The Land of Obscusion's Twelve Favorite Posts of 2012!! Part 2

And, in time before the end of the year, here's part of of my favorite posts of this year!  Let's not waste time and just get right into it.

Rokudenashi BLUES 1993 (July 29)
It's a production like this that really makes me wish that a full-on TV series was made.  Rokudenashi BLUES is one of the best yankii/delinquent manga you can read, but when it comes to anime it's a very niche genre with little to none TV anime series made around this idea of a certain type of schoolkid (Hareluya II BØY is pretty much the closest one can get to an actual delinquent TV anime).  Even though I have not been able to watch the first movie yet, which is a 30-minute adaptation of the beginning of the manga, after reading the story arc that this specific movie adapts I just had to see how the 1993 movie sequel worked out.  In the end, even though some elements of the story were altered to work with the 90-minute time restraint, Rokudenashi BLUES 1993 is an excellent movie, and I wish it had English subtitles of any sort...  Hell, I wish it had a DVD in general, because even in Japan both Rokudenashi movies are VHS-only.  The funny thing is that there was a live-action J-Drama adaptation that aired last year, yet Toei never thought about releasing their anime movies on DVD & use that recent promotion to help it sell.  Still, there is an okay raw out there that has only minor issues, so if you're willing to watch anime raw then by all means check this movie out!

Anime Midstream Surprises with Big News! Raijin-Oh to go Sub-Only! (June 3)
There were two instances in making posts for this blog where I originally planned something shorter than what it became.  The first was my post about the history of Illumitoon Entertainment, which was originally going to be simply me mentioning how Illumitoon's website wasn't working anymore, and the second one was this post about Anime Midstream.  Originally, this post was just going to be about the news of Volume 4 & 5's releases (it's no surprise, though, that Volume 5 didn't come out this year like planned) as well as the news that the company was moving to Dallas, Texas.  What ended up being made was my own personal feelings on how the company works, combined with my guesses as to why the company releases Matchless Raijin-Oh so slowly and what the move to Dallas could probably do for the company.  I commended them for their ability to, somehow, survive in this industry on a single title with an amateur, though enjoyable, English dub.  I thought it was a nice little post, but what happened after this post went up just made me like it even more.  A few weeks after this post went up I received a surprise e-mail from Jimmy Taylor, head-honcho of Anime Midstream!  Here is what he said:
"Hello,

I got a chance to read your blog during my downtime and I wanted to say thank you for the things you said. We will continue to do our best and hopefully have more releases for you to watch! We are keeping at it! ^_^

Thank you!

-Jimmy Taylor"

Considering that this is such a no-name blog among the multitude of anime blogs out there, I found this response to be very kind & I once again thank you for the kind words, Mr. Taylor.  I say "again" because I did send a reply to Taylor after getting this e-mail...  Which quickly devolved into a license request for Ring ni Kakero 1 (hey, can't blame a guy for trying when he has the chance, right?).  Still, I once again tip my (empty) glass to you, Anime Midstream...  Now when is Volume 5 coming out?

Kochikame the Movie 2: UFO Shuurai! Tornado Daisakusen!! (October 3)
Much like B't X Neo in Part 1, I had wanted to include Kochikame the Movie in the 2010/2011 list, but when you get down to it the second movie is simply the better title to talk about.  Kochikame the Movie 2 has better comedy, better action, a better story, and even better drama.  Ryo-san is just as entertaining as ever, but you even get to understand and like the movie original characters, not to mention the fact that this movie also uses the rest of the Katsushika Police in a way that lets them shine in their own ways, instead of being simply there for appearance's sake.  If there is ever any chance for the Kochikame anime to come over, it would be the movies, because they work really well as an introduction into the series and they are also enjoyable & funny productions in their own right.  At the very least, there is now a raw out there for Movie 2, so it's become slightly more accessible to anime fans...  Of course, you still have to be willing to watch anime raw, but at the very least Kochikame utilizes a lot of visual humor that is understandable to people of all languages.

Crystal Triangle (September 18)
I guess you could say that this is my Gundoh Musashi equivalent for this favorites list.  I went into this movie expecting a silly & stupid adventure movie...  But I was not prepared for the absolute insanity that this movie contains.  I've covered so much in my review, but there is some more that I could have added, because almost every scene has something crazy happening in it.  It's an absolutely psychotic example of "random dart tossing" plot construction, and by no means is this a "good" movie...  But I will be lying if I said that you should not check this production out, because you should (right now).  Like I said in the review, if Mad Bull 34 is "so bad it's good" that it's considered worthy of a license rescue then by all means, Discotek, please rescue Crystal Triangle!

Theory Musing: The Three Pillars of Sports (Boxing) Anime & Manga (October 31)
Admittedly, one reason this blog exists is because I can use this space to talk about my own personal thoughts & ideas when it comes to anime & manga.  While the whole "Theory Musing" thing might not ever be brought up in another post I was glad to be able to share an idea that's been stewing in my head for a while.  I love history & I love finding out about titles that inspired others, so being able to identify the three manga (& anime, to an extent) that essentially shaped boxing manga as we see it now was a fun thing to try doing.  Again, this is a theory, so I encourage people to not agree with it and to argue their own feelings about it, but when I really thought about it Ashita no Joe brought the character-based drama, Ring ni Kakero brought the crazy action, & Hajime no Ippo brought the career story.  At least in terms of boxing titles, there was nothing really like each of these titles before them (though one could argue that Joe was an influence to Ippo, hence the word "theory"), and, personally, knowing/feeling this makes me enjoy all three of these titles all the more.  Don't like this theory, though?  Good for you, and please tell me why!

Saiyuki Reload -burial- (August 31)
Just like the last pick in the last list (the 1st Anniversary post), this final pick is a very personal one.  For the past three months before this post my father was attempting a recovery from a stroke he suffered this past May, and on August 31 his life came to an end; luckily for me, I was able to give him a final "goodbye" a few days earlier.  In terms of the blog I was in the middle of reviewing OVAs based on Kazuya Minekura's manga Saiyuki, and I only had the Reload -burial- OVA left to review.  I had thought about holding off on watching & reviewing it, but I decided that I should press on and (re-)watch it...  And I think it was the perfect thing to do, because a big part of this OVA is about moving on from your past (i.e. the "burial" in the title), and it was an excellent way for me to learn to move on with my life without my father, because this is a really hard thing to do for anyone that has had either a father or a father-figure in his/her life.  To be honest, I'm actually trying to hold back some tears right now typing this.

But, to be honest, Saiyuki Reload -burial- deserves to be on this list on its own merit, because this is an amazingly good Saiyuki anime production.  There is absolutely no feel of "filler" in it, and every story is told excellently.  It's a great reminder that Saiyuki isn't simply something for females to read/watch solely for the bishonen character designs, because there is also good action for the guys as well as excellent character development for everyone.  I can only hope that Sentai's release of Saiyuki Gaiden next month is not only an equally-good title but also a good seller for the company, because I really want to be able to buy a localized release of Reload -burial-.

