Anime N Manga: 2008

Tales of Phantasia The Animation Impression

Ah, first post of the new year, yeah I’m a tool, whatever. Anyway lets start the new year with a look back at an anime re-released by FUNimation as seen by Geneon.

Tales of Phantasia, the anime based on the video follows the struggles of a warriror, cleric, witch, summoner, archer and ninja in their battle against the Demon King. As the warrior Cress and cleric Mint pursue the Demon King Dhaos they are joined by archer Chester, witch Arche and summoner Claus. All have a reason for wanting the Dhaos destroyed and they must travel across time to accomplish their goals. The abuse of the land and it’s mana is at the core of this conflict, one that will only end in the utter destruction of one side or the other.

Yeah, quick summary, but this is a quick series, 4 episodes on one disc. While this would have made an outstanding 12-17 episode series packing it into 4 works well, and not just for fans of the series. Lets touch on that first, I’ve not played the game, but I totally dug this anime thanks to my love for Lodoss War, Slayers and the such. I’m sure fans of the game will enjoy the anime as it does not abuse the source material, meaning it’s not stupid. It’s enjoyable and a well told (if not short) adventure. It’s a surprise to see how well these characters are developed and the land set up. The animation is stunning delivering great settings and unique characters that stick in the imagination, it’s a fantasy fans dream (but short).

Fantasy fans, RPG fans, Tales of fans this is an excellent purchase for you, a must have. I was sad to see the series end so fast given how well they tell the story and capture all the aspects of a good RPG. Highly recommended and since it’s a one-shot DVD, easy on the wallet. Short anime, short impression.

FUNimations New Show A-Go-Go, What's It Mean?

Twelve. Twelve new acquisitions have been rolled out, announced, from FUNimation over the past few weeks and are highlighted on their New Show A-Go-Go site. Most of these shows have been previously released either by ADV or Geneon, but FUNimation getting them is a good thing. See with the collapse of ADV and the withdrawal of Geneon from the states that left mainly FUNimation, Viz and Bandai as the major players in the anime distro business. Anime had hits its peak and was now coming back down to Earth, but not so fast. FUNimation could have messed up big time by acquiring all these titles, flooding the shelves with releases but something happened on the way to ruin, they are succeeding and saving shelf space. ADV began putting out thinpac box sets, neat full series in the space usually taken by 2-3 DVD's. Now what FUNimation has done is take these series, revamp ones needing it and package them up in very thin, eco friendly packaging where you can get 26 episodes in the space it takes for 1 DVD case, neat! The price point is great also, these are not greatest hits, gold, platinum or some such type of collection, they are just great bargains for the price (and shelf space, did I mention that). Anyway back to the Anime 12.

In quick succession we've seen FUNimation hook up older titles from ADV and Geneon, get them back on shelves in complete collections where they fell short in the past, sometimes broken into part 1 and 2 sets. While these have been more than welcome these new titles are just numbingly tasty, one hell of a way to start the new year. So what is to get excited about, let’s see ... and check out the official sites found on New Show A-Go-Go. (No particular order btw.)

Samurai Champloo - Love Afro Samurai, this title is legendary, like Cowboy Bebop meets Afro Samurai, HOT!
Soul Eater - I've not seen this title before, but hot design and slick action, yeah a must buy for me in 09.
Evangelion: 1.0 You Are (Not) Alone - Eva, nuff said, must have.
Gungrave - More style, more action and a great anime based on a pretty good video game.
Gankutsuou: The Count of Monte Cristo - A classic piece of literature gets re-imagined. This title is made for HD, beautiful.
Slayers Revolution - My first eBay purchase was the original Slayers box set. I've been waiting for this for years.
Oh! Edo Rocket - Zero idea about this, get back to you later.
Last Exile - Beauty in motion, a classic movie.
Ikki Tousen - Zero idea about this, get back to you later.
Nabari No Ou - Zero idea about this, get back to you later.
Vandread - Own it, love it. CGI meets anime with catchy opening tunes and the ladies, yes me likes the ladies.
Gad Guard - A throw back to the early days of anime, a boy and his robot but just like Galaxy Railways, brought up to speed with crisp animation.

