Heartcatch PreCure! Heartfelt Review!

Heartcatch PreCure!

Director:                   Tatsuya Nagamine
Production:               Toei Animation
Original run:             07 Ferbruary 2010 - 30 January 2010
Episodes:                 49

Tsubomi Hanasaki is a 2nd year middle school student who loves plants. One day, she dreams of a mysterious flowering tree that wilted, causing fairies to disappear. She also saw two mysterious people fighting, one wanting to destroy the tree and one protecting it. When she transfers to Myodo Academy, the fairies that she saw in her dream appear. They beg her to become a Pretty Cure to protect the Great Tree of Hearts, but she refuses. However, a mysterious enemy called the Desert Messengers came, and the Heart Flower of her new classmate, Erika Kurumi, is stolen. To save Erika, she has to become a Pretty Cure and fight.

It's hard to get more magical girly than the Pretty Cure franchise. All of the key elements set forth by such predecessors as Sailor Moon and Mermaid Melody are there. Cute little animal mascots? Check. They even have their own catchphrases. Inane transformation items? Check. A perfume bottle that's utterly useless except for the spraying on of a new outfit. Color coded hair and outfits? Check. Not necessarily the colors of the rainbow, and how pink was used twice, but the sentai is still there. Powerful evil bad guy dudes bent on destroying the world? Check. Though at least they have a reason why they need to only operate in the same city as those blasted meddling kids. Recycled final attack always used to hurt/destroy the monster of the week? Double check. Though, to their credit, they don't use big hearts or musical notes, instead being bent towards a more violent method of purifying the beasties. 

 
Almost every episode has a feel-good story. The main characters (the Precure) walk in on someone being depressed about something, find out what it is, then run around like it's their life's purpose to rid the person of their woes. Fashion club? Maybe they should rename it to the volunteer club! What a pity it is then that they are never able to actually resolve a single issue themselves. It always turns into the badguy's using the person's depression to create a rampaging monster, and the magical buttkicking layed upon the monster is what actually manages to cheer up the person, but the sentiment is still there. Girls find people who are upset, and at the end of the day that person is happy again. If you manage to ignore the violence, then Pretty Cure is sweet on an injecting frosting directly into your bloodstream proportions. 

Then again, the violence is still there, and redeems the show in the eyes of another target audience entirely. 



A concept employed but never detailed in previous magical girl series' is the empowerment of the magical girl transformation. When transformed, these otherwise innocent, frail, and entirely human children can suddenly jump across rooftops and be crashed through a building without being hurt. To them however, instead of reveling in these new abilites, they decide to only blast a single recycled magical attack to hurt or destroy the monsters every time. Not the Precure. The first thing the Pretty Cure notice when they first transform is that they are suddenly super strong and super fast. The second thing they notice is that there is a giant, rampaging monster over there tearing up the landscape. Therefore, they fall on the very human response to the situation of a nail needing hammering, and beat the monster up. Punches, kicks, throws, Who cares if they accidentally crush that apartment building with a monster shaped projectile? It's the monsters fault for existing! Then once it's weakened enough they can resort to the recycled magical attack sequence to finish it off.



Actually, the fight scenes that occur in every episode could be attributed to Street Fighter in content, where the recycled finishers are considered the super moves. One cannot win a fight with a single super move from the beginning of the match. The enemy has to be beaten up and weakened alot before that could happen. Therefore, while the super move finisher is visually the same every time, the entire fight leading up to it is unique. They even throw in random flashy special moves in a truly non-recycled fashion! 

The Character designer/art director is Ryuutarou Masuda, so the series shares the same style as works Ojamajo Doremi and Street Fighter Alpha. Namely, slightly more simplified, more cartoony than would otherwise be common among Anime. The rounder shapes and flat but more colorful images serve as a boost to the overall quality of the show. Scene continuity isn't as necessary, so character development occurs faster. This makes for improved sentimentality, one-shot characters who's plights we can better understand, while still allowing time for the other stuff. The fighting also improves because they can afford to be flashier without having to resort to rotoscoping (animation style where real life footage is traced onto an animation cell. Outlines are squiggily and the art looks terrible, but it allows to seamless fluent motion and is easier to animate). 


Recurring characterizations are a stark improvement over previous magical girl shows, especially with the bad guys. Instead of mindless manifestations of evilness, the bad guys are pretty much Human in personality. They are all of them fully aware of, and approve of, the methodology and expected result of their actions, so they cannot be dissuaded through words or exposure to love or some other thing (and with that level of action, who would want them to?), even though they are perfectly capable and willing to sit down and discuss their reasons. In addition, they show an ability to argue and hold conversations, and partake in things like hobbies and activities. At one point, a desert messenger said "I'm bored, so I think I'll try and beat up the Precure today!", which leads to a noteceable lack of urgency on their part. Because of that lack of urgency, it leads us as viewers to wonder why they even bother to begin with? The show needs not be a full year-long if so much of it feels like filler. 

