Hayate No Gotoku looked like a decent show, but I’m just not getting into it. I think it just feels too slow to me, it’s not a bad show if you’ve got the time to watch it, but I have plenty of other things in my list of stuff to watch. Anyone else have any thoughts on it? I watched the first 10 episodes, but it didn’t feel like it was going to start to actually get going so I’m going to put it on indefinite hold for now. (more…)

Popularity: 3% [?]

Grave Of The Fireflies is a movie written and directed by Isao Takahata, with the help of Studio Ghibli’s animators. But don’t let the Ghibli association fool you; this ain’t no cheery Ghibli flick. This is World War II in Japan–this is hell on earth. This is the bitter tale of the relationship between two orphaned children, Seita and his younger sister Setsuko. The children lose their mother in the firebombing of Kobe, and their father in service to the Imperial Japanese Navy, and as a result they are forced to try to survive amidst widespread famine and the callous indifference of their countrymen. Even their relatives shrug them off, leaving them to fend for themselves. (more…)

Popularity: 6% [?]

Magical Shopping Arcade Abenobashi is one of the most random shows I have ever seen. It follows the Excel Saga concept where each episode takes place in it’s own unique world, but this is a much funnier show, in my opinion. This just goes to show that Gainax knows how to make good comedy. Directed by Hiroyuki Yamaga, Magical Shopping Arcade Abenobashi is the story of Sasshi and Arumi; neighbors and childhood friends who are soon to be separated when Arumi moves with her family to Hokkaido. (more…)

Popularity: 6% [?]

The Girl Who Leapt Through Time is an artfully crafted piece of recent Anime history. The story is a well-written web of events based on the idea that the main character gains the ability to jump through time, so she tries to use this ability to make the world “better”. Throughout the events she changes she learns that when something is better for one person it’s usually worse for another. Time is not something to be messed with, even if on very minor levels. (more…)

Popularity: 6% [?]

In the heart of downtown Vancouver, right on Granville St. you can find the Nerd Nirvana known as Golden Age Collectables. These guys carry more manga, anime, graphics novels and figures than you’d ever care to know existed. When I was in Vancouver on business recently I picked up a copy of NextWave here and blogged about how awesome it is. This place is jam-packed full of awesomeness of such magnitude as NextWave. They also had probably everything Neil Gaiman has ever written, including more obscure stuff like the edition of Sandman with art from Yoshitaka Amano. For those that don’t know; Mr. Amano was the concept artist for all the Final Fantasy games up until X. His brilliant artistry and unique style is well known in Otakudom. (more…)

Popularity: 10% [?]