Finished "Najica Blitz Tactics"...

...and I don't have much more to say about it beyond what I've already said. Campy, fun entertainment, great action, animation, and music, but otherwise no real redeeming qualities beyond the eye-candy.

I also rewatched the first disc of Madlax again -- I couldn't help myself! I've been listening to the OSTs as, well, a warm-up for tonight. More about that later.

(Though what I'm doing "later" is kind of obvious if you look over and count the number of months in my archive, realize what it was that got me started on this thing in the first place, and track the last time I watched a certain show to New Year's eve...)

Quick "Meine Liebe" update...

Keep your eyes peeled for Shi-Fa's sub of episode 9 -- chock full of drunken existentialism! Yum!

Ummm...

Uhhh....

Ahh...

Umm...

Err...

Uhhh...

Wha....

Uhhh...

Mmm...

Errr...



Uh, like, WTF??!

(watched the last 3 eps of "Neon Genesis: Evangelion". Not that you couldn't have guessed... More thoughts later once I can actually digest it a bit... Umm....)

Makin' my own "long weekend" (which means "watch watch watch"!)

I needed a break from work, so I'm taking an extra-long weekend. So besides wrapping up "Avenger" again last night, I watched a couple of more out of the GreenCine queue.

First, "Voices of a Distant Star" -- a very interesting, short (25-minute) film and a fine piece of storytelling. It had a vibe very reminiscent of the independent shorts I used to watch a lot back in film school. Though it had all the usual anime trappings like summertime cicadas and cel phones and mecha fights. But all the little details were very imaginative and engrossing, and were little windows on something deeper than just what the narrative was taking you through. The little dancing particles when the ships went to hyperspace. The crags in the alien herbivores' antlers and how they matched the alien ships' "net". Or that they maybe weren't exactly "ships"... All of that was a subtext to a very nice, poetic little story of two almost-in-love teenagers growing apart in both space and time.

As an extra on the disc there's an earlier short that's just as poetic, and worth seeking out as well.

Second, not quite so artsy though, I continued "Wild Arms" with disc 4. The "plot" makes itself known in full force now, and with the characters still being rather lively and the overall cinematics being rather entertaining, it's still worth watching after a few pints. An interesting factoid, though -- the director of these episodes, Itsuro Kawasaki, besides having worked for Bee Train on a few projects like "Arc the Lad", is directing the "Tsubasa Chronicle" movie for Production I.G. (which, as you may recall, is the parent company for Bee Train). So my earlier comment about "Tsubasa" seeming like a cross between "Wild Arms" and ".hack//SIGN"... Well, draw your own conclusions! *wink*

The more I watch "Avenger"...

...the more I absolutely love it!

With all my frustration sampling anime lately, I was starting to think once again that maybe it was just a phase, and that I'm re-outgrowing it again.

And while the new "Kino's Journey" OVA was pretty cool and had a lot of the things I liked about that series present and accounted for, it wasn't quite enough to allay my irritation.

So just now I finished up my 4th re-watch of "Avenger" by watching the last 3 episodes in a row.

Y'know, I think I need to re-think my top-10 list, and give "Avenger" a spot on it. Even though the R1 DVDs aren't out yet (let alone announced...).

As maddeningly vague as it can get, it's still scads better than most everything else I've been sampling.

Now I've got to figure out where in the list it goes... I've got the last disc of Eva in, so depending on how that ends, I'll decide if it goes before, or after it. And all of you who've seen the end of Eva and are saying to themselves "Oh, he'll put it before that f*'ed up crap", well, let me discover that for myself. Heh.

Champlooless

I seem destined to never get to see the second disc of "Samurai Champloo" for some reason. I had it pre-ordered at DVD Planet long before the release date of March 29th. I finally got word that it shipped back on the 15th.

It's still not here! Argh!


(pooor me...)

"Chronicle" chronicle

Well, obviously since my last post, "Tsubasa Chronicle" episode 3 was subbed (many, many times), and I'm sure all of you have seen it already. I finally got to yesterday.

