:anime: First Impression:: Oreimo Ep. 2

<--To Oreimo, Ep. 1 | To Oreimo, Ep. 3-->

Originally, I was going to post episodes 2-6 together as a bulk review, but after watching the second episode, I thought it would be better to cover each separately (though I may still do that in the future)…

Oreimo, Ep. 2 - "My Little Sister Can't Bring Me To An IRL Meet"

Kirino continues her strong-armed induction of Kyousuke into her eroge hobby, though he's still not completely willing. As such, he suggests that she finds some friends that she can talk in-depth with about her hobbies.  She feels apprehensive about this, given how negatively society (and especially middle-school girls) view otaku, and doesn't want to risk being associated with or exposed as one at school. On advice from Manami, Kyousuke introduces her to a social networking service that can she use to meet with other people who are into the same things she likes.  After registering, she quickly gets an invite from the head of an "otaku girl" group she requested. who is holding a "tea party" the following week, though Kyousuke seems more enthused for Kirino over the occasion than Kirino is.

:anime: Final Impression:: House of Five Leaves

Originally, this review was going to be posted last month, but as I thought about it…Thanksgiving is in November…Natsume Ono also did Ristorante Paradiso, which has something to do with food…Thanksgiving has something to do with food, too…so.......

Instead, I decided to hold that off until now and declare November "Impromptu Natsume Ono Appreciation Month"! Granted, I never read her manga before, but the anime adaptations of them are pretty good and not your typical fare, and with said holiday around the corner, it seemed like as good a time as any to celebrate her work (that's synergy for you). You could probably guess what is going to be this month free/low-cost anime pick by now (or not, click the link above…), so in the mean time, give this series a chance and kick back to some Natsume Ono manga this November in commemoration.  -.^


Review: House of Five Leaves (Sarai-ya Goyou)

Official Site: Japanese
Additional Links: ANN Entry
Video [Free]: FUNimation Videos, Hulu, YouTube

When reading the plot description for House of Five Leaves and seeing animation studio manglobe (Samurai Champloo, Ergo Proxy, Michiko e Hatchin) attached to it, a likely set of thoughts might pop up in one's head. An unassuming, down-on-his-luck samurai falls into a mysterious group of cool, eccentric thieves with a "Robin Hood"-complex. Rounding out its ranks are the dashing, enigmatic leader who reels him into a world of danger and intrigue, the seductive courtesan who knows all of the in's-and-out's of the underworld, the big, bald-headed muscle of the group, and the quiet, aloof spy who stays in the shadows and carries out espionage and assassinations. While the young ronin takes content in finally having friends and enjoys a new-found sense of being wanted, he slowly begins to discover that they may not be who they appear to be, and at the same time, falls in too deep in the seedy world they deal in…

Now, take all of those images, run them through a strainer, and toss what was sifted into the bin (or plop it into your pocket to make your own cool story with). Whatever you were thinking about it going along those lines should, and eventually will, be removed. And yet, that is quite OK, as House of Five Leaves is still a compelling piece of drama and animation.

:boxing: ...It'll Do, Part 2:: Pacquiao vs. Margarito

We find ourselves at that time of the year (again) where people are lamenting the absence of Mayweather-Pacquiao and bashing the "substitute", since, well, it's not Mayweather-Pacquiao. Not too difficult to understand given expectations, but with the soap opera-caliber negotiations that sunk it (multiple times), the deep legal trouble Floyd Mayweather, Jr. has placed himself in after the beating of his ex over the summer, and Manny Pacquiao's commitments as a congressman in the Philippines, the chances of that fight happening are dropping closer to zero with every passing month. It's not totally out of the realm of possibility, but at this point: just give it up. It's not happening, period, unless Mayweather is cleared of wrongdoing and Pacquiao is either 1) coming off a loss, 2) returning from a lengthy absence, or 3) is ancient/out-of-shape when he finally decides to fight him. That's just how he rolls, not because of the "blood testing" he suddenly cares about.

:boxing: Boxing Bits ::11.10.10:: Johnson, Juanma Deliver the KOs…

"Boxing Bits" makes its semi-triumphant return to HD, covering the bouts (and bodies) that went down this past Saturday!  This would have been posted earlier, but things have been a bit wonky for the last few days…

:Sat.11.06.10:

Glen Johnson TKO8 Allan Green

The "readjusted" Super Six tournament continued with newcomer Glen Johnson icing Allan Green in an entertaining fight.  Green showed flashes of genuine competitiveness, but ultimately lived up to his surname as he couldn't overcome Johnson's style of offense. The latter has been a sparring partner of his and said to have gotten the upper-hand much of the times they have fought, so that surely did not help matters much for Green, nor did some of those inadvertent rabbit punches.  The 41-year-old Johnson, despite moving down in weight on short notice, looked great and weathered some good shots to batter Green all over and steadily take him out of the fight, which ended with a sudden right hook to the side of his head that sent him down and out. Though Johnson moves on to the semifinals, Green once again lacked the experience and fortitude to hang with the top players and veterans, which at 31 is sort of surprising--but not, given the caliber of much of his opposition in his 32-fight career…

:anime: ANN Gets Its Stream On, Again:: Oreimo & togainu no chi To Resume…

Nearly a month ago, I was extolling the announcement of Anime News Network getting in on the simulcasting movement with their streaming of the new Aniplex-produced fall shows Oreimo (Ore no Imouto ga Konanni Kawaii Wake ga Nai, or "My Little Sister Can't Be This Cute") and togainu no chi ~Bloody Curs~.  Oreimo was scheduled to air the next day and togainu the following Wednesday, and for the Saturday afternoon that Oreimo debut, everything went relatively without a hitch.  ANN's efforts hit a snag, however, when an unknown party had breached the security measures on one of their streaming servers, obtained the as-yet-aired second episode of Oreimo that lied there, and distributed it over the Internet.  Immediately that very evening, the site removed the first episode and postponed togainu's scheduled debut--and the simulcasts as a whole--indefinitely.

