Animax’s Blog

FINALLY,
some free time! First things first. It seems some of you have been
wondering why I can’t blog on a fixed day. Sorry, but I have a very
hectic work schedule. While my intro states that I am an entertainment
writer, I am actually first and foremost a medical columnist, not just
for one but two publications. This means, if the Obataku is not around
blogging, she is out in Metro Manila interviewing doctors and health
officials and writing articles about all sorts of diseases, how to
prevent getting them and how to safeguard your health. One of the
pitfalls of being both an anime fan AND an ex-doctor. Add the fact that
I’m also not in the peak of health myself. So, if the Obataku suddenly
disappears for a few days, instead of asking "why" and "when", just
think "she’s probably being harassed at work again" or "she’s probably
sick again." That’s the nitty gritty of it.

Anyway, since I have an hour or two before my next interview, here are some anime news that I was able to scrounge around.

* * * * *

Animax In Africa!

Some
BIG NEWS first! As part of its worldwide expansion, Animax will soon
hit Africa in the latter part of 2007. As part of the DStv satellite
service, the channel will be broadcast over South Africa, Botswana,
Lesotho, Mozambique, Namibia, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. At present, Animax
is being aired in Asia, Europe and South America.

Yes,
the Animax family is growing in leaps and bounds! Only one country
remains to be conquered, and that’s the U.S. Here’s hoping that Animax
will eventually make it to the U.S. of A. because a lot of my friends
and close associates are clamoring for the channel to be available on
their cable TV services.

* * * * *

Top 30 Anime In Japan for August

For
those of you who want to know what anime are big in Japan this month,
here’s the Power Rankings for August. It seems anime with school girls
remain a huge hit in Japan, judging from the fact that a number of the
titles listed are of the shoujo genre. Being not a huge fan of school
girl misadventures, sometimes, I wonder how much of the genre can be
milked of originality before it becomes pretty stale. But I’m glad that
at least a few of my faves made it to the list.

If you want to know what these anime are all about, visit Anime News Network for synopses and more info.

AUGUST ANIME POWER RANKINGS

1. School Days

2. Gurren Lagann

3. Code Geass

4. Lucky Star

5. Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei

6. Seirei No Moribito

7. Baccano!

8. Darker Than Black

9. Claymore

10. Potemayo!

11. Terra e…

12. Dennou Coil

13. Zero No Tsukaima ~ Futatsuki No Kishi ~

14. Seto No Hanayome

15. Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Kai

16. Romeo x Juliet

17. Mai Otome ZWEI

18. Heroic Age

19. Idolmaster XENOGLOSSIA

20. Hayate no Gotoku!

21. Devil May Cry

22. Lovely Complex

23. Nagasarete Airantou

24. Ookiku Furikabutte

25. Sky Girls

26. Kaze no Stigma

27. Bokusatsu Tenshi Dokuro-chan 2

28. Kenko Zenrakei Suieibu Umisho

29. Code-E

30. Doujin Work

* * * * *

Gunslinger Girl Season Two Confirmed

The
powers that be have deleted the news from their website. They have
denied its possible existence. But now, it has been confirmed that
there WILL BE a second season of Gunslinger Girl.

Based on the ongoing manga by Yu Aida, Gunslinger Girl
is about cybernetically-enhanced girls who fight terrorists. The focus
of the second season will be the Pinocchio Arc, which can be found in
Vol. 4 of the manga. According to a friend of mine who has been
following the manga, Pinocchio is an infamous knife-wielding assassin
who defeats Triela during a bloody encounter. As Triela slowly comes to
terms with what happened and prepares for her next confrontation with
the assassin, she begins to remember her life before she became a
killer. In the meantime, Henrietta can no longer deny her growing
feelings for her handler, Jose (In the manga, his name is Giuseppe.).

It
is still uncertain how many episodes the new season will be, but my
friend is hoping that Season 2 will also feature the introduction of
Petrushka, who is probably the best and most daring cyborg in the team.

* * * * *

Hot Gakuen Alice News!

This
is probably the news that EVERYONE is waiting for. I got this tip from
my source, who works at the Manila office for a leading newspaper in
Japan.

