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Anime Reign | Issue 2 | 2013
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CONTENTS CURRENTLY DISCLOSABLE INFORMATION:
Shingeki no Kyojin /02
WORKING OF THE
Suisei no Gargantia /06
MANEUVER GEAR /05
Chihayafuru /08
ANIME SHOWS ANIME MOVIES MANGA CONVENTIONS
THE AGE OF LIONS: OLD SCHOOL MANGA OR WHAT? /46
SCHOOL / I
JUST ANOTHER DAY AT
REALITY /26
PERSONAL
A CERTAIN MAGICAL INDEX’S
3 DIMENSIONAL
Hataraku Maou sama! /12 Yahari Ore no Seishun Love Comedy wa Machigatteiru /14 Hentai Ouji to Warawanai Neko /15 Pokemon Origin /18 Pokemon X and Y /19 Neon Genesis Evangelion /21
The Garden of Words /28 Neon Genesis Evangelion 3.0 /31 DBZ Kami to Kami /33 Naruto: Road to Ninja /35 Hortaru no Haka /36 Toki wo Kakeru Shoujo /38
Berserk /41 Cage of Eden /45
C2Age /48 Otakuthon /52 Japan Cool Festival /54 Cosplay Gallery /56
OC COMPETITION
WILEA CHAN /01
WAC-ART /62
Anime Reign | Issue 2 | 2013
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OC COMPETITION WAC ART | FEBRUARY 2013
Wilia Chan Name
Katherine Reanette
Origin
Cremona, Italy of year 1881
Race
Italian (Vampire)
Gender
Female
About: She hides all her feelings deep within
her heart, thinking that she could just ‘switch’ it off. But since Ralph appears in her life, he unconsciously uncovers each and every one of her hidden personalities and feelings, making her realize how lonely she actually had been and how she can learn to trust and hope.
Description: Katherine always appears unenthusiastic and likes to sleep in even when
she’s really psyched or excited for an event. She pretends to be an arrogant, cruel and fierce vampire but underneath her facade, she’s a careful and lonely girl who is too afraid to be hurt. She never makes any promises unless she knows she can grant them. She’s dominant and can be really seductive when it comes to luring her target.
Physical Description: 175 cm, Eyes, black colored, dark sharp eyes, Hair, black, long, smooth, slightly curly (natural) long lashes, pale complexion, flawless skin, Beautiful features, sexy and cute all the same, looks elegant and arrogant, aristocratic features.
Background: She was born on the night of 19th January 1881 of Alexia Dion, an actress
and David Austen, a slightly over-worked professor. They used to live in a manor located on the outskirts of Italy. On Mia’s 17th Birthday, a bunch people came and arrested David Austen, accusing him of Witchcraft and Satanism. Though his name was cleared several weeks later, an arson happened and the manor was burned to the ground with Alexia and David inside. Mia successfully escaped but was left an orphan whilst no one dared to help her. She was left to rot in an abandoned building until a couple’s carriage stopped by. They were known aristocrats with the name Reanette. Mia changed her name and thought that she could forget her past and lead a better life - she was mistaken. It so happened that the Reanette couple were sadistic people who enjoyed torturing teenagers. She was adored by day and tortured by night.
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Anime Reign | Issue 2 | 2013
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Shingeki
no
Kyojin
- By Damien Riley
PLOT:
Several hundred years ago, humans were nearly exterminated by titans. Titans are typically several stories tall, seem to have no intelligence, devour human beings and, worst of all, seem to do it for the pleasure rather than as a food source. A small percentage of humanity survived by walling themselves in a city protected by extremely high walls, even taller than the biggest of giants. Flash forward to the present and the city has not seen a giant in over 100 years. Teenage boy Eren and his foster sister Mikasa witness something horrific as the city walls are destroyed by a collossal titan that appeared out of thin air. As the smaller titans flood the city, the two kids watch in horror as their mother is eaten alive. Eren vows that he will murder every single titan and take revenge for all of mankind.
MY REVIEW:
This anime has an amazing story that follows a very simple message for everyone. Don’t simply go with the flow of those around you and stand up for what you believe.
Shingeki no Kyojin has become an instant classic with its cutting edge animation style and characters. People all around the globe have been saying that it’s the greatest “mainstream” anime after Dragon Ball Z and One Piece. I will admit that when I first watched this on its worldwide, online release on the 6th of April, I was underwhelmed and got the feeling that everybody was just a military anime version of Spiderman. However, after seeing it for the second time, I’ve grown a little attached, not enough to call it the greatest anime ever, but still a lot better than the negative spin I was going to do. This anime is great fun with lots of plot twists that you would never see coming from any other anime. If you’re into gore and things transforming, then you will love this (yes, I mean you, DBZ fans). With fast-paced metal playing as the theme, you can’t help but get hyped for it. The music throughout the anime series includes songs by: Linked Horizon, Yoko Hikasa, Cinema Staff, Immediate Music, Hiroyuki Sawano, Mika Kobayashi, Mpi, Rei, Aimee Blackschleger, Cyua, and CASG. This is completely different from anything I normally watch and enjoy, which means that this anime must be something special. With great moments of humour and also terror inducing scenes which are bound to excite you, this is an amazing anime that most people will enjoy. This is very different from what most anime today are slowly, solely catering to, and many people will agree with me on this, simple fanservice. This doesn’t do that at all though, in fact, it goes in the absolute opposite direction.
MUSIC:
The music in this anime is little more than simply beautiful. The opening theme songs are both done by Linked Horizon and are called “Feuerroter Pfeil und Bogen” (Crimson Bow and Arrow) which stay till episode 14, where it changes to my favorite of the two, entitled “Die Flügel der Freiheit” (Wings of Freedom). The ending themes are both by different people. For the first 13 episodes, the ending theme was “Utsukushiki Zankoku na Sekai” (This Beautiful Cruel World) which was sung by Yoko Hikasa. As of episode 14, the ending theme was changed to “Great Escape”, performed by Cinema Staff.
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Anime Reign | Issue 2 | 2013
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PLOT: The plot of Attack on Titan is a very simple one: Titans have taken over
everywhere except for a single location inside three walls, each of which has its own section and name. The simplest part of the plot is that the titans have to be defeated so the humans can win. But then, is there something deeper involved here? The series continuously hints at something mysterious which is still unknown to us.
CHARACTER DESIGN: The characters have a nice physical design which
is unique, with dark lines emphasized at the edges of the character designs, which is actually quite pleasing. Their personalities too all differ from one another which is absolutely amazing. A great example of this is that the main character wants to destroy all the titans while another character that you meet in later episodes wants the simple life of staying in the safest part of the human area. To me, this is brilliant with the amount that they actually differ from one another.
ANIMATION:
The style of this anime’s animation is really dark but it’s so insanely brilliant that I love it. It runs generally smooth, and the animation seems very fluid.
OTHER NOTES: Dark though this is, it still has plenty of comical moments. I’m not going to give any of them away though so you should go watch it for yourselves.
PERSONAL RATING: I would have to give this a SOLID 8.64
purely for the amazing graphics and music if nothing else. The storyline being so basic made it lose a few points but this is my opinion so don’t send me any hate mail.
Albums The albums that have been released are: Shingeki no Kyojin Opening & 2nd Opening Single (by Linked Horizon), Shingeki no Kyojin Ending Single (by Yoko Hikasa), Shingeki no Kyojin - Trailer Soundtrack (by Immediate Music), Shingeki no Kyojin the Original Soundtrack (by Hiroyuki Sawano, Mika Kobayashi, Mpi, Rei, Aimee Blackschleger, Cyua and CASG) and Shingeki no Kyojin Original Soundtrack 2.
Anime Reign | Issue 2 | 2013
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Games There have so far been four games made for Attack on Titan. They are pretty much visual novels which will be released with the first few copies of the sixth and eighth volumes of the anime on Blu-Ray. The first visual novel is called “Lost in the Cruel World” which is about Mikasa and it also contains a preview of the next visual novel entitled “A Choice with No Regrets”. This one is about Levi and Erwin’s past, and an untitled visual novel which is about Eren and Levi. The fourth and final visual novel is called “Wall Sina, Goodbye” which is about Annie. There’s an action game too, entitled “Attack on Titan: The Wings of Counterattack” which is being developed for the 3DS with a release on the 5th of December 2013 in Japan. It is unknown as of yet when, or even if, it will be released outside of Japan.
Other
media
It has been confirmed that a Shingeki no Kyojin live-action movie will be released some time in 2014. Back in December 2012, the director, Tetsuya Nakashima, left his position after too many creative differences with scriptwriting and other matters. No more details about the movie have been released as of yet however.
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Anime Reign | Issue 2 | 2013
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CURRENTLY DISCLOSABLE INFORMATION First created by the first-class weapons craftsman, Angel Altonen, the 3D Maneuver Gear was innovative and the greatest creation used in the war to save mankind.
THREE DIMENSIONAL MANEUVER GEAR
In
side the body of the device is a long steel wire and a pair of independently revolving axles. The only functioning part of the operating device is a black box which is maintained and upgraded by the technical department in complete secrecy. The main way to get around using a 3D Maneuver Gear is by using the gas, which is compressed into the cylinder and injected into the fan section of the gear, to propel yourself forward in small bursts so as to not waste the gas. The fans in the fan section get rotated by the gas being sent into it, where it then has the amount of gas released regulated to manipulate the output.
CANNONS Before the 3D Maneuver Gear was created, cannons were the main means of defense against the Titans. Used mostly by the Stationary Guard, these cannons fire two kinds of rounds: pomegrenades and grapeshots. Pomegrenades are explosive rounds with the power to destroy a titan’s head entirely and are often used to try and destroy the nape of its neck. Grapeshots are simply used to slow down titans and are the traditional shots. When the first wall was breached, the walls got fitted with rails which the cannons were fitted on to. The cannons have the ability to fire directly down so as to hit the titans without risking getting hit themselves.
FIREARMS Not being very effective at destroying titans, the technology for firearms was left alone once the 3D Maneuver Gear was developed. This isn’t to say that firearms aren’t used at all, as they are still used by the Military Police and other security relations that deal with human-to-human relations. The only weapons that are currently shown in the anime are rifles (muskets) and pistols. The only effect that firearms seem to have against the titans is that they can shoot out their eyes, causing temporary blindness. The Scouting Legion and Stationary Guard often use flareguns to communicate over long distances. They use a certain code which differs from group to group.
The SCOUTING LEGION uses a code that comprises of:
The STATIONARY GUARD uses a different ammo code:
Red =
Titan spotted.
Green =
Mission started.
Black =
Deviant-type titan spotted.
Red =
Mission failed.
Purple =
An emergency of some kind.
Yellow =
Mission successful.
Blue =
An order to retreat.
Green =
Change direction of formation
Yellow =
The mission is over, successful or failed.
Anime Reign | Issue 2 | 2013
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Eren is the hard-headed and impulsive main protaganist of the series. Before joining the military, he was a kid who stood up for himself and his friends many times. He was a poor fighter however, and often needed Mikasa’s help (even though he never asked for it). He is the son of Doctor Yeager and foster brother to Mikasa Ackerman. His biggest goals in life are to kill the titans, protect the human race and see outside the walls.
The main female protagonist, Mikasa is very fit with hair that goes to her chin. She has a calm and cool demeanor which she has had since she was 9. Mikasa has a natural talent for everything that she tries, which she claims is from shutting out everything and only using her brain for doing the task at hand. Ever since Eren gave Mikasa his scarf so she wouldn’t be cold, she has never been seen without it on as it is precious to her. She follows Eren’s decisions with blind faith but is still very level-headed. She has always followed the words that Eren said to her as a child about the world being a cruel place and needing to fight in order to survive.
Considered a genius by most people who know him, Armin has saved Misaka and Eren’s lives on more than one occasion. Though considered a genius, with his expert tactical intuition, his intelligence is simply above average. Despite this, he believes that he is a burden to them, something that Mikasa manages to snap him out of. He shares Eren’s dream of seeing the outside world and is very loyal to his best friends. Even with the low self-esteem he has, he still has a sense of pride as shown during his training with the military.
