Monday, March 26, 2007

Episode 15: Part II

Download Part II here


Read the main show notes under this post for more.

Correction: I said one little thing that was in fact incorrect in episode 15; That Bandai was responsible for releasing Slam Dunk in the USA. In fact, it was Toei. They obviously did such a poo job of it, that many of us outside of the US had absolutely no idea that Slam Dunk got licensed.

Sunday, March 25, 2007

Episode 15: Ineptitude killed the radio star

Download Here



Just when we thought "APAC" rolled off the tongue easily, we discovered that the American Israel Public Affairs Committee already claim this acronym. Damn you!

EDIT: I am aware that about 15 minutes is missing off the end of this episode, this problem seems to be on the the end of the host who is hosting the MP3 file. I intend on re-uploading Episode 15 again if this problem is not resolved.

Update: After a little bit of investigation, I believe the problem is because of the file size; The host appears to only accept a max of about 100 meg. If this is the case, I will upload the rest of the episode as a seperate download within a few hours.


This is our longest episode yet; Two whole hours! (Standard for some podcasts!)

We discuss something completely un-anime related; 300. Seeing as everyone else is talking about it, we thought we would too. In short: We hate "You go girls!" who ruin historical films.

This in turn brings us to a somewhat related anime topic; My favourite Genre: Fantasy (A genre that anime covers quiet well).

As well as being the "producer" of Anime-Pacific, I'm also the "head" of Bubby Subs, which is devoted to fansubbing fantasy films and TV shows from around the world (Not just anime).

Incidently my infamous "hegemony script" of Raoh Gaiden was done using babelfish and a whole lot of correcting, so it shouldn't reflect the quality of the other fansubbed shows.

Check out the "Bubby Subs" portal here.

Alex has finally gotten around to seeing Freedom Episode 1, which I review earlier. He LOVED it despite the blatant "Cup Noodles" product placement (which is fair enough, they put up the money for this!)




This in turn leads to a brief discussion about product placement in TV shows and films.

Please Mr Postman!

We actually got enough mails & comments to warrant an entire segment (Two of which are from fellow podcasters.)

We got a lovely e-mail (the first e-mail from a real female! *gasp* ) from WatcherAngel, who happens to be a damn fine artists. Please check out her gorgeous art here!

We also got another e-mail from our good chum, Monolith; Who seems to know Alex more than we thought!

He asked us our opinion on the whole "Subs VS Dubs" debate.

On the whole ,we both prefer subs. However,I had no choice between dubs & subs in the early days of Anime in Australia.

I also wanted to salute one of the best of early dub actors (or any really) who also performed in my favourite dub of all time; Macross Plus. That is "Malcom In The Middle's" Bryan Cranston (Who voiced Isamu Daison)





























Review: Gasaraki






Ok, well so it's only about about the first 1/5 but if Alex doesn't finish the series, I will!

In Short, Mechas are immaculate but under utilized, non combat animation is flat and the plot and characters didn't hold Alex's interest.

News

"....Bandai.............." to release Freedom in the US. (With HD-DVD / DVD Hybrid disc)


For $39.95 PER EPISODE!!!!!!

Yes, Bandai have done it again, get a great property and lay a big, streamy crap on it.

Japanese fans might pay those insane prices per volumes, but I don't think it's going to float overseas.

Dororo yanked from theatres in Hong Kong

I know I said I'd review it, but it was yanked within a week!! Japan's no # 1 film was a colossal flop in Hong Kong. :(

Anime "people" of the week: CLAMP

This is by far, the crapiest "Anime Person Of The Week" segment thus far. Reason being in truth, I'm not really a CLAMP fan thus I don't know much about them apart from their body of work.



I ended up talking more about Rintaro than CLAMP itself in the end.

It's a wrap!

Next week, I promise you the greatest "Anime Person of the week" segment yet.

APPEAL

Souten No Ken has unfortunately ended it's rather poorly rated run in Japan. The word is that there's no second season on the way, though I suppose great DVD sales could change that.

