This time, I review the anime from this winter anime season:
-Brave 10
-Papa no Iu Koto wo Kikinasai
-Another
This is also a chance for me to experiment some new audio settings and editing presets.
and my uncle is taller than you
Wednesday, April 4, 2012
2012 Winter Anime Reviews: Brave 10, Papakiki, Another
This time around I am trying something new. Check out this audio review that I entitled Short Bus Review. Expect more of these in the future.
Friday, March 30, 2012
Eroge Bus Episode 9 - My Girlfriend is the President
This summary is not available. Please
click here to view the post.
Monday, March 19, 2012
Brief: Katsucon and MangaNext 2012
On February 17-19, I had the opportunity to finally attend Katsucon 2012. Although, I heard from reports of previous years of Katsucon being somewhat crappy, I am happy to report that I enjoyed Katsucon almost as much as Otakon. In order to avoid duplicity, for those interested in my Katsucon 2012 experience, check out Otaku in Review episode 105 where I talk about Katsucon 2012 along with Charles Dunbar with the hosts Scott Spaziani and G-Nitro.
Meanwhile, the following weekend I returned to my 3rd MangaNext. As usual it was a very relaxing experience due to its small size and intimate atmosphere. However, due to it taking place so soon after Katsucon, it felt very underwhelming even though this has probably been the on of the best MangaNEXT yet.
Unlike anime cons, MangaNEXT focuses mostly on manga and so it makes sense that the con brought mangaka as their top guests. Although the mangaka, Makoto Tateno and Tomo Maeda, are fairly obscure to the Western market, they were quite interesting to meet and listen to. Furthermore, Felipe Smith of Peepo Choo fame has also made an appearance at MangaNEXT.
Of course, I spent most time enjoying the panels which most were presented by the Ninja Consultant Podcast: Erin Finnegan and Noah Fulmor who hosted a large number of great panels. Furthermore, Ed Chavez of Vertical Inc. ran an industry panel as well as a couple of other good panels on specific manga genres. Everything else at the con was fairly standard fare. Since the con was at a new location, the dealers room and artist alley were slightly larger. That's it for this brief report.
Wednesday, February 29, 2012
Eroge Bus Episode 8 - Strip Games
This summary is not available. Please
click here to view the post.
Friday, January 27, 2012
Eroge Bus Episode 7 - Katawa Shoujo
This month, I review and discuss Katawa Shoujo with Krizzlybear from Baka Laureate!
00:00 Intro - Skydive - Freefall
02:07 Opening Words
03:44 Break - TONIGHT IS THE NIGHT.mov
04:39 News:
Dec 29th: Muv-Luv Alternative: Total Eclipse Anime Designs Revealed
Dec 30th: Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney Film's Character Photos Posted
Dec 31th: End of the Year status updates for JAST USA and MangaGamer
Jan 1st: The Release of Katawa Shoujo
Jan 9th: Higurashi's Ryukishi07 to Launch New Series This Year
Jan 10th: Tokimeki Memorial Girl's Side 3rd Story's PSP Videos Streamed
also: Tokimeki Girl's Side Premium 3rd Story's Promo Video Posted
00:00 Intro - Skydive - Freefall
02:07 Opening Words
03:44 Break - TONIGHT IS THE NIGHT.mov
04:39 News:
Dec 29th: Muv-Luv Alternative: Total Eclipse Anime Designs Revealed
Dec 30th: Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney Film's Character Photos Posted
Dec 31th: End of the Year status updates for JAST USA and MangaGamer
Jan 1st: The Release of Katawa Shoujo
Jan 9th: Higurashi's Ryukishi07 to Launch New Series This Year
Jan 10th: Tokimeki Memorial Girl's Side 3rd Story's PSP Videos Streamed
also: Tokimeki Girl's Side Premium 3rd Story's Promo Video Posted
Jan 14th: MangaGamer Hints at Two New Possible Games
Jan 15th: Amaterasu Translations releases English patch for Liar-Soft's Forest
Jan 17th: TOPCAT Suspends Work on Their New Game
Jan 17th: JAST USA Looks Into Licensing Steins;Gate Game
Jan 20th: Steins;Gate's 'Satellite' Returns to Akihabara in Tokyo
Jan 25th: Aaeru's Controversial Post: Don't Sell Your Fan Translation
Update: Fuwanovel won't have pirated games after all.
13:27 Break - Parity Jam
15:46 Katawa Shoujo Review (Spoiler Free)
38:38 Katawa Shoujo Discussion (SPOILERS!!!)
