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Hey guys, kanna here. And BOY am I sorry I haven't posted anything in almost a year (it feels like it's been almost a year). If you've been following my Facebook, you'll know what's been going on. If not, click on the link and click that like button! Anyway, I'm here and I'm ready.
Let's get in the TARDIS and travel back in time to the Warring States Era (or the Feudal Era as it's called in the dub) of Japan so we can take a look at the second movie of the feudal fairytale, Inuyasha! More specifically, the second movie, The Castle Beyond the Looking Glass.
Let's get in the TARDIS and travel back in time to the Warring States Era (or the Feudal Era as it's called in the dub) of Japan so we can take a look at the second movie of the feudal fairytale, Inuyasha! More specifically, the second movie, The Castle Beyond the Looking Glass.
First off, the thing I love about the Inuyasha movies is that movie-exclusive characters and events (save for one character and a minor event) are never referenced in the anime. As long as you know who the characters from Inuyasha are, you should be ok. Then again, I went into this movie completely blind; not knowing any of the characters. So...each to their own, I guess. I won't be going into too much detail as to who everyone is, so on with it! Let's dive into Inuyasha: The Castle Beyond the Looking Glass.
This is going to be more of a commentary than a review because I was curious as to how this movie held up over the 10+ years since I last saw it. So I decided to give it a watch today, and there were a few things that...well, I'll get to them later. Let's jump into a feudal fairytale! Here is Inuyasha: The Castle Beyond the Looking Glass. FYI, I'll be talking about the dub and NOT the sub. Nothing against the sub, but I saw the dub first and feel there are more things I can get some decent material out of with it.
So after a fight with the series' main antagonist, Naraku (Paul Dobson, who also voices Myoga, the flea demon), a half-demon that takes the form of a...ok, can I just take this one instance to swear? Please? I seldom swear, but dear G-d...
I can? Seriously?! YES!!!
*deep breath*
F**K IT'S A SPIDER! A GIANT F**KING SPIDER! OH MY G-D! F**K S**T F**K F**K F**K F**K!!!
*deep breath*
Ok, I'm calm now. Is the spider off-screen? *looks* Thank G-d...it's the pincers, guys. Or the legs. Or both...no, the more I think about it, the more likely I am to go ballistic. So enjoy this gif of Harry imitating a spider in the second-worst Harry Potter movie (in my opinion), Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (the book was better, just saying).
Anyway, this fight, while it is well-animated for its time, is also a fight that makes you think "wow, that was way too easy." I mean...this fight isn't even that long. You can tell something is up right away, even if you haven't seen the movie or the main series before. They all defeat Naraku, Miroku's (Kirby Morrow) wind tunnel disappears, and everyone goes their separate ways until they can come up with a plan to get the remaining jewel shards.
We then cut to shots of all the main characters sensing Naraku is dead. And by everyone, I mean four characters: Fluffy (aka Sesshomaru...poor guy doesn't even get a line of dialog in this WHOLE FREAKING MOVIE), Kikyo (Willow Johnson; I don't really like Kikyo that much, although I can neither confirm nor deny that I actually shed a tear or two when she actually died in The Final Act. Damn you, soundtrack), and our two kinda-sorta-not-really-antagonists for the film, Kagura (Janyse Jaud) and Kanna (also Janyse Jaud).
Oh, I should probably clarify: since Kanna is an incarnation of Naraku and I'm kanna, I'll be using a lowercase k for myself and a capital K for Naraku's incarnation. Clear? Clear.
Kagura says that she can feel her heart beating in her chest again, and Kanna realizes aloud that Naraku is dead. What Kagura means might be a little complicated if you haven't seen the main series, so I'll try my best to explain this as briefly as possible.
Kagura and Kanna are both incarnations of Naraku. While Kanna may look younger than Kagura by a considerable amount of years, Kanna was actually Naraku's first incarnation, making her Kagura's older sister. Furthermore, Naraku holds the hearts of all his incarnations (too many to name, but Kagura and Kanna are the main ones in this, so we'll focus on them). So when Naraku died, Kagura got her heart back in her body. That brief enough? Things a tad less confusing now? Ok. Let's move on.
This is Kagura:
And this is Kanna:
We then cut to Sango (Kelly Sheridan), Kagome (Moneca Stori, but they changed Kagome's voice actress for The Final Act for reasons unknown to me), and Shippo (Jillian Michaels) all relaxing in a hot spring now that Naraku is dead (I read in some Inuyasha guide-type book that Shippo did this kind of stuff with them because it's stuff he did with his family before they were killed, and now he looks to Kagome and Sango as mother-figures). They discuss what they're going to do now that their arch-nemesis is dead, and then we cut to...well, I'll just let this scene speak for itself.
This is actually an interesting scene that is fairly similar to the Japanese myth, The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter, which this movie bases its storyline off of. In that story, a passerby happens upon a celestial maiden (Kaguya) who is bathing. The maiden becomes angry and the passerby steals the celestial robe. Kaguya then proceeds to SLAUGHTER an ENTIRE VILLAGE of innocents. Because...reasons. Yeah, this wasn't incredibly clear in the original myth, come to think of it. C'est la vie (such is life...and that's the extent of my French for those wondering).
In this scene, Akitoki Hojo is the passerby, who comments on how Kagome and Sango look like celestial maidens. He has the celestial robe at the time. However, Miroku and Inuyasha are standing guard so the girls can relax in peace, and Akitoki narrowly escapes the wrath of Kagome and Sango (which is basically Kagome saying "sit" to Inuyasha and calling him a pervert and Sango throwing a giant rock at Miroku). Now, one could argue that this is just fan-service or comedy, and while you would be right, it is interesting to look at this scene from an analytical perspective.
Kagura and Kanna have become restless now that Naraku has died, so they walk through this forest and come across a mirror at a shrine. They awaken a maiden sealed in the mirror who reveals herself as Kaguya (Nicole Oliver), Princess of the Heavens. She looks like this:
This is an interesting depiction of her because, in many other forms of media, Kaguya is depicted as a child. So, to see her as a full-grown adult makes things fairly interesting and allows for a lot more possibilities.
Anyway, Kaguya says that she can grant Kagura her wish of true freedom if she and Kanna release Kaguya from the mirror. To do this, Kagura and Kanna need five treasures; each representing one of the five elements: wood (the jeweled sprig), fire (cloth from the fire-rat), water (the swallow's cowrie shell), earth (the stone bowl of Buddha), and metal (the crystal from the dragon's neck). Another interesting addition, as according to the original myth that this movie is getting Kaguya from, Kaguya made her suitors undertake rigorous tasks that involved getting these treasures.
So Kagura and Kanna are already in possession of the jeweled sprig, having taken it from the shrine the mirror was at. They also locate the crystal from the dragon's neck. Kanna decides their next target is the cloth from the fire-rat, and the one who wears that is Inuyasha. So they decide to go after him. After a short fight scene where Kagura and Kanna get a piece of Inuyasha's kimono, Kaguya makes her debut appearance to our heroes. We see some of her capabilities (and by some, I mean only a FRACTION), and Inuyasha attacks, only to have his attack thrown right back at him. Kaguya and co leave, but Kaguya notices that the flow of time is different around Kagome.
Meanwhile, Kohaku, Sango's younger brother who was part of Naraku's group via possession (it's a long story), returns to the village of the demon slayers. He doesn't remember much, but some things come in waves. While tending to his wounds, Sango notices a strange welt on Kohaku's back. She tries to touch it, but this causes Kohaku pain. The two share an emotional moment where they just sit next to each other in silence, only for Kagura to ruin the moment and take the swallow's cowrie shell from Kohaku. Only one treasure remains, and it's the stone bowl of Buddha.
This is going to be more of a commentary than a review because I was curious as to how this movie held up over the 10+ years since I last saw it. So I decided to give it a watch today, and there were a few things that...well, I'll get to them later. Let's jump into a feudal fairytale! Here is Inuyasha: The Castle Beyond the Looking Glass. FYI, I'll be talking about the dub and NOT the sub. Nothing against the sub, but I saw the dub first and feel there are more things I can get some decent material out of with it.
So after a fight with the series' main antagonist, Naraku (Paul Dobson, who also voices Myoga, the flea demon), a half-demon that takes the form of a...ok, can I just take this one instance to swear? Please? I seldom swear, but dear G-d...
I can? Seriously?! YES!!!
*deep breath*
F**K IT'S A SPIDER! A GIANT F**KING SPIDER! OH MY G-D! F**K S**T F**K F**K F**K F**K!!!
*deep breath*
Ok, I'm calm now. Is the spider off-screen? *looks* Thank G-d...it's the pincers, guys. Or the legs. Or both...no, the more I think about it, the more likely I am to go ballistic. So enjoy this gif of Harry imitating a spider in the second-worst Harry Potter movie (in my opinion), Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (the book was better, just saying).
Anyway, this fight, while it is well-animated for its time, is also a fight that makes you think "wow, that was way too easy." I mean...this fight isn't even that long. You can tell something is up right away, even if you haven't seen the movie or the main series before. They all defeat Naraku, Miroku's (Kirby Morrow) wind tunnel disappears, and everyone goes their separate ways until they can come up with a plan to get the remaining jewel shards.
We then cut to shots of all the main characters sensing Naraku is dead. And by everyone, I mean four characters: Fluffy (aka Sesshomaru...poor guy doesn't even get a line of dialog in this WHOLE FREAKING MOVIE), Kikyo (Willow Johnson; I don't really like Kikyo that much, although I can neither confirm nor deny that I actually shed a tear or two when she actually died in The Final Act. Damn you, soundtrack), and our two kinda-sorta-not-really-antagonists for the film, Kagura (Janyse Jaud) and Kanna (also Janyse Jaud).
Oh, I should probably clarify: since Kanna is an incarnation of Naraku and I'm kanna, I'll be using a lowercase k for myself and a capital K for Naraku's incarnation. Clear? Clear.
Kagura says that she can feel her heart beating in her chest again, and Kanna realizes aloud that Naraku is dead. What Kagura means might be a little complicated if you haven't seen the main series, so I'll try my best to explain this as briefly as possible.
Kagura and Kanna are both incarnations of Naraku. While Kanna may look younger than Kagura by a considerable amount of years, Kanna was actually Naraku's first incarnation, making her Kagura's older sister. Furthermore, Naraku holds the hearts of all his incarnations (too many to name, but Kagura and Kanna are the main ones in this, so we'll focus on them). So when Naraku died, Kagura got her heart back in her body. That brief enough? Things a tad less confusing now? Ok. Let's move on.
This is Kagura:
And this is Kanna:
We then cut to Sango (Kelly Sheridan), Kagome (Moneca Stori, but they changed Kagome's voice actress for The Final Act for reasons unknown to me), and Shippo (Jillian Michaels) all relaxing in a hot spring now that Naraku is dead (I read in some Inuyasha guide-type book that Shippo did this kind of stuff with them because it's stuff he did with his family before they were killed, and now he looks to Kagome and Sango as mother-figures). They discuss what they're going to do now that their arch-nemesis is dead, and then we cut to...well, I'll just let this scene speak for itself.
This is actually an interesting scene that is fairly similar to the Japanese myth, The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter, which this movie bases its storyline off of. In that story, a passerby happens upon a celestial maiden (Kaguya) who is bathing. The maiden becomes angry and the passerby steals the celestial robe. Kaguya then proceeds to SLAUGHTER an ENTIRE VILLAGE of innocents. Because...reasons. Yeah, this wasn't incredibly clear in the original myth, come to think of it. C'est la vie (such is life...and that's the extent of my French for those wondering).
In this scene, Akitoki Hojo is the passerby, who comments on how Kagome and Sango look like celestial maidens. He has the celestial robe at the time. However, Miroku and Inuyasha are standing guard so the girls can relax in peace, and Akitoki narrowly escapes the wrath of Kagome and Sango (which is basically Kagome saying "sit" to Inuyasha and calling him a pervert and Sango throwing a giant rock at Miroku). Now, one could argue that this is just fan-service or comedy, and while you would be right, it is interesting to look at this scene from an analytical perspective.
Kagura and Kanna have become restless now that Naraku has died, so they walk through this forest and come across a mirror at a shrine. They awaken a maiden sealed in the mirror who reveals herself as Kaguya (Nicole Oliver), Princess of the Heavens. She looks like this:
This is an interesting depiction of her because, in many other forms of media, Kaguya is depicted as a child. So, to see her as a full-grown adult makes things fairly interesting and allows for a lot more possibilities.
Anyway, Kaguya says that she can grant Kagura her wish of true freedom if she and Kanna release Kaguya from the mirror. To do this, Kagura and Kanna need five treasures; each representing one of the five elements: wood (the jeweled sprig), fire (cloth from the fire-rat), water (the swallow's cowrie shell), earth (the stone bowl of Buddha), and metal (the crystal from the dragon's neck). Another interesting addition, as according to the original myth that this movie is getting Kaguya from, Kaguya made her suitors undertake rigorous tasks that involved getting these treasures.
So Kagura and Kanna are already in possession of the jeweled sprig, having taken it from the shrine the mirror was at. They also locate the crystal from the dragon's neck. Kanna decides their next target is the cloth from the fire-rat, and the one who wears that is Inuyasha. So they decide to go after him. After a short fight scene where Kagura and Kanna get a piece of Inuyasha's kimono, Kaguya makes her debut appearance to our heroes. We see some of her capabilities (and by some, I mean only a FRACTION), and Inuyasha attacks, only to have his attack thrown right back at him. Kaguya and co leave, but Kaguya notices that the flow of time is different around Kagome.