Sweetness and Violence don't really go together. It's like oil and water. You cannot make soup with oil and you cannot deep fry with water, so it's difficult to make a singular dinner with both. The Sentimentality is sweet enough for the girls to put up with the violence, and the action is good enough for the boys to suffer through the sweetness, but both parties still encounter a full half of the show that they can't like, so I have to give it an even steven 2.5 out of 5. Bonus points for having an actual history and previous generations of magical girls, including a still-living grandmother who was the previous incarnation who herselfdefeated  the main bad guy some 50 years beforehand. 


*Note* - The video clip below shows off the typical quality of fight scenes, however it contains heavy spoilers.




- Ben M.

Katanagatari.... reviewed.

Katanagatari

Writer:                     Nisio Isin

Director:                   Keitaro Motonaga

Production:               White Fox

Original run:             January 25, 2010 - December, 2010

Episodes:                 12.

Yasuri Shichika is the 7th generation heir to the Kyoutouryu sword less, sword fighting style, who spent 20 years isolated on an island in exile with his family. 20 years after the war, a girl named Togame beseeching his help approaches him. Togame is a stratagem for the Shogunate (Japanese Empire) who was tasked with finding and collecting all 12 of the perfected deviant blades created by the ancient legendary sword smith Kiki Shikizaki. She needs Shichika's help because his sword less sword fighting style would allow him to collect the various swords without succumbing to the poison that the blades inflict on whoever wields them.

The first thing to notice about this show, which makes it so alike to it's artful sister series "Bakemonogatari", is that it is Dialogue-centric. The majority of every episode is spent in conversation. Unlike other shows which claim vastly more dialogue than anything else, Katanagatari doesn't limit it's banter to "I'm strongest more than you! No you're not! Yes I am! Are not! Am to! Are not! AM TO!!". Every conversation in this show is masterfully done, and deserving of the best in the oxford debate club. Characters intelligently pose their opinions, support it with short but detailed elaborations, listen to each other, ask questions for clarification, and post insights and arguments and counter opinions. Also, like the conversation over tea about the taste of the cookies that could sway the difference between life and death in the next upcoming war, the conversations are loaded down with many subtle layers of deeper vocal conflict and double, triple, and quadruple entendre. We foreigners tend to miss most of those layers, because we don't speak the language and most of it is lost in translation, but mostly because we be too stupid to see anything but the most clear-to-face and obvious meanings to everything, and therefore require long, lengthy paragraphs of constantly repeating words that describe what we are already looking at before we can get it. What I'm saying is, this show isn't a Tits and Explosions kind of action. It is a show for intelligent people to listen to the words and try to understand the various meanings behind them. If you're not that kind of viewer, then the anime is pointlessly long and frustratingly boring. If you are one of those intelligent types, then the show is a never-ending crux of engaging conversations and inspiring concepts.

As a compliment to the dialogue, is the length. Unlike a 23 minute per episode show released every week for exactly 1/4 of a year (13 weeks), This show is OVA style, each episode being 45 minutes long and released only once a month for an entire year. 12 months, 12 swords, you can see the pattern. This isn't an OVA (that is a really one long movie broken into 3 or so smaller parts). Each episode is an independent episode, and the end product is such that it is unimaginable to try and picture a compressed version for the usual half an hour lengths. None of it gives off the impressions of being too jammed packed, or even delay tactic filler material. The pacing is perfectly gentle, allowing for proper dramatic buildup.

And what a dramatic buildup it has. Not only does each episode work its way slowly from a calm beginning to a catastrophic crescendo, but each episode builds upon each other in a symphony of intertwined plots to make for a reverberating tension you just can't rush into. The individual sword plots are somewhat predictable in the results, but as the sword capturing comes closer towards the end, we all sit there waiting for the other shoe to drop, with a big difficulty in imagining just what that other shoe is going to be. I personally couldn't predict what could possibly be more exciting than episode 4, what could be more different than episode 5, what could be more absurd than episode 6, what could be more dangerous than episode 7... and yet it did get more exciting, more different, more absurd, more dangerous, and continues to do so, right up to the end.

The action is severely lacking at the best of times. For a 45-minute episode of a show about a legendary swordsman fighting off the worlds best swordsmen in order to collect the most exotic swords, quite frankly the action sucks. The real fight scenes are limited to maybe some quick buildup followed by the climactic moment. Heck, the only fight worth its weight in time was the only one that didn't actually involve any swords. That's not to say that the show is in any way slow(er than previously mentioned), but the whole project could have served just as well as an elaborate graphic novel for all the motion that was involved.