And that brings us to the end of my favorite posts of 2012!  In some ways this year was even better than the previous one for the blog, even if there were some harder moments to get through, both personally & in relation to the blog.  I think I have only improved in my abilities as a writer than when I started this blog, and here's hoping that 2013 will be just as good, if not better.  And, to rev that engine, 2013 is going to start with something big: Another video game review for one, but then will come the main attraction: I'm going to, technically, look at 30 different titles!  All of them based on the pages of Weekly Shonen Jump!  That's right, next month is going to be Jump January!!

See you then!

The Land of Obscusion's Twelve Favorite Posts of 2012!! Part 1

Happy Boxing Day, everyone!  I hope everyone had a fun holiday, because I had an enjoyable one.  Anyway, we're coming up on the end of the month, so just like what I did at the beginning of this December I am now going to talk about my favorite posts of this year.  2012 was an interesting year for the blog, as I didn't post as much as I did each month last year, yet I still was close to matching the total number of posts in general.  Review-wise I looked at anime with fun titles (Bastard!!, Goddamn), I was able to sneak in titles that are as "mainstream" as you can get in terms of anime in North America (Fullmetal Alchemist, One Piece), and overall it was fun squeezing the term "obscure" as much as I did at times this year.  When it came to non-review posts I had some interesting picks, like comparing the two versions of Zaizen Jotaro (TV vs. DVD), investigating the early days of late-night anime, admiring Kokusai Eigasha's legacy of giant robots, and, most importantly, lots & lots of "12 Animes" lists & variants, and that's including the two lists from this month!  But enough of this talk, let's get to this list!

B't X Neo (February 2)
I had really thought about putting my review for the B't X TV series into the 2010/2011 list, but when I thought about it more, Neo was simply the better part of the B't X anime series.  It took everything that was good about the TV series and still improved upon them, and those final episodes are simply amazing in the story they told.  Sure, in terms of adapting the original manga Neo only goes so far, but it more than makes up for it by delivering an ending that I can only hope got the approval of Masami Kurumada himself.  I still assert that Ring ni Kakero 1 & Saint Seiya are better titles than B't X, but when you have a production like Neo it certainly puts up an amazing fight for recognition.  I don't want to sound like a broken record, but knowing how badly Illumitoon screwed up their releases really pisses me off, because B't X definitely deserved better.  I can only hope that Discotek does in fact read this blog, because this here is an anime that deserves an actual fair chance over here.  If nothing else, I can only hope that TMS will one day get involved in AnimeSols, that streaming/crowdfunding site Sam Pinansky will be opening up next Spring; TMS has an amazing line-up of titles, and I'd easily put my money towards B't X if it became available on that site.

The JManga 13: The Publishers & Potential Mangas (March 30 & April 2)
I kind of have a love/hate "relationship" when it comes to JManga.  On the one hand, I love the basic idea of JManga (bringing manga over that likely would have never come over in the first place, & it's [mostly] worldwide, at that!)...  On the other hand, I haven't really been a fan of what JManga has, essentially, made into it's focus.  In an ideal situation JManga would be releasing titles from a wide variety of genres & age ranges, creating a site that can bring in a very large amount of manga fans, and hopefully getting my interest with a title every week or two, and also keep releasing consecutive volumes of the titles they do have at a good pace.  Unfortunately, JManga is now more well known for being a place where fans of Harlequin titles, Josei, & cute girls can gather, with a rare title for other people...  Oh, and unless a title looks to be a great seller don't expect it to get consecutive volumes released at a good pace; Volume 2 of Gokudou Meshi took a year to come out, while titles like Odds GP!, Dingo, & even Lucifer & the Biscuit Hammer have not had new volumes come out for at least half a year (or even since the site launched in the case of Dingo & Odds GP!).  Look, I can't hate the fact that JManga found a niche that sells for them, and I commend them for that.  Hell, I congratulate Erica Friedman on finding a place where yuri can become a fair portion of a place's best-seller list.  But, to be selfish for a moment, it is annoying to get the feeling that a place that, in theory, should be welcoming of your tastes is essentially keeping you away with a yardstick, while on rare occasion tossing you a bone, thinking it will keep you happy.  Is it really that bad for business to offer a varied line-up that can cover as many bases as possible, especially if you're not printing any actual books?

What I called "The JManga 13" were thirteen publishers that are apparently working with JManga and I listed one manga from each of these publishers that I would love to see on the site.  Unfortunately, JManga still doesn't have the likes of Eat-Man, Giant Robo, Zaizen Jotaro, Akagi, or even Ashita no Joe on it yet; hell, the only title I listed that did make it on the site is the Manga de Dokuha version of Sun Tzu's The Art of War, which I did immediately buy with my points.  I still hold out a slight hope that JManga might eventually become that ideal that I had hoped it would be, but right now I am a little disappointed with JManga; sure, I'll buy a manga that catches my interest, but it just reminds me of what the site could be compared to what it's become.

Fuma no Kojirou: Seiken Sensou-hen (March 12)
After liking, but still being underwhelmed, by the original Yasha-hen OVA based on Masami Kurumada's "fourth-most-well-known title", I wasn't sure if this title would improve, especially since I couldn't get the second OVA series.  Well, early this year I was able to get that series...  And, boy, what an improvement a new story arc will do for a series!  Just about every major problem I had with Yasha-hen (the somewhat rushed character introductions & overall pace) was fixed with Seiken Sensou-hen, and it even was the first real indicator of the completely fantastical style that Kurumada would implement into Saint Seiya.  Sure, the major part of the story is about ten men, in two groups of five, competing in one-on-one battles with mythical swords on the surface of the moon...  But that's what makes this story arc of Fuma no Kojirou so enjoyable. Kurumada simply went all out here and you could tell that Animate-Film & J.C. Staff was having fun with this production.  Fans of the Seiya anime get some recognizable voices for Ryouma & the Chaos Emperor, and fans of other well-known seiyuu get their fill with the likes of Kazuki Yao, Masami Kikuchi, & Takehito Koyasu.  What followed, the Fuma Hanran-hen movie, was also enjoyable, but to me the best part of Fuma no Kojirou is the Sacred Sword War.  Following the evolution of the company that released these OVAs, from Sony Pictures Entertainment (the original VHS & LD release) to SME Visual Works (the 2001 DVD release), the company is now known to anime fans as Aniplex!  Sure, there is absolutely no chance that Aniplex of America will release the Fuma no Kojirou anime, but at least it is known where this title is presently at.  Hopefully Discotek's release of the Seiya movies this summer will do well enough for the company to try their hand on other Kurumada works, because I'd love to watch this series again, but with English subtitles.

