Surprisingly Insightful – Anime Insider vol. 64, January 09

There were three initial factors that got me into anime – Ninja Scroll, Cowboy Bebop, and the very first volume of Anime Invasion, which has a list of everything deleted from the dubbed DBZ, a lost of all the Gundam shows, a Macross episode guide, and more. The magazine later changed it’s name to Anime Insider and over the years I grew to consider it a magazine for anime n00bs. However, when I picked up the latest volume, I was actually impressed by the content.

Table of Contents
-Features
-Articles
-Stuff that sucked
-Stuff worth a small mention
-Parting shot

Features

2009 Mega-Preview

This feature details all the licenced shows that will be coming out in 09. The magazine seems to be most excited about Romeo X Juliet (they’ve always been Gonzo fanboys) which I still haven’t decided f I intend to watch at all. Gakuen Alice is something I will watch eventually. I might buy Sword of the Stranger if I can bring myself to pay for a movie – will have to get on Blu-Ray though. Funeral says he plans to buy Akira in Blu-Ray.

Gunslinger Girl Il Treano is coming out and for the first time I will be forgoing an addition to my collection due to shittiness. Hayate the Combat Butler is probably a must for me depending on how cheap they make it. I almost jumped out of my seat when I saw Honey and Clover and Nana but it turned out they were just speculating that they ought to come out soon. I agree, but didn’t need them to tell me that. Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei manga, Marimite box 3 and Tweeny Witched OVA are all musts. Mirai Nikki is also a definite, but the magazine offers the worst plot description ever.

High Society Pages

A faux-school gossip newspaper from Ouran High School Host Club. Literally unintelligible if you haven’t seen the show and full of in-jokes I was surprised to see in a magazine. That said, it wasn’t that funny to me but did make me want to rewatch Ouran. I feel some people might enjoy this more than me.

Togainu no Chi Manga Preview

A 15-page manga preview. Togainu no Chi is from the artist of the Devil May Cry 3 manga and is an adaption of a yaoi visual novel. Man, does this manga suck. The art is stylish, but at the cost of sensibility, and gives the impression that the artist isn’t good enough to be attempting that style. Even small bits of action are made confusing by the usage and size of the panels. Plus, it was completely nonsensicalal. PASS!

Articles

Another World – Mildly insightful guide to Japanese manga publishing companies. Actually answered some questions I had about the companies. I had always thought that Viz was strictly Shueisha, but evidently they are also Shougakukan, the older sister company to Shueisha. I also had no idea that Del Ray was owned by Kodansha which explains how they can afford to put out some of those obscure titles.

The End of an Era – Broccoli Books goes out of business. This means FLCL’s DVD goes bye bye. I am glad about this because if the license gets picked up by someone else, maybe the show can be released at a reasonable price.

That’s ‘Dame Kitty’ to You – An article on Tama the cat, a calico cat who was ig in Japan last year for having been appointed a station master. Tama got to be so huge that the are making a Tama the Cat train plastered with her cartoon likeness, and the amount of tourist income she brought in last year was so huge that she was actually grated honorary knighthood. Plus she’s fucking adorable. This gains my official Stamp of Win.

Back in the Game – An almost overly optimistic article about the return of ADV to the anime scene. ADV has a new partner with whom they have opened two branches – one for live action movies and one for anime. The live action movies all sound like hilariously violent B-movies which I’m sure Funeral will love. he anime section has already picked up Geneon titles Tsukihime and Mahoromatic (wile ADV rescues are still happening!) as well as liscenced Clannad. Far as I know, Clannad is even more popular than it’s predecessors, but I doubt it’s a show I’d be wiling to pay money for. The article also offers some insight as to why ADV was seeing such rough times, which is nice.

Kitty Ladder – A very small article about the cats in Aria. Point? none. But anything with a picture of President Aria is worth mentioning. Also apparently his full name is Aria Pokoteng.

