Friday, August 30, 2013

Japan Day 3: Ikebukuro, J-World Tokyo & Shinjuku

Started off the late morning with intentions to go straight to J-World Tokyo in Ikebukuro, but got sidetracked when we saw the Animate store.



Animate - 9 floors of manga and anime goods

Thursday, August 29, 2013

10 Notable Waltzes in Anime

It wouldn't be inaccurate to say that waltzes are the pop-music of the Classical genre (the dance music before Dance music!). There's something about them that effortlessly catches the ear and makes them easy to like. Maybe it's the soaring melodies or the trademark OOM-pah-pah, but a waltz done well has a characteristic sensation of movement that's addicting and catchy. And given anime music's proclivities when it comes to incorporating diverse genres in its body, waltzes pop up too. The ten tracks below (in no particular order of preference) are selections that have especially stuck out to me throughout the anime I've watched and the soundtracks I've listened to and are definitely worth sharing.



The first waltz hails from an unexpected source - original mecha anime Mazinger Z. If you were to attempt to characterize oversized machines beating each other up with a piece of music, this piece wouldn't be too far off. Extravagantly grandiose, the music immediately smacks you upside the head with a powerful fanfare. A fearless melody is quickly picked up by the strings as they are peppered relentlessly by bursts of bombast from the percussion and brass. The battle ends in a crashing finale as the waltz draws out an overly theatrical ending. Excessively affected in every way, "God Scrander's" enthusiasm is a great track to start off this particular listening exercise.

In Short: Best Summer Since 2007?

FROM MY EXPERIENCE I'VE FOUND THAT THE SUMMER ANIME SEASON CAN BE DREADFUL. THE LAST GREAT SUMMER WE HAD WAS , WHERE MONONOKE, BACCANO!, SZS AND MANY OTHERS THAT ARE STILL DISCUSSED TODAY WERE AIRING. WE'RE ABOUT 5 WEEKS INTO SUMMER 2013, POSSIBLY THE BEST SUMMER WE'VE HAD SINCE 2007. HERE ARE MY IMPRESSIONS, IN SHORT:



BLOOD LAD - A lot of the jokes are falling flat on their face, but it still manages to get a laugh or 2 out of me each episode.

Wednesday, August 28, 2013

Japanese Inspired Designs in T-Shirt Printing

A t-shirt printing artist's inspiration can sometimes come from exotic sources, one of which is Japan. In the world of fashion, Japan has produced a diverse body of work. From the classic lines to the weird get-ups, Japanese-inspired designs are perfect for printed kids' t-shirts, printed hoodies and printed sweatshirts.



USING ANIME AND MANGA CHARACTERS IN T-SHIRT PRINTING

Monday, August 26, 2013

Underrated Anime Series: Yu Yu Hakusho

When I look at that picture I get mixed feelings. I'm happy because I love this series, its my favorite anime. I'm sad because its been done for the last 18 years. And then I feel enjoyment because I love this sereis and nothing will ever beat it. Not Dragon Ball, One Piece, Naruto, Bleach, or Hunter X Hunter. Even though I love Hunter X Hunter. Togashi has two of the greatest series in the last 18 years. But enough about me praising the series, its time to get down to business. Oh and Yu Yu Hakusho is better than Dragon Ball Z. If you don't think so we can talk about it. Find me on Twitter at @TyieheTheTyrant, comment below, and Facebook at Tyrone Dismuke.



The reason this is an underrated series is because people rarely talk about. The people that really talk about it are huge fans of the anime. People who just saw or read it saw its good but they never really got into it. Which is sad because it had a lot to offer. Dragon Ball Z totally over shadowed this series with its long 2 episode standoffs. The anime had better animation, one of the greatest English dubs ever, better fights, when they did fight it actually meant something than just fighting to get stronger or because its for the Earth, and it had far better characters. The only person who had character development in DBZ was Vegeta. Everyone else either stayed the same or were never seen again like Tien and Launch. But let me get off this topic because I'm thinking about talking about DBZ later.

