[Podcast 3] 10/15/06- 23:53:02 EST by: wildarmsheero

Podcast episode 3 is up.

Sorry for the lack of a comic this week. My family was visiting over the weekend and that large volume of manga I bought over the past week didn't help much either.

[She's Married?!] 10/14/06- 21:06:12 EST by: David

I'm not sure how many of you keep up with Battlestar Galactica, but recently Grace Park revealed in a video question and answer session that she was married. Now I really hate people who drool over celebrities somehow convinced that they can get with them. But come on! She's so...purty. Anyway, enough of my pointless fantasies over women I will never see outside of the Sci-Fi channel, but let's take this chance to talk about the best show on T.V.:

Battlestar Galactica

I've had to deal with a lot of anime fans, I've basically narrowed it down to four groups:
1.The Stupid Anime Fans
2.The Fans of Anime because of Japanese Animation and Nothing Else
3.The Fans convinced that the only good T.V. shows come out Japan
4.Me

If you are in the third and fourth group read this paragraph and not the next one, if you are in the first group move to the next paragraph and skip this one. If you are stupid move to the third paragraph, that's the one after number two.
If you are reading this you are a reasonable person. You are either annoyed by America and it's terrible Hollywood films. You will go watch a film every once in awhile but really it's just getting tedious. Well, here's the cure, Battlestar is so goddamn good, it rivals Evangelion in perfect Sci-Fi. What's amazing is the risks the writers take, you are never once not involved with the story. The writers never try to be "clever" by pulling a cheap twist. This is the sci-fi that is relevant. Evangelion is genius because of its characters, so is Battlestar. It took me awhile to discover the show (I was so afraid of it being bad), but once I started watching: I couldn't stop. That however is not the best thing. The creators are not in the pockets of ABC or CBS (Lost or Heroes), they basically own the show, since Sci-Fi funds half of it and BBC the other. So, really not one studio has the say in what will happen because they both have to agree. Please watch this show.

You need to get off your pretentious ass and watch this show. Animation is good, but tons of people misjudge animation for the same reason you misjudge live-action. It can be good; you are just too thick to realize it. Please you are a fan of animation, but you should also appreciate where animation gets influences, just how I appreciate where live-action can get influences. I will say no more, just read above why you should give this a chance.

U shood st0p watching grays anatomy. it good, but battlestar betta! it has character and story that is kool. you and your bff will watch 4 eva. k thanx.

Anyway enough of trying to convince you to watch Battlestar. If you don't you're just missing out on good storytelling. Let's talk about this comic and the podcast (which should be up a couple of days after I post my rant.) The comic is good, I'm really interested seeing how this comic is developing not to only be a reflection of Wildarm's life, but an observation on Anime in America. This comic isn't so much as funny as it is an amusing reminder of what stores will do for money. As for the podcast, I had a really fun time doing this, getting Aaron from Evamonkey.com to add in on what will/should happen in the new Evangelion films was a really good use of an opportunity. I hope you all listen to it. I'm quite proud of what we did. Feel free to e-mail me (DavidMistakesofYouth@gmail.com) your comments and ideas about the Evangelion movies if you feel like it. If you aren't just being an asshole I might read it out on the next 'cast. I don't really have much else to talk about. College applications are the worst organized pieces of crap since our government.

- David

Oh and thanks to Randall for his amazing post back at me. I'm glad your a misinformed prick too fucking thick to take a joke. How about you stop writing about stupid anime figures and give me some real news. Ass.

[Notice to all Fansubbers] 10/10/06- 08:40:54 EST by: wildarmsheero

It would seem that god smiles on me. Rather, Wind Fansubs. Thanks guys.

IF NONE OF YOU CLOWNS SUB LOVEDOL, I ASSURE YOU HEADS WILL ROLL. IT IS UNACCEPTABLE TO HAVE 1000+ GROUPS ON DEATH NOTE AND FUCKING NONE ON LOVEDOL.

That is all.

[Last Regrets] 10/08/06- 23:43:40 EST by: wildarmsheero

Poor guys. They searched high and low for pictures of cum-crusted figures only to find some crappy webcomic. Sorry guys :'(

I have mixed feelings about this comic. For once, I actually think the writting is somewhat decent, but the art is kind of horrible. I tried my hardest to make the background good, only to fail. The wallscrolls ended up looking like fluorescent lights, the perspective on the display case is off and I pussied out and stole a bunch of images to plaster all over the store. I kind of wish I had an entire production staff at my control to do a bunch of illustrations for fictional series so I could stick them all over the store instead (think Genshiken.) The character art isn't too bad, I guess. I tried to add some fabric folds to make it good, but it just looks contrived.

Going back to the writing, I realize that the subject matter may be a tad dated. No one really talks about Taiwanese bootlegs anymore, do they? Well, I hate to admit it, but this comic is based entirely off reality. The establishment in this comic is based on a real store that is near me (I actually mentioned it in last week's rant.) They do indeed carry Taiwanese bootlegs. I didn't notice any Sonmay "products" but I saw one EverAnime CD, and some recent OSTs put out by some company called Miya Records. Honestly, who's fooled by this shit anymore? They say, quite clearly, "Made in Taiwan" for God's sake. Anyway, on to anime...

