Melancholy Of Occult Academy, オカルト学院の憂鬱。

Yes, this is great! And I will tell you why this anime is great!

Concept

First, the concept is pretty interesting. It’s about NostraDamus Prophesy, which predicted un gran Roy d’effrayeur (a great King of Terror) would come down from the sky on July 1999. Some say George W. Bush was the one, but he announced running for office on June, not July 1999. He was King George of War on Terror, encroaching our civil liberties, from Glenn Beck’s perspective.

Time

Next, the time setting is interesting. 1999. Eschatology, or moeschatology. Seikimatsu, the end of the century, the term used for the original title, Seikimatsu Occult Gakuin. Hokuto No Ken’s aka is Seikimatsu Kyuseishu Densetsu (the Legend of The Messiah of the End of the century). Ken-oh (Ra-oh) was un gran Roy d’effrayeur, and Kenshirou was a savior. There was a heavy metal band called Seikimatsu in Japan during the 80s, the model band of Detroit Metal City.

Seikimatsu-kei Anime

As I look back, the 90s was really terrible in Japan. In 1993, there was this post Bubble-economy romantic song, Romance No Kamisama, spewing, “Boy meets girl.” Male-initiative-dating. And girls went out with guys according to the dating manual laid out in the lyric. The song’s intro reminds me of two Borat clones dancing song. I can’t believe these songs were celebrated. Maybe different zeitgeist, but this is too much.

And 1999 was the last year of the 90s. I didn’t want to die miserably in Japan not experiencing any romantic pleasure, at least before the 1999 doomsday. I wanted to immigrate to the land of free despite the news of Hale-Bopp mass suicide. America was prosperous back then, but Japan was in the gutter, the lost decades. So, it’s 11 years ago. Wow, that’s a long time ago! Today’s much better, Sakakibara Yui sings “Girl meets Boy.” Ah, I wish I could be a teenager, especially 17 years-old right now. I was born too early. I wish I was born as a girl, so I would’ve been able to attain “Girl Meets Girl.”

Location

Next, the location is interesting.  The place is set in Matsushiro, Nagano. Ah, mountainous countryside…what an idyllic place, too bad I haven’t seen countries in Japan, and I left with a suitcase, crossed the Pacific, moexodus, sexodus, whatever the reason… My life’s been full of regrets. Anyway, during WWII, the Japanese Empire was constructing the underground city which was planned to be the new capital, because Tokyo had been getting carpet bombed by B-29s. So, that’s where Matushiro was. It’s the big power spot of the rancorous energy of construction worker ghosts who died there. A lot of Koreans were forced into slave labor and died there miserably. Simply a mad history, which I’m totally ashamed of. And Matsushiro is known to have a low gravity spot. That’s where Occult Academy is. So, it’s historically significant.

Tectonic Plates

Yes, Japan has the powerful tectonic plate crushing points. Eurasian plate, Filipino plate, North American plate, and Pacific plate, these four are crushing together in Japan. And Nagano is the crossroad of Median Tectonic Line and Itoigawa-shizuoka Tectonic Line. Robert Johnson should have been there. Yes, that part of Japan is Fossa Magna. So, geologically and seismologically, Nagano is scientifically proven to be a strong power spot. So, it is scientifically backed. Nagano and Tokyo have the strongest power spots in Japan, so moving the capital from Tokyo to Nagano did make sense. Also in Neon Genesis Evangelion, Tokyo-2 was in Nagano too.

Humor

Four Humors

Next, the humor. The main character, Maya, has a melancholic face of the Four Humors. This type of face is quite unique in Japanese anime. Really melancholic. She is cold, dry, distant, irritable, and very autocratic. Melancholy in Brazilian-Portuguese is “Saudade.” And saudade is the core principle of Bossa Nova music. Yes, that ED of Neon Genesis song, “Fly Me To The Moon.” So, she has a saudade face.

Voice Actor

Next, the voice actor. Maya’s seiyuu is not Yoko Ono, but Yoko Hikasa, though they share the same given name. But the more amazing thing is that Maya’s father’s seiyuu is the famous narrator, Yajima Masaaki. He was the one always doing a narration if there was a special TV program for UFO/aliens, especially Yaoi Junichi UFO series (not that Yaoi!). Mr. Yaoi even worked with Tokyo Governor Ishihara to investigate Nessy, a UMA. I used to watch his UFO series when I was a kid, and got very scared of alien abduction. So, I watched Mutsugoro’s Animal Kingdom whenever his program went CM break. Yajima also does narration for a very famous quiz show about world mystery, Sekai-Fushigi-Hakken. I grew up with his voice. So, it’s like, “Oh, that’s him!”