Levi is often referred to as a “clean-freak� but also humanity’s greatest soldier. Some even go as far as to say that he is a one-man army. He comes across as blunt and unapproachable and he also has a strong respect for structure and discipline, making him difficult to be around. While Levi has respect for order and structure, he seems to have a strong disliking of authority and status quo, believing that people should think for themselves instead of going with the flow. Levi is rumoured to have been a thug in an underground gang before joining the Scouting Legion.
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Suisei
no
Gargantia
- By Tiberius S. Patterson
S
uisei no Gargantia (Gargantia on the Verdurous Planet), at least according to me, was one of the most underrated anime of its season. The story initially appears to be your typical mecha anime with the introduction of a pilot and what seems to be an overpowered battle robot. Well, it’s pretty easy to be overpowered when you’re the only highly advanced war machine on the planet. Gargantia was produced by Production I.G. Production I.G is one of the older studios, who have been around since about 1988. Perhaps their best-known, most recent anime is Shingeki no Kyoujin. Other recent, notable works are the Mass Effect movie, Psycho-pass and Robotics;Notes. Perhaps their all-time, best-known series are the Blood franchise and the Ghost in the Shell franchise. In reality, they’ve done so much that have been such big hits that it would take a lot of space to list them out here. Anyway, moving on. The series starts out with a brief exposition on the current state of humanity. Everyone lives in space and are currently involved in an all-out war with an alien species call the Hideazue. The story centers around Ensign
Anime Reign | Issue 2 | 2013
Ledo, who is the pilot of Chamber, the mecha called a Machine Caliber used to fight the war against the Hideazue, which is also an A.I. that supports Ledo throughout the series. During a massive engagement, the human fleet is forced to retreat. During the wormhole jump, Ledo gets knocked out and wakes up 6 months later to find that he is now on a water-covered Earth. The story continues from here. So, what makes this so UNDERRATED and worth writing about? While it may not be this action-packed, mecha-battling, war-of-attrition-styled anime, it does contain a plotline that develops steadily over the course of the series. In addition to the nice story progression, we also see a lot of character development from the main characters involved. At the onset, we are introduced to Amy, who is essentially Ledo’s first contact. At the same time, we are also introduced to Pinion, Ridget and Bellows, who are all important characters in the story. At the risk of spoiling whoever winds up reading this, I won’t delve too much into the plot developments. Due to the nature of the plot, I’m not even going to hint at what’s to come. Usually, I don’t mind doing stuff like that, since I can just add a spoiler tag, but it’s worth it to just watch and find out for yourself. All the developments are well worth it. Now, that being said, let’s move on.
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he animation is absolutely stellar, done in Production I.G’s typical high-quality. Despite that, there are a few points where the CG didn’t mesh well with the rest of the scene. This is most notable when they come to the Sea Galaxy, which emits electrical discharges, akin to lightening, upwards. Perhaps the most notable disparity in the CG is when Chamber is flying around. Since he does that a lot, it’s easy to pick up. Still, this doesn’t detract from the impressive visuals. For example, night skies are notoriously hard to do right, yet Production I.G manages to get it done right. Although, it does seem to have trouble bringing out the features of the characters when panning out. Overall, the animation is fluid and doesn’t disappoint. On the other side to this same coin, the music had a little to be desired. There weren’t any tracks that one could call “amazing,” like everyone seems to say about the OP to Date A Live (which I happen to agree with). Still, it does provide a subtlety that completes the series, though I would have liked to see a few more upbeat tracks. The music does its job, however, so there’s really nothing to complain about. My personal preference are just that; mine. As good as this series is, we can’t escape the inevitable fan service that seems to come with every series these days. Most notable is a dancing scene involving three of the female characters during a festival. It’s reminiscent of a Middle Eastern, or other Arabic persuasion, styled dance. Then, there is also the requisite swimsuit episode that takes place relatively early on. It doesn’t so much detract from the series as it does emphasize how different the culture of the humans living on Earth is. In the end, I let you be the judge of the series. I don’t make it a habit to give it rating of any kind, like five stars or X/10. I find that quantifying how enjoyable it was does nothing to help you, the potential viewer of this series, in making a determination as to whether to watch it or not. Still, I WILL RECOMMEND THAT YOU DO WATCH IT. It’s definitely worth the time it takes to go through all 13 episodes and you won’t even realize you’ve gone through them until it’s over. All images are property of their respective owners and are used under Title 17 U.S.C 107.
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Anime Reign | Issue 2 | 2013
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Chihayafuru
- By Vanshika Sahni
F
ollowing in the tradition of anime based on board and card games like Hikaru no Go, Chihayafuru is an award-winning manga adapted to anime in Fall 2011. Based on the card game karuta, the manga and the anime propelled the popularity of this eclectic yet unsung game across Japan. Karuta is a competitive card game where the players have to memorize the position of the cards and then find them when their verses are being read out. Apparently, the author, Suetsugu Yuki, belonged to the karuta club in high school and this became her inspiration for the creation of this manga. Suetsugu was earlier infamous for committing plagiarism for her manga “Flower of Eden” during the 2000-20004 run. It was pulled from the market and its English release was cancelled, which put Suetsugu’s career on hold. So, Chihayafuru not only marked her return to the world of manga but winning the second Manga Taishō award and the 35th Kodansha Manga Award in the shōjo category brought back the forlorn glory.
In other card and board game anime like Hikaru no Go, the protagonist is propelled into the game by the appearance of a ghost who projects his love for the game on the protagonist. No such machinations are there in chihayafuru. The other game anime are like Akagi, where you’re fascinated and scared by the protagonist and even though the game is complicated, you stay with the character to find out if their risky moves pay off. But while Hikaru no Go is a shounen anime and Akagi is a mature seinen, Chihayafuru is directed towards josei and shoujo. However, Chihayafuru should not be underestimated because of this as the target audience aims to serve both mature viewers as well as younger viewers. A pretty protagonist who puts guys off due to her obssession with karuta, bishounen male lead who plays it cool with occassional breakdowns, another megane male lead who has a natural gift for the game and many more. With such an array of solid characters, Chihayafuru has a lot working in its favour. Like any other sports anime, Chihayafuru also evokes strong feelings of team work, never-give-up attitude, hard work and achieving your dreams. A game not dependent on age, gender, size, intelligence and strength, and poems that render images that send you a 1000 years back is a must-watch for anyone interested in game or sports anime. The game places a lot of emphasis on speed, reflexes, and memorization. This ‘shoujo’ game anime becomes intense and competitive as it moves ahead and it is not tough to get carried away with the infectiousness of the protagonists’ enthusiasm. The series also carries the message of training and hard work like many other shounen animes, apart from giving an insight into Japan’s poetic traditions as the card game is a compiled anthology of poems by 100 poets. The anime and the manga have become famous in Japan and have almost revived the game and made it a popular fanfare.
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PLOT: Chihayafuru traces the growth of the protagonist Ayase Chihaya as
she plays and competes in competitive karuta. Through an extended flashback we are shown how Chihaya, who just had her dreams pinned on her sister, was inspired by her classmate Wataya Arata, who wants to become a top karuta master. After experiencing an aggressive playing style of the game, Chihaya becomes entranced by it and takes on the dream of becoming a top player. Along with Chihaya’s snooty but well-meaning friend Mashima Taichi, the trio forms a warm friendship based on the game. But things don’t last long as Mashima gets enrolled into a different school and Taichi moves back to his hometown Fukui. Only Chihaya is left and she continues ahead with her steadfast devotion to the game.
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B
ut when Chihaya enters high school, she along with her club members –Jack of all trades, Mashima Taichi; the girl in love with the classics, Oe Kanade; the studious Tsutomu Komano and Nishida Yuusei, who ran away from karuta after losing to Wataya –plans to take their school to the karuta national tournament. Both season 1 and 2 trace the club’s journey as they participate in the national tournaments as a group and as individual participants. While all of them have a different approach to playing karuta, the love for the game is also visible through the techniques they apply.
Chihayafuru can be interpreted in several ways – A COMPETITIVE SPORTS ANIME WITH BATTLES, POLISHING AND HONING THE SKILLS OF THE PROTAGONISTS; A LOVE TRIANGLE PLAYED OUT ON THE BATTLEFIELD OF KARUTA OR THE JOURNEY OF A YOUNG GIRL WHO IS ON HER WAY TO REIGN THE WORLD OF KARUTA. The anime shows that karuta is not a leisurely card game played for passing time but a hard-core sports game with complex strategies and tear-enducing finales. As the anime progresses, we see Chihaya moving further and progressing towards her goal with obvious obstacles.
CHARACTERS: I think sometimes more than the plot,
the characters bind you to the anime. Their motivations, emotions and drive might lead any viewer to sympathize with the character and any misgivings of the plot might seem miniscule if the viewer is more attached to the character. In chihayafuru, the character’s growth and journey have an over-arching importance, or rather, the character’s journey becomes the plot. Chihaya’s growth in season one and two keep the viewer attached and amused. Her steadfast ambition and an almost-blind determination to become the best at karuta might sometimes make her insensitive to her surroundings. But there are an array of characters, each with their small knacks and weakness. The karuta club, as it connects with each other, makes you feel as you are part of the team as it matures and develops. The other thing that the characters do is pick each other up when the other one is down. When one member of the club faces failure, the other members are always encouraging, supportive and make up for the loss. But apart from the main characters, each opponent is also unique and evolving. In each match, the game and its pace evolve the team members and their opponents, giving the viewer good insight into each player’s growth. The relations among characters also undergo a change through the wins and losses. For example, Chihaya faces the reigning Queen Wakamiya Shinobu in season 1 and even though the result might be predictable, by the end of season 2, this rivalry has become a learning curve for both the players.
ANIMATION: A Madhouse production,
the series is one of the best looking anime. Typically a game anime about poems, there is a lyrical and innocent beauty to the anime that is mirrored in its animation, which is a visual treat and almost lifelike.
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A
well-executed show, the director and his team tried to balance both the gameplay and the characters who were involved in the game. While the game is not action-heavy, when one is watching the anime it feels that every card that is hit is like a shot that is fired, providing the anime a heavy momentum. The images of flying cards and scattered sakura petals along with the sparkling and bright atmosphere will leave you feeling all – beware – mushy and sentimental.
MUSIC: Even though Chihayafuru is a game anime, the music evokes a rush of poetic visuals. The m u s i c changes from playful innocence to stressed pressure as the games progress. Sometimes, during moments of introspection, the music disappears and this often provides a strong insight into the character along with the increase in the tension and drive. The music mirrors the passions and the hesitations of the characters at apt situations.
CONCLUSION: It is the anime’s
pace that gives enough time for characters to develop. Without any flashy moves, the anime’s easy elegance paves the way for great games. However, the anime might be slow-paced and the ‘kirakira’ or sparkling characters may remind you vaguely of kimi ni todoke. The pacing acts as a double-edged sword. While the slow pace may put you off, it will eventually pay off. But Chihayafuru is for the anime fan who is willing to invest time and patience. It is not for those who are looking for fast-paced action or sudden lifealtering moves. Yes, and the manga is still ongoing. So if you’re hoping for some concrete end in terms of ranking and a finale to the love triangle, you’re better off watching a tear-jerker romance anime. But this is your anime if you’re looking for some solid SECOND-HAND CHARACTERS with good backstories, full-fledged matches, and insight into game-playing strategies.
Anime Reign | Issue 2 | 2013
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Hataraku Maou Sama!
