Via Robert's Weekly Newsletter came this little bit of information:

North American video distributor Media Blasters announced on Friday that they had acquired the license for the Rio Rainbow Gate! anime series.

Of all the things I expected to hear, that was waaaaaaaaay down the list.  I mean, WAY down the list.  "Marianas Trench"-level down.  On the other hand, Media Blasters has just become my favorite anime company ever... or the company I hate the most, one of the two, and I'm not sure which.  Y'know what's even more amazing?

THIS is going to make me buy a LCD TV and a Blu-Ray player.  Rio Rainbow Gate! is my killer app!  How screwed up is that?  And yet, I can't help but feel like I had something to do with it... it's my own damn fault, in other words.  Longtime readers will remember, of course, that RRG! was the second series I'd done writeups for, and I think the most successful.  Certainly it turned out to be better than I expected, though since I had expectations as low as whale snot, that's not saying much.  Media Blasters has set no release date yet, but one might expect that I'm going to preorder the deluxe set as soon as possible. 

Rio Rainbow Gate! has been licensed.  I never thought I'd live to see the day.  I didn't think ANYBODY would live to see the day.  Thank you, Media Blasters, for showing us how to love... again.

Posted by: Wonderduck at 09:09 PM | Comments (11) | Add Comment
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Now that I've finished Vividred Operation, I've sort of been at loose ends as far as what show I wanted to do next.  Waiting until next season didn't really appeal to me, and currently airing series are so hit-and-miss anyway.  Case in point: Vividred Operation.  If I hadn't've been doing writeups for it, I would have let it go long before. the end.  But something longtime reader Avatar said in a comment for the last episode writeup made me raise an eyebrow (metaphorically... I can't actually do that without duct tape or staples) and stroke my chin pensively.  Then I realized that over in Japan, a particular movie was being released soon, and my course became clear.  The next series I will be doing Episodic Reviews for is...

Evangelion.  Really, it's an obvious choice... a decent show that's more screwed up and broken and just begging for my gentle touch would probably be impossible to find.  "But Wonderduck," I hear you say, which as usual I respond with "How did you get in here?"  "But Wonderduck, what about the 'no 26 episode series' rule?"   Simple... I'm going to do the movie version.  The third film just came out on BD in Japan.  If I break each film into three "episodes", that's nine writeups; I can also make do six, with two per movie if I feel like it.  Depends on the flow of each one, I guess.  I suspect fewer of my readers have seen the movies than the series anyway.

This is gonna be epic.  So whaddya think?

Posted by: Wonderduck at 07:24 AM | Comments (9) | Add Comment
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It's not like I have any lack of things to write about, it's just that I have a lack of interest in doing so right now.  As in, "I really don't want to do this.  REALLY don't want to."  So I'm not going to.  Instead, I'm going to post some cheesecake for you to enjoy.

Yes, yes, I know it's some fruit-based dessert, not cheesecake.  Just play along, huh?  Imagine there's some cheesecake underneath there, okay?

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Posted by: Wonderduck at 12:56 PM | Comments (4) | Add Comment
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The final episode of a series is usually accompanied by one or more emotions.  A sense of relief?  A feeling of accomplishment?  Sadness?  Joy?  I know I've felt all of these at the end of shows, good and bad.  However, when it comes to the type of show that I do writeups for, an approaching final episode does nothing but fill me with dread.  "Saving the best for last" is not what Rio Rainbow Gate! or High School of the Dead are known for (Ga-Rei Zero was actually a good show, and therefore exempt from these statements).  And, if we must be honest with ourselves, it's not like we're expecting much of anything out of Vividred Operation, right?  So when last episode ended with Hot Dark Girl Rei and her kickarse scarf being swallowed whole by Croooow!, it's not like there was any feeling of dramatic tension or anything.  Of course Team Aquos will rescue her, and of course there'll be a VividBlack appearance, and of course it'll kick Croooow!'s feathery tail into next week.  None of this is in doubt, the Production Staff isn't creative enough to do anything else.  The only question in my mind going into Ep12 was "Will Gendo Plushyferret be put back into his human body, and how will they manage it?"  Well, let's find out, shall we?  Welcome to the final episode of Vividred Operation!

