Anime Fans Online

Happy New Year

Just wanted to wish everyone a happy new year. 2008 could have been better for me, but it could have been a lot worse too. I’m thankful that I was able to be a part of Anime Fans Online this year, and I’m looking forward to next year.

Anime fans have a lot to look forward to in the year to come. Legal anime streams, both paid and free, are becoming more accessible. A few shows are in the works that I’m really looking forward to. We have some cool movies to look forward to as well, including a live action Dragonball movie (I’m trying to remain optimistic).

I hope you have a great 2009, and I hope you’ll stick with Anime Fans Online. I can’t wait to see what happens.

Hot on the heels of my discovery that I’d gotten a bootleg from Amazon, I found out that the Genshiken Box Set I received might be defective. I made it through the first disc just fine, but halfway through the second disc it crapped out.

I was watching the second disc when I noticed that it was taking a long time to go to the next episode, so I went back to the main menu and chose the beginning of the next ep in the scene selection menu. After a couple of seconds I got an “unable to read disc” error.

I thought it might be best to try it in another DVD capable device so I popped it in my computer. It seems to be doing fine in the DVD drive. Whew! Dodged that bullet, but now I’m worried about my PS2. The PS2 was the player that had trouble reading it, so now I’m wondering if it’s because it’s going to die on me.

Could it be time to switch over to an X-Box 360? Nah, I’d probably just get a Wii and a DVD player.

A few days ago I wrote about some of the cool anime stuff I got for Christmas, and about how Amazon’s wish list feature helped me to receive said coolness. Since then I’ve started to open up and use some of those goodies. When I opened up my FLCL DVD I found something odd.

I’d decided to wach a couple of episodes and maybe take a few notes for a DVD review. Mostly I just wanted to watch the anime, because it is awesomely twisted. When I cracked open the DVD case I found the DVD in a paper disc protector. I thought that was a bit strange and I became suspicious. I popped the DVD in and it went straight to the menu, that was another clue. I then checked the packaging for any company logos and found none. I was now convinced, but had one more thing to check. I went to the Amazon listing for the DVD and sure enough, right in the customer reviews conclusions were confirmed by a couple of other people that bought it.

I got a bootleg DVD. From Amazon.

I thought I could trust Amazon. It’s not like it’s an auction site like eBay, where bootlegs are rampant. I thought I could shop at Amazon without worrying about that kind of thing. I was wrong. Now I need to go through my wish list and check out the DVDs a bit better.

Lesson Learned

Be careful what you buy, even at Amazon. Anime bootlegs are everywhere, and they’re useless as well. If I’m gonna spend money on anime, I want it going to support the anime industry. If I want to get anime through illicit means, I’d download fansubs.

Buying an anime bootleg is the worst possible way to get your anime.

Anime, Bootleg, Amazon, Wish List, DVD, FLCL, eBay, Fansubs, Fan Subs

I’m writing about this again thanks in part to some of the very opinionated posts I’ve read about the upcoming subscriptions over at Crunchyroll. Along with the supportive comments there are a lot of folks that don’t want a chance to support anime.

I was shocked to see people saying that they would never pay for anime. Would. Never. Pay. For. Anime. In a perfect world they’d never get to watch anime either, but we don’t live in anything even close to a perfect world.

This is why those of us that are willing to support anime are paying such high prices. It’s the result of widespread digital copyright infringement. Kids get used to downloading fansubs and somewhere deep down start to think that anime is supposed to be free.

Then there are those who think that just because it was on TV that it should be free. I’ve heard this before… “They make their money from commercials” or “People in Japan watch it for free, it’s on TV”.

It seems that some people just don’t understand how things like this work. I’ll take a second to point out a reason why this kind of logic wrong.

TV Isn’t Always Free

Do you get all of your TV channels free? If you get a lot of channels, then probably not. If you get any premium channels, definitely not. Whether satellite or cable, most people pay for their TV service. Some countries even charge a tax or license just to own a TV, I’m not sure if this applies to Japan though. Does anyone believe that all the anime is shown only on free over the air channels? Then how can it be free?

Would you pay for anime? Take our poll and let us know…

Anime, Opinion, Poll

Comfort and joy, with a side of peace on Earth, is all well and good. This blog is about anime, so I’ll be sticking to the gift giving aspect of Christmas. This year I received quite a bit of anime related gifts. I’m happy with that. I love anime.

Loot

I laid out some of my anime stuff and took a picture. Yeah it sounds weird, but hey, I got a blog to write and pictures help. Besides I wanted to share my anime x-mas happiness with ya’ll and this is a good way to do it.

