Archive for the ‘General’ Category

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Blast from the Past: Gasaraki

Sunday, February 5th, 2012

I read this week’s newsletter from Rightstuf, and noticed an ad for the release of Gasaraki.  The name rings a bell in my mind.  I checked AnimeNewsNetwork’s entry for Gasaraki, and sure enough there is some info on it.   The show originally air on TV in Japan in October of 1998, and it was released in R1 dvd in August of 2002, or nine and a half years ago.  WOW!

Furthermore, if I recall correctly, the original licensor was the now defunct ADV.  So Rightstuf is re-releasing this show at a very nicely priced 30 bucks next Tuesday.  That’s a nice bargain for a 25 episode show, despite its age.  I don’t believe I’ve seen the entire show (25 eps IS a lot of anime to watch when you were in school).  I’m sure I still have the ADV version in my closet somewhere.  But if you haven’t seen this show (stores stopped selling it in early 2000s), then I think it’s worth a look.

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ANIME SERIES REVIEW: Fate/Zero Season 1

Monday, January 2nd, 2012

Set ten years prior to the events of Fate/Stay Night, Fate/Zero plays out the events of the previous Holy Grail War.  With a new set of Masters, and some new and some old Servants, the tone is much darker than that of Stay Night.

Indeed, one of the Masters is a serial killer{!!!); he and his Servant seem to enjoy abducting and killing children.  thankfully, the folks at Aniplex approach the subject delicately, and give just enough hints for the viewers to understand what happened, without being explicit about it.

Additionally, all the other Masters have very strong personalities, and their ideologies dictate their strategies to fighting out this war.  The tactics are brutal, devious, and ultimately ineffective as the Masters, for the most part, manage to escape one another’s  traps.

The best episode by far is Number 11, Discussing the Grail, where Archer, Rider, and Saber partake several rounds of drinks, and discuss why they pursue the Holy Grail.  The talks become very personal, and serious, in nature, but provide viewers a much deeper understanding of the Servants’ motivation to participate.

With strong dialogues, and great action scenes, Fate/Zero Season 1 easily rates an “A.”

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Not Much Figure Sales This Year

Monday, November 28th, 2011

I look at the holiday sales for anime figures, and I don’t see much on sale this year.  For example, last year ToysLogic had a buy one figure, get one half off deal.  This year, it’s just 15% off.

I’m surprised that HobbyLink Japan’s flat rate shipping sale (980 yen for SAL shipping, 1980 yen for EMS shipping) was for only 24 hours.  If someone (like yours truly) wasn’t checking emails, he would have missed the sale.  I personally think it should have lasted through the weekend to Monday.  *shrugs*

To be fair, because the dollar is worth much less against the yen these days, retailers simply cannot afford to cut prices, even for holiday sales.  They have to pay rent for their warehouse space.  The situation will not improve until the dollar appreciates against the yen.

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Anime Review: Fate/Zero Episode 1

Sunday, October 9th, 2011

Just saw the first episode on Crunchyroll.com.  It is every bit as GOOD as I anticipated!!!  the 47 minutes pilot shows all seven masters, and explain the origin of the Holy Grail Wars.  Every participant has a particular wish they desire to be granted by the Holy Grail.

Also, the show notes that the grail appears EVERY sixty years.  So that leaves room for more future Fate series. . .

Grade: A

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Crunchyroll Showing Fate/Zero starting 10.8.11

Thursday, October 6th, 2011

I was thinking about cancelling my crunchyroll membership, because I haven’t been watching anime lately.  But Fate/Zero is the one title I wanted to watch this Fall season.  So I guess I’ll be keeping membership a few months longer.

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New York Comic Con 2011 Edition

Sunday, September 18th, 2011

I just picked up a Sunday pass for New York Comic Con 2011.  It cost me 35 bucks, which is an increase over the 30 bucks I paid last year.   I should know, considering that I still have the receipt when I paid for last year’s ticket.  :P

Not sure when to expect, except a big crowd.  Hopefully, I can get there early and not wait on line for too long.

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ANIME SERIES REVIEW: Deadman Wonderland

Sunday, August 21st, 2011

Having seen the last episode of Deadman Wonderland on crunchyroll.com a few weeks back, I should give a review of this show.  A teenager is the sole survivor of a massacre of his classroom, and is falsely accused of murder.  Questions of motive, means, etc., are summarily dismissed in court, and Ganta is sentenced to  the death roll at Deadman Wonderland, a privately owned and operated prison.

It turns out that Ganta is alive due to an encounter with the Red Man, and given a special power.  He will need to learn and master his ability in order to survive in the Wonderland.

The show is clearly focused on Ganta’s trials and tribulations in Deadman Wonderland, but there are sinister plots in development beyond his control.  His sidekick Shiro is not what she seems, but the show fails to exploit this more fully, in my view.  The show ends on a sort of non-ending, but leaves room for a second season.

Deadman Wonderland is strictly for a mature audience, due to extreme violence and gore.

FINAL GRADE: B

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Sticker Shock! $140 bucks for 1/8 scale figure

Monday, July 4th, 2011

I dropped by my local anime retailer this weekend, and saw on the shelf a K-On Ritsu Tainaka 1/8 scale figure from Good Smile Company.  The sticker price was 140 bucks.    I can’t imagine spending that kind of money, even though I’m sure the drum set costs a bit more to produce.

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ANIME REVIEW: Evangelion: 2.22 You Can (Not) Advance

Monday, July 4th, 2011

The second film of the Neon Genese Evangelion remake, Evangelion 2.22 You Can (Not) Advance is an outstanding film with stunning graphics, teenage drama, and awesome soundtrack.  Whereas the first film followed a formula that revolved around Shinji Ikari, the second film uses a more free flowing script that maximizes angel-evangelion action at every turn.

Evangelion 2.22 fully takes advantage of this rewrite opportunity, and weaves in new characters and revelations that give long time Evangelion fans, like myself, something to chew on while awaiting for the release of the next film.  Additionally, the remake opportunity extends to the visualization of the Seventh, Eighth, Ninth, and Tenth Angels.  The computer graphics for the Eighth Angel is particularly noteworthy (oh, the blood!).

Evangelion 2.22 You Can (Not) Advance is one of the best North American anime releases so far this year, and all anime fans MUST have this film in their anime collection!

Final Grade: A+

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Funimation’s Dvd/Blu-ray combo releases

Sunday, June 26th, 2011

I noticed that a lot of the more recent releases from Funimation has been dvd-bluray combos, meaning that you get both versions in one purchase.  I think that Funimation has hit a home run on this marketing decision.  While it would cost more in manufacturing costs to release both dvd and blu ray versions, the consumer is not being forced to choose to buy either one (very few would buy both separately).  And undoubtedly this would result in more sales because the consumer would not skip the dvd release in hopes of a blu ray verson down the road.  By encouraging consumers to buy these combos ASAP, Funimation is able to recoup its licensing and other costs even faster.

My latest purchase of such is the Dance in the Vampire Bund.  I also pre-ordered Spice and Wolf Season 2 combo.

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