Weekend insanity and more...

Ok first off, sorry that the term change only happened this morning, I have been a bit on the sick side and didn't get a chance to update the blog til later than expected. Also I am sorry if the writing in the last Manga review was a little off, I rushed to finish it, and thats a no no, so I will post an edited version soon.

I am going to try to get the review for the second volume of th Gunslinger Girl Manga posted this afternoon then hopefully we are back on schedule.

In other news, I have gotten back into my passion for Gundam model kits again, I will post some shots as I get them done, will also add a few kit reviews as time goes on...Until then, heres a box shot of what I am working on right now, its an SD Sazabi that has been modified into one of the characters from Dynasty Warriors


I am not sure right now if I am going to keep the color scheme on the box or do it as the more traditional scheme from Char's Counterattack we will have to see, I will post progress shots when I have them.
Talk to you later!

MANGA REVIEW: Gunslinger Girl V1

The girl has a mechanical body. However she is still an adolescent girl

Initial Impressions - 9/10

From the first time that I heard of the Gunslinger Girl Anime I knew that I was in for something special. So it was quite the surprise that I found the Manga 2 weeks after picking up the first 3 volumes of the Anime.

Picking up the volume of the Manga for the first time I couldn’t help but be struck by the beautiful cover artwork on the young girl on the front, with the stark contrasts of the Violin and the Pistol. Surely this was going to be a unique read indeed.

Story - 9/10

Controversy has followed this series since its initial release, there have been a number of reviewers who say that the whole thing is unsavory at best, downright disturbing at worst. This reviewer decided to dig deeper to see what lies beneath the surface. The series is about “The Social Welfare Agency” in Italy, which takes disabled kids [girls only it seems at this point] and aids them with getting into society. The reality is that the agency is a front for turning children into efficient cybernetic assassins that are trained to handle the Italian government’s dirty work. Each cyborg has a “handler” an male adult that is used to guide and train their charge. They are “conditioned” brain washed to be loyal to their handlers, and to forget the traumas that they have been through.

Sounding interesting so far? So lets get the criticism out of the way, I would say that of the four girls you meet in the first volume only one looks older than 11, its jarring, but this isn’t some weird Loli-con, it’s a look at what could society do under certain circumstances. There have been jabs made at the “conditioning” but through the whole volume what you come to understand is that the handlers don’t want to brainwash the girls, each of them has a different relationship with their charge, but none could be called abusive, or ugly. The girls are each so unique you get drawn into their lives, hopes, dream, and failures. You will cheer their triumphs, and grieve for their losses. There is a wonderful tenderness to the story that goes along with the brutality of their jobs as assassins, its these contrasts that make this story so engrosing.

The first volume does a decent job of introducing the girls, Henrietta, Tirela, Rico, and Claes. Each one has their own story. Through flashback we are told the specific stories of Rico and Henrietta, the others I assume will be told in later volumes. Henrietta is the most human of the bunch, deeply devoted to her handler Giuseppe to the point of it being obsessive, Giuseppe generally loves the girl like she is his sister and would do anything to help her succeed. Rico has a much different time, she is much more cold and calculating with her kills, her handler Jean can actually be physically abusvie and harsh with her, its a complete contrast to Henrietta and Giuseppe. We don't know much about the other two Claes seems to keep to herself, Triela is the oldest of the bunch and seems to act like a big sister to the rest, her relationship with her handler Hillshire is contentious at best with her constantly struggling against her bonds.

Art - 8/10

In many series the art is what carries the comic, the story while good plays second fiddle, in Gunslinger Girl the images are more complimentary to the story. The fight scenes are incredible creating amazing senses of movement and power.

Also of note is the detail put into the firearms, they are amazing, every detail on the real versions is present here, something you rarely see in a comic these days. The character designs are lovely and delicate, the girls have an almost angelic softness to them, they rarely smile, but when they do you can feel the emotions raditating from them. The problem is that while lovely the character designs are quite basic, which might seem a bit off putting to some, personally I don't see an issue with them, they convey the story well and aren't so basic as to be jarring.

A side note, it appears that the sections have different borders depending on what they are about, the backstory and flashback ones have a black background while the ones in the current time are a white one, its a really interesting way of differentiating what is happening at each time in the story.

Final Conclusions overall - 8.5/10

Gunslinger Girl is a unique read, the story is dark and disturbing, but at the same time thought provoking and inspiring at points. One has to be amazed at the triumphs of the characters through the adversities to which they have been subjected, and dogged devotion to the agency and in turn their handlers.

An enjoyable read, with great pacing and story, worth every penny.

