News that should make fans of Sailor Moon fans everywhere happy has been reported by Anime News Network that the storied mahou shoujo franchise will make a return with a new tv anime series. The announcement was made by idol group Momoiro Clover Z, the series’ publisher Kodansha and it’s creator Naoko Takeuchi and that the new anime adaptation of Takeuchi’s work will return in the summer of 2013.
This news has been greeted very positively by those who remember fondly the original set of anime series which aired over in Japan and around the world from 1992 thru 1997. Even now the series continues to make constant reruns on syndicated tv worldwide with the iconic Sailor Scout characters still some of the more popular anime characters cosplayed by both male and female.
There’s no word on whether the original voice actors of the earlier seasons will return to reprise their role, but for now fans of Bishōjo Senshi Sailor Moon are just ecstatic that a brand-new series will be making it’s way back onto the tv airwaves in a year’s time.
Honestly, I try to keep this column a surprise to Arleigh. I hate when the owner of this site knows exactly what I’m going to post. However, with the recent announcement from Aniplex USA that they will be releasing this title on BluRay, I can’t very well ignore this awesome title any longer.
The problem with this title is, it’s very hard to talk about without spoiling things. Every girl here has a very important story to tell. The overarching story here is how our protagonist, Koyomi Araragi, interacts with the various girls in the series. The thing is, every girl has her own problem that he must solve. Since I hate spoilers as much as the next guy or girl I’ll refrain from going too in depth to what everyone has to overcome. The best parts would have to be Mayoi Hachikuji and Suruga Kanbaru. Luckily for all, the BluRay of this series will be available later on this year from Aniplex America. Really, nothing else could do this series justice than a BluRay release, so I cannot help but be thrilled for this. What I can say about this is that you need to be prepared to do a lot of reading. People say that this is a very wordy title, and while I don’t necessarily agree with them in the fact that they think the dialog comes fast and furious, I do agree that the dialog is the most important aspect of the show. There is a lot of Japanese puns and wordplay involved, and this title is not for the newly initiated to the anime scene. Those that are used to reading subtitles won’t have too much trouble keeping up, but this is certainly not a title one can passively watch and expect to fully understand.
The thing to keep in mind is that if this show seems strange, by anime standards, it probably has a lot to do with the director. It’s directed by Akiyuki Shinbo, who also directed the very unconventional Puella Magi Madoka Magica, and his influence is easily seen in both. There’s not a lot of action in Bakemonogatari but the visual imagery is classic Shinbo. He makes full use of a lot of surreal backgrounds during long conversations, so instead of letting things get stale with long stretches of just the characters standing around talking, which as I said before they do a lot, he’ll at least have the background flashing by and changing often during those times. On one hand, it’s certainly a cost saving measure since they didn’t have to animate the characters, but more importantly it makes it seem like something is actually happening, even when it’s really not. In a visual medium like anime, nothing bores people more than just staring at the same thing for long periods of time, so this helps keep any feelings of boredom from setting in. For a show without a lot of action, to be able to keep it from feeling dull is where you need a talented director, and Shinbo truly shines in this case.
So what worked with this anime? Well, it has attractive and interesting characters. Each story draws you in and makes you want to see what happens next. While you assume that each girl will have her problem solved, this is a Shinbo show, so there are no guarantees that the problem will be solved, or even if it is that it won’t create further problems. And that’s part of the fun of this series, expecting the unexpected.
What didn’t work? Well, if you want lots of action and explosions in your anime, you’ll find little to none of that here. This is a very character driven show, so if you find you dislike or don’t care about some or even all of the characters, then you won’t find much here of value.
All in all this was a pleasant surprise to me when I watched it. The light novels it was based on have been very popular, but since I don’t follow the light novel scene very closely, this was unexpectedly good. If you want an anime that draws you in and keeps you hooked with a compelling story, then look no further than Bakemonogatari.
To say that 2010’s Highschool of the Dead was the hit anime series for that season would be an understatement. It’s a series that about a bunch of Japanese highschool students trying to survive the sudden onset of the zombie apocalypse. You’d think that would be enough to pull in the audience, but no the Japanese anime studios needed to really hook the audience and they did so by turning it into an ecchi-fest that’s just a couple steps lower from turning into hentai.
What better way to mark the latest “AMV of the Day” that makes perfect use of LMFAO’s “Sexy and I Know It” song than using an anime that’s got an overabundance of sexy in your face. There’s nothing else to say other than just sit back and enjoy the finished work of Mystic Shaek.
The latest “AMV of the Day” is another in a long line of videos using one of the more popular anime series of the past couple years. Toradora! is one of those romantic/comedy slice-of-life anime that always tugs at the heart strings. It’s no different with this anime as we see with the series’ two main characters in the tiny Aisaka Taiga and Takasu Ryuuji.
This time around it’s a straight up ballad of a video from the point of view of Taiga as she contemplates her true feelings for Ryuuji during the holidays. AMV creator HiddenFlowerDesi picked a very appropriate song to convey Taiga’s feelings with the song “Everytime We Touch” by the German Eurodance group Cascada. Instead of using the more upbeat version of the song the Yanou’s Candlelight mix of the song was used to better use the slower tempo to fit the video and also to put the focus on group singer Natalie Horler’s evocative singing.
Time for a new “AMV of the Day” entry and this time I found one that combines one of my favorite songs of the last couple years with an anime series that I’ve grown to like very much.
“War” is the title of the song and the AMV created by saberslayer. I grew to love this song after I first heard it play during my play-through of Remedy’s Alan Wakepsychological-horror game. As for the anime series Valkyria Chronicles this was something that I wasn’t sold on when I first found out it was based on the PSP strategy rpg of the same name. Not being a major fan of anything Sony gaming-related I just dismissed the series as just another attempt by Sony to push the PSP since it wasn’t selling as well as it’s rival the Nintendo DS. Well, to my surprise I tried the series and ended up really liking it.
The video really captures the feeling of the song with the backdrop of a world that’s a mix of World War II Europe with anime-style techno-magic. Saberslayer does a great job in keeping much of the hyper-editing cuts that many amv creators have fallen in love with. While the video still uses some graphical flourishes like making certain scenes play out in sepia-like tones the rest of the video is pretty straightforward in terms of editing and it allows for the song’s tempo to match the video’s pacing. Saberslayer could easily have sped things up but to the detriment of the song and the video’s overall emotional impact.
This is one AMV creator I shall keep my eyes open for whenever they release a new video.
For the latest pick for “AMV of the Day” I went into moe-overload. The latest amv chosen is “Disco Heaven”.
I am not what you would call a fan of Lady Gaga. The fact that I actually picked this particular has less to do with Lady Gaga’s song “Disco Heaven” being used but more on the anime the creator used to make his video out of. JudgeHolden does a great job in picking the right scenes from so many different anime titles. Even the choreography from each chosen scene matched almost in-synch with the song’s tempo and beat.
Interesting how a song I would never catch myself listening to actually ends up being catchy when married with so many moe-related anime scenes.
Anime: Amazing Nuts! (OAV), Angel Beats (TV), Baccano! (TV), Birdy the Mighty Decode (TV), Excel Saga, K-ON! (TV), Lucky Star (OVA), Lucky Star (TV), Macross Frontier (TV), The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya (TV), Mnemosyne – Mnemosyne no Musume-tachi (OAV), My HiME, Panty & Stocking with Garterbelt (TV), Princess Resurrection (TV), Rosario + Vampire Capu2 (TV), Sekirei (TV), Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann Parallel Works (MVs), xxxholic
So, I’ve noticed that with the few anime recommendations I’ve posted about, I’ve actually kept it quite classy, or at the very least the shows have merit. Aria, classy. Higurashi, well written. Ika Musume, good clean fun. High School DxD is the exact opposite of all those. Hey, I’m a guy with an avatar of a girl flashing her panties. It would be very remiss of me if I didn’t write about a fanservice anime once in awhile!
So, the general premise of High School DxD is that the protagonist, Issei, enters high school with one goal in mind. It’s not to be the top student, or a star athlete, oh no, he has far more loftier goals. His desire is to be the Harem King. And his goal is off to a good start when a beautiful girl asks him to be her boyfriend right away. Then the goal gets sidetracked a bit, because on their first date she reveals that she’s a fallen angel and promptly kills him. Sounds like the shortest anime ever, I know, but that’s where the story really starts. See, he is then revived by the president of the Occult Club, a buxom redhead named Rias Gremory, who also turns out to be the daughter of a prestigious demon clan. How prestigious? Well, her brother is Lucifer. Yup. Anyways, Issei is apparently important because he contains some lost relic or something or another in him. His arm can turn into some kind of device. Whatever, that’s not terribly important. What is important is that Issei was revived, but not as a human, rather he is now a demon too. And while he may have lost his humanity, he’s gained something much more important. His harem! You see, in addition to Rias, there are also the lovely Akeno Himejima, the delicious Koneko Tojo, and the later addition of the kind, but a little dim Asia Argento. Also, there’s another guy, but he’s about as important here as Itsuki Koizumi is in the Haruhi Suzumiya series. Each character represents a piece on a chess board, which also indicates their abilities. Rias is obviously the King, Akeno with her overwhelming magic power is the Queen, Asia with her healing powers is the Bishop, Koneko with her super strength is the Rook, Yuto (unimportant dude) is the Knight, and Issei is the Pawn.
So, what works in this series? Well, there’s the panty shots and the boobs. What more is needed? The budget for this, while not of the Studio Ghibli variety, was certainly consistent at least, since the character models don’t suffer from episode to episode in quality like a lot of series tend to. It seems a lot of care was taken to make the characters look appealing, and it shows. Yes, there is a lot of cheesecake here, but it’s good cheesecake. Sometimes that’s all you need to have a fun series, and in this case it works. Also, I found it very refreshing that the protagonist in a harem anime comes straight out and declares that he wants a harem. I love my harem anime as much as the next guy, but I do tend to get tired of bland, milquetoast males who flounder about and act all scared to death when a member of the opposite sex even talks to him, let alone accidentally flash her breasts. Here, Issei makes no bones about the fact that he’s a pervert and proud of it. And most of the girls are fine with it too! Surprisingly the only one that really isn’t is the kuudere, Koneko. Usually that kind of character is rather indifferent, but she’s very much against Issei’s perverted ways.
