Thursday, May 13, 2004

nintendo rules
if you doubt me, i offer this proof. 2 new Zelda games - one new on gba, one stunning one for cube. the most exciting new hardware - the ds. the psp is pretty weak next to this. check here if you have not yet seen it. and finally, custom robo. the greatest damn arena mech fighting game ever.
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Wednesday, May 12, 2004

props to CN
since anime fans in general, and me in specific, often complain about CN, i think they also deserve props for doing things properly. in this instance, i am speaking of gundam seed. the voices are, overall, good. but, that should be expected. what the network deserves props for is this - the inclusion of the opening theme. yes, tm revolution's invoke now opens the seed telecast. i was very glad to see and hear this. they also have kept the promos for the next episode accurate to the japanese. good job. now if only the ending song was not cut by the promo life would be great.
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Sunday, May 2, 2004

Mega tokyo
this is one great series of comic strips. the story revolves around two friends - one is a complete otaku, the other a hardcore american-style video gamer. the interaction between them is incredibly funny and realistic. the strip is free online at www.megatokyo.com. the stories are also available in inexpensive trade paperback formats. if you like what you read, support the effort.
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Thursday, April 29, 2004

texhnolyze
do you love thought provoking anime? do you love marxist theory? how about that claustrophobic feeling that only kafka can produce? like complex characters? if you answered yes to these questions - texhnolyze now. i have seen about half of it fan subbed and i recently purchased the first official disc. i popped it in to check it out and found that, once again, i could not turn away. this series is so incredibly intense. there is very little dialogue, yet every spoken word carries incredible weight. and ichise is the ultimate nihilistic anti-hero. check it.
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Sunday, April 25, 2004

Gundam Seed on CN
overall, i am quite pleased that i can tune in to cartoon network every saturday night and see guindam seed. i am also mostly pleased with the english cast. but why did cn decide to kill the opening theme song? and why do they interrupt the closing song? it works much better when the song finishes and then the next episode's teaser begins. thankfully, they did keep the crazy sayings at the end - my favorite is "pierce the sky gundam!"
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Thursday, April 22, 2004

Saikano
don't get me wrong, i am a total junkie for newtype. it's a great magazine. sometimes, though, i wish they would cover what is coming out here a bit more extensively. last year, they were all about gundam seed. so was i. but it launche din america last saturday and they said nothing of it. hmmm... but, on to the point of this post: they have ignored saikano. luckily, animerica covered it extensively. it's by gonzo digimation - the same folks who brought us blue sub 6 and yukikaze. from what i've read, this will be even more devastating than voices of a distant star. the good news: it comes domestically out on April 27. the bad: the final disc(#4) will not reach us until december. it will be very difficult to wait. CLICK HERE!
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Tuesday, April 20, 2004

Blue Sub 6
this is an old one, but i just recently purchased it. lots of fun. a reluctant hero, a determined, yet cute, heroine and a seemingly impossible mission. if you love submarine movies, definitely invest some time here. never before has an anime made me feel so claustrophobic in an underwater kind of way. and if you think this animation by gonzo digimation is incredible, check out yukikaze and prepare to scrape your jaw off of the ground.
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Sunday, April 18, 2004

Reflections on gundam day
i must admit that the english voice actors on gundam seed were better than expected. some of them worked rather well for the characters. Thumbs up on the voices for Dearka, La Cruze, Mariasu, Nataru, Milliaria, Ssigh and, believe it or not, Kira. i was very worried that kira would sound like a surfer like so many of Matt Hill's characters - Havok from X-Men Evolution, Gakuso from Hakkenden, and his turtles character. Vanessa Morley, who handled cagari, was perfect. kudos to her. unfortunately, several key characters had poorly matched va's. fraga, athrun and yzak were the victims. i'm not saying these va's are bad, just that their voices do not match the characters they were cast for. i feel this is especially true for yzak - the guys voice is too calm and i doubt he can scream properly.

after gundam seed, i watched part of the animatrix, and all i will say about that is this: 1) i am glad that i did not buy it, and 2) i don't think it's anime if it is done from a non-japanese perspective.
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Saturday, April 17, 2004

Now and Then, Here and There
this is one incredible anime. it's harsh, dystopian and often difficult to watch. this is the story of one optimistic boy who is accidentally brought to the bleakest future possible. a world in which children are soldiers and war is constant. not for the faint of heart. this one is highly recommended.
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   Happy Gundam Day!
it's finally saturday 17 april and that means the american premiere of gundam seed. even though i have seen the whole series, i am excited to be able to watch it on television. i must admit to being worried about the english voice acting - the japanese actors were perfect. i truly hope that the american actors are great as well. all of this leads to one question though - if cartoon network is showing anime at all hours of the night, why not show it subtitled? the kids are sleeping, so throw the otaku out there a bone, neh?
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