Friday 4 May 2012

Monthly Round-up: April

Not much in the way of anime again this month, but a decent amount of manga.
 
Anime I've Watched:
  • Bleach - Still not finished this yet. Really should as I only have about 12 episodes left to go.
  • Recorder to Randoseru - Meh. I reviewed this recently for Anime-Planet and summed the whole series up in one word: average. It was funny at odd times, but relies too much on one joke, which soon wears out its welcome.


Ongoing Anime I've Watched:


Manga I've Read:
  • Mononoke -Finally managed to finish reading the last few chapters of this. As much as I enjoyed this arc while watching the otherwise less-than-stellar Ayakashi Japanese Horror, I never quite got into the manga. I mainly put this down to only having one chapter every couple of months. Maybe I'd have liked it more had I read it all in one go. Likewise, I think the visuals worked better in the abnime, at times some of the manga looked a little... messy by comparison.
  • Old Boy -This is unlike pretty much anything I normally read, but I really enjoyed it. I loved seeing how the conspiracy slowly unravelled and became more complicated. Definitely well worth a look.
  • Monster Hunter Orage - This wasn't too bad, but a bit on the disappointing side for two main reasons. Firstly, the story was really rushed and all of a sudden it was at the final battle after little build up. Secondly, while reading it, it felt like an older Hiro Mashima work, with shadows of what would become Fairy Tail characters; except it was actually created a couple of years AFTER Fairy Tail began, so instead it feels more like a cheap knock-off of better works.
  • Bakuman -I confess, I'm kind of bummed that Bakuman ended, but only because I'm goign to miss my weekly dose of this excellent series. In truth, it's better they stopped it when they did as otherwise I think it'd be going too far - a little like Bleach after the Aizen stuff, though annoyingly Kubo's new arc is getting pretty good. I really could gush about this series all day, btu I'll save that for another time.


Ongoing Manga I've Read:

Wednesday 25 April 2012

Um... Excuse Me But Girls Can Like Ecchi Too

I'm female, but I'm no feminist. OK that's not technically true. I believe in equality between the sexes and that women and men shouldn't be discriminated against purely because of what is (or isn't) in their pants, but by no stretch of the imagination am I hardcore feminist. In fact, I'm probably less of a feminist than my very much MALE friend, Patches. I'm not bothered by the objectification of women in anime, nor, for the most part, does it even register as such. However, what DOES annoy me is having my personal opinion demeaned or entirely dismissed because of my gender.

What has sparked this post is a comment that I received yesterday on my Anime-Planet review of Baka to Test to Shoukanjuu Ni which simply said:

"go back to the kitchen"

This pissed me off. The comment has subsequently been removed and the user responsible warned that sexist comments are not tolerated under any circumstance. And for good reason. Why should my opinion be so quickly dismissed in a five word sentence purely because I'm female? Sure, I gave the series a bad review, but that had nothing to do with my sex. That I'm a woman didn't change the fact that the show ignored its central premise in favour of dumb jokes. The show is called (in it's English translation) "Idiots, and Tests and Summoned Beings", yet it focused entirely on the "Idiots", completely ignored the "Tests", and only included the "Summoned Beings" occasionally for dumb shit they weren't originally designed for. Now although the series was aimed at male viewers, I don't need to BE a man to notice it's flaws, and had I been a guy, this user may well have decided to simply leave some kind of comment like "you're a douche" or "you have no sense of humour" or a simple "you suck", but no, because I'm a girl I should just get back in the kitchen where I belong, because clearly I don't know what I'm talking about and my double x chromosomes make me incapable of rational reasoning.

But this isn't the first time I've had comments on a review based on my gender. I reviewed Ping Pong Club and totally trashed it. I received several messages of disagreement as the show has something of a cult following, and much like Marmite, you either love it or hate it. Fair enough. I hated it. Others loved it. But one user decided this was only because I was female and left the following comment:

"Holy shit you are wrong, wrong, wrong, and you have no sense of humor. Ping Pong Club is one of the few decent comedy anime in existence; I bet you pissed yourself with laughter watching Lucky Star. How typical of a female anime fan to hate it. You have no taste."

Now this comment, doesn't offend me so much, mainly because it's trashing my view of one specific show, not just me as a whole. But this message leads perfectly to the main point of this post: what the hell does sex have to do with what anime you enjoy?

Obviously, I get that certain series are aimed at specific demographics, but that isn't to say that ONLY those people can enjoy it. Just because I'm a female anime fan, does that mean that I should only be watching shoujo and josei series? Should I be limiting myself to the likes of Sailor Moon and Nodame Cantabile (both of which I thoroughly like for the record) simply because my lack of penis means that I couldn't possibly appreciate or enjoy shows such as Naruto or anything with even the vaguest hint of ecchi in it? No, of course I shouldn't, because that kind of bullshit belongs firmly in the past.

I'm a female anime fan, and one of my favourite genres is shounen. I like... no... I LOVE anime aimed at younger boys. I love the kick-arse battles. Maybe it's because I've always been more of a tomboy than a girly girl. As a child I'd rather pick up frogs than play with a Barbie doll, and as an adult, I'd rather watch a bunch of ninja beating the living crap out of each other than see a magical girl twirling her wand and shooting love beams at her crush. But it's not in shounen that I've encountered sexist attitudes. That joy has always lay in the ecchi camp.

In my experience, if a girl is ever going to get hassle for being an anime fan from a guy, it's when they express a negative comment on an ecchi show. If a woman dares to say that a panty-shot filled series has a crap story, then don't worry. It doesn't mean the show is shit. After all, the person giving the opinion is only a woman, what can she know or understand about it? She doesn't matter. Ignore her.

Bollocks.

Just because an anime features lots of breasts, panties, or crude humour doesn't mean that a girl can't enjoy it. Now, ecchi isn't one of my favourite genres, but that doesn't mean I don't like series where the perversion is a prominent feature, as I either just kind of ignore it becuase it isn't that big of a deal (Highschool of the Dead) or I actively enjoy the humour (Amaenaideyo!! and Mitsudomoe). Granted, the shot of a buxom female's breasts bouncing around the screen or her panties being exposed by an errant wind don't turn me on, but I can find them funny if executed well. And I think that last point is the key, whether it's executed well or not. Some girls may enjoy ecchi anime, but they may also be a little more objective. Maybe females can spot a poorly constructed narrative, or a badly executed series more easily because we aren't quite as preoccupied by the lingerie and cleavage. However, that doesn't mean that our opinions or observations are completely null and void purely because we don't have meat and two veg clogging up our knickers.

Newsflash: girls can be perverts too. So don't judge us purely on our sex, because it's not so simple. We can be crude and enjoy vulgar humour. We can laugh at fart or poop jokes without being failures as women. We can enjoy panty shots and exposed breasts and not be lesbians. So next time anyone tells us to go back to the kitchen, remember that's also where the bleach is kept, so try not to piss us off too much, okay?