Meanwhile, Kohaku, Sango's younger brother who was part of Naraku's group via possession (it's a long story), returns to the village of the demon slayers. He doesn't remember much, but some things come in waves. While tending to his wounds, Sango notices a strange welt on Kohaku's back. She tries to touch it, but this causes Kohaku pain. The two share an emotional moment where they just sit next to each other in silence, only for Kagura to ruin the moment and take the swallow's cowrie shell from Kohaku. Only one treasure remains, and it's the stone bowl of Buddha.
While Kaguya and co search for that, we cut to Miroku, the monk Mushin, and their vassal, Hatchiemon (Hatchi for short). Hatchiemon is a raccoon-dog demon (a tanuki in Japanese).
Wait...does that mean a raccoon and a dog...
*thinks*
I NEED AN ADULT! I NEED AN ADULT!
Ok, kanna, calm down. You’re over analyzing this. Some things are better left not figured out. Deep breaths. In and out.
I think I’m calm now. A little mentally scarred, but calm.
So, after we get beyond...that mindf**k (seriously, where is the logic? I feel like Spock!), we learn that Miroku's grandfather, the monk Miyatsu, sealed Kaguya into a mirror, but was ultimately unable to kill her because of his perverted ways and her beautiful appearance. Guess it runs in the family, considering how perverted Miroku is.
So, after giving Hatchi a beating that would make you want to call the Feudal Era's version of the ASPCA (I'm pretty sure they had one; just send a carrier pigeon and...ok, not funny), Hatchi decides to accompany Miroku to visit his grandfather's grave, in the hopes that they'll get some answers. They meet a villager who tells a version of The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter that's closer to the original than the one Hatchi gives us.
We then see Kikyo encounter a village that was slaughtered. A dying girl gives Kikyo the stone bowl of Buddha, and this is where I get REALLY pissed. Why? Because Kikyo encounters Kagura in a forest and gives up the object...without a fight.
Translation: THIS WHOLE THING COULD HAVE BEEN COMPLETELY AVOIDED IF KIKYO HADN'T GIVEN UP THE STONE BOWL OF BUDDHA!!!
Ok, talk about the movie now, save the rant for later.
So after getting the last object, Kaguya is released from the mirror and we see her full body appearance. She says to Kagura that she won't give her the "true freedom" she speaks of because she needs the celestial robe. And...not going to lie, she looks and sounds pretty creepy. Nicole Oliver really went all out in this. Then again, I don't know what she actually sounds like because I haven't seen anything she did voice work for or any of her live-action stuff. So maybe she did, maybe she didn't. I'd love to interview her and ask about what it was like to play a villain like Kaguya. Readers, use those connections and get me that interview!
Inuyasha, Kagome, and Shippo meet up with Akitoki Hojo, an ancestor of one of Kagome's classmates, who is on his way to throw the celestial robe into the crater of Mount Fuji. He accompanies them because he has a small crush on Kagome and was blackmailed by Shippo for the earlier incident (see above clip). A few hours pass and Inuyasha and Kagome share a semi-romantic moment. Kagome tells Inuyasha, who wants to become a full-fledged demon with the power of the sacred jewel, that she likes him just the way he is as a half-demon.
Too bad no further romantic development can take place, as Kaguya makes her grand entrance. She pins Inuyasha to a tree and says that she wondered why he was so weak before she realizes that he's only a half-demon. Kagome tries to free him but is sent flying. Shippo and Akitoki run to Inuyasha and Kagome, only for Akitoki to trip on a tree root (because...writing), fall on top of Shippo, and reveal the celestial robe to Kaguya.
Kaguya starts to chant a spell, and this is what I find interesting: I can't confirm this, but I'm 99% sure that they kept Kaguya's Japanese voice actress's voice (Mieko Harada) in the English dub of the film just for the scenes where Kaguya uses magic. It sounds like Mieko Harada, at any rate.
Back to the movie.
Akitoki is trying to get the robe together but is too stupid to actually run (well, it's true). Kagome shoots Kaguya with an arrow and interrupts the spell and Kaguya notes that the arrow is sacred (in other words, it has the powers of a priestess). Kagome then prepares to shoot Kaguya, fires, and the arrow is absorbed by the mirror before it's sent back at Inuyasha.
Kagome takes the arrow in her back for Inuyasha, but it was cushioned (or something) by the celestial robe. She falls to the ground, unconscious. Kaguya laughs and takes off with Kagome in tow while Inuyasha protests. Inuyasha, Akitoki, and Shippo go after Kagome. They get separated when Inuyasha runs ahead and encounters a demon called an Orochi (in Japanese, it’s called Yamata no Orochi, which translates out to "8-branched giant snake").
Goof on the movie's part (I think): in Japanese mythology, the Yamata no Orochi had eight heads and eight tails, but in the movie, it only had five or six heads and tails (it's a little hard to tell).
So during this fight, Kagome wakes up and her wound is healed by the celestial robe. Kaguya is approached by Kagura and Kanna, and it's revealed that Kaguya isn't actually Kaguya, but a demon who ate the real Kaguya and took on her name, beauty, and power. In other words: not a real celestial being and just like Naraku. Both absorbed the power of other demons to increase their own strength.
Kanna tries absorbing "Kaguya's" soul into her mirror, but it's not that simple (good; this movie wouldn't be entertaining if it was that easy. Not to mention we have at least half an hour to go). "Kaguya" uses her Power of the Mirror of Stillness to make time stop, and Kagura and Kanna are shown sinking to the bottom of a lake (how they survive this is beyond me, because they show up time and time again in the main series, and if this is supposed to be canon...I'm overthinking it).
This doesn't affect our heroes, as Inuyasha and everyone are wearing Kagome's bandages and those put up some kind of time barrier. They all meet up at the castle to rescue Kagome, only for them to be stopped by "Kaguya" in her demonic form. And...she's pretty creepy looking; not going to lie. She's a strong fighter; a real femme fatale. She manages to get Inuyasha's sword, the Tetsusaiga, away from him and stab him just below the heart with a vine-type-thing. You know s**t’s about to go down because that sword is what keeps Inuyasha’s demonic powers in check.
So, after giving Hatchi a beating that would make you want to call the Feudal Era's version of the ASPCA (I'm pretty sure they had one; just send a carrier pigeon and...ok, not funny), Hatchi decides to accompany Miroku to visit his grandfather's grave, in the hopes that they'll get some answers. They meet a villager who tells a version of The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter that's closer to the original than the one Hatchi gives us.
We then see Kikyo encounter a village that was slaughtered. A dying girl gives Kikyo the stone bowl of Buddha, and this is where I get REALLY pissed. Why? Because Kikyo encounters Kagura in a forest and gives up the object...without a fight.
Translation: THIS WHOLE THING COULD HAVE BEEN COMPLETELY AVOIDED IF KIKYO HADN'T GIVEN UP THE STONE BOWL OF BUDDHA!!!
Ok, talk about the movie now, save the rant for later.
So after getting the last object, Kaguya is released from the mirror and we see her full body appearance. She says to Kagura that she won't give her the "true freedom" she speaks of because she needs the celestial robe. And...not going to lie, she looks and sounds pretty creepy. Nicole Oliver really went all out in this. Then again, I don't know what she actually sounds like because I haven't seen anything she did voice work for or any of her live-action stuff. So maybe she did, maybe she didn't. I'd love to interview her and ask about what it was like to play a villain like Kaguya. Readers, use those connections and get me that interview!
Inuyasha, Kagome, and Shippo meet up with Akitoki Hojo, an ancestor of one of Kagome's classmates, who is on his way to throw the celestial robe into the crater of Mount Fuji. He accompanies them because he has a small crush on Kagome and was blackmailed by Shippo for the earlier incident (see above clip). A few hours pass and Inuyasha and Kagome share a semi-romantic moment. Kagome tells Inuyasha, who wants to become a full-fledged demon with the power of the sacred jewel, that she likes him just the way he is as a half-demon.
Too bad no further romantic development can take place, as Kaguya makes her grand entrance. She pins Inuyasha to a tree and says that she wondered why he was so weak before she realizes that he's only a half-demon. Kagome tries to free him but is sent flying. Shippo and Akitoki run to Inuyasha and Kagome, only for Akitoki to trip on a tree root (because...writing), fall on top of Shippo, and reveal the celestial robe to Kaguya.
Kaguya starts to chant a spell, and this is what I find interesting: I can't confirm this, but I'm 99% sure that they kept Kaguya's Japanese voice actress's voice (Mieko Harada) in the English dub of the film just for the scenes where Kaguya uses magic. It sounds like Mieko Harada, at any rate.
Back to the movie.
Akitoki is trying to get the robe together but is too stupid to actually run (well, it's true). Kagome shoots Kaguya with an arrow and interrupts the spell and Kaguya notes that the arrow is sacred (in other words, it has the powers of a priestess). Kagome then prepares to shoot Kaguya, fires, and the arrow is absorbed by the mirror before it's sent back at Inuyasha.
Kagome takes the arrow in her back for Inuyasha, but it was cushioned (or something) by the celestial robe. She falls to the ground, unconscious. Kaguya laughs and takes off with Kagome in tow while Inuyasha protests. Inuyasha, Akitoki, and Shippo go after Kagome. They get separated when Inuyasha runs ahead and encounters a demon called an Orochi (in Japanese, it’s called Yamata no Orochi, which translates out to "8-branched giant snake").
Goof on the movie's part (I think): in Japanese mythology, the Yamata no Orochi had eight heads and eight tails, but in the movie, it only had five or six heads and tails (it's a little hard to tell).
So during this fight, Kagome wakes up and her wound is healed by the celestial robe. Kaguya is approached by Kagura and Kanna, and it's revealed that Kaguya isn't actually Kaguya, but a demon who ate the real Kaguya and took on her name, beauty, and power. In other words: not a real celestial being and just like Naraku. Both absorbed the power of other demons to increase their own strength.
Kanna tries absorbing "Kaguya's" soul into her mirror, but it's not that simple (good; this movie wouldn't be entertaining if it was that easy. Not to mention we have at least half an hour to go). "Kaguya" uses her Power of the Mirror of Stillness to make time stop, and Kagura and Kanna are shown sinking to the bottom of a lake (how they survive this is beyond me, because they show up time and time again in the main series, and if this is supposed to be canon...I'm overthinking it).
This doesn't affect our heroes, as Inuyasha and everyone are wearing Kagome's bandages and those put up some kind of time barrier. They all meet up at the castle to rescue Kagome, only for them to be stopped by "Kaguya" in her demonic form. And...she's pretty creepy looking; not going to lie. She's a strong fighter; a real femme fatale. She manages to get Inuyasha's sword, the Tetsusaiga, away from him and stab him just below the heart with a vine-type-thing. You know s**t’s about to go down because that sword is what keeps Inuyasha’s demonic powers in check.
“Kaguya” starts to chant and Inuyasha begins turning into a full-demon. The others (minus Kagome, who is still trapped) try to break the mirror and stop the change, but it’s no use; “Kaguya” is too powerful and stops them all with ease. Suddenly, Kagome stops screaming at Inuyasha not to transform and has an epiphany. She tells Shippo to throw the bottle of sacred jewel shards at her. He does, and Kagome is free. She runs to Inuyasha, who is still transforming. His eyes are red. And then, well...I can’t believe I’m saying this about my favorite Inuyasha movie, but the “power of love” takes over, Kagome kisses Inuyasha, and this breaks the spell. He transforms back into a half-demon and returns the kiss.
*sigh*
Look, this is the first kiss that they share in the whole anime, and quite possibly one of my favorite kiss scenes in an anime. HOWEVER...why did it have to be all “power of love?” Inuyasha still has feelings for Kikyo! I mean, I ship Inuyasha and Kagome as much as the next girl, maybe more than the next girl, but when are we going to come across something where the “power of love” DOES NOT work or IS NOT used?
Whatever. Moving on.
Inuyasha says he’ll stay a half-demon a little while longer; just for Kagome. The mirror cracks and the sacred objects all return to where they came from. Inuyasha attacks “Kaguya” and it ALMOST works...except for the fact that her arm comes back. They all realize that “Kaguya” is just like Naraku, which, according to Miroku, “will make destroying her even easier.”
Yeah...about that...
They all prepare to attack Kaguya when Kohaku groans in pain. Sango checks on him and sees that the welt that she noticed on his shoulder from earlier has expanded into the shape of a—oh dear G-d, not again...
*deep breath*
F**K IT'S A SPIDER! A F**KING SPIDER! OH MY G-D! F**K S**T F**K F**K F**K F**K!!!
It’s not even a real spider; it’s just a mark, so I don't know why I'm freaking out.
Moving on, I guess.
Miroku screams in pain and his wind tunnel is coming back to the palm of his right hand. Sango tries to tell Kohaku she'll never leave him again, only for Naraku to come right out of Kohaku's back in the most grotesque way you can think of. It's pretty...ugh. Words can't sum up how grossed out I was by this scene as a kid, and even now, it still grosses me out.
Anyway, Naraku is, in fact, very much alive. We learn that he and Kaguya had a history of some kind when he says "it's been far too long, Kaguya." Yeah...they don't exactly expand beyond this; we just know they had a history. Kinda disappointing (among other things), but we'll get to that later.