- By Aditya R. Raghuvanshi
SYNOPSIS: The Demon Lord and one
of his generals, Alciel, escape Ente Isla through a portal to modern Tokyo, Japan after being confronted by the Hero Emilia Justina and her companions. However, due to the lack of magic in the modern contemporary world, both the Demon Lord and Alciel change into forms representing what they would look like if they were human. In order to survive, the Demon Lord takes a part-time job in a fast food restaurant named MgRonald while Alciel serves as his houseman. One day, the Demon Lord, who now goes by Sadao Mao, meets the Hero. The story then unfolds and explores the personalities of each of the characters and their moral values. More characters show up from EnteIsla and they too face the new world dilemmas, often comically.
REVIEW: “Fear the wrath of the the Evil One!“,
these words probably go through everyone’s mind when they hear the name Maou (Demon King). But godknowswhy there hasn’t been a decent Maou themed anime ever! ‘Hataraku Maou-sama’ took a detour from our expectations, i.e. from the mainstream action genre to a more sliceof-life/rom-com/comedy genre, where it fits beautifully. Although the story was good overall, there were instances where you start losing interest, which is not something you want to see in a 13 episode short series.
Anime Reign | Issue 2 | 2013
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here have been 2 other well-known anime with the same Demon King plot: ‘Maoyu Mao Yusha’ & ‘Kyo Kara Mao!’. Whereas the first took a political (& boring) turn about the female moe Demon King & the shy teen Hero planning to stop the war by creating a neutral zone, the second one was just a plain yaoi-comedy with a teen boy with “secret demon powers” marrying his male subordinate by slapping him during an argument (and this the cue for you fujoshi girls to run for it). Compared to these two, Hataraku Maou-sama is actually worth watching without getting a headache. Having one tsundere and one moe-filled heroine added a cliché but great comedy twist to the plot, though there was even remotely no romance involved, credits to the oblivious Maou. The action scenes, though only a handful, were really well made. Plus, there’s a little fan-service episode later on in case you thought of skipping the series.
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Yahari Ore no Seishun Love Comedy wa Machigateiru
- By Pax Alquiza
H
ere’s a question. What kind of person do you find “weird”? That’s a “weird” question in itself. Every person has their own view of “weird”. But then, there are those who are generally labelled “weird”. Not by preference of an individual, but the society itself. There have always been those people in your class in middle school, have there not? And if not, then it could be you. Anyway, as those lonely spirits of our batch grow, they become more aware about their surroundings. Loneliness could either make you, or break you. Most often, our lonesome friends tend to do the latter, and stand-up and be proud of themselves, which, in turn, freaks everyone else out, and get branded as “loners” and “weirdos” until your graduating year, unless drastic changes are made. STORY: One such interesting individual is Hikigaya, Hachiman. He’s you’re basic run-of-the-mill loner. That one guy in class who’s anti-social, and is more like a little, unused chair in the corner of the room rather than a classmate. We’re going to take his daily mundane life in which he takes good pride in, and put him in standard “Love-comedy” situations, and see what happens. Living through his lonely high-school life with the burden of a “RomCom” protagonist, our hero has no choice but to follow his almost similarly anti-social leading ladies into the fray and surpass a very judgemental school, family, social, and not to forget, love life. The comedic and romantic situations fit themselves nicely in the story, and bring in more interest in our uninteresting protagonist. CHARACTERS: To be straight up and frank, this section entices me the most. Although our main man is detestable and amazingly thick-headed, I can’t help but relate to the way he thinks and acts. Probably because I kind of experience what the characters have experienced.
And as the Otaku isn’t really a sociable being, I can easily say that people will relate to him as well. As for his band of similarly awkward “friends”, they are also very much relatable. This rarely happens in “RomCom” anime, which is why I give the characters of Yahari a big thumbs up. SOUNDS: There’s nothing more to say about the sound and voices but “spectacular”. The OPs and EDs are both beautifully composed, especially the OP (Yukitoki), as expected of Supercell. And the seiyuus all fit very nicely with their characters, especially Takuya, who voices our main man, Hikigaya. You guys probably know him as Saru from Oda Nobuna no Yabou or Shinji from Kuroko no Basket. ART: The visuals are also pretty good. The art portrays the story very well, but isn’t as “Visual Heavy” as Bakemonogatari, or Photo Kano since it’s more story oriented anyway. So expect some smooth watching. I also like the way they do their “next episode” previews. Although it gets frustrating as well, at times.
VERDICT: An anime that sets an atmosphere on its own is really hard to come by. But Yahari
keeps it up. It manages to project its own feel to the viewers by using the characters to relate to them. This is a hard task to accomplish, but is accomplished nonetheless. The way it tells its story is enticing. The sound and the art are good. And all in all, it wraps itself up in a neat package. But then, this anime may not be for everyone. Because once you stop relating to the characters, the story ends up being a meaningless ramble. It also doesn’t have much action, so totally not recommended for Shounen-heads. I can easily recommend this anime to those who want a good “Slice of life” anime, those who like a good romance and those who like a light watch once in a while.
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Hentai Ouji To Warawanai Neko
- By Damien Riley
PLOT SYNOPSIS: Youto Yokodera is a second-year
high school student who is arguably the biggest pervert at school. His problem is that he is not good at showing his real emotions. One day, his equally perverted best friend completely transforms and gets rid of his “impure thoughts”; a feat he attributes to the power of the statue of the “stony cat”. As the rumors suggest, by wishing upon the statue and giving an offering, one can wish to remove a personality trait from themselves that one does not wish to have anymore. HOWEVER, this will remove the unwanted trait and give it to someone who does need it. As Youto is making his offering to the statue, a girl named Tsukiko Tsutsukakushi arrives to make her wish to be able to be more like an adult and not show her emotions so easily. Both of them wish upon the stony cat and to their surprise, the next day at school, Youto is unable to tell a single lie, and Tsukiko is unable to show any sign of emotion whatsoever. After realizing that they do not like the change that happened, they work together to try and find out who has received their trait that was taken away in order to get it back. They meet Azusa Azuki, an attractive second-year girl who has just transferred into their school. She is always being confessed to by many boys in school, but she has no friends and is always alone. Youto finds out that Azusa is the one that received his unwanted personality trait and tries to get it back.
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REVIEW: This was an anime that I thoroughly enjoyed watching. It starts with a boy called Youto Yokodera who is a pervert but, because of his facade, nobody believes that he is one. This is a brilliant comedic anime with well developed characters that you will love in an instant. With so many different personalities among them all, you’re bound to find at least one that you feel similar to.
PLOT: I thought that having a perverted main
character was a great way to start the anime. It always brings about lots of fun and hilarity. At times, it was tough to figure out just where the plot had run off to, or if there even was one, but every episode had something coming that would move the story along.
CHARACTERS: The characters are varied and
amazingly well set out including (after getting their wishes granted), a girl called Tsukiko, who cannot display emotions, a boy called Touto, who can’t control what his perverted mind makes him say and a girl named Azusa, who acts like a princess and keeps all her emotions in check constantly.
ANIMATION: The animation through the entirety of
the anime has been brilliantly done. In one of the scenes it looks like, even though it was during a storm, every single raindrop has been drawn and moved through its own path. The scenarios in Hentai Ouji to Waranai Neko range from a simple classroom to a house and from a basic hill (with a gorgeous overview of the town) to a crowded and bustling cafe filled with cat, dog and bunny girl waitresses. Each of these places have next to nothing in common but have been made to fit in together perfectly.
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MUSIC: The music fits every possible situation, including a happy and bubbly opening theme called “Fantastic Future” performed by Yukari Tamura. Right from the beginning the music is classical before turning quickly sour with the appearance of a scary character. Further in, you get to hear comical sounding music. That all said, the music fits the story and is mostly soothing with a little exhilaration tossed in every now and then. It’s a brilliant mix and works perfectly. The end theme (“Baby Sweet Berry Love” by Yui Ogura) is one of my personal favorites when it comes to theme songs. It’s sweet, adorable and just fills you with a warm happy feeling that brings a smile to the face of anyone that hears it.
OTHER NOTES: Hentai Ouji To
Warawanai Neko first started as a light novel back in 2011 which had its 6th issue released on March 25 of this year. The manga was first released on August 23, 2011 and was released in English on October 13, 2012. This anime is licensed by the Sentai Filmworks in North America and will be available on DVD, Blu-ray and Digital later in the year, so keep an eye out for it.
PERSONAL RATING: With the music and characters fitting so well with each other and how the plot goes, I must give it a rating of 7/10. It lost some points because of the plot getting sidetracked (or at least felt like it). I still highly recommend this to anyone who enjoys the comedy, ecchi and romance genres and also anyone else who just wants a good laugh at some fun antics.
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Pokemon Origins - By Damien Riley Plot: Following the storyline from the games of Pokemon Red, Blue and Green, this anime follows Red (you in the games) on his Pokemon adventure to gather all of the badges, complete the Pokedex and be the Pokemon Champion. MUSIC: Every last musical piece from this 4-part OVA was taken from the original Red, Blue and Green games and given a fresh shine. That’s something that really takes you back to the days when you didn’t use the internet to learn about everything in the game before you go and play it. PLOT: The plot is fairly simple and laid out for you at the very start: Catch all the pokemon and be the very best like no-one ever was. You see Red do this (not all of it unfortunately) and more. He has the clear antagonists shown right away including the antihero. CHARACTER DESIGN AND ANIMATION: Let’s start with the animation this time. If I were to compare it to the TV series of Pokemon, this would put it to shame. It feels more like an anime should with the way everyone moves and grows from experience. The very way everything got designed and animated down to smallest of details was beautiful. Now to the Character designs and all I can say is wow. With Red and Green’s designs it looks like they were taken straight out of the Pokemon Adventures manga (a great series to read by the way) and put straight into the anime special. If you’ve played the games then you’ll understand this more than anyone that never played them.
Red:
Seeing Red and Green grow up is just beautiful because they grow up in 4 episodes when Ash/Satoshi (the main anime’s protagonist) hasn’t in 17 seasons. The attention to detail in this is amazing! Small things that many people might have missed in the original games have been incorporated into this special including many of the creepypastas that fans made by finding these small things. OTHER NOTES: It is rumoured that the main anime for the X and Y series is being done by the same people that did the illustrations and animation for Pokemon Origins (it’s going to be so beautiful). PERSONAL RATING: This is drool-enducing for any pokemon fan and has been something that those who grew up with the original games have wanted for years. As much as I’ve praised it though, I had to take a step back to see the minor flaws in it. Following my usual attitude of not giving spoilers, I’m not going to say what they are. Even with these flaws I do have to rate it a very solid 8.5/10. FINAL THOUGHTS: People may call me a Pokemon fanboy and they wouldn’t be wrong but I’m acknowledging the problems these specials had unlike many of the other huge fans. I still loved these and the updated music. I highly recommend you watch this (it’s easy to find) or wait for the english dub which will be released on November 11.
The hero and main protagonist, Red is an eager boy who is happy to help Okido complete his new invention. An encyclopedia on all the pokemon in the world.
Green: The anti-hero who simply wants to be the very best trainer in the world. He helps
Red from time to time, even though it is reluctantly.
Professor Oak/Yukinari Okido: The inventor of the pokedex and the pokemon expert of the
Kanto region, Oak is the one who gave Red and Green their first pokemon.
Brock/Takeshi: The leader of the Pewter City gym, Takeshi specializes in rock-type pokemon
and teaches Red the difference between using a pokemon in battle and forming a bond with them.
Sakaki/Giovanni: Sakaki is the leader of Team Rocket and the main antagonist, he uses the
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logic of “pokemon are just tools to be used and then sold”, the opposite of how a trainer should think.
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Pokémon X And Y - By Damien Riley How can I describe this game other than, “The Greatest handheld game to be created to date”? I’m not sure I can, but I’m definitely going to try.
