Category Archives: review

Hey You, Watch Shin Mazinger

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Episode 1 of Shin Mazinger aired in Japan, and I am telling you right now: Watch it, watch it, watch it.

Some of you I can convince to watch Shin Mazinger when I say it’s Mazinger Z as directed by Imagawa Yasuhiro, director of Giant Robo the Animation and G Gundam.

For you others who are unsure, or may not be familiar with Mazinger at all, let me explain it this way:

You know how a lot of shows, especially giant robot shows, have like 20 minutes of setup per episode to lead to a 5-minute climactic fight at the end? Shin Mazinger replaces all of that setup with MORE FIGHTING. Or rather, to put it more accurately, every moment in this first episode is SIMULTANEOUS SETUP + FIGHTING.

Things are HAPPENING in this show, and they’re happening on the field of battle where a boy can become a god or a devil. Whether you’re a big fan of Mazinger or you’ve never even heard of it, know that this show has potential to go places and the visionary force to take it there.

Personal Growth, If Not Physical: Toradora!

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Sometimes I get filled with a certain sense of dread in preparation for a new show based on the information available at the time. “This seems oddly familiar…” is the prevailing feeling. Fortunately, sometimes this is just a false alarm and I end up with something far greater than my expecations. Such is the case with the anime Toradora!

When first reading up on the anime adaptation of the light novel Toradora!, there were a number of warning signs. All we had to go by was that there was a tiny violent tsundere girl played by Kugimiya Rie, master of tiny violent tsundere girls (and also Alphonse Elric), and that it would be set in school and characters would be in love with each other. And while I still quite enjoy these types of shows, the mere fact that I said “these types of shows” implies that a certain formula has been passively agreed upon between these shows.

“Uh oh, I’ve seen this before.” This was the feeling I initially had with Toradora!, but by the end of the first episode I knew how totally wrong I was. This carries on throughout the entire series, with the end result being an incredibly satisfying show to laugh and cry over. Toradora! is different. Toradora! is ambitious. And it’s ambitious within the context of this high school romance-comedy-moe, and that makes it all the better.

Toradora! stars Takasu Ryuuji, a nice fellow with a love of household chores who has reluctantly inherited the deadly stare of his departed Yakuza father, and Aisaka Taiga, a diminuitive girl whose aggression and unsocial personality are legendary at their high school. Though the two of them do not get along, once they realize their respective love interests are best friends with the other they decide to work together to achieve mutual happiness. After the positively energetic Kushieda Minori (best friend of Taiga) and the confident and honest Kitamura Yuusaku (best friend of Ryuuji), the main cast is rounded out by Kitamura’s childhood friend, the two-faced Kawashima Ami who also works as a professional model.

Toradora! takes its name from the first names of the main characters. Taiga is a play on the English word “tiger,” for which “tora” is the Japanese equivalent, and the Ryuu in Ryuuji means “dragon,” or when written out in Japanese romaji, doragon. The tiger and the dragon are famous rivals in Japanese mythology, and if you’ve played Art of Fighting, King of Fighters, or Super Robot Wars (Alpha, OG) then the concept should be somewhat familiar to you.

The character designs are genuinely appealing, being cute and full of life without drowning in its own pool of kawaii, and the backgrounds and animation are executed with skill and grace. The voice work is top notch especially with Kugimiya as Taiga, who reaches new and exciting levels of depth with Taiga on a level of Mizuhashi Kaori playing Ogiue. In terms of presentation though, the biggest stars are, as I’ve said in the previous review, the pacing and atmosphere. It was true then, and it still holds to the very end, except where the early episodes are slow and pleasant, the later ones are passionate and dynamic. And all throughout the show remains surprisingly subtle.

There are many factors as to why Toradora! succeeds, but I feel that the real reason is that the characters actually change. The Taiga you see in episode 1 is not the exact same Taiga you see by episode 13 or by episode 25. All of the characters influence each other, and the result is that you get to see some genuine growth by all of the characters as they deal with the ups and downs of young love.

