Just arrived!!!
Guess what I will be watching all weekend?!? Eden of the East Blu-Ray just arrived and can't wait to watch it in Engrish for my vewy fust time!
If you havn't seen it yet, you're missing out. I'll update soon on the English voice cast and my thoughts.
Ciao for now!
So FUNimation is talking about the English cast now of Summer Wars. I've already got my Blu-Ray pre-ordered. ***YAY***
Oops... Just check my wishlist... I have Eden of the East Blu-Ray pre-ordered... Equally epic I must say...
I wanted to update everyone on my feelings I gave in my Soul Eater review which is left unchanged, just a small addition... This is my favorite song from the entire sound-track. I was able to track down the music video although the quality is pretty bad. Hopefully the vid will still be there by the time you read this.
What do you do when you are behind the times? Well you watch one anime at a time and hope that someday you catch up to what the rest of your friends are talking about. It seems that the Soul Eater anime is still making waves albeit misleading IMO... Fresh character designs, recycled stories from various other shows, make the Soul Eater anime a great mash-up of familiar stories while not ever giving a direct nod to any one particular show. This is a point I'm not clear how I feel about... Perhaps I feel the Soul Eater anime was trying to make an original splash that could never be?!? Taking this point seriously requires more originality IMO.
On the positive side, there was not one single character that I did not like or think wasn't written or designed well. And that is saying something huge. Even my favorite animes have one or two characters I could easily do without. And I think that is the strongest point the Soul Eater anime brings to the table.
If you can afford the steep price tag to buy the 4 current boxes then hey, go for it. It seems however, that FUNimation has been doing a couple of different things with their anime releases... make a batch and make some money... Make another batch, repackaged and recover some costs... Then squeeze every last drop of milk out of an old cash-cow that they can. In the latter case, you can walk away with a pretty nice discount on an entire series... the only down-side is that there is no guarantee that discounted release a couple years from now will always happen...
Back to Soul Eater now... I would rent it first and if you think it is epic, don't wait for the discounted Soul Eater DVD boxset as I don't see this being a classic. Sure it's been hyped plenty, and I am not an expert on forecasting anime popularity... But if it does get a re-release it will probably be due to the hype only as I'm sure the love will cool off.
Wrap-up: Soul Eater is over-hyped, but still worth watching. The Soul Eater anime failed to inspire me or make me want to add it to the rotation of "watch-again-stuff". You decide... the preview is actually terrible, but at least you can get an idea of the character designs that I really enjoyed:
Don't you just love/hate the internet? Don't you just love/hate iEverything? Don't you just love/hate the freedom of speech exercised on message boards? Don't you just love/hate Internet Trolls?
Well you all know I love anime. And I love Cromartie High School. This is in my top ten skits taken from the show. If you like this, there is a flawless chance you will like the entire series. The Cromartie High School Thin-Pak can be picked up for around $35 and is a must have for the shelf.
A friend shared the video below with me and when I told him I had the whole anime series on DVD he asked me why I never recommend it to him... anime-friend-fail. For my type of humor, Cromartie High School is a staple if not described as a foundation for my humor and jokes.
If you wondered why I said "love/hate" internet trolls above, the only reason I can say love at all is because I'm sure I've trolled in the past myself, and this video would not exist without Internet Trolls. Enjoy...
Time to share some Mario Madness. A little bit of old school with some crazy new glitch tricks and some unreal engine Mario goodness. I was able to do a few of the tricks in the first video when I was a kid... but there are some glitch/tricks that I was completely blown away by... Enjoy the shows!
Mario in 3-D anyone? Well, 3-D of a 2-D game turns out like this... :)
This parody proves once and for all the impact this game made on my generation.
Hope you feel like playing with Mario right about now... you could probably waste your entire life watching similar clips on youtube, but these are the best IMO. Until next time my anime and gamer junkies!