So Naraku faked his death to lure Kaguya out of hiding. Paul Dobson's voice acting is really on-point in this scene.
Anyway, there's a big fight, Kaguya is destroyed by a combination of the Tetsusaiga and a sacred arrow, then sucked into Miroku's wind tunnel, and everyone (plus Naraku and Kohaku) escape through the mirror. So it's safe to say the good guys win and their journey isn't over yet.
So...how has this movie held up?
Rating: 7/10
Why: Look, I'm a little biased; Inuyasha was my first anime from when I actually knew what anime was (that's why I don't count Pokemon, Yu-Gi-Oh, Beyblade...pretty much any anime after 1995). So cut me a little slack with the high rating.
This movie is good. The animation is great for the time (yes, there are a few animation goofs), and the character designs aren't based on the anime, but on the manga designs that Rumiko Takahashi drew. The writing, while it was mostly copy-paste from the subtitles of the original Japanese, wasn't too lazy.
The movie did a great job making parallels to The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter. Having Kaguya depicted as an adult rather than a child is probably what allowed for all the action. Although, depicting Kaguya as a psychotic teen would be interesting.
HOWEVER:
There are a few (three or four I think) rants I'm about to have here, so get ready.
Rant #1: I referenced this above, but I'm going to say it again. This whole thing could have been COMPLETELY AVOIDED if Kikyo hadn't given up the stone bowl of Buddha to Kagura without a fight. Why did she do it? We don't know! We're never given a reason! She's just like "What's the matter? It's what you want, is it not?". She "tried" to make up for it when she helped Inuyasha slay the Yamata no Orochi, but that doesn't quite cut it with me. Heck, I don't even think THE WRITERS were clear on what her intent was.
I suppose I can give Kikyo the benefit of the doubt because, without all of this, we wouldn't have this movie, but...wait a sec.
The only reason Kaguya came out of that mirror was that Naraku "died." I'm all for keeping that part of the movie in. What I'm not for is that Naraku reappeared after Kaguya was released from the mirror. So...this whole entire thing was Kikyo's fault! She singlehandedly...ok, I can't. I just can't. I just can't believe I only NOW came to this realization.
Rant #2: This isn't so much a rant as it is another goof on the movie's part. In the movie, Miroku tries to suck Naraku into his wind tunnel. Great idea, if it wasn't for the fact that Naraku has a freaking army of poisonous insects, called Saimyosho, at his disposal. Miroku sucks those into the wind tunnel instead, and he says, "what, Saimyosho?".
This is premature knowledge, as according to what I've read online, this movie aired in Japan between episodes 95 and 96 of the anime. The Saimyosho hadn't been mentioned by name until episode 96. So Miroku's knowledge is premature.
Rant #3: The innuendos. Good G-D, the innuendos. You could play a drinking game with all the innuendos. You hear "become one with my flesh/body" and variations of it SO MANY FREAKING TIMES. I swear; it's like this movie wants you to get drunk.
I know, you're probably thinking, "kanna, get your mind out of the gutter!" But watch the movie and tell me you don't have those same thoughts of, "that could be taken the wrong way." Especially with "Kaguya's" whole, "become my servant" thing. That could be taken the wrong way easily! I just...wow. I'm trying to remember if the original Japanese movie was this heavy with innuendos.
I think that's it for my ranting. Both the English dub and the original Japanese movie are great, so watch whichever one you want. I personally prefer the English dub because I saw that first, but I also like the original Japanese.
Let me know what you want me to review next! For now:
And I plan on sticking around!
Moving on, I guess.
Miroku screams in pain and his wind tunnel is coming back to the palm of his right hand. Sango tries to tell Kohaku she'll never leave him again, only for Naraku to come right out of Kohaku's back in the most grotesque way you can think of. It's pretty...ugh. Words can't sum up how grossed out I was by this scene as a kid, and even now, it still grosses me out.
Anyway, Naraku is, in fact, very much alive. We learn that he and Kaguya had a history of some kind when he says "it's been far too long, Kaguya." Yeah...they don't exactly expand beyond this; we just know they had a history. Kinda disappointing (among other things), but we'll get to that later.
So Naraku faked his death to lure Kaguya out of hiding. Paul Dobson's voice acting is really on-point in this scene.
Anyway, there's a big fight, Kaguya is destroyed by a combination of the Tetsusaiga and a sacred arrow, then sucked into Miroku's wind tunnel, and everyone (plus Naraku and Kohaku) escape through the mirror. So it's safe to say the good guys win and their journey isn't over yet.
So...how has this movie held up?
Rating: 7/10
Why: Look, I'm a little biased; Inuyasha was my first anime from when I actually knew what anime was (that's why I don't count Pokemon, Yu-Gi-Oh, Beyblade...pretty much any anime after 1995). So cut me a little slack with the high rating.
This movie is good. The animation is great for the time (yes, there are a few animation goofs), and the character designs aren't based on the anime, but on the manga designs that Rumiko Takahashi drew. The writing, while it was mostly copy-paste from the subtitles of the original Japanese, wasn't too lazy.
The movie did a great job making parallels to The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter. Having Kaguya depicted as an adult rather than a child is probably what allowed for all the action. Although, depicting Kaguya as a psychotic teen would be interesting.
HOWEVER:
There are a few (three or four I think) rants I'm about to have here, so get ready.
Rant #1: I referenced this above, but I'm going to say it again. This whole thing could have been COMPLETELY AVOIDED if Kikyo hadn't given up the stone bowl of Buddha to Kagura without a fight. Why did she do it? We don't know! We're never given a reason! She's just like "What's the matter? It's what you want, is it not?". She "tried" to make up for it when she helped Inuyasha slay the Yamata no Orochi, but that doesn't quite cut it with me. Heck, I don't even think THE WRITERS were clear on what her intent was.
I suppose I can give Kikyo the benefit of the doubt because, without all of this, we wouldn't have this movie, but...wait a sec.
The only reason Kaguya came out of that mirror was that Naraku "died." I'm all for keeping that part of the movie in. What I'm not for is that Naraku reappeared after Kaguya was released from the mirror. So...this whole entire thing was Kikyo's fault! She singlehandedly...ok, I can't. I just can't. I just can't believe I only NOW came to this realization.
Rant #2: This isn't so much a rant as it is another goof on the movie's part. In the movie, Miroku tries to suck Naraku into his wind tunnel. Great idea, if it wasn't for the fact that Naraku has a freaking army of poisonous insects, called Saimyosho, at his disposal. Miroku sucks those into the wind tunnel instead, and he says, "what, Saimyosho?".
This is premature knowledge, as according to what I've read online, this movie aired in Japan between episodes 95 and 96 of the anime. The Saimyosho hadn't been mentioned by name until episode 96. So Miroku's knowledge is premature.
Rant #3: The innuendos. Good G-D, the innuendos. You could play a drinking game with all the innuendos. You hear "become one with my flesh/body" and variations of it SO MANY FREAKING TIMES. I swear; it's like this movie wants you to get drunk.
I know, you're probably thinking, "kanna, get your mind out of the gutter!" But watch the movie and tell me you don't have those same thoughts of, "that could be taken the wrong way." Especially with "Kaguya's" whole, "become my servant" thing. That could be taken the wrong way easily! I just...wow. I'm trying to remember if the original Japanese movie was this heavy with innuendos.
I think that's it for my ranting. Both the English dub and the original Japanese movie are great, so watch whichever one you want. I personally prefer the English dub because I saw that first, but I also like the original Japanese.
Let me know what you want me to review next! For now:
And I plan on sticking around!
Hey guys, kanna here. And let's wish the cafe a happy four-year anniversary!
I know it's been FOREVER since I last posted. There's really no excuse. Not a good one, at any rate. The short version is that I had hit a block and was going through some personal stuff (everything is fine now).
I know I've been talking a lot about Mental Health Month, and I think I can say this with ALMOST absolute certainty: it will be in November. One anime or anime-movie about mental health per week in November (except for Thanksgiving week; that might be a little difficult).
I know it's been FOREVER since I last posted. There's really no excuse. Not a good one, at any rate. The short version is that I had hit a block and was going through some personal stuff (everything is fine now).
I know I've been talking a lot about Mental Health Month, and I think I can say this with ALMOST absolute certainty: it will be in November. One anime or anime-movie about mental health per week in November (except for Thanksgiving week; that might be a little difficult).
You know what I think? I think the world has had enough superheroes. Let's look at the individuals who believe they're superheroes, but--wait, no!
Sorry, wrong movie. As much as I want to see Glass because it has JAMES FREAKING MCAVOY (most of my friends don't get what I see in him), this doesn't have anything to do with today's Anime Monday. I will admit, though, that I did not see Split, which is supposed to be the sequel to 2000's Unbreakable. And...wow, all this talk about Shyamalan movies has made me realize I'm going on a tangent. Let's get back to Anime Monday #55. I might continue my tangent later. We shall see.
Anyway, the world has had enough superheroes. For now, anyway. Between Deadpool 2, Ant-Man and the Wasp and Infinity War, I think it's time for a break with our favorite anti-hero/villain/whatever you want to call him, Venom.
In this Anime Monday, I'll be comparing and contrasting Venom (now that I've seen it) with Parasyte -the maxim-. Because, believe it or not, Venom actually has its fair share of similarities with Parasyte -the maxim-. I'll try to get through this without referencing the Spider-Man comics too much, but keep in mind that all the research I've done on the symbiotes is pretty limited. So if I make mistakes, I apologize in advance, and you are more than welcome to correct me.
Also, this is more going to be a review of Venom with bits referencing Parasyte -the maxim-. Sorry if this is a little different from my compare/contrast with Tokyo Ghoul, but I feel that with this movie having so many similarities to Parasyte -the maxim-, it only makes sense.
It's time to face your inner anti-hero! Let's take a look at Venom.
So this movie already starts off pretty similarly to the middle and end of Parasyte -the maxim-. Well, almost. Through Carlton Drake (played by Riz Ahmed), the CEO of a bioengineering corporation called the Life Foundation, we learn about how the symbiotes cannot survive without oxygen-breathing hosts, which often reject the symbiosis.
Moving on.
We meet the popular investigative journalist, Eddie Brock (played by Tom Hardy), who quickly goes from hero to zero because he confronted Drake about Drake experimenting on humans. Real smart guy (sarcasm). Although, in Eddie's defense...nope, there's really no defense for Eddie here. That was a pretty stupid move on his part. He loses his job and his relationship with his fiancee, Anne Weying (played by Michelle Williams).
Anyway, six months go by, and Drake is getting closer to achieving successful symbiosis. And speaking of symbiosis, let's tie this to Parasyte -the maxim-. Wait, no, not yet. We have to meet Venom before we tie this into Parasyte -the maxim-.
One of Drake's scientists, Dora Skirth (played by Jenny Slate), disagrees with his methods and wants to help Eddie expose Drake for the human-experimenting-psycho he is. So Eddie breaks into the research facility with Dora's help. He gets in and learns that an acquaintance of his has been taken in as a test subject for Drake's experiments. Eddie tries to rescue her, but the symbiote possessing his acquaintance jumps from her body to his when she attacks him. His acquaintance is dead and Eddie escapes with his life.
Um...Eddie, buddy...did you not see any horror movies? I'm pretty sure rule number...five (just go with it) is that you NEVER go back to rescue the rest of the hostages, no matter how tempting it is! You should count yourself lucky you escaped with your life! Now you have a symbiote inside your body! I hate to use this gif again, but Captain Picard really says it all with his face-palm.
Anyway, let's tie this into Parasyte -the maxim-. In Parasyte -the maxim-, the parasites typically possess an individual through entering an ear or the nose and taking over the individual's brain. This wasn't the case with our lead in Parasyte -the maxim-, Shinichi (his parasite entered through his arm and couldn't make it to his brain), because both he and Migi (the parasite) retained their separate intellect and personality.
In Venom, the symbiote takes over an individual's whole body and can also affect the host's mind. Eddie starts to experience strange symptoms, such as hearing a voice in his head. We'll get back to this later. Anyway, Eddie reaches out to Anne, whose new doctor boyfriend discovers the symbiote in Eddie.
Carlton Drake discovers Dr. Skirth's betrayal when she reveals who broke into the Life Foundation and exposes her to the remaining symbiote, killing her and the symbiote. This leaves the symbiote inside Eddie as the only living specimen.
Wait.
Either it's just me and I wasn't paying close attention to the movie or I missed something entirely. If the symbiotes need oxygen-breathing hosts (i.e. humans), why did Dr. Skirth die? If anything, she should have been possessed by the symbiote! Her mind should have been completely taken over! Like with the parasites in Parasyte -the maxim-! I...I don't get it. At all. It would have been awesome if she got possessed! Then she could fight Drake! But no, they killed her off, because...reasons.
I want to say let's have a moment of silence for this minor character, but in my opinion, she didn't really contribute anything to the plot and was kinda annoying. So, no moment of silence.
Soon after Dr. Skirth's death, Drake sends mercenaries to retrieve the symbiote from Eddie, and we get a pretty cool (and kinda funny in my opinion) fight scene where the symbiote takes over Eddie and he transforms into this monstrous creature and kicks some major ass. I think the fight scenes here are better than those in Parasyte -the maxim-, because these are easier to follow. Now, it could be because Venom is live action, while Parasyte -the maxim- is an anime, but I'm not sure if that's the reason why.
