Sunday, July 28, 2013

The Matrix is a

The Matrix is a 1999 American-Australian science fiction action film written and directed by the Wachowskis and starring Keanu Reeves, Laurence Fishburne, Carrie-Anne Moss, Joe Pantoliano, and Hugo Weaving. It depicts a dystopian future in which reality as perceived by most humans is actually a simulated reality called "the Matrix", created by sentient machines to subdue the human population, while their bodies' heat and electrical activity are used as an energy source. Computer programmer "Neo" learns this truth and is drawn into a rebellion against the machines, which involves other people who have been freed from the "dream world".

The Matrix is known for popularizing a visual effect known as "bullet time", in which the heightened perception of certain characters is represented by allowing the action within a shot to progress in slow-motion while the camera's viewpoint appears to move through the scene at normal speed. The film is an example of the cyberpunk science fiction genre.[3] It contains numerous references to philosophical and religious ideas, and prominently pays homage to works such as Jean Baudrillard's Simulacra and Simulation[4] and Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. The Wachowskis' approach to action scenes drew upon their admiration for Japanese animation[5] and martial arts films, and the film's use of fight choreographers and wire fu techniques from Hong Kong action cinema was influential upon subsequent Hollywood action film productions.

The Matrix was first released in the United States on March 31, 1999, and grossed over $460 million worldwide. It was generally well-received by critics,[6][7] and won four Academy Awards as well as other accolades including BAFTA Awards and

Saturday, July 27, 2013

Lilac's Impressions: Summer 2013 (Week 3)

This is it! The final week of my Summer Impressions! Last week Rozen Maiden required me to watch it's predecessor and Fate/Kalied just wasn't as interesting as the rest of the shows I'm watching. That means we're down to six, and at least one show has to go so I have my five for the season! Who will make it through? Only one way to find out.



DANGANRONPA

Persona 4 The Animation

I feel like I finally might be at breaking point with Persona 4 related media. It took me a year or so to finish the PS2 game, and I'm halfway through the Vita port (which is fantastic, by the way), as well as having played several hours of Persona 4 Arena, which only came out in Europe a few months ago. I'd always wanted to watch Persona 4 The Animation, since I was fascinated with how they would deal with a seventy hour RPG in twenty six episodes of anime, so I'm eternally grateful that Kaze started putting out the Blu-Rays in Europe. You might have already guessed that I'm not a regular anime watcher, with my experience pretty much limited to Afro Samurai, Ghost in the Shell, The Animatrix, and that crummy Dead Space movie, so it's difficult for me to figure out where the traditional anime trappings are, but as a fan of animation in general, I can certainly appreciate the love and attention that's gone into Persona 4 The Animation.



Visually, Persona 4 The Animation is fantastic. The animation is great, very subtly mixing CG at times but it all sticks fairly faithfully to the game's artwork. Outside of a couple of moments where the CG looks pretty obvious, it's a gorgeous looking show, which really shines on Blu-ray. Like most of the stuff with this style of animation, it's not as sharp as computer animated shows like modern Futurama or Adventure Time, but the animation has so much more heart. I guess I should also mention I watched the entire series run with English dubbed audio. I know, I know! It's generally pretty good, and while I struggled to deal with some of the voice work watching the last third of the season, it's much better than serviceable, and again, is pretty faithful to the game.

Some thoughts about the new Ghost in the Shell: Arise episode

Anyone who knows me well will know that I have long been a fan of Masamune Shirow's Ghost in the Shell series (manga, anime movie, tv series, etc). Like, just about forever.



I've always admired the main character, Major Motoko Kusunagi of Section 9. I should probably warn at this point that you read at your peril as there may be spoilers for those who have not read or watched the series.

Pick O The Week

With the red-band trailer for Spike Lee's remake of released this week I got to thinking about all the different films that have been remade by Hollywood and their predecessors.Naturally this became the theme of this week's picks!



IN THEATRES:may not (technically) be a remake but it certainly is a re-imagining of a concept we've seen elsewhere.Certainly Ghost In the Shell is celebrated for its philosophical look at technological advances and their place in our modern society.What's more, the idea of shared memories and the controlling of external, machine based bodies has been explored in many films before such as Surrogates starring Bruce Willis (which itself was based on a comic book).Finally, there's the obvious source material of Godzilla.So yeah, could be awesome.

Friday, July 26, 2013

Retrospective:(Super Dimension Fortress MACROSS). Introduction.

Several years ago, I wrote , discussion the value of (Choujikuu Yousai Makurosu = Super Dimension Fortress Macross) as a science-fiction drama.If you've already read that post, please bear with me because I'm going to cover some similar ground.



My discussion of Macross inevitably begins with Robotech.For many Generation X'ers who were children during the 1980s, including myself, our introduction to Japanese (anime = "animation") was through the various work of Carl Macek (who passed away in 2010).Macek is either a hero or a villain depending on to whom you speak.While Macek did a lot to bring to North America and other Anglophonic countries, this often required mash-ups, heavy editing, and sometimes even complete and total rewrites of entire series.The most notorious (and, indeed, his first big) project was Robotech for Harmony Gold, which took three unrelated anime, (Super Dimension Fortress Macross), (Super Dimension Cavalry Southern Cross), and (Genesis Climber Mospeada), combined them into three consecutive generations and changed names, dialogue, and even edited out certain scenes in order to make the show more palatable to an audience primarily composed of American and Canadian children (and possibly their parents).

