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Saturday
Aug282010

The Evolution of Evangelion

Having both ADV Evangelion DVD releases, the original and the platinum release, I wanted to go back and look at how large of  a change the new films really are. It has been years since I’ve watched the original raw series so watching it after seeing the Blu-Ray version of Evangelion 1.11 was almost painful.

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Continue reading for the comparisons.. 

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Thursday
Aug192010

Review: Evangelion 2.22 You Can (Not) Advance

 

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Picking up where the first film left off the angels are laying an aggressive offensive against the forces of Nerv. In order to make Nerv’s defenses more powerful the Japanese branch receives ace Pilot Asuka Langley Shikinami. But with each Angel attack draining the resources of the planet three Evangelions may not be enough to stop the angels from their ultimate goal, Earth’s total destruction.

Hideaki Anno’s Evangelion is an iconic anime series that shook the entire world when it was released back in 1995. Now, fifteen years later, Evangelion’s modern reboot has the potential of doing exactly the same thing. But can this condensed version of the classic series stand up to the hype?

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Wednesday
Aug042010

The Crunchyroll Review, Part 3: Alternative viewing methods and Conclusion

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In Part 1 I went over the details of the content offerings that Crunchyroll provides and in Part 2 I evaluated the technical details of the Crunchyroll website. This part looks at Cruncyroll from the perspective of a service and how that service can be used when separated from a computer.

The problem with using the internet as a source of video content is that we lose the big screen experience we are used to in our living rooms. In some ways internet video is a regression because it involves smaller screens, uncomfortable chairs, and in most cases the impossibility to watch in large groups. So how can Crunchyroll be brought from the internet to a television? Read on!

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Sunday
Aug012010

Vintage Review: Tenchi Muyo! GXP

 

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Tenchi Muyo! GXP follows the adventure of Seina Yamada who is the most unlucky boy in the universe. When visiting his friend Tenchi's house he runs into Amane Kaunaq who, mistaking him for a member of the Misaki household, recruits him for the Galaxy police. Seina decides to join and the GP command quickly recognizes that Seina's bad luck can be used to distract Pirates from valuable targets. He is helped though his training and duty by two beautiful women, a beautiful space pirate, and a young priestess. Yup, this is a Tenchi series.

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Saturday
Jul172010

Convention Report: ConnectiCon 2010

 

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I have yet to go to a convention and be disappointed and that fact continues after my weekend spent at ConnectiCon 2010. The only disappointing aspect about conventions is that there is never enough time to do everything that I want to do. ConnectiCon is unique for an Anime fan because it is not primarily an Anime convention. Anime is only one of the many subjects that convention covers. If anything, I’d call ConnectiCon a gaming convention because of the massive amount of space dedicated to games of all types: Board games, video games, Table top RPGs, LARP, Minitures, and CCGs. ConnectiCon is also unique in that it attracts a large number of webcomic guests from all over the world with names as large as Brian Clevenger , Mohammad Hawqe , Jeph Jacques, Scott Ramsoomair, and (in 2006) Greg Dean.

If you are looking for just an Anime Convention with anime programming ConnectiCon might disappoint you. Not that there is a lack of Anime programming, I’ll go into more detail about it below, but it is more of a celebration of all things geeky. It’s like a large gathering of friends where some wanted to play Magic and others just wanted to watch Anime... blown up to an impossible scale.

For more on ConnectiCon 2010 please listen to Episode 23 of the podcast

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Tuesday
Jul062010

The Crunchyroll Review, Part 2: Video Player, User Interface, and Updates

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In this second part of my three part Crunchyroll review I’m going to discuss some of the technology behind the site, the video player, user interface, and site design. This is where Crunchyroll’s shine beings to tarnish and the real difficulties of the using the service come through. I really did sound like a champion for Crunchyroll in the last part because their content offerings and high definition option are extremely good. The site itself… is less than good. Read on.

If you haven’t please read Part one, where I review the premium content offerings Crunchyroll provides with a premium subscription.