I was happy to see that, overall, there was a lot less "standing around". This show is definitely approaching the ".hack//SIGN" level of wordiness, albiet the exposistion of the backstory in .hack was much more creative and interesting (and arguably, part of the entire experience) -- Tsubasa's backstory is more like a quick "hurry and throw something out there so we can move on with the plot" kind of obviousness which I suppose is more necessary for a show airing on a "For Kids" channel.

Unlike a lot of commenters on other blogs and messageboards, I don't fault it for the flashbacks, either. Heck, I like "Noir", right? That has a "flashback within a flashback", after all! Y'see, even though all of us can get a hold of every fansub, and many of us would be able to tape or DVR shows that we might miss, most everyone who watches some series or another may not actually see the first episode of any given series. Some stumble on it by accident later on. Some hear about it from friends or on the 'net and decide they want to give it a try. So a show has to ground the "latecomers" enough so they know what's going on well enough to hook them into continuing.

That's why Noir (and now Tsubasa) is "flashback-city", and why it was so successful in snagging me even though I started somewhere towards the middle. It's also why I completely didn't latch on to "Babylon 5" many years ago until I had the opportunity to start it from the top. Shows that heavily rely on sweeping story arcs can be very difficult to join "in-progress". Sometimes flashbacks can be a bit of a crutch, though, and Mashimo definitely leans on it a bit heavily. But writing also plays an important role in establishing a grounding in the present. .hack had that big-time. Tsubasa, not so much.

Anyway, that little lesson in continuity aside, I was a little dissappointed in some of the continuing devolution of the trademark Mashimo "realism" into more cliche anime visual gags. Syoaran's "super-deformed" reaction to that pokeman-critter's leading them to a restaurant. The swirly-fingerprint on the punk-gang dude's extreme finger closeup. And the non-visual cliche of shouting out whatever "extreme power" they happen to be employing. Sure, these are little comedic, cartoony touches. And the posing along with the "shouting out" clearly showed that sort of thing being mocked. But it's yet another reminder that this is a "kids' show" first and foremost. There's nothing wrong with that, but I need a little more depth for my own edification.

And for this episode, it came at the end! When Sakura wakes up, she stares at a sleeping Syoaran for a bit. Well, a looong "bit". Her puzzled expression doesn't change; she doesn't move at all. But the camera starts by slowly zooming in. Then slowly zooming out from a different angle. Then it tracks across her eyes. Then it tracks back and in the opposite direction from behind her. The camera is telling the story of what's going on in her head; her disconnection, her growing distance from Syoaran.

That's the classic cinematic simplicity I've been looking for! Yay! Such little touches are what make me happy. And that makes all the difference between using the medium the way it's meant to, vs. just slapping up some "moving manga" panels on the screen.

A light weekend

Not much viewing or posting this weekend, as my parents have come on up to visit and see how the house turned out.

I just noticed on AnimeSuki that there's what's purported to be that "Kino's Journey" movie that was talked about a few months ago. Reading the thread in the forums leads me to believe it's a 1/2-hour OVA prequel as opposed to an actual full-length movie. I'm downloading it now; hopefully I'll know more whenever I actually get a chance to watch it.

Extended grumpitute

So I still haven't been patient enough to be satisfied with anything I've watched this week, so I'll wait until I get through a few more 2nd episodes before I comment on them.

Work has been a bit more annoying than usual, the last tiny few items left for the contractors to do on the house still haven't been completed, and I still haven't gotten anywhere with starting "phase 2". And even though we finally had a nice sunny stretch of weather for once, it's now back to the usual April "cold'n-rainy". And my site traffic is way back down to "normal" levels... (poor me! *sniff*)

That all said, the new desk I ordered is finally being delivered tomorrow, so I can finally set up a decent little office & studio space. Which will hopefully be the lynchpin to break loose the log-jam of all the stuff I've got to do. And "Samurai Champloo" disc 2 and "Neon Genesis Evangelion" platinum disc 7 are both shipping as we speak, so there'll be some more stuff to watch that I can probably count on liking at least a little bit...

So I watched it...

...and...

I dunno.

I know, it's only 2 episodes in. But I think I'm pretty sure that "Tsubasa Chronicle" is not going to be my kind of show. Despite my overaged fanboydom for Koichi Mashimo and Bee Train.

