January 06, 2013
Panzer Vor (If You Know What I Mean)!
One of the many surprises involving the recent series Girls und Panzer was the lack of heavy fanservice. Oh, don't get me wrong, the girls are cute and pleasant to look at, but pretty much the only true fanservice shots are for the tank aficionado.
Being devoted to my readers, I've decided to take on the challenge of providing suitable coverage of this OVA for your edification. Join me, won't you, in an excursion into GuP OVA #1: Water War!
more...
Oh baby, do those treads go all the way up?
And that's fine, great even. It's a wonderful thing when shows take the high road and avoids blatant pandering to succeed upon its own merits. I mean, I love the Strike Witches franchise, but there's no way to use it as an example of the fine art of anime... there's just not enough pants in that show. However, a casual glance at a well-known repository of anime-related fanart (link ridiculously NSFW) makes it clear that there's a demand for Girls und Panzer fanservice. Which is why it should come as no surprise that the Blu-Ray release of the first volume of GuP in Japan contains an OVA...Being devoted to my readers, I've decided to take on the challenge of providing suitable coverage of this OVA for your edification. Join me, won't you, in an excursion into GuP OVA #1: Water War!
more...
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January 04, 2013
Adventures In Anime Ordering
Now, far be it for me to say that I have wildly varying tastes in anime. To be sure, I tend more towards the light comedy / slice-of-life genres, but that's hardly the only stuff I watch. However, even I had to scratch my head when my latest order from Robert's showed up at the Duck U Bookstore...
I think I need sleep now.
One of these things is not like the others / which one is different, do you know?
I suppose it's possible to find more wildly dissimilar shows than HidaSketch and Black Lagoon, but you'd have to work at it. Both are really good shows, but in completely different ways... and that just made me think of a crossover between the two series. That makes me weep. Yuno in Roanapur? Sawyer the Cleaner at Hidamari Apartments? Wait... that one would be pretty cool, actually.I think I need sleep now.
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January 01, 2013
In Praise of Chuu2
Did you watch Chuunibyou Demo Koi ga Shitai! (aka "Chuu2") when it aired in the Fall season?
Rikka, possessor of the "Tyrant's Eye." Or a colored contact lens. One of the two. Unlike Our Hero, she still believes in her fantasy-tainted youth; in fact, she lives it whole-heartedly. I'll be honest... I was embarrassed on her behalf for the first episode. Not like I emphasize with her or anything, heavens, no... I'm merely a hyperintelligent duck with the ability to type. If you can get past that initial embarrassment, however, you find yourself in the middle of the best anime in quite a while, perhaps of all of 2012.
Along the way, Rikka decides to form a club and somehow manages to attracts other fantasists, including a cheerleader, an upperclassman, and a middleschooler, to her side... oh, and the Dark Flame Master gets dragged along, too. Hijinks ensue. Ridiculously entertaining hijinks, might I add. There is a story being told here, which reveals itself around Ep06 or so, but it's a touching one, never angsty without good reason. And for every angsty bit, there's humor and action aplenty, usually at the same time.
It should come as no surprise that, as a Kyoto Animation series, it's absolutely gorgeous. Details that other companies would gloss over or ignore altogether get nearly as much attention as the main images. Characterization is new and fresh, and I found myself actually caring about them. For a flinty-souled duck like myself, this came as a stunning surprise.
I cannot recommend this show highly enough. Go watch it. What are you waiting for?
UPDATE: I neglected to mention something. Blogsuki nailed it with his description of Rikka as an opposite-Haruhi Suzumiya. Rikka doesn't have powers but acts like she does. Haruhi DOES have powers, but doesn't realize it. True, there's almost nothing else similar about them, but it's an excellent observation about their respective personalities. Haruhi would simply hate Rikka... or pity her, which is even worse.
Well, did you?
If you didn't, you've missed something awfully special. I'll admit, I was unable to watch it when it was airing, but I've made amends for that. Wow, is this a good show. The basic setup is simple: guy goes to highschool intent on leaving his fantasy-tainted youth (he called himself "Dark Flame Master"... in public) behind and just live a normal life. Then he meets... her.Rikka, possessor of the "Tyrant's Eye." Or a colored contact lens. One of the two. Unlike Our Hero, she still believes in her fantasy-tainted youth; in fact, she lives it whole-heartedly. I'll be honest... I was embarrassed on her behalf for the first episode. Not like I emphasize with her or anything, heavens, no... I'm merely a hyperintelligent duck with the ability to type. If you can get past that initial embarrassment, however, you find yourself in the middle of the best anime in quite a while, perhaps of all of 2012.
Along the way, Rikka decides to form a club and somehow manages to attracts other fantasists, including a cheerleader, an upperclassman, and a middleschooler, to her side... oh, and the Dark Flame Master gets dragged along, too. Hijinks ensue. Ridiculously entertaining hijinks, might I add. There is a story being told here, which reveals itself around Ep06 or so, but it's a touching one, never angsty without good reason. And for every angsty bit, there's humor and action aplenty, usually at the same time.
It should come as no surprise that, as a Kyoto Animation series, it's absolutely gorgeous. Details that other companies would gloss over or ignore altogether get nearly as much attention as the main images. Characterization is new and fresh, and I found myself actually caring about them. For a flinty-souled duck like myself, this came as a stunning surprise.
I cannot recommend this show highly enough. Go watch it. What are you waiting for?