The graphics, too, are another point that might be taken against the overall quality of the show. Like any good 4-letter comedy or a quack experimental anime, the art style itself tends to change rapidly. From photo realistic to stereophonic to shoujou pretty-boy to video game sprites, there just doesn't seem to be any rhyme or reason behind anything visual. If anything, I might have to say that the purpose of the visual shift is as a shortcut. The few action scenes are all broken up or hidden by odd angles, styles, or after effects. Even setup scenes that require the visual aid to support the plan or reason is left to the simplest or most repetitive style available. That's not to say the art is bad, it's just wildly different and expertly used to hide the purpose (animation shortcut). It could even be surprised that what action we do get is a bonus, because the art is nothing more than a means of keeping our eyes from getting bored while we concentrate on the dialogue.

The characters are colorful, and all of them original. From the animal themed Maniwa Ninja, to the Kaleidoscopic princesses to the sharp sword owners, to even Shichika's changing Oak patterned life, there is not a single named character whom you could look at and say "he/she looks like a rip-off of _____". Instead, all of them would each make for an instantly recognizable cosplay at any convention, one flooded with awes on the difficulty it must have been to tailor the costume.

Due to the existence of the Howard Stern Syndrome (you either love it or you hate it, but there's no in-between), I find it difficult to properly rate this show. It all really comes down to the dialogue. If you are the kind of person who can follow and appreciate it, then Katanagatari rates a whopping 9 out of 10, held back only by the annoying shifts in art and the existence of a better precedent (Bakemonogatari had, mysteriously enough, much better dialogue and much more appropriate radical art shift). If you need more explosions and cleavage in your sword-fighting, then the show drops to a miserable 2 out of 5 for hiding all the good stuff and boring us all with big words, saved only by the originality of the characters and the concepts of persona la badass. Penalty points taken for replacing the episode shaping up to be one of the most epic swordfights in the history of ever with a side story, bonus points given right back for that same side story being totally worth it!

-Ben

Welcome to Philadelphia's TAKII 10

So for a while now, I’ve been wondering why there haven’t been many anime events in Philadelphia. Honestly, the city is big enough and you run into a lot of anime fans if you know where to look. But considering that everyone can’t travel to Otakon, AnimeExpo, Katsu-con and other major anime conventions, you have a good amount of people wishing there was something here.

Then I found out about The Asian Karaoke Idol Invitational - or TAKII for short.

What exactly is TAKII, you ask? TAKII is a local Asian culture gathering held at the Rotunda (a small concert/event hall next to The Bridge Theater) right in the heart of University City. From what I know of it, it's been running for almost 5 years on a bi-yearly basis. Anime fans throughout the city come to this event to meet up with others and embrace their love of all things anime and Japanese on this two day event. And it's not just sitting back and watching anime, there are events ranging from a talent show contest (Asian American Idol), a cosplay competition, live concerts, a video game tournament, and even a rave for all the ravers in the building.



From first glance, it seems that TAKII is a mini-con held for the Philly anime fans. However, after experiencing the first day, you can tell that it’s deeper than just anime love. TAKII pays homage to all Asian Pop Culture, including video games, music (mainly Japanese and Korean Pop), cos-play, treats and – obviously – animation.




D-Chan judging the winners of the
Asian American Idol contest.

 

One of the things that are attractive about TAKII is the atmosphere itself. To be honest, TAKII feels like it’s just a large family reunion rather than a convention. For starters, you get in for free. And that’s something that anybody will fall in love with. It’s one of the things that organizer Damian “D-Chan” Christopher has kept to make TAKII stand out as a gathering with friends.



And does it feel like a gathering with friends? That answer is yes. The atmosphere’s a highly sociable one, meaning you’re guaranteed to be cool with a few people by the middle of the day. Even one new attendee had this to say about it:

“What I like about TAKII was the atmosphere. The atmosphere made it fun to socialize with people while having fun and not making me feel uneasy.”


The TAKII 10 Cosplay Competition's entries.



This being my second time there, I had to make a return trip. My first time there was at the insistence of a friend and well, what I experienced there was more than enough to bring me back again. And when I came back, it was an epic experience despite the cold weather. Just remembering the acts that took place in the Asian American Idol Competition on Saturday keeps me laughing still.

The second – and final – day of TAKII was the perfect end to the festivities. I won’t go into much of it because of space constraints, however I will say that between the musical chairs event that I walked in on to the Cosplay Competition, it was the perfect build-up for the final event: the video game tournament. This season, the game was Soul Calibur 4 but was switched to Dragon Ball Z: Burst Limit due to technical difficulties.

And that’s one thing that I give D-Chan: he came prepared for that situation. This is something that I’ve seen some bigger local conventions fail at when it comes to game tournaments.

Needless to say, the tournament was insane. From the opening where two contenders ran onstage and held an air guitar jam session to the opening video – yes, that actually happened – to the matches, it kept everyone on the edge of their seats until the end. Both teams had good matches and for an instant, it seemed that the team that took an early lead was destined to lose in the second round. But in the end, the team that took the early lead managed to make a comeback and take the win.

Saturday night's performer Sin with a back-up dancer as she performs "The Real Folk Blues".

