Monthly Archives: February 2007

Anime DVD and Manga releases for February 20 - March 5

Since I was sick last week, I didn’t do this week, so this is a catchup post.

Anime DVDs

Negima! DVD Volume 6February 20, 2007
Basilisk - Volume 5
Fate/stay night - Volume 2
Gunbuster - Sub DVD
Mobile Suit Gundam Wing: Endless Waltz
Mobile Suit Gundam: Char’s Counterattack
MoonPhase - Volume 4
Naruto - Dub Volume 9
Negima! - Volume 6
Paradise Kiss - Volume 2

February 27, 2007
Inu Yasha - Volume 51
Kodocha - Box Set 1
One Piece - Dub Volume 7
Voltron - Set 3

Manga

Vagabond Manga Volume 24February 20, 2007
Hana-Kimi - Volume 16
Monster - Volume 7
Vagabond - Volume 24

February 28, 2007
Basilisk - Volume 4
ES - Volume 4
GALS! - Volume 9
Love Roma - Volume 5
Negima! - Volume 13
Suzuka - Volume 3
Tenjho Tenge - Volume 12
The Devil Does Exist - Volume 9

Anime Review: Spirited Away - 90.0%

The Essentials

Spirited AwayName: Spirited Away
Genre: Fantasy
Episodes: N/A
Released: July 20, 2001
Based On: N/A
Director: Hayao Miyazaki
Produced By: Studio Ghibli
US Distribution By: Walt Disney

Major Japanese Cast

Chihiro: Rumi Hiiragi
Haku: Miyu Irino
Yubaba/Zeniba: Mari Natsuki
Kamaji: Bunta Sugawara
Rin: Yumi Tamai
No Face: Tatsuya Gashuin

Major English Cast

Chihiro: Daveigh Chase
Haku: Jason Marsden
Yubaba/Zeniba: Suzanne Pleshette
Kamaji: David Ogden Stiers
Rin: Susan Egan
No Face: Bob Bergen

Scores

Animation: 10/10 (x 4 = 40 pts)
Story: 8/10 (x 4 = 32 pts)
Music: 9/10 (x 4 = 36 pts)
Coherence/Story Arc: N/A
English Dubs: 9/10 (x 1 = 9 pts)
Gut Score: 9/10 (x 5 = 45 pts)

Total: 162/180 (90.0%)

Review

Spirited Away is a story about Chihiro, a young girl who finds herself trapped in a magical world. The story starts as Chihiro is moving to a new town with her family, and is depressed about it. Her family gets lost trying to find the house and stop upon reaching a small tunnel. They decide to go through the tunnel to explore and soon find a town, which seems abandoned, but several shops have food. Chihiro’s parents decide to start eating, but Chihiro declines, and starts to explore herself. Soon, she runs into a boy, Haku who tells her that she doesn’t belong there and must leave. Chihiro runs back to find her parents, but find that the have turned into giant pigs.

Chihiro runs around in a panic before finally breaking down crying, and soon finds herself disappearing. Soon Haku finds her again and gives her some medicine that stops her disappearance. He tells her that he’ll try to get her a job at the bath house he works in. Eventually, through Haku’s guidance, Chihiro finds her way to the office of Yubaba, who is required to give anyone to asks for a job a job. However, to try to control Chihiro, Yubaba takes away her name and renames her Sen and Sen’s adventure of working at the bath house begins as she tries to find a way to save her parents.

Spirted Away is generally seen as the greatest of Miyazaki’s achievements, and the one which finally put his movies on the map in the United States, and this is for good reason. Not only do I think that this is Miyazaki’s best movie, but it may very well be one of the best anime movies I’ve seen. It has a pretty compelling story with likable characters all-around, with great animation quality and an excellent score to go along with it. You really care about the characters, and almost feel like celebrating with the characters when Sen accomplishes something big.

That isn’t to say that Spirited Away comes without it’s flaws, however. I got a bit of a feeling that some of the events in the movie kind of “just happened” and weren’t really driven by anything integral to the movie, though this could have been intentional. However, this isn’t much of a distraction, and is easily overshadowed by the strength of the story and the characters overall.

