A weekly look into American otaku culture

My second and last preview of Fumoffu.

Part1:

Part 2:

Wow, what a beautiful-looking series. I actually had to stop it and check the internet to make sure this wasn’t an OVA. The art quality looks top notch, particularly during sunsets and the opening of the second part.

The plots of these two episodes are pointless but very entertaining. A lot of the humor this time comes from repetition and awkward pauses. These techniques are often found in mature American cartoons but almost never in Japanese anime. So it’s a refreshing change that should go over well with the US audience.

What doesn’t go well for the US audience would be the opening to the second part. In it, Sousuke is attempting to translate classic Japanese literature. It’s a joke that even the most hard-core American anime fan would have a little trouble getting. It’s a difficult job to handle, and ADV did do a decent job, but this will probably go well over the heads of many Americans.

So all in all a very entertaining series. Make sure to check it out when it arrives on US store shelves next month. ^_^

Please support this series by buying Full Metal Panic? Fumoffu at ADV films or any retail store. On sale 5/10/2005
Full Metal Panic? FUMOFFU © Gato Shoji • Shikitoji/Jindai High School Student Committee

So it’s only four more days before I take the 13 members of my club to Anime Boston. This will be my second year attending the convention, but I guess it’s a different experience when you make it a school-sponsored trip. Add on to the fact that I’ve got a lot of papers due soon, and I’m one stressed out Scotty.

But I do have one thing to look forward to when I come up to Boston. This is my girlfriend’s first time cosplaying, and she decided to be Chun Li from the Street Fighter video games. That choice right there spells out H-O-T. But also my girlfriend is a short and cute half-Chinese sweetie, so she’d look adorable in any costume. So put a kawaii girl in a sexy costume, and you got every fanboy’s dream come true.

So this weekend she finally tried on her costume for me, and oh my god, I was in heaven! I’m still smiling even now when I think about it. She’s going to turn a lot of heads at the convention, and I bet she’s going to get a lot of photo requests. I love my baby so much, and I can’t wait to show the world just how lovely she can be. So be on the lookout soon for pictures of the cutest cosplayer out there. And sorry fellas, SHE’S ALL MINE!!! (^_^)

I also finally posted my review of I’’s. Given all the controversy between this series and my site, I actually ended up loving it. And the comments I’ve been getting seem to be saying the same thing. Everyone should check it out.

Satoshi left a comment on Mathew’s blog about the latest Ichigo episode that was so funny I had to share it:

Interestingly, this looks like the first anime in a while where the childhood friend *isn’t* the prime candidate. Do strawberry undergarments override even this most holiest of anime traditions?

Lmao, great observation!

And finally, congratulations on abq and his sudden popularity. It seems that his website’s been making it’s way around the community in the last week, and many people are praising him as much as I was last week. You’ve got one awesome site, so keep up the great wok.

Well, I finally got a chance to watch He is My Master. For those of you who have been following my blog, you’ll know that I’ve been bitching about how no one’s been fansubbing it. Well, three weeks later, someone finally did. So now I finally get to see the latest work from my homies over there at Gainax. I liked it, but I still have some very mixed feelings that need to be worked on.

Good: The character designs are the cutest I’ve seen since Koge Donbo. It takes Moe, adds in a little bit of Lolicon, and increases the Kawaii-ness 10 times over. I absolutely love it! Something this cute should be considered a safety hazard since it can rip my heart right out instantly.

Bad: besides the for Moe cuteness they randomly mix in cartoony cuteness. Particularly with the alligator… it reminded me of the American children’s cartoons from the 70’s, and not the cool ones like School House Rock. Sure, it’s a little funny, but I can’t really say I like it so much.

Good: The fanservice is very pleasing, and not just visually. Sure, the whole cosplay thing is appealing, but the reason why there are so many “maid” series out there is because men love to be served by women. Of course, tell a girl in reality to do all the housework, and you’ll get a big slap on the face, and rightfully so! But anime is an outlet for us to escape into fantasy and enjoy such pleasures, which is very good and healthy. So this series does a great job in “serving” the fans in that respect.

Bad: The male protagonist (or in this case, antagonist) is an asshole. He’s a perverted and manipulating son-of-a-bitch that I just absolutely hate. Sure, it’s a break from the anime convention of having a nice guy as the master. But in this case, change is not good! >:o

So again, very mixed feelings on this show, but I think the goods outdo the bads. I’ve decided not to pick this one up for blogging since there’s enough blogs already out there covering it. But I am looking forward to seeing the rest of the series. ^_^