Category Archives: anime

Popularity on the internet vs Popularity at cons

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I’m always caught a little off guard by the disparity between popular anime on the internet and at conventions. Shows I thought would garner more cosplay, Gurren-Lagann, Rozen Maiden, among others, are always on the backburner compared to the stalwarts such as Naruto and Bleach. I mean, it’s obvious why, with Naruto and Bleach being enormously popular, but back at Otakon 2007 one series that surprised me with its popularity was Ouran High School Host Club.  Is it because the manga was released here? Did the fansubs just manage to reach an audience which normally wouldn’t have bothered too much with it?

I’m a fan of Ouran myself (Fujioka is the superior Haruhi), but I wonder if there’s a way for me to truly sense the pulse of the anime fandom.

I’d probably have a lucrative job if I could.

New Slayers!

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So the anime which I consider to be THE gateway anime is getting a new tv series, and this makes me quite glad. I’ve seen almost every incarnation of Slayers so far, so I’ll be looking to keep up my track record.

My first hope is that they finally introduce Dynast Grausherra and Deep-Sea Dolphin properly into the Slayers anime universe.

My second hope is that the series is called Slayers Boxer, and that the crew will get some kind of airship.

Nena Trinity may get all the love, but here’s a real woman

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You’re a spineless, pale
pathetic lot
And you haven’t got a clue
Somehow I’ll make a man
out of you

(I know exactly how you feel, Patrick!)

Lena Sayers Love Fest: My-Otome 0 ~S.ifr~ OVA 1

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It is no small secret that the character designer of the HiME series, Hisayuki Hirokazu, loves loves loves the character of Lena Sayers. She is like his personal mascot, equivalent to how the creator of Shaman King feels about Kyouyama Anna.

So watching S.ifr OVA 1 and seeing just how much detail and emphasis has been put on making her as awesome as possible leads me to believe that he’s having a lot of influence on this particular series.

My-Otome 0 ~S.ifr~ is a prequel to My-Otome detailing the adventures of Lena Sayers Yumemiya, mother of Otome heroine Arika. There’s a few surprises, mainly that Lena is using an activation gem completely different from the one we’re familiar with. We also get to see the previous owner of the gem that Sara Gallagher uses in Otome proper. The animation is quite good, the character designs are strong and sexy, and it’s pretty much everything you’d expect from the HiME series at this point, only with tons of Lena love being poured in.

The other adjective I would use to describe it is “Boobariffic.” Lena has quite a pair of assistants, and it’s easy to see why Arika herself developed so much between Otome and Otome Zwei.

Genetics.

Then we have no choice but to create it!

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15 minutes in Maya.

The spring season is sneaking up on me

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Is it almost March already?

I feel like the winter season only just begun.

Let me explain

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Shugo Chara! is getting serious and yet somehow remains lighthearted. I am continuously pleased with just how well this show is going. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: Shugo Chara! is exactly what I was looking for in an anime, and it really stands out among the other shows airing right now.

Actually, I just made this post for that screenshot.  Yaya isn’t even my favorite character but man this was totally worth it.

Graham Acre is awesome

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Behold, my posting while transforming technique!

Graham Acre occupies a fairly unique position among Gundam Rivals in that he isn’t really out for his own, and he’s not necessarily fiercely loyal to any person or organization. He’s loyal, he’s a good soldier, but his personality and unique perspective on life, combined with his abilities in combat make it worth keeping an eye on him.

He feels so very good as The Gundam Rival, the masked man who this time doesn’t wear a mask because he wants you to know he’s Graham Goddamn Acre.

Why I Like Ogiue, Part 3

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Otaku obsess over characters, and I am certainly no different. Hell, I named my blog after obsession #1. I’ve often been asked though, how is it I could maintain what is now an almost 3-year-long interest in the character of Ogiue, especially in this age of constant fansubs where the viewers are witness to new characters every season. I really don’t know if I have a complete answer to that, and this post is going to be about trying to find a reason.  Warning: meandering ahead.

First, I think Ogiue is totally deserving of it. I believe her to be one of the most unbelievably complete and well-rounded characters in anime and manga. Actually, this applies to pretty much every other Genshiken character as well. What puts her above the rest is that she’s attractive to me.

Aside from that, however, is the fact that I have a tendency to carry long-term obsessions with characters in general, and it just manifests itself most strongly with Ogiue. Maetel, Tomoyo, Eureka, Cagalli, Hinata, in many, many cases once a character manages to catch my eye, they never quite leave. Some have faded a bit over time (Filia from Slayers TRY for example), but for the most part the strong presences of my past are not overridden by the strong characters of the present.

The real question, then, is why exactly am I able to obsess over characters for significantly longer periods of time compared to some of my peers? One possibility is that I form what feels like an emotional bond with the characters such that even if the quality of the character is not as great as I imagine, even if they turn out to be fairly big cliches, my memories of fondness for the characters are much stronger than objective reasoning. If they are indeed strong characters with strong emotions, such as Eureka, then that connection becomes much stronger and much longer-lasting. That said, I don’t think I’m all that susceptible to pandering fanservice characters (no matter what type of fanservice it may be), but there are always a few. I don’t call them guilty pleasures because they never really are.

I don’t think all that many people actually just cast their preferred characters aside when a new season starts, and the primary difference between me and some friends becomes how we display our passion for anime and its characters. Anyone who knows me knows that I’ve stuck with the Ogiue paraphernalia (avatars, name tags, this blog) for quite a while. It’s the public display that is more important. New, strong characters appear every season, but I stick with Ogiue.

Maybe it’s just how I want people to think of me, but I feel more like I’m compelled to do so, because she is that strong of a character.

In Praise of the Tamanator

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I have been quite taken in by the character of Kawazoe Tamaki from Bamboo Blade.

I basically like how she’s quiet but not emotionless, that she’s not meant to necessarily evoke a sense of mystery unlike other quiet characters such as Yuki from Haruhi or Ruri from Nadesico. She’s a girl with simple words and simple needs. She loves her father, she loves making friends, and she has a strong sense of right and wrong reinforced by years of watching shounen anime.

She’s innocent, and even a litttle naive, but she’s not stupid. She’s adorable in a way that makes me want to be her friend too.