90:49 Break - Hanako.mp3
91:39 Upcoming Games:
Bunny Black 2 by Soft House Chara:
http://www.getchu.com/soft.phtml?id=721723
http://vndb.org/v8192
Maji de Watashi ni Koishinasai! S by Minato-soft:
http://www.getchu.com/soft.phtml?id=701555
http://vndb.org/v6245
Gaku ☆ Ou -The Royal Seven Stars- by Lump of Sugar:
http://www.getchu.com/soft.phtml?id=718586
http://vndb.org/v7772
Dousei Lover Able by SMEE:
http://www.getchu.com/soft.phtml?id=718733
http://vndb.org/v7774
Oshirikko Venus by Apricot Cherry:
http://www.getchu.com/soft.phtml?id=723494
http://vndb.org/v8089
Wanna. SpartanSex Spermax!!! by Guilty EX:
http://www.getchu.com/soft.phtml?id=722148
http://vndb.org/v9326
Sutadoru! by Abelia:
http://www.getchu.com/soft.phtml?id=710941
http://vndb.org/v8183
97:38 Ending - School Days - Kanashimi no mokou e
Jan 15th: Amaterasu Translations releases English patch for Liar-Soft's Forest
Jan 17th: TOPCAT Suspends Work on Their New Game
Jan 17th: JAST USA Looks Into Licensing Steins;Gate Game
Jan 20th: Steins;Gate's 'Satellite' Returns to Akihabara in Tokyo
Jan 25th: Aaeru's Controversial Post: Don't Sell Your Fan Translation
Update: Fuwanovel won't have pirated games after all.
13:27 Break - Parity Jam
15:46 Katawa Shoujo Review (Spoiler Free)
38:38 Katawa Shoujo Discussion (SPOILERS!!!)
90:49 Break - Hanako.mp3
91:39 Upcoming Games:
Bunny Black 2 by Soft House Chara:
http://www.getchu.com/soft.phtml?id=721723
http://vndb.org/v8192
Maji de Watashi ni Koishinasai! S by Minato-soft:
http://www.getchu.com/soft.phtml?id=701555
http://vndb.org/v6245
Gaku ☆ Ou -The Royal Seven Stars- by Lump of Sugar:
http://www.getchu.com/soft.phtml?id=718586
http://vndb.org/v7772
Dousei Lover Able by SMEE:
http://www.getchu.com/soft.phtml?id=718733
http://vndb.org/v7774
Oshirikko Venus by Apricot Cherry:
http://www.getchu.com/soft.phtml?id=723494
http://vndb.org/v8089
Wanna. SpartanSex Spermax!!! by Guilty EX:
http://www.getchu.com/soft.phtml?id=722148
http://vndb.org/v9326
Sutadoru! by Abelia:
http://www.getchu.com/soft.phtml?id=710941
http://vndb.org/v8183
97:38 Ending - School Days - Kanashimi no mokou e
Thursday, December 29, 2011
Tuesday, December 20, 2011
Secret Santa Review: Xam'd: Lost Memories
This is the second edition of the secret Santa review brought to you thanks to the efforts of the Reverse Thieves. Enjoy this review of Xam'd: Lost Memories by studio BONES.
At the height of the anime bubble in 2008, there were many anime titles getting produced. Many of these titles were visibly trying to cater to a Western audience. Xam'd: Lost Memories is one of these titles. Unfortunately, due to the bubble and the massive quantity of different shows released at that time, this impressive sci-fi show has flown under my radar. So when Sentai Filmworks licensed this series earlier this year, I was sort of confused as to what this show is and why was it licensed. I now know as to why it was licensed: It's effing awesome!
So I dove straight into this series knowing nothing about it. The first thing I noticed just how pretty it was in high definition. The characters that were first introduced seemed somewhat bland and didn't really grab me at first. Of course the first episode spent a lot of time introducing all the characters and sort of show what their relationships were. Furthermore, the show did not wait to start weaving a story and right away the audience are thrust into a conflict. It appears that there are factions who are still fighting a war but it's not clear as to who is who and what their intentions are. And of course the main character ends up being mixed up with all the fighting.
As I stated before, this animated series looks gorgeous in high definition. There are many painted environments as the series goes from place to place such as villages and towns. All the machinery is well detailed as well as attention is given to all the various rifles that are used throughout the series. The animation in the opening is fairly consistent with the animation in the series. As you can see the animation is smooth and there is a lot of action. The show has a lot of that and in addition there are quite spectacular animations of destruction. Overall this series is quite a visual feast.
