MIXED BAG! ANIME CO-PILOT #1 HIMOUTO! UMARU-CHAN!

New Mixed Bag? New format! (Maybe videos later. For now I'm just glad to be back in this horse and pony show.)

Anime Co-Pilot is a new fun little article series I plan to use as a means to share my thoughts on animes as I discover them. And I plan to watch a lot of anime this year. So, in Anime Co-Pilot I'll be describing my opinion on the first episode of the anime and give a simple review with a rating of Continue! or Pass!

"Continue!" implies that you should check it out and I am gonna watch more. "Pass!" implies that you can probably skip it and I won't be watching more.

I hope that is simple enough and I hope that these articles are interesting to you guys.

HIMOUTO! UMARU-CHAN! EPISODE 1

HIMOUTO! UMARU-CHAN THEME!

himono/干物 [hee-moh-noh]
noun
1. Japanese. Literally "dried fish" but also used as slang to describe a woman who is lively and proper in public, while being a lazy slob in private.

imouto/妹 [ee-moh-toh]
noun
1. Japanese. Little sister.

"Himouto!" / 干物妹 is a portmanteau of the Japanese slang himono and the Japanese word for little sister. I've mentioned before that the Japanese are fond of their portmanteaus, such as Pokemon being a combination of "pocket" and "monster", and this play on words is an apt description of the main female character of Himouto! Umaru-Chan.

I hesitate to call Umaru Doma the protagonist because of her estranged relationship with her brother Taihei (who may also be the protagonist). Himouto! Umaru-Chan is a comedy that starts by defying genre conventions. 

The meta humor reflects a modern trope: typically, in the animes that the introduction parodies, a perfect teenage girl moves into the big city to live with her older brother and the anime suggests or even outright delivers romantic and/or sexual tensions between the older brother, his sister and her friends. An offensive trope, especially for Western sensibilities, but a popular genre nonetheless in the last couple decades. But...

Himouto! Umaru-Chan isn't really that kind of anime.

In public, Umaru is perfect. Taihei tells us that she is the popular, pretty and talented. She is an A-student and everyone loves Umaru. They do not know that Umaru lives a double life: in public, she is perfect. In private, she is anything but! 

The moment Umaru crosses the threshold into her apartment she transforms into an obnoxious (but cute) chibi caricature of herself, Umaru-chan. Umaru-Chan is a bratty, obnoxious, lazy, slob of a female otaku who spends all of her free time indulging herself by eating junk food, watching anime, playing video games, drinking cola, and pestering her brother into waiting on her hand and foot.

This is not anybody's fantasy. It is a hilarious nightmare where we find ourselves rooting for and against both characters. Sometimes we want to indulge Umaru-chan in her ridiculous pursuits and interests. I mean, even when she is at her worst, she is one of the cutest anime characters I've watched in recent memory. The fact that she is a little annoying honestly adds a little bit more to her likeability! But when she pushes Taihei too far and acts like a spoiled toddler, we begin to root for poor Taihei! This dynamic is great and I can't wait to see whether or not Taihei can save his sister from becoming a loser or whether she'll drag her friends down in the process!

The slice of life comedy, mixed with over the top cute visuals and otaku references, is addictive fun that manages to hook me from the get-go.

And I'll admit that I have watched a few more episodes and getting to meet her friends and rivals, who are all equally obnoxious and cute in their own ways, is enough of a reason to keep watching the rest of the season!

That's why it is so easy to give Umaru-Chan a rating of...

CONTINUE!

What anime should I check out next? What do you think of Umaru?

MUSIC MON! LET'S GET ANIME AS FAKKU! #1

"HAPPY MATERIAL!" (MAGISTER NEGI MAGI COVER W/ DRIA-DONO)

Sometimes you gotta scrape the bottom of the barrel to share and create content and, in this case, I found a hole in the bottom of the barrel and decided to dip my fingers into the anime can below (which is, also, filled with gooey caramel. Go figure).

Anywho, let's start with something light and sweet and fun with a little collab between some voice actors/singers/entertainers from youtube from anime that I've never watched. Because why not.

EVANGELION: A CRUEL ANGEL'S THESIS (ENGLISH COVER BY SAPPHIRE)

And move right into a cover of the anime that everyone who wantys to get into anime or wants to call themselves an anime fan/expert should probably watch, Hideaki Anno's ambitious to the point of madness, Neon Genesis: Evangelion.

I don't love Neon Genesis. I'm not even sure I like Neon Genesis. But the anime's reverberations throughout the anime fan community and medium can still be felt today. The anime mixes intellectually dark and brooding themes of religion, gender, and puberty into something that is often uncomfortable to watch but, thanks to the beautiful animation and style, is something worth experiencing.

