Category Archives: English Language Modern Visual Fandom

January 5, 2011

Kara no Kyoukai BD: Rank, Region and Control

By omo

So, some tidbits about Kara no Kyoukai BD box. I’m not sure why I’m so hyped on it, but it reminds me of last year’s True Tears ordeal. At least this time I know this isn’t a 720i (pardon the terminology) release…

RightStuf is listing the item as US and Canada only, with limited quantities. That is code for things like:

  • They’re not selling it to Japan.
  • They’re still going to ship to the UK and other locales west of the Pacific. For my English-language brethren elsewhere, good luck?
  • This is not a localized production but a hijack of a set of the Japanese print run, so once it’s out it’s out.

Why “US and Canada” I don’t know, but I suspect they are just playing it safe about being able to deny people of other countries from buying it (if it comes to that). Why do I know this? Well we all assume part of this deal with RS (and Bandai’s US store) is out of reverse import fears (though at $400 that’s not much of a difference) , the rest I know from hearsay. Don’t we believe everything we read on the internets?

Well another possible reason why “US and Canada” is because they don’t want to enumerate every country they want to sell to; or vice versa, in order to avoid pissing off their home customers. If I was writing that up at RS, I would be like, uh, let’s be pretty tongue in cheek about this.

While I don’t know how I can link to it, I also confirm that at one point Rakkyo box made it to RightStuf’s top 10 weekly preorders, the week after it came live on the site. As of this writing it is #2 on the RS top BD list. It looks like a lot of people took the bait over Christmas. Does this mean we will still only see 40 units sold and Aniplex of America explode like a flaming effigy made of explosives, I have no clue. And I’m not entirely sarcastic: RightStuf is a place a lot of hardcore collectors go to buy their BDs, but the US anime BD scene is not exactly replete of stuff off of the shelf. I mean, FLCL is not even out yet (that one is doing pretty well at #4 on RS’s top 10) so I’m thinking the count for that category is going to be low to begin with. Can we use Eva 2.22’s sales as a marker? that’s #7. Or how about that delicious FMA Brotherhood sandwich at #6 and #1? Or the fact that pr0n, especially exploding acid boobs pr0n, sells (Queen’s Blade BD at #5)?

But surely the fact that it can rank that high on that list probably says something. Something about rich people and their fig newtons or some such.

PS. Since this is like an AoDVD research post, let’s go all the way: Chris B. has posted his reviews of the thing. Because he doesn’t post BD caps (and refuses to because “this is a check disk”) you can read it mostly for technical completeness (“hey it does have 5.1 PCM”) and for his anime reviewer’s function. Well he’s always been a pretty easy critic when it comes to content and he finds Rakkyo, as a whole package, completely compelling. Of course he is also one of the very, very few reviewers (if not the only?) for anime that goes at it with the full glorified visual experience, rather than a more conservative and, dare I say, manga-esqe, take on story and content. For AVhogs like me his review provides that juicy technical information that I want to know, as I am already sold on the content.

Leave a comment | posted in English Language Modern Visual Fandom, Kara no Kyoukai, Modern Visual Culture

January 3, 2011

Kirakira, Take 2

By omo

I picked up the all-age, physical copy of Kirakira over the con season last year; it isn’t until the holiday break that I had made some real progress on the game. And considering it has been an iOS game since late 2009 and available legit on PC even earlier than that, I’m really behind the ball here. I’ve played a couple hours here and there before then, but the going was slow and while it was interesting it wasn’t very engaging as well. It’s like reading a book; it’s a good way to kill an hour before hitting the sack after a long day.

For a relatively new operation like MangaGamer I think Kirakira is the right kind of title to push. It’s got a layer of meta that will appeal to people who are familiar with rock music. Kind of like Japanese guys in their 30s or 40s? What’s more that layer of meta is appreciated but not necessary to enjoy the game. Like its pretentious namesake and title graphics, it’s about the sort of serious retrospection about a youth you probably have never had, a story pieced together as artifact trying to appear as natural.

I suppose this is why This Is Spinal Tap exists. That said, I enjoyed Kirakira (how do you properly spell it anyways?) pretty much the whole way, although I’m not at 100% yet, still only 70% or so done with the whole game. But once you get one of the proper ending, you probably aren’t missing too much. A large portion of the game was spent in the first chapter, which is almost the same for any route you will take. And the first chapter was probably already enough of a story to be standalone.

