Monthly Archives: April 2010
Patlabor Movies 1 & 2: A Blast from the Past
It was a dreary Sunday afternoon. A torrential rain was downpouring outside my window and a loud thunder was booming in the distance. Going outside was clearly not an option, so I opted to dig into my anime DVD backlog a bit. From having constantly heard nothing but praise for the series, my choice was clear: I was going to watch the Patlabor movies.
Being not too familiar with the Patlabor series, I’ll give as much of a background information as I can. Patlabor is a mixed media franchise that spans across a manga, a TV series, several OVAs, and three movies. The series takes place in an alternate late-’90s era where mecha known as “Labors” are used by the police, military, and in construction. The first two Patlabor movies are directed by the famed Mamoru Oshii (Ghost in the Shell, The Sky Crawlers).
Otaku in Review Podcast – Dub Talk
This week we invited Mike from Prede’s Anime Reviews and Fanboy Review to come on the show and discuss some hot news topics of the week with us, including the Gurren Lagann movies being distributed by Aniplex, Carl Macek’s recent passing, Yen Plus going digital, and Google de-listing sites that contain loli content.
Later on in this show, we get into discussing our most hated and most loved anime dubs, a topic a constantly disagree with Mike about.
Janai's Spring 2010 Anime Preview
We’re about 2-3 weeks into the Spring 2010 anime season, and I’m quite impressed with the number of good shows that are airing. Right now, I am watching 9 shows from this season and plan to add a few more to the list as well. Unfortunately, a number of the shows I’m watching this season are shows that many people are vehemently opposing. This should come as no surprise, as I usually tend to love the shows that aren’t so popular. Anyway, on to the list…
Angel Beats!
Here’s one show from this season that I can actually agree with most people about! Being produced by Key and Visual Art’s, many people were expecting another Clannad or Kanon. I thought for sure that moe haters would be trashing this one almost immediately. I’m glad to say I was wrong.
Angel Beats!, after 2 episodes, seems to have a fairly rich story. Taking place in a fantasy world where everyone is apparently dead, the characters are constantly fighting against this one girl known as Tenshi (“Angel”). Not much has been revealed yet as to why Tenshi is such a threat, but I expect these details to be revealed later on.
The show is beautifully animated. Not being made by Kyoto Animation, I wasn’t expecting animation of this quality. The character designs are the same as what you see in most Key anime, and many people seem to dislike their character designs. However, that’s no reason to not give this show a chance. If you’ve hated Key’s works in the past, give Angel Beats! a try. You may be pleasantly surprised.
Otaku in Review Podcast – Oh God He's Been in Akikan!
This week, Scott and I go more in depth with the shows we’re watching this season, now that we’ve seen at least 2 episodes of most shows. We also discuss FUNimation streaming the noitaminA anime block (House of Five Leaves and The Tatami Galaxy) and why streaming anime sucks.
Manga Review: 20th Century Boys (Volumes 1-4)
The beginning of the story of 20th Century Boys will sound familiar and rather common to most of you: A bunch of young boys get together, build a fort, and make up a story about evil trying to destroy the world and how they will go on to be heroes and save the Earth themselves someday. However, the story quickly takes a surprising turn that shoots the story forward into something downright glorious.
Our main character, Kenji, is just living his life as an owner of a convenience store when he receives news that one of his childhood friends, Donkey, has committed suicide. In connection with the death, Kenji stumbles upon a symbol that he remembers creating with his friends as a kid. He thinks nothing of it, but suddenly Donkey’s death starts looking more suspicious when the different stories of evil deeds that he and his friends came up with as kids start happening for real all around the world. The people committing these crimes are donning the symbol he and his friends came up with, and they claim to be led by someone they only refer to as “Our Friend.” Believing that one of his childhood friends has to be this mysterious leader, he starts seeking out the others whom were involved in their childhood fantasy gone awry in an attempt to stop the madness.
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