kanna-chan's cafe

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).

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:

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

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

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

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):

Hey guys, kanna here. Just wanted to wish everyone a happy Valentine's Day (or Singles Awareness Day) in advance! Yay!

Now that that's done, let's move on to what you all visited my little cafe for. I was originally going to save this review for Anime Monday #50, but this is one that I have been dying to review (especially considering that the Oscars coming up). So I decided to make this one #49 and make #50 a surprise (you'll just have to wait and see).

This week, we're taking a look at something that hits a little close to home for me. As you saw from the Anime for Humanity post I made in January, I am a big advocate for disability and mental health rights. Why? Well...I'm about to disclose something that might make a few readers leave my blog and never come back. However, it's time I said something: I'm on the autism spectrum.

*insert shouts of "OMG" and other things here*

Yeah...you weren't expecting that, were you? Whenever I tell people, I get a variety of responses; from "retard(ed)" to "but you don't look autistic" to "I don't believe you" and my personal favorite, "you can't be autistic, you act like just like everyone else" and others. I've gotten used to it over the years, and I would really appreciate it if you didn't test my patience by seeing what else I can deal with.

I'll address my autism further in another post (or a video). For now, let's talk about an anime that deals with disability in Japan. This is...A Silent Voice.

This movie was based off of a manga of the same name, written and illustrated by Yoshitoki Ōima. The movie was produced by Kyoto Animation (who also produced both seasons of Clannad), directed by Naoko Yamada, and written by Reiko Oshida. The characters were designed by Futoshi Nishiya, and Kensuke Ushio did the music.

So, this doesn't specifically deal with disability culture in Japan. It's just about a girl with a disability and a boy trying to seek redemption for the way he treated her in the past.

The story is told primarily through flashback. Our flashback starts by introducing us to Shoya Ishida, an indifferent boy in elementary school who views his classmates as a way to keep boredom away. One day, a new girl comes into the class and piques Shoya's interest.

When the teacher taps the girl on the shoulder, she jolts and realizes she should introduce herself. However, instead of speaking, she looks through her backpack, before ultimately getting out a notebook that says "For Conversations" on the front. She goes through the pages one by one. She introduces herself as Shoko Nishimiya and explains that she wants to become friends through the notebook she uses to communicate, before finally revealing that she is deaf.

The entire class is shocked at this reveal, but try to go about their lives as normal. Unfortunately for the class, this proves to be quite difficult. Shoko can't sing (as evidenced in the class's music class) and doesn't have the best speaking skills (as evidenced when she is called on to read in front of the class). Despite her disability, Shoko tries to live normally and mesh with the rest of the class.

It's too bad for her that Shoya gets a little too curious about her deafness, as he begins to bully her in some of the worst ways you can bully a deaf person. This goes on without end as none of Shoko and Shoya's classmates do nothing to intervene. Some of them join in on the bullying. Even the teacher doesn't do anything. It's pretty emotionally hard to watch. I almost started crying.

Shoko is absent one day, and the school principal (at least, I think it's the principal...I don't know how Japanese school administration works) comes in and explains that in the past few months, five of Shoko's hearing aids broke or went missing, and that her mother believed Shoko was being bullied. The teacher singles Shoya out (about time the teacher did something), and Shoya truthfully names some of his classmates as accomplices, but they all turn on him and deny their involvement. Shoya is then subjected to the same torment he put Shoko through. Shoya comes to blame Shoko for everything that has happened, and when he finds her doing something to his desk, the two fight as Shoko says that she's doing the best she can. Soon after the fight, Shoko transfers to another school.

Like I said before, the story is about a girl with a disability and a boy trying to seek redemption for the way he treated her in the past. Shoya struggles with his past throughout the movie, which fast forwards from when Shoya was in elementary school to when Shoya is in high school. In high school, he blocks out the world and X's are drawn on everyone's faces. His past is continuously brought up by his former friends, and he figures it's his punishment. He is unable to look anyone in the eye.