And to top it all off FUNimation also has a new video portal. Some of the titles you can find here included Darker Than Black, Guyver, Black Blood Brothers, Gunslinger Girl Il Teatrino, Jyu-Oh-Sei, Negima 2, Ouran High School Host Club, Romeo X Juliet, Shigurui: Death Frenzy and more. What FUNimation has done is tackle anime world from the single DVD (traditional) angle, box set angle and online distro. I am excited because FUNimation is hooking us otaku up, ditto for Viz with their collections of hot titles ... Bandai I'll get back to you on, not sure about them just yet. Take care, Happy New Year and here is to a very hopeful future for the world of anime.

Combat Mecha Xabungle Papercraft

Combat Mecha Xabungle, also known as Blue Gale Xabungle, is a mecha anime series by Sunrise shown back in the 80's. In the series, Walker Machines are ubiquitous vehicles with vaguely humanoid silhouettes, which Civilians use for such various purposes as mining, transport of persons and goods, construction, and combat. You can download the SD walker here.

Video Games on The Examiner in December

So this has been a great month, a great year really. To wrap it up on The Examiner here I what I've covered over there around video games and their related properties ...

Impression: Castlevania Judgment - Not the greatest Wii fighter, not even close (but design is beautiful).
Impression: Dead Space Comic Hardcover - Taking a look at the prequel collected comics, pretty, oh so pretty.
Impression: McFarlane does video games - Not some twisted fetish movie but a look at Guitar Hero, Halo and Call of Duty from McFarlane Toys.
Impression: Mirror's Edge on PS3 - New, orignal, great game.
Impression: Resident Evil: Degeneration on Bluray - This is a good movie, a game worthy movie.
Impression: Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe on PS3 - For fans of both universes.
Impression: Batman Arkham Asylum Trailer - A look at the latest trailer for a very realistic looking game.
Wii Holiday Buying Guide - A guide to spend your money one, or gift cards post holidays.
Impression: Tornado on DS - Ni-fu, ni-fa.
Anime Gamer Holiday Guide - Into anime, into gaming, check it out.

Foldskool Heroes 3 Papertoys

It's been a while since my last visit at Marshall Alexander's papertoy site. Those three papertoys above are the latest addition to his growing papertoy collection. You can check them out here.

Warcraft Legends vol. 2 Impression

Warcraft: The Sunwell Trilogy from Tokyopop took the popular MMORPG and gave it a new avenue to explore the characters and settings of WoW. While this manga was met with mixed reviews this has not dissuaded Tokyopop from continuing the manga march with Warcraft Legends volume 2, a new manga that continues one story from volume 1 while crafting three other short stories in the World of Warcraft.

The cover, by Udon, will grab anyone’s attention with its slender night elf perched in a tree just begging the reader to open the cover. This is the proper approach needed for a franchise such as Warcraft. The Sunwell Trilogy was good, but these short stories hit the mark. Some are good, others not so much, but all of them give a taste of WoW without a series long commitment. Not being a WoW player I cannot speak for you, the true fan, but I do know you are getting stories set in the world you dedicate so much time too so from that standpoint it’s worth the look. If you like, then keep reading, if not you’re only out about $11 and can sell to a friend for a discount (good times). For me, worth it as I love fantasy manga, but let’s takes a look at each story and its art.

Fear (part 2) - Richard A. Knaak and Jae-Hwan Kim return from their work on The Sunwell Trilogy to tell the tale of Trag Highmountain, his downfall since the Sunwell Trilogy and journey to resist and confront the Lich King who calls to him. Knaak’s story telling is again superb as he touches on the inner-workings of the participants, this time the orc Thrall who tries to help Trag. Readers learn more about the orc liberator as well as see a change in Trag, a good story that will continue in volume 3. Kim’s art is great, always has been from King of Hell till now and it’s by far the best in this book. Fear could stand alone as its own manga, but pairing it with other stories in multiple volumes is a great way to expose the manga to many. Book is worth the buy for this story alone.

