Favorites list

A follow up to my previous post. Just to reveal my likes and dislikes.

Top 15 favorite animated films
1) Ghost in the Shell
2) Titan A.E
3) In a Scanner Darkly
4) Doctor Strange: Sorcerer Supreme
5) Highlander: Vengence
6) Akira
7) Gundam F91
8) Vampire Hunter D Bloodlust
9) Titan A.E
10) Flight of Dragons
11) Ninja Scroll
12) Heavy Metal 2000
13) An American Tail
14) Robotech: The Shadow Chronicles
15) Tarzan

Top 15 favorite animated series
1) Batman the Animated Series
2) Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam
3) Transformers: Beast Machines
4) Cowboy bebop
5) Trigun
6) Wolverine and the X-men
7) Justice League Unlimited
8) Evangelion
9) Exo Squad
10) Wolf's Rain
11) Last Exile
12) Ghost in the Shell Stand Alone Complex
13) Batman Beyond
14) Argento Soma
15) Hellsing

"Anyway, do you like anime?

(Rhymes doesn't it?)

I was asked this question today. Not the first time i was asked this question and i doubt it would be the last. But honestly, for the first time ever, i could not answer the question.

Not because i didnt want to. But because i couldn't.

I replied, "yes and no"

To better understand my reasons for my reply, one must know of my relationship with japanese anime. If you just want to cut to the chase then scroll down

*****************************
*Begin mellow synthesizer music and cue background fog*
SAMUEL AND ANIME. A brief history.

My first bursh with anime was in the form of a video tape my great grandfather left to me. In it was a show about a young white lion and his animal friends fighting against a bunch of evil baboons and a toxic cloud monster.(I would, years later, discover this show to be "Kimba the White Lion". Created by the same guy who made Astro Boy.). Taro the Dragon Boy was another anime that caught my attention when i was young. I remember it was a holiday special back during the time of SBC 12.

I would say my first anime i watched voluntarily was Transformers: Headmasters on a malaysian channel, but back then, cartoons were cartoons and this show was no different from He-Man in the eyes of my young self.


Fast foward to 1999. The big 90s animation boom was over. Award winning shows like Batman: The Animated Series, Johnny Quest, Exo-Squad and many others came and went by without me paying much attention to them. Back then my idea of animated TV was that they were supposed to be FUNNY(like Looney toons and Freakazoid). Exo-Squad and Batman was just too serious for my taste, so i let them pass me by(a decision i REGRET years later and till this day. But thank goodness for DVDs.)

I was in sec 2. And pokemon was all the rage. I stuck around for at least 20 episodes until it got boring. Also, until i discovered the other anime lurking around the channels. Most of them was in chinese so i left them be, being terrible in chinese myself, i passed on Digimon, Shin Chan, Doraemon, Lupin III and a number of others.

Then along came "Magic Knight Rayearth" showing on the (back then) newly established Kids Central at 5.30pm on weekdays.

It was english, imported from USA(wait wait, i'll go into this soon). But the storyline was a fantasy one thus doing away with any cultural constraints. 3 school girls accidentally get transported to a fantasy world where they get involved with the local magical war.
So what was Samuel doing watching a girl's anime?? Honestly it was the acting. I could not differtiate the acting in this show, from the acting in live action TV shows. Emotions were, a first time for me, portrayed so realistically by 2D animated characters. They smiled, they cried, the laughed and they sighed. All of it, believable and easy to relate to. Coupled with the fantasy elements, some humour and a easy to understand story, I was officially hooked.
Oh, did i mention there were giant Robots in this show?

There, see the giant robots??
Anyway, from this show i moved on other anime on TV. Very limited selection back then. I just watched whatever came my way. Magic Knight Rayearth ended and along came DRAGONBALL Z.

Oh bugger.............................
Despite the my friends' claims that it was possibly the greatest thing created since......erm.......the last greates thing created, i just could NOT bring myself to sit through another episode of that long drawn out, boring, silly, absurd, "Im charging my power to a new level", Brain rotting, "No, how can i defeat the new enemy?!?!", mind numbing PIECE OF GARBAGE!!
I do not care how influenctial it was or how much merchandise it generated. The campy 60s Batman and Robin was influential and generated a lot of merchandise. Yet you dont see many ppl claiming it was the jewel of TV history.
So, go away, dragonball Z.
Sailormoon was another one but i avoided it like a plague. Aside from it being the "barbie doll" of TV animation(as a guy i would not be caught dead watching it), the ridiculous formula each episode followed was..........ridiculous(and i have no idea to this day why POWER RANGERS copied that formula).

