Japanese Prime Minister Abe Shinzo, who’s been under the gun ever since his party (the LDP) was royally whupped in the July 29 elections, has finally announced that he’s stepping down.
Considering all the troubles he’s had with his Agricultural ministers lately, as well as his push to extend the increasingly unpopular “support-the-US-war-on-terror” mission, it certainly comes as no surprise. It was a bit of a shock how suddenly he announced his resignation, however.
In a little under a month, the Fall Anime Season will kick off and a whole slew of new and interesting shows will start up.
The fall season is, in my opinion, generally the strongest season of the year. Four years ago, during the fall of 2003, a number of excellent new shows aired, most notably Fullmetal Alchemist, Read or Die TV, and Gunslinger Girl.
Fall ‘04 saw the beginning of many popular (infamously so, in my book) series, including Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha, Rozen Maiden, and Bleach, all of which have proven to be tenacious as cockroaches, continuing to air all the way up to the present.
Fall of ‘05 brought us such classics as Akagi, Aria the Animation, Shakugan no Shana, and of course Mushishi, all four of which still reside on my Top Ten list.
Fall 2006, while a comparatively weak year, nevertheless had a few diamonds in the rough – Code Geass, D. Gray-man, OtoBoku, and the Kanon remake, among others.
This fall also shows excellent potential for new anime, with a number of strong sequels premiering, as well as several intriguing new series. More after the jump… Read the rest of this entry »
Well, the results from the secondary cast poll are in, and while it was somewhat predictable, I was surprised at what a close race it was.
As you’ll see if you check the Poll Archives page, Patricia Martin managed a narrow win over Tamura Hiyori in second and the inimitable Shiraishi Minoru in third. I expected both Patricia and Hiyori to do well, but I didn’t think Minorun-run would have so much popular support. After his episode 21 outburst, however, I suppose it’s only to be expected. For that matter, he was even getting fan mail as early as episode 8.
Also, quite fittingly, Minami and Yutaka were tied with each other at 5 votes apiece, and Kanata and Soujirou tied with 7 each. Kinda funny how that worked out.
Amber seems younger and younger looking every time we see her. Assuming that it’s not just my imagination, this could lend some credence to speculation that her obseisance is aging in reverse (growing younger).
Coupled with the fact that we’ve already seen an obeisance that causes aging, in Alma’s case, as well as Amagiri’s warning to Amber that “there’s a limit to how many times you can use your power” back in episode 16, and it seems like an entirely reasonable assumption to make. Read the rest of this entry »
Slow day here at Epic Win, so I thought I’d share with you all a couple of Japan related videos that have been making the rounds recently and which I’ve enjoyed a lot.
First off, from the great guys over at Japan Probe, this video featuring the most awesome mochi making technique you’ve ever seen.
Mochi is traditionally prepared during New Years in Japan, when families break out the giant mallets and make it the old fashioned way. Half the time, however, the guys are totally smashed when they do this, so it’s generally not an especially speedy process. These guys, on the other hand, have taken it to a whole new level.
This one’s been much more widely circulated, but is still a favorite of mine. Crowdy day indeed! Brings back fond memories of how packed Tokyo can be, from trying to squeeze onto a Shinjuku-bound Chuo line train during rush hour, to trying to escape from the one million person strong ocean of madness that descends on Asakusa during the Sanja Matsuri.
Darker than Black completes the tale of Huang’s back story in brilliant film noir fashion, highlighting its continued focus on solid storytelling and character development.
Whenever I watch an episode with a character who has a mysterious past and a gruff exterior, my mind immediately goes to films like The Big Sleep, Out of the Past, Key Largo, and of course Casablanca.
There’s something very intriguing about Huang’s character that stems directly from his troubled past and his lost love.Once again, I think something that Darker than Black has done so well as a series is in giving all the characters some genuine depth and shape. Read the rest of this entry »
Amber seems younger and younger looking every time we see her. Assuming that it’s not just my imagination, this could lend some credence to speculation that her obseisance is aging in reverse (growing younger).
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