Anime #29--Not Quite "Anime"

Anime has had such a big influence on the west in the past twenty years or so, and consequently, we have incorporated these influences into our own pop culture.

The first example that comes to my mind is Avatar: The Last Airbender. Avatar is the famous Nick series created by Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko which just aired its series finale on July 19th. I am slightly ashamed to say that I watched most of the series online first, then got the DVDs from the library. ^_^;; I couldn't wait. I wanted to know which pairings won out in the end. And I'm very happy to say that the pairings I liked were the triumphant ones, ESPECIALLY the Katara pairing. (Kataang vs. Zutara--one of the scariest pairing battles I've ever seen)
Mike and Bryan often cite Miyazaki-sensei as one of the inspirations for Avatar.

The best anime balances great action sequences with humor and emotion, something we try to do on Avatar. We love all the films of Hayao Miyazaki, especially Spirited Away and Princess Mononoke. Both movies deal with spirituality and the environment in an entertaining way. Also, there's a lot of great animation."[1]

It's also been confirmed that Appa's design is based on the Catbus from My Neighbor Totoro. Of course, Disney, Pixar, and hopefully any animation studio in the world also lists Miyazaki-sensei as an influence.

Original English-language manga or OEL is more common than animated shows. To quote wikipedia, my favorite non-school research source:

Original English-language manga or OEL manga is the term commonly used to describe comic books or graphic novels in the "international manga" genre of comics whose language of original publication is English.^[1] The term international manga, as used by the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, encompasses all foreign comics which draw inspiration from the unique "form of presentation and expression" found in Japanese manga.[2]

I personally don't have much experience with English mangas. The only ones I can think of offhand that I've read are Dramacon and RE:play. RE:play is the better of the two, though Dramacon is a fan favorite because it depicts conventions accurately and, ::gasp:: has a (semi) attractive GUY. ZOMG ROMANCE LET'S ALL READ IT. ::fangirl spazz:: -_-;; I dislike the main characters of that series, so the only merit of it is the subject matter.
Replay centers on a band and... also a mysterious good looking guy. But the lead female character (who is actually the main character, not the guy) is much less annoying than whatsherface from Dramacon, so I like it better.
Two titles is hardly a representation, though. OEL titles are not bound by genre, same as manga. OELs, however, are NOT American comic books. They are specifically stylized like Japanese comics, but made in America. Marvel, DC, and the like do not fall under the OEL category. Those are just... I dunno, comic books? I'm not much of a comic book reader, sad to say.
OEL are also very commonly published online. Again, I have little knowledge of this, as I've never actually read an OEL webcomic. (I did, for a few months, follow 8-Bit Theater, but stopped because I used to have dial up and it took too long to load) They're out there though, and can probably be found without too much trouble. I know at artist alleys, many artists sell comics, but also hand out advertisements for their webcomics. (which may or may not be the same series they are selling)

Reviews #8--Eureka Seven

With the exception of .hack//sign, this is the third mecha series out of the last 4 reviews I've done. Unlike Code Geass, though, Eureka Seven is very specifically a mecha series. A friend of mine got me into this series two years ago, but I'm still only on episode 18 because I don't watch episodes online. The library only owns up to volume 4, but I'm working to fix that.

The protagonist of Eureka Seven is a young teenage boy named Renton Thurston (like Lelouch, and half the male protagonists in the dubbed anime world, voiced by Johnny Yong Bosch). Renton's father is the "hero", Adroc Thurston who somehow saved the world and discovered lots of things about LFOs, trapar, and the first summer of love. Because of my long break from the series and the differences between the anime and manga, I have no idea what exactly about those things he discovered.
I CAN however tell you that "trapar" is "transparent light" and is a kind of invisible "wave" that can be ridden with a lift-board--basically, you surf in the sky. An LFO is a "Light Finding Operation, a mecha that can lift board, and yes, the pop-culture reference is intentional, especially when the military LFOs are called KLFs, and there's no point in finding out what the acronym is because it's a British band and that's all you really need to know. The show is ridden with pop-culture references, everything from the episode titles all being based on real songs, to the characters "Jobs" and "Woz" (Apple founders), to Frank Lloyd Wright's Falling Water in episode 16. No, I'm not kidding.

Anyway, Renton's father did some amazing stuff, but died. Renton is a loner, though everyone gives him attention because of his father. He's a great mechanic thanks to his grandfather, Axel Thurston, and loves to lift. (the act of lift boarding) One day, a girl in an LFO crashes into his house. That girl is the title character, Eureka, whose past, identity, and everything in general is nothing but a big mass of spoilers. I read the manga, so I get it (at least somewhat) but the anime doesn't reveal most of it until the 20s.

The series is animated by some of the folks who did Cowboy Bebop, and the studio that did Fullmetal Alchemist. The animation is spot-on, with everything from emotional scenes between Eureka and Renton to spectacular LFO board-riding fight scenes. The English voice acting is great, with such actors as Johnny Bosch, Crispin Freeman, Stephanie Sheh, and down there with a somewhat minor character, Megan Hollingshed. I have no problems with any of the acting, now that I've gotten into this trend of watching the English dub instead of the Japanese. I just figure if Bandai took the time to dub it, I ought to take the time to watch it. In fact, all of the last four titles I've reviewed were released by Bandai. What happened to my "FUNimation is the king of dubbing!" standpoint?

Overall, an exciting, yet emotional title. It's got all the stuff you'd expect with mecha anime, which Code Geass is significantly lacking. (emotional bonding with the mecha and so forth) There's a great story, though it takes a while to get through it. I'm itching for the rest of Holland's past, but so far, they have not obliged. Eureka alone is complicated enough for the relationship, but there's at least 4 on the ship, though only two ever get much development. Not to mention the other characters with the military, who really complicate things.
Great show! Though perhaps I'm a bit biased, but I give it an A.
As always, it was featured on Adult Swim, so 13+. It's not particuarly graphic or explicit (so far), but just to get your head around the emotional stuff, you ought to be 13.

Reviews #7--Gurren Lagann

Tenga Toppa Gurren Lagann, ("Heaven Shattering Crimson Face") brought to America as just Gurren Lagann, is yet another mecha series I've taken an interest in. A friend of mine lent me the first two DVDs, and so you get to hear about them.
Just for the novelty of it, I'd love to see a shojo mecha series. Mecha in itself, is a shonen genre, but I really would love to see the differences if they aimed it at girls. Being a shonen, we've got all the shonen plot points: overconfident male fighting-type, shy with some sort of hidden inner talent/magic/drill/whatever not-normally-a-fighter type, busty girl with some sembalnce of a purpose to thinly veil the fanservice, and STUFF BLOWING UP. Though more general fights than explosions.
Gurren Lagann takes place on an unknown planet which may or may not be post-apocalyptic Earth. People live underground, and except for Kamina, deny the existence of a surface. Our main character is 14-year-old Simon, a shy scrawny kid who's really good with a drill. The people drill out to expand their village, since they can't go up. One day while drilling, Simon find a tiny drill. No, I'm not joking. He shows it to Kamina, 18-something cocky punk who wants to break out of the village. Immediately afterwards, he pulls Simon into his "Team Gurren" and uses a herd of some sort of weird animal to break out. He fails, Simon goes back to drilling, and this time finds a "face". 'Tis a mecha, which they are forced to use when a "Gunman" falls though their ceiling being chased by aforemnetioned busty girl. Her name is Yoko, and she's a killer shot with a rifle. After killing the Gunman with the mecha--named Lagann by Kamina, Simon, Kamina, and Yoko bust through to the surface.