On a related note, Carpe Fulgar announces that they steamrolled Recettear over 100,000 (or over 9,000 if you wish) and considering only the best “indie” games move that many units in Japan (albeit at much higher MSRP), I think this is pretty awesome. Look at how much Recettear moved over at one of the more popular Japanese download store: ~1400 units seems actually a good number (for over the course of a year, and that’s a year after it was first released), considering the size of Japanese gamers that do DDL games are pretty niche. But still, I’d be surprised if total Recettear Japanese language version moved over 10,000 units counting event sales, mail order and digital… It’s good news for ECS, who most probably made more money through that than its Japanese market on the title. The rest is hunting the sweet spot on supply and demand…

This is suppose to be a mini-review on Kirakira, so I’ll just end with this (not counting route-specifics):

  1. Mika
  2. Tomo
  3. Sarina
  4. That guy (post-op)
  5. Chie
  6. Yuko (Maybe I’ll play Curtain Call afterwards)
  7. Kirari
  8. Mai & Miyuki
  9. Everybody else, and even Shikako-chan, lols.

Leave a comment | posted in Bishoujo Gaming, English Language Modern Visual Fandom, Franchises, KiraKira, Modern Visual Culture, Seiyuu, Idol, Pop

December 31, 2010

Year in Review: N-Listing

By omo

My tribute to the 12 days of Christmas blog thing. See M3 for more details. As usual I will do a list of 12 things, each thing being a list of 12 items. Some are counted down, some are counted up, others are unnumbered.

I’m a little late this year, only because of my blog being down. It’s surprisingly annoying that you can’t look back to what you’ve written.

1. Best simulcasts – The true first year of simulcast for the whole duration,  yeah?

  1. OreImo – for breaking street – you can’t get more zero day than negative. And it’s not some kind of boring show nobody watches (sorry TogaInu). Heroman actually gets the record for the earliest leaks, but let’s keep that hush-hush ;)
  2. Kuragehime – For not only being another goal in Funi’s big win in simulcast this year, Hulu actually places the ads during proper ad breaks!
  3. House of Five Leaves – Taking it easy.
  4. Shiki – Taking it less easy.
  5. Tatami Galaxy – Lower only because Funi isn’t streaming the bonus episodes. All four (2-5) are really kinda tied because the Funi x Fuji thing is pretty awesome.
  6. Sora no Woto – Anime no Chikara – flagship title, good stuff, and like Durarara we even got the OAV episodes! Also, nice HQ feed.
  7. Sora no Otoshimono – The seiyuu video CR made Hayamin & company do hands down wins. And also, it’s kind of a show that is prone to spoiling, so the speedy simulcasting is appreciated.
  8. Panty Stocking w/ Garterbelt – So cash. In fact thanks for all the Gainax pickups. Even including Hanamaru Kindergarten.
  9. High School of the Dead – TAN’s “simulcasts” are well timed now, even if it’s horribly managed (like, how the hell do you cancel crap?) and half the time it doesn’t even work for me.
  10. Occult Academy – Anime no Chikara – Fun little show that is retro just right.
  11. Giant Killing – this sort of anime works best for simulcast, that weekly sauce makes those cliffhangers feel just right. Also, World Cup synergy almost.
  12. Basically any show that aired within 24 hours of Japan o/ Down with “simulcasts” that are a week behind srsly.

2. Anime with CHIKARA, in no particular order. I don’t even know what this means.

  1. Panty Stocking and Garterbelt
  2. Heroman
  3. Qwaser
  4. Yosuga no Sora
  5. Strike Witches 2
  6. Occult Academy
  7. Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya
  8. Mai Mai Miracle
  9. Chu-Bra
  10. Sora no Woto
  11. K-ON!!
  12. Star Driver

3. Sex jokes, no order:

  1. Training with Hinako has an Android app?
  2. Yosuga no Sora ED – Sora’s deep throat shot, and that whole joke.
  3. Star Driver – Kissing with glass without glass is just a kiss?
  4. Amagami’s instructor play – because it is actually funny.
  5. Fate /stay night: Unlimited Blade Works – Dolphins.
  6. BakaTest’s Hideyoshi – Going to the bath house, gets own gendered changing room.
  7. Panty & Stocking episode 3b – Probably the one segment that signaled to me that the series worth sticking around for.
  8. Chikyubi (the hamster from Mitsudomoe) – It’s a running joke, all right. It’s got little legs this big!
  9. Seikon no Qwaser – the tsurupettan Song
  10. Shino Amakusa – Seitokai Yakuindomo’s lead character is generally pretty funny once you get caught up with her pace.
  11. B Gata H Kei – The entire show is a sex joke
  12. Koe de Oshigoto – Oh MAKO lol and the entire show is also a sex joke