Twelve Anime Licenses That Never Were But Should Have (February 6 & 9)
I only wanted to have one "12 Animes" entry on this list, just like the other one, and choosing just one was tough.  In the end it came down to this & the revival of the license rescue list, and in the end I chose this one because it was so different from any other "12 Animes" list.  Let's face it, these lists are created from my personal feelings & wishes: I try to be fair & impartial with the license rescue lists but they are still mostly stuff that I would buy and every other list was 100% about what I felt was worth listing.  But this list of unreleased licenses was different in that this list was, from what I could find, 100% fact and 100% objective. All of these animes, like Tales of Eternia the Animation, Sci-fi HARRY, & Barom One, were licensed at one point or another for North American release but never happened.  This was also the hardest list to make, by far.  I even had to admit in Part 2 that I started posting the first half without even having completed the entire list, because this is such a rare occurrence in this industry that it was hard to list twelve moments where it did in fact happen.  Some titles had subs made for them (SPT Layzner & Giant Gorg, Minna Agechau), others even had dubs ready for them (Lupin the 3rd: Golden Babylon, Mermaid Melody Pichi Pichi Pitch, Get Ride! AMDriver [partial dub]), and others were simply thought to have been licensed by the company when things changed later on (Riki-Oh, Daltanious, B't X).  Regardless, this list was a true original among the lists I have done on this blog, not to mention made for a really cool history lesson, and that's what made it one of the best posts of this year, bar none.

News Flash! Discotek Media's Licensing Storm of Awesomeness Continues! (March 13)
Now while I have mixed feelings when it comes to JManga, there is only one feeling I have towards Discotek Media & it's Eastern Star label: Sheer Unconditional Love!  In just a couple of years this company has gone from being a no-name distributor, who released some old kids anime & a couple of Lupin titles in the past, to a company who is, essentially, the sole saviour of old-school anime.  Discotek has proven the industry wrong and shown that old-school anime can, in fact, sell enough to make a living off of.  True, a lot of it is license rescues, but when I did this post back in March Discotek was starting to show how they are spreading into non-rescues.  This specific post involved licenses like Panda, Go Panda!, Unico, Space Adventure Cobra, Samurai Pizza Cats, Retro Game Master, & Shin Getter Robo vs. Neo Getter Robo, but the best part about this post was that I had continually waited on making this post because Discotek kept announcing awesome things, and I knew that even after this post they would continue to do so...  And they did.  Since this post, here's what Discotek announced for future release:
Captain Harlock TV
Lovely Complex
Galaxy Express 999: Eternal Fantasy
Saint Seiya Movies 1-4
Mad Bull 34
Lupin the 3rd: The Secret of Mamo (with all four English dubs!!)
Lupin the 3rd: Green vs. Red
New Hurricane Polymar
Tekkaman Blade II
Yatterman (live-action movie)
Cutey Honey TV
Mazinger Z TV
GTO
Thermae Romae

Since Thermae Romae Discotek hasn't announced anything new, though they have hinted that Green vs. Red's May 2013 release might be joined by another title that hasn't been announced yet, so Discotek is far from ready to simply rest of their present licenses and make us wait.  Here's hoping that 2013 will be an even better year for this company!

Hareluya II BØY (October 11)
Just like Fuma no Kojirou this was a title that I didn't mind seeing more of, but I thought it would be impossible to get the rest of, since it never had a DVD release in Japan, and the VHS & LD releases are pretty rare now.  Well, this review ended up being the most complicated one to get to, because it involved raws that were laden with problems, and being able to buy two of the LDs via Rakuten only made it easier to watch the first half.  In fact, at the end of the (glowingly positive) review I had to tell readers that, in the form it is presently available in, I can't in good conscience recommend watching it because the sheer amount of problems, which I went through the trouble of fixing for my own enjoyment, makes this way too annoying for most people to watch.  That was probably the hardest thing for me to say, too, because Hareluya II BØY was one of the best titles I watched this year, with truly memorable characters, interesting topics it handled, excellent music, and a great sense of fun & enjoyment that only Yasuhiro Imagawa can bring about, even when he only did series composition & half of the episode scripts here.  I can only hope that it's very first DVD release this past October, though it's only the first episode, will lead to an actual DVD release proper for this show.  And, hell, AnimeSols should get into contact with Starchild Records & get this show on their site when it launches, because Triangle Staff certainly isn't around to talk to.

And that's the end of Part 1 of my favorite posts of this past year.  If you've noticed, all but one of these posts were from the first half of the year, and that honestly wasn't intentional.  Regardless, check back in a few days for Part 2, where we take a look at the second half of the year, which housed some really interesting posts for this blog.

Model Suit Gunpla Builders Beginning G: We Are... Gunpla!

(I had planned to review this for Mecha Month this past November, but a brand new Wii U kind of kept me from checking it out in time.  Still, I really wanted to watch this & review it, so here it is.)

When it comes to mech anime Gundam is the phenomenon.  There are anime productions dating back to 1979, tons of video games, and entire magazines dedicated to Gundam manga, to say the least, but one of the biggest parts of Gundam are the model kits that have been around since 1980.  Gundam models are so big that they even have their own term in Japan: "Gunpla", which is a portmanteau of "Gundam plastic model".  Personally I have a few Gundam models and it is a fun little hobby to do and while I am pretty barebones when it comes to making them when you see the hard work of someone who went through the trouble of painting the proper parts, lining out all of the indents, and even adding their own little touches it really looks amazing.  And nothing really showcases Japan's (nay, the world's) love for gunpla than this hobby's very own anime: Mokei Senshi/Model Suit Gunpla Builders Beginning G.  In 2010 gunpla hit its 30th anniversary, and to celebrate Sunrise created three little shorts that combine together into a single 40-minute short story that takes gunpla and, arguably, makes it all the more awesome.  It also celebrates the hobby in a way that makes one proud to have built a model kit sometime in his/her life.

Haru Irei is visiting the life-size Gundam in Odaiba with his father, Hinode, and his friend, Kenta.  After becoming in awe of the Gundam Haru decides to buy a gunpla, which Kenta already plays with and Hinode did back when he was a kid.  After seeing the last 1/144 scale High Grade/HG RX-78 Gundam model taken Haru comes across a different HG model on the ground: the 1/144 Beginning Gundam.  After building it Kenta takes him to the local hobby shop, AXIS, where he's shown Gunpla Battle, where gunpla builders can  "pilot" their very models in game where the object is to defeat your opponents' units/models.  Haru's spark of piloting ability catches the eye of Boris Schauer, a "Gunpla Meister", who wishes to see what Haru is made of.

Gunpla Builders is simply a celebration of not just the hobby of gunpla, but also Gundam in general.  For those familiar with building these models there's all sorts of details talked about, like how to remove those little bits of plastic on body parts after coming off of the frames, going through the extra work of painting for the sake of making a model your very own, and you get a great sense that each model is truly the creation of the person who put it together.  But fans of Gundam who don't necessarily build model kits, or have stopped doing so (like me), can also find great fun in this OVA simply by identifying all of the mobile suits that appear.  The best thing to see, though, are all of the cool custom colored variants in this title, like Kenta's Byaku-Shiki (a white Hyaku-Shiki) & white Sazabi, a black The O, or a grey & gold Hi-Nu Gundam (this is also Hi-Nu's debut appearance in anime); these custom models all look awesome.  The one that takes the cake, though, is definitely Bearguy, a custom Acguy by Haru's friend Rina which looks like a bear and uses a beam-shooting flute.  All hail Bearguy!