If you want to know what the difference is between cash-in instant cup moe and honestly good, moving moe, the answers are growth and change. You care for the characters not because you want to see them preserved forever in a glass dome, but because you want to see them fight on, succeed, win in their own little personal battles.

Toradora! is joy. Toradora! is wonder. It’s also heartache and maturation and learning to accept one’s feelings even if there are consequences. So yes, it’s a romantic comedy anime, but if you do not like this sort of thing, scratch that, especially if you do not like this sort of thing, I still advise you to take a look.

The Pros and Cons of Technology and its Effects on Society: Magic Geox

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The Magic Geox comic series is often underappreciated and overlooked. This is especially the case with issue 12 of the series. This issue, titled Magic Geox and…the School of Magic, manages to blend subtle societal commentary with deep, complex characters in a unique setting combining magic and technology with a dash of superheroics. It also reveals much about our hero Magic Geox’s character flaws, and does so with grace on the level of Kino’s Journey.

The story begins on a world called Planet Magix III where a group of young wizard apprentices are tasked with creating shoes that are all but devoid of odor, a practical exercise fitting for a final exam from one of the most prominent magic planets in the galaxy. The young wizards-to-be, in their attempt to find a solid solution to their problem, inadvertently unleash an ancient and terrible pair of demonic shoes with a pungent aroma so foul that they are actually able to control other smelly footwear through the power of their combined stench. Ultimately, it is up to Magic Geox to descend from space and use his advanced technology to put an end to the evil shoes.

It is in this issue that we begin to truly see the level of hatred Magic Geox has for odiferous shoes. Though he hides it well with a smile, and a look of confidence, the sublime artwork really conveys the obsession inherent in Magic Geox.

A lot can be said about the symbolism strewn throughout the story, but three main points come to mind.

1) The young magicians are eager to solve their problem without thinking through the consequences, and their mistake balloons and goes out of control to the point that not even the adults in their community can handle it. This speaks to a growing paranoia in our society that children are growing up faster than their parents and guardians can keep up with, and even those with the power to control matter itself cannot entirely understand the minds of children.

2) Magic Geox is himself a technological being who arrives on a backwater “magical world” in order to save it from the perils caused by its own people. In this sense, Magic Geox is not unlike a Christ figure. Though he uses technology, he chooses to have the word “Magic” in his name, as if to say that his abilities, man-made as they may be, can still cause miracles. It does not appear to be hubris or conceit however, but rather true faith in his cause.

3) The demon shoes themselves possess sharp teeth placed in such a way that if one were to actually wear them as shoes, the pain would be immense despite at first seeming to be very comfortable. When one realizes that the “stink trails” that emit from these shoes are just creatively disguised smog clouds, it is clear that these shoes are a metaphor for pollution caused by industrialization, an interesting contrast to the promotion of technology inherent in Magic Geox’s presence. Much like Hayao Miyazaki’s Nausicaa and Princess Mononoke, this comic wants to show both sides to a situation.

Overall, Magic Geox and…the School of Magic is an ambitious work. Its main flaw may be that it is so densely packed with content in every page and panel that it becomes a difficult read. However, this is also what makes it worth revisiting time and time again.

Welcome to this KRAZY! Time

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I went to the New York Japan Society’s exhibition on anime, manga, and video games yesterday. Entitled KRAZY!, the exhibition explores a variety of artists and works, from Moyoco Anno to the guy who made Afro Samurai, from Shigeru Miyamoto to… Shigeru Miyamoto. The point is, this is totally about stuff that the kids like: ANIME AND MANGA AND VIDEO GAMES. As expected, it seemed to attract a young audience, something most museum and gallery exhibitions wish they did without it being just 20-something hipstrs.

