Sunday, October 16, 2011

Somewhat of a New Blogging System

Yes, another entry about this blog.  I normally wouldn't divulge in posts of this nature since this is a more hobbyist blog, but this is more of a heads up.

Things are still a little hectic in my personal life, changing jobs, trying to be social, being an adult, and so on.  While they are settling down more, it is becoming harder to blog on here.  No, I'm not giving up or even going on a hiatus, but a couple of small changes are going to happen.  First off, I will be suspending "Poll of the Week" and "This Week's Watch" for the foreseeable future.  As much as I love telling you how my week went as far as anime watching is concerned, it has been tough keeping up with a consistent schedule.  I would love to bring these back in the future, and I may still do them from time to time, but I'm not going to force myself to do them every week.  I have off weeks like anyone who is into anime has, and I hate to just type "Didn't watch squat this week.  Kthnxbai.", so this will be easier.  I will try to do better with my Twitter habits when I watch something.  The past week has pretty much just been Sgt. Frog again, if you wanted to know.

Polls I am going to try to keep up, but they just may not get changed on a weekly basis.  It may be a day or two before I switch them.  Again, just follow me on Twitter to know when a new one is up.

Part of the reason I am doing this is because of my new job, which I do enjoy.  It is typing and staring at a screen all day, and when you get home, the last thing you want to do is to type and stare at a screen.  Some days I feel like doing it more, but some days I just want to drain my brain on a show or anime.  It comes and goes.  So updates will be sporadic for now, there is no question for that, but I will try to get at least one update on here a week.  Either favorite this page, follow me on Twitter, RSS this page, or whatever you prefer, because the fun will keep coming.

Again, another plea to the viewers out there.  If you would like to contribute articles, opinions, suggest things, or even participate in a possible podcast, please let me know.  Also, don't be shy about commenting on here.  I would love to see some more activity on here.

So there you have it.  That is what is going on.  If you have thoughts, share them below.  Until then, I know the next entry will be about a certain company releasing a certain highly anticipated magical girl show.

Sunday, October 9, 2011

No Usual Posts This Week

Sorry guys, but I'm going to have to skip the poll and "this week's watch" this week.  I've been busier than normal with job swapping, car hunting, car fixing, and other things.  I've been watching Sgt. Frog in my spare time, so that could have been the show for "This Week's Watch", but I just don't have time to dedicate even one of those entries.  Expect more in the coming week or two when all this goes back to normal.  Sorry about all this!

Sunday, October 2, 2011

This Week's Watch: 9/25 - 10/1

This past week I decided to check out some new shows since my list of upcoming releases that I want is quite short.  I wanted to see if any new shows were worth checking out.  I checked out Heaven's Lost Property, but that show was a bit to ecchi for my taste.  I also got the first part to Squid Girl and enjoyed it.  However, I checked out another series that I now have a new interest in.

At first, I thought Natsu (Pink hair, on left) was a girl. My bad.
Fairy Tail is a genre I don't care for, which is magical adventure.  The series sounds like the basic plot to every MMORPG ever.  There are wizards and they all belong to various guilds.  These guilds are where wizards share info and get jobs that will give them money.  So yeah.  It's like every MMORPG ever.  While the plot isn't the most engaging (at least as far as I have gone), the episodes are actually quite fun.  You have Natsu, the fire-breathing dragon human thingy who gets motion sickness, Lucy, the new girl who uses keys to unlock guardians that help her, and happy, the flying cat who says "Aye" a lot.  The episodes have a nice blend between action, humor, and intrigue that makes me want to see what's around the corner.  I have seen the first five episodes and ordered the first two parts on DVD, so if that isn't a sign that I have hopes for this series, then nothing does.

So what good stuff did you check out this week?  Comment below and let us know!

Saturday, October 1, 2011

Poll of the Week: Realistic or Not?

This week's poll is all about realism in anime.  I am not talking plot-wise, but animation-wise.  Some people prefer their anime to be super realistic, the Japanese look more Japanese and everything is perfectly to scale. 
Others like the chibi, hypersexualized, moe, or just cartoonish styles more.  So the question is, which way do you like it?  Do you prefer the more detailed, realistic looking anime, or the stylized, unrealistic anime.  Click on the poll and comment on your choice!

Friday, September 30, 2011

Squid Girl: Impressions

I recently got Media Blaster's dubbed version of Squid Girl (Shinryaku! Ika Musume) in the mail and thought I could spend an entry talking about my thoughts on the show and the dub.

The cutest world invader if there ever was one.
Honestly, I had no idea what I was getting myself into when purchasing this show.  I watched one episode subbed when it first came out and thought "You know, there is NO way this will be licensed over here.  Too much Japanese wordplay in action."  I enjoyed the episode, but forgot about the series because I did not want to get my hopes up.  Lo and behold, a few months ago Media Blasters of all licensors decide to not only release Squid Girl stateside, but also give it a dub proper.

Now as for the release itself.  Media Blasters decided to go the "split" route with the release and break off the series into two six-episode installments.  I would have preferred a complete series release, but for some odd reason I am OK with this, perhaps because of another R1 licensor whose releases I feel....well, they've been well documented.  Oddly enough, they decided to put it into two discs instead of one.  One disc holds four episodes, the other holds two.  Curious choice if you ask me.  Squid girl isn't exactly a visual masterpiece and doesn't require hi-definition to enjoy.  Everything could have been crammed into one disc, but it takes up the same space so I guess a complaint would be moot.

Squids ralph ink.  This isn't Panty and Stocking, you know.
Visually, the series is bright, vibrant, and simple.  I know most people see this as a bad point, but I actually enjoy this type of animation the most.  Sometimes I think anime is trying to move more towards animation that just doesn't feel very anime-like.  Anime, in my opinion, needs to be a simple affair, without all the full-motion, 1000 frames per second that it seems to be going towards.  There is a beauty in simplicity.

