I thought I’d share this with you and get your opinions. I think this character from Wild Ones looks suspiciously like someone from a different series.
Just in case some of the regular readers would rather not see the pic, I’ll break the page here. It is kind of a spoiler, I guess.
After the death of her mother Sachi finds out that her grandfather is the head of a yakuza family. She moves in with him because he’s the only family she has left.
Sachi is still getting used to living in a house full of some really scary guys, but things are looking up. Her grandfather needs to visit an old friend and she get to come along… to the beach. Watermelon and a hot new guy named Azuma. It’s a trip to remember.
Fun in the sun isn’t all that Sachi is up to in volume 2. There’s also a school camping trip and a school festival, not to mention a love triangle between Sachi, Rakuto and Azuma. Things almost get out of hand, but Sachi has the help of Rakuto and her new family.
I may not have described the story in volume 2 very well. A lot happens, but I don’t want to give away too much. There’s a lot of story packed into Wild Ones volume 2, but the flow of the story never seems to be too fast. Kiyo Fujiwara is able to pack a lot of story into a little space.
Out of the story lines in the book, I think I like the school festival the best. Maybe it’s the idea of a Netherworld Cafe, a combination haunted house and cafe. Maybe it’s the connection between Sachi and Rakuto. Nah, I think it’s the head of the film club. She looks like someone, but I’m not sure who. Maybe another director. Possibly even an Ultra one.
Yep. Wild Ones volume 2 is worth it, even though I don’t think it’s quite as strong as the first volume. A lot seems to happen and the story progresses nicely. Plus there’s a cameo from Haruhi Suzumiya, even if it’s unintentional.
Manga, Reviews, Wild Ones, Kiyo Fujiwara, Sachi Wakamura, Rakuto Igarashi, Azuma Inui, Raizo Asagi, Yakuza, Shojo, Shojo Beat, Beach, School Festival, Haunted House, Netherworld Cafe, Ultra Director, Haruhi Suzumiya
A manga review should be coming up later today. My manga shopping was delayed, but I finally got to the store yesterday. I got a short stack of manga so I should be good for a week or so. A few of ‘em look pretty good, but you can never tell. Cross your fingers.
I’m not sure which review I’ll be posting later. I’ve got some manga version of anime I’ve reviewed, some others that looked pretty good, and a few that my g/f picked out. Guess which ones are which.
I also bought a couple of non-manga books. You know the ones without all the pretty drawings.
I’d better get to work. See ya’ll later.
The investigation into the proxy takes a dangerous turn when Real leaves the saftly of the Romdeau dome to find Vincent Law. Will she recognize him after all the changes he’s gone though?
Vincent is having troubles of his own. The patrols outside the city have increased and some are blaming him. Hoody manages to save him from an angry mob.
Can Vincent live up to the lies Hoody had to tell to save his hide?
Will Real find the connection between Vincent and the proxy?
I was afraid the second volume might start to lag after the strong opening from the first few episodes on the first volume. I guess I had nothing to worry about. The second volume of Ergo Proxy lives up to the standards of the first DVD.
As the story progresses some questions are answered, but others take their place. This anime does a great job of drawing you in as the mystery unfolds. Questions are answered, not like some shows that try to keep the suspense up by sidestepping the questions at the last second.
DVD Extras
None. Well, Geneon Previews and DVD Credits. Those aren’t extras those are ads. That’s really disappointing. How hard would it have been to throw a couple of commercials on the DVD? Maybe some concept art? Anything would have been better than when we got. Oh wait, we didn’t get anything. I would almost prefer not to see an “Extras” menu option if it’s going to be empty.
Yep, Ergo Proxy is a great anime. The story more than makes up for the complete lack of extras. I’d recommend this anime. if you don’t want to buy it, then at least rent it. It’s good.
