Hellsing... No the first one.

OK so first off I would like to say that I am a MUCH bigger fan of the original Hellsing set then most people seam to be. But I will admit that the New OVA series Hellsing Ultimate has allot to do with most peoples view on the OG Hellsing.

So I thought I would take a little time out to point out... (Make a list) Of the things I think the OG did better then the OVA. And things that it did not do well/didn't do as well as the OVA... (OK wait)

If you haven't figured it out/know what I am talking about.

OG = Original in anime/movie groups.

OVA = Is a acronym for Original Video Animation. And is general in reference to a mini-series or one shot movie of a Anime. And or a already esisting anime series. The OG hellsing was in fact a OVA 13 episode set. But it is much less a OVA in heart then the Hellsing Ultimate OVA.

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OK so here is my list making.

The first list is things that i REALLY like about the OG hellsing, Or think it does better then the OVA hellsing. The 2nd list is A list of stuff that the OG does wrong.

The third list is a list of stuff that OVA just does better.

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List ONE! (OMG! I LOVE MAKING LISTS)

Stuff I rather like about the OG Hellsing.

#1. Characters.

OK to be honest. There are really only three compelling character in the ENTIRE OR Hellsing. Alucard, Integra and Anderson. And allot of Alucard's charm is based on the fact that he is all kind of bad ass and more importantly he is voice by Crispin Freeman.

Integra is a very compelling. (The most compelling in the show) She has the most back story, and allot of the drama / tension in the show is fueled entirely by Integra's force of will. (Literally) If you have watched it. Or You are going to I just have just two words to say. "Letter Opener" something that SHOULD HAVE BEEN IN Ultimate.

And then there is Anderson. I have never seen anyone that dose not love this guy, and it's not because he is a good characters its just because he is fun as all get out.

#2. Voice Acting.

I think I already said this... Crispin Freeman as Alucard.

Victoria Harwood as Integra. Who is ACTUALLY BRITISH!

Steven Brand as Anderson... Who is ACTUALLY SCOTTISH!

I really like the fact that they.. you know got a British actress to be the British female.

And a Scottish man to be the Scottish male.

#3. Music.

The music in the OG hellsing is great... In that the opening is very good. And the songs are very good....

#4. Art Work.

The art work in this show... CAN BE very nice, that is very stylish... Like the opening with him walking throw the forest, with the red sky and moon.. That is good... But... Well latter.

#5. Weird Stuff.

The show just seams to have thing every now and then that are just hilarious! But.... They are few and far between.

#6. Boundary's.

This version of Hellsing seams more tasteful then the OVA version... But really that can be better/worse then the OVA.

Stuff I did not like about the OG Hellsing.

#1. Characters.

Pretty much every other character is pretty boring. Serias Victoria is just boring.

Walter is alright. But other then that.. There is not character that sticks out and most of them are just boring. Even the made up (By compairison to the fact this is based off a manga) Bad guy, his voice acting is alright. But still nothing interesting.

#2. Voice Acting.

... ... Again.. Nothing interesting here other then the mentioned stuff before that was good.

And some of the English accents are HORRIBLE!

#3. Music.

As I stated before the music is very nice.... But it's used very badly. Some times you can't here over it, and other times you can't here it at all. The exception of this is.

A: The song that plays in Integras letter opener / back story plot.

B: The very weird song that plays wile the bad guy powers up.

#4. Art Work.

The art for the main characters is good... And the rest is... OK but thats just it Just OK.

#5. Story line.

O my god no.... There is no story line. There is some very nice character driven story. (By that I mean Integra) But other then that its a bunch of unanswered questions. And a lot of story who goes no were.

Stuff that Hellsing Ultimate did better.

#1. Character... (Only one of them)

Seras Bictoria is MUCH more enjoyable. And by that I mean much more Ax Crazy... Just trust me. Every one likes her more this way.

Also Walter is much better in this version.

#2. Voice Acting...

Same as above. Seras Victoria voice acting is done better... I don't even know if it is a different person. But it's just better. Also Walter is much better in this version.

#3. Music.

No... No. I don't even know if there is music in this version. I just don't remember anything about it, but I remember that it's mucis dose seam to fit better.

#4. Art Work.

This version is just more consistant not really better.

#5. Story line.

Were to start. Lets just say this. There is a story line. That just the thing that makes this better.... There is a story line. It goes some were.

End of story.

Blue Bishonen Hell.

OK.
So as of late I have been looking out for anime that I have not watched and Normally would not watch. So I have been watching Bishonen and Shojin... And so far my Manpoints are doing alright.

The simple reason being that I have been aiming at FUNNY Bishonen. (So Basically Reverse Harem Anime) My Two Biggest Finds so far have been Fruits Basket. (I think i already did a piece on it) The Second Being Oron High School Host Club. (Really bad Title)

But it could be the funnest thing i have seen in a long long time.

First think you need to know is that if you are a Flamingly Strait man, Don't watch this. Your just going to hurt yourself and annoy the shit out of any one else around you.

Because there are ALLOT of gay jokes in this show. But not in the "I'm going to laugh at his because he's gay" Way in the... They are making fun of people who do that way.

... Wait wait. I think i need to explain something here.

What the crap is a host club?
Well you ever seen those bars were you pay for a young attractive female to sit down and have polite conversation with you?... ... No hu? Well they do exist, there are even some in the United States.

A Host club is the Female Equivalent. Women come in and pay to have young men entertain them with polite conversation and... maybe a little flirting.

And yes they really exist in Japan. Following the MJIW principle. (Man... Japan is Weird)

Ya so the show is great, it just.... Vary hard on your reserve Man Points. Not quite as bad a as... Playing The YuGiOh Card Game. But harder then playing D&D.

