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I mentioned before that Linebarrels of Iron caught my attention over at Crunchyroll.com, in spite of my usual lack of interest in most mecha anime. The same cannot be said of shojo comedies, I love those things and Crunchyroll has a good one.

The Fury of a Woman Scorned

Skip Beat! is about a girl named Kyoko Mogami who supports her boyfriend during his pursuit of fame, only to be cast aside once his dream is reached.

This instance of Epic Douchebaggery has a profound effect on her, which serves as the basis for the show. She decides that the only way to get even with him, and she does intend to get even, is to beat him at his own game. She changes her look and sets out to become an even bigger star.

Kyoko’s clueless attempts at stardom are entertaining. It’s made even better because you want her to succeed. You cheer for her efforts to crush the dreams of her ex-boyfriend. Every time she’s confronted with an obstacle, you want her to overcome it.

I certainly wouldn’t want to get on her bad side. That chick is scary.

All of this is wrapped up in a comedy that seems to poke fun at those anime shows where someone works hard to make their dreams come true. The only difference is that she’s working hard to make her dream come true so that she can crush someone else’s dreams. Spite and hatred have rarely been so funny.

I recommend checking out Skip Beat! if you get the chance. Girls, get your boyfriend to watch it too, he might treat you nicer… for a while.

Anime, Online, Streaming, Shojo, Comedy, Skip Beat!, Kyoko Mogami, Crunchyroll

Story

Sachie’s class is throwing a Christmas party and somehow it was decided that the party would he held at Sachie’s house. She has to host a Christmas party while trying to hide her family business from her friends. Can she keep her secret from the class president, whose father is a police officer? Santa makes an appearance and there’s even a confession of love.

The New Year starts off with stress for Sachie. Rakuto has a cold and collapses when they make their New Year shrine visit. Sachie does her best to nurse Rakuto back to health.

Azuma seems to be pretty popular on Valentines’s Day. When he gets to school his locker is filled with chocolates, but the gift he treasures most is from Sachie.

A sweet story of pure love unfolds in the spring. Yasu, one of Raizo’s men, meets a Cherry Blossom Fairy and helps her to see things clearly.

My Opinion

There are a few different stories in Volume 5 of Wild Ones, and I like that. The main story line moves forward, but we get to see the characters in different situations. Of course, from Christmas to Spring is a huge amount of time to cover in one volume. When you look at the amount of time covered, it seems like not much is happening with the characters.

I really enjoys the little surprise during the Christmas party. I was not expecting that at all. As good as that was, I believe I enjoyed the story about Yasu even more. I enjoy seeing stories involving Sachie’s new family. and this one was very sweet.

Is it worth it?

Wild Ones Volume 5 is worth it. It’s got fun, drama and a few surprises. I’d recommend picking it up.

Manga, Reviews, Shojo, Comedy, Romance, Yakuza, Wild Ones, Volume 5, Shojo Beat, Kiyo Fujiwara, Sachie, Rakuto, Raizo, Azuma, Yasu, Christmas, New Year, Valentine’s Day

Story

This is it, Beck has a chance to play a huge show. They even get to play one of the main stages. This is a pivotal moment for the band. Will they stay strong and perform like the stars they can be, or will the pressure overpower them and make them crumble?

There’s a lot on the line, for Ryuusuke, for Koyuki and for the band. This could be the most important moment of their lives.

My Opinion

I hate to say it, but this is the last DVD. This anime series is done, and I’m sad to see it go. I love everything about this show. The characters are wonderful, the music is awesome and the story is great.

I loved the ending. I loved it even more when I found out that I was confused and there 26 episodes, instead of the 25 I was mistakenly expecting. If the story had ended at 25, it would have been completely different. Whew!

Extras on volume 6 are what you’d expect. We have trailers, a music video and the opening/closing themes. Oh wait, almost forgot…

There’s a commentary track! I’ve been hoping for another one since the first DVD, and it’s finally here.

This commentary track focuses on the music. I think that’s appropriate. The music is a huge part of the show. If dubbed version of the music had been done wrong, or even kinda half-assed, then the dubbed version of the show would have been garbage, no matter how good the acting. Lucky for us that the music was taken very seriously.

Is it worth it?

Beck: Mongolian Chop Squad Volume 6 is worth it. This is an amazing show, and I highly recommend watching the every single episode.

