:anime: First Impression:: Fate/Zero Ep. 1

To Fate/Zero, Ep. 2-->

Fate/Zero, Ep. 1 - "Summoning of the Heroes"
[Nico Nico Douga] [Crunchyroll]

Fate/Zero, the prequel to TYPE-MOON's popular Fate/stay night visual novel and anime series, quickly became one of the most anticipated series of the year when it was announced. One of the biggest reasons for that was the involvement of Gen Urobuchi, who penned the novel the anime is based on and as well as one of the biggest hits in years, January's Puella Magi Madoka Magica. Its screenplay was its strongest and most lauded aspect and it helped propel Urobuchi's name, already a knowledgeable one among otaku as game maker Nitroplus' chief writer, to the upper echelons of the anime world, despite having only done a handful of such titles previously (Phantom (OVA/TV), Blassreiter).

For Fate/Zero, he is only supervising the script (mistaken prior for doing the actual screenplay adaptation, which was one of the driving forces behind the show's hype), but it was not the only thing that had fans antsy for its debut, as ufotable, fresh from their star-making film adaptation of TYPE-MOON's Kara no Kyoukai - the Garden of Sinners, was handling the animation production and Yuki Kajiura, who composed the scores to both Kara no Kyoukai (her best work to-date, IMO) and Madoka Magica, would be lending her talents to the series, as well. There was also the aspect of it telling the backstory to the famed Fate series that provided its high-profile status, alone, though thankfully for this neophyte, the first episode of Fate/Zero was not too hard to follow.

HardDoor, Now Serving:: Open-Facebook Sandwiches!!

Should go well with Cream of Twitter… Mmm… ;)

It was one year ago yesterday that HardDoor unveiled its new, revamped layout. One of the biggest additions to it was the introduction of a widget that displayed the blog's Twitter there, which made its own debut a few months before as an early anniversary present to it. What I never mentioned at the time was that I also considered starting a Facebook page at the same time, too. What stopped me, though, was that I never really got the point of FB--even more so than my preconceived notions of Twitter, which I initially poked fun at for some of its banality, but also managed to see--and ultimately affirm--the usefulness in it. In FB, I kind of "got" it, but never really "got" it.

In spite of that, I have always kept the door open. And with many anime companies having FB pages that they links to on Twitter, I have got a little more accustomed to it. I've seen it implemented in different ways elsewhere, too (who hasn't at this point?), and since I still had a desire to start a page for HD, I figured what better day to start one than on October 4th, 2011?

Some may have already noticed the widgets on the side of the blog, which I place before even announcing the page here (thus spoiling the surprise). So far, I'm finding more use out of FB than I thought I would, though I don't plan on disclosing every little detail of my digital life (which they seemingly want you do). I do, though, plan on using it to post blog status updates and also as a "mini-diary" sort of thing…or something, since I'm still in the midst of figuring out what to really do with it. The URL is sort of temporary, since FB won't grant you a real one until the page gains 25 fans (*fingers crossed*), but for now, I hope you will enjoy it and watch me find meaning to its existence!

--HD

Facebook: HardDoor

:anime: HardDoor's Seasonal Anime Preview 2011-12 Special:: noitaminA (Autumn, Winter)

Fuji TV's noitaminA block has regularly produced a number of high-quality and notable works, but its spring and summer lineups this year looked so promising, I decided to do a mini-seasonal preview special on it. It was intended to be just a one-time feature, but I was open to doing it once more if the block proved especially interesting once more. No offense to Fuji TV or noitaminA, but it seemed so unlikely at the time that they could possibly strike such gold again.

And yet, here we are…

Similar to the past two seasons, noitaminA looks to have pulled out all of the stops for their autumn and winter lineups, which carry a number of interesting notes. The first of those are the big-named staffs being assembled for UN-GO and GUILTY CROWN (by BONES and Production I.G, respectively (well, a division of the latter, anyway), who also handled the summer slate of titles), creating an intriguing mix of talent whose final products should yield some equally intriguing results. GUILTY CROWN's run, however, will be stretching into the winter as a two-cour series, leaving the second timeslot to the surprise entrant of a Black Rock Shooter TV series in January February 2012 (thus making it "A Very supercell Winter", with the group's involvement in both noitaminA shows for that season's lineup).

[UPDATE (01/10/12): NoitaminA made a surprise announcement of a fourth series to debut in the season, albeit a three-episode long, Flash-based animation in Thermae Romae, whereas Black Rock Shooter was pushed back to February. More after the break…]

:anime: Free/Low-Cost Anime Pick of the Month:: Black Cat

Halloween comes a little early. But not really…

Black Cat

Official Sites: Japanese, English
Additional Links: Manga Site, TBS Site, ANN Entry, MAL Entry
Video [Free]: FUNimation, Hulu

It's not exactly Halloween yet, and despite its title, it's not exactly a Halloween, or even scary, title, either, but what Black Cat is, though, is a very fine and stylish action series.