This PG rated Pokémon game is the first meta-game for the 3DS which came out on the 12th of October worldwide. Also coming out on that day was a special promotional Torchic which had the hidden ability “Speed Boost”, which increases the speed of Torchic (and its evolved forms) at the end of every turn and will also be holding a special stone caled Blazikenite, which allows it to Mega Evolve when it’s a Blaziken. A Speed Boosted Blaziken (Torchic’s final evolution) is illegal for use in tournaments, but lots of fun to use against friends in casual battles. Let me just start by saying, THESE GRAPHICS ARE AMAZING! Right from the get go, these beautiful graphics are put into perfect effect and the 3D is really shown off. One of the many great features of this game are the new Pokémon. Many people think that being able to customize your character is more important.... and I don’t completely disagree. its can be up to five Pokémonnow and they don’t have to be the same Pokémon either. Another new way to battle is the Sky-Battle. A sky battle is, as you may have guessed, a battle that takes place in the sky. This means that you can only use Pokémon that are Flying-Type pokemon or pokemon with the Levitate ability. One Pokémon that CAN do this without being either of these is Mega Charizard X. Mega Pokémon are a new form that can only be brought out in battle by pokemon holding the correct Mega Stone, however, to limit this power boost, you can only Mega Evolve (that’s what it’s called) once per battle. None of the new Gen VI Pokémon are going to get one however. Some Pokémon will have a Mega Evolution that differs between Pokémon X and Pokémon Y, but don’t worry too much, Mega Stones can be traded between games.
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The music in this game is so smooth, it feels like you’re listening to a brand new CD for the very first time. With doors that you see open before you enter and gates that open as you get near, this game is full of movement and amazing moments that will leave your jaw hanging wide open in amazement. The battle style reminds me of my days using the Nintendo 64 to play Pokémon Stadium (but with far better quality). When a Pokémon faints, you see it faint. When a Pokémon attacks, you see a proper attack come from them and even Bulbasaur’s vines coming out to attack your Pokémon (whatever it may be). Horde Battles are a new way of battling that was introduced in this game. It is a lot like in Pokémon Black 2 an PokémonWhite 2 when two pokemon would appear in the dark grass every now and then. The difference is that,
I started my journey with Tank, the Chespin, the new grass-starter. There had been a lot of leaks before the game was released which made people who had already decided on their starter change their minds. My mind wasn’t swayed though, so I set forth and battled new Pokémon, such as Bunnelby, the Digging Pokémon and Fletchling, the Tiny Robin Pokémon. I eventually got to my new neighbor, Serena, who gave me some pokeballs so I could go and catch some new Pokémon.
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There is a new way to train your Pokémon for competitive battles now, called Super Training, which you can do using the bottom screen of your 3DS. It’s basically a place for EV (Effort Value) training. Don’t know what that is? It used to be a long and complicated process, but now it’s a series of mini-games that you play to enhance certain stats of the Pokémon you use during it (only one). It is essential to do if you want to battle competitively with your Pokémon. There are 68 new Pokémon and 454 Pokémon total appearing in both the games (combined). After you complete the game it is unsure on whether or not you can start collecting all 707 of the Pokémon that now exist, but you can be sure that I’m going to try. I highly recommend talking to everyone and everything in this game. You’ll even find a reference to Vegeta (Dragon Ball Z) as you go through the game, but I’m not telling you where, you’ll have to look and see. This is the perfect game for fans of the Pokémon franchise, old fans trying to get back into the swing of things, people who are trying to get into competitive battling, or just anyone who likes stunning visuals and effects.
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Neon Genesis Evangelion
- By Matthew Perez
FIRST IMPRESSIONS: Neon Genesis Evangelion..... There isn’t much to say about this title that hasn’t been said a billion times already, but I’ll say it all over again. Neon Genesis Evangelion can be described in many words, from controversial to groundbreaking to influential to over rated to iconic. Love it or hate it, one thing can never be denied about it, and that is its pivotal importance to Anime in general. Why so important you may wonder? Well look at what happened after Neon Genesis Evangelion and in addition, when Ghost in the Shell came out. We got far more ambitious Mecha and Sci-Fi titles such as Escaflowne, Gasaraki, Betterman, Serial Experiments Lain, Boogiepop Phantom, etc., and we got more ambitious anime in general than ever before which continued well into the 2000’s. Not to say that there weren’t ambitious anime p r e Neon Genesis Evangelion, just not nearly as much as there were post Neon Genesis Evangelion.
Aired from October 3rd, 1995 to March 27th, 1996, the brainchild of Gainax and more importantly Hideaki Anno graced the world. Hideaki Anno in particular went through depression after his directing work in Nadia: Secret of Blue Water for four years before creating Neon Genesis Evangelion. This depression in turn was reflected in the series giving it those very dark, psychological and occult elements. Furthermore, many elements of Neon Genesis Evangelion reflected the world and society itself in a way no other anime could replicate easily. Now that I’ve said all that, time to dive into the actual review.
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STORY: The story of Neon Genesis Evangelion is fairly basic and
cliché on the surface. Beings called “Angels” appear in Tokyo for the first time after an apocalyptic event called The Second Impact happened 15 years earlier, causing mayhem, destruction and havoc. It’s up to a secret organization called ‘NERV’ to fight them off with giant mechas called Evas. To further the cliché, only teenagers are able to pilot the Evas. This is as much as the average viewer will be able to see or understand from Neon Genesis Evangelion. Add to this the monster of the week format and the characters being too ‘whiny’ and those same average viewers will automatically call it the most overrated and worst anime to date without comprehending a single concept about it. When you actually dig deeper into Neon Genesis Evangelion you will find yourself speculating a MILLION different things about it. That’s one of its charms, a speculative, complex and experimental storyline with its major use of symbolisms, allusions, allegories, psychological and occult themes which actually makes the viewers think about the anime more than usual. No other anime was able to do this as much or pull it off nearly as well as Neon Genesis Evangelion didsorry Serial Experiments Lain and several other brilliant anime. This inadvertently led to it being one of the most renowned anime in the world due to people speculating and making theories about it years after it finished. I can’t say that this is best way to tell a story since it will feel incoherent and inconsistent to most as an overall narrative, especially if you are not willing to search or come up with the answers on your own. A double edged sword within itself. The overall flow of the story was quite alright. Despite the repetitive monster of the week format, it was able to center around the characters very well and built up its complicated themes as it progressed in a proper manner with the battles against the Angels using a lot of strategy and actual thought behind them. The dialogues were quite mature and complicated to add to all this. The first half had complexity and maturity when the situation called for it and lightheartedness when it needed to also. It had a perfect blend of both for the most part. The second half, however, deviated from this and became far darker and even more complex, doing away with the lightheartedness. The overall world setting and elements are well displayed throughout the series and play into the story quite well. The problem with the pacing though would have to be the overall duration of the series. It needed to be expanded far more and make things clearer for those not willing enough to figure anything out on their own. This can be excused though, due to the budget running low by the end of the series, which brings me to the controversial conclusion of the series and the movie ‘The End of Evangelion’. The ending of the series left a sour taste and a lot of outrage with majority of the fans but being the anomaly that I am, I quite liked it, loved it even. Deciding to end off by delving into the characters minds was symbolically representative of Hideaki Anno’s psychological state during his depression. I give props to that because it shows how much of a personal work Neon Genesis Evangelion was to him unlike the fancatering bullocks we get by the dozens these days being called ‘great’ anime.
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The End of Evangelion, though, was built up as being a retelling of the series ending. It was artsy as hell and just as complex as the series ending, but it managed to satisfy many fans including myself despite its convoluted flavor. When I think about these two endings though, I always see them somehow being connected. One displayed the mind of the characters and one displayed the characters’ actions. When I connect them like that, it makes Neon Genesis Evangelion feel far more complete and thus more SATISFYING.
CHARACTERS: The characters are by far the most hated
aspect of Neon Genesis Evangelion. It’s understandable to a degree but unwarranted for the most part. They aren’t your ideal characters and that was the damn point. They reflected the post-apocalyptic world setting and were immersed into the story beautifully. In the beginning, they were all very basic archetypical characters. Shinji being your typical whiny teenager with self-esteem issues; Rei being the cold unemotional type which started this trend of characters, in fact; Asuka is practically a stuck up tsundere. The rest of the cast aren’t nearly as archetypical such as Misato, Ritsuko, Gendo etc. What makes all of these characters special
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and stand out immediately from the archetype counterparts would be how much they redefined their very tropes, being the best of their kind. They took what Mobile Suit Gundam had created with angsty teenagers and added far more complexity, depth, psychology and development to them. Each character had a great basic personality and presence despite the tropes. Sure, Shinji was whiny and Asuka was overly stuck up, but both, along with Rei, had a lot of probing into their past lives and very minds, explaining why they act the way they do. So it made sense and was credible. Shinji is whiny and has low selfesteem because he was abandoned by his very father Gendo as a child, and therefore seeks acknowledgement and approval from others. Asuka was not acknowledged by her mother, being second best to a mere doll, therefore making her fight and show off to be seen as the best and number one choice in everything she does. Rei is emotionally dead because she’s merely a clone, so her life in turn serves other peoples purposes and not her own. Misato is seen as level headed throughout the series being an adult, but she also has a dark past, resenting her father for both saving and abandoning her as a child.
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veryone has something that haunts them from the past which in turn adds the necessary depth and complexity to their personalities. What this did also is show how fragile people actually are mentally. The way it’s done is in the most psychological manner possible to boot too.
The general characterization is well done. The relationships are built around quite well. Each character gradually opens up to one another as the series progresses and show improvements mentally and socially in a very natural manner and thus, it never felt overbearing. Shinji became more open to relationships with people, Asuka became a little less stuck up and Rei actually cracked a smile. This remained so for a bit until later in the series where it became far more dark and psychological with them doing the reverse and becoming more unstable than they initially were, eliminating their progress. This causes the development to feel shaky. However, this purposely happens to constantly remind you that they aren’t ideal and that people are fragile beings mentally. The ending of the series would further eclipse this. To put this all into perspective, the characters are some of the most well made in anime to date - an integral part and the core of Neon Genesis Evangelion.
ART: The art and animation first and foremost is some of the best for its time.
Right behind Ghost in the Shell for 1995 in fact. The general artwork is quite fresh and unique compared to most anime at that time. The character designs were well made, the body shapes especially were slim and well defined especially the Evas which was and still is so unique to most mecha designs in anime. The Angels’ designs were all interesting and varied from one another. The backgrounds and scenery were atmospheric, giving off a very dark and surreal feeling, matching the tone of the series perfectly. The visuals and choreography were just brilliant. The Eva battles displayed this quite well. With strategy and cooperation among the pilots needed, it topped off the great story and characters with some well-made action scenes. The problem with the animation though is the budget cuts. There would be long drawn out scenes in the most random of moments, messing with the overall pacing of the series a bit. This would all fall apart by the end of the series where the budget was at an all-time low, which resulted in episodes 25 & 26 using very minimal animation and visuals. Overall, the Art is fantastic even by today’s standards.
SOUND: By far, the most memorable part of Neon Genesis Evangelion is the opening theme song “A Cruel Angel’s Thesis” which was sung by Yoko Takahashi. This song is in fact one of my favorite anime theme songs. It’s not number one for me, but it’s up there as one of my favorites and one of the best anime themes around. Speaking more on the song itself, it was very reflective of Neon Genesis Evangelion in general if you read the lyrics carefully. This further cemented it as one of the best anime theme songs for its relevancy to the overall series. The ending theme “Fly Me to the Moon” was quite catchy too. The overall soundtrack of the anime was pretty good and all the tracks were solid.
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he battle theme in particular was great every time it played and it was played quite a lot to be frank, thus being stuck in my head forever. Never grew tiresome at all though. The voice acting was exceptional, matching the characters quite well with very mature tones and dialogues. The sound effects were also well done with no real hiccups. The overall sound of the series is just brilliant. Excellent job done here.
FINAL THOUGHTS: When I first watched
Neon Genesis Evangelion, it affected me and my thought process a lot whether it be on anime, people, the world or life. It wasn’t nearly my favorite yet, but with a long overdue re-watch, I fell in love all over again with it. It quickly toppled anime such as Legend of the Galactic Heroes, Berserk, and Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood among others and SECURED THE #1 SPOT OF ALL TIME FOR ME. It’ll most likely remain like this for a very very long time. As an anime, Neon Genesis Evangelion will go down as one of the most historical and influential achievements to the medium and a Masterpiece. I hereby certify this illustrious anime Gold.