And no wear near as Hard as Watching or liking Twilight. ~Shutter~

_

If your a female this is going to be much easier to watch for you. Because this thing is FULL of ManService.. (It's like FanService, Only... You know for Chicks) Just know there is ALLOT of bare chested guys..... And not even in the Bleach Standard. In the... ... Well Pretty Boy Underwear Standard.

The Saving grace of this show is the female lead, Who is like many Main Characters the only sane.... Women in the Room? Well not really just just say that she is just as annoyed at the weird stuff in the show as the rest of us.

The Show Really is Side Splittingly Funny, And latter on it can actually be very Sweet.

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There are some problems with it. Out of the 26 Episodes about... 4 of them are really just not that funny, not really because of any fault of the show, but i think some of the jokes missed there marks.

And some times it just seams like they... Well forgot to put jokes into the show for a episode or something. The Sweet / Romance parts... Seam a little odd. There done quite well but they just seam out of place in the show after so much funny stuff going on.

Now that being said, I really think they could have taken the time they spent on the 4 not so funny episodes and really done a good job with the romance in the show, Because ya. like 6 episodes of romance mixed in with 26 episodes of PURE FUNNY WIN, would have been fine with me.

Even my Partners in Crime.. A.K.A. My Friends/Evil Minions. Like it, and one of them is VERY hard to please with this kind of "Girlie" (Hurts me to even wright that word I think it's so stupid to call something girly just because it has romance in it) Show..

So if you like Funny stuff and are not a retard-man.

Or if you have NO Y-chromazone.

You should love this show.

If you don't.

You may never laugh again. And really you don't deserve to.

The Make up of a anime.

So my latest blog entry started as most of them do.
With a discussion with a friend that got me started thinking.
The Discussion was over. "What is Anime?" You see most people who contest to have a definitive answer... well have no idle what they are talking about. Because the real question is. "Who can really give a answer?" The Japanese? Because almost no one agrees with there definition out side of Japan.

American Fans seam to fall into many different camps. And other fans around the world seam to fall into out of two camps as well. People who are known as "Officials or specialists" on the matter are for the most part, like people who call them selves authority on UFO's. That is they are self proclaimed authority.

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So the question comes down to a discussion of.
#1. Geography.
#2. Style.
#3. Content.
#4. Conjecture.

So the first part is the answer that most Rapid American Anime Fans / Fanboy-Fangirls give. That is to say the people who annoy the crap out of you at conventions and know six words of Japanese that they think are VERY IMPRESSIVE WHEN USED!

And that is the Opinion that. -It must be made in Japan to be Anime!- Now this is actually not a really odd idle, the problem is that the Japanese would disagree. The Japanese in fact call all Cartoons Anime.. Even the old Disney black and white ones. And really the Japanese think the question is rather silly. And many of them use the porn argument of. "I know it when i see it."

The other problem with this idle is that, ANYTHING animated in Japan would then be anime. And there are quite a few American Cartoons that are drawn in Japan. So they would be anime by that idle, And the same people who hold this. 'made in japan' idle dear would lay a brick if you contested that these shows are Anime.

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So then that would support to a large degree that Style would make something Anime or not.
That is to say that anything done in the basic style of anime, is anime. The problem with that being that Anime has ALLOT of different styles and American / Japanese Animators seam to go back and forth with one another.

Case and point look at old anime. (I mean Gigantor and Astro Boy) Look around at US animation at the time. Or crap just listen to the people that made them, they had a heavy influence in Disney at the time. So they would not be Anime by this definition.

Also some shows that not many people would call anime would also have to fit into this area as well. But over all this is a much better answer then the -Must be from Japan- Idle.
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Content.
I have seen allot of people argue that Content is what really makes something anime or anime like. That anime treats it's viewers with a little more respect then Western Animiation.

Now there is some serious truck sized holes in this idle.
A: There is very kiddie oriented Japanese Anime... Pokemon.. Digimon... Well really anything with the world Mon in it, also stuff like Hamtaro could really be used as a western show without much help.

B: There are some pretty serious Western Animations. Batman: The Animated Series for instance NEVER pulled punches considering it was a Kids show. (I mean it was still made for kids) So no death on screen, but when some one went out they didn't just elude to it. You knew it happened.

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So then the question is.
"So what do you think makes anime?"

Well hear is my take on the question.
It's really a matter of consensus.
Because hear has been my experience with it, almost all people who have one of the openions above, have some wiggle room in what they do and do not think is anime.

So really i think its a matter of Style and Content.

And i have found that allot of people will openly admit that some American. (And European)
Cartoons are pretty much anime.

Batman the animated series.
ThunderCats. (American)
Teen Titans. (Even Picking a Japanese Band to do the opening theme)
Kim Possible. (It and Teen Titans were the #1 Cartoons in Japan at one point)
Avatar: The Last Air Bender. (Very anime like, and highly rated in Japan, but is animated in korea)
W.I.T.C.H. ~Deep Breath~ This is a French/Italian Cartoon based on a Disney Comic made by a Italian women. Originally distributed by Italiono Disney. Then Dubbed for Spanish/American Viewers. And Distributed throw Jet-X. (Disney) And if you watch this show.. Well lets just say this is basically what Sailor Moon Would have been like is it was Italian and made by Disney. (Complete with colored in / basically nude transformation scenes)

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So i guess the answer really is the porn answer.
But i like to say this.

If it looks like Anime.
And Sounds Like Anime.
And has a following of drooling anime fan-girls or fan-boys.
Then its Anime.