Genkina hito's Autumn 2013 Anime Selection Part 1

If I had to describe anime in one word it would be diverse. The large numbers of titles released every season contain a highly varied number of concepts. Some of them may be sequels or plumb familiar themes and settings but there is usually something to set them apart and make them unique. It's all down to the efficient production model the Japanese entertainment industry uses where any manga/light novels gets treated to a multi-format adaptation. In recent years we have slowly edged out of a trough of moe into some more sophisticated titles that can be described as post-modern or meta-narratives with interesting characters. Compared to anime alone (not including films or dorama), western television is absolutely unimaginative. Diversity best sums up what's on offer with the Autumn 2013 Season.



I finished the last week Tuesday while listening to the soundtrack to Hana and Alice non-stop. It took a while (hours) what with checking the autumn 2013 anime season guide (on the right) and looking up things on / and news reports I do for AUKN. The and seasons had a large number of titles but the autumn one blows them all away with over forty. There are some sequels and a lot of manga/LN adaptations but after a disappointing summer season (the only stand-out anime was the incredible ) I felt energised by the variety and imagination on offer with the autumn season which starts September/October. Here are my selections:

Saturday, August 24, 2013

Chic Pixel Plus: Episode 5

Podcast was super effective! Okay, that was the dumbest joke in the book, but this wouldn't be Chic Pixel if I didn't throw in some bad puns or blatant video game references, right? Besides, I've always wanted to type "a wild husband appears!" But I'm not just typing it - he really did! That's right, I finagled my benevolent husband Shaun to podcast with me this week (well, nearly two weeks ago now, but who's keeping track)!



Shaun and I dressed up in garb inspired by our favorite 'mons, Psyduck and Swadloon!

Friday, August 23, 2013

Hunter x Hunter: Phantom Rouge

You expected the Phantom Troupe in a Phantom Troupe movie? Hah! Too bad!



Well, now this was underwhelming. Not that I had any high hopes for this in the first place after the countless bad Yahoo.jp reviews but still. I expected little, I got nothing. Heck, I didn't even get what they had promised. Kurapika? The spiders? The first one was spending most of the runtime in bed and among the latter, only two of them made an appearance at the forty minutes mark, one of them for about 5 minutes, the other one for a single minute. Six of them also showed up at the last minute to save the day and then left. Providing some fanservice for the crowds who thought this was a movie heavily featuring them, eh?

Hunter X Hunter Status Report

"Vegeta, what does the scouter say about his power level?"



Okay, so I just caught up to Hunter X Hunter, episode 91. Overall at this point when I'm behind on so many series, it just isn't practical to do monthly summaries anymore. That would be way too confusing and I'll only do them again when I'm reasonably up to date with everything. However, I do have an opinion of this series that I want to voice, because this show still continues to work my patience. This frustration was at its highest at episode 90, and thankfully episode 91 made it a bit less.

Summer 2013 Episode Rankings

FREE! didn't air last week, but as I did with Kitakubu a couple of posts ago, I'll just pretend there wasn't a gap and throw ep 5 in with the others. I was a week behind on it anyway, and it's one of the few series I haven't commented on since the start of the season - something I'll put right in this post!



No complaints about lack of action in this week's Shingeki no Kyojin!1 -

TRIGUN ANIME REVIEW: OLD, IMPRESSIVE...

I have to say i am surprised by how much i loved this series. I was skeptical at first because of how OLD Trigun is. I was drawn to it because it is the first anime i have ever seen take place in an old western setting. Plus i rarely watch anime about action heroes that use guns to execute impressive feats.



I was surprised by the quality of this show, certainly i can see why many that watched in its time rate it so highly. Someone should reanimate this show.

Legend of the Galactic Heroes, episodes 3 and 4. Next, Dragon Ball Z

Also known as Ginga Eiyuu Densetsu



After watching 4 episodes of Legend of the Galactic Heroes I think I can see why people like it a little more clearly.

Summer Season 2013 Mid-Impressions

Deconstructing this very website: In an attempt to pander to my female audience (hah!) for once, I decided not to resort to a barely clothed anime girl for this article's cover image or whatever people like to call that stuff.



Also, I'd like to have a slice of life anime with these guys. And Morishige as Kizami's little brother. FUN!