Anime North Wrap-up

I was not really expecting to have that great of a time at Anime North this year. Now that it's finished I can say that it exceeded my expectations, but that doesn't necessarily mean it was that great. While it was good to see some familiar faces, I was pretty much on my own for the entire show and didn't really hang out with anyone for any significant length of time. I didn't have a lot of money due to an unrelated matter outside of my control that popped up unexpectedly, so I couldn't afford to buy very much. Last year I spoke on 4 discussion panels and it was a lot of fun and they were all well attended. I had volunteered to be on panels this year too, but for some reason I was only on 1. Topics like classic anime and Transformers didn't have a panel at all this year, despite being successful last year. Meanwhile, other topics, which will go nameless, were overexposed. That's just stupid. I don't understand the reasoning behind that, and it makes it seem that the people in charge really don't care.

So, for all those reasons it wasn't that great. However, the main reason why I go to Anime North is Anime Hell, which was hilarious this year. On Sunday there was also a Super Robot presentation that went through almost every 70's robot anime. After it ended there was still time left, so it just kept going onto 80's anime. I sang along with the theme songs and it was a lot of fun. I did manage to scrape up enough money to buy all of Osamu Tezuka's Phoenix anime, which is great. I also go what must have been the deal of the century. I bought the entire 2004 Tetsujin 28 remake anime, 26 episodes on 6 disks with art box, official, brand new, sealed, licensed by the now bankrupt Geneon and thus out of print, for $10. Yeah, $10. I thought it was some kind of mistake, but that's how much I paid. Can't really feel bad about going to a disappointing convention when you walk home with a deal like that.

There was also free live wrestling, and that's always fun to watch. For my AstroBoy World readers, I'll have something interesting about that up soon.

So that's my Anime North experience. Not great, but still OK in the end.

Sayonara.

Con Time Again.

Anime North is this weekend.

I'm supposed to be on a discussion panel about Japanese Horror Movie on Sunday at 4. Other than that I'm just going to wander around.

I have a feeling that this year's show isn't going to be that great, but I'll complain when it's over.

Sayonara.

Kingdom of the Crystal Skull

Saw the new Indiana Jones tonight. I liked it. I'm not crazy about it but it was pretty good. It's different from the others. I was sort of afraid that they were going to be derivative and make it too much of a Raiders-reunion, but it's quite unique in its own way. Having so much time pass since this one and The Last Crusade makes me wish there were more movies in between, because it's kind of a big jump to go from the 30's to the 50's.

Too bad the print I saw sucked. There was a big line running down the center of the picture the entire time.

To those of you complaining about the sci-fi elements of the story or the use of CGI effects in this movie, get a life. Seriously.

Sayonara.

Finally, Wii.

Yeah, as of last week, there is now a Wii in the house. Much to my surprise, as I wasn't planning on getting one until after convention season, but I'll take it. The only game I have for it, aside from Wii Sports, is "No More Heroes". It's a great game with a cool graphic-novel art style, lightsabers wrestling moves, anime otaku references, and lots of blood and swearing. Travis Touchdown is an inspirational figure if there ever was one. Other games like Mario Galaxy, Smash Bros, Mario Kart, Zack & Wiki, Resident Evil, and Okami are certainly on the list, but will have to wait awhile. At least now I am somewhat plugged in to the current state of the gaming generation instead of being two or three steps behind. But that's what I get for being a poor artist I guess.

Sayonara.

Final Frontier

So, apparently, NASA has found something. I'm not really keeping up on what is going on, but I know that there was some kind of announcement about a supernova or something like that. People are disapointed because they were hoping for aliens, but I see the potential for interesting developments.

You know what I hope it really is?

I hope it's Galactus.

You see, if Galactus was real, then the Silver Surfer would be real too. Then he and I would become friends and he would take me for a ride on his surf board. Then I would smack that honkey right off the board and keep it for myself. I would then return to my native home of Latveria and proceed to use my newly acquired cosmic powers to take over the world. Of course, the world would be eaten soon afterward, since Galactus is real, but by that time I would be so powerful that it wouldn't effect me.

So, yeah. I hope it's Galactus.

Sayonara.

SPEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEED RACER!

My review of the Speed Racer movie is now up on AstroBoy World.

Short version: The critics got their heads on backwards. This movie is not only visually incredible, it is SO MUCH FUN.

Take the kids and go see it on the big screen!

Sayonara.

Kendo wa Tanoshii desu.

It's been awhile since I've sat down and watched an Anime series from the first episode to the last, and even longer since I've blogged about it. I just finished watching Bamboo Blade. It's a 26 episode series about 5 high school girls and their kendo club. The 5 characters, the instructor, and the other club members all go through their own personal dilemmas and challenges, and they are made into better people by way of the sport of kendo. Kendo is sort of like Japanese fencing. As the characters learn about kendo, the audience does too, so it's an interesting look into the cultural aspect. All of this, in and of itself, is decently entertaining while typical of the sports anime genre. What really makes this show fun is that the lead character, who is the most skilled yet the most reserved personality on the team, loves anime and is crazy about a tokusatsu super hero show called "Blade Braver". While the viewer only gets brief glimpses of this show-within-a-show as the main character watches it, it's clear that there is a history to it and there are parallels between the heroes fighting their rivals and the actual kendo matches she's in. The girls even assign themselves colours like a sentai team!

It's pretty appropriate that a show about kendo would have references to anime and tokusatsu. Now that I know a little bit about kendo through watching Bamboo Blade, I can see how much influence the sport has had on Japanese pop culture. The visual similarities between kendo practitioners in full gear and masked heroes like Kamen Rider are pretty obvious, whether they were intentional or not. Koji Kabuto yelling "ROCKETO PUNCH!" while piloting Mazinger Z and other anime characters who call out their attacks is much like kendo, where the two fighters yell certain words depending on what part of the opponent's body they are striking at. Actually, there's a lot of yelling in kendo in general, which reminds me of a "powering up" sequence in any given fighting anime.

Anyway, Bamboo Blade is a fun and enlightening show. Apparently the original manga is being released into English. The anime adaptation is unlikely to be licensed in North America, but the fansubs are out there. I hope there's a sequel. I'll watch it. But I'm probably not going to take up kendo anytime soon, because I don't think my brittle wrist could handle it!

Of course, what I'd really like if for "Blade Braver" to become a real show, because that would be awesome!

Sayonara.

IRON MAN ROCKS.

Quite possibly the best comic-book movie in recent history. Most definitely the best movie I've seen in a while. I loved absolutely everything about it.

No spoilers here. Go see it for yourself. If you're a fan you won't be disappointed, and it's a great entry point for people who have no previous knowledge of the character.

Anyway, see Iron Man. See it!

Sayonara.