Okay, okay, I'm in a grumpy mood overall, and that doesn't play well in to my ability to suspend disbelief enough to get into any show, let alone one of Mashimo's. I bet I could even fire up Madlax right now and be all fidgety and distracted. So it really is too premature for me to be passing judgement on the show just yet.

But episode 2 sure hasn't done anything to stoke my previous enthusiasm, either. Mind you, my favorite part of the series so far -- Sakura's expressiveness -- is pretty much not going to exist for a while... because she's comatose!! I think I might be able to dig Crim... er, Kurogane, but beyond that, I haven't been too thrilled with the other characters. Add to that the "manga-esque" humor bits (Kurogane's reaction to that critter on his lap, the swirled fingerprint on the extreme finger closeup in the preview for the next episode) -- well, that shatters the old theory that he was escaping that sort of thing. Admittedly, it's been rather minor, and really, just before "Noir" there was plenty of "cartoony humor" in his stuff. But...

Oh, I dunno. Like I said, it's aimed more at a "mainstream" audience by default. And I'm more attracted to elements that defy the mainstream. But I'll get over it, I'm sure.

Tsubasa 2 subbed

Old news to most of you now... There's 4th group's episode 1 up via AnimeSuki as well.

Tsubasa episode 2...

...on Saiyaman, as appx. 279 of you already figured out. Remember that "HDTV" is really only "widescreen". And I'm probably going to wait for the l33t version anyhow, if I even download the raw at all...

My brother's coming up today for the weekend, so posting will be more or less nil for a while. Hang in there!

Maybe I'm too sober...

...because I still don't get "Revolutionary Girl: Utena", even after DVD #4, which I watched without the benefit of having "warmed up" for the evening. And I'm thinking that, y'know, every time I've tried watching this, I hadn't been entirely loosened-up.

Except for the movie. And, go figure, I enjoyed that! Hrm.

Okay, that all said, it was a slightly more compelling disc this time around. Though it's focus on different types of doomed relationships (or, at least, obsessions that supposedly pass as relationships) really got on my nerves. But, at least overall, it didn't do anything to make me give up on it totally; I'll keep renting it and see if this goes anywhere finally.

On a completely opposite note, by the time Utena was over, I was "warmed up" for the 2nd disc of "Najica Blitz Tatics". In my first impression of the show, I felt I needed to draw the distinction between "juvenile immaturity" and the kind of excessive underwear-humor that runs rampant through this show. In fact, this disc even "kicks it up a notch" in terms of explicit fanserviceness, and, how should I put this... "titilation". *cough*

Still, this show is a whole lot of fun. In trying to think of a way to describe it, I came up with this: take the superficial elements of Mireille's & Kirika's interactions from Noir, put it in a James-Bond-ian setting, and add in a dose of "naughtiness". And don't take yourself too seriously when you do it.

A "hoot" indeed!

More "Monster". But first...

...Last night I rewatched Tsubasa with a different fansub. But seeing as I was just off of a reunion with my beloved "MADLAX", I found it to be a little too flat overall this time through. So I'm going to let it sit for a bit until the next episode is out before I check out the 3rd sub. 'Cus that MADLAX-effect can be pretty darned strong!

One show that's different enough that it can nullify the MADLAX-effect is "Monster". I had been falling behind on it again, like I usually do, and caught up with it last night.

I tell ya, if I had ended on episode 45 instead of 44, I probably would have been clinging to every release because of the suspense. Quite a lot happened all at once, and it brought a lot of seperate threads all in confluence and answered a lot of questions (and confirmed a couple of suspicions), though it opened up more.

That said, in a way, it's not really that deep. It actually is kind of easy to predict, though there'll be moments where they sort of misdirect you. Still, it's quality stuff. Better than most, that's for sure.

Kineska TV?

This has me intrigued... I've been wondering if I wanted to take my smarmy, biased reviewing to another level and maybe try to make something bigger out of it.

Are my recent paltry visitor counts going to my head? Heh. Well, not really; I've been thinking along these lines for a little while now...

