......why Hollywood, why?

Like most other people my age or older/younger, at some point or another we all saw Tom and Jerry. Love or hate 'em, nobody can deny the fact they are the world's most lovable cat and mouse duo. I know this new is kinda old but I did not find out until recently. I found out the folks in Hollywood are making a live-action film of Tom and Jerry.

........

....W....T....F.
WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU PEOPLE IN HOLLYWOOD ARE THINKING?!?! THE IDEA DOES NOT WORK! Seriously, Tom and Jerry is about nothing more than just an animated cat and mouse chasing each other all over the place. The idea to turn it into a film did not work before, and you're going to try it again?!? Plus, it does not help the fact that cartoons like Tom and Jerry just don't quite work in live action form. Alvin and the Chipmunks sucked, Garfield sucked, Underdog I never saw, but I know it sucked. 80% of all animation turned live-action sucks, so stop it Hollywood, please stop. If you're going to give us a live-action adaptation with a story thats actually good, thats fine. But if you're going to keep churing out garbage, raping beloved classics just for a quick buck, please, i'm begging you, stop it!

Should I also question why you are also making *another* live-action Scooby-Doo film for a direct-to-video realase when the first 2 wheren't all that grand either?

Funimation amazes me....

Wow, I'm totally caught off guard by this. I never expected the FMA OVAs to ever leave outside of Japan outside the internet, yet it happened. Funimation was actually able to get ahold of the OVAs for Fullmetal Alchemist and they put them on DVD. Whats even more impressive is that they supposedly got back the VA cast they used in the dub for this. However, what I don't get is why did Funi decide to sell them on a separate DVD? Wouldn't it been better if they released it as a special feature with the DVDs for the main series? I mean, theres only 4 OVAs in total (not counting the recap special) which only totals to 35 min running time. The longest of the OVAs being the State Alchemists VS The homunculi one, which was 10-11 min. All the other ones where 6 min or less. They should have released these as part of a box DVD set or something.

I think one of the following happened:

-By the time Funi was finally able to obtain the rights to release the OVAs, they finished putting the series and movie on DVD.

-Funi at first was not going to release them, but they changed their minds and decided to do it anyways.

-They where having issues with the Japanese folks who held the rights, and the only way they could release the OVAs is if they released it on a separate DVD too, just like the did in Japan.

I've already seen these, and I can tell you theres nothing special about them really. I don't plan on buying it either, theres other things i'd rather spend $15 on, even if it is FMA. I just thought it was interesting to note this. Seeing how short DVD specials like this almost never make it onto its own separate DVD outside of Japan.

Gunnm/Battle Angel Alita live-action movie update (6/4/2009)

Boy, talk abut huge disappointment and even more waiting....

I knew James Cameron has been working on a film version of Gunnm/Battle Angel Alita for a long while now, but it wasn’t until this past year I finally gave in and decided to check it out. Afteral, if its being turned into a movie, it must be good, right? I’m so glad I read it! Even though it was pretty gory at times, it was such a great series and I really liked its story. After I read it I was very hyped to see the movie. Unfortunately, it sounds like Cameron will be putting this on the back burner for a while longer. He said after his current action film, Avatar (has nothing to do with that Nicktoon of the same name) he wants to work on a smaller project. I think another reason why hes putting it on hold is because hes still waiting for technology to advance a little further, as that's what he said in past interviews. Its understandable though, with a series like this, alot of CGI will be needed to recreate the futuristic setting, and especially Gally/Alita herself. I just hope he doesn’t wait too long too get this done, because i’m worried that the project will have to be scrapped years from now and all that hype was for none.

It is also unfortunate we can’t get a new anime adaptation while we wait. I hear Cameron has bought up all the rights for Battle Angel, including rights to the short OVA Madhouse made years back (not the manga version though), which prevents a new anime adaptation from happening. I think the reason why he also did this is that he knows that if a new anime is made, it will generate new interest in the series as well as lots of fans and people will end up comparing it to his movie. So he most likely wants to keep the series as unknown as possible for this reason. Its depressing knowing how hes monopolizing the rights like that and its unfair for those of us who want to see something come out of this series, whether it be a movie or anime series, especially if hes just sitting on the license like that. In today’s age of anime, theres been tons of manga being turned anime and old anime given new life. If Cameron didn’t have all the rights, i’m sure some animation studio would have picked it up by now and made a new Battle Angel anime. Maybe Madhouse would have tuned it into an actual series like what they did with X.

I know this is technically old news, but I didn’t find it out until recently. I guess only time will tell what will come of all this. At least I have the sequel to the manga, “Last Order” to keep me occupied for now.

Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood eps 1-4

SWEET HOLY MOTHER OF JESUS ITS FINALLY HERE! *angels sing*

It feels like I've been waiting ages for this....well, more realistically, I’ve been hoping for a remake of the anime the more and more I read the manga. I will admit, I did enjoy the first series, plus it was what got me into FMA afteral. However, when its compared to the manga, it’s pale in comparison. The characters are much more developed, the story makes better sense and is much better in quality, and has the perfect balance of comedy and drama. It is very well crafted and one of the best series I have ever read! So I had been longing for a remake, wanting to see this great series done justice properly. And it looks like I will be getting my wish (along with thousands of other fellow fans). I would have posted my thoughts on this sooner, but I wanted to wait for more eps to be released before I did that.

For starters, the opening theme is kick-ass, and the lyrics fit the series to a T, and its awesomeness is doubled just because YUI sings it. *YUI fan* The ED is pretty decent too, and I liked the style of animation that was used. As for the BGM, they decided to get a new composer for this series. I don’t mind this at all, in fact I kinda like the idea they decided to get someone new. I thought the soundtrack for the first series was quite fitting for FMA, which had a militaristic-feel and other times it sounded just like the kind of music you would find in an old black and white film. The main reason why i’m glad that they changed the composer, was that I felt that much of the soundtrack from the previous series would have been repeated in the remake if they had gotten the same composer, so it’s nice to hear something new. Plus I had high hopes for this guy, afteral, if Hiromu Arakawa herself liked the guy was was thrilled to have him work on the series, so that was a good sign. As for the new composer, I really like it so far from what i’ve heard, the tracks complement the scenes very well. I think i'm starting to like this soundtrack better than the first series, but I won't fully judge it just yet, not until the soundtrack CD is released. It still needs to undergo my “can-this-OST-stand-alone-from-the-animation?” test (being the OST lover that I am).

The animation....er well. I really liked the animation style from the first season, more-so than the artwork from the manga. So when I heard they would be designing the characters to look closer to the manga, I wasn’t all that thrilled. I think the idea to change the style was a smart move, that way at a glance you can see its different from the first series. As for the animation in the actual episodes, the widescreen, the effects, and everything where....*blink* WWWWOOOOOOOOW, its *definitely* a step up from the first TV series (I mean this in a good way). However, I still can’t get over the look of the characters at times, even after watching the first 4 episodes. The choice to use a yellow color for the outline of Edward's hair (along with many of the other characters) looks interesting, yet odd. Perhaps i'm still used to seeing his hair with a black outline like the first series? While I’m still on the topic of animation, here's an amusing thought. If you think about it, in the end, the FMA anime will have had 4 different animation styles (not counting OP/EDs). I mean, the first TV series, the movie, the OVAs, and now the 2nd series, had all used very different animation styles. Its odd how it turned out that way.

As for the voices, I’m so happy they got the same VAs for Ed and Al back. I can’t imagine anybody but Paku Romi playing Ed! (screw Vic, she ROCKS!!!) Unfortunately they couldn’t get the whole previous cast back, which I find a shame. Its strange hearing the voice of Urahara (from Bleach) coming out of Roy’s mouth. Then its really weird hearing new voices for many of the characters. Ah well, its still wonderful to hear Paku Romi and Rie Kugimiya provide Ed and Al's voices again. I’m still dying to hear the voices they will pick for the Xing characters and Armstrong’s older sister (these voices I am the most curious on at the moment), unfortunately we won’t be able to find out for long a while....

As for the story (which is the main reason for the remake in the first place) has been following the manga rather well so far. The first episode was invented for the anime, but all is forgiven, something needed to be done to show people that this is a new series. If they started out with Lior (just like in the manga/first FMA series) it would lead many to think "Hey! Its a repeat for the first series!". Even if it was an anime original, it was still a damn good episode (mostly due to the great special effects). Episodes 2-4 there based on the manga. I'm not too pleased with how quickly they went though the manga material presented in episodes 2 and 3 (Ed and Al's flashback and and Ed's confrontation with Cornello in Loir), and I kinda wished they did things differently. Even though I was somewhat disappointed by eps 2 and 3, mostly by the rushed pacing, they did an excellent job with episode 4. I was wondering how they would be handing the Tucker/Nina story, the first series did such a great job with it afteral. Thankfully I found the pacing was perfect in this episode, and they even managed to throw in just enough scenes with Nina and Alexander so that the viewers will feel sympathetic for them for when...*that*....happens. I was very pleased at how the whole episode was executed, and if I dare say, the best manga-to-anime episode yet. I have high hopes now for when they get later into the series and start to cover more material from the manga. Even though this is the best adapted episode so far, its still depressing as ever *sniff/cries* Much to my pleasure, they kept the scene where Scar kills Tucker!!! *throws confetti* God how I always hated Tucker, he's on my list of Top 10 anime characters I hate the most. It has always irked me how they kept him alive in the first series yet he died in the manga. I'm already loving the remake just for this alone.

