Judau, Puru, Haman, and Glemy (?) of ZZ Gundam

According to Dynasty Warriors: Gundam (so far the most accessible “database” of Gundam characters for me), the story starts off with a teenager by the name of Judau Ashta. He’s about the same age as Amuro Ray and Kamille Bidan when they started out. He finds the Zeta Gundam in a A.E.U.G. warehouse and steals it in order to sell it for quick cash. Of course, A.E.U.G. captures him, but when things get ugly between the Titans and Axis, he cooperates with A.E.U.G. and pilots the Zeta. He also does this to save a girl very close to him by the name of, Leina.

With ZZ Gundam taking place right after Z Gundam, the original characters from 0079 and a few from Z return, including Bright Noa and Char Aznable. *Tsk, tsk, tsk* - Why Bandai is neglecting the release of the remaining UC Gundam series is beyond me. I say: “stop worrying about the new Gundam series, and start saving the old ones!”

The only way I can see this is to find it online via P2P–but as a huge (UC) Gundam maniac, I really like to own it on DVD with my hard earned money. I guess I better start brushing up on my Japanese so I can buy the R2 DVDs.

The Winter 2008/2009 Anime Lineup

The Winter 2008/2009 anime lineup is here! Unlike the lineup for Fall 2008 which didn’t have any decent series that “sticks” to fans, the Winter lineup is much better, and it looks like a few of these series will turnout to be the best series of 2009.

Series include the sequel to the anime series that got my hopes up, Zoku Natsume Yuujinchou. Another one is a brand new Slayers anime series, EVOLUTION-R. Finally, it’s the long awaited second season of Afro Samurai, entitled “Resurrection”. Not (to) mention(ed): there’s also the new Dragonball Z movie, Yo! Son Goku and His Friends Return!

What series are you most looking forward to?

The Mobile Suit Gundam 00 Pilot are ready for their US debut!

Back in the summer, Bandai Entertainment announced at Anime Expo that Gundam 00 will air on the SciFi Channel on November 17th. Fast forward to a few months later; Bandai officially confirmed earlier this week that the series will air on the 24th at 11 PM EST with back-to-back episodes that will run until the Spring 2009.

This is the first Gundam series to air that’s not on Cartoon Network. Will Gundam 00 on SciFi revive the popularity of Gundam in North America? If this all works out, maybe model kits will reappear on store shelves! I will be checking out the first couple of episodes on premiere night to check out the English dub, but I’ll be focusing more on the Japanese dub.

[Source: Active Anime]

It’s time for the third quarter statistics report! Unlike the previous reports, I’m a month and a half late with this one–but the wait might have been for good measures. I’ll explain in a little bit, but on with the stats!

Statistics Report for July-August 2008

Compared to the last quarter, traffic is significantly higher than in the second quarter. The previous three months were good–despite a problem with August (6th-11th)…when I messed around with the Google Analytics plugin adding extra code from some of Google’s Analytic embed code in the plugin settings, rendering it useless–ack!

September was the best month for the blog, thanks to the new blog theme, increased search engine traffic, and a few linkbacks. The majority of the traffic was all thanks to YouTuber “bleachcenter” for mentioning about the third Bleach movie premiering next month! Not only that this post became to be the most popular on the blog, but several others stood out as well:

1. Win Tickets to Death Note: The Last Name!
2. Second Death Note Movie in Theaters in October
3. Gurren Lagann Debuts on SciFi
4. Create a Manga Avatar with FaceYourManga
5. Viz Releases Box Sets of Popular Shonen Jump Manga
6. A New Fullmetal Alchemist Anime: FINALLY!
7. Luffy Fuses with Goku–as a Figurine
8. [Video] Final Fantasy XI, Fullmetal Alchemist Style!
9. Real TV Shows From the East You Should Watch: It Started with a Kiss
10. A Byakuya Fan Gets Her Wish

For the last quarter of 2008, I looked at other opportunities for more traffic, as well as better content. First is the increase of anime-related topics. Any gaming related posts will continue to be posted on this blog, but many of them I will contribute on VGPro. I also have my feed featured on Danny Choo’s Otaku.fm site. If you came here reading this from Otaku.fm, then I welcome you! Feel free to find out more about me, and be sure to check out the archives! It’s time to reach out to other anime bloggers and readers besides relying on BlogCatalog, MyBlogLog, Entrecard, or search engines.

This will be the last statistics report for 2008. The next one will be in January for October-December 2008. But there will a obligatory Year-in-Review post next month, so stay tuned!

Solid Snake: Before in 1987, After in 2001

The Snake on the left is what he assumed to look like if Metal Gear didn’t continue to this day. After a 10 year hiatus–and an unfortunate appearance thanks to the outdated (”pixelated”) graphics of the PSOne, this is what Snake looks like in MGS2.

With the Plystation 3, some probably call out that the PS2 graphics is officially “outdated”. Snake does look a lot better on the Playstation 3, despite some drastic changes.

[Game Manual Source: The NES Files]

Before SEED, there was another Gundam series with a character that is terribly underrated. But this particular character was very important to the progression to the series–but he didn’t pilot any Mobile Suits. He’s responsible for changing another character, a Mobile Suit pilot, to what he was known for: a Universal Century Hero. If this worked for him, then everyone in SEED needs a guy like this.