"She wants to have her Kuchen and eat it too"

Lainthro (editor for the Meine Liebe fansubs) has posted a rather detailed and interesting analysis, over on the LiveJournal ML page, about the gender politics present in episode 8, and I think it and the ensuing discussion is definitely worth a read. In that discussion is also a link to previous pre-fansub analysis along these lines, which I had read back then, and was in the back of my head while timing out the dialouge.

More about the Madlax dub...

...but I'm not going to post it here. I mentioned before that reader Maromi has a dedicated Madlax forum. So I posted my synopsis over there.

Go read it, comment on it, comment on the show, comment about something, anything!! Start building critical mass over there so other Madlax-seekers such as yourself have someplace to go.

(PS - Oh, I also posted over there what I think is my pentultimate top-10 anime series list, which you might want to see as well, in order to get a better sense of my biases...)

Dubiliscious? Uh, no.

When I first saw Noir (in glorious hi-definition on the INHD network), it was, of course, dubbed. Most anime I'd watched to that point had been dubbed. While I was more than happy to be the sort to watch subtitled films (my nick is "Fellini" after all!), pretty much anything of what was available to me in anime form was dubbed.

And I liked the Noir dub. I think the fact that it was as good as it was is what helped me stick to the show enough to get really, really hooked. I know that since then, I've found the dub to have a number of rather egregious flaws and all, but really, for someone "just starting", I think it did a fine job.

And maybe, just maybe, the Madlax dub will be the same for new viewers. But heaven help me, I think I feel just like the Noir fansub-watchers who bitched about that dub!

I. did. not. like. this. dub.

I wanted to like it. And y' know, there were a couple of redeeming qualities. In the script, that is; some of the dialogue really made a decent transistion without being a literal translation. But (like I eventually discovered with Noir), there were script changes that totally missed the point of the original. And please don't get me started on the vocal performances! Or the fact that the advertised "5.1 surround-sound" for the English mix didn't really add any value.

*Sigh*. I'm such a snob; a real elitist. Over a cartoon! *

I guess it can't be helped. I've rewatched this show so many times, it's burned into my neural pathways. But, burned-in or not....

...when I watched it subbed, I noticed details I had never noticed before!! The subtitle translations started off rather similar to the ANBU/Lunar and Sugarcube versions (sorry, Ayu!), but built their own character as the episodes progressed, and it really made a few connections very, very clear all of a sudden. Almost forehead-smackingly obvious things being foreshadowed and hinted at in the dialogue. Which, of course, if it's your first time through the show, you'll never in a million years figure it out. But knowing what happens, it's like a whole other level opens up in these early episodes. The themes are all there, the parallels, the symbols. Episode 4 alone is so chock full of it, I'm completely surprised that I hadn't noticed that before.

Add to that the fact that this is no over-compressed DIVX file anymore; I've already gushed over the beauty of the R2 DVD I bought earlier. Now I have 2 more episodes to drool over. It's just stunningly gorgeous! The use of color alone is outstanding (check out the stack of folded clothes that Eleanor is carrying in episode 3!). And there are little details you just don't see in the fansubs (no matter how big a screen they are displayed on) -- like when the detective in episode 4 knocks on the door of that empty office; it's totally unclear where he is in the fansub, but the writing on the door is clear and obvious on the DVD, and explains a lot. (go find out for yourself!!) And there are lots of other little details that I'm sure, if I pick through it frame by frame, there'll be lots of surprises that otherwise went by too fast for me.

Okay, enough prosthelyzing for the time being. But sure as sheboygan, the rest of these discs can't arrive fast enough!

*(long-time readers may remember that I absolutely hated the Kino's Journey dub too, so it's not like this is a surprise to anyone! Heh.)

Meine Liebe episode 8

'tis out! Enjoy! This one's got a great guest character, but I'll try to comment on my minor gripe with the story a bit later.

Day late and a dollar... uhh...

It's here it's here it's here it's here it's here it's here it's here it's here it's here it's here it's here it's here it's here it's here it's here it's here it's here it's here it's here it's here it's here it's here it's here it's here it's here!