Thursday 19 April 2012

Cassie's Character Corner: Rukia Kuchiki

So, I've been considering writing a character corner post on Rukia for a while now, but having heard that a friend who loves her isn't feeling well, I figured this would be an ideal time to post this to cheer him up.

I never liked Rukia. From the beginning of the series I found her mildly irritating and just never really got her. However, recently things have shifted a bit, and while she's still not one of my most favourite characters ever, I do now actually quite like her. Things that I once found irksome are now what make me like her so much (I suspect my intense hatred for Orihime has largely contributed to me opening my eyes to Rukia actually being pretty damn cool).

She has many entertaining aspects to her personality, in particular her violent tendencies towards Ichigo and Kon. Her smackdowns for the lusty plushie certainly make for entertaining viewing, after all, Kon is bloody annoying so seeing him repeatedly smashed into the floor or kicked out a window is good. Likewise, although she demonstrates plenty of light violence (whacks round the head, or the occasional flying kick - OK maybe not THAT light), my favourite part of Rukia is her... um... "artistic" ability.

From the very opening episodes her rather unique drawings become a running joke. While she has the right idea of trying to illustrate things in order to make it more simple for Ichigo to understand, combining that with her love of cute bunnies nad her inability with a pencil is a dangerous, dangerous thing.
Look Ichigo, doesn't this make it easier to understand? No? Pfft, what's wrong with you?!

Unlike many of the other higher ranking Shinigami, Rukia doesn't have one defining quirk, she hasn't got the arrogance and pride of her brother, Byakuya; she's not criminally insane like Mayuri; and she's not a drunk flirt like Kyoraku (or Matsumoto for that matter); but this actually works in her favour. Though I personally prefer the more outrageous and wacky characters, I honestly think that Rukia's more normal demeanour is for the best. The series needs a certain number of personalities with more muted eccentricities in order to allow the true freaks to revel in their quirks. In my mind, when it comes to Bleach Rukia is one of the characters who does this best. That she isn't ruled by her oddities means that she can perfectly flip flop between the victim role required for the Soul Society arc and the kick-ass shinigami icing her opponents into oblivion in later stories, all while making us smile with her chibi-sized antics along the way. And it's that versatility in her character that has made me finally appreciate her as a solid and damn good character.

She may be small, but Rukia will kick your arse into next Tuesday if you mess with her.

Thursday 12 April 2012

Video Game Manga: Victory Fanfare or Game Over?

The video game industry is big business, and with the plethora of different games around, it's chock full of different stories for people of all ages and genders to play through. So it's no surprise that the rest of the entertainment industry decides to take advantage of the popularity and adapt the tales we've all come to know and love into another medium. When it comes to anime, there are myriad titles based on dating sims, such as Clannad and Amagami SS. But it's not just eroge that get the anime treatment, one of the most successful and widely known franchises is Pokemon whose games have spawned countless tv series, movies and specials; then there's the obscure OVAs featuring Nintendo's signature creation, Mario. But while I could ramble on about how anime has cashed in on the popularity of these games, in this post I intend to look at the lesser known manga adaptations of some of our favourite RPGs.

What spurred me on to write this post is that I've recently finished reading Hiro Mashima's Monster Hunter Orage, which has its roots in - surprise, surprise - the Monster Hunter franchise. As I was working my way through the final volumes, I kept thinking about what it is that game-based manga bring to the table and whether they're a good thing or not. Unfortunately, I have been unable to come up with a definitive answer myself, but I have noticed that with each video game manga I read, the same things keep cropping up.

The biggest issue with video game manga that I've found is that they're not inclusive and they often expect the reader to be familiar with the game franchise. The two biggest culprits of this I've found have been Kingdom Hearts and Devil May Cry 3. I've never played any of the games in either of these two series so when I read the manga, I knew next to nothing about them. Unfortunately, in both of these cases it's clear that the manga expects the reader to know the basic plot, gameplay and character histories, so they don't bother to fully explain things. In the case of Kingdom Hearts, the story moves so quickly and the dynamic of the world is never properly introduced that I had little idea of what was going on and found it very difficult to really get what was happening and why. To me this is a huge flaw as it not only makes for a poor storytelling foundation, but it also alienates a potential new fanbase who may have gravitated to the games after enjoying the manga - after all if you didn't like the comic why would you want to try the games?

That being said, there are times when game-based manga catering purely to the fans can actually be a good thing. My favourite series of games by a long margin is the Legend of Zelda franchise and undoubtedly the best videogame manga I've read is Wind Waker: Link's Logbook. However, where Link's Logbook differs from the aforementioned Kingdom Hearts and Devil May Cry 3 is that it is a 4-koma gag manga that explicitly states that it has been made FOR the fans. And it really is. The game often pokes fun at itself and the manga continues this and takes it to the extreme, making it one of the most hilarious things that I've read, but that's only because I know the game. Non-fans may smile at the slapstick elements, but by not being familiar with the source material, they probably won't find it all that humorous and all the in-jokes will go soaring over their heads quicker than a frog on a cloud.

To me Link's Logbook is the epitome of the best that video game manga has to offer for the seasoned fan. It takes you through the story and shows what essentially feel like outtakes, but it still wholly encapsulates the spirit of the game. It makes you relive yourplaythrough as you remember doing some of the stupid shit that Link gets up to (such as accidentally jumping off the top of a huge tower), or pokes fun at some of the weirder characters out there - Tingle anyone?

Likewise, for fans of video games, reading the manga does have two other functions. Firstly, it makes for some good geek spotting. With series such as Monster Hunter Orage even the mere mention of fighting Rathians or wearing Kelbi armour is enough to set off a small squeal from the fangirl (or fanboy) inside, which undeniably gives some enjoyment as you read. Secondly, as fans of the franchise it's brilliant to see your favourite characters in print and it does allow for you to rediscover your most enjoyed games for a second time. By reading the manga you can re-experience the story in a much shorter space of time and enjoy it. So instead of playing through thirty or forty odd hours of game, you can follow Link's time-travelling Ocarina adventures in the space of an hour or so.


Now from what I've written so far, it may sound like game manga is exclusively for the fans and only they will enjoy them, but that isn't the case. There are several manga series out there where the mangaka recreate a game story that doesn't alienate non-fans. Sounds great, right? Well, yes it is, except it still comes with pitfalls as more often than not in the quest to make a comprehensive plotline, things shift. Details change, things get omitted, or added and while this makes the stories more universally accessible it can piss off the purists. The first thing to spring to mind for me in this case is Ocarina of Time. As a huge fan of the game, I couldn't wait to devour the manga when I discovered its existence, but when I'd finished reading the second volume, I felt more than a little disappointed because they changed so much. Among the many alterations, the entire existence of the Shadow Temple was skipped, while a scene was added in near the beginning with young Zelda and Link running around the market. Similarly, when Link first ventures into the Great Deku Tree, he isn't alone like in the game, instead Mido accompanies him. While this does make for a better manga story as it shows Mido accepting Link and apologising for all the crap that went on before, the gamer geek in me can't help but yell "THAT'S NOT HOW IT IS IN THE GAME!"