Reasons for: It's a fun show, and you can't help but be pulled in by that. Kamina's definitions of manhood make you want to learn to fight just so you can apply them. The mecha piloting is plausible, with neither Simon nor Kamina being especially good when they start, and only winning through the immense powers of the Gurren and Lagann, and eventually, the Gurren Lagann. Yoko really DOES have a purpose, unlike other fanservice characters I've reviewed lately (coughKarenCodeGeasscough) and she's good with that rifle. The general plotline is tried-and-true, but the idea of a planet populated by beastmen that force people to live below the surface is intriging, and keeps you watching.
Very nice opening and ending, as well. First time in a while that I've liked the ending theme song of a show.

Reasons against: KAMINA, SHUT UP. I don't know if I love him or hate him. People get annoyed by Naruto's overconfidence, fighting abilities that he didn't earn, and general attitude in general, and Kamina's much the same. He doesn't have the slightest clue what he's doing, but he just charges blindly forward and pulls through in the end. Some of the "manly" things he does are just ridiculous. When he forces Simon to jump on top of his mecha instead of just picking him up, for example--long minutes of a battle are spent on Kamina smacking the Lagann away instead of letting it combine. Really, Kamina, how far did you need to take that? He's the heart of the show so far, now will he carry it or kill it? I'm sorry, but I want to see more of Simon, the ACTUAL MAIN CHARACTER, and not Simon whining "I'm afraid, let's go home!". What home? Am I the only one who saw the Gunman destroy it?!
For the first time since Yuugiou, I've got animation to complain about. Is it just me, or was the animation different in episode 4? That's not cool, Gainax. Transfer some of the budget on making Yoko as suggestive as possible and get some consistency.

Overall: I like it, but I just don't see what makes it SO great. B+ so far, but because I've read and know what's going to happen, A-.

Reviews #6 - .hack//sign

Every otaku has that first series that they look back on fondly, silently thanking the creator for making such a wonderful show that turned them onto the world of anime. If you haven't figured it out by now, mine's Yuugiou, created by Kazuki Takahashi. Why, then, do I bring the subject up at all for a review of .hack? It's a interesting situation I have with .hack//sign. (pronounced "dot hack sign") If personal anecdotes aren't your style, skip ahead to the review below.

BORING STORY
About 5, maybe 6 years ago, I turned 12 or 13. For my birthday I got this awesome necklace with a stone bear. (hence my thing for polar bears now) I wore this thing all the time, including to a Duquesne basketball game that my father dragged me to. Somewhere along the way, the necklace fell off, and I lost it forever. That fateful necklace-losing day, before the game started, we decided to roam the Student Union. (more like my dad decided and I blindly followed and possibly complained) There was a TV on somewhere in the union, and being a bored tween and an American, I of course paused to watch it. There was a guy with white hair, red markings on his face, and eyes that bespoke of horrors and pain. This guy, whoever he was, had some sort of horrible angsty backstory, and I had no idea what it was. I also remember him smiling despite the eyes-of-angst, but I think that's imagined. We left and came through the same place again, and there were a group of oddly dressed people, including said white-hair-red-marked-angsty man, and the best I recall it was dark, and rocky.
White-hair-red-marked-angsty man was on my mind for the rest of the day. Who was he? What show was that? Why was he so angsty? It nagged at me for a while, and then I forgot about it.
For some reason, about a year later, I decided to go back and look up just what it was I had seen. After searching old tv schedules online, I narrowed it to a few titles, among them .hack//sign.
After 6 years of buildup, I have finally seen .hack//sign. I realize now that if I had gone on any anime forum anywhere and asked about "really angst-filled white-haired red-markings-under-eyes guy?" I would've gotten an answer of ".hack//sign".

REVIEW
It's an interesting experience to know and be somewhat in awe of an anime for this long, and yet at the same time, not know a thing about it. I've never seen much discussion about .hack//sign, nor have I read reviews. I had absolutely no idea how good it was, or what it was about.
.hack//sign is part of the extremely complicated .hack franchise. If you want the entire story you have to watch the anime, play all the video games, and read the light novels. Or, you could just watch this anime, because you certainly don't need any prior knowledge to watch it.

.hack//sign is almost entirely set in an MMORPG (massive multiplayer online role playing game) called "The World". Our main character is an angsty-looking tween-to-teen male Wavemaster (magic user, spellcaster, magician--take your pick) named Tsukasa. The first episode starts with Tsukasa waking up in a dungeon, not knowing how he got there or what happened to him before. Mimiru, a female teenage Heavy Blade comes across him, introduces herself, and asks him if he's okay because he looks SO angsty. Everything about Tsukasa screams emo backstory, right down the oh-so-subtle marks on his cheeks. ANGST, ANGST, ANGST. And yet, while the main character is screaming angst, it's in a very tolerable and somewhat likable way. It's not like, say, Lelouch and his "my mother is dead, my sister is blind, RAWR" kind of way, it's a "everyone hated me so I hate them but I'm really a scared little boy (girl?) deep down". Tsukasa's backstory is actually not something I've ever seen before, and I have to say a little creepy.

Back to the story. Mimiru wonders about the angsty Wavemaster, and happens to run across him again. She tries to be friends, but Tsukasa in his anti-social-yet-likableness, leaves. We eventually meet Mimiru's friend, Bear, a middle-aged male heavy blade; Bear's friend BT, a 20-30something female Wavemaster; Subaru, a I-swear-she-was-an-elementary-schooler-but-is-apparently-the-same-age-as-Tsukasa female... uh... Axe; Also, Silver Knight, her 23-year old sword-wielding protector; Crim, a 20-30something Long Arm (spear); and Sora, a male Twin Blade whose age isn't revealed until the last episode.
For a 25-28 episode series (depending on how you count the OVAs) the pacing is incredibly slow. All the plot revelations could easily be made in 13 episodes. But they take their time to flesh out the characters and give various red herrings and misleading relationships. For example, Tsukasa/Mimiru, the pairing you would most naturally expect... that gets very complicated, indeed, and by episode 10, you think it's not how you thought it would go down in episode 1, and by 25, you're wondering how you ever thought that in the first place. I give the series due credit for not falling into any stereotypical relationship traps, especially with BT, (BT and Bear, BT and Sora, BT and Crim) and with Bear.
If you don't like watching a slow-moving character-driven series, run away. Run far, far away. If you're willing to put up with complicated relationships and NOT KNOWING WHAT IS GOING ON even at the end of the series, sit down and grab some popcorn. There's almost 12 hours of character-y goodness in store for you. (and some nice ideas for cosplayers) It's not your typical anime, that's for sure. Where Code Geass could fit every mold in the book, .hack fits almost none of them. Surprisingly, it was Mimiru who won the battle for my favorite character, not Crim, Bear, Sora, or BT, like I'd expect. There was just something about the very complicated relationship that she had with Tsukasa that I liked. BT would've been my first guess for likable, but even that character type can't always do it for me. Maybe I needed some I-never-had-friends-before-I-met-you-guys kind of thing.

