4koma War Opening Shots – Nichijou Trailer

War. War never changes.

There is tension in the air. The plebeians are dishing out the latest Puella Magi Madoka Magica speculation as their voices are muffled by the silence before the storm. The otaku fandom is anticipating the spring season, the new shows it will bring…

But war never changes.

Every war starts with a spark. Every war starts with mere taunts. The 4koma war is no different.

It’s a battle to the death between A Channel and Nichijou, two upcoming slice-of-life shows competing for the same 4koma-style comedy slot in the hearts of otaku. But will it be a brutal melee of moe, comedy and death… or a mere skirmish, soon forgotten by the ever-fickle anime fandom?

To state it bluntly, this doesn’t look like it will be much of a war. The people at Studio Gokumi have nothing but Koe De Oshigoto! (an anime about a high school girl becoming an eroge voice actress) to back them up. They must be out of their minds to try and challenge the anime juggernaut that is Kyoto Animation, or have a lot of confidence in the A Channel franchise. All things considered, they don’t stand a ghost of a chance.

Nevertheless, when Gokumi launched its first rocket in the direction of Kyoto, the men and women (but mostly men) behind The Melancholy Of Haruhi Suzumiya and K-ON! responded with a new trailer for what will undoubtedly be their newest cash cow franchise to rule them all. Let’s take a look, shall we?

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It’s Never Too Early to Talk About Spring Anime!

Even though the winter anime season has just begun, the intertubes are already ablaze with anticipation for the upcoming spring season, fueled largely by the charts released by The Cart Driver and Cowboy Bimbop. Since anticipation makes the heart grow fonder, I’ve decided to speculate on which shows will catch my fancy this spring. Of course, since all I have to go on is a thumbnail and plot summary, everything I say here is little more than an educated guess… so don’t take it TOO seriously. I’m sure I’ll be adding and dropping shows to this list once I see the actual trailers.

My picks are below the break. Tell me yours in the comment section!

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Bakacast – We Are Not Spinal Tap

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On this episode of Bakacast, we bid a semi-fond farewell to the Fall 2010 season and share what we’re looking forward to (or dreading) in the coming winter. But first, I guess there might be more Lucky Star in our future? Who knows! And, more to the point, who cares? Frankly, we’re more interested in the recent Disappearance of Haruhi Suzimiya movie, which kicks off our review segment.

Ever wanted to hear me lose my temper? Well, you’ll get your chance when Jon and I battle it out during the Panty & Stocking discussion (though at least we can all agree that the soundtrack is fantastic). And to make sure this episode was extra special, we captured Thomas from Stepping Up to the Anime Plate so he could give us his thoughts on MM!

We cover:

  • The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya
  • Panty & Stocking #13
  • Otome Youkai Zakuro #13
  • Squid Girl #12
  • Iron Man #12
  • MM!
  • Star Driver #13

Since the winter season’s shows won’t debut before our normal podcast recording time, we’ll be doing things a little differently next week. How different? Well, you’ll just have to wait and see…

Minako Kotobuki’s Sharp Galapagos Ad

With “Irony,” the opening theme from OreImo, playing in the background. Minako Kotobuki, (Tsumugi Kotobuki in K-ON!) introduces us to the new Sharp Galapagos, a media tablet, that according to the video can be used anywhere to do just about anything. The tablet went on sale in Japan on Friday.

In this video she gives us her feedback on the device. It looks like she’s having a great time too. Now a lot of us don’t understand Japanese, but with Minako as the sales representative, I do believe the Galapagos will be a smashing hit. I wonder if there’s an English version?

Bakacast – Panty & Stocking with Top Gun

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Well, another episode of Bakacast is complete, but now is not a time for celebration. Jon is missing, and the only clue I have is a ransom note left under one of his Rei figurines. I’ll transcribe the whole thing here, so maybe you listeners can help us get him back.

To the pitiful human degenerates calling themselves Project Haruhi,

My dear sister, Kneesocks, and I have taken your leader hostage. Seeing as your minds are likely too clogged with filth to process why this has happened–a trait you share with certain angels I’m unfortunately acquainted with–I’ll explain in the simplest terms possible.

You are liars. You’ve repeatedly called me and my sister “villains” with no evidence to back up such claims. In fact, there’s far more evidence to suggest Panty and Stocking, the two “heroes” that so many brain-dead humans like yourselves slobber over, are the ones in the wrong. Wherever they go, they leave chaos and sewage in their wake. Their vulgar habits and language obliterate what little beauty was mercifully granted to them. And, worst of all, they flagrantly disregard the rrrrrrules of elegant society.

