OreImo 2 & 3 – Moe Done RIGHT!

The claw is our master!

Okay, drop everything you are doing right now and listen up. I am watching only one series this fall. Yup, it has already come to this; my last ditch attempt to spin my fanboy generators to maximum, my last summoning of will to enjoy an anime series with every fibre of my being. This is in a way quite sad, as there are plenty of people enjoying this season’s other anime to their fullest. Samurai Girls, Iron Man, Sora no Otoshimono, Panty and Stocking, or whatever your vice is; none of these are doing anything for me. The fanboy generator room has instead become a place of quiet meditation and brooding. That is, until I started watching My Little Sister Can’t Be This Cute. Thats when things finally started spooling.

Now Jeagle did begin to review this series a few weeks back, but has since become lost in his own little world. My Little Sister Can’t Be This Cute (or OreImo for short) has quickly become my numero uno anime for this season. Witty writing and dialogue, interesting characters and a wonderful art style makes for pleasant and funny watching. I guess what makes it so out there for me is the story. Here we have Kyōsuke, the older brother, almost characterless and devoid of much emotion, at least to start off with. He is sick of being the neglected child despite being the eldest of two. Then there is Kirino, the star of the show, the younger sister, the teen goddess, and boy, doesn’t she know it. If the anime itself isn’t very pretentious, Kirino makes up for this in leaps and bounds, much to Kyōsuke’s chagrin. The catalyst that kicks off the fun is Kirino’s closet fetish for little sister eroge. Sound dangerous? I have no idea where this series is heading, but am along for the ride.

Read more after the break.

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

Editorial Comment

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.

What You Should Know About Iron Man

With the first episode of Madhouse’s Iron Man on the horizon, some of you might be wondering, “What’s the big deal?” And I understand. Comics–with their high issue counts, many crossovers, and daunting pool of titles–can be tough to get into. I was once like you until I took the plunge. But now I’ve been buying comics every week for two years, and have acquired much knowledge of their characters. I pass this on to you, dear reader, so you may understand my excitement. Because, to be frank, Tony Stark is awesome.

Consider this a newbie’s guide to the life of Iron Man: everything you need to know (and more) before you watch Madhouse’s anime adaptation.

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Bakacast Briefs – Dude, Where’s My Zombie?

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Jon was feeling sick and Chris was out of town, so it’s just Glen, Larry, Jeagle and me on this episode of Bakacast Briefs. Glen and I do most of the talking during the first half, where we review Break Blade, a suprisingly zombie-free episode of HOTD and Occult Academy. Then we turn the podcast over to Larry and Jeagle so they can talk about what is basically the finale of K-ON!!. We end the show with Twitter questions and uncontrollable laughter, just like a cheesy 80s sitcom. Far out!

This episode covers:

  • Break Blade #2
  • Highschool of the Dead #11
  • Occult Academy #11
  • K-ON!! #24

A list of our Bakacast Affiliates can be found here. Be sure to check out their blogs!

[Music used in this episode is “Game Boy Rock” by Wizwars.]

Project Haruhi Fall Anime Preview, Part 2

Send in the clones.

In case you missed it, Part 1 is here.

The second half of our anime preview focuses on what you might call our “second string” authors. Jake and Eric are both new to the site, although they do have extensive anime blogging experience. As for Chris, he’s a regular guest on the podcast, but has been too disillusioned with recent anime to do much reviewing. However, with a little coercing from my taskmaster whip, they should all be writing weekly anime reviews for the fall season. As for which shows they’ll be covering, we still haven’t worked out those details yet. However, you can get a fairly good idea of their tastes by reading their short previews below. I’ve also included a preview by a special guest, Janai of the eponymous Janaiblog. Enjoy, and be sure to leave your own thoughts in the comment section!

Note: Before reading this, it might be a good idea to check out Random Curiosity’s preview. It has descriptions and trailers for each of the shows we’ll be talking about, and is generally an excellent resource for keeping track of the new fall season anime.

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Project Haruhi’s Fall Anime Preview, Part 1

You will be assimilated. Resistance is futile.

We are Project Haruhi. We are not one, but many.