Tsukasa, while not my overall favorite, certainly has his moments. Oh, also, Macha! How can I forget everyone's favorite mysterious cat? There's a cat-player that's around when the trouble starts and is somehow connected. How, you will have to wait until the third-to-last-episode or soemthing ridiculous like that to find out.
In summary, good series, strays off the well-beaten paths of "high school drama", "believe in yourself", "friendship conquers all", "willpower and inner talent beat all competition" and just about anything that would stick it in a genre. There is also a significant lack of inappropriate violence, language, sexual themes, or anything at all. Save for... erm... that one relationship, but I can't really say it's inappropriate, just... mature. I will never recommend this anime series for anyone below 13, and I'd really say 14 or 15 to make sure you'll get everything, but it's not going to scar you for life if you DO watch it.

Rating: A
-Breaks new ground, excellent character development, good story, good animation
-Pacing can be a little slow at times, and confusion about storyline--what just happened? How do things END? Enough gets explained that you can watch it without going totally crazy, but the rest of the loose ends will nag at you for a while.

Anime #28 - Pixar?

Happy Thanksgiving, all! Despite having a massive amount of words left to write for NaNoWriMo, I am finally updating this blog! Yay! ^__^

Today's topic is actually NOT anime. I recently rented WALL-E, which I watched for the second and third times. (only managed to catch it once in theaters because of my trip to Australia) I love all the Pixar movies, some (coughToyStorycough) more than others (coughCarscough). It has been said that Pixar is the closest American equivalent to Studio Ghibli, and I agree with that. What with Disney trying to get WALL-E a Best Picture nomination (not just best animated, Best Picture. As in that thing that went to No Country for Old Men, The Departed, Crash, Million Dollar Baby, LOTR, Chicago, A Beautiful Mind, and only has had one animated nonimee EVER) I thought it was a good time to discuss them. Personally, I think if Beauty and the Beast could get the nomination in '91, and Juno could get the nomination last year, I don't see why WALL-E can't. But that's me being horribly biased to a romance sci-fi Pixar animated silent film directed by the guy that did Finding Nemo with sound design by the guy that did sound design for the original Star Wars.

Anyway, along with being compared to Ghibli, Pixar's head honcho, John Lasseter, is good friends with Hayao Miyazaki-sensei. Lasseter oversees the dubs for every one of the Ghibli films that Disney releases. Ghibli did a short titled "Thank you, Mr. Lasster", but unfortunately I ave no idea what it's about. Both companies are related and make amazing films, so to broaden your knowledge of good animation, here's a brief rundown of Pixar.

Wikipedia Pixar Article

Pixar started off as The Graphics Group, a branch of Lucasfilm that worked with ILM to make special effects for films. Steve Jobs, Apple CEO, bought the company from Lucas and gave it the title we know now, Pixar. They then were primarily a hardware company, selling computers to the military and medical institutions. Disney became a regular patron of theirs, purchasing computers to make the animation process more efficient. To try to sell more computers, John Lasseter entered shorts the company had done at SIGGRAPH, a computer graphics convention. Pixar brought the house down at SIGGRAPH. After that, they started to animate commercials for things like Lifesavers and Listerine. Disney wound up signing a three-picture deal with them, which gave us Toy Story and A Bug's Life.

With Toy Story 2, however, a disagreement arose. Pixar had upgraded the film to a theatrical release, but it had been planned as a direct-to-video, so Disney didn't want to count it as part fo the three-picture deal. Pixar wasn't happy about that, nor were they happy about the fact that their current arrangement gave Disney the full story and sequel rights to their films. Pixar produced, but Disney marketed and distributed. Pixar tried to get them down to only distribution, which would give them their own story rights, AND they wanted the rights to the films that they had already agreed to make but were not in production yet.
The negotiations between Michael Eisner, Disney CEO, and Steve Jobs were very difficult.
Finally, in 2006, Disney bought Pixar. Jobs still held 50% of Pixar stock, which after the deal translated into 7% of Disney stock. Lasseter got upgraded to Chief Creative Officer of Disney AND Pixar, and also works on rides for the theme parks.
The result of all that is a very complicated relationship between Pixar and Disney. While Disney apparently owns distribution and marketing rights, Pixar is still a separate entity from Disney. I'm not sure exactly how everything works and who gets paid what, but I can tell you with certainty that there is a difference between Disney and Pixar films. Disney, like every other uncreative studio in the country, has jumped on the CG bandwagon and only releases computer animated movies. Meet the Robinsons is NOT Pixar. BOLT is NOT Pixar. Those are Disney movies, made at Disney studios with Disney CG software. Pixar animates at their studios in Emerville, CA, and uses, among other things, RenderMan.

Pixar has made the following feature films:
(links go to that film's entry in the library catalog so you can order them for yourself. Though you might be better off buying WALL-E for yourself because there's 730 holds, and it looks like the library copy is the one-disc, not the special edition 3-disc)

Toy Story -1995
A Bug's Life - 1998
Toy Story 2 - 1999
Monsters Inc. - 2001
Finding Nemo - 2003
The Incredibles - 2004
Cars - 2006
Ratatouille - 2007
WALL-E - 2008

And they will be releasing the following films:
Up in theatres May 29, 2009
Toy Story 3 in theatres June 18, 2010
Cars 2 in theatres 2011^[1]
The Bear and the Bow in theatres around December 25, 2011^[1]
Newt in theatres Summer 2012^[2]

Awards
Every Pixar film starting in 2001 has been nominated for Best Animated Feature at the Academy Awards, only starting with Monsters Inc. because the award didn't exist before then. Of those, only Monsters Inc. and Cars haven't won, losing to Shrek and Happy Feet, respectively Everything Pixar has ever made has won awards, but the total is far too large to completely list. See the previous link for the wikipedia article if you want to see ALL the awards. (and I mean all, everything from the Annies to Spike TV's Scream Awards) Here's just the Oscar wins and nominations:

Academy Awards

1995: Toy Story

• Best Original Score - Musical or Comedy
• Best Original Screenplay
• Best Original Song, "You've Got a Friend"

1998: A Bug's Life

• Best Original Score - Musical or Comedy

1999: Toy Story 2

• Best Original Song, "When She Loved Me"

2001: Monsters, Inc.

