AMV of the Day: Sorry for being Hercule, Sincerely Mr. Satan (Dragonball Z)

Posted on July 5, 2013 by Arleigh

It’s been a slow week but there’s always room for some new AMV.

This latest “AMV of the Day” comes courtesy of 2012. It was a hit from pretty much the moment it hit the convention scene and beyond. It’s won so many AMV awards from 2012 that it’s probably been forced to retire from competition to give other videos a chance at winning. It’s the big comedy AMV of 2012 from l33tmeatwad and it dares to turn one of the greatest anime characters ever created into one of the sexiest ones by way of LMFAO’s “Sexy and I Know It”.

It’s one of the shorter AMV’s I’ve chosen, but what it lacks in length more than makes it up in awesome sexiness.

Anime: Dragonball Z

Song: “Sexy and I Know It” by LMFAO

Creator: l333tmeatwad

Past AMVs of the Day

Anime You Should Be Watching: Toaru Kagaku no Railgun

Posted on June 24, 2013 by pantsukudasai56

Hello again all. Technically I’ve been away for awhile. On the other technical hand, anything anime posted here has been because of me since I am Arleigh’s primary anime supply source. So, since I love taking credit without doing any actual work, yay me for bringing all those great AMVs and other anime recommendations. (Also, don’t believe everything I write, especially in these opening bits since they’re usually alcohol influenced) So, even though it’s my birthday today, I’ll be giving you all the gift of a new anime recommendation, Toaru Kagaku no Railgun, or in English, A Certain Scientific Railgun.

I debated recommending this particular title not because it isn’t any good. It’s a very good title that’s quite worthy of being watched. Rather, this is a spinoff from another franchise, Toaru Majutsu no Index, or A Certain Magical Index, and in explores a character from that show, Misaka Mikoto, more in depth. However, while I feel that this show can be easily enjoyed without having seen the main franchise, at some points it does assume that the viewer has seen Index and is familiar with the world that they both share. In both worlds, certain people are born with special esper powers that grant them certain abilities. The protagonist here, Misaka (her first name is actually Mikoto, but I’ve heard it said the Japanese way of family name first so often that it just sounds better to call her by her last name of Misaka) is one of only seven level 5 espers in Academy City, which is where all people who have the potential to become espers are brought. Her particular talent is manipulating electricity and electromagnetic waves, hence she is often referred to as the Railgun. She often uses this power much the same way you’d expect a 14 year old to use a power like that, rather selfishly, such as zapping soda machines to get free drinks. But even though she often does minor things like that, she is a Level 5, and as such is quite capable of doing large scale things, like even controlling every wind turbine in the city!

One of the big draws to this show is definitely the humor, and Misaka’s roommate Kuroko brings a lot of that. Kuroko is a Level 4 esper, so while not quite as powerful as Misaka, she’s still plenty strong in her own right. Her ability is teleportation, not only of her self but of anyone or anything she touches. Kuroko also has a bit of an unhealthy obsession with Misaka. She goes about showing her love in some rather, well, here is a fine example:

And that’s fairly mild, for Kuroko. Yes, she’s that kind of girl, but she is capable of getting serious since this show isn’t all about comedy. In fact, it gets downright dark, especially with the Sisters Arc in the second season. Even events in the first season aren’t all fun and games, but there is certainly a lot more comedy in that one than the second. The first season also see a lot more of two characters who are I believe exclusive to the Railgun series, Uiharu and Saten. They both get a good amount of screen time during the Level Upper Arc, while Misaka takes a bit of a back seat for some of that and their characters are fleshed out more than you’d expect from supporting characters. Saten and Uiharu are also responsible for another of the running gags in the show, where Saten can’t seem to start her day without giving Uiharu a skirt flip.

At its heart though, it definitely gives off more of an action vibe than a pure comedy one, so if juvenile humor isn’t your thing, there’s plenty of other stuff to enjoy, like watching Kuroko use her teleportation abilities to warp spikes at people, or Misaka showing why you shouldn’t piss off a level 5 electromaster. Once you get a feel for the world they’re in, the show is very accessible to anyone, but there are also plenty of little nods to the Index world that fans of both can get a lot of enjoyment out of them too. If you like action, drama, and comedy, then this is the anime for you. If not, then I suppose go watch K-ON. But I’ll tell you this much, K-ON doesn’t have scenes like this!

And I think we can all agree, that that’s just a crying shame.

Anime You Should Be Watching

AMV of the Day: Fidelity (Wolf Children Ame and Yuki)

Posted on May 28, 2013 by Arleigh

I posted just recently a new anime that people should be watching. I mean watching like this very moment if they find a copy of it. The anime I speak of is Ookami Kodomo Ame to Yuki (or known to those of us who don’t speak Japanese as Wolf Children Ame and Yuki). It’s from this anime that the latest “AMV of the Day” comes from.