+ Deep story and characters
Slick action scenes
Incredibly detailed Firearms

- Character art is relatively basic
Story may be disturbing to some

Publisher: ADV
Cost: $9.99
Age: Older Teens 16+

Schedule going forward and other fun...

Ok, so here is the TENATIVE schedule going forward for site updates and we will see what happens from there...

Mon: Term of the Week Change
Tues: Manga Review
Weds: Article of some sort
Thurs: DVD/Blu-ray review
Fri: Another review [one or the other]

Alright, so thats the concept, right now, of course you will see other random updates annd stuff, but those are the planned days for reviews and such. We will see how this goes, if I find I have more and more material developing I will change the schedule.

Anyhow, I have to run and complete some stuff here at work, be on the lookout for today's review sometime early this afternoon.

Back at work and new addictions

So I am back at work today, actually feeling pretty good, we will see where it goes, since the depression can hit at any time, but I feel really good right now, and I intend to keep it that way.

Ok, so my roomate decided to introduce me to Final Fantasy XI online, and I am loving it, I honestly wasn't sure if I would, but I thought what the heck I would give it a chance, I have played Ragnarok and World of Warcraft before, but this one really is holding me right now. Its not as pretty as WOW. but there is something about it, I don't know, it feels like going home, guess its the Anime fan thats doing it. ^_~

Also I am getting totally addicted to some webcomics out there, Megatokyo, Star Crossed Destiny, and Drow Tales. I am going to be posting links and reviews to them as soon as I get a chance [and in some cases permission] because honestly, I think everyone should check these out. I am also going to encourage people to support these artists by visiting their stores and getting some of their "Swag" if you like what they do, keep them in business and show your appreciation.

Other than that, Gunslinger Girl Anime/Manga has got me addicted, I should have the reviews up this weekend, hopefully sooner, sorry for the slow pace, I am trying to put a schedule together and its not quite working yet LOL.

Anyways, out for now! Take care!

Days of life...

So I have been off work the last couple of days...I had a horrible depression attack, for many years I have suffered from extreme depression and even with medication it gets to me still.

I fight it, everyday of my life, and I will keep fighting it for the rest of my life. Its hard,sometimes it gets to me, but usually I am able to fight it off. I have realized that getting back to and giving into my fandom again is helping a lot, its helping me to stay balanced and finding my grip on things.

Drawing has been a real peace for me as well. We will see where it takes me, hopefully, I will pull something cool out of it, if not, so be it.

Nanami Ogura - First of my sketches

Ok, so here goes, I have been delaying long enough, please remember that I haven't picked up a pencil or pen to paper in the better part of ten years, and I wasn't very good back then either. I think my time working as a graphic artist have helped me somewhat though.

The characte you see below is a character design for one of my female leads in the comic that I am planning on doing. I still have a lot of work to do, but I am willing to keep practicing and learning.

Please let me know what you think...

Well that was productive!

Ok so I had every intention of getting my stuff scanned yesterday and up, along with the next couple of reviews that I wanted to get done...But then I ended up at the hobby/game store and well got lost...I ended up picking up the first 3[?] volumes of the Gunslinger Girl Manga, along with a neat model kit from Armored Core 4 so we will see what that all turns into.

Went home and my roomate and I ended up watching some episodes of the original Mobile Suit Gundam the animation hasn't held up that great over the years but the story has [Amuro is whiny as I remember and Char still can't stop blabbing.] It was fun to get back to the roots of my fandom for a bit.

Anyhow, sorry about the lack of new content, I did add a new listing of what I am reading/watching/playing just for fun, and so you can see what to expect reviews on.

Note on reviews, some of the stuff that I am going to be reviewing will be stuff that has been out for awhile, but I only just recently got/found, please take a look at this stuff anyways, you might never know what you have missed or should go back to again.

Ok, gotta actually be productive here at work today... - Out!

SOS Brigade, and weekend news.

So not a whole heck of a lot to report tonight, went out and celebrated my 30th birthday, just a lot of fun hanging out with the friends. I have to say its not bad to hang out with people that are willing to help you stay young, remind you not to take anything seriously, that sort of thing.

My roomates and I decided to sit down and watch some Anime, I picked up volume 1 of The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya and volumes 1-3 of Gunslinger Girls along with some more Trinity Blood so we have a bit to watch over the next few days. All I can say so far is Haruhi Suzumiya is by far one of the craziest characters I have ever seen, full review will follow as soon as I am done the volume.

I am going to be scanning some of my own art tommorow to give you guys an idea of what I am working on. I am also working on a very special project right now, involving some experiments using actual fabric textures and such for a creating character clothing I will post it when done.

