Mistakes of Youth: The Blog (Powered by EXCELLENCE!)

Original Post

Man, ai-sp@ce sure feels like old news now, but such is the nature of the weekly comic, especially when the hack artist/writer can’t come up with a joke about the news story in question the week it hits and instead decides to make a comic about being a horrible Japanophile. Anyway, here we are with a comic about ai-sp@ce, which is actually just pinched from a bit of a forum exchange, because such things make for the best comics. I don’t know about you, but I actually find this one kind of funny. Sure, the dialogue is stilted and awkward, but with this entire webcomic project thing being a learning experience, I think that’s fine. The artwork is also fine. Yes, there is horribleness in Rets’ fucked up collar in panels 2 and 3 along with some really bad shading, but I like the general look and feel of this one. Boston locals may actually know where this comic takes place. I’m trying to be a less-good Makoto Shinkai by basing backgrounds off real locations. How am I doing??

Dennou Coil sure is something. I think I can only watch it force fed to me 4 or 5 episodes at a time, but it sure is great once you get past those boring opening episodes. My favourite part of the show so far has to be the zombie Illegals attacking Yasako’s house. The kids crossing over to the other side is neat, too. What a wonderfully imaginative show. Not sure how much re-watch value it has, but it certainly is great.

Along with finishing Kaiji up a few days ago, I also finished the wonderful Ryofuko-chan OVA. Various personalities in the comments sections of a number of posts kept telling me to take the plunge, so I did about a week ago, and finally finished it up this week. In my mind, there’s two sects of “otaku entertainment”– boring panderific shit (Yotsunoha, Moetan anime) and hilarious panderific shit with lots of personality and energy (PaniPoni Dash, Hayate no Gotoku.) Ryofuko-chan sits happily in the latter category. Yes, the show has lots of naked lolis, and the opening focuses almost entirely on images of the two main girls in skimpy outfits, but damn is this show just wonderfully absurd. It’s not really laugh out loud funny, but its wacky nature can’t help but put a smile on my face. The mere idea of people from Romance of the Three Kingdoms being cast down from the heavens into the present day– two of them as little girls– is just hilarious. I’ve always been fascinated by the idea of people from the past coping with modern life, and Ryofuko makes sure to present this concept in the most humourous way possible. And it doesn’t just focus around lolis– there are a lot of other great side characters, some of which are voiced by epic male seiyuu. Jouji Nakata and Norio Wakamoto are in this! Jouji fucking Nakata! NORIO FUCKING WAKAMOTO! It is also one of the few shows that features a GAR hot blooded loli. So yeah, it’s wonderful, and everyone should watch it. Giant Robo even makes an appearance!

Anyway, it’s half-past-noon already and I have things to do on this long weekend, such as write an essay comparing how Lear and Satan deal with exile in King Lear and Paradise Lost respectively. But that can wait, anime comes first, hurr.

According to MyAnimeList, Kaiji is the 300th show/movie/whatever I’ve completed. This number probably isn’t correct, as I’m sure I missed an anime or two in my listing, but whatever!

Kaiji’s ending was more down to earth than I expected. For all its JUST AS PLANNED nonsense and general detachment from reality, the way it brought you back into the real world was quite shocking and blunt. The show as a whole had a bunch of ups and downs, and I probably won’t watch it again because of this. I do hope they make a season 2, however, since the ending was about as good as the Akagi ending. By that I mean it offered shitty closure.

So yeah, congrats Kaiji.

Lately I’ve been trying my best to just take it easy. Ever since I left that dreaded hell of high school, I’ve had a giant Space Battleship lodged up my arse. It’s slowly working its way out of there, but as all you readers probably know, I still get my panties in a twist over many things. The main reason why I’m generally just trying my best to “keep it cool, yo” (as the kids say) is because this type of attitude does nothing good for me, and only causes headaches. But enough Live Journaling, I already have one for that. What I want to talk about is favourites.

A lot of bloggers at one point or another make it clear as to why things make it on their favourites list. Jeff Lawson is the first one that comes to mind, but there’s probably more. For a long time being on my list of favourites has been a very exclusive position for the 5 or 6 shows on there out of the 298 completed shows/movies/whatevers I’ve seen so far– kind of like a snobby party for only the elite of the elite of the elite. Basically my favourites list was the landmarks of anime that I’d seen and really enjoyed. Stuff that was approved “good” by various respected anime-watching personalities that just happened to strike me in a profound manner as well. Stuff I wouldn’t be “ashamed” of having on my list of favourites. Well, now I want to open it up. Consider this another step in removing the <Insert Giant Object Here> from my arse.