Items Pictured

• Genshiken Box Set
• Ouran High School Host Club (Part 1)
• FLCL
• Remote Control Mach 5
• Negima! Mahora Academy Crest Keychain
• 3 Star Dragonball Keychain
• Azumanga Daioh Osaka Keychain

A wide variety of stuff there, and all of it something I love. There’s not a thing there that I didn’t, or wouldn’t, want. I’d call that a successful Christmas haul. A big part of that success can be summed up in three words…

Amazon Wish List

I finally broke down and set up an Amazon wish list this year. I can now see how well it works. I know shopping for people can be pretty darn tough, so I’m willing to do what I can to make things easier on people that want to shop for me. It must work, because I was told a couple of times that the stuff came from my wish list.

I’ll write up my thoughts on the DVDs when I can get a chance to watch ‘em. Right now I’d better go update my wish list. I’ve got a birthday coming up.

Anime, Christmas, X-Mas, Gifts, Amazon, Wish List, Genshiken, Ouran High School Host Club , FLCL, Mach 5, Negima!, Mahora Academy, Dragonball, Azumanga Daioh, Osaka

Just wanted to let you know that I’ll be back to the site shortly. I’ve got a short break before the new year, and a birthday in January, so I should be able to get a few reviews up. After all of the rushing around I’ve been doing for the holidays it’ll be nice to get back to writing again.

I’ll write up a post on the anime stuff I got for Christmas. Thanks to my Amazon wishlist I had a very anime Christmas.

I hope your holidays have been as good as mine.

Just a little update on the GetBackers misprint I was unfortunate enough to get hold of. After I told my g/f about the situation she decided to send an e-mail to TokyoPop about it, just to make sure they knew about the situation. This morning she told me that she received a reply.

TokyoPop asked for her address so they could send her another copy of the manga.

That’s pretty good customer service in my opinion. Hats off to TokyoPop. They could have told her to return it to the store where she purchased it, or been even less helpful, but they didn’t. TokyoPop did the right thing.

GetBackers Review

In light of that response I’ve decided to wait until I can read the first volume in the correct order before writing my review. The misprint did detract from my enjoyment of the story, and I’ll probably link to the first misprint post when I write the review, but I want to review GetBackers the way it was meant to be read.

I’ll get on that as soon as we get the replacement.

Manga, GetBackers, Get Backers, TokyoPop, Misprint

Story

Satchie keeps getting more and more popular with the Yakuza guys. Now Rakuto has another rival in Koh, whose dad is the head of a clan from Osaka. Koh is determined to make Satchie his.

Speaking of rivals, Azuma is also determined. His goal is to defeat Rakuto at something, With sports day coming up he just might get a chance.

It’s almost Christmas time and Sachie’s friends at school have decided to throw a party. It started out small, but as the planning moves along it continues to grow.

My Opinion

I enjoyed Wild Ones Volume 4 as I always do. This time around a few things bothered me though. It’s not so much about what happens in this volume, but the fear that it may become a recurring theme in the story.

I’ll try not to be spoilerish in my description, but I do think I need to describe what I’m talking about.

In one of the volume’s stories Rakuto opens up to Sachie a little bit. Then you flip the page to the next story and the relationship between them hasn’t changed much, if at all. It’s almost as if Rakuto’s most expressive moment never happened. That’s a shame, and does a disservice to a good character, but that’s not what’s causing my misgivings.

In the beginning of a relation ship it’s normal to be unsure of where you stand after moving forward, and it’s only natural to try to go back to the way things were before because it’s familiar. The problem is that some stories get stuck in that stop and go cycle and never get anywhere. I just hope that doesn’t happen with Wild Ones.

Is it worth it?

Wild Ones Volume 4 is worth it. As long as the relationship between Sachie and Rakuto doesn’t get stuck in an endless cycle of 2 steps forward 1 step back, then I’ll probably be very happy to continue recommending this manga.

Manga, Reviews, Shojo, Comedy, Romance, Yakuza, Wild Ones, Volume 4, Shojo Beat, Kiyo Fujiwara

This post was supposed to be a manga review for Get Backers Volume 1. I’ll still be posting that review, but I have a few things I want to get out of the way first. Since some of it isn’t specific to that manga, I decided to write up a short rant. Lucky you.

I sat down and began reading GetBackers, and everything was cool. Had my coffee, had my manga and everything was right with the world. After a little while I began to think that there might be a little something wrong after all. The flow of action in the story was horrible. Jumping around with no explanation of what was happening. When I ran into the contents page around page 54 or so, I figured it out.

Misprint

The pages looked fine, they were just in the wrong order. Yep, somewhere along the way someone forgot to make sure the pages were properly collated. The book was bound wrong. I looked online for a scanlation to verify my theory, as I’ve done for translation questions in the past, but I couldn’t find GetBackers.

