Fullmetal Alchemist

Fullmetal Alchemist ( 鋼の錬金術師) is a 51 episode shonen action series based on the manga of the same name by Arakawa Hiromu.  The original TV anime series aired between 2003 and 2004.

    Edward and Alphonse are desperate orphans.  Using the knowledge they gained from the library of their absentee father, Hohenheim, they use alchemy to try and resurrect their recently deceased mother.  Things go horribly wrong and they realize why using alchemy to bring back the dead is forbidden.  The 'science' is guided by laws of equivalent exchange, something given for something gotten.  The price they paid for trying to revive their mother was Al's body and Ed's leg.  In an act of desperation Ed sacrifices his arm in order to bind Al's soul to a suit of armor.

    Their goal, realizing the error in their ways, is to do whatever they can to restore their bodies.  The pair is driven by the idea of a power source that will allow them to amplify their alchemy, the Philosophers Stone.  Ed chooses the path of joining the military as a State Alchemist in order to access greater knowledge and research possibilities.  In their studies and subsequent travels they begin to unravel a dark history of war and sacrifice.  The brothers realize they may not be able to atone for their sins without loosing their humanity.

    I'm not sure why I never did a review of this series.  More than likely it is because I watched it before I began my blog over 10 years ago.  So after watching it with my kids I figured I could review it properly.  As I get into it there will be some spoilers, but the series is old enough and popular enough it shouldn't matter too much.  It was nice to return to this series which I enjoyed quite a bit.  The artwork seems to of held up over the years and the story was engaging like I remember it from 12 years ago.  But in the end I remembered the one thing that was nagging on me, it loses a bit of steam.  The series had this world that it had been building up, the first half sticking well enough with the manga.  Due to the series coming out prematurely, the second half trails off course from the manga's progression.  It starts to get a bit weird in the second half and the origins of the homunculi differ from the manga.  In the end the series ties into the real world through The Gate and at one point Ed finds himself in London during an air raid.

    In the end of the series you are left on a down note.  It doesn't end nice and tidy, the good guys aren't necessarily victorious.  This is one thing that sets it apart from its shonen action brethren.  Other things that make this series stand out is it's message of humanity and lose.  Ed and Al struggle the entire time though overtly selfish desires but their compassion see's them doing everything they can to help those that are helpless.  Even one of their main enemies, Scar, earns their respect and understanding at one point.  Some people complain they don't grow and mature in the series.  That their personalities don't change enough from beginning to end.  But honestly, that's how people really are, set in their ways.  The biggest struggle they face is how much of their humanity they want to sacrifice to gain what they want.

    In the end Fullmetal Alchemist is a fantastic series, but even with 51 episodes it could have done with about 3 or 4 of them and still told the story well.  The story wrapped up really well with the feature length movie, Conqueror of Shamballa.  The license to distribute it in North America expired March of 2016, so snag up the disc releases while you can at a good price.  They won't last long and there is no word on when it will be renewed.  For the time being it is also available on FUNimations website and Hulu.

Mobile Suit Gundam Thunderbolt

Mobile Suit Gundam Thunderbolt (機動戦士ガンダム サンダーボルト) is a 4 part ONA series set in the UC timeline of Gundam.  The series was released between December 2015 and May 2016 and is based on the manga of the same name by Otagaki Yasuo.

    Taking place during the One year War, Thunderbolt follows a force of Zeon soldiers battling a force of Federation soldiers in the ruins of space colonies.  The sides are locked in a bloody stalemate as they engage in small skirmishes, slowly dwindling their forces.  A feud between Federation pilot, Io Flemming and Zeon sniper Darly Lorenz is the focus of the short anime.  Each pilot is highly skilled and use every technical advantage they can to over come the other, all while their respective sides are being wiped out around them.

    This is a dark and mature entry in the Gundam universe.  Death and destruction are everywhere.  Those that survive the longest have embraced the darkness of battle.  The only thing they see to their actions is the victories of the battlefield and have no dreams of an end to the conflict.  Willing to sacrifice life and limb to quench their thirst for the fight it's self.

    With a running time of around an hour the series does a really good job at setting up the struggle between a handful of characters, showing enough of their background and personality to make everything fall into place.  This is a great example of brevity in story telling.  It is effective and well done.  The artwork is really nice too, with character designs that reminded me of Aeon Flux.  The line work is stark and bold.  The combat is pretty good, typical Gundam fare.  Whats best about this story is the lack of teenage wunderkind main characters.  These are hardened soldiers doing their job with brutal efficiency, there is no time of second guessing or moral quandaries.  Truly a mature story, something the franchise could do a little more often.

    The series is as of yet not available in North America, but there is word that the theatrical version of it may see a stateside release in the near future.  Sadly the manga is not available in North America either currently.

Boom Boom Satellites

Boom Boom Satellites is a popular electronic/rock due who has seen substantial success in their home country and some success globally for almost 20 years.  On the bands official Facebook page a post was made on May 31st 2016 stating that with the completion of their latest EP, Lay Your Hands On Me, the band would be calling it quits.  The reason for this is due to singer/guitarist Kawashima Michiyuki's deteriorating health from his forth time battling brain cancer.  Over the years BBS has been one of my core favorite bands and I am sad to see them retire.  But what does that have to do with anime?  If you are unaware, as some are, they have provided a number of songs to various anime soundtracks.