Much like FUNimation's situation last year, ANN found themselves in a quagmire, with the simulcasting movement being jeopardized and getting egg on its face once more due to failed security measures.  Refunds were allowed, criticism was meted out, and the future of the streams remained muddy, at best.  Yesterday, though, the situation saw some light at the end of the tunnel, as ANN announced that the streams to both shows would be continuing. The catch-up schedule will look like this:

:anime: Free/Low-Cost Anime Pick of the Month:: Halloween Havoc!!

Well, well, it's been a year to the day since I started recommending monthly free/low-cost anime available on the web, starting off with manglobe's obscure macabre comedy TRIP TREK.  Being that it's October and close to Halloween--as it was then--I figure it would only be proper to recommend a few "scary" anime this time, too.

**Most of these shows, besides being free, are aimed at older teen to mature audiences, unsurprisingly, so viewer discretion is advised.  And due to that, some sites may require you to register, which is often free, as well.  I'm so not responsible for any nightmares, either, regardless the cause.**

Claymore
[FUNimation Videos, Hulu]

Quite the good action tale with monstrous figures with a hankering for innards getting sliced every-which-way by silver-haired ladies with big swords.  One of the best fantasy anime in recent memory, with fine production values by Madhouse (some inconsistencies with faces, but the designs from the original manga aren't that simple to draw for animation) and a rollicking, but still appropriate, score by Masanori Takumi (Witchblade, Genshiken, Koi Kaze).  Though only eps. 1-13 are currently available at the time of this writing, subbed-only, it has, personally, perhaps the finest collection of female vocal performances in a single anime.  Some genuinely intense moments, likable characters, and an involving story make Claymore a great and enjoyable watch.

:anime: Blacks and Head Shots in Anime -Phase Two- Begins

As mentioned earlier this month, "Phase Two" of "Blacks and Head Shots in Anime" has just begun, with topics on the subject launched at Mania/AnimeOnDVD and Anime News Network's respective forums last night, with a poll present in the former.  It is my hope to get a good gauge of the anime community's thoughts on this through two forums with differing personalities, and while it's nothing scientific, I believe this may still yield some interesting results.  I have my predictions, but we'll see where things go from here, though I aim to post about the findings when the topics get enough responses.  I'm pretty anxious to see what people's opinions will be, and hopefully, everything will go smoothly.

--HD

:anime: First Impression:: Oreimo Ep. 1

To Oreimo, Ep. 2-->

Oreimo, Ep. 1 - "My Little Sister Can't Be My Love"

As noted yesterday, Oreimo was a title that has been on my fall radar ever since happening across an illustration of it a few months ago, despite not knowing a whole lot about the series.  By appearance-alone, I sort of got a general feel of what to expect from the boy and the girl in it--"comedy, some sort of ongoing conflict".  Vague as it was (hey, it was just a picture…), it was still close to what we actually got…

Oreimo's premiere episode turned out to be a pretty good affair.  Kyousuke Kousaka doesn't get along with his popular younger sister, Kirino.  This isn't helped by the fact that they have fairly frosty personalities and perpetual scowls when around each other (and when they aren't).  One morning, they bump into each other, spilling the contents of Kirino's bag onto the floor and eliciting a snappy response from the girl.  Later on, something catches Kyousuke's eye under a piece of furniture and discovers what looks to be a sister-centric eroge-based anime DVD.

:anime: ANN Gets Its Stream On...

Over the course of the last year or so, Anime News Network has been hard at work over its streaming video service, doing carryovers from other sites such as Hulu, to hosting titles themselves (i.e. Nobody's Boy Remi).  The last month, however, has represented a major step forward in their campaign of streaming anime.  In September, ANN announced their license rescue of the quirky, yet informative, comedy Animation Runner Kuromi and its sequel, homeless after former licensor Central Park Media went under a few years ago.  Though the terms of ANN's deal only pertained to streaming rights, it was still a major score by the site to accomplish such a feat, though that would hardly be the end of their plans...

:boxing: Six Degrees of Super Six Mess

Jermain Taylor - Knocked out of the tournament.

Mikkel Kessler - Gone due to eye injury.

Andre Dirrell - Removes himself due to currently-untold injury.


When founding something as ambitious as the Super Six World Boxing Classic, Showtime and others had to have prepared themselves for the worst.  Injuries are no stranger to the sport of boxing, so conducting a round-robin tournament is a big gamble, no doubt.  But I bet at this point, even the cable network didn't think things would have turned out this bad...