AKB0048 Episode 2 Review

This episode shows just what direction the show is going in, and I already have a favorite character. Sonata is that necessary randomness this show needed. Linda is also a memorable character. She reminds me of Raine from Tales of Symphonia. That being said, I'm sure nobody was surprised to find out that the blue haired person in the hat was Chieri. I saw that coming a mile away.

The entertainment ban still has not been explained just yet, but Master Chief decided to show up and start shooting at innocent girls because they wante dto join AKB. There must be a pretty good reason to ban idols if they'd go as far as to shoot at 13 year old girls. I don't know why this is happening or what's going on with the little floaty pokemon thing, but it's pretty solid in the entertainment department. Its a fun show to watch.

Somehow the XBox shooting squad didn't seem out of place in this episode, and seeing the girls fight has a certain lighthearted, almost sailormoon esque flair to it. Watching the fight scenes actually makes me wish there was a videogame to accompany this anime. The plot is slowly unraveling, and it appears the floaty pokemon things are used to determine who becomes a member of AKB. Also, If the screenshot below doesn't make you want to watch this show, I don't know why you bother watching anime.

AKB0048 Episode 1 Review

While going through the agonizingly long wait for the release of Genei Ibun Roku #FE for Wii U, I decided to watch the AKB0048 anime to help kill the time.  I definitely was not expecting what I saw in the first episode. There was Gundam like scenes that didn't at all seem like something you'd associate with AKB48. The fight scene seemed like something that would be more at home in a Michael Bay film.

The girls are supposedly renegade idols in a future where there is a ban on idols and entertainment. Its not revealed just yet why there is a ban on entertainment, but I'm assuming it will be explained in other episodes. The main plot device revolves around AKB0048 recruiting girls to be their successors and join the famous renegade idols and even possibly take on the name of their favorite idol. Its too early in the anime to say just where this will go, but so far its actually a lot more entertaining then i'd have first guessed.

The episode ended with a comically over the top "Hey! I showed up at the last possible moment!" anime cliche, which bodes well for the charm of the series. This is still AKB48, and it needn't take its self too seriously with the dark gritty gundam fighting. What I am seeing so far is a pretty entertaining anime that possibly the creators thought wouldn't be noticed without a gimmick, so they added in AKB48. I'd have watched this even if it was not AKB48, and I look forward to see where they go with this series.

One Piece Episode 714 Review

Episode 714 was primarily about the tantatta people. Admittedly this was met with a yawn, as I thought i knew where this episode was headed, and that it would be boring. I was pleasantly surprised by this episode, however. Leave it to One Piece to take characters you don't really care for too much, and make an episode based around them thats actually pretty good. One of the plotholes from a few episodes back is even explained, when it is revealed that Princess Mansherry has healing powers. Now we know how Sugar came back after Usopp scared the ever loving life out of her.

Though I find it hard to believe tiny little Mansherry could eat a Devil Fruit thats probably bigger than her entire body, thus bestowing upon her healing powers. This episode has its share fanservice which I found to be over the top and funny, but i'm sure this was done on purpose. I refuse to believe Oda did not intend for the scene where Mansherry was being beat to sound like a henatai scene to anybody not looking at the screen.

The best part of the episode was easily the intense moments before Leo was able to make it to the Naughty Room. The tantattas and pretty speedy, and I understand that, but I feel like we deserve an explanation as to why they're so freakishly strong. Hopefully thats explained before this whole story arc is over. All in all, this was a pretty good episode and, and its a sigh of relief to know that Sugar won't be coming back. Though I do kind of wish Lao G was revived. He is a laugh riot. Until next time: Be you. Be true. Be human.

Tribe Cool Crew Preview

    Ah yes! Tribe Cool Crew. There's so many things done right with this anime. It's a lighthearted anime about dancing aimed at a younger audience, but I've fallen in love with it, even though I'm the ripe age of 29 as of this post. There's just something about the infectious music, the CG dance segments, and the interactions between the characters, that make it so charming. Many gamers, myself included, even compare its presentation to that of the Dreamcast cult classic game, Jetset Radio. 