Many big names in anime started out on this project and, like I said, you can see it's influence everywhere. If you haven't, check it out. The dub is pretty good (even if Shinji is a whiny brat, so what? Can you really blame him? Really?!).

FAKKU- HENTAI DUDE FT. GF RETRO + JOSIP ON DECK

And now for something completely shallow and potentially divisive with the latest release from the perviest senpai MC on youtube, Hentai Dude.

Dude's name speaks for itself.

So, now that checking out some slightly too otaku stuff is out of the way, let's get pseudo intellectual for a second, again, and personal:

"Never knows best" doesn't mean anything. That's a lie. Maybe the guy who wrote it didn't know what it meant. That's fine. He just thought it sounded cool because he didn't speak much English or maybe he was being intentionally vague and it didn't mean anything. That's fine. It still meant something to me when I was thirteen years old, staying up late, and watching anime on cable.

It doesn't take much to figure out why I was watching anime, because I watched it for all the reasons that a young teen anime fan watches anime. I watched it because I still liked cartoons, but wants to be mature. I watched it because the anime girls caught my interest. I watched it because, at thirteen, I was starting to get cynical as all hell.

I'm not sure what "Never Knows Best" means yet. But I do know what FLCL meant to me. It meant that feeling like you wanna grow up, like your between childhood and adulthood, and like you want to understand how to balance all these weird feelings against the childhood identity. It means learning to take responsibility but also it means realizing you'll never know everything. You think being an adult means trying to be cool or it means serious business. It doesn't.

At this point I'm rambling, but you might be able to dig the profound or presumptious message I'm trying to get across in the wishy-washy fooly-cooly sort of way that I am.

Sometimes, you just need a little crazy. A little Haruko.

Sometime I'll revisit this again when I'm feeling wistful.

WORD OF THE DAY! 1/2/15! (MINI SATSUKI KIRYUIN NENDOROID REVIEW)!

fascism [fash-iz-uhm]
noun
1. A governmental system led by a dictator having complete power, forcibly suppressing opposition and criticism, regimenting all industry, commerce, etc., and emphasizing an aggressive nationalism and often racism.

EX. In my opinion, the intellectual impetus for the relationship between people & clothing, in the world of Kill La Kill, is the conceptualization of fashion as fascism.

The anime begins with a teacher expounding upon the history of Nazi Germany. This is interrupted by a student trying to steal a "Goku Uniform" which is a literal and figurative symbol of authority as it grants power and prestige in this world. He is quickly subjugated by the school's disciplinary chief, Gamagoori, and, later that episode, we see the student prostrated above the entrance of the school as a symbol to all that resistance to the status quo is, indeed, futile. 

The show follows up this introduction by establishing the structure of the society built around the Honnouji Academy; on the island, the closer to the school at the top, the better you're standing and wealth. Your family's standing and wealth are directly proportional to the Goku school uniforms worn by the children of the household with most having no stars and therefore being the bottom rung of this society. Above them are one star uniforms, which belong to anyone who conforms to the school's regimentation of clubs. Above them are the club captains who wear two star uniforms that are custom attuned to accent their natural abilities for combat from the gardening club to the tennis club. Above them are the three stars, which are the Elite Four of the school and oversee the four branches of clubs/activities/etc. And above even them is Satsuki Kiryuin the School President and fearless, ambitious, and seemingly cruel leader of this little dictatorship. Power is everything in this society and no one has more power than Satsuki.

The messed up part? Honnouji Academy is a microcosm of the effects of the Kiryuin's textile brand, which clothes the majority of the world, and plans to cover the world in their fascism. I mean fashion! I mean, seriously, Honnouji Academy even goes to war and conquers other schools as part of their ultimate plan. What is their final plan? Well...

At least that sounds clever, right? Right? Nudge nudge? Wut wut. The point, I suppose, is that for an anime that might turn away many viewers with the revealing outfits and over-the-top style is actually worth a few moments of consideration thanks to some deeper themes. Anywho...

...without further ado, let's get to the figure review!

If you wanna check out my other Kill la Kill Nendoroid review, CLICK HERE. I will be keeping things short and sweet since most things I said in that review remain true for this delightful figure.

PACKAGING

Sparkling, in white and blue, with those judgmental eyes looking up at you is this fantastic piece of packaging that somehow manages to surpass the packaging for my Mako and Ryuko figurines. Just like the other boxes, I will probably keep these around for display alongside the figures, since the boxes have such a high level of detail. They even have portholes in the sides!