    The band hit international music recognition in 1998 when they released their first singles under the Belgian techno label R&S Records.  I was introduced to them in 1999 with their first full length album Out Loud and instantly became a fan.  This album merged jazz elements with rock and electronic dance music.  In my personal opinion the best song is the combination of Intruder and An Owl.  They toured the US that Fall supporting Moby.  I still regret I used the excuse of being too poor to pass up the show when a number of my friends went.  I also didn't really want to see Moby.  Due to pass up this appearance in my town I have never been able to see them perform.

   
Their next album, Umbra, released in 2001, continuing the style from Out Loud.  It featured a guest appearance from Public Enemy's Chuck D on the song Your Reality Is Fantasy but Your Fantasy is Killing Me.  The next album, Photon, came out in 2002 and saw a massive shift to a more rock orientated style that would come to define their style for the rest of their career.  The bands next album, Full of Elevating Pleasures saw their emergence in the world of anime soundtracks.  Prior to its release two songs, Dive for You and Anthem were showcased on the 2004 movie Appleseed.  This exposure pushed them to more pronounced popularity in the west.  My favorite track off of this album is the epic show opener, Rise and Fall.

    Not wanting to sit idle, 2006 saw their next album, On, which is probably my least favorite.  The track Girl was used in the live action Death Note: the Last Name movie.  They more than made up for it, in my mind with 2007's Exposed.  One of the best tracks on it, Shut Up and Explode, was used as the intro theme for the PSN released anime series Xam'd.  Two tracks, Easy Action and Friends were part of the soundtrack to the movie Vexile 2077.  The band cooled down for a bit and returned with a new album in 2010 called To the Loveless.  This was the first album with their new drummer, the amazingly talented Fukuda Yoko.  That same year a song titled Broken Mirror, was used in the OAV series Mobile Suit Gundam Unicorn.  The song would eventually appear on their 2013 release, Embrace.

    Shine Like a Billlion Suns came out in 2013 as the band discussed Kawashima's long battle with cancer.  The album it's self felt like a soliloquy.  The song Back in Black was used as the opening theme for 2015s ONA series Ninja Slayer.  Not long after the announcement of the bands retirement their final EP will be released which includes the song Lay Your Hands on Me, which is used as the theme for the 2016 anime Kiznaiver.  The band has a solid catalog of work, but with any artists that you deeply admire it's never enough.  They have done well to straddle the worlds of rock and electronic music while carving out a unique place in the industry for them selves.  Talented, innovative and special.  The will be deeply missed.

Arakawa Under the Bridge - the manga

Arakawa Under the Bridge (荒川アンダー ザ ブリッジ) is a romantic comedy, sci-fi manga by Nakamura Hikaru.  The series was published between 2004 and 2015, with 400 chapters compiled between 15 tankoubon.

    The series follows Ichinomiya Kou, the heir to a powerful business conglomerate who was raised by a twisted set of ideals.  His entire life the core principle of his family has been drilled into his consciousness, never be indebted to someone.  He does everything he can, going to extreme lengths, to not have anyone do him any favors.  His luck completely changes as he is assaulted by pants stealing hoodlums on a bridge over the Arakawa river.  A strange woman named Nino retrieves his pants, thus putting Kou in her debt.  Before he is able repay that debt she saves him from drowning in the river.  Nino tells him that he can repay her for saving his life by being her boyfriend.  Thus Kou becomes the newest resident of the Arakawa river basin.

    Life in the river is incredibly odd as the other residents are unique characters running away from one thing or another, though they all flatly refuse that fact.  Kou has to deal with the eccentirc neighbors in his effort to repay the strange girl who has suddenly become his girl friend.  Nino claims to be an alien from Venus.  The 'neighborhood' is run by a man wearing a kappa suit/claiming to be the famed yokai, named Mayor.  A man with a star head see's Kou as his romantic rival for Nino's favor.  A cross dressing mercenary known as Sister acts as the area's religious figure, his love interest is the sharp tongued farm owner Maria.  Two run away twins who claim to have psychic powers and are hiding from a research facility.  A throw back to the Edo era samurai barber.  A crazed gardener who is in love with the Mayor and a man who ran away from home due to his obsession with white lines.

    The series follows the crazed collection of personalities on their day to day antics of life under the bridge.  From celebrating Christmas, harvesting the crops, running a carnival for the kids, fighting an Amazon from up river, dealing with unrequited love, fending off the plots of a group run by a Mole man...you know, normal stuff.  At the core is the mystery of who Nino really is and what circumstances lead her to living under the bridge.  The entire time Kou has to deal with understanding why everyone has chosen to live there while at the same time retaining his own identity amid the craziness.

    One thing that stands out in the manga is the artwork, the character designs, particularly their range of facial expressions are good.  The story though doesn't seem to really congeal towards some sort of end goal until around the half way point.  Before then it is sporadic in nature with no real progression.  Hints are dropped along the way as to what the great reveal at the end of the series will be, yet the author may not have had that planned out until the series was already established.  At times the story arcs are a chore to get through but for the most part the manga is a rather enjoyable read.  Part of my issue with it may stem from watching the anime first.  The anime was made before the story was completed so it doesn't get into the ultimate reveal at all.  In then end it was worth the read but I was glad to be done with it.

