story based around the crew of a Submarine who battles the invading alien forces known as the Fleet of Fog the secret to their victory being that their sub is a former fleet of fog ship. Also all the Fleet of Fog ships have AI called Mental Models that take the form cute girls. When I first heard about this series I was instantly intrigued having watched the Anime now I really can't wait until June as this series seems to have an engrossing Sci-Fi plot mixed with epic military battles and a smattering of cute girl fan service in short it's got something for everyone along with an art style that looks all it's own. #2. Title: Strike Witches: Strike Witches is one of my favorite series the Anime's first season was near perfect and the second season despite some filler and an over abundance of fan service in some parts carried the story on while also feeling like a good way to end it. The manga had never really been on my radar until Seven Seas announced they had licensed the first series. Than subsequently several other titles, it's a great way for me to become reacquainted with the girls of the 401st while also getting a chance to have more stories on this great Mecha Musume series also, I'll be particularly interested in seeing the art style and character design. #3. Title: Say "I Love You": Licensed by Kodansha from their older teen Shojo/Josei magazine Dessert and due out in Spring of 2014, I came across it from watching the Anime adaptation which had wildly different opinions on it some thinking it was great others thinking it was terrible. I came away from it convinced that I had to read the Manga of it as it felt like a Manga for young women or older teens who had a brain and could actually think instead of simply regurgitating tired plot ideas and tired character archetypes. I think this could be the first Shojo title outside of Sailor Moon that I've actually liked putout by Kodansha as Missions of Love became too squicky after four volumes and Tokyo Mew Mew felt like Cash Grab: The Manga. Trends I want To See Die: #1. "Rapey" Romance and Supernatural Romance Titles: I know in a objective sense titles like this won't go away because they continue to sell as the Manga equivalent to bad bodice ripper fiction and it wouldn't bother me that much except all that seems to come out or sell briskly now as far as Shojo Manga is this type of stuff. In which a heroine has a guy pressuring her to have sex with him for whatever contrived reason. Or she's forced into some kind of "pact" or sham marriage with him for an equally contrived reason, and it ultimately feels like the audience is supposed to find the heroine either a ridiculous cipher they can feel superior to or is supposed to find the prospect of potential ravishment "Exciting" only further testifying to how sexually broken we are as a society this side of The Fall. Again it's more the amount of this kind thing instead of the fact that any of it gets put out at all that bothers me and at least with the release of titles Voice Over Academy it seems to at least be slowing down a little. #2. Moral Crusader Syndrome: This is the trend of people feeling that in the need to protect other people's children or in over reaction to their own child getting a hold of a Manga title that might be age inappropriate or something they wouldn't want them to read. They than try and ban all Manga or Graphic Novels this seems to happen every six month to a year like clock work from the woman in Florida who claimed her son was traumatized by a copy of Gantz and had to go into therapy because of it. Or the mother who wanted to ban Death Note because she felt it was wrong for middle school aged children to read. Thankfully groups like The Comic Book Legal Defense Fund exist to stem the tide of ridiculous parentaly motivated book banning and we can chuckle a little at these examples . But there's also the much more serious problem of governmental censorship in Canada (a country where you can not only be prosecuted for having Manga but also for speaking out against Homosexuality so at least their equal opportunity tyrants). Along with movements in Japan to have Lolicon declared hate speech by certain sectors of the Feminist movement or child pornography by traditionalist conservatives. Along with recent prosecutions such as the Brandon X case and the Handly case from 2009, I can only hope that in time people with "cooler heads" will realize that reading Manga won't turn you into a sexual predator and that a drawing of child is not a child. Best Reissue: Dance In The Vampire Bund Omnibus: Dance In The Vampire Bund is a series I love it's a mixture of solid action sometimes insightful character writing and a alternatively lush and epic, and hard boiled writing style. With the omnibus reissues the series get an oversized edition collecting three volumes per omnibus fixing the cramped style that detracted from the detail in the original individual volumes. Making for a much more satisfying reading when the epic battles of the latter half start, while also giving more for your money with three volumes per omnibus so it's also economical as well. I'm still a little amazed this sells and has sold as well as it does. Given the content I've even gone so far as saying this is the title I'm 90% sure would send me to prison if it fell in the wrong hands. I still can't help but sing the praises of this series for all the good in it and the omnibus only show why it's such a big seller for Seven Seas. Honorable and Dishonorable Mentions: Dishonorable Mentions: K-On! High school and College: These where the sort of sequels that continued on from the original four volume series from the beginning they where fraught with controversy, from angry Otaku worrying about their Wifu haveing her "purity" sullied in the College series to the uninteresting bland antics in the high school series and the degraded art. In the end both series ended at one collected volume each and except for completeists was promptly forgotten by almost every one it was a cynical cash grab and had none of the charm of the original which it's self is quickly heading into obscurity. Dragon Ball Z Ocean Dub DVD re release: Simply this is a repackaging of an old dub for the chance to get the money of old DBZ fans with more money than common sense. Of course Funimation is going to put it out because it's a guaranteed way to make money but it's still kind of an insult to the intelligence of fans I feel. Attack On Titan: After I read the first two Twilight novels I made a solemn vow to myself that I wouldn't get sucked into something because of the hype for this reason I've not watched the Anime adaptation of Attack on Titan and having read the first two volumes of the Manga I found it the equivalent of a series like Death Note where it conflates violence and shock value with maturity. I honestly don't have much to say except this is a series I passed on and my reasons for passing on it still stand Honorable Mentions: Silver Spoon Season One: The latest work by Fullmetal Alchemist Mangaka Hiromu Arakawa is a simple story of a city boy who transfers to a High School in Hokkaido only to find out it's a agricultural school and that he'll be forced to do hard labor on top of having to deal with the ethical implications of farming as well as animal slaughter for food. The Manga has been extremely successful in Japan (I don't know why Viz still hasn't licensed it), the Anime captures a story full of heart, courage, and an overall sunny Shonen vibe that's odd for a series serialized in the often more cerebral Shonen Sunday. Chronicles of the Going Home Club: Yes it's a "cute girls doing cute things" series but it captures a more off kilter Otaku feel to the genre as opposed to the "forced Moe" of series like Good Job Club with the girls feeling like actual characters while also making over the top beyond the impossible physical comedy some found it shrill I found it hilarious in the over the top nature of it and skewering of tropes and conventions along with the winking self awareness of it.
Full Post

The activated rift gold Fullmetal Alchemist charcoal

The activatedFullmetal Alchemist charcoal one of the a lot of accustomed shows in the Activity Network's Developed Bathe bloc, and those active and entertained by the exploits of the brothers Elric are in for a treat. The added bold based on the anime alternation lurks on the abreast horizon, and FullmetalAlchemist 2: Curse of the Blood-soaked Elixir looks like it will activity both a solid adventitious arc and an affluence of transmuting action. We've played through the aboriginal few accommodation of the game, and we've been adequate the tweaks developer Racjin has fabricated to the series' formula



Ed and Al abide their seek for the Philosopher's Stone. Ed is still short, and he's still bad-tempered about it

Toy showcase: Medicom Fullmetal Alchemist

It's not often an anime series has me hooked. I'm the sort that stubbornly sticks to a few favourites, but Fullmetal Alchemist ranks among my them. The figures I have are a lot of fun too.



One thing I've learned by now is that high end figures of this sort come with plenty of alternate hands. This is great for creating all sorts of poses and the figures are well articulated for hours of fun. Of course, these are high end collectibles so make that hours of careful fun.

REPLICA FULLMETAL ALCHEMIST POCKET WATCH REVIEW

REPLICA FULLMETAL ALCHEMIST POCKET WATCH



For those who want to cosplay in style, there is nothing better than investing in an accessory that won't break the bank and as Fullmetal Alchemist is one of the most popular anime series around.

2013: My Literary Journey

I look so ditzy in this picture.



At the beginning of this year I made myself a list of goals. I failed most of them. However, one of them was to take the Goodreads reading challenge, which is a feature on the aforementioned website where you challenge yourself to read a certain number of books in a year. I wasn't sure what number I should go with, as even though I own a great amount of books, I'm kind of a slow reader. My initial pick was 30 books, but at the last minute (being minutes ago) I changed it to 20, and realized I had actually already reached my goal! Is it an empty victory because I kind of rigged the system to fit my needs? No, because I still read 20 books, and just like on virtual pet sites, reading books increases your intelligence. Usually.

Top 10 Fire Users in Anime

This is a list of my top ten pyrokinetics in anime.This list will span over a number of anime and will not only include those who can control fire but those able to transform, generate, and absorb it.Please enjoy.



10.Rei Hino/Sailor Mars (Sailor Moon)

Top 10 Fire Users in Anime

This is a list of my top ten pyrokinetics in anime.This list will span over a number of anime and will not only include those who can control fire but those able to transform, generate, and absorb it.Please enjoy.