It just hit me a few minutes ago while I was in the shower– such an attitude is the attitude of a fucking critic. The attitude of Jay Sherman, if you will. I’m not a motherfucking anime critic, I’m a fan. Fans don’t need to operate on logic, they just need to love. That isn’t to say you should abandon the critic mentality as a fan, but you shouldn’t let it take you over. I think my main problem for a while was that the critic mentality and fan mentality were often at odds, which resulted in many confused emotions over shows, along with numerous headaches and other terrible things. But now that’s gone. I figure if I already post shameless pictures of dakimakura covers, I should be allowed to be shameless with my tastes, too. So, as of right now, Shuffle! is a favourite anime. Tsukuyomi is a favourite anime. Futakoi Alternative is… almost a favourite anime!

Of course, with my standards being a lot more loose now, things will come and go from the list a lot easier. One thing that determines a favourite for me is rewatchability, and a lot of the shows going up there I haven’t watched much more than once. However, when I come to the end of a series, I know if it’ll be worth a second look or not. What determines that is what emotions the series brought up in me, and how strongly they affected me. For instance, after Shuffle! I knew I’d eventually come around to it again, but I’ll never pick up Kaiji for another viewing after I’m done with it. Sure, Kaiji’s a great series, but it doesn’t effect me emotionally at all.

Anyway, I’m getting off track here. I guess I should just stop writing this and chill, or something.

Original Post

I am so very disappointed in this comic in every way. The art is lacklustre and the script is pretty… horrible. I just wanted to talk about Kaiji in some way before it finished its sub run, and do a general parody on the art style.

You know, that scenery in panel 1 is actually inspired by Clannad. Strange, right? Well, when I put digital paint to digital canvas, I just start picking out dark/grey colours, so a lot of Clannad’s spring-time happiness doesn’t really carry over. I blame the fact that it was actually raining outside while I was making this. And I just like grey-ish overcast atmospheres. Anyway, next week should be better. I hope. orz

The new season has started, but I’m still kind of in the process of putting a lid on the rather craptastic winter season. That’s mostly a case of the sub groups having to catch up, though. I have however watched one spring season show so far, and that happens to be Kure-nai. You may remember that I was looking forward to Kure-nai a while back, and thankfully episode 1 seemed pretty good. I say “seemed” because I watched it raw and couldn’t really understand what was going on past the basics. It does however have great animation, great atmosphere and an adorable little loli who is thankfully less annoying than she was in the preview. If the script is as good as everything else, then Brainsbase might have another Kamichu or Baccano! quality show on their hands. Let’s just hope they don’t pull another Innocent Venus. Oh, also, the opening is worth noting.

As far as other anime I’ve watched recently goes, I caught a bit more of Dennou Coil at MIT. The show is certainly getting a lot better as it begins to explore its mysteries, and the “filler” has become quite entertaining, too. The show has a lot of character, which I admire. Not sure if it’s rewatchable for me, but I actually do like it now. You know, I have to thank MIT for showing things like Baccano! and Dennou Coil– things I was reluctant to go and watch/finish for myself due to my own stubbornness. So yeah, good on them.

Still trudging through Shinigami no Ballad, almost a week past the set review deadline. Sorry Seven Seas, I just ain’t a fast reader, and it doesn’t help that the story I’m on I saw before in anime form. It’s not a bad book, but it’s not especially amazing either. I think I liked the first story a bit better.

Anyways, that’s it for tonight. I’m out.

Not much now. Will update when new things have started.

Current
Chii’s Sweet Home: Three minutes of stuff.
Ghost Hound: I don’t really care about this one anymore. Almost over.
Hakaba Kitarou: Subs have slowed down. Still decent entertainment with above-average art direction.
Kaiji: HOLY SHIT TISSUE BOXES THIS SHIT IS WILD
They Are My Noble Masters: Bleh.

Finished/Almost Finished
Clannad: Rushed but acceptable ending. I hope this after-story thing won’t be too long… but I suppose having questions answered would be nice.
Dragonaut: One episode to go. As horrible as this show was, I don’t regret watching it, since it was one of the funniest things I’ve seen in a while.
Hayate no Gotoku: I’d welcome 50 more episodes. Nagi~
Minami-ke ~Okawari~: Yeah, I’m thinking asread didn’t get their Shuffle! budget for this one. Looks good, but moves awkwardly. Ending was fine.
Rosario + Vampire: One episode left. Decent for a crappy show.
Shakugan no Shana II: lol
Wolfy Spices: Well thank god that’s over!!
Zoku Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei: Waiting for Strato to sub the rest, but finished it raw. Very difficult to understand raw ;__;

Reading
Shinigami no Ballad: Past the deadline for the review, so trying to finish this one up. Works better as a cartoon.

