Chu-Bra!!
Number of Episodes: 12
Production Company: Zexcs
ANN Encyclopedia Wikipedia Crunchyroll
Brief Overview: Nayu shocks her middle�school classmates on the first day of school by wearing black lacey underwear. She establishes an underwear club in order to share her love for and espouse the merits of underwear to her classmates.
I noticed a variation on this particular headline a day or two ago on Anime News Network, but dismissed it as yet another doomsday exclamation from the industry.
Then, I woke up the next morning to find that the accompanying forum thread had over 200 responses, with more being penned by the minute (as of right now, there are over 600).
So far I�ve made it through about 20 pages of the responses, and unfortunately like much of the noise on the internet, there are probably three or four rational ones peppered throughout page after page of dubious statistics, poor grammar, trolling and blaming those who hold opposing opinions. I have no intention of adding fuel to the fire over at ANN because there are some very angry people over there, and my position as primarily a subtitle-reader puts me in extremely hostile territory (more on that later). But I thought that I might just outline my personal opinion on the matter, in case there are people who are interested.
*For anyone looking for the handout for Shiny New Anime, you can get it here. Or if you don't use MS Word, download the rtf copy here.*
Over the past weekend I attended Anime Detour, an anime convention based in my home area of Minneapolis/St. Paul. I helped to run multiple panels as a programming staff underling, and I was able to attend many other interesting panels as well. Here are a few reactions in case anyone is interested in attending next year.
Ladies Versus Butlers
Number of Episodes: 12
Production Company: Xebec
ANN Encyclopedia Wikipedia Preview Video
Brief Overview: Hino Akiharu lost both parents, then found out his uncle was out to swindle his inheritance. He enters a high class boarding school and his delinquent-like appearance frightens the other students.
Hanamaru Kindergarten
Number of Episodes: 12
Production Company: Gainax
ANN Encyclopedia Wikipedia Preview Crunchyroll
Background InformationThe next several reviews that I'm planning to post were written for the Winter 2010 season but were never posted on the old site. Since I don't have a lot of time right at the moment, I figured why not let these see the light of day?
Baka to Test to Shoukanjuu (Baka to Test: Summon the Beasts)
Number of Episodes: 13
Production Company: Silver Link
ANN Encyclopedia Wikipedia Trailer Funimation
Brief Overview: In Fumizuki academy, students are rigidly divided based on their test results. Mizuki Himeji is one of the smartest students, but an illness on test day caused her to fail her placement test and be put into the remedial class.
Though I only managed to get the first new site update done today, most likely any further updates will be on hold for about a week since I'll be attending Anime Detour as a panelist and staff member. I'm helping with the workshop portion of programming as well as helping to run a couple of games and the very popular Shiny New Anime panel on Sunday. If you'd like to say hi, here are a few places where you might find me:
Saturday April 24:
9:00 AM - Cat Ears and Crazy Hair - A crafting panel where you can construct a headband with cat ears or Sailor Moon style meatball pigtails. This panel promises to be completely packed, though, so show up at your own risk.
10:30 AM - Anime Trivia Game Show - For good or ill, I provided a lot of the questions for this one. Hopefully people will have a good time. If you're interested in participating, the qualifying round (a pen-and-paper pre-test) takes place at 7pm Friday, I believe.
12:00 PM - Don't Judge an Anime by Its Cover - A fun game where we show the opening theme of an anime and, based only on what they have seen, the contestant tries to describe the plot of the anime. It's not a game about being right or wrong, but being creative and having a good time. There are also some cheesy prizes to be won.
1:30 PM - Sock Puppets - Come and make your own anime-themed sock puppet in this workshop. Materials are provided; we'll take as many people as we have socks for them to use.
6:00 PM - The Great Debate - Run by a friend of mine, this is the best alternative to the Cosplay contest that there is. Essentially an improv game, it's a chance for people to let loose and have a fun time in a more casual setting (where you can actually see the stage!)
Sunday April 25:
10:00 AM - Cel Painting Workshop - Learn how to paint anime cels the ghetto way using sharpies and acrylic paints on overhead transparences. Don't worry about not being able to draw, we'll have pictures to trace.
1:00 PM - Shiny New Anime - Revolutionary Jo and I talk about the great anime released in the year since Anime Detour 2009. We'll provide a handout to take home and show some clips from our favorite shows.
As usual, the whole thing should be a whole lot of fun, and I may just post the Shiny New Anime handout here later on so that out-of-town readers can get a taste of what we talked about. Unfortunately I won't be posting the clips to Youtube anymore because they really didn't like it much the last time I did that.
Since I'm dealing with an entirely new interface now, why not try getting the bugs out using a show I'm not particularly keen on anyway?
Kiss x Sis
Number of Episodes: 13
Production Company: Feel
ANN Encyclopedia Wikipedia Opening Ending
Brief Overview: Keita has two sisters, but they aren't blood relatives - they're his stepsisters, and they want to love him in all the wrong ways. Though he initially resists, Keita begins to warm up to their advances.
