So Japanese animation is going to die…

You know what, people should stop blaming individual selfishness for their lack of money problems.

They should instead blame the likes of Goldman Sachs and Greece for trying to kill the global economy instead. Because while individual selfishness multiplied by the power of the Internet is no small matter, if the global economy dies, then there’d be no more money for ANYTHING.

So instead of blaming the customer for thinking he’s entitled to download anything off the Internet just because it’s free, anime companies and their related services should instead go blame Goldman Sachs and Greece, since the global economy is what is keeping them above the water, at least for now.

PS: Anime Vice is a totally cool site.

My Spring Season, in under 40 words or less per show.

Before we get started, YES THIS IS NECESSARY. LILY WHITE IS THE HERALD OF SPRING.

Angel Beats (off) (Hurr):  Dude, where’s mah plot? Seriously.

The New SD Gundam show: Dood they just put SD Gundams in a Three Kingdoms-inspired setting? DOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHO. Fukken watching.

HEROMAN: Will Win Best Show Of Season. Colony Drop Be Fucked.

B Gata H Kei: This show is funny. I think I lost part of my lung.

DaiMaou: It’s entertaining, and I don’t suffer from a mild headache! FUKKEN WATCHING.

Astro Fighter Sunred: Why are you still here? GO WATCH THE SHOW ALREADY.

Also, a BroTip: This blog is 4 years old. And I wish to have 1 million hits before another 4 years end. Yay. Also I wish moot wishes to be the little girl.

On censorship – an honest opinion

Do you really want your government to censor this cute picture?

I find myself in a weird position: Defending what seems to be something I don’t wanna defend.

On one hand, it’s one of the more… … … debatable issues out there: censorship of Japanese modern art depicting minors in sexually appealing positions (and in some cases, depicting said minors engaging in sexual acts). As a supposedly moralfag Christian, it is my responsibility to point out how sickening this is (and even though I’m actually desensitized to such things, from an intellectual standpoint, it is disturbing to see such things, for reasons I will explain below, and not because of some supposed idol worship of the innocence of the child) and most people would expect me to jump the shark and proceed to call for draconian legislation to ban such images.

On the other hand, cooler heads have said it’s a whole lot of paper and ink, and it doesn’t harm anyone. Better yet, the fact that such material exists might also help in curbing actual child abuse cases (if studies concerning pornography are to be believed). That, and that the resources could be better served freeing actual victims of child abuse. Since going nuts over supposedly fictional characters is supposedly doing a great disservice to children who are actually being abused (and I do believe the abused would agree with me on this).

Honestly, I really have nothing that might seem useful to the whole issue, even though I am believed to have a strongly-worded opinion on censorship in general. And I’ve given the whole issue much thought. Censorship (or rather, something similar), as I’ve said before, has backfired on itself and has led to people being more anti-establishment, even though it was probably done for thier own good.

Now, as a moralfag Christian, I’d like to say that porn, in any form OR fetish, no matter how useful it is in keeping sex crimes down, only illustrates how little faith we have in ourselves in trying to approach girls and asking them out (with zero intentions for trying to sleep with them). While I DO understand that a man has urges that require some form of physical relief that sometimes cannot be relieved by automatically jizzing in your pants at night, the fact that porn is used as an aid (rather than say, your imagination. Lewis Black has one or two things to say about that.) only goes to show how unimaginative a man has become. Yes, that applies even to me.

But does that mean I should campaign for people to actively censor what they do not like? That’s not my job, nor is it my responsibility. Some moralfag Christians think that they should be trying to block people from seeing such things. Let’s just say that as a moralfag Christian, my job is to point out the flaws and educate, not to censor. If my Father Up There deems it okay for me to see just how rotten, how despicable and how sickening the human condition is (Romans 8:23 becomes PERSONAL when you are in the Army, and it’s not about how the recruit is the lowest on the foodchain), then I should be cool with people CHOOSING to go see pictures (and idealized pictures at that) of of minors dressing up in “sexy” clothing, posing in erotic poses, and engaging in sexual acts. I’m only here to inform, first and foremost, and to live my life according to what I know.

