Sunday, June 24, 2007

Anime Pacific Episode 28: Tales from the mystical East, or is it actually the west, seeing as that for many of you, Asia is either North or West.....

Download Episode 28 here.




Don't long titles make me look smart?


Let it be known that, this is not our normal episode format.

Last week, the mail was in fact nothing like "the male", because Alex won't let "the male" escape under any circumstances whilst "the mail" totally evaded our podcast last week, you may have noticed the mail theme music but no actual mail.

Sorry!

Rest assured all of you who e-mailed or messaged us with questions, will have them addressed in this episode. Our most humble apologies.

We also got a voice mail from fellow podcasters, Destroy All Podcasts. Judging by what they are reviewing, they are certainly chaps after my own heart. I'm going to check them out and you should too.

Tales from the East....or West

We discuss how me and Alex met and the whacky adventures that ensued at the very professional, "English centre".

Very little of what we say can actually be summarized in a few sentences, but for your reference:

Here is Wei Wah from where I currently live now:



Here's a close-up shot:



Here's the perilous path through "Dagoba", the poor quality, bad lighting and out-of-focus shot just adds to the ambience I think:



For the ladies, here's me at the top of Lion Rock Mountain with my shirt off:
(Ok, we didn't talk about this, but I'm sure the ladies were *thinking* about
this...)



So, there's the segment, will it be a regular segment? You tell us!

Saturday, June 16, 2007

Episode 27: Matayoshi Compels you....

Download Episode 27 here.



Do not avert your eyes anymore, heathen. Let the divine light of Matayoshi cleanse you of your heretic ways.



Shootin' The Breeze

More Japanese were on the list than any other nationality in "The top 10 most bizarre people".

Mitsuo Matayoshi is by far, my favourite!





Alex brings to my attention, the terrible "slavery" news item about Child slavery in rural China. You can check it out, here.

Like fantasy? Like Sci-Fi? Like Chocobo's? Well so does Lorlandchain! And what a skilled individual, also hailing from China.


Spacecraft6 by ~wanbao on deviantART


paladin by *lorlandchain on deviantART


The lost golden tree by *lorlandchain on deviantART

An absolute master artist! Our collective hats go off to you, sir!

News

Gundam is back, and now gayer than ever. Bottom line: Will be most popular Gundam "Like'Eva!".

Look at these beautiful, pretty young stallions:



Now for the real "wankin'" material!



Alex then goes into a passionate rant about "The good ol' days of Mecha design" (Most likely scaring off what little female audience we have)

Here's Alex's ideal Mecha:



Nova is in the "poo" again!



Mail

Watcher Angel raises our podcast "above the rabble" with her always wonderful e-mails which always bring up wonderful points for discussion.

We also get our very first "voice message" from "GeneralBeefy", who asked us if we knew anything about "The Cockpit".

You're in for a treat GeneralBeefy, I do own the Cockpit and I am also in the process of obtaining a high quality subbed version which I shall review and post in the near future. (Yes, post the video for download!)

ZombieToaster, a chum of mine from the Heart Of Madness forums, makes Alex's day with the mention of the Russian version of "War & Peace".

Review: Aura Battler Dunbine


Probably the most epic review yet; a whopping 49 episodes long, this TV comes from Yoshiyuki Tomino, the "Father" of Gundamn.



It's difficult to sum up this review in words, suffice to say, this is the "Andromeda" of anime; A Fantastic first half utterly ruined by studio intervention, however unlike Andromeda, the last episode is pretty darn awesome. Tomino (Suffering from depression at the time) gives us a real "SCREW YOU, EVERYBODY!" ending, with tragedy only surpassed by Space Runaway Ideaon. (Also by Tomino).

Also notable for being the first Mecha show to combine fantasy elements.



It's a wrap!

Coming up, an "experimental" Anime Pacific Special: Tales From Asia...Woooooooooooo! (Cue Ed Wood-esque Sci-Fi music)

Sunday, June 10, 2007

Episode 26: There can be only one......review this week

Download Episode 26 here.


It's our 6 month anniversary!

No obscure anime uploads this week! We go mainstream; very mainstream. Well...for this week at least as yours truly reviews "Highlander: The search for vengeance".

Shootin' The Breeze

We discuss the awesome awesomness of the awesome YouTube successor:

Divx Stage 6

It's like youtube but faster, better quality and a great place for anime fansubs!
(Do remember, I did upload Wannabe's to divx stage 6, please check it out if you have the time and let us know what you think.)

Anime Pacific is going to be reviewed on the Podcasterwhoiswho podcast on the 12th. How lovely!

