Monday, July 5, 2010 at 12:29PM Anime Expo has come and gone. I had some good times, some bad times, and some even better times, and I took pictures of some of these times.
I attended the One Piece gathering, so a great number of these pictures are from that, but you wouldn't believe how great the cosplayers were. It kinda blew my mind. Anyway, take a look at the video.
It speaks for itself.
Friday, June 25, 2010 at 12:39AM 
On the 17th Episode of Jammer's AniMovie Podcast, I'm joined by Matt Sullivan and Pwngoatjunkie. We discuss a crap ton of news and discuss films Toy Story 3, Bio-Dome, and actor Johnny Depp. We will be taking a break next week due to Anime Expo 2010, so enjoy your freedom!
To subscribe on iTunes to the podcast, click the podcast logo at top of the PODCAST PAGE. To just download the AAC file, click the link at the bottom of THE PODCAST POST. To download the MP3, click the link at the bottom of THIS POST.
Thursday, June 24, 2010 at 01:37AM 
In this episode I am joined by Daniella, Sam Kusek, and Doctor in a discussion about the Manga Publisher's Coalition, which is a coalition where both American and Japanese publishers unite against scanlators. We talk about what should be done, what shouldn't be done, and what the future holds for the industry.
To subscribe on iTunes to the podcast, click the podcast logo at top of the PODCAST PAGE. To just download the AAC file, click the link at the bottom of THE PODCAST POST. To download the MP3, click the link at the bottom of THIS POST.
Wednesday, June 23, 2010 at 02:15PM 
Nana Komatsu, or Hachi, is a girl who is madly in love. After saving up for a year and waiting for the circumstances to be perfect, she moves to Tokyo to be closer to her boyfriend, Shoji. While on a train to Tokyo, she meets another girl named Nana. Nana Osaki. Only this Nana's goals are slightly different. She's going to Tokyo to make it big in music. As fate would have it, the young women run into each other again while apartment hunting and agree to live together. Despite the fact that these two are as different from each other as can be, they complement each other incredibly well. What follows is a twisting and turning adult drama, full of intrigue, desire, and sadness.
Right from the onset, you can see that these women have their problems. Hachi is a lovesick puppy, and has a tendency to flirt with every man she sees. Even worse, though, she lacks the experience to live as a completely independent woman, and when she finds herself in a relationship, she becomes completely reliant on her partner, forcing them to put forth more effort than it's worth. It gave me a sick feeling from the onset that the relationship between her and Shoji was not meant to last. But this isn't a straightforward "her boyfriend is going to totally cheat on her" kind of show. You really get a chance to step inside his head, and realize that he really does love her, and that any sense of distance between the two has more to do with him trying to get her to grow up. It's an interesting depth that gives these characters major relatability points, and makes it all the more depressing when something bad happens.
The namesakes of the series. Nana Komatsu (left) and Nana Osaki (right)Nana Osaki has the appearance of your typical female rocker, and as a foil to Hachi, I expected her to be a lot colder and more closed off than she ended up being. But the fact is, she ended up being a lot more warmhearted and goodnatured than her appearance let on. She comes from a small hometown where her former band, BLAST, was a huge hit. But when their bassist, and her boyfriend, quit to join a bigger band, they all sort of went their separate ways. But fate has a weird way of throwing things back together, and Nana may soon realize that what she had wanted may have been a lot closer to home than she realized.
A lot happens in the first fifteen episodes of the series. Enough for me to declare it as a classic and hold it up as an example as to why I don't like watching shows like this. When you have characters that are as likable and well-rounded as the ones in this show, it's impossible for you to leave it not feeling depressed when something bad happens. It all feels so real that I almost hate it. That being said, there are several times where I had to go over my budgeted watching time because I HAD TO find out what happens next.
The animation is incredibly polished and beautiful. The cast is absolutely amazing. I'm not one to judge Japanese casts, but I feel that the talent was so good in this show that I tended to completely forget I was reading subtitles.
About the only weakness to think of in the show are episodes 2-6. These episodes focus on the back story on both Nanas. I'm very mixed on these episodes, to be honest. I hate them. They're boring. And when the first episode sets up the promise of an awesome relationship between the two Nanas, the last thing I want is to be left hanging for five episodes while we get to know their backstory. They are poorly placed episodes, to say the least, and I was ridiculously close to just skipping them. That being said, the episodes did a lot to justify how each of the characters act how they do, and give an added depth that would otherwise be missing. Perhaps if they had just started with the back story, I wouldn't have felt so annoyed.
Oh yes, there is plenty of heartbreak on the horizon.
But other than that, this show is practically flawless. With all the high school lovey-dovey shojo that gets pumped on year after year, it's nice to see a show about actual adult relationships and scenarios that are actually relatable. But if you plan to pick up this show, keep in mind that you may occasionally leave the room feeling a bit disheartened and demoralized.
Rating: 9/10
Pros: It's mature, relatable, and lovable
Cons: Episodes 2-6, it's depressing as all hell
Tuesday, June 22, 2010 at 12:45PM East Tokyo United, a Japanese soccer team, has been struggling to stay afloat for years now. Fans are no longer excited to go to games, and expect nothing more than failure from the team. So what does the ETU do to try to pick things up? They hire Tatsumi Takeshi as the new coach. But he's just not any guy. He has a history with a team. A bad one. Years ago, he "abandoned" ETU for a British team and was never really fully forgiven by fans and teammates alike. But he's not one to give up so easily. With his skills and the team's indomitable spirit, the team may just be able to become as great as it once was.
The detail, colors, and rough shading all culminate into a very cool-looking showI'm a real sucker for the sports anime genre. It's hard for me not to love them whenever I get down to watching them. They're inspirational, and they really make me want to get up, get outside and get back to the gym or back on the field (depending on what sport it is). It's a shame not a lot of anime fans feel the same way, at least not enough to help these series sell well in America. And while I'm not sure it tops other shows like Hajime no Ippo or Bamboo Blade, I can definitely see appealing greatly to soccer fans.
The ETU's history is somewhat tragic. A tale of a team that fell apart after the loss of just one if its players. A lot of people blame Tatsumi for leaving, but it's clear that, if one man is all that it took, then the team had much bigger problems than it seemed like. I look forward to seeing how this team will turn from a one-man show to an actual team, where everyone pulls their weight and trusts one another. This show did a great job in the first four episodes of building up the problem and the beginnings of a solution.
The animation is something different to look at. The character design is cool and very sports-shonen-like, but its biggest draw are the colors. I can't quite put my finger on it, but there's something about the way the show is colored that's very attractive to me. That mixed in with the rough scribble-shading gives the show a very active feel. Every frame is a joy to look at, although I must say, whenever they decide to animate something in 3D, it is a bit jarring. But that's a minor squabble. On the whole, there's very little this series does wrong for me.
If it continues doing what it's doing, I can see this anime having no problems keeping my attention.
To watch Giant Killing legally, visit video streaming site Crunchyroll.
Rating: 8.5/10
Pros: It's an awesome sports show!
Cons: A lot of characters to keep track of