Posted on by Alexander Case

Anime Review: Mobile Suit Gundam ZZ

Mobile Suit Gundam ZZ is one of the Universal Century Gundam series that had yet to receive a US release. Bandai Entertainment USA had announced a US release prior to them shutting their doors several years ago, but now that RightStuf has been working to bring out various Gundam series to the US, which means that fans here can finally take a look at the show legally.

As a head’s up, there are some spoilers for the show here, but I’m going to work to keep them to a minimum. There will be some heavy spoilers for Gundam Zeta, which are somewhat essential due to how the show starts. Read more

Posted on by Alexander Case

Editorial: We Need Social Justice Resources for People On-Spectrum

I am a person who wants to be involved in the, for lack of a better term, Social Justice Space. I’m also a person on the Autism Spectrum, and I’ve run a support group for people on the Autism Spectrum in my metroplex. I should parse that better – I’ve run, in my metroplex, a support group for people on the Autism Spectrum, and I’ve had friends who were also on the spectrum when I went through High School. Also, as part of my major in Information Technology (Health Informatics), took a bunch of classes in Technical Writing. So, when it comes to social justice issues, I think a lot about how to communicate to people – and particular when it comes to communicating with people on the Autism Spectrum. I’ve come to the conclusion that what needs to happen is that there needs to be a resource for people on the Autism Spectrum, to learn about the nuance of social justice issues, in order to engage with social justice issues in a better manner. Read more

Posted on by Alexander Case

Anime Review: Ouran High School Host Club

Anime comedies, are absolutely willing to get self-referential, in some cases going full parody. Now, you can get a bad parody by shoving random jokes and references into the work because they can (the Seltzer & Friedberg films), or come from a place where you actively hate and dislike the genre they are satirizing, and in turn can end up creating works which are poor examples of that genre.

By comparison, the best parodies are those which are also good examples of the work in question, and such is the case with Ouran High School Host Club. Read more

Posted on by Alexander Case

Anime Review: Moyashimon (Seasons 1 & 2)

When it comes to manga about various real-world topics, there is an educational element to the work, but it’s usually ancillary to the main thrust of the story. Hajime No Ippo/Fighting Spirit is a boxing manga, and Hikaru No Go is a Go manga, and both use elements of their actual sports or games in the narrative of the story itself, but the sport and game in question are secondary to the actual thrust of the story from the very beginning.

There are a few manga which take the opposite tack – put the main thrust of the story on the thing they’re talking about, and then will bring in other plots to give additional structure of the story. On the seinen side there is Drops of God, which is primarily a manga about wine, but which incorporates side plots to keep things from getting monotonous – and there’s also the show I’m reviewing – Moyashimon. Read more