Huh.  Looks a lot like the end of the penultimate episode of Vividred Operation.  That's Ascended Croooow!, after swallowing Hot Dark Girl Rei and her kickarse scarf, and there's still absolutely no resemblance to one of Evangelion's Angels.  None at all.  Purely coincidental.  Please don't sue us, Gainax.

RHF has gone into mental BSOD, crying about how she couldn't protect Hot Dark Girl Rei, while the other three just look at her like she's gone insane.  To be fair, that's pretty much how I feel about myself regarding this entire show, so I can't honestly hold that against them.  Y'know what?  I just wrote that sentence, and I honestly can't claim there's that much vitriol behind my words.  Vividred Operation doesn't create the sort of WTF levels that, say, High School of the Dead or Rio Rainbow Gate! caused in me.  It's just sorta there, and that's a bad place for a show to be.  It's a dead fish wrapped in newspaper of a series, lying on your doorstep, slowly beginning to smell in the midday sun, and perhaps you need to clean that up. 

MegaCroooow! proves to be even more powerful than the Alones... conventional weaponry could at least whittle away at them, but the Black Bird of Doom proves to be impervious to everything thrown at it, short of N2 mines, or whatever it is they call those here in this Eva wannabe.  But then, just when all hope seems lost and more, Gendo Plushyferret discovers that M-m-m-m-monsterCroooow! has the exact same energy signature as Hot Dark Girl Rei and her kickarse scarf... she's still alive, and inside that thing.

Well, yeah.  Seeing how this show has been more about Rei and less about the nominal main character, RHF, you'd kinda expect her to be alive, wouldn't you?  I also expect to see Vividscarf by the time this is all over.  Heh.  Vividscarf Operation... I'd pay good money for that.

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Posted by: Wonderduck at 11:27 PM | Comments (6) | Add Comment
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Hello, greetings, and welcome to this, the writeup for the eleventh episode of Vividred Operation!  I'm Wonderduck, your host and tour guide through this example of the art of anime.  I have a feeling that this will be an important and exciting adventure in episodic recapping, so please grab a beverage of your choice, settle into a comfy chair, relax and enjoy, won't you?  As you may remember, in the last episode the antagonist, known to us as Hot Dark Girl Rei, had been caught in her attempt to super-dooper-power-up an attacking Alone.  When she realized that those opposing her were people she thought were friends, namely the RHF and the rest of Team Aquos, she kinda went a little bugnutty.  The episode ended with the screen going black and the sound of a gunshot, leading us to believe that the marines had just shot her in the head.  Quite the conundrum!  So where does Episode 11 begin?

From pretty much the same place, except the rest of Team Aquos has joined the party, and they're just as mind-blown as RHF.  Hot Dark Captive Girl Rei has it allllllllll worked out: they really were just playing her for a fool.  Actually, I'm fairly sure it was the Production Staff doing that, but that's just me. 

Anyway, she's bundled onto a waiting tiltrotor and taken away, and while I've been kinda hard on this show in a lot of ways, the one aspect that has rarely disappointed has been the animation quality.  Even on this little throwaway shot of the plane taking off and flying away, they made sure to have heat distortion from the engine exhausts.  I mean, they're no Production I.G. or anything, but A-1 Pictures has absolutely nothing to be ashamed about with this show.

I mean, other than camera angles that would make pedobear blush.  At least we haven't had a "sunrise between the legs" shot in a while.  Thankfully.

But then, it wouldn't be Vividred Operation without them, would it?  I leave it as a study for the viewer to decide if that's a good thing or not.

