Hiro (yes, our Hero is named Hiro) Hamada is a teen genius – 14 and already graduated from high school. Raised by his aunt Cass and his considerably older brother Tadashi, Hiro has yet to find direction for his genius and when we meet him is making money by hustling in "bot fights" – robot combat duels with significant money riding on them. His cockiness almost gets him in serious trouble, since he doesn't recognize that tricking people involved in illegal operations doesn't just get you a stern talking-to. Fortunately big brother [ Continue reading... ]
On My Shelves: One Piece– The Third Piece!
April 27, 2015 By Leave a Comment
I continue my review of the immense and intricate shonen anime One Piece, following the sometimes "Idiot Hero" Monkey D. Luffy and his peculiar crew – swordsman Rorona Zoro, navigator Nami, combat cook Sanji, medic Chopper, sharpshooter Usopp, archaeologist Nico Robin, and musician Brook – in their united yet individual quests across the hazardous sea called the Grand Line. To recap important points about our heroes and the world of One Piece: Some years back, the so-called Pirate King, Gol D. Roger (usually called Gold Roger) was executed [ Continue reading... ]
On My Shelves: One Piece – The Second Piece!
April 18, 2014 By Leave a Comment
A while back, I reviewed the shonen anime One Piece. That review covered what I had seen to that point, but One Piece is a titanic piece of animation, a series still ongoing after more than 630 episodes. I'm now going to talk about what I've seen of One Piece since – up through around episode 380. When we last left our group of intrepid pirates (who are about as piratical in their normal behavior as Will Turner and Jack Sparrow in his gentler moments), Monkey D. Luffy had just managed to defeat God Enel/Eneru, a Devil [ Continue reading... ]
On My Shelves: Bastard!!
April 9, 2014 By Leave a Comment
"Several hundred years after the fall of human civilization, 'twas a lawless period, a time without order; only blood, flesh, bone, and iron. It was also a time of sorcery. Having been terrorized by demonic creatures their entire lives, human beings were miserably inadequate, and forced to subsist in a barren, hostile environment." (Yes, that's a quote directly from the opening of the anime. Painful, isn't it?) Bastard!! (no link; looks to be out of print) is a somewhat twisted D&Dish fantasy [ Continue reading... ]
(Not) On My Shelves: Neon Genesis Evangelion
February 12, 2014 By Leave a Comment
In the very early 1980s, a new anime company burst onto the scene, founded by a couple of fans who had determined to go pro: Gainax Studios. First gaining prominence with a fantastic video intro to the Daicon convention in 1981, Gainax gained funding and resources to release four anime which were generally considered classics, each in its own way: Gunbuster: Aim for the Top!, which was a high-powered space opera which combined ludicrous with the realistic in what was both a gentle parody and also a completion of the Giant Robot [ Continue reading... ]
On My Shelves: Tiger & Bunny
January 31, 2014 By Leave a Comment
In an alternate world, superbeings, called NEXTs, have emerged from the general population. Generally gifted with one power, the NEXTs were originally feared, but as many have turned their talents towards crimefighting, keeping the peace helping people in times of need, they have become more popular. "Hero TV" is the most popular show on television, following the exploits of the Heroes and ranking them based on their achievements (catching crooks, preventing accidents, saving civilians, etc.). To further increase their [ Continue reading... ]
On My Shelves: Iron Man – the Anime
January 15, 2014 By Leave a Comment
The Japanese have a somewhat … peculiar track record in adapting American properties. One need only look at the Japanese version of Spider-Man, in which he ends up with a giant transforming robot, to realize that one might have a bit of trepidation in knowing that another Marvel property is to be adapted into an anime. Even in current day their track record is rocky; I'm really not sure that the world needs a bishonen Wolverine, and the X-Men anime has serious flaws. So Kathleen and I were a bit dubious about [ Continue reading... ]
Just For Fun: My Top Ten Villains!
October 14, 2013 By 6 Comments
While, at least in theory, we cheer for the victory of the heroes, it is often the villains that define a work, and certainly the villains tend to get the best lines, best music, and commonly the coolest "style" in a work. This probably partly stems from the fact that villains are more "free" than the heroes; they get to do what they want rather than what they should or must. In addition, the villains tend to be in control, the ACTIVE force, in the story, at least up until the end; the heroes spend much of their time reacting [ Continue reading... ]
On My Shelves: One Piece
October 2, 2013 By 1 Comment
Wealth. Fame. Power. The man who had achieved everything in life, like none before him, was the Pirate King, Gold Roger. The few words he spoke at his execution drove people the world over to take to the seas: "My treasure? If you want it, you can have it. Seek it out! I left everything in my life at that place!" The anime and manga One Piece, by Eiichiro Oda, is a shonen (boy's) adventure series which follows the adventures of Monkey D. Luffy and his peculiar crew across one of the most bizarre worlds ever [ Continue reading... ]
On My Shelves: My Neighbor Totoro
September 18, 2013 By 1 Comment
In any discussion of anime, there are very few names that are spoken with almost unqualified awe and pleasure. There is Osamu Tezuka, "Anime no Kami", the founder of the industry in many ways. One could make a case for Leiji Matsumoto, creator of Space Battleship Yamato (Star Blazers), Galaxy Express 999, and Space Pirate Harlock. And there is Hayao Miyazaki, sometimes called the "Japanese Disney", creator of some of the most wonderful, magical films ever made (which I will review later), including Laputa: Castle in [ Continue reading... ]
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