10.Rei Hino/Sailor Mars (Sailor Moon)

Sympathy For The Devil: PUELLA MAGI MADOKA MAGICA ~ REBELLION ~

PUELLA MAGI MADOKA MAGICA/ is one of those rare, beautiful times where popular culture has found a way to transcend itself; it took something unique to its medium, and managed to give its usual audience exactly what they asked for while simultaneously undercutting the very idea of it all. Originally a 12 episode TV series that aired in 2011, written by noted nihilist Gen UROBUCHI, and directed by Studio Shaft's most valuable madman, Akiyuki SHINBOU. The final result was a stunning, even shocking reminder that you can deliver a near-perfect piece of entertainment that finds a way to give audiences exactly what they want, despite also never giving them what they expect, and even reveling in how absurd their taste really might be.



The word "Deconstruction" is a dangerous one to throw around these days, with TV Tropes being able to get all up in your grill about what does and doesn't technically qualify as such, but if Watchmen was a deconstruction of costumed comic book vigilantes, if A Song of Ice and Fire was a deconstruction of impervious heroism in a fictionalized version of Medieval Europe, and if Cabin in the Woods was a deconstruction of the insatiable need for an audience to watch young people die for their own amusement, I think it's safe to call Madoka Magica a deconstruction of the Magical Girl subgenre, one which - alongside piloting giant transforming robots, being surrounded by a harem of partially-clothed beautiful women, and adolescents traveling the world without parental supervision, homework, or part time jobs to partake in fully legal dog fights with total strangers - has remained mostly, if not quite exclusively, within the domain of Japanese animation. For once, comparisons tothe 90s equally popular and upsetting Neon Genesis Evangelion and its brutal, self loathing vivisection of its own anime-infused genre are completely valid, perhaps even unavoidable... but unlike Shinji Ikari's journey of grotesque and traumatic self-discovery, Madoka Kaname's adventure never gets quite so far up its own ass that it ever stops being a show about the thing it was going out of its way to tear down in the first place.

(Update) it was the color of your hair

Long time no update. Things have been a bit hectic for me, particularly with my laptop getting stolen from my house on 11/27 which had a lot of my screencaps I was going to share eventually. Luckily it was only a small portion that I had left only on my laptop with the rest on my external HD. Here's a list of series that will be delayed because I have to do them again. Still adjusting to my new laptop, too.



LOST SCREENCAPS

Wednesday, December 18, 2013

The 12 Days of Christmas

I'll be the first to admit that the real reason I enjoy music from anime as much as I do is mostly because of it's use in anime. That's not a bad thing in my book. Realistically speaking, it's hard far an average person to develop a connection with music spoken in a completely foreign language. I'd love to actually be able to understand all the anime songs I listen to, beyond just the Engrish ones; but, if 3 years of high school Spanish taught me anything, it's that I'm very bad at learning second languages.



On rare occasions a spontaneous connection is possible. It might happen once or twice in an anime season (though not for this Fall 2013 season); I fall in love with a song the very first time I hear it, long before it becomes intertwined with the anime itself.

Top 100 Characters in Anime

It's about that time.As you all know I am an anime fanatic.I think anime expresses some of the most creative and innovative characters and stories that can be overly exaggerated at times but highly entertaining.It is only natural that I find characters whom I find interesting.



This is my list of a hundred characters in anime.Note: this list will not reflect completely from my top ten of a certain anime and that this list will not be in any specific order.This list may be updated, changed, or add to in the future.

Top 100 Characters in Anime

It's about that time.As you all know I am an anime fanatic.I think anime expresses some of the most creative and innovative characters and stories that can be overly exaggerated at times but highly entertaining.It is only natural that I find characters whom I find interesting.



This is my list of a hundred characters in anime.Note: this list will not reflect completely from my top ten of a certain anime and that this list will not be in any specific order.This list may be updated, changed, or add to in the future.

Just Released 'Spidey 2' International Trailer

The Latest Top Pop Culture News



Animation Magazine

Summer Wars

During the month of December this year, Cartoon Network's revived Toonami block has been broadcasting a different anime movie each week for their Month of Movies, the first being the critically-acclaimed , based on a manga series of the same name. Following Akira is another, similarly acclaimed feature, this one being a movie originally released in 2009 titled Summer Wars, the subject of this review. While I had not heard of this movie before, an ad I saw for it while watching Akira made the premise sound intriguing, so I became more interested in watching it, even after having already recorded it. While it is certainly a much different type of movie than Akira, I ended up actually liking Summer Wars, even though it has a few issues regarding the use of technology.

In the future, online communication has advanced to the point where a service called OZ was created, which handles nearly everything in everyday life. Kenji Koiso (Michael Sinterniklaas) and his friend Takashi Sakuma (Todd Haberkorn) are a couple of students who work part-time jobs as OZ moderators. As the two guys are working, a friend of theirs, a girl named Natsuki Shinohara (Brina Palencia), walks in and, while initially jealous of their jobs, wants to invite one of them on a trip to celebrate the 90th birthday of her great-grandmother; Kenji ends up being the one to go. On the way over there, Kenji, when asked, reveals that he almost represented Japan in a math competition, which surprises Natsuki. Once the two arrive at their destination, Natsuki lies to her great-grandmother, Sakae Jinnouchi (Pam Dougherty), that she and Kenji are in a relationship, which is something Kenji is forced to go along with. That night, after meeting the rest of Natsuki's family that showed up, Kenji receives an e-mail through OZ, revealed to be a long string of numbers. Unaware of its purpose, Kenji cracks the code, getting a foreboding response from the sender. The next day, OZ has been hacked and malfunctioning, putting the entire world at risk. Realizing what he had just done and the news branding him as a criminal, Kenji must now figure out who was behind hacking OZ and put a stop to it before things get really out of hand.

The plot of Summer Wars is actually really interesting. The film has a handful of sub-plots that nicely feed into each other without one taking up too much focus, all of them neatly coming together in the end. While there is a fake-romance angle present in the movie, a lot of the OZ plot can get really suspenseful, especially towards the end. The story also moves along at a fairly decent pace, with a good amount of character development given to the main cast, including some to many members of Natsuki's family. There is plenty of drama to go around in this story without making the atmosphere thick with it, but that doesn't mean the movie doesn't know when to lighten up, and at times a given scene can become very funny to help soften the mood. Overall, the story has a more light-hearted atmosphere than plenty of other animated movies, Akira included.

Something About Anime

Popular Anime in one



A good picture that summarizes anime is pretty hard to find without stepping on "landmines". It seriously took a long time to find a picture as good as this. Anyways, this post is about anime so what am I doing talking about pictures? I'm going to write how I discovered anime in the first place.

A Colorful Subject

For a long time now, the newest Disney film "Frozen" (which is an outstandingly brilliant animated movie, BTW) has created controversy over it's main cast pictured above. Namely that the four human characters are all very, very white. Social Justice Warriors of all kind all cried out "White privilege! Racial discrimination! No representation for People Of Color!" Of course, it's been pointed out that this is fairy tale based on a Danish story by Hans Christen Anderson, set in a Scandinavian area where the people there are typically...well, white. Now that the movie has come out and proven to be a phenomenal success both critically and domestically, the SJWs of course cannot stand to see the thing they'd hated on for so long doing so well: as if racism and white supremacy was being rewarded. So now they continue their claims of racism by pointing out that the people at the start of the film are clearly based on the Sami culture, the Sami being non-white folks. And yet they, particularly Kristoff (the guy next to the reindeer), are white in the movie. They claimed this was misrepresenting the Sami or outright stealing their culture to give to white characters. Now I would counter this claim with - people, Arendelle is a fictional kingdom. These people are not the Sami, even if their culture was loosely inspired by them. The fact is, Disney chose to make them look white. They didn't need to be, but they are. So I say we just let them look white and enjoy the damn movie.

Now this brings me to a bigger issue - while I don't get all the mass hysterical clamoring for "POC (People Of Color) representation" in things, I don't get the overuse of POC as a positive term, and I've begun to think "The Princess And The Frog" might have spoiled some people when it comes to race representation in Disney movies....I am fine with people of different races, ethnicity, cultures, and skin color than me, I loathe racism, I love diversity, and I am all for representation of many different kinds of people as possible if it can be done in a work. BUT really, a big rule about characters and characterization in stories that I believe in is that at the end of the day...we shouldn't give a crap about race. If racism and race issues are big themes in a story, then it's okay to really address the subject. But if not, then the focus should remain purely on the character's character. On what's inside this character, not outside. On who they are, not what they are and what race they belong to. A truly good character transcends race and gender and is just a strong character, period. That's why I find all the riot over "POC representation" in some story to be silly. Would there be a problem with changing Kristoff from white to dark skinned? Not at all.But the big question is: what about his actual character would that fix? What would changing his race do for his story and characterization and role in the plot? Absolutely nothing. And that's the point I'm trying to make. If he's a good enough character, it's not damaging that he be made not white, but at the same time it's equally not damaging that he IS white. The audience's focus should still be on the characters words and actions that come from who he is inside. That's how you can identify a solid character.

Need elaboration? Then let me discuss characters with whom it don't matter if they're black or white:

Friday, November 29, 2013

Anime VS Manga

If you haven't heard, all the cool people either watch anime, read manga or both.When it comes to manga and anime, I'm going to have to side with manga being the greater of the two.Of course anime has some advantages.It does add a sort of dimension with music, movement, sound, and color. I especially love it when I can identify one voice actor for a character of an anime to a character in another anime.Yet, there is one fatal flaw in more than a handful of anime though: story.I can't stand to see a great manga plot ruined when converted to the screen.