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Posted by: Wonderduck at 09:43 PM | Comments (6) | Add Comment
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Okay, here we go... we've reached double digits on this show.  I totally didn't mean for that to rhyme; now I feel like I need to make this intro paragraph into a bad song or something, and I think I'd rather saw my leg off with a rusty nail file than do that.  To be blunt, this show doesn't deserve the effort.  It's not as bad as some people have made it out to be, but there's no real way to say it's been good.  Having said that, it's a lot better fodder for one of these writeups than, say, Girls und Panzer.  That was a good, entertaining, well-written series (the OVA I covered notwithstanding), and the recent ending was excellent.  I've not seen the ending of Vividred Operation yet... actually, I haven't even seen Ep10 yet... but I can't imagine it's going to be as good as GuP's.  What I'm saying is "go watch Girls und Panzer, it's really good."  However, I'm not telling you to leave here... we've got to finish this show together.  And we will, before the next Formula 1 race on April 14th.  On this I swear to all that's... um... swearable.  But before we get to Ep11 and Ep12, we need to get through Ep10, and the first step in doing that is this:
I'll admit, there are times that it's easier to do these reviews than others.  Hot Dark Wet Girl Rei is in the shower, providing us with a handy recap as to her motivation to destroy the Phlebotinum Engine: in her "parallel world," it went nuts and destroyed everything.  The infamous unseen THEY promise to restore it good as new, as long as Hot Dark Moist Girl Rei succeeds in destroying this world's Phlebotinum Engine.  Sure.  Makes sense to me.  Then her parakeet starts screaming like a little girl that had her American Girl doll taken away and in this show, we all know what that means.

Croooow! is being a dick again.  It knows that the parakeet freaks out when it's around, so of course it parks its feathered butt right on top of the cage.  Oh, and for the record?  While Hot Dark Damp Girl Rei stalks over, we hear the parakeet screaming and flapping its wings frantically... but there's no movement inside the cage.  Mmmmmm... you can just smell the quality animation!  Croooow! notes some... shall we say disobedience? from Hot Dark Drying Girl Rei, and does that trick with the eyes that it does.

Suddenly, there's a glare of light across the camera and Hot Dark Nekkid Girl Rei is on all fours, making the sort of noises you'd associate with a Japanese porn video, and the towel falls off _^buythedvds.  It's good to be the bird... until it goes too far.  It threatens to kill Hot Dark Towelless Girl Rei if she doesn't swear obedience to it, and she calls bullhockey.

Sure enough, it's just a servant of THEM and can't kill her.  Score one for the Dark Girl.  The scene ends with a standoff... Hot Dark Girl Rei explains that she'd use all her remaining arrows on the next Alone if she could be there when it first appears, and Croooow! prevaricates on whether or not it can tell her.  Sounds like her plan could work, and work big.  She's got this in the bag, yay for her!

Except for that whole "she wins, our world dies" part.  That's kind of... a bummer.

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Posted by: Wonderduck at 10:08 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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To be blunt, however, the title of this should be "Ep09 NutSHOTted."  Because, oh my god, that's the least of what the Production Staff deserves.  Episode 08 was, in my opinion, the best of the series so far, full of drama and character development.  I really enjoyed watching it, mostly because it required that Team Aquos to succeed without the RHF, who is really the Kryptonian in the woodpile.  Everything has to run through her, because only with her can they reach the ultimate potential of the Vivid System amd become completely unstoppable.  Just like Superman.  And it becomes boring, just like Superman.  So seeing "The Jordanaires" succeed without her was quite nice.  Now, it's common for there to be a dropoff after such a tour de force, I understand that.  I do, and was actually expecting it.  I mean, let's face it, this is Vividred Operation we're talking about here, not ARIA or some excellent show like that.

What I didn't expect was what we got.  What we got was an episode that honestly made me angry with the pointlessness of it all.  I wanted to inflict deep hurting on the Production Staff.  And they would have deserved it, all of it and more.

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Posted by: Wonderduck at 10:33 PM | Comments (5) | Add Comment
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After looking back at it, I realized that I've been dealing with this bronchitis thing for three darn weeks.  No wonder I'm so bloody tired!  At least the antibiotic has been working its magic upon me for these past seven days... I feel a lot better.  Now, I'm sure y'all are reading this and saying something to the effect of "well, that's nice, Wonderduck, but what, exactly, does this have to do with Vividred Operation?"  A fine question, and I'm proud of you for calling me on it.  Keep the duck honest, I always say.  Well, since I feel better, I'm much more likely to do a good job with this writeup!  I mean, the last two have been done while I've felt miserable, so this one oughta be fantasmic!  Or something like that.  I dunno.  We'll find out.  As you may remember, at the end of last week's episode the RHF had been zorched by a seemingly-defeated Alone and was plummeting from the sky while the rest of Team Aquos watched helplessly and Hot Dark Girl Rei chuckled darkly to herself.  So where do we start this episode?