After the fight, Eddie takes shelter outside the city and is in shock over what happened. He hears the voice in his head again before the symbiote appears out of Eddie's arm. It introduces itself as Venom (voiced by Tom Hardy) and explains how Drake is getting symbiotes from a comet with many more symbiotes on it. According to Venom, the comet is an invasion force with symbiotes on the lookout for worlds where they can possess and devour the inhabitants.
He...it...Venom (I'm honestly not sure what pronoun I should be using for Venom) offers to spare Eddie if he helps the symbiotes achieve their goal. Eddie is initially against this, but he soon comes to enjoy the superhuman abilities Venom gives him. So much so that he decides to break into his old workplace to turn over evidence of Drake's experiments. Um...why? Eddie, buddy, I don't know how to put this lightly, but...are you for real?
Ok. Enough of questioning Eddie's sanity (for now).
Anyway, instead of doing the more badass (and probably smarter) thing of climbing back out of the window and hopping from building to building, Eddie decides to take the elevator to go to the ground. For. The. Love. Of. G-d!!!!! Even VENOM didn't like this idea! FREAKING VENOM! What, you don't want to listen to the voice in your head for a change?
Anyway, that pretty stupid move on Eddie's part leads him to encounter the FREAKING SWAT TEAM. He transforms into Venom to escape, kills pretty much all the members of the SWAT team (RIP), only to find out that Anne Weying witnessed the whole thing. She takes him to her new doctor boyfriend, where Venom explains to Eddie that the symbiotes have two main weaknesses: high-pitched noises and fire. Anne and her doctor boyfriend discover that the symbiote is rotting Eddie's internal organs, and...wait, what?
In a symbiotic relationship, both parties benefit. In Parasyte -the maxim-, both parties benefited from each other. And that wasn't even supposed to be a symbiotic relationship! But...this makes no sense! THIS. MAKES. NO. SENSE!
Ok kanna. Deep breaths. In and out. In and out.
Moving on.
So Venom explains the organ damage is fixable as part of the symbiotic relationship. Despite this, Anne decides to use an MRI machine to separate Eddie from Venom. So...it's basically Anne's fault that in the next scene, Eddie is captured by Drake. Is it me, or did everyone's brains get taken over by silly parasites? Um...Picard, please take over for a sec. I think I need a break. There's only so much messed up stuff I can take.
Ok, I'm back. Where were we...oh, right. So Drake interrogates Eddie and tortures him to find out where Venom is. Ok, great! Finally...not so ridiculous...until we find out that Drake also has a symbiote.
Yeah.
If you've seen the movie (or at least part of it up to this point), you might remember a symbiote that had been body-hopping from FREAKING MALAYSIA TO SAN FRANCISCO! Look, no offense to my Malaysian readers, but no matter how many bodies this symbiote...parasite...whatever (honestly, the two terms could be used interchangeably at this point) hops from body to body, you'd think it would have died! Malaysia and San Francisco are pretty far apart!
I'm sorry I keep using that gif, but there's honestly so much here that it applies to.
We learn that this symbiote is Riot, and that Riot has bonded with Drake. We also learn that Drake has agreed to take Riot in a Life Foundation space probe to get the other symbiotes and take them to Earth. Anne, who has (reluctantly) bonded with Venom, frees Eddie and Venom is once again back with Eddie.
Venom tells Eddie that he...it...Venom (honestly whatever pronoun works for you for Venom works for me) tells Eddie that Venom has been convinced to help protect the Earth from the other symbiotes through Venom's interactions with Eddie (G-d these grammar mistakes I'm forced to make are driving me NUTS). Ok, so he's becoming a superhero? How did he become the villain in the Spider-Man franchise, then?
Well, according to Spider-Man 3...eh, we're not going to go into that.
Anyway, where were we...well, let's just skip to the pre-credits scene, which was one of my favorite parts of the movie. It's safe to assume the "good guys" (Venom and Eddie) won.
This scene was both funny and very well-written.
And now, we'll go to the mid-credits scene. Which is pretty intense. In this scene, we discover that Eddie has returned to his career in journalism. Eddie is invited to interview a prisoner named Cletus Kassady, who says that if and when he gets out of prison, "there will be carnage." Which led every comic book nerd in the theater to be like, "HOLY CRAP WTF THEY'RE BRINGING IN CARNAGE!!!"
And my reaction was...well, almost the same. I was with a friend who didn't quite understand my excitement, but she did recognize Woody Harrelson as Cletus Kassady/Carnage (or was this before Kassady became Carnage?), so she was somewhat excited? I guess because they're bringing Woody Harrelson in for the inevitable sequel, but who knows.
Sigh...rating: wow, this is a hard one. Um...5/10?
Why: Believe it or not, I actually kind of liked this movie. I think it's going to be more of a guilty pleasure for me, if anything. I know I used the Picard gif a lot and that the characters didn't always make the best moves, but the best character in the movie wasn't Eddie. It was Venom.
Tom Hardy did a great job in both roles, but Venom was the best character. Riot was pretty badass, but he didn't really get much development other than him being a bad guy. I think all he had going for him were the fight scenes.
Tom Hardy did a great job in both roles, but Venom was the best character. Riot was pretty badass, but he didn't really get much development other than him being a bad guy. I think all he had going for him were the fight scenes.
HOWEVER:
Eddie, the main character in this, didn't get a ton of development. We learned he's a journalist, and...that's about it. Venom got more development, was super intimidating, and even the voice sent shivers down my spine. Come to think about it, Venom was the only character who got ANY development whatsoever.
Aside from character development, the other thing I don't entirely get is Eddie's accent in this. The movie is set in San Francisco, California. Which is great, and I don't have a problem with it. However, Tom Hardy, a British actor, seems to be using a combination of a New York accent and a Boston accent. Granted, I haven't been to San Francisco (I have been to California, just not that part), so I'm not sure if people sound like that or not there.
From an anime perspective, there aren't really a ton of ways to tie this into Parasyte -the maxim-. I thought there would be more ways, but the two differ from each other so much. Now that I think about it, Venom differs a lot from Tokyo Ghoul, too. G-d, which anime can I tie this the most into? Anything?
I guess if I were to say anything about Venom and anime, it would be pretty cool if this movie got turned into an anime movie. I'm not sure who I'd cast for the original Japanese, but for the English dub...nope, not sure about that, either. I'll have to think on this for a bit.
Sorry for this being so short and late; there has been a lot going on in the world of kanna and I needed a break for my mental health. And speaking of mental health, stay tuned for Mental Health Month this month! I can't promise it will be up on time, but I plan on posting the first post at some point next week. And it's going to be...Puella Magi Madoka Magica: Rebellion!
Stay tuned!
Aside from character development, the other thing I don't entirely get is Eddie's accent in this. The movie is set in San Francisco, California. Which is great, and I don't have a problem with it. However, Tom Hardy, a British actor, seems to be using a combination of a New York accent and a Boston accent. Granted, I haven't been to San Francisco (I have been to California, just not that part), so I'm not sure if people sound like that or not there.
From an anime perspective, there aren't really a ton of ways to tie this into Parasyte -the maxim-. I thought there would be more ways, but the two differ from each other so much. Now that I think about it, Venom differs a lot from Tokyo Ghoul, too. G-d, which anime can I tie this the most into? Anything?
I guess if I were to say anything about Venom and anime, it would be pretty cool if this movie got turned into an anime movie. I'm not sure who I'd cast for the original Japanese, but for the English dub...nope, not sure about that, either. I'll have to think on this for a bit.
Sorry for this being so short and late; there has been a lot going on in the world of kanna and I needed a break for my mental health. And speaking of mental health, stay tuned for Mental Health Month this month! I can't promise it will be up on time, but I plan on posting the first post at some point next week. And it's going to be...Puella Magi Madoka Magica: Rebellion!
Stay tuned!
Hey guys, kanna here.
You know, as much as I can't stand the Spiderman movies (unless Spidey is played by Tom Holland), I am allowed to have a favorite villain or two. Ok, I might have made that rule up, but who cares if I did? And that villain (anti-hero?) is none other than Venom. For those of you who don't know, Venom is actually getting his own movie that will serve as an origin story (appropriately titled Venom) starring Tom Hardy (you might recognize him from Black Hawk Down, Star Trek: Nemesis, Inception, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, The Dark Knight Rises and that one show on BBC One in the UK and on FX in the States called Taboo). The movie will be released in the States on October 5.
Fun fact: He'll also be playing the notorious gangster, Al Capone, in the biographical crime thriller, Fonzo.
Before I get into why I'm even talking about Venom in addition to Tokyo Ghoul (which we'll get to in a little bit), here's the trailer for Venom. If you're squeamish, I strongly advise against watching.
"We. Are. Venom!" G-d that line sends shivers down my spine...not to mention how Tom Hardy's American accent is pretty good and his voice of Venom, while not quite how I imagined it sounding, is pretty good, too.
Moving on.
If you've seen Tokyo Ghoul (the live action movie or the anime), you MIGHT have noticed a couple of similarities between the trailer and Tokyo Ghoul. Which is what brings me to today's Anime Monday. For this week's Anime Monday, I'll be comparing and contrasting Tokyo Ghoul and Venom (the character and what we've seen so far of him from the trailer). Note that I will NOT be referencing the Spiderman comics much, if at all. I have not read them, I have no plans to read them, and everything I've done to understand this movie more has been based off of research.
Let's go!
How the characters became what they are
Ken Kaneki (Tokyo Ghoul): If you read my review of the live action adaptation, then you already know how Ken became a Ghoul. If you haven't, the shortened version is he was nearly crushed by a building and received the organs from another Ghoul, which made him a half-Ghoul. Full-fledged Ghouls are born that way (i.e. Hinami, Touka, etc). It's pretty brief and kinda self-explanatory. Unlike Venom's story, which is a little more complicated because it has changed so many times.
Venom: We first met Venom in Spiderman 3; where Spidey was played by Tobey Maguire (who, for the record, is still pretty good looking even after all these years). In fact, Venom's first host was actually Peter Parker/Spiderman.
However, when Peter realized how Venom was corrupting him (long story; see Spiderman 3 or research the movie for the details), he managed to release Venom, who then found a new host in Eddie Brock; a photographer who was exposed by Peter for creating a fake image of Spider-Man. Eddie is then ready for revenge. He embraces his madness and tries to kill Peter before (spoiler) ultimately joining Venom in death. Here's the scene. Don't watch it if you're squeamish.
Whether Venom will go this angle is unknown, but from what I've seen in the trailer, it doesn't look like it. I have to admit, I'm just a tad nervous, because it doesn't look like they're going the route that Spiderman 3 went. Why do I think this? Well, I don't know if that bit of Eddie being dragged off by Carlton Drake's (the guy Eddie was interviewing from the Life Foundation; he's played by Riz Ahmed, who you might recognize from Rogue One: A Star Wars Story or Jason Bourne) goons in the trailer was just for exposition or for part of Eddie's descent into darkness/madness.
In the trailer for Venom, Eddie is seen OD'ing (overdosing) on pills before he calls someone (we don't know who) saying that he feels sick. His eyes turn black in another shot, and in the next, we hear a voiceover of him commenting to someone (could be the same person from the phone, I don't know) that he's been hearing a voice in his head.
We later see Eddie sneak into the Life Foundation after hours, where he is attacked by a woman who was being experimented on. As he runs away from the woman who chases him, we see him holding his neck or ear (it's a little hard to tell which because it's happening so fast). This makes me think the symbiote could have either snuck into his ear (sort of like how the Ceti eels did to Chekov and Terrell in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan), or that the infection of the symbiote was passed on via bite (like a vampire). I think I'm more likely to buy the first one than I am the second, but anything is possible.
For those of you who are curious, this is what happened in Spiderman 3; where Eddie Brock was played by Topher Grace. Feel free to compare the two. Tell me which one seems more plausible in the comments.
Abilities
These two characters are actually pretty similar with regards to their abilities. I'm actually starting to wonder if the idea for Tokyo Ghoul came from the ideas for the Spiderman comics. I wouldn't call it a rip-off, since the writers got the ideas from each other and the two have completely different premises, but if that's not the case...then I'd probably call it a rip-off.
Ghouls: Ghouls are able to use a special organ in their bodies called a kagune as a weapon. It varies from Ghoul to Ghoul, and half-Ghouls have them, as well. For example:
In the trailer for Venom, we see something pretty similar. It looks as though Venom's abilities are pretty similar to a Ghoul's. However, instead of it being a special organ, Venom is an actual being; a symbiote. Ok, I shouldn't call it an actual being, but at the same time...I'm not sure what to call it.
According to the research I've done on the symbiotes (which was pretty hard to do, so most of my info is from Wiki), symbiotes are typically a kind species that believe in helping others through the process of bonding to the morally and physically ideal; turning them into superheroes. Sounds great, right?
Well...you can't assume all things are good or all things are bad. There are some bad symbiotes out there, as well. The symbiote can be corrupted by its host due to a chemical imbalance or a cultural malignancy. This causes the symbiote to turn into a destructive parasite that combats its kind brethren by spreading lies and misinformation about their own kind so that other races will fear and hate the symbiotes.
G-d so much info, and most of it is from the comics, which I said I wouldn't reference much (if at all). Um...what's the short version?