So the early 2000s came and i lost interest in anime due to a number of factors.
1) I discovered the original Japanese audio of anime(Particularly Magic Knight Rayearth itself). And it put me off. Compared to what i heard on MAgic Knight Rayearth's english voice track, the japanese voices were.........
Well, the girl voices for one were a whole octave higher than what my ears could take. And the overall acting feel was just.......not real. It felt like a stage play and not a real life senario with real people. The acting was just so over the top, emotions were overly exaggerated to the point of *pain*, and i just could not relate to the characters in the same way i did when i first watched it.(DO NOT flame me for this. I'll go more into my language preference later.)

2) Cardcaptor Sakura, Yu-Gi-Oh, Digimon, Detective Conan, etc. Channel I was on the rise with its own line of anime. BUT THEY WERE ALL VOICED BY LOCALS. YEs. Believe it. Locals. The accents in the voices are SINGAPOREAN!!!!!!!
OH THE HORROR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!111111111!!!!!1111!!! WTFROFLMAOBBQ!!!!!!
Need proof??(youtube doesnt seem to have) well i got a VCD. it came free with a comic. Need proof? come see me for it.
Aside from the very singaporean voices, other shows were "Hamtaro" which i kinda liked just cos the hamsters were REAL CUTE.
However, Compared to the smooth animation and clever writing in shows like Justice League and Gargoyles, the anime on TV fell flat.

It was in Polytechnic that saw a huge resurgence of my interest in anime. Thanks to a few close friends, i was hooked once again. I discovered the various deeply philosophical pre-2000 "Gundam" Series,


and the humourous yet heart string tugging "Love Hina
",
Many others came my way and i embraced them. Lapping them up like a thirsty dog.
From the feudal fantasy styled Inuyasha, to horror genre like Hellsing and Vampire Hunter D.

From comedy like Azumanga Daioh to SciFi like Vandread and Full Metal Panic.

I came to an internal consensus about the voices at this time. A stand which i always bring up in many an anime discussion.
So long as the characters are
- non-japanese
- have hair colour other than black or brown
- have non-japanese names
I will listen to them in english. For it would be beyond WEIRD to have a blond, blue eyed man named "Vash" or "Edward Alric" rattle off perfect japanese would it not? Similarly, it would be weird for one named "Kagurazaki" or "Megumi" to sound like a texan or mid-westerner.

Things happen, things change. I grew not to hate anime, but the fans of anime. So stuck up in their own little worlds. Refusing to see the logic or reason. To them all anime was gold. They could never accept anyone calling their anime anything less than "good".
They could not accept anime in anything other than japanese(this led to many heated confrontations online between me and those of like mind, and the fans i hated)

They could not accept that for every great anime, there was 10 pieces of crap anime. THey could not accept that a woman named "Victoria" with blong hair, blue eyes, living in LONDON, wearing UK police uniform can speak any other language aside from Kansai accent japanese.

I hated their blatant disregard for logic. Their stubborn ways.
I hated their habits.

Oh and dont get me started on cosplay.
My dear, you are NOT beautiful, and do NOT look like a japanese school girl character from whatever anime. PLEEZE, refrain from making a mockery of japanese culture!!! And stop acting cute.
ITs not cute.
Its embarrassing. Stuff like that makes me embarrassed to call myself an anime fan.

Either find a character you resemble and dress like the character, or dont even bother. You fit yourself to the parameters of the charater in any form of costume acting, not the other way around.

Ok, anti-singapore-cosplay rant over. I got nothing against the foreign cosplayers. Many of them do take their thing very seriously and the effort and time invested in it shows.

So, after a lonnnnnnngggggg history. Back to the question at hand
***********************************************************************

I said, yes and no.

I like anime, and i dont like anime.
I love Ghost in the Shell, i hate Naruto. I like Akira, I hate Bleach. I like Zeta Gundam, I hate Gundam Seed.

So do i like or dislike anime??

Official statement: I like GOOD animated shows.
Country of origin, i heck care.
If it is a good show, i like it.
I like Justice League as much as i like Trigun
I like Heavy Metal(the movie) as much as i like Ninja Scroll

I hate powerpuff girls as much as i hate Naruto
I hate Robotboy as much as i hate Ouran Host Club.

