Categories
Conventions

Galaxycon 2019

Hi folks. It’s with great pleasure that I’m able to let you all know that J.C. and I will be serving as panelists at the first ever Galaxycon Minneapolis. Our convention leadership at Anime Detour invited us to help provide some anime programming for this convention, and so we’ll be there on Friday and Sunday doing just that! This will be a new experience for us, both due to the location (the Minneapolis Convention Center – I’ve attended conventions there in the past, but never participated in one) and the type of convention. It’s more of a broad fandom event with lots of high-profile guests from TV, film, comics, anime, etc. It promises to be a fun time!

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Categories
Gaming Personal

Just For Fun – Minecraft

My cat.

The other day I heard one of my Facebook acquaintances complaining about their kid’s obsession with Minecraft, and how they just don’t understand it. I can relate, but maybe not in the way they might expect. In my household, I’m the one obsessed with Minecraft – although I do have a pretty good handle on why it appeals to me. Though, at almost 38 years old, I might be a little bit of an anomaly, or at least outside the “average.”

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Categories
First Impressions Reviews

Autumn 2019 First Impressions – Shorts

The most horrifying fried rice.

I usually like saving short-form anime impressions for later, since that leaves enough time for a couple of episodes to arrive, offsetting the lack of content. There seem to be far fewer anime shorts this season than in previous ones, so I wonder if the form is falling out of favor with creators or broadcasters. In any case, below are impressions of this season’s selections.

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Anime Reviews Reviews

Anime Review – Promare

30 years ago, a cataclysmic event destroyed half the world in a fire and caused a mutation that created a new race of people called Burnish. Burnish are able to create and control fire.The “Burning Rescue” fire squad put out fires caused by Burnish. The new rookie of Burning Rescue is Galo, a hotheaded man who wields “Matoi-Tech,” named after the “matoi” banners that Edo-period firefighting units used. Galo’s encounter with Lio, the leader of a Burnish terrorist group called Mad Burnish, sets the story in motion. – ANN

Availability: Theatrical Release

Episodes: 1 film + 2 ONA episodes

Source: Original

Review: Note: This review may contain mild plot spoilers for the film.

Theatrical showings of anime films aren’t exactly the “events” that they once were. In the past they were so uncommon that I’d expect to see many of the people I knew from anime fandom in the theater. Nowadays, while anime films still don’t typically get a wide release, there are enough of them shown during limited theatrical runs that I can afford to be choosy and support the ones I’m truly interested in. Still, on occasion, there’ll be an anime film that seems to appeal to a wide enough audience that they manage to capture the electricity inherent in a theater full to the brim with enthusiastic fans. The showing of Promare I attended was nearly sold-out, and the bustle of the otaku fan base definitely added another dimension to the experience of viewing this film, which is definitely what I’d call an “experience” to begin with.

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Anime Reviews Reviews

Anime Review – Given

Ritsuka played guitar but has lost interest in the instrument. One day, he meets Mafuyu, who is holding a broken guitar. Ritsuka unwillingly starts teaching Mafuyu the guitar, but when he hears Mafuyu’s voice, things suddenly begin to change for Ritsuka. – ANN

Streaming: Crunchyroll

Episodes: 11

Source: Manga

Review: Note: this review may contain mild spoilers for the anime series.

When I was in high school I played flute in the concert band. I enjoyed it so much that I even took outside lessons and participated in the annual solo competitions put on by the area schools. I didn’t have a great time in school overall, but being able to express myself through music is one of the better memories I have of that time in my life. I came to the realization at some point that when your emotions operate outside what other people are willing to tolerate on a regular basis, it’s life’s other more artistic avenues that serve as an alternative outlet for those complicated, powerful feelings.

Given is the story of a budding relationship between two high school students, a tale it heartily accomplishes through sensitive, slow-burn character development. But it’s also a peek into the life of someone dealing with trauma and the shame that seemed to crop up in its aftermath. Unsurprisingly, it’s music that seems to tie everything together.

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Categories
First Impressions Reviews

Autumn 2019 First Impressions – Part 6

Well folks, it looks like we made it to the end of this season’s new anime (well, excluding shorts and sequels… of which there are a ton this time!). While I’d say it hasn’t really been a mind-blowing season so far, it’s at least been kind of interesting. But I’m getting ahead of myself – there are still a few more new series to take a peek at before passing any major judgments.

And this is probably something that I should have said at the outset, and definitely bears repeating – these are just impressions based on 1 episode, so by definition can’t necessarily speak for the entire series. However, one thing I always look for is potential, whether that’s the potential to entertain or the potential to offend, and that’s something that can often be gleaned just by determining how a series puts its best (or I suppose first) foot forward.