I guess you can say the symbiotes are kinda like the parasites from Parasyte: The Maxim. I say kinda because they're not EXACTLY like the parasites, but at the same time...I have no other way of describing them.
Moving on, I guess. I'll probably edit this bit later once I can figure out how to organize all the information (it's A LOT).
Who would win in a fight: Ken Kaneki vs.Venom
This question has been asked so much. Just Google "Ken Kaneki vs Venom" and you'll get A TON of results all telling you something different.
Before I explain what I think, let me just say that this is a fight I would love to see on-screen. Tom Hardy as Venom vs Masataka Kubota as Ken Kaneki would be one of the best fights to grace the silver screen (although I might just be saying that because I'm a huge anime nerd).
The first best fight would be a three-way showdown between Jackie Chan, Jet Li and Donnie Yen. So I guess Venom vs Ken would be a close second (but the chances of both of those fights happening are, unfortunately, pretty unlikely). I hope batinthesun can somehow make the Ken Kaneki vs. Venom fight happen (with Tom Hardy as Venom and Masataka Kubota as Ken Kaneki). I would LOVE to see it (along with many other people, I'm sure). Batinthesun, make it happen!
As for who would win:
Both characters do seem evenly matched (in my opinion). However, while some half-Ghouls are stronger than full-fledged Ghouls (I think Ken Kaneki falls into this category), I think Venom would quickly gain the upper hand. Why? The fear factor. That's what would give him the upper hand, I think. Would it make him win? I don't know.
Given Ken exists in a world where Ghouls exist and symbiotes that can fight for control of another person don't, I think that just Venom's very appearance (the film version; I don't think seeing Venom on the cover of a comic book would scare Ken that much, if at all) would shock Ken to his core. Then again, you can't always judge a book by its cover.
I think while Eddie Brock would be scared of Ken's abilities (aside from the CCG, what human wouldn't be), I think Venom would most likely be curious about Ken's abilities. Venom would probably want to drag the fight on for as long as possible.
So now you're probably wondering, "kanna, what the bloody crap are you trying to say?" Well...I'm going to go out on a limb and contradict what nearly everyone on the internet has said. Nearly everyone on the Internet has said one or the other will win, but in my opinion: they'll kill each other.
When you think about it, both have similar abilities, and while Venom would gain the upper hand, it wouldn't be hard for Ken to make a comeback. I honestly think that at some point, both of their attacks would somehow (squeamish warning; read next paragraph to skip this part) go through each others' head, chest, or just slice them both in half. Kinda like one of those "fatalities" from the Mortal Kombat games.
That's just my opinion. I'm well aware of other factors (i.e. Venom's healing factor) that could and would come into play from Venom's end, but keep in mind I'm not mentioning the comics because I haven't read them and have only done research.
Well, that's my compare/contrast of Tokyo Ghoul and Venom! Hope you enjoyed, and see you next time! ~k
You know, as much as I can't stand the Spiderman movies (unless Spidey is played by Tom Holland), I am allowed to have a favorite villain or two. Ok, I might have made that rule up, but who cares if I did? And that villain (anti-hero?) is none other than Venom. For those of you who don't know, Venom is actually getting his own movie that will serve as an origin story (appropriately titled Venom) starring Tom Hardy (you might recognize him from Black Hawk Down, Star Trek: Nemesis, Inception, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, The Dark Knight Rises and that one show on BBC One in the UK and on FX in the States called Taboo). The movie will be released in the States on October 5.
Fun fact: He'll also be playing the notorious gangster, Al Capone, in the biographical crime thriller, Fonzo.
Before I get into why I'm even talking about Venom in addition to Tokyo Ghoul (which we'll get to in a little bit), here's the trailer for Venom. If you're squeamish, I strongly advise against watching.
"We. Are. Venom!" G-d that line sends shivers down my spine...not to mention how Tom Hardy's American accent is pretty good and his voice of Venom, while not quite how I imagined it sounding, is pretty good, too.
Moving on.
If you've seen Tokyo Ghoul (the live action movie or the anime), you MIGHT have noticed a couple of similarities between the trailer and Tokyo Ghoul. Which is what brings me to today's Anime Monday. For this week's Anime Monday, I'll be comparing and contrasting Tokyo Ghoul and Venom (the character and what we've seen so far of him from the trailer). Note that I will NOT be referencing the Spiderman comics much, if at all. I have not read them, I have no plans to read them, and everything I've done to understand this movie more has been based off of research.
Let's go!
How the characters became what they are
Ken Kaneki (Tokyo Ghoul): If you read my review of the live action adaptation, then you already know how Ken became a Ghoul. If you haven't, the shortened version is he was nearly crushed by a building and received the organs from another Ghoul, which made him a half-Ghoul. Full-fledged Ghouls are born that way (i.e. Hinami, Touka, etc). It's pretty brief and kinda self-explanatory. Unlike Venom's story, which is a little more complicated because it has changed so many times.
Venom: We first met Venom in Spiderman 3; where Spidey was played by Tobey Maguire (who, for the record, is still pretty good looking even after all these years). In fact, Venom's first host was actually Peter Parker/Spiderman.
However, when Peter realized how Venom was corrupting him (long story; see Spiderman 3 or research the movie for the details), he managed to release Venom, who then found a new host in Eddie Brock; a photographer who was exposed by Peter for creating a fake image of Spider-Man. Eddie is then ready for revenge. He embraces his madness and tries to kill Peter before (spoiler) ultimately joining Venom in death. Here's the scene. Don't watch it if you're squeamish.
Whether Venom will go this angle is unknown, but from what I've seen in the trailer, it doesn't look like it. I have to admit, I'm just a tad nervous, because it doesn't look like they're going the route that Spiderman 3 went. Why do I think this? Well, I don't know if that bit of Eddie being dragged off by Carlton Drake's (the guy Eddie was interviewing from the Life Foundation; he's played by Riz Ahmed, who you might recognize from Rogue One: A Star Wars Story or Jason Bourne) goons in the trailer was just for exposition or for part of Eddie's descent into darkness/madness.
In the trailer for Venom, Eddie is seen OD'ing (overdosing) on pills before he calls someone (we don't know who) saying that he feels sick. His eyes turn black in another shot, and in the next, we hear a voiceover of him commenting to someone (could be the same person from the phone, I don't know) that he's been hearing a voice in his head.
We later see Eddie sneak into the Life Foundation after hours, where he is attacked by a woman who was being experimented on. As he runs away from the woman who chases him, we see him holding his neck or ear (it's a little hard to tell which because it's happening so fast). This makes me think the symbiote could have either snuck into his ear (sort of like how the Ceti eels did to Chekov and Terrell in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan), or that the infection of the symbiote was passed on via bite (like a vampire). I think I'm more likely to buy the first one than I am the second, but anything is possible.
For those of you who are curious, this is what happened in Spiderman 3; where Eddie Brock was played by Topher Grace. Feel free to compare the two. Tell me which one seems more plausible in the comments.
Abilities
These two characters are actually pretty similar with regards to their abilities. I'm actually starting to wonder if the idea for Tokyo Ghoul came from the ideas for the Spiderman comics. I wouldn't call it a rip-off, since the writers got the ideas from each other and the two have completely different premises, but if that's not the case...then I'd probably call it a rip-off.
Ghouls: Ghouls are able to use a special organ in their bodies called a kagune as a weapon. It varies from Ghoul to Ghoul, and half-Ghouls have them, as well. For example:
 |
| Touka |
 |
| Ken |
 |
| Hinami |
In the trailer for Venom, we see something pretty similar. It looks as though Venom's abilities are pretty similar to a Ghoul's. However, instead of it being a special organ, Venom is an actual being; a symbiote. Ok, I shouldn't call it an actual being, but at the same time...I'm not sure what to call it.
According to the research I've done on the symbiotes (which was pretty hard to do, so most of my info is from Wiki), symbiotes are typically a kind species that believe in helping others through the process of bonding to the morally and physically ideal; turning them into superheroes. Sounds great, right?
Well...you can't assume all things are good or all things are bad. There are some bad symbiotes out there, as well. The symbiote can be corrupted by its host due to a chemical imbalance or a cultural malignancy. This causes the symbiote to turn into a destructive parasite that combats its kind brethren by spreading lies and misinformation about their own kind so that other races will fear and hate the symbiotes.
G-d so much info, and most of it is from the comics, which I said I wouldn't reference much (if at all). Um...what's the short version?
I guess you can say the symbiotes are kinda like the parasites from Parasyte: The Maxim. I say kinda because they're not EXACTLY like the parasites, but at the same time...I have no other way of describing them.
Moving on, I guess. I'll probably edit this bit later once I can figure out how to organize all the information (it's A LOT).
Who would win in a fight: Ken Kaneki vs.Venom
This question has been asked so much. Just Google "Ken Kaneki vs Venom" and you'll get A TON of results all telling you something different.
Before I explain what I think, let me just say that this is a fight I would love to see on-screen. Tom Hardy as Venom vs Masataka Kubota as Ken Kaneki would be one of the best fights to grace the silver screen (although I might just be saying that because I'm a huge anime nerd).
The first best fight would be a three-way showdown between Jackie Chan, Jet Li and Donnie Yen. So I guess Venom vs Ken would be a close second (but the chances of both of those fights happening are, unfortunately, pretty unlikely). I hope batinthesun can somehow make the Ken Kaneki vs. Venom fight happen (with Tom Hardy as Venom and Masataka Kubota as Ken Kaneki). I would LOVE to see it (along with many other people, I'm sure). Batinthesun, make it happen!
As for who would win:
Both characters do seem evenly matched (in my opinion). However, while some half-Ghouls are stronger than full-fledged Ghouls (I think Ken Kaneki falls into this category), I think Venom would quickly gain the upper hand. Why? The fear factor. That's what would give him the upper hand, I think. Would it make him win? I don't know.
Given Ken exists in a world where Ghouls exist and symbiotes that can fight for control of another person don't, I think that just Venom's very appearance (the film version; I don't think seeing Venom on the cover of a comic book would scare Ken that much, if at all) would shock Ken to his core. Then again, you can't always judge a book by its cover.
I think while Eddie Brock would be scared of Ken's abilities (aside from the CCG, what human wouldn't be), I think Venom would most likely be curious about Ken's abilities. Venom would probably want to drag the fight on for as long as possible.
So now you're probably wondering, "kanna, what the bloody crap are you trying to say?" Well...I'm going to go out on a limb and contradict what nearly everyone on the internet has said. Nearly everyone on the Internet has said one or the other will win, but in my opinion: they'll kill each other.
When you think about it, both have similar abilities, and while Venom would gain the upper hand, it wouldn't be hard for Ken to make a comeback. I honestly think that at some point, both of their attacks would somehow (squeamish warning; read next paragraph to skip this part) go through each others' head, chest, or just slice them both in half. Kinda like one of those "fatalities" from the Mortal Kombat games.
That's just my opinion. I'm well aware of other factors (i.e. Venom's healing factor) that could and would come into play from Venom's end, but keep in mind I'm not mentioning the comics because I haven't read them and have only done research.
Well, that's my compare/contrast of Tokyo Ghoul and Venom! Hope you enjoyed, and see you next time! ~k
Hey guys, kanna here. My first post after graduating from college. Wow...
Ok, enough sentimentality. I just want to level with you guys here before I get to this prediction: I REALLY FREAKING HATE BLEACH. Both the anime and the hair stuff (but mostly the anime).
So, why am I doing a prediction video? Well, I can never seem to get the timing right for when to film. I'm always being interrupted by something. At least while blogging, I can avoid being interrupted (for the most part).
When this movie was announced, I was ready to throw something out a window. I mean...it's like they made a third season of Diabolik Lovers.
Wait.
*goes on Google*
WHAT THE FRICK-BISCUIT?! No official announcement has been made, but there are rumors going around about a third season of this garbage anime that could seriously kill brain cells (ok, exaggeration, but you get my point)?
WHY?!
Ok, kanna, deep breaths. Calm down. This will all make sense once there's an official announcement. For now, we'll just live with the sad rumors and the fact that people actually like Diabolik Lovers. Enough about that, though, this is my prediction for the live action adaptation of Bleach.
As I said before, I REALLY FREAKING HATE BLEACH. There are numerous reasons why I hate it, but the main one is this:
IT'S.
ALL.
FILLER!
Seriously! I sat through the first 20 episodes of the anime before I gave up on it. Why?
Well...I'll give a bit of background. The anime does have a decent plot and (kinda) interesting characters.
The story is set in a fictional town called Karakura Town, and revolves around Cole...wait...wrong thing. Sorry, this is so similar to The Sixth Sense that I got the protagonists mixed up. I mean Ichigo Kurosaki, a teenager who, like Cole Sear from The Sixth Sense, can see and hear dead people. He can also see the creatures that chase the souls of the dead, and those creatures are known as Hollows (dangerous, lost souls that could not rest).
One night, in the midst of a Hollow attack, a girl named Rukia Kuchiki is fatally injured. We learn that Rukia isn't human, but is something called a Soul Reaper. A Soul Reaper is a fictional being that governed the flow of spirits between the human world and the realm of the afterlife called the Soul Society.
Rukia, unable to fight, is forced to transfer her Soul Reaper powers to Ichigo. This turns Ichigo into a Soul Reaper, and he ends the fight. Rukia teaches Ichigo about being a Soul Reaper, despite her powers being limited as a result of the transfer. We later learn that some of Ichigo's classmates are also able to see spirits.