As you probably have noticed, the openings and closings are entirely in English which is quite rare. The regular soundtrack does a good job setting the mood but doesn't really stand out and is fairly average in that respect. The Japanese voice cast was very competent at acting out all the characters and conveying their emotions. Unfortunately I did not try watching with the English dub, but from looking at the names of the cast they appear to be standard Sentai Filmworks talent.
So the series is mainly about a boy, Akiyuki Takehara, who gets caught up in an explosion that grants him powers that change him into a biological weapon much like The Hulk. However, he does not initially know how to fully control this power or what the actual purpose of it is. An enigmatic girl named Nakiami from a free lance postal air-ship flies over, and not only helps Akiyuki from being consumed by his new power, but also adopts him until he gains control. The first half of the series basically is his journey to master these new powers. Now there is a lot more going on than Akiyuki's journey and this makes the first half a bit hard to watch and impossible to marathon. Now the second part of the series is a bit easier to swallow since most facts were already presented to the viewer or are once again shown for clarity. Despite the initial confusion, the series did pull me in and I wanted to see more and more of the story. In short, the story is very dense which is somewhat hard to swallow for many people, but it is rewarding to keep watching as things become more clarified along the way.
Putting all this together it should be no surprise that Xam'D: Lost Memories is a must watch series. I would recommend this to anyone. If I were to give this series a number score, it would be an 89/100. Although a word of warning, this series should not be marathoned and I do recommend watching it twice as the second time around, the series is more enjoyable when everything makes sense.
 |
| What the hell is this thing?! |
At the height of the anime bubble in 2008, there were many anime titles getting produced. Many of these titles were visibly trying to cater to a Western audience. Xam'd: Lost Memories is one of these titles. Unfortunately, due to the bubble and the massive quantity of different shows released at that time, this impressive sci-fi show has flown under my radar. So when Sentai Filmworks licensed this series earlier this year, I was sort of confused as to what this show is and why was it licensed. I now know as to why it was licensed: It's effing awesome!
So I dove straight into this series knowing nothing about it. The first thing I noticed just how pretty it was in high definition. The characters that were first introduced seemed somewhat bland and didn't really grab me at first. Of course the first episode spent a lot of time introducing all the characters and sort of show what their relationships were. Furthermore, the show did not wait to start weaving a story and right away the audience are thrust into a conflict. It appears that there are factions who are still fighting a war but it's not clear as to who is who and what their intentions are. And of course the main character ends up being mixed up with all the fighting.
 |
| Details. Details everywhere. |
As I stated before, this animated series looks gorgeous in high definition. There are many painted environments as the series goes from place to place such as villages and towns. All the machinery is well detailed as well as attention is given to all the various rifles that are used throughout the series. The animation in the opening is fairly consistent with the animation in the series. As you can see the animation is smooth and there is a lot of action. The show has a lot of that and in addition there are quite spectacular animations of destruction. Overall this series is quite a visual feast.
Check out this opening.
As you probably have noticed, the openings and closings are entirely in English which is quite rare. The regular soundtrack does a good job setting the mood but doesn't really stand out and is fairly average in that respect. The Japanese voice cast was very competent at acting out all the characters and conveying their emotions. Unfortunately I did not try watching with the English dub, but from looking at the names of the cast they appear to be standard Sentai Filmworks talent.
So the series is mainly about a boy, Akiyuki Takehara, who gets caught up in an explosion that grants him powers that change him into a biological weapon much like The Hulk. However, he does not initially know how to fully control this power or what the actual purpose of it is. An enigmatic girl named Nakiami from a free lance postal air-ship flies over, and not only helps Akiyuki from being consumed by his new power, but also adopts him until he gains control. The first half of the series basically is his journey to master these new powers. Now there is a lot more going on than Akiyuki's journey and this makes the first half a bit hard to watch and impossible to marathon. Now the second part of the series is a bit easier to swallow since most facts were already presented to the viewer or are once again shown for clarity. Despite the initial confusion, the series did pull me in and I wanted to see more and more of the story. In short, the story is very dense which is somewhat hard to swallow for many people, but it is rewarding to keep watching as things become more clarified along the way.
 |
| Can you recognize the gun on the left? |
Putting all this together it should be no surprise that Xam'D: Lost Memories is a must watch series. I would recommend this to anyone. If I were to give this series a number score, it would be an 89/100. Although a word of warning, this series should not be marathoned and I do recommend watching it twice as the second time around, the series is more enjoyable when everything makes sense.
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