The only downside is that the banner piece with her name that comes with the figure might be missed as it is hidden between a flap and the back of the box.

QUALITY

Much like the Ryuko and Mako figures, the sculpt for Satsuki is top notch and, due to the detail required to captures the intricacies of her junketsu, the paint is an even higher standard. It helps that the character has such a contrasting design to her heroic counterpart but her uniform, with the pauldrons on her shoulders and the zig zag details on her hips, you can really appreciate the amount of attention that went into capturing this dynamic character.

POSE-ABILITY AND FUNCTIONALITY

This, unfortunately, is where the figure loses some points against the others in this trio; Satsuki, in theory, has all of the same functionality as Mako and Ryuko but falls short thanks to a creative decision and a limitation of the design.

She comes with less pieces than he counterparts and this means it feels like she can't do a lot of the same poses. The trade-off, which comes in creativity, is she comes with some really fun set pieces that I'll talk about in the next section.

The limitation of her design, on the other hand, is more damning; her long hair and bust get in the way of posing her. In fact, it is a much bigger pain to get her into a pose due to the fact that her arms pop off easier than the other figures, her head has less movement due to the hair, and the piece holding her up is difficult to pose as it gets pinned between her back and hair.

So, in this way, she loses out to the simpler and more flexible designs of her counterparts.

CREATIVITY

In the Ryuko and Mako designs they capture Ryuko by giving her a ton of flexibility and pieces to help create a ton of action packed poses and, in Mako, they give her a lot of goofy accessories to give her the rubbery animation comedic hijinks she deserves. Satsuki, on the other hand, is only silly in just how serious she can be.

So, to accent her serious and over the top dramatic flair, they gave her a few special accessories: she got her sword and her sword's sheath, a banner to display behind her with her name in kanji, and lastly they actually gave her the steps that come down from her tower at the school. This allows you to create an adorable version of some of the more dramatic moments of the show and sets her apart from the other two figures in a clever way. I only feel they might've sacrificed some other attention to detail for this addition.

VALUE

Lemme just quote the other article.

"At about $50 a pop these figures are a big step in price and quality over my other figures that usually are in the line of $10-20 but they look better than just about any anime figure I've ever seen in a Hot Topic or at my local otaku shop (and some of the otaku shop figures are hundreds of dollars).

Nendoroid is a fantastic line for a fan of the chibi and small figures, like myself, and I plan to purchase more in the future. I'm definitely getting the Satsuki Kiryuin figure to complete this set but I would flip my lid if they made a Jojo's Bizarre Adventure style Mako figure or something from FLCL."

And really I followed through with what I said!

CONCLUSION?

The Satsuki Kiryuin figure was worth the wait, even if I feel like posing her as much (or as little as some see it) as the other figures is a bit of a pain, and I feel like she completes my desk by sitting a top my computer tower.

I can't think of a better way to cap off Kill la Kill since it has easily become one of my favorite anime series of all time. (Maybe with another figure review in the future?)

And so, with a soft and bittersweet sigh, I say goodbye to 2014 and hello to 2015. I feel like there will be a lot of anime and figures on the horizon. Thank you.

WTF WED! THE MUSICAL! WEEABOOS, CARTOON NOSTALGIA, & POMF! NSFW!

FILTHY FRANK- WEEABOO SONG!

First? We've got a condemnation of the most extreme members of the otaku subculture. There are otaku.

otaku [oh-ta-koo]
noun
1. A Japanese term for a person with an obsessive interest, especially anime and manga.

And then there are weeaboos...

weeaboo [wee-uh-boo]
noun
1. Slang. A non-Japanese person who is obsessed with Japanese culture, especially in a superficial way that focuses on anime, manga, and the tropes therein.

I may tread the waters of otakudom, from time to time and, while I've done some weeaboo-ish things before (every non-Japanese person who likes aspects of Japanese culture probably has), I would say that I am pretty opposed to the notion of being categorized as a weeaboo.

I like and am a consumer of Japanese culture, both pop culture and otherwise, and history. But I also have other interests like western cartoons, comic books, and fantasy/sci-fi/horror novels. I like some Japanese games, but I don't like JRPGs. I have taken classes in Japanese. But I have also taken classes in Spanish and German. To be fair, I did pursue Japanese with the most interest and considered moving to Japan for a career in education, but my degree is in History (with more of a focus on Modern Europe) and Creative Writing (though I did write one story set in Japan). I want to revisit Japan, but I also want to revisit Australia. I don't want to live in Japan though. I like living in the USA. And I could go on talking about how I like Japanese things but I am not obsessed. I appreciate but I am also critical of Japanese culture which is seemingly rife with xenophobia, loneliness, and anxiety.