• Best Animated Feature
• Best Original Score
• Best Original Song, "If I Didn't Have You"
• Best Sound Editing

2003: Finding Nemo

• Best Animated Feature
• Best Original Score
• Best Original Screenplay
• Best Sound Editing

2004: The Incredibles

• Best Animated Feature
• Best Sound Editing
• Best Original Screenplay
• Best Sound Mixing

2006: Cars

• Best Animated Feature
• Best Original Song, "Our Town"

2008: Ratatouille

• Best Animated Feature
• Best Music, Original Score
• Best Sound Editing
• Best Sound Mixing
• Best Original Screenplay

If you're interested in learning more about Pixar, head to that wikipedia article, the official Pixar website, The (unofficial, but very reliable) Pixar Blog, or this book that was just published.

EDIT: WALL-E is nominated for Grammy Awards for: Best Score Soundtrack Album for Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media (Thomas Newman), Best Song Written for Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media (For the track "Down To Earth"; Peter Gabriel & Thomas Newman), and Best Instrumental Arrangement (For the track "Define Dancing"; Peter Gabriel & Thomas Newman).

Reviews #5--Code Geass

When Uncle Yo declared his campaign for Kira/Zero '08, I didn't know who Zero was, but how much worse can you get than Kira? Guy with a magic killing notebook who wants to kill all the "bad" people in the world? How about guy who can force anyone to obey him when he makes eye contact? They're both brilliant, but clinically insane. And, so, simply because they are the most absurd, and yet still remarkably qualified presidential candidates... KIRA/ZERO '08!

On to the review. Code Geass is one of those new ones that I'd heard of but hadn't had the chance to watch. To be honest, all I've read/watched for about 3 months now is Shonen Jump, and various things by CLAMP and Yu Watase. What made me decide to finally watch it was a combination of: a) I did not have school yesterday, b) the "Adult Swim moved it to the death block?!" controversy, and c) Megan Hollingshead has a recurring role. So I get on wikipedia and search for her character. I spent most of yesterday afternoon between List of Code Geass Episodes, List of Code Geass Characters, and Youtube. The episodes told me that Megan's character, Villetta Nu, was in episode 14. So I went to episode 14. In the last about 5 minutes of the episode, she says all of ONE WORD. Feeling cheated, I go on to 15, which she's also in. Well, I get a whole awkward minute this time. I've said it before, and I'll say it again--as a female viewer, I do NOT appreciate fanservice! But compared to how she is in the beginning of the series, and let's face it, just about everyone she's ever voiced outside of Nurse Joy, she was cuuuuute. I kept watching. By midnight last night, I had watched episodes 1, 2, 14-19, and 21-25. 21 had the most of her, and the most of me going... "WTF, a nice character?!" Seriously, she is a really sweet character when she doesn't know who she is. That must make episode 25 especially painful for Ohgi...
Code Geass takes place in post-conquered-by-England Japan, instead of just plain old post-apocalyptic Japan. The Holy Empire of Britannia rules half of Europe, (though not Britain itself??) Russia, half of Africa, both of the Americas, Iceland, Greenland, New Zealand, and Japan. The Chinese Federation and the European Union are the other two superpowers, but a few nations, like Australia, Germany, and Britain, are neutral. I don't know what China holds and what Europe holds, and I don't really care. Here's a map from season 2 when they create the UFN, and it's just Britannia versus everyone else.

For seven years, Britannia has been oppressing Japan, renaming it "Area 11", and dubbing its citizens "elevens" rather than Japanese. Needless to say, the Japanese are not happy with this.

On to the actual main characters. Lelouch is basically Light Yagami, but a slightly better chance of being straight. Despite being the leader of the most successful Japanese rebel group, he is, in fact, a Britannian Prince: Lelouch Vi Britannia. He gives up that name for Lelouch Lamperouge. You really have to love Japanese people trying to make up English names. Especially when they managed to get REAL English names, and the dubbers use the literal Japanese pronunciation. (Karen! Karen! Not "Kallen!")
One day, he gets mixed up with some eleven terrorists, and winds up meeting a mysterious girl named C.C. (pronounced "C2") who wound up being the terrorists' cargo, instead of the expected poison gas. The Britannia army shows up and tries to kill Lelouch, but the girl takes the bullet, saying "he must not die!". Despite taking the bullet between the eyes, she does not yet die, and makes a contact with Lelouch. In exchange for some great mysterious power that not only can save him from the dozen soldiers, but let him change the world, he must fulfill her greatest wish. Power corrupts, you will be isolated because of your power, blah blah, Lelouch accepts, and orders the men to die. Which they do, in splendid fashion, each pulling out their gun, and happily shouting "with pleasure, sir!" Anyone see The Happening? Yeah.

It progresses from there, with Lelouch comandeering Villetta Nu's Knightmare Frame (the mechas) though his new power. (while I think about how much work would it take to get audio from Code Geass and sync it to season 4, or at least episode 173?) He creates an alternate identity, "Zero", leader of the Black Knights, which is formed from the old terrorist group that this whole mess started with. Their current leader, Ohgi, becomes the other half of what is well on its way to becoming my second-favorite pairing. I'll hide the next part in case anyone cares about spoilers.
Reasons I'm now in love with Ohgi/Villetta: (highlight to see) First off, my favorite paring is Jounouchi/Mai. That's pretty much set in stone. What happens between Jou and Mai? They don't get along at first, then they're good friends, she duels a crazy guy and forgets who he is, remembers him, gets penalty game'd, he tries to save her, she is saved but not by him, then she comes back next season and tries to kill him because she's emo over the penalty game. What happens between Viletta and Ohgi? They're on opposite sides. He finds her left for dead, takes her back to his apartment, where she can't remember anything. They get along really well, then she remembers who she is, and shoots him in the stomach. I haven't seen the rest of it yet, I'm quoting from wikipedia now. Later on, he stops someone from shooting her, Then there's something where he's going to be executed but he isn't and she's happy. then she's just going to kill him, he confesses his love for her, they get ambushed, Sayoko tries to kill her, Ohgi jumps in the way, takes two knives in the chest, falls off a cliff, and even though she was about to kill him, Villetta jumps off the cliff after him. I bold because that was just about EXACTLY what happened in Doom. Then they take her hostage to ensure Ohgi's cooperation, but she gets out, and eventually she winds up pregnant with his child and they get married. (I said spoilers, didn't I?) So I like the pairing. Also, she's fanservice-y, (not that I like that, just that it's in common with Mai) she's a good fighter, she's voiced by Megan Hollingshead. He's a good guy, kind of the second-in-command, nice, also a good fighter, reaaally cute and shy with her, and... well, looks and sounds nothing like Jou, but the rest is close enough. I love the pairing. Really. How they meet is the most common polarshipping fanfic plot.


