Kokoro connection mini preview

This is a pretty chill anime. Its giving me a Haruhi Suzumiya vibe, albeit a more mellow version. The humor is more sophisticated than slapstick, and the fanservice is subtle if any. I've only seen the 1st episode as of this blog,  but with the weird body swapping going, I think this is my kind of anime.

Why doesn't America air subbed anime?

Why don't we air subbed anime on TV in America? I never could figure out a good reason for that. Turn to national geographic any given day, and you'll see foreigners and subtitles, so it's not like we are completely against subtitles, so why not air a subbed anime on adult swim, syfy, or even Spike? I know some people prefer their dubs and thats cool. Some anime I refuse to watch subbed. Have you ever heard Goku's Japanese voice? It just ain't right, man.

   Dubbing anime has ruined some otherwise good and entertaining shows. Funimation, who I normally love, almost completely ruined Sgt. Frog for me, by americanizing a lot of the jokes, with corny pop culture references. There were several times where I had to be reminded that it wasn't a kid show when I heard Tamama or Giroro swear. Sometimes dubbing can kill the entire vibe of a show. I refuse to believe that A-Channel could maintain the same level of charm it has, if it were to get dubbed. Its not just the context, but the voices often time add a lot to a show's appeal. A prime example is Franky from One Piece. Franky is one of my favorite characters in the original, but dubbed he is bland and generic sounding.

  At the end of the day, it's just pointless not to air anime subbed on TV, and there is no real reason not to air it in it's original format, if it's ones aimed at adults or teens. I can understand ones aimed at kids, because maybe they can't read that fast, but for shows like Bleach and Naruto, there is no real reason. America, stop being difficult and give us subbed anime on TV.

School Rumble Review

Hands down one of the best anime of its kind. What makes School Rumble so great is its lovable cast of characters, nonsensical plot line that makes perfect sense in the context of the show, and it's top notch dialogue and voice actors. I usually hate any dub of any anime except for DBZ, but School Rumble's is very noteworthy.

  The story revolves around a former juvenile delinquent, Kenji Harima, and his love interest, Tenma Tsukamoto. As the story goes, Harima met Tenma when he was still a young trouble maker, and saved her from a thug who left a knife scar on his back. However, Tenma doesn't really remember the incident, which leaves Harima fumbling like a fool trying to declare his undying love for her.  To make matters worse, he accidentally confesses his love to Tenma's friend, Eri Sawachika, leading to an awkward love triangle. At first glance of the box art of the DVDs, you would probably guess it is a bubbly girly show about Tenma, but you would be way off. There are some episodes where Tenma is not even shown.

  The show even has secondary characters that are actually interesting. The overly energetic, class representative, Haruki Hanai and the boob obsessed, Dojiburon loving, Kyosuke Imadori are two of my favorites. Most of the funniest moments in the show involve Hanai, Harima, and Imadori. Hanai and Harima constantly get into random fights for reasons they don't even remember, and it has to be noted that the english voice actors for both of them really bring each scene to life. Tenma's absent mindedness makes for some of the best parts of the show as well. Whether she is putting buns in bags, or dressed as a fake Wonder Woman with wardrobe malfunctions, Tenma is sure to keep you smiling. It's easy to see how Harima fell in love with the little idiot.

  My only gripe with the anime would be that it did not finish the series. There was never a 3rd season made even though the manga continued on, and it even had a spin off titled School Rumble Z. I would have loved to see some of the other parts from the manga play out in anime form, but the show ends after just 2 seasons. So if you are looking for an awesomely entertaining dizzy romantic school life comedy, then School Rumble is the one for you. I highly recommend it.

Pokémon ReBurst anime?

Pokémon games have had many a spinoff, yet thr anime has stuck with the adventures of Ash Ketchum. Sure there was an OVA for Mystery Dungeon, but why not just give a spinoff a chance? They could start with Reburst. Admittedly the story is a tad darker and grittier and aimed more at teens, but it is an awesome take on the Pokémon world. The main character, Ryouga has the ability to fuse with Zekrom, or "Burst" as they call it. He comes in contact with many other Burst Warriors who have the ability to fuse with pokémon. He's a lot different than Ash Ketchum, he is athletic, strong, hotheaded and self reliant. This new take on the series is just whats needed to breathe new life into the pokémon anime.

Why Patrick Warburton should have been Franky's dubbed voice.

Yea, the Kenpachi voice actor works okay for Franky, but lets be honest here. His original japanese voice is a lot more nasally and even a bit scottish sounding. Franky's voice is one of those that is very hard to localize, unless they find some scottish asian guy like that starburst commercial. So why not, instead of trying to emmulate that voice, go a whole other route? They should have given him the american equivalent to his voice, which is Patrick Warburton. I can't be the only guy who thinks Joe Swanson's voice would fit Franky perfectly. He has that same levelof randomness and energy as Franky, and Joe's voice shouting the trademark "Suuuuuper" would be just as funny. Did the idea not cross Funimation's mind because Warburton isn't known for anime voices? Even when i first read the manga, I imagined him sounding like Joe Swanson. I can't be alone on this right?

Detective Conan Challenge

Back before I was a full fledged otaku, I used to watch the dubbed version of the anime, Case Closed. Only recently did i find out the manga has over 800 chapters , and we all know how i like a good long series. So my challenege is to read every single chapter before my Birthday this year, November 15th. You can follow me on Twitter to see my progress: AWBrawler. Wish me luck!

Popotan "Anime" Review

   I normally am not one for fanservice, and i definitely don't give anime based off of hentai the time of day, so what the hell drew me to Popotan? In one word, it was "Charm".  Granted I had no earthly idea it was based off hentai when i first saw it on Netflix of all places. This anime just has a certain charm about it. Even with it's somewhat said theme, it puts a smile on my face every time I see it.

        The story revolves around Ai, Mai, and Mii who are residents of a magical house that periodically travels through time and space ending up in different locations and in different time periods. The girls can only age inside the house, as was made evident when one of the tried to live outside the house for a few years, so its hard to say what their real ages are, The story eventually becomes less goofy and more serious with the girls questioning their existence and pondering on what their purpose is in this world. So if you like a nice mellow slice of life type of anime, this one is definitely a must buy, though it is not without its flaws. I have no problem whatsoever with fanservice, which it has plenty of, but i simply detest lolicon. Mii is portrayed looking like a child and she has way too many pantyshots. Also if i wanted to see flat-chested chicks I'd just play The Last Story for the Nintendo Wii. (Yes I went there.)

     Popotan also has a very catchy theme song in both the English and Japanese versions. The goofy dance that Mii does in the Japanese intro even went viral across the youtube world reaching even young children who have no idea where it comes from. I highly recommend Popotan to anybody who is mature enough to not act like a rabid dog at the site animated boobs. This may be the last time you see a good review from me about a fanservice filled anime, so you know it's gotta be a good one.

One Piece Movie 1 mini review

Let me start this off by saying that One Piece has become one of my all time favorite anime series, but i will not be biased in this review. To put it lightly, this movie was mediocre. I admit the early episodes were the weak point of the series, and this movie takes place before Sanji even shows up. The story revolves around some gold collecting maniac named Woonan, and a villain with an overrated devil fruit power of sound, called El Drago. It did keep some of the charm of the series, but overall it was just bland and i never truly felt like the Straw Hats were in any actual danger. Add to that that the plot was predictable and you have yourself a mediocre anime movie. I give it a 3 star rating.