How to Play Hi10P Anime

Posted on September 7, 2011 by Jon

So, a lot of fansubbers are switching over to a magical new H.264 profile called Hi10P. Basically, 10 bit color is supposed to deliver anime MKVs in smaller filesizes and with less banding. A few fansub groups have already made the switch, and many more are expected to come the fall season.

The problem is, the CCCP is using outdated technology doesn’t support Hi10P yet. The beta tryout does, but it’s glitchy as all hell. So what’s a poor otaku to do? There are several options for PC users, some better than others.

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Bakacast – Hurricane Fight!

Posted on September 1, 2011 by Jon

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Karen wasn’t able to appear on this podcast, as she was off bravely challenging the Hurricane Lord to a battle of wits and martial strength. As a result, we delayed our Redline review by one week. It will be on the next podcast, we promise! To make up for it, we cover a couple of mecha-related news stories and give an impromptu preview of what we’re looking forward to in the fall season. And, now that I’m back, I inevitably get in an argument with Dustin about Dalian’s merits (or lack therof) as a character.

2:03 – News Segment (Tomino announcement and new Eva Rebuild trailer)
7:18 – Watcha Been Doing?
15:03 – Hanasaku Iroha #21
18:58 – Steins;Gate #21
24:26 – Bunny Drop #8
32:34 – No. 6 #8
39:14 – Dantalian no Shoka #7
46:34 – Mawaru Penguindrum #7
53:10 – My Little Pony #17 & 18
59:08 – Upcoming season (based on Scamp’s preview)
1:10:35 – Listener questions

As always, if you would like to submit listener questions for a future episode, you can email them to bakacast[at]projectharuhi.net, @reply them to Project Haruhi’s Twitter account using the hashtag #bakacast, or leave them in the comments below.

Bakacast – Punch to the Face

Posted on August 25, 2011 by Dustin

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I apologize for the occasional audio glitches in this episode. Jon was too tired from his job to record, and I was at my parents’ house, so I had to use a five-year-old laptop to record this week’s podcast. I’ve done this a couple times before, but I guess the laptop chose this time to turn into cybernetic molasses. I was able to fix the desync issues that appeared, but there was nothing I could do about the “clipping” of sentences.

Anyway, we have a pretty normal review segment this week, with Hanasaku Iroha continuing to be a bizarre mixture of bad and good, Steins;Gate stumbling toward its ending, Sacred Seven defeating even my tolerance for Sunrise stupidity, Bunny Drop being amazing, No. 6 finally going somewhere with its plot, Dantalian having troubling implications about gender, and Penguindrum convincing some of my co-hosts to come over to my Anti-Ringo brigade.

Also we discuss the scientific method in relation to My Little Pony. Seriously.

We cover:

2:51 – Hanasku Iroha #20
7:06 – Steins;Gate #20
14:38 – Sacred Seven #7
18:57 – Ikoku Meiru no Croisee #7
26:17 – Bunny Drop #7
35:19 – No. 6 #7
42:59 – Dantalian no Shoka #5 & 6
51:27 – Mawaru Penguindrum #6
58:22 – My Little Pony #15 & 16
1:12:38 – Listener questions

I actually did miss one listener question, so I’ll be sure to get to it on the next episode. Speaking of the next podcast, we’ll be reviewing the Madhouse film everyone’s been hyped for: Redline. So look forward to that.

Scandal: Their Fifth Anniversary

Posted on August 20, 2011 by Shamisen

In August 2006 four young ladies: Haruna Ono, Tomomi Ogawa, Mami Sasazaki and Rina Suzuki met in an Osakan vocal and dance school. As they became friends, they decided to form a band. On the 21st of that month they formed Scandal, and they started performing at Osaka Castle Park. The rest is becoming history, as they say.

Today we celebrate their fifth anniversary and take a brief look at this self proclaimed “Most Powerful Japanese Girlie Pop Rock Band.”

First let’s introduce the band.

Haruna Ono–guitar and lead vocals, born August 10, 1988–is the leader and oldest member of the group. Her philosophy is to spotlight each member of the group in every song or performance. This way, no one person gets the all the attention. In my opinion it’s worked quite well.

Tomomi Ogawa–bass and vocals, born May 31, 1990–does quite a bit of the song writing for the group and adds her playing expertise along with her stunning vocals to each song.

Mami Sasazaki–vocals and lead guitar, born May 21, 1990–shows extraordinary guitar playing and an intensity on stage that I’ve not seen in ages. Her solos are something to behold.