So long as the show
- exibits a high standard of narrative and storytelling
- has implied thought provoking themes that are not presented blatantly "in-your-face"(a problem many japanese anime face but i shall have another post dedicated to this)
- balances art detail with quality and smoothness of animation
- balances style with realism
- easy to follow, understand and follow-up

I consider them good. Awards also are a good indicator for films dont just win awards for no reason.

I came to the realisation as to why i liked anime so much at first. It was a skewed perception. I was recieving all the gems all at once, making me think that anime in general was GREAT. But once the bottle of sweet wine is finished, you are left with the barrels of vinegar.
A great anime movie or series seem to be a once in a blue moon thing nowadays. The most recent being "Sky Crawlers".
Other than that, we have mediocre, formulaic anime series flooding the market on a monthly basis.

When will those people grow up and appreciate anime in its entireity? To appreciate a rose, one must respect the thorns. To get the diamond, one must dive into the mud. Without mud there can be no diamond.
To appreciate the good while at least acknowledging the bad.

2nd week

Captain's log stardate 1337-whatever.

We are. One week out in the. University mission.



AWWW enough with the Star trek talk SAM!!!!!!

University of first week was fun.(well 3/4 fun). The lessons are not the usual "sit and take notes" sessions. They are more like discussion groups where the teacher would constantly ask questions and we are required to answer and that is when the teacher will give us his/her own opinion. It is a style of teaching that makes me feel very comfortable. The professors are no longer portrayed as "the godlike dispenser of your results and fountain of all knowledge". Such discussion sessions help me remember that professors are human too.

I've always preferred this sort of learning anyway. Very engaging, very dynamic.

Especially since im studying communications and Sociology, i definitely have a lot to say.

taking 4 modules. Communications, Sociology, Advanced Reading and Writing and...........Maths.

Yes Maths. My bane since birth, My pain since primary school. Aside from chinese.(OH YA, i got exempted from chinese after passing the test. lol hahahahahahahahahh)
But things are looking up. Thanks to my bro, I am grasping the basics of algebra and quadratic stuff. Now just a matter of doing more and recognizing the patterns and which formula to use when.
Maybe i might even call on my other bro(technically not my biological bro but i consider him a brother anyway. Yes u know who you are if you read this.) to help me soon since my current math genius bro got exams.


People? My class people? Very very nice bunch. A number of us get mixed around different modules so basically i have a group of only 15 that take the same 4 modules as me. Once again, the pattern of my life. Since leaving the all boys Maris Stella, the common ratio of gender in my post secondary classes(including first 3 months in an JC) as never been less than 1:4 of guys:gals.
A sad thing is i can't seem to get along with the 3 other guys. Our personalities and interests just that different. And neither can i get along with the poly grads.
I find myself hanging around a group of JC grad gals most of the time. Not that im complaining. In fact, maybe this is proof afterall that i was meant for JC in the first place. OH well, whats past is past.

Now to make the most of my present.

Its too fast too soon....

Back from Australia and already i only have 1 week to go till university term starts.

Aussie was nice. Cold yes, but the people were real friendly and the food was to die for. Despite me keeping to my fitness regime(running 2.5 to 3 km every alternate day) even down under, i still managed to jump from 55kg to 59kg.

MUST DIET!!!!!!lol

Anyway, a certain project RN(in the interest of self improvement) i am collaborating on is starting to show promise again in that there are others who agree(from my church group and Jesse's) with what we say, what we have found out and written. Which is totally uber cool. This kind of re-affirmation is just what the project needs. Hell there might even be an opening to really share our ideas in the form of a few church sessions.


And now university. One main beef is THE MATH. Im supposed to take "survey of algebra and trigonometry". Emphasis "SURVEY". So why the hell am i given 2(yes 1 book each) books, about 10+cm thick, approx 30cm in length and 20cm(thats encyclopedia dimensions sia!!!!) One on algebra, one on trigonometry.
OOOOOOH boy...........its going to be an interesting year...................I. Will. Need. help.


So i got a orientation day on 28april. Hope that goes well.
And about 5 more horror dvds to watch through before term starts. Oh ya, never mentioned. Austrialia has like ALL the horror dvds that are either banned or not avilable in singapore. I ended up contributing $200+ to aussie economy. lol
I actually still got the following to finish before school. haha
-Saw III and IV
-Dawn of the Dead 2004
-Planet Terror
-Texas Chainsaw massacre 2006

What i've finished watching already are
-In a Scanner Darkly
-The hills have eyes 2
-Saw 1 and 2
-Wolf's Rain
-Sin city
-30 Days of Night.

