Denkyu: Anime Webzine

By Andromeda

Sato, a college dropout, comes to the realization one day that he is a recluse. It’s been three years since high school and all he’s done with his life is absolutely nothing. After missionaries come for a visit he realizes that he must get a job so he doesn’t seem like some sort of loser. The problem with that is the place he goes to apply is the place that the young woman that had been accompanying the missionary, works at.

After returning home, and having lost his resume, there’s a knock on the door. Refusing to answer it, something is dropped into the mail slot. Retrieving the item, Sato finds that it is his resume and on the back is written a note by the young woman, Misaki. She is offering him a chance to be a part of her project. He then spends the rest of the day debating whether or not he should go and finally decides to.

Misaki offers to help Sato with his problem of being a recluse. He denies it of course and after a few more meetings tells her a lie. He tries to convince her, and himself that he’s a normal person. Sato even goes as far as recruiting his neighbor to help him do it. Borrowing a video game developing book, he uses it to tell her he is a video game developer.

Unfortunately for Sato, Yamazaki catches him in this lie. After talking, they agree to team up and create a video game. But just not any video game, a hentai game! Sato, having never played one, is given a bunch of games to try out and becomes a bit addicted to them. By the end of the week he’s gone through many boxes of tissues.

Having no skills in creating video games, he’s given the task to come up with the story and heroine. This leads him to a world of internet porn photos, trying to take pictures of schoolgirls, and taking trips to maid cafes.

This series shows a side of the Japanese subculture that we don’t get to see often but can relate to. There are many NEETs (Not in Employment, Education, or Training) out there that we know or may be one of. Of course, Sato’s situation is mild compared to how it can really be. How many people do you know that have been out of work that can still afford to buy beer, pay the pills, and the rent?

Not many of the characters are touched on, other than Sato and Yamazaki. I’m looking for better introductions to who Misaki is and who Sato’s high school friend is. She makes an appearance at the end of the fourth episode and appears in many of his flashbacks. His obsession with conspiracy theories in the first episode is because of her.

Welcome to the N.H.K. is a story that any Otaku can relate to. We all know someone who has a large collection of manga, anime, figurines, video games…. the list goes on and on. It’s fun to watch Sato get introduced to the Otaku lifestyle. Him and Yamazaki are like kids in a candy store when they go to the cafes and shopping. Reminds me of trips I’ve made with friends to such stores. You hear cries of, “OMG! Check this out!” “I must get this!” “Finally! I’ve found it!”

While watching the first episode I didn’t think I would really enjoy this, but with each episode I found myself liking Welcome to the N.H.K. more and more. Watching it dubbed added to the enjoyment. The attitude that came through fit Sato perfectly. The voice actor couldn’t have done a better job. It was better than reading the subtitles and listening to it in Japanese.

I’m looking forward to seeing more of this series. It’s something you can show at an anime club meeting that everyone will enjoy. After all, it’s a comedy that pokes fun at us all!

DVD Features: “Conspiracy Handbook 101,” Clean Opening Animation, Clean Closing Animation, Previews.

Licenser: ADV Films
Studio: Gonzo
Length: 100mins
Retail: (U.S.) $29.98
Availability: 10.02.07

by Andromeda

Four girls who attend the same school find themselves being brought together, lead by strange crimson butterflies. They find it surprising to see each other, each one being a part of a different social circle. While pondering the strange feeling that had lead them there, a strange woman, followed by a man, approaches, telling them it was time for their training.

A few hundred feet away stands a man who changes into something with canine characteristics. The strange woman then tells them, “Kill him with your bare hands.” There isn’t much time to react to this as he… or it, descends upon them, turning this odd situation into a kill or be killed situation.

These four girls, Rose, Rachel, Claire, and Kate, find they are all a part of something strange and unexplained. To top off what has happened, they have to deal with the death of a girl who was a mutual friend of theirs. Other than school, that is the only thing linking the four together.

This classmate Jill is said to have committed suicide. But what if she didn’t commit suicide? What if she were murdered? What if they all had been murdered and they now live on borrowed lives? So many unexplained things, unanswered questions.

Red Garden is a wonderfully drawn anime with bold colors and clean lines. The drawing style of the characters seems to be one that is becoming more popular with the manga artists. It’s nice to see this new style being used in anime. The opening and ending themes are fun, fitting with the characters of the story. The voice acting is wonderful, everyone fitting the characters they are paired with.

