Rainbow 01

Rainbow is the story of seven teenagers who are thrown into a juvenile detention center in 1950s Japan.  The series is decidedly dark and gritty.  If you are looking for an anime with rainbows and butterflies, find another series, like K-ON.  If you cannot handle explicit images, turn back now.  For everyone remaining, welcome to Hell.

Even the opening splash warns you what to expect.

Angel Beats – Tenshi the AI

Shinmaru made a post about how Angel Beats closely resembles a video game over on his blog.  It’s an interesting post, and it culminates in comparing Tenshi to an old school AI such as Mike Tyson or the Weapons.  It’s a fairly good comparison, but I decided I would take the thought a bit further by fleshing out what makes Tenshi tick.  Today’s lesson deals with a bit of programming logic, but I’ll explain how it works.

Most adorable program ever made.

Durarara!! 13

Six months have passed in the world of Durarara!!  In some ways, life has returned to normal, but any sense of normalcy will soon change.  Even things people consider “normal” aren’t really normal at all.  This week’s episode focuses on the way the city has changed in the aftermath of the Dollars’ meet-up.

Fortunately, some things never change.

The Etymology of Giant Killing

Language is an interesting beast.  The evolution and creation of words and phrases over thousands of years have generated the language that you and I speak in the present.  The title of an anime is the first exposure most people have to a work, so it’s important to choose a name that has meaning.  Today I want to examine Giant Killing.  We can all agree the name means exactly what it says on the tin.  Rather, I am more concerned with the history of the term, and in addition, how it fits the anime.  You might want to grab a Bible before continuing.  I promise it will be painless.

Anime Boston 2010 Wrap Up

As expected, day 2 saw more cosplayers than day 1. Day 3 had fewer, of course, and had a more relaxed, muted atmosphere as well.

Again, I’ve uploaded the photos I took onto Picasa: Day 2 and Day 3.

Maybe this will help him get over his depression

Giant Killing 01

I would like to lead off this post by saying I know jack all about football, or what we in the States call soccer in open rebellion to the rest of the world.  Why on earth am I watching Giant Killing then?  Well, first the premise of the story grabbed my attention.  I love underdog stories, and the series is about taking a terrible team and trying to bring them to the top.  Then I looked into it some more, and saw Seki Tomokazu voices the main character, Tatsumi.  You might know him better as hot-blooded Domon Kasshu.  From there I checked on the manga, and it sold me the rest of the way.  I never watch sports anime, so I figure this is a good opportunity to make my first foray into the genre.  With all that said, let’s get on with the show!

Can you feel the hot blood radiating from him?

Arakawa Under the Bridge 01

This episode doesn’t have a real title, because it was divided up into episodes within the episode:
1. The Man Who Won’t Take on Debt
2. The Bridge Under a Large Star
3. Positive Thinking
4. Green Green
5. Green Contents
6. The Truth of Green
7. Ric Under the Bridge
8. Place of Rest
9. Go!
I think that does a good job representing what sense of humor this show has.

Dance in the Vampire Bund 12 – Dance in the Vampire Bund

That’s right. The final episode of Dance in the Vampire Bund is titled Dance in the Vampire Bund, and (spoilers!) it ends with a dance in the Vampire Bund. Story-wise, this episode had to explain a lot, and it managed to accomplish that, tying the series together nicely, even while introducing new plot points that remain as mysteries to the viewer.

Finally, some dancing!

Anime Boston Day 1

Well, Boston was blessed enough to have a gaming convention then an anime convention on back to back weekends, both at Hynes Convention Center, conveniently enough. Naturally I took the day off work to attend day 1.

That's dedication!

Taking the Wheel

Well, it’s been a hectic two weeks for me, for multiple reasons.  It’s still not even over yet as I have obligations to attend to all the way through Tuesday.  The pressing matter today, though, is my inheritance of this blog.  I’ll be honest, when I had it offered to me, I really didn’t know what to do.  I had one track in my mind that said, you know what, this blog has had a decent run, and the winter season is a good place to lay it to rest.  The other track said screw that, let’s keep it going.  This post’s existence means I decided on the latter.

So, what exactly changes in this shift of power?  Well, I get admin privileges, which means that I can now directly edit the blog.  You might have noticed a few cosmetic changes to the blog over the last few weeks, and as I notice aspects that I can improve, I plan to continue that process.  I will make this blog CSS bend to my will… eventually.  Outside of that, Raph and Lvlln will be writing with me for the next season.  I believe we will cover six series between the three of us if all goes as planned, though that might decrease depending on opening episodes.  Manga Monday will likely end up on indefinite hiatus.  I can’t speak for my fellow writers, but I just don’t read very much manga myself.  Finally, if you have any comments, suggestions, or observations, feel free to leave them here.

Business continues as usual.  I appreciate all of you that have stayed on this wild ride until now, and hope you will continue with us into the future.  Thanks for reading, and enjoy your day!