The anime Saint Seiya, which I discussed some time back here, gave rise to an entire subgenre which I call "God-Warriors" – young people chosen by something on deific level to battle god-level threats, generally in a "Five-Team" configuration. This of course owed a great deal to the "sentai" shows of the same era, but Saint Seiya codified it for its generation and a number of other shows quickly followed – some following its lead, and others trying to take off from it and go in another direction; its influence can be seen in [ Continue reading... ]
On My Shelves: Gensomaden Saiyuki
May 15, 2013 By Leave a Comment
It's well-known that we're willing to take our cultural heritage and rewrite it in amusing ways; red-bearded, bearish, Norse warrior god Thor becomes a tall, blonde warrior speaking faux-Olde English in the comics; Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet is remade as a gang war in modern times; the world of Greek Mythology is mixed up with Egyptian, Roman, and a bit of Wuxia film for Xena, Warrior Princess. The Japanese are no less willing to do this to our cultural heritage… or their own. Saint Seiya was a peculiar, to say the least, [ Continue reading... ]
On My Shelves: Naruto/Naruto Shippuden
March 25, 2013 By 2 Comments
It's almost unbearable, isn't it?… the pain of being all alone. I know that feeling, I've been there, in that dark and lonely place, but now there are others, other people who mean a lot to me. I care more about them than I do myself, and I won't let anyone hurt them. That's why I'll never give up, I will stop you, even if I have to kill you! They saved me from myself, they rescued me from my loneliness, they were the first to accept me as who I am. They're my friends. -- Uzumaki Naruto to Gaara of the Sand I [ Continue reading... ]
On My Shelves: Speed Racer (2008)
March 1, 2013 By 2 Comments
There are movies that as soon as you hear about them, you know you're going to go see them. Movies that are the realization of some childhood dream come true, that you shout "YES!!" as soon as you hear they're going to be made. Speed Racer was NOT one of those for me. My wife showed me the first trailer, and said that she wanted me to take her to see it. My eyeballs crossed at the psychedelically intense colors and the apparent cheesiness of the trailer itself, but she had been a Speed Racer fan when she was [ Continue reading... ]
Under the Influence: Mobile Suit Gundam Wing
January 9, 2013 By Leave a Comment
The Gundam series is one of the longest-running and most successful anime/manga franchises in Japan. Starting with Mobile Suit Gundam in 1979, the Gundam franchise spans multiple television series, OAV series, movies, video games, novels, manga, and virtually any sort of merchandise one can imagine (and probably some you can't). Gundam itself is credited with changing the old "giant robot" genre from stories about a boy with some inexplicable and often personified superweapon to a story of war and politics which happened to feature [ Continue reading... ]
On My Shelves: The Vision of Escaflowne
November 14, 2012 By 2 Comments
"Was it all just a dream? Or maybe a vision... no, it was real!" While there have been some strong contenders in the last ten years, no anime has yet managed to take the crown of "Best Anime Series" from the one, the only, the incomparable Vision of Escaflowne. Budding track star Hitomi Kanzaki is apparently an ordinary girl, aside from her amazing fleetness of foot and an uncanny ability to read accurate futures from tarot cards. During a practice race, she has a sudden vision of a strange young man, and [ Continue reading... ]
On My Shelves: GIANT ROBO: The Day The Earth Stood Still
November 9, 2012 By 1 Comment
In a future yet to be, the third energy revolution is ushered in by the invention of the Shizuma Drive, and with it, mankind celebrates a new era of prosperity. But within the shadows of this bright new world, two great powers clash… So begins one of the greatest anime ever produced – Giant Robo: The Day The Earth Stood Still. A lushly produced and reimagined version of one of the classics of the "giant robot" subgenre, Giant Robo manages to go above and beyond its origin while remaining true to its roots. [ Continue reading... ]
On My Shelves: Dragonball/Dragonball Z
October 29, 2012 By 3 Comments
SAA, NEGAI O IE. DONNA NEGAI MO HITOTSU DAKE KANAETE YAROU. (COME THEN, STATE YOUR WISH. I SHALL GRANT YOU ANY ONE WISH.) When Kathleen and I lived in Pittsburgh, I had made the acquaintance of a gentleman named Michael Collins. Mr. Collins was quite an anime enthusiast, and I often referred to him as our anime "pusher", as he had a fairly large collection and was willing to loan tapes to get us hooked into various shows. People can blame him for my having knowledge of quite a number of shows, including Sailor [ Continue reading... ]
Under The Influence: Kathleen Moffre-Spoor
October 12, 2012 By Leave a Comment
How can I talk about influences without mentioning the greatest influence in my life (in some ways,even more so than my parents), Kathleen? I originally met Kathleen through her best friend, Dana. I had befriended Dana at the local community college and was at the time starting to date her. One of the primary connections between us was our gaming interests – both of us played RPGs of various types. So I ended up running a D&D game for Dana and her friend Kathleen. At the time, I was… not [ Continue reading... ]
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