Let Out a Wild Roar!

After seeing quite a bit of Tumblr pages devoted to the relatively new anime Tiger & Bunny, I decided to check it out.  After scrounging around the internet and finding a copy with English subtitles, I finally found the time to watch it.

Tiger & Bunny is a unique blend of the comic book superhero and anime.  This anime embodies one of the first real attempts of Japanese popular culture to create superheroes using Western conventions.  While Japan has plenty of its own superheroes, they all differ from Western superheroes in many ways (I can definitely go into more detail on this if people would like; however, for the time being, I'll leave it at that).  Tiger & Bunny, however, features around half a dozen superheroes who fit rather well into the Western idea of costumed heroes (aside from the mech use, which is a very Japanese twist).

Rather than spoil the anime for anyone who might be interested in watching it, I'd just like to point out a few of the things I greatly enjoy about it.  First of all, it's an anime about superheroes.  Who wouldn't love that?


Secondly, Tiger and Bunny are two of the coolest characters ever.  They're amazing partners (even if their partnership is reluctant at first) who show that teamwork and friendship are incredibly important.

And Kotetsu T. Kaburagi (Wild Tiger) is one of the best fathers in any medium of popular culture.  No joke.  He loves his daughter so much it's not even funny.  Sometimes I wish Kotetsu was my dad!

Kotetsu and his daughter, Kaede

Tiger & Bunny is currently being released in English on iTunes (sixteen episodes currently released).  However, I recommend the original Japanese with English subtitles (if you don't mind reading subtitles).  You can stream subbed episodes of Tiger & Bunny at VIZ Anime.  There's also a manga (which I haven't gotten around to reading yet), although the manga came out after the anime (which is somewhat strange; it's usually the other way around).  You can find the manga at mangareader.net.


The show is currently only one season long, but there's a movie that's already been released (Tiger & Bunny: The Beginning) and another movie in the works (Tiger & Bunny: The Rising) set to be released in Japan in Fall 2013.  The first movie will be released on Blu-Ray/DVD with English subtitles and will be on sale February 22, 2013. (Anime News Network)

The above examples are only a few reasons to watch Tiger & Bunny.  Honestly, getting into anything else would lead to spoilers, and I don't want to spoil anything.  I'll just leave it at this: anime + superheroes = AWESOME.  So go catch an episode and see what I'm talking about!  "It's time to let out a wild roar!"

Doctor Who 50th Anniversary: Multiple Doctors or Just Rumor?

Rumor has it that Stephen Moffat's script for the 50th Anniversary episode of Doctor Who will feature all 11 doctors!

Via BBC

I first heard about it from this article on Wired's GeekMom.  Apparently, even Eccleston, the 9th Doctor, who originally objected to ever reprising his role as the doctor, is reconsidering.

Unfortunately, the sixth Doctor, Colin Baker, denied any knowledge of a multi-Doctor episode on Twitter.  He was accused of just "hiding the truth", but he quickly quelled that assumption, and indicated that no one has approached him to reprise his role.

Moffat mentions in the tail-end of this Youtube interview the pressure of not wanting to let anyone down for the big anniversary episode, so even if it is not a multi-Doctor escapade, we can expect something to delight all Whovians.

If the rumor were true, this would not be the first time multiple Doctors have had to work together.  The 10th, 20th, and 30th anniversaries all featured crossovers with different regenerations.  And, an episode with all 11 would be one awesome episode!  I would most look forward to Eccleston reprising his role...he was my very first Doctor, and probably my favorite.

However, I have to believe that it's probably not true.  Just think of cramming 11 different Doctor personalities into one episode...it would just turn into one giant ego war, and I can't imagine anything getting accomplished at the end of the episode (except leaving fans with a lot of unanswered questions!)

Do you have anything you're looking forward to in the 50th Anniversary Special?

What "Ghost Hunt" Taught Me

So I recently re-watched an anime called Ghost Hunt, and during my second watch-through I found myself learning some interesting information.  Sure, it's a supernatural anime like any other, where things happen that obviously couldn't happen in the real world.  And granted, since it's a piece of Japanese popular culture, some things (like the portrayal of Catholicism) must be taken worth a grain of salt.

