We never learn : Bokuben

This shonen anime is about Nariyuki Yuiga who striving to get into his choice of colleges gets roped into giving grinds for 2 natural geniuses  in their worst subjects . Their dreams don’t seem to match with their natural ability as its uphill battle for the 3 as they work towards their goals.

Fumino is a natural arts and literature genius but dreams to study astronomy but lacks the necessary math needed to get into her college . She plays the older sister character giving advice to the characters throughout the story

Rizu is the natural math and science genius but her dream is to get into a liberal arts college . She wants to accomplish her goal to help her connect with people which a lot can connect with .

While all the girls develop feelings for the main character its because of different reasons which was great change of pace . Deep down both of them develop love towards Nariyuki because he helps them achieve their goals and listens to them .

Communication is the main source of connecting with someone which a lot of harem shows don’t convey as much as they used to.

Music in the show is a little disappointing and speeds through the manga more touching moments

Remember folks we have a podcast that we run fairly frequently which is here

 

The Leader – The worst anime of 2019

Karl Marx is one of most influential figures in historic and political history making the foundations for socialism and communism .A story of his would be no doubt a great watch seeing the struggling idealist change the world .But sadly the The leader isnt not the best example of this man’s story

Created by the department of propaganda in China . The leader is animesque animation that tries poorly to execute what should a basic idea to implement .

Shuffling from different time periods from his death , to him as a teenager fighting in bars , to the blosoming friendships and romances in his life . It makes it a hard to follow . What’s worse is the budget with this show . With China making great strides in animation with titles like Cupid Chocolates, and other shows making great examples of how Chinese animation can be done . This show has the same budget and animation as the fan made first season of Rwby using poorly rendered cg instead of hand drawn animation or high end cg of polygon

It’s not all bad as the opening song used for the show is great example of Chinese pop music that makes it feel like a anime

Kaizoku Con – One of the Friendliest Conventions in Ireland

Kaizoku Con is an Anime, Gaming and Sci-Fi Convention held in Cork, Ireland. The convention started in 2014 and is usually held in University of Cork College. The convention has become something special for people as many of the conventions in Ireland are no longer running . The convention has become haven for con goers of all types to enjoy and embrace all of their fandoms.

Interactions: By far this convention has had some of the friendliest and professional staff and committee as guest or a panelist . They really do care their audience . Everything was ran smoothly and was organised perfectly

Guests : This year their guests were Totally Mark a Dragonball Content Creator, ProZD a former viner turned youtuber and Erica Mendez a voice actor who has been involved with Kill La Kill , Shield Hero and Konosuba. All the guests had great panels showcasing the enthusiasm of the Irish Anime Con Scene has to compare.

Panel Highlights : Man of Action Panel did a fantastic performance reading the most god awful cringe inducing fanfics for their audience.

Medieval Weapons Panel : Hosted by Cork Blademasters went full into the history of medieval weapons and weapons ethics was a great treat for any cosplayer or weapons enthusiastic .

Our panels : While we were a little disorganised this year . It was great practice in improving our material and hopefully we were able to help some of the con goers with the needs as we had 1 entertaining panel – JoJo Bizarre Adventure Fandom Panel to more Informative – Aspergers in the Convention Scene providing some help that has helped me over the years and people could learn from my own mistakes.

 

Over all this convention has went beyond the line of duty and made a fantastic event .

The Geek Division

It’s been building up for years as it appears that the Geek and anime community has been successfully divided lately with the ongoing issue known as Animegate or Vic incident. Both sides have gotten to a point where they no longer see the other side as human beings . To the point it’s really hard to report on the events . It sad to see what was once such a great community divided . Abraham Lincoln once said a divided house will not stand . This has become apparently true in the convention community. As I predicted it was going to affect conventions and the attendees as the flame wars between VA’s and youtubing commentary crowd have at arms bringing in trolls ,neonazis, and drama queens on all sides . Why ? Because Vic Story is newsworthy. Neonazis do not care for anime , gaming etc but what they care about is the division itself they want to see people fighting and they work targeting people who are isolated and people feeling isolated from the community due to this whole story will feel trapped . This is where they come into to recruit.

As a Blogger/panelist and podcaster  I suggest a treaty on both sides otherwise there won’t be a community for the fans and events for these voice actors to come out. This situation will get to a point where VA’s will not feel safe either because they will feel like they will be attacked by the other side , or accused of sexual harassment . Conventions will end up increasing security more so to the point where it will stop feeling like a convention and more like police station.

So here are my suggestions for either side.

1. Stop talking about people’s fashion sense. – Seriously this situation made me realise if weebs are making comments you usually see in a episode of Keeping up with the Kardashians then you need to step away from online for a few days to evaluate yourself
2. Stop using terms like The Left, NPCs . – You aren’t helping your case when you are name calling . The convention scene has plenty of room for the left and right . Just because you are angry at them doesn’t mean you have name call . This applies to left as well .
3. If something becomes a issue ie like a allegation such as this . After initial reports drop the case . While we have done 2 episodes on the case it’s become impossible for us to keep follow the situation – There has been bomb threats , boycotts , more he said , she said . It will not help either side
4. Please keep your fans out of personal matters . Whether you like or hate the person mobilising a fan base to go against another side isn’t a sign of being innocent its a shitty thing to do.

kaguya love is war

Currently a ongoing anime series by A-1 Pictures .Student council president Miyuki Shirogane and vice-president Kaguya Shinomiya appear to be the perfect couple. Kaguya is the daughter of a wealthy conglomerate family, and Miyuki is the top student at the school and well-known across the prefecture. Although they like each other, they are too proud to confess their love as they believe whoever does so first would lose. The story follows their many schemes to make the other one confess.

