South of Nowhere: Save Spashley!

I'm a week and a bit late by posting this, but better late than never! One of my favourite shows on TV (or that I download to be more accurate), is getting DAS BOOT from their Network. That's right, South of Nowhere will be no more after Season 3b is shown on the N network in April! Click here for more information from the official website on this dramatic announcement.

However, not all is lost! A very dedicated website by the name of
http://www.savespashley.com
is doing their best to save South of Nowhere from those shark infested waters. I give them my support 100%. Check out the site and show them your support!



The Rant (including minor spoilers):

After having a few bad weeks myself, the N had to put the nail in the coffin to their second most popular show - without really giving a reason why. But perhaps it's due to the nature of the content: Spencer Carlin, a 16 year old girl, moves to L.A. from Ohio and meets up with the rebellious 'bisexual' Ashley Davies. Of course you can guess that things start to happen between them and le gasp, Spencer starts to question her own sexuality and eventually hooks up with Ashley - giving us the infamous couple 'Spashley' (Spencer x Ashley).

What makes this different from any other teen show, is that the main character is actually shown to be bi-curious and later decides that she is indeed lesbian - giving many confused teens and those who know their sexuality a role model on TV. This is a rare thing indeed when it comes to lesbian media as the only other TV show that shows lesbians as main characters is 'The L Word', which is fine for adults - who like a bit of trashy drama (let's be honest here, it's like desperate housewives but with lesbians instead) - but there's nothing for teens to go on. If I want something similar, I will have to sit through episodes of Degrassi just for a snippet on what South of Nowhere has already. No thanks!

There's going to be a big void when South of Nowhere disappears from the screens and the fans will have to look elsewhere for something that's inferior. SON is ground breaking stuff and even winning numerous awards cannot save it from the N's axe. I will miss South of Nowhere greatly.

End of Rant

You can bet I will cover the final season of episodes when it airs on The N. Save Spashley!

Maria-sama ga Miteru Licensed!

Finally, our favourite anime catholic schoolgirls are now hitting US shores on DVD! Licensed by Right Stuf, The new title will be 'Maria Watches Over Us' and according to the official website, it will be subtitled only and spread onto 3 boxsets for each of the seasons. Release date is a tentative 29th of July.



Now I'm sure many of the rabid Marimite fangirls and boys will be squealing in delight of this news and while I'm happy to see it finally going to US of A, I'm a little dissapointed. I've already seen every episode fansubbed and with the lack of english spoken dialogue (for entertainment), I don't really have a reason to buy this!

For those who haven't picked up on the Marimite wagon yet however, this is a bargain! Basically to those who have no clue what I'm talking about - It's a shoujo (girls)drama anime, that revolves around the daily lives of a number of catholic school girls in the Yamiyurikai school council. Lots of drama ensues such as whether to eat a hamburger with a fork or the local all boy's school attending for sports day, for example (no really!). You can bet there is a great amount of underlying Yuri (girl x girl) themes and unnecessary angst. If this appeals to you, then I highly recommend Maria-sama ga Miteru as one of the best titles in this genre.

I think I'm going to have to get used to typing Maria Watches Over Us now! ;)

Gaming Fetish: Unboxing

I'm going to praise the wonders of the internet, it brings enjoyment to many through a variety of media. Thanks to Youtube, it has opened up a new niche of entertainment! UNBOXING.
It's not a form of sport, but perhaps it could be! Do you remember the first time you unwrapped or unboxed something? It almost brings a tear to my eye to see that people on youtube can go that one step further and record their unboxing experiences for us to watch in all it's glory.



The grand opening of Guitar Hero III


Davemaster 42, as shown above, demonstrates the skills needed for such a feat. Needless to say, it has now gone to the reaches of 1up and now, unfortunately, he has quit due an editorial making fun of him.

My opinion? Obviously, when posting stuff up on the internets you have to be prepared. Ok so the guy sounds a bit Cartman from South Park, but no need to spoil his fun when he's giving out so much entertainment to others! Although the video bored me stiff, I'm sure it will give someone out there some sort of enjoyment.

I don't know whether unboxing is extremely nerdy or giving us an insight to what IS in the box.
Please note, I will not be posting up videos of me 'unboxing' my games as I'm incredibly selfish and want to experience the delights of the inner contents myself. ;D

Pre-Eurovision Selections 2008

It's that time of year again and possibly one of my favourite TV events of the year. It's when Europe and music explodes into camp songs, drama in the green room, political tension and douze pointes! It can can only be... EUROVISION!