    The series is currently available in hard-copy from Square Enix and is available electronically via Crunchroll.

Japan's Most Successful Manga

Manga is big business in Japan and is responsible for substantial economic and cultural influence.  Otaku fandom in America is the reverse of Japan where manga accounts for around four times more sales than anime.  Since the beginning of the 21st century though manga has steadily become as prominent in America as anime.  But with out a doubt, it is incredibly important in it's home country.  But who retains the title of the most successful manga in the history of modern manga?

    Really a product of the post war reality of Japan, the manga industry as it exists took root in the late 40's and early 50's.  A number of factors contributed to its growth and entrenchment in the nation psyche.  It provided an inexpensive way to entertain the general population.  The American occupation encouraged its expansion and the provisional Japanese government saw it as a great tool to integrate into the national education system.

    Almost all manga is first printed in large anthology publications, generally in weekly or monthly installments.  The anthologies are only a few dollars each and are printed on low quality paper, designed more as something to be discarded.  Readers are asked to participate in ranking the manga that appear in the anthology by listing their favorite titles and mailing that info to the magazine company.  Sometimes, especially in anthologies aimed at youth, entries are eligible to win prizes.  The successful manga continue to run and eventually get reprinted in higher quality stand alone books called tankoubon.  Manga that fall at the bottom of the rank for too long are usually cancelled.  The manga Bakuman by the creators of Death Note details this system quite well and is worth reading.

    So, what is the most successful manga?  There are a few ways to answer that so here are the top 10 lists for a few different criteria.  This data is directly taken from the Wikipedia article which lists the rankings and includes data taken from various Japanese sources and is indicative of sales figures in Japan only.

Top 10 manga series by number of overall tankoubon sold.

 1. One Piece: 380 million.  81 tankoubon.
 2. Golgo 13: 280 million.  177 tankoubon.
 3. Dragon Ball: 230 million.  42 tankoubon.
 4. Naruto: 220 million.  72 tankoubon.
 5. Black Jack: 176 million.  17 tankoubon.
 6. Kochira Katsushika-ku Kameari: 198 million.  198 tankoubon.

 

  7. Case Closed: 150 million.  86 tankoubon.
 8. Oishinbo: 130 million.  111 tankoubon.
 9. Slam Dunk: 120 million.  31 tankoubon.
 10. Astro Boy: 100 million.  23 tankoubon.

    These number though are a little misleading.  A thing to take into consideration is the number of tankoubon that exist in a particular series.  While not exactly accurate, but perhaps a little more telling when it comes to a series actual popularity, is to see how the series compare when you reconsider the sales data as representing the number of people who have purchased all available tankoubon for each series.  By doing that, while not entirely accurate, we get a clearer view of a manga's actual popularity as opposed to its over all sales volume.

Top 10 manga series by estimating how many copies of each tankoubon sold.

 1. Black Jack: 10 million copies of each tankoubon.

  2. Dragon Ball: 5.4 million copies of each tankoubon.
 3. One Piece: 4.6 million copies of each tankoubon.
 4. Astro Boy: 4.3 million copies of each tankoubon.
 5. Slam Dunk: 3.8 million copies of each tankoubon.
 6. Touch: 3.8 million copies of each tankoubon.
 7. Fist of the North Star: 3.7 million copies of each tankoubon.
 8. Naruto: 3 million copies of each tankoubon.
 9. Attack on Titan: 2.7 million copies of each tankoubon.
 10. YuYu Hakusho: 2.6 million copies of each tankoubon.

   Some series in the list have the benefit of being around for decades while newer series have sold incredibly well in only a few years.  Here is the top 10 most successful manga based on the average number of tankoubon sold in a year.  The average is found by dividing the total sales by the total years since the first tankoubon of the series has been available.

 1. One Piece. 21 million per year on average.
 2. Naruto. 13.7 million per year on average.
 3. Attack on Titan. 8.75 million per year on average.
 4. Dragon Ball.  7.4 million per year on average.
 5. Case Closed. 7.1 million per year on average.
 6. Golgo 13. 6 million per year on average.
 7. Bleach. 5.8 million per year on average.
 8. Kochira Katsushika-ku Kameari. 5 million per year on average.
 9. Vagabond. 4.8 million per year on average.

 10. Slam Dunk. 4.8 million per year on average.

    With all that said and done, based on the evidence of these 3 criteria here is what I determine to be the 3 most successful manga series in Japan. 

 1. One Piece. 380 million copies, between 81 volumes over 18 years.
 2. Dragon Ball. 230 million copies, between 42 volumes over 31 years.
 3. Naruto.  220 million copies, between 72 volumes over 16 years.

  One Piece is assumed to only be about half way through its story as well.  Dragon Ball was concluded in 1995 and Naruto ended in 2014.  By and far One Piece will remain the most successful manga in the history of manga, even if it suddenly losses all popularity and is cancelled in a few years.  So there you have it, some semi-empirical data to show what the most successful manga in Japan is.

Making Japanese Food at Home

A year and a half ago I did some writing on Japanese cuisine I make at home.  I wanted to revisit and expand on that.  All you really need are a few key ingredients and you can wing it for a large amount of Japanese food.