One Piece (And why i failed to like it)

OK so let me just start by saying. I watched the first 125 (Out of like 425+) episodes of the Anime One Piece and i REALLY REALLY tried to like it, i wanted to like it because allot of people seam to like the show. (Of coarse allot of people also think they have seen Elvis lately)

OK so i like to think that i for the most part have good reason behind most of my opinion. Because I'm sorry but (I just don't like it) Or (Because its stupid) Is not a valid point of conversation.

So i think i came up with a short list, (Shorter then my normal lists) of reasons i just don't like this Anime.

#1. Anachronisms.
OK so i have a pretty healthy disbelief suspender. But it is not a retard suspender. I absolutely hate most anachronisms. And let me just say that i don't consider magical street lights in a fantasy setting, or magical mirrors that let you talk to people over long distances are Anachronisms. Crap i can look over some stuff that is a definitive anachronism in a Anime. I mean if there was magic in a setting and flying animal you can ride on. I can see why no one would think to bother to build a air plain or a steam ship.

But this show is full of just... well stupid/sillyass Anachronisms. Stuff that makes me think the show as made by Hanna Barbeara and that i will see Fred Flintstone. (Another show i hate) at any moment. Don't know what i am talking about?

Well if you have watched the show all i have to say is this.... Telephone/Fax Machine Snails... End of discussion i win. To be honest that is just down right insulting. Why? Because in the show if you asked them. "How the hell did those things come about? Magic?" The answer would be. "Nope have always been like that." So i call shenanigans. Would have made more sense to just put real radios in the damn show and just shrug at why they are there.

#2. Characters.
OK so i will get flamed for this but... I just don't like most of the character in this show.
Most of them fall into the Annoying or silly area.
I don't even know were to start explaining this so i am not going to. I'm just going to say that the characters that do have good back story normally are normally badly executed in there personality. Or are just freken stupid character concepts. (Three swords? Please... some one slap the writers.)

#3. Stupid....id...ness....
The entire show has a "I am trying to hard to be creative / fill the show with zanny stuff that will make the reader think i am imaginative!" Thing going on. With stuff that just chafes me, and i have watch / put up with some pretty weird / crazy stuff. I liked FLCL and GuranLagin for crying out loud.

#4. Weirdness... And not the good kind.
Magical Demon Fruit i can handle, it giving people super powers i have not problem with.... but...
Reindeer people and giraffe people i have a damn problem with. The main character being maid of rubber i have not problem with. But getting super speed and the ability to kick a huge ship in half with no explanation other then.... made of rubber. i have a problem with.

#5. Not being that original.
Next. The show just seams really hokey at times because the wright just ripped some stuff off. The swordsmen in the group being named Zoro. (The English dube even thought this was bad enough that they changed it to Zolo) ... .... (Well and it has something to do with the fact the Japanese dont use the R sound in there language) That doesn't bother me that much.

But the fact that they have Blackbeard in the anime/manga does. and on top of that his REAL name is the same as the real Blackbeard. Now mind you, this show is not set on earth... or even a near earth setting, It is a entirely original setting... (Allbe it with completely impossible and very stupid geography) It just doesn't fit with the setting. A little consistancy never hurt any one.

#6. Artwork.
Now i need to say this. The artwork has. (Like in MOST animes) Gotten better as the show has gone along and they have gotten a better budget. So its not really the quality of art work. It's the style itself i don't like.... Maybe that's not the right word.... Loath... Ya that's it.

Let me be fair i have NEVER found another art style i have disliked more. (Some pretty close) But even when done well it just looks cheep. And clearly the artist cant draw a nose to save his life. Because a V on the face dose not = a nose!

And the double / triple lines on EVERYTHING does not work well, not matter how well shaded the show is. It's not always bad but its always cheep looking even when clearly done well.

Not to sound like a troll or anything. But even the best smelling crap in the world is still crap.
___

So this is not quite a matter of i hate this show and every one who likes it.
Like i said i tried nay. wanted to like it. But in the end i just hated the fact that i wasted 40+ hours of my life that i could have spent watching something that i didn't hate.

_
And O ya. The main character has a stupid man, and if you don't think so then.

Your Methods are stupid!
Your progress has been stupid!
Your intelligence is stupid!
And for the good of the mission YOU MUST BE TERMINATED!

Fruits Basket

Before you say anything that is not misspelled.

I just got throw watching the anime Adaptation of the Manga Fruits Basket.
Now after i was done i went out and read the Manga.

OK so my take on the anime was as follows.

#1. The Anime itself was Hilarious after you got past the first episode or two. And even though the show is basically a romance / Drama show, it does a very good job of throwing some side splitters in there on a pretty regular basis.

#2. At 26 episodes it is in about the right length for a good Anime, but to be honest i think this one could have been a little longer. At the end it just felt incomplete. But to be fair it was also left very open to the idle of another season being made. (At this point don't hold your breath)

#3. It was a little disappointing at the end because. Well the thing is in something that was meant to be a romance anime, i really like to see a official couple at the end of a anime. But that being said, i think i might be because. Well it really isn't as much a romance anime as it is a anime about how one loving caring person can touch the lives of every one around them.

#4. The Main Character in the Anime is a Very Loving caring person who constantly keeps up a cheerful facade to keep from worrying every one around her, but the anime is also about how that's not health and is really unfair to the people around you.

So in all.
I liked the anime and am glad i watched it... Well that was until i went and read the manga, now i am a little disappointed in the anime.

The manga was just more complete, And had not just one but many couples by the end of the story. Also allot of the characters were just better done in the Manga, and some good characters were just completely left out of the Anime.

So wile i would say, Ya go ahead and watch it, if you like that kind of anime. (I normally don't but this was done well enough that i enjoyed watching it) Then give the show a try.

Sailor Moon to be distrubited outside of Japan.

So the news on the anime front is that Sailor Moon will be distributed out side of Japan again.