Ultimately, I'd say that adapting a game into manga is pretty damn hard. If you go for a retelling of a game's plotline then it's likely to either confuse or alienate those unfamiliar with the source material, or in order to make it more universally friendly, plot elements will be altered which will annoy or disappoint the hardcore fans. However, there are the games that don't have a linear plotline, such as Monster Hunter, which instead takes the world and its creatures and creates an original plotline. In my mind these have the potential to be the most successful, as so long as you introduce the relevant elements - in the case of Monster Hunter, the presence of the guilds and quests etc - then you can appeal to the casual reader who enjoys a nice adventure tale, as well as the fans who can geek-spot all the game references.

In the end it all comes down to what you want out of a video game manga. If you want something that will be faithful to the original content, then you may be disappointed, as when all is aaid and done, games and graphic novels are VERY different media with entirely different storytelling methods. If you're simply looking for an easy read where you can play "spot the familiar game references" then you'll probably be quids in. And for those of you who don't know the games and just think that the plot sounds interesting, well, just give it a go. Don't let what I've written about prior knowledge sometimes being a necessity put you off, because that isn't the case every single time and you could be missing out as so many games out there have awesome stories that deserve to be shared with a wider audience.

Monday 2 April 2012

Monthly Round-up: March

March was a fairly busy month for me real life wise, so anime was a little thin on the ground in the end. Apart from all the Bleach - and I'm still not done with that.

Ongoing Anime I've Watched:

Manga I've Read:
  • Good Ending - There are still a few series left for me to catch up on from the 25 Days of Manga extravanganza, and having dipped into a slight manga slump for a week, I decided to make a comeback by reading Good Ending. The more I read, the more it's turning into a harem series, yet somehow I'm really enjoying it.
  • Little Little - Little Little is my first experience of textless manga, and frankly I found myself enthralled. I always find any medium that attempts to communicate without the aid of dialogue intriguing, as sometimes the story can be more poignant. I admit that a couple of times I did lose slightly what was going on, but for the most part, I really enjoyed this beautifully-drawn manga about a sickly girl and her new fox-girl friend.
  • Violet Blossoms - I had been looking forward to reading this oneshot for a while since the artwork is from Kaoru Mori, mangaka of Emma. The visuals didn't disappoint, though I can't help but feel that Mori really shines when she gets to recreate a lavish period world. Plot wise, the whole thing was kinda meh. I'm not entirely sure I got what the final few panels were about, but it was an OK manga, for a short read.
  • Ibitsu - While I'm not normally one for horror anime, I don't mind the odd scary manga, and Ibitsu had been on my list for a while. I confess now, that I probably shouldn't have read it late at night with the lights off just before going to bed, but I genuinely found it quite creepy. The "Little Sister" character is genuinely eerie with her tattered lolita clothes and gaunt, psychotic face. I won't give too much away on this since I may write more on this at a later date. But seriously, if you like horror, go read. Now.

Ongoing Manga I've Read:

Saturday 31 March 2012

What is Anime?

In my time as a moderator over on Anime-Planet, there's one debate that has come up countless times: what actually constitutes anime? This question normally only arises when someone requests that Avatar: The Last Airbender be added to the database, and our response of "It will not be added because it is not anime" tends to go down like a ton of bricks. So what exactly constitutes anime?

If we go back to the original source, anime is simply the Japanese word for animation. That's all. Much like the word kawa means river, and yama means mountain, it's a general word that encompasses all animation. By this definition, technically anything could be anime, even Disney, Pixar, and Aardman creations. However, that's just looking at it literally. Outside of Japan, the word anime has come to mean something else, and it's this "something else" that causes more friction or confusion. Typically, the western world has two main definitions as for what anime actually is:
  1. Animation originating from Japan.
  2. A style of animation that originally came from Japan.
I am heavily planted in the first definition's camp. If it's not from Japan, it's not anime. To me this is the same idea as if it's not from Japan it's not manga, or if it's not from the UK it can't be Britpop. It's a simple and clear cut definition that's not too difficult to figure out. That's not to say that I can't see where people are coming from. I agree, that yes, Avatar does look like anime since it was created with that design in mind, but it has absolutely nothing to do with Japan other than that. It's an American animation, not anime.

My main gripe with the definition based on style as opposed to country of origin is that the whole style thing is - in a word - bullshit.

For a start, the original "anime style" was adapted from the early American animations. All you need do is take a look at Osamu Tezuka's drawing style to see the heavy influence that pre-war black and white cartoons had on his work. This isn't to say that it's derivative by any stretch of the imagination, as it has evolved and made the big sparkly eyes its own. In fact, the so-called anime style is almost completely removed from its humble roots nowadays, which leads me to my main point. If you define anime purely on the style of animation, then what about all those beloved anime series and films that don't conform to the standard laid out by this restrictive definition? Surely Osamu Tezuka's work is anime, right? Well the Black Jack TV series look closer to westernised animation than Japanese, and in particular, many of Tezuka's shorts look more like they belong in 1960s America alongside Hanna Barbera and the Pink Panther cartoons. And while we're talking about American influence? What about Panty and Stocking? That's an anime series, right? Even though it looks like a slutty, violent, sex-crazed version of the Powerpuff Girls.

Left: Osamu Tezuka's Drop. Right: Classic US animation, The Pink Panther
They may not be identical, but the visual influences at work are fairly plain to see.

What about the Studio Ghibli films? You wouldn't call them anything other than anime, would you? Even My Neighbours the Yamadas the most visually "un-Ghibli" Ghibl film? It doesn't look like your standard anime fare, but you'd still call it anime. So don't give me all this crap about it being "all about the style", because it's not.

Nowadays more and more series try something a little different visually, which is brilliant and beautiful, because as viewers we are getting a whole range of new and exciting experences. Take the likes of House of Five Leaves, Tatami Galaxy, pretty much anything by Akiyuki Shinbo, they push the boundaries of what Japanese animation can look like and they don't just rest on that one familiar and comfortable appearance, but there's no question that they still count as anime. Animation is a constantly evolving medium, so to define anime based on a specific style is, in my mind, offensive.
Natsume Ono's distinctive pronounced noses made House of Five Leaves stand out from the crowd in Spring 2010.
With a very fluid and offbeat design, Tatami Galaxy isn't always pretty, but it's certainly interesting, and certainly ideal for the Noitamina timeslot.
The almost grotesque images of Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei's background characters is far from the polished design of "standard" anime fare

I love the simple definition of anime being animation that was made in Japan, because through that definition, I have come to watch a variety of glorious Japanese animated shorts, that had I gone purely on style, I'd have never found. Had I only looked for anything that matched the visual desigm that has come to be familiar to us all - that anime archetype - then I'd never have stumbled upon The Diary of Tortov Roddle, or the gorgeous stop motion puppetry of Kihachiro Kawamoto. I'd never have given a second glance to the works of Natsume Ono, who has become one of my favourite mangaka.

