Because of a plane crash a group of students are spending their lives on a desert island where there’s nothing available and they’ll have to make it themselves. The students will show to eat cicadas, how to build traps, a simple allergy test, how to eat hermit crabs, and more. – ANN
Episode Summary: If things had gone the way they should have, Homare, Asuka, Shion, and Mutsu would be kicking back at a hotel with their classmates, enjoying the first evening of their class trip. Unfortunately, their plane crashed into the ocean, and after fighting through dehydration and shark-filled waters, they’re now stranded on a small island in the middle of the ocean. Luckily Homare knows a thing or two about survival skills due to her father’s teachings, but it might be an uphill climb to ensure that all four members of this unwilling adventure party survive to see their own rescue.
Ahoy! I’ve been tagged by Crow of Crow’s World of Anime (thank you for the tag!) to share my ideal anime pirate crew. While I’m always up for something fun, as we all know these sorts of prompts often turn into a serious thought experiment for me. I always want to come up with the best possible answer that I can (and maybe give a shout-out to some of my favorites in the process).
Below are the rules for this particular blogging challenge:
Display the My Pirate Crew logo and add ‘My Pirate Crew’ as a tag.
Thank the blogger who nominated you and post a link to their blog
Select seven anime characters and give them a position on the crew. These are the positions you can to fill. Warrior, sniper, chef, doctor, scientist, navigator, strategist, mechanic, entertainer.
Nominate 5-10 bloggers.
Set sail and rule the seas!
I don’t know that I’ll be able to fulfill rule #5, since from what I can see most of the bloggers that I follow have already done the challenge. But if you’re reading and want to take it on unprompted, by all means please do! I’d love to see what you come up with.
Warrior – Hyakkimaru from Dororo
Hyakkimaru blends the killing potential of demons with the strength of the human heart.
Hyakkimaru had a rough start. Sacrificed by his father in exchange for prosperity, he barely survived infancy. Now, as he seeks the parts of his body stolen from him, he utilizes special extra-sensory perception to identify malevolent enemies and dispatch them using the swords he hides within his prosthetic limbs.
There were a lot of good options for this position, but having just wrapped up Dororo, I feel like Hyakkimaru is a good match. Not only is he a skilled swordsman (using multiple blades), his senses straddle the human and demon worlds. While his drive for revenge might be frightening at times, in his heart he walks the path of humanity.
Sniper – Ogata Hyakunosuke from Golden Kamuy
Ogata is an incredible shot. Just be sure to stay in his good graces.
Ogata is a man with skills and accuracy honed during the Russo Japanese war. While his loyalties are often in question and he may switch factions at any time, if you can keep him on your team you’ll have a definite advantage.
I somehow became a big Golden Kamuy fujoshi over the past few months, and I just had to slip in one of the characters here.
Chef – Furio from Ristorante Paradiso
Furio creates Italian delights with ease.
I’m a big fan of food-based anime and manga, and while Ristorante Paradiso is a drama first and foremost, there’s still plenty of opportunities for food porn. As Casetta dell’Orso’s resident culinary expert, Furio puts food on the table with elegance and grace. It certainly doesn’t hurt that he, like all the other restaurant employees, are easy on the eyes, too.
Doctor – The Medicine Seller from Mononoke
He can cure your physical and spiritual ills.
I’m all about multi-tasking, and the Medicine Seller really embodies that ideal. While his cabinet full of herbs and tonics can help to cure physical ailments, he also has the skills and know-how to defend-against and exorcise supernatural threats as well. He also has a history of defending ships against seafaring demons – very helpful!
Scientist – Professor from Nichijou
She’s smart, but her maturity level might become an issue.
The professor might seem like any other little kid, but having created a sentient robot and a way for animals to speak, it’s clear that she’s a genius beyond her years. I think I can count on her to invent and discover all sorts of interesting things, while also getting into loads of zany situations. Her professed love of sharks is a bonus out on the high seas.
Navigator – Luca from Bodacious Space Pirates
Her persona is a little offbeat.
I was going to try to get through this challenge without obtaining the services of a legitimate pirate, but I just couldn’t resist drawing from a series that I really enjoy, Bodacious Space Pirates. Luca’s personality and her perception are somewhat offbeat, but I think that’s a plus. Having a psychic on my crew will give me an advantage if I have to outrun any interlopers.
