Once again, I threw my hat into the ring, and participated in the Reverse Thieves Secret Santa Project. It’s a great opportunity to try out something that you just never thought of. My secret santa chose for me Cat Soup, Now and Then, Here and There, and the series I ended up watching and reviewing, Kaiba. This series has been recommend to me before, however, I never took the time to sit down and watch it. Now, I regret not picking it up sooner.
Recently, I had the opportunity to sit down with a long time friend of the blog, and not so quiet personality in the anime blogging community, Kevo. We had a great conversation on his new endeavor, Anime Maru, the role of satire, and how context is so important. Come listen in!
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This fall, those of you that regularly engaged with here on AAL may have wondered “where are these guys?” While we haven’t been completely silent, this place has been pretty much a ghost town. I think it’s safe to say that for most of us, real life got the better of us. So what was I doing? Traveling for work, living out of a hotel, and suffering the East Coast. I don’t know how you guys live out there. Much too crowded for my liking. I like my little corner of the Northwest USA.
And because of all my travels, I’ve spent the better part of the last three months all but avoiding anime. I didn’t have time to watch, and generally speaking, my interests waned for a period there. I’ve had a number of gripes about shows and fandoms over the last year, and it was a chance to step away, and gain some perspective. And honestly, I didn’t miss it a whole lot. It was a well needed break.
What did I do with my free time? Sitting in airports and on planes does leave a lot of down time, so I decided to dive in and read some fiction. Honestly, not enough people read anymore. They’re looking at a portable screen and watching a TV way too much. And I was falling into that same trap. I read what there is of A Song of Fire and Ice (aka Game of Thrones), which amounts to five long books. What an epic series of fantasy fiction. And it’s been too long since I’ve read a good fiction. For those that have just watched the TV series, you’re missing on a much better written story.
So whats next, for me as well as the blog? First up is to decide what anime to catch up on. There is still much from Fall, and a few series from Winter, that I need to see. Luckily, Winter is slow enough that it will be easy going. You can see what I was interested in here:
And plans are in the work for the blog, so February should be an interesting month. We’re planning to bring some content back, and as for me, drop some others. I don’t have the time right now to blog something episodically, so Kill la Kill will be falling by the wayside, except for some editorials here and there. But we’ll be working to fill in with some other content in the next few weeks.
As always, the comments sections are open. Feel free to give feedback as needed. And hopefully you stick around long enough to see what’s next!
It’s that time of year again. Time to look back on the year, recognize greatness, mock the ridiculous, and acknowledge what made the previous year great for fans of anime. In this special podcast, Acostoss, JoeAnimated, and Numberss take a walk down memory lane. Come check it out!
So in my last post, I somewhat lamented how the lack of wearing clothes, stylized or not, was at the forefront of the show. It felt up to this point that it was over done and without a higher purpose. But that changes in this episode, in a fairly dramatic fashion. While I can’t tackle this subject with any philosophical dialogue, I highly recommend you read AJtheFourth’s latest KLK post. Her comparisons of Japan’s culture of shame and modesty to this show and Go Nagai is an enlightening read.
This image does a fair job of summing up both the show and my hate for it.
Having only recently begun to watch anime, the list of shows that I have watched is rather low, I believe only around one hundred or so. Yet, one franchise that I cannot get enough of and refuse to ever stop watching, is the Gundam franchise. I grew up watching Gundam Wing and G Gundam, and it holds a very special place in my heart. I love the action, and I truly enjoy the different types of interactions between the characters within the Gundam universe. Yet though I enjoy the Gundam universe, I have to say that ZZ Gundam is one of the worst anime I have watched as of yet. Not only as a sequal to an amazing anime such as Zeta Gundam, but as a stand-alone anime as well.
It could always be worse…
In this episode, part two of a two part series, we’ll be looking at how fansubs have changed over the years, competitors to the medium, and how the fans have reacted and shaped it.
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Download this episode’s music, from the album RabbitBass by Miii!
![[Commie] Gatchaman Crowds - 07 [BFE8C10B].mkv_snapshot_21.38_[2013.09.16_20.25.54]](https://animeaudiolog.files.wordpress.com/2013/09/commie-gatchaman-crowds-07-bfe8c10b-mkv_snapshot_21-38_2013-09-16_20-25-54.jpg)
With the summer season of anime at its near peak, I suppose it’s finally time for me to come out of my cave and write up some articles. This season of anime has been particularly lackluster for a mecha / adventure lover such as myself, but overall, I can say it has turned out better than I first expected. There are a few hidden gems this season that, as the season has progressed, have turned into shining stars. For now though, let’s jump straight into one of my favorite shows of the season: Gatchaman Crowds. As a quick note, I have tried to keep spoilers to a minimum, but proceed at your own risk.
Obligatory joke/trollsubs
In this episode, part one of a two part series, I explore the history of fansubbing from the late 70’s to mid 90’s. In the series, we’ll be exploring how it is influenced by the anime market, and how it influences both the market and expectations of the viewers. We’ll also take a look at the unique place fansubs sit in the media world, concerning legality and copyrights.
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Download this week’s music from the album MOSAIC by Cocop ft DJ Newtown, remixed by Silvanian Families
In this new podcast, I’ll be exploring different facets of aniculture in bite-sized chunks of opinion and insight. Be sure to check back each week for a new installment of AniMinutes!
Cooking, enjoying anime, holding a steady job; is there anything he cannot do?
In this episode, I explore just what it is about contemporary anime characters that makes us so attached to them, and how this was not the case a couple decades ago.
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Download this week’s episode, and check out this week’s music by ankokushinma.
Anime Audiolog 