Still working on some graphics for the site, they are taking longer than I planned, so just hang in there with the changes, I think you will like what I am doing.

Have a great weekend, if I don't get a chance to update before Monday!

UPDATES - 04/18/08

Ok, so we have some new stuff on here, I went ahead and put up a couple of reviews, I am planning to do one Manga and one Anime a week, assuming nothing gets in the way, and more if possible.

I have added a couple of site features as well, the video bar for fun, and a "Anime/Manga term of the week" thing, this will help those new to Anime/Manga understand the terms that are used on the site.

Also there is a poll about adding forums or not, do me a favour if you like the site, please vote so I know if it is something worth spending my time on.

I am going to be working on snazzy graphics for review headers and stuff over the weekend so expect more and more style changes.

Hoping to have my first piece of personal artwork up this weekend as well...

Anyhow talk to you later! [LOL likely today knowing me]

BLU-RAY REVIEW: Appleseed: Ex Machina

What does it mean to be human? What defines us as unique? How do we choose who we fall in and out of love with? Is there truly such thing as “Utopia” These are the questions asked in the latest installment in the Appleseed Trilogy from acclaimed director Shinji Aramaki and world renouned producer/director John Woo.

Initial Impressions - 9/10

Now I have to say first off I am a huge fan of Masamune Shirow’s work, from Appleseed to Ghost in the Shell, his work has walked a fine line between entertainment and philosophy often blending the two seamlessly into amazing stories that must be seen to be believed.

Appleseed: Ex Machina is the follow up to the critically acclaimed Appleseed from 2004, at the time the animation was considered groundbreaking and the cinematography to be some of the best ever presented in animated form. So it was great excitement that I ran out to get a copy for my new PS3 and its HD Blu-ray drive.

The packaging is very simple with a stunning portrait on the front taken of Deunan and Briareos, it captures the feel of Shirow’s work beautifully and only hints at what is yet to come.

The package is the standard light blue Blu-ray disc packaging, which for some reason looks really good with this cover. Probably because it has that futuristic look to it.

Story - 9/10

Without giving away too much the story is amazing, it once again centers around the Bionoids and Cyborgs and what makes them human or not. Olympus is trying to bring the world under their influence to form a massive communications network to try and prevent terrorism, during this time there are surgical strikes by combat borgs that due signifigant damage around the world forcing E-Swat to mobilize into action. Augmenting the human forces of E-Swat is a bionoid clone, Triareos, derived from the DNA of Briareos, who is assigned temporarily as Deunan’s new partner. As the attacks increase and get closer to home, Deunan struggles not only with her feelings for Briareos, but Triareos as well.

The first film was truly Deunan’s story, this one is much more balanced between her and Briareos. You see the tenderness between the characters, as well as the distance that exists because of Briareos being more machine than man. Deunan’s conflicting emotions for Triareos complicate the matters, as she sees in him all the qualities she loves so desperately in Briareos, but can no longer have due to his change to a cyborg. Briareos struggles with anger towards seeing himself in Triareos as the man that he wished he still was, while coming to terms with what he is now.

The story is fantastic, the only quibble is that even by the end we still aren’t sure of the actual relationship with Briareos and Deunan, surely E-Swat would never risk having a pair of lovers on active duty together? If they are just partners there seems to be a closeness that would be almost uncomfortable. Hopefully this will be resolved in the third installment in the trilogy.

Art - 9/10

WOW! That’s about the best description for the animation and art direction in the show, the movement is stupendous, and the emotion conveyed by the characters is simply amazing. One can certainly see the influence of John Woo on the fight scenes, especially the gun battles, from Briareos’s usage of twin assault rifles, to some trully cinematic kills, the master of Hong Kong cinema’s stamp is clearly on the film.

Unlike the previous film the rendering of the characters is a little less heavy this time round on the cell shading allowing for a much more natural look. While clearly still Anime there is a humanity about the characters that helps to suck you into their world.

As usual the vehicles and weapons are all Shirow, with a painstaking attention to detail the technology of the future has never looked cooler or more refined.

This is a film that cries out for an HDTV and it looks simply amazing on my 50” 720P Panasonic Plasma TV, verything is so vibrant and clear, mark my words, this will be used as a reference disk for many people for demonstrating what Blu-ray can do.

My only issue is that its so dark a lot of the time that you don’t get a chance to see the amazing designs at their best, which is a real shame, I realize the need for story purposes to set it they way they did. But the most breathtaking scenes were the ones that were shown in daylight.

