Categories
Anime Live Action Poll

Move Over, Hirano Aya! Patricia Ja Lee Is My New Haruhi!

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So quite a while back, like in December, asosbrigade.com was claimed and a few promotional videos for the North American licensing of The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya were created. In these videos, we see a new Haruhi. Not Hirano Aya (or Hinano), but Patricia Ja Lee! Apparently she was the yellow pink power ranger after the first one died. Hey, does the “yellow” power ranger always have to be Asian!?

I was never really into the power rangers, since they were popular around the time I had outgrown that type of show. Of course, if I had been as much of a weeaboo then as I am now, and if I knew the show was based on a Japanese sentai show, I probably would’ve been a huge fan! Sad, huh?

Anyway, back to the point. Patricia Ja Lee beats the pants (skirt?) off of Hirano Aya in terms of hotness! Maybe it’s just because she decided to put on glasses for a few seconds (meganekko Haruhi for the win!) but I think I’ve fallen hard. Plus she’s really good at speaking English, which is bragable. I also like her really bad acting, which I think is purposeful (I hope).

Does anyone else think this new Haruhi is uber hot? Or is it just me? Seriously, with all of the fuss that’s always being made about Hirano Aya, you’d think there’d be more PJL fan sites up… I’m making a new poll, so be sure to vote for your Haruhi of choice!

Categories
Anime DVD Review

Arcade Gamer Fubuki – Anime DVD Review

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Arcade Gamer Fubuki is an anime that seems to have everything going for it. It combines all of my favorite things: anime, video games, and panties! Plus the story is adapted from a Yoshizaki Mine (the guy who created Keroro Gunso) manga! I knew that I needed to see this anime before I died!

Categories
Manga Review

Densha Otoko Vol. 1 – Manga Review

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Densha Otoko is the story of the train otaku who found love with a little help from 2chan. I’ve never seen the live action or any of the 4 (FOUR!!!) manga that were adapted from the novel. First up is the CMX version, entitled “Densha Otoko.”

Categories
Manga Review

Alien Nine Vol. 1 – Manga Review

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I remember watching the Alien Nine OVA a couple of years ago. All I remember is that I was totally confused at the end, and I didn’t really like it. Packing a lot of manga into a short OVA is typically a bad idea. The manga can just explain a whole lot more than a two hour animation.

Categories
Manga Review

Galaxy Angel Vol. 1 – Manga Review

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I vaguely remember bits and pieces of the Galaxy Angel anime that I watched way back when. The Angel-tai would always be looking for a different piece of “lost technology” every week. The Galaxy Angel manga actually elaborates on the story by adding a plot! Whoa!

Categories
Manga Review

Death Note Vol. 2 – Manga Review

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I hadn’t been watching the Death Note anime this season, and since the anime got licensed, I guess I won’t be for a while. I’ll get all of my Death Note action from the manga for now. It’s faster, and farther in the story than the anime anyway… Here’s my review of Death Note Volume 2.

Categories
Figures Japan

Your Face On A Maid Figure In 3 Minutes!

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This falls in the somewhat bizarre and cool category that Japan usually has a monopoly on. Apparently there’s a store in Akihabara called “Don Quixote” that will put your face on a little maid figurine. You just need to bring a photo of yourself.

The process takes 3 minutes, and the total cost is 880 yen (like, $7.20). It’s called “Pri-Q” though I’m not quite sure what that stands for…

The end result is both cute and scary looking. I think they enlarge the eyes to make you look more like an anime character:

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It looks like they have other “bodies” as well if being a maid isn’t your thing. I wonder if they take mail orders. I wouldn’t mind having my face printed on, I dunno, a ninja figure!? Now that’s what I call real ultimate power.

Via Anime News Service and MaidBlog

Categories
Manga Review

Buddha Vol. 2: The Four Encounters – Manga Review

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It’s been way too long since I read the first volume of Buddha by Osamu Tezuka. I really liked it, but it sorta fell to the wayside when pitted versus aliens, time travelers and espers… I’ve been feeling pretty thoughtful lately, so I figured I’d take the Buddha Vol. 2 off the shelf and read it already!

Categories
Manga Review

Welcome To The NHK Vol. 1: Manga Review

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I sorta stopped watching the NHK Ni Youkoso anime a while back. I think I should probably start up again, considering the anime is finished… That didn’t keep me from reading the first volume of Welcome To The NHK: the manga! The manga is rated 18+, so it must be more entertaining than the anime, right?

Categories
Manga

YALSA’s 2007 Great Graphic Novels For Teens List Has Manga!

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I was checking out MangaBlog and they had a post about the Young Adult Library Services Association’s list of recommended graphic novels for teens. MangaBlog filtered out all of the non-manga, and here’s what they got:

Dramacon, by Svetlana Chmakova
Inverloch, vol. 1, by Sarah Ellerton
Sorcerers and Secretaries, vol. 1, by Amy Kim Ganter
Psy-Comm, vol. 1, by Jason Henderson and Tony Salvaggio
Death Note, vols. 1-3, by Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata
Off*Beat, vol. 1, by Jen Lee Quick
Chocolat, vols. 1-3, by Ji-Sang Shin and Geo
Monster, vol. 1, by Naoki Urasawa
Nana, vols. 1-2, by Ai Yazawa
Antique Bakery, vols. 2-4, by Fumi Yoshinaga
Cantarella, vol. 1, by You Higuri

I immediately noticed the ratio of non-Japanese manga to Japanese manga was strangely high. 6 of the 11 picks are either American made “manga” or Korean manhwa. The Japanese manga that were picked included Death Note, Nana, and Monster, which are totally popular in Japan.

I suppose that in the context of this being a list from the American Library Association, more American titles would be picked. After all, DC Comics had 9 titles on the list. It’s a step in the right direction to even include some manga, but it seems like the list is definitely catering to the American writers; the ratio of American to Japanese manga released in the United States is very low.

I suppose that I can’t really comment on the quality of American manga since I haven’t read any before. I have seen a few of the previews in Tokyopop’s free Manga sampler. What I saw seemed derivative at best. But maybe I’m just being a manga snob…

Also, I think it’s funny that Antique Bakery had volumes 2-4 on the list. What the heck happened in volume 1 that made it unsuitable for the list? Apparently this manga is very BL, so I can take a few guesses…