Check-in Station Dark Edition: Issue #6 (would you rather do it secretly in public, or loudly in private?)

The series is not dead.  Pervy manga and anime are still being covered.  And I have new series on tap.  Man is it weird.

Here are the series I’ll be covering:

• Seishokuki ch1
• Nana to Kaoru ch71 & 72
• My Lovely Ghost Kana ch20
• Yuria 100 Shiki ch59
• Happy Negative Marriage ch7 & 8
• Liar’s Paradox ch5 & 6
• Hana to Hoshi ch3
• Cutie Lips ch2
• Recently, My Sister is Unusual ep4

AniFriday Issue #26 – Autumn Manga Special pt2: Bleach

Oh god!  Here I came into this supposedly final arc, expecting answers and revelations.  Instead, I’m seeing a lot of the same stuff that made me hate the previous arcs, and call this series a bloated formulaic mess.  Everything I love and find cool about this show can be boiled down to a few characters.  Any love I once had for this series is dangling from a metaphorical string made of three to four personalities.  It’s almost as bad as when I was watching the original InuYasha anime once it got past the first 60-70 episodes.  At this point, if there’s anything good and memorable to be strung from this series’ last arc, it will have to come from Ichigo – again!

Since I haven’t been able to put together weekly AniFriday posts for most of the summer, I thought I’d take the material that I could and compile it into specific posts for each series.  While I couldn’t squeeze in time for some much desired anime watching, I did have time to read my favorite manga week t0 week.  For this post, I’ll be focusing on the chapters (591 – 603) I read during that hiatus for Bleach and its final major arc, the war with the Quincy.  At the end, I’ve given my general overall thoughts on the material, while on the way there you can see my chapter by chapter thoughts on the series.  Though I think I may have given away some of thoughts in my initial rant.  Pardon me, while many may have abandoned this series, I still hold some semblance of passion for it.

AniFriday Issue #25 – Autumn Manga Special pt1: Hajime no Ippo

It’s been quite a while since I last talked about Hajime no Ippo in length.  And quite happening to be revisiting a discussion about this series in chunks.  It allows for a clearer, elongated perspective where I get to notice trends and not get so distracted by the moment to moment set ups of each chapter.  This post will be covering the final chapters of Ippo’s fight with Alredo Gonzales, the current #1 contender for the flyweight championship of the world, and the only man standing between Ippo and his ultimate goal of the world champ, Ricardo Martinez.  However, I’ll be talking about this fight as a whole at the end, from chapter 1030 to 1071.

I’m so hyped for Ippo!  God, I love this manga!

Check-in Station Dark Edition: Issue #5 (just wear pants, you bloody idiots!)

I didn’t think I’d go well into Fall before I got back around to this material.  Just goes to show times are hard and life is rough.  If a man can’t find time out of his day for a little pervy manga and anime, then he’s forced to live a very shallow, base life – devoid of true happiness or fulfillment.  Thankfully, I made some time to relax and wade through some truly thoughtless and silly material.  I’ve changed things up a bit again.  Starting with something very light and silly, and then going into some truly sketchy material.  And as always, even the silliest shows can pull some nice thoughtful moments.  As My Lovely Ghost Kana and Recently, My Sister is Unusual both manage to give me some moments that made me think.

Here are the entries I’ll be covering this week in order:

• Chrysanthemum Garden ch0
• Cutie Lips ch1
• Nana to Kaoru ch70
• Hana to Hoshi ch2
• Yuria 100 Shiki ch58
• My Lovely Ghost Kana ch19
• Happy Negative Marriage ch6
• Liar’s Paradox ch4
• Recently, My Sister is Unusual ep3

AniFriday Issue #24: August 1st, 2014 (that felt kinda nice)

I’ve been a tad lazy this week.  No, I’ve been very lazy.  The rain, the lack of things that need to be done on my days off.  Sometimes it just feels good to just veg out and enjoy the slow days.  On my days off, if I even so much as have a conference call for 45 minutes to an hour, it just pisses me off until the task is done.  I like to do things at my own pace, on my own time.  Though I honestly work best under pressure.  It takes a lot to motivate me if I’m not self motivated.  That’s why I don’t really have too much done this week.  Still, for most people watching five, six or seven episodes of anime in a week is still quite a bit.  I hope you appreciate the work I put in this week, even at my laziest.

Here are the anime and manga I’ll be covering this week, in order:

• Stardust Crusaders ep17
• Akame ga Kill! ep4
• Naruto ch686
• Bleach ch590
• Hajime no Ippo ch1061

AniFriday Issue #23: July 25th, 2014 (Star Platinum/Jonathan Joestar wants you deep inside his body!)

I will refrain from going on a rant this week.  Instead, I’ll just say that I’m having a lot of fun with anime right now.  Especially since I’ve started narrowing down and finishing off lingering series.  Ao Haru Ride, Argevollen and Glasslip are gone.  Tokyo Ravens and Chaika are almost done.  It’s a whole lot more satisfying than what I have to deal with when it comes to manga.  The impression is being given that mega manga Bleach and Naruto are ending, but those lingering final battles are going to last a long time.  And if they aren’t f*cking amazing battles, it’s gonna leave a bad taste in everyone’s mouths.

