Title: D-Frag!
Release Date: January 6, 2014
Studio: Brain's Base
Genre: Comedy, School Life, Slice of Life
Synopsis: Kenji Kazama and his band of delinquents are determined to take over their new school but hit a snag when they stumble upon the weird shenanigans of the school's Game Creation Club and its even weirder president, Roka Shibasaki. Based on the popular manga series by Tomoya Haruno.
Verdict: Don't expect any life-changing revelations or shrewd commentaries on man's complicated nature here, this is pure, wacky, escapist comedy at its finest. Not surprising considering Brain's Base has a penchant for putting out quirky comedies with bizarre characters (e.g. Princess Jellyfish, My Teenage Comedy SNAFU, and Tonari no Kaibutsu-kun). The first episode features a wide range of feats of absurdity, including the most hilariously twisted parody of Pokemon since Egoraptor's PokeAwesome series.
"Defeated now, bitch?!" indeed.
D-Frag isn't here to make you think, it's here to make you laugh, and it's doing a bang-up job so far.
Title: Gingitsune
Release Date: Oct. 6, 2013
Studio: Diomedea
Genre: Supernatural, Slice of Life
Premise: Shortly after the death of her mother, 4-year-old Makoto Saeki begins to see a silver fox spirit lounging on the roof of her family's shrine. Several years later, Makoto, now a high school student, has become something of a local favorite, working with Gin, the fox spirit, to tell people's fortunes and give them advice.
Verdict: A solid pilot from a simple premise. Studio Medea has primarily been known for its lighthearted harem fare, but their latest series seems to be going in a more serious, girl-oriented direction for them.
Makoto is your average high school girl, barring the fact that she and only she can see a gigantic talking fox with supernatural abilities. Gin, voiced by the incredible Shinichiro Miki, has served as the herald, or spirit messenger, for Makoto's shrine for 15 generations. Understandably, Gin approaches his responsibilities as herald with the jaded dutifulness of a veteran blue collar worker. It doesn't help matters that Makoto routinely uses his divining powers just to tell fortunes for her classmates. One such girl seeks Makoto out after a fight with her boyfriend. Makoto relates Gin's advice (apologize) but leaves out a key part (apologize humbly) and ends up making matters worse. Instead of owning her mistake she blames Gin, who subsequently departs the shrine in a huff. In his absence, things begin to fall apart for Makoto, and her client isn't the only one who's learned something by episode's end.
I could see this quickly turning into a series of after school specials, with each week bringing a problem that teaches a different moral, but I will stick around as long as the beautiful art keeps coming. The scene where Gin first summons his divining powers can only be described as majestic, and the shots of the shrines that the spirits call home are faithful depictions of classic Japanese architecture. You probably won't get any earth-shattering revelations out of a show like this, but the art direction is worth repeat viewings.
Title: Kyoukai no Kanata
Release Date: Oct 3, 2013
Studio: Kyoto Animation
Genre: Action/Adventure, Supernatural, Slice of Life, School Life, Comedy
Premise: Easy-going high school student Akihito Kanbara's peaceful life is interrupted when he thwarts the suicide attempt of Mirai Kuriyama. When Mirai rewards Akihito's bravado by stabbing him through the heart, he, an immortal half-human half-youma, and she, a Spirit World Warrior sworn to hunt youma, find their fates irreparably intertwined.
Verdict: A surprisingly pleasant first episode. This one initially swept under my radar because of the cliche setting ( high schoolers dealing with supernatural powers? again?), but the writers have created an interesting dynamic between the lead characters. After their initial encounter, Akihito does his best to avoid Mirai's constant after school ambushes. The last scion of a special clan of Spirit World Warriors with the ability to harden their blood and shape it into weapons, Mirai is something of a pariah in the Warrior community. She has yet to kill her first youma, and has resolved to use the immortal Akihito as target practice. Akihito's childhood friend (and fellow literary club member), Mitsuki Nase, also happens to be the daughter of the most prominent local family of Spirit World Warriors. She warns Akihito not to become further involved with Mirai, although it is not clear whether this is out of concern or flirtatious jealousy (since this is an anime, it's probably both).
