Check back here for news and reviews from the AFO Staff about those crazy cartoons that brought us all together in the first place! You’ll also find information about live action Japanese Tokusatsu shows. Some new, some classics, but always entertaining.
The second “Kanpai, Anime!” will be held on Tuesday, July 27th at 7:00pm at Tatame Lounge in Winter Park, FL. You can find the establishment at 223 W. Fairbanks Ave. Winter Park, FL 32789. (On the corner of W. Fairbanks Avenue and New York Avenue, near Rollins College.)
The first Kanpai, Anime! did so well that the owners of Tatame Lounge want it every month! We anime fans are certainly a fun bunch! With that said, the feature showing this time will be Hayao Miyazaki’s beloved classic, Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind!
That’s not all! An anime trivia contest will also be held at the start of the event with the grand prize being a $25 bar tab at Tatame Lounge for the night! That’s a lot of tea and sake! Expect some questions relating to the works of Studio Ghibli. Another good point of reference would be our Anime We Love articles!
Their is no cover for this event but you must be at least 18 years old will valid I.D. to enter Tatame Lounge. RSVP for the event on Facebook!
Legendary pioneer voice actor Peter Fernandez has passed away due to lung cancer this morning at the age of 83. Most of you may not know Peter Fernandez but you most likely know of the works he was involved in.
In the early days of anime, shows such as Tetsuwan Atom and Tetsujin 28 were brought to America as Astro Boy and Gigantor respectively. Peter worked on the staff for the dialogue and voice direction for those shows. He was also Lupin III at one point in his career.
His most well-known accomplishments were his roles as the voices of both Speed Racer and his brother Racer X in the 1960s cartoon and he even composed the English lyrics for the show’s famous theme song.
Our thoughts and prayers are with his family.
Source: ANN
After many years of having guests from Fullmetal Alchemist come to Anime Festival Orlando, how could we not love it!? We all know about the dark fantasy tale of two brothers trying to get their original bodies back after their attempt to revive their dead mother(a taboo in Alchemy) failed. Everyone knows about the laws of equivalent exchange and the homunculi that secretly run the government of Amestris.
We cried when Maes Hughes died and laughed every time Alex Louis Armstrong ripped off his clothes and flexed his manly muscles! And sometimes, we got annoyed when Edward Elric would spaz out every time someone made a joke about him being short.
Fullmetal Alchemist is one of the most popular anime series of the last decade. It helped define a new generation of anime fans and even had appeal to those who have been into Japanese animation for quite sometime. Why is that? Was it the alchemy? The action? The drama? Perhaps the unique world of FMA that had stories and characters that were universally relatable across multiple cultures? Or maybe it is because Roy Mustang is just that awesome! The answer to the original question is all of the above and even more.
(more…)
Book of Eli director Albert Hughes confirmed that the live action adaptation of Akira he is directing will be rated PG-13 and released in two separate films similar to Quentin Tarantino’s Kill Bill. The first film will cover volumes 1 through 3 of the original manga with the second film covering volumes 4 through 6. No release date information has been confirmed at this time.
Lina Inverse is a sorceress. A well known sorceress that has many nicknames such as Bandit Killer, Dragon Nester, and Enemy of All Humanity. But in reality she’s just a nice girl that likes money, food, and has a few world ending spells up her sleeve. Lina goes around fighting bandits and thieves to make a living, having no mercy for those that have a substantial amount of gold.
But she’s not alone.
(more…)
Everyone wants to root for the outlaw who robs from the rich and gives to the poor. It’s always an outstanding tale for those who can relate to the feelings of defeating an unfair authority for the sake of the common people. But Arsene Lupin III is no Robin Hood; in fact, he often robs from the rich to give to himself and all for the thrill of the caper!
(more…)
There are very few films that stay relevant more than 20 years after their original release. That statement is certainly more accurate with science fiction films that have left several generations of adult nerds disappointed with the lack of hover boards, flying cars, and time machines that were predicted to happen in those classic films of the eighties.
At the same time in Japan, a science fiction revolution was happening in anime. Works were becoming more serious and the production values of films were rising greatly thanks to a booming Japanese economy. The defining anime film of the late eighties was not only depicted a more feasible technology-driven future, but also provided a plot and many themes that are still relevant to this day. That film would be the epic known as Katsuhiro Otomo’s Akira!
