Lazy-ing around

I haven't written a blog entry in a while, because I'm basking in my glorious graduation celebrations. Don't worry--I'm still continuing the anime blog.

Look forward to future reviews of all the classic anime I missed out on. Like "Fullmetal Alchemist," "Ghost in the Shell 2nd Gig" and whatnot. Who knows, maybe I'll actually finish "Bleach" if I'm lucky.

DVD Review: Do you feel lucky...star? (part 5)

Up until now, I couldn't stop watching "Lucky Star." Sure, the jokes were childish conversations about video games and J-pop culture, but I loved it.

However, volume 5 is one of the more lackluster volumes in the Lucky Star series. The jokes aren't as funny, and the dialogue is almost too cumbersome at times.

There are some humorous moments, though. Episode 17 of this series takes us in the final year activities. All the students have to give their preferred majors after high school, but Konata still wants to become a brigade leader. It's a reference to "The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya." Good grief.

I was glad that this episode also featured a dramatic part, in which the smart Kagami gets a little steamed at her older sister for bossing her around. Thankfully, her sister gave her credit for all the work she did, purchasing groceries at the end of the day. Certainly it's not the most dramatic thing I've seen in a series, but it really changes up the typical Lucky Star formula.

While parts of episode 18 are somewhat hit-and-miss, Lucky Star has a ball in episode 19 with making all the Gundam references they can possibly make, blurring and censoring all the names and images of the series. In fact, even Konata and her dad's eyes are covered with a black box, presumably because they look like Gundam robot eyes?

Every once in a while, Lucky Star has some zany, ridiculous computer-generated sequence. In episode 19, Yutaka's manga-writing friend, Hiyori Tamura, goes through an intense slow-motion tripping sequence in the school hallway, twisting onto her back just so she can save her drawing hand. Now THAT'S how an anime company uses computer animation!

However, the most memorable part of this DVD is in episode 19, when Tamura and her friends walk by someone cosplaying as Edward Elric from Fullmetal Alchemist. Tamura can't help but take as many camera photos as she can, and send her photos over the phone. After all, this is THE Edward Elric we're talking about.

However, those are the best parts. Many of the other jokes are not that funny at all, involving cute everyday jokes that just didn't crack up my funny bone. The jokes in episode 20 about mosquito bites were so, so repetitive and boring. Thankfully, Tamura cranked out all the jokes she possibly could in episode 19. She's easily the most exciting character, who loves manga and takes every single effort to fantasize people as her favorite anime characters.

If only all the other characters tried to do this. I wasn't impressed with episode 20 at all. Hopefully something more interesting happens in the final volume, but I'm not betting all my money on it.

Image courtesy of robololi.wordpress.com

DVD Classic: Gekigangar-3! I mean, Nadesico!

"Martian Successor Nadesico" could be called the Japanese version of "Star Trek," only with more laughs, more energy and cheesy jokes about retro robot anime.

Nadesico is partly a parody of Space Battleship Yamato, which involved the characters fighting in outer space against aliens known as the Gamila. In Nadesico, we have the same theme of people fighting against aliens, known as the Jovian Lizards. However, it's also more about a fictional anime show within this series as well.

Nadesico's plot centers around Akito Tenkawa, a boy who lived on Mars until the Jovian lizards attacked their colonies on Mars. His parents died, and he also lost a friend of his, named Ai.

But somehow, Tenkawa managed to escape. He lives on the Earth as a former robot Aestivalis pilot, but he doesn't want to fight anymore. He wants to be a cook! However, he's such a loser that he cries about his past even when he's cooking. Things change when he runs into Yurika Misumaru, his childhood friend. Apparently Yurika is the new temporary Nadesico captain, and Akito rushes over to help her fight the Jovian lizards.

Sometimes the plot just borders on ridiculous. After the liftoff of the Nadesico, Yurika's father tries to capture the Nadesico back, so that it can fight in the Earth's army. As nonsensical as it sounds, though, Yurika decides to head to Mars anyway, for the sake of her friend, Akito.

