The New Wave of Sexulaized Violence

Good Morning peoples! We are back after a short break to bring you the most risque review yet in Episode 6! See for yourself and see if you might like the show or are just left hollow.

Download the episode here!

Introduction 0:00 - 16:30
First, we get a quick opinion on MAZENKAISER!! from Garrett and then Dan has a secret revelation he wishes to tell us...what could it be?

Rin: Daughters of Mnemosyne 16:30 - 46:11
We talk about a new show that was just released on DVD courtesy of FUNimation! WOW, what to say what to say? In short we all really liked the show but there are some things you should know about before purchasing! But the show is still purchase worthy so pick it up here:


Closing 46:11 - 55:24
Wrapping it up like a Christmas present! Some jibber jabber and apreview of what's to come...El Hazard OVA 1, be excited!

Oh My Goddess OVA

Oh My Goddess! has always been one of those shows that I wanted to check out. I always saw it at the video store and said “I should pick that up” but always put it on the backburner because I had other shows I NEEDED to get first.

So when I was graced with the presence of five free volumes of the Oh My Goddess! manga (courtesy of suvudu.com)I had to do some research to get me up to speed. For my research I picked up the OVA series released by Animeigo years ago (by the way this OVA series is going out of print at the end of the month so pick up your copies ASAP!)

Oh My Goddess! is the story of Keiichi, an absolute loser who really has nothing going for him except his auto club at college (a loser he may be but boy does he love motorcycles!). One day while trying to order take out at 9AM, Keiichi accidentally calls the Goddess Relief Line and meets Belldandy, an actual goddess! Thinking it was all a joke Keiichi uses his one goddess wish to wish that Belldandy be his girlfriend and stay with him forever, you know what they say about being careful what you wish for.

Belldandy then moves in with Keiichi and over time actually grows to love the guy with all her pure “perfect woman” heart. The series then introduces Belldandy’s older half-sister (half angel and half demon to be exact) Urd and her younger sister Skuld, who are also goddesses! This sounds like a horrible harem show but it really isn’t because Keiichi and Belldandy are actually together and every woman is NOT trying to get with Keiichi.

The series really was a treat to watch as it playfully followed the misadventures of Keiichi and introduced the main characters, one per episode for the first three episodes. The same old dumb harem show jokes really weren’t present here but got a little close sometimes but hey…that’s half the fun right!? The series took a bit of a serious tone for the last two episodes (to clarify: this OVA is only 5 episodes long) but it was more of a dramatic approach that really made me interested in what the fate of these characters would be, instead of totally changing the feel of the show.

For an early 90s OVA series the animation quality was extremely excellent, OVAs are usually pretty good but this looks better than some modern shows. The goddess were drawn exquisitely, I use this word because for lack of better phrasing Belldandy and Urd are HOT! Skuld being a minor is drawn as such without any creepy sexualization which was a relief, given the show’s romantic comedy genre. Lots of sight gags litter the series and thus have the “typical” anime trademarks (sweat drops, huge exaggerated eyes for comedy bits, etc.) that might throw newbies off a little bit.

I really enjoyed this series for what it was, a fun lighthearted comedy series with romantic (but by no means “chick flick”) qualities.

Animeigo really did a great job with the DVD presentation: lots of fun extras (especially the “dub your own Oh My Goddess” setting), beautiful picture quality, and a dub that isn’t hard to listen to. I really enjoyed the Japanese language track but am not against the dub at all as it wasn’t the “cat’s meow” but wasn’t the typical early 90s dub!

I urge you to pick this OVA series up because A) you can get it pretty cheap (at least until it is officially out of print) and B) it really is an enjoyable show. B

$5.99 19 copies left!

Stay tuned for my upcoming review of the Oh My Goddess manga, Vols. 15 – 20. COMING SOON!

King of RPGs Vol. 1

I have never really been sold on the idea of OEL (Original English Language) Manga. Manga is a Japanese word that represents the comic books created in Japan, Manwha is Korean comics, and just plain old comics represents comics made here in America.