Story wise, for me though was a little on the slow side. It started out slow then started to pick up in action then slowed down again for a good bit. I’m not saying this is a bad series, nor am I saying it’s a great one. It’s more of a mediocre one for me. I could have easily passed it up after watching the first episode.

The root of the story though is intriguing. I find myself curious as to just what’s going on. There are a lot of lose ends in the first volume and I am a person who likes closure. Even though it’s not top on my list of must see, it will be added to my Netflix list for later on as it’s released. There is a promise of getting better and I’m willing to give it a chance. Gonzo, please don’t let me down.

Licenser: ADV
Studio: Gonzo
Length: 100mins
Retail: (U.S.) $29.98
Availability: 09.18.07

By Andromeda

More than 4000 years after abandoning Earth, humanity finds themselves between a rock and a hard place. A fleet of spaceships find themselves under attack by one of the greatest threats to humanity, the Gnosis. Aboard one of the ships is an object that they desperately want, a monolith with unknown powers.

The attack upon the ship Woglinde awakens humanities last hope to fight against these creatures from another dimension when the creator of the weapon is nearly killed by a Gnosis. Kos-Mos, a powerful android weapon, awakens and breaks free from the safety restraints that held her. She quickly finds her creator Uzuki to save her from immanent death.

After the fight is over and the Gnosis are gone, Kos-Mos confiscates a ship in the area so that she may now fulfill orders that Uzuki didn’t give her. Now past the rock, the group faces the hard place.

Aboard the ship is a very important android named M.O.M.O., a prototype that had been kidnapped because of a secret it holds. Not one, but two ships now pursue them, trying to get their hands on her. To make matters worse, upon leaving the gate they were traveling on, they wind up right in front of a fleet of more than 3000 Gnosis.

Not having played the video game, I didn’t know what to expect. From fans I have heard mixed thoughts about it. Some loved it while others thought the story in the video game was better. There’s so much story that it’s hard to imagine them cramming it all into twelve episodes. From what I’ve seen so far, I liked it, a lot.

To start off, the soundtrack was very well laid out. The opening theme fit so perfectly with the opening sequence. It gave you a taste of what to expect. The ending theme on the other hand was slow and sorrowful. I didn’t care for it at all.

The animation was wonderful. Clean lines and vibrant colors were used, giving us some wonderful scenes. The eyes of some of the characters seemed to be so full of life. My eyes were drawn to the TV screen, not wanting to miss one second.

One of my quirks with dubbed anime is a lot of times the voices just don’t fit the characters. But it isn’t so with Xenosaga. Every voice was perfect, especially Kos-Mos’. The voice actor did a superb job. Even though the character was an android like the 100 series units, there was a robotic like quality in her voice that set her apart, other than being a weapon of mass destruction. At the same time it was feminine and soft to match the look of the character.

Xenosaga is the right anime to introduce to any of your friends who are hesitant or not sure if they’d like anime and have a love for Sci-Fi. It’s an anime that I will be definitely showing to a friend of mine from high school who is a huge Sci-Fi fan and has just developed a curiosity about anime after finding me on MySpace and getting reacquainted.

Licenser: ADV
Company: Toei Animation
Length: 100mins
Retail: $29.98 (U.S.)
Availability: 09.11.07

