Tweet
Zenryaku,
Once more, a new anime season is starting, so I thought I'd start a new thread. This time there's some big news on the US front, as well.
I'll start with that. Geneon is pulling out of the US market. No real clear details on it yet, but it's probably Dentsu, their parent company, pulling the plug. No word yet on what will happen to their licenes and back catalog, which is a pity. Geneon has a lot of really great shows, from Card Captor Sakura to everything Yo****oshi ABe has been involved in. Since the major work is already done on these, I'd be surprised if they didn't distribute them through someone else or else sell off the license to another company.
The bigger question is their unfinished titles, like Rozen Maiden, and their recently announced licenses, like Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha. Anything could happen with these, and we probably won't know for some time.
Funimation has started re-releasing Slayers. Re-release isn't quite the correct term, since they weren't the original licensee, but as close as I know. Cartoon Network has also just started airing Funimation's dub of One Piece. I don't have cable, but from what I've read it's much more faithful to the original than the 4Kids ones were (no surprise there). They've also started releasing Mushishi.
Not too much to talk about on the licensing front, thanks to Geneon. Lots of titles have been released in box-sets or reduced price sets, and The Melancholy of Suzumiya Haruhi is almost fully released. Right Stuf/Nozomi still hasn't given a release date for Emma, and Yawara isn't happening until early next year.
Best news I can think of, is that Viz finally confirmed their Honey and Clover license. Their treatment of shoujo series hasn't exactly been great, so I'm not expecting much of their treatment of a josei title like this, but it's better than no license at all.
Satoshi Kon's latest picture, Paprika, finally has a US release date. It'll be out this November, but unfortunately Sony Pictures has it, and I dislike Sony. May just get the R2 instead.
In news only half connected to US releases, I finally saw the end of Tenshi ni Narumon (I'm Gonna be an Angel) lately. R2s are expensive, but I got a bit tired of Synch-Point's incomplete release and had to see the rest. Not a classic, but I do have a fondness for cute and twisted shows, and this qualifies.
On the Japanese front, I have to say I'm not too excited about this new season. The only show I'm really looking forward to is the second season of Genshiken.
Kodomo no Jikan should be worth a watch if only for the controversy. The manga was licensed for a US release by Seven Seas, but they dropped it at the last minute. The series is focused on a nine year old girl who's rather determinedly trying to seduce her teacher, who is rather uncomfortable at the attention (as can be imagined). The story is kind of an inverse Lolita, and as the manga goes on it's obvious there's some major psychological problems with the kids, but there's a huge discomfort level most people aren't going to get over. Intentionally.
There's a few others I'll check out, but nothing that really jumps out at me as interesting.
This past season has finished up, so I can talk about the entirety of some shows. Claymore started off decently, got quite strong in the Teresa arc, but then diverged from the manga dramatically at the end. Between the horrible pacing at the Dragonball GT ending, I'd have to say stick with the manga on this one.
Doujin Work was a fun but lightweight series (the animated portion of the episode is only 15 minutes, and the live-action isn't worth wasting time on). This one follows a girl falling in to doujin creation, after being corrupted by her friend Tsuyuri (who is the reason the show is fun). Toned down from the manga, sadly, which we might see get a license eventually.
Nanoha StrikerS was okay, but not as good as it could have been. The huge cast just didn't have enough time to do it justice. Not that it was bad; it still has all the elements that made Nanoha a fun popcorn action series with a strong emotional base, it just wasn't as good as it could have been.
Maria-sama ga Miteru and Aria both had OVAs fairly recently. Any slice-of-life fan should plan on seeing these.
Sayonara Zetsubo Sensei ended on a weird note. The first several episodes were, unsurprisingly, devoted to introducing the characters. Then there were a few episodes where character introductions were secondary. Then, suddenly, the last episode reverts to the original format and introduces two new students. Fun show all the way through, but the last episode wasn't near the potential of the setup it had by the penultimate episode. I honestly don't expect this one, or the manga it was based on, to get licensed. The humor is too heavily based on puns and satire, and they don't translate well or easily.
One I have to half hesitate to mention is Potemayo. This is kind of an odd duck. I actually can't stand the main character or most of the cast, and usually I'd just say avoid with prejudice. However, the show has one big redeeming feature, and it's named Guchuko. Catgirl moe-blob as opposed to the dogirl moe-blob that is Potemayo, Guchuko is great fun. If you can stand to slog through the rest of it for Guchuko's parts, it's worth a shot. If only this series had been called Guchuko instead...
I haven't mentioned this one before, so I'll give a basic summary now. Basically, a school kid named Sunao finds this weird creature in his fridge one morning. He names it Potemayo after some potato and mayonaise thing he's eating, and it's a big hit at school (it's supposedly cute). Later, another moe-blob comes out, only this one wields a big axe and doesn't bother to wait for the door to be opened. That one ends up getting named Guchuko by one of the girls at school, after Guchuko is spooked into a rampage that leaves several students down for the count.
Last show I'll mention, but certainly not the least, is Dennou Coil. It's a bit past the halfway mark, and if they keep this up it'll make it in to my top ten list. This show is doing a lot of things right. At AnimeFest this year, Yo****oshi ABe even mentioned it as his favorite of the ones currently on. Which only shows to confirm what good taste he has ^_^ I highly encourage people to watch this show.
Wraith
"When watching anime, you should sit far away from the screen in a brightly lit room. Depending on the show, you should consider watching it in a different room from your family."