Video Player

The only word I can think of to describe the player is “usable”. It works when watching a video straight through  from start to finish but once you try and do anything other than that the technology breaks down. The three resolution options are displayed below the video but when you switch between resolutions the video will always start from the beginning. This is a step backwards from most streaming players. The one interesting feature of the Crunchyroll player is that it scales to the correct native resolution (see the screenshots in Part one) while YouTube and Hulu players will remain the same size no matter what resolution the video is in. I enjoyed this feature but it makes less sense than the YouTube model because of the longer form content that dominates Crunchyroll most users will probably use the fullscreen option anyway.

Read on....

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Friday
Jun252010

The Crunchyroll Review, Part 1: Premium Content

 

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I’ve been skeptical of streaming media in the past and notably declared it on the Podcast when this season’s Simulcasts were announced. Trusting a streaming service feels odd when I’m used to deal with disks and files. Disks and files I can convert, travel with, watch without an internet connection. With a streaming service you are limited to where, when, and how you can watch your content. So with a few exceptions, such as House of Five Leaves, I have avoided using streaming services.

When Crunchyroll approached me to write a review of their premium services the above belief was stuck in the back of my mind. But I agreed just to experience what, supposedly, was the best way to watch streaming Anime. I was skeptical, maybe even a little biased, walking into this review. However, after a month of using the service I’ve changed my attitude towards streaming.... slightly.

I also decided to write not only a review of their premium services but of the entire site. This feature is part one of three of a complete Crunchyroll site review.  Here I will discuss the features a premium subscriber receive and how it compares to other competing streaming services. Read on!

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Tuesday
Jun082010

Review: The Sacred Blacksmith

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The Sacred Blacksmith focuses on a young girl from a family that has a long tradition of knighthood. She joins the Town Guard in an attempt to equal the status held by her family but finds her growth as a knight slow and intolerable until she meets a young blacksmith who has the ability to forge a powerful and near indestructible sword, the Katana.

Sacred Blacksmith starts out strong with a cast of characters that the potential to grow and foster some interesting stories. At least, I want to like the characters. They do fall into some stereotypical anime patterns just tossed into a fantasy setting but the character relationships are written well and to see some of those arcs resolved were the only reason why I stuck around to see the show to its end. There are some tragic twists that if vlcsnap-2010-06-08-19h42m50s135 they had been in a more finely crafted show would have been soul crushing but wrapped in the world of The Sacred Blacksmith they ultimately fall flat because the action isn’t up to par, the music doesn’t stand out, and the animation slides as the series goes on. The entire show, from a technical view, is poor and forces me to believe the show was tossed together to take advantage of the success of the light novel. The above average character arcs aren’t enough to overlook all those other factors.

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Monday
Apr262010

R.I.P. BangZoom

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Yesterday the president of BangZoom entertainment posted a blog post on the future of the Anime Licensors in the United States. I encourage you to read it before being tainted with my commentary.

I’m going to break down the post but I need to say that in no way am I supporting Piracy in my attack on this document. Piracy is wrong and it does harm a lot of the people who have created the work that as Anime fans we enjoy. However, I don’t believe piracy is the cause of the death of the American Licensors or BangZoom.

The timing of this piece is completely wrong. Starting from that fact this is not a last effort by a dead company but an effort to try and prop the company up from what could be a death spiral. This is obviously influenced by the Shonen Jump letter which bluntly asked fans to stop scanning the magazine saying that it is “Hurting the Manga Culture.” 

The other factor that probably prompted Eric Sherman is the introduction of Aniplex into the American marketplace. As I discussed on Episode 11 of the podcast Aniplex is not going to be dubing the Gurren Lagann movies. NIS America, who is entering the US Market with Toradora! in a few months, will also not be dubing their licenses. Where does that leave BangZoom?

Onto the article

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Friday
Apr092010

Convention Report: Anime Boston 2010

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It's tough going to an Anime convention for a single day especially one as large as Anime Boston. Describing the experience, the rush, the thrill of walking into a giant hall filled with people who you know you could connect with. That you are connecting with due to the fact that you are in the same place at the same time. Just the fact that you are in that room means you are compatible. It's overwhelming and almost impossible to absorb during a single day. It maybe impossible to come to terms with if you had the entire weekend!

Here are my highlights from the convention:

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