Today the spotlight falls on CoMix Wave’s recent Japanese Blu-ray release of the 2007 animated film 5 Centimeters Per Second.

Although the film was first issued on Blu-ray back in 2008, this new so-called “Global Edition” – while still manufactured and sold in Japan by a Japanese label – features both English subtitles and an English dub (in addition to the original Japanese soundtrack), as well as subtitles in nine other languages, making it a version worth considering for overseas anime enthusiasts.

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So Spring Season 2011. Wow, time does fly, eh?

Anyway. So far I’ve watched C, Hidan no Aria, Hanasaku Iroha, Nichijou, Steins;Gate, and Denpa Onna.

In the order I’ve watched them:

Hanasaku Iroha – Ohana is family. Ohana is also quite adorable and spunky. Great coming-of-age type show so far, and one of the ones I’m looking forwards to each week. I mean, this show has got a lot of heart. and I mean a LOT. It’s hard not to get pulled in by that sort of thing!

Steins;Gate – It’s been a bit more intriguing than the manga so far, but in any case it’s obviously a high-budget show. Looking forwards to the new episodes too.

Nichijou – So I downloaded Episode 1 and the OVA to have a look, and wow, that was the most concentrated form of Whacko and Random I have ever seen in 24-minute episodes of anything. Pretty cool, though ultimately very fillery and pointless. …I don’t think I can bring myself to watch any more.

Denpa Onna – As I heard someone say: Have you seen a sea anemone nab a swimming fish? I sure have not, but the way Erio ate that half of a pizza while still wrapped in a futon is probably a close approximation. That being said, she’s hands down the best character of the season and I will continue to watch this series solely for her hijinks. For goodness sakes, she makes GlaDOS seem sane. (Also, that aunt was 39 years old? BULL-.)

C – That was pretty interesting, although I’m still a bit wary on how the Persona style money battles will be. I guess the battle that took place this episode is a safe approximation, though that really didn’t show much. Also, it has Willy Wonka. That’s the sign of a winner right there folks!

Hidan no Aria – Wow, that show was obnoxious. I mean, I liked Infinite Stratos a bit at the beginning, but… This show didn’t even try. May or may not drop depending on what else I have on my plate, but that first episode was terribad. Actually, it was hilariously so (Guy enters suave bullet-time personality mode when aroused? Really?). Also, obligatory Rie Kugimaya loli. lolol. I might try Lotte instead.

And for anyone wondering about the title, it’s Erio humming the E.T. theme, as can be heard here.

Star Driver has been the epitome of stupidly fantabulous sparkliness, and true to form, the final episode was a giant amalgamation of rainbow sparkly shiny fantabulousness. There was so much shiny rainbow laser beam spam epic fabulous in the episode. But now that it’s over, indeed, our future Sundays will seem to be a shade closer to Monochrome than ever before, lacking the overflowing nauseaucity of theaterical pomp that once graced our screens without fail… Mostly.

Farewell, Star Driver, you silly silly lovable thing.  You will be missed, and our Sundays will be much less fabulous.

And now, as a special, here’s Noirsword’s list of Things I’ll Miss Most from Star Driver, as stated by the Man himself:
1. The Catchphrases. (Kiraboshii~! – Meu)
2. Takuto pulling new powerups out of his ass on a weekly basis.
3. The ridiculously elaborate costumes, most of all the weird screw nipples of the two psuedo lesbian chicks. My favorite costumes were actually Marino and school girl wife’s.
4. Members of Kiraboshi can’t seem to recognize each other out of costume until they confirm the handsign. Ummm… Who else in the school has green hair, purple hair, pink hair, and is a nurse that is clearly older than the rest of the group. Really, all the members of Kiraboshi have the brightest hair imaginable.
5. The “secret battles” in Zero Time are the worst kept secret in the school.