-- Tsuyuri ("Doujin Work")
Once more, a new anime season is starting, so I thought I'd start a new thread. This time there's some big news on the US front, as well.
I'll start with that. Geneon is pulling out of the US market. No real clear details on it yet, but it's probably Dentsu, their parent company, pulling the plug. No word yet on what will happen to their licenes and back catalog, which is a pity. Geneon has a lot of really great shows, from Card Captor Sakura to everything Yo****oshi ABe has been involved in. Since the major work is already done on these, I'd be surprised if they didn't distribute them through someone else or else sell off the license to another company.
The bigger question is their unfinished titles, like Rozen Maiden, and their recently announced licenses, like Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha. Anything could happen with these, and we probably won't know for some time.
Funimation has started re-releasing Slayers. Re-release isn't quite the correct term, since they weren't the original licensee, but as close as I know. Cartoon Network has also just started airing Funimation's dub of One Piece. I don't have cable, but from what I've read it's much more faithful to the original than the 4Kids ones were (no surprise there). They've also started releasing Mushishi.
Not too much to talk about on the licensing front, thanks to Geneon. Lots of titles have been released in box-sets or reduced price sets, and The Melancholy of Suzumiya Haruhi is almost fully released. Right Stuf/Nozomi still hasn't given a release date for Emma, and Yawara isn't happening until early next year.
Best news I can think of, is that Viz finally confirmed their Honey and Clover license. Their treatment of shoujo series hasn't exactly been great, so I'm not expecting much of their treatment of a josei title like this, but it's better than no license at all.
Satoshi Kon's latest picture, Paprika, finally has a US release date. It'll be out this November, but unfortunately Sony Pictures has it, and I dislike Sony. May just get the R2 instead.
In news only half connected to US releases, I finally saw the end of Tenshi ni Narumon (I'm Gonna be an Angel) lately. R2s are expensive, but I got a bit tired of Synch-Point's incomplete release and had to see the rest. Not a classic, but I do have a fondness for cute and twisted shows, and this qualifies.
On the Japanese front, I have to say I'm not too excited about this new season. The only show I'm really looking forward to is the second season of Genshiken.
Kodomo no Jikan should be worth a watch if only for the controversy. The manga was licensed for a US release by Seven Seas, but they dropped it at the last minute. The series is focused on a nine year old girl who's rather determinedly trying to seduce her teacher, who is rather uncomfortable at the attention (as can be imagined). The story is kind of an inverse Lolita, and as the manga goes on it's obvious there's some major psychological problems with the kids, but there's a huge discomfort level most people aren't going to get over. Intentionally.
There's a few others I'll check out, but nothing that really jumps out at me as interesting.
This past season has finished up, so I can talk about the entirety of some shows. Claymore started off decently, got quite strong in the Teresa arc, but then diverged from the manga dramatically at the end. Between the horrible pacing at the Dragonball GT ending, I'd have to say stick with the manga on this one.
Doujin Work was a fun but lightweight series (the animated portion of the episode is only 15 minutes, and the live-action isn't worth wasting time on). This one follows a girl falling in to doujin creation, after being corrupted by her friend Tsuyuri (who is the reason the show is fun). Toned down from the manga, sadly, which we might see get a license eventually.
Nanoha StrikerS was okay, but not as good as it could have been. The huge cast just didn't have enough time to do it justice. Not that it was bad; it still has all the elements that made Nanoha a fun popcorn action series with a strong emotional base, it just wasn't as good as it could have been.
Maria-sama ga Miteru and Aria both had OVAs fairly recently. Any slice-of-life fan should plan on seeing these.
Sayonara Zetsubo Sensei ended on a weird note. The first several episodes were, unsurprisingly, devoted to introducing the characters. Then there were a few episodes where character introductions were secondary. Then, suddenly, the last episode reverts to the original format and introduces two new students. Fun show all the way through, but the last episode wasn't near the potential of the setup it had by the penultimate episode. I honestly don't expect this one, or the manga it was based on, to get licensed. The humor is too heavily based on puns and satire, and they don't translate well or easily.
One I have to half hesitate to mention is Potemayo. This is kind of an odd duck. I actually can't stand the main character or most of the cast, and usually I'd just say avoid with prejudice. However, the show has one big redeeming feature, and it's named Guchuko. Catgirl moe-blob as opposed to the dogirl moe-blob that is Potemayo, Guchuko is great fun. If you can stand to slog through the rest of it for Guchuko's parts, it's worth a shot. If only this series had been called Guchuko instead...
I haven't mentioned this one before, so I'll give a basic summary now. Basically, a school kid named Sunao finds this weird creature in his fridge one morning. He names it Potemayo after some potato and mayonaise thing he's eating, and it's a big hit at school (it's supposedly cute). Later, another moe-blob comes out, only this one wields a big axe and doesn't bother to wait for the door to be opened. That one ends up getting named Guchuko by one of the girls at school, after Guchuko is spooked into a rampage that leaves several students down for the count.
Last show I'll mention, but certainly not the least, is Dennou Coil. It's a bit past the halfway mark, and if they keep this up it'll make it in to my top ten list. This show is doing a lot of things right. At AnimeFest this year, Yo****oshi ABe even mentioned it as his favorite of the ones currently on. Which only shows to confirm what good taste he has ^_^ I highly encourage people to watch this show.
Wraith
"When watching anime, you should sit far away from the screen in a brightly lit room. Depending on the show, you should consider watching it in a different room from your family."
-- Tsuyuri ("Doujin Work")
Comment