    To make a large assortment of Japanese food you need these ingredients; soy sauce, mirin/sake, wakame and instant dashi.  Wakame and dashi can be hard to find outside of Asian specialty grocery stores, but, thanks to the age of the internet, can be easily sourced online.  If a recipe calls for mirin and you only have sake you can add sugar to the sake.  An incredible amount of Japanese dishes require some or all of these ingredients as they are staples of washoku.

    While specialty rice is beneficial for making sushi and other recipes that require forming the rice, most any rice will do as an accompaniment with food you make.  Simple and delicious dishes can be crafted by making a simple broth with the basic Japanese ingredients (soy sauce, mirin/sake, dashi).  Just bring the ingredients to a boil in a few cups of water.  The measurements of the individual ingredients are more to taste than anything, but start off with small amounts.  A few table spoons of soy sauce and mirin at a time and teaspoons of dashi.  The dashi will dissolve as its cooked and everything will blend well together.  From there you can add all sorts of things to the broth, different vegetables, tofu, meat.  There is really no limit to what you can do in merging the tastes.  Hard boiled/soft boiled eggs work very well, potatoes, tofu blocks, green onions, garlic, corn, cabbage, etc.  Pour the resulting soup over a bowl of rice for an incredibly filling meal.

    Rice can be eaten with basic ingredients as well.  In Japan seasoning blends known as furikake exist to eat exclusively on rice.  If you want to spice it up you can also add the Japanese red pepper product called togarashi, which is commonly used in noodle/soup dishes and increases in heat when cooked.  Both are somewhat difficult to find outside of Asian grocers, but I have begun to see furikake in 'normal' grocers.  There is also the wonderful world of internet shopping to alleviate any issues finding these items.

    While not required, a rice cooker is one of the handiest things to own.  While I am a pretty good cook I have always had problems making rice on the stove.  The rice cooker I received as a present in 2000 has served me well and refuses to die...much to my annoyance as I really want to get an expensive, super fancy one.  Simple and incredibly easy to use.  The higher end ones has timer and warmer settings and different cook modes for different styles of rice and can even be set to produce entire dishes, not unlike a slow cooker.  There exists and entire recipe category in japan of meals that can be made in a rice cooker.  The unit I have been using for 16 years now only cost about $30 and just cooks rice, but it is amazing in that regard.  The nice rice cookers that start having all the bells and whistles begin at about $150 and can go up to $300 before hitting commercial restaurant grade models.

    When you have the basic ingredients there is little excuse to eat pre-made ramen in any format, particularly given how horrible it is for you.  While fresh ramen noodles are difficult to source outside of Asian grocers (look for lo mein noodles) you can easily substitute in rice noodles which are widely available.  Dehydrated soba and udon noodles are becoming increasingly easy to source and cost under three dollars for a package which contains a number of servings.  While you will be hard pressed to save more money making the ramen by scratch you can easily match the price of a single package of Maruchan when you figure out how much you are actually spending on the amount of each ingredient used for a bowl of home made ramen.  From there you can add all sorts of ingredients into it as well as more seasoning using spices readily available in the average American home.  If you're feeling especially motivated you can make your own noodles as well.  At a minimum you only need flour, salt, baking soda, a rolling pin and a knife.  Fresh noodles can be frozen for use later so its best to make a large batch of noodles at a time.

  If you have access to a Trader Joe's you can find a surprising number of specialty ingredients for Japanese cooking, particularly miso paste and various styles of tofu.  They also carry a good assortment of quality rice and frozen vegetables that work in all manor of Japanese dishes.  As a bonus...pick up some ice cream filled mochi for a delicious desert after your flavorful meal.

    For the more adventurous there is the entire world of pickled food, tsukemono.  Unlike western pickles, tsukemono are quicker to prepare and are designed to be eaten soon after making.  Easy food to use for making tsukemonno are; ginger, cabbage, egg plant, garlic cloves, cucumber, daikon radish, carrots, peppers, etc.  You would be hard pressed to find a common vegetable that does not have a tsukemono recipe.

    In general daily Japanese cooking is easy to do with a few basic ingredients always on hand and a small amount of preparation.  Sushi and the more fanciful restaurant dishes are usually specialty items that people don't eat on a daily basis.  Traditionally the core of washoku is rice, miso soup and tsukemono.  Remember that people in Japan make food by hand, from scratch just as much and just as easily as people in America, so there's no reason you can't do the same.  Adding some of these dishes and ideas to your diet aren't a bad thing either.  We all like variation and depending on what you are making, Japanese cuisine can be quite healthy.  Not all though...beef bowls and tonkatsu aren't any better for you than pizza and cheese burgers.  But Japanese cuisine can provide excellent ways to increase your vegetable intake if you are hard pressed to do so otherwise.

What Show's Have Survived the Cut for the Season

We are closing in on the halfway mark of the Spring 2016 season, so it's time to take a look at the series' I started watching in the beginning of the season and see whats remaining and why I have dropped the one's no longer in the cue.

What's sticking around.

  Haven't You heard? I'm Sakamoto: While the series isn't always 'on' when it comes to its comedy and delivery it is still fun to watch how smooth Sakamoto is and how ridiculous his response to any situation is.

  Tanaka-kun is Always Listless: Perhaps one of the best of the season...  A good example of how to make something mundane and boring enjoyable.

