El Cazador de la Bruja Released By: Funimation Set 1 Set 2

Available from Amazon Available from Right Stuf

El Cazador de la Bruja Set 2 Released By: Funimation Released: 12/15/09 Reviewed: 2/8/10 Related Reviews Rated: 15+

Abandoning the format of the first half, the second half of El Cazador de la Bruja begins with a bang and ends with a sunset. In episode fourteen, the history of Ellis explained as viewers are taken into her past. Showing her childhood while growing up with a researcher named Dr. Heinrich Schneider, the tragedy that is Ellis’ life and the death of her caretaker before beginning the journey towards real answers.

After that short detour, the real story in El Cazador is brought forward as the girls continue their quest south. Along the way, there will be many obstacles to overcome; The organization that Blue Eyes works for has stepped up their attempts to get Ellis back into their custody. Meanwhile, Rosenberg’s secret plan to revive Project Leviathan has come to the surface forcing him to move forward with his evil plans in secret. Hampered and sometimes helped along the way by the mysterious LA and the rough Ricardo (with the still adorable Lirio at his side), Ellis and Nadie will face new enemies and confront death itself in order to find out who Ellis really is and what is hidden in her past.

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Last month Adult Swim revealed that it would be airing the first of three new anime on Saturday, February 13^th at midnight. Yesterday, LA Weekly broke and Funimation quickly confirmed that the first title will be Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood which makes me one for three in my predictions so far. If you didn’t catch it the first time around, the series brings back the crew in a story that follows the manga much closer as the brothers’ search for the Philosopher’s Stone. It’s been available via simulcast for most of the last year thanks to Funimation but this is the first time that the series will be aired on American television.

For the most part, the dub cast will be remaining the same from the first FMA series with only a couple of changes: Maxey Whitehead will be playing Elric Alphonse (originally Aaron Dismuke who is returning in a new role later) and J. Michael Tatum will continue to play the role of Scar after taking over for Dameon Clark. Bryan Massey will be joining the cast later as Isaac.

So what do you think? Yes, it’s going to go down as one of the least surprising ‘surprises’ of the year but still, new FMA on Adult Swim. That can’t be a bad thing.

<Image via Pixiv>

Press release below the cut

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Like many anime fans before me, I have taken on the task of learning at least some Japanese which means I’ve tried a lot of different methods including books, classes and various websites. All of them have helped to some degree but I’m always looking for something new. Some people don’t want to know everything in Japanese though and just want to know enough to understand their favorite anime which is why the newest site to learn Japanese from has a little something for everyone. Going by the simple name Anime-Manga, the new site aims to teach geeks Japanese using phrases that they’ve already become familiar with from various different character types.

The point of the site is pretty straight forward; there are eight character types (boy, girl, scrapper [fighter], samurai, old man, butler, woman and osakan [coach]) and you can go through each one listening to/learning various Japanese phrases that are attributed to that character. For instance, with the boy or girl characters users can learn basic phrases such as greetings and how to say that you want to support someone in their upcoming battle. If you’re looking for something a bit tougher or dramatic, the scrapper or samurai character type will teach you how to say you want to fucking kill someone or call yourself ‘Blade of the Assassin’.

So obviously not everything on the site is going to provide you with Japanese you can use every day (unless you really do have a Japanese speaking person in your daily life that you wish to see destroyed… you don’t, right?) but the grammar and particle lessons might prove invaluable to more serious students. Right now there isn’t a lot to explore on the site besides the character phrases and love words but it seems like they’re moving quickly to get new features up like kanji drills and scene specific dialogue.

I’ve already added this site to my bookmarks mostly because I’d really like to see what kinds of character types they come up with next. How cool would it be to have a tsundere option? We could have a whole new generation of female (or perhaps confused male) anime fans who have learned how to speak tsundere Japanese… actually, wait I take that back. But how about just a few?

<Via UGO>

It seems that Japanese magazine Famitsu caused a bit of a stir last night by accidently leaking the cover of their next issue. If you follow the news you have probably realized by now that leaks happen and so that in itself isn’t a huge deal. The big deal is the bit on the lower right hand corner: Love Plus+. If you’ve been living under a rock for the last few months or have missed the many times that it has made news, Love Plus is the DS dating simulator which gives users a real time relationship with one of three virtual girlfriends… and there are some who take this very seriously.

But obviously there is a group out there who has grown weary of their not entirely real significant others. So, for those of you who have decided that having three virtual girlfriends just isn’t enough, there is another edition of the game on the way. Unfortunately the only detail we have so far is that it’s going to be titled Love Plus+ and could be a full-fledged sequel with brand new character types but it could also just be an expansion of what is already available.