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Toaru Majutsu no Index’s
Personal Reality AND THE
UNCERTAINTY PRINCIPLE BY TONY
At one time or another, we’ve all thought about what it would be like to have super powers. The thought of being able to break through walls, fly through the skies, or control the natural elements has fascinated children and adults alike. In the world of anime, super powers are frequently used as a heavy-handed element of the plot, and serve to demonstrate abilities that even the wildest imaginations cannot come up with. One such series, which has an increasingly large fanbase, is “A Certain Magical Index” and its spinoff “A Certain Scientific Railgun”. In the show, there are two main types of powers: Magic, through Idol Theory, and Esper abilities, through the Power Curriculum program. For now, we’ll focus on the details around the Power Curriculum program, and how the great realm of science brings Espers into existence. The Power Curriculum Program The Power Curriculum program is, in short, a large-scale curriculum program specially crafted for use within Academy City. In theory, students taking part in the curriculum will eventually attain supernatural powers that aren’t naturally accessible. The extent of their power determines their “Esper Level”, which denotes how powerful they are; ranks range from a Level 5 (the highest and most powerful), to a level 0 (the lowest and least powerful). There are some exceptions to the power denotation that a Level brings (i.e. Kamijou Touma), but we’ll ignore those for now. The Personal Reality The Power Curriculum achieves its goal by allowing the student to attain their own “Personal Reality”, which refers to the normal reality being replaced by a person’s own. Now, there’s obviously a lot of questions that such a theory raises, so we’ll look at the physics behind the notion. As defined by Index’s wikia:
whole “system”, the macroscopic world, to create a microscopic effect, which is in this case, their powers. For anyone unfamiliar with theoretical physics, this can all very easily fly over their head. Don’t worry; I’ll explain the main principles behind the Personal Reality, and link them together along the way. Schrödinger’s Cat Thought Experiment and the Uncertainty Principle Most people have at least heard about this experiment, and understand why “Schrödinger” is such a taboo name for cats. References aside, this experiment was key in provoking a seemingly simple thought from many scientists, and even the common man: What happens to objects when they aren’t being observed? Schrödinger, aiming to test the Copenhagen interpretation (which says that the absolute measurements of objects cannot be ascertained without observing them), put a cat in a room that was completely separated from the outside world. Also in the room were a Geiger counter (which measures radiation) and a small piece of a radioactive element. It was stated that, within one hour, the radioactive material may or may not decay.
The concept of Personal Reality is related to quantum theory. It allows the user to utterly ignore the Uncertainty Principle, and with regards to the Schrödinger’s cat thought experiment, would allow them to choose the possibility they want, or more specifically, distort a micro world using different laws, or more accurately, control their microscopic observations of the world. This is in contrast with holism, which is based on major changes in the
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If
the material does break down, it will release a particle, hitting the Geiger counter and releasing poison gas; this would obviously kill the cat. After one hour, the question that confronts the experimenter is this: at the end of the hour, is the cat alive or dead? The only way to know would be to open the door and make an observation, which would interfere with the experiment. Therefore, the cat can be thought of as both dead and alive. The Schrödinger Thought Experiment, while potentially doing some harm to a few unlucky felines, also serves as a prime example of the Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle, otherwise known as the Uncertainty Principle. The uncertainty principle states that no single object has a definite position, trajectory, or momentum. The more one tries to pinpoint an object’s definite position, the less possible it is to pinpoint its momentum, and vice versa. These uncertainties are near-undetectable in the macroscopic (the larger system) world, but when applied to the microscopic (smaller system) world, these disparities become more clear. If you decided to track an electron, the uncertainty principle assures two things: one, the electron did not have a definite position before you located it, and two, the electron did not have a definite momentum until you measured its trajectory. In short, observation changes the outcome. Sounds familiar? The Uncertainty Principle is applied to the macroscopic world in Schrödinger’s Thought Experiment, as it proves that an object assumes different values simultaneously until it is observed. The Application What does all this theoretical gobbledy-gook have to do with the Personal Reality? Let’s tie it together. With regards to the Uncertainty Principle, the Power Curriculum program enables students to individually select a so called “Personal Reality.” This Personal Reality is possible because the program allows students to ignore the Uncertainty Principle. What this means is that the student, instead of having to comply with the uncertain values that objects have, are instead allowed to personally dictate these values. Basically, the student has control over the microscopic observations of the world, and chooses, among the infinite number of possibilities, the one possibility they desire. To put it in terms of Schrödinger’s experiment, observation would no longer determine if the cat was alive or not. The student would instead decide whether or not the cat is alive, and their decision would determine the status of the cat.
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In terms of the student’s powers, you can think of it as a door that leads into two separate realities: one where the student has powers, and one where the student does not. As a result of the Power Curriculum program, Trained under Academy City’s Power Curriculum Program, they can manually Accelerator is the single most powerful Esper ever created. choose the door they want to pass through, as opposed to the door being randomly chosen for them. The Reality of Reality Let’s face it; the idea of choosing your own reality is pretty kick-ass. The idea of that same reality giving you immense powers and possibly dominion over the world makes it even more tantalizing. But just how real is the Personal Reality? As per philosophy and general logic, everyone already has their own “Personal Reality.” You don’t see the world exactly the same way your neighbor does, your neighbor doesn’t see the world the exact same way their mother does, and so on. While we all reside within the same space, everyone’s concept of the real world is different, sometimes slightly, sometimes not so slightly. The ability to utterly ignore principles of physics and gain control of the natural world is, unfortunately, IMPOSSIBLE. Try to conduct high levels of electricity through yourself without proper equipment and you’ll get fried. Try to lift a building with your bare hands, and, well, you’ll probably be there for a while. For now, we’re all stuck sharing this humble reality of ours. Why “now”, instead of forever? Simple. There are still aspects of the natural world we have to figure out. Physics is still chipping away at the walls, making remarkable discoveries as it digs towards the grand truth it hopes exists. Also, with biotechnology moving at the current pace it is, we may have artificial augments in the future that give us abilities once confined to the realm of fiction. Those could range anywhere from implanting mechanical devices to altering even our own genetic code. In short, the Personal Reality is something more akin to a Personal Fantasy. We can’t pull every string of nature with our bare hands, or slap physics in the face and tell it what to do. At best, we can toy with the concept in our most lucid of dreams. But, as science has proven time and time again, the impossible can very well become the possible. So who knows? Maybe one day science will make your certain reality take on a very “UNCERTAIN” quality.
Anime Reign | Issue 2 | 2013
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The Garden of Words
- By Swagata Mondal
The Garden of Words is a 2013 film and the latest installation of Makoto Shinkai’s works. He is already known as a famous Japanese director as well as a former graphic designer. He is previously known for his involvement in other films such as The
Place Promised in Our Early Days, 5 Centimeters Per Second, and Children Who Chase Lost Voices. As both director and writer of this latest movie, he puts his skills to test once again and I am grateful to say that it was definitely a memorable experience. Kotonoha no Niwa is one of the best movies of 2013.
The Garden of Words is a short film depicting the romance and relationship between a 15-year-old boy and 27-year-old woman. Takao, the boy, feels lost and alienated by his uncertain future and passion for shoemaking. Concurrently, Yukino feels lost in an adult society where she feels she does not belong. Well, I will not disclose anything more about the story. This movie is something of a beauty to behold. A few words to describe it from my mind are: alluring, charming, bewitching, glorious, and elegant. Moreover, I am out of words to describe the beauty of the movie! The film is riddled with technically ingenious cinematography and framing and effects such as tilt-shift effect, light flares, strong use of focus and then unique camera angles that both borrow from live action film and then completely original shots,
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Anime Reign | Issue 2 | 2013
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I don’t think I’ve ever seen anywhere before. There are times when watching a Shinkai film when I wonder how it’s even possible that a human being can create animation of such surpassing beauty, and Kotonoha no Niwa is certainly no exception. The Garden of
Words is probably the most beautiful animated film I’ve ever seen. In terms of background detail, fluid animation, exquisite and seamless use of CGI and sheer style, it sets a new standard even for this director. From the beginning to the end, I found myself catching my breath from time to time, from the sheer beauty of this work. The film is entirely atmospheric and full of ambient sounds of nature. But above all there is the sound of rain. This film is absolutely drenched in water. Rain is the true star of the film. Rain is the “code” that enables the two to meet. Rain is what transforms the garden from a tourist trap to an isolated space in which two kindred souls find themselves meeting. Rain is undiscriminating in where it falls, and who it falls upon. And rain, of course, provides the opportunity for some of the most stunning and detailed imagery yet.
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At times, we even find rain taking the place of words. Indeed, The Garden of Words is an exercise in
restraint – there is no unnecessary dialogue. Often, the only thing on the soundtrack is silence, or the sound of rain, as Takao and the woman sit in silence, one absorbed in his sketch book, the other in her beer. Yet, even in that solitude, their relationship quietly builds. Even the background music, composed by Kashiwa Daisuke, evokes raindrops with its on-running
and undulating piano chords, sometimes sinking into the minor keys, making for an elusive melody as random as drops of rain – sometimes gentle, sometimes frantic. The ED song, “Rain” by Motohiro Hata shows emotions flowing through the backgrounds of our two main characters. Needless to say, it puts you in the shoes of their emotions. Along the way, the calm and lighthearted OST gives off a balanced vibe of naturalism. The dialogues spoken by the characters shows their everyday life tones while rage and emotions are expressed in a more intimating voice.
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Overall with it’s introspective classic literary nature, abstract visuals, overall bittersweet feel and short length. The Garden of Words is more like an animated short story or classic romance novella with its concentrated potency. The colorful and artistic visuals of The Garden of Words will paint you a memory you won’t forget. Along with the soundtrack and song, it captures a moment where you feel as if you were there with the characters. It’s also from this moment that hopes are formed with Takao and Yukino. There’s this feeling from this 46-minute film I got that people can relate to. It’s about hopes and dreams for the future.
Whether you want to watch it for its beautiful visuals or for the story, (I recommend both, it’s that good!) you’ll be stunned either way. A must watch!
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EVANGELION 3.0 You can (Not) Redo
A
BY REAPER71
h, Evangelion. I like to consider myself something of an Evangelion fanboy. I loved the first two rebuild movies so much, I went back and watched the original series as well as End of Evangelion (EOE). I bore to death anyone who would listen to my numerous theories and explanations behind the recurring symbolism and the less, “cohesive” sections. Most of all, I would never pass up a chance to illustrate my excitement for the next rebuild movie. I spent four years waiting for the release, and another 4-5 months for the Blu-Ray. I watched, I took in, I digested, and I frowned.
This wasn’t what I was waiting for. Evangelion 3.0 (technically I watched 3.33, but that’s irrelevant) takes place a whole fourteen years after the events of 2.22. Shinji finds himself a prisoner of the anti-NERV organization Wille, led by his old friend Misato and countless other acquaintances. What was expected to be a happy, warm welcome turns out to be a cold rejection, as the entire crew seems to hold a grudge against
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Shinji for doing something he doesn’t remember doing. From here on is a roller-coaster ride that will play with your mind and crush your preconceptions.
Not in a good way, mind you, but it will. Every single character has changed, as to be expected after fourteen years. But the fact is that why they have changed ironically remains a mystery to Shinji until nearly half-way through the film. People frequently refuse to offer him an explanation for no good reason, seemingly only to make him (and the viewer) more and more confused. There is also no explanation of what happened within those fourteen years to bring the characters to where they currently are, and some very important characters (such as Gendo) are given such incredibly short roles that it’s positively stupefying. A few terms are tossed around so liberally and then never used again (Key of Nebudchanezzar? L barrier?), and the climax of the movie was a haphazard (from my perspective) mess, nearly impossible to follow and increasingly difficult to care about. I watched and understood EOE, but ironically, this is what stumps me.
