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George Takei is a Dolt

(By ssoosay via Flickr)

Earlier in the week George Takei sat down with The Advocate to discuss his petition against Warner Brothers casting primarily white actors in an upcoming American adaption of the Japanese manga and anime classic, Akira. His main point is that Hollywood should cast more Asian-American actors in movie roles. A fair point on its own. However his arguments are full of curious inconsistencies. Take a look…

The manga and anime phenomenon is mostly white in this country. It originated in Japan, and, of course, it has a huge Asian fan following. But it’s the multi-ethnic Americans who are fans of Akira and manga.

Mr. Takei, I’m confused. The American fan base for manga and anime is mostly white, a reasonable statement considering whites make up 72.4% of the population… but the only fans of Akira (and manga?) are multi-ethnic? It don’t think you can find an anime or manga "fan" in this country who doesn’t like either of the Akira adaptions. Are you trying to argue that a movie should be cast based on its ethnic fan base? That makes sense on a commercial level I’m sure, but multi-ethnic Americans aren’t exactly Akira’s largest demographic. Hell, I’m pretty sure there are just as many people who have enjoyed the manga or movie and wouldn’t consider themselves to be traditional anime/manga fans. read more

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Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood – Episode 40 ENGLISH DUB Review

Episode 40, "Homunculus"


 

*****SPOILERS*****

Synopsis: Olivier Armstrong arrives at Central, where she is questioned by Fuhrer King Bradley about General Raven. She requests Raven’s position, and it amuses Bradley, who agrees to give it to her. Riza passes along information to Roy about Selim being a homunculus. Meanwhile, Father sleeps below Central and a flashback begins to the days of Xerxes. Hohenheim was once a slave who became an alchemy apprentice thanks to the help of a homunculus living in a flask in his master’s posession. The king of Xerxes requests from the homunculus the secret to immortality, which comes at the price of many lives. An alchemy array is constructed around the country so that the king can obtain immortality, but the homunculus has tricked him and it is Hohenheim and himself that end up at the center of the circle when it activates. The result is the death of all of Xerxes’ citizens, save for Hohenheim, and the transfer of those lives into the homunculi and Hohenheim. The homunculus decided to take the same form as Hohenheim, thus their similar appearance. In the present, Hohenheim meets with Izumi and Sig, and rearranges her internal organs to help her health, admitting to them that he is a Philosopher’s Stone in human form. read more

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Tiger & Bunny – Episode 3 Review

 

Tiger & Bunny is a new anime program current airing weekly in Japan. Produced by Sunrise it’s currently being directed by Keiichi Satou (best known for his work on Big O). The series revolves around a couple of super heroes who fight crime while driving ad revenue and product placement for a hero themed television program.

 

Synopsis (minor spoilers)

Episode 3 of Tiger & Bunny starts with the pair in a simulated combat exercise. Though forced to work together it’s apparent that they approach the job from completely different standpoints. Tiger is driven more by instinct and feeling while Bunny is more calculated and logical. read more

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Tiger & Bunny – Episode 1 & 2 Review

Tiger & Bunny is a new anime program current airing weekly in Japan. Produced by Sunrise it’s currently being directed by Keiichi Satou (best known for his work on Big O). The series revolves around a couple of super heroes who fight crime while driving ad revenue and product placement for a hero themed television program.

Synopsis

The first two episodes of Tiger & Bunny is mainly establishment for the setting and characters which will make up the series. The main character of the series is Kotetsu Kaburagi who fights under the name Wild Tiger with the power to increase his strength a hundredfold for a mere five minutes. The apparent oldest of the featured heroes he has a younger daughter whom he struggles to see when faced with the task of being a super hero. Despite his age he’s characterized as naive with an idealistic approach to being a hero stemming from an incident in his childhood. Best known for operating without consideration for property damage, Wild Tiger is the least popular among the cast of Hero TV. read more

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PG Strike Freedom WIP 11: Bring me all your bitches

It’s been awhile since I updated with my progress on this guy…


Click to Enlarge | On Flickr

She’s certainly been giving me some heart burn for a while. What’s been killing me mostly are the decals and the dull top coat.