Reading some KnJ chapters when they surface, and just finished another wonderfully confusing volume of Trigun MAXIMUM. I still have volumes of GSG unread, am almost caught up on OTAKU USA issues and have lots of unread Macias books from Christmas.

Can anyone recommend me any manga series that aren’t adaptations/have been adapted into an anime that I may like? I kind of wanna be an elitist manga reader, hur. Extra points if it’s not shoujo and not over 10 volumes.

Current
Clannad: Fine. Last arc killed two birds with one stone, I guess, so now we’re on to Nagisa.
Dragonaut: Yes, I’m still watching this, 21 episodes in. It’s so horrible, but it’s so bad it goes full circle and becomes good again.
Ghost Hound: Each episode is well done, but as a whole it leaves a lot to be desired.
Hakaba Kitarou: Carries itself on art direction, but is still enjoyably dark and mischievous. Makes me want a US release of the Gegege no Kitarou manga.
Hayate no Gotoku: Coming to a close. I wouldn’t mind a second season after something of a break. This last batch of episodes is pretty strong.
Kaiji: Working off shock value now. About six more episodes to go.
Minami-ke ~Okawari~: Not really funny, but an enjoyable watch. Asread’s animation doesn’t seem as good this time around, but I don’t remember much of what Shuffle! looked like past that one Memories episode I skimmed through for screencaps.
Rosario + Vampire: I should drop this crap, but I guess eight episodes is past the point of no return?
Shakugan no Shana II: Stuff is finally happening… four episodes until the end!
Spicy Wulf: Boring but watchable.
They Are My Noble Masters: Kind of want to drop this one too, but it’s not as bad as Rosario + Vampire. Carries itself of references.
Zoku Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei: Only good winter season show that’s not Hakaba Kitarou (and I guess Okawari). For serious. ZETSUBOU FAITO.

Not So Current
Dennou Coil: Watching this again for some reason. Still pretty boring, but I’ve gotten past the point where I dropped it last time.

Reading
Trying to get through back issues of OTAKU USA. Have stacks up unread manga sitting about. Should read those Macias books I got months ago.

Gonna talk about Kaiji. There’s gonna be spoilers.

(more…)

Current
Clannad: It’s good. I think it has nice characters and a number of good scenes, but thus far the main stories have been kind of weak.
Dragonaut: I don’t even know why anymore…
Ghost Hound: Still moves at a snail’s pace, but that doesn’t really bother me at all. Something of a plot seems to be developing, and I’m hoping it involves more Miyako screentime.
Hakaba Kitarou: Deliciously dark and enjoyable. Needs Nekomusume :3
Hayate no Gotoku: Nearly over, and I shed HOT TEARS OF SHAME. Another year-long season, please?
Kaiji: Show kind of got weaker after GAMBLEBOAT but it’s still fairly enjoyable. I hope E-Card is more complicated than it looks.
Minami-ke ~Okawari~: Most certainly different, but that’s not a bad thing. It looks good, but you can tell Asread is still a bit green with some cuts here and there. Probably not as funny as the last one, but still enjoyable. You can tell they’re trying.
Rosario + Vampire: Apparently has no inbetweening. Yeah, this animation is super cheapo, but the characters are always on model, so that’s good. I could probably stand it for another nine episodes.
Shana II: Stuff happens.
Wolf and Spices: Pretty good, but not totally awesome. Probably a step above a lot of stuff airing right now, though.
Zoku Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei: EXTREME. Shinbo and Co. play with original manga material, usually with hilarious results.

Mr. Sunshine used some underhanded marketing tactics and got me into watching They Are My Noble Masters. I’ll check it out soon.

Not so current
Baccano!: Finishing the rest tonight. Just plain fun, but I hope all the stupid commotion makes sense in the end.
Devil Hunter Yohko: Finally finishing this after many years. Lots of nudity, action and dirty jokes– so basically good stuff for growing boys.

Original Post

I was going to wait until after I went to bed to post this, but given I’m so hyped up on stuff, I figure I’ll put the comic up now. There’s really not much to say here, as I think its best for you draw your own meanings from it. The artwork is mostly good. Tina came out nicely, and I’m happy with how creepy I rendered Anno. Rets’ lineart is a bit wonky, but it gets covered but shadows so it all works out. I’m using a set of pens to clean up the sketches now, rather than a mechanical pencil. A friend of mine got me a set of Copic pens as a late Christmas present, and I was delighted to see that they had a 0.03 mm size pen. A long time ago I used to use Sakura Mircons, and whenever I used the 0.05mm it broke on me. I’ve been using 0.3mm Copic for a bit and it has yet to die on me. At this rate I may go back to using actual ink! Actually, does the lineart look slightly thinner?

