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What OtakuAnthony bought this week September 9th
Twin Spica GN 2-6:
Plot Synopsis (from GN 2): “Where were you when the first International Space Station was scrapped and dropped into Earth’s atmosphere? It was Asumi’s first day in space school, and she promised Lion she wouldn’t cry or be homesick as she will be leaving her quiet seaside town for the big city.
Waiting for her in Tokyo will be a lot of work. She’s going to have to go through the rigors of space exploration training at the Tokyo Space School. After hours, Asumi will focus her efforts on homework when not earning her tuition at the neighborhood Denny’s. With all of the work she and her classmates are putting in, why does space still feel so far away?”
I have heard many good things about Twin Spica for a while now and after reading the first volume, I decided I had to add this to my collection.
Twin Spica GN is available from RightStuf
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Peepo Choo GN 2-3
Plot Synopsis (from GN 2): “The version of Tokyo that Milton is now witness to is nothing like what he saw in his favorite cartoons and comics. Instead, Tokyo is a bustling and surprisingly quiet megaopolis, where salarymen are seen more often than cosplayers and no one seems to have read the Peepo Choo manga. What’s more, those who do read comics – and they come from every age group and demographic – are reading comics about sports heroes, office employess, wine tasters, and politicians instead of ninjas and giant robots”
This was one manga that I kept hearing about time and time again. I read the first volume months ago and decided to get the rest of the series.
Peepo Choo GN is available from RightStuf
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Higurashi: When they Cry GN 2-4
Plot Synopsis (from GN 2): “The further embroiled in the investigation he becomes, the more Keiichi’s suspicions about his new friends grow. Their strange behavior only gives rise to more questions. Keiichi’s paranoia reaches a fever pitch… with good reason. Assaulted by one terror after another, he nears the inevitable, bloody solution to the series of mysterious deaths caused by “Oyashiro-sama’s Curse”!”
While I enjoy the Higurashi: When They cry anime I never read any of the manga. Bought the first volume back during the last Yen Press sale at Right Stuf and after reading it decided to go ahead and add this series to my collection.
Higurashi: When They Cry GN is available from RightStuf
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K-On! GN 3
Plot Synopsis: “As the dawn breaks on a new year, Azusa decides it’s time for the girls of the Pop Music Club to tuck away their tea and cakes, pick up their instruments, and bring the rock ‘n’roll with another performance! But even though Afterschool Tea Time is starting to sound like a real band, Mio’s stage fright is going to make any live show tricky. What better way to cure shyness than with a part-time job… at a maid cafe?!”
I like the K-On! anime and I also enjoy the manga as well. Decided to keep adding to my growing collection.
K-On! GN 3 is available from RightStuf
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Bunny Drop GN1
Plot Synopsis: “Returning to his family’s estate for his grandfather’s funeral, thirty-something bachelor Daikichi is floored to discover that the old man had an illegitimate child with a much younger lover! Needless to say, the rest of the family is shocked and embarrassed by this turn of events, and not one of them wants anything to do with the little girl, who refuses to say a word. In a fit of angry spontaneity, Daikichi decides to adopt her! But is living with an overgrown teenager who can barely take care of himself the key to making Rin come out of her shell?”
The little that I have seen of the anime made me decided to check out the manga. Yes, I do know about what happens later on since a lot of people are up in arms about it and spoiled it for everyone, but I do not care about that.
Bunny Drop GN 1 is available from RightStuf
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Omamori Himari GN 2
Plot Synopsis: “Sure, timid Yuuto Amakawa has his hands (and bed?!) full with his new housemate, the beguiling, sword-wielding cat spirit Himari, who has sworn to protect him from spirits out for his slayer blood! But Yuuto’s desire to coexist peacefully with the spirits his ancestors once hunted has a not-entirely-unwanted side effect: his life is suddenly chock-full of beautiful girls!
He’s got a Lolita water spirit now also freeloading at his place, and he keeps finding himself in the middle of random encounters with gorgeous female spirits of all shapes and sizes. Yup, Yuuto’s got it made! That is, until a trip to his late grandparents’house turns deadly…”
The first volume did not do a lot for me, but I decided that I would give it another shot and check out the 2nd volume before I decided if I want to read more of it or not.
