Episode Type: Beach Party!

I have noticed that are many common themes that run through different anime series. They vary from food, school, field trips, festivals, and a lot of other experiences life has to offer. Or, what is frequently cyclical in Japanese culture. You can find the same patterns in American TV shows too, i.e. prom and other uniquely American situations.

We're on the verge of the summer. It's so close we can taste it. Luckily for me, I'm in California and in about 45 minutes, official California distance measuring units, I can taste the salt in the air. What I'm getting at is the beach episode. Just about every series has a beach episode in there somewhere. Here are a few that I remember:

Bleach: As often with the beach episode, it is a shameless attempt at fan service. This episode was in the same genre. I remember something about one bikini clad character showing the other how to make a bucket with their large chesticles. Insert some giggling and Ichigo sighing as he rolls his eyes and we have the episode in a nutshell. Not my favorite Bleach episode, but it was... I don't know. A relief between fighting? I think that was the point... and bikinis. I think bikinis was definitely the other point.

Outlaw Star: This one kind of falls into the category of hot springs, but it's all the same.
Characters - Clothing = Beach Episode
It was a pretty funny episode with Gene Starwind collecting caster shells from two male priests for exchange of scandalous pictures of the third female priestess. If you don't remember what the caster shells are, they're like magic bullets with different spells 'cast' on them. It takes a special gun to fire them [insert tutorial on making your own caster gun!]. It never aired on American TV because of nudity and other such, but you can see it on DVD. Nakie people or not, it was just fun to watch.

Anti-Beach Day Evangelion: Magma Diver: I would call this an anit-beach episode. While all the other students went on an Okinawa beach trip, Shinji, Asuka, and Rei are all stuck back at NERV HQ. But Asuka doesn't waste the opportunity to wear her risque (for 14 year old) bathing suit. There is a lot more swimming in this episode than most. We get to see them hang out at NERV's lap pool... That you never see them hang out at again. As Shinji catches up on homework, we learn that Asuka is a physics genius. As always, they are interrupted by an Angel and Unit 02 get's a volcanic dive suit. Plopped down into the belly of a volcano, Asuka and Unit 02 'thermally expand' the Angel, and a hand from Shinji, they save the day! Huzzah! What a great anti-beach day, huh? Relaxation, stressful interruption, getting dropped in a VOLCANO!, imminent doom via 3rd impact, and victory. All in a day's work, right?

Genshiken: I love this series. Unless you're really into anime, this one gets buried in the background of flying robots, huge... body parts, and shojo romances. It is basically a bunch of otaku, nerdy anime kids living out their college years. They make reference to just about every anime on the block just like nerdy anime people do. (Wow sweetie! Your hair looks just like Rukia!) Their beach episode was spent with them analyzing all of the anime that had a beach episode. They threw in some spice with the nerdy obsession to keep pale, but that subsided to fun in the sun and all that. They also talked about the fan service issue as the guys looked at their female compatriots. It was a really great mix of fun and references.

Take the total activities in these episodes and put them together and we have the Beach Episode archetype! Yay beaches!

If you have any beach favorite episodes, feel free to leave a comment!

New Oldies

I think every creator looks at a piece of their work and thinks, "Damn, I wish I would have done that differently." I do that with postings, emails, and everything I have use of words. I know I'm not the only one. It isn't often that a creator is given the opportunity to reinvent their original work.

Yoshiyuki Sadamoto and Hideaki Anno from Neon Genesis Evangelion fame have been given this opportunity. They were given four feature length movie to play with the reinvention of the Evangelion franchise. In the anime world, this is no new news. It's been going on since 2007 in Japan. As for the USA, we get a two year delay.

To be perfectly honest, I've only watched the two available movies twice each. I know for me, this is not enough to truly analyze the differences and improvements that were added. But here are a few things I thought of:

Dislikes:

1. In the first movie, it lacked a lot of the humor that occurred in the series. Let's be honest, Evangelion gets into psychological heavy shit. As a watcher, we need those humorous breaks. Otherwise, we all want to eliminate human kind to soon and not on Gainax or Seele's schedule.