There.  Nice and short.  Here are the anime & manga I’ll be covering in order:

• Stardust Crusaders ep15 & 16
• Tokyo Ravens ep21 & 22
• Chaika the Coffin Princess ep7
• Akame ga Kill! ep3
• Hajime no Ippo ch1059 & 1060
• Naruto ch685
• Bleach ch589

AniFriday Issue #22: July 18th, 2014 (Summer Camp for Anime)

Back from EVO (not literally) and feeling… tired.  Whew!  That was a long time to sit in front of a computer and WATCH people play video games.  And yet, I still found a little time to watch anime.  Not enough to watch ALL the anime I’m supposed to watch, but enough to try out a few new summer anime.  And boy is there a lot I’m not happy about or don’t care about.  It’s like being tasked with watching over a bunch of kids.  Some you really like, some kinda don’t get your attention, and then there are a few you just want to drop in the lake.  I will not be talking about those.

I have to say, I do wish I had time to check out some of the more popular series, but if I honestly don’t find myself excited about watching them, then it’s best I don’t waste my immediate time.  Though I will clarify, I doubt anyone expects me to, but I’m not watching Free S2, NEW Sailor Moon or Sword Art Online.  I love that women (and the gays) get to enjoy a show full of fluff for them like we do with so many of our shows.  Many people expect women to be “better” than men, with higher standards and more discerning tastes, but I’m calling bullshit on that.  In a sense, women don’t eat vegetables all the time, they don’t drink water with every meal and they may not wait to have sex (we call hope for that, right guys?).  So if they want to want to watch Free because they don’t have to think and it makes them feel good, then great.

The same goes for Sailor Moon.  That show has been lampooned for years, but to me, it’s the more feminine equivalent of Dragonball Z.  It’s point zero for so much anime fandom, that you can’t deny its importance, even as you want to deny its quality.  Sure, the main character is a blazing airhead who worries too much about boys and getting fat.  But that’s the cat’s problem, not our’s.  To me it’s just a show about girl’s want to be good, live their lives in relative peace, and to take the pretty trinkets they keep with them everyday and MURDER WHO EVER F*CKS WITH THEM!  And if I can have an insane fantasy in my immature anime, then everyone should be able to enjoy that same pleasure.

Then there’s SAO.

*sigh*

I WANT to give this anime a fair shot!  I really do!  But even with the quickest of glances, I can tell that it is eventually going to piss me off.  On top of that, the fandom and anti-fandom is so rabid that I don’t want any part of that unending war.  I have to ignore enough bombastic bullsh*t being an open Evangelion and Naruto fan.  I don’t care for one single more battle.  F*ck it I say!  Hate whatever you want!  Just don’t argue with me about it.  They’re opinions and you can keep your’s and choke on it, because I’m done arguing over my hobby.

Except for ZZ Gundam, that sh*t is still trash until the Sun explodes, the singularity wipes out time and space and family accepts that I’m never going back to school!

Now!  Time for a little anime and manga.  Here are the series I’ll be covering this week, enjoy!

• Akame ga Kill! ep1
• Hajime no Ippo ch1057 & 1058
• Naruto ch684

AniFriday Issue #21: July 11th 2014 (it’s gonna be a very busy, very loud summer)

Oh man!  Summer season is here!  And like furniture store or car lot with a crazy owner, I’m trying to clear out all the old inventory as quickly as possible.  I should change the borders of my blog to wacky, wavy inflatable flying tube men to get the full effect across.  That said, I’m still enjoying what’s on my plate at the moment, even if I’m anxiously trying to get through it to move on to new projects.  I’m getting the feeling that I really will miss Tokyo Ravens and Chaika when I’m threw with both shows.  Each is showing more heart than I was expecting in their own unique ways.  Other shows I’m watching are only going further down the road towards their crazy realm of bullsh*t – I’m looking right at you Stardust Crusaders!  And other shows say they’re ending, but it really feels more like their last world tour, as opposed to their last concert, Bleach and Naruto – I’m now staring at both of you!

Here are the anime and manga I’ll be covering this week, in order:

• Stardust Crusaders ep14
• Tokyo Ravens ep20
• Chaika the Coffin Princess ep6
• Ao Haru Ride ep1
• Hajime no Ippo chs 1055 & 1056
• Naruto ch683
• Bleach ch587
• Team Medical Dragon ch106
• Teppu ch5

AniFriday Issue #19 (June 27th, 2014): Chaotic Neutral vs. Neutral Evil

 

Had to adjust my AniFriday schedule a bit, even if it meant pushing back the post a whole week.  I just couldn’t allow to call this series AniFriday, and all my posts go up late on a Saturday night… Damn you JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure!  But I won’t dwell on that.

I will say, it feels great to be in a groove with a couple of series again.  Tokyo Ravens is fun as hell, Chaika is damn near my favorite thing to watch right now, and even though Stardust Crusaders has been a little stale for a bit in my opinion, it’s still better than most shounen battle material I’ve watched or read this year.  As for the manga, I’m pretty much hyped for everything except for Umi no Misaki, and you’ll see why.  I don’t know what it needs more of.  Perhaps more tits and/or plot – wait!  That’s the same thing isn’t ?!

Here are the anime and manga I’ll be covering in this post, in order:

• Stardust Crusaders ep12
• Tokyo Ravens ep18
• Chaika the Coffin Princess ep4
• Naruto ch681
• Bleach ch585
• Hunter X Hunter ch342 – 344
• One Piece ch750
• Team Medical Dragon ch105
• Umi no Misaki ch6

AniFriday Issue #18 (June 13th, 2014): there’s no “I” in team, and there’s no creepy monster in my mirrors anymore

Summer’s here!  And that means that I have more time to watch anime and read more manga!  Why?  It’s not because I’m out of school, I’ve been done with that forever.  It’s because my kids aren’t in school, so I don’t have to waste time picking them up and because I can get more sleep.  I don’t have to wake up four hours after going to bed to take care of business!  Couple that with the time I plan on spending at the beach and drinking more beer, and I’m thinking that I’m going to be in a much better mood over the next couple of months.