While being converted from page to screen, some story lines get some serious tweaks.I guess you could even go so far as to compare my Manga vs Anime to a Book vs Movie/Show type of discussion.If you've read My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult and then watched the movie, you know what I mean.I don't see why they would have messed with the original story.I guess the movie people (technical term) think, "If it ain't broke, fix it until it is."Honestly, I thought the book was every shade of better and they missed a chance to tell a great story to a wider audience since more people watch television than read books.

Thursday, November 28, 2013

Cosplay Trends 2011

It's pick a year and any convention season and with that come was a "cosplay trends".

The "Cosplay Trend" appears to find something to help both sunny and bad.

It's photography toasty when something gets popular, any more great actually do it, pick a cleaner the anime/game/mange found for uncertainness befits, any fresh it becomes.

Wednesday, November 27, 2013

Tuesday, November 26, 2013

T-McBee's Favourite Game Protagonists

Hey everyone! Here's the first written blog of T-McBee's Favourites, where I write a blog about a list of favourite things that doesn't go in any order from most to least or vis versa. Sometimes it is tough to do a top list of favourite things once in a while, so I'm going to name things that are close to my interests in anything.



On this list of T-McBee's Favourites, I'm going to briefly list down my favourite video game protagonists. Some may already know who my favourites are, but for those who don't know, here's a written list that will reveal it all. Keep in mind that these are my personal favourites, so if your favourites aren't shown here, please don't complain about it. You're welcome to mention your favourites by replying to this post or leaving a comment at itstailtime.net.

Multi-talented, Nana Mizuki

NANA MIZUKI

Native name:

Birth name:(KondNana)

Ed, Al, and Ciel

Hello world!

*Siiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiigh...* of course no one responded to my plea. I gave you people a whole week! I shall now just make the conclusion that I don't have any bros. Tear!

Anyways, I started thinking about what I would do since it was most likely my question would not be answered by Internet folk. I have decided that I'll try to put some of all three kinds of posts in each post. It would probs make everyone happy, especially me in the future.

Top 10 Anime Locations

Top 10 Anime Locations



Written by: ClayDragon and Shiggins

Since When Were Fanfics GOOD?

Hello world!



And Happy Halloween!... last week...

So You Want to Watch Anime? Part 1

People often ask me what they should watch if they want to get into anime or have watched only a couple of shows. Obviously, it pays to ask people what genres they like, as anime is just another sub-medium of television and TV, movie and book preferences are all valid. Some of the shows listed here are often noted to be aimed at people who are very knowledgeable about anime, but they are on the list because they stand on their own, and none of us are rookie media consumers.



This list is designed in part to present you with a variety of genres, so you could watch these shows in order to have a better place to start from when looking for additional material - based on what you like and don't like. Future posts will cover movies, and some more shows based on genres and themes. All posts will be organized .

Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood, Hellsing Ultimate

FULLMETAL ALCHEMIST BROTHERHOOD



Somanycharacters I am a huge fan of the original anime series Fullmetal Alchemist. It's a near-perfect vision of what anime should be. It has drama, humor, love, action, suspense, you name it, it has it. It was so good, in fact, I proclaimed it to be Something very common in anime is for a popular manga to be animated before it has concluded. This happened with the original Fullmetal Alchemist series. Once the animators hit episode 34, they had caught up to the manga. They then had to create a brand new ending to finish the series. Fast forwarding several years, the manga has been completed. Not wanting to miss any chance at milking a cash-cow, the series was remade, from the beginning, to tell the entire story. This, unfortunately, was a huge mistake. The first 34 episodes of the TV series (I don't know how many books of the manga it took) is compressed into a mere 13 episodes. The content is told in an extremely hurried fashion. While the previous series used these episodes to introduce us to the characters and to slowly build the drama, the new series rushes through everything so quickly it doesn't have a chance to breathe. "That's OK," I told myself. "On future rewatches I can watch the first 34 original TV series episodes, and then watch the new series starting at episode 14 to see the entire story."

NEW BOOKS ARRIVING WED NOVEMBER 13th!!!

ART BOOKS

*THIS WEEK'S HIGHLIGHTS!*

- Fans of the artist behind Criminal, Sleeper, Incognito & Fatale will want to get their hands on 'The Art of Sean Phillips' featuring personally selected works from his career!

Girl power rocks out with Scandal

Scandal

Origin:Osaka, Japan

Genres:Pop rock

Successful rock band, L'Arc-en-Ciel

L'Arc-en-Ciel

Origin:Osaka, Japan

Genres:Pop rock, alternative rock, post-punk (early)

My Mom's Back!

Hello world!



Yep, after almost 2weeks, she is back. I know, I didn't mention it before, but my post was already long enough...

Just Some Biz That Happened This Week

Hai world! (thanks to Broranges, I've gotten into the habit of writing 'hai' and 'bai' a lot)



So a friend of mine, who I've seen before but never actually talked to face to face, has been my e-mail pen pal for a while now. Something we discuss is anime and manga, and also we talked a little about fanfics. She told me that she was writing one, and I said the same back. However, don't remember if I've mentioned it, now the setting and stuff is all wacko in my story. I told her that, but she insisted that I at least give her a little piece of it, so I gave her the very first chapter. She told me that she's hooked! So it's already boosted my confidence, although it's still gonna be a while before I edit my book enough to give her more.

Toonami November News Recap

The Clydes are back! Oh, and we got some new stuff coming soon.



COMING JANUARY // NARUTO SHIPPUDEN
Issue #23

November 17, 2013

North Republic Industries

Vic Mignogna

Sorry for the delay! Expect another post Sunday evening!



This week, I'll be talking about a legend of the anime industry.

Het Couples I Support

Just like the Yaoi and Yuri Couples I Support post, this will be updated now and then as I remember. I am doing this out of not knowing what to post next. All that was mentioned on the aforementioned post will be the same here.



Just because it's a longer list than the yaoi/yuri pairings list doesn't make it less that I support them. Just because there are some from various works listed doesn't mean I support the rest; I could mean I don't remember whether or not I support them or their names.

Sunday, November 3, 2013

Cartoonified

For those who follow me on , you might know that for the month of September, I did a 30 Day Character Challenge. For each day, there was a specific character to draw, and I did most of them digitally. Here are some of my favorites!

This is Edward Elric from the anime series, Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood. I did him for "the funniest character" because I love his sudden outbursts when people make fun of his height. This is Leo from Rick Riordan's Heroes of Olympus series. I drew him for "the hottest character" because he literally is flaming, being the son of Hephaestus!This is Chihiro from Studio Ghibli's Spirited Away. I decided to draw her for "a character from a previous favorite fandom." This year, it was sadly announced that Hayao Miyazaki, the founder of Studio Ghibli, wold be retiring. He is such a great inspiration to me and his films will always be my favorites!When talking about "a character who acts like you," it is none other than Mabel Pines of Gravity Falls who comes to my mind. She is so quirky, talkative, creative, and weird. I just see so much of myself in her!Who are these four characters? Well they are Aang, Katara, Toph, and Sokka; better known as the Gaang! I drew them for "a group of characters most like you and your friends" because they all have their differences, but together, they make one kickbutt team!Lastly, this is Vanellope von Schweetz from Disney's Wreck-It-Ralph. I drew her for "a character who makes you cry when they cry." My heart absolutely broke when Ralph destroyed her go-kart. You could see how much she really wanted to race, and all the hurt in her eyes. *sobs*

I'm very proud of these digital artworks. I'm trying my best to practice more with them while still practicing my traditional art. What do you guys think?

Ace Attorney

At the same time that the upcoming crossover with Professor Layton was being developed with Shu Takumi himself writing the story, Takeshi Yamazaki(Writer and Director of the Investigations spinoff duology) took it upon himself to create the fifth entry in the series. Yamazaki proves with this one that he is the right man to take over for Takumi. Let's take a look:



The Story:

Saturday, November 2, 2013

First Impressions: Gundam Build Fighters, Unbreakable Machine Doll

Mate, listen. Just because I'm an otaku pig who loves moe/ecchi pandering garbage doesn't mean that I think that all efforts at pandering are equal. I look upon your feeble attempts to satisfy my shallow kinks and I laugh. And for the record, your character design sucks.



I'll start this first impressions post with UNBREAKABLE MACHINE DOLL. I'd been looking forward to this show because it seemed like it would have some interesting world-building concepts. The cute girl on the promotional art had nothing to do with it, naturally. As it turned out, she was annoying, and almost every single aspect of this premiere was bland and uninteresting.

Friday, November 1, 2013

36. Fullmetal Alchemist: The Sacred Star of Milos

Today marks post # 36, which leaves 14 more to go. Happy first day of November, everybody!! We're only 22 DAYS AWAY FROM THE 50TH ANNIVERSARY OF DOCTOR WHO!!! AAAGGGHHH!! THE MONTH HAS FINALLY ARRIVED!! I can hardly contain my excitement! The big day is circled in blue on my calendar. :3



Okay! I'm really excited to talk about this movie post! It's a movie from a fandom that hasn't been mentioned yet on this blog, but that will soon be put to rights. Today's movie post is Fullmetal Alchemist: The Sacred Star of Milos.

