It’s episode 19, and Yuji is forced to follow Zarovee around lest he start consuming people’s existences around the city. But what is Zarovee up to, and how can Yuji let Shana know what’s up? And Zarovee isn’t the only denizen who has arrived at Misaki City either.
 |
|
 |
 |
It’s episode 17 of Shion no Ō. Shion and Satoru start their rematch, and Satoru continues his mental assault on Shion. However, this time it causes Shion to remember back 8 years to around the time of the murder. Is she starting to remember what happened that terrible night 8 years ago? Meanwhile, what connection is there between Satoru’s old lover and Shion’s parents?
 |
|
 |
 |
Nozomi and the Right Stuf International say that they will announce a new anime license at 3pm Eastern on the dot tomorrow. This one seems to be being hyped up quite a bit, so we’ll see if it’s something big.
Apparently a while ago, some people at Right Stuf gave 4 hints for new licenses. I’m assuming we’re only getting the first tomorrow, but I thought I’d go through the 4 hints an make my totally off the wall and probably totally wrong guesses:
Hint 1:
It’s “coming soon!” It’s a done deal. All will be revealed. Who will be happy?
Hmm. I’m baffled by the “coming soon” as it seems like a hint, but I’m not sure what it would reference. “All will be revealed” seems to suggest that it’s an additional part of a series which has already been licensed, which suggests When They Cry Season 2 or perhaps Shakugan no Shana II. Of course, the totally off the wall thought is Haruhi Season 2 with a simultaneous US and Japanese release. It would fit both the “coming soon” (as it is coming soon to Japan) and the sequel suggestion. Or I could be reading more into the “coming soon” phrase and it really actually means nothing.
I’m at a loss, but my off the wall guess is Shana II
This one will be a bit longer. The paperwork is now on my desk!
OK, a longer series, I’m guessing longer than 26 episodes. That helps narrow things down a little. Aria seems to be a good guess here as we have two complete series with a total of 39 episodes and another currently airing. It could be a Geneon rescue of Kyou Kara Maou! or perhaps of When They Cry plus the 2nd season. Hayate the Combat Butler is also possible. The off the wall possibility is probably the return of Sailor Moon. Les Miserables is also possible.
However, my guess here is going to be Hayate the Combat Butler.
On to clue #3:
This one I have a draft on now. Drafts are good, but they are not final enough.
OK, this one is playing on the word “draft,” which suggests it has something to do with writing or drawing. That suggests Sketchbook: Full Colors or Hidamari Sketch. I’d say Doujin Work if Media Blasters hadn’t already all-but-announced it. I can’t think of anything else off the top of my head which goes along this theme. My guess is Hidamari Sketch.
And finally…
And if this last thing goes through, everyone will cheer.
They’re not shying away from this one. My first thought would be a close-to-wholesale pick up of Geneon’s titles, either via re-licensing or perhaps picking up the distribution of those titles. That would certainly be amazing and would create much celebration. Picking up some of Geneon’s lost titles such as When we Cry or Story of Story of Saiunkoku could make people cheer as well. Right Stuf couldn’t possibly yank the Evangelion movie out from under ADV could they? Something like ef - a tale of memories or CLANNAD could fit the bill too.
I’m going to go out on a limb and say that it’s a wholesale pick up of Geneon’s titles. No really. Just the feeling of the hint feels like something of that magnitude. It would be awesome if it were true.
In any case, those are my (probably completely wrong) guesses.
Name: Neon Genesis Evangelion
Genre: Sci-fi, Action, Fantasy
Episodes: 26
Released: October 4, 1995 - March 27, 1996
Based On: N/A
Director: Hideaki Anno
Produced By: GAINAX
US Distribution By: ADV Films
Shinji Ikari: Megumi Ogata
Rei Ayanami: Megumi Hayashibara
Asuka Langley Sohryu: Yuko Miyamura
Misato Katsuragi: Kotono Mitsuishi
Gendo Ikari: Fumihiko Tachiki
Kōzō Fuyutsuki: Motomu Kiyokawa
Ritsuko Akagi: Yuriko Yamaguchi
Toji Suzuhara: Tomokazu Seki
Kensuke Aida: Tetsuya Iwanaga
Ryoji Kaji: Kouichi Yamadera
Kaworu Nagisa: Akira Ishida
Shinji Ikari: Spike Spencer
Rei Ayanami: Amanda Winn
Asuka Langley Sohryu: Tiffany Grant
Misato Katsuragi: Allison Keith
Gendo Ikari: Tristan MacAvery
Kōzō Fuyutsuki: Guil Lunde
Ritsuko Akagi: Sue Ulu
Toji Suzuhara: Joe Pisano
Kensuke Aida: Kurt Stoll
Ryoji Kaji: Aaron Krohn
Kaworu Nagisa: Kyle Sturdivant
Animation: 9/10 (x 4 = 36 pts)
Story: 9/10 (x 4 = 36 pts)
Music: 9/10 (x 4 = 36 pts)
Coherence/Story Arc: 8/10 (x 2 = 16 pts)
English Dubs: 10/10 (x1 = 10 pts)
Gut Score: 8/10 (x 5 = 40 pts)
Total: 174/200 (87%)
Neon Genesis Evangelion, or just Evangelion, is a story about a boy, Shinji, who is pressured by his father into piloting a bio-mechanical mecha called Eva in order to defend Tokyo-3 against invading alien beings known as angels, along with two other pilots, Rei and Asuka. Defeating the angels is essential, for if the angels defeat the Evas, they will cause a repeat of the “second impact” - a large explosion which killed half of the earth’s population, popularly blamed on an asteroid impact but actually caused by one of the angels.
However, as the series progresses, and as Shinji, Rei, and Asuka keep having to fend off angel after angel, more is learned about the nature of the evas. However, battling the angels is hardly the only part of Evangelion, as many of the characters suffer from several different types of personality disorders as well as having broken and strained relationships with other characters.
Most of the focus is saved for the three pilots, however: Shinji, who suffers from chronic depression and low self-esteem; Asuka, who is quite proud yet is extremely agitated with the fact that she can’t perform in the evas as well as Shinji, especially as she looks at Shinji’s depression and low self-esteem with disgust; and Rei, who is the most mysterious of the three and who tends to be emotionless and is even uncertain of who she is and what she wants.
Evangelion is an action packed psychological thriller which may not be for everyone, considering the intensity and violence in the series. Besides the psychological part of the show, Evangelion eventually unwraps a pretty intricate mystery behind the evas, the angels, and the organizations which help Japan and the UN fight off the angels: NERV and SEELE.
One of the biggest things Evangelion is known for, however, is it’s ending - or lack thereof, as the ending to the TV series leaves things quite wide open as to what happens in the end. Despite this, Evangelion still plays itself out an an excellent and entertaining series. Most of the technical aspects of the show are also excellent, with good animation for it’s time and with a dub which is one of the best I’ve heard.
If you can stand a little (OK, a lot) of violence and some gruesomeness, and you want to watch an excellent series, give Evangelion a shot.
First Watched: January - March 2006
Do I Own: Yes
Do I Recommend: Yes