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he sound is of similar caliber, but it’s relegated to the side in the movie; I would not listen to a single song on this OST without visual accompaniment, which is truly a shame, as many songs on 2.22’s OST were fantastic while standalone. The only exception to this is the ending theme, Sakura Nagashi, which captures the feel of the movie incredibly well, and shows why Utada Hikaru is very deserving of her widespread acclaim. Voice acting continues to set a high standard, particularly Megumi Ogata’s performance as Shinji, which I thought was very well done and brought me farther into an otherwise broken movie.
The characters, on the other hand, do not deserve the same amount of praise, in my opinion. The interactions between Shinji and Kaworu were well executed and definitely entertaining to watch, but that’s as far as I can go. Mari is a completely unnecessary character, and doesn’t contribute anything of value to the overall story. Misato’s new character isn’t explored nearly enough, and is frequently very off-putting. Ritsuko has no role other than to deliver exposition, and Gendo’s has about five lines in the entire movie and shares Misato’s problem. Rei has been reset to, well, Rei (I’m sorry), and has lost all of her characterization from the second film. And Asuka, well, I’m not sure what to say about her. That’s the problem, really. Her character wasn’t really developed or explored, but what was there wasn’t taken away, and I at least appreciate that. Other than that, there isn’t much to say. Out of all the Rebuild movies, I believe that 3.0 is the closest to the original’s psychological themes, even going so far as to say that it’s trying to emulate them. But if that’s the case, then it’s failing spectacularly. There is no real psychology to see here, and the original series wasn’t known just for being confusing. There was a message, an overarching story-line, characterization. This movie has none of these things. It is simply confusing, and just being confusing does not make it Neon Genesis Evangelion.
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KAMI TO KAMI Dragon Ball Z Movie 14 BY RAHUL RAMESH
Th
e fourteenth instalment of the Dragon Ball movie premiered in Japanese theatres on March 30, 2013. The movie which was also released in IMAX has grossed over 7 million Yen in Japan. The storyline was brought to life by the duo of Yusuke Watanabe (screenplay) and Akira Toriyama, the original series author. This 85 minutes movie has not yet been released in English till date. Being the first Dragon Ball Z movie to have a theatrical release in 17 years, the movie has to uphold the hopes and anticipations of countless fans. While reviewing about the movie the first thing that occurred to me was that I have to do it with minimal revelation of backstory or other information about the storyline because as far as I am concerned, it has always been customary for creators to reveal the backstory from some supporting characters during the course of the plot and that has always suited the Dragon Ball saga. The timeline is set between the Kid Buu’s defeat and 28th world martial arts tournament. Also the stability of the timeline is maintained as this movie takes place 2 years after the 2008 special “Dragon Ball: Yo! Son Goku and His Friends Return!!”. As the title itself implies, some of the characters in the movie are Gods and the plot traces the ensuing events as the Gods come to meet the Z-warriors. And the authors have also spiced up the scenario with the events following the birthday celebrations of our, “forever sexy girl”, Bulma (hope Vegeta doesn’t hear me..).
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ter watching this, what I felt is that this story is a fresh one, unlike “Cooler’s second coming” or “Bio Broly”, which even as a DBZ fan, bored the soul out of me. The fight sequences are very well choreographed and animated and kept me entertained throughout. As a diehard Vegeta fan, it was good to see his powers reaching a new domain in this movie which clearly implied that not even Super Saiyan 3 Goku can kick the air out of the Saiyan Prince’s competitive spirit. And as a Dragon Ball Z fan, I feel if it were not for the mediocre DB: GT, Toriyama could have built a sequel to DBZ based on events after this movie. Now I would like to mention about some of the negatives in this movie. First, some characters like emperor Pilaf and all could have been avoided because Pilaf and Goku’s other old time nemeses can now never match up to the potential of our veteran heroes. But if the creators were aiming for a Dragon Ball world “get together” then they have hit the spot. Another instance which I felt needed more perfection is the new saiyan transformations which could have been more ecstatic. Keeping the miniscule cons aside, this is definitely worth the watch and in future I would be surely seeing this again when I get nostalgic about the Dragon Ball world. And I personally feel they release the English dubbed version also soon since countless fans outside Japan grew up watching the English speaking Goku and it’s a bit hard to hear him in the Japanese version without feeling that something is amiss.
Anime Reign | Issue 2 | 2013
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ROAD TO NINJA Naruto the Movie BY ABHIMANYU SHEKHAR
DETAILS NARUTO THE MOVIE - ROAD TO NINJA IS THE SIXTH FILM OF NARUTO SHIPUUDEN (NINTH OVERALL NARUTO FILM) RELEASED IN LATE JULY OF 2012. Set in an alternate timeline, where Naruto’s parents are alive (on the cost of Sakura’s parents), all the characters have the opposite personalities like Hinata and Sasuke are offensive and playboy-type respectively. This 110-minute film is the highest earning Naruto film. For the year 2012, the movie made ¥ 1.48 billion and ranked 29th among Japanese movies in Box office including live action movies. It is the sequel to Naruto Shipuuden: Blood Prison. Except for France, this film has only been released in Asian countries: Japan, Singapore, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Malaysia, South Korea, Philippines, and Thailand. The story is, as all Naruto stories are, by Masashi Kishimoto, so the expectations were high. It had to be more than just interesting. The story is interesting enough, as we get to see a quite twisted world: Sakura’s parents have defended Konoha from the Nine-Tailed demon fox while Minato Namikaze and Kushina Uzumaki are alive.
A SEQUEL POTENTIAL In the story, Tobi also erases Naruto’s memories by sharingan but it’s later restored by the Red Moon scroll. At last, Naruto defeats Tobi and eventually stops him from achieving his goal. The goal wasn’t specified but this Genjutsu was merely an experiment for a greater aim. Naruto leaves that world after bidding farewell to his parents. In all, this film comprises of the potential to create a significant sequel concerning the “Greater Aim.”
OTHER REMARKS A good character development for Naruto could be seen. Also, the story also contains the good points of Naruto series: everything packed in an average graphical animation. The personality changes, on the other hand, are, to a great extent, comedic actually. Quietly you get to seek the thoughts of Naruto as he struggles to accept the new conditions: a new personality and real parents. Unlike previous simpler films, this one is different as it’s more complicated. If you don’t know, let me embrace you by the fact that all those previous films had a new super-villain coming up and they all ended up eating Naruto’s trademark, patented, registered, and copyrighted rasengan and Naruto ended up being kissed by the girl in most ones. Fans, especially Naruto’s die-hard ones should not miss it. It’s not the highest-grossing Naruto film for nothing. And rather than seeing a bold, crude, and confident Hinata, there are a lot other sights-to-behold too. While on the notso-bright side, the film also seemed to be just fillers. Dino of Levianyth calls it “filler episodes squeezed into a full-length movie.”
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STORY The plot revolves around Naruto and Sakura trapped in a Genjutsu created by Tobi on Konoha village and primarily targeted on Naruto only. EVERYONE except Naruto and Sakura has their role altered totally and dead people are alive there.
THE FLAWS Many characters like Guy-sensei, Rock Lee, and Sai seemed very less developed and thus seemed unnecessary. Also, the dead Akatsuki members who were alive had no to very less action scenes and even lines. Likely, Sakura had boring fight scenes and all expectations of Sasuke fighting were ruined. Later, Naruto’s parents decide to come on battlefield to fight the masked man (for they are also opposite of real ones who willed to sacrifice) and identify Menma as their son. Now DON’T ASK ME how Menma got separated from them and became the most threatening creature in the world and his parents did never know!
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HOTARU NO HAKA Grave of the Fireflies BY SAM VANKHAURR
It is undeniably one of the most heart wrenching and emotionally powerful anime that I have seen till now! A masterpiece. Yes, I had read about it- an anime movie; critically acclaimed; a tragic war story, by Studio Ghibli, which has come out with classic anime feature films. I was hesitant to see it. I’ve always been hesitant to see movies or anime with sad endings. But I steeled myself to watch it, and here I am, overwhelmed by its brilliance. I can easily say that Grave of the Fireflies is the most profoundly human animated film I have seen. It’s one of those films which will move you and stay with you for days after. It is undeniably one of the most heart wrenching and emotionally powerful anime that I have seen till now. It is not well known simply because it came out in Japan. It definitely beats Schindler’s List and many other mainstream movies of the west that portray the effects of war and other similar activities. It came out in 1988 and it forced a rethinking of anime in the minds of people who considered anime as cartoons for little kids (How can you???!!!). This is not exactly a war movie. It is the story of two young siblingsa brother and his little sister, whose life changes because of the war- a story of their struggle and their love for each other. You know the ending- they die, and this isn’t a spoiler, because this is the first scene of the anime. And then the flashback begins. Few movies can boast of making a story SO MOVING when the ending is known. The anime was written and directed by Isao Takahata, and is based on the 1967 semi-autobiographical novel of the same name by Akiyuki Nosaka. Apparently, he has always had a guilty conscience about his sister’s death, and this gives even more depth to the story. Hotaru no Haka tells the story of 14 year old Saita and his 4 year old sister, Setsuko. Their father is away, serving in the Imperial Navy of Japan, and they live with their mother in the Japanese port city of Kobe. The World War II is raging on, and the city is firebombed by American bombers and almost completely destroyed. Their mother is severely burned and dies sometime after she is brought to the hospital, leaving the two children orphaned (there is no news about their father) and left to fend for themselves. And thereafter, their struggle for survival and the breaking apart of the lives of innocents is portrayed in a stunningly realistic manner.
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he behaviors on display by the supporting characters, particularly Seita’s Aunt, and the farmer who beats Seita severely, and even the doctor who treats the scurvy-ravaged Setsuko - they are all models of selfinvolvement in the face of a deep humanitarian need. The name of the movie arises from a particularly touching scene from the movie. The kids capture fireflies in a bottle and use them to light up the cave in which they live. The next morning, Seita finds his sister burying the dead fireflies, wondering aloud why they had to die, crying, reflecting upon, and accepting her own mother’s death. It is scenes like this that make this anime a MASTERPIECE. The visuals are stunning- each frame a breathtaking piece of art, the re-mastered version even more so. The music is serene and melancholic at the same time. The Japanese voice acting is par excellence. They went ahead and cast a 5 year old as the voice actor of Setsuko, which made it all the more realistic. I’ve heard that the English dub is very nicely done too.
The film does not exaggerate; it simply presents, and therein lies its beauty. And because it is an anime, it can portray some aspects and bring out expression which a live action movie can never hope to. When I try to think upon its flaws, I fail to find anything substantial. The typical Japanese animation used portrays human features a bit unrealistically and uses visuals to highlight emotions, but the emotions involved are extremely realistic. It portrays the devastating effects of war on the lives of innocent people. It inspires a person to think of how selfish one is, so involved in one’s own little world. It moves one’s heart and begs for emotion to overflow. Yes, I am not ashamed in the least to say that it made me cry and made an impression that will last me for a lifetime. WATCH IT SIMPLY BECAUSE IT IS A CLASSIC, EVEN IF YOU ARE SKEPTICAL. I ASSURE YOU THAT YOU WILL NOT REGRET A SINGLE MOMENT.