I finished reading the book, trying to mentally jump from story to story as I came across misplaced pages. I gotta say, the impression I got of this manga was not helped at all by this mistake.

My impression of TokyoPop has suffered somewhat as well. This sort of thing is much larger than a typo. Shoot, it’s even larger than a bad translation call. This is the type of thing that can get a company a bad reputation. This should have been caught before it made it to a retail outlet.

Update: More news about the misprint.

Manga, GetBackers, Get Backers, TokyoPop, Misprint

Story

Clues to the origins of the undead army sent to annihilate Hellsing point to enemies believed to be long dead. Alucard and Police Girl, along with the mercenaries hired to fill out the Hellsing Organization’s decimated ranks, are sent on an important mission. The destination is Argentina and the mission objective is search and destroy.

My Opinion

Hellsing has some pretty cool twists and turns to the story. Volume 3 of the manga lived up to my high, and increasing, expectations. It dropped a few hints of the past and gave a good idea where the story is going. It looks like Hellsing is in for an all out war.

I really hope that future volumes will fill in some of the background a bit more. It really should, considering the enemy that they’re facing is one they thought was long buried. I’d really love to see Walter in action as a younger man. I get the feeling that he is almost as frightening in his own way as Alucard.

Kohta Hirano’s art is a good as always. It’s dramatic, stylish and almost painfully cool. There are a few images of Alucard that I particularly enjoyed in this volume.

A Note for Parents…

According to the back of the manga, Dark Horse recommends Hellsing for ages 13+ due to violence and language. I might even go a bit higher than that. It is a horror story after all, so there are some horrific elements. Check out the manga that you’re kids read, because they’re not all for kids.

Is it worth it?

Hellsing Volume 3 is worth it. I’ve been hooked. It’s an amazing manga. I’m not reading them to review, I’m reviewing them because I have to read ‘em.

Manga, Reviews, Horror, Undead, Action, Vampires, Alucard, Dark Horse, Hellsing, Kohta Hirano, Volume 3, Nazi, Millennium

To get the rundown on the story, head over to the review I did of the Black Lagoon anime. The basics are pretty much the same. Boats, guns, and lots of action.

My Opinion

Overall, I think anime is a better way to tell these stories. Since they’re mostly gunfights and explosions, which are helped by movement, anime has an edge. What I’m hoping for is a bit more insight into the characters and their back stories. That is where manga can really pull ahead of anime.

Did Black Lagoon offer these insights?

Not really. I don’t know about later volumes but the first one followed the anime pretty darn closely. Sometimes a bit too closely. As I may have mentioned, there are several fast paced shoot outs and lots of things blowing up in Black Lagoon. In a few places that can get kind of confusing when you’re trying to keep straight what’s going on. Other times, it just lacks the impact that the anime has. An explosion, complete with fiery smoking shrapnel, in the anime is reduced to a few panels of wavy lines.

So, what’s good about Black Lagoon 001? A lot actually. The characters’ personalities come across very well, and Black Lagoon is filled with cool characters.

The art, though somewhat stifling to the action portion of the stories, is very well done. There is a certain cinematic quality to the art that really helps to overcome the lack of movement a lot of the time.

Is it worth it?

Black Lagoon 001 is worth it. Even if I prefer the anime version a little better so far, I still think this is a manga worth checking out.

Manga, Reviews, Action, Adventure, Pirates, Guns, Explosions, Viz Media, Rei Hiroe

Story

The showdown between the Newspaper Club and the Academy’s Security Enforcement Committee is on. Tsukune is charged with being human, a crime that carries the death penalty for the human and any monsters that helped them. To save himself and his friends Tsukune would have to change into a monster to convince the Enforcers that he’s not human. The only problem is, he is human.

What would his new friends think about him if they found out he’s not one of them?

Would they still help him?

If they do help him, can they survive against monsters strong enough to maintain order at Yokai Academy?

And if they do survive, can they pass their finals?

It might be filled with monsters, but Yokai Academy is still a school.

My Opinion

Rosario Vampire is a fun read, and volume 3 is no exception. There’s plenty of action in this volume, several fight scenes and some cool monsters. The short description of the type of monster Kuyo is was a little bit off. The numbers didn’t quite match up. I don’t want to ruin anything, but look carefully and do some counting, you’ll see what I mean.

I love the art in Rosario Vampire. I know it’s not going to wow very many people, but I think it has a lot going for it. Solid character design, excellent execution and consistency. That last one is more important than people think.

Is it worth it?

Rosario Vampire Volume 3 is well worth it. The characters are likeable and well drawn. On top of that it’s full of monsters and action. What’s not to like?