Anyways, even though they are going though the manga material featured in the first series rather quickly, I bet ya the animators are just as itching to get to the new material not featured in the first series as much as I am. They couldn't just skip the manga material that was in the first series, its needed in the story later on (much of it anyways, some of it can be simply glossed over real quick like Loir and Youswell).

Ah yes, one last thing before I get to mention it: the eye catch, I hate it, its annoying as hell >_< ....why oh, why do we need someone to say "FULLMETAL ALCHEMIST" *head/desk* I hope Funimation will do us a favor and when they release the DVDs here in the states, they will edit out the guy saying that. Speaking of which...i’m glad they gave this remake of Fullmetal Alchemist an actual name. I didn’t like how the Japanese refer to this series as “Hagane no Renkinjutsushi: Fullmetal Alchemist” seems kinda repetitive, and then some folks where calling it “Fullmetal Alchemist 2”. I thought the latter title was a bad idea, it was giving people the wrong impression thinking its somekind of sequel to the first series when its not. Thankfully Funimation gave it a better name that won’t confuse people as much “Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood”. I think the “Brotherhood” part would fit the first series much better, but at least we have a way to differ the two series now. Knowing the international community, I bet they will follow Funimation and use the same title for this series as well in international releases.

On that note *holds up can of Sunkist soda* here's to hoping that this new FMA series will capture the greatness of the manga and that it will blow the first series out of the water.

If you're curious, I plan to compare this FMA series to he manga (first FMA series too) on my website. I started working on it already, I just need to get off my lazy butt and work on it some more....I'll post a link when i finally get it going.

Thoughts on: Black Lagoon

These past few weeks, instead of watching only one series at a time like I normally do, i've been juggling several different series and watching them all at once (not counting the series currently airing in Japan where I have to wait for eps weekly). In between these series, I was craving for an action series where I didn't have to wait every week for a new episode. I was thinking about trying to watch Soul Eater again, but I didn't like the idea of getting involved with a 51 ep long series just yet, I was hoping to stick to shorter series for now until school gets out. Then I was talking to this one guy and he mentioned Black Lagoon. It was then when it hit me, it was an action series, 24 episodes (broken into two seasons), plus I had been wanting to check it out for some time as well. So it was the perfect choice...

What made me want to pick this series up in the first place was that I heard it had gotten inspiration from Cowboy Bebop, and some folks even said it had somewhat of a CB-like flair to it. Upon hearing this, and loving Cowboy Bebop, I had to see it for myself. It turns out people where right, it may not be an exact carbon copy of the classic series, I was never expecting that, but it does have the same feel. Its like Cowboy Bebop in our present era reality without the kickass soundtrack, without the artistic look, and mostly focuses on the explosive action scenes, gunfights, and even decides to try and go its own way.

Other than the CB similarities, its still a great series. What I liked about it was how realistic the stories where (minus the badass main female lead going around and shooting everybody up), and many of the eps where short 2-3 ep mini arcs. Then, of course, the action scenes where awsome and very well done! One great example is the chase scene in ep 9 where the folks of the Black Lagoon company where trying to get away from the terminator maid. (Yes, a maid with unlimited weapons who's tough to beat, going around and shooting people, don't ya just love anime?) It was incredibly well-animated and it has got to be one of the best car cases i've ever seen in anime! (Perhaps i'm simply still just hyped after seeing this ep not too long ago?) I also find it amusing that here I was just commenting on how realistic this series was, then here I go talking about the terminator maid (don't worry she's not a robot, she's human, an ex-soldier to be exact,, but she sure is alot like the terminator). Ah well, this series still has a pretty realistic feel to it.

Another interesting factor is that the whole series has a very American feel to it. Like an action Hollywood film in animated form. Complete with numerous references to American associated events, people, places, etc. In one episode, one of the characters pulled out a pack of American named-brand cigarettes (it was "Natural American Spirit" don't remember if it actually read that in the series.....and no I don't smoke, but my parents do and they drag me along when they buy their cigarettes, so I know this brand is real because I saw it). It was quite nice watching a series like this, because I felt very at home watching it. Which is a nice change from all these series that usually take place in Japan and/or have characters with a very (or somewhat) Japanese-like lifestyle. The opening is also in "Engrish" as well. Its pretty damn cool and addictive, despite the fact that the singer barely knows any English yet she's trying to sing in English. The awsome techno beat and great images makes up for that.

On a scale of 1-10 (10 being highest) Black Lagoon wins me over with a 9 for its action awesomeness. Its not a masterpiece like Cowboy Bebop, but I definitely enjoyed watching it. Madhouse did an excellent job with this one, and they still have yet to disappoint me (okay, so the storylines in the Battle Angel Alita OVA and X movie sucked, but the animation was kick ass in both, plus they're both older anime so you can't expect too much).