Overall I didn’t get too much of a “HEY GUYS! ANIME!” vibe from the exhibition, and I liked what they had to say about the Super Mario Bros. series being a collection of simple rules which opens up a rich and complex world to interact with, but I couldn’t really tell who exactly the exhibition was trying to draw in. Passing by their video room filled with clips from Akira, Patlabor the Movie 2, Paprika, and Macross, I got this strange feeling that this is not what the kids these days see as “anime,” nor is it what they want. It’s kind of a baseless feeling, but when you see all those movies together and realize that the styles aren’t very “modern” (despite Paprika having come out recently), I think you might get the same impression. All I could think about was how others would handle the exhibition.

There was one blurb however that really pissed me off when I saw it. In one part of the exhibition is an area devoted to the music of Yoko Kanno. Now, neither Yoko Kanno nor her music anger me, but when the description of her music is prefaced by, “Prior to the late 80s all anime music was of poor quality,” then I have some serious issues! The emphasis is mine but they actually used the words POOR QUALITY. It’s as if no REAL music aficionados could POSSIBLY like ANIME music before REAL MUSICIANS like Yoko Kanno and her contemporaries graced the industry with their presences and sprinkled magic fairy dust and now ANIME MUSIC IS GOOD! WOW! Hey, wait to take a dump all over those hardworking composers from the mid-80s and before! Joe Hisaishi? Apparently the man who composes Studio Ghibli music is garbage!

There are apparently other things like this in the exhibition where it’s like a guy trying to convince REAL ARTISTS that anime is totally artistic too and making mistakes in the process. For better or worse, I didn’t notice any other glaring instances though.

All in all, it’s worth a visit at least once, just calm down when you visit the Yoko Kanno section. I hope the kids who visit this exhibition at least learn something.

Oh yeah, and I’m probably gonna go read Sakuran. Sounds interesting.

Polytechnic Anime Society Spring Festival 2009

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As mentioned previously, I attended the one-day Polytechnic Anime Society Spring Festival 2009 at NYU Polytechnic (formerly known as simply “Polytechnic”). It wasn’t my first visit there; I had friends tell me about it back when it started. Still, I figured that it was worth a trip into Brooklyn to see what was up.

Sadly, I was unable to attend Sub‘s panel on Most Dangerous Anime, which he informs me was just watching Crystal Triangle and being amazed at how every scene, every moment, had something terrible about it. Still I got to see cool dudes and it was fun seeing the younger anime fans going around.

What I like about the PAS Spring Fest is that it gives young anime fans in New York a taste of what anime cons are like, especially because it’s free. It doesn’t prepare you for everything, but it lets you see stuff you haven’t seen before, lets you hang out with friends in a somewhat unfamiliar environment, and meet new people. I personally did not do much at this event, but I don’t think PAS Spring Fest is really meant for that sort of thing.

After the event was over I had sushi with Sub and other excellent dudes. What better way to cap off the day? I mean, that’s what I do at Otakon too, so why not?

One criticism I do have of the event is the lackluster execution of its game rooms. The event had two rooms for games: The first had only two TVs with a PS2 and a fighting game each, way down from the last time I went where there at least twice as many TVs and the game variety was excellent. The second room however was six tvs, but they were all devoted to Smash Bros Brawl. The worst part? You couldn’t even play a casual game of Smash as ALL SIX TVS were taken up by all-day Smash Bros tournaments! And later I found out you couldn’t even sign up for the tournament AT THE CON and that you had to do it on an internet messageboard weeks prior!

But as long as you weren’t looking forward to playing the games, it was an all right time.

The Natsukashisa Critic

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With the Angry Video Game Nerd reaching some degree of popularity on Nico Nico Douga, it was only inevitable that his crossover fight would end up exposing the Japanese online community to the  Nostalgia Critic. There’s only one review up so far, but just like the AVGN videos there’s Japanese subtitles to help those with a less-than-ideal grasp of English along.

Humorously found under the title “AVGN Rival,” the first instance of the Nostalgia Critic on nicovideo is his review of Cartoon All Stars to the Rescue. Now what’s even more difficult about translating this review than doing one of the AVGN reviews is that a lot of these “big-name cartoons” at the time are not known too well in Japan. Sure there’s “Mutant Turtles,” and “Looney Tunes” and “Pooh,” but I get the feeling that Muppet Babies never made it across the Pacific. Please correct me if I’m wrong. In that respect, it’s a worthy endeavor, and if you just assume that these shows are something, then it all works out.

