“K-ON! × INDIA” Don’t Say Indy

This is quite possibly the best thing to come out of K-ON! fandom. Many thanks to the goons over at ADTRW for linking it in the K-ON! thread.

Bide your time, and hold out hope.

When Gankutsuou was first began airing in late 2004, I ignored it based soley on the artwork. I now believe this to have been an error in judgement on my part. Gankutsuou is a great series. Not top ten material, but maybe top twenty.

I have yet to read the original novel the series is based upon, but I have seen the 2002 movie The Count of Monte Cristo directed by Kevin Reynolds. Gankutsuou tells its story from the point of Albert de Morcerf, as opposed to Edmond Dantes like the movie and the novel do. It’s really cool being able to experience what is essentially the same story told from two differing view points. There are of course, huge differences. The time in which they each take place is one. The novels are placed in the early 1800’s while the anime is set in the year 5053. The reason Edmond is sent to prison is also slightly different.

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Toriko

This is a manga about food. But not normal food. Only the manliest of food. I’m five chapters in so far and love it.

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Insert Clever Title Here

Those of you that actually read this blog and comment(okay, so only Zero comments, but I know more people read my drivel based on hits) might have noticed I made a little change. I have removed the ability to comment on every post prior to this one. The reason for this? Spam. I get tons of it. I don’t even know why I get so much of it. So I thought about a solution for five or so minutes and came to this. My new policy change. When I make a new post, I’ll leave the ability to comment open until I make another post. That way, if you have something to say, there is ample time to say it. If you need to contact me after a post has been closed, you can use the contact form up top. This should in theory stop the spam. I hope. All comments that have been approved and can be seen publicly have not vanished. All previous comments will stay exactly as they are.

Now that that is out of the way, on to the anime related section of this post.

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Mio > Azusa

What the fuck is with all the otaku throwing Mio to the wolves like a cheap whore in favor of Azusa?

Man, fuck all of you. I hope Azusa dies.

<3 Mio. Deliciousness under the cut.

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Rape eroge banned.

As you may have read by now, some militant feminists known as the EOCS have placed a “ban” on erotic games centered around the theme of rape in Japan.

Otaku RAGE and anti censorship opinions under the cut.

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The Twelve Kingdoms – The Vast Spread of the Seas

This is the third novel in a series of what I assume will turn out to be seven in the States. The author is Fuyumi Ono.

There is a forty-five episode anime based on the novels, and perhaps I will write a post about that at a later date. This entry is about the third novel. There WILL be spoilers about this book. QQ moar.

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Don’t worry, Mio-chan

Mio was so fucking adorable in episodes five and six of K-ON! :3

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A long overdue update

Well. Shit.

It’s been over a month since I’ve posted anything here. I’ve been immensely busy with real life. In the unlikely event that anyone cares, I’m joining the U.S. military.

Hi, FBI. :)

I’ve spent the last month filling out a fucking ton of paperwork, trying to get in shape for BMT which is later this year, and going to MEPS for a very invasive physical. I met another anime fan at MEPS, which was cool. Who would have thought? He’s going into the same branch as I am, as well. Although we have different fields we’re looking at.

So, anime. I haven’t been able to watch as much as I would like to. I haven’t even started Valkyria Chronicles or Eden of the East yet. And I’m two episodes behind on Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood. Looking at my MAL, I need to polish off some of these other series that have finished airing. I’ve been “watching” episode 14 of Gurren Lagann for over a year now. Need to fix that.

I did watch the first episode of Death Note the other day. I have all but the last DVD for the anime and just now got around to that. As for anime that I’ve finished, I did watch all of Black Lagoon. It’s on my ‘to buy’ list now. It was really good, and I loved Revy’s character. Season three should be awesome.

Going to spend my weekend watching these Death Note DVDs. I need to make a trip to Best Buy to pick up volume nine before I get to the end, as well.

OTAKON. It’s just two months away now. Can’t fucking wait.

Sorry for the lack of updates. You have Zero to thank for reminding me to write one! <3

I tend to update twitter more often, seeing as I can do it from my iPhone. So anyone that wants to stalk me or whatever might want to consider adding me to their friend list there. Follow me or whatever. ^_^

Le Chevalier D’Eon

Buy it. Now.

This is the best series I’ve watched since…. Baccano! in 2007, I think. My only regret is that I wish I had watched it earlier. Like when it aired, or when ADV released the DVDs. I bought the FUNimation box set about two or three weeks ago. It’s a shame that my money had to go to FUNimation when it was ADV that did such a stellar job on the dub. I still have to thank FUNimation for rescuing it when ADV went into limbo. It was thanks to this that I could buy the entire series for $50 instead of $25 x however many discs there were originally.