The DVD's themselves contain about 5 minutes extra per episode and a whole lotta blood that was cut from the TV version. Our good friend "Loverofhokuto" has translated the first eight uncut episodes of Souten No Ken and is planning one great fansub release for the fans (perhaps the DVD iso with subs included!!!) and is in need of one thing. A proofreader who can understand Japanese. As he has translated the episodes from French into English, he wants a proofreader to ensure that he has made the best translation possible. (ie not repeating the word "hegemony" 9,353,352 times)

Please drop us an e-mail if you can help him out or pop in at :

http://www.heartofmadness.com

and drop him a line.

I'm sure you'd dig this Daryl, so if you can help bring the word out, I'm sure about [anime pacific listener base] x [a billion] more people would hear the word.

Sunday, March 18, 2007

Episode 14: Homeages ahoy!

Click here to download


Yes indeed, although I am an English teacher and my degree majors in English, I still managed to rape the English language rather well.

Shootin' The Breeze

Alex discusses the fact that some poor fellow was dead for 2 weeks downstairs from him and that his father just thought it was the cooking of the Chinese couple nearby.

Here's a pic of one of the members of the "Cleanup Squad".

And no, Stutters did not sponsor this anecdote.

Also, for Ghost In The Shell fans, check out the "Laughing man generator" here.

We discuss Total HD a little bit more; It's not exactly what we hoped, but it's something I suppose. We HATE the format war.

See the article that Alex mentioned, here.

News

Moe Culture speading the globe

Dane slams Moe, but Alex actually thinks Moe is totally what i am about.

Paprika Trailer Out


The high quality version is at the Apple Trailers Website.



Highlander Anime Trailer out

Dane's EXCITED!



Great production values and Kawajiri at the helm. It looks identical in art and tone to Vampire Hunter D; Bloodlust.

Tarantino's next film has Hokuto No Ken reference?

Actually, this seems somewhat inaccurate. From what imdb says, he just has producing credit. Nonetheless, apparently there is a biker gang in this called the "666'ers". (Hokuto No Ken had a motorbike gang all with 666 tatooed on their foreheads).

4 Kids Losing Money Again

I'm sure it's due to the expense of hiring genuine, talented rap artists for the US One Piece opening song.

Ex Adult Star & TV Personality Ai Iijima to retire

*wipes tear*


ALEX REVIEWS SOMETHING! Code Geass


A whopping 30 minute review, mostly about how he feels that the interesting alternate history seems contrived and not considering some key historical facts.



Review: Aachi & Sspipak

Yes, not technically an anime. But as Manhwa has been embraced by a certain niche of anime/manga fandom I wanted to take the opportunity to review this quirky film. Also of note is that a lot of people responsible for this film are heavily involved in anime production (as much of the work is farmed to South Korea). Judging by the technical skill depicted here, our anime is in good hands!

In a word: One of the most thouroughly entertaining animated films in recent memory. See it with as many friends as posssible and you'll have an absolute ball.






I HIGHLY recommend this film, and YesAsia has it for a very reasonable $27 US dollars (with free international shipping) here.





Wrapup

No anime person of the week this week, as we had two reviews and clocked in at a healthy 90 minutes plus. We briefly discuss an e-mail we got from Jake regarding CLAMP which we'll save for next week as we plan on making them, the next "Anime Person (in this case people) of the week."

Until next week my darlings.

Sunday, March 11, 2007

Episode 13: 13 really is an unlucky number!

Download Episode 13



Lady luck decided to bail out on me at a rather bad time, much to Alex's amusement. (I won't even bother trying to explain what happened, just listen)

Shootin' The Breeze

Here is the offending image.



Yes, a little more non anime geek speak than usual, but we're overjoyed at the success of 300. Finally R Rated violence and gratuitous nudity has made a comeback in the age of PG-13.

God bless, DuoMatrix. Anime Genesis obviously found out about my little mistake. Still, thanks for being a good Sport, Duomatrix. You're a top fella!