We discuss how Podcast Pickle has gone to utter poo, especially with it's crappy interface which makes browsing on a microfiche orgasmic in comparison.

Console Wars!

PS3 is doing terrible business right now. Wii looks like it'll be the king for now as it's sales numbers are swiftly catching up to those of the X-Box 360.

You can check out up these live updating stats for the console wars, here.

Alex has never been much of a console gamer. When trying to illustrate the appeal of console gaming, I think I hit the nail on the head with two words: "Katamari Damacy".



Wait a minute Mr. Postman!

More e-mails from our good chum, Paul, who sends his condolences to Alex regarding something about some sort of recreational activity called..."Ice Hockey". How cute!

WatcherAngel sends us yet another great e-mail pertaining to the now infamous, "Nymphet".

Don't forget to check out her DeviantArt page, it just gets better and better!


Fai and Chi by ~WatcherAngel on deviantART


Scarecrow by ~WatcherAngel on deviantART

On a sidenote, check out our long time listerner, Jake's awesome pixel art. Done with Microsoft Paint no less!!!!


News!

Nymphet Creator's Blog

Apparently, this master of literature states that if you are not Japanese and attempt to bathe with your young child, "You'll be arrested".

Blog is here.

ANN Article is here.

Japanese Agency For Cultural Affairs Posts the top 50 manga.

Ever notice how each Japanese top 50 published is totally different from the other?

Top 50 are:



Slam Dunk
JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure
Dragon Ball
Full Metal Alchemist
Doraemon
Phoenix
Black Jack
Nausicaa
Mushishi
Death Note
One Piece
Parasyte
Yotsuba&!
Nodame Cantabile
Akira
Azumanga Daioh
Doubutsu no Oisha-san (Animal Doctor)
YuYu Hakusho
Monster
Ushio and Tora
Hunter X Hunter
Hellsing
Fist of the North Star
Ookiku Furikabutte
Berserk
Banana Fish
Vagabond
The Rose of Versailles
Master Keaton
Glass Mask
Urusei Yatsura
The Tale of Genji
Touch
Sazae-san
Ashita no Joe
20th Century Boys
Fruits Basket
Lupin The Third
Warau Dai Tenshi
Kochira Katsushika-ku Kameari Ko-en Mae Hashutsujo
Hi Izuru Tokorono Tenshi
Pluto
Astroboy
Romance of the Three Kingdoms
Emma
Detective Conan
Devil Man
Mobile Suit Gundam
Dragonquest
Nana



Some Classics there to be sure, but some baffle us to say the least. What do you think? Let us know!

Eye On Fansubbing!

Our new mini-segment, which aims to bring greater awareness to obscure fansub projects. Obviously, we won't be talking about Bleach anytime soon, but here's something better!

Sakigake!! Otoko Juku! Or..."Charge, Manly Cram School".

Instant comparisons to Cromartie not withstanding, this classic from the 80's is finally available in English subs! Support the project, torrents here.





The series is absolutely hilarious and far from forgotten in it's native Japan; Momotaro Tsurugi, the main character is playable in Jump Ultimate Stars
and there was a Playstion 2 game of this a few years back.

Review: Highlander: The Search For Vengeance



Let it be known; Nobody can water down Kawajiri; at least not too much. This film is classic Kawajiri, take that for what you will. All of his attributes are apparent here, including his flaws. The end result is a somewhat uneven but immensely satisfying action film. Stylistically identical to Vampire Hunter D Bloodlust, this is one beautifully animated film. I imagine hardcore Highlander fans will be kick up a stink than hardcore anime fans. Speaking as a Highlander fan, there are certian elements of the Highlander mythology that aren't explained in this film; to the detriment of anyone who hasn't seen any Highlander film before. To the uninitiated, certain elements of this story will seem like incoherant tripe unless you have a basic understanding of the Highlander Universe. At the same time, certain story conventions are sure to annoy some avid Highlander fans; Taking place in the future was a gamble, considering the mess that was "Highlander II: The Quickening".

Yutaka Minowa does the character designs again, and has been Kawajiri's "personal character designer" since Ninja Scroll.

Whilst I certainly do appreciate Minowa's character designs, I do miss the times when Kawajiri would do his own distinct character designs. Check out "Cyber City Oedo" for a good example of Kawajiri's character designs.

Edit: Seeing as I only just got the DVD, I didn't get to check out the extras. I have sinced viewed them and there's some pretty cool stuff on there, including a discussion with Kawajiri himself, not too shabby!

It's a wrap!