The Initial D Anime is EPIC. I could stop here and that would no doubt lead 9 out of 10 of you to check out this Tokyo Pop re-release brought to us by FUNimation. But I can't help myself, for the 1 out of 10 readers that don't yet trust me when I use the word "epic" read on...
This is one of the few anime dvds that changed my life. Seriously. I was more into off-road 2-wheeling and lifted trucks and rock-crawling (my ancient readers may remember the old pictures archived off-line now) than pavement junkie sports. I used to scoff at my friends that ran from the cops at the local midnight strip and take weekend canyon bombs... Then I watched Initial D. Yep... I sold my 4x4 and bought an FF. ----screeeeeech!-FF-what?!?---- For those of you that watched Initial D already, you may wonder why I didn't go the eight-six route... That is the beauty of this anime... every style of racer, setup and course type is covered. There is something for everyone. I felt like I was going to drifting school during each episode! Don't flame my FF... I know it's not drifting - it's power-sliding... but hey, to each their own. Anyway back to the anime dvd review...
Do you remember how uncute everyone in Akira was? Get ready for round 2 (or maybe I've used this analogy clear up to round 300 by now) of uncuteness of character design... Nah... dare is say... ugly character design? The statement like Akira is made clear from the get-go. The character designer of Initial D obviously doesn't want the audience of this show to be fanboys and fangirls over the characters. They want to engage you with the story, science, physics, cars, cliff-hangers and yes... with a few nods of teenage angst to keep the story realistic to a degree.
But PLEASE don't let my snarks on the uncuteness detour you... Every race brings a new technique, a surprise that builds the main character's (Takumi) driver-charisma level to new peaks all the while staying true to his first car... his Trueno 86. I get goose bumps every time I watch this anime and usually DO "try this stuff at home" - get the car re-painted and tap those guardrails again. But don't be like me... Live vicariously through Takumi and the gang it's safer that way. Check out the preview:
Available at your preferred anime retailer, or for order online at the best online anime store, OtakuFuel
FMA on Blu-ray baby! It's here! It's crispy! Again I shout from the roof-tops, "I love you FUNimation!"
Back in Part 2 of the anime blu-ray set of Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood when the moment has finally arrived for fans of Edward and Alphonse Elric as the brothers encounter new characters, dangers, and mysteries in Part Two of Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood, which happens to be "the most anticipated new anime in years" according to Otaku USA.
While I agree this anime is great and totally appreciate the support that FUNimation has given this series (as well as the fans). This is the kind of hype that I feel for lots of anime titles that no one ever seems to mention or even talk about. I guess for now, I'll keep them to myself and the few thousand that have had their eye-lids permanently stitched open.
Enjoy the part 2 trailer from FUNimation which wasn't changed at all from the part 1 trailer except for the box art ;P
Oh James... James, James, James... (and Tina)...Why couldn't you have used official US licensed goods from GE if you were gonna plug anime, otaku, moe body pillow-ness on the sexiest show on NBC? Yes, I mean 30 Rock...
In episode # 69 (I guess they had to do something edgy for this ep#) James Franco sports a body pillow named Kimiko-tan. Not the cutest body-pillow in the offerings but the point is made loud and clear that the writing staff thought that this would be a funnay thing to totally blow out of proportion... And they were right. It was off the charts funny. No doubt a story similar to the "Love in 2-D" article found in the NYT was inspiration for otaku humiliation. But while one or two otaku may be humiliated that their secret love is now common knowlege, the majority will either laugh along with the gag, or have the confidence to stand side-by-side, arm-in-arm with their true love. I mean, if you can't shout your true-love's name from the rooftops then can you really say your love is true?
Maybe this article or episode 69 of 30 Rock has awakend the flame of passion in you? You can pick up your new 'almost' life-sized anime body pillow girlfriend at OtakuFuel, your online anime body pillow / girlfriend trafficker. Then you can turn your love-seat companion into a real life-companion... that also doubles as a pillow... that also makes for a shoulder to cry on... That alsoOKSTOP!