In my mind there's no question that anime is animation from Japan and nowhere else. So for those of you out there who bitch about Avatar not being listed on your favourite anime site, calm down, get over it, and go and experience the sheer variety of what both the mainstream and independant Japanese animation industries have to offer.

Monday 26 March 2012

Shounen Deaths and Their Impacts

Before I start, given the title of this post, expect that there will be spoilers ahead, BIG spoilers, for Bleach, Naruto, One Piece, and Fullmetal Alchemist.

As anyone who reads or watches a fair bit of mainstream shounen will know, the mortality rate is generally pretty damn low for the amount of carnage that goes on each chapter. Maybe the occasional bad guy will shuffle off the mortal coil once in a while, but other than that, death is a rare occurrence in this genre and for the most part, enemies just get roughed up, knocked out and generally end up bloodied but alive. So, when a mangaka does decide to kill someone off, the implications tend to be much larger and there's generally good reason behind it. Particularly, as much as I love it, one of the biggest culprits of not letting people die is One Piece, though in certain cases - namely Buggy, Crocodile and several Baroque Works members - they've returned to play an important role later on, so really it's best that they didn't head off to meet their maker after all. That being said, both Bleach and Naruto have bumped off a few baddies, but since they're enemies, you kind of don't care so much, or at least expect it (I'm still pissed that Kubo didn't kill of Aizen in the end). However, I'm not really here to discuss the killing of antagonists, my main concern in this post is that of deaths of shounen characters who, for all intents and purposes, are good guys.

Killing off your protagonists is a fairly rare occurrance in shounen and while, with all of the insane battle, it may seem a bit unrealistic, I actually believe it to be a good thing for one simple reason: it allows for any deaths to have a much larger impact on the audience. If good guys dying off were a more regular thing, then you'd get somewhat de-sensitised to it all, but when you're led in to a sense of security that no one dies and it's all hunky-dory, and THEN someone gets suddenly wiped out, it can be a devastating and emotional experience.

My first encounter of anything like this was Fullmetal Alchemist. I was happily watching away falling in love with the story and characters - in particular, my favourite of all the protagonists was Maes Hughes. So when all of a sudden he was killed off for getting too close to the central conspiracy, I was utterly devastated. I remember watching his funeral scene through a veil of tears and to this day any glimpse of his face on screen leads to a yelp of "HUUUUUUUUUUGGGGHHES!!!" Looking at it from a storytelling point of view though it was a genius move. He's a likeable guy. He's not an alchemist, he's relatively ordinary, has a family that he adores and is one of the more comical people in the tale.

To this day, Hughes' funeral remains one of the most heartwrenching scenes I've encountered in any anime series.

Having him die is an immediate and powerful way to show just how serious the situation is. Additionally, that there's no warning of his death and that it's so sudden subconsciously puts the viewer on edge, after all, anyone could be next...

More than any mainstream shounen I've encountered, there's one series that seems to be more at home with killing off protagonists (and antagonists, but I'll save that for another post), and that's Naruto. Out of the main shounen mangaka, it seems that Kishimoto is more willing to dispose of some of his protagonists in order to further the plot. He starts off with the Third Hokage, and while he's old, killing off the head of the village - and its most powerful ninja - is a bold, yet necessary step. He's not a central protagonist, so there's not too much emotional attachment, but it still goes against the general philosophy of shounen manga: that the good guys always win out. It throws Konoha into turmoil and, while not necessarily in the way he'd planned, makes part of Orochimaru's plan succeed. It isn't an instant defeat, more a partial win, but it takes away that feeling of security, that all will be OK and continue as ever, and THAT is one of Kishimoto's biggest strengths.

While the Third Hokage's is the only significant death in the first part of Naruto, Kishimoto continues to bump off some of his other protagonists in Shippuuden. In particular there are two demises that I wish to look at. The first, is that of Asuma, which has the least implications, but still remains poignant enough. That Asuma was taken out by one of Akatsuki, not only cements their position as the central antagonists of the piece, but also facilitates some maturation in Shikamaru by making him step up and graduate from being a lazy genius, to a full-fledged konoha ninja with a true "Will of Fire". Likewise, it also proves that the jounin ninja are fallible. They may be close to being the pinnacle of ninja strength (only being outshone by the kage) but they are not immortal. What they do is dangerous and they can in fact die, and it's this realisation that often makes Naruto seem more realistic than some of its shounen bretheren.

However, while the Third Hogake and Asuma's deaths held some importance in the plotline, the most significant death in Naruto by far is that of Jiraiya

Death of a Konoha legend, Jiraiya's end summed up the leaf village's "Will of Fire" to a T.

Undoubtedly he is the most central character to kick the bucket in the entire series, and it certainly has the biggest impact on Naruto himself. As the series' loveable pervert, Jiraiya's death has the biggest emotional impact on the audience. We know him more than others and like his antics, as well as respect his position as one of Konoha's Three Legendary Ninja. What makes Jiraiya's demise the most poignant however, is not the emotion but the implications it has. On a more general note, it delivers a massive blow to Konoha's firepower. Jiraiya was not only a figurehead with his position as Sannin, but he was a valuable source of intelligence with abilities that allowed him to feed important information back to the village.

But it's the repercussions his end has on those left behind that is the most striking. In particular it serves as the catalyst for Naruto's evolution. By suddenly losing his beloved master who had become like a substitute family to him, Konoha's Jinchuuriki is able to access parts of himself that had previously been locked. During Naruto's battle with Pain, he not only manages to physically power up, but he learns more about himself. On top of that, he matures incredibly as he finally understands that needless hate and desire for vengeance is nothing more than a vicious circle. He tosses aside his desire for revenge and pledges to carry on Jiraiya's will to find a road to true peace. Ultimately, that not only helps him finally defeat Nagato, but also by solidifying his ideals and essentially leaving his heart open to everyone, it lays the foundations for his later power ups and realtionships with the Tailed Beasts.

Then of course there's One Piece, a series that goes hundreds upon hundreds of chapters and episodes before killing off any of its characters. But boy, when it finally does, it does it in style. While death plays a large part in practically all of the Straw Hats' backstories, it's not really until the Whitebeard war that any active characters actually shuffle off the mortal coil and then Oda dishes up not one, but two significant deaths in short succession, both of which have a distinct, yet different impact.

First up to bite the dust is Ace, and his death has much more of an emotional impact. The audience has come to know and love him from previous encounters with him, and when he dies, it ultimately leaves the viewer at least a little upset. However, with Ace, more than anything it's the effect his demise has on Luffy that really proves the most devastating blow. Seeing Luffy break down is what truly gnaws at the hearstrings. That the usually optimistic and bubbly pirate suddenly becomes little more than a broken and hollow shell is such a powerful thing, that anyone who has become even remotely emotionally invested in the series will feel that grief resonate through them. This heartbreak not only serves as the starting point for Luffy's next big power up but it signals a change in the wind.