On the flipside, censorship, especially when defined within a limited scope, can be extremely useful. The issue I have with censorship (especially in my country) is that the definition of what can be censored is not just plain vague, but highly contradictory at times. Which basically means, for some people, that it’s something used to control information, like what China does. In Singapore, while we do get the BBC and CNN, our local media outlet (yes there is only one media company in Singapore), does not cover what the opposition does, for reasons I’ll not discuss. That in itself is a form of censorship. A form of censorship that still puzzles me to this day. And in Singapore, you cannot speak your mind freely on things that do not toe the party line. No lie.

In any case, while I personally see no problem with people wanting to see idealized art of children in sexually provocative poses (or engaging in sexual acts) even though I have told them many times that there’s something wrong in viewing the materials (the issue here is NOT perversion, but a matter of confidence) because it’s THEIR choice, there is a problem with the fact that there are people and organizations out there who ARE wasting time on making decisions without understanding Japanese culture.

The issue then becomes less of a censorship issue, but rather why are they trying to actively ostracize Japan instead of, you know, trying to HELP them?

Or this?

Drm Note: My stance on censorship is this. “The most dangerous blade is a sheathed one.” I’d love to have it at hand for the inevitable, but it is my most sincere wish to never use it. It is also the same stance I take with abortion. Also, I think I’ll be talking about this issue for some time to come. Idle hands, etc.

Links because I am Obligated to.

Google Censors Lolicon
Google blocks Baka-Updates from Adsense
Google Blocks lolicon, the Aftermath
The Obligatory Reaction Piece
Obligatory Reaction Piece, Part 2
Why is Kuro Here I don’t Even
Yes To Freedom

Impz got married. Fuck I am late to the party.

So impz got married and I am an idiot.

Amendment: The Godannar review is also dedicated to Impz and 13sugars, although I don’t think Impz rides a super robot.

Titties and giant robots. Who woulda thunk that it’d be this good?

This post is dedicated (WITH THE BRIGHTEST OF MAGICKS) to sdshamsel, who made me take a second look at the show, bouncing, jiggly tits and all. The naked Kouji pic is for you, too. (lol I troll u)

Domon Kasshu got nothin’ on the whole glowing hand of death schtick.

The first impression one gets from Godannar is that it’s the typical Japanese anime, as defined by most dictionaries: a show with robots, sex, and ULTRAVIOLENCE. Which the show has in spades, truckloads, and Olympic-sized swimming pools.

It’s also one of the most deceptive mecha shows out there as well. Under the cloak of tits, gore and giant steel golems kicking the faces of butt-ugly monsters is a very, very well-woven tale of human relationships, love, and for at least one character, a hilariously epic throwback to the days when giant robots actually did such things without resorting to cheap tricks like shallow symbolism, grim storylines where almost everyone dies, and when Anno wasn’t being an elitist, stuck-up, depressed prick of a man because his idea got mooted by his boss.

…How do I start? I haven’t done a proper review in YEARS. I guess I’ll start with what made me smile.

Characters are integral to Godannar, as the story is pretty much based on all of them, service crew and bridge bunnies included. Godannar’s characters may be based off done-to-death archetypes and stock characters, but to be honest, when watching them, I didn’t feel bored seeing basically the same thing I see in GaoGaiGar or G Gundam (reviews coming up shortly!). They are interesting, multi-faceted, and for most of them, feel almost human. Except for one, but I’ll cover that shortly.

Even with the fairly massive cast of horrifically likable characters, two of them stood out: Shizuru and Lou.

I have no idea how in the world did I actually realize this, but as much fun as seeing the relationship of Anna and Go blossom (as well as thier personal growth), seeing The Shiz (as I affectionately call her) grow up, die, come back to life via SHEER DETERMINATION (and hot lesbian kissing :3c), and slowly become more femine was truly a joy to watch. Shit, Anna and Go are the main characters, but their star keeps being stolen by The Shiz just living her life, guilt and all. It’s a little bit unfair to the both of them, really, but…

THIS IS REAL ULTIMATE MOE.

Shizuru is both BADASS and MOE. Fuck you.

Lou, on the other hand, is all about “How far can we stretch a child’s resilience?” She saw her father DIE, then faces massive difficulties when her adoptive parents choose not to teach her how to pilot a giant robot, and then she gets attached to a mysterious stranger who eventually disappears from her life. Half the time, I wanna hug her, the other half I’m totally riveted as to see how she reacts. She’s strong, yet extremely vulnerable at the same time. A weird combination,but it works.

