A smidgen of anime news for MLK Day.

Hello everyone, and Happy Martin Luther King Day. I wasn't expecting to make any anime news posts this soon, but here I am.

First off, I mentioned a couple times that the Yu-Gi-Oh license is once again held by Konami; the publisher of the popular Yu-Gi-Oh Trading Card Game. The series is currently being run on the Saban Vortexx block due to a mutual agreement between Konami and Saban.

Well, here's another bit regarding that. Starting this weekend, the original Yu-Gi-Oh anime is now airing on Nicktoons; continuing Nickelodeon's push to appeal more to young boys after losing ratings to Cartoon Network and Disney XD. The anime originally aired from 2000-2005 in Japan, with it coming to the US in 2001.

Next, the Pokémon anime is starting its 16th season of the English dub on February 2. It will be called "Pokémon BW: Adventures in Unova"; and will continue to air on Cartoon Network on Saturdays at 8:30A. The season will start with "Beauties Battling for Pride and Prestige", and will air the remainder of Best Wishes 2 before dubbing Best Wishes 2: Episode N; in which the villains N and Team Plasma from the video games will make their appearance for the first time (they were originally supposed to do so in 2011, but the disaster in Tohoku ended up severely delaying their appearance).

Finally, I suppose I might as well tell you about some anime releases. Panty and Stocking With Garterbelt is now on Blu-Ray Disc; with a complete set of all 13 episodes now available. Now you can watch Studio Gainax's raunchy, politically-incorrect sendup of Western pop culture in the highest of the high definition.

Another release is the third season of Shin Chan, now available on DVD. At long last, the third season of the foul-mouthed 5-year-old Shin Nohara and his misadventures is available. It is the very definition of Not Safe For Work; as it is full of coarse language and jokes that revolve around domestic abuse, dead baby comedy, and skewering politics and pop culture.

That's about it for now. I have a couple anime DVDs I'm waiting for as something I got for my 21st birthday; but Amazon needed a bit to correct information on my order. They should ship this week. They're the next Pokémon Black and White DVD set, and One Piece Collection Two. I will probably make another Top 13 list for my next post; I'm still not quite ready to do another recap. See you space cowboy.

Recap: A Lean, Mean, Team Rocket Machine!

Hello again. A few days ago, I had my 21^st birthday. As of this writing, it has been nearly 15 years since I began watching anime. For this blog, I have plans for expansion

this year. I plan to cover more than just the anime I did last year; as well as share a bit of anime

news when I can. I also plan to do more lists regarding anime. Some of the anime I plan to cover that I did not last year include some Transformers anime, some of the Marvel anime

(Iron Man, Wolverine, Blade); a bit of Super Milk Chan; an episode of Gurren Lagann (specifically, the one that was drawn in a rougher style due to the episode having a different

lead animator); and the infamous Endless 8 of Haruhi Suzumiya, which I'm told are the low point of the series (Note: I am still not realizing why anime fans value it so highly. I'm about

to watch episode 5. I intend to finish the first season, then recap the Endless 8 and maybe

the movie; The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya.).

I have started Bobobo-bo Bobo-bo, and it is by far one of the most hilarious

anime I have ever seen. The series manages to cram every single shonen cliché possible into

each half-hour. It captures the absolute insanity of the anime medium through the eyes of

a soul brother nose-hair fighter. I'm also thinking about starting Hell Girl, as it appears to be

a distaff counterpart to Death Note from what I've heard about it.

Anime I covered last year that I will be picking up again are Code Geass R2 (I intend to finish what I started with my most hated anime); Bakugan (I will start covering

New Vestroia, and do more episodes than I did with the original series); the Mutant Turtles:

Superman Legend OVA (the second episode is every bit as wacky as the first) B-Daman and

Duel Masters (two very different examples of how to do a gag dub); Ouran High School Host

Club (there is another episode or two that irked me when I watched the series); Monsuno (one

more episode should be fine); and of course, more Pokémon.

