Denkyu: Anime Webzine

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
8:00 AM EST, July 10, 2006 “THE WASABI CODE” PUZZLE GAME COMES TO ANIME FESTIVAL ORLANDO 7

ORLANDO, FL, JULY 10, 2006: Taking a note from the successful Dan Brown novel, Wasabi Anime will be producing a uniquely planned scavenger hunt called “The WaSabi Code” for this year’s Anime Festival Orlando (July 28th-30th) at the Wyndham Orlando Resort on International Drive. Anime and puzzle fans will compete for hundreds of dollars worth of 2007 anime and pop culture convention tickets.

The puzzle begins with a simple anagram (that will be available at www.wasabianime.com on July 21st) which will be a clue for solving the other puzzles in the Anime Festival Orlando convention guide. Once all the puzzles are completed, players will discover an email address to send their answers to after the convention concludes. The deadline for emailing the answers is midnight (EST) on August 5th. The winner will be announced on www.wasabianime.com sometime on August 6th.

One winner will win two free passes to each of the following conventions:

• FX 2007 – “The Coolest Show On Earth!”

• JACON 2007

• Anime Express X

• Anime Festival Orlando 8

• YasumiCon 2007

Since 2001, Green Mustard Productions aka “Wasabi Anime” has been producing events for the ever growing Japanese animation (anime) and pop-culture fandom. This richly diverse genre has reached mainstream proportions over recent years through the popularity of shows such as Pokemon, Dragonball Z, and Fullmetal Alchemist. The film Sen to Chihiro no kamikakushi (Spirited Away) even went as far to win the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature in 2003 signifying a cultural acceptance of the art form in the United States.

Anime Festival Orlando is “Florida’s Favorite Anime Convention™”. Started by a group of motivated Japanese animation fans in Central Florida, AFO has quickly grown into an annual gathering of “otaku” from all across the United States. The weekend long event features celebrity voice actors, costume contests, dealers selling exotic wares, discussion panels, game shows, dance parties, and many other themed events. Admission is $45 for a weekend pass.

ONLINE REFERENCE INFORMATION

• Wasabi Anime

• Green Mustard Productions

• Anime Festival Orlando

The fourth of July usually marks the middle of summer. It?s a time for celebration for those in the US, a time for family gatherings, family vacations, BBQs, and Con season is in full swing. And for a lot of us, you were attending Anime Expo in California. Unfortunately, I wasn?t one of the ?us?. One year I will be among the masses that go! Though I?m sure, with it celebrating its 15th year, this would be one to remember.I wonder if those who attended fifteen years ago when it was but a new con in a time when anime wasn?t as popular, if some of those people still attends it. I would love to talk to one of them, to find out what they?ve seen, the changes that the con has gone through and the fans. I myself know that a con can change so much within just a few years, but to have seen one over a fifteen year span must be amazing.

Speaking of cons, there will be one more con that I will be attending this year. At the end of July, Anime Festival Orlando will be held in Orlando Florida. It?s become a tradition with my friend to drive down there, stay the whole weekend and go to Ohana?s at the Polynesian Resort at Walt Disney World. Of course that tradition may end this year since my best friend will be moving to Arkansas to be with her fianc?!

Until next month? Happy Anime Watching!!!

Editor of Honor
~Andromeda~

Makes 12 Pieces

2 red bell peppers
1 small ripe avocado, cut into slices
8 large cooked shelled shrimp
Salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 400ºF/200ºC. Put the bell peppers in a roasting pan and cook them for 30 minutes, or until the skins have browned and started to puff away from the flesh. Let cool, then pull off the skins. Cut each bell pepper in half and discard the stalk, seeds and membrane.

Lay out each bell pepper half on a board and make a pile of avocado slices at one end. Add 2 shrimp to each and season well with salt and pepper. Roll up the peppers tightly, wrap each roll in plastic wrap, and let chill for 30 minutes.

Carefully unwrap the plastic wrap from the bell peppers and trim each with a wet, very sharp knife. Turn the pieces on end and arrange them on a plate.

Written by Livily

A tangled web of mysterious Japanese terms, gratuitous blood shed and nudity, and action-packed art make Kamikaze the ideal shounen manga. But it seems to offer a bit more depth in plot than a typical shounen, with a fairly complex story that doesn’t just feature one supernatural hero on a quest to save the world from an impeding doom or a power-hungry maniac. Then again, it might be too soon to tell with only two volumes down and five more to go. Unforeseen changes in the roles of characters spices it up. Though the true theme or plot does not reveal itself till the reader’s halfway through Volume 1, it still manages to retain your attention with a gory beginning at a train station and powerful characters.

As the story goes, two bands of fighters called the Amatsu Three and the Five Shiranami, who are deadly teams with unique combat powers, follow an androgynous man named Kaedesama. They venture into the streets of Tokyo to locate the girl of “Mizu,” or water, in order to resurrect the 88 Beasts (cursed monsters consumed by all things evil with an indiscriminate thirst for blood). These supernatural beasts roamed the land 1000 years ago, spreading chaos and madness across the human world or Akahani, until the earth’s guardians, the Kegai no Tami, sealed the beasts away in another dimension.

To comprehend the plot, one must first understand what the Kegai no Tami are. The Kegai no Tami consist of 5 Hani clans, each representing one of the following elements: Fire, Wind, Earth, Water, and Sky. They’ve existed on earth for more than 5000 years and, as the legend goes, citizens of the clans possessed elemental powers which were forsaken as populations multiplied and mingled. As millennia passed by, they became the average human being, with their powers forever dormant. However, the pure blood descendants of Kegai no Tami, or Matsurowanu Kegai no Tami, still exist and inherit the responsibility of guarding the earth. Yet, three of the clans, sky, fire and wind, wish to once again unleash the unruly beasts. Why?