Watamote Episode 3: "Since I'm Not Popular, The Weather's Bad"

Watamote Episode 3



So as I stated in my video of this series, I like it for it's slice of life aspect and this wasreconfirmed in this most recent episode. Clearly this anime is not plot driven; all though Tomoko's ultimate goal is to become popular, she only works at it a little at a time. Because of this, the episodes pacing can be slow at times. For example, in this episode, we watch Tomoko go through an awkward day followed by a desperate attempt to become sick, so she won't have to go to school for a while. Although the plot sounds lackluster I actually enjoyed episode 3 because of Tomoko. She's extremely relate-able and the situations she facesin make me both laugh out loud and want to crawl up into a ball because I've been there. My favorite part had to be the scene where she's hiding from the rain under a bus stop.

Comics (i.e. graphic novels)

For better or (mostly) worse, I am a bit of a completist.I tend to get kind of wrapped up in a particular film-maker or author and then want to go through all their work.(To say nothing of all the jazz (mostly hard bop) CDs in my house.That was a crazy obsession only now dying off.)Since I do have some self-awareness about this, there are certain things I simply try not to get into.Even as a kid, there were 3 or so lines of Spiderman comics, and who knows how many Batman spin-offs.Knowing that I would not be fulfilled without all of them, I wisely never tried to collect any of the comics.



I really owned very few comics as a child perhaps because my allowance wasn't that large.(I had a handful of Star Wars action figures, but nothing like a complete set!)The only comic book I did follow to some extent was Uncanny X-Men.I had a very small number of X-Men comics (roughly issues 123-137, which was a pretty good run).I liked X-Men for all kinds of reasons, but not least of which was that if you only followed for that short run, you saw heroes dealing with loss of power and fights with fatal/tragic consequences.Obviously, if you follow any comic long enough, even the deadest hero (and especially villain) comes back for more.Same thing with Doctor Who where villains are resurrected after 20+ years.In a way, it is a real shame, as some of these storylines had the beginning of the makings of real literature, but then they were totally undermined by later writers who wanted to reverse these "permanent" bits of the canon.In some ways, that just proves the point of those that consider comic books immature kids' stuff -- it is just wish fulfillment in a world where ultimately there are nomeaningful consequences.I have to agree that in the last couple of decades it has gotten particularly bad with multiple universes where nothing has impact on the main (canonical) storyline.And reboot after reboot (though this seems more problematic in films than comics).

Wednesday, July 24, 2013

Cyborg, Robots, Androids and Vampires

I read an interested piece on the io9 Website (io9.com) posed by the question of what would happen if a vampire were to bite a Terminator?Titled: 'Blood and Chrome' I thought this piece had something to do with the Battlestar Galactica web series, until I read the actual question.You can find the piece near the bottom of this page ().The actual question was:-



"I've been wondering, what would happen if an organic Terminator, like Arnold's T-800, got bitten by a vampire? Can the organic parts of the cyborg become undead? I understand that body would have all the same weaknesses so as soon as it stepped into sunlight, the flesh would simply burn off and you'd be left with a normal T-800 endoskeletonbut if it adhered to the standard weaknesses and only went out at night, would it become an even more powerful killing machine?"

Tuesday, July 23, 2013

Ghost In The Shell: Arise Review 1

As a fan of GITS, I found myself caught off guard by the new reimagining/prequel Arise; I didn't realize it was even here until last night when I sat down to watch it, and I was skeptical about doing so.Generally, reinventions of stellar series don't go as well as I'd like.But I found myself pleasantly surprised by how familiar and...and GITS-like it all felt, even though some elements have indisputably changed.



SUMMARY: When the Lt. Colonel of Motoko's division dies and is accused of corruption, Aramaki's Public Services division gets on the case.Motoko, at first objecting to Aramaki's exhumation of her former mentor, soon agrees to work with his group to get down to the bottom of the affair even as she fights off the insistence of military officials that, with her letter of recommendation from the Lt. Colonel under shadow, her body is officially military property.During her investigation of the affair and the mobile land mines involved, she runs afoul of the captain of her division - and also comes across Batou and Togusa, who also find themselves seeking out the truth of the matter.All signs point to Motoko's guilt, but she soon discovers she's been infected with Firestarter, a false memory virus, and she soon sets matters to right - uncovering a division conspiracy in the process.Aramaki invites her to become the commander of a group of six in his division; Motoko seems ambivalent about the offer but, in the last scene, wonders aloud which six members she might scout for her team.

Top Ten

Well John Kenneth Muir is at it again, asking for reader opinions on the top 10 greatest endings in Science Fiction film history. The responses were interesting and seemed to have a certain slant toward John Carpenter of all people! Check out the results .



I had to throw in my 2 cents, but this one was a bit tougher to decide on. Unlike my lists for or , I found I had to mull this one over a bit. I also didn't have a favorite versus greatest list situation this time. Because let's face it, a great ending is a great ending. I did have to throw some anime for good measure.

Monday, July 22, 2013

Better Hobbies: Geocaching and Augmented Reality

So I like photography, and I like interesting places, but not so much with people. I like empty places better than full ones. Places with people have dangers that places without them avoid. And I just spent 3 days with relatives. Ugh.



One of my relatives has poor sense of direction. This is ironic because he's a small plane pilot and mountain climber... but he gets lost easily and, suffering from the family arrogance, doesn't seem to believe in owning a map or a GPS. I suggested, after he got seriously lost going from here to his hotel on Friday a mere 5 miles and 7 turns, that he look into just getting a GPS for his car so that doesn't happen anymore. He was not interested. I don't understand that. His son is a fireman, dedicated to rescuing people from emergencies. You'd think he'd want his Dad to be safe, knowing how lost he gets. To not CAUSE emergencies due to getting lost. This must be a sore subject between them to dismiss my suggestion so quickly. But okay.

Pacific Rim

The films keep getting bigger and louder this summer, but what a summer!PACIFIC RIM (2013) has arrived.