(*Ahem*)

Quote of the day from the back cover:

"Margaret Burton -- An orphaned schoolgirl with issues the size of plump juicy peaches."

Uh, WTF?! "Plump juicy peaches"??

Anyway, reading the liner notes interviews with the producer and writer made up for that little "gem". If I get a break from watching this disc over and over again, I'll post a couple of salient highlights.

(PS: Yesterday's traffic got to 93! Wowsers.)

April 12 has come and gone...

...and no Madlax DVD to be seen.

*sniff*

Come to think of it, that Samurai Champloo disc 2 I preordered hasn't even shipped! Argh. Maybe I shouldn't bother pre-ordering with DVD Planet anymore, since it really isn't particularly cheaper than DeepDiscountDVD. Well, except for Criterion releases. They own that space.

Anyway, I'm sure everyone's seen that there's a second Tsubasa sub up on AnimeSuki. I won't be able to watch that one tonight. There's a whole lot of commenting on the episode going on at AnimeSuki as well, and while I try to be prepared for all the manga & CardCaptor fanboy negative comments, I really still had to chime in and wonder why there was so much dissin' the opening scene as "emotionless" and "falls flat". I mean, come on, are these people watching these things in a tiny window on a computer monitor or something?

(Heh. Of course they are!)

Anyway, the whole scene is literally in Syaoran's hands. That's some of the best understated acting I've seen on cel for a while now. There's another scene where Sakura's toes curl a bit, and that says volumes more than any dialogue or extreme pose could. Let's see a manga panel communicate that!

Now, I still have a few nits about the episode, but I'll get to those later once I've rewatched it.

(PS - I might not hit yesterday's 105 site visitors again tonight, but I'm already at 80, which is still over 3 times more than my usual. Maybe I should set up some blogads!)

(PPS - uh, no. *ahem*)

Record number of visitors! (Hello, Tsubasa seekers!)

I've been posting to this blog for almost one full year. Today, my "Unique Visitors" count went over 100 for the first time!

Previously, most of my traffic (besides my regular readers!) had been Madlax and Noir related, and that was good for around 25 visitors a day or so. But right now, it seems that "Tsubasa Chronicle" is the number-one search engine result by far, and I seem to be consistently showing up in the first page of results for it. I've been linked to by a couple of other sites as well, which also helps boost my ranking a bit.

I made a couple of tweaks to the archive pages so it'll be a tad easier for newcomers to find their way back to the front page and my most current content. Hopefully some of you might even stick around!

Some non-"Tsubasa" watchin'

So I just finished watching the sub of "Tsubasa", but I'm not going to talk about that just yet; I want to see one more translation before I make up my mind (though that version seems pretty well done). Let's just say that though I'm thrilled to be watching another Bee Train series, and that it's got great little touches to it, it's going to take me a couple of episodes to get "hooked". After all, .hack//SIGN took nearly two whole DVDs to convince me, so I can be patient.

Anyway, speaking of "two whole DVDs", during the Blogger "troubles" last week, I attempted a review of Bee Train's earlier "Wild Arms" disc 2. Now I'll try again, seeing as Blogger's gotten less finicky. I posted earlier about disc 1 in my entry titled "Where's Mashimo?", and the question still stands. It's still a mildly entertaining show, and overall pretty good in the quality department. It just wears thin after a bit, and the second disc doesn't really go anywhere that the first disc didn't. But, it's not costing me much but time to pursue this thing through in hopes there'll be a Mashimo-directed one in there somewhere. We'll see, I guess. And all that said, if you blend "Wild Arms" with .hack//SIGN, you kind of sort of get "Tsubasa Chronicle"... No, I'm serious! Try it for yourself and see!

This past weekend (and still with the 2nd-disc theme), I tried volume 2 of "Miami Guns" (Vol. 1 reviewed here). The frantic parody pacing continues. I think I mentioned that I had sampled some "Excel Saga" recently, and there's a lot of similarities, though "Excel Saga" wins the most insanity points. I think I prefer the humor in "Miami Guns" more, though. That said, both of them get tiresome in large doses, so I'm going to lighten up the pace a bit. Of course, I've got the second disc of "Najica Blitz Tatics" on the way, and that'll just make my head go "pop" anyhow...