And that’s all I have to say on TAKII 10 at the moment. Even though the memories will stay fresh in my head – and my laptop via .MOV files – TAKII is done for the year. However, the date for the next season of TAKII is already set. So if you want to experience this event for yourself, mark down May 14th and 15th on your calendars because that’s when TAKII returns for its 11th season. And check out the TAKII site here: http://takii.pdnmz.com

Hope to see you there next year!
- Ray Riley

Heroman reviewed!

HEROMAN

Originally Written by:  Stan Lee (Shock!)

Anime Written by:      Akatsuki Yamatoya

Director:                   Hitoshi Nanba

Production:               Studio BONES

Original run:             April 1 2010 - September 23 2010

Episodes:                 26

On request, I was asked to watch and review Heroman, a half-year anime series from this last spring. The watching part was easy. I'd been following it since it started after all. It's the reviewing part that has my mecha in a twist. There is so much that is both good and bad about this series that I barely know how to start, and even worse is that I'm not too confident enough in my literary finesse to describe the goods and bads without directly spoiling things for those who haven't yet watched the show. So I decided to simply start from the inception and not bother with parsing my words at all.

SPOILER ALERT - This review will contain spoilers, so skip to the last paragraph if you don't want that. - SPOILER ALERT

Orphaned American boy Joey lives with his grandmother, working at a restaurant in the west coast city of Center City, while going to school. Upon hearing of a new toy robot called the Heybo, Joey believes that getting one will make his life better, turning him into a hero to protect his friends and family. However, he cannot afford to buy it on his meager salary. His luck changes when he picks up a broken down Heybo abandoned by a school bully. He tries to fix it, naming it Heroman, but does not have any luck in getting it to work. However, when a bolt of lightning strikes it, it transforms into a giant robot, just in time to save his friend Lina from impending danger. Now, Joey and Heroman are Earth's only defense against the evil insectoid Skrugg aliens, unknowingly summoned to Earth by Joey's science teacher.

That's the official overview of the story. Here is mine;

The Skrugg, an intergalactic race of technologically superior cockroaches, have set their eyes on the destruction of earth. Joey, an average kid from California, comes upon a toy robot that can transform into a super powered giant mech, Giant mechs and alien cockroaches collide and a fight for the survival of the world commences.

No less accurate, but gives off a completely different feel. Right?

My first problem with this series is Heroman himself. Itself. Heroman started out as a Heybo, a common off-the-shelf plastic toy robot, probably made in china. After being run over by a car, a wimpy boy who works part time at a cafe decides to try to fix it himself, since he could never afford one otherwise. The kid's shoddy repair job (including a generous amount of Scotch Tape and lots of left over pieces) combines with a bolt of lighting to somehow manage to turn this plastic toy into a giant robot (that isn't even really that big, maybe Shaq sized), complete with a controller gauntlet for the kid himself. Seriously? That's how Heroman came to be? They could have so easily gone the B-movie route by including some strange alien artifact, unknown chemical, or black box technology in the repair of the toy to provide the catalyst for the super transformation. There was even a bumbling mad scientist type included among the main character list to provide it. Instead they went with this, which is so arbitrary and illogical that I wonder why they even bothered? If they skipped the whole inception thing, played it off as 'he was always here', and used that time for some of the better things, the show would have stated off so much better. Also, right out of the box, so to speak, Heroman has a seemingly large amount of autonomy. How much? They never say. Enough however to be able to do exactly what his controller wants off of the basic command of "Heroman Go!” and the will to go berserk when his precious controller is knocked unconscious by the enemy (not to mention the intelligence needed to recognize the difference between that and say... going to sleep at night), but not enough to ever show a different facial expression, engage himself, anticipate even the most obvious of commands, or any decision making of it's own in general. Thirdly, Heroman is a plastic toy that was struck by lightning. Yet somehow, its standing regular punch seems to pack more concussive force than a 120mm high explosive shell fired from the main cannon of an American M1 Abrams tank. That's before it is empowered by any number of augmentative specials. Finally, I have absolutely no problems with its coloring scheme. Red-white-and-blue is very aesthetically pleasing and very appropriate for an American super hero. The problem I have is that Heroman started out textured after the American flag. I highly doubt that the bolt of lightning was too concerned about what people might think about the coloring of this new robo it's about to create, and I'm pretty darn sure that Joey wasn't thinking especially patriotic thoughts while watching his precious new toy get fried by an act of god, so why the flag?

I'm not entirely disenfranchised by the robot completely. Heroman, by its nature, is neutral. It is a really big toy under the command of its controller. Should someone with less of a moral fabric as Joey become it's controller, Heroman would have blithely followed his commands and been no less powerful for it. Autonomy aside, that makes it believable, but otherwise forgettable as we concentrate more on the moral and caricature development of its Controller. Also, Heroman has some really cool special movies, such as a Misaka Mikoto Mimicry, and a super devilman growth. I'm not sure how the feedback thing operates that gives Joey his superpowers, and I won't beat on a dead horse how illogical it was for him to even get superpowers, but they were really cool. In a contest between Joey and the Flash, Joey would win 25 times out of 10, simply because he is twice as cool at his worst than the Flash was during his prime. 