Finally! For me personally, generally speaking, Roland Emmerich's GODZILLA (1998) - Strike One! Michael Bay's TRANSFORMERS (2007) - Strike Two!Matt Reeves' CLOVERFIELD (2008) - Strike Three!Three epic face palms despite enjoying some rousing moments.PACIFIC RIM is everything we have been waiting for.

Saturday, July 20, 2013

2004, Part 2: Respectful, Yet Rebellious

Over 130 new anime shows debuted in 2004 on Japanese television, a number in magnitude that would be the norm for the next decade. Naturally, George J. Horvath from needed just a little more space for his coverage on what shows made 2004 what it was. If you need a refresher on the first half, click .It could have been easy to give a simple mention of each of these titles and get this year covered in one post, but as the essay titles indicated this year had to be covered in more detail, respecting the reader and the blog while also bucking tradition and giving more. Luckily, the latter half of 2004 felt the same way...



Being a visual medium anime has to do something to really catch viewers' interests at times and while the year had a few worthy contenders, like Windy Tales and Tweeny Witches, no anime from 2004 did that as well as GANKUTSUOU-THE COUNT OF MONTE CRISTO. Based on the legendary novel The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexander Dumas, Gonzo took the story and put it a new spin on it, while also giving the entire show a look that, to this day, is still one-of-a-kind.

Nate's report: Anime Expo 2013 (Day 2-4 + Post AX)

Anime Expo has already been awesome with all the things I've done on Day 1. Let's hope the rest of Anime Expo is as exciting!



DAY 2

Anime for 2013

In spite of my love for all things anime, I really have not posted about new anime in the works. I usually just post about shows I've watched or shows I have on my wish list.Well, here is a short list of shows I have on my radar. There are certainly others, but these are the ones I'm more interested in and I feel are deserving of a place here. Again, please keep in mind that I have not seen more than one episode of a few of these shows. This list is not a definitive judgement on any of these shows. I'm mostly going off what I see from plot summaries and news announcements and artwork. So, if you find yourself intrigued, then by all means check 'em out. A lot of shows can be streamed for free on CrunchyRoll or Funimation. They're in Japanese, of course. Far too new to be submitted for dubbing.

THE DEVIL IS A PART-TIMER - Imagine Satan being forced from the Underworld into modern day Tokyo where he finds himself devoid of almost all of his powers and his demonic form. Imagine Satan having to work in a fast food restaurant (MgRonald's) while his general Alciel (also a powerless human now) tries to find a way for them to reclaim their lost magic and escape from this bizarre place called earth. If that doesn't draw you then I don't know what will. Just the thought of Satan flipping burgers... if the first episode is any indication then this should be a great situational comedy with some potential for great drama and possibly more great action.

GHOST IN THE SHELL ARISE -This is a four part movie series that is a reimagining of the GHOST IN THE SHELL series. Basically the characters look different and the voice-acting is different, too. Not quite sure what purpose this will all serve, but some franchises have succeeded rather well after a makeover. We'll see if this is the case or not.

Thursday, July 18, 2013

Beginner's Guide to the World of Japanse Anime

Sorry about the huge gap between postings! I got distracted with other things and I didn't have anything that I thought was post worthy yet. But apparently I'm still on an anime kick. I thought of this post after talking to people and realizing that many people don't know much about anime. Since Japanese anime is an extensive category, many people get a little lost when they're first venturing into this genre. So this post is a guide for those who are interested in Japanese anime, but don't know much about it, or aren't sure where to start in watching anime. I'll be giving you a series of tips that will help you understand better the genre of Japanese anime and know what kind of shows you would be interested in watching. Here are the following tips when immersing yourself in the world of anime.



1. UNDERSTAND THE CULTURE OF ANIME

Wednesday, July 17, 2013

Ghost in the Shell Arise OVA Series

Ghost in the Shell ARISE



Yesterday, I accidentally browse a download page for the new Ghost in the Shell flick! This is a great news to all anime fans including me ! Without hesitation and doubt immediately downloaded the anime clip and read some information about it. Indeed, it simply awaken the fan side of me being an anime maniac!

Unevenly Distributed

The previous post in this series covered how Cyberpunk acts as a mental and social laboratory for new concepts, new ways of looking at the world. Now that we've established the background, I want to take a closer look at two other, quite different cyberpunk works of fiction (which incidentally happen to be two of my favourites): Neuromancer and The Diamond Age.



Unevenly Distributed

My Top 5

Oh, yeah. I have been talking a lot about anime lately. But have been working hard in my studies as well. Anyway, it's a pain in my heart to choose only 5 animes. There are a lot of masterpieces and I have not watched all animations (it's impossible). For a matter of taste, I just say that this compilation is not fair (for you, maybe), and my criteria to choose the order is very simple: psychological impact. By the way, I just like of any kind/genre of japanese animations. However, I don't like all animes. Let's start...



#5 - (Mushishi)

Review

This review was originally written on March 20, 2009.



Batman: Gotham Knight is an animated film comprised of six vignettes meant to bridge the gap between Batman Begins and The Dark Knight. Each vignette tells an independent aspect of the overall story: Batman's battle with the mobs in Gotham City, as well as various villains from the Batman universe. This movie is very similar to what was done for The Animatrix. Each of the short stories in the film is animated by a different Japanese anime studio.

Tuesday, July 16, 2013

I made a list of anime I need to watch.

Here it is.Now you can laugh at me at all the iconic anime I haven't seen In my defense, I used to be a very avid manga reader and have read them for many now popular anime series.



* Cowboy Bebop (I know.I know.)