While in high school, he starts visiting the sign language center, where he comes to the realization that the hand gestures Shoko was making to him while Shoya was tormenting her was just her way of saying that she wanted to be his friend. Shoya learns sign language in the hopes of returning her notebook from elementary school to her.

I'm not going to continue this; I'm already turning into an emotional wreck from writing about it. Let's just get to the rating.

Rating: *sob* 10/10

Why: I read the manga before watching the movie, so I had a general idea of what I was getting into. I LOVED the manga. It was so moving, the characters were drawn really well, and the writing was pretty good. I hoped the movie would stay true to the manga with as few changes as possible, and sure enough, it stayed true to the manga. This was an adaptation that definitely carried over well.

The music is great, which you might expect from the guy who did the music for Devilman: Crybaby, a semi-recent Netflix-exclusive anime series. That music is freaking awesome. In this movie, I keep wanting to hear more of the music. It's that amazing.

The designs and animation are wonderful. It's not a Miyazaki film or a Studio Ponoc (they did Mary and the Witch's Flower) film, but it's still a work of art. It's so colorful. You can tell the animators and the design department went all out on this film.

My only complaint lies surprisingly with the Japanese version of the film, and not the English dub. And even then, it has more to do with the cast than it does the actual movie. What's my complaint?

Well, in the original Japanese, voice actress Saori Hayami, a voice actress who is not deaf, hard of hearing, and does not have Ménière's disease, voiced Shoko. This is a bit of a bad choice in my opinion. While I admire Saori Hayami for taking on a role like Shoko, it's a little hard to fully appreciate the original because she's using an accent to sound deaf. I'm not even sure if the deaf/hard of hearing/Ménière's disease community in Japan, who probably watched this with subtitles, was ok with this.

In the English dub of the movie, they didn't have to worry about using an accent. Why? Because they actually used a deaf voice actress. Her name is Lexi Cowden (that's what she's credited as, even though her real name is Lexi Marman). She was AMAZING as Shoko and didn't even have to do an accent.

As far as I know (I'm not that involved with the deaf community...not because I choose not to be, but because I know very few deaf people), most deaf people don't speak. But Lexi decided to give Shoko a chance and did an incredible job. It really is incredible to discover deaf voice actors and actresses. Now...where's Marlee Matlin in that list (first deaf woman to win an Oscar)? I don't think she has done any voice acting. Surprising, considering she would be pretty good at it.

I freaking cried through most of the movie. It's so emotional and truly a tale of redemption. The lessons learned throughout the movie are great, and it's not trying to shove a romantic relationship down your throat (although it would have been nice if they hinted at it). I loved every second of character development.

So you're probably wondering, "kanna, why did you review this?". Well, because the Oscars are coming up, I'd like to address something. This tearjerking tale of redemption was glossed over in the nominations in favor of...Boss Baby. G-d I am freaking PISSED that the Hollywood Foreign Press decided that Boss Baby was the better movie over this incredible, tearjerking tale of redemption. I...I don't get it. It's the Hollywood FOREIGN Press! You would think they'd pick an actual FOREIGN ANIMATED FILM! I just...ugh! Hollywood, you make no sense sometimes.

Well, that's my review! See you next time for Anime Monday #50, which is going to be a surprise! ~k

Hey guys, kanna here. Anime Mondays are probably going to be every other Monday (so...about two per month), until otherwise noted on my Facebook page (so if you haven't liked it, please hit the like button).

So...remember Pokemon? For those of you who don't, it was pretty much every late 90s kid's dream "to be the very best, like no one ever was." I started playing the Pokemon video games before I actually started watching the series. My first games were Red, Blue, and Yellow (I can't remember which one I got first). And boy, was I addicted. Trying to complete a Pokedex with 150 (plus one) Pokemon, winning eight badges and beating the Elite Four...*sigh* those were the days. I still play Pokemon to this day, and am currently trying to complete the Pokedex in Ultra Moon. I'm also the proud trainer of a Dusk Form Lycanroc in the game (huge pain to get if you're playing Ultra Moon, but totally worth it), which looks AWESOME. Here's a picture of what it looks like.