Kaguya is a intelligent , beautiful and always trying to stay one step ahead of every situation .

Miyuki  is the top student of the school and the president of the Student Council . Always super serious and hard working and trying to figure out ways to respond to the plans of Kaguya who always comes up with these over the top plans to get him to ask her out .

Both characters straight man act are played so much it reminds me every Feminist v Men’s Right Advocate argument online .

In a sense both these characters are so obsessed with each other but never willing to admit they love each other so much but don’t concede defeat .

Same way it goes with these groups online . These fights feel almost like a wrestling style of dramatics but so in obsessed with others movements .

Both groups have strong point and negative parts of their culture both in real life and in theory

But what makes this show really come to life is the secondary characters Chika the student council secretary a upbeat slightly ditzy with a dark sense of adventure . She brings chaos for main cast. and The Treasurer Yu is a slightly paranoid genius with numbers and a slight romantic .

Making this show one of the best secret gems of the season . Each episode is so good just like with these online fights you just want both sides to admit they want to fuck and get things over with.

 

Kiss Kiss Fall in Love – Ouran Highschool Host Club

A 2006 anime based on the 2002 manga of the same name created by the Author Bisco Hatori. Centres around Haruhi Fujioka a new transfer student in Ouran Private Academy she accidentally breaks a ancient vase worth over 50 million yen when shocked by the the school’s host club members . Forced to become a errand girl and eventual host when discovered that she is actually female .

The series was one of the few series that got people into anime during that time . Playing on the tropes of the Fujushi tastes .It struck a chord with both men and women alike and was most people’s first dive into shojo genre outside of Sailor Moon for a lot of fans . But what may have started as Satire in retrospective the show created characters truly unique as the cast themselves all have defining moments which has sparked many shipping wars within the female anime community.

Haruhi the main character is breath of fresh air for many people as she gives no shit on her appearance or how she is perceived by people. Before the events of the series her mother passed away leaving her and her father to fend for themselves. Her Father is revealed to be a Okama ( in general term for homosexuality) but in this case a drag performer. Which gives context to Haruhi having a strong sense of identity.

The leader is Tamaki voiced by Award Winning Vic Mignogna who is mostly a comedic foil to the rest of the characters. He is constant flirt – Half Japanese Half French main host who slowly grows to love Haruhi as a woman .

Every character has flaws and a dark side which bring strength to the humor and the show

Stein;s Gate Elite

In the year 2010 set after the events of Chaos : Head. Rintaro and his team research the Time Travel theory and the evil group known as the organisation who are hell bent in taking rintaro’s research. This causes a cause and effect situation that influences the course of time itself.

That was the story of the original Stein’s gate game . Since then there has been a animation a online exclusive series and now a new game ….well kind of .

Stein’s gate elite is technically a remake of the original game with some subtle changes . Banking on the success of the anime series it’s updated the graphics and some of the unproduced storylines in this brand new chapter.

At the time of the release of the anime . It was and still considered one of the best anime series of all time .

So if you are a die hard fan of this series you are well going to enjoy it.

On the other hand if you aren’t familiar with the lore of the universe and mechanics of the franchise it can be daunting of a play through as there isn’t much of a gameplay but more of a complex movie that you need to rewatch a few time to get through

Fantastic music and artwork

 

Battle Angel Alita : Cyberpunk

It’s been 13 years since it was first announced that Battle Angel Alita was going to be adapted by James Cameron during a interview for the Avatar . So anime fans have been patiently and cautiously waiting to see if a anime could be adapted well .

Now its been released the Jury is out : Yes in so many ways

Set in the year 2563 300 years after the fall a disaster that impacted the Earth . A scientist by the name of Dyson finds a cyborg in the junkyard who’s brain is left in tact and repairs her. With no memories of her previous life she is named Alita after the scientist late daughter. She sets forward to find out what and who she is.

The first thing you notice in the film is the incredible amount of detail in the sets and cg from everything in the robotics to the set pieces matches perfectly to the original source material .

The main character Alita is a interesting dynamic seeing on the big screen balancing the perfect mix of damsel in distress to dominant kick ass strong female . Whether it’s food or romance she takes the lead in any situation .

Every character has a mixture of good and bad elements . As Doctor Dyson says “Everyone is corrupted eventually in the city ”

Now for the negatives while the action and acting was very executed the major flaw comes in the script writing . For every scene dealing with more than 2 people . Everyone else is silent . There is characters that could of fleshed out a little more than the stereotypical thumbs you go girl   and supportive assistant

Choreography 10/10

Acting 9/10

Script 8/10

A solid work from James Cameron

Swaps4 Interview

Here is a written interview with the Brand influencer and internet personality known as Swaps4.

