I've made numerous references in the past to a certain Taniguchi Goro interview from an Animerica magazine back in 2003 (the magazine is now long discontinued) and it would be easier to have it easily on-hand. It's a highly informative article in a number of ways, but especially in how it links together Infinite Ryvius and s-CRY-ed, and gives food for thought about how Code Geass could be third in the series of spiritual sequels, so I really wanted to share it with anyone who might enjoy it. Plus, it will let you look even closer at s-CRY-ed than you probably imagined, and give you more insight to Goro's brilliance!
(Read the rest of this entry) (Entry meta)

 This is a bit of a first here. I am adding the latest in my series of Code Geass R2 4komas on my Anime Vice blog the very same day I posted on my deviant Art page. Both are based upon Episode 23.    Code Geass R2 Episode 23This first one is titled "Comfort Deux". It's based on the scene early in the episode where Lelouch is still reeling from the idea that Nunnally is still alive and how this will effect the plan he has spent so much time working on.  I remembered that the last time Lelouch thought he was losing Nunnally he became kind of depressed and sort of hit on Kallen with this, "then...comfort me." line. I thought it would be funny if in this scene where Suzaku is confronting Lelouch about Nunnally that perhaps he is so confused that he actually forgets who he's talking to and thinks it's Kallen again. A lot of yaoi fans enjoy this one as well. The keen observer will notice C.C.'s hand slowly coming into view with the recorder in panels two and three. That is sort of a call back to some of my favorite moments in Loony Toons where something or someone would slowly come into view for comedic effect. That's why I gave C.C. that sort of sly Bugs Bunny look at the end. As you can tell in the picture above. I really like to try and emulate the scenes I'm making into a joke. That way fans will be able to know exactly where this is taking place. You often don't see that level of detail in fan comics. Code Geass R2 - Episode 23Yet another 4koma to go along with this same episode. It's this image that both debuts on both Anime Vice and deviant Art at the same time. The title is "Release". This is a little later after it's been revealed that the Black Knights had repaired Gino's KMF, theTristan. He's talking with Kallen about how he understands how she must of felt being half Brittanian and fighting with the Japanese. Really, it's a stupid statement. He didn't understand at all what she was feeling. I really hated Gino. He was the most pointless character that never influenced anything in the series. I don't even think through the whole series that he ever even knew that Lelouch was originally Zero. I really wish Suzaku had killed him when he killed the other Knights of the Round.  Art wise, one of my favorite touches was the blurring of the Tristan in the foreground. It helped sell the sense of depth. The color work came out pretty well too.Code Geass R2 - Episode 23I hope you enjoyed the art work and they gave you a good laugh. If you visit my devArt page you can see this art amongst others in a larger size. Please, feel free to comment.  -Kristoffer Remmell (FoxxFireArt) is a freelance graphic artist, writer, and over all mystery geek.-    
(Read the rest of this entry) (Entry meta)

