tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15941477149162527262024-03-18T23:28:05.136-04:00The Land of Obscusion: Home of the Obscure & ForgottenGeorgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14379026403924292231noreply@blogger.comBlogger659125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1594147714916252726.post-13857922767856378332024-03-18T12:02:00.000-04:002024-03-18T12:02:53.478-04:00Twelve(+2) Anime with "Missing" Portions Yet to be Licensed for English Release Part 2In theory, licensing an anime is actually an extremely straightforward process, and all one needs to do to get started is contact a licensor, of some sort; actually producing a satisfactory product from said license is the hard part. Anime Midstream admitted that they literally just cold e-mailed various companies when they got started in the late 00s, and eventually Sunrise bit & decided to Georgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14379026403924292231noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1594147714916252726.post-83425397795119572252024-03-11T12:04:00.000-04:002024-03-11T12:04:17.526-04:00Twelve(+2) Anime with "Missing" Portions Yet to be Licensed for English Release Part 1As simple as we, as fans, might think it is, actually licensing anime can sometimes be a tricky thing. If it's an older production there can be situations like needing to reunite a production committee, figuring out who has the rights if a company is no longer in business (& then seeing if the seeming current owner even has the paperwork to prove it, for legal reasons), and if there are Georgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14379026403924292231noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1594147714916252726.post-6296467596018852082024-02-29T12:00:00.000-05:002024-02-29T12:00:22.454-05:00Jitsuroku! Shinwakai: Forget the Greek Pantheon, THIS is the Real Deal!No one should be too proud of themselves, and by that I mean everyone should be able to poke fun at themselves, to some extent. Ego is a natural thing to have, it's just basic human behavior, but having too much of an ego can make one look pompous & arrogant, to the point where it can be seen as abrasive & uncouth to others. Therefore, I think it's important that people should be able to Georgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14379026403924292231noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1594147714916252726.post-55448341471305420072024-02-19T14:36:00.000-05:002024-02-19T14:36:03.943-05:0030 Years of Neo Mechanical Romance: Why B't X Might Be Masami Kurumada's Strongest Overall NarrativeEven as someone who proclaims Masami Kurumada as his all-time favorite mangaka, there's no denying one thing: The man isn't always the strongest storyteller. From an overall perspective his best works are powerful, both in the force of the blows dealt between combatants in his various action manga as well as the strong, Romantic-styled themes & plot progression. It's also easy to consider theGeorgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14379026403924292231noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1594147714916252726.post-48862395166256938732024-02-12T12:02:00.000-05:002024-02-12T12:02:06.082-05:00Obscusion B-Side: Takara's Legacy of "Fierce Fighting" on Game Boy: The Nettou "Deadheat Fighters" Series, 30 Years LaterToday, "handheld gaming" more or less means "console (or even PC) hardware, but on the go", and that was also true to some extent back in the 2010s & even 2000s. However, back in the 90s handheld gaming was mostly defined by the likes of Nintendo's Game Boy or Sega's Game Gear; there was also the Atari Lynx, but that was a distant third. Because of that the kinds of experiences that people Georgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14379026403924292231noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1594147714916252726.post-2226784350403857312024-01-29T11:01:00.002-05:002024-01-29T12:18:56.033-05:00Demo Disc Vol. 23: Yester YardsticksWhile I had initially conceived of Demo Disc to be a way for me to cover anime that I normally wouldn't be able to properly review in full, one idea wound up being a decent alternate definition of this column: Pilots. Starting with Volume 9 in 2017, I've occasionally returned to the idea of using Demo Disc to cover initial pilot versions of various anime, namely Volume 13 in 2018, Volume 15 in Georgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14379026403924292231noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1594147714916252726.post-26754757170599740602024-01-08T12:12:00.001-05:002024-01-11T13:39:48.610-05:00Ring ni Kakero, in Masami Kurumada & Others' Words: The Author's Notes & Afterwords (feat. shumpulations) Part 1: Volumes 1-9As part of this overall celebration of Masami Kurumada for his 50th Anniversary I figured that I'd try to include as many of his biggest hits in some way or another, but that brought about a problem: I've long covered more or less everything I really can when it comes to Ring ni Kakero. As it's my favorite manga from Kurumada I kind of exhausted every real aspect of it that I can think of, Georgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14379026403924292231noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1594147714916252726.post-30311082288334290792024-01-01T13:17:00.005-05:002024-03-10T23:13:50.936-04:0050 Years of Masami Kurumada's (Mostly) Hot-Blooded Manga: A Career Overview[Please Note: This is a piece that will continually be updated as I gradually cover more titles on the blog & fill in gaps. If anything, this likely won't truly be considered "complete" until Masami Kurumada truly retires from making manga or passes away.]"That manga drawer on that day, even now, continues to run down the unmarked road"- Masami Kurumada 23th Anniversary Illustrated CollectionGeorgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14379026403924292231noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1594147714916252726.post-53090736906753326182023-12-26T10:46:00.001-05:002024-01-22T16:10:38.720-05:00Obscusion B-Side: Hydrophobia (Pure & Prophecy): Once Bitten, Twice ShyFounded in 1998, Blade Interactive was an English development studio formed from the collapse of Mirage Technologies (Multimedia), the studio best known for the legendarily infamous Rise of the Robots, and at first Blade made its name developing billiards & snooker games, most notably the World Championship Snooker series. Aside from the occasional racing game, namely RoomGeorgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14379026403924292231noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1594147714916252726.post-89038965901426261552023-12-18T12:01:00.001-05:002023-12-18T12:01:55.202-05:00Obscusion B-Side: Prowling the Official Atari Jaguar Catalog: 1995 (Part 4)Previously on Prowling the Official Atari Jaguar Catalog:"While the chances of this next batch of releases for the Atari Jaguar actually matching up to the sheer quality we had last time were slim, what we got in this third part of 1995 actually wasn't terrible, on the whole... Regardless, Atari Corporation still couldn't really take advantage of the opening that Sega's poor launch of the Saturn Georgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14379026403924292231noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1594147714916252726.post-85277918078428817292023-12-11T12:03:00.001-05:002023-12-11T12:35:51.554-05:00Yu-Gi-Oh! The Movie: Pyramid of Light: All the Japanese with Their Yen Pay for the Additional FootageLooking back, it's kind of a miracle that the late Kazuo "Kazuki" Takahashi wound up being not just a successful mangaka, but created one of the most enduring trading card games of all time. His first manga one-shot was published back in 1981, he wouldn't have a serialized manga until he was picked to adapt the TV anime Go-Q-Choji Ikkiman in 1986, and his first few series in Weekly Shonen Jump inGeorgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14379026403924292231noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1594147714916252726.post-33222549147340430212023-11-21T11:55:00.002-05:002023-11-21T11:56:55.569-05:00Beyblade the Movie "Double Feature": You Spin Your Top Right Round, Right Round, Till You Go Down, Till You Go Down DownThe concept of the spinning top is one that dates just about as far back as humanity can possibly trace back to, being one of the oldest recognizable toys found in various archaeological sites. In fact, its concept is so ubiquitous that there is no singular place of origin to be determined for it, & it's generally accepted that various cultures conceived of the top independently of each otherGeorgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14379026403924292231noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1594147714916252726.post-85150702753070415632023-11-09T13:11:00.000-05:002023-11-09T13:11:07.408-05:00Obscusion B-Side: A Complete Overview of the PS2's GunCon 2 Rail Shooter DecetA couple of years ago I went over the four games that comprised Capcom's infamous/notorious (depending on the person) Gun Survivor sub-series for Resident Evil (& Dino Crisis). For those unfamiliar, they were a quartet of games that fused together the style & (sometimes the) sensibilities of arcade light gun rail shooters, but gave players full control over their movement; in short, they Georgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14379026403924292231noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1594147714916252726.post-3359255552640287612023-10-31T12:00:00.003-04:002023-11-02T11:12:23.801-04:00Retrospect in Retrograde: Beast Fighter: The ApocalypseAs mentioned in the previous review, Ken Ishikawa's apocalyptic sci-fi manga Majuu Sensen/The Demonic Beast Front only managed to run for a single year between 1975 & 1976 before the magazine it ran in, Futabasha's Weekly Shonen Action, got canned & beyond a three-episode OVA adaptation in late 1990 (which provided its own ending) there wasn't really anything else to be seen from Georgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14379026403924292231noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1594147714916252726.post-3224702242539920532023-10-23T12:00:00.001-04:002023-10-28T21:37:59.119-04:00Oh Me, Oh My, OVA! δ: Dog Eat Dog Eat Dog Eat DogThere are certain words that have a wide variety of interpretations, depending on the usage, context, & intention, & "dog" might just be one of the most varied. In a literal sense it can refer to "Man's Best Friend", the long-trusted Canis familiaris that hunter-gatherers domesticated over 15,000 years ago from the wild wolf. In a metaphorical sense it can refer to people or things that Georgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14379026403924292231noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1594147714916252726.post-83537333542890448442023-10-10T12:00:00.001-04:002023-10-28T21:19:48.340-04:00Majuu Sensen (OVA): Who Needs "The Father, The Son, & The Holy Spirit" When You've Got "The Bear, The Lion, & The Eagle"?!Born on June 28, 1948 in Karasuyama, Nasu, Tochigi (now Nasukarasuyama, since merging with Minaminasu in 2005), Kenichi "Ken" Ishikawa would join Dynamic Pro in 1969 after graduating from high school, becoming an assistant to Go Nagai on manga like Harenchi Gakuen & The Abashiri Family, before making his debut as co-creator alongside Nagai with late 1969's Gakuen Bangaichi. Nagai himself has Georgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14379026403924292231noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1594147714916252726.post-63670854090468989022023-09-25T12:06:00.001-04:002023-10-31T14:43:28.915-04:00Obscusion B-Side: The IF Neverland Reportage: Prelude to a New WarPreviously on The IF Neverland Reportage:"Without a doubt, the earliest games in the IF Neverland franchise can be evenly