After a... .. Very long time. To be exact a time period that i will not be bothered to look up.

But it will be distributed out side of Japan.
Tomi Animation has decided that it will be distributed to other parts of the world first and if it does well, then will license it in the united states once again. Now the real question hear being, WHO and WHAT will be distributed.

Will they simply re-distrubute the old version of the english anime. (If they are aiming at a young demographic then i would bet on this) But if they are aiming for a nostalgic release. Then they might want to distribute a product that was closer to the Japanese Original.

But who knows, I might be in there best interest to release the original English for TV.
And then something else for a DVD release.

Lets all make a abridge.

So if you have not gathered as of yet.
I LOVE abridge stuff on the interwebs.

Or to be more specific i love GOOD abridged, but the definition of good is rather subjective i mean when people make something they... Normally think it is good. (Or maybe not) I mean some times people make some stuff that is suppose to be bad.

But anyways, A Abridged series is basically satire, you take a show you shorten it and then make fun of it.

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So at this point.
I basically have a list of shows that are very good.
_
#1: Dragon Ball Z Abridged.
#2: Yugioh Abridged. (Also the fan based parody of fan based parody) That is the Naruto Abridged show by littlekuribo.
#3: Sailor Moon Abridged.
#4: Yuyuhakusho: Poltergeist Report.

After that, there are some things that are kind of funny, but not consistently so.
Like the first episode of Digimon Abridged is kind of funny.



As a rule anything with.
Littlekuriboh.
LanyPator.
Takahata101.
Magami33.

Really any of that bunch is at least going to be well thought out parody. Not just stupid fart/gay jokes. (Unless it is in fact designed to be just that)

Rally Vincent VS Spike Spiegel.

Just the other day i was having a discussion about the role playing game Mutants and Mastermind. And this lead to the discussion about anime characters. [Shows what a nerd i am] The thing was that i was trying to come up with idles for a good low power super hero. So i thought i would base the character off of a Bounty Hunter.

So i started to think about Anime Bounty hunters. (Sense Dog the bounty hunters sucks ass)

And i came down to two Examples.

#1. Rally Vincent. From Gunsmith cats. [If you have not seen in, Go watch the 3 OVA's online, and read the Manga. (THERE IS ALLOT OF MANGA)

#2. Spike Spiegel. Of Cowboy Bebop Fame. [Now most anime buffs know how this guy is]

And we got into a discussion about.

A: Who is a better Bounty Hunter.

B: Who would win in a fight.

C: Who was cooler.

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OK So before i start on my anime editorial hear. I need to say this.

MOST the time when two+ Anime Fans start a discussion like this it will end badly, BUT me and my friend both know how to have a Discussion / Debate on a topic without just flaming.

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And the other thing is that one of the questions at hand is VERY easy to answer.

One is basically a matter of opinion.

And the other is largely up to Conjecturer.

_
So in order.

A: "Who is a better Bounty Hunter."

OK we both kind of agree that this is really no contest. To be totally honest Spike is a Terrible Bounty hunter. He in fact never once in the show brings in a decent bounty. They all almost always get Killed, Escape or caught by some one else.

Yes he captures some hear and there but they are for the most part small fish. And he lets some of them get away for very dumb reasons. (Catching Eni in the 2nd episode as a example)

Its not really that spike is not good at his job, It's simply that he does not care. He just is not trying.

Rally on the other hand almost always gets her bounty.

And is very professional.

So we both agree that regardless of what the other two answers are this is a easy call.

_

B: "Who would win in a fight."

OK so this is a MUCH tougher fight.

But we decided that we would look at it in a couple areas to figure it out.

1: Gunfight.

2: Hand to hand.

3: All out fight.

4: A Race.

5: Backup.

6: Every Thing Considered.

OK so first up.

1:Gunfight.

Now we both agree that Rally is the heavy weight in this ring. Spike is by no means a bad shot. Far From it. It's simply that Rally is a Phenom with any kind of gun. And her guns are for the most part better then spikes. (Not to mention that she carry's many guns vs spikes one)

2: Hand to hand.

OK so the exact reverse.

Wile Rally is a talented hand to hand combatant spike has her hands down. And by that i mean that the gap between the two is a bit wider in this area then in the gun fight area. Wile spike does from time to time take a beating, he is much like Rally a Phenom in this area. (The fight in the cowboy bebop movie was awesome but really a bit unfair)

3A: All out fight.

OK so if you put them up against one another. We did Agree on a few things.

#3B. The two would in fact most likely not fight. I would pose the point that this would be like a Goku VS Superman Fight. The two would just not fight to be honest. Spike doesn't seam like the kind of guy to hurt a lady without a damn good reason. (And i would actually put Rally in the lady box) And Rally isn't the kind of girl to fight for no good reason.... That and spike is quite a charmer, and rally is actually very shy so i think he could defuse a situation just with that.

#3C. Both of these characters are made of something MUCH MUCH tougher then normal people. Both take a pretty savage beating on a regular occasion and just seam to keep going.

#4C. Both are so Awesome that it is largely conjecture who would win.

I contest that in a all out fight Rally would win. For two reasons. First: Guns are just more dangerous then fists/feet. And Rally is tops in this area. Second: Spike is just TO DAMN NICE. And Rally is not.

_

4: A race. What the crap are we on about? Simple both Rally and Spike are incomplete with out there modes of transport. Spike with his Swordfish II. And Rally without her Car. (First a blue 1967 model Shelby Mustang Cobra GT500, Then latter a Mustang II Cobra) Which is almost the spaceship of cars.

I got to say that in a fight this is no contest, but in the discussion of coolness it is. I almost have to go with the GT500.

_
5: Backup. Now what we mean is of cores supporting cast hear.

