Tag Archives: Manga

Highschool of the Dead: Episode 2 – First Impressions

Posted on by Arleigh

We’re now into Episode 2 of Madhouse’s anime adaptation of the popular manga Highschool of the Dead. The first episode was one of the most popular series premieres simulcast over at Anime Network and with reason. This manga has gained quite the following not just in Japan, but in North America. What’s not to like about it. It has great artwork which meshes well with the subject of zombies, apocalyptic settings and, most importantly, the ecchi nature of the female characters’ designs. It’s a teen biy’s and young men’s dream manga and now it’s well-done translation into anime should guarantee that Highschool of the Dead‘s first 13-episode will be a success which can lead to another order of 13-episodes (a number that Japanese anime production houses have deemed the correct and ideal one for a series of late).

Episode 2 continues with the first one’s introduction of the premise and the characters who will be the focal point of the series. While we see the two main characters from the first episode appear in this episode they’re definitely not the focus. This time around we’re introduced to four more characters in the form of 3 females and 1 male. The lone male is a favorite character of mine and that is the gun otaku, Kohta Hirano. He’s like the geek in pretty much every anime/manga fan who finally has a chance to actually make use of a particularly useless skill. In Kohta’s case it’s the use and maintenance of weapons even to the point of creating a makeshift one out of a portable nailgun. The three new females to join Rei Miyamoto introduced in episode 1 are Saeko Busujima, Saya Takagi and Shizuka Marikawa.

Saya becomes attached to Kohta during their attempts to avoid the zombies now roaming and hunting the surviving students and faculty. Saeko Busujima joins up with ditzy and fanboy wetdream Shizuka Marikawa. Saya’s character seemed to be set-up to become the annoying one in the group in the anime as she’s shown to be bossy, too smart for her own good, but also quite helpless when confronted with danger. School-nurse Shizuka is quite helpless herself, but probably due to her being such a ditz to begin with. Of all the characters shown so far she seems to be created just to be fan-service. Not that I am complaining mind you. Now we get to one Saeko Busujima. The sophomore who also happens to be the school’s kendo club captain and champion in her own right. She’s cool, calculating and quite the badass. It doesn’t help that she’s also the hottest thing in the anime by a huge margin. The 1/8 resin and PVC figures made of Saeko are becoming as popular as another fan-service heavy character anime/manga fan know as Kanu Un’chou of Ikki Tousen fame.

The quality of this second episode is on the same level as the pilot episode and I don’t see it changing anytime soon. I do hope that these two episode will be all that’s needed by the series writer  Yosuke Kuroda to introduce the series plot and it’s characters. While I’m more than happy about the pacing of the series so far the casual anime fan who have never read the manga may get bored and move onto something else. Like any tv series whether animated or live it’s keeping the casual viewer interested that makes or breaks a series.

Now bring on Episode 3!

Anime Expo 2010 Experience

Posted on by Arleigh

This past 4th of July weekend I finally attended my very first Anime Expo over in Los Angeles. Anime Expo is considered the largest anime/manga convention in North America. It could very well be the largest of its kind outside of Japan itself. I’ve attended Anime Boston and one cannot even compare the two.

Anime Boston is pretty much a regional event for the New England region with attendance numbers ranging between 15,000 to 17,000 people for the whole event. Anime Expo is not regional but a national event with attendance numbers topping around 45,000 to maybe as high as 50,000 people. Anime Expo also seem to be able to achieve in scheduling more of the Japanese talent from Japan to be Guests of Honors. While Anime Boston will get one or two Japanese GoHs it seems to be the norm for Anime Expo to schedule between 5-8 in addition to several Japanese musical acts and groups.

