After this morning's post regarding my plans to end Anime Recommendations, I got some comments encouraging me to continue the series. And after a little personal reflection, I've decided not to end it. In fact, I'm planning on possibly taking it in a new direction.
I want to make reviews of short anime I find when I click the "Random Series" button that is on most anime streaming sites. They're going to be longer, and more detailed than my current recommendations series. I'm trying to come up with a clever name. Random Button Adventures? Maybe. I'm changing the schedule to every three weeks to give me more time to absorb, understand, and critique the series, instead of dredging up dusty old memories.
Now, I "might" do this. I haven't decided whether to fully replace Recommendations, or make a second review blog. But I'm leaning more to replacing it, since I don't want to double my work so early.
Thursday, November 24, 2011
Bad News
Alright, it’s time for a long, slightly depressing blog post. It’s time for some bad news that I’m sure maybe one person cares about.
I’m thinking of retiring my anime recommendation blog.
One of the reasons behind this is that I feel it’s obsolete. I started it to give recommendations from the point of view of someone recommending an anime to a complete anime newbie. But, the thing is, upon further reflection, there aren’t many anime newbies out there. Anime is much more popular, accepted, embraced, and prevalent around the world than it used to be. So it stands to reason that the amount of newbies has had a steep decline. Sure, there’s the occasional noob, curious about anime and not sure where to start. But that ties in to my next reason.
There are much better, and experienced reviewers out there than me. Sure, this probably sound like self-deprecating whining, and yes, I’ve only done 4 1/2 recommendations, but there are so many other people out there who have covered the exact same shows I have, and much better as well. So there’s really no point to me doing this, at all.
Another, more whiny reason is that, no one reads my recommendation. You’re probably thinking, “Oh, he’s only been doing it for five weeks, of course no one reads them yet.” But I like to hear what people think of my work, positive or negative, so I can improve. And I just don’t get enough interaction with readers to keep it fun, and to give me a reason to do this. After 5 weeks of little response, it gets repetitive, and stops being fun to write, and feels like more of a chore.
So, these are the extremely whiny, pathetic reasons I may stop my anime recommendations. I may do one last recommendation as a last hurrah, but I’ll probably skip this week’s since today is Thanksgiving and I won’t have time to write it.
I’m thinking of retiring my anime recommendation blog.
One of the reasons behind this is that I feel it’s obsolete. I started it to give recommendations from the point of view of someone recommending an anime to a complete anime newbie. But, the thing is, upon further reflection, there aren’t many anime newbies out there. Anime is much more popular, accepted, embraced, and prevalent around the world than it used to be. So it stands to reason that the amount of newbies has had a steep decline. Sure, there’s the occasional noob, curious about anime and not sure where to start. But that ties in to my next reason.
There are much better, and experienced reviewers out there than me. Sure, this probably sound like self-deprecating whining, and yes, I’ve only done 4 1/2 recommendations, but there are so many other people out there who have covered the exact same shows I have, and much better as well. So there’s really no point to me doing this, at all.
Another, more whiny reason is that, no one reads my recommendation. You’re probably thinking, “Oh, he’s only been doing it for five weeks, of course no one reads them yet.” But I like to hear what people think of my work, positive or negative, so I can improve. And I just don’t get enough interaction with readers to keep it fun, and to give me a reason to do this. After 5 weeks of little response, it gets repetitive, and stops being fun to write, and feels like more of a chore.
So, these are the extremely whiny, pathetic reasons I may stop my anime recommendations. I may do one last recommendation as a last hurrah, but I’ll probably skip this week’s since today is Thanksgiving and I won’t have time to write it.
Friday, November 18, 2011
Fifth Recommendation
I've been somewhat busy and distracted this week, and I'm writing this at the last minute, so here's a short one.
Ghost Stories
Go watch the English dub of this anime by ADV. They let the staff do anything they wanted with it, and the results are hilarious. And Greg Ayres worked on it.
No content warnings.
Sorry for having to rush this.
Until next Friday.
Ghost Stories
Go watch the English dub of this anime by ADV. They let the staff do anything they wanted with it, and the results are hilarious. And Greg Ayres worked on it.
No content warnings.
Sorry for having to rush this.
Until next Friday.
Friday, November 11, 2011
Fourth Recommendation
Alright guys, this is a special recommendation. It's my first recommendation on my ThatGuyWithTheGlasses blog! And I just want to say, thanks for the warm welcome! It's refreshing after being on BlogSpot.
With that out of the way, let's get to business. This weeks recommendation is:
Excel Saga
Excel Saga, which premiered October 7, 1999 and ended March 30, 2000, is based on the manga of the same name, which is based on the doujinshi Municipal Force Daitenzin by Rikudo Hoshi. It was directed by the man with the world's coolest afro, Shinichi Watanabe. The studio was J.C.Staff, who have anime like Revolutionary Girl Utena and Azumanga Daioh under their belt. And finally, it was licensed by Funimation.