Ai..............its going to be a busy week........

Remember Street Fighter 1994?

Cos if you dont, this will definitely jog your memory.

Here's to all of you out there who are dissing the newest Street Fighter movie Legend of Chun Li.
IMO, it is a very refreshing re-imaging. Or would you guys rather have a sequel to the great disaster of 1994?

Anyway, here's this little video, lest we forget why Legend of Chun Li Rox so much.

Hate the anonymous.

If its one thing i can't stand its this.

People leaving comments on anything(be it blog, forum, online review, etc) as an anonymous user.

Whats there to hide?? Whats there to be afraid of?
You got the bearings to post a comment, why not have the same bearings to leave a contact or at least a name? It would definitely make any follow-up discussion easier.

Everytime I leave comments on other's blogs or forums
eg: http://comicsworldsingapore.blogspot.com/ <---------ya shameless advertising

I leave my full ID.
If i can have the dignity to do that, i dont see why others can't.

There fore im changing my settings to "registered users only" who can post comments.
Please register yourself before posting. Its free.

Transformers: Stormbringer

Transformers: Stormbringer is the second book in the new Transformers graphic novel/comic series by IDW. Though not a direct continuation of their first book "Infiltration" which takes place on earth, Stormbringer presents a side story of sort about a growing interstellar threat that would be expanded upon in the various character 1 shot spotlight issues later on. Events in this graphic novel switch between flashbacks to Cybertron's tormented past through the eyes of Optimus Prime and present day events that take place shortly prior to the events in book 1 Infiltration.

This book gives readers their first look at the larger war beyond Earth in the new IDW storyline. Cybertron is a dead, wasted world, victim of some distant cataclysm that elder Transformers, including Optimus Prime and Megatron were present at(2007 movie copied this).

Both Autobots and Decepticons appear to have large, star-spanning armies fighting battles of attrition on multiple fronts throughout the universe. Similar Decepticon infiltration cells to the one seen in Infiltration are present on other inhabited planets aside from earth. The Autobots' main base is a space station orbiting a planet at least nineteen megacycles away from Cybertron via fold space travel.

Prime's inner thoughts establish that the long war between the Autobots and Decepticons was directly responsible for the cataclysm, and in flashback we discover that a single demonic figure, ThunderWing, was somehow the focus for or avatar of the event; this being was so powerful that only the combined might of the Autobots and Decepticons could stop it in the past.
Fast Forward to the present day. A crew of autobots on a routine science patrol pick up strange energy readings emanating from the surface of the supposedly dead and abandoned Cybertron. Upon investigation, they are ambushed and captured by a band of Decepticon cultist who are plotting to revive the dreaded ThunderWing whom they believe would bring about a galaxy-wide "purification" via destruction. These events soon come to the attention of the respective faction leaders. Optimus Prime himself decides to see to the matter personally, intending to face down his inner demons as well. Megatron on the other hand would have nothing less than the total decimation of Cybertron just to destroy ThunderWing. If it took the whole of Cybertron to stop ThunderWing's apocalyptic rampage in the past, how would a small valiant team of autobot warriors led by Optimus Prime himself hold back this storm of destruction? The plot thickens and soon with the discovery of the mysterious energy source that re-activated Thunderwing, the attention of both Autobots and Decepticons are drawn to earth, the only other source of "Ultra-Energon"

Story - 9/10

From the get go, Stormbringer's story is the mirror opposite of Infiltration's. Where Infiltration has a very slow build up to establish the setting and characters, Stormbringer drops you right into the action. The first page already wide shot image of ThunderWing engulfed in flames as a cryptic narration plays out over the scene. A few pages into the story and the one word that will pop to mind is "EPIC". The entire tale is both a spin off and a lead-in to another far reaching Transformers story arc, one that goes beyond the boundaries of just earth and encompasses the entire galaxy. The tale is told in a non-linear fashion. Mysterious events unfold in the present day, interspersed with flashbacks to the past that slowly reveal the true nature of the threat both Autobots and Decepticons face. Gratuitous action is blended with quote-worthy dialogue and a fast paced narrative the likes of which are found in blockbuster movies.
A novel feature of this Transformers tale is that it delves into aspects of philosophy in a way usually reserved for graphic novels aimed at more mature audiences, and not so much a comic based on a toy line and cartoon. The writer also includes a lot of introspective narration to allow one to not just feel for the characters but to be totally immersed into the characters, their thoughts and what drives their actions. Graphical and narrative motifs, like the burning silhouette and a warning message about "reaping the whirlwind" are a recurring theme throughout and help to bridge the flashbacks into the present day going ons. The pacing is also just right. Sufficient time is allowed for proper development of the main characters and progression of the story. It is not long and draggy, bring only 4 chapters long, nor is it too brief or rushed.