Hot Fullmetal Alchemist Cosplay Is Top Listed

Browsing astonishing FullMetal Alchemist Cosplay from the attached sites, you can discover different superb Cosplayers to portray and personate the mythical protagonists from anime and manga in all kinds of global convention. Though I am a big fan of the manga, I still can (tm)t reveal too many excellent cosplayers easily. Japanese moviegoers who see next month's live-action Thermae Romae film will receive a "special edition" of the manga, while supplies last. Mari Yamazaki, the original creator of the time-traveling comedy manga, drew the special edition bonus herself. Starting on the movie's opening day (April 28), 1 million copies of the special edition manga will be given away. A similar manga present promotion was held for One Piece Film Strong World in 2009 and for the Fullmetal Alchemist: The Sacred Star of Milos film last year.



Fullmetal Alchemist is a worldwide famous manga and anime series written and illustrated by Hiromu Arakawa, so I suppose there is no need to talk more about its story. The simultaneous comparable Axis Powers Hetalia Cosplay hit the manga top list with it.

Thursday, October 31, 2013

Na, na, na, na, Here at the Con

At the end of this week I plan on attending an anime convention on Detroit called Youmacon.It will be held at the Detroit Ren Cen and Cobo Hotel with a lot of panels and plenty of guests.It'll be my first convention I won't see Vic Mignogna at, but this will give me the chance to focus on other guests.



The guests I'm most excited for are:
Issue #22

October 31, 2013

North Republic Industries

My Art Inspiration

I haven't always been into drawing, but I always loved art class. A few years ago I was really inspired by my friends to start drawing on my own time. They all had beautiful drawings of people and outfits that they had made up completely on their own and I really wanted to learn how to do that. So during history class I started doodling some characters from Avatar the Last Airbender, a cartoon that I was really into at the time. They were so bad I can't even tell you, everything was out of proportion and the only thing that even remotely looked good was the eyes which I had learned how to do by looking at a picture of one of the characters eyes. I didn't realize that looking at the picture really helped until later. My art teacher when I spent my year in Italy really helped me as well. Every week we had to do a drawing of something different, of course it was assigned but it was loose so you could still have options of what you wanted to draw. This really helped me with more than I can say.



The next year when I had gone to a new school I started copying pictures of characters that I liked from animated movies and cartoons. I enjoyed doing it and had gotten compliments on some of my drawings as well. During the year Art was my absolute favorite class of all time. It was one of the rare classes that had all of my friends and we did so many things in class that improved my techniques for my drawings. I don't think I would be nearly as good as I am now without my teacher's help. I would always go to him for advice on my drawings and he was always more than happy to help. I've learned so much from him I will never be able to thank him enough. :)

5 Badass Anime Characters Part 5

5. ALLEN WALKER (D.GRAY-MAN)



ALLEN WALKER IS THE MAIN PROTAGONIST AND A REFERENCE TO THE SERIES D.GRAY-MAN. ALLEN IS A FORMER EXORCIST AND A MEMBER OF THE EUROPEAN BRANCH OF THE BLACK ORDER WHICH HE IS NOW SEEN AND CLASSIFIED BY THEM AS A NOAH. HE IS ALSO CURRENTLY THE CURRENT HOST OF THE FORMER NOAH, NEA WALKER. HE IS THE ADOPTIVE SON OF MANA WALKER, THE ELDER BROTHER OF NEA WALKER AND NEA IS ALLEN\'S ADOPTIVE UNCLE. ALLEN WAS ALSO THE FORMER APPRENTICE OF THE EXORCIST GENERAL, CROSS MARIAN. ALLEN HAS MOSTLY BEEN SEEN WITH TIMCANPY ON HIS SIDE.

Alphonse Elric, How to Draw

I have not so recently gotten into this anime series called Fullmetal Alchemist. It is an amazing show about these two little boys who loose their mother to a disease and try to bring her back to life using alchemy. Which is the ultimate taboo for alchemists. "Alchemy is the art of deconstructing and reconstructing matter, in order to obtain something something of equal value must be lost. Therefore human transmutation is a taboo among all alchemists. For what could equal the value of a human soul." as said in the intro episode. Needless to say they failed and created this monster and in doing so the older brother Edward (Ed) lost his leg, and the younger brother Alphonse (Al) lost his entire body. In trying to bring his brother back Ed bonded Al's soul to a suit of armor costing him his arm. After this tragedy Ed gets automail for an arm and leg so he can walk again. His plan is to join the military in order to get restricted information in hopes of getting their original bodies back.



Now I feel like Al doesn't get enough credit in this show at points so I'm only going to do the tutorial on him. This is a picture of them before they lost their bodies. Here is the picture I drew.

Tuesday, October 29, 2013

Animes i have seen

All the anime/manga i have watched/ read. Okay this won't be exact because i have watched and read A LOT of different series so this is me trying to remember



* Bleach

Monday, October 28, 2013

"Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood"

I've tried to watch this show a few times, but never got past a few episodes.I think the idea of watching a long show like this was a bit daunting.But I had some time off recently and thus decided to try it again.I managed to watch the show on Netflix, reaching episode 52, thinking, wow how is this going to end so fast?Then I realized there was another season of 12 episodes that Netflix doesn't carry.I tried to watch on Hulu, but alas, I really hate Hulu (all the commercials) and I wasn't going to go the subtitle route (only subs available for last 12 eps) since I had already watched the 52 episodes on Netflix dubbed.I broke down and got a Funimation elite subscription just to finish the series.There are two main plots.Edward and Al try to bring back their mother from the dead using alchemy.Of course it's a big fail and Al loses his body and Ed loses an arm and leg in the process.Al's soul is trapped in suit of armor and Ed has to use prosthetic arm and leg.They join the military as state alchemists in order to find a philosopher's stone which may help the regain their bodies.In addition to Edward and Al looking to find the stone, there is also a compelling military and political storyline involving a decades-long plot for world domination.I really enjoyed watching this complex and complete story.The multiple characters, each of which has their own back story, are likable, even some of the bad guys. Edward, Al, Winry, Roy, Hawkeye, Alex, Olivier, and the evil crew of almost immortal homunculi were extremely well characterized.The action scenes were well animated.The alchemy battles were cool and sometimes even a bit horrifying (especially when Roy used his snap flame alchemy).I liked how the state alchemists had ethical dilemmas in regards to their roles in the Ishvallan war.The never-give-up attitude and bonds of friendship and family lay the moral foundation for this complete story.The end actually has an end, thanks to the fact that it's based on a completed manga.I also tried watching the first "Fullmetal Alchemist" but never finished that either.I have read that it is also good and deviates from the manga unlike "Brotherhood" so I will try to watch it again sometime.Thumbs up for the epic movie-ish background music and catchy opening and ending theme songs.In conclusion, it's a compelling, entertaining, emotional action anime that I wholeheartedly recommend.Will we ever see anything as ambitious and successful as this?I hope so.
Full Post

Top 10 Anime Weapons

Top 10 Anime Weapons



Written by: ClayDragon and Shiggins

Anime Hype: Space Dandy Dubbed For Toonami Starts January

Space Dandy, the anime from the same team that brought you Cowboy Bebop is going to start broadcast already dubbed in English starting in January on Toonami. That might be the fastest I've heard of anime being dubbed for an English audience, the show will be coming out on Japanese TV at the same time. No voice cast infohas been released yet, but no doubt Steve Blum is somehow on board. Funimation is the US distributor of the series.



Synopsis:Space Dandy is a dandy in space! This dreamy adventurer with a to-die-for pompadour travels across the galaxy in search of aliens no one has ever laid eyes on. Each new species he discovers earns him a hefty reward, but this dandy has to be quick on his feet because it's first come - first served! Accompanied by his sidekicks, a rundown robot named QT and Meow the cat-looking space alien, Dandy bravely explores unknown worlds inhabited by a variety aliens. Join the best dressed alien hunter in all of space and time as he embarks on an adventure that ends at the edge of the universe!*About "Space Dandy":Get ready to blast off with Space Dandy, a dazzling new anime from the entire creative team behind Cowboy Bebop! General Director: Shinichiro Watanabe ("Cowboy Bebop", and "Samurai Champloo"), Director: Shingo Natsume ("Fullmetal Alchemist: The Sacred Star of Milos"), Screenplay: Kimiko Ueno (Movie "Crayon Shin-chan"), Dai Sato ("Cowboy Bebop", "Eureka Seven"), Keiko Nobumoto ("Cowboy Bebop", "Wolf's Rain") and many others, Character Design: Yoshiyuki Ito ("Star Driver"), Spaceship Design: Thomas Romain (Satelight) ("Basquash!"), Theme Song: Yasuyuki Okamura. Animation Production: Bones Inc. ("Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood", "Soul Eater", "Eureka Seven AO").