Ladies and gentlemen, the Production Staff went somewhere that even I didn't go, and it's AWESOME.  I saw this scene, of medical staff rolling RHF down a hall while Team Aquos crowded around her broken body and immediately knew I'd seen it somewhere before... I just couldn't figure out where.

It did eventually come to me, and it may be telling that I was under the influence of a cough medicine that contains a decent amount of codeine when it finally clicked.  We're in Ep09 of Ga-Rei Zero!  The more I think about it, the better VividGaRei OperationZero sounds to me.

Is that what Hot Dark Girl Rei is shooting at the Alones?  Fragments of the Death Stone?  Is RHF going to turn into The Schoolgirl In Black?  When's the pocky eating scene between Rei and Himawari?  Did I really just say that out loud?

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Posted by: Wonderduck at 12:32 AM | Comments (4) | Add Comment
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It's been a while since I've coughed up an AMV post, mostly because I've sorta dropped out of the AMV scene.  However, earlier today I stumbled across a post over at Ben's place that reminded me of how fun they can be... and how good they can be when they're done right.  The "Forever" video sent me browsing for others. 

First I stumbled across Nostromo's Running Man.

For a long while, I believed that Nostromo was the greatest technical video editor AMVs would ever see.  That doesn't mean he makes the best videos, just the most impressive as accomplishments, if that makes sense.  I mean, Thrust SSC is a great technical success, but you're not gonna go to the grocery store in it. 

From there, I wound up with this on my screen:

Ileia might be the best editor at "internal sync" you'll find.  EVERYthing is to the beat, even if it's not obvious.  Her work feels more "right" than Nostromo's, more fun.  From there, though, I discovered that she had done a zombie version of the greatest AMV of all time, which lead me back to track down that very classic:

That was made in 2002.  If someone asked me what the point of AMVs were, I'd show 'em Odorikuruu.  It's 100% distilled fun in a four-minute viddy.

But then I found an AMV that literally made me cry weep manly tears.

I've made an AMV.  I know it was pretty decent, particularly for a first try.  I also know that, no matter how hard I try, I could never come up with something as good as this.  It's very subtle, but there's something surprisingly awesome to this one.  I can't put my finger on it, but it's there.

Which is why I put this post together tonight... because I wanted to share that awesomeness.

Posted by: Wonderduck at 10:20 PM | Comments (11) | Add Comment
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Keeping up the routine.  Keeping up the routine.  That's what it's all about with my writeups for Vividred Operation.  It's not a bad show at all, it just hasn't caught me the way the other three completed writeup series (Ga-Rei Zero, Rio Rainbow Gate!, High School of the Dead) did.  No, I'm not going to drop it... I'm too far into it to do that.  Besides, it's not like I have anything else to write about right now.  So what the heck, let's take a look at what's going on after the debacle that was Ep06.

It seems like the RHF was out late, defeating another Alone.  How lame must this one have been to not even get any screen-time?  Are there nerdy Alones?  Was this Alone the equivalent of having a bowl cut, coke-bottle glasses and a pocket protector?  Was it picked on by the other Alones, shoved into lockers, tripped in the hallway, that sort of thing?  Finally, it had enough and decided that it'd show all those bullies and took its shot at doing something none of the others could manage: destroying the Phlebotinum Engine!  Then maybe the cute Alone cheerleaders would pay attention to him!  Hope you feel proud, RHF and the rest of Team Aquos.  I hope you're really happy as you drool onto your breakfast.  That Alone was just trying to be loved... is that too much to ask for?  And you guys were just like all the rest, you slapped a "Kick Me" sign on its back, took its lunch money and then disposed of it.  Buncha bullies, that's what you are!  Meanwhile, as "Our Hero" sleeps through breakfast...

...Hot Dark Girl Rei and her kickarse scarf lament their failure to destroy the world.  Again.  Worse, it took another of her powerups, leaving her with six.  More importantly, she's running out of episodes to accomplish her task.  If she ever shows up with a rubber duck, I'm going to just go out of my mind... in a good way, not a creepy way.

Well, maybe it'd be a little bit creepy.  I wouldn't be proud of it, though.

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Posted by: Wonderduck at 10:13 PM | Comments (6) | Add Comment
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90 minutes of work on the Vividred Operation Ep07 writeup, right down the old bitbucket.  All because I couldn't remember the name of a yo-yo trick.