Omamori Himari GN 2 is available from RightStuf
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Ichiroh! GN 3
Plot Synopsis: “Things are heating up as summer gets into full swing! But while the days of sunshine are great for beach outings and sunbathing, they are terrible for prep school students like Nanako and Akane. As if the temptation of summer fun wasn’t bad enough, the heat is making it even more unbearable to stay indoors and hit the books. Nanako needs to find a way to cool off, but her penny-pinching ways are making the decision to buy a fan or an AC much more complicated than she expected!”
While I ordered the other volumes of the Ichiroh! manga this volume shipped out. I liked volume 1 and wanted to read the rest of the series.
Ichiroh! GN 3 is available from RightStuf
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Mobile Suit Gundam DVD complete collection 1 (Anime Legend)
Plot Synopsis: “Universal Century 0079. The rebel space colonies of the Principality of Zeon launch a war of independence against the Earth Federation, using humanoid fighting vehicles called mobile suits to overwhelm the Federation Forces and conquer half of Earth’s surface. Months later, the Federation has finally developed its own prototype mobile suits at a remote space colony. But when the colony suffers a Zeon surprise attack, these new weapons fall into the hands of a motley crew of civilians and cadets, and fate places a youth named Amuro Ray at the controls of the white mobile suit Gundam…”
It should be known by now that I am a huge fan of the Gundam franchise. I bought the DVD’s from the first series way back in 2001 when they started coming out. I still those DVD’s to this day. I heard about this set coming out again with the original Japanese audio track so this was a must for me.
Mobile Suit Gundam DVD complete collection 1 is available from RightStuf
Funimation license for Higurashi and Familiar of Zero expire
On Thursday a member of Funimation acquisitions team posted on their forums about the stats of two shows Higurashi: When They Cry, and Familiar of Zero. Below is what was posted about these two shows:
Note: This transcript below has been edited from its original post. Those interested in seeing the original post pleased clicked on the posted link above.
Hey, guys. I’m on the Acquisitions Team, so here’s your answer straight up. I hope this doesn’t come off as too blunt. Please understand that this is just how it is.
Whey They Cry has expired and is past the sell-off period. It was the only WTC series that was a part of the original distro deal with Geneon. We renewed the titles that were part of that deal that did sell well. We let expire the ones that didn’t. That inludes my beloved The Familar of Zero.
The WTC sequels and Umineko were not part of that agreement. We do not have the license to any of those series. Unfortunately, because WTC series 1 sold poorly, we will never buy the license to the sequels or any other title that bears even a minor resemblance.
You’re better off asking Sentai or Nozomi to do at least a sub-only of the other WTC’s. Heck, you could probably get the money together to license and distribute them yourselves. It’s probably not expensive anymore. If Umineko sold as poorly in Japan as you say it did, then go after that one. It’s not as big an undertaking as you might think especially if you pool your money.
Aside from that, the best thing you can do as fans is to buy series 1 from Amazon (so we can track it) and continue to post in the forum about how much you enjoy the show.
You can ask at cons or email Feedback, but do you know what will happen? Rojas will forward everything to me or my coworker. You’ve gotten through to exactly who you needed to, so mission accomplished. I’m aware of the series, and I love me some Sea Cats. Hell, I’ve cosplayed as Beato, and I’m playing the game. Unfortunately, I have to look at sales data, and signs point to not buying the sequels or Umineko and instead putting our money toward less riskier titles.
MasuraoTsukino and Audri are correct. #48 – well said, Audri.
Don’t worry. You guys aren’t like the Case Closed fans unless one of you has stalked Adam at a con including following him into the bathroom.
Funimation also mentioned that it would not seek out any title “that bears even a minor resemblance.” Anime fans are quite upset about this and claiming that Funimation is being a dick by not releasing the rest of either series.
Now I write this part of the post as an anime fan and not as an anime blogger. The news of this does sadden me since I am a fan of both the When They Cry and Familiar of Zero series both with the less than stellar dubs. I have to give credit where credit is due and applaud Funimation for treating the fans like adults and giving an answer that is not sugar coated. Funimation told the fans that it was not selling well for them and it is not going to get the rest. There were no code words used or any type of industry talk, just straight up to the point used. They respected the fans by giving the information that everyone can understand.