Ravishing and Virtual Fullmetal Alchemist Cosplay to Participate in

Contemporary, the convention for Fullmetal Alchemist cosplay will celebrate in Birmingham as the astonishing news for enthusiasts and fans that are into it. ACTORS Vic Mignogna and Aaron Dismuke, best known for voicing Ed and Al Elric in hit anime Fullmetal Alchemist, have been announced as special guests at the MCM Birmingham Comic Con. The manga was serialized in Square Enix's Monthly Shnen Gangan magazine and was collected in 27 tankbon volumes, which was adapted into an animated television series of 51 plots by Bones, later followed by a film sequel that concluded the story of the anime. A collectible card game, multiple supplementary books, and a variety of action figures and other merchandise based on the characters of the series have also been released.



Aaron and Vic will be meeting fans at the MCM Birmingham Comic Con on the weekend of March 31 to April 1. Really can (tm)t wait to watch Fullmetal Alchemist Cosplay at the thrilling day, huh? The brand new Birmingham Comic Con will run alongside the long-established Memorabilia show at the NEC. Ticket holders for either event will have access to the other show free of charge.

Saturday, October 26, 2013

So I'm trying out this new WordPress app on Windows 8

And its AMAZING. I love how it takes up all the screen space so theres no disturbance. Praise for undisturbed writing.



Speaking of writing, goddamn I miss this. I was actually telling myself a while ago that I didn't feel like writing today, and yet here I am and WOW I love writing, even if its just rambles.

Friday, October 25, 2013

REVIEW: Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood

So I've been wanting to watch this anime for a really long time. Ever since high school to be precise. All my friends and relatives-well one cousin-have been raving about how amazing it is and that I SHOULD DEFINITELY WATCH IT SDFHSDLKJHFSALKDJFHASLKDJHFSLKH. And so I did. I just finished it a while ago. And this anime cannot be described with just a single emotion.



Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood revolves around the lives of two brothers Edward and Alphonse Elric and their experiences with alchemy. Thats if you want the sugar coated overly simplified version of it, because it doesn't just stop there. FMA is a complex web of events and themes that make it seem blashpemous (yes blasphemous) yet overwhelmingly amazing at the same time.

2013: It's Fall now! #2 Ren faire!

The weekend of September 14th I headed up to Ramapo for the the annual Renaissance Faire in Tuxedo NY! My college friends have been going for the past 4 years, and I was never able to go until the year I am out of school! So I left after work and spent the night in their dorm. It felt good to back among those friends, and the dorm life that I actually kind of miss! I had a great college experience full of fond memories and hilarious times we spent together. It was good to be back with them for a night and day spent at the faire!



It was my first Ren Faire, it was overwhelming and awesome! Next year I want to dress up!

Weekly wrap up #84

Hi guys!



Here's my weekly wrap up:

Thursday, October 24, 2013

Top 10 Anime TV Series

ANIMATION - TOP 10 ANIME TV SERIES



SIMPSONS QUOTE:

Medicom Fullmetal Alchemist: Edward Real Action Heroes Figure

Imported from Japan. Medicom's "Real Action Hero" line is a world-renowned series of high-end collector's edition, 1/6th scale action figures, featuring some of the most poseable and realistic bodies ever created, all wrapped in top-quality costumes made with the finest materials and workmanship. Fullmetal Alchemist (and its follow-up, Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood) is a hit on Cartoon Network's Adult Swim and a best-selling manga from Viz. Now the characters of the series are brought to life as part of Medicom's RAH figure line -- brothers Edward and Alphonse Elric. Each figure stands 12" tall and features a detailed costume based on the anime.



* Imported from Japan

Wednesday, October 23, 2013

Future of the Shounen Battle/Action/Adventure Genre

I'm sure by now, most of you are familiar with this subsection of anime and manga. I know that shounen is a demographic which is aimed at boys, but over here in the United States it is often inadvertently identified as a genre for a large list of series which share similar characteristics. I tend to usually identify these series as Jump series since most of the titles people readily identify as shounen come from Jump, but in this article I'm going to have to broaden my explanation as their are other series such as Fairy Tail outside of that magazine that use the same formula. Typically, I would tend to define these series as being an action adventure series or a battle manga, but for the sake of this article, I'm going to be politically incorrect and classify these series as just "shounen" so everyone knows what I am talking about.

Now on to the content of this article.What is the future of shounen manga and anime? When most of us (at least in the United States) think of the classic anime that have withstood the test of time, most of them were in fact the battle shounens. When most people are asked what anime are considered "classics" or "must sees" many, if not all of these lists will include series such as: Dragon Ball, Hokuto no Ken, Saint Seiya,, Yu Yu Hakusho, and Rurouni Kenshin (I know that there are other technical shounen series such as Slam Dunk, but I'm focusing on the subsection like Dragon Ball that the American audience readily identifies as shounen).


Random Thought (October 20, 2013 at 08:50PM)

Random Thought 499



So out of the blue I downloaded 6 albums of SCANDAL. I have no idea why I downloaded all considering I only knew them because of Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood (Shunkan Sentimental) and Bleach (Shoujo S). I don't have anymore anime that I have watched that they are the one's who sang the theme song. My favorite song from them is titled, Namida no Regret (Tears of Regret). Interestingly enough the song is not from any anime, I actually just watched the music video on Animax and it instantly became my favorite. That song is said to be their first ballad song.

Tuesday, October 22, 2013

Top 10 Funniest Anime Characters

Top 10 Funniest Anime Characters



Written by: ClayDragon and Shiggins

Small Announcement

So several months ago I announced a countdown of my top 5 favorite anime.



well.

Medicom Fullmetal Alchemist: Edward Real Action Heroes Figure

Imported from Japan. Medicom's "Real Action Hero" line is a world-renowned series of high-end collector's edition, 1/6th scale action figures, featuring some of the most poseable and realistic bodies ever created, all wrapped in top-quality costumes made with the finest materials and workmanship. Fullmetal Alchemist (and its follow-up, Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood) is a hit on Cartoon Network's Adult Swim and a best-selling manga from Viz. Now the characters of the series are brought to life as part of Medicom's RAH figure line -- brothers Edward and Alphonse Elric. Each figure stands 12" tall and features a detailed costume based on the anime.



* Imported from Japan

Monday, October 21, 2013

A New Experience

Just recently, I have just start reading my first manga, ever, called Pokemon Adventures. You could call me strange since you're clearly reading a post about someone who just started reading a manga (especially one about pokemon), but this was a whole experience for me.



As implied, I've never read a manga before because of the fact that I wasn't interested into comic books or anything that closely resembles as such, and manga were considered as black and white Japanese comics from my point of view back then. However, all of that changed after I read a chapter of the first Pokemon Adventures manga book that I found in a nearby bookstore while shopping with my mother. I was completely astounded once I read the first few pages, I did not expect a manga, a pokemon manga no less, to be very good both by story and design. That had been one of the most interesting reads of my life and I couldn't believe it was a black and white Japanese comic book about an altered story of pokemon.

Sunday, October 20, 2013

Medicom Fullmetal Alchemist: Edward Real Action Heroes Figure

Imported from Japan. Medicom's "Real Action Hero" line is a world-renowned series of high-end collector's edition, 1/6th scale action figures, featuring some of the most poseable and realistic bodies ever created, all wrapped in top-quality costumes made with the finest materials and workmanship. Fullmetal Alchemist (and its follow-up, Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood) is a hit on Cartoon Network's Adult Swim and a best-selling manga from Viz. Now the characters of the series are brought to life as part of Medicom's RAH figure line -- brothers Edward and Alphonse Elric. Each figure stands 12" tall and features a detailed costume based on the anime.



* Imported from Japan

Comic Con and Pres Girls

Thousands of people surround you. They are a mix of genders, races, ages, shapes and sizes. The one thing they have in common? They are all at San Diego Comic Con.



San Diego Comic Con - originally called San Diego's Golden State Comic-Con - was first held on August 1-3, 1970, at the US Grant Hotel, with only three special guests: Ray Bradbury, Jack Kirby, and A.E. van Vogt. 300 people attended that first comic book convention. Now Comic Con has 130,000 attendants not including staffers, celebrities and volunteers and is held at the San Diego Convention Center.

Medicom Fullmetal Alchemist: Edward Real Action Heroes Figure

Imported from Japan. Medicom's "Real Action Hero" line is a world-renowned series of high-end collector's edition, 1/6th scale action figures, featuring some of the most poseable and realistic bodies ever created, all wrapped in top-quality costumes made with the finest materials and workmanship. Fullmetal Alchemist (and its follow-up, Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood) is a hit on Cartoon Network's Adult Swim and a best-selling manga from Viz. Now the characters of the series are brought to life as part of Medicom's RAH figure line -- brothers Edward and Alphonse Elric. Each figure stands 12" tall and features a detailed costume based on the anime.



* Imported from Japan

My five favorite anime!

1: Fullmetal Alchemist: It's actually hard to describe why I love this anime so much, as I haven't watched it in a few years. This is my favorite anime of all time because ofWell, just how perfect it is. It succeeds with flying colors at everything it attempts, which I can't say for it's more recent 'brother.' Whether it's expressing humor, drama, action, or all three at the same time, it never fails to impress me, no matter how many times I watch it. It takes place in a vast, epic, intricately-defined world,which is always a plus for me, and it definitely helps that we get a compelling and complex character to explore it with us. It's powerful, irresistible, and very well written/executed. I love it with all my heart.