The sword-wielding and silent soldier Ishigami Kamuro, the descendent of the earth clan, does not concern himself with the why’s as he strikes first and never asks questions against those who impede his search for the girl of Mizu, the only Kegai no Tami ally he will have, should he get to her first. This sought-after girl turns out to be Misao Mikogami, an average high school student who unknowingly charms and befriends Aiguma, one of the Amatsu Three. Will Misao ally with good, or evil?

The answer seems simple enough, considering that she resides with a nun. By the end of Volume 1, she has met and befriended Kamuro, and her stereotypically innocent and angelic demeanor seems to have impacted the unworldly, rigidly cool, focused and serious Kamuro. His clueless moments and stern focus are reminiscent of Sousuke from “Full Metal Panic.” Misao also learns of Aiguma’s true identity and of her own bloodline.

The Shiranami’s search for Misao results in a trail of explosions, dismemberments and bloodshed leading to Misao’s high school, where a decisive battle takes place, and evil triumphs. In fact, these Shiranami consider themselves superior beings. That is evident within the first chapter as two bystanders are discarded as though they were mere flies in the wrong place at the wrong time. Each fighter has a power somewhat reflecting their personalities, and they are all unique, with the stereotypical boaster, the gentle giant, the maniacal beauty, the childlike devil (Beniguma, who is later abandoned by the Shiranami due to injuries), and much more to come.

While Volume 1 serves as an introduction of the main players and hints at a story, the reader will remain relatively lost until Volume 2 further elaborates on the origins of the 88 beasts and the Kegai no Tami, and on the importance of the Girl of Mizu. In this volume, Keiko, Misao’s journalist friend, entangles herself in this affair as she aids an injured Beniguma and Kamuro. Together with Keiko and Beniguma, the seemingly invulnerable Kamuro returns to his village in order to train with his sensei after an embarrassing defeat to one of the main leaders in the Shiranami. Misao has been captured, and she possesses a stone Kamuro had from birth, which apparently holds his power. But Kamuro’s sword, rightfully titled the Kamikaze, holds many secrets just waiting to be revealed…

When he reaches the village – recall that Kamuro is a desendent of the earth clan –, he is greeted by Shiranami members who persuade him in their merciless fashion to lead them to the earth clan’s torii, one of five transmission points that keeps the 88 beasts sealed. Will the 88 beasts be released? Or will Kamuro be able to stop it? And what of his training to become stronger? It turns out a homicidal tradition must continue in order for Kamuro’s strength to increase. And will Kamuro rescue Misao from being used by Kaedesama? Perhaps. But Misao may be able to handle it all herself as time in captivity transforms her from a helpless damsel in distress into a furious and powerful reflection of Kamuro who wields water dangerously, sometimes uncontrollably.

The books are intimidatingly thick, with Vol. 1 spanning through chapter 7 and Vol. 2 to chapter 19. But there’s plenty within. Not much criticism can be made on the art style as Satoshi Shiki shows great deal of detail in the background settings, and actions scenes flow smoothly. Actions are ample by the way, and though a beginner may get briefly lost in confusing panels, it is certainly not a hard read. The atmosphere is of course dark, with shadowy tones, destruction and slaughter abound.

What interests this reviewer the most is how the characters will develop as the chapters go on and what new actors will appear. Not much humor is to be found here, and some readers might be inclined to say that the manga takes itself too seriously. Nevertheless, a captivating story coupled with an interesting group of characters makes this manga a worthwhile read. Look out for volume 3 expected to come out on October 10th.

Licenser: TokyoPop
Creator: Satoshi Shiki

By Andromeda

After his parents died, Kagura Takashi had to live with his older brother Satoshi. Because of this, he can continue to go to school with his friends and have a normal life with a family. Even though on the outside things seem to be fine, deep within Kagura, he resents his brother Satoshi. It’s a classic case of sibling rivalry. But how can it not be helped? Every day he has to live in Satoshi’s shadow and always live in his older brother’s shadow.

This secret hated comes to a head when Satoshi marries one of the young women named Miwa that lived in the same apartment complex as them. The same girl that Takashi had fallen in love with. But what finally pushes him over the edge is when his teacher Nagayama compares him to his brother, a guy that she dated years ago when they were in school together. Because of feelings she harbored for him, Takashi and her come up with a plan to make him better than his brother and to get what he wants.

During this time of “training”, Takashi uses his winning bet with his long time friend Misa to get what he wants from her. It starts out innocent enough, but soon she is doing more and more embarrassing things, not being able to refuse him. Misa happens to be Miwa’s younger sister. Now armed with over-all self-confidence he not only gets the innocent Misa, but pushes himself onto Miwa, his brother’s wife, the woman he had fallen in love with, the woman he dreams about at night.

This series is classified as a Vanilla Series. It’s like a rated R movie. You know they are having sex, but you don’t see certain things. And because it’s a Vanilla Series, you have an OVA that tells a story. This is a story that a number of people can relate to. Takashi is a shy guy who doesn’t know what a woman wants but knows what he wants and doesn’t know how the two can mix. Satoshi is the popular one with a beautiful wife, a wonderful job, and adored by others. Miwa is the quiet loving wife, doing whatever she can to please her husband and to make her brother-in-law comfortable. Misa is the childhood friend who falls in love with Takashi but is too shy to tell him.

For those of you who don’t mind watching adult content but don’t want to go into that x-rated side of things, you’ll enjoy this. For those who are just looking for the animated sex, you’ll get bored, so don’t bother with this title.

Licenser: Critical Mass
Retail: $24.99
DVD Release: 05.30.06