Studio Kyoto Animation has a significant track record of "school life with a twist" series under its belt, having previously released such classics as Full Metal Panic and The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya, and their experience is apparent here. Lighthearted segments of everyday high school life are peppered with dazzling bits of smoothly animated supernatural fighting action, and the transitions between the two feel very natural. Writer Jukki Hanada has done a good job of whetting my interest and setting up some intriguing questions to be answered in future episodes. This remains one to watch.
I began this blog as a way to honor the fact that I am both black and nerdy. I usually find myself writing about the latter, but every once in a while I am compelled to write about what it means to be black. Tonight is one of those times. Tonight, it was announced that 29-year-old George Zimmerman, the overzealous neighborhood watch captain who shot and killed 17-year-old Trayvon Martin, had been found not guilty of second-degree murder and acquitted of manslaughter. A lot of people are not happy about it. I am one of those people.
I am not, however, surprised. The first red flag was raised a few days after the incident was initially reported, when I learned that Zimmerman had suffered injuries to his face and head.
I could tell that those injuries would have far-reaching ramifications. They meant more than just a bloody nose and a few stitches. They meant that Trayvon Martin hadn't just stood there and let Zimmerman shoot him. They meant he hadn't gone without a fight. And ultimately, they meant acquittal for Mr. Zimmerman. You see, black people don't exactly have a great track record when it comes to drumming up national sympathy. There are countless cases to choose from, but here are a couple of the most highly publicized:
In 1992, Rodney King (may he R.I.P.) didn't resist arrest before he was beat by five LAPD officers, four of whom were charged and subsequently acquitted of assault with a deadly weapon and excessive use of force.
In 1999, Amadou Diallo (may he R.I.P.) did nothing but reach for his wallet before four plainclothes NYPD officers shot and killed him. All four officers were later - surprise! - acquitted of all charges. Wyclef wrote a song about it.
Notice something? Neither of those young black men offered resistance of any kind, and the people who attacked them unprovoked got off scot-free. The defendants in both cases were given the benefit of the doubt because they were authority figures who believed they had probable cause to pull out their billy clubs and guns. Zimmerman did them one better; the evidence of his probable cause was all over the back of his head.
Right about then I began to have a bad feeling about the prosecution's chances. At this point, all Zimmerman's defense team had to do was convince the jury that he acted not because of race, but because he felt threatened. Here is where a lot of black people will call bullshit, but I believe he did feel threatened. By no means am I saying that he should, but I can see why he did and it has a lot to do with race.
For whatever reason, everyone seems to think that black people are tougher, stronger and more violent because of our unique role in America's history. This has been public opinion in Black America for a while, but for the scientific community it's a fascinating new phenomenon. The good people at Slate recently ran an article mentioning a new study where average people and medical personnel were asked to gauge a random subject's pain in a given situation. The results were surprisingly relevant to my current topic:
"In each experiment, the researchers found that white participants, black participants, and nurses and nursing students assumed that blacks felt less pain than whites...It turns out assumptions about what it means to be black—in terms of social status and hardship—may be behind the bias. In additional experiments, the researchers studied participants’ assumptions about adversity and privilege. The more privilege assumed of the target, the more pain the participants perceived. Conversely, the more hardship assumed, the less pain perceived. The researchers concluded that 'The present work finds that people assume that, relative to whites, blacks feel less pain because they have faced more hardship.'"
Here's the real kicker: the article that references this study was published as part of Slate's coverage of the Zimmerman trial. Trayvon Martin's skin told Zimmerman that he was a threat before his mouth ever could. Everyone believes that black people are somehow more resistant to life's various slings and arrows, whether it's trauma of a physical, emotional or mental nature. What's even sadder is that some black people believe it too (but that's a discussion for another time).
So in case you were (rightfully) bewildered as to how a husky Hispanic man, the jury that acquitted him and large swathes of the American public could perceive a 160-lb unarmed teenager as a threat instead of, I don't know, a scared kid fighting for his life with an oddly aggressive stranger...yeah, that's how. And here's how a mess like this can be prevented from happening again.
If You Find Yourself in George Zimmerman's Position
Back off and let the real police do their job. I know there had been a few robberies and home invasions in the last few weeks and "these assholes always get away," but that's no excuse to ignore a certified emergency dispatcher's orders to stay put. Ideally, they have more training than you do, they're more experienced and, most importantly, they'll have more restraint. When in doubt, defer to the paid professional law enforcers.
