April 3rd, 2008 at 6:49 pm
by Alex (Anime, News)
Hey guys, Alex here. As you might have heard on the 8th podcast we are looking for a feature writer to cover manga for us. What does the job entail? The only thing we can promise is if we have tons of spare money lying around we’ll split it among us, though, don’t bet on it. This can be a good opportunity for you to be able to actively work and publish your work online to add to your portfolio.
- You must be able to produce a feature article at least once per week (though you are expected to do more than that)
- Have and be proficient with Photoshop (particularly working with screencaps)
- Have extensive knowledge of manga and be up to date with recently released manga
- Be able to communicate through e-mail, AIM and Skype
- Be able to write in perfect English with a good vocabulary and a journalistic tone (big plus is knowledge of AP Stylebook)
Additionally, if you want to cover just anime we may have a position open for you. If you are interested please send us an e-mail at animepodcast@gmail.com or head on over to the contact page.
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April 2nd, 2008 at 12:18 am
by Alex (Anime, Articles)
A brief preview of a recently released, ongoing and unlicensed anime available through bittorrent.
Bus Gamer
When I first approached Bus Gamer I thought it was maybe something along the lines of Lucky Star, maybe an otaku that played games on the bus? I was quite wrong. Bus Gamer is an anime about with an original idea. Corporations put trade secrets on a minidisc (I suppose regular CDs or DVDs are too fragile) and have two teams of three fight over the disc. One team starts with the disc and must keep it safe while the other must take the disc within the time limit. Meanwhile the corporation bosses watch comfortably from a distance. The team that wins gains a large sum of money which exponentially increases with each win. The premise, in itself, is quite interesting. Curiously the anime lays in an odd place. Even though the manga was quite popular it was released only in one volume due to serialization issues. It is expected that the writer, Kazuya Minekura, will finish the manga, however, it is not known exactly when. The anime, thus, has only 3 episodes.
Animation The animation is “shōnen” so you ladies out there who like animes like X and other CLAMP related animes may enjoy watching the pretty boy protagonists running around searching for discs. Also there is quite a bit of action as the disc serves as just a mechanism to initiate the inevitable street brawl between the two parties. Though, the animation is not particularly good and the animation studio working on it, Izena, is quite unknown. They worked on Tactics and Law of Ueki but only as helping hands and not with animation. The animation does, however, serve its purpose.
Why pick this up? The place where Bus Gamer really shines is its characters. The three members of the team, called AAA for anonymous, are made up of Mishiba Toki (the reticent cool guy), Nakajyo Nobuto (the badass), and Saitoh Kazuo (the lighthearded nice dude). The uniting factor between these three that really don’t share too much in common is the need for money, a large sum of money. This driving factor serves to bind the team, but not only that, to advance the plot. The question posed at the beginning of the anime is “Why do each of them need so much money?” This serves as a clever plot device and will encourage you to find out the answer to this question as each member struggles to protect his secret. Furthermore, the companies too seem to have their own secrets. I suspect that the characters are mired in a network shrouded by mystery.
Bottomline This is a shōnen anime that is character driven. If you watch the first episode and find yourself curious about each of the characters, or in some cases attached to them, this is probably for you. The animation isn’t so great and the plot has yet to prove itself, though the premise may engage you. Oh yeah, the intro song is horrible.
Where can you get it? Shinsen Subs
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March 27th, 2008 at 7:55 pm
by Alex (Anime, Articles)
We’re going to take a quick look at a few unlicensed anime available right now through bittorrent.
Spice and Wolf
Spice and Wolf (Otami to Koshinryo) is an anime based on a Japanese light novel series written by Isuna Hasekura and
produced by IMAGIN, a smaller studio. It features Craft Lawrence a traveling merchant in what appears to be a historical feudal society. So, that’s the basis. No real big change from any other anime. But, wait, get this. Craft has an unfortunate encounter with Holo, a wolf god who controls the harvest of a small town. Holo is supposed to be an angry looking mean wolf god (think Mononoke Hime) but she transforms herself into a cute human-like figure (Suprise suprise! Avant garde!). Holo ends up tagging along with Craft. Yup, that’s the entire premise. Not especially ground breaking.
Strong point Sure the animation is run of the mill but Spice and Wolf is more about story. Though it seems simplistic now remember, the anime evolved from a light novel so expect the plot to really pick up. The interactions between the down-to-earth Craft and the spicy and spunky Holo are humorous and interesting. Though Craft and Holo don’t break traditional anime archetypes they do provide for an interesting atmosphere given the twist of the plot, Holo is, of course, a wolf goddess. In the end, however, expect a well-written plot.
Why should you pick this up? I’m going to recommend this to people who enjoy feudal society animes. Moreover, if you like animes that focus on relationships between different personalities pick this one up. I know you all are suckers for animes where a relationship between two people slowly evolve over time until they are truly tested.
Where can you get it? BSsubs
They Are My Noble Masters
They Are My Noble Masters (Kimi ga Aruji de Shitsuji ga Ore de) has a rather curious name, but it accurately describes the anime. The anime really does exhibit the fascination of master-servant relationships that some Japanese (well… some people in general) enjoy. The story goes like this, Ren and Mihato Uesegi run away from home due to their abusive father and start looking for a job. By some “wacky” (as it is often put) circumstances they end up at the Shinra (FFVII?) Kounji’s, a 
famous conductor, household. The estate is filled with mostly females of which you can expect your stereotypical Ren to interact with, help, etcetera as male anime characters are ought to do when surrounded by tons of females. Of course, having sex with any of them is out of the question as an idea like that is totally outlandish in Japanese standards. I mean… living in the house with tons of good looking women and trying to hit on them? No way!
Strong point Think of it like a harem anime except the usually dominant female is also dominant in status not just personality. In Japan, it appears, gender roles are likened to be reversed and it’s kind of refreshing to see a male character grovel, though this is not necessarily uncommon (see Keitaro in Love Hina and any other harem anime).
Why should you pick this up? I’m going to recommend this to harem anime lovers everywhere. If you love seeing one guy being mercilessly hammered by multiple females, one of which stands out as the alpha-female and his obvious future partner, get this anime now! In all honesty, it’s one of the better harem animes out there given just how many there are!
Where can you get it? Anime Yoshi
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March 25th, 2008 at 9:16 pm
by Alex (News)
Yes, we’re back. It’s about time. Luis and I have finally been able to work the podcast into our schedules. The podcast never left our minds and we had always been knocking around ideas to bring it back. We have a lot of ideas we hope will come to fruition ahead of us. First and foremost, however, we are looking to get the podcast back to its former glory and even beyond that. I expect to record my next podcast soon and Luis will be recording his first podcast this weekend so there’s a double header coming up.
To be truthful, I was not pleased with the quality of the 7th podcast. It came down to this: either I would have to re-record the podcast and start from scratch or I could just hammer it out and get a podcast released. I chose the latter, we just had to get something out there and I’m glad we did. The next podcasts coming from me will have much, much better quality and I am looking forward to editing them. I really had to just sit down and relearn everything from when I first started casting.
We’re going to be getting new equipment soon so expect the quality of the podcast to really increase. Particularly, we’re getting some condenser microphones. The microphones really put a hole in my pocket and I really can’t even afford a stand, shock mount or pop filter to go with it but, hey, better than what we got now.
Anyways, that’s it for the updates. If you are interested in helping or have any questions, anything at all, drop by our contact page and shoot us off a message.
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