Sakamichi no Apollon PV

Director Shinichirou Watanabe, who has created notable works like Cowboy Bebop and Samurai Champloo, is directing a new series, Sakamichi no Apollon (Kids on the Slope). Yoko Kanno is also on board for doing the music. Some of her well recognized work can be heard in shows like Cowboy Bebop, Ghost in the Shell, and Aquarion. It already looks pretty interesting to me. With Kanno and Watanabe combo returning again, it looks like it could be a solid show.

Commanders of Fate: Characters with a Reason

Warning: This post contains minor to major spoilers for Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann, Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood, Neon Genesis Evangelion, Mahou Shoujo Madoka Magica, and Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion (general).

As a sort of branch to my personal philosophy that I’ve yet to put into words, a few characters in anime came to mind that seemed relevant to what it is. There are quite a few things to factor in when thinking of a truly well written character, and to name a few they could be development, personality, motivations, and goals. One thing about characters that I truly admire is their actions in accordance with their ideology. Normally, characters tend to follow the general flow of the narrative they’re in, reacting dynamically to what happens around them, whether it’s an impending evil, or a common day-to-day adventure. The characters that I come to value the most are the ones who aspire to become the catalyst of that very flow, which distorts the direction of the future to their liking for whatever reason they may have. Following is a short list of characters that I believe to be candidates to fit this category.

Big Ol’ Project thing coming later this year

Couldn't find a picture to relate to this post so here is Ushio sitting on a dango

 

I have been throwing around a certain idea for the past year that I’ve been wanting to do. This is something I’m sure every anime blog writer has done already by now and I believe it is time that I do the same. I’m talking about creating a list of my favorite anime’s of all time. Now I made a top 25 sometime last summer, but I sort of threw that together haphazardly  and find myself looking over it all the time questioning whether or not this list is accurate and changing it constantly. So I’ve decided that this year I’m going to do it right and put some serious time into creating this list. And by serious time, I mean re-watching a lot of anime. There are a good number of shows on the list I’ve already made that I haven’t watched in 3 or 4 years. So I have a good amount of work ahead of me because not only to I want to do  this, but I want to do it right. And when it is all said and done, I will post my results here on the blog for all to see. And hopefully, my fellow blog writers will join with me in sharing their top lists as well. Same goes to you readers out there. So keep a look out for this way down the road.

Anime Afterlife Podcast End of the Year 2011 Awards Show

Alas it is here, the 2011 end of the year awards show! Anime Afterlife Podcast hosts, DavetheZombie, Vensito, Gabe, Lerxst, and blog writer, Richard, give the annual awards to the anime shows and movies of 2011. It’s a long listen (about 2 and a half hours long), but we had a lot of fun doing this awards show. (Just imagine if we had guests on, yikes). Sorry if I seemed low tone this show, I was incredibly sick (still am too), but I did my best to put some spirit into the show.

Download: Anime Afterlife Podcast End of the Year 2011 Awards Show

Listen here:

Evangelion and the Chips off the Old Block

Warning: This post contains severe spoilers to the Evangelion franchise.
No, this is not an analytical post as to why the Rebuilds are a sequel to Evangelion.

Evangelion was and is important. Yes, because it’s a big contribution to the industry. Yes, because it’s a precedent in the mecha genre, and for anime in general in numerous ways. Yes, because it’s cool, and full of religion and mystery, and for its psychological structure. What else makes it important, and where do the Rebuilds of Evangelion stand?

The big anime slump

 

We all know the feeling. One of these days, you’ll feel like every anime you watch anymore just sucks and you can’t stand it. It’s this “rut” you just can’t seem to climb out of. Nothing satisfies your tastes. Nothing can keep up with your standards and everything just pales in comparison to the great shows you’ve already watched. Being in an anime rut just fucking sucks. Where did things go wrong? How it can be fixed? Never fear, my friends. I am here to help. Here are some suggestions I’ve come up with to get people out of this little rut.

And the categories are…

Hey guys, we’re getting close to the day of the recording of our End of The Year Show (likely tomorrow) for 2011. We decided to change a few categories up from last year, taking out some of the unnecessary ones. Anyhow, it should be a fun show, so look forward to listening to it. Unfortunately, we’re not accepting guests this year as we already have a full house this time. Still, we encourage people to share their choices in the comments below!

Our categories are:

1. Best OP
2. Best ED
3. Best Soundtrack/Music
4. Best Male Character
5. Best Female Character
6. Worst Character
7. Best Seiyuu
8. Best Art-style
9. Most Original Show
10. Best Season
11. Best Surprise
12. Biggest Disappointment
13. Most Improved
14. Most Overrated
15. Most Underrated
16. Guilty Pleasure
17. Worst Series
18. Best OVA/Movie
19. Best Comedy
20. Best Drama
21. Best Action
22. Best Slice of Life
23. Best Overall Series
24. Best Anime from Another Year
25. Most Anticipated Series

I also feel so sick these days too. Coughing and sneezing up so much mucus makes me look like this:

Music Video Monday #50: Go to DMC Edition

It might be odd to end something as we start off the new year, but I think it’s best to lay these music video mondays to rest. Why? Because A) I’m running out of music videos to post and B) I just don’t think they’re that much of importance to post anymore, nor does anyone seem to care about em. I’ll probably come up with some other weekly segment to replace this one too. Anyhow, this (probably) last music video is ‘ Amai Koibito’ by Daisuke Kishio, or better known as the ED to Detroit Metal City. I know I’m in the minority when I say I enjoy this sappy song over the hardcore metal songs of DMC, but fuck it, it’s so damn catchy.