Author Archives: Jon

About Jon

Jon is a Japanese culture enthusiast, professional pervert and roleplaying fanatic who appreciates flexible gender identities. He enjoys science fiction, Gunpla, classical music and Red Stripe.

12 Days of Anime #4: Salvation From Hell

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Panty & Stocking with Garterbelt was easily one of the most anticipated anime of the fall season. Conceived under the influence of excessive alcohol by the brilliantly insane folk at Gainax, it had the creative team behind Gurren Lagann mixed with artistic inspiration from Jhonen Vasquez and Genndy Tartakovsky. It was a match made in heaven! And after the borefest known as Hanamaru Kindergarten, everybody was eager for Gainax get back on top of their game. We expected something incredible, something that would sear our eyeballs and burn our brains. We wanted another Evangelion, another FLCL, another Gunbuster.

Perhaps because of our high expectations, PSG was a disappointment at first. Sure, it was frenetic and fun, but the comedy was incredibly one-note. The whole ‘barrage of lewd humor’ bit had been done far better in other anime, including this summer’s Mitsudomoe. So we wound up with a show that was pretty to look at and had a kickass soundtrack, but was otherwise unremarkable. People were starting to lose faith. Had Gainax laid another egg?

Then, salvation came from the most unexpected of places… the fiery pits of hell!

Yup, these devilishly sexy villains managed to singlehandedly save PSG from the purgatory of mediocrity.  The Demon Sisters brought a sorely-needed vibrant energy to every episode they starred in with their forceful personalities. This was a turning point for PSG; instead of an endless barrage of tired sex jokes, we got actual story and clever parody. Of course, there was the occasional off episode, but on the whole it was a vast improvement. It’s no wonder why these two hellish vixens have gained such widespread popularity… perhaps even greater than that of the protagonists themselves.

12 Days of Anime #7: Battle of the Tsunderes

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I have something of a love/hate relationship with A Certain Scientific Railgun. One the one hand, it was my favorite show of the previous fall and winter seasons, easily beating out dreck like Kampfer and Sora no Woto. On the other, it had some rather blatant and annoying flaws, two of which were the huge amount of filler and constant stream of hamfisted friendship speeches. Despite these problems, which have driven many a casual viewer away from Railgun, I still can’t help loving it.

Why? Because Railgun has absolutely fantastic characters.

Kuroko, Saten, Uiharu… I love ’em all. But the highlight is easily Mikoto Misaka, the mildly tsundere electromaster protagonist. Although I didn’t crush on her like I did with Maya, it still felt like Mikoto was a close, personal friend. After the show’s finale, I was sad to see her go; it’s not often I get that emotional about the end of an anime. That’s how vibrant and endearing her character was. She literally made Railgun worth watching.

Compare that with a certain other tsundere who has ruined an otherwise fantastic show, OreImo. Mikoto succeeded everywhere Kirino failed, and proved that the characters really do make or break anime. Story, pacing and art quality are all important, but the characters are the lynchpin that hold everything together.

More after the break.

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12 Days of Anime #10: Discovering Retro Anime

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Ever since my earliest days of otakudom, I had intended to get into retro anime. I kept hearing about the awesome old classics like Tenchi Muyo and Sailor Moon, but I wasn’t really sure where to start. For a long time, the oldest show I had seen was 1999’s Crest of the Stars, not counting the odd Gundam series or Miyazaki film. I was just too absorbed in modern shows to bother with anything classic. Then, this February, I ran across an article on Mania.com called “10 Great Out of Print Anime We Want Back.” Despite being rather mundane in its own right, this article had one passage that particularly intrigued me.

9. Project A-Ko

Another ‘80s title that saw release in the West in the early ‘90s, Project A-Ko is an action comedy that actively parodies other action movies. The premise centers around the rivalry between Eiko (A-Ko) and Biko (B-Ko) who constantly fight over the affections of the bubbly Shiiko (C-Ko). The popularity of Project A-Ko spawned a few followup OAVs, though none were as well received as the original. But its irreverent humor and ridiculous premise are prime examples of the type of insanity anime was able to get away with in the 1980s.

Dusty is a huge fan of cheesy 80s action movies, and I’ll admit I somewhat enjoy their wacky, over-the-top nature. I mean, Schwarzenegger might be a horrid actor, but seeing him casually toss buzzsaws through people’s skulls is pretty epic. Upon hearing that Project A-Ko was a parody of these kinds of films, it jumped straight to the top of my must-watch list.

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12 Days of Anime #12: My Summer Crush

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Now that final exams are over, I’ve decided to participate in the 12 Days of Anime project. It’s kind of a ‘back to basics’ anime blogging challenge, in which we count down the days until Christmas by writing about 12 anime-related moments from the last year that were particularly memorable or influential. I don’t know if I’ll be able to come up with 12 things to talk about though, so I might let Dusty fill in some of the blanks. Anyway, here goes!

I have an unusual perspective on fanservice. In my opinion, those promiscuous girls with the giant, floppy tits from Highschool of the Dead or Samurai Girls aren’t sexy in the slightest. Perhaps my overexposure to internet porn has made me jaded, but those kinds of blatant attempts at titillation tend to bore me. That’s why I always evaluate fanservice-heavy shows so cynically; I’m always looking beyond the breasts, hoping for some worthwhile character or unique story. Sometimes, my patience is rewarded with hidden gems like Kiddy Grade. Most of the time I just wind up disappointed.

But, this summer, something special happened. My first memory of her is during a school meeting, held in the massive marble hall of Occult Academy. Her father had died, but she wasn’t sad. She just sat there in a metal folding chair, impatiently tapping her fingers as if annoyed by the whole spectacle. This was a girl who carved her own path in life, and everyone else be damned. Even her clothes, sexy as hell itself, asserted a fierce individuality. This wasn’t another feckless fanservice female or mild-mannered moeblob. No, this was a woman with fiery passion and an icy heart.

Her name was Maya Kumashiro. And I had fallen in love with her.

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Transformers Prime 1-5: Giant Robots Kicking Ass

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The Transformers franchise has been in shambles lately, thanks in no small part to the crude machinations of poop-flinging man child Michael Bay. We’re all familiar with the universally reviled film Revenge of the Fallen, which reduced the rich mythos of Transformers to an endless string of racist caricatures and scatological humor. Hasbro is equally concerned about the future of their flagship toy franchise, as evidenced by their willingness to take a more hands-on approach in recent years. Although they can’t stop Michael Bay from making yet another disastrous film, they can forge an entirely new continuity to carry the franchise into the next decade and beyond. And with the help of Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman, the writers who successfully rebooted Star Trek, they’ve created what may be the best American giant robot cartoon since the legendary Beast Wars.

Prepare to be blown away by Transformers Prime.
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Weekly Anime Review: Demonic Beach Volleyball

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We missed our Weekly Anime Review* post last week, as everybody was way too busy with Thanksgiving to write anything. Since we’re playing catchup, this post is much longer than usual. This problem is further exacerbated by a couple of new reviewers who have joined the team, expanding our coverage to include MM!, Kuragehime and SoreMachi. Please note that neither Project Haruhi nor its staff are responsible for any eye strain you may incur during the reading of this post.

WARNING: This product contains spoilers, pretentious hater reviews and failed attempts at comedy.  Side-effects may include ink vomit, uncontrollable flatulence, disco-themed stripper transformations, naked sky-women and diarrhea. Should you at any time begin to experience a headache and/or an erection lasting longer than four hours, please consult a physician immediately. These claims have not been evaluated by the FDA. Results may vary.

*Hey, I just noticed that the acronym for Weekly Anime Review is WAR! That’s like… a pun or something.

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