Lupin III: Mine Fujiko to Iu Onna Premiere Review

Not a bad opening to the new Lupin III series. Its taken quite a more serious tone this time. The show is very stylized which make the characters seem more serious. Lupin is still the same thief he has always been. This isn’t Castle of Cagliostro, so no worries there. While were on the Castle of Cagliostro comparison; this anime is far from that. Taking on some more adult themes (Fujiko is naked throughout the intro as well as topless throughout most of the first episode) Lupin is not only looking good, but more mature as well. Maybe not the title character so much, but just the look of the series can tell you that.

There were some concerns about the show from the beginning that Lupin won’t be the main focus of the show, but will be about when Lupin and Fujiko Mine first met and how it would be centered around her. I also heard rumors how the show would have gratuitous nudity and may be either harem or ecchi. I’m not a fan of either and do know some people share that same quality. I can tell you right now though, there's a lot of nudity. Well, Fujiko is topless throughout most of the first episode. It's supposed to show her strong personality. Although, not everyone will see it the same way.

While the show has slight ecchi it shouldn’t be a major problem. Fujiko is depicted in a very strong female role and you don’t see that very often. She’s shown as manipulative, sexy, and cunning; all of which make her a perfect rival and sometimes perfect match for Lupin. To be honest, I’m not sure where the show is going. Either way I am glad to see Lupin back in action.

By the way, here's a trailer for the show with a bit of split second NSFW:

 

Some Evangelion Movie News

Been waiting to hear the official title of the new Evangelion 3.0 movie? Just so I won’t delay it, the new title is: You Can (Not) Redo. And now a very important image:

Looks like the plug suits now get helmets with cat ears. Teaser images for sure as we have no word on plot yet but expect to see the movie in the fall of 2012. The beginning of the end really and seems fitting. The 4th movie doesn’t have a title yet, but there is a website for it with a question mark next to Japanese characters I can’t or haven’t seen a translation for. Can not wait for the final two movies.

My First Visit to Anime Expo 2010

Its that time of year when some of America’s best conventions make its appearance during that one time of the year. And for me the best conventions I have seen are E3 (which I can’t go to at all), Anime Expo, and San Diego Comic-Con. Well, now I can finally cross off a convention I can actually go to which is the LA Anime Expo. While Comic-Con is the biggest Comic Convention ever, the Anime Expo is the biggest Anime and Manga Convention where most otaku’s, cosplayers and anime fans alike are free to roam. It was my first time there and there was a whole lot to see and do. I think the thing to notice most are the cosplayers. From great cosplaying to the awful, its still probably the best thing to see. I pointed out way too many in a noticeable manner. I also tried my hand at volunteering for 4 hours which was exhausting work, but is sure to pay off when I get the next day for free.

Well moving on here are some pictures of the Anime Expo event. I will also give out non-existent rewards to some of the pictures of people cosplaying. Well enjoy some of the things I saw:

Pictured, more or less in the middle is the most powerful blogger to have ever lived: Danny Choo. An incredibly crazy dude who also does websites, owns his own show, his own anime, and even his own toyline! He also goes around Japanese schools dressed up as a stormtrooper showing us Americans what the Japanese do in school. He also has a British accent when he speaks English. He is just about everything that defines epicness.

Now an enhanced picture of Danny Choo with some dude with no relation. Stormtrooper toy though.

Somewhat after that we saw a panel for a Japanese Actress named Yui Horie. An incredibly and painfully cute person to be in the presence in. It was a bit cruel what they made her say in English, but it shows off just how adorable she is. I also tried to take pictures but was denied to keep them even if i was far. Apparently it was meant for the press only to take pictures. I can’t be press yet?

I should have been more ninja like. Did manage to catch the last bit of her new anime titled: Toradora! It shaping to be an interesting anime to watch. After that I tried to get her autograph, but I won’t go into it.

Before taking off I managed to see an Anime OVA called ICE. Its about this post apocalyptic Earth where all men have died leaving only women. These military women try to find the key to prevent humanity’s extinction through a mysterious project called ICE. It was terrible and bizarre. My cousin explained its a throwback to crappy 80’s OVA. I believe him.

It sounds shorter, but it was all in a day. I spent most of my time in the exhibit hall buying next to nothing even when I was tempted by all the sale prices. Did manage to buy a nice button pin that has a cake and the word lie on it. Some of you will know what I’m referencing.

Now for some cosplay, enjoy:

This is probably one cosplay I was looking forward to seeing at Anime Expo. The Prince from the Katamari Damacy games. The bonus was that a girl was dressed up as the Prince. She gets an award for cosplaying as something I was looking forward to! Yeah, its lame. Your going to have to live with that now.

