‘Vamp’ is such an odd word, owing to the differing meanings. It can mean, to wit:

1. the part of a shoe or boot upper covering especially the forepart of the foot, or
2. a short introductory musical passage often repeated several times before a solo, or
3. to piece something old with something new, or
4. a flirtatious woman

The word is derived from Anglo-French, alteration of avanpié, from avant- fore- + pié foot, but it can also be shorthand for vampire. In fact, the first vamp, silent movie star Theda Bara, was a caliber of vampire, as she sucked out men’s souls. (more…)

I see tons and tons of anime every day, every month and every year. I try and keep as good a record as I can as to what I’ve seen and what needs to be reviewed, so I was flummoxed that I had not given a review on this show. Bad boy! Bad boy!  “Kabaneri of the Iron Fortress” (“Kōtetsujō no Kabaneri^”) can be best described as ‘Snowpiercer meets Attack on Titan’, but that falls far short as to what goes on in this zombie show. (more…)

This particular anime is a rarity among anime in that (a) it is based in America and (b) it is set in the past. I used to lament that anime seemed to be most about a Japan of the future. There is a challenge in trying to do the past, especially one that Americans would be more familiar with, but at the heart is a story that is no different than any samurai epic like “Yojimbo” or “Kagamusha”. (more…)

One of the problems I have with an ecchi-heavy anime is that the perversion is so naked (both figuratively and actually) that you feel beat about the head and shoulders with it. But for this one, “Masou Gakuen H x H” (“Hybrid × Heart Magias Academy Ataraxia”), it is done with such a wide-eyed innocence, that you can’t help but laugh yourself wet, as if these people have zero concept on things of this nature. OK, let us to the plot: (more…)