Anyway, here are a couple of links for those that are curious about DragonCon.

Anime Track on LiveJournal

A .pdf file of the 2008 pocket program. There are bound to be changes, there always are.

I’m interested to see what’s in store for the marvel heroes. I read tons of Marvel comics when I was younger, so I know that no matter what goofy anime they might wind up in I won’t be nearly as weird as some of the stuff they’ve done in the comics. The new perspectives and cultural backgrounds may even give ‘em the fresh start that Marvel itself tried to provide with the Ultimates line of comics.

My Reaction to 'X-Men shōjo'.

That goes way beyond the sentai Spider-Man with the giant robot. That’s just wrooooong.

Anime, News, Opinion, Marvel, Madhouse, X-Men, Shōjo, Spider-Man

Story

Yukito’s mother left him three things. An old puppet, the ability to control it with his mind and a search for a girl with wings. Yukito uses the first two as a way to earn money in his travels to find the girl who may not even exist.

Yukito finds himself in a small seaside town that is home to some very odd people. He’s having a difficult time earning money with his puppet show, but his search may finally come to an end.

My Opinion

Air could have been one of the best anime shows to come along in the last few years. Beautiful art and sound with a mystery surrounding lovable characters. It had genuinely funny moments as well as truly sad ones. Then the story takes a tragic turn and loses it’s way.

As painful as the tragedy in the story was, the squandered potential of the show hurt the most. All the parts of a good anime were there, but those parts were never assembled. The story had a promising beginning. The creators must have recognized that, because when they couldn’t figure out what to do next they just went back and redid the beginning again. With new characters. That weren’t there the first time around. I’m not kidding. The story repeats at least twice, but I may have lost count.

Is it worth it?

No, Air isn’t worth it. That’s too bad, because it could have been great.

If you must watch it then rent it. If you want the super short version then just rent the Volume 4 DVD and watch the episode titled Memories: Misuzu’s Story. That’s the entire series compressed into a half hour.

Anime, Reviews, Air, Drama, Romance, Tragedy, Supernatural

I suppose it depends on how it’s done. It could be good if it’s handled carefully, but it would be very tricky. Would they pick up after The Conqueror of Shambala? Would the new series fit inside of the time frame of the old show? Would it be set in an alternate world with a new pair of Elric brothers?

There are just so many ways to screw it up, and the more that I think about it the fewer ways I can see to get it right.

This is one of those times that I wish and hope that the rumors are just rumors. I’d almost rather see the mythical next Dragonball series than a new FMA. After all, anything would be an improvement after GT.

I think that’s what I’m afraid will happen. I’m worried that a new Fullmetal Alchemist would do the same thing to FMA that Dragonball GT did to that world.

What do you think? Is a new FMA a good idea? I’d be very interested to hear other opinions about this. Maybe someone can convince me that the odds of a Fullmetal Alchemist GT tainting the Elric brothers’ story aren’t as high as I think.

I really hope so, but right now it seems about as plausible as… turning lead into gold.

Anime, Opinion, Fullmetal Alchemist, Dragonball, Dragonball GT, FMA, FMA GT

You have to watch more that 1 episode before making up your mind.

I was reminded of this recently when I checked out the anime Air. I’ll be reviewing the show later on but right now I’d like to talk about the first episode and how it differs from the rest. To put it simply, the first episode kind of sucks. The first episode doesn’t do much to introduce the characters. That’s bad. If we don’t know the characters, we don’t care about what happens to ‘em. If we don’t care about ‘em then why would we want to watch a somewhat grouchy, possibly crazy, homeless guy sleep on a beach with his nondescript puppet?

When Homeless Guys Sleep, next on Fox.

The first episode gave almost no indication of what the later episode would be like. It was almost a different show. Things get much more interesting later on, so why skimp on the first one?

When the first episode is this much different, it’s like a lie. It’s as if the creators are saying “Here’s a nice quiet show about a drifter who likes to hang around with kids, enjoy” then the following episodes are filled with possessed schoolgirls, telekinetics and futile quests. I’d be mad if I was hoping for a creepy drifter show. Lucky for me I wasn’t looking for that kind of show. Even more fortunate, I stuck around and found out there was a good anime hiding behind the crazy homeless dude.

That is why the first episode is useless. You need to watch several episodes before you make up your mind.

Anime, Opinion, Air

Guests ?

I’m not sure who the guests are going to be this year. That goes for any year I suppose. There’s always a flurry of cancellations right before the con as well as some people that just don’t show up. So I can’t promise to ask anyone specific your questions.

There are less than 2 weeks left now, Dragon Con runs from August 29 to September 1 this year. Leave a comment and ask your questions. I’ll do my best to get some answers for you.

A bit of warning… I might not be able to ask all the questions. Sorry, but that’s just how it goes.

I’m looking forward to seeing what you want to ask.

