Blood Lad: Savior of the Summer

After several weeks of procrastinating (6, to be exact) I finally managed to catch the first episode of Blood Lad and I have to say that I am very pleased with it.  I had honestly lost all hope for new shows this summer but this one really came out of left field and pleasantly surprised me with how good it was.

Synopsis: The main character is Staz, a vampire who is pretty much the king/gang leader of his little slice of the demon world.  Another thing about him: he has a strong fascination with humans, Japan specifically.  So yeah, dude's a huge otaku. Figurines, manga shelves, the whole nine yards.  Things shake up when Staz's gang find a human girl has strayed into his territory.  [spoiler spoiler spoiler], things happen and now Staz and Fuyumi (that's the girl) are off on a quest to the human world [for reasons undisclosed...just watch the first episode].

For starters, the show looks great.  I don't know if it's a case of "first-episode-animation-budget-blowout" or if the studio [Brains Base, most notable for Baccano! and Durarara!!] is just awesome that way.  It's colorful and has an art style that is refreshingly unique without going too far.

Just look at those goddamn tiles!

So far, I really enjoy Staz as a character.  While his rampant fandom is funny, there are moments where he reveals a not-heavy-handed inner anguish over his nature.  He talks about how he just wants to be his own person and not feed on humans.  Fortunately for him, vampires in this series can sustain on more than just blood.  In fact, the matter has thus far gone unaddressed.  I get the impression that the creator [Yuuki Kodama] is treating the issue in a similar fashion to the way E. E. Knight treats a dragon's penchant for abducting maidens in the Age of Fire series (they're awesome, read them).  In the books, human women smell really good to dragons and drive them a little crazy.  They just really like being around them.  From Staz's first meeting with Fuyumi, I get a similar impression -- that vampires don't need to feed on humans, they just find it really hard to resist.

It's unfortunate, but it's impossible to put humans and vampires together these days without straying into the realm of Twilight subject matter.  I will say though, even though Blood Lad addresses Staz's reluctance to feed on human blood, it manages to stay away as well as is humanly possible.

Another thing that I enjoy about the show [and I don't know how well this will stay as the story progresses] is the personification of various demons and folkloric figures in the demon world.  I have always had a taste for shows that feature various yokai in human form.  Yozakura Quartet, Nurarihyon no Mago (Nura: Rise of the Yokai Clan in the states), Inu X Boku, and Rosario + Vampire to name a few.

Meet Saty, I think she might be "Sati" from Hindu mythology, we'll see.

Long story short, one episode in and Blood Lad is a good ride, and I strongly recommend it.

Also, I will never say "no" to a show that gives Eva a good nod.

mini-post: Summer 2013 update

Blegh, fuck my life.

Everything I've tried out so far has been a bust.  Thankfully, though, that hasn't been terribly much (I blame Dark Tower and Borderlands).  I will, however, say these small bits.

Kamisama no Inai Nichiyoubi was okay.  Not great, just okay.  I watched the first episode and got about halfway through the second one before I was just not-wowed enough to say to myself "I can put this down and not feel bad about it".  Now, don't take this to mean that I think it's bad, it just...didn't really grab me.  People may keep up with it and--who knows-- it may really pick a few more episodes in.  So I will say this: Not a terrible show, but not for me.

I also sat through the entire first two episodes of Stella Jogakuin Koutouka C3-bu, the show that GAINAX got behind.  I was dismayed to find that it was not entirely the K-On with gunplay I was expecting, which led to the realization that GAINAX is not synonymous with Hideaki Anno (creator and director of Evangelion).  It's about a girl who doesn't really connect with others and wants a fresh start in high school.  She doesn't really know who she wants to be and finds herself (on multiple levels) in the C3 club at school (war games with airsoft).  Sounds like K-On, just replace "C3" with "Light Music", but it was missing a certain je ne sais quoi that I really loved in the past.

And I have to be honest, I got through the first two minutes of Fantasista Doll before I thought to myself "I have made a terrible mistake".  Could be good, could be great, but I don't really think I'm the right person to find out.

But there's some good news on the horizon!  I'm finally going to see Evangelion 3.0: You Can (Not) Advance at Otakon, which is in a week :D

They won't be showing the dubbed version, but the Eva-fans in the gang are pointedly tired of waiting.

Also Legend of Korra comes back this September

Dubstep Robot Punch

There's a movie that I mentioned a few posts back called Pacific Rim.  I saw it this past Thursday, and felt I should say a piece of two about it, and haven't said anything until now on account of...laziness mostly.

So, Pacific Rim...

The 2013 homage to giant monster films like Godzilla, etc by Guillermo Del Toro, writer/producer/directer.  You may have heard his name associated with movies like Pan's Labyrinth (2006), Don't Be Afraid of the Dark (2010), and Mama (2013) [for a full list of everything he's done EVER, check the IMDB http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0868219/]

One of the main complaints with Del Toro's horror films is that you see too much of the monsters, which makes them less terrifying.  However, this is not the case with Pacific Rim.  In this film, you want want want to see the Kaiju (not to mention that would make for one hell of a weird fight scene if you couldn't see half the fight XD) and you would not be disappointed.  This movie's got Kaiju (Japanese: Giant Monster) coming out of its ears, and each one is unique in their design and the way they fight, making each encounter a completely different experience to the others.