But even so, no story is perfect. Hence the 9/10. The only flaw i can point out is the almost deux-ex machina-ish way the main threat Thunderwing is finally stopped in the end. It is a very smart way to tie this story into the other Transformers comic stories thats for sure, but after all the destruction that the Thunderwing creature caused, and what it had shown it was capable of, its defeat just came too abruptly and simply.

Characters 7/10

The writer, Simon Furman, continues his trend of making the characters very "fan friendly". In other words, all of his supporting characters have their personalities and looks based on existing characters in the transformers mythos. Some of them are based on robots that only appeared as obscure toys that only a hardcore collector would recognise.That is a good move since it will mostly be the fans of Transformers that would read the comic. A not too good move as well since it makes it difficult for a newcomer to get to know the characters because the supporting characters get no development whatsoever.

The main characters on the other hand are very nicely handled. All of them are very similar to how they were in the original cartoon but are now given more depth and made "rounder". Nobody is perfect anymore. For example, Optimus Prime. Once he a one dimensional, do no wrong, shining example of leadership and courage. Here he is a logic based military leader who's decisions in the past have come back to haunt him and make him question his own abilities to as a commander. Here, he has moments where he is unsure of himself, but despite his misgivings, despite mistakes of long ago, he pulls through using his courage and determination, unwilling to shirk his responsibility as Autobot leader. These are the little nuances that really make his character interesting and new, yet retain all classic the elements that made him appealing in the first place.

Jetfire, the Cultists, Optimus Prime, even Thunderwing himself are very interestingly fleshed out. Their thoughts and motives are revealed as the story goes along. Thunderwing especially is a character that i almost felt pity for. If i were to do any comparison, I'll go so far as to compare his side of the story with the tragic tale of the Incredible Hulk or Frankenstein's Monster without revealing anymore.

Dialogue is a little bit too complex at times but that style serves to better show the Transformers as alien beings. Already the alien robots are speaking perfect english(since the comic readers understand english mostly), so what better way to show their alien-ness than to give them a speech pattern unlike normal earth people? Also, all of the transformers have been re-designed to have cybertronian vehicle modes. Which makes perfect sense since many of them have never been to earth in this story and hence will not transform into earth vehicles.

Oh and speaking of people, There are no human characters in this story, a factor that would definitely have the hardcore Transformers Enthusiasts screaming for joy.

So we have a very interesting and well fleshed out set of main cast characters but cookie cutter, under developed supporting characters that only a long time transformer fan would recognise and know their personality.

Art 9.5/10

Don Figureoa handles art duties in this story, with Josh Burcham doing the colouring. And i must say, it was a match made in heaven. Both Figureoa and Burcham are veterans from the Dreamwave era of Transformers comics. An era most well known for its dynamic, over the top(sometimes bordering on absurd) anime-styled art and a tendency for stories to be more style over substance.(hmm reminds me of some 2007 Transformers movie by some Bay guy)

Here in Stormbringer, Figureoa and Burcham deliver possibly the best Transformers sequential art seen in a long time. The panels are easy to follow, and the shot angles chosen lend a very dynamic feel to the reading experience. Each robot is finely detailed down to wear and tear scratches and battle scars. Action scenes especially are clear and exciting. Figureoa preserves the "wow" factor of Dreamwave's Transformers while making his art style more realistic and gritty. The coloring too gives us well contrasted shadows and vibrant shades but without making them look cartoon-ish. In fact coupled with some creative scene lighting and background colors, a more gritty look becomes prevalent throughout the story(though not as gritty as in Infiltration)

Overall 9.5/10
Possibly the best piece of Transformers work put out by IDW, Stormbringer is a perfect jumpin-on point for any reader looking to pick up Transformers comics. It is a easy to follow epic tale spliced with philosophical references and awesome characters. The terrific art and colouring adds to the overall enjoyment factor.
For those who loved the grand scale of the 1986 Transformers animated movie, this graphic novel would definately fill that hole that the 2007 Transformers movie left.

A real treat for any comic reader. Be it newcomer, or Transformers fan.