Mu Magazine

And moreover, the Mu magazine is in the Occult Academy production team. Yes, the Mu magazine! Its logo reminds me of the jacket design of the Dark Side Of The Moon. I used to read the Mu. I was a big fan of it! Yeah, but I lose interest in those stuffs. You know why? Since adolescent years, I had been desperate looking for romantic pleasure, but the world remained cruel. So out of frustration, I turned to occult. Yes, clinging to occult and religion. So, I prayed to Christ and meditated Buddha really hard. I recited magic chants that were supposed to attract girls. Mikkyo, esoteric Buddhism, has Maha Raga love spell, but it didn’t work. How many love spells had I cast…? My only hope was occult, which would make girls swarm all over me instead of ignoring me like an idiot.  So, I figured occult was phony. Then, eventually I grew out of it and became atheist. That’s how I lost interest in occult.

Mu Magazine

Personal is political

Finally, Maya’s personal story. Maya hates occult and wants to destroy her deceased father’s academy. But the reason Maya hates occult is different from mine, not because she didn’t get boys’ attention, but because her father didn’t give her enough attention. Even though she is materially rich, her heart is poor. Yes, her bathroom has a bidet, which I’ve never seen in my entire life! She’s living a princess life. In turn, I have always been a proletarian, my little luxury is Yoshinoya! I’m poor at both!

Bidet

Occult didn’t bring me happiness but only brought melancholy. Yes, Saudade. My face is not exactly a melancholic type like Maya, but yes, I have a face that I can’t look directly in the mirror. I’m an eisoptrophobic person. Or an enoptrophobiac. If you’re satisfied with the world, you exude happiness in the mirror, but if you’re dissatisfied, you can’t look at the mirror. At the same time, it’s discouraging to go outside and face the world that’s been mean to you, constantly lying to you, so yeah, looking at girls in the 2-D screen and having moe is the best way for a hikikomori. Instead of trying to destroy or change the world, I withdraw into my own cocoon like Haibane Renmei. I should go wear a halo and wings. Yes, my melancholy is will to moe. That’s what melancholy is. Just like from that Bossa Nova song under Cristo Redentor, Estou morrendo de saudade (I’m dying of melancholy).

Therefore, Maya and I have in common, we are both melancholic, and we both hate occult. I’m very interested to see how she’s going to destroy the myth that has duped us. If this school really existed back then, I would have enrolled, but probably disillusioned by its phoniness, and probably helped her destroy the academy.

Thus, Melancholy Of Occult Academy, or Saudade Da Academia Oculta.

If you want to see Maya’s melancholy, then check out Occult Academy at Crunchyroll!

These are just the best of the photos we took this year at San Diego Comic Con! Includes some exclusive pics of the Marvel/Madhouse collaboration and some character designs for the upcoming Iron Man anime, as well as some excellent pictures of Yoshitaka Amano. Not to mention celebrity pics of Eva Mendes, Will Ferrell, Seth Rogen, Mark Wahlberg, and more!

A real photo gallery section is coming soon. Stay tuned.

1. A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm.
2. A robot must obey any orders given to it by human beings, except where such orders would conflict with the First Law.
3. A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law.

-Isaac Asimov, Runaround (from I.Robot 1942)

Having missed Yasuhiro Yoshiura’s indie production, Pale Cocoon upon its release in 2004, it was possibly intentional on my part to ignore the man’s works until I had a full on chance to see where he began. And to see that he had also been involved in numerous support roles in recent shows including Rebuild Of Evangelion, it only felt right to finally dive in, and see where he stood amongst other indie luminaries such as Makoto Shinkai. How little I knew how much I wold actually grow to admire his potential after finally seeing Pale Cocoon for myself. Even if it is a pretty scrappy piece of work, and offers little to grasp onto writing-wise, I was impressed by his visual style, and wish to tackle some heady science-fiction regarding human neglect and its will to better grasp the hows and whys. So finally, the chance came to explore his first full-blown series experiment in the form of a six episodes that were released as online only.(streaming for the series began with episode one in October of 2008, and streamed the finale in September of 2009)  Unsure of such a proposition, there indeed was a little worry on my part going in, but it can now be safely said that Yoshiura has himself a compelling creature in the form of Even No Jikan. And as of this writing, the series has not only completed its brief run, but has also experienced a theatrical version run earlier this year. And there are few shows today, so willing to merge the shell of anime & the thoughtfulness of good science fiction that this comes as a grand exhale of minty cool in an era bereft of anything but disparate gimmicks.