For those who don't live in Europe or have lived under a rock (or Italy), Eurovision combines the best songs from each country (apparently) to fight it out under one big stage with lots of flags waving about. The main event is held in May and this year, it's in Serbia on the 24th of May.

So why am I talking about it right now when it's at least two months away?

The UK has just picked their song and I have to say it literally bores me to tears. The song in question is called 'Even If' by Andy Abraham of X Factor fame. It's sounds a bit like Hot Chocolate, view here!

Andy Abraham - Even If (UK Eurovision Entry 2008)
Gimmick: None



There's no gimmick, no excitement and although Andy Abraham can sing - let's face it, people only voted from him as he's a X Factor reject. Woo Woo yeah was a much better choice!

My Rating: Cinq Pointes

Not all songs have been decided yet from all the partcipating countries so I'll just show one or two of my favourites so far.

First up we have the Greek entry from Greek-American Kalomoira, who mixes traditional greek sounds with mordern R&B and a bit of Britney thrown in for good measure. This is going to score highly due to it sounding/looking just a little bit (make that a lot) like the 2005 Eurovision winner which also happened to be Greece! Coincidence? I think not!

Kalomoira - My Secret Combination (Greece Eurovision Entry 2008)
Gimmick: Letters on the body of the dancers



I totally love her performance, great singer and nice dance routines. We have a winner!

My Rating: Douze Pointes

Last mention has to go to Ireland. This has to be one of the most random, slapped together perfomances I have ever seen in the history of eurovision. It also shows that the Irish people don't care for competition anymore. But who cares? They have a sense of humour! Let's have some turkey!

Dustin The Turkey - Irelande Douze Pointes (Ireland Eurovision 2008 Entry)
Gimmick: Everything!



I think this will either do well or bomb badly - doesn't matter though - great entertainment!

Rating: Dix Pointes

As of time of writing, a few countries still haven't picked their eurovision song but fear not, I will probably update later with more!

I'll end now with an enlightening lyric from the Irish entry.

"I'm from a nation where we can write songs. Europe, where oh where did it all go wrong?"

Sums up Eurovision really! :P

2 Years Later..

After a long absence, I've decided rather than leave my blog dead and abandoned - I should flog it back to life again! I was going to revamp it completely with a sleek new look, but I'm far too lazy for that and I'll leave everything as it was. Well, except the URL of course!

So what do we have to look forward to?

This blog isn't going to be focused on anime and games, but rather a part of everything else incoporated. So from Hilary Clinton ongoing battle to get the Clinton dynasty back into the Oval Office to what geeky items I may find on the intrawebs.

We'll see how long it lasts! :P

The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya - 02

I finally got around to watching the second episode - after many accused me of being unfair to judge this on the first episode. And so I watched the second. Twenty two minutes later, I was left with mind numbing drowsiness and robbed of precious time I'll never get back. I was hoping for an improvement - but if I wanted something to put me to sleep I know I'll watch this. I needed an SOS (Brigade) by the end of the episode!



So here we are at the start of episode 2. It's a prelude to episode 1 which people thought I didn't get! Lawl. Anyway, we are introduced (again) to ero-guy who likes his weirdo girls - any girl he sees is instantly beautiful, unless they take no notice of him. Straight away he gawks at Haruhi and his mindless monologues began to get on nerves. The un-natural speed of ero-guy's thoughts was as if he was trying to win a race on how much words he can squeeze in! He had plenty of time to bore me to death, too much time..
Haruhi gets irritated by normal people in her class and ero-guy asks her an unusual amount of questions about aliens, life in general and her hair. Yes we even get to know her hair plans from one week to the next! This should be made into a love-sim, certainly feels like one except ero-guy is an idiot. Enthralling stuff.



Ero-guy talks more about Haruhi, she tries out every club but ends up not joining them. Who would take her anyway? The last club she tries out is the track and field athletics club. All the males starts drooling over the other girls and rates them like objects for sale - eBay style!: A++++++
Back to class and everyone is swapping seats. Class President comes over and asks ero-guy how did he ever manage to get Haruhi to talk so much. Hello? This is a guys anime - ero-guy wants Haruhi, it will be done by episode 12! Haruhi manages sit behind him again. Coincidence? I think not! It was the only way to drive the story forward.



