Category Archives: Anime/Manga

Naruto Shippuden on Disney XD in October

Thank goodness Disney bought a clue!  I hope they don’t butcher the show too badly in translation.  (I wonder how they are going to handle the juggy Hokage and alcohol usage, plus, every once in a while Naruto goes “dark” and very bad things happen).  I have only watched the first episode of Shippuden and I wasn’t impressed.  I watched the first 4 or 5 seasons of the first show, and got tired of that whiney brat Sasuke.  It didn’t look like Shippuden was any different.  But what does it matter, I’m not the target demographic.  I will say, though, in terms of the other shows out there a 6 -14-year old boys could be watching, this isn’t bad.  Next Disney XD needs to get “One Piece,” something with Gundams, and “D. Gray-man.” (The current series “07-Ghost” is a really good one).  Although, I imagine if a Gundam Space (or land) opera showed up, it would capture girls and grown-ups too — nothing hooks people like the “Gundam Seed,” “Code Geass,” and “Full Metal Panic.”  I call that great family time around the flat screen!

Ahaha!!! I think Disney could do well to grab the girls they don’t already have with some Shoujo goodness.  It’ll give girls some animation to turn to when they grow out of the Princess madness at the ripe old age of 8.  I remember loving Sailor Moon as a tween/teen.  They could jump on the vampire bandwagon with the two seasons of “Vampire Knight” available.  “Earl and Fairy” was quite dreamy and oh, and “Tail of Saiunkoku” … my otome heart sighs and thumps loudly … Ah, and then there are a ton of series that appeal to males and females alike like “Blood+” and “School Rumble.”

Oh that note, anime I’m currently watching:

  • 07-Ghost
  • Guin Saga
  • Hanasakeru Seishonen
  • D. Gray-man
  • Princess Lover
  • Umineko no Naku Koro ni
  • Valkyria Chronicles
  • Wolf and Spice (season 2)

Of those, “Guin Saga” is by far the best, but I imagine it would have limited popularity amongst some very nerdy adults unless it was turned into a live action show.  (Naris is AWESOME!!!  Beware of beautiful men.  I also love the Leopard headed man!!!  That show rocks!!!).

Disney Buys Marvel

Soooo, the business pundits are saying Disney’s answer to entertain for boys is Marvel Comics.  Oh my gosh are the pundits wrongs!  The folks that follow Marvel are well into adulthood and are most likely cringing at today’s news.  I have no idea what Disney plans for Disney XD to capture 6 -12-year old boys.  I do know, though, that the current animated series based on Marvel character are on Adult Swim, meaning they are intended for a male audience 18 and older.  I still maintain that Disney should turn to Shonen anime and extreme sports.

So what do I think Disney is up to?  I think they are grabbing profits from established movie franchises like “Iron Man” and “Spider Man” and putting a lid on the other studios distributing those movies.  But that’s just my humble and largely uninformed opinion …

Ouran Wallpaper: More fun with Photoshop

haruhiwithsheep_sm
As I post this, I realize that I have no where on any of my formal websites to display this stuff. Yeeks, I’ll figure out something by the end of the week. Anyhow, here’s the Haruhi wallpaper. I like this image of her with sheep (mostly because I adore sheep). So I made the image to look like it was cut out of paper.  Here’s the original image:

haruhiwithsheeporiginalThis was tough, because the image quality of the manga magazine was very poor.  I had to clean up a lot!

Here are some links to the nether regions of one of my websites. I’ll update this once I get something formal going.

1024×768
1280×800
1600×1200
1920×1080

Wallpaper Done

I had to take the image into Fireworks to work with items I imported easier.  I purchased a couple doily drawings from iStockPhoto and a floral flourish to complete the look.yudabg1_sm1

I also made a wide screen version for TV, laptops, and wide screen monitors.

yudabg1920x1080Yippee!  All of these files will be made available in the goodies section of the Zettai Heiwa Daisakusen on Omari’s Sister Translations.

Disney XD Replaces Toon Disney Today

Here’s a link to an article about it.

I imagine XD stands for “Extreme Disney” + the XD emoticon which can express extreme happiness or sarcasm (XD …) — I’m not sure whether Disney was being clever or stupid when considering XD with regards to its most current pop culture meaning.  My guess is that they are completely clueless about the emoticon “XD” …

So … a network aimed at 6 -14-yr old boys … hmm… what comes to mind to me?  Anime, more anime, and still more anime, the latest in video games, Ninja Warrior, the extreme sports videos played at Islands Restaurants, packed in with yet more anime.   Disney better have a gundam anime, a “Naruto” clone and a “Bleach” clone in their programming if they hope to even have a chance with any boy over the age of 8.  Geez, …, and forget even overtly having music stars (what’s with the Beastie Boys?  They were in when I was a teen and I’m now pushing 35).   Oh, and drop the “Disney” branding because no self-respecting male over the age of 8 wants to be associated in *ANY* way with “Disney”.   What’s described in the article sounds to me like another channel aimed at ‘tween girls.  Good luck Disney! and go watch some shonen anime and read some shonen manga for goodness sakes … XD

XD
XD

…psst … here are some clues in order from entertaining the youngest to the oldest boys:

  • Whatever the latest Power Ranger and Pokemon incarnation is
  • Naruto/ One Piece
  • Bleach
  • Death Note

Other suggestions:

  • Find 16-ish version of Adam Sessler and Morgan Webb of the G4 Network to host a video game show (nothing is as sweet to a tween boy as a cute gamer girl to crush on).
  • Scour Asia for a teen version of Ninja Warrior — DO NOT try to make an American version.  Americans, believe it or not, are too reserved  to create genuine moments like those in “Ninja Warrior”
  • Shamelessly copy from multiple networks (Nick, G4, FuelTV …)  if you have to because no one has put together a coherent and integrated offering on TV for American boys yet.
  • Save the sports for ESPN