Your daily dose of wtf

My first exposure to Satoshi Kon was very likely Perfect Blue. Of course it wasn't Paprika or Paranoia Agent, so some disregard it, but it definitely struck a damn hard chord with me. At times it choked my little (then) teen mind with its intense atmosphere. Later on I got Tokyo Godfathers at an import store, along the same time Paranoia Agent was playing on Toonami. At a crucial moment, I found anime that I could enjoy as a teen, but that I also knew that I would still enjoy as a seasoned adult. And for that, I thank Satoshi Kon for his years of service to the industry. There will likely never be another mind like his, just as there will never another Miyazaki. I hold both in high esteem, as Princess Mononoke was my first anime. I am happy that Satoshi Kon gave us as much as he did, in the stretch of time that he did. He will likely be remembered as one of the great masters for some time to come.

I could go on and on about the artistic merits of each and every one of his works (and I probably will in a later post for each) but for now, while the shock is dying down in my system from yesterday, I dedicate these few words to you, Satoshi Kon.

"Even though this series just started there seems to be alot of reviews regarding it so far, most of the reviews ive seen have been ranked "not helpfull" even though what most people are saying are postive things towards the show. Though the show just started..."

Excerpt from anonymous review of Highschool of the Dead

That is precisely why you're getting marked as Not Helpful. Series reviews are not the same as series previews.  You're only cluttering up reviewing system, all for an anime you'll likely drop or flame the hell out of in a couple of weeks. I've seen it happen all the time. Most recently Katanagatari. Everybody and their mother called it the greatest thing since sliced bread and Ninja Scroll meets Astro Boy, but after a few weeks, the same people with short attention spans that reviewed it based on the first episode, those same people were the ones complaining about the episodes being too long (45 minutes) and there not being enough action.

That being said...

Highschool of the Dead looks AWESOME based on the first episode :3

Here's the trailer for you to zombiegasm over

Dororo: At least tell me your name! If you don't I'll call you something weird and shout it out.
Hyakkimaru: If you ask, tell me yours first.
Dororo: A thief has no name. A name could get you arrested. Any thief with a name is just third-rate.
Hyakkimaru: So we're the same. I have no fixed name. Drifter, Hyakkimura, Dororo.
Dororo: "Dororo?"... Sounds perfect for a professional thief like me. All right, it's mine! So I'm Dororo, you're Hyakkimura.

I realize I'm a bit late for Tezuka Month, but here's my bit:

Dororo is the 2007 live action adaption of the classic Osamu Tezuka classic about a ronin named Hyakkimaru who's accompanied by a young thief named Dororo on his search for the 48 demons who possess his body parts, given to them at birth by his father, in exchange for the power to conquer the world. As with most adaptations, Dororo takes some liberties with the source material. The Hyakkimaru of this movie is much younger than the one in the manga, and Dororo is closer to his age, as opposed to the little child presented in the manga.

The bulk of the movie can easily be divided into two halves, with a montage-like interlude in the middle. The movie opens with the yet-unnamed thief stealing from a group of men, while our young hero is on the hunt for one of the fiends at a seedy burlesque joint. Dororo stumbles upon Hyakkimaru as he's delivering the final blows, witnessing as he uses his swords in place of arms to slay the beast, and as his real foot grows back after this. Dororo learns the story of Hyakkimaru from a traveling minstrel, and after learning of the rare sword in his left arm, decides to follow him on his quest.

The Hyakkimaru of the movie is as stoic as his predecessors from manga and anime, but far less bitter, quickly letting Dororo accompany him. Much of the first (and indeed, latter) half of the movie is spent with boring dialogue between Dororo and Hyakkimaru, Dororo expressing her desire to steal Hyakkimaru's sword. They encounter some demons which Hyakkimaru slays with some help from Dororo, and then the movie cuts to a montage of slaying various fiends. At this point, it feels like so much time and the movie is ending on a feel good never-ending monster quest...but no, only about an hour and fifteen minutes have passed, and there's still at least an hour to go!

Hyakkimaru learns of his father through the last fiend he slays in the montage, and meets his mother and brother after visiting his father's castle, Lord Daigo Kagemitsu. Hyakkimaru's brother is played by a terrible actor, his mother even more so. Meeting his mother and the events surrounding this felt so awkward it was difficult to watch. Eventually it gets to Daigo, the father, that his accursed son has resurfaced, and the demons convince him to engage him. Hyakkimaru and his brother Tahomaru engage in battle, Tahomaru dies, Daigo appears and kills their mother, and fights Hyakkimaru and loses. Hyakkimaru agrees to spare his life due to a heart to heart had with Dororo earlier, and then a demon possesses Daigo in exchange for reviving Tahomaru and leaving Daigo's empire to his son after his death. This leads to one of the most lackluster final confrontations ever.