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TOKI WO KAKERU SHOUJO The Girl who leapt through Time BY LEE RENZ L. BALBERONA
TIME WAITS FOR NO ONE Whenever it flows, something withers in return. Its unforgiving nature permits one’s existence to substantiate, but never does it show a flare of sympathy. The movement of its hands is a constant reminder that life is a pulpit for irreversible processes. And ultimately, it is a treasure box of triumphs and mischiefs. From a splendid novel written by the revered Yasutaka Tsutsui, the original creator of the psychologically stimulating Paprika which was also adapted into an anime film in the same year, comes the tale of Makoto Konno, a puerile high school girl who has accidentally obtained the ability to “literally” leap through time. She initially uses her power to time-travel for her own egotistical desires, but as she continues to descend through the past, she gradually learns of the drastic consequences her naivety ramifies to. Toki wo Kakeru Shoujo is absolutely one of the most illustrious flicks that have reigned Japan’s animation industry as it is maneuvered by the highly acclaimed Mamoru Hosoda and visually supplemented by the ever so majestic Madhouse Studios. The film magnificently brings us back to our youth, nourishes every
corner of our emotions with a strong affinity to its characters and flourishes our minds with the underlying significance of the spontaneous ticks of the clock’s hands. Although the perplexing concept of time travel is employed in the stream of events of the film, TokiKake adheres strongly to the consequences and mishaps the aforementioned phenomenon forks to rather than furrowing meticulously the science which triggers the ability. The flick places our perspectives to the expounding vision of Makoto as she incessantly leaps through time to feed her narcissistic delights and fix the mistakes she had committed. However, the aftermath of her slaphappy concerns to the tread of seconds is what disjointed her from her mundane life. The composition heartily resonates the naivety we’ve had as teenagers and the incautious decisions we often made whenever scarce chances fall before us. Furthermore, it foregrounds the most essential platform in which every form of existence in this planet revolves around which is “time” and manages to invoke its theme from the very first second down to the last drop. There is an absolute blithe atmosphere of realism housing the film all throughout which makes more gratifying to watch. It also manages to warmly captivate the viewers with the accurate depiction of youth in the stage of life in this story of puerility.
“Time waits for no one.” Despite the number of times Makoto has to spring herself back to the past, one thing remains constant in TokiKake, and in life per se- the perpetual flow of time. The plot impeccably encapsulates the reason why the ceaseless and inexorable tick tocks of the clock should be provided with utmost heed in the splendor of the film’s remarkable writing. Moreover, it never digresses from its path and it consistently conjures the crux of the composition regarding the aforesaid adage. Toki wo Kakeru Shoujo’s most eminent component is definitely lodged in its characters. Whilst the film takes most of its time investing ourselves to Makoto through her self-serving deeds, it also excellently introduces us to the other casts who also play crucial roles for the development of the story itself. These main ensembles include two of Makoto’s best friends Chiaki Mamia, an externally thickened compassionate person, and Kousuke Tsuda, a complaisant one.
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dditionally, the other casts like her aunt and her classmate recur time after time yet they’ve only gotten to furnish themselves through a short span of significant exchange of words. The few count of characters also allows the crafty portrayal of naturalism to strikingly wallop the viewers in sheer amazement. To boot, although the entire plot only circulates around a constant repetition of three days, everyone gets to have their characters meliorated, but not as much as the centerpiece, Makoto. There is an impinging sense of realism in the depiction of TokiKake’s characters which resplendently forbids the viewers from sorting them to the formulaic pieces of most of the anime series out there. Makoto’s personation in the film precisely limns every tad of naiveté crafted from an adolescent’s innocence. And with the attachment of time travelling, the viewers are stipulated to relive their high school lives through the bitsy merriment of experiencing the amusements over and over again. Having these naturalistic portrayals of sappiness in the characters, which are rarely exhibited in animated media, definitely brings out an exceptional beauty in TokiKake. As far as the production goes, Madhouse Studios emphatically brought out their staggering capabilities in aggrandizing this flick. The intricate creation of the backgrounds absolutely augments the essence of actuality. In addition, they have served splendidly as the picturesque platforms for the fluidity of the animation during the events in the film which radiate the pleasing and melancholic experiences. Yoshiyuki Sadamoto’s character designs, on the other hand, doesn’t seem to dazzle as much as his previous notable works like Neon Genesis Evangelion and the .hack// franchise. However, provided with the fact that TokiKake endeavors to fortify realism through its characters, the designs perfectly beseem the persona of the casts. The direction helmed by Mamoru Hosoda as his first major project is overwhelming and brilliant in spades. He succeeds in enamoring the viewers with his prowess to portray real life’s mundaneness and the characters’ naturalism even in a film which involves the concept of time travelling. And fortuitously after his success in TokiKake, he continues to attest his brilliance in his succeeding films like Summer Wars in 2009 and Ookami Kodomo no Ame to Yuki three years after. Toki wo Kakeru Shoujo’s soundtrack magnificently embellishes the scenes in which they were rendered. They easily set the ambience of the situations and simultaneously tunes the modality of the characters to befit themselves stronger as they depict their roles in the plot. To boot, both of Hanako Oku’s song contribution to the film, “Kawaranai Mono” and “Garnet” overpoweringly intensify the melancholy of the viewers. With the former used as an insert song during the juncture, it splendidly triumphs in intertwining the varying emotions and potently exalts the viewers in a tremendous awe. Whilst played during the ending credits, the latter capsulizes everything in the film and caters the viewers the time as well as the beautiful melody to contemplate with the movie.
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egarding the voice acting performances, they all sound as natural as the crafted personas of the characters. And despite having Japanese actors and actresses rather than professional seiyuus, the way Riisa Naka, Takuya Ishida and Mitsutaka Itakura (Makoto, Chiaki and Kousuke respectively) enunciated their lines certainly isn’t jarring and provides life to the characters they play. On the whole, Toki wo Kakeru Shoujo foregathers the puerility and naivety during our adolescence and recaptures it astoundingly through a brilliant film execution. I have seen this work of magnificent artistry numerous times already, and every moment the flick rolls, it is as though I’m also leaping through time with Makoto to remain in an unchanging chain of youthful mirth. But alas, time continues to wait for no one. Its flow withers all forms of existence. Its unforgiving nature allows us to grasp delights momentarily, but never does it show a flare of sympathy. The movement of its hands is a constant reminder that life is a pulpit for irreversible processes. And ultimately, it is a treasure box of triumphs and mischiefs. Unlike Makoto’s tale, this world’s reality keeps the time travelling concept beyond humanity’s reach, and hence we can only embrace the present and look forward to the future. Toki wo Kakeru Shoujo resplendently renders this theme and within a span of an hour and a half, it will surely toss you back to your early days.
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BERSERK
MANGA PLUS
BY ABHIMANYU SHEKHAR
SYNOPSIS Berserk is a story full of blood, violence, gore; it contains mild nudity and never-ending death scenes. This is NOT for kids. Written by Kentaro Miura, Berserk is one of the best stories out there and only a few can compete with this notoriously famous story.
Information Length: 4 Volumes, 330+ Chapters Status:
Ongoing
Set in a medieval European-inspired fantasy world, Genre(s): Action, Drama, this story centers on the protagonist Guts (Gattsu) who is Fantasy, Horror, an orphaned mercenary. This story is filled with isolation, and Psychological leadership, and a question of whether humanity is good or evil. Characterized by heavy violence, the mysterious Black Swordsman, Guts, arrives in Koka in the story. He saves Puck, an elf and is then followed by Puck. Actually, Guts is looking for a group called, “The God Hand” here and his ultimate goal Because of a mark on his neck, demons are attracted towards him, creating an environment of never-ending demon-slaying by Guts. is to seek revenge. Actually, every demon attracted towards Guts is like “Oh Guts, take revenge on me to death please, I’m waiting *sigh*” Seriously, it’s like everyone is just waiting to die from the powerful blows Guts delivers. In the anime adaptation, large proportions were left intact, but a few very violent scenes were cut.
STORY: 9.5/10 One of the most magnificent stories out there, everything adds up very nicely to one another. What is surprising about Berserk’s plot is how well its various elements come together. Take the story of a man who wants greatness at all cost; add a corresponding tale of a man who thinks of nothing but fighting his next battle; stir vigorously with demons and gore; sprinkle some ingenious military-political manoeuvres on top, and what you get is a potent blend of fantasy action. Moreover, Berserk has a knack for pacing and structure; just when I think the messianic plot themes and cataclysmic battles couldn’t be more melodramatic, Berserk presents a touching flashback during which the characters reveal something interesting about their pasts. I’m not usually a fan of flashbacks since they interrupt the flow of a story, but in its case, they feel more like a vital part of the experience than a convenient plot device. So whoever has read Berserk, would just be like: “The deadly killer Guts leaves a mountain of corpses whenever he crosses through a town”. Moreover, adding to its nature, the manga’s first chapters start-off with Guts having sex. As mentioned in the rating, this story contains mild nudity.
Anime Reign | Issue 2 | 2013
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BERSERK
MANGA PLUS
BY ABHIMANYU SHEKHAR
ART: 9/10 The art is in an evolving art-style. Action sequences are well drawn and are easy to follow. Miura has really done a great job in the art. Large demonic creatures cut in pieces by the mighty blows of Guts’ sword, which is almost twice his size. A long-running manga primarily focused on war and deaths looks ugly, and Berserk is no exception. When a demon or human is cut in half, probably on its/his/her unlucky day, you’ll see the upper half of the body in air, with pieces of intestines sticking out. Yuck, right? Complicated drawings and a thick atmosphere looms everywhere throughout the manga. The character design is also great, or at least, solid, but then see when it all was drawn, like in 1990 or something! Today, we don’t come across such art-styles that much anymore. So according to back then, the art-style is more than just perfect.
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Anime Reign | Issue 2 | 2013
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BERSERK
MANGA PLUS
BY ABHIMANYU SHEKHAR
ATMOSPHERE: 10/10 Primarily based on a deadly story, the atmosphere needs to be special which can really suit such things. The atmosphere of a manga is totally different from the art. A great artist might do a few mistakes of strokes and make a comedic atmosphere look serious sometimes, but Berserk gives us perfect atmosphere to think of exactly what the setting is: war, battles, blood, and violence. Dark, brooding, and violent; people getting slashed by large swords; thick and heavy atmosphere even in daylight with interestinglooking fights; a perfect combination in all. Only a few stories can run such devoted atmosphere at all. Once you start getting familiar with the story, thanks to the nice atmosphere which rarely changes and suits the story very well, you start liking it. It may seem dull and all at the beginning, but it gets interesting, especially at the middle. A decent atmosphere triggered by the story makes the story decent itself.
CHARACTERS: 10/10 Only a few stories deserve a 10/10 on characters. Guts is a decently characterized protagonist, Griffith is the charismatic and mysterious leader of the Band of Hawks, while Casca is the iron-willed woman who’s the only person Guts ever had affection for. On the other hand, Puck is the love-me-or-hate-me type of comical character and others like Corkus and Judeau are much needed for balancing the synergy. What is impressive about Berserk is that it has no weak cast members to speak of. Not one of them falls short of delivering a convincing performance. Granted, the stock characters such as Princess Charlotte remain far less developed than the protagonists, but they still manage to fit the story to a tee. As for the central characters, they are unexpectedly complex and emotionally engaging on every level. Guts himself is a traditional tortured hero type who carries the burdens of a dubious origin and a disturbed past. Griffith is beautiful like an angel and radiates the kind of charisma that moves armies and topples kingdoms. What’s more, he is inhumanly cunning and generally the kind of character you can fall for over and over again. However, the guy is also undeniably very messed up. As Griffith leads the Band of the Hawk to glory and wins hearts as well as minds, however there is always an element of doubt concerning his true intentions. Of course, this only serves to make him all the more engaging.
Anime Reign | Issue 2 | 2013
As the only female to have a significant role, Casca exceeded my initial expectations. She has both common sense and superb fighting skills. Intelligent; a leader within the Hawks, and harbouring an intense loyalty to Griffith, she is a character with a distinct purpose. Casca’s only downfall is that, as the series progresses, she gets forced back into a predictably misogynistic role. With regards to the supporting cast, the members of the Band of the Hawk are easily the most memorable. Judeau may be young and have relatively little screen time, but his wisdom and perceptiveness when it comes to his comrades is refreshing. Corkus, on the other hand, is another great character whose relentless dislike of Guts provides for some much-needed comedy. I also like the fact that he adds a more pessimistic nuance to the Band of the Hawk dynamic. All in all, these are the kinds of characters for which I harbour deep nostalgic feelings; their strong personalities and intricate development makes them difficult to forget.