So what do you want to see from the new version? New character types or more of the same? I’ve yet to play this game (someday I’m going to be able to read enough Japanese to justify importing my copy) so I can’t really comment. New character types would be awesome; maybe a glasses wearing student council president or a psychotic yandere for those who don’t have enough ‘bad endings’ in their own lives. The moment Love Plus decides to introduce a female otaku character though I’m declaring it their ‘jump the shark’ moment.

<Via Canned Dogs>

Wow, the first month of 2010 was busy for me which left me little time to sleep let alone breath or watch on the new season. Finally I have managed to escape from the smaller than usual stack of new series to provide you with a cheat sheet to point you away from the duds.

For those who haven’t hung out on the site around these magical times of the year here’s the rundown: Every three months I scramble to watch the first three episodes of as many new series as possible and share my initial thoughts. It’s at that point that I decide if a series is worth watching (The Good), worth watching occasionally or is something I might pick up later (The OK) and the ones that made me want to hit myself with blunt objects to make it stop (The Unwatchable). Sadly there were only a few particular stand outs as the first season of 2010 started us off with a big batch of average. Luckily for viewers the ones that do stand out from the others will be talked about for months to come.

The Good

Durarara
Premiered: 1/7
Available on Crunchyroll
Early Impressions

Where I Started: “Baccano, only less confusing.”

Where I Ended: Sharing a lot of the same crew, Durarara comes across early as a less confusing Baccano. Taking all the best elements of one series and giving it a new modern setting, Durarara does a great job of creating solid story hooks and unique storytelling to create early momentum. It seems as though this is the series that fans are jumping on in droves this season and after three episodes it’s easy to see why. Not everyone is going to get into the format or characters but it’s still going to be hard for anyone who watches this series to say ‘no’.

Status: Watching to Halfway (at least)
Recommendation: Anyone who enjoyed Baccano or found Baccano too confusing to keep up with

Hanamaru Kindergarten
Premiered: 1/10
Available on Crunchyroll
Early Impressions

Where I Started: “Alright, so it’s more Azumanga Daioh + kindergarten than Kodomo no Jikan + kindergarten.”

Where I Ended: No one was really sure what to make of this series before it premiered. Pushing trepidation aside, I went into this series and found myself face to face with the winter pick for best slice of life. Cutely designed and led by a cast of hilarious characters, this is the cute and charming slice of life series that fans are looking for this season.

Status: Watching
Recommendation: Slice of life and Azumanga Daioh fans

Baka to Test to Shokanju
Premiered: 1/6

Where I Started: “This may be the best thing I’ve seen all month.”

Where I Ended: This was actually the last winter series I watched and all it took was one episode before I HAD to marathon everything that had been aired thus far. A very sharp mix of word play, visual humor, shonen battle elements and romantic angles that seem to be actually going somewhere (as opposed to 13 episodes of hemming and hawing) this is the safe choice of the season. Consistently funny, engaging and charming there’s little here for someone to be disappointed with.

Status: Watching
Recommendation: Fans of school comedy romance

The OK

Sora no Woto
Premiered: 1/4
Available on Crunchyroll
Early Impressions

Where I Started: “Yup, K-ON joins the army.”

Where I Ended: I knew it before I started but tried to convince myself otherwise. After one episode, I felt annoyed that this was being billed as an original ‘Anime of Power’. Within two episodes I cared a little less and within three I just wanted to see more. This is a slow moving but entertaining series for the moe crowd. While it doesn’t have the same hyperactivity that some fans crave from their cute, the understated dialogue and humor keeps things moving smoothly. Add in some beautiful animation and backgrounds and you have a series that’s worth sitting through.

Status: Watching to the End
Recommendation: Fans of K-ON, Aria and other series where nothing actually happens

Chu Bra
Premiered: 1/4
Available on Crunchyroll
Early Impressions

Where I Started: “This could be so much worse.”

Where I Ended: Chu Bra is a series that always could have been worse but still didn’t do much to impress early on. While a panty OCD female lead and her bitchy best friends forming an underwear club is vaguely intriguing, the execution is far from it. A haze of breast jokes (naturally) and dialogue that just tries too hard, Chu Bra is never going to be something with wide appeal. While I appreciate now having a better understanding of how to fit myself for a bra; I’m not appreciative enough to stick with this series any longer than I have to.

Status: Dropped
Recommendation: Teen girls and guys who like lolis in underwear

Katanagatari
Premiered: 1/25

Where I Started: “Codename: Kids Next Door shows their anime side?”