Train Heartnet, aka "Black Cat", was once one of the most feared members of an elite assassin group, but after a life-altering encounter with a female bounty hunter, he shunned his former killer persona and left the organization. Sven, an older, down-on-his-luck bounty hunter, takes Train up as a partner, alongside young girl/deadly bio-weapon Eve. While the trio chase after bounties and their new future, Train's obsessive and power-hungry mentor vies to have his ward of old return to his former self and be by his side as he spearheads a rebellion against their former employer…

:boxing: Smoke & Mirrors…:: Mayweather vs. Ortiz / "Give Us Barabbas!":: Alvarez vs. Gomez

For the past couple of weeks, you may have wondered as to why you have not seen any sort of mention about tonight's Floyd Mayweather, Jr.-Victor Ortiz bout either here or on Twitter. Simply put, I didn't want to give it any more hype than it already has, much of it very bloated. Copious amounts of airtime has been dedicated to the promotion of the fight on mainstream media venues, as everyone has treated it like it is the biggest event of the year. In actuality, it's not--not even close (More than Pacquiao-Marquez III? Really?)--but by vaunted perception, it, sadly, is. The reality is this: Victor Ortiz should not have been matched up with Floyd Mayweather, Jr. and is nowhere close enough to being at his level to either warrant it or this level of attention. Of course, he garners much of it because of Mayweather (the only real reason), his rough-and-tumble childhood, and his brash talk of knocking him out, but if the non- or casual boxing fan steps away from the media pressers or the fighters' chirping, they might realize that much of the bout is smoke and mirrors…

:anime: Ani-Journal (BETA) - For August 29, 2011

Back in June, I hinted at some new things I had planned for HD, and this was one of them (though not the "new segment" I was referring to, so I guess you can consider this as one of those "surprises"… ;) ). I'm still debating over the exact format (hence the "BETA" tag), so please bear with me as I experiment with it over time.

"Ani-Journal" is basically my collection of thoughts on my current anime viewings and whatever going-ons are happening in the industry, as well as any other miscellaneous things (i.e. newly-purchased releases, anime-related commentary). I have been mulling over something like this for a while now, where I can cover a variety of topics and subject matters in short form and be a little more frank and informal than usual. It's sort of like a cross between "Anime Kibbles 'n' Bits" of old, HD's Twitter feed, and the more formal postings here, but in bite-sized and easily digestible form. It isn't a replacement of the latter by any means, just a little something on the side (think of it as the "lounge room" of HD… ;D ). There is no set schedule of when new entries appear, they just pop-up whenever they do, like a GAINAX reference or a loli scene in a Shinbo/SHAFT show. I'm strongly considering a boxing version (a revamped "Boxing Bits"?), and/or just a melding both into a central feature along HD's topical guidelines, but that'll come at another time. But anyways…

:anime: Free/Low-Cost Anime Pick of the Month:: Rurouni Kenshin OVA: Trust & Betrayal (Tsuioku-hen)

© N. Watsuki / Shueisha, Fuji-TV, Aniplex Inc.

I originally had something different planned for this month's pick, but when a work such as this becomes available, you've got to change plans…

Rurouni Kenshin OVA: Trust & Betrayal (Tsuioku-hen)

Official Sites: Japanese, English
Additional Links: ANN Entry, MAL Entry
Video [Free]: niconico
Picture Source: Edited from Aniplex USA's Facebook page

Ever since debuting in 1999, the four-part prequel OVA to Rurouni Kenshin, Trust & Betrayal (Tsuioku-hen), has, statistically, been the highest-rated anime of all-time (according to the two most notable anime databases at Anime News Network and MyAnimeList.net (although it was 2nd behind the classic Legend of the Galatic Heroes on MAL around its height)). More than Cowboy Bebop, more than Neon Genesis Evangelion, more than any of Hayao Miyazaki's or Ghibli's films--obviously, it is no small feat, and for the better part of the decade that followed, it held that distinction in the face of other strong contenders: The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya, Death Note, Fullmetal Alchemist, Mushi-Shi, Bakemonogatari (the best-selling anime of the decade), FLCL, Millennium Actress, and even the Academy Award-winning Spirited Away. It has since yielded that title to some more recent and well-known titles in the last few years, such as Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood, CLANNAD: After Story, and The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya, though with the current generation of newer, younger fans growing up in an age of increased Internet access--and with that, a quicker and easier access to anime--and a bigger fanbase, in general, than circa 1999, it is perhaps not too surprising, especially when you also consider that those three (including current MAL front-runner Gintama') all came from recent, more relevant, and very popular franchises.

:anime: Free/Low-Cost Anime Pick of the Month:: Bamboo Blade

Bamboo Blade

Official Sites: Japanese, English
Additional Links: ANN Entry
Video [Free]: FUNimation, Anime News Network (Sub / Dub)

Sports anime have never really found a footing in the North American market, in spite of some rather well-received ones that have appeared here in retail and on the web (Princess Nine, Fighting Spirit/Hajime no Ippo, Big Windup!, and Cross Game, to name a few). They are big in Japan, though, and classic titles of the likes of Champion Joe/Ashita no Joe and Ace wo Nerae! have had a widespread influence on anime and manga, regardless of their genre, for the decades that followed.

:boxing: Boxing Bits ::07.27.11:: Khan Zaps Judah

:Sat.07.23.11:

Amir Khan KO5 Zab Judah

Before their anticipated match-up this past Saturday, more than fair share of people had Zab Judah, rejuvenated and refocused, knocking-out rising star Amir Khan by the halfway point. But the only one left standing by then wasn't the Brooklynite…

:boxing: The Breaking Point

What happens when you numerically out-land your opponent across every category? When your connect rate doubles (and sometimes triples) your opponent's in every single round? When you land nearly 50% of your power punches (more than double his own, at 21%)? Where your lowest round percentage of 34% still tops his best by 5% (and was the only time, besides a 38% in another round, that you went below 40% in the entire fight--and you still connected more than him both times!) and your highest was 68% (with two other trips above 60%--spending half of the fight landing at least 45% of your power punches)? How about when you out-jab and, in total, out-land your opponent by a 2:1 margin, snapping back his head with each successive shot, displaying the greater ring generalship, and having people question the health of your opponent more than your own, as you don a massive knot on the side of your head? And what happens when the crowd, analysts, the press, and other ringside observers--including your opponent's corner during the match--have you winning the fight?