Hero of the Week: Touma Kamijo

This week's hero is the unlucky student from Academy City. I could only be talking about the holder of the great Imagine Breaker ability, Touma Kamijo.



Touma is a peculiar hero. He has a special ability, but it definitely isn't the norm for shonen protagonists. He can't materialize some elemental substance nor does he possess super strength. However, he does have the ability to negate other abilities with his right hand. Neither a psychic nor a magician, Touma is an odd ability user with a hand that can deny even God (and God's blessings as well, explaining his bad luck).

Touma's sense of justice is also peculiar. Going to great lengths for unknown people isn't exclusive to any one hero, but Touma's way about doing it is admirable for reasons beyond what you would expect. One major reason is both a cliche and an anti-cliche at the same time.

I'm talking complete and utter memory loss of all prior experiences. Simple amnesia is one thing, but something that will doubtfully ever return is another. Unlike most protagonists plagued with this cliche plot device, Touma loses his memory after the series begins. However, he makes no effort to get it back and has accepted it may be useless to even try. Not many people could cope with such a severe condition, but Touma takes it one step further. He hides the fact from all of his loved ones and actually pulls it off. If this ridiculous display of willpower and sensitivity to others doesn't warrant the title of hero, I don't know what does.

So what does the unlucky, amnesiac student do? In addition to babysitting the terribly annoying and titular character, Index, he goes around fighting against actual psychics and magicians to protect his friends. Most students in his situation would just go through the motions hoping their memory will one day return, but this guy just can't sit still knowing an injustice is being committed.

Hopefully Touma's luck gets better by the time the series ends. After all he's been through, I think he deserves a little bit of downtime with no bitchy kid to worry about.

Higurashi No Naku Koro Ni and the Cultural Conflict

I don't like to brag, but I've made it clear I know something about Japanese culture. Sure, I'm no Debito Arudo, But I've been around the block. However, that doesn't mean there aren't aspects to the culture that absolutely baffle me. I could get into the social and political problems, but since this is an anime and manga site, I'll have to limit myself to that.

I'm talking about the conflicting nature of Visual Novel turned hit, Higurashi no Naku Koro ni (AKA "When They Cry"). Now don't get me wrong, I am a huge fan of the series. It wasn't until earlier when I listened and guiltily enjoyed one of the tracks off the CD, Nano Desu. Take a look if you dare.



Yeah, cuteness overload and all that. If you aren't familiar with the series, you'd be surprised to find out that it's actually a psychological horror dealing with interdimensional gods, teenager's going crazy and murdering people, and children having their stomachs ripped open. I think this scene shows what I'm talking about (WARNING: MAJOR SPOILERS)



The whole "cute and deadly" deal has been going on in Anime for a while (See Elfen Lied), but never before have both been given an equal amount of attention. Not only do these conflicting and opposite genre aspects mess with the individual fan but the fanbase as a whole. Who is the target audience here? Is it the standard otaku open to all genres? The term niche is thrown around all the time when talking about these things, but in theory, this should be in a category of its own. Of course that isn't true considering the series popularity, but when you have a track like that, you gotta wonder if this unholy blending of genres is actually a viable combination with untapped potential.

Ponyo Becomes Highest Grossing Miyazaki Film in US

I haven't seen Ponyo yet, but that hasn't stopped it from becoming a huge success in America. Taking in a good 15 million, Ponyo has become the highest grossing Miyazaki film in America. Add that to the instant success of anything with Miyazaki's name attached to it in Japan and you've got a hit on your hands. Doesn't seem like Studio Ghibli will be having financial problems any time soon.

Astro Boy Flops: Takes in 1.8 Mil

This can't be good news for Imagi. The CGI adaptation of famous anime, Astro Boy, was only able to take in US $1.8 million on opening day. Seeing as the film cost 65 million, this can only be considered a major flop. I'm hoping the film has long legs and it does well internationally for Imagi's sake as well as for the future of anime adaptations overall. I can say I will definitely be doing my part once I get my friend to go.

Live Action Ghost in the Shell Gets a Writer: Laeta Kalogridis

It seems that screenwriter, Laeta Kalogridis, will be penning the live action adaptation of Ghost in the Shell. Those unfamiliar with Kalogridis will be surprised to know she wrote the upcoming Shutter Island. Having not seen any of her previous work, I can't quite say what this means for the film, but she seems to be competent enough. I'll keep you updated when we get more info.

Hero of the Week: Adam Blade

This week's hero is the badass priest residing in Black Spot. I'm of course talking about the man with the memory fragment, Adam Blade.


