If you have been following my website lately, or Facebook and Twitter for that matter, you should probably know that for the last month or so, I have been temporarily unable to do anything related to the website or even work on new reviews thanks to my computer's motherboard failing. Sometime in the middle of June, I noticed that my computer was refusing to boot up. I put my computer into maintenance mode and scanned it to reveal that my computer was having a difficult time recognizing my hard drive and that it was beginning to fail. I thought it was no big deal and that I could just buy a new hard drive and transfer all of my data to the new hard drive. It shouldn't set me back any more then 150 dollars. I originally thought it was a hard drive issue, but the mechanic at Best Buy told me it was not the case and that my motherboard was failing and needed to be replaced. He then told me that it would be better to go and buy a new computer rather then to just replace the motherboard. Upon hearing this, I had no choice but to put The American Anime Otaku on a temporary hiatus. So I ordered my new computer and by the time it arrived and all the software I needed to run the show was reinstalled, Anime Expo was literally days away and I had to spend most of my time preparing for that.
So here's where we stand currently. I am happy to announce that after approximately a month and a half of inactivity, The American Anime Otaku is officially back from hiatus. However, there are still a few problems that need to be resolved. One issue is the schedule. Since I have been unable to make new reviews, my release schedule is currently out of whack and is in need of being restructured. For instance, while I am still planning on releasing my review of Ghost in the Shell, my original plan was to release it on the weekend that Ghost in the Shell: Arise was released in theaters in Japan. Many reviews I have had planned however, have been canceled outright or will be released at an undetermined date. A good example would be Mawaru Penguin Drum and Bodacious Space Pirates of which I originally planned to review in August.
Second is my financial situation. Since I had to purchase a brand new computer, I am running out of the monthly funds needed to keep up with current releases. I plan on running a Kickstarter or Indiegogo campaign or selling some of the anime I have had autographed by the show's voice actors and crew on Ebay to offset the expenses of having to buy a new computer. But as of right now, let's just say there is a reason why that golden donate to Paypal button is sitting there on the left side of the page and right now, I would really appreciate your donations if you want me to continue reviewing more recent anime.
My plans for right now is to continue working on the most recent anime shows I planned on reviewing and then reset my schedule and continue on from there. I am also planning on adding some new material and segments to the website so I can have at least something new added to the site each week as opposed to every other week. I also plan on having at least one entry into this blog each month which will be used mostly for commentary and major news. However, the main show will continue to be released on a bi-weekly or semi-monthly basis.
So, thank you for your patience and I hope to have my next review up on the site as soon as possible. Until then, this is The American Anime Otaku signing out.
Tuesday, July 23, 2013
Friday, December 14, 2012
My Plans For Next Year
Well folks, 2012 is almost behind us and therefore, I decided to make a list of my plans for the site and the show in general for next year. First off is my plans to conclude the Dark Otaku story arc and begin a new story arc involving a certain company called 4Kids Entertainment. As such, I am already planning for my review of the anime One Piece. However, it will take me a while to get there since I need to talk about other anime that have been butchered by 4Kids Entertainment in order to give you context on what that company is notorious for. This would eventually lead to a look at the 4Kids version of One Piece and why it was an unmitigated betrayal of it's original Japanese counterpart. As for presenting the show at conventions, I have mostly been attending conventions around the Southern California area where I live. As such, I plan to present at other venues across the country starting with Anime Milwaukee in Millwaukee, Wisconsin. Other conventions I am looking at attending and presenting at are Anime Central, Sakura Con, among others. This year I will also be working on a new anime review to present at anime conventions as well. I also plan to invite guest stars onto the show and interviews with anime legends as well. I also plan on doing parody dubs, Iriffs on rifftrax.com, parody shorts, industry insights, and other great content on the site for you to enjoy. So sit tight, 2013 will be the best year yet for The American Anime Otaku.