UPDATE: I neglected to mention something. Blogsuki nailed it with his description of Rikka as an opposite-Haruhi Suzumiya. Rikka doesn't have powers but acts like she does. Haruhi DOES have powers, but doesn't realize it. True, there's almost nothing else similar about them, but it's an excellent observation about their respective personalities. Haruhi would simply hate Rikka... or pity her, which is even worse.
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December 30, 2012
Japanese Military Animation: Then And Now
A couple of years ago, I learned about an movie titled Momotaro's Divine Sea Warriors. It's considered the first Japanese feature-length animated film and it was released in 1945. As you can imagine, it's obviously a propaganda piece, and all copies were seized and destroyed after the war... except for one. That one copy was discovered in 1983 and rereleased the following year. Ever since I found about about the film, I've desperately wanted to see it, but the only digital version extant was a poor quality copy with sound so muffled that it was impossible to understand (and subtitle). Until recently, that is. A copy has popped up at BakaBT, and while it's still not subtitled, it's also not exactly difficult to understand what's going on, as it was meant for children. It celebrates the paratrooper attack on Celebes at the beginning of the war, and surprisingly got some of the important details correct... I learned about the action from a book with the poetic title of Blossoming Silk Against The Rising Sun. I just finished watching the movie, and some little bit of insight struck me afterwards. You see, earlier this week, I watched Strike Witches: The Movie. Let's take a comparing look at the two of them:
Pilots then:
Pilots now:
I suspect that somewhere, Mitsuyo Seo, the director of Divine Sea Warriors who passed away in 2010, is either smiling... or whirling dervishly in his grave. One of the two. It's not impossible that he had actually seen the Strike Witches tv show. I'd love to know what he thought.
Planes then:
Planes now:
While what is obviously meant to be an A6M2 Zero is seen briefly in Divine Sea Warriors, the plane we see the most is the Mitsubishi G3M "Nell", the twin-engine predecessor to the better-known G4M "Betty". Meanwhile, in the Strike Witches movie, the Mitsubishi F1M "Pete" is rather overshadowed by the magical girls of the movie's title.
Really, the Divine Sea Warriors film is something of a perfect storm for me. True historical anime and military history both? Excellent! It's not deep... heck, it really isn't all that good... but it's a classic, nevertheless.
They both do anthropomorphificiation, to boot.
Pilots then:
Pilots now:
I suspect that somewhere, Mitsuyo Seo, the director of Divine Sea Warriors who passed away in 2010, is either smiling... or whirling dervishly in his grave. One of the two. It's not impossible that he had actually seen the Strike Witches tv show. I'd love to know what he thought.
Planes then:
Planes now:
While what is obviously meant to be an A6M2 Zero is seen briefly in Divine Sea Warriors, the plane we see the most is the Mitsubishi G3M "Nell", the twin-engine predecessor to the better-known G4M "Betty". Meanwhile, in the Strike Witches movie, the Mitsubishi F1M "Pete" is rather overshadowed by the magical girls of the movie's title.
Really, the Divine Sea Warriors film is something of a perfect storm for me. True historical anime and military history both? Excellent! It's not deep... heck, it really isn't all that good... but it's a classic, nevertheless.
They both do anthropomorphificiation, to boot.
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December 17, 2012
Ben-To Ep04
So, hi! I bet you thought there'd be another three-month break between
writeups, didn't you? Yeah, I bet you did. To be fair, I can't blame
you for that. If you're already wondering just what's going on, and
let's be blunt here, we are talking about one of my writeups, here's Ep03's writeup, just so you can refresh yourself on the subject matter. Now that that's out of the way, let's get to the writeuping! Are you not entertained? Is this not why you are here?
Or are you here for the hungry prepackaged foodfighters beating each other up for mediocre meals? We seem to have a new person on the battlefield today, someone intent on smashing everybody in the way of that lovely, lovely bento... bentos? Bentii? I'm two paragraphs into this post and I'm already confusing myself.
One with legs that appear to be six feet long, clad in Chuck Taylors... oh look, it's an American! Probably blonde, too, right?
Yeah, no bonus points for that guess for a couple of reasons. One, all Americans are blonde in anime, and two, I've seen the show already. Of COURSE I know the details behind this new bento battler. I'm pretending not to know what's going on so as to take you on a (simulated) voyage of discovery, so as to better connect with the reader. It's a standard literary technique, and I'm not ashamed to say that I'm not half-bad at it. Oh sure, one could accuse me of blowing my own horn, but I know what I'm good at, and I'm good at being ignorant. Did that come out right?
As our mystery babe makes her way out of the supermarket, hard-won dinner in tow, a sharp-chinned bishie watches her walk away, muttering under his breath "The Beauty Of The Lake." She doesn't seem moistened, nor is she lobbing scimitars at the rightful King of England...
Whatever you decide to call her, she's apparently important enough for the production staff to change the entire OP to suit. Not that I'm complaining, heavens no! It just seems somewhat early to have her take over the show is all. Oh well, what would you expect from a show as tightly crafted as Ben-To?
more...
Or are you here for the hungry prepackaged foodfighters beating each other up for mediocre meals? We seem to have a new person on the battlefield today, someone intent on smashing everybody in the way of that lovely, lovely bento... bentos? Bentii? I'm two paragraphs into this post and I'm already confusing myself.