Pokémon. That's one thing I reflected on when I turned 21. When I was 11, I was

convinced that I was done with the series. Granted, I still played the games, but I didn't buy as

many of them as I did when I was 6. I had sold my cards and put away my figures. I had

immediately tried to get past the series; as I was starting to get into Yu-Gi-Oh at the time (not

to mention Naruto fever was setting in). By the time I was 16, the world seemed far more

uncertain. I had trouble accepting the Yu-Gi-Oh sequel series (I don't particularly like GX, but

I enjoy 5Ds for its apocalypse theme and darker storyline); and I outright rejected the presence

of Naruto (I'm still having trouble getting into it.) As such, I welcomed Pokémon back with

open arms; becoming even more into it than I was before. I believe CS Lewis had this to say

about such a matter: “Critics who treat "adult" as a term of approval, instead of as a merely descriptive term, cannot be adults themselves. To be concerned about being grown up, to admire the grown up because it is grown up, to blush at the suspicion of being childish; these things are the marks of childhood and adolescence....When I was ten, I read fairy tales in secret and would have been ashamed if I had been found doing so. Now that I am fifty I read them openly. When I became a man, I put away childish things, including the fear of childishness and the desire to be very grown up.”

When I was writing the recap for “A Double Dilemma,” I had planned to do a

recap of an episode I enjoyed. The recap ended up getting delayed several times, but now I

have done it. So, let's open up “A Lean, Mean, Team Rocket Machine.”

We open on Dawn practicing contest appeals with her Piplup. Regarding Dawn:

I do not find her as bad as some people think. Some people dislike her for feeling bad after

losing contests; but I feel the fact that she actually conveys dismay makes her more realistic.

Over-optimistic characters get tiresome fast to me; and having them display sadness makes

them more complete.

Anyway; Piplup makes a sculpture of himself out of bubbles for a mock

contest appeal. Still, it's not why I'm talking about this episode.

We now get the theme song of this particular season, “We Will Be Heroes.” It's an all right song, by Pokémon standards. In English-speaking countries, this was the first

Pokémon theme song to be sung by a female singer; the previous theme songs had been sung

by male artists. In Japan, female vocalists singing the songs are more common than male ones;

but I daresay I'm getting off track.

We get the episode's title card, and it is pretty fancy. CGI had appeared sporadically in the movies and the later episodes of the Advanced Generation, but it began

being used more extensively in the Diamond and Pearl saga. The title cards had a CGI Poké

Ball opening in a flash of light, then the text appeared over a group of planets.

After Piplup collapses in Dawn's arms, we cut to Team Rocket, looking quite

portly. They are just coming off having worked at the Pokémon Summer Academy in an arc

before this episode. There is a bit of talking about their weight and about a buffet.

At the Pokémon Center, Nurse Joy states that Piplup is overdoing it. Stop the

presses! She says for Piplup to get some rest. I know I needed rest after A Double Dilemma.

We cut to the buffet, where Team Rocket is gorging themselves even further

with food. Now they've gone from overweight to obese.

Yes, they're all dangerously fat; complete with a fantasy about them rolling

around. All that's missing are some Oompa-Loompas.

Jessie looks at herself forlornly...

James goes for his rose despite looking like a lump...

...And Meowth retreats to another boss fantasy. I always liked Meowth's boss

fantasies. He puts himself over rare Pokémon like Mew, Milotic, Shieldon, Riolu, and Celebi.

At first, Team Rocket is horrified at how they've let themselves go.

Then, they collect themselves and vow for a return to the basics. Well, from what

I've seen; they intend to go back to being silly after their experimentation with a darker phase.

I've seen plenty of comic book characters go through a gritty, Rob Liefeld phase that people

joke about now.

Meanwhile, at the Pokémon Center, Dawn comes in to see Piplup. Dawn is still

distraught at overworking Piplup, but Piplup gets up and essentially chirps in a manner that tells

her to get a hold of herself. Then, he jumps into Dawn's arms.

Oh, look at them snuggle! *squee*

Ash talks with Professor Oak on the phone about Gliscor. If I may say so,

Jimmy Zoppi's Oak voice is OK, but it's not as good as Stan Hart's Oak voice. Dawn comes

over; and is unaware of Oak's status as a Pokémon professor (but apparently knows his poetry).

Oak encourages Dawn to talk to the other patrons of the Pokémon Center and trade information.