In the first episode of Katanagatari, there is a lot of uncertainty in the air. The animation style is vastly different from anything else in the last few seasons and these aren’t the heroes that fans are used to cheering on. Following a dim young man and a not entirely bright military strategist through twelve episodes seems like a challenge in itself but my concerns fall more with the staff. Early momentum is strong but will this series fall into a trap of predictability? It’s not a bad premiere but time will tell if this one has the lasting power it needs to be successful.

Status: Watching
Recommendation: When you’re in the mood for something different

The Unwatchable

Omamori Himari
Premiered: 1/6
Available on Crunchyroll
Early Impressions

Where I Started: “Cat girl and guy with cat allergy. Hilarious.”

Where I Ended: Omamori Himari has the lovely distinction of being one of the first series I wanted to drop this season. Another half baked harem story it has all the tropes you’re expecting and makes zero attempts early on to stand out on its own. Occasionally the dialogue drops a nice one liner into the mix but after two episodes, I was ready to call it quits. After three, I was relieved that my time with the series was over. Even if you like harem anime you can do much better than this.

Status: Dropped
Recommendation: Harem fans who have already seen everything else

Dance in the Vampire Bund
Premiered: 1/7
Early Impressions

Where I Started: “I am so into this!”

Where I Ended: Well, that was a rather spectacular nosedive. In the first episode, characters were being introduced and a story was created using a live television format (a TV show inside of a TV show? Madness I say!). It was compelling and seemed to be setting up something amazing. Instead intriguing early story elements have led into what is already looking like a less than compelling excuse to show loli fan service.

Status: Dropped
Recommendation: Fans of dark horror (i.e. Descendants of Darkness)

Seikon no Qwaser
Premiered: 1/9

Where I Started: “So, does Tomo add anything to this series besides breast milk?”

Where I Ended: While the animation looks good, the series itself is lacking in… what’s the word I’m looking for? Oh right, everything. The staff behind this one has worked to create something with merit but it’s hard to imagine anyone watching this and being able to say it’s for the ‘thrilling battles’ or ‘gripping dialogue’. After only a couple of episodes, it feels safe to assume that if you’re watching this series it’s probably for the breasts. The censorship in this series is so horrific however that it hardly seems worth it to even try. If you really want to see this series that badly, wait for it to come out on DVD.

Status: Dropped
Recommendation: People who like breasts

Ookami Kakushi
Premiered: 1/7
Early Impressions

Where I Started: “Please be building to something, please be building to something…”

Where I Ended: Gods but did I want to like this series. I even looked specifically for as many things to enjoy and say nice things about along the way. Unfortunately over three episodes, the slow crawl fails to cast any particularly strong plot hooks. Boy moves with his family to new town with mysterious past and odd residents. Seen it before and seen it done better; don’t even start this one unless you have a bucketful of patience on standby. This one goes down as my biggest disappointment of the season.

Status: Watching (only because I’m stubborn and I’m sure there’s a story SOMEWHERE in here)
Recommended: fans of Higurashi – When They Cry and masochists

Ladies vs. Butlers
Premiered: 1/5
Early Impressions

Where I Started:

Where I Ended: This is easily the most surprising series of the season for me but perhaps not for the reasons you would expect. After the first episode, I wanted to drop this series hard and forget that it ever existed. After pushing forward into the next couple of episodes though I had a realization: Ladies vs. Butlers IS capable of being entertaining and even clever on occasion. But then the second half of the episode starts and it all goes downhill. The nudity and sex jokes are not the issues in these early episodes but more how much it feels like, most of the time, these scenes are being forced in just so that they can be there. If you can ignore these scenes, you’re bound to find a fairly typical school comedy that can even elicit a laugh on occasion. Unfortunately to ignore those scenes is to ignore half the series.

Status: Watching Occasionally
Recommendation: Fans of sexy school comedy, school comedy, sexy comedy, sexy school or any combination thereof.

Well, I know that I’m not the only one out there who had an opinion? What were your hits and misses for the winter season? Agree with something I said or disagree severely? Leave a comment or drop me a line on Twitter.

Back in November, author Nojiri Housuke (Rocket Girls) had a vision. He dreamed of a world where otaku could recreate one of the more memorable ending sequences of 2009 by having their own flying pantsu just like in the fall harem series, Sora no Otoshimono. Creating a rubber band powered paper pantsu launcher, he posted a video of it in action and stated that he was going to try to market them. At the time, I didn’t think much more about it. It was a funny story for the time but I moved on quickly and figured that I’d never hear about the subject again. Wow do I need to stop doing that.

