I hope everyone's 4th of July weekend was filled with lots of booze, explosives and marginally legal fun :P. I feel a strong urge to post something well, can't really think of much to post about. In lieu of the holiday, we called off the weekend raids and other than a couple of rounds of WipEout HD I didn't really do a whole lot of gaming. I did though, play with the server quite a bit so uuh, if anyone noticed, it kind of went down for about 5 minutes then rolled back to a restore point earlier that morning. Whoops. Oh, there is also a footer at the bottom of this site now if anyone cares...

Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood finished up its 64th and final episode this weekend. I don't know if it is because I am fairly oblivious or if it is because I haven't been actively into anime fandom in uuh years, but I didn't notice a whole lot of buzz going around for Brotherhood, given how many people are watching it. I guess everyone got it all out during the first television series?

Anyway, FMA:B follows the manga's story line. It thankfully rushes past the overlap and splits off at around episode 16 or so. Past that point, it is a very different show than its predecessor. The early parts of FMA:B are still kind of heavy on the dumb short jokes but not to a grating degree. The manga's storyline is well paced and plotted out as expected. It is probably one of the best new anime series that i have seen in a while for whatever that is worth.

The animation, particularly the combat scenes retains its quality throughout the entire series which is notable given its length. In fact, the pacing and the story quality in general were right on track for all 64 episodes. It never at any point diverged off into a filler story or degenerate into a clip show. It's still worth seeing the first series. I think FMA:B assumes that you have seen the original show based on the amount of content that was cut from the first part of the series in order to cut down on the repetition. Awesome show, definitely recommended.

Does anyone have any good suggestions as to what we should watch next? Other than a half-assed viewing of Durarara I really haven't picked up any new anime series in several seasons. It's about that time of the year where the new summer season series start to come out anyways so I might just do the, "download the first and second episode of anything interesting" bit again and see how that goes.

Anime Expo was this weekend. You know, for as long as I have lived in Southern California I have never bothered attending that convention. I would say maybe next year, but we are tentatively planning on attending PAX next year (I formally announced it on the internet so it will happen right?) so I don't know how my vacation and the con schedule will be.

To the two people who signed up for Linode via my referral code: You both rock.

So here is an underrated yet excellent series that I have been following recently. The anime bug hit me again a while back, so I was looking another evening fix. Kemono no Souja Erin came up on several lists of very good 2009 shows to watch, yet I had trouble finding decent information and reviews on it. I don't think too many people are blogging or following this series, which is a shame because it is quite good.

Kemono no Souja Erin is a 50 episode series by Production I.G. It's an anime adaptation of a novel series by Nahoko Uehashi (yay Wikipedia) centered around Erin. Erin is a precocious green eyed, green haired girl living with her mother Soyon in Ake, a small village given the task of raising Touda for the Grand Duke. Touda are semi-aquatic beats used as mounts in combat against the neighboring kingdom. As a general point of reference: They kind of look like the giant lizards that Obi-Wan Kenobi was riding in Star Wars: Episode 3 (but stickier and with horns).

Erin and her mother Soyon are outsiders. Soyon was born as one of the Mist people (thus the green eyes and hair), an aloof and not-so-well trusted people of mysterious ways and origins. She was accepted into the village only because she fell in live with and married the chief's now deceased son. Though Soyon is well respected and even admired as a skilled beastinarian, her ancestry raises suspicion amongst the villagers. Her expertise with the Touda is pretty much the only reason why Soyon and Erin are permitted to still live in Ake, a fact that the villagers remind her of on a daily basis.

Erin aspires to become a beastinarian just like her mother. She is an overly curious and genuinely kind girl who cares for all living beings. The focus of Kemono no Souja Erin is on her journey as well as the trials and tribulations of raising animals. First of all, don't judge this series based off of the art style or first few episodes. It comes off as a kiddy show because I suppose it kind of is, but overall I would consider it more along the lines of a series good for people of all ages to watch.

Kemono no Souja Erin starts off a little slow (not too unusual for a long series). The first 5 episodes focus on introducing the characters and the general setting while following the, "Touda problem of the week" formula. More interesting events don't start to occur until around episodes 6 or 7. Kemono no Souja Erin actually has a fairly dark undertone that is slowly introduced as the series progresses. It paints a fairly strong message without being preachy

It almost feels like something Studio Ghibli might make in regards to the show's general feel. It has a solid story with well developed characters. The art style is composed of beautifully painted pastel backdrops with fairly simple character designs, allowing the story to be fairly dramatic without being explicit or inappropriate for younger viewers. There's no fan service, the animation isn't flashy like most new series and there isn't an excess of any forced anime cliches. There are a couple of comedic characters, but they are well balanced and develop beyond being laugh fodder.

Kemono no Souja Erin is different than new series that are currently out. It won't cure anyone's thirst for boobies or bloody shounen action, but if you are looking for a relaxing show with a good plot and good characters, give this one a try.

Since there's absoutely nothing on normal television to watch and no new games that I'm interested in playing, I've been on an anime bender lately. So bear with me while I make an entry or two about several things that I liked.

Tokyo Magnitude 8.0 is a disaster themed 11 episode drama by BONES, the same studio that has produced the Cowboy Bebop movie, Fullmetal Alchemist, Soul Eater, etc. It's airing in the noitaminA block on Fuji Television (Higashi no Eden, Honey and Clover; I guess it's a drama time slot?).  I ended up marathoning most of this series earlier this week. It's one of my favorite series of the season, if that means anything considering how little anime I've picked up recently...