And...that's pretty much the general plot. There are several storylines, but this is pretty much the plot of the first few episodes. There's a bunch of other stuff that happens, but if you want me to be perfectly honest...the rest of it kinda-sorta sucks. Too much filler. It's like watching the majority of Naruto, Naruto Shippuden, Boruto, and One Piece. Wait...I just named a bunch of series that so many people like. Um...how do I get out of this...?
Deus ex Yu-Gi-Oh Abridged!
The movie stars Sota Fukushi, who is known for playing the protagonist in Kamen Rider Fourze (man, I'm so behind on Kamen Rider...I haven't even gotten to Kamen Rider Build yet), as Ichigo Kurosaki. And...I haven't heard of any of the other actors outside of him and Miyavi. I don't think I've seen anything the other actors have been in, so that's probably why.
My prediction: I'm honestly not sure how to go into this movie. I went into the live action Attack on Titan with an open mind and pumped to see it, and we all saw how well that went. I went into Netflix's Death Note with a (semi) open mind, and that was pretty painful to sit through.
Despite how much I can't stand the anime, I really hope that this adaptation turns out to be decent. I want to see it do well. I think that they have the right cast and...oh, crap. The director is Shinsuke Sato, the director of Death Note: Light Up the New World.
Ok, we can't judge a director off of one movie. After all, that film came out...frick, it came out two years ago, and he's directing this RIGHT AFTER Death Note: Light Up the New World. Meaning: he probably hasn't had much time to learn anything from his mistakes with that Death Note movie.
Well, with any luck, this movie will do well, and we won't be scarred for life from it. Who knows? Maybe it will convert me into a fan of Bleach!
This is probably my last Anime Monday before China. I'll be gone from late May/early June to mid-August. I don't know if I'll have access to Blogger, so I'll try to have as many Anime Mondays written before I leave so all I have to do is hit publish when I get back. Until August! ~k
Ok, enough sentimentality. I just want to level with you guys here before I get to this prediction: I REALLY FREAKING HATE BLEACH. Both the anime and the hair stuff (but mostly the anime).
So, why am I doing a prediction video? Well, I can never seem to get the timing right for when to film. I'm always being interrupted by something. At least while blogging, I can avoid being interrupted (for the most part).
When this movie was announced, I was ready to throw something out a window. I mean...it's like they made a third season of Diabolik Lovers.
Wait.
*goes on Google*
WHAT THE FRICK-BISCUIT?! No official announcement has been made, but there are rumors going around about a third season of this garbage anime that could seriously kill brain cells (ok, exaggeration, but you get my point)?
WHY?!
Ok, kanna, deep breaths. Calm down. This will all make sense once there's an official announcement. For now, we'll just live with the sad rumors and the fact that people actually like Diabolik Lovers. Enough about that, though, this is my prediction for the live action adaptation of Bleach.
As I said before, I REALLY FREAKING HATE BLEACH. There are numerous reasons why I hate it, but the main one is this:
IT'S.
ALL.
FILLER!
Seriously! I sat through the first 20 episodes of the anime before I gave up on it. Why?
Well...I'll give a bit of background. The anime does have a decent plot and (kinda) interesting characters.
The story is set in a fictional town called Karakura Town, and revolves around Cole...wait...wrong thing. Sorry, this is so similar to The Sixth Sense that I got the protagonists mixed up. I mean Ichigo Kurosaki, a teenager who, like Cole Sear from The Sixth Sense, can see and hear dead people. He can also see the creatures that chase the souls of the dead, and those creatures are known as Hollows (dangerous, lost souls that could not rest).
One night, in the midst of a Hollow attack, a girl named Rukia Kuchiki is fatally injured. We learn that Rukia isn't human, but is something called a Soul Reaper. A Soul Reaper is a fictional being that governed the flow of spirits between the human world and the realm of the afterlife called the Soul Society.
Rukia, unable to fight, is forced to transfer her Soul Reaper powers to Ichigo. This turns Ichigo into a Soul Reaper, and he ends the fight. Rukia teaches Ichigo about being a Soul Reaper, despite her powers being limited as a result of the transfer. We later learn that some of Ichigo's classmates are also able to see spirits.
And...that's pretty much the general plot. There are several storylines, but this is pretty much the plot of the first few episodes. There's a bunch of other stuff that happens, but if you want me to be perfectly honest...the rest of it kinda-sorta sucks. Too much filler. It's like watching the majority of Naruto, Naruto Shippuden, Boruto, and One Piece. Wait...I just named a bunch of series that so many people like. Um...how do I get out of this...?
Deus ex Yu-Gi-Oh Abridged!
*gasps for breath after running from pitchforks and torches*
Phew...okay...I think I lost them.
*looks over shoulder*
Yep, they're gone.
On with the prediction!
So when I first heard about the live action adaptation of this anime, I said, "Nope. Not seeing it. Not even if you paid me all the money in the world." But I changed my tune as soon as I found out popular Japanese rock singer and actor, Miyavi, was going to be in the movie as...well, I can't remember his character's name (I think it was Rukia's superior or something...I don't really remember), but I got excited when I found out about Miyavi.
For those of you who don't know who Miyavi is, Miyavi is a Japanese rock singer. He's also an actor. He made his international acting debut in the movie, Unbroken, directed by Angelina Jolie. He's pretty talented, and I would definitely recommend checking his stuff out.
The movie stars Sota Fukushi, who is known for playing the protagonist in Kamen Rider Fourze (man, I'm so behind on Kamen Rider...I haven't even gotten to Kamen Rider Build yet), as Ichigo Kurosaki. And...I haven't heard of any of the other actors outside of him and Miyavi. I don't think I've seen anything the other actors have been in, so that's probably why.
My prediction: I'm honestly not sure how to go into this movie. I went into the live action Attack on Titan with an open mind and pumped to see it, and we all saw how well that went. I went into Netflix's Death Note with a (semi) open mind, and that was pretty painful to sit through.
Despite how much I can't stand the anime, I really hope that this adaptation turns out to be decent. I want to see it do well. I think that they have the right cast and...oh, crap. The director is Shinsuke Sato, the director of Death Note: Light Up the New World.
Ok, we can't judge a director off of one movie. After all, that film came out...frick, it came out two years ago, and he's directing this RIGHT AFTER Death Note: Light Up the New World. Meaning: he probably hasn't had much time to learn anything from his mistakes with that Death Note movie.
Well, with any luck, this movie will do well, and we won't be scarred for life from it. Who knows? Maybe it will convert me into a fan of Bleach!
This is probably my last Anime Monday before China. I'll be gone from late May/early June to mid-August. I don't know if I'll have access to Blogger, so I'll try to have as many Anime Mondays written before I leave so all I have to do is hit publish when I get back. Until August! ~k
Hey guys, kanna here. I know it's not Monday. I know I promised Mental Health Month would start after my prediction of The Origins of Diabolism, but something happened at an anime convention that I just couldn't overlook. While I did not attend the convention, Anime Matsuri (it was in Texas and I'm currently in the midwestern part of the US finishing college), the photos and posts I saw from the Boycott Anime Matsuri Facebook page (oh, yeah, there's one of those) were enough to make me sick to my stomach and write this post. Here's the link to their Facebook page: Boycott Anime Matsuri
Let's talk about con etiquette. While I have a feeling not everyone has been to anime conventions (I've only been to four, and they were pretty small conventions), I strongly believe this is important stuff to know for when you do go to an anime convention. I'll discuss the issue that brought this post about before I address the do's and don'ts of anime conventions.
I'd also like to apologize in advance for this being an all text post and not having pictures. I know reading a wall of text is boring and I'm bound to lose your attention at some point, but I needed to get this out there.
What brought this post about (and I'm not going to post a photo of it, but I will post the link if you're curious to see why I'm so offended) was something that happened at Anime Matsuri. This convention is already surrounded by controversy surrounding sexual assault and harassment from the CEO, John Leigh. Numerous women (who shall remain nameless for multiple reasons) have come forward with their stories, and although John and his wife, Deneice, have tried to silence them, they keep coming forward. Kudos to these brave women. It can't be easy to come forward with something like that.
Moving on.
What happened to make me so pissed off? I'll tell you.
So Anime Matsuri started out okay, just like any typical, well-organized anime convention. Heck, even the MAYOR of Houston showed up in an Itachi (Naruto) cosplay. So as people went along to the different panels (I'm not sure which voice actors were there, if any, because so many cancelled, and I don't know what the panels were) in their different cosplays, we eventually saw a guy dressed up as a Nazi. People said that he read a Goku (Dragon Ball)/Anne Frank crossover fanfiction where Goku fought Hitler as Super Saiyan at an official panel, but there's no proof of it actually happening and no one has come forward about it.
As if that wasn't bad enough, not only did this jerkwad's armband have a swastika on it, but it was for the SS-Totenkopfverbände, the elite SS agents who were in charge of the concentration (death) camps. Not only that, but he wore a GAS MASK. And this happened on PASSOVER (a Jewish holiday), no less.
The guy claimed to be a representative of Geeks 5 Ever, a "A group of nerds and geeks who talk about the stuff you actually care about, not Kanye West but stuff like Batman v Superman." However, back in February, Geeks 5 Ever cancelled all their panels at Anime Matsuri. When they found out about this Nazi guy, they were FURIOUS. They said on their Facebook page, "We no showed at Anime Matsuri and we heard some Nazi dude took it upon himself to run our panels which we do not approve. F**k that guy. He is not a part of our group and no one in G5E would ever dress as a Nazi."
I'm working on scheduling an interview with Geeks 5 Ever to get their take on the matter and hopefully clear a few things up. I'll keep you posted on when that happens. It's looking like this weekend or next weekend. Send me your questions ASAP.
As if things couldn't POSSIBLY get any worse, the next day, that same jerkwad wore a MAGA hat. For those who don't know because they don't follow American politics (I don't follow them that closely, myself, save for the really important stuff), MAGA stands for "Make America Great Again," which was...ugh, I can't believe I'm actually saying this...US President Donald Trump's election slogan.
Look. I'm an advocate for free speech. As a blogger, I feel that my right to free speech is something I take for granted (as do most people, bloggers or not). What I don't support, however, is blatant hatred, which is what our current President (my grandma is probably rolling in her grave as I talk about him) is full of.
I'm not going to name the individual who did this because I don't know his name. What I will say is that at Anime Matsuri 2016, he dressed up as one of the Columbine shooters. If that's not inconsiderate, I don't know what is. Additionally, this isn't the first time that something like this has happened. In January, at Anime Los Angeles, two individuals dressed up as the Columbine shooters (link goes to CNN for some fast facts about the Columbine High School shooting).
I'm not putting pictures of the person who dressed up as a freaking NAZI for several reasons; the main one being that this could bring up some bad stuff in people who are Holocaust survivors reading this. If you want pictures, go here. If not, DON'T CLICK THE LINK (I did, and what I saw made me sick to my stomach).
Ok. I could go on and on and on about this, but I want to touch on some of the do's and don'ts of conventions. And that's exactly what we're going to do. There are TONS of things to keep in mind when you're at a con, and each con has its own rules, so I'm just going to touch on a few common ones.
1. HYGIENE, HYGIENE, HYGIENE
I can't stress this one enough. Big anime conventions, such as Youmacon or Anime Matsuri are crowded to the point where it could be considered a fire hazard. The first con I went to and volunteered at had to put people on a waiting list to get in because the building was so small and could only hold so many people. It got moved to a bigger location the following year so there wasn't a waiting list.
What I mean by hygiene: Shower every day of the convention before you go inside the convention hall. Make sure you use deodorant. Wash everywhere. You'll be surrounded by a ton of sweaty people because of the crowds, but you don't want to be the one that people want to avoid because you reek of insert-bad-smell-here.
2. COSPLAY
I actually mean two things with this. Let's start with the first one:
COSPLAY. IS. NOT. CONSENT!
Just because people (I'm not listing genders because I don't want to offend anyone based on how they identify) dress a certain way does NOT give anyone the right to touch them in areas they wouldn't be comfortable in without their consent. Allow me to link this video about consent (it's actually pretty funny).
Look. If you want to wear a sexy cosplay, wear a sexy cosplay. No one is stopping you; just make sure you're decently covered and abiding by all state and local decency laws. That does NOT give people the right to touch you in places you're not comfortable without your consent.
The second thing I mean:
Rule #1 about cosplay (this was taken from the Event Policies page on Anime Matsuri's website, but it applies to almost all conventions): Cosplaying is one of the main features of AMCLLC. We ask all Cosplayers and Costumers to be tasteful with their choice of costumes keeping in mind that it is a family oriented event.
Nazi costumes are NOT family friendly. Enough said. That costume was not chosen in good taste and clearly ignores the fact that Anime Matsuri is a family oriented event.
3. PICTURES AND AUTOGRAPHS
One important thing to note is that each and every guest at an anime convention will have their own photograph and autograph policies. The important thing to keep in mind, however, is that you ask first before taking someone's picture at a convention or recording them on any kind of video. The laws about recording someone without their consent varies from state to state. Michigan, for example, is an "all party consent" state, meaning that everyone involved has to give their permission. I think (I'd have to do some research) the same could be said for pictures. When I met Penn and Teller when I went to Las Vegas, I made sure to ask before I took selfies with them.
