Fangirl Rants

It's been 25 years since the original Macross aired in Japan.  In that span of time, several other series' have been based in that universe, each one building on the previous.  Everyone one of them has keep the basics of the original; a love triangle with one guy who flies a valkyrie, and two girls who fall in love with him, with one of the girls usually being a singer, an alien race to threaten them, and a civilian population to guard.  The latest addition to this property, Macross Frontier, not only continues this tradition, but also throws in references from all the previous series' to make it a real treat for Macross fans.

This series, much like Macross 7, calls up memories of Lynn Minmay, with Ranka Lee being compared to her, both for her rise from almost being unknown to famous, and that her song has an effect on the Vajra, the aliens that threaten to destroy the human fleet.  I find Ranka just a little too much on the moe side though.  She annoys me a lot.  But then so does Sheryl, the current idol that is also Ranka's rival for the attentions of Alto, the fighter pilot that saves them both a lot.  It's Sheryl's sheer arrogance that grates me.

Ranka Lee's brother, Ozma, is a well known fighter pilot and leader of the skull squadron, like Roy Fokker.  He likes a pineapple cake made by a former lover, Cathy Glass, the series' Misa Hayase.  And nearly mirroring the original series, he gets injured but doesn't tell anyone, to go to Ranka's first concert.  The scenes are played almost identical to the original, only Ozma doesn't die.  Reference is made to that immediately afterwards.  It was very funny.

Ranka and Sheryl are put into a movie that is filmed on the Macross Frontier.  The movie is actually Macross Zero.

Macross 7's Firebomber gets a fair amount of play in some of the episodes.

An original Macross designed ship is found on an alien planet.  And there are still eight more episodes to go!

This series has been such a treat for fans.  It truly is an anniverary-marking series.

I watched Gotham Knight, the series of anime shorts that is supposed to be the bridge between Batman Begins and The Dark Knight.  Now, I've never been much of a Batman fan.  I never read the comic, though I watched the TV series as a kid, and the movies from the 90's.  But I never got excited about them.  But,it was nice to see in the anime version of the Dark Knight, that someone was looking out for us ladies.

That's right, I'm talking about the story Field Test.  Never have you seen a Bruce Wayne like this!  He is absolutely beautiful.  A bishonen by all accounts.  The moment I saw him, I cried, "He's a bishi!  It's Bishi Bruce!"  Needless to say, my husband, a more traditional Batman fan was not amused.  I thought it was freakin' hysterical!  Especially when he spoke with that deep, darker voice.  Kevin Conroy's voice, even with his lightened "Bruce" tone totally did not work with that character.  He looks like he stepped out of a YAOI manga/anime!  For the rest of the episodes, I just couldn't stop thinking about Bishi Bruce.

I wonder what kind of fanfic this is going to inspire...

I've been watching the new Macross series, Macross Frontier.  I've been a fan of Macross since Robotech first came out (I like the Macross Saga best).  I even got to see the very bad, original dub of Macross, Harmony Gold released before it became Robotech.  My older brother bought the video tape.  I kinda stopped following it when fans panned Macross II, so I skipped Macross Plus, but when I heard about Macross 7 and what it was like, I had to see it.  (I like bad, cheesy shows.)  So when it was announced that a new Macross was coming out for the 25th anniversary, and that it would harken back to the original series, I was excited!

The animation is nice for the new series.  It takes place after Macross 7 in the timeline, but is otherwise unrelated.  We've got the usual love triangle, with a starlet, a fighter pilot and this time another girl who wants to be a star too.  Things start out pretty standard enough, the boy that wants to be a fighter pilot saves the starlet, and makes friends with the wannabe, and he is then gets pulled by both, without know what feelings he has, if any, toward the girls, even though it s becoming obvious they both have feelings for him.

Here's the twist; the pilot, Alto, comes from a family of Kabuki performers that specialize in female parts.  Alto is referred to by his classmates as "Hime", or princess.  He can easily pass off as a girl, and even in the credits after seeing Sharon and Renka, we see Alto in his female Kabuki garb, even though we've ever seen it in the show.

So, I guess my question is, is Macross Frontier yuri?

It’s that time of year again when ghosts and goblins come out to play. Do you want to get into the Halloween spirit, but just don’t know what to get? Well, here’s a list of anime and manga that I’ve either read, or know something about enough to recommend (or warn you away from).

Hellsing: Vampires fighting Vampire Nazis and the Catholic Church. The blood runs so thick that the pages are nearly all black from it. But the art is great and the characters are fun (despite all the death). A read I definitely recommend.

The Ring Trilogy, One Missed Call 1 & 2 and Rasen: These are all manga based on the J-Horror movies of the same name. I’ve heard that the manga doesn’t stack up as well to the movies, but you can be the judge yourself. The first Ring movie was good as was the first One Missed Call. Rasen…that one was just waaaaayyyyyy out there.

Mail: Lostphrack (Ken Haley) has a great review of this one at the Manga Recon. It sounds to be mainly ghost stories, with some gore. Go read his review to find out more. 

Reiko the Zombie Shop and Octopus Girl: If you comedy mixed with your gore, check these out. But you’d better do it soon, as they’ve been dropped by Dark Horse for not selling well. Only those with strong stomachs should apply.

Museum of Terror/Tomie: Written by the foremost creator of horror manga Jinji Ito, Museum of Terror features Tomie, a girl that is so beautiful that she attracts men to the point that they want to mutilate and kill her, but she just keeps reincarnating! This is another series that people with weak constitutions should avoid, and has also been dropped by Dark Horse. 

Kwaidan: What a traditional Japanese Horror story? Try this title. It’s a story of jealousy and revenge as only the Japanese can tell. And the art is reportedly fantastic.