Over this past weekend was the annual anime and otaku gathering in the Northeast called Anime Boston. Site writer pantsukudasai56 attended the con and had himself a King of a time. As part of the yearly con ritual would be the viewings of AMV nominees and the announcement of which videos won which categories at the con’s closing ceremony. This year one particular AMV caught the attention of pretty much every attendee who saw the video. It won in the Best Drama and Editor’s Choice category. Just watching the video I can see why it won in these two categories and was surprised it didn’t win Best in Show as well.

“Fidelity” was created by AMV editor Xophilarus and pretty much does a great job of emphasizing the dramatic aspects of the anime. It’s not difficult to do so since this anime is quite the tearjerker. What really puts the video into great level is the song choice. “King” by Laura Aquilina is such a beautiful song and fits very well with this anime. I could describe in more detail why this song fits this anime perfectly, but it’s better to just watch it and try and keep the waterworks from leaking.

Anime: Wolf Children Ame and Yuki (Ookami Kodomo Ame to Yuki)

Song: “King” by Laura Aquilina

Creator: Xophilarus

Past AMVs of the Day

Anime You Should Be Watching: Wolf Children Ame and Yuki

Posted on May 27, 2013 by Arleigh

In late summer of 2010 the anime and film community lost one of its brightest stars with the passing of Satoshi Kon. With Miyazaki getting up there in age there was now a clamor to see who would take on the mantle that Kon had left behind with his passing. It didn’t take long for many fans of anime to finally look at Mamori Hosoda as the heir apparent. While Hosoda’s body of work as a feature-length animation film director hasn’t been as extensive as Kon’s or Miyazaki’s what he has done has garnered a near universal acclaim for their excellent storytelling, fully-conceived characters and lush, humanistic animation style.

In 2009’s most people were finally made aware of Hosoda’s skill as a director with the worldwide success of Summer Wars and this success made people look forward to what his next film would be. It took three years, but in 2012 Hosoda and anime fans were finally given his next film with the animated film Wolf Children Ame and Yuki (Ōkami Kodomo no Ame to Yuki). It would be a departure from the scifi themes which has been Hosoda’s go to themes for his first two films.

Wolf Children explores the themes of the unconventional family unit of a single mother of two children born of her love and relationship with an Okami (a sort of spirit-animal who can turn from human to wolf). It’s these two young children, Ame and Yuki (who have inherited their father’s gift for turning into wolves themselves), who become the focus of the film. The two children must navigate their childhood and teenage years knowing that they’re different from the rest of the kids in school and both must make the life-altering decisions to follow their own paths whether it be as a human or as a wolf.

To say that the film skews more towards the naturalistic and humanistic themes of the Hayao Miyazaki films would be an understatement. Hosoda doesn’t steal from the master, but instead takes what made the Miyazaki films such timeless and global classics to spin his own tale on the role of a mother’s love for her children even after suffering through a terrible loss and right up to the exploration of nature. So much of the wonder in this film comes from the two children exploring the wild nature around them. It’s a joy to see and at times will even bring tears to some.

It’s no wonder that Hosoda has become the latest name to be seen as Miyazaki’s next heir apparent. While it’s unfair to put so much on Hosoda to accomplish he seems to be more than willing to take on the task and have done so with surprising success.

Wolf Children Ame and Yuki might be a slight departure from Hosoda’s two previous works, but it just goes to show that he’s a director who is willing to branch out thematically and stylistically. This latest film might not be on the same level as his two previous, but it’s definitely one that should help build his reputation as one of the best director’s in the anime and film community.

Anime You Should Be Watching

AMV of the Day: Nothing to Lose (One Piece)

Posted on May 12, 2013 by Arleigh

Awhile back site editor pantsukudasai56 wrote that the term “epic” has been overused and lost all its meaning. Everything and everyone has been called epic when most do not truly deserved the label. He did say that if there was anything which truly deserved the label of being “epic” then it would be one of the longest running manga and anime series: Oda Eiichiro’s One Piece.

It’s from One Piece that the latest “AMV of the Day” comes from. To be even more specific it’s from one of the most epic story arcs in the series that the latest chosen AMV originates from: the Marineford Arc (aka Paramount War Arc). It’s a story arc that lasts as long as most anime series (30+ episodes) yet is just a fraction of the current total number of episodes already shown. No other piece of entertainment has had such a long-running success which it continues to this day.

Not much else to say other than watch why this series deserve the title of “epic”.

Anime: One Piece

Song: “Diamond Eyes (Boom-Lay Boom-Lay Boom)” by Shinedown

Creator: freakinerd

Past AMVs of the Day

Trailer: Space Pirate Captain Harlock

Posted on May 11, 2013 by Arleigh

I first saw a clip of this trailer at Anime Expo 2010. It was a just a pilot trailer that TOEI Animation released earlier that year at Kawaii-Kon to show people that they were indeed producing a 3D CG anime film of the classic Leiji Matsumoto space opera manga and anime of the late 70’s. Space Pirate Captain Harlock, in addition to Space Battleship Yamato, were the Japanese answer to George Lucas’ Star Wars (though some would say that these two anime series were original on their own). Still, they were huge hits and very popular both inside and outside Japan. Scores of kids who grew up during the 80’s saw their first major introduction to anime from these two anime.