  Flying Witch: Not the greatest series of the season, but not bad.  Its quiet and hypnotic...but it has no general direction and weaves an over all story of mundane life with an apprentice witch over its episodic story telling.




  MS Gundam Unicorn: While this remake of the OAV series of the same name is a much welcomed return to a good Gundam it still reminds me I hate Gundam for usually casting an unassuming hero teenager as its lead.  When will Gundam Thunderbolt episode 4 drop?  That is a much better story with excellent artwork.  The head transforming on the Unicorn Gundam is really really stupid.  Have I ever mentioned I actually hate how Gundam's look and prefer Zaku?  Gundams are ugly and reinforce the notion that its based off of super sentai hero's, which I really dislike.

  Kuma Miko: Surprisingly funny series, even if its way of advancing the plot if rather boring.  This and almost all of the other series I am watching this season are relying too much on episodic story telling.  But, this series is enjoyable, cute and the main characters are really likeable.

  Rin-ne: While not as good as I would like, Rumiko Takahashi's latest super natural comedy series is still worth the time, even if the writing for this season isn't as strong as the first.

 
Still in danger of being dropped.


  And You Thought There is Never a Girl Online: Complete innocent fap fodder with horribly sexist character designs.  There is an underlying/overt idea behind the series relating to the dangers of people who have a difficult time distinguishing between reality and fantasy.  This series could become significantly better if it turned dark as it neared its run, who knows.

  Shonen Maid: The series is bumbling along with each episode as it's establishing the personalities of the main characters.  It's hard to tell if there will be an overall plot or if it will continue to be episodic and plod along with no clear goal.

  12-sai Chiccha na Mune no Tokimeki: This slice of life romance has become quite boring and uninteresting.  Its as boring as Isshukan Friends but doesn't have the overall goal that boring series had.  It just plods along with no real goal as it shows the boring everyday interactions of idiot school kids.  In fact, this has convince me to stop watching it.

  Big Order: This series is a strange amalgamation of a shonen super power action series, soft core ecchi and man kinds darkest desires.  The artwork, particularly the CG, is pretty bad.  Character types that are old and worn out and a story that isn't very original.  I think the thing that keeps me watching it is the fact that it keeps changing between each episode.  It's strange, not entirely original and boring in many aspects.  But through out are peppered moments of oddity or humor that keep me going...can't say for how long though.

  Space Patrol Luluco: The first series from the people behind the genesis of Trigger that hasn't quickly thrown me off.  I am still unsure if this will stick around as the story drifts pointlessly into obscure absurdity.


Dropped.

  Macross Delta: I have no love for how far Macross has gone to pander to the worst aspects of anime otaku with this series.  Any ideas anyone had that Macross was partially a labor of love and story telling are gone now with this seriously poorly planned money making scheme.

  The Lost Village:  It took 5 1/2 episode to put the nail in the coffin but this is an incredibly horrible and pointless story.  The idea of watching the worst personalities of people who 'live' online dying through their own stupidity was not enough to justify continuing to watch this mess of an attempt at suspense and mystery.  Horrible characters, horrible animation, horrible execution.

  Pan de Peace: The recent-ish trend for incredibly mundane slice of life series; such as Is the order a Rabbit, do little to entertain me and are more of a waste of my time.

  Neko Neko Nihonshi: This one was dropped due mostly to the difficulty of availability.  No one is translating it, legal or otherwise and raw copies are hard to come by,
 
 12-sai Chiccha na Mune no Tokimeki: See above.

  It's really kind of a dud of a season...unfortunately.  I don't see any of these shows being memorable years later.  I look forward to Summer and Fall as some shows of manga I am reading are hitting the air waves.

  

Dropping Macross Delta

The decision to drop Macross Delta didn't come with much difficulty.  It was really more a matter of confirming assumptions and understanding the qualities it possesses that bothers me.

    In a blunt statement, a series that had at one time been a pioneer in story telling and design has now reduced it self to being a clone of current trends in popular anime.  While the power of singing idols has been a cornerstone of the franchise since the very beginning the shows, with the exception of 7, have not focused on that aspect as much as Delta does.  On top of that the idols are a group of magical girl soldiers.  The enemy they are fighting is little more than a zombie infestation.  The series is having a really hard time trying to figure out what type of story it wants to be.  At once it is Love Live, Kancolle, Madoka Magica and The Walking Dead.

    On top of the haphazardly constructed genre's the animation is far below the standard that I would expect out of Macross.  The CG is some of the worst I have seen in a long time and is poorly integrated with the background animation.  The character designs are cheap, cosplay inspired, otaku fodder.  The personalities of some of the key characters differ little from ones you would find in a galge.  Over all the series seems to be poorly produced with a script compiled from suggestion box submissions of people who take walking tours of Akihabara.

Ajin - season 1

Ajin (亜人) is a 13 episode super natural action series based on the manga of the same name by Sakurai Gamon.  The series was produced by Polygon Pictures and released over the winter of 2016.

    Seventeen years prior to the start of the series the existence of humans who were unable to die became public knowledge.  The governments of the world began to seek these people out for various uses, and in many countries they were presented to the general public as monsters to be avoided and reported to the authorities.