The dub cast comprises mostly of new talents.  While it would have been nice to see a cast with more familiar voices, the job does get done.  There are some rough patches and it takes a couple episodes to get used to the voices and...um...wordplay, but my ears weren't offended like they have in the past.  The dub isn't great, but it works and does get better as the series progresses.

As for the script...here's the thing.  As I mentioned earlier, the original Japanese script depends some on wordplay, and most jokes just don't translate well.  Funimation responds to these challenges by making up their own jokes, ala Sgt. Frog and Oh! Edo Rocket, sometimes out and out saying "You know those jokes don't translate over here".  With Squid Girl they try to do their own English puns which sometimes work and sometimes don't.  Ink-vasion isn't bad, but "Con-squid-ilations" is more than a stretch.  Also, it NEVER LETS UP.  I don't think Squid Girl had more than a handful of lines that didn't involve some kind of attempt at wordplay.  So in all honesty, this series is best taken in small doses.  Its not bad, but it does get repetitive.

All that being said, I am looking forward to part two coming out soon.  I wouldn't say I'm waiting for it with baited breath like I am for other series, like Hetalia and Sgt. Frog, but I can say I wasn't completely repulsed by it.  It isn't the funniest (Or should I say 'fin'iest?) series out there, but it is cute and full of charm, so I would say at least check it out!

Thursday, September 29, 2011

Animezing Blog's Future Stuff

Hello all!  Maybe Hi-nii is more appropriate.  You know, like Akira from Lucky Star?  Yes?

Anyways, as you can tell, things have been a bit slow going on here the past couple of weeks.  I just want to say that I'm hoping this will change soon.  I really love anime and I love blogging, but I do my best to not bring my personal life into this blog if it isn't anime related.

I am going to be going through some major changes in my personal life (good changes! (I hope)) here in a couple weeks and I am not entirely sure what that means in terms of this blog.  It's not going away, that's for sure, but I am uncertain if I will be able to post as often as I would like to.  Ideally, I would prefer to update multiple times a week, maybe even day, but with changes comes more responsibility and with more responsibility comes less free time to tinker on this blog.  I can't promise anything, but in a couple weeks you may be seeing a different form of updating on here, possibly.  I could be wrong and things will go as well as I want them too, but again, I cannot promise anything.  I think I will have a better idea of how things will be in a month's time.  I should be able to at least update a couple times a week, maybe three if I'm lucky. 

I'll try to crank more quality entries out the next couple of weeks that will hopefully tide you over until things settle down. 

Also, slight sidebar, I would love to have a co-author or two on this blog who can update along with me.  It could be a fun opportunity and a chance for people to see your craft as a writer or journalist.  Let me know either in comments or with email and we can go forward from there!

Monday, September 26, 2011

This Week's Watch: 9/18 - 9/24

Author's Note: Sorry for the delay, but I'm having some Internet connectivity problems the last couple of days and it doesn't seem to be an end in sight.

Last week was almost a washout as far as watching anime goes, but I finally got to watching a series on Friday and Saturday, so I can talk about that!

Soul is on the cutting edge of Kishin killing.
This isn't actually the first time I have watched Soul Eater, but it's not a re-watch either.  I started watching the series but stopped a little over half way through and either got distracted or lost interest.  The same thing happened twice with Fullmetal Alchemist, so I decided to try it out again and make it through the entire thing.  I'm about 3/4 the way through and I just can't seem to get as excited as I was at the beginning of the series.  Some series has this lull in the middle where it's either filler or not as exciting as the first or last part.  That's not to say I don't like it, but I think cutting about 10 or so episodes of this series would have been a good call.
Death the Kid uses the same weapons I favor in Counter-Strike: Source!
What I love about Soul Eater is the style.  It look like an anime with some Tim Burton influences.  The colors and animation are bright and vibrant and it is hard to look away while the show is being played.  I'm super surprised there hasn't been a TV deal with this series over here because I think it would kill, no pun intended.

So that was my week, what did you see this week?  Comment below!

Saturday, September 24, 2011

Poll of the Week: Movies Vs. Series Vs. OVAs

This is a poll all about length.  How long do you enjoy your series?  Do you prefer the movie, the series, or the OVA way of telling the story?  Vote and comment below!

Sunday, September 18, 2011

This Week's Watch: 9/11 - 9/17

Another week with little anime watching.  I spent most of the week asleep or with my head in a tissue.  I did manage to watch my weekly episode of Durarara with my chat group last night, but that's it.  Not all weeks are winners, but I have a couple of promising leads for this week, I hope.

So please tell me your week was filled with more anime than mine.  PLEASE!

Saturday, September 17, 2011

Poll of the Week: Averages

How many hours of anime do you watch a week, on average?  This isn't the most interesting topic, but I'm curious to see what people say.  Some weeks you get to watch a lot more than other weeks, so just make an approximation on an average.  Click away!

Sunday, September 11, 2011

This Week's Watch: 9/4 - 9/10

This was a poor week for me again.  As you can tell with my update regimen, I've been a little busy this past week and also feeling under the weather.  When I'm sick, I find it harder to watch anime, especially when you watch a series where you need to pay attention.  Even with a rewatch, I prefer to know where I am at as far as the plot goes.  This is the time of year where my head starts to bother me and I just feel like curling up and sleeping 36 hours a day, if you get my drift, but life and work do not smile on the sick.  Neither does anime, for that matter.  I glutted myself on anime last week with the anime-versary, but just was not up to watching much this week.  I do watch an online series which I would like to share with you today, though.