Television – Contains an article about the second seasons of Birdy and Natsume Yuujinchou. I like how they explain the way the 90s bubble economy ensured even the shittiest shows a 2-season run whereas nowadays it’s a struggle. There is also a mention of new anime adaption of a novel from the Kure-nai author called Denpaki na Kanojo. Since Kure-nai was mostly great for it’s directing and script, I’m not sure how excited to be unless Matsuo Kou writes and directs again.

Winter Wonderland – Talks about a Korean live-action show called Winter Sonata from 2002 that apparently was so popular in Japan that it actually helped improve their image of Koreans. The show is getting the anime treatment with the lead actor reprising his role for the voice. Worth noting because the staff mentioned all seem to be from Studio 4c and Ghibli.

The Manzai Comics – A manga about a manzai comedy duo, something I’ve been curious about since it is commonly referenced in anime. The story is from the author of the Telepathy Shoujo Ran novel who’s anime adaption was too forgettable for me to complete. Manzai however sounds potentially interesting so I may check it out.

Stuff – Totally random Japanese toys. King Kittan is there along with the Hatsune Miku Figma which No Name recently bought and I’ve been meaning to take pictures of. There is also this fucking UGLY ass Revy action figure with the most obvious joints ever.

Fast Food Alteration – A hilarious article on how American fast food chains in Japan carry altered menus. Teriyaki McBurger, Shrimp McNuggets, and mayonnaise on EVERYTHING (including the McRib! WRY?!) Best of al, Japanese Pizza Hut is mostly ordered in pre-set combos with shit like corn, octopus, and of course more fucking mayonnaise.

Stuff That Sucked

Lions to LaMBs – Worth mentioning for sheer WTF factor. A new section of Animax called Animax Asia is apparently planning to bring together talents from 5 different countries to create the English-language sci-fi anime LaMB. The only people on the team listed with any anime experience are the Japanese dudes, one of whom is the fucking CG guy for Gonzo. For some reason, even though the movie will be in English, the voice actors are Chinese. Music is provided by America’s The Click Five and Canada’s…. Simple Plan. (if you haven’t already, that’s where you laugh). The icing on the cake is a picture of Simple Plan and some Japanese dude standing in front of a hilariously cheesy-looking design sketch. I foresee a huge piece of shit from this collaboration.

Casting Call – AI decided (as they often do) to pick who they think would be good choices for a live-action adaption – this time of Haruhi (god forbid it should ever happen). Surprisingly, the choices for Haruhi and Kyon are rather spot-on. Ellen Page (Juno) I could see as Hollywood’s Haruhi, and Paul Dano who played a great role as the older brother in Little Miss Sunshine wouldn’t be a bad Kyon. However, shit hits the fan when Mikuru is cast as Monique Coleman from High School Musical who looks nothing like Haruhi (especially since she’s kind of, you know, black), but that doesn’t even compare to who the magazine thinks is “perfect” for Koizumi. SHIA FUCKING LEBOUF. YOU HEARD ME!!!!!!

Little Things Worth Mentioning

-Fashion designers inspired by anime like Kuroshitsuji
-AI predicts host clubs coming to the US
-An article interviewing Sekirei director (don’t care for show, but interviews are always nice)
-Large Baccano! article mapping the show’s factions
-Aria the Natural picked as ‘Must See’ new release of the month
-Interview with dub actress of mom from Shin-chan is pretty funny
-New Casshern manga to be based on the anime, will prolly suck though
-Kaze hikaru looks like a shoujo Shinsengumi manga
-Oishinbo, manga about cooking, potential win
-Phantasy Star Portable coming soon!
-Little King’s Story for the Wii sounds fun

Parting Shot

As you may know or have guessed, I am an architecture fanboy. This volume’s last page is a huge image of a building in Osaka whose 5th, 6th, and 7th floors were sold to the Houshin Expressway Company who built a highway going through the building. It looks quite awesome and is certainly on my list of places to visit.

Anyway, that about sums up my thoughts on the volume, if it interests you, buy it, the things only 5 bucks, though I guess some of you don’t live in the right places for it. Which is why this is here for you : D