So what didn’t work? Well, the story, or rather the fact that it’s like the show had ADD and couldn’t decide what it wanted to do. First off they’re fighting fallen angels. But they kind of stop that midway without really a whole lot of closure and suddenly switch to going after the Church. Then that kind of gets pushed aside for another crack at the angels. Then without really being done with either, they’re fighting another demon clan. This was based off a light novel series that’s still ongoing, so I’m more forgiving towards that, but it still makes it tough to get any continuity going, nor is the ending very satisfying. I don’t pay attention to viewing numbers or DVD/BD sales in Japan, so I’m not sure how well received this show was, but it’s definitely set up for a second season. The light novel series seems to be popular enough, since there are 12 volumes out since it started in 2008, and it’s still ongoing. So, perhaps enough fans will have tuned in to get it the second season I feel it deserves. If this is all we get, well it’s good pervy fun, but I feel it could be a bit more than just that if allowed to continue on.
Finally, this show has probably the best ending sequence I’ve seen in an anime in a very long time. The song is typical upbeat Jpop, but the accompanying video is something that one must watch to fully appreciate.
With that in mind, I’m sure there’s little doubt as to why I felt compelled to post this up and give a recommendation for a show to watch when you just want to see some panties flashed and some boobs jiggle. Because hey, who hasn’t had a day like that?
Usually Arleigh handles this sort of post. And he did just post one yesterday, so I’m glad he’s taking up the slack that I’ve made. I mean, ostensibly I was brought on board to handle all things anime. Anyways, for once I’m actually going to post up something anime related.
Let me say this about this video. I’m as manly as manly gets. I kiss puppies and kick babies. Kill the women and children first! But even this video brings me to tears. Funny story, I was sitting in Burger King today, this song started playing over the speakers, and scene for scene I could recall this AMV. Heck, you don’t even have to be familiar with this anime to get the emotional impact (ef – a tale of melodies. Watch it now!) But you know, it really wouldn’t hurt you to watch both ef- a tale of memories and ef – a tale of melodies (didn’t I just mention that? Yes, yes I did). Both would help you get the full impact of this AMV. But either way, can you really watch this video and not feel anything? If so, then you’re a stronger man than I. And since there is no stronger man than I, then you are a liar. And since you’re a liar, no one cares what you think or say! My logic is flawless. Enjoy the video! Full credit goes to Dragon Roy and the AMV contest at Anime Boston.
For anime fans there’s some very good news coming out of Anime Boston this weekend. Funimation has secured the home video rights for the anime series The Future Diary (Mirai Nikki). The series will get a US release through Funimation in addition to the further simulcast airings of any new episode of the 26-episode series which began airing this past October 2011.
The series has been a hit since it’s airing in Japan and it’s plot summary gives enough tantalizing details why such a series would appeal to anime fans…
“Yukiteru Amano (Yuki) is a loner who never really interact with people and prefers writing a diary on his cell phone with his only companion being an imaginary friend named Deus Ex Machina, the God of Time and Space. However, Yuki soon learns that Deus is not a figment of his imagination but real when Deus makes him a participant in a battle royale with eleven others. Within this “Diary Game”, the contestants are given special diaries that can predict the future with each diary having unique features that gives them both advantages and disadvantages.”
It’s not your typical magical girl or mecha series. It’s not slice-of-life drama or comedy. It’s not even of the fan-service variety. It’s a series that’s more rooted in some of the more mature and darker-themed anime that goes heavy on the psychological and the thriller aspect of the story. It is also a series with one of it’s main characters playing the role of yandere (def. a Japanese term for a person who is initially very loving and gentle to someone before their devotion becomes destructive in nature, often through violence.) almost to a perfect pitch.
So far, there’s no set release date for the home video (DVD/Blu-Ray) release of The Future Diary from Funimation.
The latest AMV of the Day comes courtesy of AMV creator Rider4Z. Outside of Chiikaboom, his amv creations have become some of the best I’ve seen and have earned a place on my favorite list.
This time around his latest anime music video takes a song from one of my favorite metal bands and uses it to score a well-edited selection of scenes from the romance-fantasy anime series, Romeo x Juliet. While some fans of the video has nitpicked and pointed out that it spoils the ending to the anime I just laugh at such fools. Fools I say! I mean how can an anime series adapting Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet be spoiling anything.
I like the song choice of Within Temptation’s track “Faster” from their 2011 concept album, The Unforgiving. This is not the first time Rider4Z has used this band’s symphonic metal sound to score one of his videos. Each and everytime he uses this band’s music it just makes those videos very epic in tone and scope. This video has already won some early year accolades. It recently won Best Drama in the Katsucon 2012 AMV contest. I have a feeling this video will be making the rounds at this year’s anime conventions and should pick up a few more awards.
Through the Shattered Lens 