split into two halves that alternate with each successive game we've covered. One half is the more experimental games, with mixed results... Still, where Spectral Force 1, 2, & Lovely Wickedness succeeded was in defining a fantasy world filled with unique & varied Georgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14379026403924292231noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1594147714916252726.post-25846428470321559872023-09-11T12:01:00.003-04:002023-11-14T16:04:42.862-05:00Obscusion B-Side: Prowling the Official Atari Jaguar Catalog: 1995 (Part 3)Previously on Prowling the Official Atari Jaguar Catalog:"With the Jag now having actual major competition on the North America market in the form of the Sega Saturn, even with the console experiencing its own rough (& unintended) start, Atari needs more games like this bunch if it wants any chance at being able to stand next to Sega & Sony (as well as Nintendo, though its next console itGeorgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14379026403924292231noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1594147714916252726.post-23060861334498943802023-09-04T14:05:00.001-04:002023-09-06T21:28:54.464-04:00Obscusion B-Side: It's All About the Ataris, Baby... The Companies, Not the Punk Rock BandThere are only so many words in any language, so it's only natural that people only have so many words to name a company that they start up with, & it's not surprising to come across two different companies with effectively the same name from the same industry, so much so that calling them by a shorthand can lead to confusion. When it comes to video games there are plenty of examples of that.Georgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14379026403924292231noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1594147714916252726.post-90577702484783729032023-08-21T12:05:00.001-04:002023-10-30T14:12:41.878-04:00Obscusion B-Side: Frames, ARKs, Presidents, & HOUNDs: A Look at FromSoftware's Un-Armored CoresFounded on November 1, 1986 by Naotoshi Zin, Tokyo-based FromSoftware initially made its name as a developer of various business applications for mainframe computers, as well as agricultural applications like managing pig feeding. By the end of the early 90s "FromSoft" decided to transition over to game development, and eventually would "debut" with the release of King's Field for the PS1 on Georgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14379026403924292231noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1594147714916252726.post-47574967034958700502023-08-14T12:05:00.001-04:002023-11-08T15:22:40.333-05:00Television Spectaculars Across the Grand Line! A Look at the Original Four One Piece TV SpecialsWhile they're still done on rare occasion to this day, the concept of the "TV special" has certainly lost the luster it once had. In an age where streaming is king & traditional TV slowly loses more & more relevance with time, the traditional TV special has more or less been replaced by what's now called "event television", which prioritizes being aired live so as to more entice people toGeorgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14379026403924292231noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1594147714916252726.post-59087751933378981952023-08-07T12:03:00.002-04:002023-11-28T16:29:11.050-05:00Obscusion B-List: 4:3-Only Wii Games That Resisted WidescreenWhen it comes to imagery, one of the most important things to consider, from a compositional perspective, is aspect ratio. This determines the height & width of an image & makes all the difference in how something is framed within said image. When it comes to moving pictures, whether that be film, television, or gaming, aspect ratio has played a major role in helping define them. For Georgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14379026403924292231noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1594147714916252726.post-78593765566234799352023-07-31T12:12:00.000-04:002023-07-31T12:12:31.663-04:00The Ages of Jump Encore Part 2: Going Out Fighting, Allegro con Fuoco55 years ago, Shueisha launched Shonen Jump, a biweekly magazine meant to act as a sister publication to Shonen Book, a monthly magazine launched 11 years prior that itself would eventually transmogrify into Bessatsu Shonen Jump, then Monthly Shonen Jump, & finally into the Jump Square that currently exists. In those 5.5 decades of life, Shonen Jump rose from a mere competitor to the likes ofGeorgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14379026403924292231noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1594147714916252726.post-92227991116410591752023-07-17T12:05:00.001-04:002023-08-01T13:38:04.832-04:00The Ages of Jump Encore Part 1: "Play 'Freebird'!"Close to eight years ago, a.k.a. sometime in late 2015, I came up with the "brilliant" idea of using Wikipedia's list of every single manga that had run in Weekly Shonen Jump up to that point, making note of as many notable titles as I could from that list (either because of length, notoriety, infamy, or simply getting an anime adaptation), and giving a basic & general overview of every Georgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14379026403924292231noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1594147714916252726.post-40062969402564556512023-07-03T12:02:00.001-04:002023-07-05T14:47:43.066-04:00The Tangerine Terminator: A Look at Shonen Jump's History of Early Cancellations, By the NumbersIn the 55 years since the original launch of Shonen Jump as a biweekly magazine in July of 1968, the magazine has become the iconic origin for too many classic & influential manga to count, out of a total (as of this piece) 744 different series (not including one-shots) that have run in its pages. However, in strong relation to that history of legendary manga that have come from that Georgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14379026403924292231noreply@blogger.com2