Anime Nano - Series - Death Note

J-List side blog

03/01/2010 06:08 AM EST

Cool Products Monday, March 1, 2010 >>

Here are today's "really cool products" that I've picked out for you, out of the 30+ new items we've added to the J-List and JBOX.com sites today. Note that some products may be "not safe for work" but that all links will allow you to redirect yourself either to the J-List or JBOX.com websites. To see all the J-List products, check out J-List or the JBOX.com updated products link. Figure Maniacs vol. 37 ~ Otome Gumi This is issue 37 of the great magazine Figure Maniacs -- the anime figure lover' bible, which focuses only on awesome prepainted figures that you can buy and own. Comic Rex Mar 2010 Then, sit back and relax with hundreds of pages of awesome manga from Comic Rex, including some of the most interesting manga in Japan today. The new issue is in stock. Higurashi no Naku Koro ni ~ Kizuna 4 The fourth and final installment in the Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Nintendo DS version, Higurashi Kizuna, has arrived! It's got great art, all new content, and is compatible with any DS in the world. Moe Moe Cthulhu Encyclopedia The Moe Moe Encylopedia heads into an awesome new area this time, into the world of H.P. Lovecraft. Enjoy moe versions of his most memorable creations! Death Note, Hetalia Toys The new Nendoroid Petite Death note figures are in, and they are as excelelnt as you can imagine, with unique versions of all your favorites in displayable sizes. Also: limited stock of the gorgeous Hetalia Mini Figures is in stock too. Star Wars USB Hubs Restocked The most excellent USB hubs for Star Wars fans are back in stock, with a very cool R2-D2 hub and matching Darth Vader hub, both of this move, make sounds and generally become the coolest things in whatever room they're in. Edo Happy Happi (Festival Kimono) A happi coat is a short kimono for summer festivals or for any event that can be made more fun by dressing in traditional Japanese style. Made in Japan, and very cool. Daruma & Lucky Cat Origami w/English Instructions Build Japan's most famous symbols, from Daruma to Lucky Cat and more, out of folded paper. Everything you need is included, including full instructions in English! Also see the Cake Chop Origami restocked as well. UNO Fiber Neo Hair Wax - Three Types Fans of Japan's hair-care products, we have some awesome hair wax from UNO Three different types for three kinds of hair -- which are you? FLOS ~ Zebra Stylish Pen & Stand Set for Reception Always have a pen when you need one, with this stylish Zebra pen with matching base, which is held in place via magnets so it's always there for you. Also: the Signo Erasable 8 Color Pen Set is restocked today. Restocked Anime Games for PSP You can play some really great anime games on the Sony PSP, including the most popular visual novels ever released. Today we've got AIR for PSP, Final Approach 2 and ToHeart 2 Portable, all in stock and ready to buy. Queen's Blade Artbooks Restocked We've also restocked the popular Queen's Blade artbooks, including the awesome assassin Fang Iruma (Irma) and the sexy thief Risty. New Snacks from Japan Super new snacks from Japan today. First, enjoy Rainbow Bubblicious that's sold only in Japan, making it really awesome, plus Meiji Pucca, fish-shaped Pretzel shells with strawberry milk goodness inside. Also, Salted Caramel Pretz! Miso Noodle FURIKAKE (Hokkaido) Man, this sounds delicious -- the flavor of Hokkaido-style miso ramen in powdered furikake form, which you can sprinkle over white rice or even bring with your bento. "Food Drops" also restocked: Hokkaido Miso Ramen, Tokyo Ningyo Yaki, and Osaka Okonomiyaki. Little Twin Stars DX Slim 2 Tier Bento Box Set J-List aims to make the world just a little more kawaii each day, and today we've got a super Little Twin Stars 2-tier bento set with a separate chopstick set w/case. Wonderful! Restocked Bento Boxes Got restocked bento boxes too, including the Sengoku Samurai Bento which not only are large for