Rikuo Kikuhara is a high schooler, living with his often away from home parents, an older sister seemingly residing in the family living room, and with Sammy, dutiful home servant. Only it seems that her daily activities aside from the requisite cooking, cleaning, and shopping expected of androids of her type, has been found unaccountable over several instances of time outside the house. Shopping and errands are taking an unrealistic amount of time. No explanation forthcoming, and troubled by a bizarre message in the Sammy’s data logs, Rikuo takes it upon himself, along with mechanically prejudiced classmate Masaki to trace the servant’s steps to discover the truth behind her mysterious disappearances. No sooner do they come across a doorway in an undisclosed alley, leading the duo to Eve No Jikan (Time Of Eve) a hidden cafe especially designed for both robots and humans to co-exist calmly, welcoming new customers with a sign signifying the cafe’s singular rule: “There is to be no discrimination between robots and humans”

It is here that Rikuo & Masaki begin to meet the cafe’s few patrons, and within six brief episodes, explore their own feelings on a world populated by machines from those created by man, and those self-made by a society afraid of its own shadow. The social implications of a populace surrounded by subservient creations has been a staple of not merely anime, but of literate science fiction for well over several decades now, and Yoshiura’s short series is definitely another in this pantheon, but has an interesting distinction in how it treats the subject matter with an unexpected reverence for Asimov’s concerns, and places them in a more intimate setting. Watching the complete series, there are only five settings throughout the entire project, the majority of which takes place in Eve No Jikan as the undisclosed nation outside brims with a growing miasma of prejudice against the mechanical whom have comfortably nestled into every part of the societal body. Many stories have covered this material before, but to take the quiet , kuuki-kei approach is a novel one closer in tone to an episode of The Outer Limits than Blade Runner, that is, if TOL had an episode comfortable with a cup of coffee and good conversation.

Each episode centers on Rikuo’s reaction upon getting to know each patron on a new level, as the publicly mandated “haloes” are removed, and the machines take on a more relaxed, almost human form in the safety of the cafe. Among the unique visitors to the establishment are chatty Akiko, enigmatic couple Koji & Rina, playful child Chie and her elder guardian Shimei whom each bear a tale placing pre-established beliefs into question. All the while, a world less understanding in the form of the little known, but media strongarm movement known as The Ethics Committee is making moves against robot-safe regions known as Grey Zones in greater metropolitan areas. The contrast between Rikuo’s growing understanding of a changing world, as well as the building tension within the less-than receptive Masaki (who’s background makes for an interesting, albeit simplistic counterpoint) make for a quietly escalating war of notions on what it means to integrate our mecha brethren into our daily lives.

And even as these oft-told stories have indeed been a part of anime & manga for quite some time, Yoshiura’s take is a much more a thinly-veiled look at the modern japanese experience, than another robot parable for the ages. As Rikuo begins to peel past the layers of what he had once understood about his world, it is clear that he himself has long put away vital feelings in order to better align with the group dynamic. From seeing how Sammy regards her so-called owners with respect, and maybe even adoration, Rikuo starts to see the blurring of any lines that had once been placed there by a young public, unsure exactly why it felt so compelled to create simulacra capable of expressing what they themselves cannot. In the ideal eyes of cafe hostess Nagi,  empathy akin to hers  is something often placed aside in the outside world, and has helped fashion an environment where dependence on the indirect nature of the masses has no application. From the glowing haloes hovering over the heads of programmed servants outdoors in a grand means to delineate human from machine makes for an interesting look at aesthetic dependence in hopes of maintaining an image of order in a time where so many are in fact not on any grid whatsoever. The self-imposed denial of externalized feelings has been relegated to prime status, as progress marches on with a public trapped in an eternal adolescence, completely unsure of what to make of the new world they have created.

It is also telling in the series how machines are often treated with the stressful disdain of meaningless objects, while those closer with their mechanical counterparts are being seen as a social anomaly. Rikuo’s growing respect for the folks of Eve No Jikan runs counter to popular belief, and thus brings some burning dilemmas to light in what could easily have been another CG-laden blob of nonsense. Much like the id-pressure valves video games can offer us, it is easy to succumb toward objects with the same kind of general disregard, but as Eve No Jikan displays (as did sections of The Animatrix-most notably Mahiro Maeda’s The Second Renaissance), the treatment of those who share a resemblance toward their creators gives us a stark look into our disconnected natures. So just as the show helps us better see the robots as potentially sympathetic creatures with personalities & frailties of their own, it gives us a more contextural view of this dilemma than merely fiery violence, and robogore. More interested in the subtle, Yoshiura’s theme playfully shows us more than tells. Something that is also refreshing in anime series of this kind. There is even room for sly humor when an outdated pre-humanoid model shows up, demanding the treatment given to any patron, nasty glitches and all.