If you’ve missed the first two episodes and to find out more about the group, check them out in my previous post.

GOMTV.net: Catch Up With the Latest Starcraft Tournaments

Have you ever wanted to watch competitive gaming matches from Korea streaming live online without paying for premium satellite service with the few channels that air them? Enter GOMTV. GOMTV is operated by GRETECH, the people who created the GOM Player (the media player suggested by Shay).

GOMTV.net is the English version of its Korean counterpart (GOMTV.com), and is one of the many growing Korean YouTube-esque sites on the web to serve Video-on-Demand programs, ala Hulu. GOMTV.net covers gaming tournaments surrounding World of Warcraft, Warcraft III and the game that started the e-Sports phenomenon, Starcraft.

SLayerS_BoxeR from 'The Best of BoxeR'

Commentary from the matches are also translated by in English by their respective translator. Currently, they are using actual English speaking commentators for the Averatec-Intel Classic: Season 2, which began on September 18th and will last 18 weeks.

On November 13th (Korean Standard Time), GOMTV.net will stream the IeSF Invitational which will be the first multi-gaming event that represents players from Europe and Asia. But it appears to only cater to Warcraft III and Sudden Attack (a popular FPS game in Korea) gaming. Using the GOM Player, the event can be viewed live as it happens.

The Korean version of GOMTV carries more Starcraft events, such as MSL (StarLeague) games than the English version, and it also carries many promotional K-Pop videos. The only K-Pop related video on the English site is Mnet’s Music Festival 2008 that will be streamed live on November 15 KST. I’m not sure if the Korean website will work for everybody [as I tried viewing the videos using Firefox]. Either way, GOMTV.net is awesome enough as it is. ^_^

Pros:

The availability of Starcraft matches On Demand in English!

Cons:

Not every Starcraft tournaments are on GOMTV.net; GOMTV.com may work for some with some knowledge of the Korean language, and a “mainstream” web browser (i.e.: Internet Explorer).

Lucky Star: Driving by on an Interstate Near You!

A Festival recently wrapped up in Odaiba, Japan, called the “Itasha G Festa” (Ita G for short). The festival features sports cars with popular anime characters all over the vehicle; mainly Moè characters, especially the ones from Lucky Star. Not only were cars the star of the event, there was Cosplay opportunities (provided you paid the ￥15,000 ($150 USD) fee) as well!

It’s amazing how they could get the characters on here without problems (air bubbles, perhaps?). The real problem though is that it was put on the car in the first place (in the eyes of Muggle). In Japan, “Itasha” (いたしゃ) literally means “Hurt Car”. It’s obvious from looking at the photos.

While you’ll only see cars in this event, in a past issue of Otaku USA (Vol. 1; Iss. 5 (April 2008) - p. 126), motorcycles can also become “injured” with kits like the ones used for cars. At the Ita G event, there’s kits also available for those who wants to take up the hobby. This would have been an awesome event in person, if I were in Japan. But being a girl, I’d be left out not to see cars with male characters (”Shoujo no Ita Club”, anyone?).

[Source: Danny Choo - Photo Source: Otasuke]

Summary:

If you’re a Sonic the Hedgehog fan, you may remember at least four animated television series that aired in the 90s, such as my personal favorite Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog and Sonic Underground. There has only been one Sonic series in this decade. Unfortunately, it didn’t live up to expectations.

Review:

Sonic X follows the characters (and story) of the Sonic Adventure games for the console that left us too soon; the Sega Dreamcast. The first few episodes were exciting with all the chaos involving Sonic, Tails, and Dr. Eggman (aka Dr. Robotnik). Later we see other familiar characters, such as Sally the Hedgehog, Knuckles the Echidna, and Bob the Cat. There are also human characters in the series, which was interesting since pretty much all the characters are not human (with the exception of Eggman).

The first episode shows Sonic and his gang putting a stop to Eggman’s plans, with some interference from humans. Sonic ends up on his own in a city, where people raise eyebrows at his presence. Later the military gets word of Sonic’s arrival, but they think it’s an unidentified alien. To find out more about him, they hire a popular race car driver who catches up to Sonic and challenges him to a race.

Sonic X is the second Japanese adaption of an animated Sonic series, with “Sonic the Hedgehog: The Movie” being the first in the mid 90s. Sonic X aired in Japan in 2003 and brought over to the States in months later, with (no) thanks to 4Kids Entertainment. The show was worth checking out back then, but today, with the trouble 4Kids is making when it comes to hot Japanese properties (hint: It’s two words, and it starts with a “O” and ends with a “E”), it’s not worth tracking down. I stopped watching the show myself after 10 episodes. A few years later, it was canned by Japanese TV due to low ratings. So I wasn’t the only one who found Sonic X terrible.

Sonic X could have had some potential if there was more humor included. It’s really an Anime clone of the dark, short-lived Sonic SatAM on ABC in the 90s. I do give it props for making that far ahead. I guess Sonic was only meant for video games.