One with legs that appear to be six feet long, clad in Chuck Taylors... oh look, it's an American! Probably blonde, too, right?
Yeah, no bonus points for that guess for a couple of reasons. One, all Americans are blonde in anime, and two, I've seen the show already. Of COURSE I know the details behind this new bento battler. I'm pretending not to know what's going on so as to take you on a (simulated) voyage of discovery, so as to better connect with the reader. It's a standard literary technique, and I'm not ashamed to say that I'm not half-bad at it. Oh sure, one could accuse me of blowing my own horn, but I know what I'm good at, and I'm good at being ignorant. Did that come out right?
As our mystery babe makes her way out of the supermarket, hard-won dinner in tow, a sharp-chinned bishie watches her walk away, muttering under his breath "The Beauty Of The Lake." She doesn't seem moistened, nor is she lobbing scimitars at the rightful King of England...
Whatever you decide to call her, she's apparently important enough for the production staff to change the entire OP to suit. Not that I'm complaining, heavens no! It just seems somewhat early to have her take over the show is all. Oh well, what would you expect from a show as tightly crafted as Ben-To?
more...
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December 12, 2012
Gashapon In The Post
There are days where I love blogging, and days that I hate it. Then there are days like today, where I'm terribly, terribly conflicted about the whole thing. Sometime last week, I got an e-mail from fellow blogginator Ben from the mysteriously monikered Midnight Tease, saying that he's got something to send me and asking for my shipping address. Being the trusting duck I am, I provided it, and a few days later I got another e-mail saying that he'd sent me a package and that he was "sorry".
As one can imagine, I was both perplexed and terrified by this, and when a small box at the Duck U Bookstore with my name on it, I contemplated calling the campus bomb squad. Saner heads prevailed, however, as it was pointed out to me that Duck U doesn't actually have a bomb squad. Resigned to a box full of spring-loaded custard pie, I retreated to my office and opened it.
What was inside was worse than I imagined.
more...
As one can imagine, I was both perplexed and terrified by this, and when a small box at the Duck U Bookstore with my name on it, I contemplated calling the campus bomb squad. Saner heads prevailed, however, as it was pointed out to me that Duck U doesn't actually have a bomb squad. Resigned to a box full of spring-loaded custard pie, I retreated to my office and opened it.
What was inside was worse than I imagined.
more...
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December 10, 2012
Ben-To Ep03
Well. It HAS been a while, hasn't it? Nearly three months since I did the last episode, I'm back with Ep03 of Ben-To!
For those of you who've forgotten just what this series is about, and I
can hardly blame you considering how much time has passed, the first episode writeup is here, the Ep02 missive can be found at this link, and here's sixty pounds of bacon on a counter.
Now that you've gotten yourself caught up on our little
martial-arts-meets-prepackaged-food series, let's get onto some new
content: Episode 03!
As you may remember, in Ep02 Our Hero officially joined the Half-Pricers Club, learned the rules of bento battlin', and took home a miso-mackerel bento for his first victory. Right, that's where we stand. Let's see what wonders the show shall bring us next, shall we?
Oh, this can't be good. The school incinerator, surrounded by police tape and guarded? What, did Dale Sveum walk by and decide to end it all or something? Yes, it's a Chicago Cubs reference, even though it's December. At the time I wrote it, it was interesting and topical... or at least topical.
Oh god, no, it's worse than the Cubs' 2012 record. Our hero comes charging out of the school dressed only in his skivvies for reasons we're... apparently not going to be let in on, because suddenly the credit sequence begins.
Well. Okay then. If that's the way you want to play it, Ben-To, fine. I'm game. And while I'm at it, camouflage boxers? What, are there Vietcong in your shorts? Is that what kids are calling it these days? "What were you and Jill doing, Bob?" "I had Vietcong in my shorts." So wacky, these kids. Next you're going to tell me that somewhere there's a recipe for White Castle Sliders Stuffing... but I'm cheating, because I knew about that one already. Maybe not as good as 60 pounds of bacon, but it still sounds pretty tasty.
more...
As you may remember, in Ep02 Our Hero officially joined the Half-Pricers Club, learned the rules of bento battlin', and took home a miso-mackerel bento for his first victory. Right, that's where we stand. Let's see what wonders the show shall bring us next, shall we?
Oh, this can't be good. The school incinerator, surrounded by police tape and guarded? What, did Dale Sveum walk by and decide to end it all or something? Yes, it's a Chicago Cubs reference, even though it's December. At the time I wrote it, it was interesting and topical... or at least topical.
Oh god, no, it's worse than the Cubs' 2012 record. Our hero comes charging out of the school dressed only in his skivvies for reasons we're... apparently not going to be let in on, because suddenly the credit sequence begins.
Well. Okay then. If that's the way you want to play it, Ben-To, fine. I'm game. And while I'm at it, camouflage boxers? What, are there Vietcong in your shorts? Is that what kids are calling it these days? "What were you and Jill doing, Bob?" "I had Vietcong in my shorts." So wacky, these kids. Next you're going to tell me that somewhere there's a recipe for White Castle Sliders Stuffing... but I'm cheating, because I knew about that one already. Maybe not as good as 60 pounds of bacon, but it still sounds pretty tasty.
more...
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November 29, 2012
Too Cool For Stu
Over at Steven's place, his recovery is coming along well. However, there was something interesting in his comments today, where he said:
Stu the Alpaca is going around visiting those who wish to be visited (not me).