The recent string of American comics’ creators marketing their works as “manga” always seemed weird to me and a quick thumb through of some OEL manga never really impressed me so I never picked any up…until now.

King of RPGs is the new OEL manga series written by Jason Thompson and illustrated by Victor Hao. The plot centers on Shesh Maccabee, a hard-core World of Warfare player who becomes so psychopathic that he causes other players to pass out and creates a huge medical emergency after a 7-day straight internet café WoW (get the joke now!?) campaign. Shesh then has to go through intensive psychiatric therapy to “cure” him of this horrible disease.

The story starts with Shesh and his best friend Mike on their first day at the University of California at Escondido, where after orientation they go with a new acquaintance, a English major Jen, to the campus’ game room. There they participate in a table-top game of Mages & Monsters with Game Master Theodore Dudek, and there Shesh becomes increasingly bored of this “stupid” table top game as he only plays online RPGs (not any more of course). Then it happens! Shesh has a mental break and becomes fully immersed in the RPG character and goes berserk. Not the fanatical WoW berserk but MPD berserk! This starts a series of events that get increasingly bizarre and troublesome as they unfold.

This is only the first volume in a new series but I will tell you straight out…I am sold!!

This book was so funny! Even with manga, or traditional American comics, I usually never laugh out loud; I just smirk or give a quick chuckle. I was constantly laughing out loud while reading this book! I always thought of myself as a functional nerd, I have nerdy hobbies but I am not what you would typify as a nerd. While reading King of RPGs I found out that I am quite possibly the biggest nerd on the planet! There are so many hidden jokes throughout that only a true nerd could have written them and only a true nerd would understand them.

The story shows just how invested the author was in creating this world, the amount of knowledge used and a wry twist of humor to go with it just makes this world that much more believable. You know people like the characters in this book, you may be one of the characters in this book, and whether you hate these characters (there is a person just for you in the series) or aspire to be these characters, the pure wit and perfect execution will have you fully enjoying this book.

The art style is just as it sounds, American illustrators using “manga-style” designs. However, they are surprising effective in this series. Because of all the game, manga, and anime jokes, they simply cry out for a drawing style that properly represents that. OEL manga may typically just be manga-style drawings with a very non-manga story (creating the type of awkwardness that scared me away) but King of RPGs is meant to be drawn like this, it NEEDS to be drawn like this.

The series is rated 16+ and while I don’t think it really deserves it, it definitely benefits from the lack of constraints a lower rating would have. Some moments get surprising violent for no reason other than because it can and the designs for the characters fit so perfectly that you of course have to have the ridiculously hot “bad-girl” that just makes this real and f^%#ing hilarious!

I could probably ramble forever on how much I loved this book, but I will spare you by simply saying “It’s $10 MSRP! Just buy it and see for yourself!” I know I will be buying each new volume as they come out! A+


P.S. I always feel as if I’m the only person who knows who the hell Travis Bickle is! Thank you King of RPGs for proving me wrong and making me laugh!

Visit the official King of RPGs website, Suvudu, and Comixology
for more comic book/manga fun!

Free Manga Anyone!?!

I am pretty sure I have never mentioned this before on either a podcast episode or on a blog entry but here you go!

Do you like anime? Do you like manga?
If you're anything like me you love them both! If you don't care for a particular anime the manga is probably ten times better, at least that is what my experience has led me to believe.

Does buying manga seem to make a dent in your wallet, preventing you from buying as much as possible? It sure does for me so what is better than winning FREE MANGA!?!

Suvudu.com is currently giving away free manga EVERY DAY for next 228 days (if my math is any good) as part of their 365 Days of Manga extravaganza. It's easy! All you have to do is go to the website suvudu.com and fill out a real short form on the side bar and...that's it! 5 free manga will be headed your way if you are lucky. I know some of you might be thinking that "I never win anything so I might as well not even bother." I should be your inspiration because I never win anything either but check this out

If I can win you can too!
P.S. By taking this picture and posting it on the interwebs I can get 5 more free manga! Enter now!

