| Red Garden Vol 1 Review! |
[04 Oct 2007|05:31pm] |
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Upon seeing the front cover, don’t you dare think Bratz! Maybe if you do these lovely young ladies will come and kill you. Especially should you happen to turn into a zombie. From a blood-filled hazy memory of the night before, to your classmate’s supposed suicide, to then finding out you’re dead, it’s impossible not to feel sorry for these girls, thrown into a chaotic world of blood, killing, deadly contracts and more death than the average funeral parlour. I highly recommend this, from the first few minutes the mystery has already been placed and (honestly now) I love the opening theme! The whole thing is just creepy enough to keep coming back to. It’s chilling to watch and really has that edge-of-the seat suspense of true horrors films. Though it’s no surprise coming from Gonzo, creators of Hellsing & Chrono Crusade. It’s out right now now now, so there’s no waiting on this one! Go get it!
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| Utawarerumono Review! |
[20 Sep 2007|04:12pm] |
Utawarerumono Vol 1 – Mask of a Stranger
If you’ve been to an anime convention this summer, believe me you’ll recognise the artwork from this. You’ll most likely even have cooled yourself off with one of our fans (the hand-held breeze-making kind, not the hyperactive screaming kind) at one point.
So, firstly… Oo-tah-wah-ray-roo-mono. Don’t worry if you can’t get the hang of it, I’m still struggling! It is worth the effort though because without it I couldn’t tell everyone just how great this show is.
Any RPG fan will instantly love this. It’s just like playing a RPG and experiencing all the wonderful storyline, but without all the fussing about with killing things or levelling up, or in fact actually playing! The characters emotions are far better portrayed than in most anime and you even get to see an elf that can really kick ass (unlike some other elves that shall not be named). Some small elements of CG have been thrown in too but very cleverly blended so it’s not obvious. The disc also has an omake theatre extra that had me laughing for a full 10 minutes!
If you haven’t already seen this please do so, it’s got the potential to be as big as Final Fantasy.
And now for a special super advance preview, I give you Utawarerumono Vol 2 – In the Face of Evil
After watching this DVD, I’m hooked, well and truly. In this volume the roots in real RPG start to show through. Winged characters, a girl with a passion for sake and a big sword, tactical fights and imperial mediators to name a few of the more obvious game references. The CG is far more obvious in this disc which makes the battle sequences a lot more realistic. Storming troops just like from a film (but with tails of course!).
Tied with more good characters joining Hakuoro’s side and enough comedy moments to lighten up all the fighting this is making for a very good series. I actually can’t wait for the next volume. Fortunately it is re-watch able without getting bored.
And this volume comes with a Q+A that actually answered a lot of my own questions. For example, are Dori and Gura boys or girls… To find out you’ll just have to wait till 15 October. Utawarerumono 1 is out now so go on and take your guess.
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| HMV Anime and Sales day! |
[17 Aug 2007|12:01pm] |
Well, before I round up on the convention just gone, I should probably tell you all about yet another event I’ll be going to! Don’t get me wrong, not complaining one bit, just busy!
Monday is HMV’s Anime Day, and I shall be in the main store in Oxford Street, in costume no less (I loved Nurse Witch Komugi so much I just had to cosplay her)!!! I’ll be there from 1 till 6pm with other members of the ADV UK marketing team promoting our new titles and giving out lots of goodies too.
Other cosplayers are fully encouraged too so don’t leave me being the only weirdo dressed up! Get out your old costumes and pop in after work, or on your lunch break, or even (shock horror) disappear for an hour from work! (Just kidding, I don’t advise that :P) But do try and come along.
Also, if you’re wearing an ADV character cosplay and buy just one ADV DVD and that includes all the sale DVD’s too (mmmm, yummy sale prices), you get entered into prize draw to win brand new anime DVD’s for the rest of the year! Courtesy of ADV Films and Manga Entertainment. Now that’ll save you space on your Xmas wish list J But if you’re not the dressing up type there’s still hope. You can buy any 2 DVD’s (and that’s the sale ones too!) and get entered that way as well. All you need to do is bring your receipt over to me and get your raffle ticket. It’ll be drawn at 5pm on the day.
The whole day is set to be packed with lots of fun stuff, shows, displays, video game tournaments and even sneaky peaks of new games coming out. But most of all importantly ME!
Come on down and have a look. It’ll cheer you up and chase away those Monday blues.
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| Are you ready for my Animagic review? |
[17 Aug 2007|10:58am] |
Here it is!
Having not flown in years, taking off for Germany was a little stressful to say the least! But coming into land In Köln made it all worthwhile. The view was beautiful from the air, Germany is a whole lot greener than the UK!