Ultimately though, what sets me apart from the weeaboos is that I don't think that Japanese culture is superior to Western culture. I don't think I'm Japanese just because I can write in Hiragana and Katakana or say a few phrases. Most importantly, I don't own a katana. Freakin' weeaboos.

ADHD- SCIENTIFIC ACCURACY THE PLAYLIST!!

ADHD has done a lot of these buggers and I've shared a few. I think the only two I haven't shared are the Pokémon and Chip & Dale videos. I think I stopped sharing them because the humor was slightly repetitive with these series-- mix scientifically accurate facts, especially disgusting and disturbing ones about the animals present, with nostalgia. And animal penises.

"The gun is good. The penis is evil."

POMFPOMFPOMF =3 WON!(SERIOUSLY NSFW)

I am subscribed to at least three youtube channels that mainly feature AMVs and other VO work by actresses with voices like little Japanese girls. As a fan of voice artists and someone who is subscribed to about 100 channels, this is just a side-effect of my dangerous trek through the mountains of otakudom.

pomf [pawmf]
noun
1. The sound effect made when someone falls back onto a bed.

This video will probably make you uncomfortable. It should. I makes me uncomfortable and yet I'm sharing it with you because that's what I do.

Everyday I stare into the abyss of the internet. My damnation is inevitable. I never stood a chance.

This has been another WTF Wednesday article, when and where we gape into the wound where the internet's heart used to be. Pomf.

Ya'll deserve a palate cleanser if you made it this far.

Nevermind. I give up. I'm gonna crawl under a rock now and die. WTF Japan indeed.

MIXED BAG. KILL LA KILL NENDORIOD FIGURES REVIEW!

I FRICKIN' LOVE

THE CRAP OUT OF

KILL LA KILL!

It is an anime that, every time me and my friend Zach Stanifer finished watching a subbed episode, we'd simultaneously look at each other and say "soooooo goooooood!"

Now, many people might right this anime off at first sight as a cheesecake magical girl show for guys to gawk at. And, while the protagonist is quite attractive and the outfits quite skimpy, but that's just a skin deep look. At the core the show is about amazing over the top action...

 

...and top notch physical comedy!

 

And this makes sense. After all, the anime is made by veteran writers and artists that worked on Neon Genesis Evangelion, FLCL, and Gurren Lagann.

 IS KILL LA KILL A WARNING ABOUT WEARABLE TECH?

While essentially a tale of friendship and revenge, the execution and ideas flying around are what set this anime apart:

Ryuko Matoi is a new student enrolling at Honnouji Academ to seek revenge on his killer. The primary suspect is Satsuki Kiryuin, the school president and heir to a fashion empire. We quickly discover that this fashion empire has fairly fascist ideals, world-domination schemes, and that their passion for fashion kills. Satsuki and her cronies are equipped with special uniforms that give them incredible power. When Ryuko stumbles upon an experimental uniform made by her late father, she must use it to takedown her opponents and discover the truth behind her father's murder.

Her best friend in the series is Mako Mankanshoku, the other figure I'm reviewing, and serves as the comedic relief of the series to contrast the angst of our protagonist.

The themes of the show include the relationship between people and clothing, fascism (as fashion), friendship, rivalry, resolve, etc.

It is insane, beautiful, and hilarious.

If you're interested in watching it yourself, check it out HERE on Crunchyroll.

I like the anime so much I decided to buy some rather pricey but incredible Japanese Nendoroid figures of the show main protagonists (and eventually the villain) to help add some girl power to figure collection, fulfill some otaku needs, and generally just have too much fun with toys.

The format I'm going to use is rating the figures based on packaging, quality, pose-ability/functionality, creativity, and value.

So, without further ado, let's get to the figure review!

WORD OF THE DAY! 5/24/14!

THE AKIRA PROJECT (FAN TRAILER!)

Neo Tokyo [nee-oh-toh-kee-yoh]

noun

1. Anime.  In the manga and anime film, Akira, the city of Tokyo was destroyed by an apparent atomic bomb explosion on Dec 6th of 1982 that sets off World War III. By 2019, Neo Tokyo is a new city built on an artificial island in Tokyo Bay that is gripped by drug crime, anti-government terrorism and gang violence.

EX. Neo Tokyo never looked better than in this amazing fan trailer that serves as an homage to perhaps the most influential anime film of all time. Seriously, if we got an Akira film with these sorts of production qualities (Zach Snyder would honestly be a director capable of pulling off such a vision-- just look at his film adaptation of The Watchmen), I would be happy to pay to see that in IMAX.

