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VISION OF ESCAFLOWNE #2 - - Watch & Learn

Posted by Unknown | Wednesday, October 2, 2013

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VISION OF ESCAFLOWNE #2 - - Watch & Learn

If anybody gets around to reviving this brand (if only just to sell
a new collection), they’d probably get a lot of mileage out of presenting
ESCAFLOWNE as ‘the steampunk mecha.’ I
find it pretty amusing how the genre, as its labeled, has actually been around
since the 80’s, yet so few of the current crop of fans seem to have much
interest in seeking out older entries in the canon.

I mean, look at this - - it’s steampunk.

I guess the same sentiment applies to ESCALFLOWNE, on its own, as being
a criminally overlooked gem. Were I to hazard a guess, I’d say it’s perhaps
just a victim of getting straddled with an atrocious dub during the brief window of
opportunity it had to grab American TV audiences in the late 90’s/early 2000’s.
There’s no reason why, say, OUTLAW STAR should hold more enduring awareness for
American fans today - - other than the fact that it simply got to air on
Toonami during its prime.

== TEASER ==

Now, what about the episode itself? Again, I’ll praise the virtues of show not
wasting any time in getting to throat-grabbing conflict. No sooner has Van returned
to his home, and accepted his coronation, than we see him become a king without
a crown in a realm razed by horrific enemy forces. There’s no question of why I
need to come back next episode - - I have a physical compulsion to
see what will happen to our heroes next.

Also, I figure there’s got to be a subtle science to the way Merle’s
been crafted as a character. On paper, the prospect of a lovesick cat girl
incessantly who dotes on our hot-blooded prince sounds like something that'd get real irritating, real fast. However, in practice, some combination of voice acting and
body language makes her immediately likable, almost in spite of herself.

I suppose the lack of eye-roll inducing T&A (as we expect with
every other cat girl) might have also have a lot to do with why her presence isn’t
annoying.

Look up this
episode, "The Girl from the Mystic Moon" and decide for yourself,
then read my thoughts on the previous episode here.

About the Author

Tom Pinchuk’s a writer and personality with a large number of comics, videos and features like this to his credit. Visit his website - - tompinchuk.com - - and follow his Twitter: @tompinchuk

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VISION OF ESCAFLOWNE #2 - - Watch & Learn

Posted by : Unknown

Date :Wednesday, October 2, 2013

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ATTACK ON TITAN #24 - - Watch & Learn

Posted by Unknown | Tuesday, October 1, 2013

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ATTACK ON TITAN #24 - - Watch & Learn

I’ve said this before, but one of the bigger knocks bedeviling this
show - - a real weight sitting on the other end of the seesaw, as it were
- - is that not enough care has been given to differentiate the cast. While these past couple episodes have been
wonderfully thrilling, I don’t feel any shame in admitting that the fallout of
the Female Titan’s surprise hasn’t hit me as hard as it could’ve, because I
keep scratching my head to actually remember the history Eren and Annie have.

When your cast is stuffed with countless soldiers of the same body
type, wearing the same uniforms and using the same gear, it’s really crucial to
give the important players a myriad of strong identifiers - - distinctive
names, noticeable accessories, behavioral tics, even catch phrases - - to
make them immediately distinguishable.

== TEASER ==

I may not recall the name of the gal in the screencap above but, when
she makes her dramatic re-entrance in this episode, I remember everything else about
her on the dot. Why? Because her huge, shiny glasses are a strong visual
identifier, and she’s the only member of the cast who gets into creepy laughing
fits. What’s more - - the other character remark on this behavior and reinforce it further.
That’s a solid cluster of identifiers.

When ATTACK OF TITAN regularly goes through so much trouble, using
graphic design sensibilities to convey all the detailed tactics of a battle
plan, then it’s perplexing why it hasn’t extended the same careful sensibility
to its cast. If the show ever gets a redux to better balance its uneven
qualities, the hypothetical producers will first need to give new names to Eren,
Armin and Erwin that aren’t borderline homophones. Then, they’ll
really need to give Annie a makeover so - - in the immediate recall of
viewers who haven’t gotten to re-watch episodes and study episode breakdowns - - there’s more to differentiate
her from Mikasa than her being the blonde supremely-skilled,
emotionally-withdrawn guardsmen with an affinity for Eren.