Although it has yet to be officially confirmed or announced, there IS going to be a Season 2 of Gakuen Alice (Alice Academy), which is tentatively slated to begin airing in Japan in March, 2008.

Yes,
folks! To those of you who have been hankering for it, it is very
likely that you will get to see the famous kiss between Natsume and
Mikan.

* * * * *

AHK! My editor just called me that we should get going for our interview. ;P I’ll catch you guys later!!

[WRITER'S
NOTE: The views and opinions expressed by this writer does not reflect
the views and opinions of Animax and its affiliates.]

Sorry for not
being able to blog last week. The typhoon led to electric and phone
lines in our compound being destroyed and it took quite a long time to
restore both because of the very foul weather. It didn’t help any that
I also got sick, which required me to have minor surgery over the
weekend. I’m fine now, but still feeling very week.

Since it seems some of you have been asking for a review of Blood+
(I know the webmistress of the Animax website wants to read this.),
here’s the short review I wrote on the anime in Animax Café.

Actually,
there is a story behind my writing this particular review. I got very
annoyed with a journalist colleague and her cohorts, who have been
saying that anime is nothing but "sex and violence", and should not be
aired on Philippine television at all. One of the shows they criticized
for "heavy violence" was Blood+. To my irritation, this is a
view that is held by many parents who (and I AM NOT sorry to say this!)
DO NOT do their parental responsibilities properly. Although I am an
anime fan, I am also an ADULT, and I find it too appalling that people
would just condemn anime without really watching a single show. The
review that you’ll be reading below is my rebuttal to their claims.

Mind
you, anime haters! There was a study done before about violence in
cartoons, and it was found that one episode of an average American
kiddy cartoon has more violent acts than one episode of anime.

I’ve read a comment in a previous blog about one fan lamenting that she is unable to watch Death Note because her mother forbade her from watching it. Sadly, it’s your loss.

No
parent would really understand what it means to bond with their kids if
they don’t even make the attempt to watch an anime with their children
and teens. I watched Death Note with my two nephews, aged 12
and 14 respectively, and you just can’t believe the discussion that
arose because of it. I will talk about it in a future blog when I’m
well enough to do a review of Death Note.