For those of you interested in the things Alex discussed, you can find them here:

The Dream Of Rome

Waterloo

Next week, more obscure anime and me and Alex discuss more about our whacky adventures in Asia.

Saturday, June 2, 2007

Anime Pacific Episode 25: So you want to be a Wannabe?

Download Episode 25 here.



Our "copper" anniversary so to speak...or is it silver?

Shootin' The Breeze

Seeing as my birthday has since passed, perhaps the internet will be less venomous towards me today; The afternoon, is young.

I've never really been one for watching beauty pagents, they feel so 1950's. Miss Japan was this years Miss Universe, the one and only Riyo Mori; Who managed to get back on the wagon after she hit the bottle during our turmoltuous break-up. I'm more than a delightful bit of rough, I tells you.



For some reason or another, we discuss "Wardrobe Malfuctions" and how they certainly seem to increase your fame. I recall the infamous "Yumiko Incident" in Hong Kong, which I saw live as I was eating hotpot.



Boycott IGN!

Check out the pathetic P. MacDougal's equally pathetic review here.

At least until this P. MacDougal gets the boot. Truly ineptitude of the highest calibre.

Essentially his review in a nutshell: Anime is a genre, (is Hollywood a genre, MacDougal?) It sucks becuase it's anime and all anime is the same. It sucks because I didn't get it.

Did you even watch it, MacDougal?

FlickChick's much more professional look at Kon's work can be seen here at the wonderful, TV guide editors blog. The article in question is here.

You can also e-mail FlickChick at that link there which could lead to your letter being read out on the TV guide podcast.

We then talk about the Suicide of a Agriculture & Fisheries minister in Japan over something relatively harmless compared to most American political scandals.


Homesick?


Alex discusses his "homesickness" for Japan. Home is where the heart is, afterall. He also discusses some interesting considerations to make about life in Japan as a foreigner, it's not as easy as it sounds and is an invaluable little bit of advice to anyone thinking of doing the same. This does slightly veer off into the dirty realm of the ESL industry for a while.

Debito's website about his adventures of becoming a Japanese citizen can be found here.

News!

Nymphet cancelled!


Oh, the shock. The pain...This is akin to the Nazi party burning works of great literature....

Well...no, not really.

But somewhat connected, this manga is just about the biggest atrocity since World War II and it won't be making it's way to American shores afterall.

Let's have a look at the tasteful ways which the 8 (yes E-I-G-H-T) year old protagonist tries to win the affections..No...wait..What's the word I'm looking for...oh yes, "cock", of her primary school teacher.



Luckily, as this manga is tasteful, there's no underage drinking depicted in this masterpiece. The delightful protagonist prefers drinking from a water fountain, like everyone else!

How sweet and insinuation-free!



The scary part...It's written by a female and I'm told that the target demographic is for older teens...

Tokyo Majin Gakuen Kenpuchou Season Two

I only watched the first episode of season one and found it incoherant to say the least.

Mini Review: Tokyo Godfathers



Satoshi Kon, how we love thee.

Alex loved it of course. Satoshi Kon has yet to dissapoint. I've yet to see it. I know, disgusting aren't I?

Review: Wanna-Be's




Note: Right click "save as" in order to save it straight away. This file is in ".divx" format. If you wish it to be in avi format you only need rename it to ".avi" which can be done easily in windows.

Download Wanna-Be's here.

I love the 80's. Love 'em. For the purpose of this review, this is a good thing. One who does not at least have an understanding of the 80's will probably lose a large amount of enjoyment from this obscure anime title.

Obscure, yes. However, a relatively significant title at the same time.

This anime is significant due to it being the first pairing of Toshimichi Suzuki and Kenichi Sonada who would later be responsible (at least in part) for "Bubblegum Crisis", "AD Police" and "Gall Force"; all featuring Sonada's characters designs and Suzuki's influence in one way or another, either as original Manga-ka, planning or executive producer.

This, their first collaboration, is an epic cautionary tale about mixing Alien DNA and Japanese Female Tag-Team Wrestling.

Now, just to prove what a smashing young fellow I am. I managed to obtain this rare anime, re-encode it to DVD resoltuion with some sharpening & anti-aliasing and present to you, yes present, the best quality version of this anime in existence.

Click on the little symbol next to play icon to download the file to your computer. I ask for nothing but your feedback.

So, there we are. If I were you, I'd be wanting to make sweet, sweet love to me right about now. In the period of a week, I record a podcast, edit a podcast, write shownotes for a podcast, upload a podcast and now at the same time, I'm re-encoding obscure 1980's anime so I can share it with the fans. Give, give, give I am!