And wile i have a soft spot for the crew of the Bebop i also must say this. I am Terrified of May Hopkins. (Rally's partner) Who is like a mad genius with explosives. and really.... really irresponsible with them. She would likely destroy everything/one involved in a fight.

_
All considered i would actually side with spike on this to be honest. He is just all around a bad ass and rally is as well, but Spike just seams to not care to such a extent that its like he's not trying most the time. And that's what REALLY worries me about him.

_

And as for the answer of who is a cooler character?

Well that is of coarse a matter of opinion. And allot of it will depend on what you consider cool. And what kind of setting you consider cool.

I for one follow this train of thought.

Fist fights are cooler then gun fights.

Bad ass cars are cooler then bas ass space ships.

Explosives are cooler then hackers.

I love spike he is a great character and to be fair has a much better back story. The show is in fact much more character driven, if you read the Gunsmith cats Manag then Rally becomes a very well developed character as well.

But in the end. I hate to say it. I got to go with Rally. (My friend went with Spike)
And my reason is two fold.

The BIG reason is that there are just not that many Females leads that are. 'Bad ass' that i really truly buy and like. Its not that i don't like the idle, its just that the delivery is often botched. Because the makers try to make the character more appealing by making them fit into a few stereotypes.

Rally is having none of that shit. She fits into almost no Stereotype. And is quite frankly a very Un-Japanese anime, anime character. And she is unlike allot of anime female leads. NOT DRESSED LIKE A WHORE! (Not going to point out that she ends up in her underwear at the end of fights more then once in the manga/anime) And that she is seen naked in the manga at least twice. And that there is a... kind of weird kidnapping thing with bondage. (No sex mind you, just a really creepy stalker) thing going on. So there is a bit of fan service.

But the character herself is not going for this. She in fact largely pushes right throw it and kicks ass the whole time.

_
And the other reason? Well let me say something before i type this out. I am BY FAR not the kind of guy who falls prey to fan service animes. For the most part i find them very crass and unimpressive.

But.. Gunsmith cats is not that kind of anime for the most part.

And there is just something... something about Rally...

I mean something about a confident tough woman. Who is not a merry sue bitch. But rather a very reasonable compassionate and respectful person. Thats nice.

And you add Guns... And Bad Ass cars... And lets say that it makes me feel things...

So on the who is cooler question I'm going to have to go with my Cave Man side and say the Hot Chick With the Gun in the Muscle Car is Cooler.

Power Puff Girls.... Anime... No really.

What else is there to say...

There is in fact a Completely Japanese Production of the power puff girls.

Note that i am not talking about a Japanese Dubbing/Subbing/Translation of the show that cartoon network made. I mean a Animated and voiced original series. A complete re-imaganing of the show in the ilk of the Japanese culture.

OK so for the most part i don't care for cross pollination of Japanese or american shows.

Now let me explain what i mean by that. I am not a purist who only watches Anime in Japanese. (It largely depends on the voice acting of both versions)

What i mean is this. If Japan was to make a version of Thunder cats. (A America TV Show if you didn't know) I would mostly likely hate it. (Mainly because i don't like the original)

If Japan were to make version of batman. I would most likely hate it. Because really just some stuff does not translate well from one to the other.

There are some strange things in this area however.

That is. There are some shows that can VERY easyly be a Japanese or America TV show. This runs into the "Is it anime area" For instance.

Teen Titans.

Batman TAS.

Avatar: The last air bender.

Kim Possible.

All of these are very easy for viewers of nation to watch.

That being said if some one made a Japanese Version it would most likely mess with the balance.

_
The powerpuff remake has some of this going on, BUT it seams that the original might have been so close to being something that japan might have made in the first place that it has done something interesting.

Now that being said, i would like to say this. When Japan does a remake. They do seam to say. "This does not fit into a already established genre of anime, so lets make it fit"

_
I mean lets face it, the show was already a little strange as it was. But the Japanese.... Being Japanese had to make it fit into the anime genera. SOOOOOo.

Demashitaa! PowerPuff Girls Z

( They're Here! Powerpuff Girls Z ) - If you don't know Z on the end of a titel is kind of like saying NEXT.

The basic changes are as follows.

#1. The girl were not created by the professor. Only given powers. (Not intentionally so) By him.

#2. They were not sisters. (It is debatable if you could really have called them that in the america show)

#3a. Instead of clearly being a 'Little girl superhero group' They fall more comfortably into the 'Magic Girl' Area.

#3b. But it is clear they are not sailor moon. It would be fairer to say they are some were between the Original DragonBall Show and Sailor moon.

#4. The entire town has been rearranged a little to better fit this, but most of it is still largely the same.

#5. And most notably. They girls are considerable older. (About Jr.High) Now i know that seams like a big change but really dose japan need to look more like pedo's then they already did.

_

So these changed are actually pretty reasonable.

And the one thing i REALLY like about his show is the character design... or rather the character re-design.

The thing is i can see all of the main characters (The girls) In the characters in the show. In fact i could largely see them just as older versions of the girls in the american show.

Blossom. Is still the kind of bossy know it all and perfectionist. And the REALLY girly one. (Most people would say that is bubbles, but there is a difference between girly and... bubbly.)

Buttercup. Buttercup in this is still tomboyish and kind of a brat, but she also has a marked punk feel to her, which i totally dig and she has managed to yet again be my favorite of the girls.

Bubbles. Now bubbles does seam to be the one that is farthest from her America counter part, largely in part because she seams to be the Most mature one. Which is counter to her statues as the baby in the fist show. But it really still comes across as working, because she is still kind of flighty and a day dreamer, not to mention the Emotional one. In other words i can still see this as a character that might come from the original.

