Review: Eden of the East the Movie I – The King of Eden (Dub)
Review: Love Roma, Vol. 1 (Manga)
Ani-Gamers Podcast #037 – Spicy Wolf, Made with Real Wolf!
Review: Fate/Extra (PSP)
Drunken Otaku: The Drops of God – First Sip
Hosts: Evan "Vampt Vo" Minto, Alain a.k.a. "Hisui," Kate a.k.a. "Narutaki"
Topics: Fate Tiger Colosseum Upper (Game-PSP), The Daughter of Twenty Faces [or Chiko, Heiress of the Phantom Thief] (Anime-Sub)
We've got a really short one this time, as the Ani-Gamers Podcast is invaded by Hisui and Narutaki (real names Alain and Kate) from the Reverse Thieves anime blog. These two are here to talk about some overlooked gems from 2008 - including the Capcom game (featuring Type Moon characters) Fate Tiger Colosseum Upper and the BONES anime The Daughter of Twenty Faces. Oh, and see that litle "part 2" in the title? That means that you should listen to podcast #011a, since this episode is sort of a continuation of that one. Sort of.
And before anybody asks: yes, Alain and Kate are talking about things that were not released in America, even though our Best of 2008 write-ups had that as a requirement. It's fine - it's not like we're giving out any official awards here.
Show notes and links can be found after the break.
(Runtime: 18 minutes, 3 seconds)
[0:00:00] Opening Song: "R.O.D Theme" by Taku Iwasaki (R.O.D. OVA opener)
[0:00:10] Pre-show thing, wherein Evan talks about how you can subscribe to us, where our blog is, and other things that you already know because you're currently reading the blog. Also, he thanks Erin and Noah of the Ninja Consultant Podcast for playing our promo on their show. (and for posting this awesome picture of him from MangaNEXT)
[0:01:44] Introductions, introductions. Hisui (Alain) and Kate (Narutaki) introduce themselves, but never really manage to mention their online aliases. That's why we have show notes. They explain how their blog is NOT about burning things in fire. This is a shameful thing for any blog.
[0:03:00] Musical Break: "Try Real!" by Yui Sakakibara (Fate Tiger Colosseum Upper intro song)
[0:04:20] In this segment, Alain is simultaneously explaining why Fate Tiger Colosseum Upper is awesome and trying in to pronounce its name. This game is based on the Type Moon franchises (i.e. H-GAMES), but it has cute little characters and silly storylines. Topics for this segment include Magical Sister Priestess Karin and vicious chibi violence.
[0:09:12] Musical Break: "Kasumi" by 369 miroku (The Daughter of Twenty Faces opener)
[0:10:25] Now it's Kate's turn, and she's talking about The Daughter of Twenty Faces, which could also be called Chiko, Heiress of the Phantom Thief if you were the Anime News Network. It's a mystery anime by BONES that centers around some girl and a thief who probably doesn't have twenty faces, but people call him that anyway. Topics for this segment include every mystery cliche ever, Matsuda, and "The Detective Girls."
[0:17:12] Ending Song: "WORLD END" by FLOW (Code Geass R2 second opener)
[0:17:44] Outro: Black Jack? Yes, Black Jack.
Links:
Ninja Consultant Podcast
Reverse Thieves
Our third and final Top 3 list is for anime. This section has slightly stricter rules than the other two Top 3 lists (manga and video games). To be eligible for this list, a title had to have begun its legal release in North America during the 2008 calendar year. Yep, that means no fansubs.
You might notice that a certain American anime company has a rather large share of our votes. We swear that we haven't sold out. Seriously. We chose these titles because this company made some great licensing decisions this year. These are shows that have touched people's hearts, spawned countless cosplays, and for the lesser-known among them, sparked some real intellectual thought over their deeper meaning. In a year that saw the anime industry nearly collapse and miraculously rebuild itself, in a year that saw both the fall of ADV and the rise of legal anime streaming, these shows are examples of how anime is still going strong. If you need a reason to support the American anime industry, look no futher than the following three anime.
A special thanks goes out to Yumeka, who provided some much needed tie-breaker votes to solidify this list.
Below, our choices for the best anime of 2008. The writeup for each winner has the author's nickname next to it. [Vampt Vo], for example.