Yeah, go ahead, call me a dork. I don't care. Why? Well, I've been called worse, and let's leave it at that.

On April 1, 1997, the first episode of Pokemon aired. The series revolved around Ash Ketchum and his partner Pokemon, Pikachu, and Ash's quest to become the world's greatest Pokemon Master. Given that the anime has been a huge success (14 seasons and counting), 20 (well, technically 21, but the fourteenth and fifteenth movies are counted as one film) feature films were released, as well as multiple shorts, spin-offs, TV specials (both full and normal length), and other things. So, 2017 was Pokemon's 20-year anniversary. And naturally, a movie to commemorate such an anniversary was in the works.

In 2016, the movie was first announced with a teaser trailer that showed Ash and Pikachu alongside the legendary Pokemon, Ho-Oh. It also showed that the film would act as a retelling of the first season, as it explored some important plot points from said season. The second trailer, released in 2017, revealed remade scenes from the first episode of the series and gave us the film's English title, Pokemon: I Choose You!. This was in reference to the title of the first episode of the series, which had the same name.

Without further ado, let's get our starter Pokemon and head out on a journey of our own! Review, I choose you! This is Pokemon: I Choose You!


So the movie actually starts out very similar to the way the first episode of the series started out, but it's also here where one of my really small complaints with the movie is. They play the theme song from the first series, but instead of it being having Jason Paige, the original singer, come back into the recording studio around 20 years later, it was remixed and sung by Ben Dixon. It wasn't good, but it wasn't bad, either. I think having listened to the original version so much, I was a little biased. Although I am curious...what would it have sounded like if Jason Paige came back into the studio and sang the theme song?

Moving on.

FULL-ON SPOILERS AHEAD. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.

Like I said above, the movie starts out the similar to how the first episode of the series started out. The narrator introduces our protagonist, Ash Ketchum from Pallet Town, and explains that once kids turn ten, they can get Charmander, Squirtle, or Bulbasaur as their first Pokemon from Professor Oak and begin their journey as a Pokemon trainer.

Just like in the first episode, Ash oversleeps and gets to Professor Oak's lab late, only to find that the three starters have all been taken by the trainers who arrived on time. Ash is bummed, but Professor Oak reveals that he does have one Pokemon left, and it's an electric-type named Pikachu. Pikachu has a feisty personality, hates to go in its Pokeball, and is initially volatile towards Ash. However, Ash is still happy and takes Pikachu along.

Soon after the journey begins, Ash sees a Pokemon in the grass: a Pidgey. He tries to get Pikachu's help to catch it, but Pikachu refuses. So Ash grabs a rock and throws it, only for it to miss the Pidgey and hit a Spearow. The Spearow gets angry and alerts its friends, which include its evolved form, Fearow.

Ash and Pikachu run, but they aren't fast enough to get away from the flock of bird Pokemon. There's a storm, and the pair are both injured pretty badly. Ash tries to get Pikachu to go inside its Pokeball. Pikachu refuses, and after seeing how much Ash wants to protect it, Pikachu unleashes the Thunderbolt of Zeus (okay, not really, but it's a really powerful Thunderbolt) and gets the bird Pokemon to leave.

When the storm stops, a legendary Pokemon known as Ho-Oh (unbeknownst to our protagonist) flies above them and drops a feather known as the Rainbow Wing. Ash then decides that he wants to meet the Pokemon that dropped it as he and Pikachu begin to form their unbreakable bond.

There's a lot of stuff that happened in the first few episodes of the first season that's shown in the movie, such as Ash catching a Caterpie and said Caterpie eventually evolving into Butterfree, Ash letting Butterfree go and mate, Ash rescuing a Charmander a trainer left out in the rain, and so on. However, there are a few slight differences, as well as side characters.