My issue with the decals, as you can probably tell from the photos, if you look closely enough, is silvering. Despite all of the pieces reviving a proper gloss coat before hand, along with the proper dosage of Micro Set & Micro Sol, many of the decals have silvered. Worse is that it’s very random and inconsistent, meaning I haven’t a clue what’s going on. I think it may be related to my rather unorthodox choice of body paint which I reveal when I’m all said and done. read more

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Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood – Episode 39 ENGLISH DUB Review

Episode 39, "Daydream"

Synopsis: Edward prevents Kimbley from going at Scar, who has Winry captive. In a flashback, Winry confronts Scar about his killing her parents and he tells her he has the right to kill her. Instead, she bandages a bleeding wound of his, and while she says she won’t forgive him, she does it because it’s a life her parents saved. Scar asks Miles why he works for a country that hates him, and he says it’s to change their attitude towards Ishbalans from within. After much discussion, the group come up with a plan to get Winry out of the clutches of the homunculi and Central by faking a kidnapping by Scar, who agrees to cooperate. Winry, Yoki, the chimera (who desire to get their original bodies back), Marcoh, Mei, and Scar seperate from the Elrics and Miles. In the present, Miles discovers that the Briggs base has been taken over by Central soldiers. Alphonse goes out to inform them, but in the snow storm, sees a vision of his body and is concerned about his future. read more

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Netflix: Destroying Gurren Lagann One Episode at a Time [Updated x2]

Right now Netflix has a pretty sweet collection of anime available to watch instantly. Gurren Lagann is one of them as well. However, Netflix members should avoid watching the via the service, especially if you haven’t viewed it already.

That’s because one of the most important episodes, episode 8, is missing!

Yes, a defining episode of Gurren Lagann where *cough spoiler cough* occurs has been replaced by episode 9. New viewers will suddenly find the plot suddenly skipped ahead with no explanation (and that’s already happened). I’ve reached out to Netflix and will update if I hear anything back. In the meantime you should just hit up your favorite torrent site or, better yet, pick it up for less than $40 on Amazon. The latter is definitely your best bet. Not only will you get the Japanese dub (the English one is… well… it’s not nearly as hot blooded) but you will be supporting everyone involved with the series and its NA import. read more

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Netflix Instant Review: Samurai 7

Bored? Check.

Internet access? Check.

Mild interest in samurai or samurai robots? Check.

If you’ve passed the above test then let me recommend Samurai 7, a 26 episode series currently available to watch instantly on Netflix. Produced by Gonzo back in 2004 Samurai 7 is a retelling of the epic film Seven Samurai (which is also available for streaming on Netflix). Now, if you haven’t seen Seven Samurai yet then you absolutely need to watch that first.

A lot of what makes Samurai 7 a decent watch is pulled directly from the film. Samurai 7 is the story of seven samurai hired by a village of farmers to protect themselves and their crops from marauding bandits. Following the great war, many out of work samurai found a new living raiding defenseless farmers for their yield of rice. Raids which not only resulted in depleting the villagers much needed rice but often resulted in a loss of life and kidnapped women. Deciding to take a stand, the elder of Kanna comes up with a plan to hire samurai for defense. Having no money they decide to bargain with what precious rice they have left. With these grains in hand three villagers set off for the big city in an attempt to persuade some honorable warriors. Eventually a ragtag team of samurai is assembled and they set off to protect the village. read more

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Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood – Episode 38 ENGLISH DUB Review

Episode 38, "Clash in Baschool"

*****SPOILERS*****

Synopsis: Edward and Alphonse manage to give Kimbley’s men the slip to look for May on their own. Eventually finds them herself, excited to see Al. Marcoh and Yoki appear, too, with Yoki recalling Edward’s effect on his life. Once in charge of the mining town of Youswell, Edward saw that he was mistreating the citizens and swindled him out of the deed to the mines, which he sold to the people. Yoki was wanted by the military and blames Edward, but the alchemist doesn’t care. Kimbley’s men, Jelso and Zanpano, find Scar, and transform, revealing themselves to be chimera. Marcoh tells Ed the importance of Scar’s safety, as he is the only one who can translate part of his brother’s notes. Scar is cornered by the dangerous chimera, but Ed and Al show up and defeat them soundly, intending to get information out of Scar themselves. Miles arrives and tells the Elrics he’ll handle the rest. Winry is again face-to-face with the man who killed her parents. Buccaneer and his group return from the tunnel and he reports to Olivier. Officials from Central return demanding to see her. Back in town, there’s an explosion and Scar appears to have kidnapped Winry. read more

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