Also check out the 365 Days of Manga maestro Jason Thompson, author of Manga: The Complete Guide on a recent episode of the Anime World Order!

UPDATE 2-16-10
Got my second batch of free manga in the mail from Suvudu today and check this shit out!

All 3 original Viz printings of Uzumaki (an awesome movie and I'm sure the manga is better), some Street Fighter manga (I'll check it out), and MOTHER FUCKIN' BAOH SON!!! That's what I'm talking about!! Thank you Suvudu!

MAZENKAISER!! 'Nuff Said

Welcome to the U.S. Anime Review...Mecha style!
It's just me and Dan this episode but we still talk about SUPA things! There will be no new episode next week as we take a slight hiatus because I really need to work on my final for this class. But until then...

Download the episode here!

Introduction 0:00 - 6:34
Trying something a little different here but without Nolan and Garrett it feels a little empty. We catch up with Dan who has continued to re-watch Ghost in the Shell since our review as well as a view tidbits about Sgt. Frog a show I just started watching and am loving the hell out of. Pick up your own copy here



MAZENKAISER!! 6:34 - 56:30
Dan has been thrust into the wonderful world of Super Robots, one of my favorite genres in anime and there is no better place to start than with the brilliance that is Go Nagai! At least that's what I thought before Dan started talking. Plus, Nolan joins us via telephone to give his thoughts on the show and of course boobs!
If you love giant robots and do not own this amazing show pick it up here (with a special Go Nagai bonus series!):


Closing 56:30 - 1:02:02
We wrap it up with the usual plugs and housecleaning and begin our journey into the unkown. Next time we will be reviewing the recent FUNimation release RIN: Daughters of Mnemosyne. None of us have watched it yet and hopefully I don't break my promise on NO Tentacle Porn! Only time will tell so until next time...

Koike has Offered this....just accept!

Hello everybody!
Not everybody has finished watching MAZENKAISER!! yet so to fill the void I now present...Chris' Manga Corner episode 2!

Download the episode here!

In this installment Dan and I discuss Gekiga and its stark contrast to Osamu Tezuka's earlier work, see Manga Corner 1, and introduce a living legend in the field..Kazuo Koike!

I didn't want to flip Dan's lid entirely so instead of classics such as Crying Freeman or Wounded Man I start off with Offered.

When this was recorded, and even more so when I bought these books, the prices for these books have gone up but they are still worth the purchase!!
Get them now!!

It's not just about Boobs!!

Due to Dan liking the movie we reviewed this week so much, it took me a little while before I could obtain the clips I wanted, see he borrowed my DVD of the film. But adversity has been conquered and we are back with Episode 4!!

Download the episode here!

Introduction 0:00 - 2:16
We kept the introduction short and sweet this time around just giving the basic housecleaning tips. One thing I didn't mention in the episode is to reiterate that we are available on iTunes and if our wonderful listeners could please leave a review of us on iTunes we would appreciate it. We really like what we are doing and are looking to increase our exposure and since most podcast downloads are from iTunes, reviews will help us get noticed!!

Ghost in The Shell 2:16 - 45:05
This absolutely fantastic film directed by maestro Mamoru Oshii has had a very long and illustrious history with American anime fandom. Without giving too much away, the film gets dissected for all the philosophical wonders it beholds. Yet for some reason all Nolan cared about were the boobies and felt different about the movie than Dan and I....weird!
Own the classic that started it all here...

...or the new 2.0 version of the film!!
Closing 45:05 - 49:02
Wrapping up a very diverse episode, I declare that next time we stop treading the waters and dive head first!! That's right...next time we introduce Dan to the wonderful world of giant robots with the almighty MAZENKAISER!!!