I’ve been messing with the site design lately. If it looks funny just force reload and it should be ok. I’m not sure how I feel about the black. I may tone it down a darker grey, but anything is better than unresolved white.

Recently got that Max Factory Pachira from HLJ, and let me tell you, it’s quite a lovely figure. I can’t say I’m enamored enough with MagiPokaa enough to buy figures from it (though, I do like the character designs. I may pick up that Uma if I see it at a con again), but this figure’s gimmick was too awesome pass up. Those in the know should have a good idea as to what I’m on about :3. The only real problem is that during the cast-off process some red paint rubbed off on her chest. It’s nothing major, but it’d like to clean it up. Anyone got any tips?

The current crop of stuff airing hasn’t been all that impressive lately. I just finished Moyashimon, which was a weird show. Not weird in the way that I wanted it to be, though. The promo material suggested the show would be all about the microbes, but they really take a back seat to bizarre plot twists and character interaction. The show has fun sitcom-ish qualities to it, along with some strange drama-ish aspects, but never did it really act on what I expected out of it. I doubt I’ll watch it again, since a good half of it is extremely boring, but I guess it was fine in the end. I’m also not too taken with Clannad. The stories are fine, but they lack a lot of the overdone drama that made both Air and Kanon engaging to me. The characters, while well-written, don’t really leave much of an impact on me either. Maybe I just like poorly written stories better? I dunno. Kaiji is pretty DBZ at the moment, but it seems like they moved out of that with episode 15.

As for the new offerings from the winter season, I am again mostly not too taken. Gunslinger Girl 2 is an absolute depressing wreck. I may give it the three episode test, but it’s just too sad to watch. Zoku Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei is of course genius, so I’ll just leave it at that. So far the best thing I can think off that’s not a sequel this season is Spicy Wolf. Episode 1 was boring, but by episode 2 I am beginning to see truth in Cunningham’s words on the original novel. Horo and Lawrence’s banter is entertaining, though I’m not sure if that alone will keep me for 13 episodes. It really seems like it’s a good time to catch up on old things, so I guess I’ll watch something like Devil Hunter Yoko tomorrow, or these Crusher Joe things that came down the pipes this morning.

I guess I’ll try to get some sleep now. Later.

2007 was really fucking uneven. The first few months got by on the better titles that carried over from 2006, but between April and August it was something of a wasteland. I managed to get my fix for good modern anime by way of genius works such as Gurren Lagann and Hayate no Gotoku, but all the other offerings during that period of time where somewhere between mildly amusing to plain bad. Thankfully, August saw the debut of Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei and Zero No Tsukaima 2, both of which restored my faith in the industry somewhat. October once again impressed with Minami-ke, Kaiji and Clannad.

What follows will be something similar to my monthly posts, but for the Year In Review, I’ll be ordering things by quality using letter grades, starting from the worst to the VERY BEST. I cover a lot of shows in the post, but it’s not everything I watched during the year.

Here’s my rankings.

(more…)

Picture shamelessly stolen

Not much right now. Waiting for the new stuff to start.

Current
Clannad: Coming off as the weakest amongst the Key/KyoAni trilogy. Fuuko’s arc was fine, but nothing much past that. Kotomi’s story seems to be kind of interesting, though. I just can’t shake the feeling of “been there, done that” after Air and Kanon.
Dragonaut: The “so bad it’s good” thing is wearing off. Not sure if I’ll be able to finish this one just for the lulz alone, but it has nice production values for the most part…
Ghost Hound: Each episode is interesting and mildly entertaining, but it doesn’t go out of its way to make want to love it.
Hayate no Gotoku: Still consistently funny. This needs to run forever.
Kaiji: Shifted from Death Note JUST AS PLANNED episodes to NHK-esque examinations of people who have hit rock-bottom. I still like it.
Moyashimon: Unfortunately, quite boring. The microbe designs and opening are so great, but the show itself is a yawn-fest. I’ll probably finish it since it’s short.
Shana II: Will all the fanboys stop whining about the lack of action now? You get to see your loli engage in badly animated battles again! YAY! Whatever, it’s fine.

Will finish Minami-ke and Sky Girls once the subs hit.

Not So Current
Just watching a bunch of DVDs I got for Christmas. Air is nice a second time around. I haven’t seen it for so long, so it’s mostly all new to me. Will start on Soul Taker when I get a chance, and maybe Nadesico after that.

Will probably update when the new stuff hits.