Most people probably remember the Pokemon anime more fondly than they remember. Like anything you enjoyed as a kid, when you rewatch something, it sometimes doesn't resonate as much over time.  Like Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.  I love that show and it was a major part of my childhood, but it seems a tad bit over the top to my adult self.  However, Pokemon was infamous for its 4kids dub, sometimes overstepping its bounds a bit too much.  One web series is out to point out the errors and logical mistakes of the series, and it is called WTF, Pokemon.  Every Saturday hosts Youko and Swordhunter break down an episode into what is called the "bottom 5" ranging from the picky to the blatantly obvious errors of the show.  It's both hilarious and informative of the changes from the video game, to the anime, to the english dub.  Check it out right now on blip.tv or youtube!

What did you watch the last week?

Saturday, September 10, 2011

Poll of the Week: Adaptation Choice

As I mentioned in yesterday's post, adaptations of media into anime or vice-versa, I wanted to see how you felt between these choices.  Which do you like more, when a video game is adapted into an anime, or when an anime is adapted into a video game?

I honestly don't have much of an opinion on the subject, but I'm sure some of you do.  So vote and discuss below!

Friday, September 9, 2011

Based Off the Hit Series...

Recently, Yen Press announced something that got me excited until I actually read the article.  Let me put this in a manner that can only be understood by the age-old medium of emoticons.  At first when I heard that Yen Press was going to publish Durarara, I was all:

:D

Then I read it was the manga and not the light novels, and I was all:

D:

Some small background.  Durarara is the epic anime series that recently was released on DVD and is currently airing on Adult Swim on Saturday night/Sunday morning.  The anime series was based off the light novels.  The manga was released after the light novels, but right before the anime.  In short, I consider the light novels to be the inspiration of the anime series and not the manga, as the manga hasn't really touched on everything the series has during the time of the airing of the anime.  So in essence, I feel the manga as more an afterthought instead of the inspiration of the anime.

This isn't the first time this has happened.  The same is with the Shakugan no Shana series.  The light novels came out, and I consider them to be the main inspiration of the anime series.  There is a manga of the series as well, but it just doesn't feel as important as the light novels, especially with a series that has so much focus on action.

Other series have this same situation.  The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya, Hayate the Combat Butler (The light novels being the lesser of the two in that case), Spice and Wolf, and several others have this problem.  One medium just isn't respected as much.  In all the cases, at least in my experience, that has yet to fall on the anime adaptation.  This is more of a fight between light novels and manga.  Sometimes it is based off a preference, I know, but for the most part, there is the main attraction, and then the "Did you know there is a manga of the series too?"  "Oh.  That's nice.". 

Do you understand what I am talking about?

Thursday, September 8, 2011

When a Series Comes to a Climax

Several anime features that part that really defines the series, the turning point or the portion that most people talk about.  Not every series does a climax, but some do it, and it is done effectively.  Two of my personal favorite ones are from the same creator.

From Baccano, a flamethrower!
Baccano's climax is probably my all-time favorite.  From episode 12, the next to last episode, several storylines are coming to a head, all at the second half of the episode.  It is indescribable and I don't want to spoil anything but any fan of the series will tell you this is THE reason you love the series so much, the last half of this episode.  You would be hard-pressed to find someone who didn't think that.

Celty loses her head in this episode!
From the same creator and recently aired this past Saturday on Adult Swim, Durarara's climax hits during episode 11, which I feel is the best episode of any anime released in the America's this year.  I have yet to see a scene that excites me as much.  Sure, you are not even half-way through the series, but even so, I did not feel the excitement with the other storylines like I did with this scene, proving that the best climax isn't always towards the end of the series, though it is towards the end of the first major arc of the series.

The kiss of bliss...and shame!
One last one is an unsung hero in the anime world called Oh! Edo Rocket.  Towards episode 18-20 you get to the climax of everything.  Every main plot thread comes together in perfect harmony which, again, is hard to describe without spoiling it.  But the series continues on for several more episodes after that, leading to another climax that had both major redemption and betrayal aspects.  Seriously?  How can this series not be more popular than it is?  I need to do a review over it soon.

Some series do provide some semblance of a climax, but most are minor or not really much of one at all.  I will say that when you experience one, seeing everything come together, coming to a head, and makes you writhe in anticipation for the next episode or the rest of the series, there is no feeling like that.  Most modern American shows have failed at this aspect, but I think it is essential to have a well done climax for a series to be regarded as high as they are.

Which series provides a fun climax for you?  How about the ones I mentioned?  Sound off below!

Sunday, September 4, 2011

This Week's Watch: 8/28 - 9/3

Another week has gone by and what a week of anime it was!  I have watched so many different series this week, more than I usually do, and I have a lot to talk about for future entries.  This week I tried a little bit of everything, like comedy, romance, mecha, and adventure.  Out of everything I have watched, I am forced to pick just one that stood out above the rest.  That will be difficult, but I already decided which one it is before I typed this up just so it wouldn't take me long to type it up.  And the honor goes to:

2011 Anime-versary in Review!

Just so you know, here are a full list of entries I wrote this week just for this occasion:

The beginning
Anime I enjoyed before I was into anime
School Rumble anime review
Evangelion 1.11 impressions
Some gripes from an anime fan
The series I cannot finish

Here is a list of anime I watched over the course of the week:

A few episodes of Pani Poni Dash
A few episodes of School Rumble
A few episodes of Sgt Frog
All of Genshiken
Evangelion 1.11: You Are (Not) Alone
A couple episodes of Sayonara Zetsubou-Sensei
All of Fullmetal Panic: Brotherhood

So here we are, the final entry.  It won't be anything long or complicated, but just some things I noticed this week that I dedicated to anime.  This year's theme was "Outside your comfort zone" with new additions of Evangelion and Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood.  They are not the typical kinds of anime that I watch.  Usually I stick more along the lines of the first few on the list.  Comedy series or romantic comedies.  That is my vice. 
Madarame FTW!
Genshiken I have seen before, but it is a series I appreciate more and more the further I get into anime fandom.  The comedy is hit and miss, but I appreciate the slice-of-life parts of the show that make the characters shine.  I will have to do a proper review of the series sometime.