Random Tidbit: The manga actually just ended this year!
But enough about production and backstory, time to get into the plot! Excel Saga is about the titular character Excel,
an energetic, klutzy, orange haired girl who happens to be the only member of ACROSS, a super-secret organization run by Ilpalazzo.
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| What are his goals? He wants to take over the world, of course. |
And for most of the anime, that's the plot. Other than introducing a bunch of other characters over time, a bunch of side-plots, and having a super-serious plot during the last few episodes, Excel Saga is mostly about, well, Excel. And it's one of the funniest anime I have ever seen.
Random tidbit: Both Rikudo Hoshi and Shinichi Watanabe are characters themselves in the show! In the first episode, Excel has to kill Rikudo. And the recurring character Nabeshin is based on Shinichi Watanabe, afro and all.
The opening and closing songs were both written by Shinichi Watanabe and are pretty memorable, if only for the strange lyrics.
Now, I have to recommend the subbed version. The dubbed version is great, don't get me wrong. The actress they got to play Excel is pretty much the English equivalent of her Japanese counterpart. But there are a lot of jokes that only make sense in Japanese.
There isn't a content warning this time around. Except for the infamous episode 26, "Going too Far". The name really explains it all, but if you must know, there's a lot of nudity and gore in it.
So, here's episode one, ready for viewing! You're going to have to watch it on YouTube though. Funimation disabled embedding. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rFzFkL_X49Y
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| You heard the lady! Get to watching! |
Thursday, November 10, 2011
New Schedule
To accommodate my mirroring this blog with my ThatGuyWithTheGlasses blog, I'll now be posting music recommendations on Saturday.
Friday, November 4, 2011
Third Recommendation
Alright. I've had a bit of trouble in deciding what to recommend. I've seen a lot of anime, and some of them have almost completely been forgotten. But I've finally figured out what to write about. One of the most simultaneously awesome and frustrating series I have ever watched.
Bakemonogatari.
I'll explain myself. Bakemonogatari was an anime by studio Shaft based on a light novel of the same name, written by master of the portmanteau Nisio Isin, that debuted July 3, 2009. 15 episodes were supposed to air on TV, but the last three were hosted on the official website instead. And great Cthulu, those last three took forever to come out! And I'm not just whining about a week or two. Episode 13 came out on the site November 3, 2009. Episode 14 didn't come out until February 23, 2010! And even worse, episode 15 came out 4 months later on June 25! By that point, I had forgotten I had even been waiting for the episode and randomly stumbled across it.
Scheduling aside, Bakemonogatari is actually a pretty good anime. The main character is Koyomi Araragi,
a third year high school student, whose life changes when he meets a certain girl. It's a prevalent cliche, I know. But hear me out. That cliche is actually how every story arc starts. Koyomi helps girls who all have certain problems. Those problems being related to the supernatural. For you see, Koyomi is actually an ex-vampire, but he still has certain powers, including the ability to regenerate and the ability to see things in slow motion (Used in episode 1 to see a girl's panties when the wind blows her skirt up. Our protagonist ladies and gentlemen!). He was cured by, and still receives occasional assistance from, Meme Oshino,
a middle-aged master of the supernatural who lives in an abandoned school building with the cause of Koyomi's former vampirism, Shinobu Oshino, a seemingly mute blonde little girl... er, I mean, an evil vampire!
Another thing to talk about is the style, which has got to be the one of most unique I have seen. It's up there with FLCL in terms of uniqueness. I can't really describe it well, so you'll just have to watch it to find out. Examples:
The opening and closing themes are also pretty good. The opening theme, Staple Stable, is pretty memorable. The ending, Kimi no Shiranai Monogatari, is one of my personal favorites because of both the song, and the artwork. Bakemonogatari also has this thing where when a new arc starts, there'll sometimes be a new opening based on the new female character. But only for the episode she makes her appearance in.
Since it hasn't been dubbed yet, I can't recommend dubs or subs.
Oh yeah, there are scenes of mild nudity, shots of panties, bondage, and slight sexual humor, so if you're a prude, close your eyes withing the first few seconds of episode one.
Now, I've decided to do something new in all of my future posts. From now on, I'm going to include the first episode of the anime I'm recommending for your viewing pleasure, lawsuits be damned! So, here it is, the first episode of Bakemonogatari!:
Bakemonogatari.
I'll explain myself. Bakemonogatari was an anime by studio Shaft based on a light novel of the same name, written by master of the portmanteau Nisio Isin, that debuted July 3, 2009. 15 episodes were supposed to air on TV, but the last three were hosted on the official website instead. And great Cthulu, those last three took forever to come out! And I'm not just whining about a week or two. Episode 13 came out on the site November 3, 2009. Episode 14 didn't come out until February 23, 2010! And even worse, episode 15 came out 4 months later on June 25! By that point, I had forgotten I had even been waiting for the episode and randomly stumbled across it.