Posted by: Wonderduck at 09:52 PM | Comments (2) | Add Comment
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IS IT???

It is?  Oh.  Well.  Cool then.  Carry on.  I'll be over in the corner, wondering where my lungs went.

Update: Found 'em!

Posted by: Wonderduck at 08:59 PM | Comments (3) | Add Comment
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Okay, right, here we are, only a week late.  Not so bad, really... at least I'm still keeping up with the show.  Sure, it's not the perfect situation, which would involve the writeup being completed using only the mental power of my massive, pulsating brain, but it's close.  Oh, and codfish.  There would be some nice beer-battered cod with a tasty tartar sauce involved in a perfect situtation, too.  On Friday, after the business trip was officially over but while I was still in Chicago, I had dinner at The Cheesecake Factory with three managers who had their flights cancelled, and I can recommend their fish 'n' chips.  Which is not to be confused with fission chips, which tend to go bang when you dip them in tartar sauce.  They don't mention that in nuclear physics class.  Speaking of not mentioning things in Physics class...

...have these glasses from Gurren Lagann become an anime meme, or what?  After seeing the Red Headed Freak out the door as she heads to summer camp, lil' sister Momo and Gendo Plushyferret chat for a second about "beginning the operation," and out come the glasses.  What's really annoying is that I hated Gurren Lagann, yet it's hailed as a masterpiece of the mecha genre, if not anime as a whole.  I just don't get it.  Oh well, so it goes.

But that's a discussion for another day.  For now, there is Vividred Operation.  Which, I hasten to point out, is not considered a masterpiece of any genre.  Unless the genre is "butt shots of middleschoolers," in which case it's groundbreaking.  And deeply, deeply troubling.  You'll note, of course, that I'm still working on it, so maybe not so troubling as all that.

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Posted by: Wonderduck at 11:21 PM | Comments (10) | Add Comment
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For a second there, I thought about doing a Nutshelling for this episode, too, but I decided against it.  After all, it's the Dark Girl's introduction episode, maybe they'll tell us where to get that great scarf... and perhaps we'll learn her name, too?  Oh, wacky Wonderduck, wanting so much out of your anime.  Next you'll be asking for "plot" and "characterization", too.  Like that'll happen in Vividred Operation!  So, to quickly recap: Team Aquos has been finalized, they've defeated all the Alones that have been thrown against the Phlebotinum Engine, Akane's a redheaded freak of nature... or is she?  I am of the opinion that her superhuman skills are in fact because she's not entirely human, but part Alone.  No, I have nothing to base that on, other than her being stronger and faster than any normal person should be.  We'll find out eventually... or not.  Oh, and Gendo Plushyferret is the bad guy in all of this.  Ooh, plot twist!  Well, he is in my version of the show, and I think I've got a good track record of my alternate versions being much better than the originals, no?  But, speaking of this show right here, Ep05 has already begun!  Let's see what's going on in the City Island of Townsville Izu Oshima, shall we?

As is normal for a morning, the RHF is out delivering newspapers on her flying bicycle; as we catch up with her, she's riding along the dock of the bay, watching the tide roll away, when suddenly... birds!

Well, bird.  Singular.  But there will be more, oh yes, many many more.  And early in the morning, they are very... very... hungry.  Somewhere offscreen, Alfred Hitchcock is rubbing his hands together eagerly. *ahem*  Excuse me.  Bird.  Flying near RHF.  Of course, this delights the RHF, who's probably more chipper about life than even Akari from ARIA.  But then, when you can convert to a magical girl with enough firepower to level very small countries, why shouldn't you be cheery?  And speaking of cheery...