The Jaegers (German: Hunter - the name for the mechs in this universe) are also jaw-droppingly gorgeous, even the Russian Jaeger, looking like a Nuclear Ventilator, was a beautiful thing.

I thought the characters were really well-rounded and compelling, the plot simple enough to follow but complex enough to be engaging, and the fights lasted the perfect amount of time to leave us wanting more (which there was).

All-in-all, Pacific Rim was...just...fantastic.  10/10.  Go see it if you haven't.  Hell, see it again.  I would.

I'll go back to anime now, I promise.

Lost Christmas in July

The title may be a little squirrely, so I'll make this as simple as possible.

GUILTY CROWN IS COMING OUT ON BLU-RAY AND DVD AUGUST 27TH!

FUCKIN' B-GAH!

If you know me personally or are from the future and have read my top 10 anime post I plan on making, you know that Guilty Crown is one of my favorite shows ever, probably my single favorite mech show (though that may be debatable since mechs are IN IT, but not really focal).

Guilty Crown has been called the unofficial Code Geass season 3, for good reason.  There are some parts of it that are reminiscent of Code Geass-- Japan being occupied by a foreign power, a military power focused on ground-based robots, etc.

To put it simply, Guilty Crown is a show that I LOVE and I'm super pumped for it being released in the states (shut up and take my money, Funimation!) and WATCH IT!

Guilty Crown is a show from Fall 2011, directed by Tetsuro Araki, whose most notable work to date is Attack on Titan the show that everybody is going nuts about right now.  It was also written by one Hiroyuki Yoshino, the writer of the aforementioned Code Geass


You can preorder the limited edition part 1 of this masterpiece on Amazon.com for $66.99 and part 2 for $44.99, though I have to say I'm a little apprehensive of Funimation's choice of voice actors.  The vast majority of them are names with which I don't readily identify.  On the flip side, I'm also really happy for Funimation for branching out from their routine of throwing the same handful of VAs at every show they get.  So, tip of the hat, but if this turns out to be another fiasco like the guy they cast to voice Gray in Fairy Tail, I'mma shank a bitch!

Do yourself a service and get your hands on Guilty Crown this August (though I'm probably gonna wait for the price to go down some XD)

Relevant to somebody, I'm sure

So...figurines are a thing, and lots of people are into them.  I'm not one of them, but I thought I'd share this.

A company that makes PVC figurines called Wave has announced that they're going to be putting out figurines of Amy and Bellows, two main characters from Suisei no Gargantia, a series that I realllllllllllly like.

It comes as no surprise that this series is doing well in terms of popularity, but it's still nice to see recognition coming its way :P

http://sgcafe.com/2013/05/gargantias-amy-bellows-swimsuit-figurine-annonced/

Summer 2013 Anime Part III

Now that the summer season is fully upon us, I thought I would at least my promised 3 part post of the upcoming shows before I jump into it.  This part of the summer forecast will be looking into shows that I have literally no inclination to watch and why.

At the top of the list is Ro-Kyuu-Bu SS

The primary reason that I have no desire to watch this is that I, in fact, do not share the sentiment that "elementary school girls are the best".  Damn, Japan.  Just.  Damn.  Secondarily, this is the second installment of an already running series, and it should say something when the fact that a show is in its second season is not the primary reason I won't watch it.  Just sayin'.

The next show that you could not pay me to watch is Love Lab.

Because I need a show full of archetypes like I need a hole in the head.  There's nothing wrong with a show having a character or two that follow one character type or another, but if the synopsis is to be trusted, this show is full of them.  You know what, scratch that, I don't even mind a show having a cast of characters that cover the entire spectrum of archetypes (Negima! has a cast so big that I think they had some overlap before it was all over), but I will never be into a show whose singular focus is that.

And last, but certainly not least, we have Silver Spoon.

In case you've never heard the phrase, "being born with a silver spoon in your mouth" means being born into a life of privilege, and is where the title comes from.  I don't think there's anything more I really need to say about this other than read the synopsis.  Oh, you know what, I think I got something.  I think the money from Fullmetal Alchemist ran out (unlikely, but by lookin' at Greed squattin' in the corner there, I think this is the same creator). Anyways, much as I loved Fullmetal Alchemist and Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood, this really...really does not interest me.

In the immortal words of Hooper in Jaws - "I don't need any of this working class hero crap!"

Summer 2013 Anime Part II

As the name implies, this is the first continuation of yesterday's post, checking out the anime coming up this summer.  And whereas yesterday I was talking about shows that I was definitely going to watch, today I'm going to be looking at shows that I'm on the fence about, the maybes.

Again, the chart can also be found at http://www.alafista.com/2013/04/25/summer-2013-anime-lineup/

At the top of my maybe list is Chou Jigen Game Neptunia The Animation, the adapatation of the Playstation 3 game.  I haven't played the game myself, but I have friends who did, and they seemed to like it, so it might be worth a look.

Second might be the Danganronpa yadda yadda yadda, another adaptation of a game with a pretty interesting premise, though the weird devil-bear mascot kind of throws me.

I'm also on the fence about Fantasista Doll. which looks like it might be a magical-girl Sekirei type affair.  Could be good, but I withhold my judgement.

Lastly, I'm feeling maybe about Kin-iro Mosaic.  Reading the premise, it's not 100% my shtick, but I was at least a little intrigued when I read it, so it may make a good watch.