I won't talk about the side characters too much, as they don't really do much, but there is one character I want to talk about, and that's Cross. Cross is the trainer that left his Charmander out in the rain, claiming it was weak and didn't belong on his team, which consisted of a Midnight Form Lycanroc (I really don't like the way that thing looks) and an Incineroar (the third and final evolved form of Litten, a Generation VII Pokemon). Ash and the side characters, Verity and Sorrel, nurse the Charmander back to health in a cave while a Pokemon named Marshadow (um...this one is complicated, so I'll talk about Marshadow at the end) watches from the shadows.

Later on, Ash has a battle against Cross with a newly evolved Charmeleon, Ash loses and openly states that he could have won the battle with Pikachu instead of Charmeleon. He runs off from Verity and Sorrel as Pikachu follows, before Ash says that he wishes he chose another starter Pokemon instead of Pikachu.

Upon realizing what he said, he runs away from Pikachu and slumps against a tree. Ash says he doesn't need Pokemon, and Marshadow reappears and puts Ash to sleep. In the dream, Pokemon don't exist and Ash goes to a regular school with Verity and Sorrel. A "phantom" of Pikachu appears and Ash realizes that he does need Pokemon in his life and wants to see the world. He wakes up and reunites with Verity, Sorrel, and Pikachu. When they return to the cave they were in, Sorrel explains that Pokemon actually can be lost. And get ready, because this is where the movie takes a pretty dark turn.

When Sorrel was little, his parents were barely home, so he lived with a Luxray that looked after him. The two were very close. However, one day, when Sorrel was trying to walk home in a snowstorm, he was pretty close to home before he fell down and got stuck in the snow. Luxray walked over and kept him warm as Sorrel passed out/went to sleep. When Sorrel woke up, he discovered that Luxray had froze itself to death as it protected Sorrel.

Yeah. They don't say that Luxray died (I mean, it's a kid's movie...kind of), but it's pretty heavily implied. In Pokemon: Sun and Moon (which I eventually gave in to watching, and...it's actually not that bad), they touched on Pokemon death a little, but this...I have no words. They also touched on it in the original series, when Ash arrived in Lavender Town and there was a Pokemon cemetery.

Moving on (RIP Luxray).

Back in the present, the trio meet an old man named Bonji. He explains that the Rainbow Wing is given to a "hero" and relies on positive feelings to keep its glow. When filled with negative feelings, the wing turns black and disintegrates. He explains that not only Entei, but Raikou and Suicune were also following Ash because of the wing. Cross listens to all this in the shadows. Bonji also explains Marshadow and how he was aware that Marshadow was following the trio.

Before Ash is able to place the feather in its place, Cross attacks Ash and Marshadow comes out of the shadows to observe. Ash sends out his newly evolved Charizard against Cross's Incineroar, and the two battle it out. Ash defeats Cross and is about to place the feather, but Cross reveals that he, too, saw Ho-Oh. However, he wasn't given a Rainbow Wing like Ash was.

Cross wants to be strong, and Ash reveals that he does, too, but he wants to become friends with his Pokemon and not just rely on their brute strength. Cross attacks Ash again and takes the feather. He places it where it needs to go, but because of Cross's negative feelings, the feather turns dark and Marshadow grabs it next. Marshadows power grows as it takes control of almost all the Pokemon in the area, including Cross's Lycanroc.

Bonji tells Ash that Ash has to get the feather back from Marshadow. So, after battling various Pokemon that stand in the way, Ash and Pikachu battle Marshadow. Ultimately, they lose and receive a full-on pummeling from the other Pokemon. As the two lie on the ground, Ash weakly asks Pikachu why it won't get in its Pokeball. And it's here where we get the part of the movie that pissed off fans more than I have ever seen. Pikachu uses HUMAN LANGUAGE (I kid you not) to tell Ash, "It's because... It's because... I always want... to be with you."