Despite the budget upgrade from Cocoon, the series is clearly done with limited means, and takes full advantage with some often lovely production savvy that can compete with some of tv’s strongest works over the last decade. At times it’s a lovely mix between 3D and 2D, and offers some lush images rife with a muted coffee color that invites a more relaxed atmo, perfect for the stories inherent. Also worth nothing are fine performances by Rie Tanaka, Kenji Nojima, & even Ritsuko Akagi herself, Yuriko Yamaguchi who bring an almost retro-feel to the proceedings. There are also weaknesses as the pacing at times feels a little unsure of itself early in the series, but soon after, it begins to pick up once the writing becomes a lot more comfortable with the setting. It becomes clear later on that there were characters they were much more interested in exploring come later episodes.

So all in all, the world of Eve No Jikan seems ready to expand into other areas as it all ends on an incomplete note. Whether or not this comes to pass, I personally am fine with brevity. But the series does offer enchantments few shows can with such a limited budget. There is truly a large scope outside the walls of this place, but perhaps it is up to us to fill in those gaps with what it is we intend to bring to the discussion.

Curious? Eve No Jikan can be caught on Crunchyroll!

The San Diego Comic Con has been around for years, but nothing draws in the media like scandal. So it is unsurprising that the media flocked to rumors on Twitter of a stabbing, complete with (entirely fabricated) gory details like blood-drenched shirts and gaping wounds. The reality of it was more schoolyard fight than slasher, more petulant than perverse. This was no Akihabara knifing or even “Apple store incident.” What happened?

Around 4:00 p.m., two adult males attending the convention got into a scuffle shortly after a panel in Hall H of the convention center. – LA Times

That’s right – a man got scratched in the face with a pen, and the police took his assailant away. There’s even video, courtesy of elguapo1:

To be sure, the attempt at violence was there. And to be sure, the police were right to identify this as a case of assault and haul the perpetrator away. All the lurid fictions, however – the tales of betrayal, of passion, of dark secrets – now appear entirely unjustified. Instead it appears that anime otaku, like all other people, are capable of losing their temper and lashing out. When this happened, the police were there and the situation was under control.

Is that truly so surprising?

Officer Stafford describes most of the attendees of this years Comic-Con as peaceful, saying “They don’t drink, so that cuts down on the fights.”
– LA Times

If you’re dead set on selling an image of otaku as dangerous, antisocial, and violently out of control, perhaps it is unsurprising when rumors of a stabbing start, or surprising when they turn out to be vastly exaggerated. Viewed with some perspective, though, this minor altercation is just business as usual for a large convention. The real surprise is that people keep playing to stereotypical expectations instead of heeding the true story.

2:02 PM—Talking about Priest. Saw the Hall H movie preview for this yesterday. I find it interesting that a manhwa is the first potential breakout for TP. The same artist, Min-Woo Hyung, is doing another one called Ghost Face which TP is also publishing.

2:04 PM—Skelanimals. “Adorable and creepy”: not much of the latter if you ask me :)

2:04 PM—social media strategy on Facebook. Also, digital distribution via Zinio. I remember reading an Adobe creative magazine via Zinio magazine reader. There’s also e-books via the public library. (I should get my Sony Reader back…)

2:08 PM—Van Von Hunter DVD–that looks like a live action parody? Looks like a personal project of the staff of TP.

2:09 PM—current releases: a graphic novel based on the movie Labyrinth called Return to Labyrinth. The writer of it is a panelist and he’s been talking about it.

2:15 PM—still talking about Return to Labyrinth. It goes on sale on August 1.

2:20 PM—Another adaptation, this time for another Jim Henson property, Legends of the Dark Crystal. It’s 80s fantasy film time! Other adaptations: StarCraft 2.

2:22 PM—Hanako and the Terror of Allegory vol. 2, by Sakae Esuno.

2:24 PM—New releases: Karin (I refuse to call it Chibi Vampire!) Airmail, which is an anthology. Also How to Draw Shojo Manga, which is done from the artist of Ouran, Fruits Basket, Vampire Knight among others. It’s actually produced by the Japanese publisher of various shojo magazines.

2:25 PM—Continuation of Happy Cafe and Alice in the Country of Hearts and Ratman and Future Diary.

2:26 PM—Hetalia comes out in October. To much cheering, of course, from the fangirls! Also something based on World of Warcraft. There definitely seem to be a lot of those kinds of titles lately.

2:28 PM—Demon Sacred “featuring super hot demon boys!” That says it all. “Cute girls, unicorns, and hot guys.”

2:30 PM—Saving Life, from the author of Girls Bravo!. “A fan-service bonanza.” Hah, it got no crowd reaction…this is not a fan service crowd I see.