This is not the first time you’ve proven yourselves incapable of intelligent thought. First, we only lost our beach volleyball battle because the referee was biased toward the blonde bimbo, which was such a gross violation of the rrrrrrules that any sensible person would say we won by default. Second the characters in Iron Man shouldn’t be mocked for their idiocy, since they’re accurately mimicking how all humans behave. The fact that Squid Girl so easily entertained you with a story about a child playing with an umbrella proves it. Third, you created the word “bro-bath” out of wholecloth simply to describe the perceived homosexual undertones of Star Driver; our more refined minds, however, can tell you such things only exist within the confines of your perverted imaginations.

In fact, as Kneesocks and I thought about the podcast you just recorded (your communications were laughably easy to bug, by the way), we realized the only thing any of you got right was calling our theme song the best one on the upcoming Panty & Stocking soundtrack.

If you want your friend back, you will retract your false statements about me and my sister and publicly apologize for your insolence. Don’t worry, he’ll be kept safe until you inevitably accede to our request. Unlike those fallen angels, we care about our reputation.

~Scanty

While we figure out a way to save Jon, maybe you’d like to find out first-hand what we said about:

  • OreImo #9
  • Panty & Stocking #9
  • Otome Youkai Zakuro #9
  • Iron Man #9
  • Squid Girl #8
  • Star Driver #9

You can find our written reviews of these shows here.

    Also, I should thank MLPnox (who was not, as I suggest in the episode, a Twitter account made up by Jon in the spur of the moment) for the My Little Pony question. Because of you, I managed to convince Glen and Larry to review the pilot episode with me on the next Bakacast.

    You’ve done well, my friend.

    Nichijou Episode 0 Trailer Revealed

    A PV for Kyoani’s newest project Nichijou (Everyday in English) has been released. This trailer is for “Episode 0,” an OAD that will be bundled with the sixth volume of the manga which goes on sale in March. A full television series directed by the prolific Tatsuya Ishihara is scheduled for some undisclosed point in the future.

    As I suspected earlier, this anime looks a lot like Azumanga Diaoh mixed with Lucky Star. Under Kyoani’s tutelage, this odd combination just might prove to be a successful one.

    Nichijou’s plot sypnopsis:

    While the title suggests a story of simple, everyday school life, the content is more the opposite. The setting is a strange school where you may see the principal wrestle a deer or a robot’s arm hide a rollcake. However there are still normal stories, like making a card castle or taking a test you didn’t study for. The art style is cute but mixes with extreme expressions and action sequences for surprising comedy bits.

    Via Moetron

    Video Game Sequel to “Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya” Announced

    Don’t you think it’s been a while now since we had some real Haruhi news? I mean REAL NEWS, not like the odd fart about how some random cinema in Hawaii or California will be showing The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya months after Japan forgot about it. Since I’m not in Hawaii or California, that kind of drivel has no appeal to me whatsoever. The fact that I’m endlessly waiting on someone to give us a DVD release date for Disappearance is beginning to destroy what little interest I have remaining in the Haruhi series. Now I see on ANN that the production team behind the Disappearance movie are making a PSP and PS3 “wandering adventure” game oh-so-typically named The Reminiscence of Haruhi Suzumiya. It’s set immediately after the ending of the movie, and features all the original seiyuus. Hello? What about the DVD?

    This annoys me. Us English-speaking folk haven’t even seen the movie yet and already there are sequels appearing on the horizon. All we know is that the Disappearance movie will be released on DVD sometime in the spring of 2011, probably AFTER the game comes out.

    *sigh*

    I guess I could go on and on about how the people controlling the Haruhi franchise have repeatedly, in my opinion, pushed the limits of the fanbase, but I know its just a waste of time. Besides, its all been said before.

    So if you are a Haruhi fan, can read and speak Japanese, and have already seen The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya, then you may rejoice; you will have a new game to play sometime next year. I’ll be the one probably still waiting to watch the damn movie.

    I’m Not Sure What to Expect From a K-ON!!! Film

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    The final K-ON!! episode announced that a film will be produced. I can’t say I’m surprised, but I am somewhat disappointed. Do we really need this?

    KyoAni has done it again: they gave us a repetitive and boring second season that didn’t live up to the first, just like Haruhi, and then tried to win back our favor with a film announcement. Bah! Why waste our time and money with a subpar TV anime season when KyoAni can give us better material on the big screen? MERCHANDISE is the answer. It’s all for one and one-thousand yen for a Mio doll.

    Is this the future of anime? Do the studios care about nothing but merchandise and ticket sales? Substance, story and plotline don’t matter anymore? I certainly hope not… but given what I’ve seen lately, it’s hard to be optimistic.

    I’ve said on the podcast that K-ON! had all the material to do a third season, provided it focused on the light music club and its new members. Will this film be about Yui and company, or the new band under Azusa’s tutelage? Will the girls finally realize their dream of playing at Budokan, or just sit around drinking tea? If this just winds up being more of the same pointless filler we got for much of the second season, they just shouldn’t bother making this film at all.

    Here’s to the K-ON!!! movie. I hope you live up to the hype.