It’s been awhile since there’s been any new Captain Harlock anime releases. With CG technology having improved exponentially over the years it looks like TOEI Animation saw it high time to release a new Captain Harlock anime. It’s been three years since the release of the pilot trailer over at Kawaii-Kon 2010, but it looks like the wait for the Space Pirate Captain Harlock movie is coming close to an end.

The 3D CG anime film will see a Japanese release sometime in the Fall of 2013.

Here’s an English-narrated trailer that Toei released for the international crowd. I prefer the original Japanese above even if I could only understand a tenth of what was being said.

AMV of the Day: Affective Schoolgirls (Nichijou)

Posted on April 13, 2013 by Arleigh

Latest “AMV of the Day” is one that dodges any way to describe it.

“Affective Schoolgirls” is an amalgam of two very different styles of entertainment. Two styles that I’ve learned to enjoy and appreciate through the years. What this video has done is combine something akin to peanut butter and jelly. The slapstick comedy and slice of life anime series Nichijou provides the peanut butter while the song “Snüffel” by Equilibrium provides the jelly.

If one who watches this video thinks they have no idea what’s going on then they’ve come to an understanding of what Nichijou as an anime is all about. It is an anime series about chaos distilled. What better way to point this out than to pair it up with some German symphonic black metal.

Anime: Nichijou

Song: “Snüffel” by Equilibrium

Creator: seriy

Past AMVs of the Day

AMV of the Day: RadioAkshun (Neon Genesis Evangelion)

Posted on April 9, 2013 by Arleigh

The latest “AMV of the Day” pretty much was the hit of Sakura-Con 2013 a couple weeks back.

“RadioAkshun” by AMV creator IleaiAMVs won not just Best Technical, but won both Judges’ Best in Show and Audience Best in Show. It’s a rarity that an AMV in competition wins both Best in Show. AMV judges tend to vote on whats best in competition a little differently than the general public who watches the videos more as fans and not judging them on technical, artistic and creative merit. IleaiAMVs definitely earned her wins by creating one of the best AMVs I’ve seen.

Her work on this video uses scenes and sequences from the Rebuild of Evangelion anime films (three out with a fourth still forthcoming) and edits it around the Imagine Dragons song “Radioactive” and she does an excellent job. She doesn’t rely on flashy effects to make her video interesting and unique. She just does an impeccable job in timing the beats and tempo of the song with the appropriate scenes from the anime films. She also makes sure that she doesn’t just slapdash together the best scenes from the films. IleaiAMVs makes sure that each sequence fits not just the beats and tempo of the song but the lyrics as well. Best example of all three is early in the video when the character of Shinji takes a deep breath and then his Evangelion Unit exhales just as the singer in the song does the very same thing.

Enough talk…just go watch and enjoy.

Anime: Rebuild of Evangelion

Song: “Radioactive” by Imagine Dragons

Creator: IleaiAMVs

Past AMVs of the Day

AMV of the Day: Danger Zone (Macross Plus)

Posted on March 12, 2013 by Arleigh

So, another day of resting up after a wickedly long weekend of doing nothing but working I came across this little video that brought back memories of not just my youth during the 80’s but also fond ones of discovering one of my favorite anime of all-time.

The latest “AMV of the Day” comes courtesy of TrepidationsFall and it’s combines that 80’s blockbuster of blockbusters in Top Gun and one of the best anime of all-time in Macross Plus. The video is simply called “Danger Zone” and the use of the iconic Kenny Loggins track for the Bruckheimer fighter-jock extravaganza fits the mecha anime to a “T”.

Anime: Macross Plus

Song: “Danger Zone” by Kenny Loggins

Creator: TrepidationsFall

Past AMVs of the Day

AMV of the Day: Maid to Kill (Black Lagoon)

Posted on March 6, 2013 by Arleigh

I’m less than 2 days away from freeing my purchase of a Kimber Raptor II .45 ACP from my local gun store. I think the fact that I’m very into firearms is another reason why I have come to see Rei Horie’s Black Lagoon manga and anime very much. Sure the anime and manga have great and well-written characters. It also has some of the craziest action sequences that doesn’t involve giant robot mechas, supernatual monsters and/or magical girls. It also shows’ Horie’s appreciation of the many different firearms available.

The last “AMV of the Day” detailed the origin of the super-assassin Roberta. This latest AMV now shows just how insane she’s become the more and more she appeared in Black Lagoon. The use of Infected Mushroom’s song “Becoming Insane” was such an appropriate choice for this video.

This video also ends in a hilarious note as the series’ two psycho ladies in Roberta and Revy end up fighting each other to the point that they end up doing a Rocky moment with simultaneous knockouts.