Of course. You have to make sure to talk to everybody in the games, even if you don't have

a battle with them.  

Meanwhile, we have Team Rocket making good on their “back to basics”

strategy, working off the weight they gained. Normally, the situation would call for the old

standby “Eye of the Tiger”, but I think this could use something even more apropos.

Back at the Pokémon Center, we see Ash and Brock doing dishes. The sight

of Ash and Brock doing dishes is kind of funny.  

All of a sudden, it cuts to a fantasy of Brock swooning over Nurse Joy. Even

after all these years, Brock is still a ladies' man.

GAH! When did Brock turn into Jaden Yuki?

Now, Croagunk has controlled Brock. He does this by using Poison Jab in his

rear. They can get away with that on a TV-Y7 kids' anime.

It's dusk, and a slimmed-down Team Rocket comes rolling in with their car.

Also, I have no idea why they're dressed like this.

They break into the Pokémon Center and opt to steal the Pokémon. Apparently,

James' rose has an electric lock pick in it.

Now they're taking all the Poké Balls. Piplup then gets up, as if to get a cup of

water. Piplup then chirps very loudly and wakes everybody up.

As the Pokémon Center patrons panic that their Pokémon are gone, Ash, Dawn,

Brock, and Pikachu come to Piplup and find out what is going on.

You pooped in the refrigerator? And you ate a whole wheel of cheese?
I'm not even mad, that's impressive!

They go outside to find Team Rocket gloating over their spoils. Why I chose

to recap this episode in a moment. Get ready everybody! Here it comes!

Team Rocket begins reciting their original motto. As in, the one they had in

the original series. My face just about lit up when I heard them say their original motto.

As I explained earlier, I was 16 at the time, just getting back into Pokémon for the first time

in 5 years. I absolutely loved that.

Team Rocket than activates their mecha. It's not really like a Transformer, it's

far too simple. It's more like a Go-Bot.

Then, as if the original motto wasn't enough, they start playing “Team Rocket's

Rockin'”. Yes! Yes! I never had the 2BA Master album, but they did play the song a lot in

the Pikachu's Jukebox segments.

They start to wreck up the place and wreak havoc with their mecha. Look at

them go! I'm playing that song now!

Team Rocket is then attacked by some of Piplup's bubbles. Pikachu then shocks

the mecha; and for once, it is not shockproof. They really did go back to basics.

The next day, Ash, Dawn, and Brock go on their merry way; with Brock being

miffed that he's leaving Nurse Joy, but accepting of it. Dawn is glad Piplup is feeling better,

and Ash is looking forward to his next gym battle. This was a great way to detox from

“A Double Dilemma.”

“A Lean, Mean, Team Rocket Machine” is a highly satisfying romp. I am a

person that enjoyed the Sinnoh saga more than the Hoenn saga; and this is a prime example

of that. The way Team Rocket acted in this episode was a grand nostalgic party; and I heartily

enjoyed that. The animation was light and colorful, and I got a huge kick out of seeing Team

Rocket all pudgy. There is some great interplay between the main group here as well; and I feel

that it was a good way to unwind after “A Double Dilemma.” As for my next recap; I haven't

quite decided yet. I'll probably do another list regarding anime before I decide on my next

recap. I've also been informed that I have a new person to send articles to for my position at

the local newspaper; so that may make it so recaps get out a little bit later. For now, I think

I'll watch a bit more Bobobo-bo Bobo-bo and Haruhi Suzumiya. See you space cowboy.

Recap: Traffic Light Chaos

(Note: This recap was originally intended as the final recap of 2012, but my schedule ended up slipping. Instead, it will be the first recap of 2013.)

Hello again. Well, my blog has completed its first year online. A lot has happened in anime since then. Dubbing companies have closed their doors and their assets absorbed by

other ones. The popular Toonami block has been revived for a new generation of anime fans

as well as the ones that grew up watching it. Long-running franchises have had even more

success. Digital distribution is quickly becoming the norm.