I had to remember this was a business trip though, and I soon kicked into convention-mode as it wasn’t long after myself and Jonathan landed the doors opened and the anime fans rolled in, and boy was there a lot of them!
It’s one of the biggest anime convention in Germany, 12,000 fan boys and girls and those were just the people with a ticket. Much like Minami here in the UK, anyone without a ticket who still wants the atmosphere and excitement of the event just shows up outside and sits around on the grass socialising with paid members. There are even food stands outside serving fresh sushi. The whole thing is like a mix between a rock-gig, anime con and a summer fête!
The costumes are of a much higher standard than in the UK, sorry Brits but they got us beat on that one! I have never seen so many costumes so well done. Raika (who presents a radio show in Germany) was with Jonathan interviewing as many ADV characters as possible throughout the weekend as well as the panels that Silke was attending.
One problem I ran into was not actually speaking German… Which isn’t as bad as you think because most Germans speak English, which is wonderful! Though it did cause a little embarrassment on my part having to explain that I don’t speak the country’s own language. But Silke did rescue me with a sign pinned to the front of me telling all and sundry that I didn’t :)
One thing I am definitely going to note is that I got to meet the creators of Chevalier d’Eon! Though it wasn’t for long but I did get to meet them before the interview ADV had with them.
I’m proud that by the end of the weekend my German had improved greatly and I discovered many wonderful things about Germany, including very good coffee, yummy chocolate, beautiful architecture and Apfelschorle! Most of all though I’m very grateful to ADV for giving me the chance to attend and experience a wonderful convention in another country. I would gladly go again!
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[03 Aug 2007|12:52pm] |
So, it might be a little late, but I have a good reason! I was attending another convention and have only just recovered! Report on that one (Animagic - in Bonn, Germany) next week!
This show really put it's heart and soul in making everything there as Japanese as possible! There was even sushi being made fresh in the convention hall! The ADV stand was nicely placed with a clean view of the stage, so even though we were working, we could all occasionally keep our eyes on the fantastic displays. From kendo to EGL and even some fantastic drums, the stage was buzzing! And as you can expect at a convention, at ADV the deals were flowing hot and fast. With so much to chose from, who can blame anyone?
A lot of the businesses attending made sure everyone knew they were there by sending gophers parading around in strange costumes giving out all sorts of freebies. There was so much to buy though! Plushies, DVD's, manga, posters, clothing, toys, sweets and loads more I can't remember! Truly a fantastic weekend!
Make sure you make it next year! And don't forget ADV Films are attending lots of other UK cons so pop along and say hi!
Also a personal shout out to Giles, Emma and Claudia, for being such cool fans and making sure I stayed stocked with sugar when I couldn't get away from the stand! You guys rock!
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| Review! Nurse Witch Komugi |
[20 Jul 2007|04:10pm] |
Never mind a fever, your head will spin off and your sides will need stitches after this! Don’t worry though, the cute (if a little nuts) Komugi is up to the job! Not only does she battle the strange diseases (like a 50ft tall computer virus that turns humans into ASCII art!) unleashed by the King of Viruses, she also has to contend with school, her flagging career as a cosplay idol, and a perverted bubble-like assistant sent from the Vaccine World!
Watching this is rather like trying to drink cola through your nose. It’s possible, but it leaves you with a weird fizzy feeling in your head. Not to say that it’s bad, but if you’ve ever seen Puni Puni Poemi or Excel Saga you’ll know what I mean! If not, just sit back, watch and try not to think about it too much. Just enjoy it and laugh!
If the idea of a cosplay nurse riding around on a giant flying syringe isn’t your thing, then don’t panic! There’s lots of fanservice too!
6 Episodes of hilarity out now!
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| For questions! |
[20 Jul 2007|10:01am] |
To make it easier to keep track of all the comments coming through here (soon!) I'll be making a new post each week/month for comments to go in :)
So, this'd be July!
Questions! GO!
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| Review! A Tree of Palme |
[19 Jul 2007|03:00pm] |
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Set far out of our known world, but with a storyline so close to everyone’s hearts, A Tree of Palme, the new animated movie from ADV Films, follows a child robot on a journey through a land of extreme beauty, like a Dali version of an overgrown garden. With a band of orphaned misfits urging him along, and pursued by a group of mercenaries who have no morals, his journey is to take back a mystical egg to ‘Below’ and move the fate of the world. It is also a journey to become human, but the pain and simplicity of being just that takes the tale to a whole new level. His unsteady steps to discovering what it really is to be human will pull everyone in and tug at their hearts. Somewhere in between Pinocchio and Kiki’s Delivery Service but with art only seen in your dreams, courtesy of Takashi Nakamura, Chief Animation Director for Akira, A Tree of Palme is a film for everyone, as we all know what life can be like. It'll be available August 6th to take home and enjoy from the ADV films website.
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