Finally after more monologues and talking - we get some action! Haruhi decides to make up her own club - and after all this time of swapping clubs. She truly is dense. Ero-guy obviously prides on his idea of actually talking to Haruhi and that it made her do something. So they run down after class and take over the literature club - which unrealistically only has one person - the club would have been shut down long ago. The poor girl in here ignores the idiots and continues reading her book, I sense one brain-cell of intelligence! Haruhi declares the room as hers: 'All your bases are belong to ME' and grabs a random girl with MOE potential. Oh it's playboy bunny from the first episode! It's clear that Haruhi only wants her for her big airbags. Yep I knew I was right all along. The title sequence also zooms in on bouncy boobs! This is genius material indeed.



The girl in the corner (Witch in first episode) continues reading once more as Mikuru Playboy-Bunny cries and gets abused by Haruhi's mad ambitions. So what exacly is this club of Haruhi's Ero-guy wonders after wiping up some drool. The S.O.S Brigade has come to life! Haruhi, Ero-Guy, Mikuru, b00k w0rm are all members as they wonder what they are going to do next with an insane MOE fangirl. I have come to a conclusion that this anime is 4-chan material but it's not made out of win. It FAILS.



Now I realise I will get flamed for this, but I'm not holding back on an anime which I find to be utter crap. If you wish to make comments go ahead, but everyone has their own opinions at the end of the day.
The monologues, the story progression and a scary amount of details that only a fanboy would find interesting is not enough for me. The character themselves are one-dimensional and bland although some will think I'm missing out on it's 'genius'. A guy and a girl in a school creating a home-made movie is genius? No. Is making fun of other anime genius? Only when it's funny - which this isn't. Will I watch the third episode? Now that's a joke! ;)

Overall: 3/10

Straight back to the crap pile!!

RAY The Animation - 01

What's this? A new anime that I actually like? I have a feeling that this medical drama spliced with kung-fu nurses will be knocked under the radar -which is a shame, because this is so much better than the rest I have seen so far! It tramples all over the very overrated and crap anime that is The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya. Just think female Black Jack and you get the idea about Ray - the young woman with X-ray vision. Instead of the hands of God she has the eyes of God!



From the dramatic direction of the opening, you know you are in for a treat! The camera swoops down to Black Jack who - makes a cameo appearence here - is treating a young girl who can't see. Obviously this girl is the heroine of this story named Ray. Black Jack tells the young Ray that she has special eyes and that she can choose what she can do with it. Flashback ends and we see the grown up Ray (looking cool as always) operating on the streets.
Kung-Fu nurse number 1 who found the woman being operated on, is in awe at Ray's hands on approach and how uncanny her surgeon skills are. Will they meet again? You can count on it!



The next day, we watch some very mild fanservice of Ray getting dressed for new job. She's the coolest doctor I've ever seen ;) The kung-fu nurses at the local hospital dicuss the events which no1 saw the previous night. No1 declares that Ray was the best thing she saw in two legs before she gasps in amazement at the visitor before her. *drumroll* it's RAY the new doctor! Number 1 Nurse's glasses steam up as she introduces herself as Misato. Ray wonders why she is acting so formal until she realises Misato is actually older than her.
Misato shows Ray around the hospital - but in particular a boy named Kenji piques Ray's interest. Could she have known him before?



The real reason why Ray was employed becomes clear, as Misato introduces her to a Yakuza crime lord. He has a tumour in his heart, but eveytime they try to operate on it - it mysteriously disappears! Ray's elite vision could solve their problems, if she decides to help him. They can't let the Yakuza lord die - it would destroy all remaining hope of telling all to the police. Ray refuses because the hospital is also testing a new drug on him, which she sees as morally wrong. Testing drugs for a profit is a big no-no.
Misato tells Ray they are going to start the operation anyway despite her high-held beliefs. The director of the hospital (a big burly man with an eyepatch) calls to Ray. He explains that even if they wish for him to die because he was a criminal, she shouldn't judge a person on their death bed. She also thanks the director for saving her life 10 years ago but their conversation is cut short by a ruckus inside the hospital.



