Tag Archives: review

Series Review: GA-REI -zero-

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I have a confession to make. I am not a big manga reader. I follow a few titles, but I’m generally ignorant of the latest Japanese comics until I’m clued in by one of my friends. So I came into GA-REI -zero- with only basic knowledge of the manga. I knew it was about slaying evil spirits in the modern world, but that was all; and, honestly, that’s all you need to know. The show works fine on its own. It even made a fan out of me.

Be warned: the first episode is a massive tease. As usual, Tokyo is going to hell, this time because of a massive spike in spirit activity. A group of elite spirit hunters—whose best member is clearly the girl who uses her motorcycle as a weapon—is brought in to clean up the paranormal activity. They’re doing quite well up until the end, when a mysterious girl kills all of them with her katana. Continue reading →

Bakacast Episode 4 – This Is Absurd

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Okay, we took about 3 weeks to release this episode, but it’s twice as long as the others. So it’s almost like we’re on time!

You can download the episode directly, subscribe to our RSS feed or get it from iTunes.

We kick off our news segment with Funimation’s decision to censor the Dance in the Vampire Bund DVD’s (which they quickly reconsidered), followed by short discussions of Media Blasters’ layoffs and whether the American anime industry should just die. Paul “Otaking” Johnson’s fansub documentary closes out the news and provides us with a topic Ryoko, Shamisen and I can agree on before we start arguing about The Wings of Honneamise and Cromartie High School.

Next time: Project A-Ko! Casshern Sins! And punctuality (maybe)!

Bakacast Episode 3 – Lucky Star Wars

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You can download the episode directly or subscribe using our RSS feed or the iTunes store.

For this episode, we talk about the legality (or lack thereof) of the Chris Handley case that’s been going on for two years now, followed by our thoughts on whether Nippon Ichi Software America’s venture into anime licensing will succeed. Then, in the review section, we trip out on Interstella 5555 and bravely don our flame-shields to give our mixed opinions on Lucky Star.

Regarding Chris Handley:

Regarding NIS America:

Regarding Lucky Star

Regarding the spring season:

Bakacast Episode 2 – Beating Like a Disco

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Click here for the direct download or subscribe to the RSS feed.

On this episode of Bakacast, we go from super-serious to super-goofy in the span of one LOST episode. First, we use this article on the Akihabara killer as a springboard to talk about…well…a lot of stuff. Then, we discuss Blu-Ray sales going up and what that might mean for our anime collections. Plus, the ASOS Brigade is back with a new voice actress for Haruhi. Finally, we wrap the show up with our finalized impressions on the Silent Mobius movies and a review of the Dirty Pair TV series. Be sure to watch the clean OP that Jon/Ryoko uploaded. It’s disco-riffic and perfectly encapsulates the style of the show.

Bakacast Episode 1 – Aliens Among Us

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This is the first “real” episode of Bakacast (the chronologically first episode was a proof of concept), a podcast hosted by Shamisen, Ryoko and myself. For this episode, we talk about alien designs in both Japanese and Western media, a point-and-click adventure game called The White Chamber and first Silent Mobius movie. Shownotes for this episode are after the break.

Click the image to download the podcast directly, or subscribe to our RSS feed here.

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Video Game Review: Gyromancer

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So, Square Enix teamed up with Pop Cap to create a game that mixes Pokemon with Bejeweled. I guess this means Kingdom Hearts is no longer the strangest collaborative effort in video games. But I’ll put my incredulity aside for a moment to talk about the important point: is it worth $15? Continue reading →

Video Game Review: Brutal Legend

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Tim Schafer, founder of Double Fine Productions and designer of Brutal Legend, is one of the very few people in the industry who could say his resume doesn’t include a single bad game. Unfortunately, those games–particularly Grim Fandango and Psychonauts–are notorious for not selling well. With Brutal Legend, Schafer seemed to be consciously trying to break that tradition. He got a big name voice cast, including Jack Black, Tim Curry, and metal legends Ozzy Osbourn, Lita Ford, Lemmy Kilmister and Rob Halford. He licensed 108 heavy metal tunes for the soundtrack.  And as the game neared release, he and EA proceeded to market the hell out of it with comedic Jack Black ads, several gameplay videos narrated by Schafer and other, less conventional, promos. Of course, the question is whether it’s worth all the promotion. And if you’re okay with the game not being quite like what was advertised, then the answer is yes.
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Video Game Review: Red Faction Guerrilla

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Stop! Hammer Time!

Nothing good ever happens on Mars. It always seems to be Earth’s whipping boy, so you have to wonder why anyone would willingly go there. It’s covered with sand and rocks, it’s colder than Earth, the entire place has an red-ish orange hue (except of the ice caps, obviously) and–according to Wikipedia–it has the largest dust storms in the solar system. How could Mars possibly be more fun than Earth?

Well, if it’s anything like Red Faction: Guerrilla, you can destroy every vehicle and structure in sight with a hammer, explosives and a good deal of reckless abandon. That’s a pretty compelling reason.

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Endless Eight: Not So Endless After All

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(hover over images for my comments)

As previously stated, this week marked the end of the traumatic Endless Eight arc. A belated blessing, but a blessing all the same. Having watched the episode in Japanese (it’s worth mentioning, for the sake of clarity, that I don’t actually KNOW Japanese), here’s what you’ll all have been waiting to finally see:

WARNING, THIS POST CONTAINS SPOILERS

If you’re bothered by episode spoilers, I suggest not reading beyond this line. Though, doubtless, most of you will be wanting more substantial proof that the arc has, indeed, ended. Continue reading →

Kotobukiya Haruhi Figure Review

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My personal world of figurine worship has just become a whole lot more awesome with the arrival of the Kotobukiya figurine of Haruhi Suzumiya. I have had my eyes on this figurine ever since she was released to the drooling market in October of 2008, and indeed my initial thoughts are “She is awesome”.

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