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.

Kokoro Connect Review

Kokoro Connect is a psychological masterpiece. This anime will take you on trip through the human psyche that you will not soon forget. What is it that makes us who we are? Can we still be ourselves if life as we know it were to change entirely? Those questions and more are posed in this anime and answered very thoroughly.

    The story revolves around the students who make up the Students Cultural Society Club who start the anime off with an odd incident of body swapping. An alien with bizarre powers like those of Haruhi Suzumiya's Yuki Nagato, named Heartseed reveals that he is the one behind the incident. Throughout the show, Heartseed creates several phenomena to seemingly torture the StuCS for his own   personal entertainment. The StuCS go through several phenomena such as body swapping, age altering, being forced to act on their desires, having their thoughts shared, and even a near death experience, all for his entertainment.

   Two of the students go through a major breakdown as a result of the incidents, but i won't spoil it for you and give away their names. They began to see the incidents as tests and began to learn more about themselves and what makes them who they are and do the things they do. This is definitely a must watch even for non-anime fans. This anime easily gets the highest rating possible from E-Stranged, a Pineapple!  Now Go Watch It and Enjoy!!!

ONIICHAN NO KOTO NANKA ZENZEN SUKI JA NAI N DA KARA NE Preview

   I already know this anime will not be recieving a perfect score, because it has its flaws, yet at the same time, its quite entertaining. I'm only a few episodes in, but from what I can gather so far, Nao is the adopted sister of the main protagonist, but she isn't aware of it, and is madly in love with her brother. Her brother has a stalker type friend from his younger days who he supposedly proposed to, and now she's come back to town expecting him to make good on his promise. Of course, this comes at an inconvenience to Nao. She goes as far as to stalk them on their date to see whats going on.

  The show is filled with all types of slapstick humor and laugh out loud moments, complete with penguins and cats used to censor out would-be crotch shots and panty close ups. It's the type of zany, quirky, goofiness to expect if you're a fan of anime such as Kiss x Sis, Ladies vs Butlers, or shows of the sort. I'll be back with a full review as soon as i am finished watching every episode. until then, comment, follow us on Twitter, or click that link to support my taco addiction. 

American TV needs more Shojo Anime

In my younger days, back when anime was still trying to break through to mainstream, there was a little show called Sailor Moon. Why point out Sailor Moon you say? Simple. Sailor Moon was one of a kind in that day and age. It was the only Shojo anime on American TV. That is overly ironic though, because now there is virtually no Shojo anime aired in America, but anime is bigger now than its ever been here in the states.

  So what went wrong? Why was there a sudden decline in shojo, or "girl's" anime? Sure we can argue that Inuyasha falls into the shojo bracket, but Adult Swim pretty much sees it as an action or shonen like the rest of the anime they air, and its pure accident that it got grouped in. I honestly believe its not purposely being ignored, though. It may just be that Americans love explosions and strong male protagonists so much that channels are afraid to air an anime with a female lead role that has romance, fashion, friendship, and other shojo motifs as the main focus. (Thanks a lot Goku, you overrated bastard.) 

   However, all hope is not lost.  Shojo could have a second shot at fame in America if its done with the right anime. The reason why Sailor Moon was such a hit, is because it was a shojo with a lot of shonen and action elements. So, an anime like Shugo Chara, could be perfect to reintroduce shojo to America. It's aimed at a slightly younger demographic than Sailor Moon, but it has that same type of blend and deep engaging plot that both guys and girls can get into.  All they have to do is air it alongside the Pokemon and Beyblade shows (just make sure 4kids doesn't get it) and it could potentially bring shojo to the mainstream American audience. Who Knows? Maybe it has the potential to pick up where CardCaptor left off.

That's my take on it all. Like what you read? comment, follow me on twitter, or click that button to buy me a taco. Until next time, Be you. Be true. Be human.

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DragonBall Z IS NOT The Best Action Anime!

First, let's get this out of the way. I am in no way bashing or belittling DBZ. I love Vegeta and Goku just as much as the rest of you, and I still to this day play all the games just to throw a Kamehameha wave at people. Yes, it is hands down the most famous anime ever now, but fame does not equal quality.