For now, here’s my short review of Blood+. Hopefully, next time, I could do a more extensive discussion on "Violence and Anime."

~~~~~~~~~~

REVIEW: BLOOD+

Critics
have long been condemning violence in anime as having a detrimental
effect on the psyche of children and its fans. Being a devoted follower
of this form of animation for close to four decades, I’ve come to
conclude that many of these claims are baseless and unfair. Unlike the
slapstick violence that riddles American cartoons, violent scenes in
anime are not without reason nor could we just dismiss them as being
senseless.

Case in point is Blood+. At first glance, the
anime seems like an ideal target for critics because of the violence,
blood and gore. But to focus on these alone would be doing this anime a
grave injustice.

Its quality production aside, what makes Blood+
a must watch for both young and old is its riveting plot. In fact,
throughout the course of the story, the troubled heroine Saya questions
the necessity of killing. While she accepts the fact that it is only
through the elimination of the Chiroptera and its mysterious Queen that
she could ensure the safety of friends, comrades and the whole world,
Saya gradually learns that slashing with the sword is not always the
solution. Those who seem like enemies at first are soon found to be
pawns in a sinister power play. As a result, Saya learns that not
everything is black and white and she first has to evaluate the motives
of her so-called foe before passing her righteous judgment upon them.

Looking
beyond the violence, there is the underlying theme of family and
friendship – of the importance of keeping those you love close to you,
safe and free from harm. For those who have strayed from the fold, one
learns to go and find him or her who was lost, forgive them, and bring
them back to the home where they belong.

Perhaps the best lesson that Blood+ has to teach is that one magical word that George Miyagusuku taught Saya, Kai and Riku. Nankurunaisa. That no matter how difficult things are right now, never lose hope that things will always get better in the future.

Call
it the persistence of an anime fan and an oba-taku at that, but this
fool (Yes, that is the right word.) braved strong winds and floods in
Metro Manila just to keep a rendezvous with a friend (who was most
definitely not happy about it) who has in her possession MY copy of the
Devil May Cry DVD. Ironically enough, our rendezvous point being
a place where anime DVDs are being sold in high quantity, I ended up
splurging on other DVDs as well. Last night (by then, I was already
suffering from a head cold), I watched Devil May Cry and one other anime, which you’ll read about it in the next post.

Let
me first point out that I am a non-gamer (TRANSLATION: meaning someone
whose income is not that high that this poor sod cannot buy a
Playstation). But I am familiar with Devil May Cry because
there is a cable channel in my country, which used to air trailers and
AMVs from the game. What I have seen definitely piqued my interest. Of
course, with a gorgeous albeit moody guy like Dante, who wouldn’t be?
Besides that, I have this friend in the U.S., who practically shrieked
to me, "You should get Devil May Cry. There are YAOI hints in
the game. I’m telling you – DANTE IS GAY!" To this dubious claim, I
could only think "Yaoi fans will ALWAYS see hints of ‘gayness’ even in
perfectly ’straight’ anime."

Basically, herein lies what may be the dilemma of the Devil May Cry anime.
It most certainly was created more for the enjoyment of non-gamers (and
hopefully, to get them interested enough in buying the game Devil May Cry 4,
which will be released this year) than gamers. While there is no
shortage of hard-hitting "slash and shoot ‘em ups", the seeming lack of
continuity in the episodes will leave diehard DMC gamers wanting.

However, this is not to say that the Devil May Cry anime
is a flawed project to begin with. On the contrary, the anime boasts
the same meticulousness for art and detail, which animation studio
Madhouse (Remember them? They made Death Note.) is always
guaranteed to deliver. Each of the seven episodes I have watched is a
oneshot, seemingly self-contained stories pertaining to the jobs that
"Devil Hunter" Dante takes on. However, this is deceptive. To those who
have been dissatisfied with the anime at your first viewing, give it a
try again. Listen closely to the dialogue and you will catch hints of
something BIG (pertaining to four demons wanting to cross over to the
human world) that Dante will have to face in the very near future. In
fact, judging from the information I got pertaining to the next episode
preview from Episode 8, it seems Devil May Cry will now be
moving towards that climactic finish. It must be pointed out that the
stories in the anime are not really formulaic. Unexpected plot twists
make Devil May Cry an enjoyable anime to watch.

My
friend remarked that her nephews told her that Dante seemed "kinder" in
the anime than in the games. If anything, the anime helped to delve
into the characters’ "human" sides more than the games would. It
certainly will not detract from your enjoyment of the games. I find it