2. They changed Asuka's last name. Not only is she not in the first movie, which should be its own dislike, but they changed her last name. Why does everyone else have the original name and change her's? It doesn't make sense. And get Asuka on screen sooner. Plus, they changed her entrance and softened the reason for her and Shinji living in the same house.

3. Gendo Ikari is even more of an ass than I thought possible. I know they relived some of his ass moments because they were an emotional push for Shinji, but they added some even ass-ier moments of him. He was to the point of sadistic.

4. They took away some of the close personal conflicts that affected Shinji. Toji's sister isn't in the hospital for long and he seems to only take a brief revenge for it. I just think all of the small social conflicts of existing in a society were taken away. Those twinges of pain we all feel.

Likes:

1. The graphics are freaking off the chart amazing! Watching anime like this is kind of why I got a Blu Ray player. The color and movement and visualizations... Wow. Just stunning. You just need to see it.

2. I really liked how in the second movie at the end there was a pending evolution and it was stopped by the Lance of Longinus. It makes more sense coming down from the moon. Plus, I really like the idea of a moon base, although they should have named it Zappa. It was also a good intro for Kaworu Nagisa versus his other gay/ vulnerable Shinji thing.

3. Rei wants to be a person. She wants to see others and even herself happy. This is a major shift to being a hopeless doll of Gendo Ikari's will.

4. I like the adding of the fourth true Evangelion pilot. It adds that element of intrigue and spying that the series tried to project with Kaji, but never really went into true fruition. The Antarctic base part was weird and this girl is definitely psycho. But if you're watching Evangelion, you like psycho.

Fair to Middlen:

The one thing I'm on the rocks about it Asuka being absorbed into Unit 03 when it turns Angel. I like the idea of there being "Mental Contamination" so she locked up all secret like in what seems to be a medically enhanced vault. But, that also leaves it so that Shinji doesn't have the absorption experience. Asuka's future looks pretty vague. But, she's a strong character. She'll be back.

That's my breakdown for now. I know the more I watch it, which will be a few more times each easily, I will think up and see more of the awesome craziness. Stay tuned for updates here and there.

Leave any of your Evangelion thoughts in the comments.

Faster Faster Blu Ray Bitches!

This past weekend, I watched the new Neon Genesis Evangelion movie You Are (Not) Alone 1.11. It is the first anime on Blu Ray I have ever seen. (I will break down my opinion of the movie after I've watched it a few more times.)

I will have to say that seeing an anime on Blue Ray is a WAYYYY different experience than DVD. The quality difference is astounding. It's like night and day. It's like watching the cells being drawn in real time before you. AND! With the advent of new computer graphics, they can make different visual expressions that don't happen in the natural world.

I've been wanting to see the series D.Grey-Man. The first season was released on DVD and Blu Ray. I have been on the fence about which one I wanted. I don't have a Netflix account, so I can't just see it without buying it. Plus, our area basically just has DVD vending machines and mainstream video stores. In short, i have to buy it. The DVDs come in a complete first season and the Blu Ray is split between season one part A and B. The cost is about $10 or $20 difference. Most people would think, "Get the DVDs, they're just as good for cheaper," right?

Oh, ho ho noooooooo!

I am most definitely convinced that I want the Blu Ray version of this. I saw the teaser trailer on the Eva movie and it was AWESOME! I've read the manga and I think I want to go for this series.

The only problem with Blu Rey is the limited anime selection. It's pretty cool that all the new series are coming out in Blu Ray. When I look at the milestone anime series, they're all on DVD. And I think to myself, "Dang! I won't get any better resolution out of those." But then again, they'd have to recapture the original cells with higher resolution for Blu Ray. The Eva movie was the only anime based on an older series that I know that recaptured original animation and re-did key scenes building on the original cells with new animation.

But then again... The Wife and I made a pact to not re-buy any DVDs that we already have. She did make an exception for Cowboy Bebop.

I just hope that between the USA and Japan all of the copyright issues get resolved and we can start cranking these discs out. I want more high visual quality anime!








  If any on you loyal fans have any opinions about the DVD Blu Ray Battle, please leave them in the comments!