Medium: TV Anime (25 episodes) Genres: Action, Mecha, Political, Science Fiction Director: Goro Taniguchi Studio: Sunrise Original Run: Oct. 5, 2006 – Jul. 28, 2007 (MBS–Japan) Release Date: Apr. 27, 2008 (Bandai Entertainment–N.America) Rated: PG-13 Sunrise's 2006 anime series Code Geass, in addition to being about a revolution, happens to be a prime representation of a real-world revolution in anime fandom — namely, a merge of the demographics for shōjo and mecha anime. It's a revolution that has been in progress at least since the '90s, when Mobile Suit Gundam Wing provided male fans with explosive robot battles and female fans with attractive, possibly homosexual robot pilots. Sunrise (the studio behind the Gundam franchise) has once again brought these two aesthetics together in a show that combines the studio's experience with giant robots and the character designs of shōjo superstars CLAMP (Cardcaptor Sakura, Chobits, Tsubasa). The revolution is under way, for better or for worse. Code Geass's melodramatic protagonist is Lelouch vi Britannia, a former prince of the Britannian Empire who escaped with his younger sister Nunnally after witnessing his mother's still-unsolved murder. The siblings now live a fake life as students in Area 11 (the conquered province formerly known as Japan) with childhood friend and Britannian soldier Suzaku Kururugi. But Area 11 has some problems of its own, in particular a populace forced into Britannian rule and brutally discriminated against, causing a variety of fringe groups to crop up and oppose the occupying force. After an unfortunate run-in with one of these terrorist groups, Lelouch meets a strange, green-haired girl named C.C. who grants him the power of "Geass" — the ability to command the actions of anyone via eye contact. With his newfound power, the prince rises up under the masked persona of "Zero" and leads the revolution of Japan, with the intention of uncovering the truth of his mother's death and making a new world for his sister. Indeed, that IS a mouthful! In reality, the story can be summed up in a simple comparison: Code Geass is what happens when you smash the original Mobile Suit Gundam together with Death Note. Zero is essentially Gundam's Char Aznable (a son of royalty who wears a mask to protect his identity) mixed with Death Note's Light Yagami (a teen gifted with a strange, highly manipulative power). All three shows also examine the idea of justice attained through a personal vendetta, and the consequences therein. With such a strange combination of influences, Code Geass is one of those modern anime that can appeal to a broad range of fans. Girls can ogle CLAMP's tall, thin pretty-boys, while fans of the intricate plotting of Death Note will find more than enough to love. Unfortunately, mecha fans will find that, despite the number of robots in Code Geass, the show is not really about them. Kenji Teraoka's (Ghost in the Shell, Gundam 00) mechanical designs for the "Knightmare Frames" are certainly interesting, but their battles are often fought with overpowered one-hit-kill weapons or by no-name redshirts, so they lack the gravity and personal investment of most fights in the Gundam series. Don't get fooled by the presence of robots, though. Like an anime version of 24, Code Geass is all about the twists and turns. The entire fate of Japan can hinge on the momentary impulse of its viceroy or a carefully thought out move by Zero, and that inevitable modification of the status quo is what makes the show so compelling. I found myself feverishly watching episode after episode, just to see what Lelouch would do next to extricate himself from situations in which failure is nearly guaranteed. Naturally, the constant stream of twists can get tiring, and lend the series a sizable air of absurdity, but they sure do manage to keep it interesting episode after episode. Geass's art and animation are sharp, brightly colored, and stunningly clean, and the the robot fights — animated in CGI with cel-shading — are surprisingly well-integrated into the 2-D environments. Still, where the show really shines, technically, is in its depiction of CLAMP's character designs. Their distinctive aesthetic provides for some wacky hair colors and costumes, but Sunrise's more angular approach to the designs creates powerful depictions of emotion (usually anger) when the need arises. Lelouch and Suzaku in particular manage to look distinctive yet believable, a difficult feat in a show where two lead female characters have pink and green hair, respectively. Of course, don't miss out on Bang Zoom!'s fantastic dub, which utilizes the series' Western cultural aesthetic to implement English dialogue that fits its context much better than the Japanese. The dub also happens to be quite sonically accurate to the Japanese, thanks in no small part to an appropriately dramatic performance by Johnny Yong Bosch as Lelouch and an irritatingly high-pitched, yet accurate, depiction of Princess Eumphemia from Michelle Ruff. When it comes down to it, the glue that holds the show together is the three-way relationship between Lelouch, Suzaku, and Nunnally. Lelouch's desire to create a new world for his sister puts him in direct conflict with his childhood friend (albeit anonymously), and since both of them care deeply for Nunnally, this secret war between friends creates some truly affective melodrama. Lelouch is the main character, but his haughtiness and willingness to sacrifice almost anyone for his goals make him a villain, making Suzaku a hero and mucking up the show's moral thermometer. Such bold moves on the part of series writer Ichiro Okouchi (RahXephon, Stellvia, Turn A Gundam) are commendable despite many of Geass's other failings. Through all of the rebellions and back-door dealings, Code Geass is ultimately a show that see-saws between bursts of genuine quality and entire episodes of unbelievable silliness (i.e. every comedic episode that takes place at Lelouch's school). At its best, it is a dark moral and political drama that emphasizes the consequences of war and asks if and when good ends can justify evil means. At its worst, it is is a dumb sitcom about a superhero and super-villain who happen to go to school together. Available now on Bandai Entertainment's YouTube channel, the first season of Code Geass is an enjoyable ride overall, despite quite a few frustrating bumps along the way. Fans of fast-paced political dramas who enjoy some interesting moral questions in their anime should find much to love here, though the occasionally inane plot twists and weak mecha tie-in might set a few people off. This review is based on Bandai Entertainment's YouTube stream of the series. good. Post a Comment!
(Read the rest of this entry) (Entry meta)