Evangelion was about what I expected as far as mecha anime goes, but it did a good enough job that I will go ahead and watch the other movies as they come out.  I haven't changed my mind about mecha anime, or ones heavily mecha-based, but I can appreciate some of the underlying themes and characterizations that the series is trying to present.
Some call it emo, I call it steampunk!
Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood would probably be the surprise of the week as far as I'm concerned.  I saw the original Fullmetal Alchemist and was not too impressed.  Some parts of it was good, but some of it seemed odd, and now I know why.  The parts I found weird were deviated from the manga, not that I've read it.  This is an example of a series that should NOT have deviated from the manga.  Brotherhood surpassed the original by far in my opinion.  I actually found myself compelled to watch one episode after another, unlike the previous series which took me at least three separate occasions to finish.

As I said, I spent most of the week going outside my comfort zone and I found that some of it is actually quite fun!  There are series I know I could never get into, but I will try harder to not let my preconceived notions hinder me from at least trying a series out or research into it.  I will try to do this more as time goes on.  I may be taking some time off from anime after this, but this week was a ton of fun!

So that concludes the anime-versary 2011 festivities on here.  So now we go back to our regularly scheduled programming, possibly in progress.

Saturday, September 3, 2011

Poll of the Week: Which Fullmetal is King?

This is simple really, and I bet that this will be another landslide, but which anime version of Fullmetal Alchemist do you prefer?  Old flavor Fullmetal Alchemist or newer flavor Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood.  Both have their merits, I'm just curious about what others think.  Comment below!

Last week's poll, Sgt. Frog Dub or Sub had a decisive victory for the Dub.  Another, or possibly the same mysterious voter voted and I thank him or her for that. 

The Series I Cannot Finish

There is a series I am having trouble finishing.  Don't get me wrong, I actually love it.  That's actually the reason I am having a hard time finishing it, if that makes any sense at all.

This entry just may be the ramblings of a madman, so feel free to consider me a oddball.  Everyone else does!

One of the only mecha series I can stand would be one called Full Metal Panic.  I actually really love the series and the mecha parts I can usually ignore.  I feel it is more of a character story with bit and pieces of action here and there.  For those of you who don't know, Full Metal Panic is divided as of this writing into three series.  The first, simply titled Full Metal Panic, is the introductory storyline and shows off all the elements that makes the series great.  Riveting action with some war drama, mixed with horribly hilarious misunderstandings from a soldier's warped mind.  The series is 24 episodes of fun and I highly recommend it to anyone who likes a little bit of everything in their entertainment.

The third series is call Full Metal Panic: The Second Raid.  I know it seems odd to call the series "The Second Raid" when it is the third series, but roll with it.  You can actually consider it the true sequel to the original Full Metal Panic as it incorporates the same elements as the first, but with less emphasis on the humor and more on angsty teen drama.  It isn't a bad series by any means, but it can be slow at times.  I only recommend it to the people who have seen the original series and wants more of the same.  It is only 13 episodes long, but it is well made, and one of my favorite box sets as far as aesthetics go.

Huh?  You had to double check and see if I mentioned the second series anywhere?  Well, I haven't, until now.  The second series is called Full Metal Panic Fumoffu.  Unlike the others, this series focuses more on the humor aspects and does not really contain any serious drama in it at all.  It is, quite simply, one of the funniest series I own.  While it helps to have a background for the series, it isn't necessary and is great fun for anyone who love humor, especially slapstick.  There is just one problem with the series.

I can't finish it.
An army of Bunta-kuns!
I wish I could explain why, at least in a way that makes sense.  It's like a kid who gets a box of chocolates for Christmas.  The kid never gets chocolate and the chocolate is of very high quality and he knows it.  He wants to save the chocolates for a special occasion.  Eat some now, and save some for later, as they are hard to come by.  Several years pass and your chocolate is...urm...growing foliage.  Or like how I have to travel at least 75 miles to get some soda that does not get sold in my area and only buy a couple dozen and try to stretch them out as long as I can, before the expiration date.  Does this make any sense to anyone?

He blew up a shoe locker.  No, I am for real.
That is how I feel about Fumoffu.  I'm afraid of finishing it and poof!  No more new stuff.  No more Full Metal Panic.  No more laughs.  Nothing new to discover.  I'm saving them for a horrible rainy day, like if I lost my job and savings, or the death of a loved one.  There they will be, to comfort me and temporarily make me forget my troubles.  I honestly don't know if I will find the series funny any more, or if the new episodes will make me laugh at all.  They may not for all I know.  I just have a feeling that I will find a time when watching those will help me.  I'm just saving them for later.  As I also said, I'm afraid of not finding anything like that again.  I mean I have all sorts of comedy anime: Sgt. Frog, Hetalia, School Rumble, Oh! Edo Rocket, Pani Poni Dash, and others, but nothing will reach the level of Fumoffu.

Has anyone else done this before?  Am I simply delusional?  Share your thoughts in the comment area below!

Friday, September 2, 2011

Some Gripes From An Anime Fan

Being a fan of anime isn't easy.  You will never find a perfect hobby.  Just give up the thought.  You may love a hobby a lot, but it will never be 100% satisfied with it.  There will always be at least one thing wrong, be it the community, source of the hobby, or financial barriers.  Anime is no different than other forms, like video games or stamp collecting.  I dare you to find a stamp collector that is completely and absolutely satisfied with their hobby.

That being said, for the most part, I am satisfied with my hobby of choice, but that doesn't mean I am oblivious to problems out there. 