4. Scenes from 2010 anime that I remember, no order:

  1. Gundam UC episode 1: Floating out into the fiery inferno, Banager’s dad smiles.
  2. Cross Game: The final confession
  3. Seikon no Qwaser: Boob fountain (which one?)
  4. K-ON!!: Lycopene…
  5. Eden of the East: The King of Eden: Walking around @ Angelika Film Center in NY.
  6. Asobi ni Ikuyo: Manami and Aoi’s skinny bike chase
  7. MM!!: Mio’s episode one batter-up maid debut
  8. Panty & Stocking: the car “chase” scene in episode 6
  9. Macross Frontier: Nyan^2 Clips: Northern Cross is… woah damn.
  10. Working!!: NEW ITEM
  11. Yosuga no Sora: He just keeps on going.
  12. Bakatest and Mayoi Neko Overrun: The spats/bloomer feud.

5. Episodes from 2010 that I remember, no order:

  1. Strike Witches 2 6: The rocket episode
  2. Panty & Stocking 13: Bitches, and more bitches, and a pair of legs.
  3. Hidamari Sketch *** 12: Tomato jamboree
  4. Seikon no Qwaser 13: What a recap episode.
  5. Mayoi Neko Overrun 6: The music video episode. Yes, I remember it better than ep 4!
  6. K-ON!! 20: The last school festival. It was such a high.
  7. SoreMachi 12: The day that Hotori died, bye bye Miss American Pie?
  8. OreImo 11: Most of the jokes were pretty solid, which is unusual. Even the dad joke.
  9. Angel Beats 3: Iwasawa was a big impact. Sold me a CD. Heck, Angel Beats 10: Yui-nyan! Sold me a CD too! LOL. Oh what is this with dead music people.
  10. Gundam UC 1: It’s just so pretty.
  11. The World God Only Knows 4: Take me down to minori city where the music’s by Tenmon and the girls are pretty~
  12. Katanagatari 12: Great conclusion for something totally Nisioisin-y.

6. Things that can’t be something else:

  1. My MM can’t be this fanservice-free
  2. My foot fetishism can’t be this pervasive
  3. My little sister’s anime’s title can’t be this verbose
  4. My Love Plus habit can’t be this expensive
  5. My camel militants can’t be this racist
  6. My blog hosting can’t be this cheap
  7. My AsoIku can’t be this furry
  8. My Prime Minister can’t be this good at mahjong
  9. My Azunyan can’t go all the way in Saimoe
  10. My Bisei Tokei apps can’t be iOS only
  11. My Aniki can’t be this hedgehoggy
  12. My Selvaria figure can’t be this expensive

7. AX 2010 moments:

12. Listening to gabber at the Nokia Plaza was surreal. It’s like being in Akiba.
11. Seeing Konishi cosplay Aniki was pretty boss.
10. Kitaeri’s panel, a lot of fun. Plus High Jumper.
9. Clover Brewed Coffee is p. good if you are a junkie like myself. They even have Kona that weekend, if you like Kona (I’m so-so on it).
8. Spotting Kenji Kamiyama scouting terrain. Totally expecting to see LACC/Nokia theater/Staple Center complex in his next work now.
7. Nabeshin being, well, Nabeshin.
6. Manga Gamer guests, plus High Jumper. CooRie and Kuribayashi, huh.
5. Yoko Kanno reprises their MacF/Tanabata routine at May’n and Mamegu’s live. Also it’s as MacF as it can get in America. Damn you Harmony Gold.
4. Alexd’s “luck and chance” sketch GET
3. The “No Photo” sign story
2. Group pic with KitaEri
1. Being in on the joke on Horie as collaborators with Morita and Asakawa.

8. Things I did to celebrate Satoshi Kon’s memories

12. Make a pun.
11. Whine on it on the internet.
10. Buy a copy of New York Times. Ugh buying newspaper ugh.
9. Realizing some (somewhat) famous guy who died actually matters to me.
8. Realizing my autograph from him will skyrocket in value!
7. Looking for copies of his stuff that I don’t have, like that lush LE box for Millennium Actress.
6. Stare longingly at his storyboards.
5. Learn more about the man after he has passed, from others who also knew him.
4. Follow the going-ons of his last words and its ripple, like that Farewell Project thing.
3. Read his final blog post.
2. Rewatch his movies, or at least clips from it.
1. Feel better about it after getting all sad from the news of his passing.