Hopelessly Devoted to You

For everyone there is that thing that they are devoted to wholehearted. It could be a band, an artist, a tv show, an actor(ess), or in my case an anime franchise. Now, I say franchise specifically because franchise also includes all the different spin-offs that happen after the show has stopped production. No matter what product it is...

YOU MUST HAVE IT!!!

I know my brother does this with a couple of bands. He has to have EVERYTHING they've made. My wife has Hello Kitty. 

 I have my own addiction to Neon Genesis Evangelion. I have the series on DVD, the manga, and the two spin-offs that were released in the USA. There are about a million or more different products ranging from action figures, models, busts/figurines (some very racy) to other things like bike shorts, operating systems, and pachinko machines. There's even a amusment park, Fuji-Q Highland, that has a life sized entry plug, a 1:1 bust of Eva Unit-01, SEELE monoliths, and appropriate cosplay. I want to see their uniforms for that section of the park. The problem with this addiction is being in the USA, all the Eva stuff is in Japan.

Waaa waaa waaaaaaaa! (Trumpet Warble) For us Americanos.

When you see the new thing, it's like a spell is cast over you. You walk stiffly and directly to the object, stopping before it. You talk to the material possession and say, "I have money. Please come with me so that I may purchase you." You ceremonially march your way to the counter and trade hard working hours of sweat, tears, and blood for this thing that will grant you happiness. You love and enjoy that thing and put it with it's collective bretheran on the shrine to your impulsive pleasure, because you couldn't get it past your beloved without using the, "But it's a collectible!" line that they've heard from you so many times before.

As for me... As soon as I see something Eva related, I'm gonna get that itch to buy it. If my wife is with me, she'll get out a newspaper and say,

"No! (smack on the nose) No!" 

And I will still want it.

Please share any of your addictions in the comments!

Maybe I'll get that thing when she's not watching...

Double Take

I was driving to work about two weeks ago and noticed this:

 The sign reads, "Rockwell Automation". My brain does this thing when I read things too fast. It interprets what I see into either funny words and phrases or new words OR replaces the words and phrases with something my brain likes better, like anime. For example, one time at work something had "Past Due Notice!" printed on it. It was close to lunch and I was hungry. I read it "Pass da Nachos!" Who doesn't love nachos? I do! This is a frequent occurrence in my life.
   
     Back to Rockwell Automation! So, I was whizzing by on my hurried "how the hell am I going to get to work in 15 minutes from here?" kind of way and I saw the sign (and it opened up my eyes! Not really though). On my first pass, it took my brain about 1-3 seconds to realize that a building might have signage stating, "Rockbell Automail". Wait... ROCKBELL AUTOMAIL?

FULL METAL ALCHEMIST ROCKBELL AUTOMAIL?!?!

     How AWESOME would it be to really have something like this in real life? There are people who watch all sorts of NCIS or FBI or CIA shows and dream away in their cubicle about having someone come up to them and tell them that the government needs there certain set of skills for a mission of highest priority. Meanwhile, otaku like me dream of having some man in black tell me that NERV needs my specific set of skills to protect the planet from alien threats!... And my wife can come too. We all have our little fantasies that keep us from going bonkers.  
   
     The next day, I made an effort to look over to the building that had the sign. I was disappointed that it was not Rockbell Automail. Alas, it was Rockwell Automation. A manufacturer of goods that helps with automating the manufacturing industry to make hard labor easier and more OSHA friendly. It made me sad.
   
     To be honest, the world is pretty boring. Most everything serves a purpose and once that purpose has been fulfilled, whatever or whoever is gone. Sad but true. Something like this had so much potential to be great. Sometimes, I just wish we had fantastical things in the world. Hell, I guess that's why I love going to Disneyland so much. Someone can escape into the fantasy and believe that there is a little more magic in life. I honestly want more magic in my life. Therefore...

BRAINBOT! Prepare to Launch!

(*%&^$# Whirling Jet Pack Noises!!! )

There we go. And Viola! Finished!

I think our job is done here for today.

Please share any of your favorite mental misreadings in the comments!

What's in a Name?