I'll get to that later.

Ash ultimately gets Pikachu in its Pokeball as he takes the full on brunt of the other Pokemon attacks. He turns into energy as Pikachu gets out of its Pokeball and watches his partner ultimately vanish. Marshadow notices that the wing has disintegrated, and Pikachu in anger and grief unleashes a super powerful Thunderbolt. Pikachu cries as Ash finds himself in a grey world. And...*sigh* through the "power of love," Ash is able to come back to Pikachu. Ho-Oh arrives after that and Ash challenges it to a battle. The outcome is never shown.

There's...a bunch of other stuff that happens, but the short version is that everybody parts on good terms and Ash and Pikachu continue their journey. They show Ash's friends through all the seasons of Pokemon in the end credits, and we also see Jessie, James, and Meowth from Team Rocket. They were in the movie for comic relief, though, and our heroes didn't see them.

So, that's the movie. Rating: um...wow, this is hard. I'll give it 8.5/10.

Why: First off, the good parts definitely outweighed the bad. The animation was great, I loved the music, and the character development was great. We really got to see Ash grow as a trainer. And this was definitely pretty nostalgic for those of us who grew up watching the anime. While I wouldn't call it the ultimate nostalgic dream, it was still really good, and I would definitely watch it again.

HOWEVER:

If you've seen Pokemon, you're going to notice A LOT of changes with the voice actors. And I mean A LOT. The narrator sounds different, Ash sounds different (fans wanted Veronica Taylor, the original voice of Ash, to reprise her role), and...well...pretty much all the familiar characters sound different. The studio decided they wanted the current cast (the cast in Sun and Moon) in the roles, though, which I don't really understand. Why? Oh, I don't know...maybe because this is only Pokemon's TWENTIETH ANNIVERSARY! THIS SHOULD BE A NOSTALGIC DREAM! AND YOU PEOPLE COULDN'T GET ANY OF THE ORIGINAL VOICE ACTORS BACK FOR THE ENGLISH DUB?! WHAT THE FRICK?

Ahem.

Not only that, but...since when could Pikachu talk?! Pikachu isn't Meowth, who taught itself to speak human language so that he could impress a female Meowth (which didn't work and left Meowth broken-hearted). Last I checked, all Pikachu could say was its name. That was it. That moment in the movie seriously pissed off fans, myself included. While I get it was supposed to be emotional because of the line that Pikachu says, I think fans were too pissed to pay attention to what the line actually was. I also understand that this movie is supposed to take place in an "alternate continuity," but that doesn't really matter. Alternate continuity or not, Pikachu should NOT have been able to talk.

I also feel like there were a few key things that were kind of glossed over, such as when Charmander evolved into Charmeleon, it listened to Ash. This didn't happen in the show. Charmeleon didn't listen to Ash as a Charmeleon, and it didn't listen to Ash for a while after it evolved into Charizard. I mean, I get that this is a movie and there's only so much you can put in, but this movie didn't even hit the two hour mark. I don't get it.

I should probably touch on the inclusion of Marshadow. Marshadow is a Generation VII Pokemon that was only obtainable through an event. I don't remember what the event was, when or where it was, or anything like that, but I do know that as of right now, you can't get it in Ultra Sun, Ultra Moon, Sun, or Moon. I don't have it, which really sucks for me. However, I do have two shiny legendaries (Uxie and Entei) that are both level 100, as well as a level 100 Rotom (and that was all through Wonder Trade), so I guess it's not all bad. Maybe I'll be lucky enough to get Marshadow through the GTS or Wonder Trade. Who knows?

Well, that's my review. I'm curious, though: if you could pick a starter Pokemon from any generation, what would it be and why? Leave it in the comments! For me, I think it would either be Charmander or Froakie. Why? Well, they have pretty cool final evolved forms (Charizard and Greninja, respectively), and when trained the right way and taught the right moves, they can be total powerhouses.

That's all for this week! See you soon! ~k