There Steven goes again, being too cool for the room. He probably thought that it'd go against his image as a grumpy grump what grumps grumpily to be alpacafied. Well, we here at Wonderduck's Pond are nothing if not willing to help Steven out! It's ALPACATIME!!!
D'awwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww! If that isn't enough alpaca for ya, here's more!
But wait, that's not all! There's also this:
There. Now Steven's all alpacacized! Y'know, I wasn't sure what I was gonna write about tonight...
Stu the Alpaca is going around visiting those who wish to be visited (not me).
There Steven goes again, being too cool for the room. He probably thought that it'd go against his image as a grumpy grump what grumps grumpily to be alpacafied. Well, we here at Wonderduck's Pond are nothing if not willing to help Steven out! It's ALPACATIME!!!
D'awwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww! If that isn't enough alpaca for ya, here's more!
But wait, that's not all! There's also this:
There. Now Steven's all alpacacized! Y'know, I wasn't sure what I was gonna write about tonight...
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October 18, 2012
Sword Art Online... Huh, Who Knew?
Let's get this out of the way right now: Sword Art Online is not my type of anime. Not a big fan of sword-and-sorcery, don't play MMORPGs, the virtual-world-in-anime is pretty much played out after Summer Wars nailed it, and on and on and on. There's zero reason why I should like the show.
Other than plot, characterization and animation quality, that is. Our Hero seems to be a nice guy, until he gets called out in Ep02... then he turns into a (justifiably) egotistical jerknard, awes his detractors with his cool new jacket, and walks away. Our Heroine seems to be as much of a loner as he is, except bythe end of Ep02, we've basically only learned her name. The plot? Well, eh, killer video game, except the victims have a chance to fight their way out of it, or live there until they die or are killed... either in the game or in real-life. Over-used, I suppose, but it feels better this time around for some reason.
I guess the animation could be better, but it's certainly good enough to get the job done. I've read enough to know that the story that's being told right now isn't the actual story of the series, but we'll see about that. Either way, it's got me hooked.
Not bad for a show I shouldn't be enjoying.
Other than plot, characterization and animation quality, that is. Our Hero seems to be a nice guy, until he gets called out in Ep02... then he turns into a (justifiably) egotistical jerknard, awes his detractors with his cool new jacket, and walks away. Our Heroine seems to be as much of a loner as he is, except bythe end of Ep02, we've basically only learned her name. The plot? Well, eh, killer video game, except the victims have a chance to fight their way out of it, or live there until they die or are killed... either in the game or in real-life. Over-used, I suppose, but it feels better this time around for some reason.
I guess the animation could be better, but it's certainly good enough to get the job done. I've read enough to know that the story that's being told right now isn't the actual story of the series, but we'll see about that. Either way, it's got me hooked.
Not bad for a show I shouldn't be enjoying.
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September 22, 2012
Staring
I've worked on Ep03 of Ben-To for three hours. I've finished two paragraphs.
That's not good.
That's not good.
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September 20, 2012
How A Manga Helped A Duck
Warning: this post is going to have a bunch of Wonderduck details from a dark time. If you're not in the mood for that sort of thing, thanks for stopping in and here's a picture of a cute girl.
For the rest of you, thanks for sticking around.
more...
For the rest of you, thanks for sticking around.
more...
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September 16, 2012
I'm A Happy Duck
I just found out that the fourth season of Hidamari Sketch begins airing October 4th!
Sign me up right the heck now.
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September 10, 2012
Ben-To Ep02
So here we are again, at the intersection of 'lack of motivation' and
'sleep deprivation'. It's been more than a few weeks since I tackled Ep01, which I'll admit was not my
plan. Still and all, "life is what happens when you're making plans,"
right? Anyway, let us see where this odd little gem of a show takes us,
shall we?
Oh, right, that. A little bit of research turned up a fetish called "trampolining," where someone gets off on being stepped on and, I guess, jumped on, like they were a trampoline. I dunno, man... I mean, one person's perversion is another person's turn-on and all, but this "trampolining" thing just sounds too weird for me. What ever happened to simpler times, back when all you had to worry about was sax on television, or the debate about making Puerto Rico a steak. Next they'll be wanting a baked potato with sour cream, too! Wait... what? It's "trampling," not "trampolining"? Really?
Never mind. Turns out Desaturation Lass had a sore back from a late night of fan-fic writing, and The Ice Witch's legs looked soooo soft and... well, y'know. Sen, the Ice Witch, gives our two rookies a quick little speech about not sitting at the club table unless they are prepared to become Wolves, and then...
...she tears off the head of our hero and swallows his spine. Well, she did say that she's the only member of the Club, now we know why. No, no, no, bad Wonderduck! BAD. You promised yourself to be closer to reality for this show, and already you've got The Ice Witch doing... terrible things. Stop that. The Half-Pricer Association now has three members, huzzah!
...and Ep02 is off to a rousing start. Did I say "rousing"? I meant to say "what the heck is this, soft-core pr0n without the nudity?" Nope, it's Ben-to!
more...
