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Audio: English: The Greatest Anime Dubs

If you’re an anime fan, chances are you have an opinion on English dubs. When I started out as a fan, I was only watching anime on American television, so everything was dubbed. When I began collecting anime, on VHS tapes, it was rare to come across one with Japanese audio and English subtitles, and you almost prized those for their rarity. Still, English dubs were mostly the only way to go, and you were glad to have them in those days, because after all, you didn’t want things like words on the bottom of the screen to get in the way of your favorite Japanese cartoon.

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schlocky mom

Now, call me a socialist elitist baby-killing God-hating liberal, if you will, or whatever the Republican voter base is calling anyone with sense these days, but I hardly think that being the governor of Alaska, a state that has people moving for independence from the United States (it’s true, look up “Alaskan Indpendence Party”) and shooting caribou qualifies you to be a step away from achieving highest political office in the nation. Yes, Barack Obama isn’t exactly a long-time political player either, but he’s done far more and is far better educated that a self-professed “hockey mom” with radical religious beliefs. read more

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Red, White, and You

Americans, here’s a little heads up for you.

The American flag is a piece of cloth. It means very little. Stop saying, “They fought for the flag”, stop praying to it, stop worshipping it, and stop plastering it everywhere. It’s only a testament to the American corporate entity mindset.

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Arguing About Giant Robot Cartoons

I must have no life whatsoever. I need a girlfriend, or a job, or something. Because I just spent nearly an hour arguing about what is and what is not canon in Gundam’s Universal Century timeline.

The Universal Century timeline, by the way, is the original “universe” in which Gundam takes part in. The original series and its direct sequels (Z, ZZ, CCA, F91, and V) take place here. Also, several side story OVAs (0080, 0083, 08th MS Team, and MS Igloo). Also, there are several video games, side story manga, and novelizations. However, Sunrise has claimed that “if it’s filmed, it’s canon”.

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The Nerv of Some People!

Just a little rant:

Folks, Neon Genesis Evangelion is a great show. Is it the best show ever? No. Is it the best show of its kind? Not even. Is it one of the best? Maybe. Is it perfect? No. Fuck, though, if it isn’t extremely well directed most of the time, with all sorts of amazing scene composition, human behavior study, and great mecha action set to beautiful music. It’s still my favorite Gainax production, next to Wings of the Honneamise and Ebichu Minds The House.

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Family Values

What, exactly, are "family values"? You hear this a lot from politicians and clergymen. Usually conservatives tout their adherance to traditional family values. It’s an interesting buzzword. It’s sort of the right wing version of political correctness. I have some news to break to any halfwit who hangs on the words "family values", though: there isn’t any such thing as family values.

No unit of people has any shared system of values. Values only exist to the individual, as well as value itself, which can only be assigned to individuals. Families, traditionally, are units that were formed with the intent of holding land and property. Somehow, in the past few decades, politicians have expoused their fondness for "traditional family values". If you value the sterile, unloving concept of merely existing to propogate the species and own material goods, that’s fine. But, of course, politicians never mean that when they say "family values". read more

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Batman: The Dark Knight Review (SPOILERS)

Tuesday afteroon I saw the latest Batman movie, The Dark Knight, at a local theater. Pre-movie, I scoped out the trailer to Christian Bale’s next no-doubt-blockbuster, the fourth Terminator movie (which means now there’ll be two too many). I also sat awkwardly through the trailer for the upcoming movie adaptation of Alan Moore’s Watchmen, directed by Zack Synder, who also directed the adaptation of Frank Miller’s 300. While it does seem like it might make interesting watching, I still think some comic stories are best left on page. Watchmen deconstructed the superhero comic genre, the movie isn’t going to do anything so bold. I can see it going over people’s heads, that is, even if they do it justice. But hell, who am I kidding? I’ll go see it. Sorry, Mr. Moore. Really, I am. read more