It's hard not to like Goku, Piccolo, Vegeta, and the gang, but if you're into anime, you'll begin to notice lots of flaws, plot holes, and 1 dimensional characters in the series. The series basically boils down to "Earth is in trouble, go super saiyan and blow stuff up". In my opinion, DBZ should be seen more as a gateway anime. Most fans who are into action anime now, got their start with DBZ, then eventually moved on to better series such as Rurouni Kenshin, One Piece, Cashern, Karas, Yu Yu Hakusho, Naruto, and even Trinity Blood. 

For what it is, it plays its role well. It excites younger or newbie anime fans, and introduces them to the wonderful world of anime that we all know and love. DBZ is still fun to watch and get into, but can we please stop all the newbie from claiming its the best action anime? Oh, and Goku is NOT the strongest anime character ever, but thats an article for another day.

Onii-chan Dakedo Ai Sae Areba Kankeinai Yo Ne Preview

The name for this anime roughly translates to "So long as there's love it doesn't matter that he's my brother, right?" So needless to say this anime dips into incest jokes quite often. If that offends you, don't bother with this anime, but if you, like me, can just take it for what it is and laugh at the jokes, you might enjoy it. From What I can gather so far, this anime is about twins Akito and Akiko, who were separated for 6 years. When Akiko finally comes back to live with her brother, Akito, she openly expresses her love her him, only to find out they aren't living alone as she thought, and there are other girls staying in the house, all of which seem interested in her brother. This anime is heavy on the fanservice and the intro really crosses the line a few times. I can tell you now, this most likely will not be getting a perfect score, but it does have a certain charm about it and has potential to be ranked high.  I'll have the full review ready as soon as I'm done with the whole series.

My Top 5 Hottest Anime Girls

Okay, the first on this list is the honorable mention, Hinata Hyuga. She just barely missed the list, but as anybody who knows me will tell you, I am gaga over Hinata. Something about her shy nature and her weird eyes make her hot. Also she grew a nice pair of Bazongas, am i right boys??  but without further ado, lets get to the list

#5 Rana Linchen (Freezing)

Rana actually falls into the cute category more than Hot in my opinion, but she definitely belongs in the top 5. she has the mischievous bubbly personality, and she has the kind of body that can only exist in anime. Her blue hair and school girl outfit turns her hotness meter up even more, and if you hear her voice......Sold!!

  

#4 Nico Robin (onepiece)

It should be no surprise to anyone that Robin makes number 4 on my list. I love intelligent, classy, women, and Robin is just that. She gives a little fanservice without coming of as slutty like Nami sometimes does. What makes her even hotter is her devil fruit power of the hana hana no mi. I'm sure I'm not the only one with an over active imagination who wonders how she may abuse that power when nobody is looking.

#3 Gidget (Eureka Seven)

Let's face it! Gidget is the hottest black chick you will probably ever see in anime, hell, she may even be the hottest black chick you'll ever see in your whole life. What's not to love? Those grayish blue eyes, that perfect hourglass figure, and yes, "dat ass". I have yet to find a cosplayer that can capture the hotness that is Gidget. I don't care much for hentai, but if there is one that stars gidget, call me a perv, because I'd watch that all the way through...... granted its not just sick and weird as mostly all hentai. (seriously a few of them could pass as anime if you delete the sex) Gidget will forever be in my top 3, I love everything about her character.

#2 Mai (Popotan)

Mai from Popotan isn't usually the kind of anime girl that I find hot, but something about her really clicked with me. I guess it was her personality and her pink hair. She also had a pretty voice in both the dub and the original japanese. Whenever somebody says hot anime girl, Mai is the first image that pops in my head. With that said, you're probably wonder who the heck my number one is well...............................

#1 Aki Hinata (Keroro Gunsou)

I said Mai pops in my head when ever somebody says "hot anime girl" But Aki is what pops up when I think hot anime Woman, or when i just think of the word Hot in general. I mean she got tig o bitties, she wears glasses (though i wonder how the hell they stay on her face), she's a Manga artist, she rides a motorcycle, and she lives with crazy alien frogs. That is a deadly combo. And to top it all off, she actually has a sexy voice in the English dub, more so than her Japanese voice. Just Wow! That is my top 5 list. What do you think? leave comments, or just be a prick and complain about who i picked.