Oh, right, that. A little bit of research turned up a fetish called "trampolining," where someone gets off on being stepped on and, I guess, jumped on, like they were a trampoline. I dunno, man... I mean, one person's perversion is another person's turn-on and all, but this "trampolining" thing just sounds too weird for me. What ever happened to simpler times, back when all you had to worry about was sax on television, or the debate about making Puerto Rico a steak. Next they'll be wanting a baked potato with sour cream, too! Wait... what? It's "trampling," not "trampolining"? Really?
Never mind. Turns out Desaturation Lass had a sore back from a late night of fan-fic writing, and The Ice Witch's legs looked soooo soft and... well, y'know. Sen, the Ice Witch, gives our two rookies a quick little speech about not sitting at the club table unless they are prepared to become Wolves, and then...
...she tears off the head of our hero and swallows his spine. Well, she did say that she's the only member of the Club, now we know why. No, no, no, bad Wonderduck! BAD. You promised yourself to be closer to reality for this show, and already you've got The Ice Witch doing... terrible things. Stop that. The Half-Pricer Association now has three members, huzzah!
...and Ep02 is off to a rousing start. Did I say "rousing"? I meant to say "what the heck is this, soft-core pr0n without the nudity?" Nope, it's Ben-to!
more...
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August 20, 2012
K-On!! The Movie
Okay, let's get this right the heck outta the way: if you liked K-On! or the sequel K-On!!, you'll love The Movie. If the combination of cute girls doing cute things while playing cute music cutely didn't or doesn't appeal to you, then skip it... this is definitely not for you.
If you're wondering just how they could afford such an extravagant trip, just... well, be quiet and let the rest of us enjoy it, kthnxbye. That little excursion into reality aside, the movie is chock full of fun moments that fans of the show or the characters will absolutely adore.
If there's one thing we learn from The Movie, it's that Kyoto Animation has lost absolutely none of the zip off their fastball. It's not the best looking thing they've done (that'd be The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya, that franchise's movie), but it's certainly the liveliest, most vibrant production they've put together. AND it looks great, too.
It goes without saying that The London Eye is turning in this scene (in fact, I didn't notice that until I was putting this post together). What's most impressive is that everything that should be moving, is. No static backgrounds for KyoAni, nope. It's all understated in its grandioseness, if that makes sense, but it's still a tour de force for the reigning champion of anime visuals.
If there is any major fault with The Movie, it's in the story. The trip to London is nice, but the over-arching plot of the Original Four trying to write a farewell song for Azuna got a little old for me, as did the laser-lock the thing had on Yui and Azu-nyan. K-On! works best when the entire ensemble gets into the act, and that happened only rarely here. It's not a deal-breaker by any means, but when Mio's most memorable moment is this...
...you know there's a problem. Having said that, I'll still give K-On!! The Movie a solid four stars out of five, and I'm not even that big a fan of the franchise. I'm pretty sure I never finished the second series, for example. It's just a fun, lighthearted romp... a fuwa-fuwa time, one might say. Go watch it, you might actually smile!
Azu-nyan thinks there's something wrong with you, though.
For all of you that do like such things, or are KyoAnimaniacs, or both, then The Movie is a must-watch. It finishes the school career of the Original Four members of the Light Music Club: Mugi, Mio, Ritsu and Yui... and it's time for the rite of passage known as the graduation trip. The decision is made to visit London, and they decide to bring Azuna along, since she's been the driving force behind the club. And then, say it with me now, hijinks ensue.If you're wondering just how they could afford such an extravagant trip, just... well, be quiet and let the rest of us enjoy it, kthnxbye. That little excursion into reality aside, the movie is chock full of fun moments that fans of the show or the characters will absolutely adore.
If you don't know what this is a tribute to, I'm speechless.
Of course there's plenty of music, and wonder of wonders, there's even three or four performances! I think that's twice as many as the original two series combined had, which was my biggest complaint with the show. It's a show about a high-school rock band, why so few "live" performances? But I digress.If there's one thing we learn from The Movie, it's that Kyoto Animation has lost absolutely none of the zip off their fastball. It's not the best looking thing they've done (that'd be The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya, that franchise's movie), but it's certainly the liveliest, most vibrant production they've put together. AND it looks great, too.
It goes without saying that The London Eye is turning in this scene (in fact, I didn't notice that until I was putting this post together). What's most impressive is that everything that should be moving, is. No static backgrounds for KyoAni, nope. It's all understated in its grandioseness, if that makes sense, but it's still a tour de force for the reigning champion of anime visuals.
If there is any major fault with The Movie, it's in the story. The trip to London is nice, but the over-arching plot of the Original Four trying to write a farewell song for Azuna got a little old for me, as did the laser-lock the thing had on Yui and Azu-nyan. K-On! works best when the entire ensemble gets into the act, and that happened only rarely here. It's not a deal-breaker by any means, but when Mio's most memorable moment is this...
...you know there's a problem. Having said that, I'll still give K-On!! The Movie a solid four stars out of five, and I'm not even that big a fan of the franchise. I'm pretty sure I never finished the second series, for example. It's just a fun, lighthearted romp... a fuwa-fuwa time, one might say. Go watch it, you might actually smile!
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August 14, 2012
Ben-To Ep01
I've discovered that there's always a certain excited anticipation in my
thoughts when I start an episodic recap for a new series. Like a
runner in the blocks waiting for the gun, a parachutist standing in the
door waiting for the signal to jump, a F1 driver waiting for the lights
to go out, a fast-food employee waiting for the french fry machine to go
"ding", I find myself wondering in what direction a show will take me.