The Empire of Britannia has invaded Japan using giant robot weapons called Knightmare Frames. Japan is now referred to as Area 11, and its people the 11's. A Britannian who was living in Japan at the time, Lelouch, vowed to his Japanese friend Suzaku that he'd destroy Britannia. Years later, Lelouch is in high school, but regularly skips out of school to go play chess and gamble on himself. One day, he stumbles on terrorists 11's who've stolen a military secret and is caught by a member of the Britannian task force sent after them, who is Suzaku. As the rest of the squad arrives, Suzaku is shot for disobeying orders, while the military secret, a young girl, gives Lelouch the power of Geass, which makes anyone obey any order. While Suzaku is secretly made the pilot of Britannia's brand new prototype Knightmare, Lancelot, Lelouch becomes the masked Zero to lead the rebellion to destroy Britannia once and for all.First completed anime review is finally posted. Seriously, I was that lazy, but whatever. To start off with, I will be giving my thoughts on a worldly known anime. Code Geass: Hangyaku no Lelouch [(コードギアス 反逆のルルーシュ)] – or for the dubbed folks – Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion.I honestly did not watch this until before the 3 last episodes were about to air. After watching several failed Mecha type anime, I decided not to watch it. But, I was bored one day and I totally did not feel like studying for exams, so I finally caved in and watched the first episode. I was completely off with what I thought I would be expecting out of Sunrise, yet again. The first episode got me hook and soon after, I watched the following episode. Pieces of the puzzle on what I was confused about in the beginning became clearer and clearer as the episodes move along. And my expectations were completely blown out of the way as it continued to differ from what I was expecting from the episode. Well, not all the time, as patterns soon start to show themselves. Nevertheless, it was a good watch. Plots wise, it was acceptable, to me at least. Characters? They each have their own uniqueness and they each are messed up to a point. When I say mess up, I mean mess up in a good way and in a bad way.Speaking of plots, the way each episodes ends always makes you want to watch the next one as Sunrise made sure to leave you a cliffhanger. I honestly liked the whole thing, since it actually made me watch the next episode instead of waiting a week or two before watching it. I usually go by with the “I can do it later” – which leads to the whole procrastination thing. Curse my laziness and my procrastination. Old habits do die hard~Anyways, character wise, I totally love the characters! Well, love as in how they are made. It does not completely mean I like the character as a whole. I can accept the whole fact that some needs to be hated and all that. But still. Lelouch Lamperouge – also known as Lelouch vi Britannia – left me hanging on his inquisitive mind. I like being a smartass and he being a character that uses his mind to a complete success makes him a kickass character in my book! Plus, he is a Byronic protagonist. I honestly do prefer these as it makes the whole story more interesting. As for Kururugi Suzaku, Lelouch’s best friend as well as his thorn, is the goody-two-shoes type of character. A pacifist, an idealist as well as a, let’s say, ‘hypocrite’. Not pure hypocrisy, but still nonetheless, in my eyes anyways. Kozuki Kallen Stadfelt was an okay character. Loyal to Zero to a fault and when she sets her mind straight on an objective, she does so to the bitter end, unless changed of course. Shirley Fenette was freaky, honestly, the whole crush thing on Lelouch? Just out with it already, could have saved her the trouble. Rivalz Cardemonde, I honestly do not have anything to say about him. Nunnally Lamperouge – Nunnally vi Britannia – the good old little and helpless sister of the main character. Not to mention his whole reason for his actions, well, top priority anyways. Milly Ashford, I seriously do not want to have a president like her to any school I go to. Nina Einstein, another smart one in the anime. Not only is she infatuated with our good old princess after that event, but she expresses it clearly in one of the episodes. Llyod Asplund is another character I liked and Cecile Croomy is the mediator for our good Earl. Not to mention her freaky and/or weird recipes. C.C. – pronounced C2 – the immortal witch and the one that does as she pleases. Loved how she got under Lelouch’s skin and the whole ‘I do what I want’ characteristics makes her in my top 5 for this series. Too bad her real name was muted in that scene…I could go on and on about characters, but let us leave it at that. Lelouch, despite him being able to mindlessly used human lives as chess pieces, it completely differs when it someone he cares about. Several scenes are shown throughout the story where he makes mistakes in his ‘game’. Those mistakes always contained someone he truly cared for. But like I said, the plot is acceptable. Acceptable because it seemed, forced in a way. But no matter, it still served as a memorable anime to me. Watched it more than once to get more details in. After all, I am planning on writing a story out of it – or at least novelize it.So, final verdict, it is a good watch and a fun watch. Then again, to appeal to those that will not like it; I give you my word that it is then considered an ‘average’ rated anime to you. You might watch a few episodes and just end it there. Or you might watch the whole thing and never watch it again or retain any good memories out of it. We live in a world with a lot of people, so different tastes also exist. I for one am not a person that imposes what they like on others. So, watch it and see for yourself. I am speaking to those who have not yet, not to those who have.
(Read the rest of this entry) (Entry meta)