As for autographs, follow the autograph policies set by each guest. I cannot stress this enough. While all their policies may be different, you're only allowed a certain number of autographs. If you don't abide by that...well...the consequences aren't very good.
The rest of it (with regards to rules) is basically common sense. What you choose to do at an anime convention is your business. Just follow the rules that each con has, and you should be ok. If whoever your cosplaying as has a weapon, make sure you follow their weapons policies. Conventions are pretty strict about that, and with good reason.
Well, that's basically it. There's more, but if I kept your attention this long, I am AMAZED. Stay tuned for Mental Health Month! Again, I'll be reviewing (in no particular order):
No Game No Life
Puella Magi Madoka Magica: Rebellion
Tokyo Ghoul
Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion
See you next time for Mental Health Month! ~k
Let's talk about con etiquette. While I have a feeling not everyone has been to anime conventions (I've only been to four, and they were pretty small conventions), I strongly believe this is important stuff to know for when you do go to an anime convention. I'll discuss the issue that brought this post about before I address the do's and don'ts of anime conventions.
I'd also like to apologize in advance for this being an all text post and not having pictures. I know reading a wall of text is boring and I'm bound to lose your attention at some point, but I needed to get this out there.
What brought this post about (and I'm not going to post a photo of it, but I will post the link if you're curious to see why I'm so offended) was something that happened at Anime Matsuri. This convention is already surrounded by controversy surrounding sexual assault and harassment from the CEO, John Leigh. Numerous women (who shall remain nameless for multiple reasons) have come forward with their stories, and although John and his wife, Deneice, have tried to silence them, they keep coming forward. Kudos to these brave women. It can't be easy to come forward with something like that.
Moving on.
What happened to make me so pissed off? I'll tell you.
So Anime Matsuri started out okay, just like any typical, well-organized anime convention. Heck, even the MAYOR of Houston showed up in an Itachi (Naruto) cosplay. So as people went along to the different panels (I'm not sure which voice actors were there, if any, because so many cancelled, and I don't know what the panels were) in their different cosplays, we eventually saw a guy dressed up as a Nazi. People said that he read a Goku (Dragon Ball)/Anne Frank crossover fanfiction where Goku fought Hitler as Super Saiyan at an official panel, but there's no proof of it actually happening and no one has come forward about it.
As if that wasn't bad enough, not only did this jerkwad's armband have a swastika on it, but it was for the SS-Totenkopfverbände, the elite SS agents who were in charge of the concentration (death) camps. Not only that, but he wore a GAS MASK. And this happened on PASSOVER (a Jewish holiday), no less.
The guy claimed to be a representative of Geeks 5 Ever, a "A group of nerds and geeks who talk about the stuff you actually care about, not Kanye West but stuff like Batman v Superman." However, back in February, Geeks 5 Ever cancelled all their panels at Anime Matsuri. When they found out about this Nazi guy, they were FURIOUS. They said on their Facebook page, "We no showed at Anime Matsuri and we heard some Nazi dude took it upon himself to run our panels which we do not approve. F**k that guy. He is not a part of our group and no one in G5E would ever dress as a Nazi."
I'm working on scheduling an interview with Geeks 5 Ever to get their take on the matter and hopefully clear a few things up. I'll keep you posted on when that happens. It's looking like this weekend or next weekend. Send me your questions ASAP.
As if things couldn't POSSIBLY get any worse, the next day, that same jerkwad wore a MAGA hat. For those who don't know because they don't follow American politics (I don't follow them that closely, myself, save for the really important stuff), MAGA stands for "Make America Great Again," which was...ugh, I can't believe I'm actually saying this...US President Donald Trump's election slogan.
Look. I'm an advocate for free speech. As a blogger, I feel that my right to free speech is something I take for granted (as do most people, bloggers or not). What I don't support, however, is blatant hatred, which is what our current President (my grandma is probably rolling in her grave as I talk about him) is full of.
I'm not going to name the individual who did this because I don't know his name. What I will say is that at Anime Matsuri 2016, he dressed up as one of the Columbine shooters. If that's not inconsiderate, I don't know what is. Additionally, this isn't the first time that something like this has happened. In January, at Anime Los Angeles, two individuals dressed up as the Columbine shooters (link goes to CNN for some fast facts about the Columbine High School shooting).
I'm not putting pictures of the person who dressed up as a freaking NAZI for several reasons; the main one being that this could bring up some bad stuff in people who are Holocaust survivors reading this. If you want pictures, go here. If not, DON'T CLICK THE LINK (I did, and what I saw made me sick to my stomach).
Ok. I could go on and on and on about this, but I want to touch on some of the do's and don'ts of conventions. And that's exactly what we're going to do. There are TONS of things to keep in mind when you're at a con, and each con has its own rules, so I'm just going to touch on a few common ones.
1. HYGIENE, HYGIENE, HYGIENE
I can't stress this one enough. Big anime conventions, such as Youmacon or Anime Matsuri are crowded to the point where it could be considered a fire hazard. The first con I went to and volunteered at had to put people on a waiting list to get in because the building was so small and could only hold so many people. It got moved to a bigger location the following year so there wasn't a waiting list.
What I mean by hygiene: Shower every day of the convention before you go inside the convention hall. Make sure you use deodorant. Wash everywhere. You'll be surrounded by a ton of sweaty people because of the crowds, but you don't want to be the one that people want to avoid because you reek of insert-bad-smell-here.
2. COSPLAY
I actually mean two things with this. Let's start with the first one:
COSPLAY. IS. NOT. CONSENT!
Just because people (I'm not listing genders because I don't want to offend anyone based on how they identify) dress a certain way does NOT give anyone the right to touch them in areas they wouldn't be comfortable in without their consent. Allow me to link this video about consent (it's actually pretty funny).
Look. If you want to wear a sexy cosplay, wear a sexy cosplay. No one is stopping you; just make sure you're decently covered and abiding by all state and local decency laws. That does NOT give people the right to touch you in places you're not comfortable without your consent.
The second thing I mean:
Rule #1 about cosplay (this was taken from the Event Policies page on Anime Matsuri's website, but it applies to almost all conventions): Cosplaying is one of the main features of AMCLLC. We ask all Cosplayers and Costumers to be tasteful with their choice of costumes keeping in mind that it is a family oriented event.
Nazi costumes are NOT family friendly. Enough said. That costume was not chosen in good taste and clearly ignores the fact that Anime Matsuri is a family oriented event.
3. PICTURES AND AUTOGRAPHS
One important thing to note is that each and every guest at an anime convention will have their own photograph and autograph policies. The important thing to keep in mind, however, is that you ask first before taking someone's picture at a convention or recording them on any kind of video. The laws about recording someone without their consent varies from state to state. Michigan, for example, is an "all party consent" state, meaning that everyone involved has to give their permission. I think (I'd have to do some research) the same could be said for pictures. When I met Penn and Teller when I went to Las Vegas, I made sure to ask before I took selfies with them.
As for autographs, follow the autograph policies set by each guest. I cannot stress this enough. While all their policies may be different, you're only allowed a certain number of autographs. If you don't abide by that...well...the consequences aren't very good.
The rest of it (with regards to rules) is basically common sense. What you choose to do at an anime convention is your business. Just follow the rules that each con has, and you should be ok. If whoever your cosplaying as has a weapon, make sure you follow their weapons policies. Conventions are pretty strict about that, and with good reason.
Well, that's basically it. There's more, but if I kept your attention this long, I am AMAZED. Stay tuned for Mental Health Month! Again, I'll be reviewing (in no particular order):
No Game No Life
Puella Magi Madoka Magica: Rebellion
Tokyo Ghoul
Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion
See you next time for Mental Health Month! ~k
Hey guys, kanna here. I know it's not Monday, but I needed to put up AT LEAST one more of these that wasn't a video before I graduated and started packing for China, where I'll be on a three-month hiatus. My writer's mind was calling to me and I had to answer it. So this may or may not be the last one for a while.
Also, I plan on making April, May, or September Mental Health Month. This is where I'll review anime that has underlying themes of PTSD, anxiety, depression, ADHD, or suicide. I'd like to thank Anime for Humanity for allowing me to do this. I'll be posting phone numbers for you to call if you or anyone you know has thoughts of suicide. Please note that these will be American phone numbers, because I don't know any of the international ones.
Moving on.
I know some of you have wondered, "If the word 'anime' is Japanese, then isn't all anime Japanese?" Well, it is...to an extent. There are exceptions to the rule, such as Avatar: The Last Airbender, Code Lyoko, Sonic X, The Legend of Korra, and so on. If you Googled "insert-nationality-here anime," you'd find TONS of results. Some of which wouldn't be on MyAnimeList, so it's important to keep an open mind to what you want to watch.
This, however, is not the case with The Founders of Diabolism (a rough translation from 魔道租师); a Chinese danmei (I'll define that later) anime produced by Tencent Penguin Pictures. Tencent is a pretty big media company in China (they created the popular microblogging service, Weibo), but I hadn't heard of Tencent Penguin Pictures until I did some research about this anime. I don't know too much about them, other than that they produced several series that I've been meaning to watch but haven't gotten around to yet.
A little background on The Founders of Diabolism.
The Founders of Diabolism could also be translated to The Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation. The word, 魔道, is associated with Buddhism and means devildom or domain of the devil. It could also mean sorcery or witchcraft. The second word in the title, 租师, has two definitions: founder of a school of learning, a craft, etc., OR the founder of a sect of Buddhism or Taoism. For the purposes of this review, we're going to go with the second definition.
Source for word definitions (because I honestly doubt they'd teach these words in Chinese class at American schools): Pleco dictionary (available for iPhone or Android for free)
Wow, I didn't realize the first part of the review would mostly be definitions. Um...ok. Let's just keep going and I'll define things as we go along.
This anime is based on a danmei wuxia (I'll define that later) web novel (I think that's pretty self explanatory) by Mo Xiang Tong Xiu (I'm not sure if that's a pen name or not, because as far as I know, Chinese first names are typically one or two characters and it's surname first, so I'm pretty confused about this...if any of my Chinese-speaking readers want to correct me on this, please do). It was first published on the Chinese web novel site, JJWXC (the site is entirely in Chinese, but if you use Google Chrome, it should be able to translate it for you...although it won't be a super accurate translation). It later became a manhua (Chinese word for manga), and an anime adaptation is scheduled to air this summer. So...this was going to be a First Impressions video, given that it hasn't aired yet, but I've never been in a good location for videos. So it's a post, instead.
Ok. We can finally get to the good stuff, right?
*looks at review again*
If...only. We have two more words that need to be defined: yaoi and wuxia.
Danmei: Boys love boys fiction for a female audience (the Chinese equivalent of yaoi)
Wuxia: one of the oldest genres of Chinese literature; literally means "martial arts heroes;" known for its spectacular swordplay, high-flying martial arts, and melodrama. Stories typically are about honorable warriors fighting against evil, whether it's an individual or a corrupt government.
Ok. NOW we can get to the good stuff: the plot.
Wei Wuxian (surname then first name in Chinese, so his name in Chinese is 魏无羡) was the founder of the demonic sect who roamed the world, hated by millions for all the chaos he brought. In the end, he was killed by one of his young disciples (in Chinese, the word for young disciple is is 师弟). This led to powerful cultivator clans seizing his lair.
However, Wei Wuxian has unfinished business in the world of the living, so he incarnates himself into the body of a lunatic who was abandoned by his clan. Wuxian is later taken away by his archenemy, Lan Wangji (蓝忘机). Throughout a journey filled with attacking monsters, solving mysteries, and even raising kids, there is some mutual flirtation; leading Wuxian to believe that the poker-faced Wangji has more feelings for him than he lets on.
I can't rate this because it hasn't aired yet, so...how about a prediction of what the rating will be when I review it? Note that it won't be 10/10 because I can't say it's perfect without having seen it.
Prediction: 9/10
Why: First off, I'm not super familiar with the yaoi genre. Not because I don't like it, but because I just haven't seen a ton of yaoi anime. So given I don't know how the romance in this is going to go, I can't give it a perfect rating.
We see some typical anime tropes, including one of my favorites, magic music. Wei Wuxian uses a flute to control corpses. According to the manhua, any instrument will work, but I guess the animators chose a flute for style purposes. In the picture I posted above, we see Wei Wuxian with a flute (I think it's a traditional Chinese flute called a dizi, but it's hard to tell by a picture, and it's even harder to tell in the trailer), and Lan Wangji with a traditional Chinese instrument called a guqin (it looks like one; someone who knows I'm wrong, please correct me). The Lan sect is famous for their magical guqin skills, which can be used to summon spirits, interrogate spirits, forcibly calm people, and even temporarily nullify magical powers.
From what I've seen of the trailer, the animation looks pretty promising. It doesn't look like there will be a ton of CGI. The music sounds pretty awesome and I'm wondering who composed it, because I really like it.
I don't really have anything to complain about so far, so while I can't give it a 10/10 because it hasn't aired yet, I will give it a 9/10.
While danmei/yaoi anime is typically geared towards a female audience, I will say that I have guy friends who have enjoyed danmei/yaoi anime. So, for the guys reading this, I would at least give this a chance. It looks like there will be a fair bit of fighting, and a guy controlling dead bodies with a freaking flute seems pretty badass.
For the girls reading this: I'd give this a chance. I'm going to. The music sounds good, and a good danmei/yaoi anime is geared towards a female audience, so there's bound to be something you'll like about it.