Speaking of anime that ended recently, Fractale was totally a social commentary on the degradation of society with the advent of the moe waifu demographic, looking at the perverse obsession that particular aspect of society has with prepubuscent girls in the public arena. YOU SLY DOG YAMAKAN.

And with that, Meu out.

…

o＜>∀・)＼綺羅星☆!!／

Global Shinkai Day 2011 will be held on the 12th of March.

Crunchyroll are spearheading preparations with their brand-new DVD release of Shinkai’s most recent film, 5 Centimetres Per Second. The site is also running a competition in which one talented fan can win an autographed poster featuring Shinkai’s upcoming project Hoshi o Ou Kodomo (check this page for details on how to enter).

In addition to Crunchyroll, I’m keeping a watchful eye on the Shinkai fan forum Cherry Blossoms Falling for more information as the event approaches.

Note: For broader coverage, this post has also been published on my personal blog. Mark your calendars and spread the word, comrades.

Today the spotlight falls on Funimation’s recent U.S. Blu-ray release of the 2009 anime film Summer Wars.

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How Gonzo manages to stay afloat all these years after the bankruptcy fiasco and losing their money bovine that was Strike Witches is beyond me, but  as a fan of Last Exile, it’s very hard for me to ignore this new announcement. In other words, it’s also gonna be their first series-long foray into stereoscopic 3D. I guess that’s alright if they’re just gonna use different cameras, but hopefully this won’t compromise the rest of the quality. Despite its numerous flaws, Last Exile remains one of Gonzo’s very best, and the new anime better damn well live up to those standards (If not outright surpass them). That being said, I’m not really a fan of 3D unless they remove the need for glasses, since the ones currently in use in cinemas aren’t that incredible and feel gimmicky. They’re kinda disorienting and the gain you get is nearly negligible even in 3D animation movies by Disney (I’m looking at you, Tron Legacy). Of course, I haven’t watched Avatar in 3D (I missed that boat, unfortunately), so what do I know.

Concept art sketches by Murata after the jump. Credit due to their respective owners, etc ad infinum.
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Blog co-author Meu dug up a couple old links for me recently, that being my vintage 2008 Top 20 Anime Girls List as found here and here. It was nostalgic to examine but severely outdated, so I figured it was time to give the old list an update. Click the jump to see my picks.

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Kiraboshii! *Handsigns*

Well, Winter 2011 was a bit of a wasteland. There’s some quirky stuff to be had, but nothing I’d be able to call spectacular. Where’s stuff like Baccano! and Durarara!! when you need them? (Speaking of DRRR!!, episode 25 should be out in a month.) Anyway, here are my general impressions from the first (maybe couple) episodes.

Also included is one of (If not my) favourite Opening of the season.

Impressions after the jump:

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And it just happens that that one song you’re looking for is one of the missing ones?

Well, it’s been out for a little while, but I finally got around to finding this one from Darker than Black (Season 1), which turned out to be in a song package with the new Blu-Ray release pack.

21 – Total Eclipse, by Yoko Kanno.

Very good, BONES. Now if you’d just release the rest of the tracks, maybe we’d forgive you for ruining Season 2. Boy was that a total trainwreck.

It’s been a while since I’ve written anything seriously (more than a year actually), so I’ll be finding my proverbial sea legs as I go along here. Even though I’ve been away from the blog far too long, I’ve still been keeping up with anime when possible. Though I missed coverage of 2010 as a whole, it had its fair share of good shows. Spring ’10 was surprisingly weak with Angel Beats utterly stomping the competition for best Spring show. Summer fared better with a strong lineup overall headlined by Amagami SS and Seitokai Yakuindomo. Fall had a plethora of good (but not great) shows. It’s hard to pick just one or two as the best since there were no clear standouts in my opinion. At a glance I’d have to say Star Driver and Panty and Stocking won the battle of the Fall shows.

Agree or disagree with what I think? Leave a comment and pat me on the back or trololol me a new one.

PS: Winter 2011 doesn’t look that good, but if I skip it I’ll have nothing to talk about…