Wednesday, November 28, 2012
Top 10 Worlds I would Like to See in the Next Kingdom Hearts Game
When it comes to video games from the Disney corporation no game has intrigued me more then the Kingdom Hearts series. For those of you who don't know, let me fill you in. Kingdom Hearts was a collaboration project between the Disney corporation and game developer Square (now Square-Enix) in an attempt to find a way to get Mickey Mouse and friends to appeal to a slightly older audience. The games are a series of hack-and-slash adventure games akin to the God of War series where you play a young boy named Sora and travel from world to world, of which each are based off a corresponding Disney animated film. There, Sora meets the heroes from the film and helps them fight off their enemies as well as a species of dark beings known as heartless. This all culminates to a rather fun and interesting series. The only downside I find with the game is that rather then sticking to one gaming console, it has a tendency for console hopping. This means that in order to enjoy the latest installment of the series, you have to buy the corresponding system that comes with it. This makes being a fan of the series a very expensive proposition.
With the release of the much anticipated Kingdom Hearts III looming in the horizon, I developed a list of the top ten worlds based off of a film based from Disney's animated feature film library that I would love to see in the next installment of the series.
10. Enchanted Bayou (The Princess and the Frog)
A dastardly spell was put on Queen Minnie at the hands of Pete that erases all of her memory of King Mickey. Sora and company as well as Merlin are summoned by King Mickey to investigate the cause of her amnesia. Merlin suddenly realizes that the spell put on Queen Minnie was originally concocted by the Shadow Man a.k.a Dr. Facilier and that it can only be reversed by through help of Madam Odie. Sora and company arrive at the Enchanted Bayou and meet up with Prince Naveen and Tiana who are also searching for Madam Odie in order to reverse the spell put on them by Dr. Facilier. They eventually run afoul of Dr Facilier who now commands heartless instead of evil voodoo spirits and do battle with him. They then help Prince Naveen and Tiana break the spell put on them, seal up the keyhole, and return with an antidote to break the spell put on Queen Minnie.
Bosses:
First Visit:Dr. Facilier
Second Visit: Voodoo Mask Heartless
9. Ant Island (A Bug's Life)
You may notice quite a few worlds based on the Disney/Pixar movies in this list. Here, our heroes would shrink down to the size of insects and come across an ant named flick. After seeing them fight off a group of insect-like heartless, flick begs them to join him in fighting off a group of marauding grasshoppers.
Bosses:
First Visit: Hopper
Second Visit: Scarab Heartless
8. Hero City (The Incredibles)
Sora and company done super hero costumes as they help reunite a family of super heroes.
Bosses:
First Visit:Omnidroid, Syndrome
Second Visit: Gigantic Godzilla-like Heartless
7. Disney Town Slums (Who Framed Roger Rabbit)
Pete is organizing a group of miscreant weasels from the bad side of town to rise up against King Mickey and Queen Minnie and disrupt an important event. As such, Sora and company are assigned to protect King Mickey's informant, Roger Rabbit. Instead of dipping him like in the film, the weasels plan to capture him and turn him into a heartless!
6. Sugar Rush (Wreck-It Ralph)
I think it might be interesting to see how a world based off of a video game movie would do in an already video game environment. What I see is that Sora and company go inside a computer in Disney Castle to fix it and find that Ralph's game jumping is causing their computer problems. They find out later on that King Candy is responsible and team up with Ralph to set things right.
Bonus Game: Actually partake in a race from the movie.
If not, Ralph can always appear as a summon.
Bosses: King Candy
5. The Highlands (Brave)
Bosses:
First Visit:Mor'du
Second Visit: Unknown
4. Monstropolis (Monsters Inc.)
Bosses:
First Visit: Randel Boggs, Mr. Waternoose
3. Deep Jungle 2 (The Jungle Book)
Our heroes return to the Deep Jungle from the first Kingdom Hearts. This time around, they help a young boy named Mowgli gain up enough courage to fight off Shere Khan.