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Directed by: Hiroyuki Imaishi
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Personal Choices
(The top anime choice from each of our staff members that voted)
- Karl "Uncle Yo" Custer: Tekkon Kinkreet (Studio 4°C)
- Mitchell "MitchyD" Dyer: Gurren Lagann (Gainax)
- "Ink": Welcome to the NHK (Gonzo)
- Maxwell "Pigeonflu" McGee: Gurren Lagann (Gainax)
- Evan "Vampt Vo" Minto: The Girl Who Leapt Through Time (Madhouse)
- "Yumeka": Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion (Sunrise)
Video games seemed to soar far beyond expectations this year. Without a tentpole release like Bioshock, Halo 3, or Portal, all different kinds of games popped up all over the place, from all platforms. 2008 was a year of games that broke new ground. Games like Far Cry 2 and Mirror's Edge, which took their respective genres to whole new levels. Games like Grand Theft Auto, which broke sales records for video games mere months after the release of the record-setting Halo 3. Games like Fable II, which created one of the first true open-world games to allow you full control over the morality and lifestyle of your character.
Choosing our favorite games was difficult, and there are a lot of fantastic titles that didn't make the list. Please understand that these winners were decided based on votes from each of our staff members, averaged together to form a general consensus. In addition, we had some extra votes from Yumeka of AnimeYume to help even out tie votes. The writeup for each winner has the author's nickname next to it. [Vampt Vo], for example.
Below, our choices for the best video games of 2008.
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Platform(s): Playstation 3, Xbox 360
The graphics, the car selection, the paint options, and the soundtrack (not to mention how easy it is to play to your own) never fail to impress. The only bit of nostalgia that lingers is that which adored crash events. Sure, you can start your own total-as-many-things-as-possible-for-as-long-as-you-want event at any time during a race or (I think) in free-roam, but it's not the challenge-based event that made things blowing up all the more fun for destruction engineers with OCD. So if there was ever a reason to keep your junker on cinder blocks on the lawn like a decoration you might work on on alternate Saturdays, that's it. Otherwise, feel free to start immersing yourself in the experience of new-and-shiny-ness with no regrets. My gamertag is King Ink. See you on the strip (in the rear-view mirror). [Ink] |
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Platform(s): Playstation 3, Xbox 360
A slight bit of envy between RB2 and GHWT is the add-on drum expansion, which only duplicates colors for RB2 (whereas the GHWT kit adds another color for a better/more varied drumming experience). Still, if you care about anything other than the songs when looking to get this game: 1) you're wrong, 2) GHWT does a better job with character customizations and venue settings/graphics, and 3) RB2 offers many more modes of playing than GHWT, though mostly in playlist form (Challenges, Battle of the Bands, etc). I rock Excellent Guitar/Bass, can sing your sister's knockers off, and mess up the simplest of beats – and I love jamming with anyone, anytime who has the same love of music that is the soul behind this game. [Ink] |
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Platform(s): Nintendo DS
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Personal Choices
(The top video game choice from each of our staff members that voted)
- Mitchell "MitchyD" Dyer: Command & Conquer: Red Alert 3 (360)
- "Ink": Rock Band 2 (360)
- Maxwell "Pigeonflu" McGee: Left 4 Dead (360)
- Evan "Vampt Vo" Minto: The World Ends with You (DS)
- "Yumeka": Harvest Moon: Tree of Tranquility (Wii)
To begin our countdown of the best titles of 2008, we present to you our picks for the Top 3 Manga of 2008. These titles had to have started their English-language publication in North America during the 2008 calendar year to be eligible for the Top 3. Unfortunately, we have a limited staff that actually reads manga, so this is far from a comprehensive list. We apologize, but trust us when we say that this list has some really fantastic titles on it. The writeup for each winner has the author's nickname next to it. [Vampt Vo], for example.
Following the steady downturn in the American economy, the manga industry also had troubles this year. Riding into 2008 on the coattails of a massive rise in manga popularity over the past half-decade, publishers expected more big sales to come. However, the industry faltered, and sales figures began to show small decreases. Eventually former manga giant Tokyopop cracked under the strain, cutting their production in half, and newer players like Del Rey and Yen Press jumped in to take its place. These new companies (as well as the ever-present Viz and the retro-centered Vertical) have defined the manga world in 2008 with fantastic new titles covering a wide range of topics.
Below, our staff-voted choices for best manga of 2008.
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Personal Choices
(The top manga choice from each of our staff members that voted)
- Evan "Vampt Vo" Minto: Black Jack (Tezuka)
- Mitchell "MitchyD" Dyer: MW (Tezuka)
Hosts: Evan "Vampt Vo" Minto, Mitchell "MitchyD" Dyer, Karl "Uncle Yo" Custer
Topics: Command & Conquer: Red Alert 3 (Game-PC/360), Me and the Devil Blues (Manga), The Tower of Druaga: The Aegis of Uruk (Anime-Sub)
2009 is finally here, so we're naturally taking a look back at our favorite anime, manga, and video game titles of the past year. The first half of episode #011 (this show) goes in the following order: In Mitchy's segment, he and Evan talk about Mitchy's favorite game, C&C: Red Alert 3. Then the duo moves on to the 2008 manga Evan is currently geeking out over, Me and the Devil Blues. Finally, Karl does a solo recording about The Tower of Druaga: The Aegis of Uruk.