Yurika hardly even remembers Akito anyway--her only memory is her picture frame of him in a bulky suitcase. But anime fans can't help but love how bubbly Yurika is, even when she's totally clueless.

But Yurika is one of the most lovable anime heroines. Even though Akito doesn't want to be around her, he falls in love. Inevitably, it turns into a big romantic comedy. Yurika gets into some heated competition over Akito with Megumi Reinard, a former voice actress and communications officer. Yurika and Megumi has some laugh-out-loud momentts arguing in front of Akito in his robot, while Akito just watches their breasts in front of him.

There's so many different genres in this anime that it almost fails to conclude itself. Thankfully, director Dai Sato holds the series together with a cheesy retro robot series called "Gekigangar-3." Akito watched every episode with his buddy on the Nadesico, Gai Daigoji, before he was killed. Eventually, this silly anime-within-an-anime turns into a universal phenomenon, an anime which all the nations, including the Jovian lizards, love with all of their heart. Even the ship Nadesico holds an entire series screeening of "Gekigangar-3."

It's a very good thing that this series never takes itself too seriously. Even when the scientific time-travel and space travel concepts shot over my head, there were always funny "Gekigangar-3" jokes, as well as plenty of hectic jokes in which multiple characters argue over the love of Akito.

And yes, the ending might not tie together the entire series. Still, this anime is about growing up and respecting everyone's own views of an anime. After all, the Jovian lizards saw "Gekigangar-3" as a tale in which the evil empire always conquers the minorities. However, Akito and Yurika know that what really matters in anime is the passion of the characters, not just simplistic anime endings.

But "Martian Successor Nadesico" is truly a romantic comedy at heart. In fact, the humorous ending in which Akito is chasing after Yurika is probably the funniest use of teleportation ever. There's plenty of random jokes, but this is exactly what makes Nadesico a classic anime.

Image courtesy of wikipedia.org

DVD Review - Feeling a little Lucky...Star (part four)

Lucky Star is culminating into a comedy masterpiece, with the over-the-top store employees and Minoru Shiraishi's goofy ending songs.

I'm sure everyone already knows I've said that this series is okay and not the greatest I've ever seen. Yet, the art sequences and characters have some pretty funny sequences after a small lull in excitement on the third DVD.

For example, episode 13 is a humorous Valentine's Day episode. Konata and Tsukasa pull off some really clever dating game jokes, in which Konata fantasizes an entire scene in which Kagami runs off to give giri (obligation) chocolate to a guy she likes. She says, "Excuse me for the chocolate having a distorted shape," and the guy says in a romantic, handsome voice, "Silly girl, what's more important than shape is the fact that you gave it to me." Of course, this is all before we realize that it's all a scene in Konata's imagination.

Episode 14 introduce's Konata's little cousin, Yutaka Kotabayakawa. Yutaka is the tiny, shy new high schooler who just moved into Konata's home. She's very cute and she often gets more than a little creeped out by Konata's father, who leaves the bathroom door open when he's on the john. Yutaka also gets more than a little embarassed of her police officer cousin, Yui, who tells Yutaka that now that she's graduated, she should go out for a drinking party.

Just so you know, Japanese people really aren't like Konata's family. Still, this show is really, really funny.

This show also has plenty of fun April Fool's jokes. In episode 15, Konata tells Kagami that she's already finished with her homework, before saying, "April Fool's!" Really, Konata should just do her homework...

In episode 16, Konata's friends visit her working her part-time cosplay job at a maid cafe. Konata practically becomes their "servant" for a day and does a stunningly accurate impersonation of the grumpy Haruhi Suzumiya. It's especially fun to watch Konata's snobby impersonation and Kagami's strict attitude butt heads against each other. However, there's nothing more enjoyable than Konata's impersonation of the famous Haruhi Suzumiya ending credits dance. Talk about epic.

Meanwhile, Akira is getting very, very moody and mean in these recent episodes. It's still funny, although it has a dark satirical edge criticizing the honor system of film production in Japan. Akira especially goes postal when she's only given one short line in her script for the Lucky Channel segment. Thankfully, the producer gives Akira a special karaoke part in the next episode to cheer her up. Unfortunately, she only sings at a deserted karaoke room with no one except Minoru Shiraishi and a waiter serving drinks.