Joenen Jump: Monster

Hello everyone! I've been busy this whole summer. With the combination of moving back home, leaving my job, finding a new job and getting to move again, life has been getting in front of Joemiroquai. Thankfully, things are somewhat winding down in a calm-before-the-storm sense and I had some time to ignore reality and find an anime that I have heard some reviewers say," there's so much hype around it! It deserves all the hype! I am the hype! HYPE!" This being said, I was skeptical and in that judgmental mentality, but so far my summer hasn't let me down. So after watching Monster's Inc. and Monsters University, I decided to kick back on a Monster energy and Watch Naoki Urusawa's Monster!



Starring 90s Trent Reznor Monster started off as a manga in the early 2000s and later turned into a series in 2004-2005. I could type more logistical information, but what I found important is that this is a type of anime called seinen, which literally translates to "young man". I personally haven't heard of this title before; I only know the basic anime labels that mean things are adult material. However, seinen animes are aimed at young men/men who are grown up/ men who like good anime. I say this because according to Wikipedia, other seinen titles include: Hellsing, Berserk, Battle Royale, Ghost in the Shell, and Elfen Lied. Because of these titles, I expected lots of blood, gore, fan service, and everything that anime is stereotyped. However...I was deceived. Instead of watching "Generic Guy Anime Episode I: Boobs" I found an enticing, alluring thriller that kept me hooked and wanting more. I wish people would just say that this show just has a feel of its own and try not to put labels on it. There were many things that make this series gripping for people that are looking for serious anime. Maybe it was the female characters that you can actually relate to and aren't as interesting as watching your fingernails grow. Maybe it's the fact that you can see every one of these things happen in real life. I feel that this series broke from the "seinen" brand that people have put on it because although it is entertainment, it is the kind of entertainment of watching multiple perspectives on an issue and how natural and forced events can effect the outcome rather than watching hulking male leads kill things because your animation studio is great and your plot writers are a bunch of canines who forgot how to dog.for those who like pretty pictures and have no imagination.

Your Daily digest for pipe naruto

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Pipes Output

Predictable Reactions Dept.: Alan Moore Rips 'LOEG' TV Series

The Latest Top Pop Culture News



Tokopop

Monday, July 15, 2013

[Anime]/First 8minutes of GitS: Arise!

Well, it's been a while since we've heard about the new Ghost in the Shell: Arise mini-series...has it really been already? However, the folks at Funimation have gifted everyone with a bit of a surprise over the past couple of days...how about 8minutse of the first episode?!



While only the first two installments, 50min each, will be hitting theaters, all four of them will be released on Blu-ray. Not sure when they'll hit the shelves but I know that I'm definitely curious after watching this one...

Summer 2013 Plans

To say that this year's spring season has been a disappointment would be putting it mildly. There has been so much mindless, idiotic, tedious or just plain bad anime; only two series that started in spring could, I feel, be called "good" without reservation, and even then one of them is beginning to slide downhill. Normally, the equinox seasons are the best in any given year, but that has really not been the case this time. So I'm glad for it to end, to be able to leave it behind.



By contrast, the summer season is looking hot (hurr hurr). There is a lot I'm really quite excited for, and many series that are looking quite imaginative and interesting. What the heck is going on? Did the schedulers accidentally switch the two seasons around? No summer should be looking this good!

AD Police Files

One more reaction post on an old show from me. AD Police Files is an OVA series made in 1990. It is related to pretty famous Bubblegum Crisis series. AD Police Files has three episodes, each 20 minutes long.



The anime is about future where humans learned how to create cybernetic organs and to create robots with artificial intelligence. The anime centers around the activities of a special police force that deals with robots that went out of control. Each of the episodes is a separate story in the Isaac Asimov style, but maybe not so deep and well thought out.

IWSG News, Movie Remakes and Box Office, Ninja News, Super Blogger, and Thunderstruck on Bagpipes!

A lot happening today!!



INSECURE WRITER'S SUPPORT GROUP

Sunday, July 14, 2013

My Thoughts on: Current State of Anime

Big colored eyes, Crazily designed hair, Accentuated features,



This is the type of stuff I live for! It pretty much comes to no surprise; but if you are still wondering, I'm a big fan of anime. I grew up on the Toonami block watching heavyweights like Dragonball Z, Gundam Wing & Yu Yu Hakusho. (My personal favorite)

GHOST IN THE SHELL ARISE

Finally, GHOST IN THE SHELL ARISE anime had been come out. After series and a Movies, its been a long time since Ghost In The Shell:Stand alone Complex, people thought it won't be appear again since then. For recall memories, Ghost in the shell is a anime appear in 1998 on movie, its about a future when a human used acyber brain to connected to all information, means almost all human are a cyborg. They use a plug on there brain connected to nervous system to internet.



Every activities like reading, communicated, check identity, almost all of it connect on internet/digital by brain. that make them has a longevity, even some of them had life for 150 years old.

Friday, July 12, 2013

What is this... Favorite Anime? REVISITED

Back in October 2011, . At the time, I had a somewhat limited watch history and, to be honest, I hadn't quite thought some of them through. I figure it's about time I fix that. This time around I'm going to do it by genre instead of just naming a bunch of the same genre and copping out on the others. Variety is the spice of life, you know?



THE REQUIREMENTS: According to my friends, I have some very high standards when it comes to animated shows, and I can't really dispute that. I do have high standards for shows because I've seen so many incredible shows and can't tolerate anything less. Most of these will meet every requirement, but some might not. Some are non-negotiable, like a decent story and likable characters, while others, like animation and music, are important but won't completely ruin an anime if they aren't superb. "Graphics aren't everything" we gamers like to say...

Ghost in the Shell : Arise Japan Collectors BD #1 Now Available for Pre-order at RACS!

Funimation has selected RACS to be one of the exclusive retailers for their Japanese Collectors Limited Edition BD release of the GITS: Arise series:



Release date for the Vol #1 BD has been set for August 20th, 2013.