Warrior: Divided - If Fear is the hot girl at the bar, guess who Warriors: Divided is? Call in the wing man, this story of orphan twins, one raised by dwarves the other elves, is not pretty. Lieren, raised by dwarves, discovers she has a twin sister, Loania, raised by elves and together they learn their human father was killed, as was their mother. They go on a journey to learn about themselves only to confront their dead mother and save her soul. Yeah, the story is rushed, tries to feel sad and noble, but does neither. The art, not good, was this someone who lost rising stars of manga? Not going to mention anymore, names, nada about this story, it’s not good.

Miles to Go - Kova Broadhorn, a tauren shaman is sent on a journey to find an orc seer and return with her to her village. She’s told along her journey she will encounter help, and does … sort of. Kova meets up with the gnome warrior Miles Corebender who envisioned Kova in a dream. The two set off on their journey, encounter a rogue, defeat the rogue and discover themselves along the way, Kova that she can cope with battle, Miles being brought down a few pegs in his quest for an epic tale about himself. Did I leave out the funny? Yeah, this is a very funny story with good, light art to match the mood, a very short and another very cow hero they way the jab at each other is enjoyable and what short stories are all about. Good art, funny story with known characters and settings, this will make WoW fans smile as it does not take itself serious and is like a random quest.

Family Values - Jaruk Bloodfyre an orc torn between his beliefs and the drive of his tribe led by his blood thirsty brother J’argg. Jaruk cannot stand the bloodshed of the draenei and eventually rescues a girl, Leena, and is hunted by his own kind, his own brother. Without revealing too much more the ending of this story is satisfying and everything before also serves the reader well. Not too deep, not too shallow, just right for a side story, background on an impactful characters in WoW. The violence of the world is shown in this story, but the art feels more like a children’s book, Orc’s by the numbers, nobody really memorable except for Leena (you’ll see). Yeah, ok to read but so-so overall.

Bleach DVD vol. 12 Impression

Welcome to the past Bleach fans. Taking a brief respite from present events Bleach volume 12 looks into the past, to better understand the captains and their lieutenants, how they became Soul Reapers and what drives their present day relationships and actions.

He may be deceased, but Captain Aizen still has a profound affect on those among the living especially lieutenant Momo Hinamori. She remembers how they met and recounts the letter Aizen left that caused her to confront his supposed killers, a battle where Bankai are released and cracks begin to form in the hierarchy that is the Soul Society. In the present Ichigo continues to train with Yoruichi to attain Bankai in a short period and is joined by a former foe while Yoruichi’s history with Mr. Hat and Clogs is also touched on. The biggest history point, a set of memories from Rukia back to her days as a child, joining the Soul Society, her adoption, brother and the death of a comrade which begins to bring her acceptance of her fate to light, a fate that has been moved up to the next day. To understand the present the past must be explored.

This volume of Bleach is very interesting for one main point; there is little exposure for the main character Ichigo. This series begins to establish itself as more than a one man show with multiple characters with history to share, four episodes worth. Bleach has long established itself a great action anime with oodles of styles, great character design, superb music … the whole package which is laid on top of a story that is getting better and deeper the more characters are explored. There is a depth to these characters and this volume really takes the time to explore each one. This is a background volume, but if you’re this deep in then it’s worth the purchase, not an entry point for noobs, a reward to fans.

Mini GAT-X105 Aile Strike Gundam Papercraft

Here's another Gundam papercraft for you guys. This model is pretty small and a bit difficult to build. You can get it here.

Pop Up TV

Don't know where to put that big plasma TV and component of yours? Check out importadvantage.com's well-designed pop up tv cabinets that were specifically designed for audio/video components. These cabinets will definitely enhance any room’s overall appearance. Also get free shipping and free in-home placement with every order. They are also currently having a holiday sale wherein you can get up to 25% discount on selected items.

SD GAT-X370 Raider Gundam Papercraft

The kk factory blog has recently released the SD Raider Gundam papercraft. The zip file contains seven pages of in pepakura (PDO) format. You can download the model here until December 31 only!

Cozy Winters

It is that time of the year again that we experience extreme cold weather. To make themselves comfortable, a lot of people buy heating gadgets like thermic foot warmers, heated ski gloves and electric blankets. For fast shipping, great comfort and no hassle online shopping, CozyWinters.com is your source for winter comfort. FREE Ground Shipping on all orders over $75.00 within the 48 contiguous states.