2. A world Based Off of the movie Tangled (Tangled)
1. Midgar (Final Fantasy VII and Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children)
One thing that has interested me was that many characters from the Final Fantasy series have made an appearance in the Kingdom Hearts games but we have yet to see a world from the Final Fantasy series make an appearance. Let's change that shall we? One question I might want to ask is, why haven't they done this sooner?
One thing I would like to see is a return to fighting the villains from said animated films rather then a generic heartless boss themed from that world.
With the release of the much anticipated Kingdom Hearts III looming in the horizon, I developed a list of the top ten worlds based off of a film based from Disney's animated feature film library that I would love to see in the next installment of the series.
10. Enchanted Bayou (The Princess and the Frog)
A dastardly spell was put on Queen Minnie at the hands of Pete that erases all of her memory of King Mickey. Sora and company as well as Merlin are summoned by King Mickey to investigate the cause of her amnesia. Merlin suddenly realizes that the spell put on Queen Minnie was originally concocted by the Shadow Man a.k.a Dr. Facilier and that it can only be reversed by through help of Madam Odie. Sora and company arrive at the Enchanted Bayou and meet up with Prince Naveen and Tiana who are also searching for Madam Odie in order to reverse the spell put on them by Dr. Facilier. They eventually run afoul of Dr Facilier who now commands heartless instead of evil voodoo spirits and do battle with him. They then help Prince Naveen and Tiana break the spell put on them, seal up the keyhole, and return with an antidote to break the spell put on Queen Minnie.
Bosses:
First Visit:Dr. Facilier
Second Visit: Voodoo Mask Heartless
9. Ant Island (A Bug's Life)
You may notice quite a few worlds based on the Disney/Pixar movies in this list. Here, our heroes would shrink down to the size of insects and come across an ant named flick. After seeing them fight off a group of insect-like heartless, flick begs them to join him in fighting off a group of marauding grasshoppers.
Bosses:
First Visit: Hopper
Second Visit: Scarab Heartless
8. Hero City (The Incredibles)
Sora and company done super hero costumes as they help reunite a family of super heroes.
Bosses:
First Visit:Omnidroid, Syndrome
Second Visit: Gigantic Godzilla-like Heartless
7. Disney Town Slums (Who Framed Roger Rabbit)
Pete is organizing a group of miscreant weasels from the bad side of town to rise up against King Mickey and Queen Minnie and disrupt an important event. As such, Sora and company are assigned to protect King Mickey's informant, Roger Rabbit. Instead of dipping him like in the film, the weasels plan to capture him and turn him into a heartless!
6. Sugar Rush (Wreck-It Ralph)
I think it might be interesting to see how a world based off of a video game movie would do in an already video game environment. What I see is that Sora and company go inside a computer in Disney Castle to fix it and find that Ralph's game jumping is causing their computer problems. They find out later on that King Candy is responsible and team up with Ralph to set things right.
Bonus Game: Actually partake in a race from the movie.
If not, Ralph can always appear as a summon.
Bosses: King Candy
5. The Highlands (Brave)
Bosses:
First Visit:Mor'du
Second Visit: Unknown
4. Monstropolis (Monsters Inc.)
Bosses:
First Visit: Randel Boggs, Mr. Waternoose
3. Deep Jungle 2 (The Jungle Book)
Our heroes return to the Deep Jungle from the first Kingdom Hearts. This time around, they help a young boy named Mowgli gain up enough courage to fight off Shere Khan.
2. A world Based Off of the movie Tangled (Tangled)
1. Midgar (Final Fantasy VII and Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children)
One thing that has interested me was that many characters from the Final Fantasy series have made an appearance in the Kingdom Hearts games but we have yet to see a world from the Final Fantasy series make an appearance. Let's change that shall we? One question I might want to ask is, why haven't they done this sooner?
One thing I would like to see is a return to fighting the villains from said animated films rather then a generic heartless boss themed from that world.