In the end, Spirited Away is a movie perfect for kids, but can also be enjoyed by just about anyone. It could easily give even the best of Disney’s originally-made movies a run for their money.

First Watched: August 2005
Do I Own: No
Do I Recommend: Yes

Josh’s Anime Blog Podcast Episode #13

Josh’s Anime Blog Podcast Episode #13 is now online!

You can download it directly from the following address (11.7 MB):
Josh’s Anime Blog Podcast Episode #13

You can download the rss file for the podcast here:
http://www.joshsanimeblog.com/podcast/podcast.rss

Remember to update your RSS feed address if it wasn’t updated automatically!

Also, I have re-reviewed the anime movie Kashimashi: Girl Meets Girl, keeping it’s score at 85.3%

Also, my podcast is up on itunes. If you search for anime under podcasts, you should find it as Josh’s Anime Blog Podcast.

Enjoy!

Anime Credits: Genshiken Opening

I’m back for the week

I was down with the weather the first half the week so I wasn’t posting, but I’m back!

Josh’s Anime Blog Podcast Episode #12

Josh’s Anime Blog Podcast Episode #12 is now online!

You can download it directly from the following address (14.1 MB):
Josh’s Anime Blog Podcast Episode #12

You can download the rss file for the podcast here:
http://www.joshsanimeblog.com/podcast/podcast.rss

Remember to update your RSS feed address if it wasn’t updated automatically!

Also, I have re-reviewed the anime movie Ah! My Goddess: The Movie, increasing it’s rating to 87.2%

Also, my podcast is up on itunes. If you search for anime under podcasts, you should find it as Josh’s Anime Blog Podcast.

Enjoy!

Anime Credits: Angelic Layer Ending #2

Anime Review: Kaleido Star - 83.5%

The Essentials

Kaleido StarName: Kaleido Star; Kaleido Star: New Wings (season 2)
Genre: Comedy, Action
Episodes: 52 total - Season 1: 26 episodes; Season 2: 25 episodes; OVA: 1 episode
Released: TV: April 3, 2003 - March 27, 2004; OVA: September 24, 2004
Based On: N/A
Director: Junichi Sato (season 1), Yoshimasa Hiraike (season 2)
Produced By: HoriPro, MediaNet, TV Tokyo
US Distribution By: ADV Films

Major Japanese Cast

Sora Naegino: Ryou Hirohashi
Layla Hamilton: Sayaka Ohara
Fool: Takehito Koyasu
Ken Robbins: Hiro Shimono
Mia Guillem: Chinami Nishimura
Anna Heart: Akeno Watanabe
Kalos Eido: Keiji Fujiwara
Yuri Killian: Susumu Chiba
Rosetta Passel: Kaori Mizuhashi
May Wong: Mai Nakahara
Leon Oswald: Takahiro Sakurai
Sarah Dupont: Aya Hisakawa
Marion: Fumiko Orikasa
Jonathan the Seal: Etsuko Kozakura
Policeman: Unshou Ishizuka
Cathy Taymor: Kotono Mitsuishi

Major English Cast

Sora Naegino: Cynthia Martinez
Layla Hamilton: Sandra Krasa
Fool: Jay Hickman
Ken Robbins: John Swasey
Mia Guillem: Nancy Novotny
Anna Heart: Kira Vincent-Davis
Kalos Eido: Rick Burford
Yuri Killian: Illich Guardiola
Rosetta Passel: Serena Varghese
May Wong: Hilary Haag
Leon Oswald: Mike MacRae
Sarah Dupont: Luci Christian
Marion: Kim-Ly Nguyen
Jonathan the Seal: Tiffany Grant
Policeman: James Faulkner
Cathy Taymor: Shannon Emerick

Scores

Animation: 9/10 (x 4 = 36 pts)
Story: 8/10 (x 4 = 32 pts)
Music: 9/10 (x 4 = 36 pts)
Coherency/Story Arc: 8/10 (x 2 = 16 pts)
English Dubs: 7/10 (x 1 = 7 pts)
Gut Score: 8/10 (x 5 = 40 pts)