Now it has come from some anime fans that the “that bears even a minor resemblance” part is Funimation saying some dickish to the fans. Now I don’t think that is the case, however Funmation should have worded this a bit better. If this sounds familiar you might remember that Funimation had a similar situation with Big Windup where it did not sell well for them and as a result did not pick up the second season, or go after anymore sports anime.
Anime fans can scream and yell all they want about what happened with these two shows, but Funimation also has to look at the larger picture. No company is going to dump a lot money into a show that may not sell well for them (well Geneon did but that is a story for another time.)
Visual Novel Review: Higurashi no Naku Koro ni (Question Arcs)
This is a guest review by Alain Mendez. Alain, a.k.a. Hisui, a.k.a. Saber Fan #1, writes for Reverse Thieves and is a part time detective and otaku. He also has a podcast on Anime3000 called The Speakeasy. You can talk to him on Twitter about a wide variety of topics as he is an anime, manga, comics, science fiction, and role playing aficionado. Just mention your love for female King Arthur.
Let us begin at the beginning. There are a multitude of adaptations of Higurashi but all of the anime, manga, live action films, novels, drama CDs, PS2 games, DS games, and iOS games of Higurashi no Naku Koro ni have a common origin in the original visual novels for the PC. Higurashi is actually made up of 2 sets of 4 visual novels released at Comiket by 07th Expansion. Released as doujinshi games they were a surprise success and put 07th Expansion and the When they Cry series on the map. The first set of games is made up of 4 visual novels collectively known as the question arcs and each game has a corresponding game in the second set called the answer arcs. The question is what makes these first four stand out from normal visual novels as well as from the other iterations of the franchise.
I won’t go into great details about the specifics of the plot. If you are unfamiliar with the story of Higurashi then you should read the manga summaries by TheGinachu for Higurashi Month. They sum up the story of each arc quite nicely. Each arc focuses on a specific girl as we delve into the mystery and madness of the secrets of the town of Hinamizawa and the endless summer of June 1983. Despite the similarity in story there are two major differences between the manga and anime adaptation that make the original games stand out.
Review: Shrill Cries of Summer (Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Live-Action)
This is a guest review by Fernando Ramos. Fernando is a contributor for Otaku USA and Anime3000 and currently lives in Saitama, Japan. Feel free to check out his pictures at Flickr or on mroutside.com whenever he finally gets around to learning how to edit a proper website.
Shrill Cries of Summer (Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Live-Action)
Review by: Fernando Ramos
Director: Ataru Oikawa
A great while back, I reviewed Higurashi no Naku Koro Ni, released in the US as When They Cry, an anime that brought mixed feelings. It was a gimmicky mix of cutesy clichés and shock horror, but compellingly so thanks to its tightly woven narrative and high production values. Perhaps not all too surprisingly, some producers found value in the property for a live-action cash-in to sell to the J-Horror crowd. So, in 2008, we got a live action version, also entitled Higurashi no Naku Koro ni, renamed to Shrill Cries of Summer.
As mentioned earlier, the original franchise takes much of its appeal from the shocking contrasts of the cute girls and the bloody murder that they create or fall victim to. Oh, but Higurashi isn’t about cookie-cutter slasher film murder. No, it’s about cruel, sadistic torture complete with pleas for mercy and maniacal laughter. It’s all about the visuals and the audio drilling into your soul driving you insane until you see the scorpions stinging you to… I digress.
Manga Review: Higurashi When They Cry – Curse Killing Arc (Volumes 5-6)
For Higurashi Month here at JanaiBlog, I have been charged with delving into the manga version of this masterpiece. We’ve already romped through the first two arcs in this incredible story. So, let’s move on to the third arc, the Curse Killing Arc.
Like the second arc, this one seems to start the story over, with everyone alive and getting along. The story of Oyashiro-sama’s curse still holds power in this arc just as in the previous two, but rather than focusing on Rena and Mion like the first and second arcs did respectively, this arc focuses on Satoko and her tragic past.
We know at this point that Satoko’s parents fell to Oyashiro-sama’s curse years ago, but now her abusive uncle has come back into the picture. He begins to abuse her physically and mentally, and Keiichi is shocked to hear that this has happened before, and Satoko’s friends and teacher have been unable to do anything about it. When Satoko begins to look up to Keiichi as her surrogate brother, he decides to take matters into his own hands to protect Satoko, with deadly consequences.
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