1998: The Birth of the Cool

Evan Minto, also known as Vampt Vo, went from wide-eyed newbie anime fan to hardened cynic in just over ten years in the game. Nowadays he serves as the editor-in-chief of anime, manga, and video game blog , writes reviews for , and goes to a heckuva lot of conventions (he was even Con Chair for Genericon 2013). If you can handle an overdose of bad puns and nerd snark, go ahead and follow his exploits on Twitter @.If I may be so bold, I'd like to suggest for a moment that 1998 is the most important year in the 1990s--at least in terms of its effect on American anime fandom. Sure, 1992 introduced Sailor Moon, and 1995 brought us game-changers like Evangelion and Ghost in the Shell, but 1998 is notable for something other than just its spectacular list of memorable series (and boy oh boy, is it a spectacular list).



That's because in 1998, anime was finally cool. The only problem was that Japanese otaku didn't know it yet.

Eden of the East: The King of Eden

CAUTION: THIS REVIEW WILL CONTAIN SPOILERS FOR THE SHOW "EDEN OF THE EAST", AS THIS MOVIE IS THE CONTINUATION OF IT, THEREFORE IMPORTANT PLOT POINTS OF THE SHOW, PRIMARILY THE ENDING, ARE VITAL TO DISCUSSING HOW THIS FILM BEGINS. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.

Eden of the East is one of the most interesting anime I've seen, but not for the same reason I usually find anime interesting. Usually when I really remember shows as interesting it's because it was really weird or over the top, but Eden of the East is actually fairly down to earth and subtle. Yet, in a sea of same-y anime, it felt very unique, being a very self contained series centered around a mystery, with realistic and likable characters, and a strange blend of the realistic and the bizarre.


About lists

There's a forum I'm in that was discussing someone's top 10 anime list. I've seen a lot and it's quite difficult to narrow the expansive library of what I've seen down to 10 titles. There's a lot of good out there, and a lot of not so good. Like any list, things will get left out that you'll want to include. It's almost inevitable.



So instead of doing a total top 10 list, I'll be doing top lists by genre. I won't limit to a specific number since some things just don't need to be listed and others probably need some attention. Within the lists are no specific order since it's just really hard to pick one over another because they might have a general theme related, but not necessarily the same overall feel.

Summer 2013 anime "Ghost in the Shell Arise"

The second OVA that I watch for this new season was "Ghost in the Shell Arise-01" This is going tobe a 4 part ova, that is set up as a prequel to the original OVA. Thats the one that is really good and in my opinion as well as other otakus, is the real base for the Matrix movies. If you see that movie and then you see the matrix you will see what a rip off the matrix is.

Here is the trailer:


AFA12 Signature Acquisitions

Yup, 'signature' as in 'autograph', not 'outstanding'.



I'm unequivocally late in posting these, but as the adage goes, "It's better late than never!". So, here are some of the signatures that I was fortunate enough to acquire at last year's Anime Festival Asia 2012.

2000, Part 2: Retrospect Before Passage

Happy 2000 (all over again!)



At the rollover of the 1990s into the 00s, fandom was digesting the collectability of Pokemon, Yu-Gi-Oh!, and Digimon in Japan, while America was awash in the competition between the likes of ADV Films, Viz, Bandai Entertainment, CPM, Media Blasters, and Pioneer. Perhaps due to the thickness of the market, was just so big that he decided to give us a glimpse on the lesser-known shows of 2000 that were lost in all the kerfuffle.As I look at more animated output for the year, I'm struck by the connections to the past. As the 20th century drew to a close, anime studios had a great opportunity to examine Japan's history and see where the country's headed. John Coltrane's 1942 rendition of "" makes for a good piece to listen to while writing this article; as the years pass by, being old-fashioned isn't so bad when you have someone to be old-fashioned with. The approach of a new millennium provides ample opportunity to see the history of a society, and where to go from here.

Ghost in the Shell

GHOST IN THE SHELL

I was gonna do a lengthy review but then I took too much time getting excited at talking about eva...sigh. Gotta be brief this time.

I'm starting to believe that the animation in 90s is not bad at all and goes par with modern ones named examples being this movie, Eva EoE, and cowboy bebop. Amazing animation with detailed back ground art here and there. Delicious particle effects when the tank shoots at the pillars

Anime Wednesdays Confession Corner: Popular Anime I Have Not Watched

I know you're all probably tired of lists since countdown week just past, but a long time ago, I did a confession corner post about the most popular books that I had not read for Literature Tuesdays and I figured it'd be cool to do the same thing with anime. I've seen a little over 30 anime, but even still, there are some really popular, mainstream ones that I have never seen before. I've never finished them, I've never even watched one episode from these series, but everyone talks about it and I see advertisements about the anime all the time. It's enough to pique my interest, but as of right now, this is a list of anime I've never watched:



Full Metal Alchemist

Anime Nite Orlando: It's About To Explode! (7/18)

WE CELEBRATE ONE OF ANIME'S GREATEST FILMS!



Some people are down with fluffy, cute anime with no substance or soul. But not us! We show and celebrate REAL ANIME every month at Anime Nite Orlando!

2002: Anime Rising to the Top

Savanna Smith, more commonly known around the net as "lostty", has been into anime for over five years. Although she is currently stuck in summer school along with a job that takes up too much of her time, she still considers her full time passion to be procrastinating. One of her many pastimes is analysing anime like Evangelion in way too much detail. She runs a blog known as where she tries to update when time permits, and you can follow her daily rantings on .When choosing 2002, I did so without much thought into what had actually aired. Back in these days I was pretty much a youngin' who hadn't yet discovered anime outside of the things that had made its way to North American television. 2002 was a year that anime really started to thrive in the West with Spirited Away even winning the Oscar for Best Animated Film, but as for Japan? I wasn't really sure how it was shaping out there, but what I ended up discovering was that it was a year filled with some of the most popular series out there that new and old anime fans still turn to watch today.



