#Anime Article

[beneaththetangles]

First Impression: Babanbabanban Vampire

Mori Ranmaru lives and works at a bathhouse, and has done so for ten years now, ever since he fell in love at first sight with the five-year-old son of the house. Uh huh. He’s waiting until the boy is 18 though, so it’s ok. Thirteen years isn’t that long to wait either, in the grand scheme of things, when you’re a 450-year-old vampire with gourmet tastes. So Mori enjoys the simple life and fantasizes about the child and his pure virgin blood until his pants tent, repeatedly. Rihito is 15 now, and heading off to high school. Unfortunately for Mori, the boy has a shoujo moment and falls in love on a street corner during an incident involving a piece of toast (sacrificed for love), a collision, and a cute girl. When Rihito later confesses to Mori that he’s fallen in love, the vampire is sent into a frenzy of panic over the dire need to maintain the virgin purity of Rihito’s blood for the next three years, and Operation Preserve Virginity is launched. This involves embarrassing the boy in front of his father and grandfather, to shame him out of love, and when that fails, paying the girl a visit—to do what, exactly, it’s not clear, but suffice it say his plans go awry when she tells him she decidedly did not fall in love that day.

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[tanoshi88]

Attack on Titan is a must-watch for anyone who appreciates great anime. https://tanoshishop.com/attack-on-titan-anime-series-review/

[realwomenofgaming]

Thia's Top Anime from High School

We all know @ThiatheBard loves anime. Here are some of their favorites from their time in High School! #anime #animearticle

[otaku-republic]

Do you know what the “Kotatsu” is? Kotatsu×Anime! https://otakurepublic.com/blog/entry_502.html

[rumicworld-ranakan-diaries]

[otakugirl2392]

•Click the first Link! •Yuri!!! On Ice Article by The Daily Dot. Lovely Article every YOI fan should read about everyone's favorite Ice Skating Anime! •Source: https://www.google.com/amp/s/dailydot.relaymedia.com/amp/parsec/yuri-on-ice-figure-skating-anime-guide/?client=ms-android-virgin-us @fencer-x Have you read this article? :3

[thatruled]

At First Glance - Danganronpa The Animation

At First Glance – Danganronpa The Animation

Note: There are spoilers for the first episode of the anime in question in this article.You have been warned. Welcome back folks. As a quick reminder for those who are new or have forgotten, the idea of these “At First Glance” things is that I watch the first episode of an anime I’ve ever seen and give my thoughts on it. Simple, right?With that out of the way, let’s get down to business.…

[beneaththetangles]

First Impression: Sakamoto Days

Silver-haired Sakamoto was the coolest of all hitmen. He could take on twenty men at once, John Wick style, and leave a mountain of bodies behind. Every hitman, young Shin especially, looked up to him, and he was a big man in the criminal underworld. But, tale as old as time, he fell in love, got married, had a daughter, gained weight, grew a mustache, and…started running a convenience store! When Shin, who has some psychic powers, visits him among the crowded shelves of cheap products, he is not happy to see that his hero has changed so much. Sakamoto was a legend: why throw all that away? Sakamoto’s abilities are as sharp as ever, though, and he can still see, in his mind, the best way to kill his enemies. But he uses his reflexes now just to ensure the no-smoking sign is respected, or to discreetly protect a kid who is going to be punched by an angry customer. He also does not want to hear a word about returning to the criminal life. This is unfortunate, as Shin’s instructions for this eventuality are to dispose of him. Nobody leaves the gang. Nobody.

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[heavenlydragon]

Staff Profile [1]: Shōji Kawamori

Macross, Macross DYRL, Macross 7, Macross Zero, Macross Frontier... when you have a list like this behind you, it’s certain you have created a mega-successful franchise (see Gundam, Dragonball) and made a name for yourself in the industry. The first staff profile goes to Escaflowne’s original / concept creator, Shōji Kawamori (河森 正治, Kawamori Shōji).

Kawamori was born in 1960 in Toyama, Japan. As a teenager, he already landed an intern job at an anime production studio as an assistant animator. Because he studied engineering and was not exceptional at drawing characters, he was drawn to the mechanical design instead.

But during his years in the industry, he has often not only created the look, but also conceptually developed the fictional machines, including their construction, how they were powered and operated or their transformation possibilities. He incorporated these into his stories and world-building. His concepts were behind many successful titles, and it is said some of them have also been silently snatched by Hollywood.