The world of Needless is a dangerous place. Take a few steps and you're right in the middle of a fight between two super power wielding brutes. Of course, this is one of the main reasons Blade is so useful. With his memorization ability, he can copy any fragment out there. This definitely helps him get out of some less than desirable situations.

Personality wise, there is very little to hate about the priest. His wacky and over the top fighting style makes his battles very entertaining even if the result is usually overkill. While he may have a few quirks that...may be met with scorn (lust for underage girls), at least it's presented in a hilarious way even if there's no way something like that would fly in reality.

While Blade's grudge against Arclight may have lead to some fatal situations, the priest will not be beat. He's gotten out of every bad situation in the past and I don't see that changing in the future. Here's hoping he gets his wish and takes down the original once and for all.

Soul Eater English Trailer

Seems like Funimation is pushing Soul Eater a bit. They have just released a trailer for the DVD. While I think we could do without the narrator, it was a good way to describe the series. Check it out.

One Piece Volume 0

It seems Oda is in the process of making a "0 volume" in his critically acclaimed series, One Piece. They will be given to those who see the 10th movie in theaters and will take place 20 years prior to the beginning of the story. Apparently, it will tie into the movie somehow, most likely involving the escape of Kinjishi from Impel Down. What's interesting is that possibly makes the movie canon, a first for One Piece movies. You can look forward to both the movie and the 0 volume this holiday (if you live in Japan).

Simulcast

A few anime distribution companies that hold the licenses of several series have started a simulcast. This allows people in other countries to watch a specific series with subtitles as it airs in Japan. The best part is that it's free. I personally welcome this as it's helping the distributors while still keeping the convenience of being able to watch your favorite series online. While it isn't widespread yet, there are a few staple series that utilize the simulcast, the most prolific one being One Piece. You can check that out here.

Hopefully more companies adopt this strategy.

Hero of the Week: Kunihiko Moji

This week's hero is the cunning Zearth pilot with the heart of gold. I'm of course talking about the kindest amongst the children, Kunihiko Moji.



















Being a Zearth pilot isn't easy. Not only do you have to be careful of your surroundings, when fighting against other giant mechs, but you also die after the battle is over. Many of the children could not accept their fate, but Moji was one of the few that not only accepted it, he welcomed it with open arms.

While the other children were anxious over when their time would come, Moji was learning the system so he could eventually formulate a plan to give his heart to the childhood friend that needed it and crush of his crush. Not only was he giving away his most precious organ, but he was giving it away to his rival in love. After piloting Zearth and saving our universe, he heads straight to the operating table before his heart stops entirely. If that isn't a hero, I don't know what is.

It's easy to see why Moji is the most likable character in Bokurano. In a tragic story where death is inevitable, one little boy goes to great lengths to keep the group from breaking down. Yes, most of the children are heroes, but it takes a special hero to stay calm and kind in a situation where 6 billion lives are extingued in an instant on an almost weekly basis. Just like the rest of the children, Moji will be missed.

Fairy Tail Anime Begins

As I've said before, this is the series I was most hyped for this season. Not only is it the second series from Rave creator, Hiro Mashima, but it also has a chance of being the next long-running shonen anime since Katekyo Hitman Reborn.

For those that are unfamiliar with the series, Fairy Tail is pretty much One Piece with magic. Wizards conduct their business via guilds. The infamous guild, Fairy Tail, is known for causing trouble due to their over the top antics and ways of doing missions. Natsu is a member of the guild and searches for the dragon that took care of him named Igneel. He uses fire magic, being able to eat, breathe and even punch with fire imbued hands.

While I stopped around chapter 7, I can't say much for what form the series will take, but I can say the first episode was a good retelling of the first chapter. The voice acting is good as is the music. You can see all this for yourself here. I'll leave you with the opening.

Soul Eater Dub Preview: JYB and LB Workng Together Again

Funimation released the preview of the Soul Eater dub. Any voice acting aficionado should have no problem recognizing the voices of the two protagonists. Take a look.



So did you figure out who Soul and Maka are? If not, you can bet they are industry veterans. They are none other than the famous Johnny Yong Bosch and Laura Bailey. I personally think they are very fitting considering their roles. While Soul's American voice is very different than his Japanese one, I actually think JYB may be more fitting for the role. As for Maka, Laura Bailey is easily more experienced than her Japanese VA equivalent.

It will be interesting to see how they grow into their roles. Hopefully Adult Swim can pick up Soul Eater so I won't have to buy the DVDs to find out.