2:31 PM—Summoner Girl. Plus, The Stellar Six of Gingacho, which the editor compares to Honey and Clover but with younger characters. Really? That would be nice…though color me skeptical.

2:33 PM—December releases: Eensy Weensy Monster, which, believe it or not, is by the author of Kare Kano (Masumi Tsuda). I see a stick figure on the cover: is this why they went with stick figures and sketchy art in one of the later episodes of the anime?

2:36 PM—.hack light novels. Full Metal Panic light novel, following the story of The Second Raid.

2:38 PM—I see they have a BL line now called “Blu.” They publish Gakuen Heaven, Baseball Haven (incoming pitcher and catcher jokes!)…see a pattern with these titles here?

2:40 PM—There’s a new Joss Whedon movie called The Cabin in the Woods coming soon. They’re doing the graphic novel of it. That’s the first I heard about this movie…

2:42 PM—Lives, by the author of Battle Royale, which is, well, quite gory. A lot of disemboweling, apparently. (BR was too much for me. See our review of one of the omnibus editions.)

2:43 PM—LOL: Mr. Clean, Fully Equipped! An OCD clean freak saved by a girl.

2:45 PM—it’s Q&A time now. I’m not sure there were actually any new licenses after all, or maybe they just mixed them in with the upcoming releases. Seems that new license announcements are a crapshoot at Comic Con in general–I totally didn’t expect Bandai to have any this year.

We were at the panel that premiereed the Iron Man Anime, the colloration effort between Marvel and Madhouse. Having not seen the Iron Man movie nor having not read the comic, I have limited interest in the franchise. That said, I’ll begin with the plot and the review. Those who want to be surprised, don’t read the plot part. Also see Anime News Network’s review, written by Todd Ciolek.

The Plot:

Tony Stark of Stark Industries is building a energy generator in Japan and so he discussed the new project with the defense minister. He meets Tanaka Chika (Chika Tanaka) of Lab 23, the group that he contracted to do the work. As a hot shot millionaire, he hits on her right away. In any case, he’s asked about the possibility of being the Iron Man and defend justice in Japan. He reveals a new line of Iron Man suits called Iron Man Dio.

Being a showoff, he performs the test flight by himself rather than allowing the newly recruited pilots to do their thing. Something goes wrong in the middle of the demonstration and he has to return the Iron Man Dio suit to Lab 23. Meanwhile, he asks the pretty reporter Ota Nanami (Nanami Ota) to drive him home. Ota is a stumbling gal and their first encounter resulted in a slap in his face. This time, she blushes and is unable to get a real interview done.

Back at the Lab, the new Iron Man Dio suit malfunctions and it breaks out of the lab. Tony Stark once again dresses up as the hero and chases it down. Just when he has everything under control, he’s attacked by an Alien-look-like-suit (yes, that kind of Alien) from an organization called Scorpio, and though he is able to defeat the enemy, he’s warned by the enemy that it’s far from over.

My Impression:

Well, what can I say? I thought the first episode was plain by Madhouse standards. I’m not a comic guy and probably never will be. I don’t know if it would make a difference had I read the comic or watched the movie. As an anime fan, I can’t say I was super impressed with the personality of the characters or the pacing of the show. There was nothing wrong with the pacing itself but the first episode wasn’t as impressive as I wish it were. The animation was nice and the part of the different parts of the suit closing was impressive.

The music was rather medicore. I wish they used the Black Sabbath Music for it but I guess that wasn’t meant to be. The characters were one-dimensional and predictable. The anime cliches are added for humor value but it wasn’t funny. The audience certainly didn’t laugh much, if at all. We all cheered at the end of course but hype failure is hype failure. We were told to cheer for the camera even when we were waiting in line. What, press waiting in line? You bet! Being a press at Comicon is a joke. But of courrrrse! XD

So, the way I see it, not epic fail but definitely a hype fail. It doesn’t meet my expectations of what Madhouse can do and I doubt I will follow this one when it comes out. FYI, I dropped Heroman. It was a childish bore.

Bottomline: 6.5/10

8:04 PM – we are in front row. I’m going to have great pictures up on this article soon. Panel has not yet started.

8:07 PM – today’s presenters (according to the signs up front): Kristin Adams and John Rieber from G4. Jeph Loeb from Marvel. Masao Maruyama from Madhouse.

8;16 PM – Jeff Loeb, head of Marvel TV, is up now.

8:19 PM – The stuff will be shown on G4. Subtitled in Japanese with English. They’re about to start showing it.

8:45 PM – We just finished airing. Kristin Adams is introducing the other panelists.

