The Old School Otaku Lounge

I watch TheRadBrad and RydarGames play video gamies on You Tube. I know that caught you off guard, but I find it enjoyable watch people playing roleplaying games on you tube. When Duke Nukem Forever came out. I wanted to see the game before I bought it. Not that seeing the game or bad reviews would stop me from buying it. I have been waiting FIFTEEN YEARS for them to put out the sequel to Duke Nukem 3D. I saw the youtuber TheRadBrad play Duke Nukem Forever and I have been watching him and RydarGames do game walkthroughs for years now.

My favorites are:

Catherine walkthrough by TheRadBrad:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Aw4poruXT0c

Dead Island walkthrough by TheRadBrad:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=76LI06aM3l4

Alice the Madness Returns by RydarGames:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pH5iYqM0eOg

Skyrim walkthrough by RydarGames:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8srY0WqnL1A

Ripped through the Michiko and Hatchin blu-rays this week. Quite enjoyable. There are some odd scene transitions at times where they skip over events that happen off-screen and it might have been a better narrative decision to show these scenes, but overall, a very absorbing show with a great sense of place and style. Can't wait to see more from Sayo Yamamoto; her perspective is needed in this industry.

_D_ wrote:Watched Dragonball Battle of Gods last night.

Was that fansubbed? I just looked on Rightstuf and they don't have it for sale.

greg wrote:

_D_ wrote:Watched Dragonball Battle of Gods last night.

Was that fansubbed? I just looked on Rightstuf and they don't have it for sale.

Yeah, it had to have been...Funimation hasn't picked it up yet. (I'm assuming they will eventually, given that they have all the other Dragonball licenses.)

So...one of my friends convinced me to try AKB0048 because she pointed out that Shojo Kawamori helped create it. I've watched the first 4 eps and I can definitely feel the Macross-ish vibes that she was talking about. XD It's actually not bad, considering I'm assuming the series is targeted towards both younger girls as well as idol fans. (It's kinda like Sailor Moon meets Macross, lol.) I'd only heard maybe one or two AKB48 songs before watching this, but I found some of the songs used in the show to be fun and catchy. Since it's not too long, I'll probably try to finish it unless I get utterly bored somewhere along the way.

usamimi wrote:So...one of my friends convinced me to try AKB0048 because she pointed out that Shojo Kawamori helped create it. I've watched the first 4 eps and I can definitely feel the Macross-ish vibes that she was talking about.

Wow... Now I am actually somewhat interested in seeing this a bit just to see what you are talking about!

I spent the weekend at the in-laws' place. I brought a stack of anime to watch on my laptop, but I didn't get around to watching anything other than BGC episode 4. This was my first time to pause and read the English gibberish on the computer screens when they are pulling up the files on Gibson in the AD Police files. It's pretty amusing. Where do they get this stuff? Also when Gibson looks at Priss in the rear view video display. Some text pops up about Beverly Hills Cop, Madonna, and some other nonsense.

greg wrote:

usamimi wrote:So...one of my friends convinced me to try AKB0048 because she pointed out that Shojo Kawamori helped create it. I've watched the first 4 eps and I can definitely feel the Macross-ish vibes that she was talking about.

Wow... Now I am actually somewhat interested in seeing this a bit just to see what you are talking about!

It's not bad so far, esp. when you know this was mostly made for either young girls or idol fans. XD There's some cheesiness and fanservicey moments, but it's not bad. Basically, it's set in a future where on some planets there's an "entertainment ban" on anything that would "disturb the heart" (so, no music, singing, etc). And AKB0048 is kinda like a rogue band of idol singers who roam the galaxy, doing concerts for fans regardless of this, labeling them "terrorists". They not only sing, but they also use weaponry and mechs to fight off the "Deep Galactic Trade Organization" who try to bring them down. The story so far seems to be mostly focused on the new recruits auditioning to become new members. It's very Sailor Moon or Precure meets Macross to me so far...it's definitely not gonna win any awards for originality or clever writing, but it's fun, at least!

Wow, that actually sounds very Macross-esque. I just checked out the Wiki article and the actual AKB girls do voice acting for the show (but apparently do not play themselves). It looks like Sentai Filmworks released this in English, even.

greg wrote:Wow, that actually sounds very Macross-esque. I just checked out the Wiki article and the actual AKB girls do voice acting for the show (but apparently do not play themselves). It looks like Sentai Filmworks released this in English, even.

Yeah, I was surprised to see that Sentai just released the first season (I can only find a blu-ray release on Amazon, though...did they release it on DVD? If they did I can't find it.) The soundtrack seems to be all AKB songs as well (some released under "No Name", like the op/end themes, I believe). I think it's cute that some characters are also based off of the names of AKB members, too, apparently? But yeah, like I said, very Macross-y. XD I think the more I watch this, the more it might become a new sort of "guilty pleasure" for me, haha.

The tough concept is the "entertainment ban" point, if you can get past the weirdness of that as a policy, then the rest is fine. It definitely has shades of Macross 7, whether you think that is "good" or "bad" is entirely up to you, take it as you will. As for the characters, every generation they take on the "name" of previous members (helps them to keep a tie in to the currently popular idol group). I DO find it odd that they have a dozen characters named after current members and close to a dozen "trainees" that are aspiring to be full members. And of those two sets, the "full" members (named after current AKB48 people) are voiced by traditional voice actors and the trainees (aspiring to be "named") are voiced by ACTUAL AKB48 members. (the most famous being "Mayuyu" Mayu Watanabe) One of the things that I find really amusing about the show is how the fans of AKB0048 impact the events. In the end, it's a "fluffy" show, but it is about the character interactions, if you're really interested in the larger machinations, you may be largely disappointed.

The show has definitely been released (in the US) on DVD, because I recently got the first season in the mail from DeepDiscountDVD. (^_^) I'm curious to watch the dub and see both how the voices line up, but also how well the music integrates. There's also plenty of mecha if that's what you love Kawamori for.

huh, finally found the DVD set on Right Stuf...I wonder why Amazon doesn't seem to have it on DVD? Weird.

Yeah, my expectations where rather low when I started, so I was pleasantly surprised when I was like "Oh, it IS kinda like Macross, isn't it?" It seems like Macross-Lite, like you said--fluffy sort of stuff. But hey, that's cool with me. I like fluffy stuff sometimes, helps cheer you up after watching something serious or sad.

I'm curious if they redid the music or left it as-is in the dub.