Yay! Kung-fu nurses to the rescue! Old-skool alert as a bunch of Yakuza thugs break into the hospital. Misato is having none of it and decides to break their legs - and everything else! The two other nurses decide to have thier fun as well. Ray is meanwhile rushed into the operating room as she finally operates on the Yakuza. The tumour surrounding his heart seems to have grown since the last time she saw it - but the drug used on him earlier is working. Ray cuts him open and scalpals out the tumour as kung-fu nurses defend! The drama, the action! The director leaves Ray to the operation as he uses his powers to save his precious nurses from harm.
Finally as things settle down, the operation was a success and the hospital goes back to normal. Ray notices Black Jack outside and thanks him for her special eyes. She says she can't look into people's hearts but she can see through to Misato's bra. Yuri-licious!



Ray The Animation impressed me with it's tightly scripted story and direction. The animation itself is simple, but adequate and there is no character thrown in just for the sake of it. (Simoun.) Ray is mysterious, yet hiding a painful past - which makes her even more endearing. I have the first 3 mangas of Ray and it stays faithful enough without changing alot of ideas. If the episodes stay as good as this - then we have a winner! I'll cheat and say that Ray definately knows the boy Kenji - as he's directly linked to her past. ;) Medical science vs kung-fu nurses - a perfect blend of both drama and action.

Overall: 8/10

Best anime so far this season - based on first episodes anyway. ;)

Simoun - 01

Is girl x girl kissing the fuel of the future? Will sex changes happen by drinking some sparkly water? According to Simoun it is! Take flight with lesbians in training as they kill other lesbians in respirators. Be awed how out of place the CG looks and how amazingly forgettable all the characters are!



The premise of Simoun is interesting or just an excuse for some lesbian tongue wrestling. Everyone is female until they reach a certain age and then they can drink from a spring to change their sex if they wish. But of course once they change sex, they cannot pilot a Simoun (apparently a craft of the devil) and become an adult. From what I can gather from the overly confusing plot, the girls who pilot the Simoun crafts - do not wish to become male or have some special ability that can get around this. They are known as Simula.
Another interesting factor is that the first episode is narrated by the 'enemy' who is one of the many pilots wearing a respirator ala Darth Vader. Mamiko Noto is by far the most superior VA and using her Jigoku Shoujo style narration is made out of win! ;)
But let's get back to the actual plot..



Two countries are at war fighting over technology to give the country in question an upper hand. Neville and her partner Ameria are off to battle some badguys in their Simoun craft, along with a few other girls who barely get a mention. To spice things up, the creators thought that lesbian kissing was truly electric! The girls kiss their co-pilots and then spread the germs onto the green sparkly jewel for power. Think how much bacteria and saliva it uses up! Mamiko Noto explains via some narrative about the Simoun itself but I still don't get all the terminology.
The Simoun gang then battle in the air against the Darth Vader like enemy. They are outnumbered, so everyone goes into an attack pattern by shooting out lines from the back of their craft aka Remergion. When they are done it's up to the final pair (Neville and Ameria) to complete this pattern - but it FAILS.



So all that lesbian kissing for nothing? So it seems! Ameria shouts to Neville that she wants MOAR POWER - even if it means using up their life force. She hesitantly agrees and it goes wrong as she looks into the eyes of the enemy pilot narrating this episode. Some big explosions later and the Simoun gang are on the retreat but not before revealing a tint of green hair from the enemy pilot..
Back at the base, Ameria is presumed missing and the rest are contemplating their future. Who will help them fight if Neville is in angst mode and without a partner? A young girl is found on the premises - which is brought to the attention of the commander. She lets her join the group as they are getting short on pilots. She has green hair! Which means she was the one shot on the enemy craft? Probably!



A 'hero' barges in on the meeting and annouces herself as Aeru - 1337 pilot extrodonaire. She doesn't give a crap about the situation as long as she kills some badguys. So in and out like a whirlwind and jumps into a Simoun without a co-pilot. I have no idea why they decided to throw in such an annoying main character like that without some background first. Mind you, most of the characters are just as bad! So we have loli-evil girl who was the narrator of this episode, Aeru, the rest of the forgettables and the best character Neville who is throwing herself into the spring to change into a man. Life without her fellow co-pilot is like being a man - terrible. :P



It's easy to disregard this anime into the WTF and trying too hard pile. The plot is confusing to follow due to lack of explanation on the terminology. The lesbian kisses are possibly a cheap excuse to attract attention - even if they hold some purpose (powering up the ships). So many characters are introduced that I can only remember a handful of names. It's obvious that Aeru and Neville will pair up in the future and that the green-haired girl has some motive depsite her innocent looks.
Simoun has potential to be good, but judging by this episode - It will need to straighten out it's plot and explain some more about their world. The animation was nice and the characters was colourful - if looking suspciously a bit Mai-Otome like. The CG that was used was out of place and sometimes the drawn backgrounds was a bit plain for my liking. The music was a so-so affair - I'm not really keen on the jazzy aspects but the opening was decent.
I'll stick with this for another 1 or 2 episodes but until then it's slightly above average.