Missed 30 Rock episode 69? Well, you can check if NBC has it online at the time of reading this article, wait for it to come to DVD or re-run... Or you can just watch some behind the scenes while the embed below lasts... enjoy Otaku Franco...
Casshern Sins parts 1 and 2 blu-ray was just released by my favorite (yes I've decided for today) anime license snatch and bag company - FUNimation.
I've heard a lot of bunk-junk from friends who can't stomach this anime. I have seen the first few episodes, and played with the Casshern character in the Wii Street Fighter crossover... But that has nothing to do with the Blu-ray!! The point is... I really dig on this anime. Casshern has that kiddy cartoony style look to him and even the animation seems like it would be good for a younger audience. But I think that's where the kid-appreciation ends. The concept, the story, the character development is a little too deep for most kids in my opinion.
Casshern is the main character in a post-apocalyptic world that he is responsible for all but creating/destroying... however you wanna look at it... He has no memory of this however, which somehow redeems him in the viewers heart (plus it's just hearsay at this point). As he searches for answers and fights to save the dying... Casshern Sins is brought to you in all it's glory and it is truly beautiful, these fantastic Blu-ray anime dvds are set in two parts. Beautiful 16:9 format to fill up your juicy flat screen and 5.1 surround sound goodness in both English and Japanese (but not at the same time silly). Yep, the average series count'em 24 episodes - 12 episodes each blu-ray set (set 1 and 2) for a total of 24 cokes, 12 pizzas and 1 pee break per dvd swap.
As if we weren't getting enough BRS goodness to save for / hunt-down already, GoodSmile company has up for pre-order through your favorite online anime shops something you see more in the video game world than the anime DVD world... Queue the screen lift and introducing a new blu-ray / petit bundle...
The Black Rock Shooter Blu-ray with Ltd. Ed. Petit Nendos. Moe enough for you? Hey, I'm glad to see the industry trying some creative ways to get peeps back into buying their content instead of just "evaluating" it indefinitely... Bundles are something otaku like myself go for albeit usually - begrudgingly. Yes, you have something I want, and the fact that it's limited makes me want it even more, but it still hurts the billfold each time I give into allowing the collection to grow. But some things are just too good to pass up right? Check a sneak peek:
Yokay, so you're here, that means you probably found this article because you love cats, like anime plushies that happen to also be kitties, or you are one of the few English reading blokes that digs on "Kuruneko". For the rest of my regular audience that already knows what Kuruneko is, give yourself a pat on the back. You are one cat loving otaku that truly knows how to dig up the good stuff. I think I'll start calling yall "nekotaku". (Great a new internet meme has just been born) As for me... no pats on the back deserved as I'm behind the times a bit. But hey, "Better Nate than lever!" Even Suppie who is pretty well versed in Japanese culture, hadn't heard of Kuruneko yet, and if she did, she wasn't sharing any new anime goodness with me... If you have no idea what Kuruneko is and haven't skipped ahead yet, take a ride with me as I discover what Suppie has been hiding from me...
くるねこ (Kuruneko)
First a blog entry-graduating to a manga, progressing on to anime fame in 50 episode shorts each about 3 minutes long. (A second season is in the works already! Wow I'm already way behind. Good thing each episode is only 3 mins long) The genre is a slice of life / comedy anime just about every day life with these cute cats that sometimes have an attitude. But isn't that the proper job of a cat?
Kuruneko over the last couple of years has been a Internet meme mostly in the circles of cat loving online Japanese communities. Not surprising then that in the English speaking communities, that Kuruneko is almost unheard of. I'm hoping that a big dog like Broccoli picks this cute anime title up and translates it for us nekotaku. The 3 minute long episodes make for really short attention span kids and they tend to do shows like that... We'll see...