Anime, Reviews, Geneon, Adventure, Drama, Horror, Mystery, Psychological, Science Fiction, Supernatural, Real Mayar, Vincent Law
Crunchyroll is streaming Welcome to the NHK now. Check out the post on AnimeNewsNetwork for the details.
Looks like official anime streams are catching on. I couldn’t be happier about that. I can’t wait until other companies catch on that this is a great way to promote their titles.
I checked out the first 2 episodes to get an idea of what we can look forward to. I’m impressed. The streaming video was offered in a couple of different qualities. The basic quality looked great in my opinion. The videos can be enlarged as well, so it’s not like you’re trying to watch the episode on a postage stamp.
I have a couple of gripes with it, but it’s just nit-picking. ADV and Crunchyroll have done a great job with the first 2 episodes. If they don’t screw up later then this should be good for everyone.
Anime, Online, News, ADV, Welcome to the NHK, Crunchyroll, Streaming, Video
In my review of the Lucky Star Volume 1 DVD I questioned the reasons behind the casting choices. I’ve been thinking about it since and I may be more confused than ever.
Does it matter why Wendee Lee was cast as Konata Izumi? She is a talented voice actress after all. Even if the decision to offer her the role was based on marketing, it’s happened before and it’ll happen again.
There’s a part of me that hopes she was given the part because of her former role. There’s been some pretty cool stuff released in Japan that plays off of the connection between Haruhi and Konata. If the people in charge wanted Haruhi’s English voice talent to play Konata, then that could mean we might be seeing some of that cool stuff over here.
Is it bad of me to think that way? Am I less of an anime fan because I’d like a shot at some of the cool stuff without paying through the nose on e-bay then paying international shipping?
I hope not, because that is the only thing I have to cling to when I think that maybe, just maybe, the folks that bring anime to the States and produce the English dubs might not care if the talent they cast really is the best choice. My only protection from a mental collapse brought on by cynicism is the hope of one day having a highly detailed Konata Izumi figure dressed as Haruhi Suzumiya, complete with interchangeable “Ultra Director” and “Brigade Leader” armbands.
Besides, if the dub sucks I’ll just watch the subs.
Anime, Opinion, Lucky Star, Voice Talent, Casting, English, Dub, Sub, Konata Izumi, Haruhi Suzumiya, Wendee Lee
Lucky Star follows high school friends Konata Izumi, Miyuki Takara, and twin sisters Kagami and Tsukasa Hiiragi. The friends do what ordinary young girls do. They go to school, try to pass their tests and try to have some fun in between.
I’ve been waiting to see what the English version of Lucky star would be like. I was especially interested in hearing the voices for the characters. I knew that at best it would take a while to get used to them and at worst… Well, I was hoping no one would be stupid enough to do that to Lucky Star.
It will take some getting used to. Like the Japanese version, Konata is played by the same person that played Haruhi Suzumiya. I hope that was done because she was the best person for the job, and not so that the jokes and tie ins to The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya can be imported more easily.
After watching the first DVD I’m not so sure. Konata just doesn’t seem right in English, the jokes fall a bit flat. It’s not just Wendee Lee’s portrayal of Konata. If it were I’d just say she wasn’t right for the part.
There is another English version character that stands out, this time from the Lucky Channel segment. Akira Kogami seems to be too restrained. When she’s White Akira she doesn’t have that over the top cuteness. She seems to be trying, but she’s not quite making it. As Black Akira she doesn’t have enough bitterness. She seems mildly cynical, but that’s about it. The performance stayed in the middle of the road and as a result never quite lived up to the character.
I’ll have to give it a few more episodes, at least 2 more DVDs, before I make up my mind. If the English cast doesn’t grow on me by then I’ll just have to switch over to subtitles. Yay DVDS!
DVD Extras
There are a couple of good extras on this disc. The key scenes galleries offer a little more insight into the show. Pretty cool. My favorite special feature would have to be “The Adventures of Minoru Shiraishi #1“. In the Japanese version Minoru Shiraishi plays himself, or a characterization of himself.