Over the weekend, I was talking to my nephew about how Bleach's manga has started to wrap up. He had to concentrate when he explained the shingami blah blah blah form of the yadda yadda that only Ichigo and Aizen can evolve to and fight.

This all lead to a discussion leading back to Dragonball Z. As all of us old dogs remember, every battle for Dragonball seems to go like this:

1. Taunt each other
2. Power up
3. Episode Ends
4. Review of the taunting and power up
5. Throw the first blow
6. Episode Ends
7. Review of the taunting, power up, first blow
8. Training Flashback
9. Episode Ends
10. Review of the taunting, power up, first blow, training flashback
11. Start fighting
12. Episode Ends

So on and so forth where one fight takes up half the season. Awesome. We got to talking about how they seem to always be evolving on and on and on.

It's the ultra form then the Ultra Mega Form and then the Super Ultra Mega Form! then finally the Shin Super Ultra Mega Form el Diablo!!!

If math really is the language of the universe, here's how it works:

1. Form
2. Adjective + Form
3. Adjective + New Adjective + Form
4. Newest Adjective + Adjective +New Adjective + Form
5. Foreign Adjective + Newest Adjective + Adjective +New Adjective + Form + Foreign Phrase in Original Language

It was fun to go over all the different names you could create.

Hey how about you create a few and post them up in the comments.

Till next time!

Steam Punk

It wasn't until my wife introduced me to Epbot that I really knew what Steam Punk was. Jen, who writes that blog, usually has something Steam Punk related, especially since she went to Dragon Con, the East Coast equivalent to our West Coast Comic Con. There are a few things that I have noticed to verify Steam Punkness.

1. Goggles
2. Leather
3. Metal Gears
4. Boots
5. HUGE Weapon!

As the gears were turning in my head, I noticed in a lot of Steam Punk writers never mention anime as a popular visual medium for Steam Punk. Most Americans can recognize Steam Punk with movies like (the wickady wickady ) Wild Wild West, League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, or the Robert Downey Jr. Sherlock Homes. As for anime...

Last Exile is a pretty cool story pack with Steam Punk-itude. It follows a pilot-navigator combo through an adventure that ends a war, begins a revolution, and changes the tactics of warfare for their world. It has super cool aircraft called vanships. There are general aviation and military vanships. They start as couriers and turn into fighters as the story progesses.
     The history is based in the 1920s-1930s revolution in military flight tactics. These tactics are based on Billy Mitchell's theory of air supremacy, aerial bombing, and air support. Too bad it took Hitler in Spain and the Pearl Harbor attack before anyone in the USA listened to him.

Steamboy! Common, steam is even in it's title! If you look at some of the screenshots and pictures from the actual film, you'll see it's jam packed with more Steam Punk-ocity! I especially love all of the mecha. It's set in the 1890s-ish turn of the century timeframe. All of the mecha is usually steam powered. It ranges from a motorcycle based on one huge ring (someone made a real version), a steam jet platform thingie that flys the main character around, a huge steam powered truck, flying machines, exo-armor, mechanical body parts, and a World Fair house out of Henry Adam's The Virgin and the Dynamo dreams. All in all, the visuals and conceptual ideas are fantastic.




And of course... Hayao Miyazaki, The Walt Disney of Japan.

There are Steam Punk elements throughout these works. Most often it has to do with large cannons and other very WWI type weapons. In his works, there is often a blending of the mechanical and the magical. Hell, in Porko Rosso, he has a pig flying as a fighter pilot. He uses the idea of 'Lost Technology' that sprinkles cross genere from Trinity Blood to Stargate.

But then I also have to give big props to the real Walt Disney... Or really the guys that green lighted this...

I have to say this is my FAVORITE Disney movie, the Mouse consumes enough of my money. I love the Steam Punk-ness of this movie. It has cool submarines and equipment and flying things and adventure and ancient mystic technology and myth and funny and Tommy Lee Jones being evil and AWESOMENESS! It may be domestic, as if we don't make cool stuff too, but it is worth watching. And in my case, over and over and over.

There are many other anime out there that have Steam Punk elements in it i know I've forgotten. 

Leave a comment about a favorite.