BARTKIRA!

WTF WED! DORAEMON 2020: THE WIZARD HORSE AND THE CUTSIE-POOPS!

DORAEMON @ THE 2020 NEO-TOKYO OLYMPICS!

Doraemon is probably the most beloved characters in the history of manga and his credentials have allowed him to one up Pokémon, the franchise that just became the mascots for Japan's national soccer team, by becoming the ambassador for Tokyo's 2020 Summer Olympics bid. The funny thing about Tokyo getting the 2020 Olympics is that the 1988 anime film, Akira, predicted that they would host the Olympics...in Neo-Tokyo and, int he film, the climax takes place at the stadium. This all leads up to a hilarious and weird mash-up of two very different subjects.

WIZARD HORSE!

When equestrian magic meets human technology, apparently hijinks ensue in the newest cartoon from the fellas who brought you Charlie the Unicorn.

BEAR AND BUNNY BOOY <3 !

Who is driving? Oh my god, Bear is driving?! How can that be?!

WORD OF THE DAY! 11/6/13!

STEVEN UNIVERSE: EPISODE 1 "GEM GLOW"

(魔法少女) mahou shoujo / majokko [ma-hoh-shoh-joh / mah-joh-koh]
noun
1. Japanese. Literally translates as "Magical Girl", it refers to the classic and popular sub-genre of Japanese manga/anime that feature young girls using magic. The common tropes in this sub-genre include children and teenagers using magic to fight evil, magical transformation sequences, talking animal sidekicks, and themes of friendship & love between the characters. The most well-known of this genre in America is the Sailor Moon anime.

EX. Hey guys! Cartoon Network just aired a new animated TV show created by Rebecca Sugar, one of the most celebrated writers and storyboard artists of Adventure Time behind the Emmy nominated episodes "It Came From the Nightosphere" and "Simon & Marcy."

The show is called Steven Universe and takes many of it's cues from mahou shoujo as it depicts a world threatened by evil and protected by the intergalactic majokko and intergalactic warriors with special gems embedded in their bodies to summon magical weapons and save the day. The members of the group include:

The logical and strategically minded Pearl.

The care-free and wild Amethyst.

The strong and disciplined Garnet.

 And Steven.

Um, he is still in training. But really, I don't think I should have to go any further to sell you on this show; check it out at the link at the top of the article.

The First Episode is about Steven's favorite ice cream sandwich being discontinued. This is still a better premise than most episodes of Sailor Moon. Think about that.

WORD OF THE DAY! 7/24/13!

sailor fuku [sehy-lohr-foo-koo]/ seifuku [sehy-foo-koo]
noun
1. A traditional Japanese school uniform worn by girls, primarily in middle school and high school, but sometimes elementary school, that borrows scaled down design elements from the sailor suits worn by children of European royal familie during the 19th and 20th centuries.
2. Japanese. Seifuku or "競服" literally translates to "school clothes" and applies to girl's and boy's uniforms (thanks Nate).

EX. Arguably, the most famous wearers of sailor fuku (at least in America) are Sailor Moon and the Sailor scouts of the popular 90's sentai anime/manga that found popularity in the West. Many anime have cliched uniforms but others can be identified by the distinct uniform worn by the teenage characters that can be quite distinct; for example, the black and white uniforms from Bleach versus the colorful uniforms worn by the characters of Yu Yu Hakusho versus the more intricate or generic designs below.

Surely, there is nothing better to wear when trying to fight crime, slay demons, or save the world...

WATCH LAUNDRY DAY!

WTD WED! TFS! HELLSING ULTIMATE ABRIDGED EP. 1!

WTF WEDNESDAY PRESENTS

TEAM FOUR STAR! HELLSING ULTIMATE ABRIDGED! EP. 1

Well, I had to give this series a second chance when the third episode of Hellsing Ultimate came out a couple days ago and I have to say it turned my frown upside down. A good abridged series isn't something that comes along every day and this one is pretty sweet. It takes the second anime adaptation of the awesome Hellsing manga, Hellsing Ultimate, and makes it a hilariously over the top, violent, graphic, and silly mess. Enjoy.

WTF WED! DUB OF THE NORTH STAR!

WTF WEDNESDAY PRESENTS

DUB OF THE NORTH STAR!

This week I'm sharing a great abridged series with you guys from the fellas at Weekly Tube Show based on the classic and essential anime series, Fist of the North Star. The original anime and its dub were an over the top, uber-violent, and post-apocalyptic mix of all the things that are good and bad about dubbed anime series from the early years of the American anime fandom. This abridged series takes all of the wackiest elements of the anime and pushes them into overdrive.