Lucky Star DVD Volume 1 is worth the money. Even if the English cast makes your skin crawl, you can always switch over to the Japanese audio and read subtitles.
Buy Lucky Star, I’m going to.
Anime, Reviews, DVD, Lucky Star, Lucky Star Volume 1, Dub, Sub, English, Japanese, Konata Izumi, Miyuki Takara, Kagami Hiiragi, Tsukasa Hiiragi, Akira Kogami, White Akira, Black Akira, Minoru Shiraishi, Wendee Lee
Online anime rental seems like the perfect option, at least for the fans that don’t want to download illegal fansubs. I’ve already reviewed Blockbuster’s anime offering, now it’s time to take a look at a more specialized outlet.
RentAnime is run by the folks at AnimeNation, an anime retail site that’s been around since 1995. If you’ve been a fan of anime for a while you’ve probably heard of AnimeNation. Whatever opinions you may have formed about them can probably be safely transferred to RentAnime. I’ve never had any problems with them, neither the retail or rental branch.
Pros
I have yet to think of an anime that I couldn’t find on there. Because they specialize in anime, and probably because they sell anime, they have a much better inventory.
This is probably because they’re run by AnimeNation. AnimeNation has to keep on top of new releases so they can sell ‘em, so it makes sense that they’d also order some to use in their rental program.
Cons
This is probably the biggest problem that RentAnime has. The website needs a complete overhaul. The only way to find an anime is to know what anime you’re looking for. The “Rental Categories” are not categories at all, they’re alphabetical listings of the anime that they offer. That is mind bogglingly bad.
Because of the lack of categories, I have to include the site search here too. This is what I got when I searched for “shojo”.
I find it incredibly hard to believe that RentAnime has absolutely no shojo anime. They need to fix that A.S.A.P..
The amount of time between sending back a DVD and getting the next one in the mail is unacceptable. I sent back DVDs to RentAnime and Blockbuster on the same day. I had new Blockbuster DVDs a couple of days before I even got the e-mail from RentAnime telling me they got the DVDs. That could probably be fixed with some regional shipping centers.
RentAnime has a great selection of anime. They’ve also got enough of it that it’s not often you have to wait very long for a particular title. The problem is waiting to get any titles thanks to their slow turnaround.
Once again I have to say that the website needs to be re-worked. Finding something to watch can be a huge headache unless you know the exact anime you’re looking for.
The selection is amazing, but if they can’t fix at least one of their problems I might have to look for another specialty anime rental site.
Anime, Rental, RentAnime, Rent Anime, Online, AnimeNation, Anime Nation, Review
I did a post that talked about places to rent anime online. Since then I’ve used 2 of those services. Here is a short review of one service based on my experience with them.
Blockbuster is known across the country as a family friendly video rental outlet. With a large chain of stores and the good sense to use those stores as a factor in it’s online rent by mail business, it has a few advantages going for it.
Pros
You can rent more than just anime from Blockbuster. You can get pretty much any mainstream movie delivered to your home.
Blockbuster uses it’s many locations to it’s advantage. You receive coupons every month for free in store rentals. You can also return your Blockbuster Online rentals to a store and exchange them for another movie.
Cons
Blockbuster has some mainstream anime. The more popular it is, the more likely they are to have it.
The wait times for anime can be extremely long. I’m pretty sure that they didn’t even have some of the anime I wound up removing from my list, they just haven’t bothered to update the listings. It seems that way anyway.
This doesn’t seem to be the case with newer movie releases, just older releases or specialty topics like anime.
I’m not even talking about porn. Everyone that might be interested in porn knows you can’t get it at Blockbuster. I’m talking about things like Kite or Mezzo Forte. You won’t be able to see the uncut versions of those movies because they contain a scene or two that are hard core.
If you’re looking for an overall video rental account, Blockbuster is pretty darn good. Quick service and some coupons to use at your local store make it worth checking out.