    Nagai Kei is a normal high school student in Japan who discovers his identity as an Ajin after he is hit and killed by a truck.  Understanding that his freedom is in danger he immediately flees to avoid capture.  As he escapes into the mountains he makes contact with another Ajin hiding from the government, a man named Satou.  He meets Satou and a recently escaped Ajin named Tanaka, but is soon captured by the government.

    While in the governments hands continuous and merciless experiments are performed on him.  Satou facilitated Kei's capture as a way to mold his mind to his own will.  After a time he breaks Kei out of the government facility, ready to make him a soldier in his soon to begin war on normal humans.  Kei refuses his ideals and escapes.  In hiding he watches as Satou begin a campaign of terror and destruction in a bid to control all of Japan.  Kei must decide if he will continue to live in hiding or put a stop to Satou and his goal of genocide.

    Polygon Pictures does full CG animation using motion capture technology for the characters movements.  While still not as natural and fluid as traditional animation is, their level of detail is amazingly high.  A lot of people hate the animation Polygon does but I think we need to get past the fact its full CG, especially when so much of the animation out now is CG.  As they keep pouring money into the technology and techniques it will become more natural.  In recent years they have made a name for themselves for producing anime so they are seeing some success.  That said, the anime sticks closely to the look and feel of the manga, which is an import aspect.

    Ajin is an interesting take on the standard super human story.  Much of it deals with questioning societies biases and the rationality of humanity.  The rest is an over the top action vehicle with twists and turns at every corner.  Kei is a pretty weak leading character and not the reason I watched the anime or read the manga.  I could really care less for his plight.  Fortunately he isn't exactly the under dog hero that is typical in this type of story.  You're not going to see some Naruto type personalities or progress out of Kei.  Everything he does is for selfish reasons and he spends most of the anime avoiding conflict.

    Satou on the other hand is what makes this series enjoyable.  He is one of the best villains I have ever seen in an anime or manga.  Cunning, crafty and purely unsympathetic to everything but his own ideals.  The series boils down to how well either party can out think the other one.  Satou has no qualms and in fact revels in murder.  Everyone else is auxiliary to these two characters and only offer themselves as convenient tools.

    If you are reading the manga the anime does a decent job of following what has been written.  The most glaring alteration was how Satou attacks a pharmaceutical companies head quarters.  In the manga he hijacks a commercial jet and crashes it into the building.  I won't spoil how he does it in the anime, though I still like the manga version better.  The anime covers about the first 20 or so issues of the manga and ends with it wide open to be continued at some point.  They are probably waiting for the current major arc to be completed before starting work on a second series.  Polygon Pictures also released a movie version covering part of the TV series in November of 2015 and a second movie is releasing in Japan in May of 2016 and a third later in 2016.

    The anime is currently available on Netflix in North America.  The manga is available on Crunchyroll and in hard copy by Vertical.

Showa Genroku Rakugo Shinju

Showa Genroku Rakugo Shinju (昭和元禄落語心中) is a 13 episode historical slice of life drama based on the manga of the same name by Kumota Haruka.  The anime originally aired in the winter of 2016.

    Lowly yakuza underling Kyoji leaves prison with one goal in mind, to become an apprentice to the rakugo master Yakumo the 8th.  He tracks down and throws himself at the wary elderly man, but something causes him to consider allowing Kyoji to be his apprentice.  Something he has never done in the years since he has been a full fledged rakugo performer.  Rakugo is a one man story telling performance that saw a resurgence following World Was 2 but has almost faded in modern times.

    Yakumo the 8th see's in the energetic but dim witted Kyoji a chance to make reparations for a promise he was unable to keep to the man who grew up with him in the art form, a man who's daughter he adopted when she was young and raised as his own.  He decides to recount his life's story to Kyoji and his adopted daughter to explain how he became the person they know.  It is also a way for him to reflect and atone for his difficult life.

    After putting off the praises from all corners of the otaku interwebs I finally broke down near the end of its simulcast and started watching this series...I was sorry that I waited as long as I did, but grateful I came around.  This is an excellent drama that is driven by its characters and their lives.  The story spans decades of time and beyond the first episode and parts of the last, lives entirely in the past.  Yakumo the 8th recounts his life from when he was forced into rakugo apprenticeship after his prostitute mother abandoned him.  It details the struggles he encounters in his apprenticeship, his personal relationship with the man he apprenticed along side and the challenges the art form faced during and after the reconstruction.  It paints a vivid story of a handful of characters and how the drastically changing world affected them.

    The artwork isn't the greatest but it fits the story perfectly.  It reminded me of a cross between House of Five Leaves and Kids on the Slope honestly.  The character designs are simplistic, Yakumo the 8th is a little strange looking, but the backgrounds and directing are excellent.  What really drew me in was the rakugo performances themselves, of which each episode usually has segments of at least one performance.  I can only imagine how mesmerizing it is/was to see it in person with how entrancing it is in the anime.  The power of the story is through the performer being able to convey the different characters he is performing, separating out their personalities, as well as painting the scenery of the story through the dialogue and minute miming.  You can close your eyes, focusing on the words themselves and life with in the world that is being expressed.

    The anime handled the performances with grace, allowing the dialogue and the characters movements to paint most of the picture.  It would have been easy to drift off and fully animate the stories instead very little was done to enhance the words themselves, which added so much more to the performance in my mind.  If possible, I think the next time I am in Tokyo I may have to see if rakugo is done any longer, I would love to experience it at least once.