Some of the characters themselves are meant to be references to Gundam, too.  Haru Irei, for example, sound similar to Amuro Ray if you sound it out, and Boris Schauer is the "Char clone", right down to him wearing shades and doing, essentially, whatever the hell he wants...  Like riding a horse to go anywhere in the city.  Why does Boris ride a horse instead of driving a car?  Who cares, it's awesome in the fact that it's utterly out of place!  There's also Tatsu Shimano, another gunpla builder who is normally calm and friendly, but once he's in battle he turns into an outright psycho, which is a common Gundam character trait.  Even if you don't care about the models, there's still plenty in this OVA to like.

The other fun part of this title is the Gunpla Battle itself.  Essentially, this is a mix of gunpla & the Gundam Vs. series of arcade games, and seeing this game in action really makes you wish that such a thing was actually out there in the world.  Hell, it even takes model scale into consideration, because in one scene near the end Kenta & Rina are being attacked by a Big Zam, only for them to realize that it's a small 1/550 scale model.  But, naturally, this game had to be included because, otherwise, this wouldn't be a Gundam anime, but they're definitely the best parts.  For being only 40 minutes long Gunpla Builders definitely tosses in a lot of visual content that's certain to please fans of the franchise.

In terms of staff, the combination of director Kou Matsuo (Kure-nai, Red Garden, Rozen Maiden) & scriptwriter Yousuke Kuroda (Gundam 00, Ring ni Kakero 1) really is what keeps this title flowing at a great pace and always entertaining.  The character designs are done by Kaichiro Terada, who normally does key animation, and are both kiddier than your usual Gundam (though it isn't Gundam AGE-style in design) as well as very fitting for the Gunpla Battles, as each pilot looks very fitting in their spacesuits; once again, Boris does whatever he wants and wears no spacesuit.  The mech designs are done by a group of people, made up of Atsushi Shigeta (Turn-A Gundam), Junichi Akutsu (Gundam SEED), Kanetake Ebikawa (Gundam 00), and, naturally, Kunio Okawara himself, and this is what allows the multitude of mobile suit models to look as accurate as possible to their original looks, and also make the custom variants look awesome.  The ending theme is my Proud, my Play! by KAmiYU, and much like the character designs it's a very upbeat song that both is different from most Gundam themes but also very fitting for this OVA.

The cast also pulls out a great job, even if most of them aren't known for Gundam.  Haru is voiced by Tsubasa Yonaga (Tsutomu from Chihayafuru, Ren from Big Windup!), and he lends a real honesty to Haru's growing love for gunpla and what the hobby has ended up standing for.  Kenta is voiced by Nobuhiko Okamoto (Accelerator in A Certain Magical Index, Rin in Blue Exorcist), and much like Yonaga also gives off a feeling of honesty & knowledge when it comes to gunpla.  Rina is voiced by Mariya Ise (Wendy Hertz in Gundam AGE, Killua in Hunter X Hunter [2011]), and she does a good job as the energetic but novice gunpla builder.  Boris is voiced by Daisuke Namikawa (Prince Baka in Level E, Al in Gundam 0080 [when he was 13!]), and he does an excellent job, sounding nothing like his usual style and giving off a great Char feel.  Finally, Hinode Irei is voiced by Ken Narita, who has (essentially) become the replacement voice for the late Hirotaka Suzuoki, so Narita's inclusion is a sort-of Gundam reference.

Model Suit Gunpla Builders Beginning G is not only a great celebration of the gunpla hobby, but also an excellent visual treat for fans of Gundam, mainly through all of the units that appear and the wish that something like Gunpla Battle was actually available somewhere in the world.  At only 40 minutes it isn't a big investment, like most Gundams are, and it's a ton of fun to boot.  If Bandai was still around I would imagine that we'd have gotten this eventually, but as it is right now this little OVA might just stay in Japan, but there are fansubs out there if you're willing to look.  Sure, it's a good bit silly at times, especially that scene of Boris riding a horse onto a street, but that's simply because Sunrise took a portion of the phenomenon of Gundam and just had a field day with it.  In fact, it almost makes me want to buy another Gundam model kit...  Almost.

Mabudachi Jingi: Short & Simple, but a Nice Start

Time for another Masami Kurumada mini manga review!  Last time I looked at Aoi Tori no Shinwa, a prologue to what would have likely been a crazy baseball title if it didn't end at only two chapters.  This time, though, we're going back to the past and taking a look at a 1978 one-shot, done during the serialization of Ring ni Kakero.

While doing Ring ni Kakero for Shonen Jump Masami Kurumada also made a couple of one-shots: 1978's Mabudachi Jingi/True Friend Duty & 1979's Shiro Obi Taisho/White Belt General.  During the serialization of Fuma no Kojirou Shueisha released these two one-shots, as well as six chapters of Sukeban Arashi that weren't in the original two volumes, into one single book using the Mabudachi Jingi name.  As of this post only Jingi has been scanlated, so let's take a look at this 44-page one-shot.

Kintarou Oodera, Kin for short, may not be tall but he's easily the toughest kid in his school, and when people need him to fend off students from rival school Kamedama High he's usually ready to help out...  All the more so when his best friend Sada is in trouble.  One day, though, a girl called Momoko Kinoshita transfers into the school and becomes the desire of every male.  Unfortunately, everyone assumes that a cute girl like Momoko already has one or two boyfriends, so when some of the guys try to pull a prank on Kin by forcing him to admit his love for Momoko the unthinkable happens: Momoko accepts Kin's admission and the two become a couple.  Momoko's hatred of violence, though, makes Kin stop fighting, which is the worst possible scenario when the leader of Kamedama's delinquents comes over looking to fight Kin.

Mabudachi Jingi is a simple story, but it still ends up doing a pretty good job in only 44 pages.  It's main focus is the conflict between true friendship & love, with Kin having to decide which is the better choice to make: Save Sada after finding out that he's taking the beating that was meant for Kin, but lose the love of Momoko, or stay with Momoko, leaving Sada to the lions, so the speak.  In the end the conflict is finished pretty easily, but it's still a conflict that can be related to and it is funny to see how easily Kin gets Momoko due to everyone else's hesitation.  Out of all of the characters, Kin is the only one with any real development, since he starts off only knowing how to fight (while also being the comic relief), but after getting Momoko Kin realizes that love might mean more to him.  Sada is a simple character who only wants to pay back the debt he owes Kin for all of the times Kin saved him, even though Kin says that true friends don't have debts between them, and Momoko is your generic girly-girl.  Admittedly, with so few pages to work with the characters can only be developed so much, so it's hard to complain about simplicity here.  The story definitely has that old-school feel to it and follows that basic ideal of Kurumada's titles, which is that the strength of the human bond, especially between friends, is a strong force that can never be underestimated.  Plus, there's a cool scene where Kin puts his wooden geta slippers on his hands and fights with them...  That is always worth brownie points.