Will it be serious, like the early Ga-Rei Zero reviews or snarky like... well, like everything else? So, Ben-To, how will I be watching you?
This is Our Hero... and I think I know which way the writeups will be going. It's nice when the show makes it easy for you, isn't it? Y'know, in some ways, this series will be quite difficult to recap because I really liked it. Heck, I'm on record as liking it before it even started airing, and it did nothing to change my opinion as I watched it. It's not perfect, though... in fact, there's enough flaws that I should be able to do terrible, awful things to the poor thing. Probably undeserved, but what the heck, it's what I do.
So enough talk... let's get ourselves into the underground world of martial arts combat for supermarket prepackaged dinners. Ben-To begins now!
more...
This is Our Hero... and I think I know which way the writeups will be going. It's nice when the show makes it easy for you, isn't it? Y'know, in some ways, this series will be quite difficult to recap because I really liked it. Heck, I'm on record as liking it before it even started airing, and it did nothing to change my opinion as I watched it. It's not perfect, though... in fact, there's enough flaws that I should be able to do terrible, awful things to the poor thing. Probably undeserved, but what the heck, it's what I do.
So enough talk... let's get ourselves into the underground world of martial arts combat for supermarket prepackaged dinners. Ben-To begins now!
more...
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August 10, 2012
All Right Already, Hold Your Horses!
11pm. I'm sitting in the throne control living room of Pond Central. I receive a text message. Brickmuppet is having lunch in an Italian restaurant (spaghetti and steak) somewhere in the heart of Tokyo on his way to Harajuku to be swarmed by cosplayers wanting to speak to a native English speaker. If I miss my guess, he'll also be shopping, but what do I know?
This text message, from 14 hours in my future and halfway around the world, is berating me for not having finished my writeup for Ep01 of Ben-To.
Saturday night. I promise. Okay, maybe early Sunday morning, but tomorrow. I've got the final registration day for incoming Duck U fledgelings tomorrow morning, but after that I'm off until 830am Monday. So I'll get it done, I promise.
I mean, if someone's gonna text me from flippin' JAPAN to prod me into doing it, guess I'd better do it, eh?
This text message, from 14 hours in my future and halfway around the world, is berating me for not having finished my writeup for Ep01 of Ben-To.
Saturday night. I promise. Okay, maybe early Sunday morning, but tomorrow. I've got the final registration day for incoming Duck U fledgelings tomorrow morning, but after that I'm off until 830am Monday. So I'll get it done, I promise.
I mean, if someone's gonna text me from flippin' JAPAN to prod me into doing it, guess I'd better do it, eh?
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July 13, 2012
The Next Series: Voting!
You've nominated shows. I've whittled them down to series I'd be willing to do, then added some titles as well. And now... you get to vote. But first, the final nominations:
GUNSLINGER GIRL
Perhaps a strange choice, since it's on my list of favorite series of all time, but oh, is it ripe for the pickin'! Little girls with terminal illnesses or severe injuries are taken away from their families, turned into cyborgs, trained as assassins and let loose on the enemies of Italy. That's about as perfect a setup for a Wonderduck Episodic Review ever.
HUMANITY HAS DECLINED
Humanity is fading away. The fairies have come. They're weird. There's skinned poultry running around. What more do you need to know? (note: I've gotten all this from reading other reviews, I have no first-hand knowledge of this show)
ELFEN LIED
Happy-go-lucky nuclear family hijinks. No, wait, that's wrong. Let's try again... Dark. Grim. Violent. Cute. This is the way the world ends. I'm almost SCARED to try Elfen Lied, it could be the greatest review fodder ever... or the worst.
HIGH SCHOOL DxD
High school guy gets asked on a date by a beautiful classmate. Woo! Who then turns into a dark angel and kills him. Oh. He gets better. Yay! Because a devil brings him back to life as a servant. Oh. As far as shows go, it could be fun. It could suck. Either could make for good review stock!
BEN-TO
The best show about martial arts combat for half-priced bento you'll ever find. Fanservice, action, stupidity, cute girls, AND a surprisingly good story... it's nigh-on perfect for a review series! I really liked it, wouldn't mind visiting it again to savage in one of my patented episodic reviews... I mean, I didn't like it THAT much. Heh.
UPOTTE!
Girls with guns? That's for amateurs! In Upotte!, the girls are guns! Really, how can this be bad? It doesn't take itself seriously, except when talking tech-specs or everybody is shooting one another at short range. I watched the first six episodes or so then let it go, but it showed great promise as a review topic.
So there are the choices. It's up to you, my readers, now. Voting closes at 10pm Central Pond Time on Sunday, July 15th. One vote each, so make it count! And let the "best" show win.
GUNSLINGER GIRL
Perhaps a strange choice, since it's on my list of favorite series of all time, but oh, is it ripe for the pickin'! Little girls with terminal illnesses or severe injuries are taken away from their families, turned into cyborgs, trained as assassins and let loose on the enemies of Italy. That's about as perfect a setup for a Wonderduck Episodic Review ever.
HUMANITY HAS DECLINED
Humanity is fading away. The fairies have come. They're weird. There's skinned poultry running around. What more do you need to know? (note: I've gotten all this from reading other reviews, I have no first-hand knowledge of this show)
ELFEN LIED
Happy-go-lucky nuclear family hijinks. No, wait, that's wrong. Let's try again... Dark. Grim. Violent. Cute. This is the way the world ends. I'm almost SCARED to try Elfen Lied, it could be the greatest review fodder ever... or the worst.