Ohmygawd, it's Dark Girl... and she's smiling.  Yup, that seals it, she's my favorite character in this show, no matter what's going on.  She's currently being swarmed by seagulls, but that's nothing uncommon.  Anybody who's been to Seattle's waterfront and bought some french fries knows all about that.  Somewhere back at the Old Home Pond, there's a picture of me, standing outside Ivar's Acres of Clams Fish Bar ("Keep Clam!") with a french fry in my hand.  To my right, there's a gull swooping in to claim his nummy goodness from the side of the shot, while another gull is dive-bombing in from above and behind me.  And, having browsed Ivar's website, I've just discovered that you can order their clam chowder for home delivery... I think I might just have to do that, oh my heavens to betsy yes.  Many people claim that Boston clam chowder is the best, but I simply can not believe that, not after having Ivar's.  When I was out visiting friends in Seattle for a week, lo these many years ago when I had friends in Seattle, I literally had at least one bowl of Ivar's every single day... and felt bad that I couldn't have more.  When my departing flight was first delayed, then replaced after six hours on the ground (one of the friendly airline employees mentioned that an engine fell off the plane.  I assumed they were joking.), I was quite pleased... SeaTac had an Ivar's, after all!  Oh dear, I appear to have wandered off-topic once again. Let's get back to the story.  The RHF disturbs Dark Girl and her... I'm sorry, I can't not do this... her flock of seagulls, and...

...poof!  The flock of seagulls flies away, Dark Girl disappears from our view, leaving behind only one very confused RHF.  Oh, and an annoyed Wonderduck.  Really, if they wanted to rename this show Vivid Dark Girl Operations, I'd be fine with that.  If they had all the music done by '80s bands, I'd be really okay with that.  If some studio feels like doing this hypothetical series, I promise to do an episodic review.  If there's F1 cars and rubber ducks in it, I promise that the final episode's writeup would be the last thing ever posted here on The Pond.  Pinky swear.

Somewhere, a longtime reader of The Pond has just opened a kickstarter campaign to make that happen.  Hell, I'd kick in a fin or a sawbuck m'self, just because I could.  If you think about it, there's very little that would be cooler than to say "there was an anime made for the sole purpose of closing down my blog."  And by cooler, I mean "geekier".

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Posted by: Wonderduck at 12:02 AM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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Okay, so this project is succeeding about as well as Ben-To!, except now I'm falling behind on a currently-airing series.  Swell.  Ep05 aired a couple of days ago, and I still haven't done Ep03 yet... not the best plan for success ever, I'll admit.  Fortunately for me, if there were two episodes I could give short shrift to, it'd be these.  Simply put, for all intense porpoises, they're repeats of Ep02, just with new girls being added to Gendo Plushyferret's combat team.  I'm going to assume that you remember what happened in Ep01 and Ep02; if you don't, feel free to go back and re-read the writeups.  I think they're pretty clever, m'self, but then I would, wouldn't I?  So go ahead and catch up, why don'tcha?  I can wait... here's some music for you while you read.

You back?  You've got the basic idea in your head again?  Okay, good.  Let's get on with Nutshelling Ep03 and Ep04!


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Posted by: Wonderduck at 01:58 AM | Comments (3) | Add Comment
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As I mentioned a few weeks ago, I'm not really a manga sorta duck.  Pretty much everything I own/read is tied in some way to anime I've seen.  However, I decided to give myself a gift for surviving Spring book rush and bought some manga.  Two of them were, as mentioned, spinoffs from various anime, and were purchased more for completions' sake than any particular enjoyment of the series.  I'd been seeing another title show up in my "recommended for you" list, one I'd never heard of before.  I did some digging, and found that it had almost universal praise... which really doesn't mean anything, since most of the reviews I saw were written by people who had read scanalations and liked them.  Unfortunately, I couldn't find any reviews from readers who had gone into the series blind... probably because most people aren't idiots like that.  I supposed I could have gone to one of those manga download sites, but I really don't like to do that for two reasons.  One, my monitor isn't tall enough for that; either everything is too small (fit to screen) or you have to scroll uncomfortably (full size).  Reason two is a little more serious: every single darn time I've ventured to a manga aggregator site, I've gotten multiple computer icks that have usually required a full nuking of the hard-drive and reinstall of Windows.  Every.  Single.  Time. 

Which pretty much leaves me no choice but to be one of Those Guys at Barneys and Ignobles, the ones who sit in the manga section, reading the newest volume of Naruto and blocking the walkway for the real customers, oh and leaving the entire section so completely disorganized that you couldn't find what you're looking for anyway.  Not that I'm bitter or anything.  Or go into a series cold, cross my fingers and hope for good luck.  In a medium that proves that Ted Sturgeon was an optimist, no less.  Well, it wasn't going to be terribly expensive, so I went ahead and ordered 'em up.

