Posts Tagged ‘fantasy’
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These two announcements could not be more different, and I’m lumping them together for just that reason. The above video is the cutesy, fluffy announcement of a K-On! movie from Kyoto Animation, which is sure to cause paroxysms of joy in the hearts of its many devoted fans. Me, I’ve never bought into it. But given its massive popularity within the cute-girls-doing-cute-things genre, it’s certainly going to find a large and willing audience once it comes out.
Meanwhile, the 35th volume of Miura Kentarou’s epic fantasy manga Berserk has given word that a new anime project is finally in place. The last time there was a Berserk anime was all the way back in 1998, so this announcement has been a very long time coming. The bloody, gritty, and often uncomfortably dark Berserk manga has been running for 20 years with only 25 episodes of Guts being awesome to show for it, so this new anime should be awesome.
Which project are you most excited for?
Edit: updated with the trailer for the new Berserk.
To Aru Majutsu no Index 2 Confirmed
Posted on: June 7, 2010
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Yup, wasn't a hoax.
Thanks to images gathered up by Moon Phase, we now have printed confirmation that To Aru Majutsu no Index is getting its much-awaited second season. Sparse information has been provided, but since a PSP game is scheduled for the winter, it’s safe to assume that this one won’t slip any later than the Winter season. I still have 16 more Index novels to slug through before I’m caught up, so I need to get cracking soon…
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Picture taken at Tsutaya
If 2008’s To Aru Majutsu no Index anime felt incomplete to you, that’s because it was – the original novels have a lot more material to cover. While the spinoff To Aru Kagaku no Railgun was quite popular, Japanese blog Kyou mo Yarareyaku’s picture of a To Aru Majutsu no Index 2 announcement has sent fans into paroxyms of glee.
So, get ready to see more of Kamijou Touma and his Imagine Breaker, because he’s back in action this fall!
Hopefully. The blog post on Yarareyaku includes the note “If this is a fake, I’ll never shop at Tsutaya again” somewhere among all the posts about K-On!! and ASCII pictures of dancing cats.
The Legend of the Legendary Heroes Tokyo International Anime Fair Trailer Available Online
Posted on: March 25, 2010
Yes, that's really its name.
It’s been a while since we had a proper comedy-fantasy, with the Slayers series and its many imitators going into general dormancy after the ’90s. That’s why I’m mildly hopeful for the redundantly-named The Legend of the Legendary Heroes, which follows the good ol’ fantasy formula of a lazy, dumb guy and a hyper-violent girl going on adventures to make the world a better place – if she doesn’t kill him first.
The anime, based on Kagami Takaya’s long-running light novel series, starts airing in summer, but thanks to TAF this week, we can already take a look through the online trailer. Putting the trailer’s use of “Pomp and Circumstance” aside (it makes me think of high school graduations), it looks like this will be a nice, brainless fantasy, and to be perfectly straight with you guys, I cold really use that after all this time.
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This could be you, if you don't watch BakaTest.
Last week, I was pretty vocal about how much I love Baka To Test To Shoukanjuu, and I’d like to remind everyone that if you’re in the United States, you can watch the wonderful high school fantasy/comedy on FUNimation’s video site or on Hulu.
As you might guess from the name, BakaTest is about a loose mob of misfits, malcontents, and morons who go to a school where test scores are used in the Summoner Test War (man, that’s an awkward translation) as ammunition for summoned Avatars. The cast spends its time plotting to improve its lot at school by any underhanded means necessary, but they spend a lot more time plotting against each other, and it’s the cast’s wild idiosyncracies that make the show very much worth watching.
From the incomparably stupid main character Akihisa to the shameless Muttsulini and the timid-yet-destructive Mizuki, the cast of BakaTest makes mundane situations into laugh riots. A date at the movies, a hot day at the pool, even just eating lunch at school, no event can go by in BakaTest without it turning into a chaotic mass of comedy. One of the episodes that really sticks out in my head is episode 4 (pictured above), when the jealous boys of F Class form an Inquisition and hold witch trials for any traitor who dares to consort with pretty girls – AKA the inexplicably popular Akihisa.
