Check-in Station: Akame ga Kill ep1 (finally something I can be genuinely excited about!)

Oh my!  The violence!  All the violence!  And the murder!  And the choreographed fights and quick and bloody jump cuts that make all of it so much more exciting!  I know I sound like a monster, but I’m actually just excited to watch a show , or at least one episode, that just wants to entertain and do stuff more than it wants to talk, feed exposition or give a lesson.  There’s also the problem I have after watching years and years of Gundam.  I’m pretty sick of the lead hero being in combat situations and then b*tching about conflict and killing.  And that’s even when they’re protecting people.  Ugh!  This is turning more into cross examination of heroes and hypocrisy.  I need to just focus on how happy I am with this episode.

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 #16 (May 30th, 2014): none of it makes sense to me, and that’s OK JoJo

Alright!  We’re almost running at full power!  Things are a bit shounen heavy, but it’s all good shounen.  I mean, who can complain about JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure.  I’ve learned a bit this week.  I’ve learned I suck at video games.  Or maybe I should say I’ve relearned that I suck at video games.  In between getting furious at my stupid deaths in Don’t Starve, my inability to proper learn how to use an arcade stick in Super Street Fighter IVAE ver. 2012, I found time to read plenty of manga and watch a few anime.  I’ve also learned that some of my coworkers are a-holes (not really a surprise there).  And finally I’ve learned that I haven’t lost all my love and passion for anime.  It still burns dimly but strongly.

Here are the anime & manga I’ll be covering this week:

• Stardust Crusaders ep9
• Chaika the Coffin Princess ep1
• Tokyo Ravens ep15
• Naruto ch678
• Teppuu ch4
• Hunter X Hunter ch341
• Bleach ch582
• Team Medical Dragon ch101
• Umi no Misaki ch3

AniFriday Issue #9 (January 17th, 2014)

Hey guys!  AniFriday is in full effect this week!  I was actually able to hammer out a lot of diverse anime selections, though it may be a month  or so before I’m able to narrow down what I’m keeping and dumping from this huge list.  All I can really say about that is that I picked up new shows, even though I said I wasn’t gonna do that.

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

• Tokyo Ravens ep13
• Sakura Trick ep1
• Super Sonico ep1
• Nourin ep1
• Pupa ep1
• Chu2koi ep6
• Yamato 2199 ep3
• Wizard Barristers ep1
• Naruto ch661
• Bleach ch564
• One Piece ch734
• Team Medical Dragon chapters 92 – 94
• Teppu ch2

#Naruto ch631: I’m sorry, Sasuke wants to do what?! F*ck you guy! #manga

So many amazing panels this week that I had trouble pairing it down!

It looks like the Edo Tensei has backfired. Orochimaru’s used it to
ressurrect the four previous Hokage, and now we’re down to a test of
strength between them and the Juubi.

It was funny seeing Hashirama kinda brush off his old friend to take
care of business. Madara was just kinda annoyed, and appears to be
just letting the Hokage do their thing. His hard-on for Hashirama is
pretty strong. I’ll avoid the gay jokes, and just say it’s endearing.

And then Sasuke shows up, and everything gets real weird. And I knew

it would get that way, too. I just wasn’t expecting Sasuke’s reaction
to it. As if he and Naruto weren’t already at odds. And as usual, I
don’t agree with what Sasuke has said.

I don’t agree that everyone is in this predicament because of the
Hokages. I believe everyone is in this predicament because of the
Uchiha clan, and especially because of Madara Uchiha.

You damned idiot!

Whatever! Team Seven’s back together… well, except for Kakashi.
He’s having a conference in another dimension. Man, what a
disfunctional group.

screenshots33.jpg

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Try it out here: http://picasa.google.com/

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Check-in Station: Hunter X Hunter ep77: (a true biohazard! )

Well, this is what I asked for. I love Hunter X Hunter because its many things. It’s violent. It’s clever. And at times, it’s not only intense, but very dark. and thats the tone this episode specifically veers towards.

The Chimera Ants have really, truly become a threat now that they’re being infused with human DNA, and are craving them, too. Kite and the others have no idea how behind they really are. While they’re trying to find A human sized Chimera ant, there’s already nearly a dozen that have hatched and more to come. And this talk of hatching a king is even more troubling…

If this episode does anything well, it spreads fear and dread. In one episode we see the loving siblings living their humble and happy lives together. In that very same episode, we see them snatched up and devoured. It’s incredibly cruel and sad to me, and i generally love that stuff. It kind of reminds me of how old fairy tales were told, before Disney gave everyone the impression that these sorts of things had happy endings for everything.

I haven’t read these chapters in quite a while, so maybe my next questions already have answers. But why are the chimera ants taking this turn now? When did they first get in contact with humans? How did the queen become so huge and intelligent? What is the special factor or factors that have lead to this explosive and soon to be disastrous evolution?