Boy, it's hard out there for a Japanese actress. Thankfully, the cast still has tons of fun shooting the live action ending clips for the show. Adventures of Minoru Shiraishi includes some of the fun video clips in which they run around Hokkaido with Super Soakers. They also film swordfights and wedding scenes...hm...

Lucky Star makes for a great anime-style sitcom show. Certainly, it's a little more grounded in the real world than Haruhi is, but it has plenty of great jokes involving Yu-Gi-Oh and countless other dating sims. It gets better and better as the series moves on, and volume four had the greatest variety of parodies, everyday jokes and cosplay dancing.

Image courtesy of moggling.com

Internship???

I might get an internship at the Long Beach Press-Telegram. I'm really nervous now.

Time to hope for the best. It's crunch time!

Lucky Star features high school girls?

I have to make a long time correction. "Lucky Star" is set in the high school Ryoo with the four girls in high school. I kept thinking that it was set in elementary school, because the characters were drawn in a miniature style.

Anyhoo...

DVD Review - Catch Me Lucky Stars (part 3)

Disc three of Lucky Star doesn't have as many clever anime references, but it features some more in-depth looks into Kagami's home, as well as a special Comiket episode.

Certainly "Lucky Star" isn't the most exciting anime. Most of the episodes focus on the everyday lives of four high school kids who love Japanese anime and video games, with Konata as the leader of the girls.

But it is very funny. Just to get a sense of the humor in this disc, episode 9 focuses on the kids studying for a test. Konata typically goes back to her MMORPG in the middle of studying. She meets her teacher online on the same game, telling her to stop playing and study. Good grief, doesn't her teacher have anything better to do?

This disc is more notable for the part in episode 10 where Tsukasa and Kagami visit Konata's house. Konata's father is a writer who loves young girls, but for quite different reasons than what one might thing (yeah, he's not quite a pedophile). Even though Konata's mother died, Konata shows her friends a picture of her mother, who looks almost like young Konata! How could this be...?

So that's why Konata's father gets so inspired to write whenever he hangs around little girls. How weird...

Meanwhile, in the episode 11, Kagami gives her father some Christmas presents. Then Kagami's cousin, Yui comes in after spending a night on the town, drinking. Why is she drunk driving, even though she's a cop? And Yui's husband called her on her cell, so Yui's ready to drive back to her home. Oh dear...

The best episodes in this DVD, episode 12, is definitely worth watching. Konata, Kagami and Tsukasa had to Comiket. For anyone who doesn't know what this is, all the big manga and doujinshi artist arrive at the Ariake convention center to sell all their manga to fans. Manga fans flood inside the subway cars to head to Comiket. And of course, Konata gives Tsukasa and Kagami a floor plan and maps out the tables they have to visit on the map. She's sure an expert when it comes to anime and manga conventions. Of course, Tsukasa and Kagami get more than a little lost in their epic journey through the convention floor.

Konata's choices range from weird to bizarre. For example, Konata designates Kagami to a strange booth selling a hentai (pornographic) manga with men and chains. Kagami's freaked out at first, but she can't stop reading it! Boy, young girls and their manga these days...

The Lucky Channel segment at the end of the episodes isn't nearly as funny as it used to be, since we already know what to expect from the sultry Akira and her quirky co-host Minoru Shiraishi. However, Akira does manage to get into background in episode 12...as a cardboard cut-out.

I'm surprised at how much life Lucky Star still has, even though the anime really doesn't have much substance compared to other slice-of-life anime.

And The Adventures of Minoru Shiraishi extras are excellent in volume 3. The big spotlight of his film trip in Kyushu included a film clip in which Minoru is chasing desperately after his bus while two actresses talked about the food they ate.

I honestly have no idea how the group's film clips are going to come together on the last episodes of Lucky Star, but so far, their film shoot has been really funny. We'll have to wait and see how it turns out.

Image courtesy of wikipedia.org