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Zero No Tsukaimi (The Familiar of Zero)
Louise “The Zero” is one scary girl. In the land of The Familiar of Zero, anyone who can cast a spell is considered a noble and put into mage training. Those who cannot cast spells are considered inferior and unworthy of a title.
During the second year of training, you’re required to summon what’s called a familiar. When the main character, Louise de la Vallière, tries to do this, she ends up summoning a boy from Tokyo named Saito. Throughout the series Louise learns more about her magic, and Saito battles with whether he belongs in this world or his own.
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Sean Russell's Digital Revolution: Viz and FUNimation's AllianceFUNimation has proven once again that they’re a force to be reckoned with in the race for digital supremacy. The popular anime licensor has forged an even tighter alliance with VIZ animation. While the history of their manga partnership is no secret, optioning to air Viz titles like Monster, Hunter X Hunter, and Buso Renkin has put the anime juggernaut in a prime position to dominate the market. What role will Crunchyroll play in counterbalancing the rise of this direct competition? The time has come. Welcome to the Digital Revolution!
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Read more: Sean Russell's Digital Revolution: Viz and FUNimation's Alliance
Sword of the Dark Ones: Volume 1Every dark story has depths of sorrow, implied sub-plots, and brooding characters. For Sword of the Dark Ones, there’s a talking sword. Sword of the Dark Ones is a manga rendition of the popular novel, Ragnarok, created by Yasui Kentaro and re-invented by manga-ka, Kotobuki Tsukasa.
Lucky for readers with little or no knowledge of the original Ragnarok series, the entire manga stands alone. Sword of the Dark Ones draws the best in character development, story-telling, and artwork in an action-packed manga. The manga centers on Leroy Schwartz, an ex-mercenary with exceptional skills, in a time where mercenaries maintain order over man-eating monsters, or Dark Ones. With an exhausted storyline, Sword of the Dark Ones manages to deliver the type of manga difficult to find on the local bookstore shelves.
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Where it’s Whiskey Thursday, all the time.
Fansubs can be traced as far back as the ‘80s, emerging during a time when anime was very difficult to obtain. Enthusiasts imported Japanese VHS tapes and Laserdiscs, proceeding to add subtitles with expensive analog equipment. The whole process was tedious and extremely expensive. If you wanted a copy, you had provided the blank cassette tape. The video and audio quality was often terrible, but unless you could speak Japanese and/or had some crazy-good satellite dish, it was the only way you were going to see these shows.
Basquash! is being produced by Satelight. It’s based on a concept by Shoji Kawamori (Macross) and Thomas Romain (Code Lyoko).
Basquash! follows the exploits of Dan JD. He's a punk kid who rides around on town a scooter disguised as “Dunk Mask” breaking TVs in the name of real basketball. It’s important to note that the mask he wears is alive and at one point it eats a cat. Also, giant car-robot's playing basketball is an official sport in this world.
Surprisingly enough, Dan hates Bigfoot Basketball. He feels that real basketball can only be played by real people. Robots are too slow and clunky, thus making the sport boring to watch. In order to fight this evil, he breaks all the public TV’s whenever a game is on. While its uncertain as to how this is going to put an end to the sport, it has made his alias rather popular in town.
Shangri-La is the latest work from the Studio Gonzo. It’s currently being streamed on Crunchyroll where you can watch the first episode free.
The show opens up with the main character, Kuniko Hojo, being released from a juvenile detention center. All the prisoners are cheering as she‘s being released, but its uncertain as to why. She’s greeted outside by a group of friends and taken back to the city, but not before ruining the prison’s respected flag with a boomerang. Nothing much goes on in town. It’s mostly “welcome backs” and fleeting moments with what will likely be reoccurring characters.
Aside from Kuniko’s story, there’s a confusing political struggle going on in the background. Something about taxing cities based on the amount of carbon dioxide they deplete. Not much is revealed regarding this issue. It’s clear that it will play a major role in the plot because when Kuniko’s friend accidentally releases too much carbon dioxide, the military shows up and opens fire on the town. A battle takes place, but the end of the episode resolves nothing.
Where do you stand on Disney's dubs? Plus, a goodbye.
You’ve most likely heard this by now, but two weeks back, Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea was given an American release date of August 14th. Ponyo, as it is being called in its localized incarnation, tells the story of a magic goldfish who yearns to live and be with her land compadres. More interesting than a title or a premise, Disney announced the names of several voice actors who are involved in the project—not because of names like Frankie Jonas, Cate Blanchett, and Matt Damon, but because it once more prompts an enduring debate in the anime community: “Are Disney dubs really that good?” Let's talk it out over brunch.
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Read more: Sunday Brunch with the Choi: Thanks for All the Fish
Sean Russell’s Digital Revolution: Graduating from TelevisionThe Digital Revolution continues and I shudder at the thought that you might not care. Anime Insider bites the dust and the presence of anime on television is rapidly dwindling. These are all comments made by various members of the elite otaku blogesphere. I’m happy to report that anime on television continues to thrive in the face of a rapidly changing cable landscape; as for Anime Insider, good riddance to bad rubbish.
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Read more: Sean Russell's Digital Revolution: Graduating from Television
An Editorial by Jd Banks
Branding isn't something new. Some brands have done a magnificent job of turning everyday household products into namesakes. People xerox more than they copy papers. Even the subtle, "I need a kleenex" has waved its commercialized hand over the tissue persona. In the anime industry, branding is slightly more complicated, but it still plays the game of cat and mouse with consumers.
The top of the branding game for anime companies balances Tokyopop and Viz, two giants with headquarters around the world. Tokyopop, once an ambitious brand with magazines and anime output, has now taken the crown for itself, translating more than 1,000 titles like Cardcaptor Sakura, Magic Knight Rayearth, Fruits Basket, and Cowboy Bebop. Viz, a similar giant, has climbed to the top due to its insurmountable quality of shojo and shonen titles, particularly with Rurouni Kenshin, Naruto, Death Note, and Vampire Knight. Still running magazines, Viz challenges Tokyopop in marketing to the enthusiast. Add a commentRead more: The Branding Game: A Look Into Anime/Manga Marketing
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