AZUMANGA DAIOH is one of those series that brought laughter to all and created an eccentric cast of characters that really brought to life the . Due this series' success, it isn't too much of a stretch to say it no doubt inspired many other series of its kind that came afterwards. (Shows such as Hidamari Sketch and the recent Yuyushiki come to mind. - Ed.) In contrast to other 4-koma adaptations, when this one was airing from April to September, it would be broadcasted every day of the week in short five minute segments, only to be compiled into one episode for the weekend on the format we are more accustomed to. Nonetheless, the daily high school lives of Chiyo and her friends skyrocketed in sales and proved that a cat for a dad and one hell of a creepy teacher was enough to entertain thousands!

Ghost in the Shell: ARISE

Ghost in the Shell: ARISE, the newest installment of Masamune Shirow's Ghost in the Shell franchise, began airing the first of its films in theaters just a few days ago. Set as a prequel to the stories fans already know, Arise will be four fifty-minute episodes. The first of the episodes, titled "Ghost Pain," will be released on July 26 on Blu-ray. Long time series partner Production I.G. handles animation duties. When I noticed that ARISE was on the Anime Expo premier list I had to get this up before then. Production I.G.'s Kazuchika Kise and Mitsuhisa ishikawa is also on tap for attendees. There's even a panel where you can ask questions on Saturday.



Ghost in the Shell was one of the first exposures to manga I ever had (and also one of the first things I ever had confiscated, but that's another story) so it holds a lot of memories for me. Through it I purchased quite a number of Masamune Shirow art books and did all I could to track down as much of his art as possible (and back in those days it wasn't very easy). The franchise is one of my favorites of all time and it's one of those things I just can't get enough of. When I heard early this year that Arise was coming I was immediately pumped.

Destroying the Matrix

So, the Matrix movie(s) and philosophy. Popular, right? Smart stuff. Insightful, powerful, moving, thought-provoking, right?



What could be a problem with it? Everyone likes it in some sense--or at least, some part of it.

Get Lost With Eva LeFoy!

Folks, please help me welcome Eva Lefoy to our blog! Eva is a follow Decadent Publishing author and I'm thrilled we all get a chance to get to know her better today!
WHO IS EVA?Eva Lefoy writes and reads all kinds of romance, and is a certified Trekkie. She's also terribly addicted to chocolate, tea, and hiking. One of these days, she'll figure out the meaning of life, quit her job, and go travel the galaxy. Until then, she's writing down all her dirty thoughts for the sake of future explorers.

Thursday, July 11, 2013

Get Lost With Eva LeFoy!

Folks, please help me welcome Eva Lefoy to our blog! Eva is a follow Decadent Publishing author and I'm thrilled we all get a chance to get to know her better today!

WHO IS EVA?Eva Lefoy writes and reads all kinds of romance, and is a certified Trekkie. She's also terribly addicted to chocolate, tea, and hiking. One of these days, she'll figure out the meaning of life, quit her job, and go travel the galaxy. Until then, she's writing down all her dirty thoughts for the sake of future explorers.


About lists

There's a forum I'm in that was discussing someone's top 10 anime list. I've seen a lot and it's quite difficult to narrow the expansive library of what I've seen down to 10 titles. There's a lot of good out there, and a lot of not so good. Like any list, things will get left out that you'll want to include. It's almost inevitable.



So instead of doing a total top 10 list, I'll be doing top lists by genre. I won't limit to a specific number since some things just don't need to be listed and others probably need some attention. Within the lists are no specific order since it's just really hard to pick one over another because they might have a general theme related, but not necessarily the same overall feel.

AFA12 Signature Acquisitions

Yup, 'signature' as in 'autograph', not 'outstanding'.



I'm unequivocally late in posting these, but as the adage goes, "It's better late than never!". So, here are some of the signatures that I was fortunate enough to acquire at last year's Anime Festival Asia 2012.

A week of fixing

(This was not a good week for Instagram. In general, I try to upload about a picture a day or so to get myself in the mindset of actually documenting what's going on in my life. At some point I'd like to print a whole bunch of my Instagram photos and put them on the wall somewhere in the house. We'll see if that ever happens.)



As you may remember from my last , Nicolette was here last weekend until Tuesday. (The picture above was taken on the Monday, excuse my crazy face. It may have been taken shortly after I got my university results.) We didn't do much after our eventful weekend, apart from taking a walk and watching movies and stuff. It was nice! On Tuesday we had a slightly tearful goodbye and then I arrived home to find Steve's dad eager to start doing some work on our house. The next three days are a blur of painting, sanding and more painting. If you're interested, our front door used to look like . The garden is also in a slightly better state than before but it's not ready for the internet quite yet. I spent most of the time painting our fence which is possibly the worst activity in the world.

020: Review ???????? Ergo Proxy (Anime)

SPOILER FREE.



Bad ass with blue make up, gonna mess your shit up...

Ghost in the Shell

GHOST IN THE SHELL

I was gonna do a lengthy review but then I took too much time getting excited at talking about eva...sigh. Gotta be brief this time.

I'm starting to believe that the animation in 90s is not bad at all and goes par with modern ones named examples being this movie, Eva EoE, and cowboy bebop. Amazing animation with detailed back ground art here and there. Delicious particle effects when the tank shoots at the pillars

Time Of Eve...

The time had come to stock up on a few obscure items, so, I turned to my favorite online retailer and ordered TIME OF EVE...