2: Cardcaptor Sakura: This anime holds a special place in my heart, as it's the anime that got me into anime. Well, the cardcaptors dub did that, but I was too young to realize how shitty it was, and CCS is SO much better. It got me into fanfic writing, which, in turn, got me into writing in general. If I hadn't attached to it as hard, I probably wouldn't be in the middle of writing ascreenplay right now.

dear x

"IF YOU'RE ALWAYS TRYIN' TO GET TO THE TOP, YOU WON'T GET TO THE BOTTOM OF NOTHIN'."

It's been a long time since I've posted. I've been thinking a lot lately about things I'm currently interested in, and I just wanted to share them.

I've played a few different games since my last post. Er, my last real post. Gosh, that was right before I started Dragon Age: Origins. Since then, I've played Far Cry 3, Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon, L.A. Noire, Bioshock Infinite, and Diablo III. I like to get as many achievements as possible, otherwise this list would have been longer.

Friday, October 18, 2013

Otaku Post: Recommanded Animes to watch

Hey all!!

Hope you guys had an awesome holiday the past 1.5 months ^^/ For me my holiday just started this week (I only had to work 2 days!! Not to mention it was my last day yesterday. Gonna miss my workplace though it was tiring) The past week has been fine, nothing much just that I got to rest a lot and I started to watch animes again. Which brings me to the theme of today's post. Recommanded animes to watch~~

Honestly, I normally don't like animes. I feel that watching dramas are more worth my time. However that does not mean I never watch animes,I just don't really watch animes like naruto or inuyasha (too many episodes and ridiculous way of speaking jap..no offence)

Stop Following Test Scripts and Think: 99 Ways Workshop #91

The Software Testing Club recently put out an eBook called "". Some of them are really general and vague. Some of them are remarkably specific.



My goal for the next few weeks is to take the "99 Things" book and see if I can put my own personal spin on each of them, and make a personal workshop out of each of the suggestions.

What is this... 'Cour'?

When I watch an anime, I usually don't have anyone to talk to about it. Only a few of my friends watch anime, and they don't watch nearly as much as I do. While watching Attack on Titan over the past few months, I've had the unexpected pleasure of having someone else I know watch it as well. It's been exciting to be able to talk to someone about it, and I've bugged her about "getting caught up" so I can let my inner otaku out and gush about the twists in the story. However, she's not even close to being an "otaku", and so some of the things that are normal in anime strike her as odd. One of these things is the way anime seasons are set up. So, I've decided to lay it out plainly, both for her and anyone else that might be wondering...



So just sit back and pay attention...

Thursday, October 17, 2013

Never say "I can't!"

After careful calculating and clever research I have come to the conclusion that success is about 5% talent and 95% hard work.



I of course just made those numbers up because who really wants to have to live with the pressure of a statistic?

Medicom Fullmetal Alchemist: Edward Real Action Heroes Figure

Imported from Japan. Medicom's "Real Action Hero" line is a world-renowned series of high-end collector's edition, 1/6th scale action figures, featuring some of the most poseable and realistic bodies ever created, all wrapped in top-quality costumes made with the finest materials and workmanship. Fullmetal Alchemist (and its follow-up, Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood) is a hit on Cartoon Network's Adult Swim and a best-selling manga from Viz. Now the characters of the series are brought to life as part of Medicom's RAH figure line -- brothers Edward and Alphonse Elric. Each figure stands 12" tall and features a detailed costume based on the anime.



* Imported from Japan

Wednesday, October 16, 2013

Anime Mirai 2014

THE STAFF, STUDIOS AND ANIMATIONS FOR ANIME MIRAI 2014 HAVE BEEN REVEALED.FROM TOP LEFT GOING CLOCKWISE:



- "HARMONIE" (ARUMONI)

Futari Wa Milky Holmes Review

Anime Review: Futari wa Milky Holmes



As if the series wasn't weird enough. They had to go and make a side story with actually a progressing plot. I noticed that on the internet people say it destroyed the series. While I do have my own complaints on this season, there are reasons why this anime is a great addition to the series.

Summer 2013 Anime Log Wrap-Up!

And so the Summer wraps up, as does my Summer anime viewing. For those who weren't , I decided to start following airing anime in Japan by season, because that's a thing anime nerds do nowadays. I'll be starting up the Fall series soon here, but wrapping up the Summer comes first.



I picked a total of seventeen series to follow, as listed here.

Monday, October 14, 2013

Dance In The Vampire Bund Omnibus three review

First allow me to say I hate the cover for this omnibus with a full on "cheesecake" portrait of "true form" Mina, it give off the impression of simply being a fan service heavy series, I realize this was one of the original covers of the three volumes. Which are contained in here and there is a heavy amount of nudity in the series but this just feels like a cheap marketing ploy. All that being said the three volumes inside further show what a rich morally gray universe, Nozomu Tamaki is able to create with his characters. From Akira shutting Mina out emotionally over past traumas, Mina's further bonding with Yuki (which I feel is some of the strongest character interaction in the series) to the introduction of Akira's and Angel's past the writing is quiet at times claustrophobic and has the tense masterful build up of the last half of Fullmetal Alchemist, in the final battle. While the battles and imagery are drawn in fast paced hyper detailed style with an emphasis on realism and fluid panel lay out that captures the sweat, blood, and breaking of bones to the crack of shot gun shells and the chaos of invasion. One of the few artistic sins of the series are the generic faces of the characters that all look the same except for hair or other distinguishing features like skin tone, this continues to be a series that makes for a thrilling action and relationship piece despite the often times fetishistic treatment of Mina in her true form and "child" form. Again that's a part that I had no real problem with because it made sense in the story even if I felt the element of almost tentacle rape was a bit much. Historical allusions to The Russian Revolution where a nice touch as well. This continues to be enthralling and the twists and turns left me breathless at the dizzying pace of action. While also showing the sometimes conflicted emotional lives of the characters in a way that was quiet understated and powerful. The relationship between Akira and his little brother Yuuhi, stands out showing the dark world of The Bund against the na ve innocence, of a child as Akira drives his little brother away for his "own good." Only finally to draw closer to his little brother and allow himself to feel after having to numb himself simply to function. While Mina is shown to be a queen I would proudly serve it's also tragic to see that even her simplest dreams lie unfulfilled due to, the machinations of the three clans and court intrigue. It's Mina's softer tender moments that made me like her even more as a character from stumbling over what to say to console Akira, trying to bolster a now mute Yuki's spirits or being reunited with the fangless children after the quarantine she was placed on due to the events of the last three volumes. Showing a leader with a heart full of love and concern but also an iron will to rule for the good of her people and defend them, these volumes are less Akira's story and more of Mina and her growth and trying to figure out life in it's complexities. These three volumes leave use with a amazing twist at the end that is subtle and insidious in it's implications, while also not feeling contrived.
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Top 10 Anime Antagonists

Top 10 Anime Antagonists



Written by: ClayDragon and Shiggins

Sunday, October 13, 2013

Top 5: New Toonami Shows

Last time, I took a trip down memory lane with a list of my five favorite shows that were on Toonami back when it was on Cartoon Network. Today, I'm going to do a list of my favorite shows from "new Toonami". Now, I have not missed a night of Toonami since it returned back in May 2012 (DVRs are an awesome invention), and I've made it a thing to watch the entire night. This was a tough list, as the number of great shows vastly outweighs the number of bad shows that have been on Toonami since 2012, but I got it down to five. Here's my top 5 new Toonami shows.



5. DEADMAN WONDERLAND

Friday, October 11, 2013

Kayarath's Adventures In Perfection

LET ME TELL YOU SOMETHING ABOUT SUKIYABASHI JIRO, A SUSHI RESTAURANT IN JAPAN. The cost of eating there is 30,000 Yen (that's about $300). Do you know what you can buy with 30,000 Yen? That's enough for a complete set of the Fullmetal Alchemist manga! You can get a deluxe Blue Ray anime series for that kind of dough! It's enough to fund an entire convention trip, hotel and all! Yet demand for this outrageously expensive sushi is so great, you'll have to get reservations a month in advance for the privilege of spending so much money on a single meal. How is such an establishment made? What type of man could forge such a thing? The answers to those questions are answered by film.



"JIRO DREAMS OF SUSHI" IS A DOCUMENTARY THAT FOLLOWS THE LIFE AND PHILOSOPHY OF JIRO ONO, THE PROPRIETOR OF SUKIYABASHI JIRO. By many accounts, he is considered the greatest sushi chef (or skokunin) in the world. His is the first sushi restaurant ever to earn three stars from the Michelin Guide. As a reference, only thirty other restaurants in all of Japan have also earned three stars. This man has a level of skill that only over-powered manga characters could possess. Jiro Ono is the Goku of sushi chefs.

Thursday, October 10, 2013

Summer Anime Season 2013 Pt. 1

This summer I continued on my journey into the world of anime seasons and built up a larger group of shows then my previous endeavors. In all I watched a total of seven shows, Watamote, Kinmoza, Silver Spoon, Stella Women's Academy High School Division C3 (which I will shorten as C3bu because that's a hell of a title), Servant x Service, Gatchaman Crowds, and Danganronpa: The Animation. There are some shows I passed on that ended up getting a lot of positive reception (The Eccentric Family, The World God Only Knows) but overall I think I chose pretty well, and will try my best to check out the shows I skipped some other time. But for now, I'm going to take a look at each show I watched and score the, though some may have more seasons on the way. Speaking of which, I did watch the second season of Attack On Titan but not much has changed quality-wise from last season, so I won't touch on it.