Overall: 6/10

Talk about confusing!

Strawberry Panic! - 01

Yuri. Shoujo-ai. Lesbians.
Three words that definately describe this series. Think Maria-sama ga Miteru without the subtlety, scandals, drama and without Yumi angsting over Sachiko on whether she should use a fork to eat a cheeseburger with. This is the lower denominator of anime - yes it's trashy, yes it's full of potential lesbians and yes why am I watching it?



There is nothing that much that I can write about Strawberry Panic but stating the obvious. "School age lesbians everywhere!!1 Zomg hawt yuri girl-on-girl action!" If you are expecting that, you'll be half disappointed - but it has enough yuri-filled subtext to put the whole of Maria-sama ga Miteru to shame and only by the first episode!
The plot is another postage stamp special. Transfer student by the name of Nagisa is on her first day to an all-girls school. She bumps into a 'mysterious' older student who comes across as being a predatorial lesbian looking for prey. Looks like she's found it! Nagisa drops her keyring out of awe of this magnificent lesbian standing before her and of course is paralysed by her ultra gay stare.



Lesbian leaves before giving Nagisa the traditional lesbian CPR which should be the staple in all shoujo-ai hint series! (see ep1 of Mai-Hime and Kannazuki no Miko) Nagisa finds it all too hot to handle and faints instead. I'm disappointed!
She wakes up in one of the dormitories in the all-girls school and is met by the lecherous stare of yet another school girl lesbian! Nagisa wonders why this girl is taking her 3-size measurements for a uniform - when it's a one-size fits all. Naturally, this lesbian is her roommate and introduces herself as Tomae. She gives a saucy little wink to Nagisa and thanks her for the help to fill up two pages in her little black book - full of unhealthy stats of numerous girls. Yay.



Tomae shows Nagisa around the lesbian campus of the school. It's apparently split up into 3 different sections depending on what moe flavoured school uniform one is wearing. She then carries on explaining about the awfully strict curfew at 6pm (more fun in the bedroom ;) ) and leaves Nagisa to wander about. The curfew is stated for a reason, as she runs after the lesbian she met the first time. Oh noes..she disappears again and leaves Nagisa running towards the gates of the school!
The sister of the school brings Nagisa in and gives her a good ol' lecture about rules. Maybe she should lecture her to stop thinking about lesbians and concentrate! Youko lookalike with blue hair arrives in and commands authoritah. Nagisa is enthralled yet again by lesbian coolness as she explains about the Etoile - 'who everyone loves'. We wonder who that could be? ;)



At this point we get a quick overview on the rest of the students, who are unsuprisingly just as gay for each other as we'd expect. Nagisa and co find their seats at the table for dinner and Youko lookalike tells her to introduce herself to the almighty Etoile. Yep, the Etoile (Shizuma) is infact the mysterious lesbian at the beginning and finds amusement in almost tongue wrestling Nagisa infront of everyone. Youko lookalike interupts a potential lesbian kiss and they all go back to eating...food. I suspect some actual kisses in episode 2!
At the end, Nagisa wonders how the hell can one school be so lesbian? It just can dear - when it appeals to the MOE group! ;)



I've never seen an anime quite so blantly shoujo-ai as this. However, it doesn't automatically make it any good. It has this Kagihime quality to me, partly due to the samey character designs, poor animation and bland, bland story! It's all well and nice roaming around the school - but I want to see some action, some angst and of course something that will grab my attention. I await the second episode in antcipation!
The most entertaining aspect of Strawberry Panic! was probably the ending sequence where the two main seiyuu's do a lesbian-esque pop video and fondle each other. I can only see die-hard shoujo-ai/yuri/moe fans watching this and getting some enjoyment out of it.
The sad thing is despite all of it's mediocrity, I'll probably keep watching.

Overall: 5/10

I wonder how many times I typed out lesbian for this review.. :o