Of course the more wired we get, the more parodies and ytmnd stuff will happen to your original creation... In this case... IT'S A GOOD THING! - I'll share with you the ShonenSean approved versions of these Kuruneko / Vocaloid smashups. janbox00 has some really cute vids up on their Youtube channel and they are all worth watching. This one is my favorite:
Now that you are an expert on Kuruneko, you probably are spreading this Japanese internet meme to all your English speaking comrades. I hope you get bragging rights as the first in your circle to spam the videos or make your own smash-up. Have fun! If you can't get enough of the Kuruneko goodness, Japan has all kinds of Kuruneko goodies, the first of which are plushies and to my knowledge they are currently only being offered by OtakuFuel in the stateside regions anyways... If you are interested in the family of Kuruneko plushies, here's some pics:
Kuruneko Family portrait
胡ぼん Hu Lanterns
もんさん Mr. Mon
ポ子 Child P.O.
トメ Tome
ぼん Lanterns
Which Kuruneko-chan is your favorite? For me I think it has to be Hu Lanterns. When my nice saw them all she about died. It was kind of like watching a Ryou Kuroyanagi reaction or something... glad it made her day... I hope that if Kuruneko is new to you that it made your day today too! That's all for now... Ho na na!
When I sat down to watch the Wallflower anime, I was a bit skeptical because it is labeled as a "Shoujo" title. Not that I haven't been known to like Shoujo... it's just that there are so many Shonen anime titles out there that I would rather watch, but only have so many hours in the day... Anyhoo, you guessed it, I loved it, so I am writing about it.
I thought it a bit cold-hearted to start off the series with a sentence handed down to the main character of "owning a repulsive appearance". Ouch. - But it gets worse, she's surrounded by all these super popular and hot guys (that all are drawn like girls IMO) to further remind her of how lacking she is... But this is all necessary to either make you feel right at home (if you are like her) or make you feel comfortable with the truly dark and messed up nature she displays for the rest of the series. If you get the Wallflower DVD Box Set and you didn't bother to understand how it rolls before you got it... Be patient. Once you are in the right seat of observation, that's when the enjoyment begins.
These hottie boys are charged with her complete make-over being a success or else they get evicted from their pad. If you're thinking this sounds like it might be an anime written by the likes of a cheap talk-show that's my fault... Do yourself a favor and watch the preview:
As much as I liked it, I must qualify that with the writing and the story were the only things that did it for me. It is a tad old so the 4:3 is something you have to live with and the character designs were just not swinging my way... Nonetheless, I still love you FUNimation for bringing me this anime dvd. A-Ree-O-Gato, shweet-art.
What the heck happened to this CD / DVD supposedly not arriving until the end of October?!? OtakuFuel, just took down the pre-order date so I guess that means clicky clicky... order away! I'll be getting mine next week hopefully! What am I so jazzed about you ask?
Breaking away from the norm, Maru Music presents the First Major Label album from the chart-topping group AKB48! Their full-length album Kamikyokutachi, features 16 tracks, with several tracks topping the Oricon charts in Japan. This album also includes a special DVD, with three music videos with a multi-angle feature, which allows the viewer to study and learn all of the groups expansive dance moves and unique choreography.
AKB48 is the all female Idol group taking the world by storm. The group consists of 48 members (although I heard rumors that due to rotations there are actually more like 60+ of them! - this is unconfirmed though...), all singing and dancing in unison. Divided into three different teams, each team allows for a more dynamic live show. This allows one team to take the lead on one song while the other teams support the lead team in the background.
The fresh and sugary pop songs AKB48 brings to this album will make you want to clap your hands, jump and dance around the room. As the videos in the DVD show, the dance choreography is world class and highly complex. This level of professionalism is amazing especially considering the young age group of the "moembers".
AKB48 derives their name from the Akihabara area of Tokyo. Also called the Electronic city, this area is abundant with electronic shops, manga stores and is a destination for any true Otaku. In the center of Akihabara is the AKB48 Theater, where the group regularly performs. This residence along with their countless television appearances has made AKB48 a household name throughout Japan.