That’s right! Contrary to popular belief, this website actually has several different authors writing for us. And we’re not just a bunch of emotionless clones, either… we each have unique opinions and aesthetic preferences. Despite what some of our readers believe, we’re not all grumpy moe-hating oldfags or fanservice-bashing puritans. Our tastes are as diverse as the colors of the rainbow.

To help emphasize that fact, I’ve asked each of our authors to write up their own short fall anime preview, detailing which shows they’re interested in and why. The first four of these previews are in this post; the rest will come tomorrow. Hopefully, this should give you a good idea of what to expect in our upcoming episode reviews and podcasts. Maybe our opinions will help you decide which shows you want to watch as well. So read on below the break, and let us know your thoughts in the comment section.

Note: Before reading this, it might be a good idea to check out Random Curiosity’s preview. It has descriptions and trailers for each of the shows we’ll be talking about, and is generally an excellent resource for keeping track of the new fall season anime.

[OP image by bbmbbf]

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Otaku Debate: Did the Summer Anime Season Suck?

Surprisingly, last week’s debate didn’t generate the knee-jerk negative reaction towards obesity that I expected. Most of the poll respondents said they preferred their girls anywhere from “meaty” to “slightly chubby,” which could be considered average weight for most people. It’s nice to see our readers have rejected the “thin = sexy” message of pop culture and formed more realistic standards of beauty!

This week’s topic is a bit of a painful one for me. In my humble opinion, this anime season has been a total letdown. Most of the shows, such as Seitokai Yakuindomo and Ookami-san, were just too bland to be worthwhile… and the few that showed promise, like Occult Academy and Highschool of the Dead, turned out to be total duds. The only show that’s marginally entertaining at this point is Mitsudomoe, but the very risque humor makes it appealing to only a small subset of otaku.

Now, I don’t think this means anime is doomed or anything silly like that. We’ve had bad seasons before, particularly in the early nineties after the last economic crash. Still, that doesn’t make it any less depressing to slog through such mediocrity. Has this season left you in a similar state of despair? Or do you think that I’m being overly negative? Are there any anime this season you did enjoy, or are you taking refuge in old classics like Dirty Pair and Gundam while this storm blows over? Vote in the poll below, and share your thoughts in the comment section!

(Just FYI: I consider K-ON!! to be a spring season show, so it doesn’t figure into this debate.)

[poll id=”17″]

Past Masters: Dirty Pair

Introducing Kei and Yuri, also known as the Dirty Pai... er, Lovely Angels!

Space is the final frontier… and these two girls are about to destroy it!

If you’ve ever hung around with oldschool anime fans, you’ve probably heard them mention Dirty Pair. This science fiction buddy-cop comedy has a huge American following, enough to make it one of anime’s best-known cult classics. In fact, this show’s popularity led Nozomi Entertainment to go through all the legal hassle of licensing it nearly twenty-five years after it originally aired. But why exactly is this series so beloved? Well, to answer that question, I just need to make one simple comparison.

Dirty Pair is the Japanese version of Star Trek.

Like Gene Roddenberry’s classic 1960s TV show, Dirty Pair is anachronistic. The look and feel of this anime is incredibly dated, mired in that campy mid-eighties culture that we all enjoy mocking. However, this campiness is part of the charm; the space bikinis, short miniskirts, moon boots and outlandish hairstyles just add to the sense of unrestrained fun that permeates this show. Just like Star Trek, this series’ strengths lie in snappy writing, loveable characters and great stories, allowing it to rise above its sillier qualities and become a true science fiction classic. Despite being a relic of another era, Dirty Pair is still a timeless anime that everyone can enjoy.

Find out more after the break.

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WTF? Panty & Stocking Trailer Revealed

Ladies and gentlemen, may I present… the official trailer for Panty & Stocking with Garterbelt.

I’m not sure what I just watched, but I know it was AWESOME. After seeing this trailer, Sheentaku on Twitter described this show as “an adult version of The Powerpuff Girls,” an assessment I agree with wholeheartedly. It appears that my earlier prediction was correct; Panty & Stocking is indeed a Gainax-style tribute to the great American cartoons of the 90s. The implications of this are clear. In my humble opinion, this is the must-watch show of the 2010 Fall anime season.

Notice the audio track may not be suitable for the work /open public environment.