The Queen's Classroom Review

 Ohkay! I'm starting this review off with a SPOILER ALERT! Oh Dong Goo doesn't get the girl, he doesn't get any sugars, and he is totally friendzoned! Now that we have that out of the way, I love this show. Everything about this show was spot on. The acting, the music, the presentation, it was all perfect.

  The Story revolves around Shim Ha Na, Oh Dong Goo, Eun Bo Mi, Kim seo-hyun, and their homeroom teacher Ms. Ma. Teacher Ma has a very unconventional way of running her class, which landed her the nickname of Teacher Witch amongst her students. She would give tests and punsih the lowest scoring students by making them clean the school. Oh Dong Goo's tomfoolery caused Shim Ha Na's pencils to be broken which lead to her having one of the lowest scores and being forced to clean with him. From the cleaning duties, the two form a friendship and Kim Seo-Hyun and Eun Bo Mi ends up cleaning with them and forging strong bonds, due to the fact that they rebelled against the teacher. Teacher Ma, determined to break the bonds between the students, temporarily turns Eun Bo Mi against them and even has Shim Ha Na's close friend, Na Ri, to be her "spy" for a brief time. However, when Na Ri cracks under pressure and attempts to burn the classroom down, Teacher Ma has to step in and stop her, resulting in her hand getting cut by a razor and drawing the attention of Na Ri's mother.

  It's around this point in the show that Shim Ha Na and the others start to question if the things Teacher Ma do and say are really all that bad or mean. Teacher Ma has already shown a somewhat caring side by saving Shim Ha Na from drowning. However, even other teachers such as the young impressionable Ms.Yang question her motives. It seems the only person that fully understands what is going on is the principal. As Na Ri's mother pulls all kinds of strings with the higher ups in an attempt to get Teacher Ma fired, it's slowly revealed that she isn't nearly as mean as she lets on. She keeps a detailed data page on all of her students' life inside and outside of school. Because of this, she rarely gets any sleep and spent almost every night trying to get Oh Don Goo's mother to take him in, since Madame Oh, his guardian, does not have long to live. It's also hinted that she got rid of the loan sharks that were bothering Eun Bo Mi's mother. Ultimately the school board decides to suspend her from teaching for a year, and she is hospitalized due to overworking herself for the kids' sake. The rumor of her being fired quickly spreads through the school and the students finally realize that she is a good teacher and demands to have her finish teaching them for the 6th grade. Teacher Ma appears before the class one last time, and in her own cold-hearted emotionless way, expresses her feeling for her students, bringing them all to tears before she leaves the classroom for good. The kids all became closer, smarter, and more prepared for the real world thanks to her, and Ms.Yang even is shown as trying to copy her teaching style at the end of the final episode.

  Clearly a lot more happens then that quick synopsis, but I'd be writing a book if I went into too much detail, in the purpose of my review is to get you to watch the show, not read my review and ignore it. Teacher Ma beats out Yumiko from Gokusen for the best teacher in a tv show/anime ever. I was hoping she would be openly nice to the students at least once during the show, but that wouldn't fit her character. I'd also like to point out that Janey (GP Basic) played her role well. It's believable that she really acts that way at school. The show is based off of a Japanese drama from 2005, but as of now, I don't see anyway that it can be better than this remake. I give The Queen's Classroom the highest score possible from us at E-stranged, a Pineapple! I look forward to watching and reviewing the original. Now go watch this masterpiece right now!

Kill Me Baby Preview

  With a title like that, how could I not check out this anime? Kill Me Baby is an anime about an assassin and her friends, one of which is an airhead who keeps getting herself hurt. I can't help but laugh at the fact that Sonya is afraid of cockroaches and dogs, yet she is supposedly a trained assassin. Also, her Ninja friend is the sorriest excuse of a ninja I've ever seen in an anime. She is comically bad at being a ninja. So far the series seems funny, quirky, and full of randomness. I'll be sure to post a full review upon completion.

