OHSHC is probably my all time favorite anime. It was quite possibly the first anime series I’ve ever watched in a single sitting. The main reason I love it is because its theme revolves around the fact that appearance doesn’t matter (which is very ironic considering some of the characters), it has an amazing story line, and in almost every episode there’s an underlying message.

Firstly, onto that amazing underlying message, as Haruhi (the female protagonist) repeats several times throughout the anime: “Appearances don’t matter, it’s the inside that counts.” This is a pretty big message these days as it’s constantly being spoken about to the younger generations. This theme, though very inspiring, is also very ironic; since the point of the club is to share their beauty with the world… It’s quite the paradox when you think about it, “Appearances don’t matter, but I need to share my beauty with the world”. (more…)

A kind of sister show to “AKB0048” (although more like a distant cousin) is “Love Live! School Idol Project”. This tells the story of nine girls who are trying to save their school from shuttering its doors. Otonokizaka Academy has had declining enrollment for years and will not accept new students after this year, allowing those who remain behind to complete their education there, then turning into a Senior Center or a giant fighting robot assembly plant or a Pokemon hospital. Honoka Kōsaka (far left) will do whatever it takes to save the school. But what? What can be done to increase enrollment enough?

She notices that other schools have Idol Clubs and they are both very popular and very successful, the biggest being UTX Academy with A-Rise. WE could do this! She petitions the Student Council to start this club. Alas, the president of the Council, Eri Ayase (the person next to Honoka) is dead set against such a debasement of the school and its standards and will not allow it, even if it could save everything. However, there is a tiny, tiny loophole: Niko Yazawa (number three position; red ribbons in her hair) has an Idol Fan Club on campus and that one is established. It is decided to join her club and slightly change the charter for it, thus allowing them to rehearse. The initial members of the group are Honoka, Umi Sonoda (dead center) and Kotori Minami (gray hair, white ribbon) and they call themselves “μ’s” (pronounced ‘muse’, so you can see why it has to be a nontet), but initially it is a trio. They give a great performance in front of practically no one, but the word gets out and others want to join the group and help the cause. (more…)

OK, anyone who didn’t know there was going to be a second season of “AKB0048”, you have to watch “Tokyo Mew Mew”. A lot. There were so many loose ends, it was like the first time someone tried to sew, so we HAD to have “AKB0048: Next Stage” to bring everything to a conclusion…..of sorts.

So, we pick up right where we left off, trying to get the 77th generation of AKB0048 ready. We still have the same problems: artistic rivalry, the evil forces of the anti-entertainment army in hot pursuit, self-doubt and uncertainty if any one of them can really make it. However, they do throw in new problems that complicate things even further, in that the Anti-Entertainment Forces are now becoming more aggressive and Chieri’s father (that girl is the blue-haired attraction in the front row), is bound and determined to get the Center Nova Phenomenon to take effect, so he can take advantage of everything for some galaxy-consuming power grab the likes of which no one has ever seen.

It’s just, for me, the cast was/is getting almost too large to handle properly. We have broken them down into factions or groups to tell the story better, and each of the groups (The Trainees, the Old Guard, the Support Staff) get their time in the sun, but I would have preferred more interaction between the overall groups, and not just merely within. Another aspect of this show, which is crucial, are the songs and I care so little about them. Maybe I’m not into J-Pop or the songs just do not have enough driving hooks for me, but it is all so very, very bland to listen to. You would think a series about music would have better songs to go along with things. (more…)

All too often, people with intense or expensive hobbies are met with derision by people who insist that these passions are a waste of time. Wouldn’t that time be better spent working at a real job?

In the case of anime fandom, what most outsiders – and, indeed, many fans – don’t realize is that there are plenty of ways to create a profitable career from a love of anime. It just takes some creativity, commitment and a bit of hard work. Here are some of the many careers you can develop as an anime fan:

Animator or Voice Actor?

Of course, the most obvious way to leverage a love of anime into a career is to work in the industry. Anime is one of the biggest exports of Japan, and there’s no sign of its popularity waning. Getting into the industry as a foreigner is a challenge, though, and it’s very competitive. A formal degree in animation can put you ahead of the game and put you on a good trajectory for internship positions, but if that’s out of reach it can be easier to find a job in voice acting, writing subtitles, and other aspects of the anime import business. (more…)

Kei Takishima from Special A is quite a unique character. To be completely honest, he is one of my favorite male protagonists from all the anime series that I’ve seen recently. He’s claimed that spot on the list because of three main reasons: he’s very cold and not very outspoken to the world (except when it comes to Haruki Hanazono, the female protangonist); He can be considered a “lonely prince” (if you’ve seen Ouran High School Host Club, you’ll understand); and he’s just naturally a good person overall.