In Aoi Tori no Shinwa Kurumada's artwork was getting pretty refined, so it's understandable that Mabudachi Jingi's artwork is little more rough, and there's barely any indications of Kurumada's use of the good-old Tezuka Star System.  Sure, Kin looks like a mix of Ryuji & Ishimatsu, and one or two of the unnamed schoolkids feature some designs that Kurumada also uses for smaller-name characters, but overall these characters don't look too much like any of the usual suspects, which is a nice change of pace.  Still, you can easily tell that this is an early work of Kurumada's, with little to no refinement in his drawing style seen here.  Finally, there is also no real indicators of Kurumada's bishonen character designs here; it doesn't really change much in the long run, but it's still worth bringing up.

Mabudachi Jingi is a neat little one-shot by Masami Kurumada, showing off some early indications of the general themes that the man would focus on, but it doesn't offer much else.  The story is pretty simple (though it works for the short length it has), the characters don't really offer anything memorable (outside of Kin's geta sandal punches), and there is absolutely no over-the-top style whatsoever...  But at the same time it's cool to take a quick look at the early days of someone who would help revolutionize an industry.  It's in a story like this where Kurumada shows his inspiration from Hiroshi Motomiya on his sleeve and his own personal style hasn't been fully developed quite yet.  One-shots like these might not offer much in terms of story or memorability but they do offer a chance to see a favorite creator of yours in a way that you normally haven't seen them.  For fans of Kurumada this is worth checking out, and even if you aren't a fan of Kurumada as long as you like reading one-shots this one scratches that itch just fine.

The Land of Obscusion's Twelve Favorite Posts of 2011!! (& December 2010, too) Part 2

It's time to continue celebrating 2011 (& December 2010) with Part 2 of my favorite posts from the first 13 months of the blog's existence, so let's get straight to it with another series of posts.

The "Madhouse Gambling Quadrilogy" (January 2011, February 2011, September 2011)
Like I said at the end of my Akagi review, if Ring ni Kakero 1 is my #1 most-wanted North American anime license then the "Madhouse Gambling Quadrilogy" is my #2, #3, & #4 (literally, it's Akagi, Kaiji [both seasons], then One Outs).  If Ring ni Kakero 1, in my mind, represents anime at some of its most fun & concentrated, then the Gambling Quadrilogy represents anime at some of its most dramatic & psychological.  Nobuyuki Fukumoto's general style is simply masterful in its ability to take seemingly simple games and making them outright evil in their execution, & Shinobu Kaitani was able to take baseball and twist & turn it into something that makes you wonder if that's what actual baseball games are like.  Akagi's characters & dark demeanor help make the title more approachable to people who don't know anything about traditional mahjong, Kaiji is probably the only title I've seen that makes rock-paper-scissors look demonically manipulative, & One Outs actually made me care about baseball for once.  If you haven't seen any of these shows then you are truly missing out, and if you've only seen some of these shows then definitely get to the others, because you're still missing out.

Super Robot Wars Compact 3 (February 10, 2011)
I remember a time when I didn't know about SRW...  And then my friend decided to check out Alpha 2 on the PS2, simply because GaoGaiGar was in it.  Needless to say I haven't turned back since then, and Compact 3 is probably an entry that both represents SRW at its most ideal yet also at its most repressive.  First off, SRW's ideal is to celebrate mech anime, as well as give titles that have been forgotten a chance to shine, so having titles like Acrobunch, Betterman, Escaflowne, & Mechander Robo in a SRW is a great showing of that ideal...  On the other hand, they are pretty obscure titles in Japan, and having their sole SRW appearance be on a handheld that was effectively on its deathbed at the time of its release (i.e. the Wonderswan Color/SwanCrystal in the year 2003) didn't really help give those titles a big chance to shine.  Also, it was definitely one of the tougher recent entries in SRW, with Shura grunts having a fair amount of power to them, accuracy rates definitely not feeling like they were, well, accurate, and smaller HP counts in general.  Still, if you want to go off the beaten path in terms of SRW, and if you absolutely loved seeing Folka in OG Gaiden on PS2, then I say go ahead and check out Compact 3, though you'll need an emulator to really play it...  Unless you want to pay $200+ for the cartridge, plus whatever a Swan Color/Crystal goes for online.

Also, the chances of this game getting remade, ala Impact & A Portable?  Really small, unless Banpresto decides to toss in Acrobunch, Escaflowne, Betterman, Mechander Robo, & Dunbine (both TV & OVA) into SRW Z3, not to mention Victory Gundam, Daltanious, & Megazone 23 if they want to remake SRW D.  I'm just being realistic here, though that line-up does sound awesome.

Team Astro (June 3, 2011)
You think Ring ni Kakero 1 is over-the-top?  You think Prince of Tennis is ridiculous?  You think Inazuma Eleven is ridonculous?  Well then, my readers, you don't know anything!  Before any of these titles were doing any of their crazy happenings, Team Astro was filling up the pages of Weekly Shonen Jump back in the mid-70s with stuff that, upon viewing, will turn your hair white...  And then your hair will fall out before growing back due to the MANliness you've just seen!  Supposedly there were plans to make Team Astro into an anime TV series back in 1992 to tie in with the popularity of the Yomiuri Giants, but that never happened.  Instead, TV asahi teamed with Production I.G. in 2005 to make a short animation to help promote the station's baseball games, which then resulted in a full-out TV J-Drama adaptation of the manga, though an entire game & some other scenes were taken out so that the story could be told in nine 45-minute episodes.  And who better to lead this team of insanely over-the-top, ready-to-die, baseball-playing superhumans than Sonny Chiba himself!  And, seemingly in the "beating all of the odds" spirit of the title itself, this J-Drama can actually be watched legally via streaming with English subtitles!  Just go to DramaFever.com, and check this show out, because it is awesome.  Really, there is nothing that can really hurt your enjoyment in watching this show...

Except for really rough subtitles that can't even get the names of any of the characters, outside of J. Shuro and a couple of others, correct.  Well, to DramaFever's credit, the subs are still fully understandable to the point where you can still understand everything that's going on, so don't let rough subs keep you from watching an awesomely insane show.  Yes, I purposefully put "insane" second, because that's what this show is.