Audio – 9/10

A film can have wonderful visuals but will fall flat on its face if the audio is terrible, no such problem here, the dialogue both in English and Japanese [in Dolby 5.1 is well done [Additional language tracks are Spanish, Chinese, Portuguese, and French language tracks in 2.0 stereo], with more than competent actors handling both. The soundtrack is an awesome mix of haunting instrumentals and techno rock. This film has to be heard in Dolby 5.1 to be believed, it’s a wonderful auditory experience

Extras - 8/10

The extras are a decent lot, there are the usual commentaries and making of features, the most notable is one about Anime fandom both in the west and Japan which is really cool and worth watching. I wish there had been more, since the Blu-ray format is capable of so much, but alas it wasn’t to be in this release.

Final Conclusions overall - 9/10

I can’t say enough about this film its got a rich beauty to it with amazing art and sound direction with a story to match. There hasn’t ever been anything that can compare with this film visually computer generated or not, this is going to be one for the ages.

Pick this up if you get the chance I guarantee you won’t be disappointed.

+ Amazing art direction
Stunning audio track
Richly detailed story

- A little dark at points
Could have used some Blu-ray exclusive features

Studio: Warner Home Video
Cost USD: $29.99
Rating: PG-13

MANGA REVIEW: Mammotte Shugogetten V1

You never know what surprises await in this store about a befuddled boy and his clueless goddess!

One day, Tasukke, an average high school boy, receives a mysterious ring from his father. Much to his surprise, when he gazes into the dazzling jewel, a beautiful moon goddess appears—and she claims to be his protector! But having been locked away for a thousand years, she has a lot to learn about the modern world…

Initial Impressions - 8/10

So I was in my local Barnes and Noble looking at the Manga wanting to grab something new to read at work, and I stumbled upon Mamotte Shugogetten, sine I have always loved zany love comedies I thought I would grab this dual volume and see what it was all about.
The first thing I noticed was the beautiful watercolor cover of the main female lead Shaorin, it s a lovely start to the Manga, and something that will pull you in immeadiately. Its definitely an eye catcher as a guy, as its a patel pink color, and drew some interested looks from my male coworkers [as well as female ones] as usual Tokyopops presentation is top notch.

I also like the concept of packaging it is a dual volume, it adds a lot of value to the purchase and provides a longer lasting reading experience.

Story - 7/10

So the story goes as follows, boy lives alone [lord do any parents live with their highschool kids in Japan anymore] boy gets gift from father, out pops goddess dedicated to protecting him from all evil and danger. If it sounds familiar, it is, but is still a good romp, without giving too much away, the characters are fun and loveable, there are some amusing takes on standard Anime stereotypes, and the emotions seem very real and unforced for all involved. One of the advantages of the two volumes in one is that you get to see the development of the story a little more completely with each purchase.

I was a little concerned initially how easily our male lead Tasuke just accepted this strange girl into his life, it seemed like things happened a little too smoothly, as well as how some other bit characters became integral parts without much back story. But aside from those minor niggles and the predictability I truly enjoyed reading this first volume.

Art - 9/10

Minene Sakurano’s artwork is in a word beautiful, the character designs, especially Shaorin are absolutely stunning, the emotion conveyed by their movement and eyes is truly breathtaking. She has a wonderful sense for the human body, and the movement within, and her close ups are simply to die for. I love the distinctness in all the characters, there is no confusion ever over who is who, this is definitely old school style artwork because it has the very rounded features and the huge eyes, it is simply wonderful.

The backgrounds are a little on the plain side, but honestly I wouldn’t have it any other way as I think it would take away from the lovely character designs, which would be a shame given their beauty.

Final Conclusions overall - 8/10

I am definitely going to be picking up the rest of this series, I haven’t had something make me burst out loud reading it in quite some time. The artwork is to die for and Shaorin’s timeless beauty is worth coming back for alone.

The only thing that might let this series down a little bit is the story, it’s rather formulaic, especially if you have ever seen Oh! My Goddess. This isn’t to say its bad, rather its just a bit predictable.

Overall a wonderful series worth picking up for all fans of Manga and Anime.

+ Fun entertaining little romp
Loveable characters
Stunning character design
Dual volume format allows for a lot more story development

- Story is a little formulaic

Somewhat simple backgrounds

Publisher: Tokyopop
Cost USD: $12.99

Rating: Teen 13+

Turning 30 and fandom...

So yesterday I turned 30, the big 30, down the hill from here, my life is over right? So why don't I feel that way...

I was sitting here reading the first volume of Mamotte Shugogetten [full review to be posted later today] and realized that not only don't I feel old, but I feel young in so many ways. This blog has helped me recaptuire my fandom from long ago, and see it in a different light than the way I used to.

