Excuses, Excuses....

Yes, it’s been over a month since my last update, and I might as well apologize now for not having posted a review for such a long time. My excuse? Well, I moved in with my girlfriend a few weeks ago, so that has been sucking up a huge part of my free time and prevented me from being able to read or watch much in the way of “modern Japanese visual culture”; in fact, I’ve got Mushi-shi and Beck: Mongolian Chop Squad DVDs gathering dust on top of the TV and Excel Saga, Kekaishi, Dororo and The Wallflower at the bottom of my bookbag accruing overdue fines.

So Gomennasai (ごめんなさい｡) everyone….I will return to my normal schedule (i.e. still irregular but more frequent) of posting before long - I’ll be taking a look at a couple of the afore-mentioned series and coming back with news from the New York AnimeFest in a few weeks to boot.

Until then, enjoy this creepy cosplay picture. Yikes…..

Odds and Ends and Updates again

So, I finally finished downloading the entire Welcome to the NHK! anime series via BitTorrent this weekend…and, after many weeks of anticipation, have finally begun watching the series in its entirety. I gave this series a pretty good review and I’ve been dying to see more. I’m under the impression the anime has a different ending than the manga, so I’m interested to see how they compare.

In other news, I’ve decided to continue posting on a once-a-week schedule – as time allows, naturally. I have to sneak in posts between my “real” duties at work, so don’t be surprised if I miss a week now and then.

Aside from W2TNHK!, Samurai Champloo (almost finished!), and the odds and ends that I’ve watched at the library Anime Clubs, I’ve been in a real harem comedy mood for the last couple of weeks. Hell, I’ve already made multiple entries for DearS, and I’ve also started in on Girls Bravo and Shuffle!. I know part of being an otaku/geek is embracing your eccentric interests, but I have to admit I’m sort of embarrassed to like these series…. I guess they appeal to the introverted 14 year old boy inside of me; and honestly, doesn’t most anime and manga – and by that thinking, video games, comic books/graphic novels, and sci-fi/fantasy in general – appeal to that mindset?

In any event, I’ll be putting on 2 Anime Clubs next week:
1) New Lots Library: Wednesday, Feb 27th @ 4:30pm
2) Arlington Library: Friday, Feb 29thth @ 4:30pm

By popular request, I will probably be showing Fullmetal Alchemist. I’ve heard a lot about this series from a number of patrons and would like to give it the old “once-over” myself.

Last Friday's A/M Club at Arlington, New Manga at the BPL, and yet another Train Man manga....

I didn’t quite get the attendance that I was looking for at Arlington’s Anime/Manga Club last Friday, but I was fortunate to get a few hardcore otaku dropping buy to take a look at Law of Ueki and review some of the new Manga titles that the BPL has recently bought – Kekaishi, Case Closed, Skip*Beat, and my two new favorites, Love Roma and Yakitate Japan!.Some folks have suggested that we try having Arlington’s Anime/Manga Club at a later time (4:30pm, for example), multiple times a month, or on a Saturday – all good ideas worth considering.

What else is new? Aside from furiously reading Yakitate Japan! and Love Roma, I just took a look at Michiko Ocha’s Train Man: A Shojo Manga. The title is fitting, because this is a very “shojo” version of the Train Man story we’ve all come to know and love. Far less slapsticky than Wantanabe’s/Nakano’s version but not as realistic as Hoti’s version (see 12/13/07’s review of these 2 titles), it focuses more on the romantic interaction between “Train Man” and “Hermes-san". It’s a good bet for shojo fan or folks that just can’t get enough of the “Train Man” story.

I’ve been busy so time to sit down and write reviews is in short supply, but I’m hoping to get reviews of Yakitate Japan!, Love Roma, and the anime series Dears out before too long.

Sorry....no updates til after Xmas

I know that I promised reviews of Gundam: The Origin (manga) and Welcome to the NHK: Conspiracy (anime)....but I'm too tired to write 'em! I'll just give you a teaser and say that Welcome to the NHK is one of the best programs I've seen this year - a funny and likeable series about the life and loves of a paranoid shut-in (it's better than it sounds, honest). I'll be out of town for the next week or so for the holidays, so don't expect any new updates until after Christmas.

Anyway, for all you Arlington Anime/Manga Club folks out there, I'm still in the process of choosing the 2 anime episodes for December 28th's meeting; I've been reading a lot online about Samurai Champloo and will probably at least be showing that. In terms of booktalks, I'll be covering Gundam Seed, Kindaichi Case Files, and Maison Ikkoku.

Have a pleasant holiday, y'all.....