...especially when Taiga gets angry.

This week we cover general news and goings on. Scott Pilgrim, also known as “that awesome movie that every geek except me has seen,” is apparently awesome (And I really want to see it). Some awesome (or creepy, depending on how you look at it) news in the field of 2D love as we discuss Love Plus + and its use of augmented reality barcodes (whatever that means). Hatsune Miku is jumping overseas with her first U.S. “concert” that of course is on the opposite side of the country.

Drama’s a-brewing with FUNimation again, with what they did with the second ED sequence to My Bride is a Mermaid. Urban Vision might not be doing so hot, or maybe they’re just restructuring as they say? MangaGamer’s having troubles with Koihime Musou, but you should still buy it. NIS America details their upcoming releases of Toradora!, Persona: Trinity Soul, Pandora Hearts, and some generic foxgirl deity show. And the best news of all, MITSUDOMOE SEASON 2! (Scott was not amused by my enthusiasm).

Not all the news was good though, as two companies in Japan recently filed for bankruptcy. Hear our thoughts on this week’s episode.

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If you don’t know what you’re getting into, Spice and Wolf can seem a little daunting at first. The very first episode, and just about every episode that follows it, is basically 24 consecutive minutes of people talking. Mostly about economics. Medieval economics at that. Sounds boring, yes? Well, surprisingly, it isn’t.

This is due entirely to how fascinating the characters and their relationships with each other are. Lawrence, being a merchant, always looks at things in terms of money. Either making it, spending it, or keeping track of the debt Holo has racked up during their travels. He always keeps somewhat detached from things, never really showing much emotion no matter what’s going on around him. That is, until it seems like Holo may be in danger, during which time he is genuinely panicked and gets irritated when the people he tries to seek help from don’t act quickly enough. Over time it becomes clear that despite his behavior he has started to develop genuine feelings for Holo and cares about her deeply.

Holo herself is a rather interesting character. Despite being a several hundred year old deity, she behaves more like a child. She gets excited about food, going so far as demanding Lawrence take her to another city for a chance to eat apples pickled in honey. She tries to act the part of a deity, by talking big about herself or belittling humans, acting like she’s not interested in anything they do. But this only makes her seem like a child attempting to impress someone by bragging. All this bragging and boasting serves to hide the fact that she’s really just lonely, having been stuck watching over one particular wheat field for many years, and having no real contact with anyone.

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Fortunately, Anthony Moores (known as “Antz”) has expressed interest in writing for the site, and he will be added to the team. Expect to see some posts from him coming soon. Here’s a quick bio he provided:

Anthony was first exposed to anime back in the days of Dragon Ball Z. Through the years he kept watching whatever showed up on TV in Canada, which wasn’t very much, and only recently got into collecting DVDs. Nowadays he compulsively buys crap that he’ll probably never get around to watching while writing his own blog that no one actually reads. He mostly reviews anime and manga, and sometimes games when he gets around to playing them.

Check out Anthony’s blog at Antz’ Anime Reviews

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The Fall season is almost upon us. In this episode, Scott & I take a look at the upcoming anime. Two of my favorite ecchi shows are getting second seasons, plus we’re finally seeing some new mecha shows, and a slice-of-life drama that sounds like it could have KEY potential. Hear our thoughts on each of them in this episode.

In the news, we cover recent happenings related to Valkyria Chronicles, K-ON!!, and Atlus. Miyazaki is nominated for another (well-deserved) award, Hayate the Combat Butler gets a live-action series that doesn’t look too promising, and FUNimation rescues the Disgaea anime that nobody likes (but I do).

Oh, and I make fun of Scott’s terrible pronunciation of “shoujo.”

As always, credit goes to Chartfag for the chart and info.

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This new column also gives me a chance to better express my opinions about anime and the industry as a whole, which isn’t something I do too often on this blog (but do quite often on Twitter).

My first foray into the world of Formspring involved some questions about myself and my anime-related interests. Here’s what I answered…

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This is Scott 10 years from now

We start off this episode talking about my recent trip to Disney, along with me starting to watch Ah! My Goddess. I have FINALLY finished Kira Kira (see my review of the game), and so I now actually have time to start watching anime again! We also talk about Evangelion 2.22 quite a bit (spoiler warning – blame Scott) and then move on to the huge chock of news from the past few weeks. Oh, and Scott loves body pillows – a guilty pleasure that I actually have no interest in (hence the title of this episode).

We also make a heartfelt farewell to Satoshi Kon, who recently passed away, in this episode – his genius will surely be missed.

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When Gravity created the first Ragnarok Online game in 2002, it was considered to be one of the most popular MMORPGs in Korea and was internationally known as being in the same league as Lineage and EverQuest. Having played Ragnarok Online since South Korea’s first launch date, I am very excited to talk about this newly remade addition to the series.

A couple of years ago, Gravity created Ragnarok Online II: Gate of the World – a sequel based on the first game. However, due to many game bugs and graphic errors, the game was left in open beta. As a result, the Ragnarok Online II project was dropped and the team decided to go back to the original game. In 2007, it was rumored that Ragnarok Online II will be redesigned. It was later confirmed on the series’ official Korean website that it would be using the Gamebryo engine from Unreal Engine 2.5.

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Of the four main parks at Disney World, Epcot is certainly my favorite. Among all the great rides, the informative and interactive exhibits, and the cultural experience of the World Showcase, a trip to Epcot is sure to be a day of excitement.

Any anime fan going to Epcot should certainly not miss the Japan Pavilion at the World Showcase. At the Japan Pavilion, one can get a taste of Japan’s culture with the surroundings, food, shops, and live performances.

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Have you ever wondered what it would be like to start your own band? The good times, the fame, and the hardships you’d go through with your friends? Would it strengthen your friendships or pull them apart? And in the end, would it all be worth it? In Kira Kira, you can get a taste of what it’s like. With an array of routes to choose from each involving different characters and some deep emotional moments, this visual novel is a lot more than what it appears to be. You may even be tempted to label it as trash simply because of its romantic elements – but that would be a shame, because that would be disregarding the story as a whole, and a huge disrespect to its creators.

Kira Kira follows the story of Shikanosuke Maejima, a student attending Oubi Academy in Tokyo. Shikanosuke is a mediocre student with no real aspirations in life – he just wants to get through high school. Three of his female friends, Kirari, Chie, and Sarina, are members of the Second Literature Club. Due to lack of interest, the club is set to be dissolved at the end of the school year. In an effort to save the club, the three girls and Shikanosuke decide to put on a live rock performance at the school’s cultural festival. Through the help of Murakami, a close friend, the group is introduced to punk music and they decide that is the sound that they want to go for. The band members set out to learn their instruments while simultaneously learning the history of punk music and the true meaning of “punk.”

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