If you want a rental account for specialty topics, such as anime, then you might be better off going with a rental company that specializes in what you’re looking for.
Just a couple little things I wanted to mention. Things I thought were pretty cool in anime news lately.
The Melancholy of Konata Izumi
As a bonus for the folk that buy the Lucky Star DVD sets in Japan one store is giving away a phone card with the Lucky Star cast cosplaying Haruhi. Freaky. I hope we get something like that over here when it’s released.
Yahoo! has the first few minutes of the Speed Racer movie online. Here it is, but I’d suggest checking it out on the Yahoo! page in full size.
Better yet, see the movie.
Yeah, I need to go see that one. I’m really looking forward to it, but I just couldn’t go this weekend. Maybe I can see it before it comes out on DVD. I’d really like to see it on the big screen.
AnimeFansOnline has had a bit of trouble keeping up with the load lately, but it looks like that might be ending soon. Some work has been going on behind the scenes to improve the sites in the 451Press network.
It couldn’t happen at a better time. I’ve had a bit of trouble getting into AFO to post, but I’m sure that will be cleared up soon. To be honest the down time has given me a chance to work on FanaticSpace. I haven’t really had a chance to watch much anime the past few days anyway. I’ve been restructuring, and darn near rebuilding, my site.
I tried to save this post and almost lost it due to the tech problems I was talking about. Guess there’s still some work to be done.
The movie casting game is still going on. There have been a couple of comments with some interesting casting suggestions for a Bleach live action movie.
I’m using this to try out a grab bag giveaway. If you follow a couple of simple rules, you might get some free manga. Just leave a comment with your casting suggestions for a live action Bleach movie.
Repeat answers are allowed. I’m asking for your opinion. If you agree with someone else that’s cool with me. Don’t think you’re out of it because someone listed one of your answers already. This is about having fun after all.
If you want a shot at free stuff, then make sure to cast the following characters. You can also cast any others you want. These are the ones required for the grab bag.
If you’re not interested in a chance at free manga, then don’t worry about the list. You can still drop in with your suggestions for a Bleach dream cast.
A few of my favorite suggestions so far…
So far this one has been nearly unanamous…
I really hope this works out because I enjoy this kind of game. I’ve enjoyed reading the opinions and casting suggestions, but I’d like to see some more. I hope to do this again.
If you want to suggest an anime for the next Casting Call game, just let me know.
Anime, Opinions, Fun Stuff, Games, Contests, Manga, Free Stuff, Free Manga, Free, Live Action Anime, Casting, Bleach, Ichigo Kurosaki, Rukia Kuchiki, Orihime Inoue, Sado “Chad” Yasutora, Uryu Ishida, Kenpachi Zaraki, Ikkaku, Jason Statham, Yumichika, Orlando Bloom, Urahara, Matthew McConaughey, Christina Ricci
Black Blood Brothers is the story of Jirou and Kotaru Mochizuki, brothers and vampires. Relations between the vampires, a.k.a. black bloods, and humans, a.k.a. red bloods, are tense. The tension is only made worse by the reappearance of a vampire bloodline that even other vampires are threatened by, the Kowloon Children.
The Kowloon Children are different from other vampires, they’re far more infectious. While other black bloods have to give their blood to humans to infect them and make them a vampire, the Kowloon Children only need to bite them. Everybody one of the Kowloon Children feeds on becomes one of the Kowloon Children. This makes them very dangerous, but even more dangerous is their ability to turn other vampires.
Black Blood Brothers takes an interesting view of vampires. By taking bits of folklore, movie magic and even making up brand new pieces to fill in the gaps a very cool vampire mythology is presented. I especially liked the ability of the Kowloon Children bloodline to turn with a bite while other bloodlines have to do things the old fashioned way. It gives the heroes of the story something to fight against, something better than the infighting between vampire bloodlines that you normally see.
This is a great anime for vampire fans, but you don’t need to be one to enjoy it. Black Blood Brothers is more of an action anime than a horror anime. It’s more like Blade than Near Dark (best vampire movie ever).