The next issue is the Skrugg. Those alien bug people thingies. As cliche as aliens might be, they do serve as a good antithesis to the newly minted superhero. Physically, technologically, and morally superior to humans, they also have a nice plot device in the form of the zerg-like ability to make any other creature into Skrugg-like versions, making them more powerful and blindly loyal. What I don't like, is that one skrugg learned the English language with little more difficulty than clearing it's throat, then instantly after every single one of them decided to adopt it as their language of choice, including a full set of cultural slang and human character traits, despite already having the much more efficient communications method of telepathy. Over time, it became really really hard to remember that these things were actually Aliens, because of how readily they fell into human mannerisms.

I have to get to the production itself. Heroman takes place in the suburbs of Los Angeles, California. Ok, they call it "Center City", but everything from the skyline of downtown to the location on the map to the weather and living conditions of the residents just SCREAM L.A. Other major cities of the country remain un-name-changed (possible exception of Washington D.C. being referred to as simply Washington), so who did they think they were fooling? Whatever. Aside from the name, the setting itself was perfectly portrayed. Now, I don't know weather to be impressed or shamed of this, but one thing the producers captured perfectly was the sheer level of American arrogance. This is an anime, made in japan, voiced in Japanese, and released (first) for a Japanese audience, but the monikers and overall dialogue lent itself to a decent dub of true American communication. The overall plot took place in America, and (despite being a world threat) was treated as an American problem for us Americans to contend with. The other continents of the world (didn't even bother to mention Country names) were given a bare cursory glance to enhance how American it was of us Americans to save the world from yet another American-only problem. Yaay! Go America!

The NIA (National Intelligence Agency, a sort of in-show combination of the CIA and NSA) were very well portrayed, in both their professionalism and abilities, a good dose a adult logic and mannerisms when everyone else is tripping like kids (for being kids, obviously). That other scientist in contrast was extremely cartoony, and so very difficult to take seriously.

Probably one of the very best features of Heroman was the destruction. Compliments to Madhouse for putting the effort to it. When things broke, they broke. Into pieces, the individual pieces falling this way and that to leave rubble splayed around the area that was broken. Even better was how the destruction persisted. If a house was crushed, and the action took the characters through that same area in a later episode, the same house would be seen in the same pattern of rubble, but from a different angle. This happened all across the city. There was no such thing as a background, either, apparently. Usually there is a noticeable shift in quality between static background images and moving debris, but not here. The destruction on even background scenes occurred seamlessly with the foreground animation, rendering it absolutely beautiful. Also, the background music was wonderfully composed and presented, lending such a heart-wrenching drama to the precisely placed destruction in such a way as to do a good disaster movie proud.

One more thing that did the show well was the addiction level. Mostly instigated by the wonderful destruction, but the first few episodes were extremely “meh” (especially after the first-episode hyper Stan Lee Made This-ness wore off), but 6-8 episodes in the dynamic changed to an "I've got to see more!" feeling during the episode’s cliffhanger scenes. That died off quickly later as the drama tapered off and new story arcs began, but the damage was done and the addiction set in. I was VERY annoyed during those mid-season 'anime' episodes, where they abandoned all pretenses of plot in order to pursue the more anime style cliche's of the misunderstanding laden date episode, and the obligatory trip to the beach.

As much quality as was thrown into the destruction, one might think that the producers could spare the time and expense to maybe vary the outfits a little sometimes. I mean, sure. Long multi-episode quests with the characters constantly fighting for their lives won't present an opportunity to readilly change clothing, but it was seriously disturbing to find out that the big-breasted homeroom teacher taught school in the same outfit that she jogged and swam in! The only time any character ever wore anything different, ever, was their swimsuits (which was their normal outfits sans some fabric). The rest of the time it was cheerleader outfits and yellow hoodies. Where do they get off presenting that kind of animation shortcut? Absolutely nothing else in the animation side of things was significantly skimped on budget or quality (Heroman command recycling being a notable but understandably exception).

(Sigh)... it's hard to structure so many pluses and minuses into a form that flows from one point to the next when they were so convoluted to each other originally. If I sounded bipolar in how I went from super amazed to super disgusted and back again through out all of this, keep in mind that it's exactly how I felt throughout each episode of the show, as they intermingled so many goods and bads together into a convoluted 23 minute package. I did manage to cover all the main points I feel, so I'll leave it to you to sort it all, as you feel fit.

