It's Ninja-paloosa meets "The Matrix". Based on the popular manga series "Nabari no Ou", the anime series plays fast and hard with the plot, shoving an entire fictional history of Ninjitsu and the Shinra Banshou at you before the first commercial break! It's enough to make your head spin.
Fortunately, it loosens up a bit afterwards, but be advised, things do happen pretty quickly, and before you know it you're in the middle of a giant, full-blown, no-holds-barred, take-no-prisoners ninja war. Read More...
This is the twelfth time I've tried to write this review. And there's still no easy way to describe Sgt. Frog. Can I liken it to ALF? Or perhaps that weird alien dude in American Dad? No, it's more like this: imagine you locked a dozen fanboys in a room and told them they couldn't leave until they had written the ultimate "original" fan-fiction that didn't involve Harry Potter. And then you gave them a budget to actually make their creation live.
Or, imagine that Sgt. Frog *is* the ultimate fanboy, but he just happens to be ALF. No, that's not it either... Read More...
Facing your dreams is hard if you don't have confidence in yourself. That's the dilemma that faces Ren Miashi. Utterly humiliated by a high school baseball team that despises and bullies him, he heads off to another high school. His love of pitching is such that he joins on impulse, but his self-esteem is in tatters.
The coaches and kids on this new team won't stand for Miashi's low self-esteem to get in the way of his goals and the goals of the team. So, they set about getting him in shape mentally and physically to become what Miashi always dreamed about being— a first-class pitcher. Read More...
The internet is buzzing over the clips and reports of a new Yamato animated movie in the works (and a live-action film!). With legal sparring between Nishizaki and Matsumoto finally resolved (!), anime old-timers are frothing at the mouth regarding this prospect, as there has not been a Yamato movie since 1983 — probably before most of the people reading this were even BORN! Here's your chance to understand what all the excitement is about. The Yamato Movie Collection.
Okay, skip the first film unless you have no idea who the characters are, as the film is basically a re-hash, and composed of clips from the TV series. But savor the next film (Farewell), for it is the yardstick by which we measure all other anime. To this day, no movie has even come close to topping this achievement, and yes, you'll be weeping by the end. Read More...
Since 2006 the Japanese company Kaiyodo has released a legendary line of toys called Revoltech which uses their unique revolver joint technology which allows fanboys (and fangurls) to create dynamic poses with this figurines. This amazing action figure (Revoltech : Fraulein No.004 Pocco Action Figure) is based on a character named Pocco who was created by the Japanese illustrator Shunya Yamashita in his book Sweet Dreams. The cool thing about this character is that while she has a very aime feeling to her style, you can sense some inspiration from French comic books as well.
Yukiteru just couldn't have a boring imaginary rabbit or fuzzy bear as a best friend; he just had to pick Deus Ex Machina, the God of Time and Space. It probably would have been fine if his imagination stayed in his imagination but unfortunately, Deus is real and was so bored in his omnipotence that he really shows up in Yuki's room every time he starts imagining him. Read More...
Get your mind out of the gutter! This is not that kind of manga! Sure, there are maid outfits, cosplay, handcuffs, cute high school girls, and psychos but it's all sweet and innocent. Ok... that did not come out any better than saying the title: Maid Sama! Read More...
It could be the kendo uniform in Kizuna or the hakama for archers in the newest series in yaoi manga, You Will Fall in Love and You Will Drown in Love. There is just something about uniforms that everyone just loves. Whether it is the fireman's uniform or a policemen's uniform, it only subtly drapes over the power that can rescue or subdue you. Perhaps a chef's uniform, where it offers you comfort and sustenance for your eyes as well as the rest of your body. Maybe your cup of tea is more sporty like baseball or football, where the fabric of their uniforms seem to barely contain the feral instincts of their bodies? My cup of tea: Simplicity, functionality, elegance, control, power, and above all else, subtlety. Read More...
A while ago a full scale Gundam statue was all over the news — well now another classic anime robot is grabbing the headlines: Weighing in at about 50 tons and costing $1.5 million dollars this Gigantor (原寸大鉄人28号) statute is now the hit of Kobe, Japan:
