Wednesday, July 28, 2010 at 01:55AM Sorry, but the title is a blatant lie. It's actually just an "opening" I made from the 2009 trailers using music from the anime Eureka Seven. But doesn't it just...click?
Monday, July 26, 2010 at 02:26PM Written by Jammer
Writer/Artist: Sakae Esuno
Age Rating: Older Teen
Yukiteru's as passive as they come. Instead of hanging out after school with friends, he walks all by himself with his cell phone out, typing away. But what exactly is he doing on that phone? Turns out, it's nothing more than diary he keeps. Literally every observation he makes gets typed down. It serves no purpose other than to keep Yukiteru sane. He's even grown so lonely as to have imaginary friends: a "god" named Deus Ex Machina and his little assistant Muru Muru. Even when he's feeling most down, he can turn to them. But Deus Ex Machina is a little bored, and decides to play a little game. He imbues Yukiteru's cell phone with the ability to tell the future. Anything that Yukiteru WOULD HAVE written, gets written a long time in advance. As fun as it is at first, Yukiteru soon finds out that he isn't the only one with a special cell phone, and that he may have inadvertently become a part of a deadly survival game!
This is one of those manga I've seen in the bookstore for a long time now. I've always picked it up and taken a look at the cover, but never really gotten around to reading it until recently. And I can say without hesitation that I wish I had picked it up earlier, because this series is a whole lot of fun. Admittedly, it isn't the most original of titles this side of the world. Even from the premise I started to think "this sounds like Death Note meets Battle Royale meets Eden of the East," and based on the first volume...that's a fairly accurate description.
But let it be noted that that isn't necessarily a bad thing. To be honest, it's all about the execution. This manga does seem like a cross between a lot of the best anime out there, but that doesn't keep it from being entertaining in its own right. The pacing is very fast, so fast that I began to wonder how this series would last for more than four volumes. There are lots of twists and turns that get thrown your way, and the way he uses the characters different cell phone ability is pretty ingenious. The coolest example of this is how Yukiteru and Yuno, a "stalker" who's had a crush on him for some time now. Her cell phone tells her what happens to Yukiteru in increments of ten minutes. In times of desperation, using the phones together becomes essential to their survival.
Sometimes the different phones, their abilities, and whether or not what happens actually makes sense threw me off for a split second every now and then, but everything usually falls back into place. Even things that aren't fully explained make sense if you take an extra moment to think about it, and that's what makes the series worth reading. I get the feeling that I'm in good hands when it comes to the author. I feel like he understands his world and won't resort to cop-outs or resort to solutions that aren't entirely plausible.
The art of this manga is decent, but nothing special. It gets the job done well enough without drawing any real attention to itself. There's nothing about it to distinguish it from any of the other thriller titles out there. Like I said earlier, it's a title I've picked up several times before, but never got until now, so that should say something. You won't be won over by the art. It'll be the execution of the story that gets you.
On the whole, Future Diary is a solid, albeit not quite original title. But its lack of originality is more than made up for by its quick pacing, and the increasing complexity of its premise. It keeps you on the edge of your seat, and even better, gets you trying to guess what happens next. If you're a fan of thrillers, have already read Death Note and just want to go on a fun ride, look no further than Future Diary.
Rating: 8/10
Pros: Fast-pacing, takes full advantage of the premise
Cons: Feels like it's trying to take the best parts of more original titles
Thursday, July 22, 2010 at 11:22PM 
Twenty episodes gone in many blinks of eyes. But I figures it's a landmark worth celebrating. And what better way than to do something as awesome as having BOTH anime AND movies in one single helping of podcast? I know, right? I'm a genius.
Today I'm joined by the usuals (albeit in different segments) Pwngoatjunkie and Matt Sullivan. And the guests joining me today are Doctor from the SSAA Podcast, Mikey D. Pirate from the One Piece at a Time Blog, and Zach from the One Piece Podcast.
Mikey's been wanting to talk about One Piece for awhile, so that's what we do. And he had the idea of calling it the Swimsuit Special, and who am I to deny such a great title?
We also talk about Inception in great detail (in both spoilery and non-spoilery segments. We don't discriminate!), as well as Robert Zemeckis and his technology-esque career.
To subscribe on iTunes to the podcast, click the podcast logo at top of the PODCAST PAGE. To just download the AAC file, click the link at the bottom of THE PODCAST POST. To download the MP3, click the link at the bottom of THIS POST.
Show Notes:
00:00:00 Intro
00:01:17 Swimsuit Special
01:03:18 SSAA Podcast Promo
01:04:10 News
- Guillermo del Toro Haunted Mansion
01:18:38 Inception Trailer
01:20:54 Movie of the Week (Inception Non-Spoilery)
01:30:02 Movie of the Week (Inception Spoilery)
01:54:51 Director's Corner (Robert Zemeckis)
02:04:21 One Piece Podcast Promo
02:04:58 Closing
Tuesday, July 20, 2010 at 05:25PM Because I'm a huge nerd I used the rough translation lyrics from One Piece Official and adapted them into singable English lyrics.
Sing along!
Tuesday, July 20, 2010 at 02:09PM Written by Pwngoatjunkie
Nagasumi Michishio is just like any normal middle school student…except for the fact that he can’t swim. While visiting the Seto Inland Sea, Nagasumi finds himself drowning, and it looks like the show will be over before it even starts. As Nagasumi slips into unconsciousness, he catches a glimpse of what looks like a mermaid in the water. Nagasumi later awakens on the shore alive, and tells his parents about being saved by a mermaid, and as any normal parents would, they think he’s gotten a little too much water between the ears. To everyone’s surprise, the girl who saved Nagasumi shows up in the night, and introduces herself. Her name is Sun, and upon seeing Nagasumi, she asks him to be her husband.
Yes, it turns out that Sun actually IS a mermaid, and that by mermaid law any human that sees a mermaid in their fish form must be executed to keep their secret. It also doesn’t help that Sun’s family just happens to be a band of Yakuza mermaids, and her dad is the leader!! After many attempts from Sun’s dad to kill him off, Nagasumi agrees to marry Sun to save both their lives, thus beginning Nagasumi’s new life as the fiancé of a mermaid.
What this show tries to do it does right in just about every way possible. After watching the first episode, you can tell that Nagasumi really feels awkward about the situation he’s in and the voice actor for him (Todd Haberkorn) really does a good job of driving that home. Sun (Alexis Tipton) really sounds like the girl next door and was probably the best choice they could have gotten for this role.
The secondary cast of characters, of which there are many, also do a great job in their respective roles. The first thirteen episodes included in this package introduce them to all in a nicely paced manner. First you have Sun’s parents, Gozaburo and Ren (John Swasey, and Stephanie Young respectively), and Nagasumi’s parents, neither of which have names (Andy Mullins, Lydia Mackay). There’s also the main Yakuza soldiers, Masa (Chris Sabat), Shark Fujishiro (Bryan Massey), and Octopus Nakajima (Chris Cason). About four-five episodes in, we’re introduced to Nagasumi’s classmates and a rival of Sun’s, in both life and love, though it’s more of a one sided rivalry. Like I said, they all support the main cast very well, though Monica Rial’s character of mini assassin, Maki, really got on my nerves at times, mostly because of how high pitched her voice was the majority of the time.
This first set of My Bride Is A Mermaid, contains the first thirteen episodes of the series on two discs, in the nice cases just about every Funimation releases nowadays has. These episodes may feel a little winding as there is nary an episode where a new character isn’t introduced, but by episode 10, the majority of the cast is there, and you’ll see that everyone is there for a reason.
In terms of extras, we get the bare minimum that Funimation usually gives us: the textless opening and ending, and some trailers. Honestly I would suggest that Funi add at least one commentary on their releases, because the instances when they do, they really add a nice insight into the process of making the show from beginning to finish, and it gives us a chance to hear the actors’ point of view. Oh well, one can dream. For what it is though, this set is worth the buy and I would recommend it through and through.
Score: 8/10
Pros: Mermaids, Yakuza, and Comedy, what more could you want?
Cons: Extras are a little slim