Anime, Reviews, Music, Comedy, Drama, Slice of Life, Funimation, Beck: Mongolian Chop Squad, Beck

Story

Ryuusuke is in deep trouble, thanks to his misspent youth. Prudence’s real owner found out where she is, and he’s come to get her back. Leon Sykes is not a man to mess around with.

If Ryuusuke can survive his brush with the past, then Beck might have a shot at playing the biggest outdoor music festival in Japan. The opportunity is all thanks to Koyuki’s performance with Dying Breed. The documentary that was filmed during Dying Breed’s tour has been released, and it’s made Koyuki a celebrity.

My Opinion

Things are really getting good. The band is on the verge of hitting the big time, if they can all survive. That’s looking less likely for Ryuusuke, since he keeps pissing off dangerous gangstas.

To be fair to Ryuusuke, he’s not the only one doin’ stupid crap. Chiba is freakin’ out a bit too much over a dream. If he keeps doin’ that, things could get bad.

There’s only one thing I dislike about Beck. I can’t stand Maho’s friends. That girl has really crappy judgement when it comes to the people she hangs out with. Even when she sees what kind of jerk that Yoshito guy is, she still doesn’t get rid of his ass.

Extras are the same as always, a music video, trailers and the opening/closing themes. Looks like I’m not getting another episode with commentary. Ah well, I’ll just have to count the first one as a pleasant, but unusual, surprise.

Is it worth it?

Yep. Volume 5 of Beck: Mongolian Chop Squad is worth it. The episodes on this DVD really do a great job of building up to the end of the show. Only one more volume left. That’s kinda depressing. I don’t want it to end.

Anime, Reviews, Music, Comedy, Drama, Slice of Life, Funimation, Beck: Mongolian Chop Squad, Beck

Story

Koyuki may be well on his way to being a rock star, but he’s still got to go to High School for now. Lucky for him he’s already got 2 friends at his new school. Saku graduated from middle school with him, and Chiba is an upper classman.

The band is doing pretty good too. An indie label from America wants to sell Beck’s CDs. Not all is well though. Koyuki has a rival for Maho’s affections. One of her friends from school is a TV star and model, and he has his sights set on Maho.

Ryuusuke has his own problems to deal with. It looks like something from his past may be coming back to haunt him.

My Opinion

The Extras on this DVD are pretty much the same as the others. Trailers, textless themes and a music video comprise the special features. I’ve been hoping to see another episode with a commentary track like volume 1 had.

There are some really good moments in these episodes. I especially liked how Koyuki and Saku met Chiba in their new high school. As always the music is pretty darn good too. I wish I could buy a CD of the songs from the show. Shoot, I’d buy two of ‘em. One in English and one in the original Japanese. I’m gonna have to check around and see if I can find ‘em.

Is it worth it?

Beck: Mongolian Chop Squad is always good and Volume 4 doesn’t disappoint. This DVD is definitely worth it. You need to check out this anime if you haven’t already.

Anime, Reviews, Music, Comedy, Drama, Slice of Life, Funimation, Beck: Mongolian Chop Squad, Beck

I was pretty shocked to see a Kamen Rider series on while flipping the channels this morning. After looking into it, it seems that Kamen Rider: Dragon Knight is based on, and uses footage from Kamen Rider Ryuki. So it has all the cool Japanese sentai action, combined with all the bad American (or is it Canadian?) acting.

The Masked Rider series goes way back. I’m surprised it’s taken this long to get a Power Ranger type refit of one of the many Kaman Rider series. Especially since the immensely popular Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, and all it’s sequels and descendants, owe so much to these shows.

I would like to see Kamen Rider Ryuki (a.k.a. Dragon Knight) get one thing that Power Ranters didn’t have, a straight translation of the original show. I’d settle for sub or dub, but I’d like to see both. I know, not gonna happen, but I can still dream.

You can see the trailer and promo for the show at KamenRiderProductions.com.

Here are the openings to both shows. Enjoy.

Dragon Knight looks pretty cool, but there’s something about Ryuki that, even in the opening, just has it beat. I got my fingers crossed that we’ll get to see Ryuki get a translation as well as the remake.

The original story sounds a bit different according to the description on the Wikipedia page. Kamen Rider Ryuki sounds more like Highlander. Kamen Rider: Dragon Knight sounds more like another Power Rangers series. As much as I loved Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, I have to side with Highlander on this one.