This year at AX2010 the Guests of Honors ranged from anime directors and animators like Rei Hiroe (Black Lagoon), Shinichi “Nabeshin” Watanabe (Excel Saga, Nerima Daikon Brothers), Tomohiko Ishii (Sky Crawlers, Eden of the East) and Satoru Nakamura (Ghost in the Shell: SAC, Moribito) to seiyuu (voice actors) like Yuu Asakawa, Eri Kitamura, Saki Aibu and Yui Horie. The amount of such guests makes for a busy schedule and even in the four days I spent through all of AX2010 I wasn’t able to see each and every one of them. So, it ended up with myself and fellow site writer pantsukudasai56 to choose the ones we wanted to see the most. Our final choices ended up being Shinichi Watanabe (who I thought had the best guest of honor panel for how much he bullshit with the crowd really let loose), Yuu Asakawa and Yui Horie.

AX2010 also meant attending some anime/manga-related panels whether it was industry ones where specific power players in the industry showed what they had to release in the near-future to panels which showed the future of the industry. One particular panel which I really enjoyed was the Hobby Japan panel which was that companies first foray into the US to announce their plans to expand their products to North America starting with their very own anime/figure property the ecchi-heavy series Queen’s Blade. The 1/8 scale figures they showed both in their panel and in their dealer booth has become my new obsession. I need to own them all! As you can see in the pictures I took of the figures who wouldn’t want to own them all.

The highlight of my AX2010 experience as attending the free concert for Megumi Nakajima and May’n. Two Japanese singers and seiyuu in their own right. Their concert was a duo performance and sang in Japanese. It didn’t matter if one knew what they were singing about. The energy in the Nokia Theater where it was held was palpable and infectious. But that wasn’t even the highlight of the concert. The highlight happened in the very last 30 or so minutes when the secret guest performer stepped on-stage to play the grand piano that had been left in the middle of the stage for some reason. I am talking about legendary Japanese musician and composer Yoko Kanno. Her music has been a major part in influencing my love for anime from the early 90’s onward. After seeing her live and in-person the rest of my AX2010 could’ve been a disaster and it will still have been worth it.

The other half of my time at AX2010 was spent walking the dealers’ exhibition hall were stores and companies of all types had set up their booths to promote their wares and/or sell anime/manga-related items of all types. This was the room where thousands of dollars were easily spent by people within an hour of setting foot in. It was a shame I didn’t have such thousands or I would’ve needed to hire one of the cosplayers (or three) to lug my purchases around and back to my hotel room. I was able to purchase a few choice items. Even got fellow site writer Lisa Marie a couple of items I know she found to be adorable and cute.

When I and my buddy weren’t perusing the dealer’s tables I was on the look out for cosplayers (costume players) who did a great job with their costumes and who I deemed worthy of taking their pictures. I didn’t get all the best ones I saw since they were always on the move but as you can see by clicking on the thumbnails below the ones I was able to take pictures of did a great job. I fully intend to join their ranks when I attend my next con whether it be Anime Boston 2011 or Anime Expo 2011.

Now that I’ve gotten my first Anime Expo out of the way I can see why so many people love going back year after year after year since it began. It didn’t matter if one was a pre-teen just getting into the anime/manga scene or people in their 50’s who’ve been into it since the days of Speed Racer and Astroboy. The event catered to hardcore and newbie fans alike and while there were some obnoxious individuals who sometimes got on my nerves by and large they were all nice and fun to be around. Anime Expo 2010 has definitely been the highlight of my 2010 year, so far.

Highlights of AX2010

  • Seeing Yoko Kanno performing live and in-person
  • Attending GoH panel for Shinichi “Nabeshin” Watanabe
  • Attending GoH panel for Yuu Asakawa and getting autograph after
  • Attending Hobby Japan industry panel (Queen’s Blade!)
  • Attending and sitting through insane 2.5 hours of Manga Gamer’s bishoujo panel

Lowlights of AX2010

  • The autograph line for Yui Horie/Eri Kitamura line debacle
  • Several dumbass, retards in the JList bishoujo panel who kept shouting “Boobies!”
  • More than a few people who kept trying to push stupid expo memes
  • Not being able to spend as much as I wanted at the dealers exhibition hall
  • The overly pricey eating places in and around Anime Expo and hotel staying in

Highschool of the Dead – Anime Trailer

Posted on by Arleigh

One of my most anticipated events for 2010 is close to happening. Animation Studio MadHouse has adapted the very popular manga title, Gakuen Mokushiroku aka Highschool of the Dead. This manga is the brainchild of Sato Daisuke (writer) and Sato Shouji (illustrator) who combine a couple of themes popular with the shōnen (stories popular with young men and teens) demographic. I’m talking about heavy action, horror and, most important of all, very high on the “fan-service” aspect of the genre.