amusing to see Dante portrayed as a lazy slob, who sucks at gambling,
piles up debts that he could not pay because of all the property damage
he causes while attempting to destroy demons, and only has an appetite
for pizza and strawberry sundaes. The busy body child Patty is a
perfect foil for the formidable Devil Hunter resulting in funny moments
between the two. Morrison is the ever-patient job provider, who could
only watch helplessly as Dante succeeds in killing demons, but still
ends up penniless. Not to be forgotten are the femme fatales of the
game Lady and Trish. I must admit that of all the episodes I have
watched, I especially loved the "cat fight" between Trish (Dante’s
ex-partner) and fellow bounty hunter Lady, which certainly tells a lot
about these two butt-kicking women in Dante’s life. Now, I am eagerly
anticipating the appearances of Dante’s half-brother Vergil and father
Sparda.

Still, there are interesting guest characters. Fans of NANA seiyuu
Romi Paku would do well to watch the "Rock Queen" episode if only for
the chance to hear her sing a rock number. Personally, I WOULD like to
hear Dante sing a rock number as well, since the Devil Hunter’s seiyuu
is Morikawa Toshiyuki, who is a damned good singer himself. But…that
will probably not happen in the 13 episodes that comprise the Devil May Cry.

IMHO, the Devil May Cry anime
is something that you can sink your teeth into. Perhaps the trick to
watching it is by just simply viewing the episodes as outside of the
continuity of the games. I personally enjoyed it. My friend’s nephews,
who are gamers, enjoyed it as well. The fact remains that Devil May Cry is high quality escapist fare, especially for those who love heart-pounding action in the anime they watch.

Now, the question is: Has watching the anime convinced this oba-taku to buy the games?

Yes, maybe it has.

BUT…I have to buy a Playstation first. And the chance of that happening in my lifetime is practically impossible.

Poor me.

Next to being a huge anime fan, I am admittedly just as addicted to Highlander.
When I watched the first movie starring French actor Christopher
Lambert as Connor MacLeod, I was instantly hooked. I was mesmerized
with the idea of Immortals walking through time, battling other
Immortals in fierce swordfights for heads and Quickenings, so that "In
the end, there can be only one." Needless to say, I never missed a
single Highlander movie, and I became just as enthralled with
the adventures of Connor’s clansman Duncan MacLeod (portrayed by Adrian
Paul) in the TV series and of cat thief Amanda (actress Elizabeth
Gracen) in the TV series spin-off Highlander: The Raven. However, what I never got into was the Highlander animated series for lack of visual appeal and a dragging storyline. In one official Highlander chat that I participated in before, I broached the topic of doing a Highlander anime.
But other fans thought it a ridiculous idea. To say that I was flamed
for making that suggestion was an understatement. Not surprisingly, I
eventually left the Highlander fandom. I never stopped loving the franchise; it was some of its fans that ruined the experience for me.

Years later, you could only just imagine my surprise when I learned that a Highlander story
has been made into an anime film, with no less than acclaimed Japanese
director Yoshiaki Kawajiri (who helmed my favorite anime film Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust) leading the project. The key animation designs were made by Hisashi Abe (who also did the character designs for Final Fantasy VII: Last Order and the Devil May Cry anime) and produced by Madhouse.

Highlander: Search For Vengeance is
straight hard-hitting action from start to finish. Unlike the live
action films, the anime does not gloss over the mysticism of
Immortality, although the "Rules" of Immortals (Just to name a couple:
The only way you can kill an Immortal is by taking his/her head. You
can’t fight on Holy Ground.) were mentioned in passing by the druid
ghost Amergan. The anime focuses solely on angry hero Colin MacLeod’s
quest to find the evil conqueror Marcus Octavius, who had brutally
murdered his wife Moya. This, despite the promise he had made to his
wife not to seek vengeance.

Admittedly, I was expecting Highlander: Search For Vengeance to be flawless, same as Vampire Hunter D.
The detail that went into the making of the CGI backgrounds and the
designing of the characters is obviously first rate. However, one thing
that immediately drew my attention is the way the characters seemed to
stand out too much in front of the CGI backgrounds. You’ve probably
seen this effect while watching live action films with CGI sequences.
The characters don’t meld well with the background. It’s like stamping
a paper cut out in front of an intricate background. It can be very
distracting because it kind of gives a 3D effect, which is jarring to
the eyes.

Another thing I’ve noticed is that Marcus Octavius looked too much like Meier Link from Vampire Hunter D but
with long hair. Even the heroines Moya and Dahlia looked a lot like
Charlotte and Leila, respectively. My point is couldn’t these