Twelve Older Animes that Deserve License Rescues 1 & 2 (January 2011 & June 2011)
They were the first two "Twelve Animes" lists I ever did, and they are still my favorites out of them all.  Plus, as evidenced by the pictures above, these two lists actually feature titles that have since been licensed rescued, mostly by Discotek...  Are they fans of this blog or something?  Literally, ever since these two lists went up Tekkaman Blade II, New Hurricane Polymar, Casshern: Robot Hunter Casshan, Mad Bull 34, & the Space Adventure Cobra movie have all been licensed and are either out by now or are coming out soon.  Plus, if you want you could also include Saint Seiya in there, since Discotek is also doing the four movies from the 80s, which means that the TV series being rescued is a possibility.  Also, New Video Group is doing the original Digimon anime series, dub-only, with Adventure already out & Adventure 02 on the way.  Yeah, out of 24 entires that's only six being rescued, seven if you count Seiya, but for a blog that's all about the osbcure and has (what I'm guessing is) very minimal anime fandom penetration I'm shocked that even that much has been fulfilled, let alone so many from a single company.

Now, Discotek, where are the license rescues for B't X, Dancougar, both Eat-Man animes, & Black Magic M-66?  Hey, Nozomi, where's the return of Maison Ikkoku?  And is it truly silly to hope that Dangaioh can one day get just one good DVD release?

Gundoh Musashi (December 1, 2011)
Gundoh Musashi is a show that I hate for all of its missed & dropped potential, nightmare fuel that the horribly drawn faces sometimes brought into my eyes, & that ear-aching "song" of a first opening.  At the same time, though, Gundoh Musashi is absolutely hilarious in all of its visual "glory"; the horrible animation, the photo-backgrounds, the mistimed audio, that one time voices came out of the wrong mouths (twice...  in the same shot), Musashi dodging a tree that wasn't actually drawn into the scene, and that absolutely silly second opening theme, among many, many other moments of comically-bad gold.  Then there's the fact that Japan never got the entire show on DVD, even though the 8-episode "TV version" set that was released was apparently a best-seller, while Europe got the entire show on DVD...  With subs in three different languanges (why not English, Kazé France?!) and a complete collection re-release.  I don't care if this show is, technically, one of the worst anime out there...  This show needs a R1 DVD release badly, complete with a "dub" that is actually a MST3K-style rifftrack; I think that Japanese would be fine with it just this once.  This review is, from what I can tell, the longest one I've ever done so far, but it's still something that has to be seen to be believed.

Oh, yeah, remember that first opening theme?  Well, now it's stuck in my head... And if I'm going down then you're going down with me!

...  I...  Well...  I did use this picture on the anniversary post.

The Land of Obscusion Turns One Year Old Today! (December 1, 2011)

Finishing off this list is a personal one above all of them, and it's the 1st anniversary post!  Really, going from doing YouTube videos for a year to making a blog was a little bit of a change in how I did reviews, but I only think that I have improved in my writing skills by doing this blog, and reaching one year really made me feel like I just had to keep on going, and now this blog is starting its third year.  Looking back at what I did in that first year to compile the useless lists I put up in that first anniversary post was fun for me, because it showed me just how much I had talked about in that first year, and I don't plan on stopping anytime soon, because that rare metals mine, as I compared this blog to, is deep and there's still plenty to dig through.  Sure, we'll hit the underwhelming titles here and there, as well as outright bad titles, but I'm still making it my goal to talk about as many obscure, forgotten, and unknown animes as I can...  And the fact that my readership has generally been doing nothing but going up (last month I was close to 1,900 views in one month), even if it's in small increments, means that I must be doing something right.  I might be small in terms of anime blogs...  But I've always been of the mind of "quality" over "quantity" (well, except for those first two months), and I think that's what counts in the end.

And that ends this look at my favorite posts of those first thirteen months of this blog's existence.  I did do a lot that I had wanted to do in that first year, but I can guarantee that I always have plenty of titles that I plan on checking out, or re-watching, and reviewing so don't think I'm anywhere near done.  I mean, come on, I still have titles like Salaryaman Kintaro, Zipang, RAINBOW, Showa Monogatari, Sci-fi HARRY, California Crisis, Bartender, and plenty of others to watch & review...  Not that any of those will be coming up next or anytime soon, though; I'm just admitting that they're all on my list of titles to review one day.  Now to finish cutting down the favorite posts list for this year down to 12, since I'm still at 27 on my list, not to mention that any reviews I do between now and the 2012 favorites list at the end of year will also be eligible.

Oh, what fun.

The Land of Obscusion's Twelve Favorite Posts of 2011!! (& December 2010, too) Part 1

With the blog now starting it's third year of existence I figure long enough has passed that I can look back at the first year with some sense of minor nostalgia and take a look at what I had posted back during 2011, while also adding in December 2010, the first month of the blog where I posted like a madman who felt that tons of posts in each month was the best idea...  Boy was that a silly idea.

Anyway, what were my favorite posts in those first 13 months?  That is actually a pretty tough thing to say, and cutting it down to my usual twelve entries was really hard.  I had to bite the bullet and not include stuff like the Xevious CG movie "non-review", Salamander, Kochikame the Movie, the Enoki Films USA catalog look-at, and B't X, among many others.  That first year had a lot of favorites of mine, but I do feel that these twelve posts (or series of posts in three certain choices) are my absolute favorites from 2011 & December 2010.  As usual, there is no actual order to this list, but here are my favorite posts in those first thirteen months!

Blazing Transfer Student (April 5 , 2011)
"Moeru Faiyaaa!  Ta-Ta-Ka-E!"  This OV...  Sorry, I mean OLA is just so much fun to watch and absolutely funny & admirable.  Only Kazuhiko Shimamoto can create something that is both something you want to enjoy in an honest fashion yet be so willing to poke fun at at the same time; it's okay, the anime does the same thing.  To be honest, the only possible reason I can think of for GAINAX not including this two-episode production in their "WORKS" page is simply because the "brilliant" idea of the Original Laser Animation ended up bombing so badly.  Since Japanese businesses don't like to talk about horrifically bad business decisions I'm going to guess that GAINAX probably decided to just ignore Blazing Transfer Student's existence and hope no one will remember it.  Well, unfortunately for them, people do remember this little anime short, and it is amazing.

I now leave you with Kazuhiko Shimamoto destroying his own vocal chords screaming his heart out singing the very theme song he wrote, with Noriko Hidaka worrying over his health before giving up and encouraging him to kill his vocal chords.

Ultimate Muscle: The Kinnikuman Legacy (July 7, 2011)
This review has a short little history behind it, and admittedly came about, in a sense, by "demand".  I had been keeping up with Viz's release of the Ultimate Muscle manga since they ended up only coming out once every six months, and the idea of reviewing it was in the back of my mind.  Once the last volume came out in July, though, I simply asked Jason Thompson on Twitter if he was going to cover UM on his ANN feature House of 1000 Manga, since he had covered other Viz mangas shortly after their last volumes came out, like he did with Saint Seiya & JoJo's Bizarre Adventure.  Jason, though, replied with an admittance that he's not familiar-enough with UM to talk about it, followed by him asking me when I'll review it.  Well, when the man behind HoTM is asking you when you'll be reviewing a manga you might as well review it, right?  Anyway, this was a fun review to make and I do hope that I did Jason proud, because it's his "fault" for me doing my very first manga review for the blog.  By the by, nearly a year later Shaenon K. Garrity, the editor of Viz's release of UM, did end up doing a HoTM article for the manga on behalf of Jason, so the circle of life did get complete eventually.