As much as Luffy's incessant yelling of "AAAACE!" throughout this arc got a bit much, I found myself joining in with him during this scene.

The second of Oda's double whammy of death has less emotional impact but huge political implications for the world of One Piece. Whitebeard's end was fairly incredible, but that this towering presence in the pirate community that had maintained peace for years was now gone, serves as the end of one era and the beginning of another. Nothing will be the same after this. The balance of the pirate world has been shattered and with Blackbeard stealing the Whitebeard's Devil Fruit power, the die have been cast for what will inevitably become Luffy's final battle - well, unless Oda has another card hidden up his sleeve. Since the Straw Hats' next step is to head into the infamously treacherous New World, Whitebeard's death serves to make that already deadly journey even more perilous as the heirarchical system of the pirates has been thrown into turmoil. So, when they Sunny does eventually break into this new territory, not only will they have to cope with the natural dangers, but they will also face more fearsome pirates who are now not only taking over Whitebeard's territory and throwing peaceful lands into chaos, but are also vying for the now vacant position of one of the four Pirate Emperors. This is the perfect point to draw a line and commence with what will likely be One Piece's heavier and even more epic second act.

So, while it may get rather tiresome watching everyone get beaten to a bloody pulp only to have miraculously recovered a few pages - or episodes - later, the lack of fatalities in shounen goes a long way to making the more important deaths all the more poignant, and with this week's chapter of Bleach, I am reminded of this even more. It may only be the beginning of the arc, and he may only be a minor named protagonist, but I found Kubo killing off Vice Captain Sasakibe shocking. Even though I didn't particularly care for the character, that one fatality immediately shows that Kubo means business and that this final arc in Bleach is going to be a seriously big one. It just goes to prove that the impact of having a "good" character drop off the perch at an important moment is only made that poignant, by not bumping off your protagonists at every turn, since if Kubo had been doing so for the last decade, these recent events probably wouldn't have made me even bat an eyelid.

Sometimes less is more, and this is definitely the case with deaths in shounen.

Friday 23 March 2012

Manga Musings: GE: Good Ending

So my latest read manga-wise has been to catch up on another of my 25 Days of Manga series, GE: Good Ending. Normally, while I don't avoid them per se, I don't tend to actively seek out harem series. They aren't always my favourite of genres, but having been given this as a request, I read a bit and actually enjoyed it.

Initially, Good Ending is a romance story about a regular if not wimpy high school boy, Seiji, who is in love with his upperclassman in the tennis club, Shou. Then in some odd twist, the class beauty, Yuki, decides to help him pluck up the courage to confess to his crush. This section is all rather simple and it's pretty easy to figure out where some of the plot is headed, but it's enjoyable nonetheless. However, as the series goes on, it develops into more and more of a harem series and for me that's when it starts to lose some of its initial sparkle.

My biggest issue with harems is that it always seems to be so wholly unbelievable and Good Ending is no different. Nine times out of ten, the central male is weak and generally naff, something that Seiji fulfils in pretty much every way. Initially, he's an incredibly cowardly and timid guy, and granted in that respect he does mature a little though not all that much. Throughout he suffers from what seems to be a crippling lack of self-confidence and indecision and as a result every little thing gets blown up out of all proportion.

Frankly, I have no idea why all the girls seem to flock to him. I mean, Oonuma clearly has some kind of mental issues given her naivety, her history and the way she clings to Seiji like a limpet purely because he's kind to her. About the only thing our central protagonist has going for him is that he's nice and kind to pretty much everyone, but he's not THAT good a guy - especially when his dithering ends up being harmful - and this is where the central problem lies.

While in the beginning, I was cheering Seiji on, willing him to overcome his shyness and win over his crush, as time went on I found myself getting frustrated and annoyed. There are only so many times that you can watch one guy hesitate and get into so many misunderstandings that set his relationships back two or three steps.

Girls like me?! Yeah, I know, Seiji. I'm having a hard time believing it too.

Outside of the harem aspect there are certain bits about the story that I do quite like. The history regarding Yuki's past relationship for example, I found quite engaging. For a seemingly long time, the mystery surrounding it kept the interest factor up, and I wanted to keep reading to find out just what happened. Then when all was revealed, the effect that past events had on her current love affair kept the whole thing fresh, and judging by the way things are going, her past will likely return once again. I do like that there are several plot threads running alongside each other at once, but this also works as a double-edged blade. There are certain aspects that feel tacked-on and unfocused; the main one that springs to mind is the whole photography aspect with Seiji. It's introduced as a way for him to move forward and seems like it will help to resolve his lack of motivation for the future as well as potentially adding to the list of females after the hapless teen. However, the whole thing seems pretty half-arsed, and it's fallen by the wayside only to reappear once or twice when it's convenient. Likewise, Touru coming back into the picture has been hinted at for a while but once again seems to have disappeared no doubt to return later on. Sadly, this lack of focus takes a little away from the otherwise well-woven plot threads, like dropping stitches while knitting and ending up with a nice yet rather holey sweater.

As much as I personally find Good Ending to have its fair share of problems, I still find it an easy read and when all is said and done, I do quite like it; it's just not one of the most incredibly amazing series out there. I'd say that if you like the harem genre, a dash of good humour and a few panty shots then it's worth checking this out.

Thursday 22 March 2012

Bleach Anime Catch Up Marathon: Week Three

Now onto week three of the Bleach catch-up and I still have a reasonable distance to go. Think I may need to pick up the watching pace a little, especially since his weekend is my birthday and I'm unlikely to get to watching anything.

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March 15th: Day fifteen of the catch-up
Bit of a meh episode but I realised that I've been forgetting the end of episode omake. Now having a mass catch up! I must say that despite my general anti-dumb comedy stance when it comes to Bleach, I do love the omake.

I can't help but get the feeling that by the end of this arc, Nozomi is going to end up sacrificing herself. I rather like how the current ending is gradually taking us through the last ten years of the anime. Though it's really manking me want to rewatch the Soul Society arc.

Man, it feels like it's been such a long time since I genuinely enjoyed the Bleach anime, but right now, I really am. Additionally, unless it all goes really tits up in the last part of this arc, I think this is by far and away the best filler plotline the series has ever had. Oh god... I'm actually enjoying Bleach filler. Has hell frozen over?

Now onto episode 333, and I have to say, Nozomi's zanpakutou is rather awesome. Ridiculously convenient, but awesome nonetheless. Ignoring that though, seriously, do NOT mess with Yamamoto. He will burn your arse to the ground. I do love seeing the Captain Commander get his fight on, somehow whenever he gets personally involved in the battle it feels that much more epic. One thing that confuses me though... Yamamoto is incredibly powerful, like, he could probably take out all the other captains single-handedly powerful (no pun intended), so why does Soul Society have to keep relying on Ichigo? I mean if Yamamoto and Ichigo were to battle it out, the flame-haired shinigami would probably end up as just... flames and quite possibly, ashes.