Viz Media has a few titles that will send the chills up your spine.

Drifting Classroom: This is a survivor horror tale about an elementary school that suddenly disappears and reappears in a desolate land inhabited by monsters. The adults can’t handle the new situation so the kids have to fend for themselves. 

Portus, Uzumaki & Gyo: Lostphrack (Ken Haley), apparently a horror fan has reviews of these three titles at Manga Recon. Portus seems like J-horror, Uzumaki is freaky with it’s spirals, and the fish in Gyo gives me nightmares. Check out the reviews for more info.

Tokyopop also has some gruesome titles.

Redrum 327: This series sounds like a slasher flick, with a bunch of friends trapped in a cabin in the middle of nowhere, and they start getting killed off. Don’t know much about it, but it seemed to have a really creepy atmosphere.

The Dark Goodbye: This is a graphic novel that combines 40’s detective noir with the Cthulu mythos. And you can’t get more horrific than Cthulu.

Del Rey has just one series that fits into the Halloween theme.

Ghost Hunt: I really like this title. I also watching the anime and really enjoyed it. A 16 year old boy (very serious and cold) runs a psychic research company and through an investigation of a school, gets a girl assistant (the heroine/protagonist), a Buddhist monk, and Shinto priestess and a catholic priest. They then start investigating hauntings together. I love the ghost and stories around them. It’s really a fun title to read.

I know this is far from a complete list, but I’ve at least seen these:

Akira: A classic in every sense of the word. This is available from Geneon. It has psychic powers awakening and boys turning into blobs that absorb everything and then explode. Lots of fun.

Ayakashi: Japanese Classic Horror: This is a short series that retells three classic Japanese horror tales from the days of the samurai. Kwaidan is retold in this along with one about a yokai princess that falls in love with a human, and a ghost cat that features a medicine man that banishes mononoke. He became popular enough to get his own series, Mononoke that ran for 12 episodes just this last spring. Get it if it gets licensed. Excellent as well. Ayakashi is available from Geneon. 

Hell Girl: Funimation just started releasing this series. Did you hear about the urban legend, that there’s a website that you can only go to at midnight? And if you put in the name of someone, revenge will be take on them on your behave? But there is a price…This is a fantastic series with the different kinds of revenge and how it’s taken. The opening song is fantastic. The animation is top notch. Very good for late night viewing. BTW, the manga is coming out from Del Rey in January 2008. Watch for that too.

Hellsing/Hellsing Ultimate: Based on the manga, the first series goes off the manga, as the anime had caught up with it, the second series is supposed to be a more faithful telling. Both are available from Geneon.

Higurashi no Naku Koro ni (When They Cry): This is a very disturbing series. I will warn you now. It’s presented as a murder mystery, but there’s more murder and psychological scares than mystery. In a small town in the country, one a year at a temple festival, one person dies and one person disappears, spirited away by the god of the temple. It’s gone on for 5 years, since a construction worker died at the site where a dam was going to be built and was opposed by the townspeople. This series runs in 4-5 episode arcs, telling the same story, with different people as the killer. It’s based on a fan made computer game. The deaths are disturbing to watch. I made it through about twenty episodes in fansub before I just couldn’t take it anymore. They are gory, cruel and just plain gross. Only the very, very strong of heart should watch this. Geneon has the first three volumes out.

Requirem from the Darkness (100 Stories): Excellent 13 episode series also from Geneon. A man is traveling through the countryside, collecting all the folk/ghost stories he can find and writing them down for a book he’s working on. He’s followed by three strange figures who deal with the supernatural forces the man encounters while collecting his stories.

Vampire Hunter D/Bloodlust: The first Vampire Hunter D OVA was made in 1985, but the animation is still top notch. Vampires now rule the world as “the Nobility” and treat humans as cattle. Hunters exist for hire to kill the vampires. D is one such hunter. He is half vampire, half human, with a cursed hand. He is hired to kill Count Magnus Lee and free a woman from his power. Bloodlust is a second movie made in 2000, that continues to follow D’s adventures as he tries to rid of the world of the Nobility. Urban Vision released these.

 This is a warning for parents that either watch anime or have kids that watch anime.  You have to watch what you allow them to be exposed to.  I like anime as well as manga.  It's easy as the two media are sources for each other.  One anime and manga I enjoy is Sgt. Frog, or Keroro Gunso.  I have some of the fansubs that were done before the series was licensed, and I was watching them.  Well, my kids, as they are want to do, came over to see what I was watching.  Then, they sat down and started watching it with me.  Now, they come and get the discs from me, lock themselves up in their rooms and watch them over and over. 

But that wasn't enough.  They've also been searching the internet for Sgt. Frog; find episodes they haven't seen on Youtube,  playing videos also from Youtube in a continuous loop.  They have found websites that let them make their own frog invaders like paper dolls.  My oldest daughter is bringing home school papers with images of Keroro, Giroro and other characters drawn on them.  Even her desktop wallpaper is covered with digital drawings she did!  My younger daughter has been going around and laughing like on of the characters Sargent Major Kururu.  She would have dressed as him for Halloween if there were costumes available!  And her school papers are getting the Sgt Frog treatment too.  It's only a matter of time before their video games characters (such as the chao from the Sonic the Hedgehog series) start getting Sgt Frog names.

So please, any parents out there, take heed of my warning!  It's not the shows with lots of violence or mature content that we need to protect our children from.  It's the ones that they will really enjoy that are the real danger!  Otherwise, you too will have a son or daughter, walking around with their hand in front of their mouth going "Kuuu-ku-ku-ku-ku".