Rizwan Merchant

Yuyushiki – First Impressions

Without being aware of too many of them, I get the feeling that “slice-of-life school club comedies” are a dime a dozen now. After Azumanga Daioh set the standard for the genre (well, without the club bit) in the early 2000s, it’s difficult to call the rest true “copycats” – they all explore different clubs, even if the style of humor is largely the same. It’s not like a ton of these all run concurrently, so it’s kind of like a burger that you keep ordering over and over again. It was great the first time, and it’s still good the other times, except for the occasional bad lettuce or old bun or something like that.

Karneval: First Impressions

Suffice to say, the ringleader and his sidekick, a blonde martial artist with a bulletproof cloak, are members of a secret defense organization called “Circus,” butts are kicked, the hostages are freed, and more is discovered by the viewer about the organization the Lady in the beginning was working for, which Circus was sent to investigate in the first place but arrived too late. The first few minutes were interesting, gripping, excitingly scored, and all-in-all a very fine piece of directing, and the rest of the episode tied itself up plot-wise with the absolute neatest of bows, while still leaving the ends of the ribbon trailing off for you to follow for later episodes.

CyPhaCon 2013

Lake Charles, LA,USA. April 19th – April 21st, 2013. Reporter(s): Alaska & Nikkz [sorttablepost cat=”208″ meta=”Writers” nothumb=”true” nocats=”true” notags=”true”]

Yuyushiki

Yui, Yukari, and Yuzuko are in their first year of high school, and haven’t found a club to join yet. They’re stopped while wandering the halls by a flyer for the “Data Processing Club,” and their homeroom teacher, who happens to be the advisor for this club, comes across them and asks them to join. Unable to resist the teacher’s cuteness (or breasts, depending on the member of the trio), the three girls agree. Their club meetings consist of sitting at computers and randomly searching for information on the internet on any variety of topics, but the range of their friendship stretches far beyond the confines of the tiny club room, their school grounds, or the sheer absurdity of Yuzuko’s mind.

Cosplayer Spotlight #06: MehanChan

My name is Meghan Haas AKA MehanChan, I am 25 years old from New Orleans, Louisiana. I got into cosplay because, I was in love with Anime since Sailor Moon came on UPN in 1994 or so…It was just a crazy love story from there. I just got to this point where I just wanted to be the justice seeking characters that I had grown to respect so much.

Anime Expo 2012 Photo Gallery

Photos from Anime Expo 2012 in Los Angeles, California, USA.

Alice in the Country of Hearts

Just minutes after having a disturbing dream about games, an older and more cynical version of Lewis Carroll’s Alice is involuntarily pushed down the rabbit hole by a gorgeous boy with white rabbit ears. The Wonderland she lands in is indeed filled with other gorgeous men, but it’s not the paradise that one might expect; it’s the playing ground of a mysterious philosophical game that Alice is soon forced into. The country is also in the middle of a civil war and none of the natives can be trusted, for many seem to harness secret motives involving Alice. She is warned that the best thing for her to do is stay away from them, but if she wants to win the game and go home, she has to interact with the eccentric locals!

Anime Matsuri 2013: J-Fashion Show

A fan sent in this video she took of the Anime Matsuri 2013 J-Fashion Show for those who missed the event.

Sparrow’s Hotel – First Impressions

First, the animation was just plain awful. Its only possible mark of quality was that it was in color. The movement was terribly awkward and the character designs did not fit the environment. The musical opening was also pretty unmemorable and did nothing to even remotely explain the anime. Once I regained my composure from the animation and accepted it, the plot – if we can even call this a plot – kicked in.

Devil May Cry

The world is relatively at peace…except for the occasional demon that slips through the demonic realm and into our world to cause a little chaos. They don’t last long, though, because Dante is back for more demon hunting, a little debt, more pizza and strawberry sundaes, as well as a few new friends and some old acquaintances.