At this point, I'm going to point out that the manga in question has some mature themes and some flat-out NSFW imagery.  While most of my post is NOT going to be NSFW, the possibility exists that I may mention some stuff that won't be family friendly.  For those who might be offended by this, I leave you with this picture and wish you a pleasant period of time (as opposed to a "good evening" or "nice morning", because I don't know when you're reading this).

Posted by: Wonderduck at 11:34 PM | Comments (3) | Add Comment
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It's time once again for everybody's favorite hyperintelligent duck to shamelessly give the business to an innocent, unsuspecting anime.  I'll admit some reluctance to use the term "innocent" to describe Vividred Operation, as it seems very much like the Production Staff's familiarity with the word is passing at best.  Still, that's what makes these things so much fun, right?  I suppose an argument can be made that using the word "fun" to describe these episodic writeups may not be appropriate, but that's not for me to say.  I just write 'em and let you, my intelligent, good looking, well-dressed readers, make the call.  By the way, have I mentioned how great your hair looks?  Because it's flat-out amazing.  How do you get it to do that feathering-and-flip thing?  Seriously, I envy you your hair.

We pick up Ep02 pretty much where we left off in Ep01, with Akane (left) ascended to Magical Girl status amd Aoi (right) gazing lovingly into her eyes.  Just then, Gendo Plushyferret says that the two of them are the only people in the world that can fight the alien invaders, and they've got to prepare for docking.  Docking?  As in "symmetrical docking"?  I've completely changed my mind about this series, I'm all over it now!

Man, Vividred Operation has really moved into the big leagues now: it's got an OP and everything!  Too bad I'll never watch it... I actually (almost) never watch a show's OP, simply because of the spoilers that are usually contained therein.  That is, if I actually care about the series; if I don't, I'll watch once.  Yes, I know there are series where the OP is part of the show (the ARIA franchise) or changes every episode (the most recent HidaSketch); obviously that's different.  But in general, I'd rather be surprised.  Okay, now that I've got that out of my system, where's my docking?

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Posted by: Wonderduck at 10:31 PM | Comments (5) | Add Comment
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So there's really only one show that I'm even mildly excited about this season, and that's this one, Vividred Operation.  As I mentioned in the previous post, nobody has the faintest idea what's going to happen with it: it could be great, it could be stupid, it could be stupidly great!  Well, no matter how it shakes down, I'll be doing episodic reviews for it, probably on Saturdays.  It airs on Thursday, but there's that whole work thing to think about... I'm not as young as I used to be, alas.  I don't have as much energy, as much hair, or as many teeth as I did when I was a kid.  So let's take a look at this here show, let's see what we're being given to work with, shall we?

The City of Townsville! unknown moniker, and something seems a little out of place in it... like, maybe, the enormous tower in the center (thanks for pointing that out, Muppet!) that simply dwarfs everything in the vicinity?  Seriously, look at that thing, it's easily five times taller than the tallest structure nearby, and maybe twice as tall as the skyscrapers in the background.  In an earthquake-prone country, no less.  Can you imagine the number of zoning ordinances that had to be eased so it could be constructed?  Pilots flying into City must hate the thing with a passion, too.  Plus, it's clear that the powers that be are somewhat lax with their security methods.  To whit...

...there's this young woman, standing on the safety railing on the very top of the tower, watching the sun come up.  Completely unbelievable... I mean, there's not a single iPhone or camera in sight, and there's no way one of today's callow yoots wouldn't be recording this to post on myfaceinatube.com... with the camera held the wrong way.  Kids these days, I tell you.

Oh, so it's going to be THAT sort of show, huh?  Technically, she is wearing pants.  Lil' Miss Wallenda up there is, apparently, a member of O2STK, and nothing she does while on-screen clarifies her reason for existing. 

Yup, it's gonna be a good show for me.

more...

Posted by: Wonderduck at 09:08 PM | Comments (11) | Add Comment
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My friends, I have a question for all of you.  As I'm sure you've noticed, my writeups for Ben-To! are occurring at a rate that makes snails seem fast.  I've been busier at work than I was expecting, and since it's an old show, I feel like I can "relax" with it.  But I couldn't do that with a show that's currently airing, and that's where the question comes in.