I haven't seen enough to pass total series judgment, but for episode 1, I'm going to give it around a B+. It just feels too much like Death Note, and I do not like Lelouch. At all. I can't even believe that his name is Lelouch. I haven't seen a name that ridiculous since Breaking Dawn.
The artwork is fantastic (they must really have a nice budget for this show, because I was regularly pointing and going "hey, that was really well done!"!) the plot is... interesting, if not entirely original. I think it's funny, actually; Gurren Lagann is... well, not a TYPICAL mecha anime, but more typical than CG, and Geass is the embodiment of nearly every well-known anime type there is. High school, Mecha, post-apocalyptic Japan, AND Death Note. (and FMA brother speeches in the second season) There's even some swordfighting/samurai stuff with Suzaku and Todoh, and the Kyoto families, and some references to Western religion when Zero calls himself a "Messiah" and says another character will be his "Pilate". About all we're missing is a sports team and some ninjas. EDIT: (anime fall) It's got a ninja. -_-;;

I'm going to recommend it, even though I still consider it a pale imitation of Death Note. While Death Note is the best in its genre, BECAUSE Code Geass combines so many different elements, it's really interesting. It can get confusing keeping track of the characters, something that Death Note didn't usually have to worry about, but I personally like shows with large casts and multiple plotlines, because it keeps things moving. It depends though on HOW those plotlines are executed. I think Geass on the whole does a pretty good job, giving enough time to characters that aren't Lelouch to clearly explain what's going on, and keeping interest. They cut out all the unnecessary stuff and just give you what you need to know. Even, say, when Cornelia and Euphemia were hanging out together, and they were just lying on the grass, it wasn't boring (well, nothing's boring when you start at episode 14) and it served to characterize both Euphie and Cornelia, but it wasn't a whole episode. Fullmetal Alchemist, I love you to death, but... episode 16? How many ways do we REALLY need to define that they boys want to get their limbs back?
So Geass keeps things moving, has very nice artwork, and has a little something for everyone. Mechas, bishonens, two boys you could pair if you were so inclined, romance, crazy guy with a chainsaw, post-destruction Toyko, high school uniforms, a little crippled girl, a cat, and a mysterious magic girl who can't die. WARNING! Fanservice! There were two episodes that I thankfully was watching dubbed that had things actually blurred. 16/17+, for violence, fanservice, language, and crazy take-over-the-world plots. I'm also recommending it just because it's so popular, and you might feel out of the loop if you don't have at least basic knowledge.

EDIT: Now after having seen the whole first season, I'm going to change my grade to an A-. It manages to combine all those different plotlines fairly well, and the artwork is amazing. Some of the characters really pulled me in, too. Lelouch, Suzaku, and the whole high school cast can go die in a hole for all I care, but I actually really like most of the Britannia cast. Euphie, Cornelia, Guilford, Villetta, Dalton, Lloyd, and whatsherface that works with Lloyd. Todou's pretty cool, and Ougi I like by default since he's with Villetta, and C2. Everyone else either bores me or has a past full of angst posing as character development. I don't like Lelouch because all he is is one big ball of ANGST. Blind crippled sister, dead mother, fighting against best friend (that he never smiles or jokes with or ANYTHING), whole "the world is rotten and I want to change it" Light Yagami complex, Shirley, Mao, Euphie, and evil father. Light, at least, didn't have any angst. ANY. He was a genius with a nice, well-off family that hated the world.
Good artwork, great plot, but lacking a bit with character development. Before you watch it, remember, Adult Swim rates it 17+!

Bethel Park Anime #27--Behind the Scenes

Alright, so I haven't quite exhausted the vast amount of anime stuff to talk about that doesn't involve reviewing specific titles. I started to write this about voice acting, due to the sudden re-kindling of my desire to meet Megan Hollingshead, who I just found out is RANGIKU on Bleach!
Not that I like Rangiku all that much, just that it's such a main role in a current popular anime. She wasn't really in much for a while, totally destroying any chance of her coming to a con. She still hasn't been to a con in 3 years, but I hope that'll change someday. I have to hope. Either that or get to Youmacon and meet Wayne Grayson.

Anyway, to the article. What exactly goes into producing anime? Well, first there's the animation technique. There's a dozen different ways of "animating", but the most commonly known and the one we'll be talking about is "traditional animation", "cel animation", "hand-drawn", or "classic". A cartoon. (as opposed to stop-motion, claymation, model animation, puppet animation, the one where you take flat piece and put them together, and of course, 3D animation)
The first thing done in ANY animation project is storyboarding. Storyboards look something like a comic strip, being a series of panels showing what the director wants to be animated, and the dialogue. (no word bubbles, though)
After the storyboard is drawn, character designs and model sheets are drawn. Then the backgrounds are chosen, based on the angles of the camera and positions of the characters.

Then the actual drawing of characters begins. Wikipedia does a much better job of explaining this than me, and let's face it, I'm just rephrasing what they say anyway. The first drawings are done by the key animator, who animates, as the name implies "key" frames. In a 16-frame per second animation, I guess that would be something like 4 or 5 frames. The animator constantly checks their work, and in American animation, where the voices are recorded first, the drawings are scanned and checked to see that the voices fit. The clean-up artists trace the key animators' work onto a clean sheet. Then the in-betweeners come in and finish all the stuff that the key animator didn't draw.

This is where things have started to drastically change. Here's how it to used to work:
Backgrounds are typically one big acrylic piece that the cellulose sheets are moved over. All the character animation is eventually transfered to cels, so called because they are made of cellulose, either by inking or photocopying. They are then colored, and finally, the filming process can begin.
Cels are placed on the background and filmed with an animation camera. They are moved for every frame, reminiscent of stop-motion animation.

Nowadays all of that is done digitally. I quote, "The last major feature film to use traditional ink and paint was Studio Ghibli's Princess Mononoke (1997);" Miyazaki himself drew around 80,000 frames of that film, and personally checked every of the 144,000.

After all the visuals are done, the voices, background music, and sound effects are added. I assume that voices are recorded afterwards to cut down on the budget, simplifying the animation from a specific mouth movement to a mouth just moving up and down. This also makes it very practical to dub anime into other languages, since there is very rarely a problem with another language not fitting the shape of the mouthflaps. There are times where specific sounds are animated, usually when a character is making an effort to say something. Offhand, the only example I can think of is from Yuugiou. (that will be the only offhand example of things I know VERY often) Episode 77, (Oh yes, I know the exact number. I go waaay beyond dork with this series, let me tell you.) part three of possessed Jounouchi (Joey) and Yuugi's death duel, Yuugi tries to break Malik's (Marik) possession by talking to Jou about his sister, Shizuka. Jounouchi, as a sign of the mind control weakening, says her name, and each syllable is animated. (Shi-zu-ka) Well, ironically enough, her name is the most accurately translated. "Shizuka" roughly translates to "peace" or "calm". Her name was translated as "Serenity". Unfortunately, this has one too many syllables for this particular scene, since there's really no other way to translate what was happening. This was solved easily enough, by having the English voice (Wayne Grayson) simply match the first three syllables to the mouthflaps, and let the fourth be spoken while transitioning to the flashback. The names are similar enough that the different word dubbed to the specific mouthflaps is unnoticeable.