AKB48's popularity is not just limited to Japan; they have performed in Cannes and Paris, France as part of Midem and Japan Expo. Their 2009 performance at Webster Hall in New York was legendary amongst the US Otaku. In July 2010, they performed at The Nokia Theater in Los Angeles as part of the Anime Expo convention as the headline artist.
DVD Chapter Listing:
1 Ogoe Diamond
2 Iiwake Maybe
3 RIVER
Tracks:
1 RIVER
2 Baby! Baby! Baby! Baby!
3 Ogoe Diamond
4 Kimi no koto ga Sukidakara
5 Shonichi
6 10-nen zakura
7 Tobenai Ageha Chou
8 Namida Surprise
9 Choose me!
10 Enkyori Poster
11 Iiwake Maybe
12 Hikoukigumo
13 Majisuka Rock n' Roll
14 Sakura no Shiori
15 Jibun Rashisa
16 Kimi to Niji to Taiyo to
If you wanted to see how cute AKB48 was introducing themselves to everyone at Anime Expo 2010 - check out the AKB48 @ AX2010 video shot from an android phone by OtakuFuel.
I'm not much for blood and guts even if its purple... usually. Anime like Fist of the North Star, Akira and Elfen Lied I will make exception for. While you're at it... add the anime Claymore on blu-ray to that list... BTW - Unless I get really bored, you'll probably never read a review about an anime that I just didn't like. So clicky, clicky on the right you should find a clicky to add me to your blog-roll.
cool-dark colors ad to the vibe
The colors the animators were given to work with are in the cooler tones and compliment the dark nature of the story well. The Claymores look kind-of like something Hitler would have a nocturnal-emission over... and all the monsters bleed in excess - you guessed it, purple blood. While the gore is not out of place typically found in the comical-blood-splatter horror genre, I wouldn't necessarily place Claymore in that category. As disturbing (comical - depending on if you are as sick as me or not...) as gushing as the blood of Elfen Lied or Fist of the North Star was, this is on the tame side compared to that... and mostly... purple, fuchsia, hydrangea... whatever.
Hitler-health material
Purple blood not your thing? Don't worry, there is excellent character development, suspense up the wazoo... and cliff-hangers to keep you up way past your bed-time. Definitely a series to watch with a few Mana potions on hand and 2 days to recover. Don't believe me? I tell you now... You will stay up all night... You will miss work the next day.
The cost of this blu-ray may be cheaper than crack at $55 for the Claymore blu-ray box set, but the effects will be the same for the duration of all 26 episodes... This one is a keeper. 13 hours of anime dvd goodness. :)
Series synopsis:
A brutal scourge stalks the land. Yoma, monsters driven by a hunger satisfied by only one quarry: Humanity. The dark breed knows but a singular foe: Claymore. Human-Yoma hybrids of extraordinary strength and cunning, the Claymores roam from skirmish to skirmish delivering salvation by the edge of a blade. Thus begins the twisting tale of Clare, one such sister of the sword driven by pain in both victory and defeat. A child silent and suffering hidden in her past, Clare's march toward vengeance unfolds along a path marked by violence, solitude and scorn. In a land where even the predator is prey, the haunted hearts of hunter and hunted alike wear the scars of the age.
BTW- Thank you Funimation for bringing this to me... I love you. Now eat some guts and watch this preview. Never mind that the preview says coming soon.. It's out now and you can order it now if you want it:
Bleach Manga. A shonen title to be sure. Give me a list of 5 million characters that are all important to the story line. Give me several different worlds, that, like the seemingly infinite number of characters to follow, somehow maintain continuity and relevance to one another... And the result is obviously not only going to be a smash hit, but it's going to be an international franchise. From Bleach bentos to Bleach buttons, it's all been done. And what goodness the Bleach manga has brought boys like me. Lots of titles get there two minutes of fame, but how many manga titles have been known to top the charts, week after week, month after month?
My favorite Bleach Manga cover so far.
As is common in our Otaku world, the Bleach manga flows a tad different from the Bleach anime. I love seeing my favorite stories in living color, but it's just not the same as getting the no-nonsense story you dangle from the cliff for - week after week.