8:47 PM – Jeph Loeb of Marvel: they believed that bringing in Madhouse was much better than doing it on their own. “Japan for Japan.” There is a different storyline apart from the standard canon.

8:48 PM – Wolverine is the next Marvel property to be anime, then the X-Men. Then, Blade.

8:49 PM – they’re showing the character designs for the Iron Man anime designs. And now Wolverine.

8:51 PM – Maruyama on translating Western comics into Japanese style.

9:01 PM – all Marvel anime will be subbed.

New License Announcements

1:08 PM – Highschool of the Dead manga licensed.

1:08 PM – Higurashi manga (sidestory).

1:10 PM – Betrayal Knows My Name. It seems they are focusing on licensing shows that are either very recent or currently on anime…

1;11 PM – Aron’s Absurd Armada. Full color 4-koma manhwa. Are they into the slashy stuff or what? :)

1:12 PM – The Bride’s Stories by Kaoru Mori. Interestingly enough this was mentioned in yesterday’s Best/Worst Manga panel as a promising unlicensed manga. Guess it’s not unlicensed now!

News

1:14 PM – Yen Press Magazine moving online. There is a hint that a “certain green haired girl” will be making an appearance. Yotsuba?

1:15 PM – The online magazine will not be in Flash. Heh–the iPad may in fact be an ideal device for reading that sort of thing.

1:20 PM – it’s Q&A now. Will record the most interesting questions.

Q/A

1:20 PM – they feel no need to separate out their yaoi material in a separate imprint. They don’t want to “ghettoize” that stuff.

1:21 PM – the manga will be only viewable online, not downloadable. You can sign in through one login on multiple machines (within reason).

1:23 PM – no new light novels are being planned, aside from continuing existing ones. However, with Haruhi, the Disappearance novel will be coming out soon.

1:24 PM – feels that eInk is not ideal for reading manga, which is why they’re focusing on the iPad and similar devices.

1:25 PM – giveaways. I think that’s it.

Yes! OH YES! Kazehana get! She totally commanded the episode and showed all her womanly charms, which made everyone else looking like girl scouts. Yukana, who we interviewed back in 07, performed outstandingly in this episode with some ass-kicking, some good ol’ fashion naked-apron loving and all the other goodies that makes a mature woman attractive – no BS, just right. As Kazehana would say, “when you love someone, you just do it.”

As ridiculous as the concept of the show is – it’s a glorified harem show – having characters with perky and fun personalities always highlights the other strengths of the show. But here’s a really important tip even for men in real life: being manly and brave even if you’re really just a powerless wuz physically really impresses the ladies. Even if they laugh at your attempts of being manly, taking charge at the appropriate times as a man should really helps. As David DeAngelo would say, women don’t feel attraction toward wussies. Constantly telling a girl how much you like her really doesn’t help. Then again, it’s an anime and it’s Sekirei, as long as you’re the main character or the right audience, what do you care? XD

Now we know Sahashi’s mom works for MBI. Interesting, so I guess of course it’s not a coincidence that somehow he gets the most Sekirei. His mom hooked him up somehow! That’s a cool mom.

The relationship dynamic between Karasuba and Musubi is quite interesting. Musubi looks very much like her minion in this episode and it seems like she’s in on some scheme that Karasuba is planning. What would it be? Is it simply just a relationship between a mentor and a student?

Man, I can’t wait to see Kazehana’s outlandish antics next episode. This show offers fun little treats every step of the way since season one and having girls that are so easy on the eyes really boosts its value. You’d have to be a harem-comedy hater to hate it.

See our last panel report from AX and the licensing bonanza.

6:01 PM – Funi and the anime industry: it’s not as bad as it looks. The bad economy is a big factor. After all, AX was huge…recall the “DON’T PANIC” theme from 2008. They are committed to continunig dubs.

6:04 PM – 51% of the anime audience is older than 25. But the biggest group online is 13-17 years old.

6:06 PM – Social media strategy on Twitter, Facebook, Youtube, etc. Stats.

6:07 PM – Simulcasting. Including this season’s stuff. See their page. Also their Video on Demand from various cable providers.

6:09 PM – Antipiracy efforts. Just one lawyer and three staff? They go after the counterfeit goods, torrent links, streaming/download, direct link storage sites. Simulcasting.

6:10 PM – My Bride is a Mermaid (aka Seto no Hamayome). Trailer. I loved this show.

6:12 PM – Master of Martial Hearts (Zettai Shogeki). I like their ad: “I can has double moe cheezburger.”

6:15 PM – Casshern Sins.

6:16 PM – Corpse Princess (Shikabane-hime), which they had been streaming for a while. Finally coming to DVD release. Great for the zombie fans!