9. Reasons why I can’t pick a favorite character in 2010, no order

  1. Amagami SS sunk my omnibus – I like all the arcs, can’t choose… Alternatively, Amagami SS’s Tsukasa route was totally crap! – It’s Kaori Nazuka’s last shot at 3-peat!
  2. Runner up: Noloty from Bantorra is a great character, except she’s just a side character and doesn’t get much love from the series, in more than one ways.
  3. Way too many sequels – It’s hard to like what you didn’t like the year before.
  4. Way too many Kana Hanazawa roles – They are all kinda alike! And I like too many of them for my own good!
  5. Love Plus: hearing Saori Hayami’s moe voice confuses me with Manaka flags – Manaka is a no-no for me.
  6. Runner up: Teresa from Qwaser just didn’t get enough development to qualify.
  7. Runner up: All of K-ON cast, but I love you equally (which is honestly not that much).
  8. Runner up: Shoko from BakaTest, but she hasn’t had enough time to flesh it out. Also, too many other people’s waifu.
  9. Runner up: All those endless pleasure sticks.
  10. Runner up: Mii from Railgun, but she doesn’t have enough dimensions to her character.
  11. Runner up: Rin Tohsaka, because it’s not like Mii a more refreshing cool take by the same Kana Ueda. Also, dolphins? Really? (Wait is this supposedly in the sex joke category?)
  12. I usually pick my stuff from serious shows, and when the shounen romance pieces this year let me down, I had nowhere to go.

10. 12 OP from this year, no order

  1. K-ON!! OP2 – Mainly because it is probably the best out of all of K-ON’s. S1 OP still is kinda special too… well.
  2. Kuragehime OP – I don’t think much needs to be said.
  3. B Gata H Kei OP – Still a very nicely choreographed and catchy thing
  4. Mayoi Neko Overrun OP – It’s like a mind attack with a strong audio component
  5. SoreMachi OP – As smooth as SHAFT gets.
  6. Arakawa UB OP – Season 2 OP was disappointing compared to season 1’s, but that’s not saying much when it’s this good. Sayo Yamamoto, right?
  7. Angel Beats OP – Lia actually delivers something worthwhile here. Visually moving too.
  8. AsoIku OP – Pretty standard stuff, but I like the song.
  9. World God Only Knows OP – The full version is pretty interesting, but overall it is simple yet sophisticated in the way Eden of the East OP was.
  10. Big Windup S2 OP – I like it for the song. Animation was hauling ballz too!
  11. Dance in the Vampire Bund OP – for the shock in nekkid loli dance and the song is pretty good too!
  12. Star Driver OP – I like it for the use in whiplashing the viewer, but also for seeing something kind of pretentious but also kind of mesmerizing.

11. ED from this year, no order, because I’m out of ideas for lists

  1. Durarara ED1 – Pretty catchy and visually interesting. Kind of reminds me of Persona Trinity Soul ED.
  2. Amagami ED4 – Yukana has this super ero voice power, I cannot resist.
  3. K-ON!! ED2 – Yeah, yeah.
  4. Tatami Galaxy ED – My favorite of the year, easily.
  5. Qwaser ED2 – I like this song more than ED1, but the visuals in ED1 is more cohesive. (Not to be confused with this)
  6. Yosuga no Sora ED (second one) – It’s hilarious and visually exciting.
  7. MM ED – It’s the psychological attack version of Mayoi Neko Overrun OP. Except now with Aso Natsuko.
  8. Hidamari Sketch *** ED – Really like the concept and how the music works with it.
  9. Hanamaru Kindergarten EDs – I guess I can just fill this list out with them. I recommend #2 and 7.
  10. K-ON!! ED1 – Cake Fairy is probably one of the best music video on TV in anime.
  11. Bakemonogatari ED (final) – I like this composite version the best for some reason.
  12. Angel Beats ED – It’s actually a nice song. The ED itself is more a joke that is subtle than anything. How about that Aoi Tada…

