Version 5.4 ~ Haruhi gave rock and roll to you.
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Dated 22 July 2008: Revisiting old arguments

Just so you know, the top three mecha pilots of all time are as follows:

  1. Shinji's mom.
  2. Kira Anime Jesus Yamato, Gundam SEED Destiny edition—as long as he isn't piloting Strike Rouge
  3. Sagara Sousuke, assuming Bonta-kun qualifies as a mecha

Chidori translates for Bonta-kun
Mecha, powered armor, odious fursuit...it's a fine line.

That is all.

Dated 17 February 2005: Still watching Bleach

Ichigo
Ichigo

I don't really mean to keep watching Bleach. I mean, it stars a fairly unlikeable orange-haired kid with a giant sword, for crying out loud. Nevertheless, I keep watching because Rukia is awesome, yo.

Dated 10 February 2005: Jinki:Extend

Jinki:Extend keeps getting better and better, mostly due to the fact that Aoba, its 13-year-old mecha-pilot lead character, is boundlessly charismatic. Voiced by the ever-talented Fumiko Orikasa, Aoba is a fairly standard character from the teenage-mecha-pilot-with-a-shitty-life idiom, but is done so uncommonly well that she easily (and quite obviously) carries the rest of the show.

Genta, Aoba, and Ryohei
Genta, Aoba, and Ryohei

This is good, because the male lead in Jinki:Extend is quite the jackass, and a sandals-and-parachute-pants-wearing doofus to boot, who really needs to be punched in the mouth each time he says "Ahobaka."

I'm also hoping for good things in the coming episodes. From the manga, it seems Jinki:Extend is not quite what it appears, and should take the plot in all sorts of twisted directions. There are some hints of that already; the story jumps from the 1988 Venezuela arc to the 1991 Japan arc regularly with few clues to fill in the missing years.

Dated 6 February 2005: Samurai Champloo

Fuu
Fuu

Jin and Mugen
Jin and Mugen

New episodes of Samurai Champloo are back, with the usual fun mix of easily accessible hip-hop kung-fu anachronisms and quarrellous wry banter. I'm mostly in it for the Ayako Kawasumi sassiness as Fuu, but it's a pretty entertaining show if you're not instantly turned off by mainstream anime with a very western bent.

We also finally get some headway on the Sunflower Samurai story.

Dated 14 January 2005: Air

Against my better judgment, I watched the first episode of Air. I wasn't at all interested in this show, since the promo looked terrible, but it is one of the most hyped shows this season. Apparently it is based on a very popular hentai game, which accounts for much of the excitement over the anime, and helps explain why something like half a dozen fansubbing groups are all putting out their own releases.

Air was not as bad as I was expecting. The pacing is very good, so the story moves well. The animation is also surprisingly good, although I find the art very unattractive. Also, the character I thought sounded like Aya Hisakawa on a bad day turned out to actually be Aya Hisakawa, so it's got that going for it.

Misuzu
Seriously, she has a fish's face.

However, I feel no need to continue watching it, as I had no real interest in the show itself except for its technical curiosities. I guess I'll keep an eye out for it in case I hear it becomes awesome later, much as Popotan turned out to be much better than its first episodes led me to believe.

One final note: I am not at all enamoured by Air's "GAO" catchphrase. It is too obviously an attempt to create a catchphrase. That's a level of pandering I can't stomach from a show that doesn't have enough charisma going for it. Now, Mahoromatic's obvious attempt to create a catchphrase—that's different.

Dated 24 May 2004: Samurai Champloo hype machine

Samurai Champloo title screen
Samurai Champloo title screen

After much hype and anticipation, Samurai Champloo finally aired. Generally when expectations are this high, the actual unveiling tends to be somewhat anticlimatic. I am happy to announce that Samurai Champloo does not disappoint.

Corrupt ruling class
A member of the corrupt ruling class

Samurai Champloo takes place in feudal Japan. Petty members of the ruling class arbitrarily order executions and brutal acts of sadism to amuse themselves. However, although only one episode has aired, I do not think that the subjugation of the common man by the ruling class happens to be the focus of Samurai Champloo. That is, this show does not appear to be about class or politics, but is instead a tale about two master swordsmen and their promise to help a tea house waitress in her quest. The politics involved are merely incidental.

Mugen
Mugen

The first of these swordsmen is Mugen, the apparently younger and more hotheaded of the two. He enjoys fighting, and is confident enough in his abilities to challenge perfect strangers to duels to the death. He presumably lives by a code of justice and honor, as he is the one who steps in and protects the waitress character, but seeing as how he offers to dispose of a roomful of loudmouths for some food, I think it is safe to say Mugen probably also kills for fun.

Jin
Jin

The second of these swordsmen is Jin, the bespectacled cool-headed one whose more level-headed wisdom allows him to refrain from brawling, and fight to right injustice. Well, that may be assuming a bit much after only one episode. After all, Jin is a bit of a braggart, and agrees to duel Mugen to the death simply to determine which of them is the better swordsman. Jin is a bit vexed by the fact that Mugen was the first man thus far that he was unable to kill.

Mugen and Jin duel
Mugen and Jin duel

The aforementioned tea shop waitress is Fuu, voiced by the always welcome Kawasumi Ayako. Ayako Kawasumi is in rare form here, and breathes real life into Fuu, our feisty and engaging heroine. Fuu is Ayako at her best. The Ayako Doctrine dictates that you will watch Samurai Champloo, and it will be radical.

Fuu
Fuu

The great anticipation and hype for Samurai Champloo is well deserved. Samurai Champloo is reportedly created by the team that gave us Cowboy Bebop, and is poised to become The Next Big Thing. It is directed by Shinichiro Watanabe, who also directed Cowboy Bebop and Macross Plus. Samurai Champloo also apparently comes pre-funded with American money, and has already been licensed by Geneon Entertainment. This is good news, as Geneon's DVDs are generally very high quality, and no longer appear to suffer from low episode count as they once did years earlier while using the Pioneer label.

Fuu in peril
Fuu in peril

Samurai Champloo is not a perfect show. I really do not like the rap-ish opening credits. As near as I can tell, it is performed by Japanese artists rapping in English, with dubious results. The editing is also somewhat unsettling at first. It's somewhat like watching Pulp Fiction in fast forward. However, these are minor complaints, and are easily offset by the great elements of the show.

Mugen trying to get the drop on Jin
Jin

I particularly like the contrast between Mugen's and Jin's fighting styles. Mugen is constantly in motion, and at times it appears he is either breakdancing or practicing some form of capoeira with a sword. Contrasting Mugen's frenetic style is Jin's more efficient style, which focuses more on economy of movement and sure strokes.

Jin and Mugen duel
Jin and Mugen duel

However, the real joy here is Fuu. Ayako Kawasumi plays her perfectly. And while I would have liked to have had Megumi Hayashibara in Samurai Champloo as a nod to her work as Faye Valentine in Cowboy Bebop, Ayako Kawasumi appears to be as perfect for the part of Fuu as Megumi Hayashibara herself was perfect for the part of Haruka in Love Hina.

Fuu
Fuu

The official website for the show can be found at http://www.samuraichamploo.com/. Given the fact that it's already licensed by Geneon, and considering the amount of English-friendly material on the website and in the show's credits, I think it's pretty safe to assume Samurai Champloo is heavily targeted for western audiences.

Mugen
Mugen

P.S. Yeah, yeah. "Sonditioner."

Fuu
Fuu