If you do decide to ignore certified professionals and be an impulsive cockbag (I believe that's the scientific term for it), approach the individual in question and IDENTIFY YOURSELF so that he or she knows that you aren't a mugger/rapist/killer yourself. If a person runs after you audibly identify yourself as neighborhood watch, feel free to brand them with whatever unflattering label you like, give chase and swing your dick around as impulsive cockbags are wont to do.
If You Find Yourself in Trayvon Martin's Position
Relax, I'm not going to spew some ridiculous shit about not being able to wear hoodies anymore (fuck you, Geraldo Rivera).
I will, however, admit that there was something Trayvon Martin could have done to prevent his own death: cooperate. If you are a minority who is in trouble with an authority figure, whether it is a mall cop or the goddamn Attorney General (I don't know what you'd do to piss him off), the worst thing you can do is put up a fight. I understand that Martin was being followed by a strange man in a strange neighborhood, but his best bet was still to simply confront Zimmerman and find out what he wanted.
"Oh, you want to mug me? I'm broke, but here's some Skittles and iced tea. Please don't hurt me. I'd like to grow up and go to college."
"Oh, you want to kill me? I'd better run away!"
"Oh, you're an overzealous neighborhood watch captain? Actually I'm staying with my step mother down the street. Here's her address. You should have said so sooner; I thought you going to kill me or something."
And before you jump down my throat, demanding to know if I practice what I preach, rest assured that I do. You will never meet a nicer more cordial Aaron than the one who has just been pulled over. When I was pulled over for speeding outside of Jacksonville (coincidentally enough, I was driving back to school from Sanford, FL, where Trayvon Martin was shot), I was extremely cooperative. I cooperated when he quizzed me on my driver's license information to make sure I was who I really was. I cooperated when he felt inside of my car's wheel wells, looking for drugs and illegal contraband. I laughed good-naturedly as he asked me if I was on drugs.
Was it embarrassing? Yes. Did I want to cuss him out, yell "I'm not a fucking drug dealer!" and snidely ask him whether he took this much care with all of his speeding stops? Yes. Did I use some choice vocabulary when I was back in the privacy of my own vehicle, with two tickets totaling almost $500? You bet your ass I did. But I held my tongue and kept my hands where he could see them, just in case he turned out to be like that one cop from Boyz n the Hood.
It may not be your proudest moment, but it will be your smartest. The whole not dying thing is pretty nice too. Just imagine if Trayvon had confronted Zimmerman with words instead of fists that night. In the worst case scenario, let's say Zimmerman doesn't buy that Trayvon is staying just down the road and collars him until the police arrive, sure, Trayvon gets brought in and might have to spend a night in the bookings until someone can clear his name, but at least he's still alive. Plus he's got Zimmerman by the balls, to use legal terminology, and can sue the pants off of him for causing undue stress or defamation of character. And the court gets to hear something that was sorely missing from the actual Zimmerman trial: Trayvon's side of the story.
I'll admit it shouldn't have to be that way. Hopefully, this deeply unsatisfying verdict has inspired a new generation of future black voters, lawyers and lawmakers to revamp the justice system, and one day we'll get to complain just as loudly as we want when faced with undue hostility from authority figures, self-appointed or otherwise. In the meantime, they expect us to get loud, ignorant and disrespectful when confronted by authority, so let's throw them off by being very polite, reasonable and well-spoken.
And if the unfairness of this verdict (and all those that came before it) gets to be too much, just watch this video before you take to the streets:
Title: Gin no Saji
Release Date: July 11, 2013
Studio: A-1 Pictures
Genre: School Life, Slice of Life, Comedy
Premise: When Yugo Hachiken fails to get into his intended high school, he enrolls at Oezo Agricultural High School instead, thinking that the easy classes will leave plenty of time to study for college entrance exams. What he doesn't know is that Oezo's curriculum also requires back-breaking amounts of hard labor. Shenanigans ensue.
Verdict: Conventional wisdom would tell you to leave this anime alone. The subject matter, farm life, is quite a departure anime's usual fare. The first episode, although energetically animated, is pretty forgettable. And finally, I can't see any otaku's Top Ten List including an anime about farming. Case closed, right?
Not quite. This particular anime about farm life happens to be based on a manga by Hiromu Arakawa.