Thursday, September 1, 2011

Evangelion 1.11 You Are (Not) Alone Impressions

One thing I wanted to do this week was go outside my comfort zone as far as anime is concerned.  I tend to stick with comedies, or romantic-comedies, or maybe some drama or slice-of-life genres.  One genre I do not really care for or pay attention to is mecha.  I will go more in to that in a future entry, but the only series I own that has to do with mecha would be Full Metal Panic, though the series does not completely focus on that.  I have tried other mecha series over the years: Vandred, Gurren Lagann, One series where I remember one of the words was Zwei, I think.  None of them appealed to me nor kept my attention.  However, over the couple of years of research, one series was brought up continually and was hotly debated by its fans: Evangelion.

Wednesday, August 31, 2011

Anime Review: School Rumble

A few years ago I posted what I would call a review of the series School Rumble.  Since then, I have ingested several more titles and have had more experience in different types of anime, particularly comedy.  So I decided a good way to spend this animeversary is to do a review of the first season of School Rumble.  Now I am not sure if I should call this a "re-review" or a "second opinion" or what, but I will at least be adapting the new anime review style I have begun on here.  So here is the series that got me into anime, and a series that holds close to my heart.  This is...School Rumble!

Tuesday, August 30, 2011

Anime I Watched Before I Was Into Anime

School Rumble will always be the one series that I will credit as getting me interested in the art form.  It is, however, not the first anime series I ever watched.  There was a drought of about 7 or 8 years before I stumbled upon that series, and before that drought, there was...the kid's series.

You'll feel 100% soon, Pikachu!  Wait...wouldn't it make more sense for Ash to have his hat on frontwards?
Even though most anime fans are reluctant to admit it, most have probably seen the awesome and horribleness that is Pokemon.  While this isn't technically the first one I watched, it is the first I bought VHS tapes of.  I remember saving my meager allowance just to buy a 3-episode tape for $10 at Wal-mart.  I still have those tapes, though I don't know why.  I got the entire Indigo series on DVD, so there is no need for them.  I got all the tapes minus the last two or three, when I stopped watching the series.

Anyone want a donut?
I won't do a huge review of the series today, but I will say I did recently rewatch the Indigo series and while I question my preteen self on why I liked this series, it's by no means a complete abomination.  It's bad, yes, especially what 4Kids did to it (See above photograph of such ruining) at times, but it did get better as it went.  I did watch the Orange League season and my opinion of the series plummeted.  I did collect a couple VHS of the Johto League, but never saw much beyond that.  By then I was an older teenager and watching a kid's show was no longer "cool".

Digimon, digital monsters.  Digimon are the Champions!
Before Pokemon, though, there was a slight rip off series that was aired locally in my area on the Fox Kids block of animated episodes.  It was called Digimon and I still hold a high opinion of some of it to this day.  This was the series I followed religiously through the first two seasons.  It was exciting and had much more adventure than Pokemon did.  Episodes usually built on the previous one or somehow advanced the plot.  There was a nice mix between fighting and plot advancement.  The series tackled character issues and growth well.  I looked forward to talking with my friends about it at school and we predicted what would happen next in the series.  It was fun.  Then the second series came out and the ball was dropped to some extent.  I didn't get as excited about it and the ending seemed to be a little preachy to me, but it did close out the original arc.  The third iteration, called Digimon Tamers changed locales and characters, and I never got interested in it because by that time I was busy with school activities, work, and sleeping.  I did eventually watch it and I think it is better than the second series by far.

That older guy looks like Professor Oak...
Finally, to wrap up the kid's theme to this entry, there was Sonic X.  While I rarely watched it on TV, I did catch what I could on DVD.  The DVDs had more bang for your buck, so I had no issue collecting the entire series.  For the most part, I do not understand the flack that this series receives.  It really wasn't that bad...well, except for the last season, in my opinion.  I can see some of the issues, like including humans and some slight edits, but overall I think it wasn't a bad series.  I don't think it has the quality like Digimon had, but I can at least watch it.

I stopped watching anime after Sonic X, until I made that fateful entry on my blog.  It has taken me a few years, but I am sort of caught back up with anime.  I really don't care for series pre-2000, but I do enjoy anime much more now than I used to.  I hope you've learned a little about what I enjoyed and still do to some extent to this day.  Cartoons and other shows and movies we used to watch as kids usually stay in a special place in our hearts.  Most people try to deny those feelings, but they are there.

So what series did you grow up with?

Monday, August 29, 2011

This Week On Anime-zing Funtime Blog - The Anime-versary

Every year I go through a period where one week I celebrate what I like to call my "anime-versary".  Yes, I made a portmanteau of anime and anniversary, so sue me.  Actually, please don't sue me.  I am a poor man with little to legally steal from, aside from my anime collection which is worth more than a used car by this point.  So this is an entry that is going to explain what the heck this is and what it means for this blog.

This is about the time I started to get in to the world of anime, back in 2008.  On my previous blog, I used to do a weekly feature called "Mega Media Monday" where I would post random videos from the Internet and (sometimes stretching) tie them together with a common thread, like "Hair Bands" or "Theme Songs".  Well, there is a local Japanese festival that is hosted every year, and after hearing about it I decided to dedicate an entry to "Japanese things".  I had no idea what I was getting myself involved with.

In that particular entry, I posted a single anime video showing off "funny anime moments" and one of the shows in that video was a scene from an anime called "School Rumble".  After enjoying what I saw, I decided to watch some of the series, and the rest is history.  This was around the last of August into early September, so since then I have dubbed the last few days of August and the first few days of September as my "Anime-versary" week, where I dedicate most of the week to watching anime and blog about it.  Since I have sort of left my other blog, I decided to host a week-long event on here!

This week I am going to type up an entry every day.  That's right, in addition to the regular weekly entries, there will be other ones to follow.  Planned is a review the series that got me into anime, School Rumble, my current top five anime series and why, anime that I watched prior to School Rumble, and other funness.  Also, I will be watching that series as well as at least one new movie.  I will keep you posted via this blog and Twitter on my activities and postings this week, so stay tuned and be awesomed by my fandom.

