As you know, Divine was a valuable contributor here at Random Curiosity, and since his departure Omni has been looking for someone to help out. I can only hope I’ll be of some service as a new team member here, and honestly I’m very much looking forward to working with all of you. I’ve been a reader around here for a couple of years, and have been watching anime for much longer. Some of my first fan-subbed experiences from many years ago include timeless classics (Cowboy Bebop) as well as some things that were only magical the first time around (Love Hina). Since then I’ve seen a variety of shows from a variety of genres and tend to enjoy well produced, original, and creative stories the most. I can’t stand studios who can’t offer anything new, and I applaud those who go out of their way to be creative and make artistic advancements in the industry. Provided you have realistic expectations and an open mind, I find that most series can be enjoyed for what they succeed in, and forgiven for (a fraction of) their faults. At this moment in time (in other words, subject to change, hopefully when you least expect it), some of my favorite anime includes: Ghost Hound, Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei, FLCL, and many others which I enjoy immensely but wouldn’t necessarily call a favorite. That is including, but not limited to: Black Lagoon, Ergo Proxy, Haruhi, Paranoia Agent, Dennou Coil, Natsume Yuujinchou, and a handful of others that I’m too embarrassed to mention here. I’m probably forgetting a few major series that I loved, and I certainly left out a lot of big names that I liked a lot but didn’t list here, but I hope you get a general picture of what I tend to enjoy the most. This season I’ve been keeping up with far more series than usual. That list is almost guaranteed to shrink as the season continues, but I’m currently watching: Kannagi, Kuroshitsuji, Chaos;HEAd, Jigoku Shoujo Mitsuganae, Kurozuka, Kyou no Go no Ni, Michiko to Hatchin, Mouryou no Hako, Nodame Cantabile Paris-hen, Skip Beat!, Toradora!, and Vampire Knight Guilty. Some of these I only watch on TV for the sheer enjoyment, most I download and watch at my leisure. Obviously I cannot possibly write about all of these, nor would I want to (I probably won't do Kurozuka, Mouryou, Michiko... and Skip Beat! has plenty of great bloggers already). But I am really excited about the prospect of writing about a few of them, so I hope you’ll indulge me as I take on a couple of these shows, as far as time allows. I'll definitely be following Kuroshitsuji for starters, and hopefully Vampire Knight Guilty pretty soon as well. Aside from anime, my other passions include language, which, combined with intense impatience allows me to watch most of my shows raw these days. I also keep up with a selection of manga, which delays the hunger. (Except those monthlies. If you think waiting a week is harsh…) That’s about it as far as my general anime background is concerned. As far as my other personality quirks go, I’m sure you’ll discover them along the way. Yoroshiku, ne~ -Trillian
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I'm not much for violent anime, but the sleeper hit of the season for me is the unheralded Madhouse show Kurozuka. Even if you aren't into bloodbaths, this show just grabs your attention and runs with it. Give it a try.I'm not sure what genre this might fit into. Maybe it's a genre of its own: vampire historical science-fiction bloodbath erotic romance. It's from a popular manga that I just couldn't make head nor tail of, but director-writer Araki Tetsurou has fashioned the story into a gripping anime. Araki-san was the director of Death Note, and he has brought back Paku Romi and Miyano Mamoru as the leads. They are both terrific, but Paku-san is just brilliant. Absolutely riveting.Add Nakata Jouji, Fujiwara Keiji, Kuwashima Houko, Miki Shinichirou, Ohkawa Tohru, and Irino Miyu, and you've got one heck of a cast. I won't say much. I don't want to spoil the plot for you. And there's a lot of plot. Suffice it to say that the setting has changed in each of the first three episodes, so don't expect anything to last. Whatever the case, it's a beautiful show. The dark backgrounds are gorgeous. The animation is the rough perfection that Madhouse can provide. The overall feeling is lush, sensual, romantic, dark. Gore and flying limbs abound. Animation director Shino Masanori did Black Lagoon. The pics here are a selection from episodes one and two, just to whet -- or perhaps dampen, lol -- your appetite. For more info, check ANN. The show doesn't even have a proper official site. Here is its Animax introduction page. I think what got me onside with this show from the beginning is the fact that every episode is prefaced with a brief Noh recitation and dance. And the OP (YouTube), by Wagdog Futuristic Unity (basically Maximum the Hormone) is a great driving punk shout that really gets your blood moving. The ED (YouTube) by Shigi is beautiful and beautifully sung.Search "Kurozuka" on YouTube to see streamed versions of the episodes themselves.
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Ciel invites fat Hitler, a Chinese pimp, Carmen Sandiego, some guy from from Black Lagoon and a some dude who I can't think of anything snarky to say about over for a pool party. The billiards kind. Meanwhile, the three incompetent servants are chasing some mice around. Sebastian, of course, manages to take care of the mice in style. Ciel gets kidnapped by the Black Lagoon dude and put in
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And, we’re back. I’ve finally had time to sit down and watch a few of the anime titles sent us, and you know what? There were actually some great shows this time around. Some shows I’ve reviewed previously only continued to derail, but the vast majority of the others surprised me with their quality. [...]
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VIZ MEDIA DEBUTS BLACK LAGOON MANGA SERIES A PT Boat Packed with Mercenary Couriers Lands on North American Shores San Francisco, CA, SEPTEMBER 16, 2008 — VIZ Media, LLC, one of the entertainment industry’s most innovative and comprehensive publishing, animation and licensing companies, has announced the exciting North American debut of BLACK [...]
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This new 1/6 scale figure of “Roberta” from Black Lagoon series, will be available this coming December 2008 by New Line at a whoopin’ price of 16,800 Yen retail price. Hobby Search is taking reservations for her as of today. The figure is made out of Cold Cast. With the scale and material used, the high [...]
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Black Lagoon rounds off the First Barrage with rip-roaring conclusion to the Unstoppable Housemaid arc before following the crew as they embark on a mission set by the Triads that pits them against a group of international terrorists. Needless to say it involves some more blistering action and an outrageous supporting cast but the dynamic [...]
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Inspired by a small chat with double on Black Lagoon, it sort of struck me that Black Lagoon is that peculiar type of Anime that’s filled with killers, murderers, assassins and plain monobrow criminals (jesus, how often do we see that). All with differing levels of skill, lethality and plain bad-assness however. So, in a rather [...]
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One of the more bizarre, yet skilfully executed, crossover OPs to grace Nico. Black Lagoon’s Russian mafia queen Balalaika stars in her very own anime, inexplicably in the style of Haruhi… Nico.
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Which combat maid would you prefer? Today's competitors are Roberta (Black Lagoon), Kogarashi (Kamen no Maid Guy) and Sayoko (Code Geass). Why don't I include more? Because I dont' feel like it. Round 01: Maiding Skills Sayoko has displayed very little actual maid abilities besides pushing Nunally around, but she at least has the proper demeantor. Roberta's cleaning prowess leaves much to be
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