The voice acting process in America can be found on the special features of a plethora of American released anime DVDs. The script is re-written for English to match mouthflaps, and hopefully keeping the dialogue still sounding like normal, well, dialogue. (I'm looking at you, early episodes of Bleach--"so what exactly the heck is that thing over there that I'm looking at?") Fullmetal Alchemist is one of the best examples of good American script adaption I know of.
The voice actors individually go into the studio and record their lines. They go into a booth, get a pair of headphones and a mike--all standard in any animation--and they watch the Japanese version. After they know what they're dubbing over, they get three beeps, and where the fourth would be, they start speaking the line, while the animation still plays so they can see what they're doing. (I think.)

Along with voices, background music and sound effects are added. Music is typically pre-recorded, and certain tracks are played depending on what the animators need for a scene. For example, this time in Fullmetal Alchemist, there is a very well-known (to fans of the series) theme for Ed and Al called "Brothers". There is a single recording of this, which is manipulated for each episode it is used in, rather than having an orchestra sit down and record for each episode.
I have very little idea how sound effects work in anime. I know a tiny bit from watching Avatar commentaries, and that it involves manipulating normal sounds, slowing, speeding, etc.

Finally, it's all put together and shown on TV, released on DVD, ripped to computers and fansubbed, and eventually, brought to America! Where they redub it, and hopefully leae it otherwise unchanged. Or 4kids gets it and dubs out anything remotely offensive or not-American. Which apparently are the same thing. -_-;;


Now, being fictional characters, we as fans can never meet our characters. We can, however, meet the voices that play them, and so voice actors are celebrities in our otaku world. As you can tell from my ramblings on Megan Hollingshead, Wayne Grayson, etc. I'm starting to get a hold of my obsession now, though. Really. Some voice actors go to conventions; certain very popular ones do just about nothing but go to conventions and voice-act. There is a group called the "50+" who have been to more than 50 conventions total. According to animecons.com, they are:

1. Steve Bennett
2. Robert DeJesus
3. Greg Ayres
4. Tiffany Grant
5. Vic Mignogna
6. Jan Scott-Frazier
7. Doug Smith
8. Monica Rial
9. Emily DeJesus
10. Kyle Hebert
11. Chris Patton
12. Scott McNeil
13. Mike McFarland
14. Toshifumi Yoshida

I've met 5 of them. ^__^ You'll have the chance to meet some of them, too, if you come to Tekko this spring! (don't you love my shameless plugging?)

Bethel Park Anime #26--1/2 Report 2008

Hard to believe just two short hours ago, Tekko 1/2 came to a close. For those of you who weren't (or were) there, he's my half-con report.

I didn't get there until almost 2, thanks to SATs, the need to find my costume, and my hilarious lack of ability to get around town. I tried to get from McKees Rocks back to MY OWN HOUSE and wound up in Kennedy. Where I then tried to get to Crafton, which I achieved, but wound up going to the West End Circle instead of 79 South. (which was what I wanted to do in the first place, from McKees Rocks, but I thought the circle was closed for construction)

Anyway, after a frightening experience in the circle which I never hope to repeat, I made it to the hotel, armed with duel disk and mullet wig. Yes, it is a wig. That is not my real hair. I was Jounouchi, not Joe Dirt, and not any other Yugioh character. (Jack Atlas? Duke? Bakura?) I would like to thank all the people who remembered me from previous cons. The one and only Tekko-Jou. I was genuinely surprised at the number of people who commented on the duel disk. It looks alright, I guess, but next to a real one it looks like a cheap piece of junk. People seem to like homemade things, though, so it was actually popular. Let's hope they like my attempt to make armor as much as the duel disk...

I met up with my friends, and scoped out the two-table dealers room. For 1/2, it was actually raelly nice to have some dealers. I picked up a Sailor Moon action figure for a friend, and my friends got some OLD-school manga. Not even book manga. Comic book manga! I didn't even know they made that. ^_^;;

We ran around looking at the various things to do. I talked a bit with some folks from last con (Kitty!L/Orihime, Aang/Cosmo, Sokka/Wanda) and then went to the game room. There wasn't any line on DDR, so I made a fool of myself on that for a bit. Then we went back to main events, where Uncle Yo was set to begin at 3:15. While waiting, I watched an impromptu anime charades going on in the corner. Basically it was "say a line, everyone guess the character". I felt the need to shout "WHO'S SO SMALL YOU WANT TO CRUSH LIKE AN ANT?" which was well-received. Then I immediately left the charades circle for the comedian.
Uncle Yo was hilarious. Five words to summarize ANY Miyazaki movie: A young girl eventually flies. AND IT'S TRUE! XD
I don't remember half the stuff he talked about now--Naruto ninjas not being secretive, hobo anime, The Dark Knight by Dr. Seuss, Light kill Near by addicting him to MMOs, WOWOW, shonen vs. shojo, and animaniacs Naruto names, to name a few. He's on youtube, he's on uncleyo.com, and he'll be at Tekko 7! Check him out!

After Uncle Yo, Con President Jim Gogol announced the currently confirmed guests: Greg Ayres, Colleen Clinkenbeard, Stephanie Sheh, and the legendary Johnny Yong Bosch! Sadly, Carrie Savage can't make it this year. She will be missed. I am VERY excited for Colleen, Stephanie, and Johnny. (Greg, too, of course, but I've never met the other three) Colleen is Riza Hawkeye and a director for FMA. Stephanie is Eureka, and Johnny is Renton!!! (Along with billions of other things) Eureka and Renton! Dude! The only thing better than that would be Vic Mignogna and Caitlin Glass for Ed and Winry. (or dare I say Wayne and Megan? But that dub is awful... HOLY SNAP, Megan is Rangiku?! I need to get a copy of Bleach! And find the Tekko guest wish list.)

Then more hanging out with friends, and meeting some new people. A fellow dressed as Near whose name I unfortunately forget approached me and we had a very interesting conversation about 5Ds, amoung other things. Then I went off to get Carrie's autograph with a friend, Yachiru, from anime club. She signed a mini-poster for Shuffle, and took a picture with me!

Back to my friends, and then to my car to retrieve my deck and Yugi-hair, since one of my friends agreed to wear it. I unfortunately did not witness this, but they went on a quest to find an ATM with Cosmo and Wanda, and she wore it outside the hotel. I wouldn't wear that thing outside the hotel. Heck, I didn't wear it at all. Kudos to you, my friend, for wearing the hair. (though perhaps it's less embarrassing when you're not a hopelessly obsessed fan of the series)

Come 6, I went to the RPG/CCG Room and played a match against... Ryan, I think, who was cosplayed as Sasori. With an interesting E-Hero/Synchro combo, he took the match 2-1. I had a couple of nice combos, but for the most part, my Amazonesses need work. It doesn't do much good to have a bunch of cards of the same type if there's no support. But it was immensely fun, and I got to overhear DnD discussions, in which Sid (aka Masquerade MC!) was participating. Uncle Yo also stopped in for a bit, but left before I could fangirl.