Sunday, August 28, 2011

This Week's Watch: 8/21 - 8/27

This was not a good week for me to watch anime, so this week's watch was just one episode of one anime.  I was too busy trying to figure out cell phone networks, work, job hunting, and sleeping inbetween.  Something had to give, and unfortunately anime had to be that sacrifice.  It happens sometimes.  Anyways, onto this week's watch, which was last night.

Epic mouse action.  Favorite animation in the entire series for me.

Enlarge and look at the logo on the top left.  Maybe spoilers.

Aniplex managed to get Durarara on Adult Swim and while I don't have cable, I follow along each Saturday night on DVD.  The next two weeks will be what I call "the epic episodes" where everything comes together.  I can't wait to see everyone's reaction to the twists that await them!

What did you watch this week?

Saturday, August 27, 2011

Poll of the Week: Sgt. Froggyness

This week is another simple poll that I am conducting on here.  One of the bigger...I hate to use the word controversies...maybe issues, with the Sgt. Frog release in the states is the dub.  Many fans are claiming the dub takes too many liberties from the original subbed version, and others praise the dub for being entertaining and accurate for the important portions.

This week's question is about this title and this title only.  It is not a "Sub Vs. Dub" debate nor is it about all anime titles.  It is just for the R1 release of Sgt. Frog by Funimation.  Do you prefer or watch the dub or the sub the most?  That is the question of the week.  So clickypoo your poll choice and Speak out in the comments below!

Oh, and last week's poll of "Light's intelligence Vs. L's intelligence", L completely won that by TWO votes.  Sure, there were only two votes cast, but that means someone else had to have voted there!  Thanks, anonymous voter!

Thursday, August 25, 2011

Anime Downtime

Do you ever get that feeling that you just don't want to watch anime sometimes?  I know I get that way.  In fact, you could say that is the situation I find myself in this week.  Oh, and also work has kept me from having a regular schedule so most of my time is dedicated to sleep this past week.  Oh glorious sleep...

Seriously though, I will look over at my anime collection and think, "Hmm, what do I want to watch today...", spend about 10 minutes looking things over, then decide to just watch a DVD of The Office.  Anime just doesn't tickle my fancy sometimes.  I mean I always love to have a coherent and intelligent conversation about anime, but I don't always watch it.  I have a backlog of anime I need to finish watching, but I just really don't feel like it.  I will eventually watch them, but for now I think I'll spend my time doing research on cell phones, which has also taken a good chunk of my time lately.

Do you have periods like this?

Sunday, August 21, 2011

This Week's Watch: 8/14 - 8/20

This week was a good week for anime viewing.  I got several items in the mail so I had plenty of material to watch and I had a little extra time off, so I was able to catch a couple good shows this week.  I usually order anime from Rightstuf and since I live a state away from their facility, I get things quite a bit earlier than some people.  So this week's show is technically still not released as of this typing, but I know plenty of other people have been enjoying it.  One I watched this week was Spice & Wolf 2, but that was forgettable, so my pick this week would be:

Saturday, August 20, 2011

Poll of the Week: Who is Smarter. Light or L?

It's a Death Note poll this week folks!

Pick between the two.  I would definitely have to say that between the two, L is probably the smarter one, just because he seemed to know that Light was doing or trying to do every step of the way.  So what do you think.  Was Light the smarter of the two, or was L?  Debate below!

Thursday, August 18, 2011

Space Invaders!

By that I mean how much room anime takes up on a shelf.

When I first started collecting anime, I got a full sized bookshelf, cut it in half, and made a "media shelf".  I was starting to collect anime DVDs and they only took up half a shelf.  I didn't think I would be getting myself in too deep, but fast forward three years later and now I am out of space of my five shelf media area.  Now admittedly, some of the space is currently being occupied by my manga, but the sad fact is that I will need to find a new shelf for my manga and just keep the current shelf anime only.  I have a relatively small room, so it won't be easy to add a new shelf, plus I like my window mounted air conditioner to not be blocked by a monolith of pressed chipboard.

Tuesday, August 16, 2011

Your Assignment For The Week: Eden of the East

He has amnesia, she has no excuse!
Watch a couple episodes of this anime to see what all the hype is about!  Hurry before Funimation takes the vids off the Youtubes!

Again, the embedding of the videos are forbidden by said company, so you'll have to do with snail linking.  Here is the first episode dubbed and here is the second episode dubbed.  If you want to see more, check out the show's Youtube site. There you can watch all 11 episodes either dubbed or subbed depending on your preference.  Check it out now and comment below!

Monday, August 15, 2011

State of the Anime-zing Blog

If you're a person who adores patterns, you would think today's entry would be another review (it has been happening every other Monday so far), but I have a confession to make: I haven't had enough free time to type up a full review.  I'm also losing sleep and there is some illness going around here, so I do need to catch up on sleep.  Anyways, this post is about my eventual plans for this blog.

Unlike most bloggers on the Internet, I have a relatively demanding job that has been requesting more of a presence of me lately despite my objections (I pretty much loathe my current line of work).  I also have other real life obligations like spending time with family and traveling to non-distant cities.  I've also not had as much free time to dedicate to anime the past couple weeks as much as I would like to, and I don't spend 100% of my free time with just anime.  Maybe 85% would be a more accurate count.  I'm a huge fan of anime, and I don't want to just halfway do a blog entry every day which is what I am forced to do with a daily schedule that I have been using to update this site.