Also, apparently there is no good translation for “Brawny Man.” Alas. I wonder then how that Simpsons episode with the Burly Man turned out in Japan, if at all.

Watchmen is/isn’t Watchmen Enough

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In discussing the Watchmen movie, I  feel that I should first describe my own personal situation with Watchmen, as I’ve seen how a person’s level of exposure to the original comic can really color the way a person sees the movie. I read the comic once a year or two ago, and enjoyed it, but never really re-read it or looked at it again between then and the time I saw the Watchmen movie. So I am familiar with the story, and the characters, and I know how it all goes down, but particulars and small details and possibly even visual cues are things I don’t remember particularly well.

The strongest impressions I had of Watchmen were its pacing and its visual style. For the pacing, I noticed somewhere in the middle of watching that it did not feel like it had a typical three-act movie structure.  Does this mean the movie had poor pacing, if it didn’t follow what movies are “supposed to do?” I’m not sure myself, but what it boils down to is that this is definitely the result of converting a comic book directly into a movie, instead of just converting the general theme as they did with Iron Man for example.

As for the visual style, 300 already established Zack Snyder as having a keen sense of action and the glorification of violence, though it’s debatable whether or not it was appropriate for Watchmen. Many I think wanted Watchmen to stick close to the visual style of the comic, which is this sort of ugly and dirty look where characters are all pathetic in their own way, but I don’t know how well the audience would have reacted to such. We’ve seen how viewers and critics react negatively to the very blatant anime-esque feel of Speed Racer, often seemingly not even noticing it was supposed to be like pages from a manga but with real people and bright colors. I personally think the violence was just a tad overdone, but the striking and brutal nature of the fights while perhaps overly stylish I think were good for establishing how the characters were, even if it was different from the comic.

I enjoyed Watchmen, though even now I can’t get a firm grasp on my feelings on it. It was at the very least not boring, and half the actors were fantastic, especially Billy Crudup with his serene  Doctor Manhattan voice, Patrick Wilson playing up the middle-aged and insecure Nite Owl, and Jackie Earle Haley as Rorshach who captured the character to a tee. No money was wasted in seeing this movie.

Ultimately, what I feel people’s views, including my own, boil down to in regards to the Watchmen is how do you adapt a work like Watchmen? It does not have an extensive history like Spider-Man or Batman from which you could cherry pick while keeping a basic sense of what makes them effective stories. Watchmen is just one book, and its strength lies in how every part comes together from the writing to the art to the characters and their motivations to the little bits here and there and everywhere. Something has to be lost in the transition to the big screen, and there will be endless debates as to whether the choices were right, especially as people themselves prioritize different parts of the comic. And then you have those who didn’t read the comic at all, and then the debates as to whether that makes for a “better” viewing experience or not, to not be chained by the original.

Adaptations are a funny thing going from any medium to the other, and it can be difficult to tell what is a “smart” change that will help unfamiliar people get into a story, or what will be a “stupid” change that is robbing the work of its core and dumbing it down. I’m sure the people working on Dragonball Evolution didn’t go in intentionally sabotaging it. They probably thought that the parts of the manga and anime they changed were changed for the better. Who wants to see a weak girl who can’t fight in Bulma? Give her guns! Who wants an ugly old man playing Shang Tsung the Turtle Hermit? No appeal!

The funny thing about the Watchmen movie is that you have people now complaining that a superhero movie stuck too close to the original source. Years ago, people would have dreamed of being able to have a misgiving like that. The fact that we now have a Hollywood that can produce honestly decent superhero movies on a somewhat regular basis is testament to true change.