Strategist – Togame from Katanagatari
She claims to be a strategist for the government, so why not have her prove it?
Togame is a self-proclaimed strategist, and while her clumsiness and emotionality may call that into question at times, she’s goal-oriented to a fault. At the very least, having her on my team would definitely ensure that things stay lively.
Mechanic – Mogura from Redline
That’s the face of experience.
If anime has taught me anything, it’s that crusty, curmudgeonly old dudes tend to make the best mechanics. Mogura managed to tune a hot rod so that even a lowly human had a chance to win an interstellar death race, so I image that he’d be able to keep my ship in tip-top condition at the very least.
Entertainer – Aijo Karen from Revue Starlight
Karen is ready to impress.
Revue Starlight is full to the brim with character who are ready to entertain their audience, but Karen is the one who ultimately takes her performances (and her fate) into her own hands. Not only that, she’s an incredibly loyal friend and ally – always a plus when you’re engaging in pirate-like activities.
As I said, I’m faltering on who to tag, but if you feel like putting together your own crew, link back here and let me know!
During a protracted civil war that pitted the North against the South, the outnumbered Northerners used dark magic to create monstrous super-soldiers called Incarnates. Now that the war has ended, those Sacred Beasts must learn to make their way in a peaceful society, or face death at the hands of a Beast Hunter. Nancy Schaal Bancroft, the daughter of an Incarnate, turns to hunting the hunter herself. But once she catches up with her quarry, she discovers hard truths about the lives of these Sacred Beasts – ANN
Episode Summary: In the young country of Patria, a competition for resources pits the armies of the North and South against one-another. The North is vastly outnumbered, but they have a special tool at their disposal – the Incarnates, unholy fusions of man and beast that have unimaginable power. This helps tip the scales to the side of the North, and hopefully, eventually toward peace.
When one of the Incarnates goes rogue, the downside of this incredible power becomes apparent. Eventually, their human souls become unable to fight off the beast personas within, and only death can stop their rampage. Elaine, the doctor who created the Incarnates, plans to kill them one-by-one to prevent anything bad from happening. Unfortunately, after she fires a fatal shot at Hank, captain of the squad, she’s murdered by Cain, one of her creations. Hank miraculously awakens two months later and learns that the war has ended, but the leftover incarnates are causing trouble across the land. He becomes a hunter of these rogue incarnates, in order to stop them from murdering the populace.
Perpetually behind and painfully aware of it is how I tend to live my anime lifestyle. With tons of other events going on lately it’s been easy to forget about the fact that a new anime season is almost upon us. Yikes! I’m still catching up on Spring series (and there weren’t that many I planned to watch). But, as usual, here are the list of some upcoming series that have caught my interest. As usual, the proof is in the pudding; I could be way off the mark with any of these predictions and I know there’ll be a few surprises in the mix.
I’m currently coming off of a late-night video game high; this year I took the opportunity to attend Summer Games Done Quick, since it was held at a hotel very close to where I live. It was loads of fun, but staying up late, playing physically-demanding arcade games, and screaming, clapping, and cheering as the event raised $3 million for charity has taken its toll. I don’t think I’ve ever longed for my bed as much as I did at about 2am Sunday morning when we stumbled back into our apartment. Now I’m ready to sit back in my chair and return to my “stories.”
A painting of the first Goldenbaum Kaiser. All Screencaps from Hidive.
Note: This post contains spoilers for episode 8-10 of the series.
I wrotea lotabout my experienceat Anime Centralthis year, and with good reason; I had a good time and felt like I’d finally settled on reasonable expectations for a big convention. I previously attended the con five years ago, and my experience then was somewhat less positive. Part of it was due to the convention location – at that time the hotel and convention center were located pretty far away from any inexpensive food options and the weather wasn’t cooperating (obviously not the con’s fault, but it did color the experience). Also, the amount of travelling back-and-forth between convention buildings felt excessive.
Note: This post contains spoilers for episodes 5-7 of the series.
The Duke of Castrop has enriched himself at the expense of the Empire. All screencaps from Hidive.