    Macross, a mech space opera. Singing included.

In college, he was a fan of Mobile Suit Gundam (1979), the beginning of one of the most successful anime franchises ever. Soon after, he created his own breakthrough series, The Super Dimension Fortress Macross (1982), on which he worked together with his college friends Hiroshi Ōnogi (screenplay) and Haruhiko Mikimoto (character design). Kawamori himself was the story creator and also drafted up some of the series‘ mechanical designs. Macross became a hit in Japan and later became a part of Robotech, a heavily edited US adaptation. Since then, he has taken part in almost every single Macross project. As of today, the franchise comprises of more than 20 titles (anime series, movies and OVAs).

The newest addition, Macross Delta.

Besides Macross and The Vision of Escaflowne (1996), he is also the original creator of Earth Girl Arjuna (2001), Genesis of Aquarion (2005) and Nobunaga the Fool (2014). He has participated (as a mechanical designer, animator or storyboard artist) on numerous other well-known anime productions including Ghost in the Shell (1995) or Eureka Seven (2005) and also did some work in game and toy design.

With his concepts for Escaflowne, he wanted to bring a fresh wind into the rather populated mecha genre in Japan, by putting mecha (super robots) into a medieval Europe-like setting with kingdoms and knights. Another original element was that the protagonist was not to be the mecha pilot (Van), but a girl (Hitomi) instead, with her own set of extraordinary powers .

Kawamori’s works (apart from love triangles) often feature a dash of mysticism, which is especially true in case of Escaflowne. Prior to its production, he visited spiritual places like Nepal and Tibet and cited them as influence. The architectural designs in Escaflowne were in turn inspired by his visit to Europe (Italy, France, Germany).

Travelling seems to be a great source of inspiration and favorite pastime of Kawamori, but he rarely takes a holiday as he is also known as a notorious hard-worker. He often finishes his work day early morning and sleeps up to 3 hours only. After decades in the industry he is still very passionate about anime. As Masahiko Minami (Escaflowne’s producer, today the president of Studio BONES) said in 2010, besides great talent of creating stories and mechanical design, Kawamori’s major strength is “the mind of a little boy”.

Sources:

http://www.forbes.com/sites/olliebarder/2015/12/10/shoji-kawamori-the-creator-hollywood-copies-but-never-credits/#780882eb1683

http://www.revolutionsf.com/article.php?id=1393

https://www.scribd.com/document/191687594/Kawamori-Interview-Anime-Jump-Nov-6-2007

http://america.pink/shoji-kawamori_4028240.html

http://www.anigamers.com/2010/10/nycc-2010-masahiko-minami-bones.html

https://twitter.com/thomasintokyo/status/298201975160455168

[mothseries]

New Readers ◊ Official Site ◊ Facebook page ◊ Support/Donate◊

The New Aussie Kids on the block - Award Winning Australian Comic Series “Melodies of the Heart” jumps into the animation scene.

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Though new to the animation world, Award winning Australian Comic Series “Melodies of the Heart” created and produced by Sydney Artist Sarah Boxall, is not new news. 

The series from indie publishing house “From the Box” which is recognized for being one of Sydneys larger independent comic producers, has had much hype to carry itself into the world of print for over three years, but now the creator is looking to expand the franchise into  the animated world.

MotH which has reached it’s 6th book has captured an audience of over 10’000 readers world wide.Its creator Sarah Boxall also was recognized by Sydney TAFE  and was awarded with the 2014 Sydney Institute Medal for her “cream of the crop” creations and work.

The Comedy, Drama Romance series is a unique twist and blend of manga and comic styled graphic novels. The story itself told within said style takes a unique twist of it’s own and although the topic of romance plays a fairly large part, it’s not the only theme in Melodies, and it’s far from your average love story.

MotH is available in print via it’s Official website MelodiesoftheHeart.net and selected Comic book stores and retailers. The series is also available free to read up to the series newest pages on the Official site which updates weekly. 

The first Animated Trailer for the Melodies of the Heart: Anime Project, has plans to launch November of 2014.

[michelleaoki]

Kagerou Project: The Biggest Fanbase of the Year

Okay, let’s start from the scratch. We all know that Kagerou Project, or Kagepro has gained huge popularity and lots of fans (including me yay), but how they can do that? Even I, for example, doesn’t  like being an hardcore fan but eventually fall in love with Kagepro and always hype about all their stuffs.