Scheduling aside, Bakemonogatari is actually a pretty good anime. The main character is Koyomi Araragi,
a third year high school student, whose life changes when he meets a certain girl. It's a prevalent cliche, I know. But hear me out. That cliche is actually how every story arc starts. Koyomi helps girls who all have certain problems. Those problems being related to the supernatural. For you see, Koyomi is actually an ex-vampire, but he still has certain powers, including the ability to regenerate and the ability to see things in slow motion (Used in episode 1 to see a girl's panties when the wind blows her skirt up. Our protagonist ladies and gentlemen!). He was cured by, and still receives occasional assistance from, Meme Oshino,
a middle-aged master of the supernatural who lives in an abandoned school building with the cause of Koyomi's former vampirism, Shinobu Oshino, a seemingly mute blonde little girl... er, I mean, an evil vampire!
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| Terrifying |
Another thing to talk about is the style, which has got to be the one of most unique I have seen. It's up there with FLCL in terms of uniqueness. I can't really describe it well, so you'll just have to watch it to find out. Examples:
The opening and closing themes are also pretty good. The opening theme, Staple Stable, is pretty memorable. The ending, Kimi no Shiranai Monogatari, is one of my personal favorites because of both the song, and the artwork. Bakemonogatari also has this thing where when a new arc starts, there'll sometimes be a new opening based on the new female character. But only for the episode she makes her appearance in.
Since it hasn't been dubbed yet, I can't recommend dubs or subs.
Oh yeah, there are scenes of mild nudity, shots of panties, bondage, and slight sexual humor, so if you're a prude, close your eyes withing the first few seconds of episode one.
Now, I've decided to do something new in all of my future posts. From now on, I'm going to include the first episode of the anime I'm recommending for your viewing pleasure, lawsuits be damned! So, here it is, the first episode of Bakemonogatari!:
Friday, October 28, 2011
Second Recommendation
For my second recommendation, I've picked an anime I am a big fan of, or at least the first season. Higurashi no Naku Koro ni, or Higurashi When They Cry.
Higurashi is a murder mystery based on the visual novel of the same name and is about Maebara Keiichi, who moves to the fictional Japanese village of Hinamizawa. He befriends a group of girls, Ryugu Rena, Sonozaki Mion, Furude Rika and Houjo Satoko, and joins their after-school club. After a while, Keiichi begins to discover disturbing things about the village's past. I won't go into spoilers territory, so do yourself a favor and check it out.
Oh, and, by the way. There are scenes of blood and violence involving minors, so if you don't like that kind of thing, try to brave it out, because it's totally worth it for the story. Also, yandere.
Tuesday, October 25, 2011
This Friday
This Friday I will be at Oni-Con in Galveston. But that doesn't mean you guys don't get a recommendation! Thanks to my forward thinking and Blogger's scheduling feature, I've pre-written a recommendation that will automatically be posted a 3 PM this Friday. Until then, see you all next Friday! Or, no, I won't literally see you, but. Ah, you know what I mean!
Monday, October 24, 2011
Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann - Row Row Fight the Power! (Rap is a Man's Soul)
Yeah, yeah. I know it's not a theme, but just who the hell do you think I am!?
Great Teacher Onizuka Opening II
Just had the idea to add some of my favorite anime opening and ending themes.
Sunday, October 23, 2011
Future Posts
I have completed 69 anime (lol 69), including movies, and sometime in the future, I won't be able to recommend a series that I've finished. When that happens, I think I'll do a style similar to MasakoX's Anifile. I'll be recommending a series based on what I think of the first, or first few, episode(s). I think that'll be the most logical thing to move onto since there's no way I could complete an anime, find the overall series good, and then write about it every week. I'd be exhausted. Tell me what you think, and if you have any other ideas about what to do, feel free to comment.
Saturday, October 22, 2011
Regarding Updates
For this blog, I plan to post a recommendation every friday. If I do not, I will adequately explain why before, or afterwards.
Friday, October 21, 2011
First Recommendation
For my first anime recommendation, how about a slightly older anime (Not by many years, but anyway...). Great Teacher Onizuka. The continuation of Tohru Fujisawa's Shonan Junai Gumi. It's about the comedic day-to-day life and misadventures of Eikichi Onizuka, a former gang leader, and his pursuit to be, and endeavors in being, a teacher. There is some mild adult content, so if you're against that stuff, grow a pair and watch this anime! But seriously, if you live with people who wouldn't appreciate seeing a high school girl seduce her teacher while half-naked, try watching it when they go to bed. It's highly recommended you watch the English dub, if only for Steve Blum's, and the other voice actor's, hilarious dialogue. One other thing. This anime has some of the funniest faces you will ever see.
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What this blog is for.
Hello, and welcome to BlakeG's Anime Recommendations. Starting today, I will write articles of anime that I recommend the average anime viewer to watch. Expect the first one within the week.
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