The premise of the story is revolves around the prediction that there is a 70% chance that a magnitude 7.0 or greater earthquake will hit the Tokyo are within the next 30 years. Tokyo Magnitude depicts a series of events and consequences that might occur if a magnitude 8.0 quake hit a large metropolitan area. Much of the story itself is supposedly based on interviews, data and research from actual earthquakes.

The story is centered around Mirai, a middle school freshman just about to start summer vacation. While taking her little brother Yuuki, a cheerful third grader to visit a robotics convention in Odaiba (a man made island in Tokyo's bay), the quake hits. Somewhere along the way the meet Mari, a motorcycle deliver woman who lives with her mother and young daughter. Together they must get home to their families.

There is a lot that Mirai should be thankful for: a loving family, the privilege of being able to attend a very prestigious school and a stable social life, but she's not and spends the entire first episodepissmoaning about every little thing whenever she doesn't get her way. But, that's pretty much the point I guess. Mirai's characters leaves a lot of room for personal growth and realization. Take note of the relationship between Mirai and Yuuki throughout the series.

Take the disclaimer at the beginning of each episode with a grain of salt. Tokyo Magnitude is best viewed as a fictional representation of a large natural disaster with a high degree of realism, rather than a documentary or simulation. If you want to nitpick, the story takes a dive in believability during certain segments of the show (particularly during the second half). But the focus of the series isn't in the authenticity of every single small detail, but rather the in how the characters develop react with each other and the environment (it is a character dramaafter all).

Tokyo Magnitude is a fairly short series at 11 episodes, but it doesn't feel short because it is very well paced. There's not really any filler and nothing drags on too long. Some of the drama is a bit drawn out at times, but overall it's interesting, consistently well animated and a very good series.

My anime binge petered out around two months ago, but I've kept up with a few series (and more or less dropped or put a hold on the rest). I haven't yet checked to see if there is anything interesting and new coming out this summer. Hashihime though, has a good preview list that I will finish reading later.

Eden of the East was one of my favorites this season; a very good though not great series. It's quirky, thought provoking and consistently animated well throughout the entire series. I don't really like cliffhanger endings, but this one was decent I suppose, if not incomplete. It's hard to review the story as a while since it isn't technically over until the two announced movies are released.

What I didn't love about Eden: The mystery that had originally pulled me into Eden in the first episode or two leveled off, dulled and flew out into numerous directions by the time the series hit mid season. I also thought that the characters though decent, felt pretty average; No one was particularly memorable. Being a big Honey and Clover fan, I did though like the art style a lot.

Fullmetal Alchemist hit the point in which the manga and the first anime series diverge last week. Until that point, the series was more or less a recap of what I have already seen already. The tone, pacing and some plot differences than began to surface and the series progressed were different, but overall it seemed...rather familiar. I am really looking forward to seeing how the plot unfolds in comparison to the first series. I have read the manga a bit past where it majorly splits off from the anime, but not really any further.

Oh, I also finished K-On recently. That show just drips with moe, but I enjoyed watching it, even though I don't usually like anime series of that nature. I guess there isn't a whole lot else to be said about it. It's cute and had a fun premise. I still need to finish up the last few episodes of Ristorante Paradiso. I don't think I typed up a blurb on it in the other Spring anime post, but it's a pretty good slice-of-life show. Also behind on Cross Game,Hajime no Ippo, Bleach, and Naruto.

I think Bleach is heading off into filler. Slow pacing is slooooow. Ummm, isn't the anime sort of catching up to the manga, being roughly in the same arc and all? Word is that Naruto is back on track with the manga plot, I might start watching it again. I am a pretty big Narutard, owning a domain with a name that is based off of the series and all (bah, it wasn't that popular of a series yet and seemed like a good idea at the time), but not even I can stomach the filler. Why is it so bad....

Obligatory and occasional non World of Warcraft related post :P. I've gotten back into watching anime lately and for once, kept tabs on some of the this season's lineup. These are the shows that I am definitely going to continue watching, though I might end up dropping K-On in lieu of patch 3.1 and all.

Fullmetal Alchemist  Brotherhood:
If you haven't seen the original Fullmetal Alchemist series, it's no big deal; Brotherhood isn't a continuation, but rather a remake following the manga (I think).

Except for Ed and Al, I think all of the voice cast has changed. The only difference that I noticed was in Colonal Mustang's voice, but it wasn't a real big deal. What else can I say? FMA is one of my favorite series. *fangasm*

Valkyria Chronicles:
The anime adaptation of the Playstation 3 game of the same title. I'm usually suspicious of RPG to anime transitions, since most end being cheesy and awkward.

This one though was quite good. The animation, character designs, and music are more or less identical to that of the game. Good introduction to the series, looking forward to watching more.

Cross Game:
I wasn't going to watch Cross Guard because I was under the impression that was a sports shounen series, but it was highly recommended by several people so I gave it a go.

Very impressed by the first two episodes. It's looks to be a good slice of life show; the baseball is secondary to the characters and interactions.

Eden of the East:
Not quite sure what this series is about yet, but the first episode had intrigue, very high production quality, action and most importantly, penis humor. I can't really ask for much more.

Oh, I'm too lazy to look this up at the moment, but the character designs in Eden look very very similar to those in Honey and Clover. I'm betting that they were designed by the same person.

K-On:
I enjoyed watching this show even though it's cliche moe at best. It's cute, I like the premise and rock bands are awesome even if they are cheesy and girly.

My guess is that they perform some kind of awesome concert at the end of the series. Unless K-On gets really bad, I'll probably continue to watch it.