While Ten can post coherent thoughts and opinions regarding series, I generally fail.  So instead I’ll do a roundup of what ridiculous self involved manga that have caught my eye recently..  

(Sorry no caps/Illustrations tonight cos’ I sorta suck!) Read the remainder of this entry »

OKay, so I’ll be honest here… I need a little inspiration.  I am a bit of a drama ho’ yo, so what I’m looking for are some recommendations for some good live action errr Action!  Be it a good movie or even the most archaic drama series – I’m in, I’ve recently got all nostalgic on some older series so I am pretty much open to all suggestions (especially since my touch of death last post killed this blog LOL).  So suggest away as I am hoping my ole live action buddy Os will also be inspired in free for all drama goodness.   

PS:  Sorry but Swans ‘fricken’ Crossing DOES NOT COUNT!

Okay, so I don’t know about you, nor my fellow bloggers for that case, but every now and then I get the retro bug for some classic animation.  Some of which aren’t necessarily from the land of the Rising Sun, however they still hold a special place in my dvd rack heart.  Recently, after talking with my brother (who will by the way disavow any knowledge of watching any of these series), I went on a bit of a mission to track down a few favourites.  Ahh the internets, goddess of all our lost years, yea remember so well.

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With One Piece out for a breather, there goes one of my regular titles. I was hoping for translations for Fullmetal Alchemist c.85, Psyren c.30, and Nodame Cantabile c.125. Alas, I was to be disappointed. Maybe this coming week. I was about to add Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicles in this week’s roster, but the chapter was blah.

So less manga doodles today, dear readers. Plus, I’ve been busy. Too busy with a reading marathon that my eyes threaten to dry out. Thank gawd for Refresh.

Since I am merely filling up space with nonsensical ramblings (because of the lack of titles), I need to shut up now.

And on to the program. School Rumble goes back to funny; Inoue shows off her spine of steel in Bleach; Code Breaker exhibits potential awesomeness; and Double Arts makes me slightly weepy.

Fillerish blabberings after the jump.

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Nah, it’s not the musical guest. I dont even like JAM Project. Every year I wish for another L’Arc-esque musical guest, but every year I come up disappointed. Oh well. This year, it’s not about the anime, it’s about another type of guest. More down to earth and not so special guests. I didn’t think it could get any better after hanging out an entire day with Randall, but this might top it.

We’ve been planning this for months and it’s finally in stone. Pips and Lolikit, known for their stupid all-porn podcasts, will be making their first Otakon apperance and if you see one of us, you’ll most likely see the other two. So if you wanna say hi, and truth be told, I dont feel like setting up a get together, just leave me a message and we can plan something.

Then again, I’m sure you wont need to try hard if my plans come to fruition…

Oh, and appologies for lack of posting. Work work work. Gotta pay those uni tuitions.

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While casting envious glances on Anime Expo ’08 attendees, this blogger soothe herself with her regular manga routine. Well… She tried. Bah.

This week in manga-land (in my manga-land, anyway): Sekirei turns out to be a big tease; Children of the Corn appears in Psyren; Hikaru rides the luv train in Ouran; XxxHolic unleashes an awesome moment; One Piece recalls Gold Roger’s words; and School Rumble pushes this blogger to bloody murder.

In case you’re wondering, Bleach seems MIA in the latest Shonen Jump. More of MW after the jump.

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So I finally got around to watching the two last episodes of Druaga no Tou and it’s not a lie to say I wasn’t disappointed. That is, I didn’t exactly have sky high expectations of it from the start and that’s probably why I kind of enjoyed it all. I mean it won’t win any oscar’s for its great story and compelling characters but somehow the premise with the tower and hoardes of monsters struck home with me as it reminded me of a sort of inverted Undermountain from AD&D.