The former Duke of Castrop enriched himself off of the Empire’s coin, and now his son Maximilian has continued the family tradition. The Imperial leadership has finally had enough, and so they give Marshal Reinhard the task of quelling this rebellion. Reinhard sends Kircheis with a small fleet of 2,000 ships, which raises some chatter among the hierarchy; not only is this a smaller fleet than was recently annihilated by Castrop’s “Artemis Necklace” (a ring of several deadly weapons orbiting the planet), it also seems to be an action meant to position Kircheis for a major promotion. Fezzan, as usual, is playing both sides; their sale of the weaponry to Castrop is meant to maintain a balance, and therefore continue the war indefinitely.
Summer has just started, and you know what that means. No, not fun in the sun (aka almost certainly getting a sun burn). I’m talking about CONvergence, the biggest Sci-fi/Fantasy/Media convention in the Twin Cities area. This year, the convention is taking up residence in the Hyatt Regency hotel in downtown Minneapolis. As usual, I’ll be sitting on a few panels to help people get excited about anime. Below is my schedule; I hope you’ll stop by if you’ll be at the convention!
Thursday, July 4th
Anime 101 12:30pm – 1:30pm – Hyatt 2 Greenway J With: James C Horvath, Donald Poleke, Michael Grimm (mod), Scott K. Jamison
There is a lot of Anime out there. What’s a good place to start? I’ve been on this panel several times at the convention. Since anime isn’t CONvergence’s main fandom focus, it’s nice to be able to give an overview to those who are curious about it.
Interpreting Anime 5:00pm – 6:00pm – Hyatt 2 Greenway B With: James C Horvath, Lathan Murrell, Michael Grimm
How do Americans interpret anime and how does it differ from the message being delivered in Asia? This is a pretty interesting topic, and not one that many people think about. I spend a lot of time interpreting anime’s themes from my own Western viewpoint, but in some cases those interpretations may not echo the exact intentions of the text. How do we navigate this as Western viewers?
Friday, July 5th
Shiny New Anime 8:30pm – 9:30pm – Hyatt 4 Great Lakes A3 With: J.C. Horvath
Looking for some new anime to watch? Get info on some of the best anime in the last year from panelists that have watched a lot, and enjoy some clips! We do this panel every year at Anime Detour and Anime Fusion, and since there wasn’t an equivalent this year at CON, we decided to run our own 🙂
Saturday, July 6th
Anime, Style vs. Source 11:00am – 12:00pm – Hyatt 4 Great Lakes A3 With: J.C. Horvath (mod), Michael Grimm, Boris L Smelov, Donald Poleke
If you copy the form/style but aren’t in Japan, is it anime? Is it appropriation? This is always a hot topic in the anime community. Are series with aesthetic ties to anime, like Avatar: The Last Airbender or Castlevania considered anime, even though they’re made in the West with a Western audience in mind? I suspect this discussion may get passionate 🙂
As usual, we’ll be around the convention as attendees, too. So if you want to talk “shop” (anime fandom) or just say “hi,” please do so!
Note: This post contains spoilers for episodes 1-4 of the series.
Battles are fought on a massive scale. All screencaptures taken from Hidive.
Summary: Far in the future, humanity’s reach has extended across the Milky Way galaxy. Currently, two factions are vying for control of various trade routes – The Galactic Empire, an authoritarian ruling body with incredible resources and power, and the Free Planets Alliance, descendants of humans who rebelled against the Empire’s authority. Both groups trade with Fezzan, a somewhat-independent planet that trades with either side of the conflict as it suits them.
Critical textual analysis can be a tough gig. By design, there will always be folks who disagree with your conclusions, and a subset of those readers will be genuinely angry with you because of them. One of the pieces of advice I try to give out whenever I participate in an “Anime 101” or similar panel is for people new to the fandom to seek out a critic whose values and opinions reflect their own. This could be myself, another blogger, or a professional reviewer; it doesn’t really matter in the end as long as they speak to the subjects and concerns that person has as a consumer.
As a reviewer, I have certain things specific to myself, my life, and my experiences, that make their way into my writing. Those things can mostly be gathered under the umbrella of “representation of marginalized groups,” though I tend to specifically focus on women and how they’re characterized and treated within narratives. I’m not a big fan of violence, especially sexual violence. I don’t really enjoy fanservice, either, although that’s not always a deal-breaker. All of these are specific opinions of mine, and they’re much broader than any one anime, manga, or film.
How’s the quality of representation in your favorite anime? From “Michiko and Hatchin.”