In case that name doesn't ring a bell, she's the brilliant creative mind behind everyone's favorite anime about alchemy: Fullmetal Alchemist. As it turns out, after wrapping up production on one of the greatest anime/manga series of all time (let's just say it's on a lot of people's Top Ten Lists) in 2010, Arakawa-sensei began work on this puppy in 2011. The story hits a bit closer to home than her previous efforts, as it is inspired by her childhood growing up on a Hokkaido dairy farm.
'Nuff said, you had me at "Hiromu Arakawa." If anyone could pull off an anime about farming, it's her. Production studio A-1 Pictures seems to agree, as they've already greenlit and scheduled a second season which will premier next year. If it takes a few episodes for this one to get going, I completely understand. Based on the author's track record, your patience is sure to be rewarded.
Title: Watashi ga Motenai no wa do Kangaetemo Omaera ga Warui!
Release Date: July 8, 2013
Studio: Silver Link
Genre: Comedy, Slice of Life
Premise: Tomoko Kuroki, an accomplished shut-in, mistakes her copious amounts of experience with dating sim games for actual social skills. Her lackluster social life upon reaching high school prompts her to try talking to real people, with hilariously dysfunctional results.
Verdict: One of the core elements of comedy is how relatable the material is. As a recovering socially inept person (along with most of anime fandom), there is plenty to relate to here. Kuroki is the little misfit inside of us all. The silent panic attacks she has as her more outgoing classmates remain cheerfully ignorant of her existence, her overzealous celebrations when she manages to croak out a response to the occasional teacher/convenience store clerk/other normal person who actually speaks to her, the sinking feeling she gets when these small victories are interrupted by encounters with people who are actually socially functioning and romantically involved. All of these episodes recall the social outcasts that we once were (or once knew) in college and/or grade school.
And it is all familiarly, painfully funny. Kuroki's inner narrative tirades against her oblivious peers are sure to raise some eyebrows (she even sics the murderous short aliens from Gantz on them at one point), and another gag where she practices her conversation skills on an eroge had me in stitches. Studio Silver Link and director Shin Onuma were previously teamed up for the popular Baka and Test, and they seem to be up to similar comedic hijinks here. Whether you've put your social ineptitude behind you or you're still figuring it out, this show is sure to elicit a few "I've been there" chuckles.
Title: Uchouten Kazoku
Release Date: July 7, 2013
Studio: P.A. Works
Genre: Supernatural, Comedy, Drama, Slice of Life
Premise: In the city of Kyoto, humans, tanuki (raccon dog spirits) and tengu live among one another without intermingling. Except for Yasaburo Shimogamo, a tanuki who is fascinated by the world of humans and tengu, using his shape-shifting ability to move between societies.
Verdict: This seems like a slow burn, but a slow burn worth watching nonetheless. Aside from Yasaburo's opening narration, which basically reiterates the premise, there isn't much exposition; it's a welcome change from most anime that waste airtime by having characters or a narrator explain how the world works. Instead, the audience is dropped into the story and follows Yasaburo around town, learning the dynamics of Kyoto as he goes about his day. There's plenty to learn in spite of this hands-off narrative approach.
It's apparent Yasaburo doesn't hold much clout in his family due to his habits. He runs into two of his brothers, one older, one younger, and both view his shape-shifting with disapproval or confusion. He also pays frequent visits to his "Master" an old tengu who has lost his ability to fly, and, consequently, his sense of pride. Most importantly, he seems to be acting as a go-between for his Master and the mysterious Benten - a tengu with a sultry femme fatale vibe who might have a romantic history with Yasaburo, his Master, or both.
So far the show is playing its cards pretty close to its chest, but there's definitely hints of a bigger story waiting to be told. I have every confidence that said story will deliver because 1) P.A. Works has yet to disappoint me (seriously, go watch Angel Beats! if you haven't already) and 2) it's based on a novel by Tomihiko Morimi, whose other novel The Tatami Galaxy has already been adapted into one of my all-time favorite anime. With credentials like that, I have no problem waiting until next week to get the whole story.
Name: Kitakubu Katsudou Kiroku
Release Date: July 4, 2013
Studio: Nomad
Genre: Comedy, Slice of Life, School Life
Premise: First-year high school student Natsuki Ando jokingly declares that she wants to join the "Go Home Club" when prompted by her friend. To her surprise, the Go Home Club actually exists, consisting of a trio of eccentric second-year girls. Along with fellow first-year Karin Touno, Natsuki finds herself drawn into their weird world.