HIGH SCHOOL DxD
High school guy gets asked on a date by a beautiful classmate. Woo! Who then turns into a dark angel and kills him. Oh. He gets better. Yay! Because a devil brings him back to life as a servant. Oh. As far as shows go, it could be fun. It could suck. Either could make for good review stock!
BEN-TO
The best show about martial arts combat for half-priced bento you'll ever find. Fanservice, action, stupidity, cute girls, AND a surprisingly good story... it's nigh-on perfect for a review series! I really liked it, wouldn't mind visiting it again to savage in one of my patented episodic reviews... I mean, I didn't like it THAT much. Heh.
UPOTTE!
Girls with guns? That's for amateurs! In Upotte!, the girls are guns! Really, how can this be bad? It doesn't take itself seriously, except when talking tech-specs or everybody is shooting one another at short range. I watched the first six episodes or so then let it go, but it showed great promise as a review topic.
So there are the choices. It's up to you, my readers, now. Voting closes at 10pm Central Pond Time on Sunday, July 15th. One vote each, so make it count! And let the "best" show win.
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July 09, 2012
The Next Series: Nominations!
Well... the episodic reviews of High School of the Dead were a success, I think. What the heck, lets do it again! Last time, I
chose the series you got to vote for... this time, I want your help!
Give me the name of two series that you'd like to see me bring my
special brand of reviewing magic to in the comments. I'll compile the
list, add a couple of titles to it, THEN open it up for voting.
There are a few restrictions, though. I'd prefer 12 or 13 episode series over 24-26 eps. They need to be easily obtainable. I'm not opposed to older series, but I find newer "widescreen" series to be easier to work with, picture-wise. I'd also really like a show where things actually occur; I love the ARIA franchise, for example, but doing one of my episodic reviews for any of the three series would be pretty much impossible. Nominations are open until 10pm Central Pond Time on Friday, July 13th.
So let's hear it! What do you want me to do?
There are a few restrictions, though. I'd prefer 12 or 13 episode series over 24-26 eps. They need to be easily obtainable. I'm not opposed to older series, but I find newer "widescreen" series to be easier to work with, picture-wise. I'd also really like a show where things actually occur; I love the ARIA franchise, for example, but doing one of my episodic reviews for any of the three series would be pretty much impossible. Nominations are open until 10pm Central Pond Time on Friday, July 13th.
So let's hear it! What do you want me to do?
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July 01, 2012
High School Of The Dead OVA
Okay, this is against my better judgement, but if I don't do an episodic
recap of this OVA, I'll feel like I've left the series incomplete...
and I hate that.
Unfortunately, this OVA is also one of the dumber things I've ever seen,
so there's that going against it. In the end, I know that if I don't
do it now, I'll end up doing it down the line, but only after its been
dangling over my head like a zombie of Damocles. So, like tearing
surgical tape off a hairy arm, it's best to get it over with quickly.
Now that I've set your expectations low, let me explain something about
this OVA. It's outside of continuity, meaning that whatever happens
here doesn't really happen. If
I was forced to jam it into the actual storyline from the series, it
wouldn't even fall between episodes... the best (and most likely)
solution I can come up with would be between 21:10 and 23:00 of Ep12...
in other words, during the final credits sequence. Considering that it
came packaged with Book 7 of the manga and never broadcast, I suppose
we're lucky it could even be shoehorned in at all. It's not worth the
trouble, though, trust me on this one. May as well get it over with...
Ladies and Gentlemen, the cast of HSotD is proud to present their version of On The Beach. The part of the nuclear submarine will be played by a wooden rowboat, Australia is played by a beach, and the fallout is played by zombies... war. War never changes. Oh, and the crew of the submarine will be played by a bunch of high schoolers. Other than that? Exactly the same.
On the run from the undead, harried and cornered no matter where they turn, The Fellowship finds a nuclear submarine rowboat and heads for... um... the sea! Because the sea is perfectly safe at all times, no matter how small the boat you may be in! Why, there's never even once been a rainstorm, typhoon, tsunami or flock of seagulls that's done in boats or ships!
But Frodo and Hirano got tired of rowing. They've ended up on some island near the city... one that these lifetime residents of the city have never heard of! Wow, what are the odds? Good news, no zombies! Bad news, no nothing else either! No shelter of any sort.
After all, we can't take it easy on The Fellowship, can we now? Where's the fun in that?
more...
Ladies and Gentlemen, the cast of HSotD is proud to present their version of On The Beach. The part of the nuclear submarine will be played by a wooden rowboat, Australia is played by a beach, and the fallout is played by zombies... war. War never changes. Oh, and the crew of the submarine will be played by a bunch of high schoolers. Other than that? Exactly the same.
On the run from the undead, harried and cornered no matter where they turn, The Fellowship finds a nuclear submarine rowboat and heads for... um... the sea! Because the sea is perfectly safe at all times, no matter how small the boat you may be in! Why, there's never even once been a rainstorm, typhoon, tsunami or flock of seagulls that's done in boats or ships!
But Frodo and Hirano got tired of rowing. They've ended up on some island near the city... one that these lifetime residents of the city have never heard of! Wow, what are the odds? Good news, no zombies! Bad news, no nothing else either! No shelter of any sort.