Not the best Snake cosplay out there, but he did have a box. He doesn’t get an award since he’s missing a patch and beard. Snake? SNNNAAAAAKKKKKEEEE!!!!!

Fast food restaurant mascots get the award for best group cosplay. The king mask kind of kills it. Nah, nevermind I’ll let it pass.

Scratch the last award, best group cosplay goes to people in this epic picture of people dressed up as characters from the Kingdom Hearts series. Epic indeed.

Yay, a cousin from the Katamari Damacy series! You get an award for furthering something I was looking forward to! Good job!

And you get the strangest cosplay award my friend. Nice effort, but its your execution….wait does that person look familiar behind him? Good lord I just noticed that…And I’m gonna leave that to you on who that looks like…

And the best cosplay award goes to:

Lady dressed up as Old Sophie from Howl’s Moving Castle! Congrats on winning…on winning!

I took more pictures if you would like to take a look here. And now I will leave you with a celebrity [to most of us] that I saw at Anime Expo. Enjoy!:

Its Zack! The black Power Ranger!

Why Must We Wait?

Alright I'm back with a few updates. I just started a new job which is why I have been so long, but good news is I will have much more reviews for movies since of the job I have taken.

• Yes, I now work at a movie theater called Krikorian Theaters. These are the semi-new theaters which present movies in Digital Projection which shows the best way to watch a movie. Much like IMAX only on a little smaller of a screen. I have seen two movies here and the quality is one of the greatest I have seen. I have watched Iron Man and The Happening here. Iron Man was great, The Happening; not so much. I also have a great benefit here which lets me watch free movies, unfortunately was taken away once I got hired. And I still don't know when I'm getting that back either. I still really want to watch The Incredible Hulk, Wanted, and Wall-E which are out now.
• The Dark Knight cannot come out any sooner. This is the one movie, as you know by now, that I have been waiting to see all year. I thought it was coming out much sooner as well, but its not till just a few weeks. Tickets are also selling like hotcake's online now. I am just hoping it won't sell out around here in IMAX. The online marketing campaign is also almost over for the Joker as he just updated his Why So Serious website. Also check out the new poster here.
• Ever been to Gaia Online? As a friend of mine briefly explains it here, its one of the most quickly growing and top website's on the internets right now. Its a good way to meet new friends, customize your own avatar (or avi to most) to your own style or liking. For many months Gaia has been saying the many ways they want to make their place grow by making their own combat flash based system type thing. Thing is they weren't lying. They have developing this thing for years. It might have been announced at Anime Expo or something, but anyway's here's the full report from IGN.
• Remember I did that post were there's DVD that are in desperate need of a Re-Release? Well the DVD gods must be listening since they listened; partially. There is now a re-release ready for The Nightmare Before Christmas. Yes! Before the DVD was widescreen, but not anamorphic (Not sure what this means? Go back to my post). Unfortunately I don't think the DVD has the special Disney True 3-D on the thing, so you just might have to wait till you see it again in theaters. My cousin has the video here. See the DVD in late August.
• Death Note fans, the series is about to end on Adult Swim soon so have your TiVo's set to record the finale on Saturday since the last two episodes are about the greatest anime endings I have ever seen anyway's. And possibly soon in anime history so don't miss it.
• Thought The Dark Knight updates were over? Well here's a last one, but this requires either a Domino's pizza online account or have your last order number ready since Domino's has an exclusive website for those who just ordered. Just go to the Domino's website and there's a link to the vault which needs some type of verification. The site includes previous downloads and a new exclusive trailer.

Holy Crap Part 1

This deserved a post. Seriously. If your into anime, like anything about anime, and comedy all in one: Here's an anime for you. Its a clip from the hysterically funny show Azumanga Daioh. Its a show about 5 main girls who meet in the first year in High School and very funny results come from it. The girls are: Chiyo-san (the 10 year old prodigy), Ayumu "Osaka" Kasuga (has head in the clouds), Tomo Takino (the energetic type), Koyomi "Yomi" Mizuhara (bookworm), and Sakaki (Is the quiet one and has as a thing for cats and cute pets, mostly cats). Also in this clip features Kagura (She's the rival of Sakaki and new to the group), theres also Yukari (the crazy English teacher), and Minamo "Nyamo" Kurosawa (The P.E. teacher who seems to always take care of Yukari's problems). Well basic summary, so enjoy the clip:
Side note: Ero-ero, well you'll get the idea what it is.




Which brings us to our Japanese word of the day: Ero-Ero