I've heard that sequels are planned for this. Truthfully, I did like this movie. Some of the special effects were Power Rangers quality, but the storytelling was decent when it didn't lag due to terrible dialogue, mostly Dororo's fault. I've been meaning to watch this movie for a very long time due to my love of the PlayStation2 game, Blood Will Tell. I left mildly disappointed, and hoping the sequels do a better job of combining action with storytelling, and they don't succumb to the action montage curse.

Dororo (2007) - 6.5/10

So amidst all this boring iPad hype, we otaku finally have something worth talking about when it comes to Apple's latest trinket. Behold the greatest Death Note spoof since...well, I don't know. I haven't seen that many!

Pretty damning pics posted by Bleachness of Nick Simmons, Gene Simmons' son, engaging in blatant plagiarism of Bleach manga. I've picked some of the most obvious examples, especially the first two, which practically looked traced! There are more allegations of plagiarism against Nick Simmons in other areas of art, including him ripping off an Audioslave song in Bruce Kulick's Hand Of The King. (credit where it's due)

Overall only about 3 of these interest me; Ichiban, B Gata H Kei and Senko no Night Raid.

Senko no Night Raid - Spies from a secret organization? This might be interesting, based on that on paragraph description. I'll have to fish for a trailer.
Iron Man - Oh Marvel...now that you're owned by Disney, there's no depths to which you sink that will surprise me.
Yojo-han Shinwa Taikei - A little strange slice of life. I wonder if college students do as much weed in Japan as they do here
Arakawa under the bridge - WTF is up with that Starhead man? This might be interesting!
Rainbow - A dark period piece which will likely have tons of teen angst. It'll be a hit!
House of Five Leaves - An Edo period piece about a ronin serving under a gang leader. Fun?
Heroman - Stan Lee. I think I covered my feelings about you with Iron Man. Still...it IS Studio Bones. Might be worth checking out.
Ookiku Furikabatte 2nd season - I don't care for baseball at all. Next.
Angel Beats - a yuri anime about hot angels with guns? Sign me up!
Ichiban Ushiro no Dai Maou - I must confess, I love fantasy anime about magicians in magical academies. Zero no Tsukaima's first season had me hooked, the 2nd too, but the 3rd fell flat. Hopefully this one can save my faith in magical anime-kind.
Working! - Restaurant-centered anime. I don't think there's anything particularly interesting about that premise.
Giant Killing - Football. No thanks.
Hetalia Axis Powers 3rd season - I'll watch the first two seasons and get back to you on this...
Ring ni Kakero 1 Shadow - Fight-o!
Major 6th season - 6 seasons of baseball? Thanks but I wouldn't get past the 1st...
B Gata H Kei - A virgin who aspires to have 100 casual sex encounters, but focuses on a single boy...I'm watching this.
Kaichou wa Maid-sama! - What is it with Japan and maids? Maids in school for that matter. Hayate no Butler suits all my needs in this area.
Hakouki: Shinsengumi Kitan - Shinsengumi and magic are always a winning combo, right?
Uragiri wa Boku no Namae wo Shitte Iru - A whiny little empath meets a guy who might be his older brother. Meh.
D.C. ~Da Capo~ Ext - Meh.
K-ON 2nd season - YES!!!!!
Mayoi Neko Overun - A nekogirl in a sweet's shop. That'll work.
Kiss x Sis - Eh...next.
Ikkitousen: Xtreme Xecutor - It's Xtreme!
Shin Koihimi+Musou Otome Tairan - Romance of the Three Kingdoms. Can't get enough of this stuff...wait, yes I can.
Yutori-chan - "the first anime distributed by email". Huh...worth a look.
SD Gundam Sangokuden - Romance of the Three Kindgoms...with SD Gundams...meh, I have a soft spot for the little retarded mechs anyway.
Bakugan Battle Brawlers New Vestroia - Hey "Cartoon" Network, here's that new season you want...
Hime Chen! Otogi Chikku Idol Lilpri - Distributing cards to get kids to do stuff. There's a bright idea. Maybe we'll avoid more high school dropouts...