Most of the cast have extremely strong personalities that define them, yet they also are vulnerable when the story expects them to be. Even if how they handled it was rather sloppy at times (Shadow and Luna, OH BOY TRUE BLUE LESBIANS) or not even touched upon (like Knight and Ellis, WHAT.).

And the only exception to the rule? TETSUYA KOUUUUUUUUUUUUUJIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII, who apparently is not dead at all. Hotblooded to a fault, teases Shizuru to no end, screams like a man even in moments of weakness, the whole point of his character was to pretty much turn a character into a walking, living Crowning Moment Of Awesome. Which he does very, very well. Screaming and all. It’s all very weird, but also very interesting.

In terms of voice actors/actresses, well, there’s quite a few surprises. Yukari Tamura voices Ellis (no wonder Knight is so afraid of her. She’s the motherfuckin’ Nanoha Onee-Sama), Nakahara Mai (Nagisa, Rena, ELLIS, TEANA, AND RAYMOO HACKRAY) is Aoi Anna, Kaori Shimizu does the voice of Lou (SHIT SIGNUM IS LOLI. LOLI SIGNUM. MIND DOES NOT COMPUTE. Also Lamia Loveless and ASCHEN BRODEL), Hisakawa Aya (Skuld, LINDY HARLOWN, Sailor Mercury, Kero-chan, etc…) is Milla Ackerman, Noto Mamiko (TOO MANY GREAT ROLES TO EVEN LIST) is Momochie (bridge bunny with moe voice, you know, TEH NOTO is really versatile)… … …

And if you can’t recognize the screaming voice behind TETSUYA KOUUUUUUUUUUUUUJIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII, you obviously have not enough courage. No really.

Godannar is also an interesting take on the super robot genre. Instead of showing us how the dudes in the robots fight the evil monsters and win, it takes an almost microscopic look at the human side of the whole thing (kinda like SRW, but with a microscope). It’s like as if the greater war between the evil monsters and humanity is only a backdrop for the seemingly mundane events inside Dannar Base (and others). How do I put it, it’s rather interesting to see how interconnected the whole show really is.

Thier love is the best weapon against pretty much anything. No really.

Unsurprisingly, the theme of the show is “Love is the last weapon!”, and when you do get the whole thing, the whole show makes sense, idiosyncrasies and all.

Best of all, it ends on an extremely satisfying note. It’s not quite a Deus Ex Machina, but it wraps up the whole series with a big BANG.

Now that I’ve gotten the good parts out of the pictures, it’s time to frown.

While I am a man and all, the fact that it has huge, jiggling titflesh originally turned me off the show when it aired in 2005. ON TEEVEE. And to be honest, anyone looking for a fun show to watch would obviously pass Godannar, since not many people expect CAMELTOE TO YOUR FACE when watching a mecha show.

There’s also skipping what seems to be a few story threads, like Knight and Ellis’ life and how Mokaku and Shukyu met. And of course, they did botch Shadow and Luna’s little corner of character progression. Yeah, emo lesbians didn’t appeal to me all that much, but it’s rather subjective. If Shadow was a man, then I’d probably be a bit more impressed, but when the shocking revelation was that Shadow was a woman and the Genesister pilots were basically EMO LESBIANS, the only thing I got was unmet expectations. Let’s just say I wasn’t impressed at that episode and leave it at that.

But hey, AIC ASTA can do no wrong. First Godannar, then Bamboo Blade and then ASTRO FIGHTER SUNRED. I think AIC ASTA can make great shows, and everyone missed the boat when Godannar came out.

…So that’s about it. I hope I didn’t mess up my first semi-serious review in a very long while.

Also, because someone said I needed more pics :3c

How did I watched animu I am not good with animu

HEROMAN: It is everything I had expected it to be, and more. BEST SHOW OF SEASON, but the OP is so bland.

The Idiot Testing Show: It has Hideyoshi, and amusing gay prospects. It is also mindlessly entertaining. In a good way. Also moar Hideyoshi fanservice, even if he is a mans.

ANGEL BEATS: I missed April’s Fools and I can’t make the joke about it being a porn show about masturbation anymore