(more…)
There was once an age where vampires did NOT sparkle and become unconvincingly infatuated with the blandest of girls, but instead were feared menaces that prayed upon the innocents and desired the sweetest maiden blood.
Over 10,000 years into the future, technology has declined and now vampires, mutants, and demons inhabit the land alongside humans. One vampire lord, Count Magnus Lee, has set his sights on a lovely villager Doris – a commoner and tomboy of noticeable beauty. After she is attacked by Lee’s mutants, he himself appears so that he may taste her blood and mark her on the neck as his next bride.
Doris, resisting such a terrible fate, hires a bodyguard to protect her: the silent, yet skillful Vampire Hunter D!
The half-human, half-vampire dampiel D is a vampire hunter of considerable strength(the true origin of which is revealed in the film’s conclusion) and also has a wise-cracking left hand with its own personality. The film itself is loosely based on the first Vampire Hunter D novel(written by Hideyuki Kikuchi) and possesses many elements of horror and the dark supernatural.
To be honest, this film has not aged well at all. It is 25 years old but anything that was supposed to be scary or grotesque looks fake and laughable. Some of the monsters look more appropriate in a Chuck E. Cheese than they do in a horror anime. The dialogue, which at some point could have been taken seriously, now seems incredibly cheesy regardless of which language you choose to watch it in. The hardest flaw to accept is the obvious reuse of both backgrounds and animation as it happens often. Vampire Hunter D deserved better production values.
The film is still fun to watch and has some great action scenes, such as the first time D storms Lee’s castle and fights an army of mutants to rescue Doris. D’s battle with Magnus Lee – that shakes the heavens – is also another spectacle for its time. D’s left hand still does a good job to provide intentional comic relief in a movie that is of dark nature.
The original Vampire Hunter D, while it is incredibly corny and poorly drawn, is still worth a watch as a good time can still be had. Many years later Bloodlust was created and while it focuses more on action and drama than it does horror, the production values are far superior and still hold up pretty well. Both movies are out of print though you can still find some copies on the internet.
Power Rangers RPM was the final new season of the Power Rangers franchise, and it seems that this show was made for the fans that grew up on Power Rangers. And that means it’s for grown up fans with a lifelong love of Sentai action dramas.
Those of you that are fans of PR continuity and timelines may find this show a bit perplexing, as it open on a post apocalyptic earth that has been laid waste by armies of killer robots, Terminator style. In the place of Skynet we have a virus that took over the world called Venjix. Venjix is the tragic result of a scared little girl and an uncaring government, gone horribly wrong.
Starting on that happy note, we see maps in the OP that are slowly covered in red, meaning lots of dead people or a world taken over by Republicans. Either way that grim tone permeates the show and keeps the show from being too immature. These rangers aren’t trying to teach you family values, they’re trying to save the last city on the planet.
The domed city of Corinth is the last refuge of mankind. The only safe place for humans to live in peace, well as safe as any city with a team of Power rangers based there.
Venjix is constantly trying to infiltrate and destroy the city. In true Sentai villain fashion, he sends specialized “Attack Bots” to destroy parts of the city or try to lower the city’s shields for a full scale invasion.
This season’s team is a weird mix of backgrounds to form a team. A ex-con, a loner with a computer virus taking over his body, a debutante with a concience, a mechanic with a super hero fixation, and a leader who is desperately trying to impress his father. They are later joined by, possibly my 2 favorite rangers to date; two genetically engineered idiot savants with a childlike fixation on destruction.
RPM gets its source footage from the show Engine Sentai Go-Onger, which had a fairly silly feel and talking animal vehicles. By all accounts it’s a really fun show. RPM took away the fun elements and pumped up the violence, focusing on the human element and ranger fights. Sometimes the Zord battles seem like an afterthought, but that’s hardly a criticism.
The costumes are sharp, the monsters are cool, the acting, wirework, and fight choreography are all top notch, the plot is filled with dark moments, intrigue, and romance, surprisingly. As an adult fan of Power Rangers, RPM is Bad Ass!
If you cant find it on your local television, go to:
http://www.freewebs.com/powerrangerplanet/
to find all the episodes.
Original Go-Onger episodes can be found subtitled at:
http://tvnihon.com/
AFO Red Signing out!