Watch this
episode, "Mercy - Raid on Stohess District" here and decide for
yourself, then read my write-up on the previous episode here.

About the Author

Tom Pinchuk’s a writer and personality with a large number of comics, videos and features like this to his credit. Visit his website - - tompinchuk.com - - and follow his Twitter: @tompinchuk

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ATTACK ON TITAN #24 - - Watch & Learn

Posted by : Unknown

Date :Tuesday, October 1, 2013

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What Makes A Bad Anime Movie? -- THE VICE PIT

Posted by Unknown |

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What Makes A Bad Anime Movie? -- THE VICE PIT

Recent Vice Pit sessions on...

Recent sessions in Vice Pit: Undercover...

You can check out every episode of the Vice Pit here.

Be sure to submit questions and topics for a future Vice Pit session here. We will answer them!

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What Makes A Bad Anime Movie? -- THE VICE PIT

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ONE PIECE #613 - - Special Review

Posted by Unknown | Monday, September 30, 2013

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ONE PIECE #613 - - Special Review

Well, at least one of these villains has finally been axed off (unless
I’m reading that scene incorrectly). Of course, I’m sure it’s going to be
another 100 episodes before this particular plot development comes back around
with the resurrection of Monet, or the introduction of some hitherto-unrevealed
colleague who’s bent on avenging her, or whatever.

For the most part, this was another episode concerned with
moving our playing pieces from Point A to Point B on the board (or perhaps
Chamber R to Chamber E in the Punk Hazard layout), so I’d rather take on the
discussion point offered up during Zoro’s three-front duel with Monet and Tashigi.

Frankly, that kernel of an idea was more interesting that the fight
itself…

== TEASER ==

Obviously, the topic of gender roles is an inexhaustible source of
discussion in our online bubble of fandom. Whenever we’re dealing with wish
fulfillment, it’s almost impossible for some demographic not to feel slighted
over their place in somebody else’s power fantasy. No point-of-view is ever all-inclusive
- - and the harder it tries to be, the blander it becomes. For an action
adventure to play effectively, somebody’s got to be the hero, and somebody else
has to be the villain, and somebody else has to be the victim that needs
rescuing. And it’s very hard for the
selection of those somebodies to not send a message, intentional
or no.

Focusing that all down onto this episode, we have Zoro’s insistent
refusal to fight women in the same way that he’d fight men; and the resultant
offense that Tashigi takes to double standard. In theory, the playing field for
these kind of stories should be totally level. In practice, however, there’s no
way we’ll react to seeing a heroine like Nami (for example) take the
kind of brutal beating that Goku routinely received from male villains like Cell without us feeling an added, and innate, level of revulsion.

So it’s interesting that Oda would choose to discuss this dilemma in
the text itself. Is Zoro’s sense of chivalry actually sexist by modern
standards? Or would we really be that comfortable watching him thrash Tashigi like
a guy? For once, I’d rather just invite you vicers to continue the discussion
here…

Watch this
episode, "Showing
Off His Techniques! Zoro's Formidable One Sword Style!” here and decide for yourself, then read my comments about the
previous episode here.

About the Author

Tom Pinchuk’s a writer and personality with a large number of comics, videos and features like this to his credit. Visit his website - - tompinchuk.com - - and follow his Twitter: @tompinchuk

more info...

ONE PIECE #613 - - Special Review

Posted by : Unknown

Date :Monday, September 30, 2013

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HUNTER X HUNTER #10 - - Watch & Learn

Posted by Unknown |

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HUNTER X HUNTER #10 - - Watch & Learn

In a weird way, this show is starting to remind me a little of this
obscure American comic, MISTER A. Essentially, the strip starred a superhero
devised by Spider-Man’s co-creator, Steve Ditko, as a mouthpiece for his
extreme and uncompromising objectivist beliefs. Supposedly, he kept trying to
insert these values into Spidey’s adventures, but Marvel Comics kept refusing
to allow their star character to go down such… unusual philosophical
directions.