Ghost Hunt anime

However, there's quite a lot of real-world knowledge to be gained from the anime:

• Ghost Hunt can offer a starting point to learning new things about different religious and spiritual beliefs, such as Buddhism, Shintoism, and Onmyōdō, to name a few.
• Of course, these are just starting points.  The anime gets a lot of things right, but (obviously) it's all adapted into a supernatural anime, so don't assume you'll be able to ward off spirits with a few obsessively-perfected spells from the show.
• The debunking that Naru does in the anime is pretty amazing, especially for an anime focused on supernatural happenings (where often the cases are caused by supernatural occurrences).



Looks realistic, no?

• For example, how can spoon-bending be faked?
• Or why is it that the planchette seems to move when you use a Ouija board with your friends? (You mean it's not ghosts?!  Paranormal Activity, you lied to me!)
• Or if ghosts aren't causing the poltergeist activity you're experiencing, what is?
• There are a few instances of interesting historical Japanese (and Chinese, and British, and American) information being explained, which is pretty cool, especially since most of the information is pretty accurate as far as I've been able to tell.
• The anime illustrates how religion, spirituality, and science all mix into one in many countries in the Far East, especially Japan.
• For heaven's sake, the team is made up of a ghost hunter, a shrine maiden, a Buddhist monk, a Catholic priest, a medium, and an Onmyoji!  If that doesn't show the mix of religion, spirituality, and science, what does?!

Oh, yeah, and then there's that guy.

The one huge downside I see to this anime is the fact that the anime alone doesn't finish the story.  Sure, if you're watching it casually and not really paying attention, it seems to end just fine, with everyone (relatively) happy and the story at a close.  But if you go back and really pay attention, you'll notice that there are pieces of the puzzle missing:

• Why was Naru surprised when Mai initially gave him that nickname?
• Why was Naru's name missing from the nameplate outside the door of his hospital room?
• What was Lin talking about that one time he mentioned to Mai that "someone once told me the same thing" in regard to his feelings toward the Japanese?
• What's with this Madoka chick hanging all over Lin?  Is there something more to that?
• Why is Lin protecting Naru so closely?  What do Naru's parents have to do with Lin and Naru's (working) relationship?
• And why, oh why, is Naru so much different in Mai's dreams than in reality?

Seriously, do they?

Searching for the answers to these questions?  Never fear!  You can always read the manga!

The anime actually follows the manga fairly well.  However, the manga continues for another three volumes after the end of the anime, covering in those three volumes another riveting story called "The Forgotten Children," along with the answers to many of the aforementioned questions.

Most of the manga has been released in America (volumes 1-11), but the final volume (volume 12) has not.  Of course, you can always read the manga online.  (I recommend MangaFox; great website with tons of manga!)  Rather than me spoiling the chance for you to find the answers on your own, follow the above link to read the manga for yourself!

So if you're interested in learning about spirituality in Japan, or learning some fun debunking of supposedly paranormal phenomena, or just watching some awesome supernatural butt-kicking, check out the anime (and manga!) Ghost Hunt.  You'll read a pretty great story (if you're not overly critical) and you might just learn a thing or two along the way.

~MyriahKamm
a.k.a. Bambi

Fans Helping Nathan Fillion Buy Rights to Firefly *Updated*

**UPDATE** Edit: Since this post is becoming pretty popular, I thought I should point out to anyone reading that I was not condoning, by any means, that someone give their money to this movement.  It should also be pointed out that Nathan Fillion himself told fans to not donate money.  The thought of him owning Firefly or the show starting back up is kind of nice, but the reality is that it most likely will not happen.  So don’t be throwing your money away.  OKAY?!

 

Yes, you heard me right! If you are a diehard Firefly fan, you may have heard/read Nathan Fillion reply in an interview when asked if he would act as Captain Mal again, “If I got $300 million from the California Lottery, the first thing I would do is buy the rights to Firefly, make it on my own, and distribute it on the Internet.”

The short story is, fans took him serious!  So now, there is this website out there called “Help Nathan Buy Firefly”.  They aren’t taking actual donations, just pledges.  After a week, they have over 70,000 pledgers! 

Obviously, though, the chance is very slim that even if there were enough people to raise the money Nathan would actually buy the rights to Firefly, or that 20th Century Fox would be willing to sell the rights.  Most fans think Nathan was just joking in the interview.  Fans started the website and are pledging more for the idea of it, and to get the higher-ups to realize how much us geeks and nerds absolutely worship adore Firefly (I don’t know.  Maybe you do worship it?).

You can read more about the reality of what buying the rights to the show would take by reading this article on EW.com

So what do you think?  Are you going to pledge to the site?  Would you love Firefly to be back on the air, too?

 

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