I know there are hard-core fans of the lesser known characters in the series, and I applaud them for knowing themselves and knowing what they like and can relate to. I for myself, am one of the predictable guys in the masses that always favors the lead character in the story. In this case, Ichigo Kurosaki.
Despite having the name that is shared with a sweet fruit, he is full of courage and possesses the endless will to protect his friends. I love the fact that there are many things that happen early on in the story that are progressively tied together and explained throughout the developing chapters as if to reward the loyal readers year after year. :)
Action, action, action. Battles, battles, battles. Properly timed comic relief that never gets a "gong" from me... It's always the first choice on my list of new goodness that needs coverage. If it's not on your list, fix that. You won't be sorry my shonen readers...
With the recent announcement of a certain scanlator going off-line in the near future... I'm hoping that Japan and Viz will get together and get these things up-to-date with simultaneous releases.Hey, if we all support the proper channels, everyone wins.
To wrap this up... one of my favorite characters in Bleach.... KON! If he doesn't make you want to read this, nothing else will!
"Why aren't you reading Bleach Manga right now?!?"
My wife may have beat me to blogging about the anime Eden of the East, but I can't resist giving my feedback on it, even though it is pretty much the same. Largely in part that despite the news being launched on this on the internet way back in May... there were MANY of my friends that hadn't even heard of this yet... So in an effort to fix that in at least my circle... Here we are...
Ahhhh, new anime dvds make me happy. I don't think I have mentioned on my blog yet that I love Funimation. I do. I really do. FUNimation has been there the whole time to support my Anime hobby-addiction-my love etc. I hope that readers like you will continue to support them, because if they go away due to lack of support... it will be a sad, sad day. Anyhoo! That day is not upon us yet as they have something great in store for us Otaku!
Eden of the EastAnime DVD Box Set: Complete Collection is being released by Funimation on standard DVD format at the end of this September. But I am even more stoked about the Eden of the East Blu-Ray: Complete Collection! - WOOT! - I'm sure that if it does as well as I anticipate it to, the 2 movies that continue the story will be brought over to the US too!
I saw this with a few friends the other day in Japanese and can tell you that this is a very worthy anime to watch. While I love watching the predictable slice of life anime just like you and the next otaku does... every now and then I crave something that makes me hit the pause button and ask things like, what the heck was that?!? Did they just do that?!?! How the heck are they gonna make THAT pay-off later?!?
20k naked-NEETS ever want to kill you but you don't know why because you somehow managed to purposely erase your own memory? Got a hot-line to a chick that has the power to make anything you ask her come to fruition? I can't say more without ruining the plot line... But do yourself a favor and resist the temptation to read spoilers as it will totally mess up your experience that was obviously designed to make you say "WHAT?!?" If you can trust me on it... don't even watch the previews or trailers. If you don't want to trust me then this might help you a little... The series was originally written and directed by acclaimed director Kenji Kamiyama (“Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex”, “Moribito - Guardian of the Spirit”) and produced by Production I.G (always anime goodness from them) The series was originally written and directed by acclaimed director Kenji Kamiyama ("Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex”, “Moribito - Guardian of the Spirit”) and produced by Production I.G PLUS - FUNimation Entertainment has announced the English cast of the 11-episode original animated series “Eden of The East.” The main cast:
Akira Takizawa - Jason Liebrecht Saki Morimi - Leah Clark Juiz - Stephanie Young Kuroha Diana Shiratori - Christine Auten Daiju Mononobe - John Gremillion
Micchon - Stephanie Sheh
Haruo Kasuga - John Burgmeier
Sis - Lydia Mackay
Kazuomi Hirasawa - J. Michael Tatum
Satoshi Osugi - Michael Sinterniklaas
Panties - Newton Pittman
This was my wife and I's 11th year in a row attending Anime Expo. To be honest there were more than just a few years when I begged my wife to agree with me to spend our summer 4-day weekend some place else... I'm always glad she drags me there once I am actually there though... The lines have always been long, it has always been hot and most assuredly... disorganized. In spite of all the bad that I seem to associate with it ever year, I always seem to be looking forward to a few things that will happen while I am there. The rewards I reap always out-weigh the heat, lines, miles and miles on the pedometer and drama... Speaking of drama, there has been a ton of drama behind the scenes at AX for several years now and I beg you if you are privy to any of it that you leave your thoughts on it out of the comments section. :)
John Hwang did another outstanding job of capturing this years Anime Expo. Please give his Youtube channel a shout-out and a thanks if you enjoyed it. His Youtube channel id is: vegiwrap. His documentary highlighted many things I didn't have time to get to this year, and I even spotted a few peeps I know in his video! Are you in there?!?