Nowhere to Go But Everywhere: Kinnikuman

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I’ve recently been reading the Shounen Jump classic Kinnikuman (literally “Muscleman”) by the creative duo known as Yudetamago. If I had to describe it in one word, it would be “transparent.” A transparent work, as I’m using the term, describes something where you, as a reader, are able to see the creative process used in creating the series, and in that sense Kinnikuman is the most transparent manga I have ever seen. Plot points and important climaxes are revealed with little prior warning, and the reader isn’t given much time to parse any logic, which is good because there never is any.

The basic premise of Kinnikuman is that it’s about a bumbling oaf named Kinniku Suguru trying to be a superhero. It starts off as an Ultraman parody, but as the comic progressed the creators got into pro wrestling so, “Hey why not!” they said. “Let’s turn the whole comic into a wild and crazy version of pro wrestling where people wear hats on their feet and hamburgers eat people!”

One of the later villains in the series is named Sneagator. His name is a portmanteau of the words “sneaker” and “alligator,” and that’s exactly what he looks like. But he also reveals that he has the ability to shed his skin and turn into different reptiles, such as snakes and lizards, and according to Sneagator he can turn into the most terrifying reptile of all, a frilled-neck lizard! Except this frilled-neck lizard can SPIN ITS FRILLS LIKE A BUZZSAW.

But that’s not even Sneagator’s true form! In fact, I think I’ll let the images do the talking.

Yes, his true form is THE FOOT OF A TYRANNOSAURUS REX. Now consider that the whole series is like this. You can pretty much tell that every single moment in Kinnikuman had its creation preceded by at least one of its authors saying, “Wouldn’t it be cool if _________.” Repeat this for 36 volumes.

You might think I’m complaining about its lack of structure but I’m really doing quite the opposite. This transparency is the charm and primary strength of Kinnikuman. Oda (One Piece) and Toriyama (Dragon Ball) have both been lauded for understanding what boys like and want, and appealing to their senses, but they both have a level of self-control and an idea of what would happen at least as far as the current arc. Series such as Pyuu! to Fuku Jaguar are crazy and frenetic, but you can tell that the jokes are planned out well, that there’s a method to the madness. Kinnikuman has none of that sophistication and doesn’t really need it. On top of that, it’s about as extreme as a series like Violence Hero Riki-Oh but unlike Riki-Oh it’s still definitely meant for children. Kinnikuman is unique among its peers.

Seriously, check it out if you want to see the kind of wonderful Shounen comic that just can’t survive these days.

Fighting Lena Sayers is Like Fighting Five Anime Characters at Once: My-Otome 0 ~S.ifr~ OVA 3

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Yes, she’s still Lena Sayers of course, and this time packing the Blue Sky Sapphire.


But she’s also Sänger Zonvolt.


And Hurricane Polymar.


And Asuka Eiji (Pilot of the SPT Layzner)


And even Kinnikuman!

And I haven’t even shown you all of the fighting that goes on in this episode.

Yes, Plot Stuff happens in the 3rd OVA of My-Otome 0 ~S.ifr~, aka the Lena Sayers Power Hour, and it’s all well and good, but the entire episode is just one continuous fight scene after another. If it’s not Lena fighting robots, it’s someone else fighting robots. If it’s not ships exploding it’s meteors getting rocked. In that regard, the episode really delivers, and just like the previous two OVAs you can really tell that a lot of care was put into it, especially in regards to lovingly rendered nipples and split kicks. Hey, that’s Otome for you. Probably the most significant thing that you find out in the third episode is that Lena is perhaps a little too powerful for her own good, and also that Shiro is further HEAVILY IMPLIED to be Lena’s future husband and father of her child. And who can blame him? If Lena Sayers is even remotely smitten with you, you GRAB THAT OPPORTUNITY AND NEVER LET GO.

Overall, it’s been a fun OVA series and everything I expected from a HiME series at this point, except the ending is incredibly open-ended… only it isn’t because I already know Lena Sayers’ ultimate fate. For some, cute girls fighting is not enough to carry a show, for others that’s all they really want or need. In the end, My-Otome 0 ~S.ifr~ is very well-executed Girls Fighting, and I mean it. You won’t see too many better sci-fi/fantasy mega fights. Take out of that what you will.