While Kei is very cold to the world (including his brother and childhood best friends), one girl, (Haruki) stands as the sole exception. Haruki is as the only person in the world who can make him more relaxed and smile freely. And this is simply because he has been in love with her since childhood.I find it amazing the amount of devotion he has for her even though she is constantly challenging him for his title of first place. Just the fact that he allows it because “he loves to see her smile” shows how much she means to him. (more…)

I was at Anime Expo 2013 and you get marvelous opportunities to see films…provided you could get in. This one presented itself and the line for it was short, so I grabbed it.

Now, the official title of this is “Children Who Chase Lost Voices from Deep Below” (although in some places, it is also known as “Journey to Agartha”. The ORIGINAL title is “Children Who Chase Stars”. For me, this is a sign of trouble. Can you pick a title?) This is brought to you by the same folks who did “5 Centimeters per Second”. This has been out for a while, but is just getting to us here.

Asuna Watase is a girl who is mostly by herself. Dad is dead and mom works long hours as a nurse, so she is left to her own devices. This includes spending a lot of time at her secret cave, listening to whatever radio signals she can get on her cat’s-whisker radio and hears a song she has never encountered before. At school, she hears tales of a bear being seen in the hills where her cave is. Defying the people, as she knows the mountains well, she goes up the hill and sees the ‘bear’, but it is some kind of horrible monster, bent on killing her. (more…)

Kikyo from Inuyasha is honestly one of the most infuriating characters I’ve ever watched. Even after she finds out that Inuyasha didn’t kill her she still sides with Naraku and his plans of killing Inuyasha. Of course her argument is since she’s a technically “a living corpse’ all she wants is to become human again, but that chance died when she decided to shoot Inuyasha to a tree. She could’ve continued on living if she didn’t shoot him with that arrow. She would’ve been free to live a Priestess life hood, but no she killed herself with shooting him with her arrow.

True at the time she did think that he betrayed her, but back to the original point of that she eventually figured out that he didn’t but she still hated him for something he didn’t do. Which brings me to why she would hate him. My first reason that she’s jealous of the fact that he’s beginning to love Kagome who I have been routing for since I first started watching the series. My other reason is the fact that Inuyasha never died the day she died though that had been her original plan. He was able to move on 50 years later while her soul was moved into Kagome (must’ve made her dead self tremble in rage). Plus the fact he’s falling in love with her reincarnation must’ve have been a punch in the face. (more…)

Usually I get kind of coy in giving reviews, making you read through my whole marvelous article before I finally let you know whether you should watch something or not. I also do not do movie reviews either, so this is a double departure for me. I’ll get straight to the point…..

You should watch “Wolf Children”.

Now, it will be coming out in the theaters, but it is going to be a limited release, which means you will have to do some hunting for it, but it will be in English Dub (although the subtitles were not a problem at all). The only thing wrong with the film is the title, which gives away everything far too soon. It would have been nice to be able to be surprised as to what events were unfolding. I even chose this image over the wallpaper release, as that really spills the beans regarding key plot points. Even something like “Different Children” would have been better as a title. (more…)

The last day always has a palpable sadness to it. I mean, we have been having a marvelous time for the last 72 hours (and some folks have been UP all 72 hours, living on Red Bull or Monsters or Ultra Grandes from Starbucks), but it has to come to an end. I always feel sorry for those folks on the last day. For many, it is a getaway day, so they are busy packing bags and trying to get to the airport, so attendance is down. Way down. You can get into the shows, but the shows may not be all that fabulous. It’s like your panel got into AX, so don’t complain that you got Sunday at 9 am.

I squeezed in a viewing of Revolutionary Girl Utena, but even I had to head back to the hotel to pack, as I did score on a lot of swag. Now, there is nothing wrong with the show, but since it was also linked in with a massive showing of “Princess Knight” and “Rose of Versailles”, I only saw that one, as I had seen the other two the day before and was not that impressed. It’s not a bad show, but since I had been inundated with the girls trying to make it in a man’s world idea, it kind of washed over me. Too much all at once. (more…)

This is a rather silly harem comedy with a twist. Originally known as “Kono Naka ni Hitori, Imouto ga Iru!”, we also know it as “Nakaimo – My Little Sister is Among Them!”

Let’s talk about the guy in the middle, Mikadono Shougo. He is the only living heir to the Mikadono Group, some big we-own-it-all company. For him to take over the reins, he needs to graduate from school as well as finding a life partner. However, things become complicated as he learns that his father, Kumagorou, had an illegitimate daughter, who is also watching over him as well as attending the same school. This leads to Shougo trying to find his sister. He has scar on his forehead from an accident when he was kid and this caused him to lose bits of his memories and, of course, it is the critical ones.

Well, as soon as everyone at school find out whom he was, the ladies flocked to him, with these five as the leading candidates. Also his handler, Risa Seri, kind of gave him permission to sow his wild oats, but he is conflicted in that he may want to explore merger possibilities, but what if it IS his sister? Can you think of the scandal?

The series revolves about him trying to figure out who his sister really is and what is going on behind the scenes. (more…)