And what of my blog itself? Well, I've skewered several bad episodes and a bad movie

of anime; in a manner similar to personalities on That Guy With The Glasses or The Agony Booth (especially the latter before it shifted its focus from text recaps to video recaps). So,

with 2013 on the horizon, I think I'll take another look at a series from a bygone era.

That's right, it's time to go back to Den Tech City to look at Mega Man NT Warrior.

In the time since my recap of the first episode, Mega Man celebrated his 25^th anniversary with

little more than an iOS game. Fans, not wanting the Blue Bomber to spend his first quarter- century with something so dull, crafted a game called Street Fighter X Mega Man; a freeware

fighting game with all the fun and intensity of the other Capcom fighting crossovers. Capcom

was so impressed that they decided to fund a complete version of the game. I celebrated it by

playing Mega Man X for the first time; but that's not important right now. The Mega Man Battle

Network games were created to celebrate Mega Man's 15^th anniversary in 2002; with the Mega

Man NT Warrior anime not far behind.

I never really played the Battle Network games or watched the anime, but Mega Man

NT Warrior's first episode was a doozy. It featured a future of absolutely everything being

connected to the internet, even when it doesn't make sense to. We had oven fires in electric ranges. We had Dr. Wily dressing like someone from Sea Lab 2021. We had a hero that lashes

out and whines when he doesn't get his way; and he's shockingly voiced by a man who would

hold the powers of life and death in his hands in a later role. So, as you can imagine, it was

pretty stupid.

Naturally, I realized that there was plenty of material I could mine for recaps out of

the series. While the second episode was relatively innocuous, the third episode is the one

I decided to recap today. So, let's open up “Traffic Light Chaos” and plug into the cyber matrix.

(I think I got a broken capillary just from typing that...)

We get the same narration from Lan to start us off. Something I didn't notice before, is

that Lan compares life in Den Tech City to living in a video game. If it were, I'd imagine there'd

be more people swearing up storms while playing Call of Duty: Black Ops 2. He states that

everything is connected to the internet. It's a wonder how that works, since I have to constantly

tell my MacBook to run Flash since it tells me the plugin is out of date every time I go online.

He gets to the PET units. Once again, most given smart phones can do this sort of thing better,

and more. Also, part of the reason we don't have flying cars is because most drivers would wreck them texting or playing Cut The Rope.

It turns out the viruses that cause most problems in the episodes are caused by

an evil organization known as World 3. Gee, and I try to beat Air Man and Boomer Kuwanger

late at night.

Oh lordy, the theme song. It does not get better when you listen to it. It sounds like

a bad version of the Beastie Boys' “Sabotage.” On top of that, the editing is a garbled mess

of fast edits and jaggy cuts; full of more neon than Joel Schumacher crammed into Batman

Forever.

We open on a limousine with a little girl in it. Her name is Yai Ayano. What do I think

of her? Just imagine Paris Hilton, all the Kardashians, Willie Scott, and any given TV child

of privilege combined into one and you'll get the idea.

Naturally, she also has a Net Navi, ready to be turned into a licensed product for

the 6-11 demographic. Said product can be had on eBay for around $10.99 on Buy It Now.

We cut to the school. Lan and his lady friend are skating in. The animation is still

kind of wonky, but I admit it has improved somewhat. Another thing I missed from the last

Mega Man recap: the girl's name is May Lu. She's one of the more tolerable characters, even

if her voice actress can't seem to break an octave. Wake up!

Once again, we have Dax. I still find it odd how the future has everyone and their significant other on the Internet, but haven't had any breakthroughs in bringing down at-risk

people on the Body Mass Index.

So, Yai's limo pulls in, rolls out the proverbial red carpet, and out the little Regina Rich

steps. Braided hair, a little red dress, red Mary Janes, and a forehead that would make Neo Cortex scoff. Seriously, her forehead shines for no reason.

Yai has arrived, and she makes a big production out of transferring from a prep school

and being skipped ahead two grades. She says she enjoys long novels, going to the opera,

composing music, and judging art exhibits. … Do Harry Potter, The Lord of the Rings, and

The Hunger Games Trilogy count as long novels?

On top of that, she actually brought a DVD of herself to show the class. Aside from

the fact that my middle school didn't get its first DVD players till 2006, I think even Tony

Stark would call this egotistical.