I’m not going to be trying to cover this series episode by episode. But I thought I’d bring this one up specifically because I remember it so well from the manga. This arc suffered so badly from all the stoppages in it. It seemed to take forever to progress. But at its core, I think this is an outstanding and extremely intense arc. And the upcoming main villain is so good. There’s nothing I will enjoy more, than seeing this get the premium anime treatment.

#HunterXHunter
#anime

Sent from my iPad

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Check-in Station: Hajime no Ippo ch1009 (the road to the world title begins here)

I wouldn’t say it was done easily, but Sendo crushed Ippo in their spar.  Even in terms of mere psychology, it’s huge! I don’t blame the old man for being pissed.  Ippo has to be smarter than that.  Though I found it hilarious how the coach was more pissed that Ippo lost than anything.

The real news is that Ippo is giving up his Japanese title.  It’s the hugest moment of all because he’s leaving national level boxing behind forever.  His sole goal is the World Title.

This opens up things across the board. And gives the mangaka a lot to play with for the story.  Manabu Itagaki is finally free to take that title he could try for because Ippo owned it.  While Ippo is now able to challenge not just pacific league fodder, but actual world class talent.  The kind of talent that unfortunately left him unconscious in a spar…

I wonder what Takamura meant by stating that Ippo had gotten weaker.  He’s as usual worried about something we can’t see.  And considering that he’s a multiple time world champion, not just a buffoon, I think it’s important that someone pays attention to him.

This is a whole world opening up to Ippo now.  Watching are world champions Volg and Takamura, rivals like Miyata and Sendo; and the god-like “super champ”, Ricardo Martinez waiting at the summit.  I’ve been waiting for this moment for a long time.  Let’s hurry up and make it official.

#HajimenoIppo ch981: this is the most hypest non-fighting chapter ever! #manga

So it’s finally all lined up!  Ippo’s road to the championship!  It’s a lot shorter than I had imagined.  First then second ranked in the world… and then maybe the first, or even Ricardo himself.  I can’t blame Ippo for being a little – no, a lot of scared (horrible grammar, I know). Last time they even scrimmaged, Ricardo knocked him out on his feet.  And Ippo hasn’t really demolished his competition in a way that impresses anybody on the outside.  So I can understand the need to prove himself a bit.

This Gonzalez guy seems to be a gatekeeper.  Having lost to Ricardo twice, his career is basically over with a third loss, and he’s probably taking a big gamble fighting the seventh ranked, in Ippo.  Then again, he may not even respect Ippo as a boxer and could see this as a way to bide his time until his last shot at Ricardo.

All this information just sorta surprised me, it didn’t shock me.  What shocked me was the stunner that Vorg is the first ranked contender in the division just above Ippo’s.  I knew he was good, but damn!  This likely means that the next big fight we see will be Vorg in his title shot.  Vorg has never been a boring boxer.  Morikawa has given us a hell of a surprise with this one. I suppose the only thing I’m left wanting is to find out what Ippo’s one true rival is doing next.

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Don KangolJones’ Images of the Week: August 8th (Much love for Muv-Luv)

I enjoy a good mecha production as much as the next Gundam loving, Eva worshipping, Gurren-Lagann inspired guy. So when someone like me gets to enjoy 4 currently airing mecha or mecha inspired series, as well as some good old school Macross, I will say that I’m greatly aware and a time like this awed at the diversity and quantity that is at my disposal. And yet I still have the nerve to pick up a mahou shoujo and read pervy manga. I guess I’ll never be truly satisfied.

DonKangolJones’ Images of the Week: August 1st (It’s all about 7’s & bathhouses.)

Hello everybody! I’ve taken time out of watching women’s gymnastics (don’t ask), women’s volleyball (don’t ask), women’s swimming (don’t ask), and men’s basketball and the Olympics in general to bring back my “images of the week” posts. Since I came back from my hiatus, I’ve had trouble figuring things out. The straight forward part was catching up and finishing shows I was engaged with before I disappeared. I’m generally caught up with Fairy Tail and Gundam AGE. I’ve finished Symphogear (damn fun). And the showmen manga scene doesn’t move very briskly, so I’ve had no trouble keeping up there.

The real trouble comes with the new stuff, and the blog itself. Before I disappeared I had a plan, but right now it’s not so clear. I’ve made my attempts at episodic blogging. And while I enjoyed talking about certain shows up until a point, it’s very hard for me to push out thoughts that aren’t more than moldy unique from what I’ve said the week before on a series (Mouretsu Space Pirates, I blame you). And I. Definitely not the type to push out an editorial post twice a week. So for now, please bear with me as I figure things out. Right now, these special “images of the week” posts are the most comfortable and unique things I can push out. “Viva la Pervy Images of the Week!”