Extras
FUNimation gives us the basics. Clean opening and closing, trailers and TV promo spots. We also get commentary for each episode. That’s something you don’t see very often for anime, at least I don’t, so that’s kind of cool.
Black Blood Brothers is worth checking out. Vampire fans will love getting to know the different bloodlines and everyone else will enjoy the fights and comedy.
I’d recommend checking out Black Blood Brothers. This one might even be worth buying for the collection.
Anime, Reviews, DVD, FUNimation, Action, Adventure, Comedy, Drama, Fantasy, Supernatural, Vampires, Bloodlines, Kowloon Children, Blade, Near Dark
Mahoro is a combat model android built to fight off the alien invasion of Earth that no one even knows happened. Her preset life span is set to expire, but living a civilian life will lengthen the time she has left. Due to her service against the alien aggressors she’s given a choice. Continue fighting and expire in about a month or retire to a civilian life and live for another year.
Mahoro chooses to retire and become a maid, but that doesn’t mean the action is over. On her way to a job interview she stops a bus highjacking, then she almost kills her new employer.
Looks like the life of a maid has challenges of it’s own.
Mahoromatic - Automatic Maiden is your basic “battle android/maid comedy action fanservice ecchi drama“. What, you haven’t heard of that category of anime? ok, so maybe it’s not a fully fledged category of anime. I can really only think of a couple more anime like Mahoromatic. If you’ve enjoyed one of those then you’ll probably enjoy this one too.
I was a bit surprised by the amount of nudity and sexual humor. It wasn’t anything extremely offensive, but it might not be one you want to watch with the kids. Older teens? That’s probably ok, but as a parent (and or guardian) it’s your call.
Extras on the disc are pretty sparse. Clean opening, some art and trailers are all you get.
If you’re a fan of ecchi comedies with a little bit of action and a lot of boobs, then Mahoromatic - Automatic Maiden might be just right for you.
I recommend it.
Anime, Reviews, DVD, Action, Comedy, Romance, Science Fiction, Ecchi, Fanservice, Fan Service, Nudity, Sexual Humor, Maid, Boobs
Kai was raised by the Ashrum organization, one of the 12 companies that control the world. After his mother dies he joins Ashurum’s special psychic unit. As one of the highly trained psychics called E’s, pronounced Ess (?), he’s able to support his sister who is undergoing medical treatment provided by Ashurum.
While on a dangerous assignment Kai goes missing in action and discovers that the world may be different than he once believed.
While E’s Otherwise seems to be made up of bits and pieces of anime I’ve seen before, it fits together well. If you like the shady organization that gets, presumably, overthrown by a once naive hero it has betrayed type of anime then E’s Otherwise would be perfect for your collection. It may be well done, but what it’s doing isn’t that original. The plot and characters are all things we’ve seen before.
The extras on the DVD follow the anime’s lead. Just what you’d expect and nothing really special. Clean opening and closing, promo spots and trailers for other anime by ADV. Remember when DVDs had cool stuff on ‘em?
Oh about the “E’s” thing. I think it stands for “Esper”, a psychic. I don’t know for sure, it wasn’t explained in the episodes I watched. That’s just my theory. If you know I’m wrong then let me know. I’d be interested to find out what it does mean.
E’s Otherwise may be covering old ground, but it does it well. There’s a reason those stories get told over and over, because they work.
I’d say this is a rental. There’s nothing on the DVD worth buying.
Anime, Reviews, Action, Adventure, Comedy, Drama, Science Fiction, Supernatural, DVD, ADV, E’s Otherwise
Anime Fans Online isn't just about anime and manga. It's about the culture that surrounds it. Fansites, cosplay, conventions and even food. Being an anime fan isn't just about watching cartoons, it takes you much deeper. AFO would like to go with you.
Anime Fans Online Author(s)
» Jason