Remember to email us (podcast@anigamers.com) with comments on this episode!
Show notes and links can be found after the break.
(Runtime: 32 minutes, 8 seconds)
[0:00:00] Opening Song: "R.O.D Theme" by Taku Iwasaki (R.O.D. OVA opener)
[0:00:15] Evan's wishing everybody a Happy New Year and explaining the convoluted recording plans that ended us up with two different episodes with a different set of hosts.
[0:01:14] Mitchy is ready to rant and rave about Command & Conquer: Red Alert 3 (developed by EA Los Angeles), but first he adds a follow-up to our original Mirror's Edge discussion in episode #009. I cut out some of the ME conversation, since we got quite off-topic. Topics for this segment include psychic schoolgirls, tripedal lightsaber-wielding robots, and bearatroopers. Also, Golgo 13.
[0:09:41] Promo: Lather's Blather Podcast - lathersblather.blogspot.com
[0:10:48] Evan tries his hand at explaining Me and the Devil Blues (by Akira Hiramoto). Basically, Japan finally made something with black people in it that isn't unintentionally racist. Topics for this segment include ten-fingered hands, bug-eyed white kids, and Golgo 13 again.
[0:22:13] Break: "SWINGING" by Muramasa (The Tower of Druaga: The Aegis of Uruk opener)
[0:23:20] Karl goes this one alone, but he still manages to talk up a storm about The Tower of Druaga: The Aegis of Uruk. RPG cliches and D&D references abound in this mini-review. Topics for this segment include D20s, the Delicious Happy Fluffy Pink Cupcake of Redundant Happiness, and COOPA.
[0:31:48] Ending Song: "WORLD END" by FLOW (Code Geass R2 second opener)
Links:
Reverse Thieves
Review: The Tower of Druaga - The Aegis of Uruk (Sub)
Over at the Anime Almanac, my good friend Scott VonSchilling has just put up a post going over the best articles on his site in the past year. We've had a good year too here at Ani-Gamers, so I thought that our readers might appreciate a retrospective look at the amazing things that little anime and gaming blog has done since last January.
2008 was undoubtedly a good year for Ani-Gamers. In the early spring, I applied a drastic makeover to the site's design, giving it a sleek new look for version 2.0. Around that time, staff applications started popping up from all over the country. Soon after, Ani-Gamers was hitting the con scene. Uncle Yo started performing all around the country, and I started meeting fellow bloggers and future friends like Scott VonSchilling, DJ Ranma S, Kuro Usagi, Hisui, and Narutaki. We have reached the end of 2008 with a podcast, hundreds of posts, and some great staff members. And I don't think that our momentum is gonna slow down anytime soon.
After the break, I've got links to the top 15 Ani-Gamers posts of this year, ranging from reviews to podcast episodes to feature articles and covering a wide range of topics. Enjoy, and Happy New Year!
Spiral (Hyb) • Evan "Vampt Vo" Minto
In this long, angry review, I poured my heart out about the 2003 anime Spiral. It's 26 episodes long, and there is only one consistent theme: black turtlenecks. This is by far my favorite of all the bad reviews that I have ever written, since I really wanted to get some entertainment out of Spiral after spending a grueling 8+ hours on it.
Kure-nai (Sub) • Karl "Uncle Yo" Custer
Karl took a look at the overlooked gem Kure-nai in August, and he wrote up a concise yet thoughtful review that touched upon a lot of the more subtle points about the show. This anime might have gone under the radar when it released, but Karl's review is a great reminder of what a lot of people missed out on.
The Skull Man (Sub) • Karl "Uncle Yo" Custer
Shotaro Ishinomori's Skull Man started as a 1970's manga series, but in its 2008 anime reversioning it received a fresh coat of paint – black paint. Karl's in-depth look at the mystery and horror of the world of The Skull Man is only matched by the show's inclusion of "some werewolves and a small battalion of mechanized maniacal army clowns with flame-throwers and rocket-launchers."
The Sky Crawlers (Sub) • Karl "Uncle Yo" Custer
More recently, Karl has contributed a fascinating review of the early screening of Mamoru Oshii's The Sky Crawlers. While many fans might cringe at the slow pace of Oshii's philosophical piece, Karl takes it all in and provides a markedly intelligent commentary on the film.
Tokyo Godfathers (Sub) • Evan "Vampt Vo" Minto
I absolutely love Satoshi Kon's films, so being able to watch and review Tokyo Godfathers was an absolute treat. This review is gushing with all sorts of love for Kon's work. Of course that's natural for a movie that is gushing with so much raw emotion. This post is pretty much the antithesis to my angry Spiral review.