Dammit, I was going to play some more xbox tonight, but I can't stop watching! Oh wow... it's getting a bit soap opera now isn't it? Showdown in the rainy woods, two guys fighting over a girl, desperation, landslides, self-sacrifice.
Watched: 6 Episodes

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March 19th:  Day nineteen of the catch-up
Took the weekend off for birthday-related goodness, but now I'm back and still have 30 episodes to catch up on in just over a week, so here goes!

As much as I'm enjoying this arc, I can't help but feel that it's making on big joke out of Ichigo losing his powers. I think I've been sucked into the Bleach machine, as the prospect of an epic and mass captains vs fake captains fight is getting rather exciting - even though there have been many of these clashes throughout the arc. Somehow it's yet to get too old, though I confess that the Byakuya v Byakuya fights are getting a bit dull now.

I really do love seeing Kyoraku and Ukitake fighting, we don't get to see them enough, yet they're genuinely interesting characters. Actually, that reminds me... Kubo had better reveal Kyoraku's bankai during this final manga arc; especially after the mutterings about how it "must not be used" during the Fake Karakura Town arc. OK, screw rampaging hollow Ichigo, Urahara vs Urahara is way more interesting!
Watched: 4 Episodes

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March 21st: Day Twenty-one of the catch up
I seem to be getting a bit behind again, what with not watching any last night. I have to say there's an odd little part of me that kind of likes the remix versions of the soundtrack that's going on in the background, though in general, the originals make me feel more nostalgic. Ahhh gotta love the whole "Take my final attack! I saw through your attack from the beginning! Well I knew you'd see through my attack so take this, HAH!" thing. Cheesy, but shounentastic! Oh come on... how dumb can you guys get?! You KNOW his zanpakutou can absorb reishi, don't look so bloody surprised when it swallows up your attack. And while all of this is going on, all the captains bar Kenpachi who's off doing his own slashy thing are having what is essentially a staring contest.  OK Kon's voice coming out of Nemu is just freaking creepy.

Aaaaaaaand Rukia just earned my respect.

You know, despite his large presence in this arc, Kon wasn't quiiiite as annoying as he could be. And so ends the filler arc, now back to canon plotline (hopefully) and what will be the final arc in the Bleach anime, but I think I'll save that for tomorrow.
Watched: 2 Episodes

Wednesday 21 March 2012

New Blog Project: Itadakimasu!

A while back, I approached the lovely Pat and asked what he'd like to see me write about on my blog - since I had make a request of his awesome feminist anime blog *shameless plug*. However, instead of asking for a thousand words on the "wonder" that is Yui or twenty reasons why Sawa-chan would make the perfect wife (which, because it's him I'd likely have written), he offered advice and an idea. Unluckily for him, I loved the suggestion and so the ship has now sailed on the moe adoration front and I am instead embarking on a new project: blogging about food in anime.

From the moment Pat suggested it, I knew it was perfect for me as outside of the nerd realm, my main interest is cooking, and I personally find that these two interests coincide more frequently than you would think. The main way this tends to happen is that I'll spot some tasty looking morsel in an anime I'm watching and get the desire to try it, which is the main reason that I now own a rather sizeable number of Japanese cookery books.

So now, amongst the shounen babblings, and other anime and manga related ramblings, I intend to look at food in a variety of ways. I will likely take a glance at the importance of food within a given anime, and possibly blog an entire food-related series as I watch it. I also will likely focus posts on particular dishes, and maybe even share a recipe or two from my own experiences. Basically, if it's food-related and in anime (or manga) form, then the chances are I'll find something to write about it.

So, to start things off and tie this all in with the unofficial Bleach month I've got going on, I wanted to share one of my favourite food-related omake. In the Shinigami Illustrated Picture Book at the end of episode 183, Renji comments on how hungry he is, and Hisagi proclaims that he will take him somewhere where they can eat well and for no cost. Cue the Gotei 13's resident punching bag and joke of a vice-captain, Omaeda, who allows the oher two to finish off his "leftovers" for free much to Hisagi's joy and Renji's disgust.


What I like most about this omake is that the promise of free gourmet food really brings out a more fun and lively side of the usually calm and serious vice-captain. Having served under justice-obsessed asshat Tousen for so long, Hisagi generally has a sense of dignity about him, so when faced with a bowl of complimentary rice that turns him into a human hoover and causes Renji to question whether he even has any pride, you can't help but giggle. Thus is the power of food, especially upon a cash-strapped shinigami.


The moral of the story: there's no room for pride when you have the the promise of a free meal!

Tuesday 20 March 2012

Cassie's Character Corner: Kenpachi Zaraki

Since March has essentially become Bleach month on here (mainly thanks to my marathon catch-up putting it to the forefront of my mind) I figured that my second character corner should be given over to another of my favourite individuals from Kubo's series. This time around it's the turn of 11th Squad Captain, Kenpachi Zaraki.

What sticks out most about Kenpachi is his overwhelming love of battle. His entire driving force is to fight, and while most see combat as means to an end, or a last ditch resort, Kenpachi actively seeks it out, specifically hunting for the strongest of the enemies he faces. Likewise, in a similar vein to Kurotsuchi, he often acts for his own personal satisfaction over any sense of justice. He'll obey orders given to him, but when he enters into a bout with an enemy, it's not necessarily because of duty, but because he wants to have fun - and luckily for him, the two frequently coincide.

Kenpachi is in his element when it comes to powerful and capable opponents.

Kenpachi is essentially a crazed beast who will hack away at his opponent. There's little finesse to his fighting style, his blade is tattered, and he hasn't even bothered to learn his zanpakutou's name. In that sense, his total sense of disconnect with a weapon that is essentially part of his soul, goes against the mantra of the other shinigami. He doesn't use fancy kido, or think out a strategy, instead he wins out with pure brute force and incredible inate spiritual pressure. That his entire attitude differs from his peers, is what makes him most fascinating to me as a character. Well, that and knowing that when he arrives with his blade drawn, you're in for a damn good fight.

Another thing that I find intriguing about Kenpachi is the juxtaposition in his character. Despite his thirst for bloody battle, Squad Eleven's captain is - in a sense - a fair and almost honorable fighter. He won't resort to dirty tricks. If you're too weak, he'll just kill you and/or leave feeling unsatisfied. If you're strong, he'll fight you in a one-on-one duel and give it his all in order to enjoy the bout. Likewise, though he's the most brutal and fierce of all the captains and while his enjoyment of combat almost borders on the sadistic, his relationship with his vice-captain, Yachiru, is a stark contrast. That he acts like big brother and protector to his tiny subordinate, accords Kenpachi a certain amount of humility. It goes to prove that he isn't all bad even though he may seem like little more than an out-of-control monster.

Less rabid beast, more loyal companion, Kenpachi is more than just a wild animal baring his fangs at anyone who walks past.

If I were to sum up Kenpachi, I'd say he's like a rather sizeable family dog. He growls, barks, and bites, but only when trying to assert his rank in the pecking order and test himself, or when protecting those that are threatened. However, he's loyal, especially to those he calls friend and will act as their companion and guardian. And while he may jump up and bark at those he respects (such as the way he "attacks" Ichigo), all he really wants is to play and have some fun.