Anime Los Angeles – 01.04.08 thru 01.06.08 – Burbank, CA

Ohayocon – 01.04.08 thru 01.04.08 – Columbus, OH

Sac-Anime – 01.11.08 thru 01.13.08 – Sacramento, CA

Setsucon - 01.26.08 thru 01.27.08 – State College, PA

A&G Ohio – 02.08.08 thru 02.10.08 – Akron, OH

Ikkicon - 02.08.08 thru 02.10.08 – Austin, TX

Katsucon – 02.15.08 thru 02.17.08 – Washington, DC

Animation On Display – 02.16.08 thru 02.17.08 – San Francisco, CA

Con Nooga – 02.22.08 thru 02.24.08 – Chattanooga, TN

Animaritime – 03.07.08 thru 03.09.08 – Moncton, New Brunswick

Anime Oasis – 03.13.08 thru 03.16.08 – Boise, ID

Anime Boston – 03.21.08 thru 03.23.08 – Boston, MA

AniZona – 03.21.08 thru 03.23.08 – Mesa, AZ

Anime St. Louis – 03.28.08 thru 03.30.08 – St Louis, MO

JAMPcon – 03.28.08 thru 03.30.08 – Chattanooga, TN

Sakura-Con – 03.28.08 thru 03.30.08 – Seattle, WA

Animarathon – 03.29.08 – Bowling Green, OH

Anime Detour – 04.04.06 thru 04.06.08 – Bloomington, MN

Anime Punch! – 04.11.08 thru 04.13.08 – Columbus, OH

Tekkoshocon – 04.11.08 thru 04.13.08 – Monroeville, PA

Kawaii Kon – 04.18.08 thru 04.20.08 – Honolulu, HI

Middle Tennessee Anime Convention – 04.25.08 thru 04.27.08 – Nashville, TN

Anime Central – 05.16.08 thru 05.18.08 -  Rosemont, IL

Zakyou-con – 05.16.08 thru 05.18.08 – Richmond, KY

A-Kon – 05.30.08 thru 06.01.08 – Dallas, TX

Jacon – 05.30.08 thru 06.01.08 – Orlando, FL

(An ongoing effort… bear with us)

by fastsilicon

Once every 100 years, a Water Fairy implants an egg into a person who then becomes the Guardian of Fairies. This time, the responsibility falls on Chagumuu, the second prince of the New Yogo Kingdom.

Chagumuu’s life isn’t easy. The king finds Chagumuu an inconvenience and attempts to have him killed. As a result, the queen asks a female guard, Valsa, to protect Chagumuu. In addition to this, beings from another world, known as Nayugu, constantly attack him in order to eat the egg carried in Chagumuu’s body.

Synopsis courtesy of Animenfo

Seirei No Moribito, or “Guardian Of The Sacred Spirit” started out as the first of a series (currently 10) of novels in the Guardian Lore series, authored by Nahoko Uehashi. The first novel will be coming to the states in an English translation in the middle of next year, and I for one cannot wait!

This is very strong and well-written story with characters that I find quite unique. From the first episode I have greatly admired Balsa, a woman with determination and skills. And unlike most women in anime, she is not 16, nor ditzy.

Balsa the spearwoman is a wandering warrior, who takes on the task of saving lives, in atonement for a past sin, though we come to find out later the sin wasn’t truly her own. On her journey, she happens to save a young prince Chagumu, second heir to the Yogo Empire throne, and is tasked (somewhat against her will) with becoming his bodyguard by his mother the queen.

And he is going to need one, for his own father, the emperor, wants him dead due to misunderstanding the nature of his possession by the “egg” of a water spirit within him.

Due to the belief that Chagumu was possessed and that the possession was the reason for the Drought Sign being seen, he ordered Chagumu to be killed. The Emperor is the only one able to kill Chagumu due to fact that was how his ancestor ascended the throne (by killing a Water Spirit), and the belief that only the Emperor knows this method.

The realization that the “egg” itself doesn’t represent evil only comes later in the story, which further complicates matters when the Yogo Emperor does an about-face and tries to locate and save his son.

A cross between period and fantasy work, the story is set in an era and place similar to feudal Japan around a millennia ago. The fantasy elements of the story are light yet central to the story, borrowing much from feudal Omnyo Mysticism. Even if the story is simple by itself, the anime tells it well and every episode (I’ve seen till 19) is interesting and the story progresses well. No fillers, no unnecessary stuff, but still no feeling of haste, rather the pace of story telling is really well thought out.

Every episode reveals new facts to the plot, develops the characters and their relationships. Not only Balsa, but also other characters are interesting, and add well to the tale. There are really not any “bad and good guys”, just people with different opinions or different knowledge on matters, all of whom are acting from different, understandable reasoning.

The elements of fantasy and history are woven well together; the voice acting, music and animation are all enjoyable. Also the balance between action and talking works well for me. This is one of the best anime series I’ve watched in recent history.

This series caught me off guard this season. Artistically beautiful, this is a serious period piece with enough story depth to easily keep you engaged.

Studio “Production I.G.” (behind such memorable series as Ghost In The Shell, Furi Kuri, Reideen, Tsubasa Chronicles and more) is definitely spending a fortune on the production of this one. A fair amount of C.G. is used, but it blends in well and helps cement the period backdrop to the story.

I have a feeling this will end up (so far 19 episodes deep out of 26) as not only one of the best series this year, but also one of the best in recent history.