After all, we can't take it easy on The Fellowship, can we now? Where's the fun in that?
more...
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June 27, 2012
High School Of The Dead Ep12
Okay. Here we go. The final episode of High School of the Dead's first, and to date only,
season. For those reading along at home, this takes us up through Book
4 of the manga. Six have been released here in the US, the seventh
comes out in a month or so, and then that's it. There ain't no more,
and the two Satos (Daisuke and Shouji, not related) involved in the
creation of the series have sort of... well... gotten tired of it, I
suppose. In any case, there is (barely) enough source material to
generate a full Season 2, so we can always hope. But that, my true and
dear readers, is in the future. We, on the other hand, are here in the
now, and we've gots ourselves the first season to finish up. If you
remember correctly, at the end of Ep11 all was chaos as nuclear missiles were flyin', Bug-Haired Rei actually
stopped whining and acted kinda heroic, and the ORGYBUS had been
expelled from Lothlorien... and if ever there was a sentence fragment I
never expected to write, that was it right there. Sounds like really
bad Lord of the Rings-Partridge Family crossover slashfic. As opposed to all that really good LotR-Partridge Family crossover slashfic you can find. Do not go looking, I don't want to know. Seriously. Not interested. Don't. Just... don't.
I've never been more relieved by the sight of a nuclear missile. Oh sure, it's a harbinger of the end of the world, but on the other hand, I won't have to deal with the thought of Galadriel and Reuben Kinkade doing... things. In more pleasant thoughts, there are four missiles in the air, the last reflexive spasm of a Chinese leadership turned into a merrily glowing parking lot. We later see that they're DF-21s, which have a relatively short range; they don't even cover all of Russia, and they surely can't reach Europe... but they can hit anywhere in Japan you'd like. Say goodbye to Akihabara! No more iDOLM@STER games. Hello Kitty? Melted by a heat higher than that of the sun. Sayonara, Hatsune Miku...
...that is, if there weren't ships of both the JMSDF and the US Navy patrolling off the coast of Japan. The USS Shiloh (CG-67), a Ticonderoga-class cruiser; the Kongo and Kirishima (DDG-173 and -174), both members of the Kongo-class of destroyers based on the US Navy's aegis destroyers, and finally the USS Curtis Wilbur, DDG-54. All four ships have Ballistic Missile Defense capabilities due to the combination of the Aegis radar system and the RIM-161 SM-3 missile. As you would expect, the ships go into automatic mode and engage the incoming Dong Feng-21s. There is much rejoicing as one by one, the nukes are taken down by the defenders... all but one, Curtis Wilbur's target, and she hasn't fired yet.
It appears that the crew started reading the Meriadoc/Laurie Partridge story. They dabbled in a realm men dare not go. God help us all if someone finds a Danny Partridge/Eowyn slashfic... mere military might will not be enough to defend us from that monstrosity. Oh, or the crew has been zombified, one of the two. As the crew of the International Space Station watches on in horror, the remaining DF-21arcs over and reaches its target.
Lothlorien, the Fellowship, ORGYBUS, Humvee-kun, Zeke... all of them gone in a single blinding flash, followed by a fireball the likes of which have only rarely been seen upon this planet, and a sad tune by the Ink Spots. Just like that, in a blink of an eye.
Thanks for reading.
more...
I've never been more relieved by the sight of a nuclear missile. Oh sure, it's a harbinger of the end of the world, but on the other hand, I won't have to deal with the thought of Galadriel and Reuben Kinkade doing... things. In more pleasant thoughts, there are four missiles in the air, the last reflexive spasm of a Chinese leadership turned into a merrily glowing parking lot. We later see that they're DF-21s, which have a relatively short range; they don't even cover all of Russia, and they surely can't reach Europe... but they can hit anywhere in Japan you'd like. Say goodbye to Akihabara! No more iDOLM@STER games. Hello Kitty? Melted by a heat higher than that of the sun. Sayonara, Hatsune Miku...
...that is, if there weren't ships of both the JMSDF and the US Navy patrolling off the coast of Japan. The USS Shiloh (CG-67), a Ticonderoga-class cruiser; the Kongo and Kirishima (DDG-173 and -174), both members of the Kongo-class of destroyers based on the US Navy's aegis destroyers, and finally the USS Curtis Wilbur, DDG-54. All four ships have Ballistic Missile Defense capabilities due to the combination of the Aegis radar system and the RIM-161 SM-3 missile. As you would expect, the ships go into automatic mode and engage the incoming Dong Feng-21s. There is much rejoicing as one by one, the nukes are taken down by the defenders... all but one, Curtis Wilbur's target, and she hasn't fired yet.
It appears that the crew started reading the Meriadoc/Laurie Partridge story. They dabbled in a realm men dare not go. God help us all if someone finds a Danny Partridge/Eowyn slashfic... mere military might will not be enough to defend us from that monstrosity. Oh, or the crew has been zombified, one of the two. As the crew of the International Space Station watches on in horror, the remaining DF-21arcs over and reaches its target.
Lothlorien, the Fellowship, ORGYBUS, Humvee-kun, Zeke... all of them gone in a single blinding flash, followed by a fireball the likes of which have only rarely been seen upon this planet, and a sad tune by the Ink Spots. Just like that, in a blink of an eye.
Thanks for reading.
more...
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