Rating:

Details

• Studio: Tokyo Movie Shinsha
• Year: 2003

For a Japanese release, I figured they would sing in Japanese–but every single one of their songs is in English. They should have saved it for when they came to the states, in my opinion. Many aren’t very fond of BIG BANG (with all the screaming fangirls), especially when they team up with an alt-rock band, but they’re better than any other other boy band in Korea–or in the US. They knock the socks off of B2K–If they were still around.

* Purchase BIG BANG’s “Number 1″ from CDJapan

An up-and-coming heavy metal band “Black Tide” steps into the world of anime with a new animation series, “Warriors of Time”, based on the song of the same name on their latest album.

The group formed in 2004 as Radio with the band’s leader, Gabriel Garcia at age 11. After receiving recognition at many music events, Black Tide signed with Interscope Records. In 2008, the band released their debut album, “Light From Above”, featuring “Warriors of Time” that’s featured in the series. The band’s hard at work touring at various music festivals, such as SXSW.

Part 1

Black Tide has just launched their Warriors of Time Animation series. The six part series is explained best by the band themselves, “Our Hero, known as The Bastard, is a living embodiment of metal music. We pit him against a robotic legion whose influence spans all of time and space. The song speaks to the urge in everyone to rage and rock out against all outside expectations. It is a call to arms against a mundane existence, and the Bastard is always there to answer in force, slaughtering the robot conformist authority for the sake of youth, rebellion, and the undying spirit of true metal.” For the first in the epic series, click here.

Part 2

In part 2 the Bastard takes on a legion of robots in a heroic Western themed shootout. “Warriors of Time” provides the perfect soundtrack to a clip complete with a Saloon, shots (bullets & alcohol), and spurs. Watch the video here, and wait to see what happens next week.

My Name is Kim Sam-Soon: Another attempt at a lame US adaption of a popular Korean media?

Kim Sam-Soon is about a young woman (played by Kim Suna) who is pursuing a career in becoming a master chief, while working for the owner of a popular restaurant (Hyun Bin) who happens to pick on her for many things. This is the first three episodes of the series–as I’m in the middle of watching the original series myself. If anyone has watched this drama before, then you’re in for a real shock…The US version of the drama is being handled by NBC. That’s right…the National Broadcasting Corporation; As is the network that shows 30 Rock, Saturday Night Live, and Heroes.

The series is set to air in 2009, but a cast of characters has yet to surface. But I’m very curious on how this series will turn out. Just like with almost every promising new series on NBC, it could get canned after a couple of episodes. If they can pull it off without using references from other series it may try to imitate (in an attempt to replace “cultural” moments), it could be a huge hit…but I’m not getting my hopes up.

[Source: POPSEOUL!]

R.I.P. - Toonami: 1997-2008

Sadly, those days of watching anime in the daytime is gone. The longest running action cartoon block on the Cartoon Network said its last goodbye in September 2008. While it’s a little late to mention this, I would like to share my memories of the one block that changed the lives of many anime fans new and old in the US.

Tom of Toonami: A Childhood Icon

There was also Sailor Moon, which also received the same editing treatment as DBZ. I watched it in the middle of the series–and the only part of the series I’ve ever watched. It was the “Heart Snatcher” and “Dream Snatcher” arcs; Unfortunately, I can’t recall which arc came first… These were the only two arcs of Sailor Moon I took interest in–after that, it was completely unwatchable for my tastes.

Later was another rare classic, Ronin Warriors. This aired on Toonami’s Midnight Run block on Saturday nights. But just as Ronin Warriors was getting very good, the Midnight Run on Saturday nights were no more. I never got to finish Ronin Warriors, but Dragonball Z and Sailor Moon were still around for the masses.

I’d long gotten sick of Sailor Moon and was deeply infatuated with DBZ. It was around this time a new season of Dragonball Z was about to begin, and Toonami ran an all-day marathon (which was actually Toonami’s allowed time slot of 3 hours) of the previous episodes of the Ginyu Saga–leading up to the episodes where FUNimation made their mark with new voice actors that we now all know and hate love, and slightly better editing, with a couple of slip-ups (“Don’t piss off the God of Love!” - Dende).

A few years later, Dragonball Z, and its counterparts, Dragonball and Dragonball GT aired as well. But Dragonball Z was the most important to us all. After DBZ ended, DBGT was there to fill the void, but for some, it wasn’t quite the same…

The majority of this post is all about that Dragonball, but it’s the sole reason I became an anime fan. There’s also Gundam Wing to thank for getting me into the series that started it all. The last few years of Toonami has given converted normal kids into Otaku, all thanks to Naruto. Naruto was the only anime that saved Toonami long after all traces of Dragonball were no where to be found.

As of 2008, Toonami is finally put to rest. Naruto is still on the air, but it can make it without Tom…the Space Cowboy. On September 20th, 2008, Toonami said goodbye for the final time. I did not learn about this until a few days ago. I wish I’d known about this sooner, but now I know…and everyone else who has drifted away from the network that we embraced for the one block that was close to becoming an anime channel will now know about it.

Thank you, Tom, for all you have given us. Until we meet again…