         The premise of the show  is Haneru, a young bouncy, former basketball player, has become obsessed with dancing and meeting up with a celebrity dancer, named Jay. As he is just starting to get into dancing, he teams up with the internet dance sensation, Kanon, who is better known as the masked dancer, Rhythm. The two join together to make a dance team with a name so ridiculous that Haneru himself can't even remember it correctly, even though he named it, which is eventually abbreviated to Cool Crew. Shortly after, They face off in a dance tournament against a famous dance crew, Tribal Soul. After a few dance offs, and even some training from Tribal Soul's own choreographer, they eventually combine their teams to become the titular Tribe cool Crew. There so much to love about this show, and it's sound track is sure to keep your head bobbing. Keep an eye out for a full review, as soon as the last episode airs.

My latest microrant about an anime cliche that i truly despise.

H2O Footprints in the Sand Review

      This anime is one that is hard to put into words. For starters, it opens to a scene with a girl being beat up in the rain by two guys. The main character is a blind boy named Hirose, and it doesn't take long to realize that there's something not quite right in this small village. For unknown reasons, Hirose is blind, though he has no known cause for his blindness. He also has a "ghost" girl that reveals herself to him from time to time named Otoha.
     
      It all begins when Hirose enrolls in the school in the small village and quickly becomes friends with Hayami Kohinata. She is often referred to as the cockroach and is the village outcast due to her family's dark past. As the story progresses, Otoha grants Hirose the ability to see, which is when things really get interesting. He soon discovers that Hayami and the village elder's grand daughter, Hotaru, were once close friends, but their lives were destroyed by the older villagers hatred towards the Kohinatas. Hotaru was even forced to pretend to be her deceased sister for several years and was being instructed to try to marry Hirose due to his family's status.
     
      Through Hirose's bravery, Hotaru is eventually able to stand up to her grandfather, and restore her friendship with Hayami, but refusing to let thing s be peaceful with the Kohinata family, he reveals to Hirose that the Kohinata family is responsible for his mother's untimely death. This shocking revelation stirs up old emotions in Hirose and he ends up attacking Hayami. Hayami, deciding to take responsibility for her past, begs him to let off of his rage out on her. Hirose forgives her after he calms down and acknowledges she had nothing to do with it.

  I don't want to spoil the ending, because its one that is definitely worth seeing. This anime goes a long way to show that bearing the burden of your parents or ancestors' sins is not fair by any means, and old people stuck in their ways can easily poison and corrupt the younger generation. It tells a beautiful tale of how only love can extinguish the flames of hatred. If you're looking for a heartfelt anime, look no further. H2O footprints in the Sand is a gem of an anime, and the ending is sure to stir up emotions. just steer clear of that bizarre filler episode in the middle of everything.

We need a new dubber for children's anime

   Why is 4kids still a company? The only worthwhile dubs they have ever done are Pokemon and Magical Do Re Mi. Why hasn't another company came about yet to dub anime for children? Why is there no company smart enough to take anime that was actually designed for children and dub it for them? Why 4kids thought they could make OnePiece or Shaman King kid friendly is beyond me.


   There are plenty anime aimed at a younger audience that i would like to watch with my younger relative when i visit for the holidays, but they aren't in english, and they are too young to read subtitles. The thought of 4Kids dubbing a show like Kaidan Restaurant makes me cringe, but I wish somebody would do it.  Why does 4Kids feel the need to censor everything? Even in Sonic X they found things to censor out. Do they think these kids will never learn about other cultures? The butchering they do to anime is ridiculous, and they seem to mostly go after anime aimed a teens and try to dumb them down for 7 year olds. I would nominate Disney, but they somehow screwed up Astro Boy.

   At the end of the day we need more dubbers for kid anime. If Cartoon Network can air Regular Show and Adventure Time, I'm fairly certain some dubber can dub an anime for kids that isn't censored to death like 4kids does.  They just have to find the anime that is actually designed for children, and dub those, instead of trying to water down mature themes for kids. If 4kids wants to water down mature topics for kids, maybe they should work on Bible movies.

So what are your thoughts? Comment, Subscribe, or Buy me a taco. Until next time this is A.W.Brawler saying Be you. Be true. Be human.