The rest of the character disigne is really just re-painting the original characters. (LOVE the new Mojo)

_

The downside?
Its.... REALLY REALLY JAPANESE.

Now don't get me wrong. I like most anime that is painfully Japanese.

It would be better to say this is PAINFULLY Magic Girl.

I'm and huge Sailor moon fan, but it is at heart a Sentia/Magic Girl Show.

But no.. no this one is 99% Magic Girl. 10% Dragon Ball Z.

And yes i know thats 109% I don't care this show is just like that.

There are .... Bazaar Transformation sequences. [Not I'm naked Bazaar... Epilepsy Pikachu Bazaar.]

And the show is just..... Painfully magic girl. just trust me on this one.

But the thing is its over all. very fun to watch.

My closeing statment is this.

WHY NO TERRA STRONG IN THE AMERICA VOICE CAST! WHY! WHY! WHY!

If you don't know i kind of stock the voice actress from the original bubbles.

Who also did Raven in Teen Titans. and Mandy from billy and mandy.... one of those three just does not belong..

More on my stocking her latter.

Card games.... ON MOTORCYCLES!

Ya so if you have not seen the video on y-tube. Then... Don't please for the love of all that is good and just in the world don't go and look.... But if you do its right hear.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gVm2IKFJuVU

Now if you have seen this and don't know what its from it is from YuGiOh-5D.

If you don't know what that is. GOOD.

Don't go look it up... please for the love of all that is good and just don't do it. And I'm not giving you a link to that one. Because its not funny... not even a little.

Now that being said it dose give you a VERY fun car game.
Wile your driving, when ever you see some one on a motorcycle. Scream at the other person in the car. "CARD GAMES ON MOTORCYCLES!"

Double Points if they are asleep at the time.

Triple points if you make them spill there drink.

And you just out right win if you happen to have a deck of cards to throw that them when you do it.

Slayers

OK so if you have not seen the Anime Slayers. I have a bit of information for you all.
If you are a geek.. And by that i mean, if you have ever played D&D. [If you don't know what D&D stands for, Run... Now...] Then you need to see at least the first season of Slayers.

The interesting thing about this anime is its origins.
A Man names Hajime Kanzaka!
And at this point the Slayers Franchise has.

~Clears thought~

54 Light Novels. [The Japanese answer to graphic novels]
24 Sets of Manga. [Comic Books]
104 Episodes of Anime. [In 4 different runs of production]
6 OVA's. [Movies having little to do with the story line]


Now the interesting thing is this.
The light novels started as a game of D&D.
The players kept a record of the games they played and Hajime ended up and making theminto a light novel, it was a relatively big hit and he kept on making them.

This really didn't get BIG untill they made it into a anime.
See the thin was, In the Light Novels he played down the natural inclination that many D&D players have to be.... well total smart asses as the game table. In the anime however he not only put much of it back in, he actully called some of the people who had played with him, to help out with the show making it feel so much like a game of D&D that oftentimes you can sit around watching it thinking to your self.
"I would totally do this, in that situation."
And then BAM they do it.

The show is a great Anime.
It can be funny, serious, exciting and all over the place.
It has a interesting story line and allot of drama.
It has some Romance in there as well.
Both male and females can enjoy the show.

Some people don't like the animation, but i tent to really enjoy the look of the anime.
It's just real enough to make it not To Cartoonie, but still looks enough like a fantasy game to keep that D&D feel.

Dragon Ball. (Classic)

OK so i was watching Dragon Ball Z Abridged. (If you have not seen this you need to NOW)
Team four star

OK so if you have seen Anime, you at least know what Dragon Ball. And the following anime's are about.
And it is a very love hate Anime.
You ether love it or you hate it with the Burning PASSION OF A MILLION SUNS!

Regardless of witch one you fall into, you should like this.
If you don't know.
Abridging is the internet past time of taking a show and parodying it by making it shorter and making run of it. very MS3K fashion. Re Dubbing.

There are tons of Abridged series out there, but so far only three i half to say are pretty good.

#1. Dragon Ball Z Abridged is by far the funniest of i have seen.
#2. Yu-Gi-Oh Abridged.
#3. Sailor Moon Abridged.

It's great.
Really the thing about this is, it has to be the right person watching it, to get the humor.

So that being said, i started watching Dragon Ball. (The first Series of three) in the grouping.
And i realized that the main character. Son-Goku. (Or just Goku) Is basically the Japanese take on super man.

Both are visitors from another planet.
Both are modern takes on hero's of the past. In the case of Super Man Greek Gods.
And in the case of Goku, the hero of Journey to the west. (If you don't know its one of the most widely printed book in the world if you count all the printings as one set)
The bible is larger in grouping. (Again if you bunch all the bibles together)

Goku is easily more interesting because you see his transition from Super Strong Child to The Worlds (Universe's) Strongest Hero.
Not like super man who is basically at the top from a very early age.
And Goku has flaws. (He's kind of nived and maybe a little dull at times)


Any ways, go check out the DBZAbridged.

Sailor Moon. (Season 1, in english)

KO so the first "Season" Or Series of sailor moon is simply titled sailor moon in English and Pretty Soldier Sailor Moon if translated from Japanese into English.

So the first season has has 40 English and 46 Japanese episodes which is about twice the number of a American seasons for a show.

The creation of the show started when corperate excecutives at Toei Animation asked Naoko Takeuchi to help with the creation of a "Power Rangers like" TV show targeted at young girls.
So Naoko simply took a Manga. (Japanese Graphic Novel) Series she had already made about a magic powered super heroin and made it a group of super powered heroin's wile adding more of a story line.