SPOILER ALERT!!!!!
I like Stan Lee, but I am not the kind of person who sprays hot hug and experiences a manly joygasm over his name, so I am going to rate this show fairly, based on all the goods and bads combined and without a fandom bias. In my opinion, Heroman deserves a 3 out of 5. As a superhero show, it was plussed with mindless action but lacking in any real logic. As a romance show, it utterly failed for even trying. As a disaster show, it excelled further than any other anime I can name to date! A pity that this wasn't a true disaster show than (well) portrayed characterizations with really bad dialogue and cookie-cutter images. Major negative points for a major character who's major hangup is being stubbornly upset over the fact that her super popular super heroic father didn't come home to her one day because the selfish bastard stupidly sacrificed himself to pointlessly save the lives of a worthless couple hundred of his co-workers from a not-at-all dangerous being trapped alive in a cave-in at the mines. Some bonus points for the addiction factor. More bonus points for including real death of real human characters that had real important roles and lines and backstory.
END OF SPOILER!!!!!!!!!

-Ben M

Rating: 3 out of 5

The World God Only Knows... REVIEWED!

Original Manga by:  Tamiki Wakaki

Written By:             Hideyuki Kurata

Director:                Shigehito Takayanagi

Production:            Manglobe

Original Run:          October 6, 2010 - to - Current

Episodes:               26?

My first title to review is a new one that people on this site especially can appreciate. It's about a gamer who uses his "m4d g4m1ng sk1llz" (mad gamer skills) to solve real world issues!

Katsuragi Keima is a hardcore gamer. Known online as the "Capturing God", Keima is without question the worlds best Galge expert, capable of capturing any girl in any game through any scenario. In responding to his thousands of fans' e-mails, he is presented with an e-mail that seems to challenge his skills at capturing girls. In responding yes to the challenge, he accidentally signs into a contract with a devil, one where he must use his skills to capture the hearts of real girls in order to drive out evil escaped spirits that are hiding in them. The big problem with this is that Keima hates the real world, especially real girls. In real life, he is a reclusive gamer who is perpetually made fun of by his class and peers, but besides that he genuinely wants nothing to do with the real, in favor more of playing games. However, the contract has his life as collateral for failure to perform, so he begrudgingly attempts to make the select girls fall in love with him.  Elsie is a cute, young, and somewhat naive devil assigned to Keima to direct him to the girls that need capturing. 

In my eyes, there are two things that stand out the most about this show so far. First, with the vibrant colors (the school uniform is bright red), the physics gags (Elsie's broom is capable of destroying a city block with a single sweep!), the frequent superdeformity, and overall lack of any blatant oversexuality and pointless fanservice, this is by far a prime example of the concept known as an Anime. Embarrassment is glossed over with absurdity, running gags are frequent but tasteful, Visual effects are appropriate to setting mood, and drama is paced and presented in order to establish the characters without us getting too attached to them. In other words, there are zero major turnoffs, everything potentially bad left moderate enough to tolerate in favor of the potential goods. An all around feel-good more than watchable anime that doesn't take itself too seriously or resort to cheep gimmicks or fan services in order to draw in viewers. 

The second thing is that this anime proves that Evangelion, in fact, did Not ruin anime. Unlike the angst-wridden zenophobic bumbling nerds that Otaku are usually portrayed as, Keima is both confident and capable. He chooses to ignore the jidings and proddings of his peers because he deems them beneath him. When motivated enough to look away from his PFP handheld game system long enough to do anything (very difficult to do. He plays even during class or while taking a bath) he can look a girl in the eyes in public and confess in the corniest way possible without even blinking. Add to that a calculating genius that would embarrass Lulouche (of Code Geass) and earn a 'Well Done' from Light (of Death Note), you will find yourself watching, not to see if he succeeds, but instead to see how he succeeds, and to laugh at all those pathetic plot obstacles that naively try to stop him. That's not to say that he is athletic in any way, or that he won't throw a temper tantrum any time he doesn't get his way, but it's a pleasant change to see a male lead in a romantic comedy that isn't an emo "so and so". 

Despite the wonderful lack of pointless fanservice, there is still a measure of gimmick that feels frivolous or outright pointless. Keima apparently needs a contract with a devil in order to use his mad skills. Said devil herself is a cute, young, and naive girl who clearly isn't the least bit evil. The closest association to a denizen of the netherworld that Elsie could be associated with is Fallen Angel Flonne, who isn't even a devil to begin with. Even her presence feels pointless and time-wasting. She shows up cutely, does some gags, points out the girl, then it's all Keima all the way. Also, with her ability to fly and her translucent 'robe' that can be shapeshifted into anything, she seems to come off as a sort of broken cheat code, used to push the story along instead of lingering on superfluous character development. 

Yes, I know that I contradicted myself there, but I first said "Cheap gimmicks" that the lack of is a plus. I'm holding out on the hope that the whole devil thing is exploited as a plot device or a story arc later on. Until then, though, while still a gimmick, it does the job in setting up the real meat of the show. 

As of right now, only 2 episodes in, I give this show a 7 out of 10. Good and watchable, entertaining, with a character we can really appreciate right from the begging, but loaded down with devices that could truly make or break the show later depending on how they are presented or expanded upon. 