There can be only one…

Fun Stuff, Sentai, Kamen Rider, Kamen Rider Ryuki, Kamen Rider: Dragon Knight, CW, Adness Entertainment, Toei, Power Rangers, Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, Highlander

Story

Hayase Kouichi gets picked on at school, but his friends Risako and Yajima are there to help. Kouichi dreams of being a hero of justice, someone that can protect his friends, instead of being the one that needs protecting.

Be careful what you wish for.

Kouichi manages to be in the wrong place at the wrong time one day on the way back to school with lunch for the bullies that push him around. A giant mech named Linebarrels lands on Kouichi, when he wakes up he finds a naked girl next to him. Kouichi also finds a new power within himself.

Can he use that power to be a hero of justice, or will he become a bully himself?

My Opinion

I’m not normally a fan of mech anime, but this one has me interested. I think the drama surrounding the characters is what draws me into the story. Kouichi isn’t very likable, at least in the beginning, but somehow it works.

Why is Kouichi such a humongous douche? Being such a douche, why do his friends stay by his side? These are the kinds of questions I asked myself when watching the first few episodes of Linebarrels of Iron. I hope if find some of the answers.

Is it worth it?

I watched it on Crunchyroll, so I don’t know if it’s even available on DVD yet. If it was I’d call it a rental, at least for now. I’d have to see a few more episodes to make up my mind about it.

Head over there and check it out. Watch a few episodes and see if you want to smack the crap out of Kouichi as much as I do.

Anime, Online, Crunchyroll, Mech, Action, Science Fiction, Linebarrels of Iron

Story

Some tensions build between Revy and Rock when things go wrong during an illegal salvage operation on a sunken Nazi submarine. Apparently tension isn’t good for Revy, she turns psychotic. Dutch tries to get the situation under control soon, before his crew start killing each other.

Meanwhile…

When someone starts targeting members of Hotel Moscow, Balalaika takes things personally. Even if she manages to track down the assassins or the person that hired them, will she be able to do anything about it? Will she be able to fend off this attack before the entire city erupts in all out gang war?

My Opinon

While the story kicks into high gear, so does the graphic nature of the manga. Violence, sex and language all contribute to Black Lagoon 002 earning it’s M rating. Let me be as blunt as possible.

This manga is not for kids.

There are a few elements of this story that adults are going to find revolting. This manga is about a dark underworld that polite society does not go, so it’s only natural that some of it will be disturbing.

On the bright side, the violence isn’t as gory as you might expect to see in a horror comic. Hellsing, for example, has more blood and guts. So if you’re just squeamish about things like that, don’t worry too much.

Is it worth it?

Black Lagoon 002 is worth it. Just be aware that it is not kid friendly. It may not be suitable for some adults Those that are easily offended should look elsewhere. Everyone else will be treated to action and mayhem along with a pretty entertaining story.

Manga, Reviews, Action, Adventure, Pirates, Guns, Explosions, Viz Media, Rei Hiroe, Black Lagoon, Rated M, Mature Readers, Sex, Violence, Adult Themes, Adult Language

I’d like to ask you a question that kind of goes along with the last post. It’s along the same lines, but slightly different. More of a parallel line of thought.

What anime would you like to see made into a live action movie? (Casting opinions are optional)

I thought about asking what anime you’d like to see Keanu Reeves star in the live action version of, but he’s had 2 consecutive posts already. It’s time to share the spotlight a little bit. If you would like to cast Keanu, that’s cool too, just let us know which part.

You know my vote, I’d go with Voltron. What anime do you think has the best shot at being completely awesome if brought to life? Shoot, why stop there? What anime do you think would be entertaining in live action simply because it would be so horrifyingly awful?

Oh, and don’t say Ghost in the Shell, it’s been done. They called it The Matrix.

Woah.

Anime, Opinion, Live Action, Casting, Keanu Reeves, Voltron, Ghost in the Shell, The Matrix

The time is right for a live action Voltron: Defender of the Universe movie. We have the technology to make Transformers come to life. How hard could believable robot lions be?

This is a movie that needs backing by a big name Hollywood star. A star like… Keanu Reeves? Maybe. I think he’d make a better space explorer than a space cowboy (Even if he does speak of the pompitous of love).

I’ve been doin’ a little thinking about this very unlikely movie lately. I’m positive that it would be a huge success if the lions were given the right look. I think it’d be better to err on the side of Go-Lion as far as the story goes though. It’s a little darker and more likely to make a good action movie.

Just go through the first couple of episodes for the story.

