First of all, Happy Easter.

I have been running this blog for almost three years now. After many times of thinking, I think it's time to put a hold on it, only for a while. I will continue to do my (scientific) research on oriental animation, don't worry. I will be still watching my current favorite shows like Bleach, and take notes of each episode. As for fanart/fanfic/AMV, I am still working on it. But for now I'll just leave this blog as the way it is. If you are looking for some information, search the archive (What Is, Now Was), I have got hundreds of articles there. I'll be checking this place from time to time to make sure it stays free from all spam.

I got some nice soundtracks from Beck and other musical themed animes. I'll upload them soon for your listening pleasure (see the music player on top).

Sorry for acting stupid earlier today, but I had only a couple of hours of sleep last night.

I'm busy with some non-anime related stuff.

Oh, and the latest episode of Bleach was awesome in the way that it did not start with the narrator saying 'In order to save...', which he did in the previous 10 episodes.  The most surprising thing was that one of the main characters actually died, well, at least for period of time (healing powers, remember?).

I played that Gundam Wing Endless Duel game again. Always fun.

Discovery Channel was very cool. Now, here is my invisible message:

Another weekend has come. I don't have plans for anything special, so I'll just relax and watch some cool stuff.

Discovery Channel will quench my thirst for knowledge!

Small summary of what happened in the last few episodes of Bleach: Rukia being pierced by an Espada, Chad almost died during a fight with an Espada, Renji having trouble keeping up with an Espada, and Ichigo finally picked up a fight, with an Espada. Meanwhile, the 'bait' started to cry, and No. 4 explained why the Five cannot succeed in their tasks. If you don't understand what I'm saying then watch Bleach you fool!

And here is something that must not be taken seriously.

The cast is a nightmare for any Dragonball fan. NIGHTMARE!

 Oh please, not Justin Chatwin! Please, oh no!!!

It's true, that actor wants to make a live action movie of Akira. And I don't really like this idea...

What shall I do next? This is just a stupid blog update to keep my blog, well, updated.

Back to topic. Akira was one of the most popular animes back in the 1980s. I don't know much about Akira, I only know that it has motorcycles in it. To be honest, I don't like this anime at all. So why would Leonardo want to make a movie about it?

If I may recommend an anime that is worthy of a live action movie, then it would be...

Hmmm, I have to think about this one.

Hearing things like 'Bravenet is going to add new webtools' makes me happy.  I'm loyal to Bravenet. I'm a Bravenet addict, but you probably already know that.

I still watch those old animes. I'm not giving up.

I have heard some rumours about a Dragonball live action movie. I don't know much about it yet, but it seems that the movie is actually almost finished. At the end of this year this movie will hit the big screen. But, all this could be just a joke. Just a joke? We will see.

Dang, I gotta update this place. So, how are you people doing? Been to some weird convention lately? Well, I haven't. Studying has become an even bigger part of my life, and this is not quite funny. Even though I have an 'average' study time of 40 hours per week, I still want to enjoy the better things of life (such as not studying). That's why I planned some great activities in the near future.

If you haven't watched the latest episode of Bleach, then do it now. End of discussion.

I am looking for someone who likes playing Tekken 6. Wanna fight?

Looks like there is no limit to their powers. In the latest Bleach episode we see Chad's powers growing and growing. While Ishida has taken care of Thunderwitch, Chad still has to beat his opponent. And somehow I get the feeling that both of them haven't yet reached the pinnacle of their powers.

Chad's most powerful arm, uptil now.

Yes, I am putting another one of those anime reviews picked randomly from the internet. This anime is called 'Bastard!!'. Cool name.

Bastard!!

Synopsis
In a setting straight out of Dungeons & Dragons, an evil, lecherous mage named Dark Schneider (yes, Dark Schneider) tries to destroy the world with his four generals. He doesn't succeed, and he is sealed into the body of a baby named Rushe Renren. Now Rushe is a teenage boy, and all is not well in the kingdom of Meta-Rikana (well, actually Metallicana, but we'll get there in a moment). You see, Dark Schneider's generals now serve the cause of resurrecting the Great Demon Ansla-Sax (well, actually Anthrasax), and, so, to combat the evil demon and save the world, the priests of Meta-Rikana unleash Dark Schneider upon the world again. Really. Fortunately for them, instead of revenging himself upon his captors, DS decides that having a world to be in is better after all, and starts to re-recruit his generals to fight against the demonic forces by using spells named after heavy metal bands and songs. Exodus!!! I *did* mention that DS is an evil, lecherous sorcerer, right?

Review
Once upon a time, back in my role-playing days, my best friend thought the idea of a bastard sword named "Bastard" would be really fun. Unfortunately for him, Hagiwara Kazushi already had made an entire manga series named precisely for that reason. And that manga was made into an anime, rife with references to heavy metal and D&D, which back in the late 80s and early 90s, went together like milk and cookies.

Unfortunately, Pioneer Japan, in a fit of paranoia, decided to change the Anglicized names of the spells and landforms slightly to avoid copyright infringement, so a lot of those heavy metal bands aren't as apparent anymore. (Granted, Metallica's recent rash of litigious behavior has probably vindicated that paranoia.) That's only the start of the problems with this series.

Bastard!! is a title with a lot of potential that doesn't quite get as good as it should. It does have a wonderful, if at times distracting sense of humor (again, those spells!) and a real (dare I say it?) Bastard!! of a main character. Dark Schneider eventually comes off as the strongest personality in the show, and he's one of those guys who can cut loose and have a good time, or sacrifice himself if need be. He's egotistical, perverted, very foul-mouthed (though it's been, unsurprisingly, toned down drastically for US release), and torn between the innocent love for Yoko, the fourteen-year-old virgin priestess in charge of sealing and releasing him from Rushe Renren, or his not-so-innocent love for Arshes Nei, the gorgeous half-elf he adopted as his daughter and lover. (No kidding.) I can't terribly blame him, for Arshes Nei is another very strong character, and a total babe, to boot. And Yoko, well, she knows him to manipulate him, I'll give her that.

The one-liners zoom almost as fast as the spells in this series, but that's about where the coolness ends. Though the art and animation are quite well-done, colorful and smooth, with some awesome fight scenes (usually dealing with those heavy metal spells), the plot is a little too simple to hold up well. The villains - well, since when has there even been a well-developed, charismatic demon personality in an anime? It's just too obvious that it's just a standard plot. Most other characters beside the leads are pretty unmemorable, too. (A hulking dark priest named Abigail? Abigail?)

Of course, as an anime, it's a lot tamer than the original manga, in which Dark Schneider often fights without a stitch of clothing on, and sometimes visibly aroused. That would've been disconcerting to watch, especially considering that the manga artist was a protégé of Matsumoto Izumi, creator of Kimagure Orange Road. There's still nekkid Darshu in there, but not so much that it's distracting.

I would've liked to have seen more of this anime made, as I think it could've developed a lot better, and quite frankly, even at six OAVs, it still feels too short. But if you like a lot of mass destruction by way of heavy metal, and not of the mecha kind, Bastard!! fits the bill. It's fun, it's more than a bit mindless, and can appeal to both male and female fans. But it should've been a classic.

Source: http://theanimesreview.blogspot.com/2007/09/bastard.html