Honestly, the VHS covers Japan got crushed our covers.

Next Senki Ehrgeiz (December 9, 2010)
It's the third post in a row for Ehrgeiz, so I bet your getting tired of it, aren't you?  Well, this review is honestly one of favorites from the first year-ish of the blog.  Earlier that year I had recorded my AnimeVillage.com-subbed VHS tapes for Ehrgeiz onto DVD, as well as the one dub tape Bandai did, and in doing so I had re-watched the entire show in one day, and I really enjoyed seeing it all in one day like that; in fact, I enjoyed more that when I first watched it.  I had originally bought the VHS tapes back in 2004 because I had seen a page for it on AnimeNfo with a overall score of 1.0/10, but it only had one vote and there was no explanation for the score.  I must admit I was interested simply because I had to know why that 1.0 score was there.  Upon seeing the show and really enjoying it, I didn't understand the score and today I don't give a damn about that anymore.  I really like Ehrgeiz and I think this review really showcased that.  The fact that it's my #2 most-viewed post on the blog gives me a real feeling that I have succeeded in giving this show a second chance to people who are willing to watch obscure anime.  The fact that, since this review, Ehrgeiz's sub tapes have been ripped and can now be downloaded if you know where to look hopefully can also help.  I still want to know what "Dream Jack" means, though.

Naikaku Kenryoku Hanzai Kyousei Torishimarikan Zaizen Jotaro (October 20, 2011)
Ah, this is the review that I thought would never happen, simply because I wasn't going to buy the bootleg DVD release just to finish watching the show with bad bootleg English subs.  Luckily, I saw that someone actually did rip the subs from the bootleg, so I was able to watch all of this show and review it.  And, boy, was this show a ton of fun to watch, with a highly-entertaining lead character and a serious, yet still light-hearted at times, story dealing with dirty business & politics.  Sure, there are over-the-top moments, but that just adds to the fun of the title.  I outright went against the grain with the general consensus of this title, though I did point out that pretty much every talk of this show went solely off of one episode, three at the most, with the AWO "review" being the only one at the time actually covering everything that had been subbed at the time of that podcast, which was six episodes.  But I still stand behind this review, and I still stand behind this show, because I do think that it deserves a fair shot now that the entire thing can be watched with English subs, as long as you know where to look....  And you skip the absolutely horrid first episode that has nothing to do with the rest of the show.

Oddly enough, though, I am not the only person who feels this way, it seems, as there is a review of Zaizen Jotaro over at MyAnimeList that essentially says the same thing I said.  In fact, this person also compares Zaizen to Onizuka, just like me...  Freaky.

Platinumhugen Ordian (January 25, 2011)
Remember when I said that I could keep talking about Ordian forever at the end of the review?  That's because it is true, as there is a fair amount that I still didn't cover in this review.  There is just so much to Ordian that I have to admire it so much, as I do think that this is a Masami Obari production that has unfortunately become forgotten.  But, at the same time, even with the stuff that I didn't talk about the review still came out a really good read, and similar to Ehrgeiz this is another title that I can always get behind.  Where else can you get a mech anime that has two pretty different halves to them that features a bunch of Norse references, some Evangelion influences, random fanservice in the last episode, and crazy-awesome opening theme, and a mech that goes into another, larger mech that wields a giant spear?  Sure, you could name shows that have some of those elements, but only Ordian has all of them.

Really, where's my R1 DVD cover featuring this English logo?!  Come on!

Ring ni Kakero 1 [All of it] (December 2010, March 2011, June 2011, November 2011)
If there is one anime series that truly represents the spirit of The Land of Obscusion, it's Ring ni Kakero 1.  For something that is so obscure, underrated, underappreciated, underlooked, & underknown outside of Japan there sure is a fair amount of stuff to talk about in regards to it.  I've reviewed 36 episodes across four seasons, the pilot film that predated the first season, the sole video game based on it, a "Manga DVD" that also predates the first season, and I've even given an overview of the 24.5 chapters that the anime skipped over, for the most part, so that it can start at the main portion of the story.  In the smaller details, I've also mentioned the English dub that Ocean Studios did for some unknown (to me) portion of the anime, which featured Michael Coleman doing the voice for Ishimatsu, and I brought up the impact that the original Ring ni Kakero manga had on the manga industry, specifically that of the shonen mold.  In that first year-ish I essentially exhausted what there is to review; literally, all that would be left to review would be the Ring ni Kakero Image Album from the 80s, a vinyl record filled with songs based on the manga (I don't have it, and I don't want it); Ring ni Kakero 2, the sequel that stars the offspring of the original's leads (I would review it, but it's not translated into English & I only have 8 volumes out of 26); Kurumada Masami Nekkestu Taidan Densetsu/Masami Kurumada Hot-Blooded Conversation Legend Ring ni Kakero REAL, a series of conversations between Kurumada & MMA/wrestling pros, plus a RnK1 side-story manga short Kurumada made in 2006 (it's not translated into English, but the short was animated as the prologue of ep 1 of Ring ni Kakero 1: Shadow); and the multitude of Ring ni Kakero 1 pachislot & pachinko machines (I don't live in Japan, though I wouldn't mind playing one if I ever do visit Japan).  Man, that's a lot of stuff...  And to think that, if the newest pachislot machine is any indication, there might actually be a Season 5 of the anime in the near future.

I do like to think that I have helped make Ring ni Kakero 1 slightly more known via this blog and the coverage I have given it, and there is a slight indication that I may have.  Ever since I did my first RnK1 reviews back in December 2010 Seasons 3 & 4 (Shadow & Sekai Taikai-hen, respectively) ended up appearing on ANN's Encyclopedia list of the "Top 10 Most Underrated" animes, where they actually became #2 & #1, respectively, in the middle of this year.  Seeing that happen made me so happy, and the fact that the only stuff to top them have so far been titles that would be popular once they become more widely-available, like Children Who Chase Lost Voices, Wolf Children, & presently Madoka Magica Movie 1, combined with the fact that slowly, but surely, more people will watch S3 & S4 and rate them means that there seems to be a slightly larger appreciation for Ring ni Kakero 1.

And that's the end of Part 1 of my favorite posts of 2011 & December 2010.  Come back later this week when I cover Part 2...  And, yes, "that title" will be in Part 2, as I can't ignore a title that tortured me.

The Land of Obscusion Anniversay #2! Cue the Electric Boogaloo!

Happy Anniversary to Me!

That's right, everyone, this blog has now become two years old!  Hitting the one year mark last year was an awesome feeling, and while the second year doesn't quite hit the same excellent feeling it's still just as awesome.  While the overall number of posts this year won't quite hit the number it was in the previous twelve months, I still got a really nice number of posts, and I have kept up my goal of keeping an average of one post per week, for the most part.