My original plan was to just post maybe 3 to 4 times a week and leave it at that, but I also love blogging a lot.  Unfortunately, I have yet to receive a single comment on here and no one has participated in the polls no matter how much advertising I do.  I know it takes time and awesome content to get people here, so I've been focusing on quantity the past few weeks on here.  I've put in a lot of time on this site and I have loved it!  Once I do get the audience and responses I get, I will do everything in my power to resume daily posting, if not more.  I want that so badly.  I've had a lot of fun sharing my anime hobby with the Internet public and I will continue to do so.  Now that I've almost got 30 entries on here, I think the dailyness will stop unless life takes an unexpected turn or I get popular crazy fast.  Maybe both will happen.  Maybe neither.  We'll see.

So please comment and share this awesomeness with other people.  I want dialog on here and I will respond as much as I can.  I will keep posting on here as much as I can, but if I miss a day here or there please don't shoot me!  Again, content will be several times a week still, but it just may not be daily.  Sign up for RSS or some other method, or follow me on Twitter on the right side and I will usually post when an entry is up.

So have a nice day and help an anime fan out!  Thanks for reading!

Sunday, August 14, 2011

This Week's Watch: 8/7 - 8/13

I got some new anime this week while working on my rewatch of another series, so that got put off since I have already seen it and went for the new stuff.  I did get my copy of Haruhi-chan Part 2, but the one series I choose to feature this week is:

Saturday, August 13, 2011

Poll of the Week: Manga Vs. Anime

This one is short and sweet.  If this site ever gets followers, I will post more intriguing ones, but for now this is what you have.  You have to make a choice.  Say the planet is being attacked by aliens and you had to choose between two art forms: Anime or Manga.  One cannot survive.  One must be eradicated.  I know this is irrational, but I am half asleep while I type this so go with it.

I would choose anime, simply because of my irrational prejudice against reading.  I am not a reader.  In my spare time, I watch DVDs.  The last book I read was a couple years ago.  Maybe I shouldn't telegraph that a lot, but I am simply not a reader.  I do read some manga, but given the choice between the two, I usually choose anime, simply because it provides at the very least some background noise.

So discuss.  Anime or Manga.  Only one can survive!

Friday, August 12, 2011

Site of Approval: Anime Your Way

Some blogs are informative while others are great for a group of friends to talk and discuss anime.  One blog I follow has a big emphasis on discussion would be Anime Your Way.

Thursday, August 11, 2011

The Art-Story Connection

The anime I watch could be considered mostly moe-styled animation.  I look at my anime shelf (I sleep next to it every night) and a good portion would be the stylistic type usually done by Kyoto Animation, Key, or various other studios.  However, for me, it simply takes more than good art to get me interested.

Story matters too, and the ones I have liked the most I have cared more about the story.  However, story alone isn't good enough for me too.  I know that sounds backwards, but I need the show to be visually appealing in order for me to get interested.  If the characters are in the uncanny valley (which has made me lose interest in most American animation since it is so heavily CG now) it makes it impossible to enjoy the story properly. 

For me, the series needs both visual pleasure and story pleasure to be fully appreciated.  It is like an interviewee, it doesn't matter if they are the most qualified person in the world, if they come in dressed in pajamas or something distracting, they are not getting the job.  On the flip side, you can have the best looking interviewee in the world, supermodel looks, but if they are a culinary person and the position is for a physical therapist, then they are not getting the job either.  For me, anime is the same, both the story and art needs to prove that it is worth my attention.

How about you?  Do you care more about story?  Do you need a nice mix?  Are you more into art?  Discuss below!

Wednesday, August 10, 2011

This Needs A Reboot: Negima!

See?  Just like Harry Potter, right?  Right?  Fine!  I see how you are!
Out of all the series I have, I think the one that deserves a major reboot is Negima, or as I like to call it, Japanese Harry Potter.  Why does it deserve such an undertaking?  I think the answer is simple to fans of the series, but I will highlight those to someone who perhaps doesn't know the background of the series.

Tuesday, August 9, 2011

Your Stream Assignment For Today: Check Out Oh! Edo Rocket!

The cast of the show is disappointed that you haven't seen them in action yet!
Some series are really underrated, and sadly those are the ones I enjoy the most.  One such overlooked series goes by the name of "Oh! Edo Rocket!"  Really, any fan of Edo period anime or FLCL should really enjoy this series.  Unlike most anime, this series is based off of a stage play, so there are some theatrical tropes in this show that make it quite epic!

So today's assignment is to watch a couple episodes of this excellent comedy/drama series.  Since Funimation won't let me embed the video on this site, I will just have to link you to the show's page.  You can have your choice in watching it either dubbed or subbed.

Monday, August 8, 2011

5 Anime Series That Deserve Sequels

Today is a listing entry on which series I feel desperately deserves a sequel in terms of story or completing the manga.  So let the countdown begin!

Sunday, August 7, 2011

This Week's Watch - 7/31 - 8/6

This was another slow week of anime watching mainly due to distractions (Went to a retro 80's arcade and had to get my Zaxxon on!) but the next week is already looking promising.  I decided to take a risk and do something I rarely do, watch subbed anime.  For those who don't know, 95% of the anime I watch is dubbed, but more on that controversy later, but when you don't have a choice between a dub or a sub (At least for now, this week's pick is getting one soon!), you have to suck it up and read your anime!  Now I also started a rewatch of Full Metal Panic, but the series I feel that deserves major props this week is:

Saturday, August 6, 2011

Poll of the Week: Just Click Yes

To further my insecurities about an audience on here, this week isn't as much a poll as it is one of those kids who stands on the sidewalk with a click counter counting cars that drive past.  All you have to do is click "Yes" on the poll and you're done.  No harm, no fowl.

Get to it and finish your assignment!

Friday, August 5, 2011

How to Get More People To This Blog

I can't lie, I want attention.  What would be the best way to get more viewers to this blog?  I've created a special Twitter account and have advertised on Facebook a couple times (Don't want to tick off my friends you know), and have linked my blog to a few sites, so what else am I missing?  Could you guys give me some suggestions or feedback?