    Anyways, this was amazingly well done and it really sets its self apart from so many other anime out there, past or present.  It isn't for everyone though, as there is no action and a whole ton of well done dialogue.  It is a cut and dry drama about characters with unique and well developed personalities and the way they struggle with themselves and others.  It is a fascinating period piece about a unique art form and unique circumstances of Japan before the modern era and leading up to it.  I highly recommend this amazing series.

    It was simulcast on Crunchyroll and I believe Sentai will be releasing it on video at some point.  No word on the manga though, which is a shame.  However, there is fantastic news that a second season will be produced and aired at some point, this time telling more of Kyoji's tale.

First Look at the New Titles for the Spring of 2016

Space Patrol Luluco: Starting off with a 'bang' Space Patrol Luluco is a short gag comedy dealing with a perfectly normal middle school girl who is forced to work for the Space Patrol after her father was accidentally frozen.  When she took him to the Space patrol office where he works his boss, Over Justice, forces her to join the force to help pay for her fathers thawing and revival fee's.  She is being tasked to patrol her school, which is harboring new criminal activity.  Stepping back a little bit, her town is the epicenter of intergalactic commingling on earth, where aliens and earthlings coexist together as part of a greater galactic organization.

    This is shoddy in design, hectic in pacing and dialog and absolutely welcomed by me.  I love these off beat, idiotic comedy shorts that are becoming more and more common.  There is zero substance here, this is something to watch for the stupidity and absurdity.  In some ways it has a similar feel to aspects of Kill la Kill...which it should as its by the director of that series, Imaishi Hiroyuki.  I have never really enjoyed his other works, but the shorter time format may be just what is needed to get me to enjoy his brand of nonsense.

 

The Lost Village:Thirty people embark on a journey to a lost and mythical village where they hope to restart their lives for a variety of reasons.

    The first episode really introduces the premise of the show and does a brief introduction to all of the characters and a little more in depth introduction for a few as well as setting up some of the conflicts and suspense.  The animation is standard fare, nothing amazing.  The voice acting and character personalities range from idiotic to generic.  Everyone on the bus seems to personify the worst traits of netizens.  All of the characters introduce themselves with online handles and each have their own reason for wanting to disappear and start over.  Most of them seem like pampered kids who don't feel their life is the way they want it to be and are willing to throw everything away for this mystery trip based on nothing but net rumors and conspiracy theories.  It could be interesting to see how the mystery unfolds but i fear many of the characters disagreeable personalities may make the story unbearable.

Mobile Suit Gundam Unicorn RE:0096: A longer TV based retelling of the MS Gundam Unicorn OAV series from 2010.  The story takes place 96 years into the Universal Age and with Gundams deals with mobile suit based political intrigue and maneuvering.

    This is the most proper Gundam installment we have seen in a very long time.  Very happy to have this as part of the Spring line up.  Classic artwork, classic mobile suit designs, classic Gundam.  What more could you ask for?

Pan de Peace:  A short moe slice of life story about four high school girls who find friendship over obsessive fascinations of bread based products.  Honestly, not so sure about this one.  The artwork is rather boring and there is little draw for a series even at 3 minutes a pop.  I'll give it a few episodes to see if it actually developed into anything.  On a side note it reminds me a little of Yuyushiki for some reason.

Macross Delta: The preview episode back in January is the first episode of the series that aired this week.  So if you want a break down of my thoughts on it go here.  Yes, I know I called things by HG names, which was also on purpose.  HG deserves this Macross...  I am not amused with Macross really trying to tap into the Love Live market.  Even if idols have been a central plot point of all the prior series' it hasn't been this bad.

Kuma Miko: Kumade village is a remote hick town somewhere in the Tohoku region of Japan.  Village legend speaks of an ancient practice of sacrificing a maiden to the bears of the mountains to keep them from attacking.  One maiden was 'taken' by a bear and children were spawned who could speak human languages.  The decedents of that bear/human mating have gone on to maintaining the peace between the villagers and the bears.  Machi, a descendant of that family is the current shrine maiden.  It is her job to pray and bring offerings to appease the bear of the shrine, Natsu.  One day she approaches Natsu about attending high school in the nearest city, 2 hours away.  Natsu stoutly refuses, not wishing to have his shrine maiden leave him for the big unknown...Natsu speaks fluent Japanese and has a strange sense of humor. 

    There is some potential for an enjoyable comedy in this show.  Natsu is an entertaining character but Machi embodies some annoying moe/otaku girl character personality traits.  One bright spot with this is how it handles ecchi humor.  The ecchi isn't purposeless and isn't absurd.  It is a well integrated part of the comedy in this off beat slice of life super natural story.  In short, I think this one will be enjoyable and strange.

12-sai Chicchana mune no tokimeki: Hanabi is a normal 12 year old girl.  She struggles daily with boys flipping skirts, first kisses and the troubles of menstrual cycles.  She seems a bit less mature than most others around her and she has a hard time grasping the reality of a 6th grader.