After her little home movie ends, Yai excels at writing (even if her prose isn't as funny

as the stuff on the blackboard in Pani Poni Dash)...

...And arithmetic. It's been a while since my last algebra class, but I'm pretty sure she

solved the equation correctly; I was always better at geometry (Note: I screwed up the time

frame on the Digimon movie recap, completely throwing off the setting of the movie. I fully

admit to fudging the numbers.).

Lunchtime has arrived, and the lunch is a shrink-wrapped hot dog, some New England

Clam Chowder, a cylinder of milk, and some sort of bread. I fully admit to being well-fed in

school. I'm still wondering what genius invented the Uncrustable, or what strings they had

to pull to let us have pizza every day.

Yai, however, isn't swayed by this. Oh Arceus, she summons her stewards to have some

foie gras, fruit compote, and vegetable croquettes; complete with a sommelier serving her

strawberry milk. By the way, a sommelier is someone who evaluates the quality of wine. In

fact, Cilan being a Pokémon Connoisseur was originally Dent being a Pokémon Sommelier.

For the main course? Sirloin steak, all the way from Texas. Well, I give the lady credit

for knowing a good piece of beef when she sees one.

We then cut to Dr. Wily's lair. (piff) (bursts out laughing) Oh, sorry. It's just that the Dr.

Wily I knew had more restraint when he chose his hideout. He didn't have this swamp lair like

the Legion of Doom.

(snerk) (bursts out laughing again) Okay, I'm done. It's just that Dr. Wily's getup is so

ridiculous! I know the guy in a white lab coat. I still think he looks like a Venture Brothers villain with the monocle, skull cane, and robe.

Wily confers with another member of World 3, Maddie. You want to know what I think of Maddie? She looks like some floozy you'd find in the reptile district, looking for synthetic

snakeskin.

We cut to Yai's home, and she naturally has a mansion. Just the thing I needed to see

when I had thoughts about putting on a Bane mask and pulling pranks on rich folks.

Lan and Dax actually try to break in through a hole in the fence. Breaking and entering,

and trespassing on private property. Lan, you are a horrible role model for children.

Yai decides to teach the boys a lesson. She activates the security measures in her garden.

Like a killer lawnmower! Oh no! Rotom is loose! Dax makes a comment about getting buzzcuts

from it. Buzzcuts? Most kids that get caught in lawnmowers end up like the giant Nazi from

Raiders of the Lost Ark!

Anyway, Lan and Dax get captured in a cage. Lan tries to use Mega Man to get out, but

Yai's Net Navi, Glide, chastises them for breaking in. The preceding events were so stupid,

I can't even screencap them. I will tell you they involved water cannons and automatic tennis

ball servers, though.

Lan and Dax get sent out through a tube. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YKUOB8MN4Kc

The next day, we get a class about how important it is to install firewalls and run regular

virus scans on your net-connected devices. I think this is important, but these kids are just

learning why it's important to read books that got banned by other schools, like Fahrenheit 451

and The Catcher in the Rye. Wait until they're a little bit older to tell them about this.

Meanwhile, the traffic control has gone screwy; in yet another cliché. If this keeps up,

it won't take long before we reach the fruit cart being destroyed in a chase scene.

Oh my, this is even dumber than the oven fire in the electric range. Most cities would

not only not be able to afford automated traffic control, but it would actually be a lot worse

than what they're depicting here (namely, all stops are red lights). Our cockamamie programming for our traffic lights makes one street 20 seconds on Green and the other 3 minutes on Green.

I just want to plaster "Tron Lives" all over this place.

It turns out that the traffic lights being fiddled with is caused by Wacko Man. What

a joke. What happened to folks like Gemini Man, Flash Man, Crash Man, and Heat Man?

We also get some stock footage of Mets mining through the internet from episode 1.

Still, it's not as bad as Bakugan reusing the same hat flying off Billy clip every time he attacked.

Look at Maddie. She's wearing an outfit meant for someone 10-15 years younger than

her. She looks like Rika from Digimon Tamers if she hadn't gotten over her angsty phase.