We also talk about how the Chipmunk effect actually made my review of Gintama seem better than it actually was.

News


More Macross!


"Woot". We discuss the history of Macross a little bit and how the franchise has been handled compared to Gundam, which has gone the way of "The Phantom Menace".

Slam Dunk Live Action Film

Jay Chou
Taiwan's most beloved singer to play title character.

(He also played the title character in Initial D)

Good casting choice? You decide.






Dororo Coming To Hong Kong on the 15th with English Subtitles


Expect a review from yours truly! Probably the episode after next as I plan on watching 300 next weekend.

Code Geass to get second season

Have you seen the butts on the characters in this show!? I'll personally fund a third season, once I learn how to actually pronounce Geass.

Review: Vampire Hunter D (The original '85 film)



It's great for nostalgia, but compared to the rest of the Vampire Hunter D stuff out there, it doesn't stand the test of time as well.

For Nostalgia Value, I give it 3.5 Stars.
Take aware the nostalgia value, minus a star.

Wrapup

Another shorter episode this week, time differences contribute to this somewhat, but expect longer episodes in the future as normal. Stick around all the way to the end for a little bonus!

Until Next Week My Pretties!

Sunday, March 4, 2007

Episode 12: Explore the cuddliest nation in the world; North Korea

Download Episode 12


With a title like that, I can't wait to see how people find our podcast this week.

Note: I am aware that our voices go Chipmunk during the Gintama review. This was completely unintentional, I could change it, but Alex's chipmunk voice breaks me up.

This episode is almost exactly half the length of our previous one, clocking in at around 50 minutes. (And would probably run for about 25 minutes if I cut out all the times I say "Andddddddddd".

News


It was a rather slow week this week with news, and the item that we talked about the most wasn't even really an anime!



This show fascinates us to no end. Translated to something to the effect, "A Squirrel and a Hedgehog" it's both hilarious and frightening at the same time. The production values are also very impressive.

I pledge to try and get this baby fansubbed. Anyone here who can speak Korean PLEASE e-mail us!

The Appleseed 2 Trailer



I am not impressed. Alex thinks it looks pretty good though. It seems that this one is completely in 3D and over-stylized as possible, conforming to every cliche that has overidden action films in general, the "bullet-time" cam and whatnot.

Why rip off the Matrix when that was really a ripoff of a vast amount of Shirow's work anyway?

Japanese Box Office

This news is a few months late, but no real suprises here. Doraemon, Pokemon, Death Note (Live Action), Detective Conan and Tales of Earthsea round out the Anime/Manga related titles that made the most in the Japanese box office in 2006. Earthsea, unsuprisingly was the #1 Japanese film of the year.




Blue Dragon sells 15 million units on the DS


It may have been a hit by XBox 360 in Japan standards, it proved to be an absolute megahit on a Japanese device. An anime & manga is on the way too.





Gintama Volume 1 sales cross the one million mark & Mini Review: Gintama (Anime version)


This IS the latest Shounen megahit, Gintama merchandise is already all over Asia and it just may be watchable for those of you who are usually put off by Shounen epics with 10 episode fight scenes and endless episodes.

Shinsen Subs has the torrent files here



I've quite enjoyed it thus far. It's got much more of an emphasis on comedy and is watchable in the same way something like the Simpsons may be. It doesn't consist of 20 episode fighting arena arcs or anything like that. (At least so far)

Anime Person Of The Week: Yoshihiro Togashi




Could these two pictures be any more different? That's what a nervous breakdown will do to you! Creator of Yu Yu Hakusho & Hunter X Hunter as well as the recipient of the Tezuka award, Yoshihiro Togashi is certainly a powerful figure in the Manga world. At least when he gets off his "sick leave". (One year and counting)

Wrapup


Naturally, a counter counter counter counter counter counter counter shoutout to Up a paddle and a shout out to Anime World Order for playing our promo! Thanks!