Monday 19 March 2012

Cassie's Character Corner: Mayuri Kurotsuchi

Despite it not being my favourite shounen series ever, Bleach contains quite a few characters that I really like, in fact the range of personalities within the Gotei 13 is one of Kubo's biggest strengths. Granted when it comes to Bleach finding them attractive is generally about as strict as the criteria for liking them gets. However, there are a couple of exceptions and one of those is captain of the 12th squad and Head of the Shinigami Research Institute, Mayuri Kurotsuchi.

I'll say it, my main reason for liking this guy is that he is a complete freak, but that's what makes him such a strong character. Let's face it, nine times out of ten, the messed up or evil characters are far more interesting to watch than the "nice" ones and that's precisely what happens here. At his core, Mayuri is distinctly unlikeable. Despite essentially being on the side of the "good guys", he often seems to put his own interests above that of anyone or anything else to the point where you often wonder where his loyalties actually lie.

Additionally, he is wholly callous towards other beings. He doesn't see people, just subjects. Even his own artificially created daughter, Nemu, doesn't escape his cruelty as he both mentally and physically abuses her to the point where he will even consider discarding her if she no longer proves "useful". Nice guy, huh?

Mayuri's design during his early appearances in the show.

More than anything though, it's the "Mad Scientist" aspect of his personality that shines above it all. He's a sadistic git who you wouldn't want to meet on a dark night, as he'd likely try to dissect you or at the very least inject weird substances into your veins. He lives for experimentation and no one is exempt from his studies, least of all himself. As Bleach has gone on, even more of Mayuri's bodily alterations and various fighting mehtods keep coming to light, to the point where watching him fight is like going to a carnival freak show. He has crazy detachable body parts that he can instantly re-grow if severed, a whole host of dangerous poisons at his disposal, one of the creepiest zanpakutou going (seriously, all those baby-ish giggles from Ashisogi Jizou creep me the hell out) and to top it all off, he has the last-ditch solution of dissolving into a puddle of liquid to escape a fight that he is unlikely to win.

What's more is that as the series has gone on, his appearance has changed and he's become even more deranged!

Creepy enough as he was, Mayuri has now morphed into possibly the most terrifying member of the Bleach cast.

Whereas before he was just kind of odd-looking and a bit creepy, now he's full on nightmareish. When you look at him as a person, there's no way in hell you'd want to know him, and you'd pray to god that you never became his enemy. He's a messed up creep that if he actually existed would have been locked up in a tightly secured padded cell long, long ago, probably after having been on a crazed killing spree. But as a fictional character in a series, isn't he incredible to watch? He brings a whole world of colour to proceedings, and even if that palette makes you feel a bit ill or just plain disgusted, no one could ever claim that Mayuri Kurotsuchi is dull.

Sunday 18 March 2012

Bleach Anime Catch Up Marathon: Week Two

Here comes my second week of Bleach catch-up.

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March 8th: Day eight of the catch-up
I have to say that I am quite enjoying the whole Gotei 13 vs Gotei 13 thing, I just can't help but shake the feeling that this is all a bit reminiscent of the zanpakutou arc. Of course instead of the shinigami fighting against the very weapons that are a part of them, they're fighting against themselves. Both are very much... internal enemies instead of some completely outside presence going on the offensive. In other news, I do quite like Chad, but damn does he need shorter attack names!
Watched: 2 Episodes

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March 12th: Day twelve of the catch-up
I have majorly sucked over the weekend and didn't watch ANY anime whatsoever, so I have some catching up to do. OK Nozomi calling Kon a pervert and repeatedly kicking him was getting old quite a long time ago, now it's just plain boring. Also getting a little weary of the poor fragile Ichigo losing his powers thing. Yes, it has the potential to be heroic, but it kind of feels like the anime is milking the loss of his abilities. At least in the manga it was instant. He used the technique, now that's it. No more. Still, it's nice to see a little more Kenpachi and definitely, Kenpachi v Kenpachi is gonna be goooooood!

So here's the main problem with filler arcs. If you're manga current then ALL of the shock content in an anime filler that relates to one of the canon characters is lost entirely. For example, have just seen actual Kenpachi get run through by fake Kenpachi. We all know that real Kenpachi is going to live, so any of the tension the anime could possibly create in making the audience think "Oh shit, he's dead on the floor" just fades away. Huh. I totally only just realised that Kenpachi has NO EYEBROWS! (Yes people, this is the kind of quality analysis you have been waiting for: Newsflash: Kenpachi doesn't have eyebrows.)
Watched: 2 Episodes

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March 13th: Day thirteen of the catch-up
Oh that is totally fake Hinamori. If it isn't I'll eat my hat! Knew it; my hat lives to see another day! And while I'm on the subject of Hinamori, she is one of the most piss-weak, annoying characters I've ever met. So Aizen betrays everyone and she basically has a freaking breakdown. I know you could give the excuse of love, but that doesn't have to make you so damn lame. Look at Matsumoto, she loved Gin and he betrayed Soul Society, yet did her brain go to hell? No. She dealt with her feelings and continued to kick arse. Yet even when Hinamori attempts to be "strong" and fight back, she's still a pathetic excuse for a shinigami. She may have combat ability and be damn skilled at kidou, but her personality severely oppresses her fighting prowess and the constant doe-eyed look on her face makes her seem like little more than Soul Society's resident punching bag. Even her more agressive reigai in this arc is kinda pitiful, full of apology and devoid of resolve. My god girl, just grow a pair already! I was actually just about to take all that back when Hinamori #2 turned up and actually looked like she had some kind of definite intent to fight and protect someone, but then she ended up just yelling for Hitsugaya to help her like a pitiable damsel in distress again. If characters in Bleach fall into two categories - those who protect, and those who need protecting - then Hinamori is the type whose parents never told her the nasty bits of fairy stories and to this day she still believes that Snow White is simply a happy tale about a girl who befriends some dwarves and marries a prince after dozing off in the forest.

Anyway, enough of the Hinamori hate, now onto another episode. I have to admit, so far this arc has some pretty decent battles and it's really nice to see the captains (both real and fake) getting their fight on, particularly some of the ones that don't normally get as much screen time - like Kyoraku, Ukitake and Komamura.
Watched: 2 Episodes

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March 14th: Day fourteen of the catch-up
So this guy basically has a Tardis zanpakutou... Gimme the Doctor's wibbly wobbly timey wimey over Inabas twirly space manipulation any day. OK this fight is pretty damn awesome. Watching the captains working together in a fight is impressive to say the least. Although it still looks like it's agiven that Ichigo will come save the day as he always does, it's still nice to see what the otehrs can do for a change. Definitely enjoying this arc so far, and that's something I never thought I'd say about Bleach filler.