Well, that's my prediction for The Founders of Diabolism! Hope you enjoyed it, and look forward to Mental Health Month (either April, May, or September)! I'll be reviewing the following (in no particular order):
No Game No Life
Tokyo Ghoul
Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion
Madoka Magica: Rebellion
Until then! ~k
Also, I plan on making April, May, or September Mental Health Month. This is where I'll review anime that has underlying themes of PTSD, anxiety, depression, ADHD, or suicide. I'd like to thank Anime for Humanity for allowing me to do this. I'll be posting phone numbers for you to call if you or anyone you know has thoughts of suicide. Please note that these will be American phone numbers, because I don't know any of the international ones.
Moving on.
I know some of you have wondered, "If the word 'anime' is Japanese, then isn't all anime Japanese?" Well, it is...to an extent. There are exceptions to the rule, such as Avatar: The Last Airbender, Code Lyoko, Sonic X, The Legend of Korra, and so on. If you Googled "insert-nationality-here anime," you'd find TONS of results. Some of which wouldn't be on MyAnimeList, so it's important to keep an open mind to what you want to watch.
This, however, is not the case with The Founders of Diabolism (a rough translation from 魔道租师); a Chinese danmei (I'll define that later) anime produced by Tencent Penguin Pictures. Tencent is a pretty big media company in China (they created the popular microblogging service, Weibo), but I hadn't heard of Tencent Penguin Pictures until I did some research about this anime. I don't know too much about them, other than that they produced several series that I've been meaning to watch but haven't gotten around to yet.
A little background on The Founders of Diabolism.
The Founders of Diabolism could also be translated to The Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation. The word, 魔道, is associated with Buddhism and means devildom or domain of the devil. It could also mean sorcery or witchcraft. The second word in the title, 租师, has two definitions: founder of a school of learning, a craft, etc., OR the founder of a sect of Buddhism or Taoism. For the purposes of this review, we're going to go with the second definition.
Source for word definitions (because I honestly doubt they'd teach these words in Chinese class at American schools): Pleco dictionary (available for iPhone or Android for free)
Wow, I didn't realize the first part of the review would mostly be definitions. Um...ok. Let's just keep going and I'll define things as we go along.
This anime is based on a danmei wuxia (I'll define that later) web novel (I think that's pretty self explanatory) by Mo Xiang Tong Xiu (I'm not sure if that's a pen name or not, because as far as I know, Chinese first names are typically one or two characters and it's surname first, so I'm pretty confused about this...if any of my Chinese-speaking readers want to correct me on this, please do). It was first published on the Chinese web novel site, JJWXC (the site is entirely in Chinese, but if you use Google Chrome, it should be able to translate it for you...although it won't be a super accurate translation). It later became a manhua (Chinese word for manga), and an anime adaptation is scheduled to air this summer. So...this was going to be a First Impressions video, given that it hasn't aired yet, but I've never been in a good location for videos. So it's a post, instead.
Ok. We can finally get to the good stuff, right?
*looks at review again*
If...only. We have two more words that need to be defined: yaoi and wuxia.
Danmei: Boys love boys fiction for a female audience (the Chinese equivalent of yaoi)
Wuxia: one of the oldest genres of Chinese literature; literally means "martial arts heroes;" known for its spectacular swordplay, high-flying martial arts, and melodrama. Stories typically are about honorable warriors fighting against evil, whether it's an individual or a corrupt government.
Ok. NOW we can get to the good stuff: the plot.
Wei Wuxian (surname then first name in Chinese, so his name in Chinese is 魏无羡) was the founder of the demonic sect who roamed the world, hated by millions for all the chaos he brought. In the end, he was killed by one of his young disciples (in Chinese, the word for young disciple is is 师弟). This led to powerful cultivator clans seizing his lair.
However, Wei Wuxian has unfinished business in the world of the living, so he incarnates himself into the body of a lunatic who was abandoned by his clan. Wuxian is later taken away by his archenemy, Lan Wangji (蓝忘机). Throughout a journey filled with attacking monsters, solving mysteries, and even raising kids, there is some mutual flirtation; leading Wuxian to believe that the poker-faced Wangji has more feelings for him than he lets on.
I can't rate this because it hasn't aired yet, so...how about a prediction of what the rating will be when I review it? Note that it won't be 10/10 because I can't say it's perfect without having seen it.
Prediction: 9/10
Why: First off, I'm not super familiar with the yaoi genre. Not because I don't like it, but because I just haven't seen a ton of yaoi anime. So given I don't know how the romance in this is going to go, I can't give it a perfect rating.
We see some typical anime tropes, including one of my favorites, magic music. Wei Wuxian uses a flute to control corpses. According to the manhua, any instrument will work, but I guess the animators chose a flute for style purposes. In the picture I posted above, we see Wei Wuxian with a flute (I think it's a traditional Chinese flute called a dizi, but it's hard to tell by a picture, and it's even harder to tell in the trailer), and Lan Wangji with a traditional Chinese instrument called a guqin (it looks like one; someone who knows I'm wrong, please correct me). The Lan sect is famous for their magical guqin skills, which can be used to summon spirits, interrogate spirits, forcibly calm people, and even temporarily nullify magical powers.
From what I've seen of the trailer, the animation looks pretty promising. It doesn't look like there will be a ton of CGI. The music sounds pretty awesome and I'm wondering who composed it, because I really like it.
I don't really have anything to complain about so far, so while I can't give it a 10/10 because it hasn't aired yet, I will give it a 9/10.
While danmei/yaoi anime is typically geared towards a female audience, I will say that I have guy friends who have enjoyed danmei/yaoi anime. So, for the guys reading this, I would at least give this a chance. It looks like there will be a fair bit of fighting, and a guy controlling dead bodies with a freaking flute seems pretty badass.
For the girls reading this: I'd give this a chance. I'm going to. The music sounds good, and a good danmei/yaoi anime is geared towards a female audience, so there's bound to be something you'll like about it.
Well, that's my prediction for The Founders of Diabolism! Hope you enjoyed it, and look forward to Mental Health Month (either April, May, or September)! I'll be reviewing the following (in no particular order):
No Game No Life
Tokyo Ghoul
Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion
Madoka Magica: Rebellion
Until then! ~k
Hey guys, kanna here.
Well, Chibi Dragon and I binge-watched Cardcaptor Sakura: Clear Card last weekend (I also helped her catch up on UtaPri), and were surprised (understatement) to discover that some of the actors from UtaPri were also in...Diabolik Lovers. Well, at least they took a step up in their careers, right?
Speaking of which, we also discovered that the voice actor for Yuna D. Kaito (see episode 8 of Clear Card), Natsuki Hanae, was also the voice of Ken Kaneki from Tokyo Ghoul. So, that got me thinking...what other voice actors was I surprised by from other anime?
This is going to be a somewhat brief post, and while I realize that this is Anime Monday #50 and that this should be pretty big, I'm going through a bit of writer's block and needed something. Plus, I was kind of surprised by some of the voice actors I discovered.
I'll only be talking about Japanese voice actors in this one. I might talk about English dub voice actors in a later post, but we'll see. For now, here are some famous Japanese voice actors.
Let's start with a fairly well-known one from an anime I'm rewatching, Black Butler. No, not Daisuke Ono (I'll get to him later). I'm talking about Jun Fukuyama.
But did you know that Jun Fukuyama was also in...
La Corda d'Oro (Keiichi Shimizu):
Well, Chibi Dragon and I binge-watched Cardcaptor Sakura: Clear Card last weekend (I also helped her catch up on UtaPri), and were surprised (understatement) to discover that some of the actors from UtaPri were also in...Diabolik Lovers. Well, at least they took a step up in their careers, right?
Speaking of which, we also discovered that the voice actor for Yuna D. Kaito (see episode 8 of Clear Card), Natsuki Hanae, was also the voice of Ken Kaneki from Tokyo Ghoul. So, that got me thinking...what other voice actors was I surprised by from other anime?
This is going to be a somewhat brief post, and while I realize that this is Anime Monday #50 and that this should be pretty big, I'm going through a bit of writer's block and needed something. Plus, I was kind of surprised by some of the voice actors I discovered.
I'll only be talking about Japanese voice actors in this one. I might talk about English dub voice actors in a later post, but we'll see. For now, here are some famous Japanese voice actors.
Let's start with a fairly well-known one from an anime I'm rewatching, Black Butler. No, not Daisuke Ono (I'll get to him later). I'm talking about Jun Fukuyama.
Jun Fukuyama was the voice of the first Grim Reaper we saw in the series, Grell Sutcliff. You might recognize his brilliant voice acting work from scenes like this:
NOTE: THIS SCENE IS NOT FAMILY FRIENDLY. PG-13. I guess I could call it NSFW, but I don't know. Anyway, there is one VERY BRIEF moment of shirtless-ness in this scene.
And let's not forget this popular scene from Book of the Atlantic:
But did you know that Jun Fukuyama was also in...
La Corda d'Oro (Keiichi Shimizu):
and both seasons of the anime version of the Twilight series, Vampire Knight (Hanabusa Aido)?:
Hanabusa is the one with blonde hair
While I will admit, you can kinda tell it's him when you compare Black Butler to Vampire Knight, I had no idea Jun Fukuyama was in La Corda d'Oro or Binan...whatever the rest of the title is (seriously, that title is too long for ANYONE to remember). He's well-known for other roles, but these are the first few that come to mind for me.
Anyway, let's move onto a voice actress! This is Megumi Ogata.
I PROMISE, you are looking at a woman and not a guy with long hair. Anyway, you'll probably recognize her from Sailor Moon (the original series, not Crystal), where she voiced Haruka Tenoh (Sailor Uranus).
However, did you also know that she was in...
Cardcaptor Sakura AND Cardcaptor Sakura: Clear Card (Yukito Tsukishiro and Yue)
and Yu☆Gi☆Oh! Season 0 (Yugi and Yami Yugi)?
Now you might be thinking, "Well, that's definitely a guy who's just really good at voicing tomboy-ish girls" (or something along those lines). And that would be sexist, and you should be ashamed of yourself. Megumi Ogata IS. A. WOMAN! I don't know how much clearer I can make that. She just happens to be really good at voicing tomboy-ish girls, girls who have really deep voices, and guys who have kinda high-pitched voices. I'd say she's pretty good all around.
Moving on.
Our next voice actor is Hikaru Midorikawa.
Um...how do I talk about Hikaru Midorikawa without it sounding like an insult? Don't get me wrong, he's a great voice actor and I love some of the work he's done (which I'll list), but he was in one of the worst anime series of all time. No, not that one. No, not that one either. He was in...BOTH SEASONS of Diabolik Lovers, where he voiced Ayato Sakamoto. The ONE REDEEMING QUALITY he had in that anime was that he sang the opening theme for the first season with Kosuke Toriumi, who you should recognize from UtaPri. And speaking of UtaPri, did you know that Hikaru Midorikawa was in...
Uta no Prince-sama Maji Love 2000%, Revolutions, and Legend Star (Eiichi Otori)
and Yu☆Gi☆Oh! Season 0 (Seto Kaiba)?
So...I guess I can say this: Hikaru Midorikawa's career has definitely had its ups and downs (Diabolik Lovers being one of the BIG downs). However, seeing his career being picked up in UtaPri was definitely a step up. I'm not sure why he took the job of voicing such a G-d awful character like Ayato Sakamoto in BOTH SEASONS that AWFUL anime, Diabolik Lovers, especially when his career was off to such a good start, but I'm not a mind reader and I don't have a TARDIS. So let's pretend we live in a world where he didn't take the part of Ayato Sakamoto and move on.
*looks at list*
I think I'll post about one more voice actor before I call it quits for now.
I saved the best for last! Here is...Daisuke Ono!
Daisuke Ono was the voice of our favorite butler who is "simply one hell of a butler," Sebastian Michaelis, from Black Butler (all three seasons and the OVA). In fact, he won the award for best lead actor at the fourth and ninth Seiyu (how voice actors are known in Japan) Awards for two different series (one of which was Black Butler). However, did you know that he was also in...
Uta no Prince-sama Maji Love 2000%, Revolutions, and Legend Star (Kira Sumeragi)
Kira is the one with black-ish/grey-ish hair
and Attack on Titan seasons 1, 2, and 3 (Erwin Smith)?
NOTE: The scene below has Erwin getting his arm bitten off. It's more than a little bloody, but features some AMAZING voice acting by Daisuke Ono. If you don't want to watch it, just go to the bottom of the video.
First off: HOLY CRAP, who knew Sebastian could sing? I mean, there is a boyband arc in the Black Butler manga (oops...slight spoiler...sorry), so I guess I shouldn't be too surprised when they adapt that into anime. But wow. I did NOT know Kira and Sebastian were voiced by the same person until I watched UtaPri Legend Star.
Second: Having to act like your arm is being bitten off by a Titan takes some serious dedication. I think that Erwin Smith is definitely one of Daisuke Ono's best roles (Sebastian will, of course, be my favorite, but Erwin is one of the best). I mean, I couldn't even tell it was Daisuke Ono. I seriously thought it was someone else (I can't remember who I thought it was).
Well, those were the first few I could think of! I'll probably do a part 2 to this later, as well as a post with English dub voices, but this is going to be it for now. Sorry Anime Monday (well, technically Friday) #50 wasn't as big as I hoped it would be, but I still hope you enjoyed it! Here's to the next 50! ~k