characters have been designed with different hairdos or given a totally
new look? Thank goodness Colin MacLeod DID NOT look like D.

I
also must complain about the dubbing. Alistair Abell, who did the voice
of Colin MacLeod, was too dry and too cold in delivering his lines,
which could make the viewer woefully unsympathetic to his character’s
dilemma. In contrast, Zachary Samuels was deliciously aristocratic and
suavely evil as Marcus Octavius. I also enjoyed the performance of Eid
Lakis as Dahlia. Oh, and there’s also Highlander series actor
Jim Byrnes who made a strong appearance as Doc. I am particularly happy
to note that Doc was also depicted as an amputee, which Mr. Byrnes is
in real life.

I
cannot complain about the action sequences though. I particularly
enjoyed the scenes of the centuries passing by as Colin pursues his
archnemesis. Great detail has also been placed in the animation of the
sword fight scenes, which are the staples of the Highlander franchise.

What is striking about Highlander: Search For Vengeance is
that the film was successfully able to deliver its message of the
futility of revenge with a minimum of preaching. Just the brief
glimpses of Colin’s angry and lonely quest shows how much the search
for vengeance could prevent a man from seeing the beauty of the world
around him. Indeed, his quest has even made him blind to love, which
was doggedly pursuing with the passage of time.

While Highlander: Search For Vengeance may not rank as highly as Vampire Hunter D, it
is still an anime that is worth watching, especially if you love action
with a mix of fantasy and science fiction. There is also a tender
lovemaking scene, so to those who are not as old as the oba-taku, make
sure you have your parents with you. ;P

On a final note, the anime is dedicated "In Memoriam To William Panzer". Ask any Highlander fan who has met Bill Panzer and they would always remember him as a cheerful, kind-hearted man, whose love for everything that Highlander stood
for was unparalleled. I particularly would remember Bill as someone who
would always listen with a genuine interest to what the fans have to
say. Who’s to say that maybe the reason why Highlander: Search For Vengeance was
made to begin with is because there is someone, not just me, who
believed that the story of Immortals is best depicted in anime.
Needless to say, Highlander: Search For Vengeance is a fitting tribute to Bill Panzer. Speaking for myself, I know that I will surely miss him.

* * * * * * * * * *

OBA-TAKU’S NOTE:
As you can see, I will be doing reviews as well. Needless to say, that
practically does mean that the only shows I watch are anime. So I will
most likely do reviews of the latest anime that I’ve seen and some of
the old ones I’ve watched before. If my DVD player does not conk out on
me because of the abuse I put it through, you can expect reviews of Romeo X Juliet, Claymore, Darker Than Black, Black Jack 21, Gintama, Le Chevalier D’Eon,
just to name a few. Believe me, I have watched a lot of series so it
will probably take time for me to go through each and every one of
them.

I
must point out though that my tastes in anime are very different from
some of you, so just because I like a certain anime doesn’t mean that
you will like it as well. Of course, I may like one anime but may hate
another. But don’t take my comments against me. As I said, we all have
very different tastes. So let’s practice respect for one another’s
opinions, okay?

Yesterday,
I received a phone call (which no middle-aged woman in her right mind
would want to get) from my mischievous nephew living in Japan. He’s the
little critter who tapes the latest anime in the Land of the Rising Sun
for me.

"Auntie,"
he began with the infuriatingly cheerful tone of an innocent 12-year
old, "since you’re so addicted to anime, you should be called an
OBA-TAKU."

By
his definition, "oba-taku" is a contraction of two words – "obasan" for
"aunt"/"old lady" and "otaku". This word would be applicable to any
lady above the age of 40 who still loves Japanese anime, buys related
merchandise, and knows more about anime than kids half her age. If
you’re an otaku male 40 and above, you’ll be an OJI-TAKU.

While
no lady would want to be called "obasama", age should not be a
deterrent to enjoying things you loved in your youth. Anime is
certainly no exception. Being a more mature (Don’t say OLD!) anime fan,
I tend to be more discriminating of the anime I watch. I must admit to
not being too fond of shoujo anime and (many of you might want to kill
me for this) I’ve somehow lost interest in CLAMP titles. But I will
watch ANYTHING for as long as it has a good story, great drama and/or
comedy, and that I could last through Episode 1 without falling asleep.
Of course, anime with bishounen AND biseinen (Don’t want to be accused
of being a cradle snatcher. ;-P ) are PLUS factors.

In
the quest for that elusive anime that would interest this…erm…oba-taku,
I frequently surf through the Net for information on the latest
releases and news in Japan.

So…here are a few of the notable anime news items I was able to stumble upon from various sources.