The fall season has started, if anyone hasn't noticed (how could you not? IT'S SO BIG.) Most of the stuff I'm planning on following hasn't actually started yet, but I've seen a decent number of them to do a short rundown of what's hot and what's not. Shows are listed from crappiest to most awesome.

Pumpkin Scissors: Wow, people think this tripe is good? I'll admit, it's ok, but it's nothing to wet your pants over. The first episode failed to entertain me, but it got me a little interested, I guess. My main problem with it is that it's just so fucking cliche. All I was thinking was "lol war. lol man with dark past. lol dumb girl." The shitty character designs don't help much either. At least the music is done by Kou Outani, the absolute genius behind the awesome Gundam Wing OST (don't laugh at me you.) I'll give it 2 more episodes to blow my mind.

Lovedol ~Lovely Idol~: Before I start, I'd like to say that I've only seen this raw, since all the shitty subbers are busy subbing shit like D.Grey Man or Pumpkin Scissors. Anyway, I have to say I am underwhelmed. I expected more from AIC combined with Aoi Nishimata. The character designs are fine, but the animation is a bit on the static side (I got worried when I saw the Budget Opening.) I kind of wish AIC delegated more of a budget towards this, but I guess they're wasting it all on Pumkin Scissors with Gonzo. I mean, the episode wasn't bad. And judging from the ending sequence, it could develop into a cute show, with a romantic twist. I'll follow it til the end unless it turns into an insult, like Soul Link. On the super-plus side, it does have Yuuko Gotou, so it can't be too bad.

Black Lagoon-- The Second Barrage: Spinal reflex? Ugh. Yeah, my main problem with this sequel is that it's just gross. At first the twins kind of bothered me just because they were little goth loli vampires, but what bothers me more now is how fucked up they are. I mean, if they just fucked each other and killed people I'd be happy. Cute goth loli vampire twins having sex with each other is fine and the normal killing of people is fine, but when they start doing unthinkable things with dead bodies is where I start to throw up. I mean seriously. On the positive side though, the production values are still great, the story is moving in a good direction and it looks like we're in for more awesome action. This one is looking good, even if it is giving me nightmares.

Death Note: I've not read more than one chapter of Death Note, but given the way Mad House presented it, I'm far more interested in following this animated adaptation. The opening and ending sequences are both really well done, with the ending having some of the most impressive bits of animation that I've ever seen. The episode itself was also very impressive, mostly on the production side of things. The animation is top notch; movie quality stuff. The direction is pretty good. A lot of good musical selections that perfectly compliment their respective scenes, especially when Yagami was on his killing spree. I'm finding some fault with the LOL SPLIT SCREEN stuff because it seems kind of cheap when compared to the overall quality of the show. It was used kind off effectively during Yagami's killing spree, though (I really love that scene, if can't tell.) Sadly, I am worried that the show will suffer because of this incredibly amazing first episode, but if Mad House manages to keep up the good direction and animation for 37(?) episodes, I'll be impressed.

Kanon: Way back in the far off year of 2005, I downloaded Kanon. I was interested in it because I heard that it was based of a Key work, and I had just finished Air. While I liked it, there was certainly room for improvement, and the fans seem to agree more or less. Because of the fan reception to Toei's rather half-hearted attempt, Kyoani's remake of the revolutionary eroge has been hyped up like crazy ever since it was reported. Does it live up to the hype? Well, I can say that this is probably the first time in a long time that something has lived up to my expectations. The last time that happened was with... Cowboy Bebop? Yeah. Long time. Everything was perfect. The animation, the direction, the music, the acting-- everything. Even raw, I was able to enjoy it to the fullest (I did manage to understand about 70% though.) Also, if the first episode is any indication, then Nayuki will be given far more love than she was given in the original, which makes me a Very Happy Man. I quite like the childhood friend types (she gets bonus points for being Yuuichi's cousin), unlike some people. Nayuki pretty much made most of the episode for me, and Kyon Yuuichi (yeah that joke's already been overused) made the rest. Tomokazu Sugita such a good Yuuichi. He captures his character so well, and you can tell he's having fun with it. I kind of hated the original Yuuichi, but this new one is totally a guy I could hang out with. I have high hopes for Kanon, let's hope Kyoani can hold out for 23 more episodes!

Apart from those five, I also plan on following: Ayakashi Ayashi, Bartender, Code Geass, Gift ~Eternal Rainbow~ (big maybe), Happiness (another big maybe), Hataraki Man, Jigoku Shoujo 2 and Kujian.

That's all for today, see you all next week. Oh, and for those who missed them, the filler images.

"It's easy to just roll over on your stomach when somebody powerful comes along. Hell, you'll even live longer that way. But you know what? That ain't livin'-- that's somebody lettin' you live. And you'll have that hangin' round your neck 'til the day you die."