Seriously, look at her clothes. A shirt that hugs her breasts. Tight shorts. Candy cane- colored knee socks. Bright orange sneakers. That has to be some of the worst early-2000s

fashion you could find.

We cut to Yai in the backseat of her car in traffic, and she has to use the bathroom.

Why? Because she wouldn't use the ladies' room at school on the grounds that there were

no gold faucets. Of course, she has to go to the bathroom in the middle of traffic. If she were

male, in the middle of the desert, or both, she could go by the side of the road.

We get a bit of whining about how Yai has to use the bathroom, but how nothing can be

done due to the traffic. You know, there's more piss jokes here than in Transformers. I mean,

I like to put a little bit of toilet humor in my recaps, but this is making the coolant leak scene

in Cars 2 seem dignified.

Naturally, Glide is packing heat in the cyber matrix. I suspected as much. Still, Wacko

Man is upon him and he is forced to logout.

Meanwhile, Lan decides to plug into the cyber matrix and find out what's going on. Why

do they have to put a FireWire port on everything? I may be a nerd, but I draw the line at

going out of the way to make an anime a 52-episode Best Buy commercial.

Mega Man engages Wacko Man. I'm sorry, but I cannot take Wacko Man seriously

as a threat. This is a franchise that had its characters fight Marvel superheroes, Tatsunoko

anime characters, Tekken fighters, and the cast of Street Fighter; so seeing something that

looks like a bad theme park attraction doesn't really measure up.

Back in the real world, Lan notices Yai standing on top of her car. Yai grudgingly admits

her need to relieve herself; and Lan races through town just so he can find Yai a bathroom.

This is almost as bad as Izzy getting the runs from guzzling oolong tea in the Digimon movie.

I can't believe this episode had me reference that movie, let alone twice.

So, after Yai makes her visit to the little girl's room, Lan gets back to fighting Wacko Man. Wacko Man may be one of the most ludicrous villains I've come across in an anime; and

I've seen Masquerade's Elton John look.

Wacko Man multiplies himself, but Mega Man activates his Cyber Sword and slices them apart with some crappy early-2000s CGI. Like one of those Brazilian rip-offs of a

Pixar or Dreamworks movie you see in the $5 bin at K-Mart.

The real Wacko Man logs out, and her master, Maddie, kicks a phone booth in frustration. Yes, I am old enough to know what a phone booth is.

Carrot Top lied to me! 1-800-CALL-ATT my ass!

The next day, Lan, May Lu, and Dax are back at school. Dax makes a comment about his parents confiscating his Net Navi; despite the fact that the thing is hanging around his

neck. Consistency? What's that?

So, how do we end a cliché storm of an episode? You care to show us, Yai? Yai then

pulls in. As you can see, Yai got another limo. A limo in Barbie Pink, and she had a toilet

installed in the back seat to avoid a repeat of what happened before.

“Traffic Light Chaos,” while still a bad episode of a forgettable series, is a slight improvement over the pilot episode. The animation, while still not as good as other series

that were around at the time of airing (such as Yu Yu Hakusho or Shaman King); has improved

a bit. There are some cities that use computerized traffic lights; and there are other movies

and TV shows that have used traffic tie-ups as a plot point, so it's at least plausible that they

could be hacked. However, the fact that the series is based on a web-connected society where

anything and everything is connected to the internet is nonsensical when most people use

the web to watch Gangam Style remixes, look at pictures of cats making humorous statements

about cheeseburgers, and make witty analyses of anime. People have also made clear that Yai

is one of the most hated anime characters in the medium; and I can see why. She covers just

about every rich kid stereotype you can think of. When it first aired, she barely had fans.

Events such as the financial crisis and the Occupy movement made matters worse for rich

folk in fiction. Lan still acts strangely unheroic, and I'm still coming to terms that he's voiced by Brad Swaile; one of the most revered anime voice actors in the industry. With all this in mind, though, they were at least trying with this episode. And so, my first year of recapping anime has passed. More lies ahead for 2013, including more Code Geass R2, Bakugan, and Pokémon; as well as some Transformers anime, some of the Marvel anime (Iron Man, Wolverine, Blade), the next episode of the TMNT anime, and much more. See you space cowboy!