After a couple of months of fine tuning, Housuke has announced that his paper pantsu launcher will go on sale March 6^th for 1000 yen each. To commemorate the date, he will also be holding a special gathering for fans called Sora Fest. At the gathering, fans will listen to speakers talk about flight and attend a workshop to learn how to make their own pantsu launcher before joining everyone in a special large scale releasing of the pantsu.

As much as I hated the series that this whole idea is coming from, this is an event that I would pay good money to attend. If for no other reason than I just want to be there for the grand launching of dozens (maybe hundreds) of paper pantsu being launched into the skies of a late afternoon in Japan. Maybe it will even become an annual event… gather the crowd together to watch cherry blossoms in late spring and let your pantsu fly free amidst the falling petals.

<Via Canned Dogs>

I had a feeling that Crunchyroll wasn’t done with their winter simulcast announcements. Sure it’s already a month into the new anime season but that has never stopped the site from picking up a series to get people caught up on. So, it should come as no huge shock to anyone that the first three episodes of Phantom Thief Reinya (Kaito Reinya) have been sneakily uploaded to the site (without so much as a press release even). The series premiered on January 9^th and is based off the gag manga of the same name which in turn is inspired by a member of the pop group, Morning Musume, Reina Tanaka. You follow all that? I don’t have all the details regarding where the stream is available and where it isn’t but I have an email out and will update as soon as that information is made available.

Unfortunately I’m typing this up quickly before I have to get ready for my day so I don’t have time to check out the first episodes at the moment. This was a series that I intended to check out at some point this month and I have an entire weekend free to get caught up. Looks like I’ve already found the way I’ll be starting my next two days off.

So at the time of writing, we are now almost an entire month into 2010. Things have been getting off a slow start so far with a not entirely exciting winter season. But there are still eleven months to go with a lot of unseen things waiting to happen. But while we’re waiting for the unknown to happen, there are a ton of things that we can already start getting excited about. With that in mind, here are some of my big reasons why 2010 isn’t going to suck:

Fate/Stay Night Unlimited Blade Works (Premiered 1/23): Fate/Stay Night is back! Reviving the popular franchise that started with a Type/Moon eroge in 2004, the new movie travels down the Unlimited Blade Works story arc which is much more focused on Rin Tohsaka and her servant Archer. The early trailers have looked amazing and moved it into my ‘must see’ category. So if anyone wants to license this one, I’m going on record as saying I’ll buy.

Katanagatari (Premieres 1/25): Another series based off novels from NisiOisin (original creator of Bakemonogatari), the first one hour episode premieres at the end of January. Told in twelve monthly episodes, early trailers have created a lot of buzz thanks, in part at least, to a unique art style from White Fox. Anticipation for this one is high so maybe it will even give fans a distraction which will give Shaft a little bit of breathing space from everyone who is still waiting for the last two episodes of Bakemonogatari. And speaking of the last two episodes…

Bakemonogatari Concludes (Available 3/24):  It’s in 2010 that fans will finally get to see the final two episodes on DVD. Though incomplete at the time of its TV airing, fans happily consumed the story and started to grow antsy when it was drawing close to the end of the broadcast. But then from the darkness, Shaft began waving a beacon of hope and spoke loudly ‘never fear,’ (not a direct quote) ‘for we hear your pleas for more and always intended to make more so enjoy the last three episodes streaming.’ And then the first streaming episode premiered and there was much rejoicing… until we realized that the last two episodes were not coming. Despite breaking their promise to get them up on the site, listings for the sixth DVD volume are billed as including the fabled episodes 14 and 15 meaning fans can finally see how the series ends.

The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya (Premieres 2/6): Last year, Kyoto Animation and Kadokawa had a field day with fans. A little information leak here, an exasperating story arc there, a sprinkle of animation delays early in the year and voila, fans who are annoyed beyond belief and yet still come back for more. Perhaps it’s a reward for sticking it out through 2009 but finally fans are getting to line up around the block for a brand new, two and a half hour Haruhi Suzumiya movie.

Soul Eater US Release (Part 1 Available 2/9, Part 2 Available 3/30): The popular shonen series will finally hit the US starting in February! Originally produced by Bones in 2008, I still remember friends at my old anime club pulling me aside to tell me about this ‘awesome new series’. Filled with unique art and enough laughs along the way to keep things interesting Soul Eater has the potential to reach out to a lot of new fans this year (which means I should start preparing for lots of Maka and Soul cosplay this summer).

New Adult Swim Anime: Early in the year Adult Swim announced on air that they had lost a couple of their current anime licenses but had hopefully acquired three more with the first of which premiering on February 14^th. I’ve made my predictions known but even if I’m drastically wrong, three new series on Adult Swim is sweet!