Verdict: I was ready to throw in the towel on this one (ugh, another vapid depiction of moe girls' school life?) until I saw that Nomad was responsible for Dokuro-chan. That same comedic ability is on display in this series as well. KKK (ironic, no?)'s appeal lies in how self-aware it is, often breaking the fourth wall and launching into separate sketches parodying other genres. This is where the show is at its best, including a brilliant gag where a wealthy character uses up the episode's animation budget. If Nomad can keep the laughs coming, this show will join the ranks of other sharp satires like Lucky Star and Yuru Yuri.
Name: ServantxService
Release Date: July 4, 2013
Studio: A-1 Pictures
Genre: Comedy, Slice of Life
Premise: Based on a popular manga, this workplace comedy focuses on the everyday lives of civil servants Yamagami (pictured), Yutaka Hasebe and Saya Miyoshi - the three newest editions to the Welfare Department in a city government building.
Verdict: This series is worth its salt as far as office satires go. The main characters' personalities make for some lively interactions, such as Yamagami's straitlaced sensibilities clashing with Hasebe's slacker attitude, Miyoshi's submissiveness, or their supervisor's complete ineptitude. There is also a healthy amount of humor provided by the main cast and a revolving door of colorful customers.
I've been to the DMV one too many times to fall completely head-over-heels for an anime about the lives of civil workers, but the show does a good job of humanizing the people behind the paperwork and stamps. Due to the straightforward nature of the story, I highly doubt there'll be any earth-shattering revelations in the works here, but it should be an entertaining weekly watch.
The Summer anime season has finally gotten underway with a slew of new series premiering this month. To save time I will be switching up my approach this season and only posting reviews of shows that I feel are noteworthy. Going into an anime cold turkey is fun, but writing about the lackluster first episode of a series you don't plan to watch is tedious at best and downright painful at its worst. This will allow me to highlight only the good without wasting page space on the bad. First up is:
Name: Stella Jogakuin Koutou-ka C3-bu Release Date: July 4th, 2013 Studio: Gainax Genre: Comedy, Slice of Life, Girls with Guns
Premise: Timid Yura Yamato has just begun her brand new high school life at Stella Girls' Academy, and is unsure of where she'll fit in. She gets more than she bargained for when she meets her senior roommate's fellow club members: a ragtag group of gun enthusiast misfits who stage mock battles with airsoft weapons!
The Verdict: Not bad, Gainax. I hadn't heard of this one (or the manga upon which it is based) going into the first episode so I wasn't expecting much. Gainax usually does best when they stick to their bread and butter of mecha, a la Gunbuster, Neon Genesis Evangelion and Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann, so this series is a bit off topic for them. I also wasn't thrilled with the episode's abundance of diabetically-sweet moe moments which are all too common in today's school life anime. Nevertheless, things got rolling once the actual shooting started. The mock battles themselves are smoothly animated and could provide several great action set-pieces down the road. I may hate moe, but I'm a sucker for the girls-with-guns trope that pops up in most anime. Hopefully they choose to rely on the latter as the 12-episode season continues. Grating, cutesy-wutesy personalities aside, C3 still has potential as a harmless popcorn anime to help take your mind off anime that deals with heavier issues.
Don't worry, I'm still in the blogging business.If you're wondering where I've been for the last six days I was working on my entry for the College Language Association's 2011-2012 Creative Writing contest. I ended up putting 2500 words on nine pages in 48 hours and I've been recuperating ever since. Between playing catch-up with homework and making up all that time I spent ignoring my friends (thank you for your patience, guys), I haven't written a word about anime in almost a week! This should be remedied shortly, however, as I have finally fooled myself into believing I have some free time this weekend.
It's Friday afternoon, and my mind is unclouded and carefree because I have two whole days to knock out all my work for class and do something I actually enjoy. The fact that I have countless experiences of turning to my clock and realizing that it's suddenly 10 PM on a Sunday night and there's still two whole days of work to do haven't taught me any better. I'll probably end the weekend stressed and irritable, but no matter. At the moment I'm focused on indulging in some otakudom.
Hopefully I'll be back on pace after a few hours of heavy viewing. If I disappear again in the future, don't fret! I'm probably just working on something bigger than myself.