Hero(ine) of the Week: Haruhara Haruko

In a special segment of Hero of the Week, we take a look at a hero of the fairer sex. This week's heroine is the beautiful but deadly alien working for the Galactic Space Police Brotherhood. I'm talking of course about the guitar wielding diva, Haruhara Haruko.






















The next time you're having a chat with one of your anime fan friends, ask them who they remember the most from FLCL. If they say anyone other than Haruko, slap them in the face. I think I speak for the masses when I say she MADE the series. While the rest of the cast was preoccupied with philosophical bullshit and subtle innuendo, Haruko was out being crazy, making for some hilarious and awesome scenes.

Let's not forget her purpose in the series. Without her, Naota would never end up with robots shooting out of his head. I guess from his perspective, that would've been a good thing, but we're talking about entertainment here, not the wishes of the protagonist. Her hilarious antics and visual non-sequitars exhibit a type of humor that any fan of the absurdist variety would enjoy. From posing as a nurse to breaking the 4th wall by acting out everything in "manga format", Haruko is easily one of the funniest characters in anime.

Let's not forget her power. Seeing her fight against Naota in his Atomsk form, you would never tell the difference between her and a Dragonball Z character. Take a look (Starts around 3:50)



Yes, it is hard to hate Haruko if you are a fan of FLCL. Despite her selfish and manipulative nature, she has a somewhat endearing personality even though it seems like she doesn't. Villain, anti-hero or just plain heroine, it doesn't matter. Analyzing Haruko's goals can wait as we have a legitimately fun and interesting character on our hands.

Letter Bee

The fall anime season is really starting to heat up with all the high profile series showing up. The next one on the list is Letter Bee (Tegami Bachi in Japan). Not being a fan of the manga, I didn't know much about the series prior to the first episode. However, I did know it was serialized in Jump Square, so it being good enough for a famous montly shonen manga, I thought "how bad could it be?".

In this world, there are delivery boys known as Letter Bees that use dogs known as "dingos" to help them across the dangerous land. They use guns that utilize energy from the user's heart, giving an obvious limit to the bullet use. That and the steampunk feel is really all I gained from the first episode about the universe this series takes place in.

The first episode involves the main protagonist, Lag Seeing, a young boy who has recently witnessed the kidnapping(?) of his mother. An 18 year old Letter Bee by the name of Gauche finds him and confirms that he is actually the package he has been sent out to receive and deliver. Some giant bugs attack, causing Gauche to use the gun a few times leaving him incapacitated by the end of the episode. Lag takes hold of the gun but ends up passing out as what seemed like an aura brought on by seemingly strong heart energy. That's about all that happened.

Obviously, I don't have enough to go on to determine the quality of the series. I could read the manga but I think I'll stick with the animated format for now to see if it's worth checking out. The opening implies the series will end up with a somewhat subtle tragic feel to it. I'll have more when the series gets a little farther in (or ends if it's ends up cancelled like all monthly adaptations do). You can watch the first episode here.

Inuyasha: The Final Act

As I've said on a few occasions, my relationship with the Inuyasha series is purely a masochistic one. While it started out as a fun time travelling adventure, it quickly descended into a pit of episodic filler. Hell, even the canon was episodic. The general formula was this: Find Naraku>Get beat up by Naraku>Get power up>Beat Naraku, causing him to hide>Find Naraku again, but the power up is now uselss. Repeat that a 5 times or so and you have the series that is Inuyasha. Of course, considering the part it played in my early anime experience, the series does hold some importance to me despite the major flaws. For this reason, I have decided to watch the new anime picking up where the last one left off and continuing to the end. You can watch the first episode here.

To be honest, I completely forgot what was going on during the ending of the original anime series. The characters were familiar, but the current plot point (or repeat of) was not familiar. Two important pieces of Naraku fought the main gang and Kohaku ended up reunited with his sister. In addition, one of the body pieces of Naraku ended up absorbed my Miroku's wind tunnel. All in all, an episode where a lot of stuff happened.

I don't know if it's because of the lack of filler, but this lightning fast pace was incredibly rare in the old anime. Hopefully things continue to move fast so it doesn't get boring. I'll have more when we're a little further in.

Astro Boy Marketing Going into High Gear

As Anime News Network reported,the marketing for the CG Astro Boy movie is starting to pick up. Commercials, toys, ads, etc. There's even an exclusive clip over at Apple's website. I don't know about you guys, but I'm starting to get hyped. This could be it; a real western anime adaptation that doesn't suck. Look forward to my review of the movie around the release.