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I tried to resist watching the first episode of Hidamari Sketch x365 because I wanted to wait for a high quality version of the episode as opposed to [h00rjforce]’s but I could not stop myself. I went to check the quality and saw about 2 seconds of glory before I close the window and had a 5 minute internal battle as to whether to wait or not.

Of course, my will was too weak. And to h00rjforce’s credit, they did a fine job. I’ve always kept away from speed subs thanks to Jelly Caption Team’s botching of Air Gear, but this gave me hope for the future.

As for the episode, what can you say? I’m so horribly biased in favor of this show, it could just have a piece of animated doo doo for 18 minutes with one of the girls dancing in the background and I would love it. Though technically new material to anyone who has not read the manga, I was only briefly disappointed when I already knew all the punchlines coming. I could also feel the 4-koma feeling much more now that I knew it was a 4-koma, but SHAFT creatively separated each joke well.

It’s just that in the end, just seeing one of my favorite series animated again, I was able to feel that feeling of happiness you get when you discover a “masterpiece“.

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For the summer, I work with kids. Not this type of kid. No kid is ever as pure or as cute as Yotsuba, but there are some cute ones… and some devil ones. But no, I’m not going to recount a horror story with one of them -there are plenty like when a kid got hit by a golf club-. This is more tame.This particular story involved one of the “senior” students, aka 7th grade.

I had to open up this box of games and I had to pull out my set of keys to open the wrapping and on my keys is my Yuki Nagato keychain. And the conversation is as such:

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“Fansubs are EVIIIIILLLLL!!”

It’s true. We, who download fansubs, should be tortured and crucified and burned. In that order. Or at least, according to some dude in some panel in some con. Not his exact words. I paraphrased. (Or I might have made up some words.)

Yup. The same old spiel comes around every six months. It alternates with the “Support the Industry” bandwagon. And as a not-so-humble blogger and fan, I share an extremely biased and non-scientific and layman observation. I propose four camps, four distinct reactions on the “frakkin’ issue” that will never ever, ever die.

1. “Fansubs kill the industry,” says holier-than-thou individuals, spewing teachings of downloading guilt and shame.

2. “There are no downsides to fansubs,” says the naive fan, possibly in his early teens and not exactly earning his own living. Again, I theorize. You may flame me for the presumption.

3. “Fansubs is a complex issue that blah, blah, blah TL-DR,” says mostly reasonable individuals who can’t help but rehash the frakkin’ subject because of annoyance to pretension and to hypocrisy.

4. “Huh? Didn’t we discuss this before?” says the indifferent cynic, unfazed by the hoopla. He watches anime rather than involve himself to another of “those” discussions.

Frankly, I’d like to see myself in the fourth category with all the cool and calm they exude. Alas, I fall into the third category. I can’t help myself. But whichever side I am on, it matters not. I write not to rationalize and/or defend my downloading habits. Nor I count how many DVDs I collect each year to prove my worth as an enthusiast. I write to reiterate my layman views on fansubs, copyright, and new media.

Fighting fansubs, which is an integral part of the anime community, is like fighting against the tide. A tactic of threat, intimidation, and condemnation will not work against the Internet Generation. If one avenue goes down, another takes its place. As seen in the ever-evolving file-sharing networks.

Wallowing on traditional methods will potentially fossilize aging ideas. To survive the business game means to adapt, the most basic of survival skills. Inflexibility and echoing a dated stance blind old players from trying out fresher avenues. As with new media, competing with fansubs requires a brand new business model. Think iTunes, and how it monopolized digital music. Think streaming episodes on broadcast networks websites, and the profits generated on advertising. Think Radiohead’s In Rainbows embracing digital download, and garnering commercial success.

Instead of looking at fansubs as parasites of the community, why not view it as an organism co-existing with the anime industry in mutualism? At least, that’s what the idealistic part of my brain screams. The question now is “How?”.

For an exceptionally satisfying lambasting, head to Hinano.
For meatier reads, head to omo and Paul.
For rage, head to this dude.
For a good laugh, head here.