Anime, Anime Track, Comedy, Conventions, Dragon Con, Fun Stuff, Otaku

Story

There’s a town where demons live. Sometimes the lights get brighter. When that happens a very special game of hide and seek is played. When seven children wearing fox masks arrive, then it’s time to begin, but sometimes children disappear.

My Opinion

Kakurenbo: Hide & Seek is all kinds of creepy fun. It’s a quick jaunt into a world filled with demons that come after misbehaving children, and the kids who turn it into a game.

It’s short, but even at only 25 minutes long this story is perfectly told. It could probably be expanded, but something would be lost. As much as I’d like to see more about that world, I’d rather forego any future demonic game in favor of this one perfectly told tale.

Is it worth it?

It sure is. Kakurenbo: Hide & Seek is a half hour well spent.

Anime, Reviews, Horror, Mystery, Suspense, Kakurenbo: Hide & Seek

Story

Actions have consequences. Real and Vincent are starting to see some of the results of the choices they’ve made as well as the choices others have made for them. Are they prepared to deal with what is in store for them?

My Opinion

The Ergo Proxy Volume 4 DVD is much like the others, no extras to speak. Where it differs from the previous installments is in the episodes themselves. While I enjoyed watching volume 4, there wasn’t a lot revealed about the plot. The biggest surprise revealed in this volume wasn’t much of a surprise. I won’t ruin it, but if you haven’t figured it out long before now then you really haven’t been paying attention.

These episodes dealt more with the characters than the ongoing story. That’s not a bad thing, but it did seem to be stretching things out. By the time the last episode on the disc was playing the show felt like it was dragging somewhat. That could be intentional though, at least for the last episode on the disc.

At least a couple of episodes on the disc strike me as filler, which makes me think that the whole disc might be filler. Enjoyable to watch, but not really needed for the story. I could be wrong though. This could just be the calm before the storm. This could be the disc that lets us catch our breath before all hell breaks loose.

Is it worth it?

Yep, it’s worth it. Even if it doesn’t advance the story very much, Ergo Proxy’s filler is better than some shows’ best episodes.

Anime, Reviews, Ergo Proxy, DVD, Geneon, Adventure, Drama, Horror, Mystery, Psychological, Science Fiction, Supernatural, Sci-Fi, Vincent Law, Real Mayer

One tiny bit of news about anime at Dragon Con that I have heard…

Ouran High to premier at Dragon Con.

(and at Anime Vegas)

Yep, that’s what I’ve heard from the Risembool Rangers. Seems fairly reliable to me. Vic is playing Tamaki (pictured seated) in the English dub and he’s pretty heavily involved with his fan club. According to the announcement one of Vic’s panels will be showing the first 3 episodes.

I’m looking forward to that. I like Ouran High and I like the work that Vic has done. It’ll be interesting to see how he plays Tamaki.

This should be pretty cool even if there isn’t much else going on at the Dragon Con anime track.

Anime, Ouran High School Host Club, Shojo, Pretty Boys, Reverse Harem, Parody, Comedy, High School, Voice Actor, Victor Mignogna, Risembool Rangers, Conventions, Dragon Con, Anime Track, Fun Stuff, Otaku

My girlfriend picked up Dramacon the last time we went manga shopping. Well it’s been a while since I’ve bought manga and I’m running a bit low so I thought I’d read the ones she got.

I was a bit surprised by a few things in the book. It’s rated 13+, but I’ve got to wonder how Tokyopop decides on recommended ages because there are some thing in here that I’d say make it an older teen title. There’s no graphic nudity or anything, but there are a few scenes that might be unsuitable for some younger teens. Not all younger teens, but enough to make me wonder why the age recommendation isn’t a little older.

Story

Christie visits her first anime con and it’s filled with drama. From the cosplayers flirting with her boyfriend (who’s flirting back), to the mixed reception to the comic they made, things aren’t going well. It’s looking like it’s going to be a long painful weekend until Christie meets a mystery guy in shades. He seems to understand what she’s going through and tries to help.

After this anime con, Christie may never want to go to another one.

My Opinion

While I’m not crazy about the character design, I do like the art. Svetlana Chmakova does a great job expressing her characters’ emotions. In a shojo book that’s pretty darn important. Almost as important as making the guys’ chins super sharp and adding lots of sparkles when they kiss, and they will.

The story is decent, except for a couple of spots where it took a sudden turn and got serious and once even downright disturbing. I was disappointed that the con wasn’t used more. Other than one trip through the dealer’s room they may not have been at a con, it could have been any crowded place.

Is it worth it?

I can only recommend this one for shojo fans. It’s very girly and meant to be that way. If you can get past the odd character designs you might enjoy the drama.

Manga, Reviews, Tokyopop, Shojo, Dramacon, Volume 1, Svetlana Chmakova