For those of you looking for good deals in the anime world right now, look no further than Bandai Entertainment and their Anime Legends line of DVDs. For they are releasing the original Mobile Suit Gundam movie trilogy on DVD for $40. This will be a sub only release and due to hit store shelves May 18th. For those of you who don’t know, after the original Gundam television show was broadcast on television, they decided to release three movies that summarized the entire series; a practice started by this trilogy. The reason why they did this is because many people only caught the last half of the television series, because when the show first aired it was seen as a flop. For those of you who want to watch the original show, and don’t know whether or not to watch the movies or the television show, watch the movies. They cut away a lot of the filler, a lot of the badly animated segments, and made it more “real robot” like. 441 minutes of entertainment for $40 is not a bad deal at all. On a side note, Bandai Entertainment also announced that Code Geass R2 Part 4 will be pushed back to 4/6/2010, along with Gundam 00 Season 2 Part 1.
(Read the rest of this entry) (Entry meta)

Code Geass Manga Anthology for Boys and Girls!!! Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion QueenCode Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion Knights Code Geass will be having a new manga anthology series entitled Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion Knights and Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion Queens. Knights is the "Official Manga Anthology" for girls and is based on the shounen characters of the series while Queens will be for the boys as it is based on the female characters of Code Geass. This news was announced by Bandai Entertainment last Monday. Source: http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2010-02-22/bandai-ent-adds-code-geass/knights-and-queens-manga
(Read the rest of this entry) (Entry meta)

Two new Code Geass manga are coming your way! Titled Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion Knights and Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion Queens, these two manga will be available in five volumes, ready to be shipped in May and June. Knights is the "Official Manga Anthology for Girls" based on the male characters of Sunrise's Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion science-fiction anime series, while Queens is the anime's "Official Manga Anthology for Boys" based on the anime's female characters.These two manga are probably a compilation by doujinshi artists, which means there`ll be many ecchi scene can be found on the manga, yaoi and yuri! droools~ I think I`ll be getting the Queens anthology since I`m big fan C.C and Kallen!! X3 Source: ANN
(Read the rest of this entry) (Entry meta)

Bandai Entertainment, clearly on a manga high after establishing their new manga site, has announced two new manga acquisitions! They are Code Geass: Knights, due in May 2010, and Code Geass: Queens, hitting stores in June 2010. As you might expect, these two are related. They're both anthology series of one-shots manga taking place in the Code Geass universe, with Knights aimed at female readers and Queens aimed at male readers.For example, I actually own a Japanese copy of Knights, and among other things, it features Lelouch dressing in drag to sneak into a party for the nobility and gain information. As for Queens, well...see the cover for yourself.  PRESS RELEASE: Bandai Entertainment Announces CODE GEASS: KNIGHTS and CODE GEASS: QUEENS; New Anthology MangaThese should be a lot of fun, and I'm looking forward to them...but not as much as I hope BEI licenses Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann Gakuen-hen! C'mon, pleeeeeease?  Ahem. Anyway. Are you gonna buy either or? Which? I plan on picking up both, per BEI rep Robert Napton's recommendation. (Make sure you read that press release!)
(Read the rest of this entry) (Entry meta)

