More anime I've gotten into.

I am working on a new recap. I've selected which anime I want to do, but I won't tell you what it is until the recap is out. To tide you over, I'll tell you some anime I've gotten into in the interim.

Panty and Stocking With Garterbelt

In case all the references I've been making to this show in my recaps aren't proof enough, I really love this show. Studio Gainax's follow-up of Gurren Lagann is a raunchy and raw salute to Western pop culture. I've seen 11 episodes of the subtitled version, and the first two episodes of Funimation's dub are on their YouTube channel. I'd definitely buy the DVD if I had the $50. There are sendups of zombie films, teen high school comedies, even Transformers. Not just stuff that's common knowledge, like G1 and the live-action movies, but it manages to fit in just about all of the franchise's 28-year history in one 11-minute sketch. Panty and Stocking look like cute American cartoon characters, but swear like sailors. Garterbelt is a priest on a mission from God. It is definitely one of the most self-aware series I've seen, taking equal opportunity in skewering Western pop culture, but also having typical anime quirks; and even has a cue taken from tokusatsu; as killing the creatures known as "Ghosts" involves cutting to a live-action model of them being blown up with dynamite. TV Tropes' "Stylistic Suck" page would be proud.

Ichigo Mashimaro (Strawberry Marshmallow)

I really enjoy Japanese slice of life series. Sometimes, you just want to take a break from all the action series and paranormal series and just take a look at life and its little foibles. Ichigo Mashimaro does just that, following the exploits of Nobue, a young adult who becomes something of a den mother to four elementary school-age girls. Nobue's sister, Chi, is a calm girl with a ponytail. Miu is a bizarre girl who would give Ayumu "Osaka" Kasuga a run for her money. Matsuri is an innocent, if somewhat gullible child. Ana Coppola is born to English parents, but has lived in Japan all her life, making her a strange breed.

Kimi Ni Todoke (From Me To You)

Another slice of life series, this time following the life of a high school girl named Sawako. She had been made fun of most of her life, until she meets a young man named Kazehaya. The two form a bond as they slowly start up school. Another case of me appreciating series about people as much as ones about the fantastic.

The Vision of Escaflowne

A series that blends fantasy, science fiction, romance, and comedy; The Vision of Escaflowne follows Hitomi Kanzaki, a track star who is about to get her first kiss from her beloved when she is transported to a strange world called Gaia. There, she meets a prince named Van; and encounters swords, sorcery, dragons, and even knight-like robots. I never watched or even heard of this series when it ran on Fox Kids, but given what I've heard about the butchering that Fox did to attempt to make it more marketable; I'm glad the internet has made it possible for free fansubs to be circulated.

Cardfight Vanguard

Despite all the ranting I've done about merchandise-driven anime, I don't hate the genre. If the wares are as good as the show, more power to them; but the show should also be strong enough to stand on its own. To me, Cardfight Vanguard was like watching Yu-Gi-Oh for the first time: there were new worlds opened by something as simple as a trading card game. Aichi Sendo, a newcomer to the titular Vanguard card game; faces many opponents and life lessons as he begins his journey. I intend to get a deck of cards from this show soon.


And that's the anime I've gotten into in a nutshell. Also, regarding the change in font in the latter part of my Monsuno recap, I can't do anything about that. I tried making the text uniform like all my other recaps, but I couldn't. So, I'm getting right on the next recap; and trying to avoid Oregon Jamboree fever in my town. Later.