Monday, November 5, 2012
How to Make a Video Game Based Movie and Actually Do It Justice
Boy has it been a while since I have written an article for this website. Well anyway, let's get to the punch. I just got out of seeing Wreck-It Ralph the other day and it sure was a lot of fun. The movie surprised me in many ways considering the abysmal track record that video game based movies have; especially if a film maker named Uwe Boll is involved in it. First off, I believe Disney took a huge risk in making a video game based movie considering the fact that those types of films almost always tend to suck. There have been a few exceptions where a video game based movie has done well for the most part, but so far none of them have been able to reach anywhere near critical acclaim, that is until Wreck-It Ralph showed up.
Wreck-It Ralph manages to show audiences that not only can a video game based movie work, it can also somehow manage to avoid all of the pitfalls that many of it's predecessors have fallen into before it. First off is exposition. Most video game based movies usually have to take it's time and stop progressing the story in order to explain the story's premise or explain story elements from the game to those who are unfamiliar to it. This leads to about ten minutes or so of explaining things from the game that people who have already played the game know. This tends to irritate gamers to no end and can result into leading the film into oblivion.
Another issue is the the view's of the game from the perspective of the director can be entirely different then those of the game's fans or it's developers. And that's where our friend Uwe Boll comes in. Sometimes the director will change crucial story elements in order to make it fit in his perspective. Little changes here and there to differentiate the film from it's source material is fine, but when you change a crucial story element from the game to add into the movie, it tends to alienate the game's fans. Those fans who are usually the first to see the movie get disappointed and tell their friends the movie is a piece of garbage. And before you know it, we suddenly get the cinematic equivalent of E.T. for the Atari 2600. And then you suddenly realize why they couldn't get the licensing rights to show Mario and Luigi in the film after what happened with the Super Mario Bros. movie.
The last issue is time. When you make a movie based on a video game, you are essentially squeezing fifteen to twenty hours of story and game-play into a two hour film. As such, a lot of information is going to be lost. The result is an audience that ends up confused rather than entertained if the story is not put together carefully. This rule is pretty much universal to any film that is an adaptation of another medium.
So how does Wreck-It Ralph succeed where many others have failed? Well, what keeps Wreck-It Ralph from becoming a literal wreck like all the other video game based movies out there is it's execution. Instead of being solely based on one particular game, it is actually a homage to video gaming in general, much like how Who Framed Roger Rabbit was to classic animation. Another thing that sets this film apart from the others is it's creativity. Rather then being bogged down by the continuity rules of an existing game, the filmmakers decided to base the movie around a game they made up on their own; those consisting of Fix-It Felix Jr., Heroes Duty, and Sugar Rush of which the majority of the film takes place.
Another thing that makes this film memorable is the heartfelt human emotion that we all come to expect from Disney as Ralph becomes sick of his job as a villain and goes off on a quest to show that he can be a hero. All the while he ends up meeting with Vanellope Von Schweetz and helps her to become a racer and save her game, all the while in a rush to get back home before the arcade re-opens.
Despite having some kind of dumb moments at times, Wreck-It Ralph was a lot of fun and something that other video game movies should take an example from. It's bright, it's colorful, and it's action packed. Not to mention, it's full of eye candy in the form of video game character cameos and references that will be a delight to fans of video games and fans of Disney animation alike. This is a true love letter to gamers and when it comes to video game based movies, Wreck-It Ralph scores above the rest!
Wreck-It Ralph manages to show audiences that not only can a video game based movie work, it can also somehow manage to avoid all of the pitfalls that many of it's predecessors have fallen into before it. First off is exposition. Most video game based movies usually have to take it's time and stop progressing the story in order to explain the story's premise or explain story elements from the game to those who are unfamiliar to it. This leads to about ten minutes or so of explaining things from the game that people who have already played the game know. This tends to irritate gamers to no end and can result into leading the film into oblivion.