Cool Down, You Damn Environmentalist Otaku! Pocket Monsters Diamond & Pearl & Platinum: Giratina and the Sky Bouquet

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If you can believe it, we’re already at 11 Pokemon movies.

In a unique twist, the events of the previous movie have a direct effect on this one, and it looks to be setting up at least a trilogy. In Pokemon Trainer Satoshi’s previous 90-minute adventure, he was caught in the middle of a battle between Dialga, the Pokemon that controls time, and Palkia, the Pokemon that controls space. Unbeknownst to even these titans, their cataclysmic continuum clash (call me Stan Lee) had an unforeseen side effect.

There is a world connected to the real world, and actions in one effect the other. This Reversed World is the domain of the ghost/dragon pokemon Giratina. Just as Dialga rules time and Palkia rules space, Giratina is lord of the Reversed World, a disorienting dimension where is up is down 50% of the time  and crystals are windows into the real world. Also,  Giratina is pissed. Giratina, knowing full well that Dialga and Palkia are responsible for the extensive damage to its world, is looking for a fight. Giratina finds Dialga and drags the steel/dragon into the Reversed World for a one-on-one. Dialga, being the Time-ruling Pokemon that it is, creates a time loop which disables Giratina’s ability to travel freely between worlds. And through all this, the two pulled along an innocent bystander, the Pokemon Shaymin, who ends up escaping the Reversed World but is now very far from home.

Shaymin along with Manaphy (star of Movie 9) are like the Mews of this generation. Shaymin needs to get home, but unfortunately has a sense of direction on par with Yotsuba. Giratina wants Shaymin for unknown reasons (though Shaymin believes Giratina’s looking for a Shaymin Sandwich), and is still itching for a fight with Dialga. Satoshi and pals want to help Shaymin along. And also there’s a crazy scientist guy named Zero who has taken a page out of Gelarden’s handbook from Revelation Lugia and constructed a giant airship for the purpose of capturing Giratina. Also, the ship comes with a holographic girlfriend.

Man, otaku.

At some point the Pokemon franchise settled upon a rough formula for its movies, and this one is really no exception. I personally feel that this is one of the less good movies, certainly worse than its predecessor Dialga vs Palkia vs Darkrai. The villain’s motivations are vague, a lot of time is spent just promoting these new Pokemon and telling you to buy their toys, and I think about the only things I really enjoyed about the movie (other than its animation which is always solid) was that it leads into the 12th movie and part 3 of this series, some cameos by the male heroes of Ruby/Sapphire/Emerald and Diamond/Pearl/Platinum whom we rarely see, and the appearance of a certain other “Canadian” Pokemon.

I am fully aware of how dumb it sounds for me to be complaining about merchandising in a kids’ movie, especially a Pokemon movie of all things, but I’m not really taking issue with the merchandising aspect, more that it feels like they didn’t try to come up with a good plot or characters to go along with it. I also don’t like how the movie didn’t really do a good job of conveying Giratina’s power. Giratina is supposed to be on par with Dialga and Palkia yet never really does anything big. The power disparity isn’t as apparent as it was with Mewtwo vs Everything Else, and Giratina even ends up being captured by Zero.

It’s not a bad movie really, it’s just that I’ve seen the Pokemon franchise realize its potential before. Mewtwo Strikes Back had a deeply conflicted antagonist in Mewtwo, and Lord of the “Unknown” Tower didn’t even really have a villain and instead focused on a lonely little girl. Writers are capable of creating Pokemon stories that are greater than cash grabs (while still being cash grabs), and I’d just like to see that return to form.

If you haven’t seen the preview for the next movie, go see it. Titled Towards the Dimension Beyond*looks like we’re finally going to see the Pokemon who is God, and I for one cannot wait.

*This is what I’m calling the twelfth movie because Towards the Overcome’s Space-Time for 『超克の時空へ』 is a terrible translation.

PS I changed my translation once just because the original one wasn’t sitting right with me. Towards the Dimension Beyond is less literal but conveys the idea better.