Oh man, I love Kurotsuchi as a character. The crazy sadistic bastard adds some colour to the proceedings every time he shows his warped face. I had my doubts about Kageroza as an antagonist but he's totally got the whole mad scientist role down pretty well. I want to watch more, but I really should go to bed. Maybe I'll have to watch extra tomorrow.
Watched: 2 Episodes

Thursday 15 March 2012

Gintama: Am I Missing Something?

How many times has it happened that someone has told you that you just have to watch something because it's so incredible, but then you've gone in, watched it, and come out the other side feeling distinctly "meh"? For me, this is what's happening with Gintama. I've seen countless people praise it to the heavens, and telling me that it's hilarious and that I just must watch it, but I'm currently 42 episodes in to the first series and frankly, I just don't get what the big deal is.

Now, I'm not saying that I can't see the appeal at all, as I have found myself almost in tears with laughter at some episodes and that's what's kept me watching for so long. Unfortunately, the humour content is varied to say the least. While some storylines clearly demonstrate the genius that it's so famed for, the others all swing and miss, and when it's not being pant-wettingly funny, I honestly find it rather dull.

Some of the most recent episodes that I've watched sum this up for me perfectly. Episode 38 saw the gang enter a snow sculpture contest, and I swear my parents thought I was insane, laughing away to myself as I watched it on my iPad in the middle of the holiday cottage. It took crude humour, extreme competitiveness, and oodles of snow to create one of the funniest pieces of animation I've seen in a long time.

Conversely, episodes 41 and 42 focused on a storyline surrounding Kagura, her long-lost father, and their strained relationship. While there were odd instances of Gintama's comedy gold (such as Gintoki leaping into action with a battle cry of "I'll pee on you! I'll pee my sweet urine on you!"), I spent most of my time clock-watching and waiting for it to get entertaining. In a weird way it's kind of like the reverse of Bleach. Ichigo and co. are better when they strip away the ultra dumb comedy and focus on more serious plotlines, whereas Gintama is better when it doesn't attempt to be serious, sentimental or have some kind of deep meaning and instead centres on the wacky, crude and violent humour.

I love self-referential and fourth wall humour at the best of times. This is one area that Gintama truly excels in...

... well that and rude, crude gags!

That I'm still not in love with this series leads me to question: am I missing something?

Maybe it just takes a while to get going? If that is the case however, then I'm sorry but 40+ episodes is WAY too long for a warm-up. By now it should be in full swing and I should be contemplating in investing in some "Tena Lady" products to control my laughing-induced "accidents". But still I'm not.

Perhaps its comedy just doesn't match with my sense of humour? Well, maybe, but that wouldn't explain why I find half of the content hilarious.

Don't get me wrong, I don't hate the series by any stretch; in fact I generally quite enjoy it. I'm just a little disappointed and somewhat perplexed. I genuinely want to love it and half of me does. I won't give up watching it, because I'm sure that somewhere down the line, something will click and that'll be it, I'll fall in love with it. But for now, I just don't quite get it.

Wednesday 14 March 2012

When Bleach is Good...

Since I'm currently in the middle of a marathon catch-up session for Bleach, it's been pretty much at the forefront of my mind. I soon got to thinking that I've written many a post about why Bleach (in particular it's anime) fails on so many levels. But what I've yet to really do is actually look at the good in the series. It's an incredibly popular series, so it must be doing something right, and frankly, I'm beginning to feel a little bit guilty about ragging on it so much, so here we go with a genuinely positive post on Tite Kubo's hit series.

Warning: Spoilers Ahoy!

Bleach is my first shounen love. And much like that first crush you had at school that never quite goes away, I will always have some lingering affection for this series no matter how many times it disappoints me. Even when I've sat through godawful episodes of Karukarizer or Hitsugaya playing soccer, I can still remember the time when I first discovered it. I distinctly remember sitting in my room marathoning my way through the first seventy odd episodes marvelling at the Soul Society arc, and wondering how I could have lived so long without seeing something so grippingly awesome. It was one of the first anime that I encountered and without any shadow of a doubt in my mind, is a large part of why I became so entranced with anime in the first place.

Undoubtedly, that Soul Society arc was Kubo's strongest moment. The characters were fresh, the world was well built and the intrigue of the plot was brilliant. I remember being semi-distraught when Aizen "died" (only semi since although he seemed nice, we didn't know him much), but then the revelation that he was the mastermind behind everything and was a genuinely evil git hit me and goddamn it was good. For me, that was Bleach's finest moment. That twist gave me such an incredible rush that I was drunk on the pure storytelling. With every twist and turn I was on the edge of my seat, and frankly, when it came to the big battles I could have wet myself with excitement - and that's something that's not changed (the kick-ass fights, I have perfect bladder control, thank you very much). It quickly became something that I immediately recommended to my male friends, and was actually one of the series that properly got my best friend into anime - though he has since fallen out of love with the franchise after the excessively bad filler and would probably rather forget enjoying it at this point.

Bleach may not have been able to live up to the consistently epic nature of its two closest shounen bretheren (Naruto and One Piece) plot wise but when it's good, damn, it's good. I've stated in the past that essentially Kubo is more about style over substance, and while from a narrative point of view that may not be ideal, it makes for some pretty awesome and action-packed battles. Story wise, Hueco Mundo was kind of weak. It was a rehash of the Soul Society arc and Ichigo kept powering up out of basically nowhere. However, the focus was more on the clashes with the espada, and it made for some exciting combat. There are some incredibly engaging fights in that section of the series, especially when it runs into the Fake Karakura Town arc and they DO keep you really engaged and wanting more.

For me, it feels like the Bleach fights are like a night of heavy drinking. You watch them at the time and start dancing on the sofas as you get that incredible buzz from seeing some epic crap go down. But then, in the cold light of day, you look back at it and see the reality: in that when jumping around you fell off the furniture and took half the bookshelf and a precious antique vase with you. Yet, despite all of that, you'd do it all again in a heartbeat because the buzz was just that good.


As Ichigo and Ulquiorra battled it out, I got chills down my spine.
That was one epic battle.

Take the Ichigo vs Ulquiorra fight. It was coming, and we all knew it had been for some time. We'd had the teaser clashes that served as a measuring stick for Ichigo's abilities, and then we finally got to the main bout. Watching Ichigo go all out to the point where he goes into full on berserker mode and destroys his opponent was some epically awesome viewing and gave that rush of pure adrenaline-fuelled awesome that every shounen series should present to its audience. However, looking back now, you can't help but wonder where the hell that power-up came from. Since Kubo currently flat out refuses to explain exactly what is going on with the flame-haired teen, it all seems like little more than a convenient power up requiring zero training, at a time when he suddenly needed it. But despite all of that, if I could watch that fight for the first time again and feel that high, I'd totally take it, plot holes and all!

And that is exactly why I have managed to keep watching and reading Bleach. No matter how many times I look at it, shake my head and tut, that rush, that gorgeous, glorious, shounen rush keeps me coming back for more each and every time.

My name is Cassie, and I am a shounen junkie.