The difference in Japanese and English episode numbers came along because of standards and practices in Canada (The first English County to air the show) DiC a company owned by Disney re-worked a number of plot elements and simply cut some of the episodes, ether because there wasn't enough of the episode left after editing, Or because the episode simply didn't translate over well if you didn't understand Japanese culture.


The biggest difference in the Japanese and English versions is by now Famous in the Anime Community. The "Bad guys" in the first seaons are a Evil queen and her four generals. In the English version the genereals are three men and one women, the last two of the generals clearly in a relationship.
This is pretty much the same in a Japanese Version with the exception of the fact that all the Generals are Male in the Japanese Version... So yes that means there is one Homosexual Couple.

Now don't get me wrong i could care less, and on top of that i could care less that they are a Homosexual Couple in a kids show, unless you were older then 12ish, you wouldn't pick up on it anyways. But that being said i see the point in the edit.
First off it would have never made it past Standards and Practices in the early 1990's and would have a very hard time now in 2010.
Second, even if it did, it would put a HUGE dent in the amount of money that could be made by the show. (The true reason to make almost any show)

There are also some subtile. (Again you wouldn't get them unless you were older) Lesbian Jokes or at least lesbian or homosexual nods in the show as well.
Which is the way Japanese shows work, even if they are made for kids, they don't ignore the rest of the Culture they were made in. And allot of shows have Inside jokes or Subtle jokes in them regardless of age target.

Also because of Culture they cut out allot of the "Hard Core" Element of the Japanese version, implying in the English version that they intent to do harm to the main character of the show. In the Japanese Version they Acutely Demand her Decapitated head. But again Decapitation is really.. well kind of part of Japanese Culture, its hard to even teach Japanese History without using the word.

And i often frown at the sterilization of American History, we teach kids about Columbus and thanks giving, but not about the darker side of American history until much later, if at all.

But the point being that the English Version is sanitized in comparison.

It's also important to note that there was no standard writing team for the English Version. So most of the writers had NO idle what was going on in the show, and it shows in the English Version, its very inconsistent, and some times the lines simply do not make any sense.

Anime Nostalgia [Sailor Moon] The Basics

OK so i said in the last post that i would be going over sailor moon.

If you have never seen the show, I will warn you ahead of time, its a little silly.
Even by the standards of the genera its in.
And that's the first thing to make note of.
Sailor Moon is a Mixed Genera Anime.
It's part Magical Girl part Sentai Member.

If you don't know what those are... you need to watch more anime.

Magical Girl is a anime were the main character is normally a girl, who for one reason or another has super national powers. Common Elements are; Cute... really cute animation, A Cute Talking Pet [Almost required for the genera] The pet often is the person who gives instructions. Like a cute talking operators manual for the characters powers. Friends are big in this Genera and the other lieing theme that Love and Friendship can overcome anything.
If you have ever seen Card Captor Sukura, this is a perfect example of Magical Girl.

Sentai anime, is a anime were a group of super hero's band together to fight evil.
They often have outfit's and powers based off of a common theme.
If you have ever seen... Wow were to start.
Power Rangers.
Ronin Warriors.
Voltron to some extent.
Gatchaman. AKA-G-Force. AKA-Battle of the planets.
Again this Anime has a HUGE love on for the idle that Teamwork! And Friendship can overcome anything.


So at first glance sailor moon is a Magical Girl Show.
The Characters Have talking Animal Mascots.
Magical Super Powers and ALLOT of stuff about love and friendship. Also allot of girlie romance stuff. But in reality this show is a 50/50 blend of the two genera. Because it has a heavy dose of teamwork as well, and the characters are all themed the same, even color coated.

Even the writer admits it.
When Naoko Takeuchi they asked her to make a Sentai Show for girls.
So she took a manga [Japanese form of comic book] she had done earlier in life. That had only one character in it, and simply made a team of them.

On the note of Naoko Takeuchi, she is one of the most widely regarded anime/manga artists in the world, and oddly enough she is a female. This isn't like a female NASCAR driver, its not THAT rare, its just rare to have one be That Famous.

Anime Nostalgia (Sailor Moon)

OK so i have TOTALLY run out of New Anime to watch.

So i have decided to go about re-watching from "The Day" So i started by watching the first anime that i watched that i knew was anime.

Sailor Moon.
OK so any one who has seen this show. (In ether English or Japanese)
Would relies that this is like a girlie anime power ranger show.
Most people would call the show a Magical Girl genera. And ya it does draw from it very heavily but at its core it's a Sentai Anime.

So it has the same Monster of the day set up, and episode to episode idle.
So each Episode goes like this.

Part 1. Evil Villein decides to do a bad thing.
Part 2. They make a monster out of ~Pick Random Item Here~
Part 3. The Hero shows up and destroys it with ~Insert Stock Footage here~

But that being said, its a fun show as a kid because you don't pick up on as many of the plot hole's and glaring problems with the idle of the show.
And as a Grown up its almost like watching a episode of MST3K. It so bad its good.

And to it's credit it does have more going for it then other Sentai shows like Power Rangers or Gatchaman (G-Force / Battle of the Planets) for the U.S. Watcher.

The show is actually maid up of 5 "Meta Series"
It's a common practice in Japan to stop making a show for a short time, and or at pivotal points in a short start a "new" show.
You see this in many animes. Dragonball lead into DragonBallZ then DrabonBallGT.
Naruto then lead into Naruto Shippoden.

Sailor Moon is in fact 5 series.
And when you watch it, keep this in mind.
Each Series is made as a complete and separate show.
The Villeins are completely different and only the basic ellements of the story are needed to understand the new Series or "Season"

It does seam to have more story line to it then most other Sentai, that's most likely because it was targeted at girls rather then young boys.

Japanese VS English.