When I was a teenager I saw Anime/Manga as a form of escaping a life that I didn't want, and hated, it was easier to slip into these fake worlds than deal with my own. I fell for the romantic comedies because I was alone, the violent ones becasuse I was angry, and some just because I felt wierd.

Now coming back after about 8 years of a dark age I have found that I am attracted to all the same things, but for the greater stories and art, the ability to tell ones own stories through such a beautiful medium, with age comes wisdom, with age comes more enjoyment.

Some plans for the blog...

Ok, so I thought I would let people in on the plans that I have for my little corner of Cyberspace...

As I said in my introduction the primary purpose of this blog was going to be the development of my own Art and Webcomic, but in the process I have realized that there is a lot more that I want to do with it...Sooooo....

I am also going to be posting reviews of Anime, Manga, maybe the odd piece of Japanese Cinema, Art Books, CD's, Games as I can. There will also be a fair amount of commentary on the Anime/Manga culture as well. My own Art is still going to play a large part as well, but I think this will work more to what I envisioned when I started this little site.

As I have said before, let me know what you think as I go along, I may even setup a forum as well.

Honestly some people!

WARNING: RANT

I was talking with my roomate last night about Anime and what it has become over here in North America and we were discussing the utter bastardization of Card Captors Sakura along with many other series and wondering if we will ever get to the point that western audiences will be able to deal with Anime and all its themes.

I remember many, many years ago, going into my local video store and seeing a woman screaming at the poor clerk at the front desk, apparently she had gone and gotten a cool looking cartoon from the children's section and found it was full of blood and violence, the title was Akira. Now there were two glaring problems here that underscore the problem even to this day:

1) Why didn't she look at the rating on the box? I have the video of Akira, and it clearly has an "R" rating on it.


2) Who in their right mind at that store took a look at the whole box and thought that this was a children's flick? Since it has an "R" rating, and just from reading the box it makes it clear that this is no children's story.


For as long as I have been collecting and reviewing Anime I have run into the same things, parents that get upset because little Johnny has come home with porn that he "accidentally" bought at the local comic store, and how could they sell something like that to kids. What I say to that is twofold, first off, know what your children are buying, keep tabs on their orders, secondly, realize that just because it has some bouncing breasts, and some colorful language that it isn't automatically pornographic, its just more mature.

As fans we have been dealing with this for years, we have had to watch the media hammer at the stereotypes of Anime, then when we do get stuff released here on TV its totally bastardized. It would be nice if the TV execs over here would give US teens and adults credit for a bit of intelligence and let them watch what they want to watch.

Thankfully the DVD market is excellent with a wonderful selection of works available and an even more detailed ratings system than the MPAA crap. Still though we shy away from series on this side of the ocean with themes that we aren't sure we understand or approve of. One of my favourite shows is Please! Teacher which deals with some very adult subject matter and unique relationships, its not pornographic or anything close but people are uncomfortable with it because of the emotions involved between a student and his older teacher.

There is so much out there to love and enjoy that I wish people would not get hooked on the really strange and bizarre [Cool Devices, Legend of the Oerfiend] and have the guts to try something new.

Things that are old are new again!

"Follow your passion, you never know what will be waiting for you..."
-Anonymous-

Sometimes you have to get away from something before you understand the impact that it has upon you. Anime and Manga have been like that for me.

I got into this stuff when I was a kid watching Starblazers and Robotech, loving all of it, but no really knowing what it was all about. As I got older I started to learn more and more about the culture and phenomenon. From the early days of Animego and Viz, when tapes would cost in the $50 plus range. I was also part of an Anime club that was responsible for a huge amount of the North American Anime fansubbing work. I had the pleasure of going to Japan a number of times and being able to feed my addiction.

Then it was gone almost overnight...

I grew up a bit, I went to college, got a real job [or 4] got married and divorced, and while my then wife was into it as well, I didn't really find my way back. Then when I got divorced and found that I had my own child coming, something woke up in me and I realized that something had been missing. I missed the Anime and Manga, I didn't care that I was pushing 30, I didn't care that some it had passed me by. I just picked up and started again.

But this time there was a change...

I had worked in the graphic design industry for awhile and had developed my art talent a lot further than I thought I would ever be able to. I also was introduced [again ] to the webcomic Megatokyo and found real insipration in what Fred Gallagher and his wife had accomplished. I knew that eventually I wanted to do a webcomic and see my own character designs come to life.

So why the blog?

I wanted somewhere that I could post my art for the comic and track its progress, as well as do reviews and such on the Manga and Anime I was watching. So here we are, I really hope that you will enjoy your time here, and let me know what you think, I am always willing to meet new people and share thoughts and ideas!