12. 3D and miscellaneous things I probably should mention, no order

  1. Hiyocchi is good-natured and FUNNY!!!
  2. Cosplay Girl gets you what you think you will get
  3. My random seiyuu soup…and now koe.booru.org
  4. It’s totally cool to see that slick WoW addict and his compatriots at Otakon this year. I should pick up Kikuta’s Touhou album, shouldn’t I. Also, they still haven’t give up that CD single they promised back in August. That’s pretty egregious.
  5. Kamiyama’s trip at AnimeNext made that con worth it alone.
  6. K-ON Live BD is a good time, can’t wait for the next one.
  7. Sphere joins Shukufuku no Campanella in 3D TV land. Wasn’t some May’n show also done that way…
  8. First time I did karaoke during a con. In the normal way and not the weird American way. Need to happen more often.
  9. B156 and Dan Kanemitsu’s bone.
  10. Figures are serious business, but when you run a figure panel make sure you get a ton of super rat’s shots and just slideshow them.
  11. Almost done figuring out the illumination “problem” with UOs and renewable glowsticks and battery-powered stuff. I’m going to have to test drive these suckers this year, but so far I’m impressed with the one I have.
  12. minorigate is at an end. Oh God the memories flooding back.

And that’s a wrap folks, see you in 2011!

https://secure.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/wiki/Katsuyuki_Konishi

9 comments | posted in Conventions and Concerts, English Language Modern Visual Fandom, Figures and Models, Franchises, Introspectives, Modern Visual Culture, Seiyuu, Idol, Pop

December 28, 2010

Crunchyroll Rolls a Squid’s Hat

By omo

Whose idea is it to run promos on Christmas weekend…

But hey, if they’re cool seiyuu vids with autographed prizes to go with, you can roll it whenever you want! I think it’s pretty awesome that CR is doing all these things. It’s like NISA’s thingy with AX but this is fine too, if even more fair to those people who can’t go to cons (read: most people).

More importantly, if you are a CR user you would know that their anime contests 90% of the time are some kind of “collect x badges!” or some other random crap thing you get by running the video and get badges within a certain time frame. Which is totally not helpful for people who are watching something already. Something like this seems at least fun for everyone and possibly more fair, lol.

See this thread for the contest rules and information on how to do it.

Also see this interview. LOL. Get your share of Hisako Kanemoto, who’s made two big splashes this year and at least one more next year(?) in Makoto Shinkai’s new film.

Leave a comment | posted in English Language Modern Visual Fandom, Ikamusume, Modern Visual Culture

December 23, 2010

Asking John about Kara no Kyoukai

By omo

Ask John about Kara no Kyoukai, and he will give you actually a fairly balanced view of things, if a little too retail oriented.

I don’t know if he is right or wrong about the nature of American otaku and how the Rakkyo series fits it. I personally believe that he is probably spot on to compare Rakkyo with Oshii, but how many times did he use the word pretense? I mean who am I? Some self-titled anime expert? Who doesn’t even know ‘Rakkyo’? I mean it’s on freaking Wikipedia. Not a lot of people liked Innocence, as far as I can tell. Basically, I think it’s too off the beaten path even in America. What sold in the 80s and 90s was not what ROD OAV was.

He dotes on Chapter 3, which is the MAGARE episode in which Shiki performs an appendectomy. Well, actually, she kills the infection, not the appendix. Which sums up my opinion of episode 3. Certainly however I can see why someone would like it; the episode itself is well put-together and unlike Chapter 7, the viewer is not left in some kind of overwrought suspense and Mamiko Noto carries a strong performance both as victim and villain.

However obviously Aniplex thinks Chapter 5 is the one that everyone will like, as demonstrated at Anime Boston last year. I don’t blame them, Chapter 3 is a little bit too “otaku-poi” in a similar vein as Chapter 6 (which John also likes, besides the lack of epic fights). Chapter 5 features bleed-through pretentiousness, all the way down to its nonlinear narrative and strange showdown in the last 30 minutes of the movie. But when we’re watching cartoon porn instead of realistic porn, I think pretension is a sought-after quality and we shouldn’t make any pretense about it. The only difference is how one executes such pretentiousness so that critics like John will reach for another page in their biological thesaurus.

Perhaps the bigger issue with this that I’m trying to say is more about our perception (heh talking about perception in a Rakkyo thread) of what anime ought to be. I mean I think what I said applies to a lot of ambitious works, that at some level those works have to pretend. So why get stuck on that? Talk about execution instead. And I think good anime always executes. Those shows talk the talk but also walk the walk.

Which goes back to my assertion about what American fans like–I think a lot of the time we like shows that do neither talking nor walking. Because that’s the least pretentious of them all, and maybe that is the root problem. And when you get someone taking down on shows that aspire to be better as inferior to those who don’t even try, it’s just incredible.

Leave a comment | posted in English Language Modern Visual Fandom, Kara no Kyoukai