Vividread Operation has just begun to air over in Japan, and it seems to hold great promise as a subject of a Wonderduck Writeup.  SDB calls it a cross between Strike Witches and Nanoha, and I suppose that's correct, though to me it leans more towards the 'magical girl' side of the spectrum.  Whatever, I can see it being just as singularly stupid as Rio Rainbow Gate!, or as singularly good as Ga-Rei Zero.  So I leave it up to you, my friends and readers, the accumulated Pond Scum: do I finish Ben-To!, or do I drop it and go with Vividred Operation? 

You must choose... but choose wisely.

Posted by: Wonderduck at 10:15 PM | Comments (18) | Add Comment
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1 Did he just call us Pond Scum?

Posted by: brickmuppet at January 12, 2013 11:27 PM (vp6an)

2 Twice, actually.

Posted by: Wonderduck at January 12, 2013 11:29 PM (cymHZ)

3 I think it's evident that your heart isn't into Ben-to. If you're asking us, it's clear you want to switch. So go ahead and do so.

Posted by: Steven Den Beste at January 12, 2013 11:37 PM (+rSRq)

4 Steven is wise beyond his years.  Go with VRO.

(Brickmuppet: could be worse, he could have gone with the other half of the blog's name and called us all duck doo.)

Posted by: Mikeski at January 13, 2013 01:01 AM (DU6Ja)

5 Change up to VRO.  If you don't like where it's going, you can always drop back to Ben-To.

Posted by: JT at January 13, 2013 11:39 AM (DY79H)

6 Gotta go with the crowd.  Vividred looks interesting.

Posted by: Ben at January 13, 2013 03:31 PM (/Mdmg)

7 I'd say switch.  I mean, like I'm going to get back to Deadman Wonderland?  Who would care at this point?

Posted by: Mauser at January 13, 2013 05:43 PM (cZPoz)

8 I also say switch to Vividread Operation, if only because Ben-to! is so monumentally stupid that I could feel my brain cells dying just from reading your writeups.  (You could always go back to Ben-to! later, if you still have the urge to torment us.)

Posted by: Peter the Not-so-Great at January 13, 2013 07:29 PM (ElBzz)

9 I'll chime in for Vividred. Go ahead and make the change.

Posted by: GreyDuck at January 13, 2013 11:50 PM (xbP2x)

10 Am I the only one with a soft spot for Desaturation Lass? My vote is for Ben-To, but it looks like I will be out-voted.

Posted by: Anonymous Coward at January 14, 2013 12:22 AM (ASd7f)

11 Eight out of ten dramatic ferrets prefer Vividpants.  Red.  Vividred.

Did all the female characters have colours for names?  I noticed Akane, Momo, Mashiro, and Aoi.

Posted by: Pixy Misa at January 14, 2013 02:47 AM (PiXy!)

12 Follow your bliss.  I never really got the point of Ben-to.

Posted by: Mitch H. at January 14, 2013 09:06 AM (jwKxK)

13 Vividred.  Go for it!

Posted by: dkallen99 at January 14, 2013 10:00 AM (2lHZP)

14 Of course, you could also try watching Rio Rainbow Gate! through a blue filter.  See what that does.

Posted by: Ben at January 14, 2013 10:41 AM (/Mdmg)

15 Do the switch! 

'Eat when you are hungry, sleep when you are tired. Write when the moment is right.'

Posted by: Tom Tjarks at January 14, 2013 06:35 PM (pjrFc)

16 So, looking at the logo for Vividred, we're waiting for girls named Midori and Kiiro to show up.

Posted by: Pixy Misa at January 14, 2013 08:52 PM (PiXy!)

17

Posted by: Pixy Misa at January 14, 2013 08:54 PM (PiXy!)

18 Finish your Bento!

Posted by: skyhack at January 20, 2013 11:26 AM (3ESSA)

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Over at Brickmuppet's place, a recent contest (whyasnake) brought his favorite manga to the light of day.  As with all right-thinking individuals, it turns out that it's Yotsuba&!.  Careful readers of The Pond will remember that I have a special place in my torso for that title, which explains why it has to be my favorite manga of all time.

But let's face it, that doesn't make for a particularly exciting post, so I'm going to dig a little deeper into the stacks of manga in my collection to find two other favorites!  Join me, won't you?

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Posted by: Wonderduck at 09:09 PM | Comments (2) | Add Comment
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