All sorts of random and fun situations like that come up in the series, and I highly suggest that you check out episodes 1-2, which are available with subtitles now. The first episode isn’t much to write home about, but the second episode really starts to get the ball rolling in a crazy direction.
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In a surprise move, NIS America, the American branch of Nippon Ichi Software, announced that it has moved into the American anime industry. The press release listed four anime titles that are set to be translated and released on DVD (and who knows, maybe via streaming or download): Toradora!, the 2008 vehicle for tsundere queen Kugimiya Rie, Persona -trinity soul-, the anime sequel to popular RPG Persona 3, Pandora Hearts, a strange gothic fantasy that borrows from Alice in Wonderland, and Our Home’s Fox Deity, a modern fantasy about an ancient spirit protecting a family from demon attacks.
It’s interesting that Toradora! went this long without an American company picking it up, and the other shows on the list are pretty interesting grabs too; even more interesting is how NIS America’s entry into the anime market will shake things up (if at all). More speculation on that after the jump.
We’ve been getting a lot of good spring anime previews over the last couple weeks, and Marvelous Entertainment adds to the momentum with its promo for Ichiban Ushiro no Daimaou (“The Demon King in the Back”), now available on the anime’s official site.
The anime is based on a series of light novels (seriously, is there a light novel series that hasn’t been turned into anime yet?) about Sai Akutou (a pun on the word for “Villain”), a young man who comes to the prestigious Constant Magical Academy in the hope of becoming a benevolent wizard. But on the first day, his aptitude test tells him he’s most suited for becoming a demon king, and that starts a chain of events that lead to him being shunned by all the right people and wanted by all the wrong elements…
The ending song will be sung by Asou Natsuko of the BakaTest opening, and the opening will be performed by the popular seiyuu idol group Sphere, which is most notable for Tomatsu Haruka. The stars are lining up for this show to be a very fun series, but we’ll see what happens in April – it could be another BakaTest, but it could also end up being more like Qwaser or Rosario + Vampire. Pray for the former.
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You and me both, lady.
I’ve become a huge fan of Baka to Test to Shoukanjuu, but I’ve gotten impatient and have started reading the novels to try and devour as much of it as I can in a short time period. I can’t recommend this course of action to anyone else because it’s expensive and requires a working knowledge of moonspeak, so instead I am going to point out some other interesting anime that have been posted over the last week and weekend.
For example, Sora no Woto episode 4 went up yesterday on Crunchyroll. I personally find it to be a borefest, but those of you with longer attention spans and higher tolerance for random cuteness will find that it’s exactly what you’re looking for. Speaking of brainless cute, FUNimation has also posted the first episodes of Sekirei on its video site, and as boobs-‘n’-brawls shows go, it’s not the worst around. You can see if you like it before the second season airs later this year!
Personally, I’m waiting for the new Durarara in two days. Between Durarara and BakaTest, I’m covered for this season. What about you guys?
The new winter season has brought a flurry of excitement to the anime world, but the latest batch of streaming anime to hit the ‘net reminds you that you don’t always have to be on the bleeding edge of what’s on to enjoy yourself.
FUNimation is going to stream episode 40 of Full Metal Alchemist: Brotherhood tomorrow, and you get to learn about the immortal Xerxes and the creation of the homunculus. From all indications, it’s a very good episode, so don’t miss it!
Meanwhile, Viz has posted 5 episodes of the fantasy action series Kekkaishi on Hulu, and if you’re in the mood for yet another shounen action show, Kekkaishi can scratch that itch pretty well. Check it out!
Fate/stay Night – Unlimited Blade Works Trailer Makes Me Want It Even More
Posted on: January 11, 2010
Head over to the official Fate/stay Night page right now and you’ll see a new Flash trailer that provides a fairly comprehensive overview of the all-new movie, which tells an alternate version of the story of the popular Fate/stay Night anime. The animation and the music, combined with the promise of less time for main character Emiya Shirou to stink up the joint, make the movie look very, very promising.
While I’ve seen Ponyo and Detroit Metal City in Japanese theaters, I am neither rich enough nor crazy enough to Japan for the express purpose of seeing a movie. The new Fate/stay Night: Unlimited Blade Works trailer and last month’s Macross Frontier movie have both sorely tempted me, though…
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