Thursday, August 4, 2011

Frequently Watched Series

Some anime you can watch just once and not feel compelled to watch again.  I call those "bad shows".  There are others you may enjoy, but don't feel overly compelled to watch but once in a great while.  Most of the Key visual novel series, like Kanon and Clannad, I cannot watch but once in a great while because of the emotional depth of the stories.  Then there are those you watch once in a while.  For me, that is Fullmetal Alchemist and Chobits.  Then there are others you frequently watch, sometimes just to have background noise wherever you're at.  Those are the ones I'm talking about today.

Wednesday, August 3, 2011

Does Dragonball Z Make You An Otaku?

Sometimes I talk with a guy I work with talks with me and I end up talking about anime sometimes, though when I do, the only anime he talks about is Dragonball Z.  I've tried to get him open to other series, like Durarara and Eden of the East, but he thinks that Dragon Ball is the only one worth watching, aside from Death Note.
I watch Dragonball Z and Fullmetal Alchemist.  I'm an otaku!
 Do not get me wrong, I do not have a problem with people who like the Dragon Ball series.  I know there are a ton of fans of the series out there, but I am definitely not one of those people.  I've tried several occasions to watch it, but I could never get past a single episode.  However, that does bring me to a point.  People who only watch a series like Dragonball Z, Fullmetal Alchemist, Bleach, or anything to that effect sometimes calls themselves otaku and I have a problem with that.

Tuesday, August 2, 2011

Your Stream Assignment For Today: Baccano

Watch an episode of Baccano.  It's free and easy to watch! 


And here is episode two which I recommend watching first.


You can watch the rest of the series here.

Monday, August 1, 2011

Anime Review: Baccano!

Most of the messed up cast of Baccano!
This review is going to be about one of my absolute favorite anime titles of all time.  I believe I may have mentioned somewhere that I sort my anime titles on my shelf by favoritism and how often I rewatch it.  Baccano is near the top of that list, so yeah, I would say I like this series, but I will do my best to break it down for you.

Sunday, July 31, 2011

This Week's Watch: 7/24 - 7/30

Anime watching is difficult for me to get to some weeks, and this was no exception, so I just watched a few episodes of:

Yeah...What was I thinking?

Saturday, July 30, 2011

Poll of the Week: Anime Cons and Announcements

This week's question is about anime companies and announcements at conventions.  This is convention season with the big three cons out there for anime fans, Anime Expo, Comic Con, and Otakon.  Usually these are the conventions that licensors bring their big guns, their "big news of the year" sort of stuff, but I feel that most anime companies have really dropped the ball this year.

We get it, anime is a niche market and the economy is bad, but as someone who isn't a fan of Dragon Ball (I know, blasphemy!), if your only major announcement is "Blu-Ray for a series that has been remastered more times then we can count on one hand", then I can't help but feel a bit abandoned.  I think all companies have been dropping the ball this year as I have yet to be excited about any of the announcements that have been out as of late, with the exception of the dubbing of Madoka Magica, possibly.  So here is the question:  Do you think companies are bringing their A-game to conventions anymore or are they just announcing titles nilly willy? 

Personally, I feel this has been a real lackluster year for conventions.  I remember staying up last year for the Funimation panel at Anime Expo and cheering out loud some of the announcements (Like the Geneon sweep), but this year it just seemed to lack.  I know I felt the same about E3.  Some years are epic, and some are just not as good.  Is anime the same to you?

Go poll and discuss below!

Friday, July 29, 2011

Site of Approval: Anime News Network


Alright, this may seem like anime 101, but probably the single best resource for anime out there would be the fantastic site Anime News Network.  There isn't much I can say that hasn't been said, but I will try to give an overview of what the site has to offer.

Wednesday, July 27, 2011

From One Extreme to the Other

One thing I cannot usually do is watch two anime of the same genre back to back.  For instance, I could not watch two action-packed shonen titles back-to-back.  I need a little variety with my anime watching.  After watching Fullmetal Alchemist, I just couldn't watch another serious sci-fi drama.  I would need either a romance or comedy to balance out the strong drama from that show.

Monday, July 25, 2011

This Week’s Watch: 7/17 – 7/23

Every week I am planning on highlighting a show, movie, or episode of an anime I watched over the past week.  Sometimes they will be long rants, or sometimes something short and sweet.  So this week’s is:

(Please don’t see me as a broken record.  Spin me right round right round right round…)

Wednesday, July 20, 2011

Anime-zing Blog’s Review Criteria

Perhaps I should have posted this before I posted the first review, but alas, I was not thinking at the time.  Maybe I belong in class F…

Anyways, I will frequently be adding reviews to this blog of various series and movies that I watch.

Monday, July 18, 2011

Anime Review: Baka And Test

The little guys are called avatars, you know, like Yahoo, but way more awesome.
The first anime I am going to review on here is one that has been hotly awaited for by its fans, so I thought I would give you guys my thoughts on it as I have already gotten it!  Baka and Test is a comedy-parody anime about a group of students that go to a special school where they battle avatars whose power is based off their test scores.  There are a lot of specific rules to the battling system, but I will leave it at that since, sadly, this first series doesn’t focus a lot on that plot device, which is odd since the subtitle of the American release is “Summon the Beasts”.

Sunday, July 17, 2011

The Anime-zing First Post


This...is anime!
Hello guys, this is the Allengator here and this is a blog where I am specifically going to hopefully entertain and inform people about the joys and perils of anime-dom. Normally, I would start a post about my own personal life, but I am going to keep this purely on a professional/fan-atic level, so I will just be talking about my thoughts, opinions, and blabberings about anime in general.  If you are interested, I do keep a blog at LiveJournal that has older anime and more personal entries.  I should get back to that one day.