MW • Mitchell "MitchyD" Dyer
MitchyD joined our staff halfway through the year, and got right to work on reviewing manga. Even though he hadn't quite tried reviewing the medium before, he got off to a great start with this review of manga legend Osamu Tezuka's MW. Mitchy makes fascinating points about the sheer depravity and shock value of Tezuka's most grisly classic.
Fushigi Yuugi pt.1 • Evan "Vampt Vo" Minto
I guess I really like my bad reviews, because this is yet another one. Though many might think that Fushigi Yuugi is a classic among shojo manga (I'm looking at you, Jason Thompson), I really only found it to be an unoriginal story with no real character development or palpable drama.
The World Ends with You (DS) • Maxwell "Pigeonflu" McGee
One of the best DS games in recent memory got what it deserved in Max's awesome review: 4 stars. Max raves for six paragraphs about the fascinating-yet-confusing plot, fantastic gameplay, and stylish presentation that make The World Ends with You one of the best games of the year. Oh, and he of course discusses his "two-player co-op mode."
Castle Crashers (XBLA) • Maxwell "Pigeonflu" McGee
Another Max-produced review, this one is about Castle Crashers, a game that made a big splash on the Xbox Live Arcade this past summer. If you haven't already downloaded this title, check out Max's fantastic review so you can be ashamed at your utter foolishness!
Left 4 Dead (360) • Mitchell "MitchyD" Dyer
Of course, Mitchy's Left 4 Dead review has to make the list, if only because Mitchy, a professional video game journalist, took time out to write his first and as of yet only video game review for Ani-Gamers. Luckily, Mitchy's honest, witty writeup is also a very entertaining look at the experience that is Left 4 Dead.
Ani-Gamers Podcast #001 - Andy Brick Interview
Every podcast has to have its beginnings, but fortunately ours wasn't quite the trainwreck that some first episodes are. This episode has a special place in my heart because it was actually my first ever interview, as well as my first ever podcast episode. Beyond that, it's actually a pretty interesting look at the musical composition that goes on in video game design.
Ani-Gamers Podcast #003 - Fansubbing Panel w. Greg Ayres
This is where I've got to pull Scott from the Anime Almanac back into the picture, since he and I both had an outpouring of comments due to our opinions on Mr. Ayres's controversial panel. I side with Greg and Scott in that I do not support fansubs, and so I decided to post my partial recording of Greg's "Fan Subbing" panel from AnimeNEXT 2008. This is one of the most intelligent and entertaining looks at fansubbing that you will ever hear.
Big Apple Anime Explosion: Anime Comes Back to NYC • Evan "Vampt Vo" Minto
StumbleUpon latched onto this article with a passion, and it literally became my defining piece, the one that drove Ani-Gamers hits through the roof. For those who still haven't checked it out, "Big Apple Anime Explosion" is all about the new opportunities for anime fans to get together and experience their hobby in New York City. I even got to speak to Kinokuniya manager John Fuller and NYAF organizer Peter Tatara in the course of my research.
See You Space Cowboy: The Legacy of Toonami • Evan "Vampt Vo" Minto
While this feature didn't receive quite as much publicity as my "Big Apple Anime Explosion" one, its still one of my favorites. A few weeks after the untimely death of Cartoon Network's Toonami programming block, I felt the need to write up a personal message, a sort of obituary for the childhood years spent watching the block. Colored with childhood experiences and stories from TOM voice actor Steve Blum, this is one of my most emotional posts.
Otakudemia: When is an anime not an anime? When it's a Gothic novel • "Ink"
Finally, this one is an article from our newest staff member: "Ink." He defined himself to Ani-Gamers readers with this groundbreaking piece that uses an academic style to examine the gothic leanings of Le Portrait de Petite Cossette.
Before I finish up, I naturally need to thank some people. First, I'd like to extend a heartfelt "Thank You" to everyone who has read this blog over the past year. Maybe you only read one article. Maybe you read all of them. Maybe you're just a podcast listener. Maybe you're one of our affiliates or blogroll members. Nevertheless, it is your support and dedication that motivates us to continue to write and record new content for you. Thank you so much for reading; rest assured we will do everything in our power to make 2009 an even better year for Ani-Gamers and its readers.
Finally, I cannot conclude this article without the most important "Thank You" of all: one that goes out to the diligent staff members at Ani-Gamers. You have been writers, podcasters, readers, and most importantly: friends. Our staff is made up of amazing people – people who never stop working to make this site a better place – and without them we would not have done nearly any of the amazing things that we did this year. So, whether you only wrote one article, or you stuck with us all year, I would like to thank each and every one of you from the bottom of my heart. Kevin A., Karl, Mitchy, "Ink," Max, Alex, Kevin O., and Jessa: here's to another great year!
Have A Very Happy 2009!