Another issue is the the view's of the game from the perspective of the director can be entirely different then those of the game's fans or it's developers. And that's where our friend Uwe Boll comes in. Sometimes the director will change crucial story elements in order to make it fit in his perspective. Little changes here and there to differentiate the film from it's source material is fine, but when you change a crucial story element from the game to add into the movie, it tends to alienate the game's fans. Those fans who are usually the first to see the movie get disappointed and tell their friends the movie is a piece of garbage. And before you know it, we suddenly get the cinematic equivalent of E.T. for the Atari 2600. And then you suddenly realize why they couldn't get the licensing rights to show Mario and Luigi in the film after what happened with the Super Mario Bros. movie.
The last issue is time. When you make a movie based on a video game, you are essentially squeezing fifteen to twenty hours of story and game-play into a two hour film. As such, a lot of information is going to be lost. The result is an audience that ends up confused rather than entertained if the story is not put together carefully. This rule is pretty much universal to any film that is an adaptation of another medium.
So how does Wreck-It Ralph succeed where many others have failed? Well, what keeps Wreck-It Ralph from becoming a literal wreck like all the other video game based movies out there is it's execution. Instead of being solely based on one particular game, it is actually a homage to video gaming in general, much like how Who Framed Roger Rabbit was to classic animation. Another thing that sets this film apart from the others is it's creativity. Rather then being bogged down by the continuity rules of an existing game, the filmmakers decided to base the movie around a game they made up on their own; those consisting of Fix-It Felix Jr., Heroes Duty, and Sugar Rush of which the majority of the film takes place.
Another thing that makes this film memorable is the heartfelt human emotion that we all come to expect from Disney as Ralph becomes sick of his job as a villain and goes off on a quest to show that he can be a hero. All the while he ends up meeting with Vanellope Von Schweetz and helps her to become a racer and save her game, all the while in a rush to get back home before the arcade re-opens.
Despite having some kind of dumb moments at times, Wreck-It Ralph was a lot of fun and something that other video game movies should take an example from. It's bright, it's colorful, and it's action packed. Not to mention, it's full of eye candy in the form of video game character cameos and references that will be a delight to fans of video games and fans of Disney animation alike. This is a true love letter to gamers and when it comes to video game based movies, Wreck-It Ralph scores above the rest!
Saturday, March 31, 2012
The Hentai Creep: A Rather Disturbing Trend In Today's Anime
We are nearing the final stretches of 2-4-1 Month but since I haven't written an article on my website for a while, I decided to focus on a topic in today's anime that I find rather disturbing and that is the hentaification of today's mainstream anime. Simply put, uncensored nudity and very suggestive to explicit sexual material is starting to find it's way into mainstream anime titles.
I can guess why this is happening. for the last few years. anime producers have been scrambling to find an audience since kids are becoming harder to find in Japan these days. Simply put, people in Japan are not having as many kids as they used to and youth in Japan is rapidly disappearing at an alarming rate. As such, anime producers have been increasingly switching their attention from a child audience to a more adult audience for quite some time with shows like Cowboy Bebop, Trigun, Gurren Lagann and the works. However, what I find disturbing is that material you could only show in hentai titles in the 1990's are starting to find their way into anime that is shown on Japanese television in a type of show that I like to call Borderline Hentai.
A good example would be Queen's Blade. The anime includes very strong sensitive sexual topics and gratuitous amounts of nudity. Although the anime ran on TV heavily censored, the anime ran on the AT-X cable channel and was released on Blu-ray and DVD completely uncensored.Then there was Yosuga no Sora which was complete with nudity and extremely suggestive sexual acts not to mention a incestuous relationship. Another good example would be B Gata H Kei where the story revolves around, and I'm not kidding here, a teenage girl aiming to have sex with multiple guys. Feel free to throw up watching this one. I may actually review it just to point out how incredibly absurd and tasteless this is. Other examples would include Sora no Otoshimono, Strike Witches, Girls Bravo, Kodomo no Jikan, oh, and does anybody remember my review of Eiken? Although it wasn't shown on TV as they could never get away with such material on Japanese TV back then as they could now.