I happen to be a reader of the manga, and am more versed in Japanese than most other american fans, so there are a couple of things I feel I need to point out that the fansubbers got wrong. First of all, Keima's nickname among his classmates isn't "Dweeb". it's Otamega, which is a contraction of the words Otaku (obsessed fan) and Megane (glasses, or Foureyes), and also happens to be an alternate spelling of his proper name. Keima is notorious enough among his school that he deserves his own derogatory name, so one should use it. Secondly, Elsie's "robe" is a Hagoromo (divine raiment), that accurately looks like a flowwy scarf that floats around her shoulders. Hagoromo doesn't translate. It is a noun all its own, that also could be described as a footnote if they even felt they needed to. Trying to translate Hagoromo is like saying that someone is wearing some clothes when they are wearing a Kimono. Accurate in the broadest sense of the word, and absolutely reeking of laziness or ignorance on the part of the people I'm trusting to translate. 

On one final note; this show has already been signed for a second season starting in April. If nothing else, it means that the producers feel that the show is destined to be popular enough to warrant it, before it's first run even went anywhere. That shows promise. Even guaranteed successes like A Certain Magical Index had to wait a couple of years before it was signed for a sequel. 

The World God Only Knows trailer


-Ben M.

IRONMAN anime episode 1 streaming here!

Ironman (anime episode 1)

Type: 12 episodes planned
Year: Oct 1, 2010 to Dec 17, 2010
Genre: Action Sci-fi
Status: Ongoing
Studio: MADHOUSE
Language: Japanese w/ English subtitles

Summary:

Tony Stark, CEO of a large weapons manufacturer, physicist, engineer, and brilliant inventor, is wounded by shrapnel from one of his own weapons. While held captive by terrorists, he develops the Iron Man Suit and escapes. From that day on, he vows not to waste his second chance at life and to change the world for the better. For that purpose, he comes to Japan. In Lab 23 in Japan, great strides have been taken to develop, and build, a unique power station which does not run on fossil fuels, the Arc Station. Stark intends to join this project, and, for that, he is ready to announce his retirement as Iron Man. At the same time, he will also announce the Mass-produced Iron Men, to which he will pass on his duties. However, during the ceremonies, Stark is suddenly attacked by combat mecha belonging to an organization known as Zodiac.

(Summaries provided by ANN and AniDB)

Let us know what you think on the J1 Studios forum, or the J1 Studios Facebook Fan page.

Otakon 2010 – The Thrill is Gone

I do apologize for the belated update, given that Otakon was roughly a week ago, but sometimes after being removed from one’s daily routine for several days (four in my case), life, work, and sleep all require a little catching-up.

Kicking things off, let’s collect the rather anemic licensing news from this year's geeky gathering…

Vertical, Inc.
- Mystery Manga “T” Vol. #1, release date 7/19/2011
- Mystery Manga “M” Vo. #1, release date 9/20/2011
- Mystery Tezuka Manga Vol. #1, release date 7/26/2011

Normally I wouldn’t mention the lack of any true announcements, but since Otakon only had four North American industry panels, I figured highlighting Vertical’s mystery titles couldn’t hurt.

Vertical really is one of the only decent publishers of manga left in the U.S., and now more than ever, they’re particularly worth supporting because—with series like Twin Spica, and 7 Billion Needles—Vertical is finally starting to again venture-out from under the giant Tezuka rock they’ve been using so long for a financial refuge. So buy their new books, whatever they might be…

Funimation
- Strike Witches season 2
- Shukufuku no Campanella
- Ōkami-san to Shichinin no Nakama-tachi
- Hetalia World & Hetalia the movie
- Summer Wars
- Evangelion 2.22

Funimation—as has been the case as of late, and I guess not unexpected considering they’re currently backed by a large public company (at least until Navarre sells them sometime between now and December 2010)—was the only company to hit Otakon with a mass of new licenses, almost all of which are pretty decent.

Strike Witches season 2, Campanella, and Ōkami-san are all new series in Japan that just started airing within the last month—Funi will be streaming all three domestically and is committed to eventual DVD releases. Already being a fan of the show, I’m looking forward to Strike Witches 2 (hopefully there won't be a censorship scare, as recently occurred with one of their other titles); Ōkami-san, based on a popular light novel series, is looking like a winner and should please anyone who enjoys sappy romance and tsundere girls; and Campanella is yet another show derived from an eroge, except without all the good adult bits, so yeah, it’s awful.

Summer Wars has me totally excited, especially if we get a Blu-ray; it’s a beautiful film from the same group that brought us The Girl Who Leapt Through Time, a few years ago. And of course, there’s Evangelion 2.22, the umpteenth attempt by Gainax and Hideaki Anno to drain just a bit more milk from this fifteen-year-old cow—should they release a Blu-ray, which I'm sure they will, I’ll buy it, mostly because there just isn't enough anime on the medium here in America.