We finished the match after 7 (long match!) and I left to find my friends again. We talked a bit, and peaked in on the dance. Unfortunately, I'm neither a dancer nor raver, unless I'm heavly caffinated, and in the presence of a large group of people I know who are also making fools of them--I mean... 'dancing'. Yeah. "Dancing". Anyway, I usually don't do that, and the beginning of it was kind of lame, so we skipped that and headed to the video room, where we caught the end of episode 2 of Fate/Stay Night. It was cool-looking, though I've seen the "killed my mysterious magic bad guy and brought back to life" thing more than enough times before.

That ended quickly, though, since we got in late, so my friends decided to spend the last of their time in the game room. Rockband was COMPLETELY empty, so the three of us, along with a very kind... staffer? He wasn't wearing a green shirt, so I'm not sure. Anyway, a nice guy showed us how to play. (None of us had ever played Rockband, only Guitar Hero) It was fun, though I found that I epically fail at drumming on medium, and even more epically fail at singing anything I've never heard before. Despite what my mother and choir director think, I can't site-read. |D But it was still fun.

I walked my friends to their ride (because their stuff was chilling in my car and I had to get it out for them) and went back up to get in a quick game of SSBM with, amoung others, Uncle Yo! He was very cool, and I hope he MCs the masquerade when he comes for Tekko 7.

Then the game room closed, and I headed back to the dealer's room to pick up a Sailor Moon action figure which apparently are very rare, and therefore will make a wonderful gift for my Sailor Moon friend. Everything else was closed at this point, so I decided to watch the "rave", being a loser and wanting to stay until the very end. Which I did. And then I left, wearing my costume all the way home.

So that was Tekko 1/2 2008. Make sure you all register for Tekko 7, because it's going to be AWESOME! I was personally at the DLLCC last week, and it's perfect for this. HUGE hallways, big random open spaces for picture-taking, stopping to chat, resting, line-waiting, etc, balconies for hanging and pics, giant exhibit hall, and very nicely equipped panel rooms. Getting there was a breeze from the north--I just got off the Ft. Duquesne bridge, took the Convention Center exit, and I was there. Plenty of parking, and a good part of town. If anyone has any complaints about the DLLCC, state them, and I will tell you all the wonderful things about it. The ONLY thing is the price, which is, I think, $5 more. And that's hardly anything, compared to how awesome this place is.

I am so excited for Tekko now. If it weren't for the massive amounts of homework and college applying I have to do, I'd work on my costume non-stop. A few of the staff people I talked to yesterday said there was a lot of programming to fill, so I'm going to sign up for as many panels as I can. I have three planned so far: the 4kids dub/original one, another "everything you want to know about YGO", and a Miyazaki one. With all the stuff, you'll hopefully see me. See you at Tekko!

Bethel Park Anime #25--More Tekko 1/2!!

Tekko 1/2 now has a website!
On this beautiful page, you will discover that Tekko 1/2 also for the first time EVER has guests!! Carrie Savage, who is a great voice actor and a wonderful human being, is going to be attending! (Ms. Savage, I will never forget that you encouraged me in my career choice at autograph signings last Tekko. And I'm very sorry I wasn't able to purchase anything at auction. You were a wonderful auctioneer.) Her bio can be found on the aforementioned website.
Also, they've managed to score a cool-sounding stand-up comedian who specializes in geek stuff, and a CMU band. Of course, there will be a video game room, and a costume contest. As I said before, I'll be cosplaying Jounouchi (season 4, Doom, version) as always. Gotta get some use out of that silly foam duel disk I made, right?
A single panel room will be there, and the schedule is now up.


So, see you from 11:00AM-9:00PM on October 4th at the Best Western in Greentree! Detailed directions to the Western can be found on my previous entry about Tekko 1/2.

Don't forget to look for updates on the Tekkoshocon home page.

Bethel Park Anime #24--CLAMP

Since I've been reviewing a good amount of CLAMP works (and also plan to put up a Tsubasa review) I thought this would be a good time to do an article about them.

CLAMP began as a doujinshi circle. "Doujinshi" in America is mostly thought to mean a comic form of a fanfiction, but many doujinshi are original works. Courtesy of wikipedia:

The term dōjinshi is derived from dōjin (同人, dōjin^? dōjin, literally "same person", used to refer to a person or persons with whom one shares a common goal or interest) and shi (誌, shi^? , a contraction of zasshi, meaning "magazine")

Unfortunately, many doujinshi can be found at 18+ tables at conventions. I currently own one doujinshi, which I'm very happy to say is entirely explicit content-free (except that Mai pretty much always dresses questionably, but that's another story). Anyway, CLAMP started as a doujinshi circle. Whether they were original or basing their comics on other series, I cannot say.

There were originally 12 circle members, which was then cut to 7, and finally the 4 that currently make up the group: Ageha Ohkawa, Mokona, Tsubaki Nekoi and Satsuki Igarashi.

CLAMP generally errs on the side of shojo over shonen, though they're not quite as blatantly aimed at girls as, say, Yuu Watase. They have a very devoted fanbase, who take being a "CLAMP fan" very seriously. I have a friend that deems I am not worthy yet because I have not read enough titles. (Tsubasa, xxxHolic, Cardcaptor Sakura, Chobits, Clover, Magic Knight Rayearth, X, Wish, and Legal Drug are apparently not enough.) It also might be because I tend to point out all their flaws. For example, artwork. CLAMP can draw gorgeously, but they still haven't mastered the art of drawing CLEARLY. Now, it may just be me being exceptionally picky about that. I'm not a FLCL fan. When I look at a panel, I want to know what's happening NOW. I don't want to have to study it and make out which line is the person fighting, and which lines are just effects or to make it look pretty. I'm of the opinion that things should be very easy to read.
Here's an example from a volume of Tsubasa I was reading recently. (SPOILERS!)

http://www.onemanga.com/Tsubasa_Reservoir_Chronicles/122/12/
http://www.onemanga.com/Tsubasa_Reservoir_Chronicles/123/10/

...maybe not the best example of unclear, but hopefully you get the general idea.

The other telling trait of CLAMP's work is their extreme plot twists. That also means that I can't give an examples without spoiling anything. Not only do they have shocking, confusing, and sometimes illogical endings and reversals, they save revealing things until the absolute last minute. Vague hints are given, but nothing telling enough to remotely guess what's really going on. This can be very frustrating to readers who like to have more than pretty artwork and a vague sense of the story line to get them through a series. Tsubasa, for example, spent 17 volumes trying to retrieve Sakura's feathers. Now... things have changed drastically, to say the least. They're still going for feathers, but not with the same cast of characters.