Finally, I tried the first disc of the "Vision of Escaflowne" series. I was prepared to really dislike it. My friends, having seen the preview to the movie on my "Cowboy Bebop" disc, went and rented it at Blockbuster. And hated it. Now, these are my friends who've really enjoyed what I've sent their way along these lines, and their tastes are pretty similar to mine. But that said, maybe the movie is really mediocre or totally incomprehensible or something, because the series wasn't so bad. It's not entirely my thing as far as the fantasy genre goes, but it had some reasonable story development and character performances, and it seemed worth sticking with it. So I'll give it at least another disc's worth of a chance and see where it takes me.

Speaking of seeing if something is "worth sticking with", for some reason, I really can't stick with "Mai Hime". I mean, I've tried to lighten up from my earlier "juvenile quagmire from which no redeeming qualities can escape" comment. The middle of episode, uh, 9 I think; I just clicked "stop" and said "no more". Something about this show is actively trying to alienate me. But damned if I know what it is! I mean, there's nothing in there that isn't present in most every other show that I've found passably watchable. I'm starting to think that maybe it's not something that's "in there", but something that's missing. I think I'll try to subject myself to a little more to see if I can put my finger on it.

"Tsubasa" translation, & ML update

The first fansub is out of the gate for "Tsubasa Chronicle" (scroll all the way to the bottom). I've got it started, but I'm headed to work for the day so I won't see it until tonight.

I sure a myriad of other groups will be posting releases over the course of the next few days. While you're watching AnimeSuki for those, make sure you keep your eyes peeled for the impending release of "Meine Liebe" episode 8! I finished timing yesterday, so it shouldn't be long now.

Butchery! (And a hasty retraction...)

Well, the "l33t-raws" version of Tsubasa showed up, and I just watched it, and guess what??

Widescreen!!

Not only that, but there's a little bit at the beginning of the OP that isn't there on the Saiyaman raw either.

So I guess the reputation I heard about them accurate then. I thought it was just because the encoding was a little overdone, but that it's actually cropped and edited... Well, it may not be their fault entirely depending on where the broadcast was recorded from, I guess. Often, certain networks use cropped versions to "fill" normal screens, and most production design accounts for that sort of thing.

But now that there's a widescreen version, I can happily continue my faith in Bee-Train that they're not needing to compromise so much in order to get something aired on prime-time.

UPDATE: Due to someone finding my page via a Google query of "Tsubasa Chronicle HDTV", I've discovered that Saiyaman has since posted an "HDTV" version. However, since it's actually a smaller file than their original, I'm guessing it's not actually hi-def, but just the widescreen standard-def version a la l33t's. Though I am going to follow that search a little closer to see if there's really, truly a hi-def raw available somewhere! Stay tuned...

Tsubasa Raw

...on Saiyaman right now. I know there's at least one group speed-subbing, but for those of you as anxious for a taste of Bee Train's latest as I am, opportunity knocks...

UPDATE: Watched it! (I wanted to be "first"... Heh.) I s'pose if I were a CLAMP follower I'd recognize the huge assortment of characters that were posing at various points in the program, because it was pretty obvious they were intended to be recognized. But that's okay, there were still some really neat moments, and I'm really liking the extra spark of life and expressiveness that Sakura has. Well, up until something happens at least... Anyway, looking forward to the sub so I can get a better sense of what's going on!

Oh, one nit of a dissappointment: it's not widescreen! I think that would make it the first Mashimo production since before Noir that isn't. That nit along with certain other impressions make it pretty obvious this is intended to be a mainstream TV show more than the usual "unusual" Bee-Train fare. Not that there's anything wrong with that.

Fate?

Two days ago I got a cheerful message in my email:

"We thought you'd like to know that the following item you have ordered shipped today: MADLAX DISC 1 (W/BOX)

Woo hoo! I almost blogged about it, but was kind of busy.

Well, this morning, on the way to work, with my MP3 player set to "Random Shuffle", a song from the Madlax OST came on. "Cool", I thought; "A great start to the morning." But then another one followed it! "Hmm. It's still shuffling, and the 'Sisters of Mercy' song preceeding it proves that it's playing all songs, so it must be a coincidence." And then a zydeco tune popped on after that, so I thought nothing further of it.