As i'm typing this, I have only seen the first season and I have just now started watching the 2nd season. Perhaps I will type up my thoughts on it later after I view it.....

Thoughts on: Shigofumi

I walked into this series hoping to find a similar air of mystery much like what xxxHolic had (one of the reasons why I like that series so much). Disappointingly, I felt only the first two episodes had that feel I was hoping for. Even though this series didn't turn out what I was expecting, I still enjoyed watching it.

Basically in a nutshell, Shigofumi is based on a series of light novels. It is about a mail carrier named Fumika who delivers letters to people from people who had died. When the series starts off, its very episodic. Usually the episode goes we see somebody and eventually Fumika delivers a letter to this random somebody. Of course, its not that basic, honest. That somebody has a story to tell, and some of those stories happen to be more interesting than others. Some of these stories made me stop and think for a moment. As the series progresses we learn more about Fumika, like who she is, where she comes from. Who has a very unusual back story (as well as parents who are insane).

I really liked how this series was written, they even managed to throw in a few surprises as well. Not the best series I have ever seen, nor do I plan to watch it again anytime soon, but it is definitely worth a viewing, at least once. It reminds us just how fragile we are and that everything can change in one moment. The only thing that I really hated about this series was the opening, it’s a song by Ali Project. Its not very often I find a music artist who can truly get on my nerves, and Ali Project is one of them. There’s just something about the sound of their music that just rubs me the wrong way. Well, I will admit though, I did like the opening song they did for Noir, it’s the only song by them that I have heard I have actually somewhat liked so far.

Overall, on a scale of 1-10 (10 being highest) Shigofumi has impressed me enough to give it a 9. If you haven’t seen it yet and you're the type of person who likes a dark series with a mystery behind it, check this series out.

I want to say more about this series, but there's just some series where I feel like saying a lot while others I’m just at a loss for words to express my thoughts on it.

(And yes, I couldn’t resist adding the quote to the pic above...)

Thoughts on: Sora wo Miageru Shoujo no Hitomi ni Utsuru Sekai (aka Munto TV)

Well, KyoAnimation has done it again. Instead of giving people what they really want (Haruhi Suzumiya season 2) they decide to tackle a different project, but this time they got downright lazy. This time they decided to continue their OVA series they started years back, Munto, or as they really call it.....(er, do I really have to retype that ridiculously long title?)

What I liked about this series was that KyoAnimation decided to try their hand at something original this time, instead of visual novels, novels and 4 panel comics. I also decided to check it out after seeing the first OVA, and I really enjoyed watching it. However, after viewing this series, it had some major problems.

The first being (and why I say they where lazy this time) is the fact that they recycled the first 2 OVAs they made back in 2003/2005. That's right, the first 3 eps where the first OVA, then eps 4-6 where supposedly the 2nd one. And instead of a third OVA, they decide to turn it into an actual TV series. Boy, talk about lazy. As a result, the animation style changes 3 times throughout the series. I saw the first OVA about a month ago, so I skipped the first 3 eps (I really didn’t want to watch it again with it still being fresh in my head). So I can’t say what exact changes where made between the original the first eps of this series. Although, I heard some scenes where added and that they enhanced some of the special effects (and got new voice talent too, and redubbed it). I even found a actual comparison someone had made between the two versions for the animation (be warned, the folks at this site like to post hentai material).
>>See it here<<

I also think that reusing the OVAs was a bad move on KyoAni’s part though...

The OVAs never really took the time to explain things properly, resulting in plot holes. By adding the exact same OVAs into this series, they carried over these plot holes. I think it would had been best if they just simply reanimated the OVAs, this way they could had fixed the problems with the storyline from the OVAs, and it would flow more smoothly instead of being a jarring mess like it was. Much of the time I felt like the animators where all like “Plot holes? What plot holes?...ooooo, look at the pretty animation we just drew in these new episodes! Look! Look!”

And yes, in terms of gorgeous animation (outside the fact that the OVAs they reused where dated) KyoAni delivered yet again. At the same time, those bastards pull another one of their lame marketing tricks and eps 10-12 is actually going to be a movie that they will be showing in theaters. Smooth move KyoAni, another way to milk money from your adoring fans I see...ah well, I still plan to watch it. Seeing how the series ended at an odd number of 9 eps and things still haven’t been resolved quite yet.

On a scale of 1-10 (10 being highest) I give it a 7. For that fact that its a series that looks pretty yet has a plot that's alot like swiss cheese. Overall, I really liked this series and its ideas, they had alot of potential. Yet I feel they totally blew it with the way the executed the story. I think this whole series was nothing more than a marketing move to make more money, because KyoAni knows that they can sell anything now at this point, as long as their name is attached to it....

Now with this series out of the way, will we be seeing another season of Haruhi now KyoAni? *poke*