K-ON Season 2: Alright, so a certain percentage of you are nodding your head vigorously in agreement right now. Another percentage of you are rolling your eyes and/or contemplating writing off this entire list right now. Either way, there’s a good chance that if you’re an anime fan on the internet you’ve at least been introduced to this title just enough to have an opinion on it. The wildly popular moe bait series will be returning for a second season this year leaving legions of Mio fans waiting patiently to see their goddess once again. A summer premiere would be awesome for this series though a summer license announcement would be even better.

ShoDojo.com: Since July of last year, Funimation has been teasing a new project called Shodojo. Supposedly mixing the best features of your favorite social networking sites and the video player already in place, the site is meant to help anime fans from all over the country connect and bond over their favorite anime. Details on features and how it’s going to work are being kept under some pretty tight wraps but hopefully we’ll get to see the fruits of their labor before the end of the year.

PenisCam Technology: Last year, eroge studio Teatime announced that they would be taking facial recognition technology to the next level. In their upcoming game, Love Death 4, players will be able to use their webcams to show their stuff to the heroines. The penis tracking software will recognize the shape of your knob and the girls will reportedly act accordingly. Though ‘accordingly’ could mean anything from being amazed to yelling ‘pervert!’ and running away.

Black Rock Shooter (Premieres April 2010): Despite using one of the virtual idol’s songs and announcing the series at one of her concerts, the spring series has nothing to do with the Miku Hatsune vocaloid character. Other than that, there’s not much known about the story right now but the first trailer has some very intriguing artwork. The series is being put together by Yutaka Yamamoto (of Lucky Star and Kannagi fame) and his studio, Ordet along with Shinobu Yoshioka and the song’s original creators, huke and ryo.

NYAF/NYCC (10/8 – 10/10): Taking on a slightly different form, this will be the first time New York Anime Festival has taken place in October and the first time that the con will be sharing the Javitz Center with New York Comic Con. Quickly becoming one of the hottest east coast conventions to find out what’s happening over the winter (it was the third largest last year with over 21,000 paid attendees) NYAF shows no signs of slowing down for 2010. This, along with AX over the summer, will be one of the conventions that I hope to attend the most.

Angel Beats (Premieres April 2010): If you’re into moe than you’re likely familiar with the name Visual Arts/Key (Air, Kanon, Clannad). This spring, the studio returns with another series titled Angel Beats. In this world, angels have rebelled against god and are fighting to shape their own fate after death. Usually responsible for the beautiful music and theme songs attached to Key productions, Jun Medea is getting his first shot at planning and composing a series here.

King of Thorn (Premieres May 2010): Based off the sci-fi horror manga, a group put in a cryogenic sleep must survive after waking up in a world overrun by monsters. For the last year, the movie has been playing at film festivals around the world and finally will see its theater premiere later this year. I’m hoping that since the movie has gotten so much publicity outside Japan that fans will get to see a US release date announced soon after.

Real Kanojo: To this day, one of the most consistently viewed articles on this site is the initial report I did on this particular upcoming release from eroge studio, Illusion. Taking mankind one step closer towards that elusive goal of a genuine virtual girlfriend, Illusion has begun work on Real Kanojo. Featuring three different girls, realistic 3D CG animation and 3D glasses (really? All that technology and you’re going to include some cardboard 3D glasses?) the early artwork looks to set a pretty high bar for the final product to match. Unfortunately the technical specs are steep (the site recommends a Core i7 and 8GB+ of virtual memory) so I think it’ll be awhile before I pick this one up. Besides, it doesn’t even have penis tracking technology!

*For anime fans. The rest of you are on your own.

<Images ©Studio Deen, Bones, Illusion. Black Rock Shooter image via Pixiv>

Wow, I’m writing about Gonzo but my sentence isn’t ending with ‘still isn’t doing anything,’ it’s kind of a weird feeling. So let’s try this sentence out, stick with me here because it’s been awhile since I’ve used it: Gonzo will be producing a new animation. Hm, that still feels odd.

At a press event held this week, Capcom announced that the new Xbox360 version of Super Street Fighter IV will be bundled with a new original animation titled Juri. The game will be hitting shelves in Japan on April 28^th though naturally the US release will not be bundled with the anime. If you absolutely need to see what you’re in for though, a two and a half minute trailer has been posted to the official website. The first part of the trailer shows some early footage but it picks up pretty quickly with Juri kicking the crap out of Chun Li, Guile and what appear to be soldiers or armed civilians for good measure.

Honestly, I’ve been out of the video game scene for so long I can’t even pretend like I’ve kept up with this franchise. A brand new OVA produced by Gonzo (yup, still weird) has my attention though.

<Via Moetron>