Q1. Tell us who you are and what you do?

Hi, my name is Jake Caprino and I go by the online alias Swaps4. I’m originally from London, England, but I am currently based in Japan.

I’ve been an avid anime fan for most of my life and I thoroughly enjoy marketing and social media, and with that passion, I’ve channelled it into a career.

I’m currently a subcontractor based in Japan and utilize my skills within Japanese companies.

Q2. What gave you the desire to become a content creator when you first started?

When I first started to create content and write articles in 2010 information regarding Japanese anime was rather scarce and I figured I could help fill that hole.

That being said, I’m unsure what really drove me to produce content. I guess I’m never satisfied so I always aim for more.

I’m a huge fan of anime so I love being able to produce content related to it, this plays a major part in why I do what I do.

Q3. What challenges did you have when you first started out?

Hmmm, that’s a tough question. I’ve had a decent amount of walls block my path many times, too many to count in fact.

Two things I’ve always struggled with is my sleeping schedule and time management.

I always thought I could be more productive at night and if I stayed up longer I could achieve more. Oh man, I was wrong. You need sleep to function and to think more clearly, sleep is key to getting stuff done.

My time management used to be pretty bad and I didn’t value my time so my schedule was all over the place.

In recent years, I’ve understood that my time is valuable and that I should treasure and utilize it more.

That being said, I have multiple clocks scattered across my apartment so I always know the time and they’re often set ahead or behind by 10 minutes. This way I think I’m either behind on time or ahead, so I feel a sense of urgency to get stuff done and not be late.

I also have a notebook at hand at all time for taking notes and writing down tasks to do.

My personal advice is to never give up and keep being productive.

Sorry in advance for the wall of text, haha.

Q4 From your twitter I see your fans of some lewd artists do you have a favorite that you particularly follow?

Haha, are you trying to put me on the spot here? It’s called hentai and it’s art.

My favorite artists would have to be @haruhisky and @40hara on Twitter. I’m sure you can understand why.

Q5. I see you play league of legends from your videos who are your main characters you play as?

I actually haven’t played League of Legends for a few years now but my favorite main characters were Renekton, Riven, and Katarina. The main roles I prefered were top and middle.

I really enjoyed playing the above characters since they’re so versatile and can really change a game from a loss to a win if played well. Riven’s playstyle was so unique when she was first release compared to everyone else in the champion pool so I decided to main her.

Q6 Any thoughts on League of legends anime ad coming out soon?

It’s rather interesting to observe how companies engage with their customers/fans/users these days, and Riot Games is a great example for that.

They understand that anime is getting more popular as each year passes by and most likely their main demographic is anime fans so they want to appeal to them.

For example, I remember everyone going crazy over Ezreal because he had Haruhi Suzumiya’s Hare Hare Yukai dance and that caused people to play him more often.

Also, a decent amount of skins are anime or Japan inspired which makes people want to purchase them.

Overall it’s wonderful that League of Legends Season 2019: A New Journey is heavily influenced by anime, but I wonder if we’ll ever see an actual League of Legends anime soon?

Q7 Where would you recommend our audience should go to if they wanted to visit Japan?

If you’re into Japanese culture and love sightseeing, I would recommend Kyoto, Osaka, and Yokohama.

If you want to visit sacred Shinto shrines, magnificent Buddhist temples, and experience a large variety of food, I highly recommend visiting the above three.

If you’re a die-hard anime fan, you must visit Akihabara which has gained recognition as the center of Japan’s otaku. Akihabara jam-packed of many electronics shops and anime shops. If you’re to visit Japan and you love anime, you must stop by the dozens of stores specializing in anime, manga, retro video games, figurines, card games and other collectables.

I would personally recommend visiting Ikebukuro, it’s also a center of otaku culture but not as large or well known as Akihabara.

While Ikebukuro caters more to the female fans, it’s a great place to try different food and relax at the SEGA arcade.

Overall Japan has many great places to visit, so don’t limit yourself if you visit!

Understanding the Cultural Context : Rising of a Shield Hero

At the moment one of the most popular shows and most debated shows of the season has to be Shield Hero . Shield Hero has its main protagonist transported to other world only to be set up for false rape allegations and robbed in foreign land. While fans will praise the show for clever way of putting the main character in a against the odds scenario where everyone is against you with no way of leaving the world.

Some professionals and critics in the industry has accused the show of misogynist overtones.

But a lot of these people are using the today’s context . Shield Hero was written in 2013 by Aneko Yusagi . In 2013 there was a increase of false groping allegations(chikan) made against men in Japan to the point now a days . There has been a increase in groping insurance being taken out . Japanese law is also quite different than most of the West. In Japanese law most investigations are conducted after a confession has been made.

We aren’t saying that it is a major problem internationally but when it does happen in America it does happen to be a huge issue but in Japanese courts its very hard to prove innocence when confession is made first .

Thoughts are still out on the series as we are only a few episodes in .But I hope people can take the cultural context when looking at anime that has a over reaction such as this.