Until the next song. It dipped right back in to the Madlax mix!

I'm not one to actually believe in any sort of cosmic fate or destiny, but I can't help but wonder if that means something special might be waiting for me in my mailbox when I get home tonight... Heh.

EDIT -- Evening update: :(

Some "Adult Swim" insanity I actually find funny!

"Robot Chicken"!

Holy moly, it's hilarious!

I haven't watched much that Cartoon Network had to offer of late in their non-anime late-night slot; I tried "Sealab" and was totally bored with it. And that one with the meatball and talking milkshake... I guess I'm disadvantaged by my lack of pot-smoking to get that one. Back in the day "Space Ghost" was at least amusing (Brak rulez!), but it got old mighty quick.

But this "Robot Chicken" is totally inspired! Toy figures and clay and whatnot all animated in these twisted little vingettes for about 11 minutes straight. There's this bit with "Voltron" breakdancing, and... and... I'm still laughing!

I gotta download more!!

Another "Tsubasa Chronicle" promo

Recently added to the official Japanese site, it was just recently subbed. It's really, really short, and I didn't get a lot out of it.

Meine Liebe episode 7

...is out!!!

Go get it!!

"Tsubasa Chronicle" -- Newtype Japan scans

I've been getting a lot of search-engine hits for variations of "Tsubasa" -this and "Tsubasa" -that, and I like to check out the results myself now and then to see where I show up. A bit vain, but fun.

Anyway, doing so, I came across the link in the title. Lots of images, nothing particularly out-of-the-ordinary, and since I'm not familiar with the manga, I don't really know who anyone is yet. 'sokay by me!

"We're gonna have a TV party tonight!"

(Which reminds me, I haven't seen "Repo Man" in ages...)

Well, now that Blogger has finally let me on today, I can get around to recapping the "non-anime" on my "watched" list:

"Battlestar Galactica" -- The finale's tonight. Last week's episode opened with this sequence of events that was just mesmerizing. It's such a fun-to-watch show, and now that I've got the hi-res downloads, it looks good too! At any rate, probably the best sci-fi show in a long time. At least since the time when Stargate SG-1 still held my attention; it lost me a couple of years ago for some reason.

And speaking of sci-fi, the new "Dr. Who" episode was readily accessible via Bittorrent. I used to watch a lot in both highschool and college, but hadn't seen anything but the really awful made-for-American-TV-movie since maybe 1989. Well, it's still a bit of a campy show, but entertaining enough that if I can find a reliable source of torrents, I'll try to keep up with it. At least for nostalgia's sake.

"Carnivale" -- the season 2 finale. Well, I mentioned before that the second season seemed to be lacking a little bit of the "edginess" the first season had. The Ben Hawkins character just got too "wordy", I think. Maybe too "clever". But it was still a visual treat of a show, and had some of the best surround-sound atmospherics I've heard yet. And the story, while a bit watered-down, was still far more interesting than most dreck on TV. I've heard it called "Twin Peaks-lite", which I guess is fair enough. No word on if there'll be a season 3, but they left it on enough of a "WTF?" note that there'll be fans pestering HBO constantly until they commit one way or another.

Finally, another HBO goodie: "Deadwood". Where "Carnivale" got weaker in the 2nd season, "Deadwood" gets amazingly stronger. The dialogue in this show is an absolute wonder to behold! I called it "curse-tastic" before, and yes, the density of "colorful metaphors you wouldn't want your children saying" is quite thick indeed. But it's so, how can I put it... poetic the way it's delivered. I mean really, there's actual iambic pentameter in some of the exchanges. The cadence of speech, the twist of vulgar and formal language -- it's like some mischeviously lewd English-language Ph. D. was given carte blanche to write a western any way he or she wanted to! It's funny, it's brutal, it's kind of gross, and it's absolutely delightful. Word is that it was just renewed for a 3rd season, so there'll be plenty of chances to see it (and a lot of DVD boxsets when it's done).