The Plot

The last survivors of Earth, 5 brave space explorers escape from the slave pits of the evil Zarkon, conqueror of worlds. Led by Keith, played by Keanu Reeves, they make their way to planet Aeris where they discover the legendary robot lions that combine to form Voltron. End the movie with the first successful forming of Voltron and an inspiring win against a fleet of slave ships. There you have it, a movie people will be talking about. If it makes money, you’re set up for a series. If it doesn’t make money, it stands on it’s own.

The question is… Who’d make up the rest of the cast?

Who would you cast?

I can’t make up my mind. Who would you like to see in a live action Voltron movie?

Anime, Opinion, Live Action, Voltron, Go Lion, Transformers, Space Cowboy, Space Explorer, Keanu Reeves

I was hoping that I would never have to write the title of this post. The official announcement has been made though, so it looks like it’s going to happen. Check out the post over at ANN.

I have some small shred of hope until filming starts. There’s still time for some changes to be made, or for Keanu to change his mind. That’s what I’m gonna have to hold on to.

Now I don’t intend to bash Keanu Reeves, I think he’s a pretty good actor. I don’t think he’s right for the role of Spike. I’ve seen some people saying that they hope he’ll decide to play Vicious instead. That’s an idea I can get behind. I think he’s much better suited to that part.

I’ll post another anime role later that I think he’d be great for. It’s an anime I’ve been casting for live action in my head for the past couple of weeks and I think it’s well suited for the big screen.

Anime, News, Opinion, Cowboy Bebop, Spike Spiegel, Keanu Reeves, Live Action

Story

Sasahara is settling into life as a member of Genshiken, but he’s not the only one getting used to the otaku friendly surroundings. Saki is feeling a little out of place as well, but unlike Sasahara, she is definitely not an otaku. The problem is her boyfriend Kousaka is an otaku, and a member of Genshiken.

Saki wants to be closer to Kousaka, but does that mean she’ll have to become an otaku too?

My Opinion

If you’ve heard me talking about it before, you know I love Genshiken. Check out the review of Genshiken Volume 1 DVD and you’ll see what I mean.

How could I not love this anime? The characters are incredible, the story is easy to relate to and the art is great. Genshiken is one of my favorites.

The second DVD contains episodes 5-8. These episodes could easily have been the weakest of the entire show, it happens all the time. An anime has a great start, then sags in the middle before it picks up for an exciting ending. That didn’ t happen here. Each episode does it’s best to entertain.

I love how the characters grow over the course of the story. It’s one of the more realistic touches that makes this anime so great. People grow up, their attitudes change and characters graduate (Just not all on this DVD, don’t be greedy).

Is it worth it?

Genshiken Volume 2: Model Citizens is well worth buying. If you already own the first volume, this is well worth adding to it.

Kio Shimoku created a wonderful manga, and the animators created an anime that does it’s best to live up to it’s very best qualities.

Anime, Review, DVD Review, Comedy, Otaku, Slice of Life, Genshiken, The Society for the Study of Modern Visual Culture, Genshiken Volume 2, Model Citizens, Kio Shimoku

Story

Ban Mido and Ginji Amano are the GetBackers, a street wise young duo that specialize in getting back what shouldn’t be lost. They’re not relying on street smarts alone. Ginji can produce electricity, just like an electric eel and Ban has the Evil Eye, an ability to create illusions in the minds of those that make eye contact with him. They’ve got what it takes to do just about any job, as long as the pay is good.

You’d think a recovery service with an almost 100% success rate would be on easy street. That’s not quite how thing work out for these young business men. Ban and Ginji sometimes have to take on less than desirable jobs just to keep from starving.

My Opinion

I’m glad I held off on the review until I could get a copy that wasn’t defective. The story is much better when you don’t have to figure out which part is next.

The art in GetBackers has a lot of energy and character. The characters themselves are pretty darn cool. Eve secondary characters are given their own personalities. The art has a lot of work to do. In the first volume there are quiet scenes, fight scenes and even horror and comedy scenes. All of ‘em done pretty well.

Age Rating

Be aware that GetBackers is for a somewhat older reader. The back suggests OT (Older Teens), Age 16+. Of course that really depends on the reader. Parents should look through this manga carefully before deciding if it’s right for their kids.

Is it worth it?

GetBackers is worth it. Cool characters in a fast paced story that offers a lot of variety. Parents need to check it out first though, just to make sure it’s right for their child. Who knows? The parents might start reading manga too.