The answer is easy. They have Jin (Shizen no Teki-P)

If you are in Vocaloid fandom, or at least listen to their songs, it’ll make my explanation easier to understand. Vocaloid has so many producers, but only few of them who gets high views in YouTube and Nico Nico Douga (NND). For example, Honeyworks, Neru, DECO*27, Giga-P, OSTER Project, Mitchie M, Last Note., kemu (they’re my favorite producers too!). Every producers has their signatures, like Neru with dark-themed rock, or Mitchie M with her ability to make Miku voice more...human-ly. Jin, in other hand, is specialized in pop rock and catchy beat using his guitar. He become famous after upload his fenomenal songs, Kagerou Days, and the title itself used for naming all of the series. Kagerou Days itself tells about a girl a a boy who trapped in a endless time-loops and only one who can get out of there. Tragic theme, if I would said, but Jin made it with catchy tune so everyone can enjoy it and get some feels in the same time haha. After that, he made another song named Headphone Actor using the new voice bank (IA), and it turns out to be pretty good. He continue creating amazing Vocaloid songs and called the series Kagerou Project.

Maybe you think that Jin is such an genius producers and musician to be popular right now, but that’s just a supporting factor. Jin is a genius because he made a song which connected to each other, so the visitors must listen all of them to understand the whole story. For example, Kisaragi Attention. It’s a cheerfull song which tells about the life of an idol, Momo Kisaragi, and how she deal with her fans. Seems doens’t have any relation with Kagerou Project? Watch its PV in YouTube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rk-wPp9Ru3I and you’ll find minor characters in there. Did you see a boy who wear red jersey in the ending? It’s her brother, Shintaro Kisaragi, and his first appearance in Toumei Answer (I dunno which song is first, correct me if I’m wrong) as a boy who Ayano loved. Now if you asked who is Ayano, you should listen to Toumei Answer and Ayano no Koufuku Riron. See? That’s something that not all of the Vocaloid producers can do. Jin created the whole stories and divided it into several parts, and you don’t have to listen it in order. That’s what made him remarkable.

But song alone doesn’t make Jin satisfied. He created light novel and comic based of his songs, which using the same tecnique again; you have to read all of them to understand the story. Usually novel and comic adaptation has a same storyline, but Kagerou Project is an exception. Jin already confirms itself that the comic ending will be sad while the novel and song itself has happy ending (see Summer Time Record). By reading the novel and comic, you will know unmention things in his songs. Basically, Kageoru Project tells about teenagers who have supernatural powers in their eyes after trapped in Kagerou Daze (that endless time-loop I mentioned before).

Kagerou Project even more popular after Jin annouced that he will made an anime adaptation, which made the series as a pioneer of Vocaloid songs in anime industry. It even directed by SHAFT, one of the greatest Japanese anime studio and known as their dark yet unique animation. Although the anime itself had several criticism from anime experts because of the crappy artline and confusing plot, but its OP, ED and insert songs sung by popular musicians such as MARiA from GARNiDELiA, Haruna Luna, Lia, and many more. They even has official fansclub and held event-only in Japan. Lots of merchandise sold out in there, which indicated how Kagerou Project accepted and loved by everyone lol.       

So... if you interested to following this fandom, I suggest you to listen and watch the PV first :) Happy Blindfolded Day!

sorry for my messy grammar Dx

[beneaththetangles]

First Impression: Übel Blatt

In the year 3972 A.D., fourteen heroes are sent to prevent an invasion. But deep in the Forest of Death, seven of them betray and kill the others in order to bring about “The Age of Glory” and establish their kingdom. One of the heroes who appears to have been killed was named Ascheriit. Twenty years later, a mysterious young boy named Köinzell meets a young girl whom he names “Peepi” (that’s pronounced “pee-pee” in case you’re wondering…) while they are both trying to stow away into the kingdom of the seven heroes. Köinzell has a scar on his left eye (matching Ascheriit’s cut eye in the opening scene), claims he has met the Seven Heroes face to face, and has a voice that sounds awfully similar to Ascheriit, so I’m sure you can guess where this is going. Köinzell and Peepi get caught while attempting to be smuggled into the city, only to meet a smuggler named Wied who rescues them from being executed. Wied brings them to a shady tavern where they meet with the boss of the smugglers, Altea. An attempt by the four of them to sneak aboard a ship to gain entrance to the kingdom doesn’t go so smoothly though, as they encounter monsters and their military pursuers when the ship begins to take off. Can Köinzell save the group from meeting their demise?