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First Impressions Reviews

Autumn 2019 First Impressions – Part 5

Well folks, now that J.C. and I are finished with convention prep for like… maybe a week or so (we have another one coming up in early November… why do we keep doing this to ourselves?), I’ve got time to hopefully finish up the Autumn seasonal first impressions. I should note once again that these posts don’t include the (many, many) sequels airing this season, nor the Netflix-only series since they’re on their own schedule (at least in the United States). I may do a small sequel round-up at some point (though I don’t intend to review any sequels I’m not familiar with), but that will depend on time and motivation.

In any case, there appear to be six series left to look at, so to avoid awkward-sized posts I’m going to split them up into two groups of three. Look for part 6 sometime in the next couple of days (once I sleep off my convention bad habits).

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Categories
Conventions

Anime Fusion 2019 – Panel Materials

Hi all. By this point in the weekend, J.C. and I are finished with our panelist responsibilities at Anime Fusion. We made a conscious decision to cut way back this year, mostly out of a sense of self-preservation. It’s been a year full of personal ups and downs for both of us, and we didn’t want to overwhelm ourselves with convention prep and an overly-ambitious schedule. In any case, below are the panel materials from out one substantial panel this year, Shiny New Anime. If you’ve followed us for a while you’ll like not find much new here; we update the panel on a rolling 12-month basis, so we really just added some stuff from recent anime seasons and took out a few things that were older.

Just a note about the information included in the materials. Firstly, feel free to take these and re-purpose them, just provide credit back here (while the materials themselves aren’t mine per se, it does take a lot of work to compile summaries, cut clips, and watch the series enough to have an opinion of them in the first place). Secondly, and perhaps more importantly, if an anime series you like hasn’t been included, don’t take it as a personal affront; J.C. and I are two people with opinions, and there are many other people in the world who likely share your love for something that we didn’t include. We are just people with limited time who like to shine a spotlight on shows we personally enjoyed, so please take that in the spirit it’s intended.

Let me know if the links are broken or if there are any other issues, and I’ll try to resolve it.

Shiny New Anime Hand-out
Shiny New Anime PowerPoint Presentation

Categories
Conventions

Anime Fusion 2019

Hi all. I know this is a bit (very) belated, but J.C. and I will be at Anime Fusion this weekend. We’ve deliberately elected to put on less programming than usual since our year has been really full and we’ve been busy. Below is where you can see us this weekend!

Friday, October 18th

11:30pm – 12:30am – Anime By Numbers Trivia Game in Panel 2
It’s our anime trivia game where you don’t really need to know anything, just be a good guesser! All answers are numbers, and it’s a team event.

Saturday, October 19th

4:00pm – 5:00pm – Shiny New Anime in Panel 1
Our annual survey of the anime we really enjoyed from the past year. If you attended this at CONvergence there’s not a whole lot of new material, but we’re happy to see you if you decide to attend!

I will likely not be at the convention late on Saturday or at all on Sunday, since I’m trying to save some time for myself (and to post more updates here!), but I suspect J.C. will be there longer (he’s there now, while I’m still at work… don’t tell anyone!)

You can check out the full convention schedule HERE!

Categories
Anime Reviews Reviews

Anime Review – Astra: Lost in Space

The source of the ship's name.

In the year 2063, travelling through space has become commonplace. Eight students from Caird High School, along with one child, set out for a school camp on a nearby planet. However, the students are then mysteriously transported 5,000 light years away from home, with no way to call for help. Aboard an abandoned spaceship they call the Astra, these nine students slowly try to make their way back and figure out why they were transported in the first place. – ANN

Streaming: Funimation and Hulu

Episodes: 12 (episodes 1 and 12 are double-length episodes)

Source: Manga

Read my first impressions here!

Review: Note – This review may contain minor plot spoilers for the series. Because this show presents major revelations in its second half, I’ve done my best to only speak as generally as possible.

Despite the fact that many fans my age were introduced to anime through the iconic science fiction titles that trickled their way over to the West in the early years, it feels as though it’s been quite a while since the sci-fi genre has really been front-and-center. While the surge in slice-of-life anime in the early 2000’s has certainly provided me with many favorite series, and the current popularity of isekai stories is starting to bear more fruit for fans of my tastes, sometimes I just get nostalgic for stories about space travel and the intrepid spirit of humanity. Astra: Lost in Space, a recently-concluded series from this Summer, does a real bang-up job of scratching that itch.

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