Manga, Reviews, Action, Adventure, Comedy, TokyoPop, Get Backers, GetBackers, Rando Ayamine, Yuya Aoki, Ban Mido, Ginji Amano

You might remember me complaining about getting a GetBackers volume that was bound wrong. Then I posted an update with TokyoPOPs response to an e-mail my girlfriend sent. If you don’t remember, or didn’t read those posts, you can catch up with the first post and the second post.

Caught up? Good.

We got the new copy in the mail the other day. Other than being a little bit damp from all the rain lately, it was fine. It seems to be bound in the correct order. I’ll be re-reading it and posting a review very soon.

Extras

It seems that TokyoPOP tried to make things up to us by sending us a few extra items along with the replacement book. My girlfriend got pretty excited about that, she loves free stuff.

Initially I was in agreement with her about how awesome that is, and a small part of me still agrees. They could have just told us to take it back to the point of purchase and been done with it. That they didn’t do that and owned up to the mistake makes me want to buy more of their books.

The part of me that can’t help being nitpicky forced me to go through the stuff that was sent with the book. Here’s a run down of what we got.

• 1 Princess Ai bookmark w/ tassel and beads.
• 1 Sgt Frog bookmark, plain.
• 1 I Luv Halloween bookmark, plain.
• 1 Princess Ai credit card sized bookmark, plain.
• 7 Note sized promo cards for various manga.
• 2 “Thank You” postcards from TokyoPOP featuring Fruits Basket and Love Attack.
• 4 Manga sized cards featuring different manga covers.
• 2 TokyoPOP Presents books. Spring and Summer 2007. (Over a year out of date)

I can always use more bookmarks, so those and the smaller cards will probably be used. The rest of it just seems like junk mail to me. The Fruits Basket postcard is a thank you for sending them fanart. That makes it seem less like cool freebies to make up for a mistake and more like someone was cleaning off their desk before sending out the book.

Once again let me say that I’m very happy with the way they owned up to their mistake. I will be buying more TokyoPOP titles in the future.

Manga, GetBackers, Get Backers, TokyoPop, Misprint, Customer Service, Freebies, Princess Ai, Sgt Frog, I Luv Halloween, Fruits Basket, Love Attack

I’ve recommended Ouran High School Host Club before, multiple times. I’ve even given away some pretty cool stuff trying to get the word out about this show. I even recommend the manga.

Since I got Part 1 of the series for Christmas I can finally do a review of the DVDs.

Packaging

The packaging of the 2 discs is really pretty cool. Each DVD has it’s own thin DVD case, but they fit into a cardboard sleeve that is about the same width as a normal DVD case. That means you can keep them together, but they don’t stick out like a sore thumb when you add them to your DVD collection.

The cardboard sleeve has all the info about the show on the back, just like a normal DVD box, including running time, a list of the extras and a brief description of the story. The 2 DVD cases themselves could have been left plain, but they weren’t. Each DVD case has a decorative cover featuring 2 characters. The frst DVD features Haruhi and Tamaki, while the second features the Hitachiin Twins. Each decorative cover is reversible, so you can have your favorite character on the outside.

Extras

The Extras are the basic anime DVD fare, with a couple of cool additions. Extras include Clean Opening and Closing, Trailers for other anime, Outtakes and Manga pages courtesy of Viz.

I love to see Outtakes in the extras. They’re common on live action movie DVDs but you hardly see them on anime DVDs. Either the VAs don’t mess up that often or the companies don’t want to include them. I’d rather see Outtakes than trailers. I like trailers when they fit, but they’re often just a random selection of anime commercials that usually have nothing in common with the anime you were watching.

A word about the textless opening and closing themes. The English versions do a great job, but there’s just something I love about the Japanese versions. If you switch the audio to Japanese, you can hear the original songs. I’d suggest giving them a listen, they’re pretty good.

Is it worth it?

Yep. Ouran High School Host Club is an awesome anime, and FUNimation has done a great job with the English dub. Not only that but they’ve put half of the series on Part 1. The Extras might be a little light, but this show doesn’t need ‘em. I would have bought this myself without any extras if I hadn’t gotten it as a gift.

Anime, Reviews, Anime Review, Ouran High School Host Club, Shojo, Pretty Boys, Reverse Harem, Parody, Comedy, High School, English, Dub, Japanese, Sub, Caitlin Glass, Haruhi Fujioka, Vic Mignogna, Tamaki Suou, Greg Ayres, Kaoru Hitachiin, Luci Christian, Mitsukuni Haninozuka, Honey Sempai, Todd Haberkorn, Hikaru Hitachiin