It's not that I condone censorship, but I wish there were some way you could have an option to remove such material on the DVDs as such as like on the TV versions of these shows as not everybody wants to see such material in their anime. But whats more disturbing is that kids suffering from insomnia in Japan will see these kinds of anime on TV and think it's okay to emulate the characters on screen. Don't think for one second that this is strictly an American problem, people. I know I am probably nitpicking, but when I watch anime, I personally would rather not have a huge pair of ta-tas shoved into my face. Feel free to complain if you want to, but that's just my ten cents.
Oh, by the way, don't expect any pictures in this one since they are all way too graphic to show.
I can guess why this is happening. for the last few years. anime producers have been scrambling to find an audience since kids are becoming harder to find in Japan these days. Simply put, people in Japan are not having as many kids as they used to and youth in Japan is rapidly disappearing at an alarming rate. As such, anime producers have been increasingly switching their attention from a child audience to a more adult audience for quite some time with shows like Cowboy Bebop, Trigun, Gurren Lagann and the works. However, what I find disturbing is that material you could only show in hentai titles in the 1990's are starting to find their way into anime that is shown on Japanese television in a type of show that I like to call Borderline Hentai.
A good example would be Queen's Blade. The anime includes very strong sensitive sexual topics and gratuitous amounts of nudity. Although the anime ran on TV heavily censored, the anime ran on the AT-X cable channel and was released on Blu-ray and DVD completely uncensored.Then there was Yosuga no Sora which was complete with nudity and extremely suggestive sexual acts not to mention a incestuous relationship. Another good example would be B Gata H Kei where the story revolves around, and I'm not kidding here, a teenage girl aiming to have sex with multiple guys. Feel free to throw up watching this one. I may actually review it just to point out how incredibly absurd and tasteless this is. Other examples would include Sora no Otoshimono, Strike Witches, Girls Bravo, Kodomo no Jikan, oh, and does anybody remember my review of Eiken? Although it wasn't shown on TV as they could never get away with such material on Japanese TV back then as they could now.
It's not that I condone censorship, but I wish there were some way you could have an option to remove such material on the DVDs as such as like on the TV versions of these shows as not everybody wants to see such material in their anime. But whats more disturbing is that kids suffering from insomnia in Japan will see these kinds of anime on TV and think it's okay to emulate the characters on screen. Don't think for one second that this is strictly an American problem, people. I know I am probably nitpicking, but when I watch anime, I personally would rather not have a huge pair of ta-tas shoved into my face. Feel free to complain if you want to, but that's just my ten cents.
Oh, by the way, don't expect any pictures in this one since they are all way too graphic to show.
Thursday, March 1, 2012
Announcing Two-for-one Month!
As a part of the celebration of my 2-year anniversary and the build up to Episode 50, I declare the month of March 2012 to be 2-4-1 Month! That's right, two episodes for the price of one! The main reason of course is to fast track the story and build up towards Episode 50 so I can resume reviewing new releases as soon as possible.
Here is how it is going to work. The first episode will be posted up as soon as Friday and the second review will be up the following day. So essentially, two episodes will be posted every other week throughout the month of March!
Here is how it is going to work. The first episode will be posted up as soon as Friday and the second review will be up the following day. So essentially, two episodes will be posted every other week throughout the month of March!
Thursday, February 16, 2012
Plans For Season 3 Part 2
Just a quick announcement for everybody. Now that Season 3 is kicked into high gear, I thought I would go over my plans for the next month or so. First off, once the new version of the website is up and everything is running smoothly, I will be holding off reviewing new releases for a while as I prepare for the four part battle with Dark Otaku which ends in the climactic battle in Episode 50. After which, I want to focus on an anime I have been wanting to review for a very long time, a little anime known as Clannad. After that, I will start reviewing new releases again and I will also reopen for requests.
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