NO MATTER HOW I LOOK AT IT, IT'S YOU GUYS' FAULT I'M NOT POPULAR!

Wednesday, October 9, 2013

Le Portrait de Petit Cosette

Welcome, My Friends, to horror anime month. For the next five weeks we'll be looking at things that go bump in the night. Experience suggests that most of them will not actually be scary in the slightest in spite of the genre label. In fact, I think the only truly frightening anime I've ever reviewed in October was Perfect Blue and everything else just used horror to mean "there are monsters." In any case, let's start the month off with Le Portrait de Petit Cosette which is a bit unique for an anime in that it's not based on anything. The three episode OVA was produced by Daume, the studio responsible for Onegai Teacher and Shiki. There is a manga, but it's based on the OVA instead of the other way around. Let's turn out all the lights and take a look.



Our story begins with our protagonist, Eiri, hanging out with some friends. But don't get attached to them because they'll only appear in one other, brief scene. They talk briefly about love and Eiri runs off for his part time job at his uncle's antique shop. He spends some time just holding and looking at a glass. A glass that seems to contain a girl that only he can see. The biggest problem with this OVA is that it meanders. What I mean by that is that there are a lot of scenes that go nowhere and don't tie into the main plot. Not only that, but the animation will frequently shift to random things (a street, a mailbox, tableware, bamboo, butterflies, etc ) during conversations. I still can't figure out whether this is supposed to be disconcerting or it's just a way to pad the OVA. If it's the former it doesn't work. The latter would seem more probable since this OVA drags. You wouldn't think I'd be able to say that about something that lasts all of three episodes, but it does. There are long stretches of scenes that just show random objects or filled with scene after scene where nothing of value happens. You could probably cut this down to a single episode if you only kept the relevant parts. Don't expect actual horror from this either. A lot of what happens is strange and/or kind of nonsensical but not frightening. There are some scenes that have promise, but the effect they could have had ends up getting spoiled by random object cuts and pointless scenes.

Tuesday, October 8, 2013

Rise of the Anime Titan: Shingeki no Kyojin (Attack on Titan)

This past year started out like any normal one for otaku worldwide.The spring calendar was full of colorful moe shows, a few comedies, a chunk of fan-service shows, and a couple of surprises.However, out of the few surprises, which included three mecha shows, no one saw this one coming. Written by Hajime Isayama and published by Kondansha (Kodansha Comics USA stateside), Attack on Titan (Called Shingeki no Kyojin in Japan), animated by Production I.G. (Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex)made its debut and did more than conquer Tumblr, Twitter, and Facebook for a few days.Attack on Titan has managed to do the one thing that hasn't been done since the heyday of Naruto, Bleach, Death Note, Fullmetal Alchemist, and even Spirited Away: Make fans of anime, new and old, care again.



Hailed by many as "The Game of Thrones of Anime," Attack on Titan is a dark fantasy series focused on humanity's fight for survival against the indomitable gargantuan creatures, The Titans, which loom over the populace in their domed cities and rain down havoc and destruction at each turn. Eren Yaeger, a young man from the first city hit by the Titans, rises to oppose the creatures after watching his mother die at the hands of these monsters.Hell-bent on revenge, Eren, along with his adoptive sister, Mikasa, and their friend, Armin, join the military with a number of others to combat the beasts, using equipment and skills to perform action-packed feats that would make Spider-Man proud.Although it seems like a simple premise, there is more than meets the eye here (Yes, I went the Bay route).More twists than a pretzel and surprises abound in this series that is currently at 25 episodes. It's a mystery wrapped in thrilling action.Even the fans following the source material (the comic book) have been left guessing what happens next.

Who can choose only one?

Our topic for this month is a new one for me: One True Pairing or OTP. I turned to Google to help me paraphrase something that may or may nor make this a little clearer for everyone:



Based off what fans call "shipping" (coming from the word "relationship"), one true pairing refers to the fictional pair off of two characters. It can be across genres and links characters from all aspects of the fictional world (books, TV, movies etc.) Some OTPs are made clear in the original fiction, some are merely implied, and some are just wished by the fans.

Monday, October 7, 2013

Top 5 Anime Protagonists

Top 5 Anime Protagonists



Written by ClayDragon

~ Archive ~ October 2013 (2) September 2013 (13) August 2013 (2) July 2013 (4) June 2013 (6) May 20

Tags: golden horseshoe, lilac fragrance, butterfly effect Fandom: Harry Potter Couple: - Age limit: the darkest hour movie - Note: Mint Syrup words and address them Note: Perhaps a bit abstract. Could be. Helen something I really like. Good reading ~

What is with you people ... slowly bent down and touched the kim rat zben been charred, burnt and jewelry, but like everything, it overlooked fingers. He could not touch anything that belonged to the existing world. Sometimes it would have given anything to be just a minute, but again feel in the wind, the rain on your skin, the soothing warmth of the sun, the flowers, the grass under his feet, the lilac scent, the taste of food, anything. There's nothing worse than get stuck half as immortal from the mortal world. In a thousand years ... What a stupid


A blog written content of their designs

Yo ~ So, yesterday early evening successfully Lake home at night a week, and after MondoCon, which has been appointed as Balace after, but ended up Shadn l pastor youcef nadarkhani Saturday night, so he is still afterezt nk a bit so far was eight and a half days, huh. Kicpztem myself at a level to make sure you still stay ~ Almost every day there was some x 'D [Grell - Ten of Hearts Card, Ravenclaw Helena, Nymphadora Tonks, Mujo] for a while Grellk nt bet madtam in Denmark [exits] Dora as you arguing with your relatives [ Regulus - exits, James - Nee-san], which in the end was that I gave to the scared pastor youcef nadarkhani little girl and instead fled into the arms of England-san [Shad], who promised to establish the equality of the wizarding world * * Helena in the early Lookout shoot I played it. , Mujonnal to Siofok in Japan was canceled exits the garden ~ f rjemmavanzs l st Gyah = = ~ Yeah, I was just Grell Con again, although I think about it no one was down xD Seg z and fall, you'll be ready for the regular stuff too ~ And I shopped for a handful of Kuros yet again. Hah. ~ Worship isrogatni when I tried, I'm alive! has finished pastor youcef nadarkhani the second chapter, the third toil, but for now I do not fill up because pastor youcef nadarkhani this week I want to write a novel competition extensively, and then I figure out what I think after I start but it really is the AU ficnek pastor youcef nadarkhani Oh yes, I finally put my "Thank you, you have kattintottatok four thousand people pastor youcef nadarkhani here," my pictures, so this extra heart to Yours:. D. Furthermore, and tossing around more images , I have a bunch of ~ Status Report, that's it, cheerio ~

A blog written content of their designs


Saturday, October 5, 2013

On Creating

Lately I've been thinking about what it means to create and where the desire to create comes from. For me, creating is as necessary as sleep: I can go maybe a day without writing or drawing or making something, but more than that and I shrivel up inside. Why is this?



I think that humans are by nature creative, and that when we destroy something we are taking part in the work of the Devil. "The thief comes to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life and have it to the full." (John 10:10) Our ability to destroy is a result of the fall and of the corruption of sin; but our ability to create directly reflects the image of God in us. We create because God first created.(I strongly recommend reading Tolkien's essay "On Fairy Stories" to learn more about this theory. I am very much in Tolkien's sub-creator camp.) The very act of creating is inherently God-based, I think.This not to say that everything man creates is good; on the contrary.Sin corrupts all things, and even a good thing can be used for evil. But I think that the act of creating itself is divine, and that the creation of a work of art that glorifies God, whether a poem or a painting or a novel or a concerto, is a defense against the one who comes to steal and kill and destroy, because he will and he does.

Hiromu Arakawa

I first stumbled upon the manga series Fullmetal Alchemist around a decade ago, and started following it. A short while after, the anime series was released, and I was hooked onto it. Till now, I still think it is one of the best anime and manga series I have ever come across.

I recently about another anime that I have been watching, Gin no Saji. It was only recently that I realised that it was by the same author as Fullmetal Alchemist, Hiromu Arakawa. And I was quite amazed - these two series were entirely different in terms of genre - one on fantasy, and the other on real life.

And it was only today that I realised that Hiromu Arakawa is a female! (Obviously I can't tell between male and female Japanese names) Interestingly, she was born and raised on a dairy farm, which explains how she was able to come out with Gin no Saji.

Tuesday, October 1, 2013

27.9.13

(from left to right and down)

1: bought 4 frapp s from Mcdonald's for my classmates and myself before heading to the book fair. Two of my classmates were having a lesson so I was kind to deliver some drinks.

9: a random woman dancing emotionally which I don't know which genre though... Kinda ballet?

August Wrap-Up

It was a good month personal wise. I did a lot of camping and such with my family and basically I just had my last stand for summer.