* * * * * * * * * *         

CODE GEASS…AARRGH!

While wannabe wizards worldwide are angsting over the lengthy casualty list in Harry Potter and the Ghostly Hallows, a loyal contingent of anime fans were watching the highly anticipated last two episodes of the first season of CODE GEASS.

No,
I’m not that sadistic to reveal what happened, but I must confess that
Season One ended with one hell of a cliffhanger, which left with a
serious hankering for Season Two, which will be premiering in the
Fall/Winter season.

Will Lelouch and Suzaku
finally realize that the only way they could defeat the evil ruler of
Britannia is by joining forces? Won’t someone come up with a better
plan to keep Nunnally safe from kidnappers? Will we ever get to find out what C.C.’s
real name is? Will Lelouch eventually lose his geass, because he looks
downright psychotic whenever he’s using it? (JUST KIDDING!) And will Diethard Ried (Yes, I LOVE that scoop-happy journalist!) ever get write that BIG STORY?

As they say in TV serials, STAY TUNED FOR THE NEXT EPISODE!!

* * * * * * * * * *

DEATH NOTE FOREVER!

Light Yagami has already gotten his just desserts in the finale of Madhouse’s critically acclaimed anime Death Note, but the frenzy over the title has yet to die down. Such is the popularity of Death Note
that a 3-hour Director’s Cut special will be aired on August
31 on the Nippon Television Network. The special tells the story
of Light and L from the perspective of Shinigami Ryuk,
with dialogue and scenes that were not shown in the series. If you’re
getting the channel in your cable TV service, watch out for it.

Of course, not to be forgotten is the Death Note movie spin-off L, which brings back talented actor Ken’ichi Matsuyama as the eccentric but genius detective and Erika Toda as Misa Amane. The movie is set for theatrical release in Japan in February of next year.

FROM DETECTIVE TO NINJA

Speaking of Ken’ichi Matsuyama, he is certainly one very busy actor these days. After finishing work on L, Matsuyama will be starring in the live action version of the popular manga Kamui Gaiden (Legend of Kamui). The film is going to be directed by Korean-Japanese director, Yoichi Sai.

The manga is about a ninja named Kamui who is trying desperately to break free from the ties of his clan.

THE ULTIMATE SHOWDOWN!

While
December 22 is still months away, even this early there is increasing
media hype over the upcoming theatrical release of the second Bleach movie, Bleach: The Diamond Dust Rebellion.

The plot of the film is very interesting. 10th Squad Shinigami Hitsugaya Toushiro is
charged with transporting an artifact known as the "King’s Seal" to
Soul Society. However, Hitsugaya is attacked by a mysterious group of
brigands, and later on disappears. The bigwigs of Seireitei brand
Hitsugaya as a traitor and mark him for execution. Kurosaki Ichigo refuses
to believe that the diminutive captain would betray Soul Society and
goes off on a quest to find him, together with Kuchiki Rukia, Abarai Renji and Matsumoto Rangiku.
Meanwhile, Hitsugaya is in pursuit of the thieves, which leads
to a confrontation with a Shinigami, whom they believed to be long
dead.

As a sneak peek, fans are treated to shocking bloody images on the official Bleach website of Ichigo crossing swords with fan favorite, Hitsugaya.

You can check it out at Official Bleach Website.

* * * * * * * * * *

EVANGELION IS BACK!

Even
after getting hooked on the anime series and having my brains fried by
the surreal images of the movies, I am still definitely looking forward
to Gainax’ release of the second Evangelion movie, Rebuild of Evangelion, this September 1.

As
of this writing, the trailers of the film are being shown in theaters
in Japan, but will soon be available online. Some of the intriguing
images in the trailer showed Rei Ayanami wearing a new plug suit and a shot of the Lance of Longinus.

For updates, visit the Official Evangelion Site

* * * * * * * * * *

FREEZE, PUNKS! YOU’RE UNDER ARREST!!

If you’re a huge fan of both the anime and live action versions of You’re Under Arrest like I am, you’ll be very happy to know that a new anime series will premiere this Fall season.

Entitled You’re Under Arrest: Full Throttle, the anime brings back spunky heroines Natsumi Tsujimoto and Miyuki Kobayakawa. This time, Natsumi is a veteran of the JSDF Special Forces while Miyuki specializes in forensics.

The anime promises intriguing cases, comedic moments and thrilling car chases, which made You’re Under Arrest a hit among fans.

* * * * * * * * * *

THE OBA-TAKU’S TRIVIA OF THE WEEK

I seem to have accepted being called an Oba-taku. Oh well! I have yet to watch Devil May Cry
(because my best friend has the DVD but is still contemplating if she
could meet me this Wednesday. If she doesn’t, I’ll probably kill her.
He he he.) Anyway, according to her, the anime might prove a shock to
gamers because they will see a much kinder Dante than
they are accustomed to. Not only that, it seems our hunky Demon Slayer
has a sweet tooth, and particularly craves STRAWBERRY SUNDAES. Man,
it’s so easy to fall for a handsome bishie who loves sundaes like I do!

JA NE, MINNA-SAN!!! XD