Total: 167/200 (83.5%)

Review

Kaleido Star, and it’s second season called New Wings, is a show about a girl named Sora Naegino who has come to the United States to try to become part of the world renewed performing circus troupe at Kaleido Stage. Things don’t start out well when someone tries stealing her suitcase, causing her to be late to the audition. As a result, the current star of Kaleido Stage, Layla Hamilton, tells her to go home. However, after accidentally causing an small injury to a performer, keeping them out of that day’s performance, the manager of Kaleido Stage, Kalos, tells Sora to take her place. And so begins Sora’s trip towards Kaleido Stardom.

The first season is largely based on the improvement of Sora as a performer and Layla’s slowly growing acceptance of her on the stage until Sora becomes a star. The second season is set largely around what happens to Sora now that she is at the top and now has other performers trying to climb the ladder to chase her. Also, despite being the top star of Kaleido Stage, she hasn’t yet yet become a true Kaleido Star, at least according to the stage’s resident spirit Fool.

At first glance, a series about a girl performing at a circus wouldn’t seem all that interesting. I’m not exactly one who finds performing on trapezes and other such contraptions (some of which I never even knew existed) overly exciting. However, the story kept me watching, and after not too long, I, who cares nothing about trapeze performances, started cheering Sora on to successfully perform that trapeze trick she’s been practicing, or whatever performance she was getting ready for.

At 51 TV episodes plus an OVA, Kaleido Star may run a little long, but it does very well at finding a story line and consistently progressing that storyline from one episode to the next. Also, the two seasons have distinct story arcs, so someone can watch either season without necessarily wondering how they got there or feeling like the ending is incomplete (though obviously watching the first season is a good idea before watching the 2nd).

I consider animation to be pretty good in this series, and the music is very good as well. The English dubs aren’t spectacular, but they’re good enough to be able to listen to without flinching. Overall, I’d rate this a pretty good series.

First Watched: July 2006 - January 2007
Do I Own: Season 1
Do I Recommend: Yes

Anime DVD and Manga releases for February 13 - 19

Anime DVDs

Bobobo-bo Bo-bobo DVD Volume 1February 13, 2007
Bobobo-bo Bo-bobo - Volume 1
Elemental Gelade - Volume 5
Sonic X - Dub Volume 12
Zatch Bell - Dub Volume 8

Manga
Sensual Phrase Manga Volume 18February 13, 2007
Ai Yori Aoshi - Volume 15
Angel Sanctuary - Volume 18
Basara - Volume 22
Blame! - Volume 7
Broken Angels - Volume 4
Flame of Recca - Volume 22
GetBackers - Volume 17
Kingdom Hearts - Volume 2
Loveless - Volume 4
O-Parts Hunter - Volume 2
Samurai Deeper Kyo - Volume 21
Sensual Phrase - Volume 18
Sorcerer Hunters - Volume 8
Tenchi Muyo - Volume 10
Tramps Like Us - Volume 11
Welcome to the N.H.K. - Volume 2

February 14, 2007
Gunsmith Cats Omnibus - Volume 1
Oh My Goddess! - Volume 5

Anime Review: Fullmetal Alchemist: The Movie - 91.7%

The Essentials

Fullmetal Alchemist - The Movie: Conquerer of ShamballaName: Fullmetal Alchemist - The Movie: Conquerer of Shamballa, Gekijouban Hagane no Renkinjutsushi - Shanbara wo Yuku Mono
Genre: Adventure, Fantasy
Episodes: N/A
Released: July 23, 2005
Based On: sequal of Fullmetal Alchemist anime
Director: Seiji Mizushima
Produced By: Aniplex, Shochiku Film
US Distribution By: FUNimation