My personal AX 2010 highlights:
Meeting Masakazu Morita. Masakazu Morita is the famous voice actor for Ichigo Kurosaki in one of my favorite animes... The Bleach anime of course. Coincidence that I was wearing my Ichigo Kurosaki otaku t-shirt when I bumped into him? Me thinks not... He was super cool and even extended his hand to greet me. Next to him is Nabeshin Shinichi Watanabe. Sorry the images aren't better, they were from a cellphone camera...
I think the cosplayer I liked the best was the Kamina Jack Cosplay:
I've worked with Danny Choo a tad through email in the past and have been one of 8 billion of his contacts across the social whoring platforms for many years now. So naturally, at one of his meet and greets I had to say hello... He's a very down to earth comrade in person (just like on LCD!) and has a genuine love for what he does. It's admirable that he offers his advice in honesty and hopes chaps will listen... In the image below you can see how some of his fellow hobbyists joined a few of their 'daughters' together for this nice photo-opp:
One of the most embarrassing things that happened to me was an autograph rejection from Megumi Nakajima (If you are wondering who the heck this is, keep in mind that this article was written in July 2010 - I suppose this won't be funny to me until I read this again in August 2010). Megumi Nakajima and May'n ticket stub:
The best surprise was an introduction to something I've never heard of before, but now have one more reason to visit Japan and Akihabara... AKB48. Don't judge, my wife dug it too:
Every year it's something new to focus on. For a few years all we could do is watch anime online from our cell phones while waiting for concerts and main events or watching new anime titles in the video rooms, another couple of years we tried the cosplay thing, another year we supported Clem's Gundam model building workshop by heckling him to death from the back, another year spent focusing on the dealer room and spending way too much cash. And still another year exploring dojin-soft and other Japanese video games.Speaking of the dealers room, this year the Gundam model shop and the copic marker store were huge and front and center. They really scored on real-estate this year. The Bandai booth was VERY well done:
Will I kick and scream to not go next year? Probably not, as I really wanted to make it over to the artist alley and show some support to the copics, doujinshi, modelers and crafting communities... But alas never made it due to time constraints. There is a lot of doujinshi that I want to explore, and until I can get over to a full-meal-deal convention like Comiket in Japan, I think the artist alley at AX will have to do. I don't mean to say that their work is less impressive or anything... It's just the number of those following it here are lacking. And without the support the volume is just much lower in the US. All and all, I guess you could wrap this article up with I'm still looking forward to next year, due to the tingling I'm still experiencing from this year.
As if we weren't getting enough BRS goodness to save for / hunt-down already, GoodSmile company has up for pre-order through your favorite online anime shops something you see more in the video game world than the anime DVD world... Queue the screen lift and introducing a new blu-ray / petit bundle...
The Wallflower 
Ahhhh, new anime dvds make me happy. I don't think I have mentioned on my blog yet that I love Funimation. I do. I really do. FUNimation has been there the whole time to support my Anime hobby-addiction-my love etc. I hope that readers like you will continue to support them, because if they go away due to lack of support... it will be a sad, sad day. Anyhoo! That day is not upon us yet as they have something great in store for us Otaku! 
Akira Takizawa - Jason Liebrecht