heavier eaters, they have awesome kanji on them. Also see the Rilakkuma Bento Box restocked today. Perfect Sushi Molds, Gyoza Makers Then, make sushi the right way with this excellent sushi mold, which will press the rice into just the right shape for beautiful sushi creations. Or go for some gyoza (aka "pot stickers"). Easy Boiled-Egg Shapers Also: how do you like your eggs -- fried, scrambled, or boiled into amazingly cute shapes, like rabbits, hearts, cars, bears, and so on. These popular items have been restocked today. DX Long Study Flashcards for Study See fresh stock of some great tools for learning Japanese, including several popular flashcard sets for memorizing Japanese the right way. KYOTO - OMURO DX SAKURA Bath Salt Being a fan of onsen hot springs as I am, I highly recommend the sakura bath powder we have in stock today. Made in Kyoto! Totoro Blankets, Cushions and More The Totoro blankets that J-List sells are nothing less than the software, most awesome blankets you will ever touch. We've reduced the price of all them today. Get yours before they sell out! GummiX Gummi Insect Builder *Preorder* This is incredible: a set of molds that let you create amazing "gummi" insects that are fun to eat. The Mother Center has the lab to make your creations with, and two mold kits give you other creatures to make. Japanese kids love 'em! Ritsu Tainaka Figma w/Drums *Preorder* Another awesome Figma for K-On! fans, this is Risu, the heart of the band. This figure comes with many extra parts for creating any pose you want -- even think of some yuri scenes with the Mio Figma, which is posted for preorder today. Nendoroid Petit Bakemonogatari Figure Set *Preorder* Then, if you're a fan of the highly stylized anime Bakemonogatari, we have the fabulous Petite Nendoroid posted for preorder now. 'Baka Test' Figures and More for Preorder Another popular anime on TV right now is Baka to Test to Shokanju (Idiots and Tests and Summoned Beats). See figures of the awesome Mizuki and the "trap" Hideyoshi and more, on the site now. Black Lagoon, Chopperman Products More preorder goodies for you today. We've got a large 1/6 scale figure of Revy from Black Lagoon, which is great if you think that all sexy women should be issued guns. Also, a Chopperman shampoo bottle for bathtime. Sabra Magazine Mar 2010 Last issue It brings us great sadness to announce the last regular issue of Sabra, but great joy because this great issue is such a special one, filled with Japan's most beautiful faces. Inazuma Underworld 2 Then we have a super doujinshi offering by master illustrator Inazuma, this time featuring his superb tribute to Gurren Lagaan. Wow! Domin-8 Me, Other English Manga If you like your "H" in English, and we certainly understand if you do, we've restocked the outstanding TAKE ON ME by Sessyu Takemura, published as Domin-8 Me. Also, the English version of Gas Panic. Restocked Toys for Stress Relief Stress can really pile up on you if you're not careful, which is why J-List stocks innovative tools to take the edge off. See Tenga Egg Lotion, the Bible Black Hiroko Takashiro Cup plus the amazing Love Cover Kumi pillow toy. Little My Maid One game I recommend often is Little My Maid, which combines a super story involving three very sweet maids, a magical place called Ryugu. Only $14.95 as an Internet Download Edition game! AV Debut -- Ai Haneda Do you want to see the most beautiful girl in the world? Do you? Then click now and feast your eyes on former professional idol Ai-chan's lithe body. If I'm wrong, tell me.
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Series: Higurashi no Naku Koro Ni Black Lagoon Death Note Tengen Toppa Gurren-Lagann K-ON! Queen's Blade Bakemonogatari Baka to Test to Shoukanjuu

Ani-Gamers

02/24/2010 12:09 AM EST

Review: Code Geass – Lelouch of the Rebellion (Hyb) >>

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!
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Series: Death Note Code Geass Hangyaku no Lelouch Gundam (all) PERSONA -trinity soul-