Major Japanese Cast

Edward Elric: Romi Paku
Alphonse Elric: Rie Kugimiya
Noah: Miyuu Sawai
Fritz Lang: Hidekatsu Shibata
Dietlinde Eckart: Kazuko Katou
Alphonse Heiderich: Shun Oguri
Roy Mustang: Toru Ohkawa
Alex Louis Armstrong: Kenji Utsumi
Winry Rockbell: Megumi Toyoguchi
Riza Hawkeye: Michiko Neya
Rudolf Hess: Rikiya Koyama
Envy/Dragon: Mayumi Yamaguchi
Wrath: Nana Mizuki
Officer Hughes: Keiji Fujiwara
Karl Haushoffer: Masane Tsukayama

Major English Cast

Edward Elric: Vic Mignogna
Alphonse Elric: Aaron Dismuke
Noah: Leah Clark
Fritz Lang: Ed Blaylock
Dietlinde Eckart: Kelly Manison
Alphonse Heiderich: Jason Liebrecht
Roy Mustang: Travis Willingham
Alex Louis Armstrong: Christopher R. Sabat
Winry Rockbell: Caitlin Glass
Riza Hawkeye, Rose Tomas: Colleen Clinkenbeard
Rudolf Hess: Jason Douglas
Envy/Dragon: Wendy Powell
Wrath: Luci Christian
Officer Hughes: Sonny Strait
Karl Haushoffer: John Swasey

Scores

Animation: 10/10 (x 4 = 40 pts)
Story: 9/10 (x 4 = 36 pts)
Music: 9/10 (x 4 = 36 pts)
Coherence/Story Arc: N/A
English Dubs: 8/10 (x 1 = 8 pts)
Gut Score: 9/10 (x 5 = 45 pts)

Total: 165/190 (91.7%)

Review

Fullmetal Alchemist: The Movie picks up where the TV series left off. Ed is in our world living with it’s version of Alphonse researching rocket technology. Meanwhile, the Alphonse in Amestris continues on his quest to find a way to bring Ed back to their world. Along the way, Alphonse arrives in Lior where Alex Louis Armstrong is helping to rebuild the city. However, suddenly a whole bunch of suit of armor pop out of a suddenly-created hole in the ground and start attacking, but Armstrong and Alphonse are able to beat them back.

Back on Earth, we find that the Nazi’s, in preparation to take over Germany via the ultimately failed Beer Hall Putsch, along with the Thule society are attempting to reach Amestris, which they believe to be the ancient fabled land of Shamballa, in order to take it’s power for themselves. (And indeed, the Nazis were in fact interested in discovering Shamballa - having sent several teams to Tibet to find it in the 1930s).

Meanwhile Edwards gets tangled up both with a gypsy named Noah, as well as an aspiring director called Fritz Lang which ultimately gets him entangled with the Nazi’s plot. Edward then must find a way to save Amestris from the eminent Nazi invasion.

The movie is primarily about Edward trying to figure out what the Thule Society is up to while Alphonse attempts to find away to bring Ed back. Unfortunately, both Edward and Alphonse unwittingly enable the leader of the Thule Society - the movie’s title character, The wannabe-Conquerer of Shamballa Dietlinde Eckart - to open the gate. Once open, it is up to Edward, Alphonse, and all of the state alchemists to defeat the intruders.

I thought this movie was pretty good, though given that most of it is set on earth, it is a different type of story than what progressed through the TV series. Sometimes I hate it when people mix a fictional story in the middle of historical events, but I think it worked well in this case, both because it took place during a little known event in pre-Nazi Germany known as the Beer Hall Putsch, and the fact that, besides the events of the story, the history of that event was, as far as I can tell, accurate.

I liked how they had a flashback to a story about Ed and Alphonse at the start to get people reoriented to the Fullmetal Alchemist universe, though admittedly, if you hadn’t watched the series, you probably wouldn’t understand much of what was going on anyway. Like the TV series, the movie has excellent animation quality and good music.

There isn’t much I could find wrong with this movie, though I do think that some of the leftover questions from the TV series weren’t sufficiently answered, and it almost begs for a sequal, even though there probably won’t be one. If you liked the Fullmetal Alchemist series, you’ll probably enjoy the movie. If you haven’t seen the TV series, watch that first, then come back to this.

First Watched: December 2006
Do I Own: No
Do I Recommend: Yes