6:18 PM – Hetalia Axis Powers (to much squeeing). Finally coming out on September 14th on DVD. I always thought this show was an excuse to indulge as much national stereotyping as possible :) They’re streaming it now. And that’s right–they hired their dub cast recently.

6:23 PM – Eden of the East (which I love dearly). Described as “Jason Bourne, the anime”–well, there are some similarities and one direct reference…See our interview with the creators here. Blu-Ray in September 25th. The dub voice for Juiz is actually pretty good.

6;25 PM – Contest winner for the “Fullmetal Free Ride” video contest. It’s to show how big of a FMA: Brotherhood fan you are. They’re bringing the winner, Megan Hewlett, up to show the video. Funi apparently taped the reaction shot of them telling them they won.

6:32 PM – Alien vs Ninja from Sushi Typhoon, their live action Japanese cult film imprint. Also includes Mutant Girls Squad. They’re introducing the Japanese producer of these movies. They have a panel later tonight at 8:15 PM, with full screenings tomorrow night.

6:37 PM – AX Announcements: Geneon rescues: Technolyze, Ai Yori Aoshi, Armitage III, Haibane Renmei, Hellsing TV, Serial Experiments: Lain, the entire Tenchi franchise.

6:38 PM – Darker than Black s2. Shana S2. Railgun and Index. Black Lagoon OVA. Hellsing Ultimate V-VII.  Trigun movie.

6:41 PM – Q&A section. That’ll be it for me today.

4:31 PM – they’re starting now. They’re ribbing Carlo Santos now.

4:33 PM – introductions. Jason Thompson is speaking.

4:37 PM – the actual moderator appears, Tom Spurgeon, of ComicsReporter.com.

4:38 - Best manga (teens/all ages): Twin Spica (Vertical) by Ko Yaginuma. Described as a cross between Moyashimon and Planetes (both which I like).

4:42 PM – Cardcaptor Sakura (Dark Horse) omnibus edition. This is something of a re-release. + Clover. Edited by Carl Horn; I remember him being a worshiper of Hideaki Anno back in the Evangelion days. Christopher says Clover is an “interesting failure” though.

4:45 PM – Cat Paradise (Yen Press) by Yuji Iwahara. Deb Aoki: “X-Men with cats.”

4:47 PM – Chi’s Sweet Home (Vertical) by Kanata Konami. Christopher: surprisingly dark. Really? Never watched the anime though. Carlo Santos is not so hot on it—he found it a bit episodic. The anime episodes were like 5 minutes each right?

4:51 PM – Karakuri Odette (Tokyopop) by Julietta Suzuki. I’ve never heard of it.

4:52 PM – Kingyo Used Books (VIZ) by Seimu Yoshizaki. “Manga for manga nerds” (Carlo Santos). It’s apparently a manga nerd paradise. Nostalgic for manga we never had….Christopher likens it to Pluto.

4:57 PM – Megaman Megamix (Udon) by Hitoshi Ariga. Um, wow…

4:58 PM – Kekkaishi (VIZ) by Yellow Tanabe. “You know who likes Kekkaishi in Japan? Freakin’ everybody…..Kinda like Bleach.” (Gets booed.)

5:01 PM – Best for adults: Oishinbo, 20th Century Boys, Pluto. I remember this was mentioned in last year’s panel…

5:02 PM – Stuff by Jiro Taniguchi: A Distant Neighborhood and The Summit of the Gods. I’ve been meaning to check his stuff out.

5:03 PM – Ooku (VIZ) by Fumi Yoshinaga. Christopher doesn’t like the way it’s translated though.

5:03 PM – Detroit Metal City. A Drifting Life (Yoshihiro Tatsumi).

5:05 PM – Age Called Blue/Red Blinds the Foolish (Deux/Netcomics) by Est Em. This is BL/yaoi.

5:06 PM – Not Simple (VIZ) Natsume Ono. I actually like this one. It’s a pretty intense story.

5:06 PM – Black Lagoon (VIZ) by Rei Hiroe. But of course!

5:10 PM – International category. Twilight the Graphic Novel is mentioned, to much booing and consternation. Deb Aoki: “it’s the money machine that makes all other manga possible.”

5;10 PM – WORST: Orange Planet, Togainu no Chi.

5:11 PM – Red Hot Chili Samurai. .hack books (“ALL OF THEM”) :) Maximum Ride, an adaptation of James Patterson story. They generally don’t like manga based on licensed existing properties.