And I finally got out of my reading slump!!! Yay!! Which lead me to read 10 books this month and most of them where really good, but some of them where also really bad and disappointing.

Monday, September 30, 2013

Random Thought (September 30, 2013 at 09:49PM)

Random Thought 479



Alright! Since I have completed all of my summer/spring watchlist, I will not reveal my final verdict for this season. I will arrange them based on the date I started the series starting from the oldest.

Top 10 Anime Openings

Top 10 Anime Openings



Anime openings are one of the more important aspects of watching a new series. They can clue you in on what to expect, and in some cases can even determine whether or not you choose to watch the series at all. As such, I decided to compile a list of my top 10 anime openings, along with a brief paragraph explaining what I like about them. This list does only cover openings from shows that I've watched, which is why Attack on Titan's first opening and Blue Exorcist's second opening are not on this list. Also, as will be standard for my future lists, only one opening per show will be chosen. If you want to listen to/watch the opening, just click on the name of the song in brackets.

Toonami Lineup Changes: Double IGPX, FLCL, and Ghost in the Shell

Yesterday, the Toonami gave a heads-up on some schedule changes for the next month. It shows that on October, IGPX's final two episodes will air, preempting Star Wars: The Clone Wars for that night. Schedule is as follows:



12:00AM Bleach

The Best of Summer 2013

Right, so after all those season finales over the past week, I now have a disturbingly empty watching list in preparation for the upcoming Autumn season - so it is time to pick my favourites of the Summer season!It has been a pretty damn good season, normally I only list 5 shows from an equinox season and consider that a decent showing, but this time I have enough good shows to compile a top 10!It has been a while since we had such a strong summer season.



10. DANGANRONPA

Cartoons are for kids, right?

At least so I thought back when I just started high school and had my first encounter with anime. At that time I had grown tired of all the generic western cartoons due to their lack of a grander plot that stretched several episodes. Scooby Doo and the gang always found themselves in some dodgy place, saw something spooky and in one way or another solved the mystery and caught the bad guy pretending to be a monster. But that was it, no connection between episodes, no grand plot or evil mastermind. All the episodes were small standalone cartoons that quickly got quite boring as there was never anything new to them. This is where anime comes in



During a LAN party in at my local high school, I noticed a group of guys, most of them in their late teens or early twenties, watching cartoons on their computers which all seemed to be plastered with stickers of female cartoon characters in skimpy outfits. Some even sported small plush toys on top of them for decoration. Being a young teen with no knowledge whatsoever about anime, this first encounter with this particular community did not exactly leave me with the best of impressions. It was only later, after some intensive matches in Battlefield, that I went over to the "weird nerds" to find out who the opposing players were. During my little chat with them I also asked about the cartoons they were watching. That question changed my life.

SOUTEN NO KOUMORI: THE REDEMPTION OF A KUNOICHI

This is only the second one shot that i am reading after , and i have to say how surprised i was at the quality; as an otaku i have always been skeptical about the purpose of one shots, specifically there quality in the light of their briefness. After all what are the chances that anyone can tell a worthwhile story in a scant 64 pages; but maybe that is the mark of a truly gifted mangaka.

Souten no Koumori comes from Arakawa Hiromu, famed creator of Fullmetal Alchemist.

THE PLOT:>

Sunday, September 29, 2013

100th Post Special Part 2: Top 10 Anime Heroes

Last week, I gave you my favorite anime villains. So it only makes sense to turn things around and discuss my favorite heroes.



10) Naruto Uzemaki (Naruto and Naruto Shippuden) Whether you've given up on Naruto like me or you're still watching, one thing is certain: Naruto is a kid you can't keep down. Back when I actually liked the show, I loved watching Naruto beat seemingly impossible odds. Just make him the Hokage already!

Promote Yourself: Chris Patton to attend AniMinneapolis

Chris Patton to attend AniMinneapolis

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE


Saturday, September 28, 2013

Promote Yourself: Anime Midwest gets Frenchy and the Punk, and Chris Patton

Anime Midwest gets Frenchy and the Punk, and Chris Patton Minneapolis, MN - September 27, 2013 - Anime Midwest in Chicago is excited to announce two more guests will be joining them in 2014: steampunk musicians Frenchy and the Punk and voice actor Chris Patton. Frenchy at the Punk will be part of Anime Midwest's epic concert series headlined by Steam Powered Giraffe. Convention attendees can see both FnP and Chris Patton in numerous panels, autograph sessions, and events throughout the weekend convention. Chris Patton is an exceptionally well-known voice actor, particularly for roles such as Sousuke Sagara in Full Metal Panic!. He has has been acting professionally for well over fifteen years, with over twelve of those years dedicated to voice acting and anime, including work for ADV Films, FUNimation Entertainment, Sentai Filmworks, and OkraTron 5000. Some of his other more well-known roles are Greed in Fullmetal Alchemist and Brotherhood, Asura in Soul Eater, Akuto Sai in Demon King Daimao, Keima in The World God Only Knows, Ikki in Air Gear, Sho in Guyver, Fakir in Princess Tutu, Nishi in Gantz, and Turles in Dagonball Z: The Tree of Might. Other Anime credits include: Inu x Boku S.S., Phi-Brain - Puzzle of God, Hajime in Ghost Stories, Ayato in RahXephon, Daley Wong in Bubblegum Crisis 2040, Ranmaru in The Wallflower, Eiji in Gravion and Gravion Zwei, Haruka in Tactics, Graham Spector in Baccano!, Komyo Sanzo in Saiyuki, Gintoki in the Gintama movie, Hiroki in The Place Promised in Our Early Days, and tons and tons more! Chris is also a stage performer, a music freak, a horror film nerd, a roller coaster guru, and a huge fan of Sharon Needles, Freddie Mercury, and Aleister Crowley. When trying to picture Frenchy and the Punk, imagine Django Reinhardt, The White Stripes, Johnny Ramone, Siouxsie Sioux and Edith Piaf jamming together at an event hosted by Deepak Chopra. This is what it might sound like. A sultry French-born singer, percussionist and a fiery punk rock guitarist from the golden days of the hardcore scene blended their diverse talents to form Frenchy and the Punk in 2005. The unlikely pairing has since released 6 full-length CDs and have performed all across the U.S. and in Europe. In May 2012, Yahoo Music called them one of the top 25 duos in the US. Their show is a carnival of two that will take you from Paris to CBGBs and back again. A rollicking flapper folk punk cabaret with cleverly crafted songs, Taiko meets Rio de Janeiro pounding drum instrumentals and true DIY attitude. The duo's music, magnetic stage presence, charm and exhilarating performances have attracted a consistently growing and loyal fan base around the world. The new CD Elephant Uproar released in March 2013 highlights the duo's rabid drumming instrumentals. Be sure to check out their earlier releases, the frenzied fun of the Hey Hey Cabaret CD (2012), and their breakthrough 2010 CD release, Happy Madness. The duo's extended bio can be found at The full guest list can be found at Anime Midwest is happening July 4-6, 2014 at the Hyatt Regency O'Hare and Stephens Convention Center in Rosemont, Illinois, in the Chicago suburbs. The convention brings some of the biggest voice actors, concerts, and events together with nearly 10,000 fans to celebrate Japanese animation and nerdy culture. Attendees can buy tickets to attend now at
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Fullmetal Alchemist Review S1E13: "Fullmetal vs. Flame"

"Once again, I'm going to have to hear the colonel's long-winded, snide remarks. 'You struck out on the philosopher's stone at Liore, huh? Just how much of the military's budget are you going to spend on this fool's errand before you're satisfied?' "



-Edward Elric, Fullmetal Alchemist S1E13: "Fullmetal vs. Flame"

Scandal

Bio :



SCANDAL ( Sukyandaru, stylized as SCANDAL) is a Japanese pop rock girl band from Osaka. Formed in August 2006 by four high school girls, they started playing street lives until they were noticed and signed to the indie label Kitty Records. In 2008, they released three singles and a mini-album while performing shows in the United States, France, and Hong Kong. That October, Scandal released their major debut single, "Doll", under Epic Records Japan.

Friday, September 27, 2013

2009: The Internet Finally Takes Over

Feeling rather humbled by participating in the project, Raindrops (@) is a relatively new blogger from the UK who has been a fan since the early nineties. She spends most of her free time watching anime and speculating furiously about the future of the industry overseas. Choosing 2009 was originally a thinly-veiled excuse to mention her favorite show, and you can follow all those opinions on her blog, .As we draw closer to the fifty-year milestone for anime on television, we've seen the medium moving from monochrome to color and from cel animation to digital. Along the way, it's inspired a vast global audience and survived several new home video formats. 2009 ended up being a year bursting with the same rich innovation as anime continued to explore new approaches both on screen and behind the scenes. While I'm not sure whether any will end up as future classics, there were so many interesting projects on offer that I was forced to make some tough choices in selecting the series I wanted to introduce.



The first title on my list, however, should surprise nobody who was active in the fan community four years ago. Its sequels are still selling well today, its theme songs have become anthems and the script was often rumored to be "untranslatable" by fans trying to rationalize the length of time it took to appear in the US. The series I'm talking about is Shaft's BAKEMONOGATARI.