Before we begin the Hetalia news awesomeness, here's a cool picture of Matthew (Canada) for the Winter Olympics:They are always so adorable~ I haven't seen the Vancouver 2010 stuff though . . . shame on me . . .[ MOVIE NEWS ](So that's why Gilbo's been promoting the movie . . . HE'S THERE!!!! I'm on my knees oh you great lord of crack xD Hahaha!)The movie is entitled: "Ginmaku Hetalia - Axis Powers Paint it, White (Shiroku Nure!)" or translated as "Hetalia - Axis Powers on the Silver Screen: Paint it, White."It will be released on summer 2010 and will premiere in the following theaters: Tokyo / Ikebukuro Sunshine Cinema, Kanagawa / Kawasaki Cinecittà, Osaka / Umeda Burg 7, Aichi / Gold Theater (Nagoya), Hokkaido / Sapporo United Cinema, Fukuoka / Shinemakyanarushiti United 13There had been numerous promos related to the movie. Advanced tickets have been released and the cost of a regular ticket is around 1,300 yen.STAFFStory: Sun Himaruya Hidekaz Hetalia Axis PowersDirector: Bob ShirohataScreenplay: Hiramitsu TakuyaCharacter Design: Masaaki KannanMusic: Cornish(?)Animation producer: Keiichi MatsudaAnimation Production: Studio DEENCASTItaly: Daisuke NamikawaGermany: Hiroki YasumotoJapan: Hiroki TakahashiUSA: Katsuyuki KonishiUnited Kingdom: Noriaki SugiyamaFrance: Masaya OnosakaRussia: Yasuhiro TakatoChina: Yuki KaidaPrussia: Kousaka AtsushiCredits: Official Site, ANN, and to laur10s for spreading the news.MY TOP TWO FAVORITES (Arthur and Gilbo) ARE THERE!!! KYAAAAAAAA!!!!!!! With Lovino (my top 3) IT WILL BE PERFECT!!! BUT I'M NOT COMPLAINING!!!! WITH GILBO THERE, AWESOMENESS IS ASSURED BECAUSE HIS EXISTENCE IS AWESOMENESS ITSELF!!!!!! DAMN IT MOVIE STOP THE TEASES AND REVEAL MORE OF THE PLOT AND SHOW THE ACTUAL MOVIE ALREADY!!! AAAAAAAAAHHH!Thanks to starrose17 for showing us the 340-page Axis Powers Hetalia Animation Storyboards! We get a glimpses of what the official anime episode sketches look like:It makes me wish to be a storyboard director . . . it seems fun to do this~[ DVD VOL. 7 IMAGES ](I knew it that they can't separate Arthur and Alfred this time . . .bwahehehehe . . . .this trio is not that common though. Fun to see this image~)It gets released on February 25 this year. I think Animate is already accepting orders.As usual, it will be covering a number of episodes (episode 40 to 45 be specific), and it has some freebies . . . and ED theme versions of two Hetalia characters (Lithuania and Poland specifically)[ LITHUANIA and POLAND ED THEME PREVIEWS ](The kiddie versions of these two are freakin' cute~)Huge thanks to funny08 and lovelylurker for sharing these! They're finally out!Lithuania (Takeuichi Ken) | Poland (Tanaka Kazutada) | YouTube Video of BothBoth are great! Toris's song was adorable while Feliks's . . . I'M ADDICTED TO THE BEAT! Oh I love both. I look forward to the full versionsHuge thanks to kissmygeass for sharing the lovely poster from the most recent Pash Magazine issue~Episode 51 will be in mobiles this coming Friday! I'm so excited!!! Weeks without Hetalia's gonna be over~
(Read the rest of this entry) (Entry meta)

Here are the full result of Tamashii Feature Vol. 1 Desired Character Nomination Campaign:Robot Damashii1st: L-Gaim Mk-II (2)2nd: Gundam X (3)3rd: ShinkenOh (1)4th: GaoGaiGar (4)5th: Ryuohmaru (龍王丸) (6)6th: AV-98 Ingram (5)7th: Gear Fighter Dendoh (7)8th: Fafner Mark Elf from "Fafner of the Azure" (-)9th: God Gundam (8)10th: Layzner (10)* Eliminated: Alteisen (No. 9 from Tokyo)S.H. Figuarts Kamen Rider1st: Shadow Moon (1)2nd: Nazca Dopant from "Kamen Rider W" (2)3rd: Kamen Rider Faiz (3)4th: Kamen Rider Amazon (4)5th: Kamen Rider Agito Shining Form (5)6th: Kamen Rider Super 1 (7)7th: Kamen Rider Hibiki (9)8th: Horse Orphnoch from "Kamen Rider 555" (-)9th: Kamen Rider Kabuto Hyper Form from "Kamen Rider Kabuto" (-)10th: Kamen Rider Den-O Sword Form from "Kamen Rider Den-O" (-)* Eliminated: Kamen Rider Blade King Form (No. 6 from Tokyo), Kamen Rider Kiva Emperor Form (No. 8 from Tokyo) and Kamen Rider Dark Kiva (No. 10 from Tokyo)S.H. Figuarts Origin1st: Shinken Red (1)2nd: Omegamon (3)3rd: Garo (4)4th: Zero from Code Geass (2)5th: Rockman X (5)6th: Kazuma from "s-CRY-ed" (7)7th: Tekkaman Blade (6)8th: KOS-MOS (8)9th: Gavan (9)10th: Guyver (10)According to Tamashii Web, the winner from each category is under planning for product development. However, it doesn't mean that the those at No. 2 and below are going to be discarded, simply the priority is for No. 1.Also, certain characters are taken out before the actual vote. The reason being they are already under development at Tamashii Nation but who are such character is undisclosed.Information via Ngee KhiongThis campaign was running last month, from 21st January to 2nd February and it was held on two different places, Tokyo and Osaka.
(Read the rest of this entry) (Entry meta)