Two high school boys grapple with their own humanity in a world where people are serviced by androids distinguished from their masters only by the halo-like rings above their heads. Rikuo and his childhood pal Masaki find their assumptions about androids radically challenged when they come across Time of EVE, a cafe where androids and people are treated as equals.


Wednesday, July 10, 2013

Anime Wednesdays Confession Corner: Popular Anime I Have Not Watched

I know you're all probably tired of lists since countdown week just past, but a long time ago, I did a confession corner post about the most popular books that I had not read for Literature Tuesdays and I figured it'd be cool to do the same thing with anime. I've seen a little over 30 anime, but even still, there are some really popular, mainstream ones that I have never seen before. I've never finished them, I've never even watched one episode from these series, but everyone talks about it and I see advertisements about the anime all the time. It's enough to pique my interest, but as of right now, this is a list of anime I've never watched:



Full Metal Alchemist

Ghost in the Shell: ARISE

Ghost in the Shell: ARISE, the newest installment of Masamune Shirow's Ghost in the Shell franchise, began airing the first of its films in theaters just a few days ago.? Set as a prequel to the stories fans already know, Arise will be four fifty-minute episodes. The first of the episodes, titled "Ghost Pain," will be released on July 26 on Blu-ray. Long time series partner Production I.G. handles animation duties. When I noticed that ARISE was on the Anime Expo premier list I had to get this up before then. Production I.G.'s Kazuchika Kise and Mitsuhisa ishikawa is also on tap for attendees.? There's even a panel where you can ask questions on Saturday.



Ghost in the Shell was one of the first exposures to manga I ever had (and also one of the first things I ever had confiscated, but that's another story) so it holds a lot of memories for me.? Through it I purchased quite a number of Masamune Shirow art books and did all I could to track down as much of his art as possible (and back in those days it wasn't very easy).? The franchise is one of my favorites of all time and it's one of those things I just can't get enough of.? When I heard early this year that Arise was coming I was immediately pumped.

Summer 2013 anime "Ghost in the Shell Arise"

The second OVA that I watch for this new season was "Ghost in the Shell Arise-01" This is going tobe a 4 part ova, that is set up as a prequel to the original OVA. Thats the one that is really good and in my opinion as well as other otakus, is the real base for the Matrix movies. If you see that movie and then you see the matrix you will see what a rip off the matrix is.

Here is the trailer:


Starz Inside: Anime-Drawing A Revolution

an.i.me- noun. Japanese animation often characterized by highly stylized art and adult themes.

man.ga- noun. Japanese comic books or graphic novels characterized by highly stylized art.


Ghost In The Shell is The Best Anime

Sorry, Lain. Now, Kusanagi is my favorite character.



Hey.

Anime Expo 2013 Coverage, Part 2

Time for Part 2 of my Anime Expo coverage, in which I look at the more interesting things mentioned in different panels.JAST USA LICENSES STEINS;GATE VISUAL NOVEL FOR U.S. RELEASEFor those of you who are fans of Steins;Gate (and considering it's currently the #1 anime on Anime News Network, that's probably a lot of you), JAST USA has announced that they are planning to release the visual novel on which the anime is based on in the U.S. for the PC. The release is confirmed to have the original Japanese voices. (And do not worry; it is not an ero-game, so no sex scenes.)CRUNCHYROLL TO BE AVAILABLE ON PS VITA, ANNOUNCES AVALANCHE OF NEW SIMULCAST TITLESFor those of you with a PS Vita, Crunchyroll will soon be available on that handheld console. They also took the time to announce a bunch of other titles they will be simulcasting this season: Makai Ouji: Devils and Realist, The Eccentric Family (Uchouten Kazoku, written by the same author behind The Tatami Galaxy), The World God Only Knows: Goddesses, Yamishibai: Japanese Ghost Stories, Sunday Without God (Kamisama no Inai Nichiyoubi), WataMote - No Matter How I Look At It, It's You Guys Fault I'm Not Popular!, andSilver Spoon. Most of these titles already have their first episode available on Crunchyroll, so check them out if you're interested.On a non-AX note, they have recently announced a simulcast for Gatchaman Crowds as well.KODANSHA USA'S ATTACK ON TITAN MANGA RELEASES TO SPEED UP TO ONE EVERY MONTHTo explain the title more, previously the manga was being released at a rate of one every three months. This new release plan means fans of the manga will get their Titan fix three times as fast.In addition, they will start offering titles on Kindle and other eBooks starting July 16th.FUNIMATION DETAILS GHOST IN THE SHELL: ARISE IMPORT EDITION DETAILSAniplex of America is not the only company doing import releases now, as Funimation has joined in with the very recent Ghost In The Shell: ARISE OVA series. The release will be a subtitled-only Blu-ray including a Japanese O-card, film strip, and an English-translated art book. The release will go for a retail price of $70, and only a limited print run of 2500 copies will be offered. If none of this interests you, don't worry; Funimation also plans to release a standard version with a dub (and likely a much cheaper price).Other News: Funimation's other titles announced are Hal and 009 Re:Cyborg, both films. They also will be streaming the anime adaptation of Hyperdimension Neptunia, which when added to their earlier announcement of the streaming of Danganronpa, makes two games for which NISA holds the US game license and Funimation holds the US anime streaming license.Oh wait, did I forget to mention that NIS AMERICA LICENSES DANGANRONPA MURDER MYSTERY VISUAL NOVEL FOR PS VITAThere, now I mentioned it.They also have Demon Gaze. Both games will be available early 2014.EXTRA: SENTAI FILMWORKS ANNOUNCES HOME VIDEO LICENSE FOR VARIOUS SUMMER 2013 TITLESAs has been the trend lately, Sentai Filmworks has taken an early stake in a number of titles that are currently airing this season (the reason for this is primarily having good working relationships with the Japanese publishers of these anime). Of the various anime airing this season, the ones Sentai Filmworks has announced licenses for are: Stella Women's Academy, High School Division Class C3, Hakkenden: Eight Dogs of the East Season 2, Dog & Scissors, Rozen Maiden ~ Zur ckspulen, Fantasista Doll, Fate/kaleid liner Prisma Illya, Kinmoza! (Kiniro Mosaic), Sunday Without God, and WataMote. There will likely be more where those came from (I'd be very surprised if they don't pick up the new season of The World God Only Knows).EXTRA: LITTLE WITCH ACADEMIA EPISODE 2 KICKSTARTER MEETS GOAL IN LESS THAN FIVE HOURSNever underestimate the passion of anime fans when it comes to throwing money at the shows they like. Time of Eve is a recent example of a very successful anime Kickstarter devoted to bringing the movie to the US, and now we have Little Witch Academia, the 30-minute OVA that has reached the US$150,000 goal of completing episode 2 in less than five hours after the campaign started early Tuesday. Studio Trigger already had the funds for creating a 20-minute episode and the Kickstarter funds will add 15 minutes to the final run time.The campaign is still going on, so anyone who wants to donate can still do so . It remains to be seen what kind of "stretch goals" the studio has for additional funds.(On a personal note, I have seen the first episode. It is very well-produced overall and has a fun story with some potential to go deeper should more be made.)---So that is all for Anime Expo. What were your favorite announcements from the convention?
Full Post