Rina Suzuki–drums, keyboard and vocals, born August 21, 1991–is the youngest member of the group and the most outspoken in interviews on and off the stage, besides being quite a drummer in her own right.

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Bakacast – Needs 20 Percent More Suffering

Posted on August 17, 2011 by Dustin

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Jon is, unfortunately, still missing on this episode of Bakacast, probably due to ninja kidnapping. And before you say something, yes, I’m almost certain I’ve used that joke before. I just don’t care.

Speaking of things I don’t care about, you can consider Blade officially dropped, because none of us felt like catching up with the recent episodes. Yeah, that’s right. We’re so apathetic about the Marvel adaptations that we can’t even be bothered to mention we’ve quit watching them on the podcast. We do, however, discuss the morality of Steins;Gate, admire the grit it takes to take a sword through your arm in Sacred Seven and not scream like a little girl, wonder when the suffering will start in Bunny Drop, explain why No. 6 completely fails at building a decent dystopia, and are again reminded that being an Earth pony in Friendship is Magic really sucks. Also, I briefly recommend watching Double J #7, just because it’s bizarre.

We cover:

2:26 – Hanasku Iroha #19
7:46 – Steins;Gate #19
17:28 – Sacred Seven #6
22:09 – Ikoku Meiru no Croisee #6
27:07 – Bunny Drop #6
34:20 – No. 6 #6
45:16 – Dantalian no Shoka #4
54:28 – My Little Pony #13 & 14
1:08:19 – Listener questions

If you would like to submit listener questions for a future episode, you can email them to bakacast[at]projectharuhi.net, @reply them to Project Haruhi’s Twitter account using the hashtag #bakacast, or leave them in the comments below.

Ouran High School Host Club and Adventures in J-Drama

Posted on August 11, 2011 by Joris

Oh dear.

Even within a community as tight and niche as the anime fandom, there are certain subcategories of Japanophilia that cause even the average otaku to raise an eyebrow or two. Dolfie collecting is one, as well as having a soft spot for body pillows or yaoi; but the single most alienating fandom for many is the J-drama one. Often associated with tearjerker plots and a strong focus on handsome young men with abs, it is understandable that J-dramas are often categorized under ‘guilty pleasure’, even by fans. The main reason why I have never ventured into the realm of Japanese live-action, however, is that it’s not animated. One of the main reasons why I love anime is the fact that animation thrives on spikey blue hair, fluffy mascot characters and over-the-top humoristic quirks. The elements that make anime unique often have to do with the animation, which is why I never thought that being an anime fan would automatically make me a fan of any sort of televised entertainment from the land of the rising sun. Continue reading →

Bakacast – Be My Dungeon Master

Posted on August 7, 2011 by Dustin

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I’m finally back from my exile in Minnesota and watched three weeks worth of anime in just a few days, all so I could argue with Jon. Unfortunately, he had to be responsible and go to a job interview; so he’s escaped my vengeance this time. But soon, Jon. Soon, I will destroy you.

Karen’s back too, and we start off the podcast by giving her a chance to talk about her Otakon adventure, which was a bit of a mixed bag. Then we lead off the review segment by ripping the disappointing final Break Blade episode to shreds. As for our regularly scheduled reviews, Steins;Gate continues to not act like Steins;Gate, Double J botches its last chance, our predictions for Sacred Seven‘s trainwreck potential end up being scarily accurate, No. 6 completely wastes an episode, and I finally get the chance to release my pent up rage toward Ringo of Penguindrum.

We cover:

2:11 – Otakon
17:19 – Break Blade #6
32:12 – Steins;Gate #18
40:58 – Double J #5
45:28 – Sacred Seven #5
52:48 – Ikoku Meiru no Croisee #5
59:43 – Bunny Drop #5
1:06:04 – No. 6 #5
1:10:50 – Mawaru Penguindrum #5
1:19:47 – My Little Pony #11 & 12
1:29:55 – Listener questions

Unfortunately, we didn’t have time to get through all the questions this time. So if we didn’t answer your question this episode, don’t worry. We’ll get to it eventually.

Bakacast – STALKING STRATEGY!

Posted on August 2, 2011 by Jon

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It’s the Bakacast Comeback Tour!