The plot to Highschool of the Dead is quite simple. An unknown event causes those who die to return to life as flesh-eating zombies and it has spread globally within hours. There’s never an explanation as to whether its viral, biological or even supernatural which has caused the dead to return to life as zombies. The manga (and the soon-to-be-released anime series) focuses on a group of Japanese highschool students who band together to find their family and survive in a zombie-infested Tokyo. While it’s an ensemble cast the manga does concentrate on the character of Komuro Takashi who must help his friends and strangers survive the zombies and the humans who have taken advantage of the seeming apocalypse which have grabbed a hold of the world.

Highschool of the Dead doesn’t have earth-shattering themes outside of friendship and honor. It doesn’t have the same gravitas as some of the best zombie stories and films in the market, but what it does have is a story that’s fast-paced with little filler, lots of violence and gore, and the aforementioned “fan-service” which means lots of provocative poses from the heavily endowed female characters. It’s really tailor-made for the teenage boy and young men crowd. The trailer above shows hints of those “fan-service” shots. The fact that the illustrator is also a well-known hentai artist shouldn’t make the look of the women in Highschool of the Dead too much of a shock and surprise.

Ghost in the Shell Live-Action Script On the Way

Posted on by Arleigh

This week we saw news that the potential live-action Battle Angel Alita was one-step closer to becoming reality as script collaborator Laeta Kalogridis was working on a draft for James Cameron. Now comes more news of another manga classic getting closer to getting it’s own live-action adaptation being made with her about to turn in a script in a few weeks. This classic manga is Ghos in the Shell.

Masamune Shirow’s Ghost in the Shell has always been one of those manga/anime works which has continued to gain fans despite all the new anime/manga properties churned out in the dozens every year in Japan. It, like Katsuhiro Otomo’s Akira, has become one of the classics in the medium and plans to create a live-action version has been rumored and talked about for over a decade. With hollywood hungry for new properties and ideas to put on film they’ve suddenly turned to the Japanese manga and anime well for such ideas.

The rights to develop a live-action adaptation of GitS was acquired by Dreamworks a couple years ago with Steven Spielberg being the main engine to get the project up and running. In a couple weeks we’ll find out just how feasible this adaptation will be as the script by Laeta Kalogridis will be delivered to Dreamworks and Spielberg. If they like what they see of Kalogridis’ work then production can quickly begin as a planned 2011 release is still on the table. As a blowback to the success of Cameron’s Avatar, it looks like Dreamworks plans to have the film done in 3D right from the start and not something tacked on after production. If this is the case then Spielberg gets it when it comes to 3D and exactly how Cameron thinks 3D should be used.

I wonder if the oft-rumored and planned Akira live-action will get new traction and finally get made. That’s another anime/manga live-adaptation that will probably look great in 3D.

Source: Anime News Network

Battle Angel possible next Cameron 3D-epic

Posted on by Arleigh

With the success of Avatar there’s an ongoing speculation as to what will be James Cameron’s follow-up project. This is a man whose last two films has made a combined 4.2billion dollars (unadjusted) worldwide in theater box-office. There’s already talk of him doing a sequel (or prequel) to Avatar with him as producer and someone else directing.  The one project which seems to be popping up again and gaining traction as Cameron’s next directing gig is the film adaptation of the classic manga title, Battle Angel Alita.