A quick snippet from wikipedia about the plotline:

The story begins in Paris 1742, when the body of a woman
named Lia de Beaumont is found in a casket floating along the Seine.
The only clue regarding her death is the word “Psalms”, which is
written in blood on the lid of the casket. D’Eon de Beaumont, Lia’s
younger brother and a knight in service of King Louis XV, takes it upon
himself to investigate his sister’s mysterious death, along with the
strange disappearances of a number of French women.

The dub. Not once voice comes to mind that didn’t fit the characters. Not a single one. One of the voice actors mentioned ADV getting complaints about them not using period accents. I noticed the lack of them at first, but as the series went on, I think that using such accents would only have hindered my enjoyment of it. I would have spent more time thinking about how the voice actors were trying to emulate a French accent and how odd it would have sounded instead of the important things, like the plot. I think ADV made the correct choice in deciding against using period accents. The selection of actors working on the show was nice. Nobody really stands out from another series. I could think of David Matranga’s voice as d’Eon de Beaumont’s without trying to place it with some other role that he did. The same holds true with everyone though, but just Matranga. Not only did they do a great job dubbing it, but they went far further than most when it came to the extras. The commentary tracks are all great. It was nice to know that the actors enjoyed working on this project and wanted to make it good. Not because the ADR director told them to, but because they loved the series enough that they wanted to do it justice. The historical notes are nice, although I couldn’t help but chuckle at the fact that wikipedia was listed as a reference. The best bonus, and easily the creepiest, however, was the cross dressing bit on the bonus disc. Seeing a rather buff looking man in a small red dress is enough to creep anyone out, but it’s totally awesome that he was willing to do it.

This isn’t a show that is for everyone. I’ve been watching anime long enough to know that the vast majority of fans will not enjoy a series like this to its fullest. Of course most fans are what, fifteen to sixteen? Does that sound about right? They might enjoy the well animated fights, or the cleavage of some of the women. But I do not think most fans are mature enough to really get into it. It isn’t about crazy powerups, or hapless young males falling into some girl’s lap. There is a supernatural element to it, but not like the ninjutsu and bankais that you’re probably thinking.

The show’s high points aren’t only the dub and extras, though. It’s animated beautifully. So much details was put into every scene. There is a scene referenced in the commentaries often in volume one where two of the main characters, Teillagory and Durand are sparring. It was drawn at such an angle that you could see nearly all the movements of their feet. This stuck out to me, and I was glad to hear it mentioned in the commentaries. Anyone that has done any kind of swordplay, wether you have formal training or not, knows how important footwork is in a fight. I’m no master with a sword, but even I could tell that a great deal of work went into animating scenes like that.

Another scene that comes to mind takes place in a carriage. There are two shots here that blew me away. One was from the outside of the carriage looking in through a window. The animators could have taken the easy route and just made the scene with Teillagory and Robin(I’m pretty sure it was these two), but they went the extra mile and animated the background reflected in the glass. The setting sun, the buildings as it rolled along. It was amazing. The other was of the Four Mustkateers’ feet as they rode. Ever ridden in a carriage or a wagon of some type before? If yes, then you know it’s a bumpy ride. The animators showed this in the animation. Their legs would all bounce up and down at the same time when the carriage hit a stone or a hole. Did they have to do this? No, they didn’t. But it’s that extra touch of detail that makes me love this series so much.

Enough about the animation and dubbing quality. Onto the music. The background music, for the most part, doesn’t really stand out. I really loved the song that played at the end of the last episodes before the credits rolled. I didn’t hear it at any other point in the series. My only gripe with the show as a whole, however, is the opening theme. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a nice song. However, the first six or so seconds of it are a good deal louder than everything else. I know it’s like that intentionally, but it still grated my nerves a bit.

Now, to the plot. I’m warning you now, there are major fucking spoilers under this cut. For those of you who came directly to this post via a google search or an RSS feed, you won’t see a cut, so I’m placing a buffer image from the show right under here so you have some space to back off if you don’t want to have it spoiled for you. This is your only warning.

There are many, many plot points that I do not cover under this cut. The Queen’s talking skull, the mystery skeleton she seems to keep around her, Madam Pompadour, and Anna’s character are but just a few. I just touch upon some segments that stuck out to me and directly involved the main cast of five. Just in case you were wondering what kind of spoilers are to be found.

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