Category Archives: Anime & Comics

All Ages

by Darren Burr
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Fantastic Four #604

Marvel’s announcement that they are abandoning the actually quite fine Marvel Adventures label in favour of tying in with the current animated continuity led by the equally fine Avengers: Earth’s Greatest Heroes, contains a number of lessons that I think the other companies (especially DC) would do well to take heed of. It certainly makes marketing sense to connect with the cartoon continuity, for as long as it lasts. Looking back to repeated seasons of ‘x’: The Animated Series to X-Men Evolution and the dozen or so iterations of Spider-Man with or without Amazing Friends, one need not expect these tie-ins to stand the test of time, but then again Read more »

Plausibility of Deaths in Another

by Nopy
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Plausibility of Deaths in Another

One of the new anime airing this season, titled ‘Another’, is a horror series that uses shocking deaths in order to scare the audience. As of the end of episode 5, there have been 3 deaths, but just how likely are they to happen, and is there really anything to be afraid of? Any good geek will probably wonder about the plausibility of such events. Below is a simple guide to the first three deaths in Another. Just a warning, there are spoilers and graphic images/videos in this post. Death #1 – Falling Down the Stairs and Being Impaled by an Umbrella The first death in the series was clearly Read more »

The Art Of The Franchise Crossover

by Darren Burr
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The Art Of The Franchise Crossover

While there is little on this week’s shipping list that fills me with enthusiasm, this is by far made up for with the news that IDW are releasing another of their franchise crossovers. As a science fiction fan since a small child, then this is a landmark event. What are the two biggest names in science fiction? (And bear in mind that I am British as I ask this.)  One perpetuates an idealistic view of the future, where mankind can rise above its differences and work together in harmony, while the other promotes the heroism of the individual, the anti-establishment icon that can correct a society gone wrong. I speak Read more »

14 Anime for Valentine’s Day

by Nopy
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14 Anime for Valentine’s Day

Valentine’s Day is a time for love and romance, but if you’re an anime geek and flowers and chocolates aren’t your thing, then you could consider a night of anime. Here are 14 anime that deal with love and romance. Just a warning – as with real love, not all of them have a happy ending. Kimi ni Todoke One of the sweetest high school romances in the last few years is Kimi ni Todoke. For most of her life, Sawako Kuronuma has been alone because of her looks – she so closely resembles the girl that climbs out of the well in “The Ring” that everyone calls her Sadako. Read more »

Winter 2012 Wonder Festival Highlights

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Winter 2012 Wonder Festival Highlights

The Winter 2012 Wonder Festival took place this weekend and as usual, a flood of new anime and game figure prototypes were out on display. Below are just some of the highlights from the event. Figmas Max Factory has dominated the articulated figure market with their Figma line-up, and fans of the series can expect a few goodies later this year. Two new figmas being released are Saber and Kiritsugu Emiya from Fate/Zero. Both of them are geared towards action poses, and they would look great if you had Saber’s motorbike too.      Other figmas planned for release this year include Black Rock Shooter TV Animation version, Hibiki Tachibana from Read more »

Raising Hell

by Darren Burr
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The King is dead, er, alive, er, dead. Long live the King!

Many people say, and I’m not one to argue, that what started as a brilliant franchise became watered down after a number of sequels that failed to reach the dizzy depths that were plumbed by the original Hellraiser. ‘Oh we have such sights to show you’ became a jaded phrase. Having said that, I seem to recall I really liked the eighth and final movie, and feel it was much maligned in later recollections. Or maybe it was the seventh. Anyway, moving on… We lived through Marvel’s abortive attempt at Clive Barker’s derived characters in the Razorline family of titles, which again contained a small number of gems but fell Read more »

Appear at Wonder Festival and Help Japan Earthquake Relief

by Nopy
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Appear at Wonder Festival and Help Japan Earthquake Relief

It has been nearly 11 months since the Tohoku earthquake that shook Japan and damaged the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant, but recovery efforts are still ongoing and relief organizations are still seeking donations. Doing their part to help, figure manufacturers Max Factory and Good Smile Company have released a series of “Cheerful Japan” figures, in which a portion of the profits is donated to relief efforts. This line-up of figures include Vocaloid and anime characters dressed up in cheerleader uniforms and are sold directly by the manufacturers. While the “Cheerful Japan” figures have been very successful, out-selling most of the companies’ other products, Max Factory and Good Smile Company seem Read more »

Permanence

by Darren Burr
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Nor the Huntress we know. Or rather she is. But she isn't. I give up!

How permanent are our comic book universes? Even as I ask the question, I find myself wondering what that very word means. With DC’s recent announcement of the return of Earth 2 and the Shazam family of characters, we know the enduring characters and settings will return again and again. The recent (and thoroughly enjoyable) relaunch by Dark Horse of what’s become known as the Jim Shooter stable of characters only serves to prove the point. Dating back to short lived appearances in the Gold Key years Solar Man Of The Atom and Magnus, Robot Fighter et al have returned and again, under the labels of Valiant, Acclaim and then Read more »

Wish Upon the Pleiades Review

by Nopy
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Wish Upon the Pleiades Review

Wish Upon the Pleiades or Houkago no Pleiades in Japanese, is a short 4 episode (6 minutes each) anime sponsored by Japanese carmaker Subaru and produced by Gainax. The anime was created in order to help bring a greater awareness of Subaru’s name to anime fans. The name “Subaru” is the Japanese name for the Pleiades star cluster and is where Subaru, the carmaker, got its name and logo. You would think that an anime sponsored by a carmaker would be about cars, but strangely enough, it’s about stars and magical girls. The main character, named Subaru, is a regular schoolgirl with an interest in astronomy. The day after she Read more »

10 Musically Inclined Anime

by Nopy
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10 Musically Inclined Anime

Anime is mainly known for its animation, in fact, that’s where the term comes from, but there is another aspect of anime that many people overlook: the music. Unlike western animation, which tends to use music composed by small-time artists, anime aims for the best and sometimes manage to bring in some of the biggest names in the Japanese music industry. Of course, this results in anime with soundtracks that any J-pop or J-rock fan would appreciate. Many of these songs not only make it to the Oricon charts (Japan’s equivalent of America’s Billboard charts), but some manage to make it to the top 10. Below are 10 anime series Read more »