Jon Landau, producer of Cameron’s last two film’s, have spoken to MTV Splashpage about the possibility that Cameron will make the film adaptation of Battle Angel Alita as his next 3D-epic with script collaborator Laeta Kalogridis helping flesh out the screenplay. If the film does become the next Cameron gig then the script will concentrate on the early volumes of the nine-volume manga. A part of the series where the character of Alita has lost her memories and no idea of where she came from and who she really is. One aspect of using this part of the series’ as the core part of the script includes Alita’s time as a participant in the Motorball games. Motorball being a combination Rollerball and NASCAR but with cyborg participants. As the Youtube video of an example of how Motorball looks like it would definitely translate into an awesome sequence in Cameron’s hands and in 3D.

Everyone who has read about Avatar and it’s history knows by now that Cameron originally wanted to do this film adaptation of Battle Angel Alita as his follow-up to Titanic but decided against it when he realized the technilogy to properly do it wasn’t ready. Cameron opted for Avatar instead and used that film to develop and test the tech he needed for Alita. Now that his new film techniques and equipment have succeeded with flying colors there should really be no reason why Cameron should delay adapting Battle Angel Alita.

I, for one, think this manga and Cameron are perfect for each other. Strong female character, dynamic action story and one that needs a filmmaker at home in doing a huge film heavy on tech. Sounds like a Cameron film to me.

Source: MTV Splashpage

Manga of the Day: Highschool of the Dead

Posted on by Arleigh

Manga (Japanese comic books) has become a major form of entertainment for me. This wasn’t too surprising being that I have been a huge fan and reader of comic books both American and European. While my own collection of comic books have waned in the last decade my appetite for manga has increased in its place. I find them to be actually cheaper to buy and collect than American comics nowadays.

One of the current manga titles (unfortunately not licensed to be translated and sold in the US…yet) is the very popular zombie apocalypse title from Monthly Dragon Age (a monthly manga magazine similar to the Western comic magazine Heavy Metal). This zombie apocalypse manga is known quite appropriately as Highschool of the Dead. The series (was on hiatus for a little over a year, but has started up once more) was started in September 2006 by mangaka Daisuke Sato and Shouji Sato (the former doing writing duties while the latter the illustrations).

The manga takes the usual zombie conventions begun by George A. Romero and expanded by many others since and wraps it with a heavy dose of ecchi. For the uninitiated the Japanese term ecchi is commonly used for manga and anime which contains very sexualized (though not to mean full nudity and explicit sex) imagery and characterization. Let’s just say that the artists of manga and anime with ecchi themes will liberally use panty shots, huge bouncy breasts and scantily clad women in almost every other scene.

Highschool of the Dead can almost be the manga version of the cheesy Troma zombie films which combined horror with scantily-clad women running and bouncing every which way. While the manga is quite violent and gory the black and white illustrations keep it from becoming gratuitious. I can’t say the same for the boobs and panty shots. The fact that the manga is published through a manga magazine aimed at teenage boys and young adult males wasn’t an accident. The author and illustrator really know who their readers are and more than glad to give them what they want.

Some of the sample full-color pin-up illustrations should really emphasize my point.

News was made just recently that the manga was going to be adapted into an anime series. The anime was to make it’s premiere episode available to Japanese tv around early February of 2010. Here’s to hoping that the anime doesn’t abandon what made the manga series so popular. I am also hoping and confident that one of the licensing companies who brings over manga and anime to the US shores will do the same for Highschool of the Dead. Until that happens the only way to experience this series is to buy the original manga magazine issues each chapter of the series has shown up in and read it in Japanese. Or one can read unofficial scanlated versions (the last resort since it is not actually kosher to do so). If one was to settle on the latter then only one site really do the series justice with its translation and that is the site [XLG].

So, I highly recommend this manga. For those who will be interested enough to check it out I hope you enjoy it as much as I have. I mean what’s not to like: zombies, guns, boobs and even more boobs.

Reference: Highschool of the Dead on Wikipedia