    Not really sure about this one.  The animation is pretty bad, like Pokemon from the 90's bad.  Hanabi is a completely unlikable main character and some of the supporting characters aren't any better.  Her 'boyfriend' Takao seem's like some high school senior instead of a 6th grader as well.  The series seems to have a hard time trying to figure out what it wants to be, unless its trying to be some sort of anime health class primer for girls.  Something tells me my 12 year old daughter wouldn't even want to watch this one.  I'd probably be better of watching Kyo no Go no Ni.

 

Tanaka-kun is Always Listless: High school student Tanaka embodies the ultimate level of slack.  He goes through the day being as motionless as possible, even working on improving his physical structure and strength for better slacking abilities.  The show explores how the nearly motionless teenager deals with normal every day activities.

    There is no point to this show beyond some entertaining slice of life humor.  It's grounded in reality more than some of its peers but is no less ridiculous and entertaining.  While not continuously funny I had a grin on my face through most of the first episode.  This will be fun to watch.

Rin-ne Season 2: The return of Takahashi Rumiko's latest supernatural adventure comedy.  The first episode jumps right back into the fray with all of the shinigami antics and just in case you forgot who everyone was in the six month break, all of the main characters are re-introduction.

    The first episode of the second season though was a bit of a weak one, which doesn't detract from the series over all.  Rin-ne is one of those that will have some bad episodes but the product is over all worth the time if you are a fan of this style of humor. 

Flying Witch: Witch in training Kowata Makoto moves from her home in Yokohama to live with distant relatives in Aomori for high school.  The somewhat clueless and cheerful Makoto tries her best to integrate to life in northern Japan while she finished schooling and works to become a full fledged magic user.

    This is what you get if you mix Minami-ke with Maho Tsukai Tai.  The characters are very laid back and chill.  Makoto is almost aloof to the reality of her surroundings, frequently being picked on for getting lost.  She doesn't grasp the oddity of being able to use magic in normal life and she doesn't understand the confusion of those who are just meeting her.  She isn't coy with her abilities either.  This looks to be a chill and fun slice of life comedy that has some elements of Makoto being a fish out of water.

Neko Neko Nihonshi: This NHK anime uses cats to tell Japanese history aimed at small children.  The first episode of what is possibly the second season of this show, deals with the semi-mythological ruler Himiko and her efforts to quell social unrest, unify her kingdom and ward of foreign attacks.  The story doesn't stick with strict historical documentation, instead implementing cat-like problems into the history lesson.

    It's cute, its simple and it's pretty light when it comes to history.  No one is going to translate it so I will probably not really watch it, but it's fantastic that it exists!

Haven't you heard?  I'm Sakamoto: Sakamoto is the coolest person in school, earning the admiration and awe of his classmates.  Others in his class decide that his attitude and admiration pisses them off.  They plot to knock him down a few notches, but his cool over rides their attempts at every turn.

    This series reminds me a little of Cromartie High.  Mostly in the pacing and character designs.   WHil different than Cromartie, its still entertainingly ridiculous.  This could be a fun series but who knows how long the pacing and writing will last.

Shonen Maid: Grade school student Chihiro finds himself and orphan after the death of his mother.  Left to wonder what he will do moving forward an estranged uncle comes to tell him he will be living with him.  At first he doesn't want to live with his incredibly wealthy uncle.  He is convinced otherwise when the dirtiness of the mansion drives him insane and he begins to clean.  His uncle convinces him to stay with him in exchange for being the house keeper, something that appeals to the work ethic his mother ingrained in him.  The caveat...he has to do it while dressed as a maid.


    Its hard to get a feel for how this series will be with the first episode.  It has potential to be a comedy akin to the humorous segments of Toradora.  Or it could turn into something off track and somewhat genre confused like Hayate the Combat Butler.  Time will tell, I'm not holding my breath for it being anything amazing, but it may prove entertaining enough to stick around in my cue.

Netoge no Yome wa Onnanoko ja nai to Omotta: Nishimura is an MMORPG otaku who falls in love with random 'female' players all the time.  When he found out the girl he proposed to in game was a MAN he decided that every female character in the game is a man in real life.  Now the female in his small guild wants to marry him he refuses her.  The members of the guild decide to meet in public and he learns the truth about his team mates.

    Not sure about this one either.  I like that its making fun of all the MMORPG anime out these days, but there's also some annoying shonen character tropes in it.  This could very quickly turn into a really annoying harem anime.

Big Order: Hoshimiya Eiji was given the ability to realize any wish.  The wish he chose was the destruction of the world.  Ten years later, the remnants of humanity carry on amidst the waste land.  Eiji wasn't the only one to gain his wishes, other people who receive the power appear and are labeled as Orders.  The general public views Order's as dangerous and aberrations.  Eiji, knowing that he caused this terrible world hides the fact he is an Order from everyone, trying to help his terminally injured sister.  His peaceful life comes to an end when a group of Order's begin to hunt him.  He is now faced with the power he was granted to survive and correct his mistakes.

    This is a straightforward super natural shonen action series.  The only new thing with it is the way the characters gained their powers, via their selfish wished being granted by a malevolent being.  On top of that Eiji is the epitome of current otaku self identification.  He struggles with his personal guilt and feels strongly that he must right his wrongs with only his own power.  He also has a crippled, semi-incestuous younger sister.  Eiji also suffers from chunibyo syndrome.  This one isn't going to last in my cue.  I will give it maybe 2 more episodes before axing it.