Aniplex USA
- R.O.D. Blu-ray collection

Aniplex USA, the North American subsidiary of the Japanese anime and music distribution company, has been making some waves here in the land of hamburgers and Coke, through their partnership with Bandai to release Kannagi and the Gurren Lagann movies. And while it wasn’t announced at this con, they’ll soon be adding to their catalog Durarara!!, a recently completed, modern-day, supernatural anime with exquisite character designs by Suzuhito Yasuda, of Yozakura Quartet fame.

The company’s actual Otakon announcement was a Blu-ray collection of the Read or Die OAV and TV series. I dug the OAV, myself, though the television show was rather lackluster. Still, I’d caution fans of either before getting too excited: both R.O.D. OAV and TV hail back to 2001 and 2003, respectively, well before the push for HD media—neither where made with HD TVs and Blu-ray in mind, as can be seen in these comparison shots of the Japanese DVD & Blu-ray discs: Linku.

Bandai
- Sora o Kakeru Shoujo
- My-Otome 0 ~S.ifr~
- Bakumatsu Ibun-roku Code Geass (manga)

The only thing surprising about Bandai’s panel was that it took them this long to finally announce the My-Otome OAV (from 2008) and SoraKake Girls (the big Sunrise show from 2009). I could never get into either of the two My series, but SoraKake Girls was turning into a pretty cool show that I just couldn't seem to finish last year—so looking forward to that one.

Probably the biggest news for me, however, that came from Bandai’s panel is they’re currently planning to release everyone’s favorite high school light-music club, K-On!, on Blu-ray. Yes, Mio and delicious Azunyan in eye-popping high-definition!

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

And thus ends my roundup of licenses. In case you’re wondering about the banner image: that is my hand, sticking-out from a pile of squishy hotel bedcovers, and the bottle of water I was hoping to quickly empty, in a weak attempt to cure the massive hangover resulting from hours, and hours, and hours of drinking. If you're interested in my overall impressions of this year's Otakon, then by all means, keep reading...

Last July 30th to August 1st marked my tenth (almost consecutive) year attending the “Convention for the Otaku Generation,” Otakon. I don’t consider myself a convention person, one of those individuals who waits with heated anticipation for the con season to begin, then makes the rounds to as many of these themed festivals as is humanly (and financially) possible. I do, however, generally enjoy going to such events, with Otakon having been the main attraction in my late-teens-to-early-adult years. But the ache in my bones is telling me it’s come time to say saraba to the three-day celebration of anime and manga in the city that houses the remains of Edgar Allen Poe.

Over the years, I’ve had varied participation with Otakon: I first went as just an average fan, spent a few installments as quasi-staff (thanks to my involvement with their video game room), had a quick turn as press, before settling back into fan mode for this latest run. Keeping in mind Otakon was, and by some still is, considered the premier East Coast anime/manga convention, and although my station at the con has consistently changed, it’s difficult to pin-down one exact difference that has soured my overall opinion and enjoyment of this annual gathering.

To be completely honest, one component is certainly my age. Thanks to the popularity surge of Japanese entertainment in the mid-to-late 90s, and broadband Internet’s effect on file sharing, the fanbase for anime and manga has greatly expanded beyond the older geeks born in the 70s and 80s. I have to admit, being surrounded by so many young teens—and notions that I may well be ogling a scantly-clad cosplayer, who I would not be able to legally escort to a bar and buy a drink—is a tad disconcerting. Part of me feels I’ve just gotten too old to be thrown into what now consists of the mass-fan populace.

But beyond my own fuddy-duddy disposition, Otakon has without a doubt lost a good deal of its former luster. Thanks to the extreme downturn of the domestic anime and manga market and the rise of prestigious conventions in the New York area, Baltimore’s con has consistently seen more and more of its professional talent slip or get stolen away. This year’s con had a measly four industry panels (Aniplex, Bandai, Funimation, and Vertical) and only a hodgepodge of mediocre Japanese talent—admittedly, it’s no easy task finding popular Japanese artists, voice actors, directors, and-the-like with time enough in their busy schedules to fly all the way to America’s east coast for a quick appearance, but well, obtaining such stars really is the burden of those putting on the show.

As it currently exists, Otakon is largely a convention that draws tons of regional cosplayers; it’s a place for high-schoolers to mingle and listen to brethren testify about their love of a specific anime, manga, or fetish from the panel pulpit; and it’s a con that still occasionally draws some major music talent—not so much this year, though…the Yoshida Brothers, really? (And yes, I realize Home Made Kazoku played during the dying embers of Sunday, and that Yoshiki and Sugizo did a mini-performance at the cosplay masquerade.)

For what it’s worth, I did enjoy my time this year, surrounded by good friends, but due to a lack of interest amongst the total squad, I spent more time being around Otakon than actually in Otakon. Of course, who’s to say what the future holds. If you do see me next year, with a sobering coffee in one hand and camera in the other, traipsing through the halls of the Baltimore convention center, you’re more than welcome to call me a hypocrite.