5:13 PM – Most anticipated manga. AX Alternative Manga anthology (Top Shelf). Genkaku Picasso by Usamaru Furuya: draws very pretty girls, with a sick sense of humor. A Drunken Dream by Moto Hagio, who is here at Comic Con apparently. This is the author of They Were Eleven, and was one of the founders of shoujo manga.

5:17 PM – Not Love but Delicious Foods. Cross Game (VIZ), by Mitsuru Adachi. (I like the anime.) The Strange Tale of Panorama Island by Suehiro Maruo.

5:19 PM – UNLICENSED: Kami no Shizuku: this is the famous wine manga. It’s not licensed yet, but it’s seen some mainstream exposure already. Saint Young Men by Hkaru Nakamura: Jesus and Buddha as modern roommates. Otoyome Gatari, from the author of Victorian Romance Emma. The Music of Marie: “this is Miyazaki on LSD.”  Atagoul by Hiroshi Masumura. The Rose of Versailles–really, this has never been licensed? Perhaps Ms Ikeda is asking for tons of money.

That’s it!

Ichigo-chan and her team Sweets Princes are in Paris, France to compete in the World Cake Grand Prix of St. Marie Academy. But something disturbing has been happening.

When Ichigo-chan and her team were doing sight-seeing in Paris, a blue hair Italian dude was stalking Ichigo-chan with a scooter and sexually harassing her in the presence of her team. And of course, this greatly offended her teammates. However, the dude continued to act unapologetic, overconfident, rude, aggressive, and obnoxious. No respect for the ladies. Ichigo-chan is still a 14 years old middle school student, and that tacky lolicon Gigolo is already after her. I checked France’s age of consent, and it’s 15 years old. So, it’s a crime. I admit he has a nice hair, I wish I could have that volume, but that doesn’t mean crime should be overlooked. We need to lock him up behind the bars. Nanpa-yarou! (Mate-hunting asshole!) In other words, womanizer. Yes, mujeriego. Playboy. Pimp.

Throwing kiss at Ichigo-chan.

It seems that blue hair is a sign of pervertismo. Oh yeah, Muttsurini from BakaTesu is a pervert too. And his hair is blue! Yes, muttsuri (closet perv) plus Mussolini, so he is an Italian guy too. He’s constantly taking photos of girls’ underskirt. He should be locked away also. He would be the most notorious paparazzi in future.

Do Italian guys like Japanese girls? Are Japanese girls that popular in Italy? I don’t know. The only thing I know is Japan and Italy used to be the axis. But the blue hair dude doesn’t seem to have any respect for the ex-axis partner. He is claiming that Japanese men are wimps. He’s saying the Japanese are hetare (coward). Really? What about Italian men? Aren’t they bamboccioni? Moreover, didn’t he know his country is called “Hetalia” which is “Hetare + Italia”?

But Ichigo’s honmei (true crush) is Henri Lucas sensei of St. Marie Academy Paris campus. He’s very ikemen (good looking face) which I feel defeated. Of course, we can tell from the voice actor Daisuke Kishio, who also did an ikemen character Kaname-sama of Vampire Knight.

Moreover, Henri sensei’s secretary is a beautiful parisienne. Chic short hair style and sharp business suits. Very trendy. Her name is Sully. Will I be going to see her a lot in the show? Can she use her high heels to…, no, I’m not a hentai, no way! I’m different from Tachibana of Amagami. I’m the purest hearted otaku in the world. The only thing I pursue is pure love, pure rouge of Kimikiss. Otaku seeks pure in 2-D. Yet, I have to admit I recently broke my vegetarian vow and ate pork. Pig is a dirty animal. That’s why I’ve been defiled with dirty thoughts. I have to be more careful. I have to watch my diet. That’s what AnimeDietitian preaches.

West Europe, ah, France, Paris, I’ve never been there. Ah, if I had money, if I were rich enough like Paris Hilton, I’d definitely be there. Too bad America has been in a mess since the Lehman Shock. I can’t go to the places I want to visit, so the best I can do is visit Yoshinoya, which is my petite luxury. Yoshinoya is my reality. Of course, no girl wants to have a dinner date at Yoshinoya. 3-D (Reality) is harsh. So, I have to have a passport to 2-D instead.

Ah, the mecca of art, Paris… And France is a romantic country. My favorite genre of anime is rabukome (love comedy, i.e., romantic comedy). Yes, that’s why my favorite films are Eric Rohmer’s, the meister of the French romantic comedy film. Yes, a skinship paradise! Ah, I wish I could grow up in France in my adolescent years, so I could have had skinship as much as I wanted. I wouldn’t have ended up being a kimo-ota (creepy otaku) by now.

I really envy Ichigo-chan and her folks for going to France!

Watch Yumeiro Patissiere on Crunchyroll.