Any rumors of our death are grossly exaggerated. After going on hiatus last week due to most of our staff being on vacation, we’re back this week with a vengeance! Well, half a vengeance anyway, since Karen and Dustin were still unavailable. But Joris (aka Aquagaze) filled in for them, so that brings us up to a solid three-fourths of a vengeance… and I’m pretty sure the album art makes up for the rest.

1:15 – Steins;Gate 16 & 17
7:58 – Hanasku Iroha 16 & 17
13:43 – Double J 3 & 4
16:09 – Sacred Seven 3 & 4
22:26 – Ikoku Meiru no Croisee 3 & 4
30:34 – Nyanpire 3 & 4 (DROPPED)
34:54 – Bunny Drop 3 & 4
42:53 – No. 6 3 & 4
49:43 – Mawaru Penguindrum 3 & 4
58:17 – Dantalion no Shoka 1-3
1:09:51 – Listener questions

Click to see the song by John Gibson.

[spoiler]

It’s been seven hours and fifteen days (ten days but who is counting)
Since you took your podcast away
I go out every night and sleep all day
Since you took your podcast away
Since you been gone I can do whatever I want
I can see whomever I choose
I can watch my anime on a fancy tv
But nothing
I said nothing can take away these blues
`Cause nothing compares
Nothing compares to you

It’s been so lonely without you here
Like a bird without a song
Nothing can stop these lonely tears from falling
Tell me baby where did I go wrong
I could load my Ipod with every podcast I see
But they’d only remind me of you
I went to the doctor n’guess what he told me
Guess what he told me
He said you should watch HOTD and Fractale too
But he’s a fool
`Cause nothing compares
Nothing compares to you

All the flowers that you planted, mama
In the back yard
All died when you went away
I know that listening to you baby was sometimes hard
But I’m willing to give it another try

Nothing compares
Nothing compares to you
Nothing compares
Nothing compares to you
Nothing compares
Nothing compares to you
[/spoiler]

Sorry I didn’t get to all the listener questions this week, but I felt the ones involving My Little Pony should be saved until Dustin and Karen returned.

Bonus Trivia: This episode of Bakacast was exactly 1:44:44 long. I’m sure that means something. Somebody call a numerologist!

God’s Memo Pad and the Joys of Licensed Theme Tunes

Posted on July 26, 2011 by Joris

For these last few months, some people asked me what had happened to Aquagaze’s Anime Weekend. To that surprisingly large part of the anime fandom, I have one message: you are reading it right now. The name Aquagaze’s Anime Weekend has lived its best days. My anime watching and blogging is not limited to the weekend anymore, nor do I want to waste my time making more flashy logos and title cards. I’ve chosen to focus on my writing instead. Besides, I’ve grown tired of the admittedly arrogant practice of sticking my own name into the name of my blog. I’d much rather go with something original. If even Liam Gallagher does have a big enough ego to name his new band Liam Gallagher and the Inspiral Nuns, neither should I. Now do not act as if you don’t know who Liam Gallagher is. He sang the best anime OP of all time.

Of all time!

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Bakacast – L’Episode Francais

Posted on July 18, 2011 by Jon

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Le wah! Qu’est-ce qu’on va faire sure le lit?

This episode of Bakacast is brought to you in three languages… French, English and Engrish. Since we don’t have QUITE as many new anime to review, we manage to get in a “Whatcha been doin” segment, in which Dusty waxes poetic about L.A. Noire and I mumble incoherently about Space Battleship Yamato. In our review segment we surprisingly pick up Hanasaku Iroha again, if only for mocking purposes, before covering the usual plethora of anime old and new. And at the end we even have time for a few listener questions! Did you know we each have unique reasons for disliking professional wrestling?

1:48 – Whatcha been doin’
9:28 – Steins;Gate 15
14:24 – Hanasku Iroha 14 & 15
19:07 – Double J 2
22:24 – Blade 2
26:03 – Ro-Kyu-Bu 2 (RE-DROPPED)
28:50 – God’s Notebook 2 (THE ENTIRE UNIVERSE HAS DROPPED THIS)
33:11 – Sacred Seven 2
37:33 – Ikoku Meiru no Croisee 2
43:32 – Nyanpire 2
46:41 – Bunny Drop 2
53:48 – No. 6 2
59:26 – Mawaru Penguindrum 2
1:04:30 – Manyuu Hikenchou 1 (DROPPED)
1:11:32 – Mayo Chiki 1 (DROP-KICKED)
1:15:40 – My Little Pony 9 & 10
1:21:55 – Listener Questions