Anyway, I had planned for two more reviews to do for Mecha Month last year, but having a brand new Wii U, combined with friends who wanted to play games like Mario U, ZombiU, & Tank! Tank! Tank!, kind of took the place of watching those two titles for review.  Hopefully I'll get to them for this month, as well as a very special review that I am willing to break a rule of mine, technically, to cover this month.  But, outside of those reviews, this month will specifically be about celebration.  This blog has hit two years, and the main attraction for this month will be me taking a look back at the previous two years, plus December 2010, & bringing up my favorite posts of each year.  Trust me, out of all the list-style posts I have planned out, these two upcoming lists have been the hardest... And I haven't even reduced the list for this year down to twelve entries yet!

Anyway, last year's anniversary was filled with stats that I compiled for the hell of it, so this year I'm doing something similar: Here are, according to Blogspot's "Stats - Posts" category as of this post, the Top 10 Most Read Land of Obscusion Posts of All Time! (Plus my thoughts on each one)

10. The Hunter X Hunter 1998 JSAT Pilot (July 4, 2011)

I'm not too surprised to see the Hunter X Hunter pilot review has made it to the Top 10, though it does often get overtaken by the Psychic Force OVA review (of all things).  It's a fun little piece top watch, as it offers a different take on a familiar scene early on in the series.  I must admit that I haven't really seen the anime remake that Madhouse is still doing, but I do plan on getting to it sooner or later, especially if a company was willing to license it for DVD release.  Regardless, if you're a fan of Hunter X Hunter and want something "familiar, yet different" then by all means check out the 1998 JSAT pilot, especially since it is fansubbed.

09. Gundoh Musashi (December 1, 2011)

Has it been one year since I decided to give one of the absolute worst animes of all time a fair & complete review, possibly the first (& only[?]) one of its kind?  To be honest, seeing Gundoh Musashi in the Top 10 only reaffirms that my idea of giving this title a complete review was a good one, as people do seem to be interested in reading something that actually gives an absolute opinion on the show in its entirety, rather than the usual reviews that seem to only cover a few episodes.  Granted, my overall opinion was similar to what the other reviews were, but at the very least my review gives people an idea of how the actual story advances & even "ends" (i.e. it doesn't really "end").  Will I ever torture myself that much when get to review #100?  Probably not, but I do have to think about something that's worthy of the #100 slot, since I am presently at 82 reviews.

08. B't X Neo (February 17, 2012)

One of only two posts on this list that came from this year, I think it's great to see a B't X review in the Top 10.  Re-watching this OVA was just great fun, and that multiple-episode final climax is still probably one of my favorite endings in anime & manga, though the manga's ending is no slouch, either.  Masami Kurumada has become a bit of a small focus on this blog, and though I do wish that a Ring ni Kakero 1 post was in the Top 10, B't X Neo is a perfectly good replacement.

07. Gyakkou Burai Kaiji: Ultimate Survivor (February 2, 2011)

This is the only part of what I call the "Madhouse Gambling Series/Quadrilogy/Tetralogy/Whatever-You-Want-To-Call-It" to make it to the Top 10, but I'm fine with that since Kaiji exemplifies the insane amount of quality that these four series all have.  Like I've mentioned I tend to consider Akagi the best overall, but Kaiji definitely gives a very tough battle.  Not much else to say but I'm glad it's in the Top 10.

06. Fukkatsu! The Renaissance of Twelve Older Animes That Deserve License Rescues Part 1 (June 11, 2012)

Holding the record for fastest entry into the Top 10 is my Part 1 of my third license rescue list, making it to the #6 spot in just one day!  This list featured the likes of Android Kikaider the Animation, Hajime no Ippo, Godmars, & Final Fantasy: Legend of the Crystals, and overall was a really nice start to this triumphant (?) return of the good-old license rescue list.

05. Violence Jack: Evil Town (November 17, 2011)

You know, I think a fair number of the people who read my blog are sick, sick human beings, and that's because, until the #6 spot debuted, my Evil Town review was the fastest entry into the Top 10, getting to its present spot in about a week.  Out of the three Violence Jack OVAs, Evil Town is easily the most messed up, violent, & disturbed entry, with a scene that enters into outright hentai territory.  All of that does end up with Evil Town being the best Violence Jack anime there is, but the sheer fact that it got into the Top 10 so fast really makes me wonder what my readers are really into...

04. Salamander (September 2, 2011)

This was a review that I was really hoping would make it into the Top 10, because this is a really great OVA that makes for a great example that video games can be made into really enjoyable anime productions.  Salamander takes the barely-there story of Gradius & Salamander/Life Force and creates an entertaining, if maybe a little simple at times, but in a world where everyone knows of tripe like Panzer Dragoon it's annoying to know that only the UK actually received Salamander on VHS outside of Japan.

03. Super Robot Wars Compact 3 (February 10, 2011)

First let me state one thing: The Top 3 posts have been the Top 3 pretty much since early 2011 and haven't changed since then, outside of #2 & #3 switching places on rare occasion.  With that out of the way let's get to #3, which is also the only non-anime-related post in the entire list.  SRW Compact 3 is a title that was essentially unknown until the release of OG Gaiden on the PS2, which introduced Compact 3's main character Folka & his race, the Shura, into the so-called OG-verse.  Unfortunately, Compact 3 itself remained obscure due to the system it was released on, the Bandai WonderSwan/SwanCrystal, and because it was the only SRW to ever feature the likes of Escaflowne, Acrobunch, Betterman, & Mechander Robo.  Still, some little annoyances aside, Compact 3 was a really fun entry in the SRW franchise and I'm glad to see that people are reading bout it.

02. Next Senki Ehrgeiz (December 9, 2010)

For such an obscure series I'm really amazed that my third-ever review is also my #2 most-read post on the blog.  Of course, that might be because the part of the title everyone knows it as, Ehrgeiz, is also the name of a fairly infamous 3D fighter that featured characters from Final Fantasy VII.  Still, like I said during Mecha Month, Next Senki Ehrgeiz is a title I will always stand behind and support, so seeing it in the #2 spot just makes me really happy.

01. Fuma no Kojirou: Yasha-hen (December 12, 2010)

So what if I'm using only one "u" in the word Fuma instead of two like I did in all of my Kojirou reviews?  Anyway, yeah...  The most-read post on this entire blog is my very first Masami Kurumada-related review, not to mention the most obscure of the Kurumada animes.  And it isn't #1 my only a few posts, either, because it's beating Ehrgeiz by roughly 100 views, which on my blog does make a difference.  Honestly, as surprising as this being the #1 spot is, it also showcases that the goal I had in mind with this blog, i.e. talking about lesser-known anime & manga, is truly being fulfilled, and that's the best thing I could ask for.

Well, I once again thank everyone who reads this blog and has been doing so for the past two years.  Though I can't guarantee how many reviews I'll get in this month expect this month to be fairly retrospective in its execution.  Here's to another year!