(Read More)

[beneaththetangles]

First Impression: Farmagia

A troll is farming with some strange creatures around him when suddenly the sky darkens and a flaming phoenix shape brings about the apocalypse. Fade to black. And then we’re back immediately the next day? There’s something strange in the sky. Fade to black. A cheerful rock anthem reminiscent of 90s teen dramas plays over an OP that is mostly sunny freeze frames of happy children and MCs farming. And, we’re back to farming. Ten is trying to grow his very own monster buddy, while his friends laugh at his ineptitude, stress-eat random weeds, and act like this is episode 182 of a long-standing shonen series. Then Ankar arrives—the refined friend who squints—and conveniently finds some children to quiz about the history of the land and the worldbuilding so that we don’t notice the info-dumping. (Mages farm monster buddies who help them do stuff.) One thing is clear, the leadership of the nation lives for a very long time, so there won’t be any promotions for any aspiring local leaders/mages anytime soon. Two minutes later, the leader of the nation dies off-screen and a new one takes his place and immediately unleashes the apocalypse! (This may or may not be the same apocalypse we’ve already seen, it’s hard to tell.) The good guys turn bad and are destroying everything! Ten and his friends flail about, but Ten says the kind of big bold things that you say in the midst of war. Then a good guy turned bad heads for the farm fields where the unborn veggie monsters are growing. Ten is determined to stop him! But he fails. As he cradles some especially fluffy ears of corn, they are suddenly birthed into CGI fox-dog-wolves! Now they’re ready to fight!

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[beneaththetangles]

First Impression: Honey Lemon Soda

If you’re going to change the things you don’t like about yourself, that which led to relentless bullying during your middle school years and kept you from making meaningful connections, you ought to take steps forward, just a little at a time. But what if you’re too afraid even to do that? This is exactly what Uka Ishimori is struggling with as a first year in high school; like the nickname she was saddled with in middle school, “Stoney,” Ishimori remains in place, unable to move forward. But an incident at the beginning of this school day in which apparent delinquent Kai Miura accidentally sprays his honey lemon soda on Ishimori, may be the push she needs to start changing her life. But there’s no way this super shy girl can do it alone; will she find the help she needs or will life remain as it has always been?

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[beneaththetangles]

First Impression: Medalist

One day, former ice dancer Tsukasa sees an 11-year-old girl, Inori, try to sneak her way into an ice rink without paying. After chasing her around and scolding her for trying to bribe the rink owner with worms, Tsukasa notices that Inori has been trying to teach herself ice skating, and encourages her to talk to her mom and get in touch with an official ice skating club. The next day, while in discussion with his former ice dance partner over an assistant coach job at the club she runs, Tsukasa meets up with Inori again, this time accompanied by her mother, who does not want her daughter to ice skate. Her other daughter started skating at age five and suffered an injury that took her out of the sport. In addition, most competitive skaters also begin at that young age, and she does not think Inori can catch up to them. Tsukasa knows the difficulty of starting late as he only started skating at fourteen, and despite having some success at the national level, he could never quite make it to the top level of the sport. Seeing some of himself in Inori, he insists that he sees Inori skate to judge her talent. After seeing that she already has the fundamentals down, as well as hearing her desperate plea to continue skating, Tsukasa declares that he will be Inori’s coach and will make her a medalist.

(Read More)

[beneaththetangles]

First Impression: Sorairo Utility (TV)

Disaster strikes for Minami when the mobile game she was so invested in gets hit by the dreaded end-of-service notice. Encouraged by her friend to find a club to join, she tries several, but her lack of physical skills discourages her from sticking with any of them. While looking for something out in town to get involved in, she helps an elderly man get to the local golf center, where she meets Haruka, a third-year who seems well-versed in the sport. She gets Minami to try hitting a shot, helps her with her form, and tells her she will be there tomorrow. With her interest sufficiently piqued, Minami picks up the game of golf, where she will seek out that perfect shot and perhaps one day become a protagonist in the sport.

(Read More)