Right so the first season was published in the Canada then the U.S. By DiC
a company that was, at the time owned by Disney. (My Former Employers) So needless to say some stuff needed to be changed to get it to pass standards and practices in the U.S. (At least for the Age Group they were shooting for)

But something went wrong.... horrible wrong. in the first season.
Basically the production team was changed for about every episode wile the English Dubbing was being done.
So none of the writers had the slightest idle what the hell was going on in the show.
As a result the show was inconsistent and some times just didn't make any sense, even in the eyes of a child for me.

But o well it was still popular. (Still one of the most popular in Japan) And holds a soft spot for many.

Over the next couple of Posts ill be covering each Mini-Series / Season, and giving you any nice little information i have.



P.S. on a side note its VERY hard to find Sailor Moon any more.
No one has the U.S. Distribution rights any more, So there are no new DVD or VHS collections for sale in the U.S. Some come over from Canada. But for the most part its impossible to find them on the market and or to find on the Intertubes.

BUT i have done so!

here.
http://www.watchsailormoon.com/
It's a little hard to navigate but its very helpful.

Anime movies. (A.K.A. What's wrong with hollywood)

OK.

So if you didn't know, I'm a pretty big fan of Anime. (Japanese Animation)
And i say that in this manner, I like allot of Anime, Not all, and not all in Subtitles. I'm not a fanatic or a Webo [Look it up on Urban Dictionary]

And if you didn't know there are at present a Slew of Anime's being made into Live Action Movies (Or VERY high budget) CG movies by Hollywood. This is for most anime fans news that causes dread. Why you ask? Because Hollywood has a bad track record with anime movies.

In the last year and a half Three Anime movies have come out. Two that were Horrible and one that was surprisingly passable. I am about to explain why. [Or at least why i think so]

First lets explain the examples.

Speed Racer. [Directed by Andy and Lana/Larry Wachowski] (I say Lana/Larry because Larry Wachoswki had gender reassignment surgery)
[Cost:$120 Million, Made:93.945 Million] For a loss of $26,055,000.

DragonBall Evolution. [Directed/Produced by James Wong & Stephen Chow]
[Cost:Ether $100 Million, or $45 Millon; fox is to embarrassed to say which]
[Made:57.497 Million] For there 42ish million lost or 12ish million made.

Astro Boy. [Directed by David Bowers] [Distributed by a US company, but was made in Hong Kong] [Cost:65 Million, Made:28.815 Million]

It's also important to note that Transformers is a Anime, and that the first movie was good and made allot of money... the Secont movei sucked, and made allot of money.

OK so all Failed to make money. (The true goal of any film)
Before these three movies were made i thought there were only three ways to make a cross over movie. That is a movie adapted from another medium. (TV show, Cartoon, Book so on)

Stay the Coarse.
The first idle is to stay as close to the original idle of the anime as you can with the budget and technology can allow. As of yet we have not really seen this, but Transformers comes much closer to the idle. The up side to this is that your base, the people who have seen the original medium of the story will stick with you and like it. The down side is that your not going to get that many new people, because they need to have so much explained to them, and because some anime just does not lend itself well to movies.

Fishing for a new audience.
This idle simply try's to keep close enough to the idle of the story that the Base will be OK with it, wile adding enough exposition and new stuff that the people who have not seen the base medium will like it as well. So far this has been a total failure.

Keep to the shallows.
This idle is that the Base are going to watch and like it regardless of what it's like, so they do every thing they can to make new people like it, the problem is that this is MUCH more likely to make the base hate you. And has so far failed Abysmally.

So like i said i thought those were the only three ways to make a movie out of anime, but the Wachowski's prvoed me wrong with there way of make a movie.

Damn the Torpedo!
This is were you go.. Screw it, lets put as much flashy explosive sword wielding stuff into this movie as we can.

_
So like i said.
No one has tried to stay that close to the base idle. Michel Bay. (Who i generally dislike and would knife just for making pearl harbor) Did the best job by keeping to the basics in the first transformer movie. (Not that the idle was that hard to follow in the first place) And even if he did go a little A.D.H.D. Over board in the 2nd movie, its still not THAT bad.

With Speed Racer the Wachowski's picked a Old anime, that's barley know in the US, Generally disliked in Japan and honestly just not that good. And just went crazy with it, Now in there defense they did say even before making the movie that they were doing it just for fun. And they did pay for a good part of it there self. (Matrix / V for Vendetta money anyone?)
So that just goes down to bad planning.

Dragon Ball on the other hand is HUGE! In Japan its like Teen Age Mutant Ninja Turtles + G.I. Joe + He Man + EVEY OVER SATURDAY MORNING CARTOON you can think of rolled into one. The only show to rival it in sheer kid/teen age/big kid fan base is Sailor Moon.

So its a good pick, and it the US it has a large fan base as well, the largest of any anime in fact.

So why the flop? Because not only did they keep to the shallows, they were fishing in a rubber kiddie pool. It was (I don't care what they say) Under Funded. (I go for the 45 million, not the 100 million) And it lacked everything that made the anime cool.

If you have ever watched the final fight in the Matrix Trilogy, THAT is what i should have been like. Not what we got.


And as for astro boy?
Well honestly it got the best ratings, and did Alright in china.
It was a kids show made into a kids movie.
It was Done with CGI making it well funded for its type of movie. And it was actually not that bad if you had not seen the Anime.
But that's just it, you were better off not having seen the movie.
Making a Astro boy movie is like making a Bugs Bunny movie.

The people who know and love the character are old or they only know him is passing.
And the People who know him ether love him or hate him.
So really it was a bad pick for a movie in the first place.

_
Well that's all for now.
I will be posting about the Up Coming Anime Movies soon.
And my idle of what would make a good movie for anime.