Eden of the East Review

Eden of the East is licensed by Funimation Entertainment.



When I was in grade school, we were told that we had to learn how to do mathematic problems in our heads because "We wouldn't always have calculators with us."

Friday, July 5, 2013

FUNimation Anime Expo 2013 Sneak Peek Announcement Roundup

FUNimation Anime Expo 2013 Sneak Peek Announcement Roundup. FUNimation confirms a variety of titles during its first ...

Local Actor Joins KBHR Staff

Steve is no stranger to voice work, either. He sang on the soundtracks for X-Men 2 and Dudley Do-Right, and his voiceovers can be heard in numerous Anime series: Giant Robo, Ghost in the Shell, Bleach, Super Pig, Ambassador Magma, and Love Hina, ...

Thursday, July 4, 2013

The New Ghost in the Shell Series Gets Its First Trailer

Earlier tonight here in Tokyo, Bandai Visual held a launch event for Ghost in the Shell: Arise, the new Ghost in the Shell anime series announced earlier this year. The event was full of interviews with the various creators of the new series and had ...

Tuesday, July 2, 2013

Strike Vector Offers Intense Sci-Fi Based Aerial Combat [Developer Interview]

For instance, we are currently working on a 'Team Race' (codename) mode in which the team leader has to run through a series of gates defended by his wing-men while trying to stop the opponent team. Ian: These days we sadly don't see too many aerial ...

Video: 'Ghost In The Shell — Arise' Another Mission anime short

Before the first part of the 4-part Japanese anime mini series of “Ghost In The Shell: Arise,” called “Ghost Pain,” is due to hit theaters, it's doing some cross-promoting. About a day ago, Microsoft had released two commercials (a 15-second and 30 ...

Anime Expo Announces Ghost in the Shell: Arise Producer Mitsuhisa Ishikawa ...

LOS ANGELES, CA, June 6th, 2013 – Expo proudly announces Ghost in the Shell Arise Producer Mitsuhisa Ishikawa as a Guest of Honor for AX2013. Mr. Ishikawa revolutionized the industry as a founder, and current C.E.O. and President of ...

Ghost in the Shell: Arise Gets Custom Buddha Machine Loop Music Player

The custom model of the Buddha Machine, titled “Ghost in the Machine”, will play a total of three tracks, including the Ghost in the Shell: Arise 's opening theme and two background music tracks. The player will cost 3,045 yen (about US$ 30.50 ...

Watch 8 minutes of the new Ghost in the Shell: Arise anime

Anime studio Production I.G. made fans of its Ghost in the Shell property very happy in January when it announced a new anime series was in the works called Ghost in the Shell: Arise. A trailer then dropped in February along with details about what the ...

First Look At 'Ghost In The Shell: Arise' Anime Blu-ray Packaging

With FUNimation having announced pickup of Ghost in Shell: Arise this weekend and ir plans for 2500 volumes to be released in US subtitled-only while a full bilingual release will come later, we've got a look at what should be ...

New Ghost in the Shell Arise Promo Showcases Blu-ray Release

The official website for the Ghost in the Shell Arise began streaming a promotional video for the Blu-ray release of the 's first installment, "border:1 Ghost Pain," on Saturday. In addition, the website also opened the page for the series ...

New 'Ghost In The Shell Arise' Anime Promo Released

With news of Ghost in Shell Arise being acquired by FUNimation and plans for a quick release subtitled-only essentially import version planned in order to try and stem some of piracy aspects of title, official Ghost in Shell ...

Production IG Aims to Make "Ghost in the Shell" Their "Gundam"

The decision to base the new Arise series around the backstory of cyborg heroine Major Motoko Kusanagi was driven by the hopes of making Ghost in the Shell more accessible. This has been a trend with Production I.G's Ghost in the Shell anime, starting ...

Ghost in the Shell's Product Placement Pisses Me Off

After all, it makes sense that convenience stores (and beer for that matter) would exist in those anime. It's when ...

Smartphone Cases Featuring Masamune Shirow Illustrations Offered in Japan

His activity as an artist is a kind slow, but we have seen so many anime/CG adaptation works based on his manga, not to mention the most recent OVA series Ghost in the Shell: Arise. A Tokyo-based company Basic has started accepting orders for eight ...