Manga, Reviews, Rosario Vampire, Volume 3, Akihisa Ikeda, Vampire, Shonen Jump, Shonen Jump Advanced

Ral Grad is intended for a mature audience. Some of the material may not be suitable for younger readers.

Story

Ral, Grad and their companions continue on their way to defeat the Shadow Queen. Along the way they encounter a strange walled city where women are disappearing. Not one to stand by and let ladies be harmed, Ral insists on looking into the mystery.

While they’re investigating, they learn that another powerful Shadow is on it’s way to defeat Opsquria.

My Opinion

If anything Ral Grad Volume 2 is better than the first. The story really begins to move in this volume. Sure there are still character introductions being made, and they’re likely to continue for at least a couple more volumes, but they’re worked into the story instead of being the story like we saw in the first volume.

Once again, the art is great. Some of the shadows in volume 2 are really creepy. I thought the fish were particularly disturbing. One of the splash pages between chapters was particularly impressive. The 2 page art piece before “Tale 11. Pride”. Nothing really special about the layout of it. It’s just the main group so far. It was very well done though.

Is it worth it?

Ral Grad Volume 2 is worth it. Action, adventure, humor and boobs, a combination that is hard to beat if done right. So far Ral Grad is doin’ it right. It has an interesting story and some cool characters. It also has at least some small explanation for all the fan service, which is more than most manga. I’d highly recommend Ral Grad to older teens/adults that are looking for something cool.

Manga, Reviews, Action, Adventure, Fantasy, Mature Content, Ral Grad, Tsuneo Takano, Takeshi Obata, Boobs, Fan Service

Story

Sachie seems to be having a run of bad luck. An underwear thief is on the loose in the neighborhood and Sachie is missing a pair. Has the thief struck again, or is there another explanation?

A trip to an onsen turns into a hostage situation, and the hostage is Sachie. Can Rakuto save her or is Sachie’s kidnapper just toying with him?

My Opinion

There are 3 different stories in Volume 3 of Wild Ones. I only described 2 because the third would be very difficult to describe without giving too much away. I wouldn’t want to ruin anything for you, so I skipped writing a description for it.

We’re seeing more of Raizo’s friends and business associates turn up in the stories. I think that’s a good thing. Sachie is getting used to the gang that her grandpa is in charge of. It’s about time she started meeting some new people.

We’re also meeting people from the past that knew Sachie’s mom. I’d like to learn a bit more about her, since all we’ve seen so far are from Sachie’s, and Raizo’s, memories. I’d like to find out more about her from people closer to her own age.

The art is good in this one. It seemed to be more consistent, with fewer disconcerting switches between normal art and Shojo Sparkle Mode.

Is it worth it?

Wild Ones Volume 3 is worth it. This volume is a bit more light hearted, but we do get another glimpse into the kind of life Sachie’s mom walked away from.

Manga, Reviews, Shojo, Comedy, Romance, Yakuza, Wild Ones, Shojo Beat, Kiyo Fujiwara

Story

A war is being waged between humans and shadows, and the humans are losing. The humans’ only hope is a new kind of shadow, one that will fight for them. Bound to a young boy named Ral, Grad is a shadow dragon who wants to stop he war so the shadows can return home. To do that, he’ll have to defeat the shadow queen Opsquria.

Ral was locked away in a lightless cell when he was an infant because of the shadow bound to him. Growing up in darkness, his only contact with the outside world was his teacher Miss Mio. Miss Mio is the one who freed him as a last resort when Sphaelite Castle was about to fall to the shadow army.

My Opinion

Ral Grad is an interesting fantasy manga. The shadows, and their abilities, offer a wide range of possibilities. From the shadow dragon Grad bound to Ral, to the plant like Riz bound to Kafka, shadows are presented in some very cool ways.

The art of Ral Grad is in capable hands. Tekeshi Obata of Hikaru no Go and Death Note does an excellent job. Comedy, action, drama, and fan service are all expertly presented.

Speaking of fan service, Ral Grad does contain mature content. Mostly in the form of Ral’s obsession with boobs and women. It’s really to be expected, he’s about 15 years of age and has no experience dealing with women, or anyone for that matter. That’s a big part of his character, so it comes up in the story pretty often.

I don’t think I’m familiar with Tsuneo Takano, but I’m sure I will be. The writing in Ral Grad is good. Plenty of action and drama, with moments of comedy and even a few surprises.

Is it worth it?

Ral Grad is worth it, if you’re old enough. There’s lots of fighting and lots of boobs, so this one isn’t for the kids. Older teens and adults should enjoy the adventure and fan service though.

Manga, Reviews, Action, Adventure, Fantasy, Mature Content, Ral Grad, Tsuneo Takano, Takeshi Obata, Boobs, Fan Service, Hikaruno Go, Death Note