Eventually, Ditko would go on to work in the independents where, uninhibited
by editorial restrictions, he was free to craft a strip that was less superheroic
serial and more illustrated treatise. As you’d expect, the titular Mister A was
a personification of objectivism (Rorschach from WATCHMEN is a milder
tribute to him, FYI) who didn’t adventure so much as just solve situations
designed to serve his rhetorical point.

== TEASER ==

I’ve drawn this extended comparison because I’m really tickled by the
notion that HUNTER X HUNTER might actually be a platform for Togashi to explore…
potentially intense notions that he might’ve only gotten to hint at in
YU YU HAKUSHO. While I was already playing with this idea after Tonpa’s
admission of sabotage, the illustrated monologue he goes on here (about the
inherent treachery of the ‘Rule by Majority’ system) really makes
it seem like Togashi is trying to weave a larger point about competent people being weighed
down by incompetent peers.

And the drawn-out bet about our blue bad guy’s state of consciousness
only just strengthens this theory. While you can certainly make the case that
Togashi is trying to mix his heroes’ conflicts up by throwing challenges at
them which can’t be solved with punches and kicks, it still doesn’t seem
coincidental that the most consistent threats to Gon’s band are quitters.

These aren’t fearsome and mighty bullies like Toguro or Shinobu: these
are weasels trying to cheat our heroes out of victory because they possess no worthwhile
talents themselves. And if Tonpa continues to bedevil them like this, it’ll all but prove
my theory.

Watch this episode, “Trick ×
To × The Trick" here and decide for yourself, then read my comments on the previous episode here.

About the Author

Tom Pinchuk’s a writer and personality with a large number of comics, videos and features like this to his credit. Visit his website - - tompinchuk.com - - and follow his Twitter: @tompinchuk

more info...

HUNTER X HUNTER #10 - - Watch & Learn

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HUNTER X HUNTER #9 - - Watch & Learn

Posted by Unknown | Sunday, September 29, 2013

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HUNTER X HUNTER #9 - - Watch & Learn

This show’s really starting to seem like "THE BOOK OF
VIRTUES by way of SHONEN JUMP" with each successive challenge issued to Gon and
his pals…

Again, it’s all further evidence to substantiate my theory that Togashi must have a serious sporting background to complement his cartooning skills. The
morals about competition which are taught in this episode truly seem like they’re
coming from a guy who’s learned hard lessons from real experience; not somebody
who’s just parroting platitudes he found in some sports manga he’s
read.

== TEASER ==

Kurapika’s duel with the fraudulent gangster obviously
speaks to the real nature of poseurs and anybody who barks so loud that you can
be quite sure that their bite isn't so bad. When I was on the wrestling
team in high school, the opponents who grappled the worst were almost always
the guys who made snarly faces before the match or pointedly showed off
their scary tattoos. So yeah, that speaks to my own experiences.

Gon’s duel, on the other hand, has a more complicated message perhaps...

It seems to say that
if you’re entering into a competition where your opponent is exploiting gaps in
the rules to his advantage, then it’s perfectly honorable to find other
omissions that'll help you out, in turn. Maybe more specifically: if your opponent’s
using a corner of the game that works to his strengths, then you’re well within
rights to find another corner that plays to yours. If he’s smarter,
and he’s using slight-of-hand to fool you into agreeing to use a trick candle,
then you can go ahead and use your superior physique to run up and blow his
candle right out. Nobody said it was against the rules, did they?

Again, that second notion isn’t as simple as “Winners never cheat” or “Hard
work always wins,” and that’s because it’s a real lesson, not a cliche. I guess that undercurrent is part of why this show so often works in spite of itself.

Watch this episode, “Beware ×
Of × Prisoners" here and decide for yourself, then read my comments on the previous episode here.

About the Author

Tom Pinchuk’s a writer and personality with a large number of comics, videos and features like this to his credit. Visit his website - - tompinchuk.com - - and follow his Twitter: @tompinchuk

more info...