Tsubasa is unique enough that I'm going to take a moment to talk about it. The exact title is Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle, the reservoir only being revealed (maybe?) in volume 17, and the opening sequence of the manga yet to be revealed at all. (with the new plot twists, more questions and no answers are added to that scene) Anyway, Tsubasa is a series aimed at those aforementioned devoted CLAMP fans. I do not know of any other series that have done this. In Tsubasa, CLAMP takes characters from other series of theirs, and puts them into different universes. It's not crossover with their other series, it's AU with other series characters. The main two protagonists are the well-known Sakura and Syaoran from Cardcaptor Sakura. Sakura's brother and Yukito also exist in their universe of "Clow". Sakura is the princess of a desert kingdom, and Syaoran in an archaeologist. They secretly love each other, and neither has confessed. Then a freak accident puts Sakura into a comatose state, "scattering her memories", and the high priest Yukito sends Syaoran to another world to collect them. Sounds like something out of a bad fanfic, right? Oh, wait... former doujinshi circle...
They are joined by original characters Kurogane and Fai, and old fan-favorite Mokona from Magic Knight Rayearth. If all that weren't enough, Tsubasa also crosses over with xxxHolic (pronounced "Holic", the Xs being a blank space like ___holic or [insert something you can be obsessed with] holic)

CLAMP is a well-loved, quirky group of artists, with a knack for torturing and pleasing fans at the same time. (Legal Drug, anyone?) Their works are celebrated, mocked, read casually, read devotedly, and known by many, many people. Who watched "Cardcaptors"? *raises hand* Any otaku worth their salt knows of CLAMP, and has generally read/watched SOMETHING by them. Cardcaptors/Cardcaptor Sakura is the most well-known, Chobits is the "best", and Tsubasa is the new hit. (FUNimation has a nice dub of Tsubasa out right now, and I would recommend it, along with the manga.) While certainly more shojo-y, CLAMP has something to offer to male and female fans alike. Go check them out!

Unfinished/current works

Name	Volumes Released	Current Status
Clover	4	Ran in the now cancelled Amie magazine.
Kobato (こばと。, Kobato ?)	3	Ran in Monthly Sunday Gene-X for seven chapters. Returned to publication in the November 2006 edition of Newtype magazine.
Legend of Chun Hyang (新・春香伝, Shin Shunkaden?)	1	The project was dropped after only a few chapters, though a recent interview has stated that Clamp would like to finish the work in the future.
Legal Drug (合法 ドラッグ, Gohō Drug?)	3	Not running in any magazine. According to Clamp, it will resume production soon.
Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle (ツバサ−RESERVoir CHRoNiCLE−, Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle ?)	24	Running since 2003 in Weekly Shōnen Magazine.
X/1999 (Ｘ, Ekkusu?)	18	Not running in any magazine since March 2003. Some social problems in Japan prevent Kadokawa from releasing further chapters. New chapters have surfaced on online manga sites.
xxxHolic (×××ホリック, Horikku?)	13	Running weekly since 2003 in Young Magazine.

Completed Works

Name	Publisher and Series	Volumes Released
Angelic Layer (エンジェリック レイヤー, Enjerikku Reiyā?)	Kadokawa Shoten Kadokawa Comics Series	5
Cardcaptor Sakura (カードキャプター さくら, Kādokyaputā Sakura?)	Kodansha KC Deluxe	12
Chobits (ちょびっツ, Chobittsu?)	Kodansha Young Magazine KC Deluxe	8
Clamp no Kiseki (CLAMPノキセキ, Clamp no Kiseki?)	Kodansha	12
Clamp School Detectives (CLAMP学園探偵団, Clamp Gakuen Tanteidan?)	Kadokawa Shoten Asuka Comics DX	3
Duklyon: Clamp School Defenders (学園特警デュカリオン, Gakuen Tokkei Dyukarion?)	Kadokawa Shoten Newtype 100% Comics	2
Magic Knight Rayearth (魔法騎士レイアース, Majikku Naito (Mahō Kishi) Reiāsu?)	Kodansha KC Deluxe	6
20 Mensō ni Onegai!!/20 Masks, Please!! (20面相におねがい!!, 20 Mensō ni Onegai!!?)	Kadokawa Shoten Newtype 100% Comics / Kadokawa Comics Series	2
Miyuki-chan in Wonderland (不思議の国の美幸ちゃん, Fushigi no Kuni no Miyuki-chan?)	Kadokawa Shoten Newtype 100% Comics Extra / Kadokawa Comics Series	1
The One I Love (わたしのすきなひと, Watashi no Suki na Hito?)	Kadokawa Shoten Young Rose Comics DX	1
RG Veda (聖伝, Sei-den?)	Shinshokan Wings Comics	10
Shirahime-Syo: Snow Goddess Tales (白姫抄, Shirahime-Shō?)	Kadokawa Shoten Asuka Comics DX	1
Suki Dakara Suki (I like, therefore I like) (「すき。だからすき」, "Suki; Dakara Suki"?)	Kadokawa Shoten Asuka Comics	3
Tokyo Babylon (東京BABYLON, Tōkyō BABYLON?)	Shinshokan Wings Comics / Wings Library	7
Wish	Kadokawa Shoten Asuka Comics DX	4

(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clamp_(manga_artists)#Unfinished.2Fcurrent_works
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clamp_(manga_artists)#Completed_Works)

Reviews #4--Chobits

Warning: The following review is about a title rated 16+.

Chobits by CLAMP.

In keeping with the CLAMP theme, I'll be looking at one of their more well-known titles, Chobits. Our main character, Hideki, is a rural guy from Hokkaido who moves to Tokyo for cram school since he didn't get into college. He lives in a futuristic world where computers are shaped like people and called "persocoms". Hideki, barely having enough money for an apartment, has no hopes of getting one of these fabulous computers. Then he finds a very cute female one in the trash, takes it home, and just like that, he's got a persocom named Chi. Chi isn't a normal perscom, though. She has no operating system, no serial number, and no manufacturer. She's also super-powerful, but can't say anything but "chi". It's up to Hideki to teach her.

CLAMP's famous title for the most part lives up to its fame. Only 8 volumes long, it's short, but that's a nice change for CLAMP. It says everything it wants to, and nothing more is really necessary. It's one of CLAMP's best paced works--hinting at the ending before we actually get there, who'd have thunk it? It's still CLAMP, though, so it still holds out as much as it can until the end. It's quite obviously trying to make a statement about love, and I would assume such issues as same-sex marriage/couples. It just swaps gender for persocoms. (we've seen that CLAMP is not averse to shonen-ai with Cardcaptor Sakura) I do like the ending. I'm even okay with the various things that get it that 16+ rating--mostly Hideki's girly magazines, a couple of odd situations Chi gets herself into, and the whole ending. It all helped develop the plot and wasn't just pointless fanservice (though there was a bit of that with Minoru's persocoms) Overall, I really like this title, and would recommend it to any otaku mature enough to not giggle every time Hideki says "porn". ::rolls eyes::
Rating: A-
Good story, well-paced, good artwork
Occasionally unclear artwork (this IS Clamp) and fanservice