The Queen's Classroom Preview

  Okay, so this show isn't an anime, it's a Korean Drama based off of an old Japanese Drama from 2005, but dang it Shim Ha Na's face is close enough to an anime character's. Admittedly I only started watching the show because I heard Janey from GP Basic and D-Unit was playing as a student in it. I was expecting cheesy acting and a lot of things to complain about, and to my surprise, I was dead wrong. The acting is top notch, the story is deep and engaging, and the soundtrack is pretty good too. (PSY's "Gentleman" and KARA's "Step up" play in two separate episodes) The story revolves around an "evil" teacher who is very strict with the children of her class and gives them unusual punishments. There's even times when she plots to break bonds between students, believing that it is a weakness that needs to be eliminated. As the story progresses, it becomes more clear what her objective is and she seems less evil and more human. I still have a few more episodes to watch before I've completed the series, so keep an eye out for a full review soon.

Chibifying Makes Anime Funnier

Admit it! Chibis are just as funny looking as they are cutesy. Throwing a chibi in the middle of any anime almost instantly guarantees a funny scene. There's just something funny about seeing an otherwise serious character drawn with a big ole head, little body, and over the top emoticon-esque facial expressions. One of my favorite animes, A-Channel, is drawn entirely in what I call a semi chibi art style. The character's almost have normal proportions by anime standards, but the main characters still have big chibi heads and facial expressions, even though some other characters such as the teachers are drawn normally. That blend makes it funny to look at just about any given scene.

  I think the only thing missing from chibi styled anime, is a serious slice of life type of story, or an intense action done entirely chibified. It would be hard for me not to laugh at it though. look at those big frickin heads dang it! Still, its worth a shot to try it out. I remember reading the manga, Ninku, who's protagonist was chibi as heck, and it was actually pretty good. That is proof that it can be done. I'm still actively searching for a good chibi anime to recommend. Here's hoping I find a good one worth of our highest possible score: Pineapple.

Tamayura More Agressive Preview

Tamayura More Agressive is the most recent anime that I've come across. I've only seen the first episode so far. It seems to be a very mellow slice of life type of anime so far. From what I can gather, the story seems focused around Fu Sawatari. Her father's camera also seems to be a center piece for the story as well. It seems as if I've finally found an anime that I can compare to one of my favorites, Fruits Basket. Let's see how this one turns out. Expect a full review  within the next couple of days.

Detective Conan challenge update #2

  I've made my way to Volume 10 and on a chapter that seems vaguely familiar. If I'm not mistaken I've seen this one in the dubbed anime that used to air on Adult Swim. Shinichi is going to temporarily get his body back, and solve the case because of the liquor that he drank. Tho I forgot entirely how the whole closed room murder was set up. It's been a while.

Freezing Review

I just want to start by saying if you saw the cover art for this anime and thought "Yay boobs!" F*** you! F*** you twice! This is a mature anime that deals with mature topics and themes, and if you're just some immature brat looking for boobs, look elsewhere, because this one deserves so much more respect than that. Now that we have that out of the way, on to the review.

    Freezing revolves around the lives of both Satellizer el Bridgette and Aoi Kazuya.  Satella is a pandora, a girl that's been implanted with stigmata  to do battle against alien invaders. For as long as anyone can remember, she has been cold, anti-social, and above all else she hated to be touched, giving her the nickname Untouchable Queen. In the opening episode, Kazuya mistakes Satella as his deceased sister, and hugs her mid battle, causing her to lose a battle against another pandora and lose her #1 ranking amongst her peers. This leads to an awkward relationship between Kazuya and Satella, in which Kazuya becomes closer to her and learns what makes her behave the way she does, as his fellow classmates ridicule and badmouth her behind her back. Even when other pandoras start a fight, the other students run off and tell a professor that it was Satella's fault.

  As the story progresses, it is revealed that Satella had a troubled pass, forced to stay with a family that hates her and her mother, and that she was molested by a younger sibling, thus resulting in her hating to be touched by anyone. Kazuya also finds out that she has a lot of stigmata from his sister embedded in her, which leads her to believe that he only wants her as his partner to be a replacement for his sister. I won't give a spoiler saying how it all ends, but it is quite an enjoyable anime, and though the fanservice is heavy sometimes, its usually done in a manner where you aren't excited to see breasts, you're upset that they're doing these things to Satella instead. Again, this anime is for the mature viewer. I highly recommend it, but don't waste time with the stupid OVAs. They're only 3 minutes each and a waste of time. they don't really fit the mood and style of the rest of the anime. If you're 17 or older and mature enough to handle it, definitely watch this anime. Its only 12 episodes long, so what's your excuse?