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BERSERK
MANGA PLUS
BY ABHIMANYU SHEKHAR
CONCLUSION According to my rating, Berserk’s story got a decent 38.5 out of 40, which only a few manga can score. Even on many other manga-reviewing online portals, this story ranks mostly fantastic (9/10 or 3739/40) or above. If you aren’t planning to read it or haven’t read it already, I pity thy soul. Its such a manga with perfect characters, high enjoyability, creative storytelling, and mind-expanding art, which all encompasses Berserk. The only downfall is the 2-6 weeks’ wait. Often, people wait months and even half a year so that a few chapters get collected and then they read it. But nevertheless, in story, Berserk is very fast paced and also, patience is always paid-off very well when it comes to manga.
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Anime Reign | Issue 2 | 2013
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CAGE OF EDEN
MANGA PLUS
BY JEZREEL CABALONGA
SYNOPSIS Cage of Eden starts off with the class of Sengoku Akira (main protagonist), on the way home from an overseas field trip on a plane with a collective 334 passengers. However what started as a normal trip home for our protagonists turns sour when they crash to what they believe to be the middle of the ocean, but instead of the ocean, they find themselves separated on a mysterious island filled with extinct animals. The story gets darker as they start to realize that the island has more dangers than they assumed, and their first priority should be to simply survive rather than to get off said island. The rather unique dangers the characters face, along with the tinge of mystery piques your interest straight from the start, making you anticipate more. As you read along it never disappoints, giving new thrills and mystery with every turn of a page.
Information Length: 21 Volumes, 185 Chapters Status: Finished Genre(s):
Action, Drama, Fantasy, Horror, Psychological, Ecchi, Romance, Shounen
CHARACTERS Akira Sengoku, usually regarded as a troublemaker, was forced to face harsh reality when he woke up after the plane crash separated from his companions other than the ‘genius’ Shirou Mariya, and the flight attendant Kanako Oomori. He shows the ability to lead and strength to survive early on, with his first goal to find his childhood friend, Akagami Rion. This is changed once he encounters others and realizes that he can’t leave them behind, so he resolves to find a way for everyone to survive. Kouichi Yarai, seen as a delinquent by most people, isn’t bothered by the dangers of the island and seems to have no trouble with it as he thinks of it more of a ‘life without boredom. His constant companion is their sensei, someone who believes in Yarai and seems to completely trust him. She eventually breaks through to him and as the story goes on, he’s seen to be someone who won’t let those around him to die.
CONCLUSION Overall, I have to say Cage of Eden is one the best manga I’ve read, so if you’re asking me to rate it, it’s 10 out of 10. I don’t recommend it if you tend to be uncomfortable with blood and character deaths. I’d say this is best for those who like thrills/ adventure/mystery and it’s absolutely NOT for kiddies.
Anime Reign | Issue 2 | 2013
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parasdpain.deviantart.com
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Preface
I
Hotaru Artworks is happy to present “Just Another day at school”, a test phase chapter derived from a much bigger project we’re working on. All the character personalities have been borrowed from our main project and thus development has been omitted. Kindly don’t dwell on unexplained mysteries and plot-lines as this is an Arts presentation. We’re thankful to our friends and families for their support and World Anime Club for providing us this platform in Anime Reign! Just sit back and enjoy the Fun! -Authors
Sittie E. Chio (www.facebook.com/Sittie.Chio) Paras D. Singh (parasthepain@facebook.com)
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AgeTheoffirstLions Indian Historical
“Anime”
F
irst of all i would like to thank you for taking time to go over this interview. I will start with asking you what was the inspiration for Age of Lions?
It’s a pleasure. Age of Lions is the brainchild of our CEO at Anitracks Media, Sudeep Chaudhari. We at Anitracks believe that India has a rich Mythological as well as Historical culture. More often than not it’s mythology that takes the center stage in animation. However we want to focus on the rich historical aspect through our debut series ‘the Age of Lions’ which focuses on the story of two kids growing up in a war torn Mauryan during Ashoka & Sushim’s struggle for power. The environment sets the basis for a perfect story which will not only cover history but also a lot of fantasy elements to make it work on a global scale. Also this series will mostly target the age group of 15+ but will also have elements that will rope in the younger generation of viewers. How did u come up with each character’s personality and from what did you inspire yourself for them? We have been researching on characters & the period for the better part of 2012 & it’s proved to be very fruitful. What kinds of clothes they wore, the environment settings, their stature & everything else is taken into consideration. We had our main protagonists & antagonists pretty much visualized when we started discussing the series & as we go on there will be a ton of interesting character reveals some part of of actual history while others which will be necessary to add depth to the story. For example Sushim in the series will have 4-5 different royal attires depending on his mood. Ashoka himself will go through a few appearance shifts throughout the series. However we needed to keep the look of the characters such that it conveys global acceptance rather than just focusing on the Indian viewership. So at times we take certain design & appearance changing calls when need.
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The fun part of working on this series is that there is massive room for character creation & world expansion & we are taking all of this into consideration to make sure this series makes it’s mark in the animation sector.As for me personally, when I was first approached for this project in April 2012 I was a bit skeptical because of the sheer scale. However when I was told that they wanted to approach the series in pseudo Anime style I knew I had to give it a try. Ever since then, there’s not been a day that i haven’t had fun while working on this project. If you don’t mind , could u tell the readers the steps u take in preparing when working on the “project”? Well I’m not going to go too much in detail but I can tell you the four fold process involved in it’s creation:First off Sudeep & our lead writer, Shamik Dasgupta of Ramayan 3392 AD & Daksh fame did a ton of research on the timeline & the aesthetics involved with the series for over 5 months.I came on board this series after that phase was completed & further researched on the design elements along with Sudeep. We then came up with a list of the most prominent characters of season 1 & began with the character model sheet creation process. We also have a background concept team which focuses on that particular aspect of world creation.After that we move to the preproduction phase of the series of the series where the script is converted into animatics scene by scene. For those unfamiliar with the term, animatics is like a blue print of rough animated key frames that give the final animators an idea of the camera angle, perspective & overall feel of the scene at every point. We are currently in this phase. is done in Anitrack’s Mumbai studio. After the animatics of each ep are completed they will be then sent to our own production house in the Phillpines that will handle final animation. We have a ton of experienced talent working there who I’m sure will make this series that much more special.
Anime Reign | Issue 2 | 2013
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H
ow hard or easy does this project seem to you?
Every project has challenges & obstacles that need to be crossed. However our vision & story approach is very clear so that makes things a lot easier. Obviously since it’s a historic fantasy there are design obstacles that sometimes come in the way but so far we haven’t reached a hurdle that we couldn’t cross. However as the series animation moves ahead & we have grand battle scenes, there will be times when hard decisions will need to be made but as the Art director of the series, i’m confident we’ll get through that too one way or another. So far we have a very dedicated team of individuals on our side & the list will only grow once operations start in full force. Also with this series it is our goal to take this animation to a global level so rest assured we will do our best not to compromise on quality. WE still have a lot of technical hurdles to cross in achieving that but this series will be good start. How many episodes are you initially planning for this anime? I can clearly state that the first season will have 26 eps. If things work out we will have at least 2 more season’s in the pipeline. What could you tell us about the style and story of Age of Lions. Where did it start from and towards which goals you wish to reach with it ? As I mentioned, Age of Lions takes place during the period of a civil war between the Mauryan Princes, Ashoka & Sushim. So both these characters wil have a pivotal role in the series. However out main protagonists are two children(completely fictional characters)Prakhar & Drishti, trained in the art of warfare by their guardian & master Shome. It’ll focus on the struggles they face as the grow up during this period & the role they play in the formation of the Empire.Throughout their journey they’ll face a plethora of challenges that will test their emotions on various levels and& it’s something I’m sure a lot of our open minded viewers will relate to. Apart from that there will be several important characters throughout the series that will engage the audiences at every level & hopefully create a fan base for the series. I can’t tell you alot about the direction the story will take, but I assure you it will be gripping adventure that
Anime Reign | Issue 2 | 2013
will leave you hooked till episode 26. As for the style. For this series we plan on going with the anime-styled approach. I emphasize on the word ‘Anime style’ since the style we use will also add a lot of Indian aesthetics to the characters . We will also have some actual anime artists in our production studio who will hopefully add a lot of anime experience to the project in more ways than one. How long did it take you to get to the point you are now ? It’s taken us a little more than a year to get the main characters & the concept fleshed out. We have now started with the animatics production process & our backed by media giants Group M, partnering with Anitracks. So expect full scale production to begin very soon & we’ll keep everyone updated through our ever growing facebook page www.facebook.com/TheAgeofLions . How much bright future you envision for the anime industry in India? I think we have a great untapped market for Anime here in India. People like you are the very examples of it. Ever since I started Beast Legion I have kept track f the growing Anime/ manga fan base here in India. We have some very passionate & vocal fans across several cities. I think our generation has finally dispelled the Myth of Anime being the same as cartoons & it’s pretty evident & I’m sure the fan base will only increase from here on. I just hope part of this fan base watches this series with an open mind rather than constantly comparing it with Japanese Anime. We still have a ways to go before we catch up, but almost our entire team consists of big time Anime fans & we will make every attempt to catch up & reach that standard with every series we deliver. It’s a tough goal to reach but not an impossible one & after the success of Beast Legion I believe alot of people here in India will give this series a try & enjoy every moment. Finally, are there any other projects you plan on working on in the future? If yes could you tell us a few? We have couple of more IP’s which are pipeline the second one is a steam punk and we are deciding on the third IP. It will be too soon to reveal detail about the these IP’s.
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C2AGE
CONVENTION COVERAGE
SHIROZAWA HIMITSU | shiroanna97@gmail.com
For the normal citizens in Malaysia, 8 and 9th of June are just days, nothing special. But, for all the otaku and fujoshi out there, all of them
knew about the fantastic event happening on that very Saturday and Sunday, it’s C2AGE SLAM!!! C2AGE SLAM this year was held at HELP College of Arts and Technology (HELP CAT), which is walking distance from the Chan Sow Lin train station. C2AGE SLAM was a 2 day event from 8th of June to 9th June. Last year’s event was held at Tropicana City Mall, Selangor and the admission was free. This year’s event admission wasn’t free but the ticket price was affordable. Early bird tickets were sold at RM10 for a day and RM15 for both days! For non-early birds, the tickets were priced at RM15 a day and RM20 for both days.
Photographers: Umi Himitsu, Vege Keong (©2013)
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Anime Reign | Issue 2 | 2013
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C2AGE
CONVENTION COVERAGE
SHIROZAWA HIMITSU | shiroanna97@gmail.com
O
n day 1, it started off with a huge crowd as they crowded the event venue as early as 9am. Some were lining up to buy tickets, some were getting ready their cosplay items and some were already ready for a photoshoot! The event officially started at 10.30am. As you enter, you could see many cosplayers showing off in their costumes, booths that were being set up to sell anime items like badges, ball-jointed dolls (BJDs), posters and not only that, there were contests going on too. Contests such as Cosplay Competition (Group & Solo), Art Competition (College & Open) and many more! VIPs were invited to this amazing event to be judges, performers and speakers. A few VIPs from overseas attended such as Alodia and Ashley Gosiengfiao from Philippines, Reika Arikawa from Japan and also Clive Lee from Singapore! There were local VIPs who attended like Keith, Kaoru, Ayase Vicky Oh, Shiomaru, Venus and many others. The day went by like a breeze with cosplayers posing, photographers taking pictures and competitions that were being held consecutively. Reika Arikawa appeared in one of the booths and everyone felt ecstatic. She was cosplaying as Jinguji Ren from Uta no Prince-sama which made many girls squealed out loud. She was crowded within seconds upon arriving at the booth. Nonetheless, you could even see Kaoru and Keith, comic artists from Gempak Starz going up the elevator. As you walk around in the crowd, you wouldn’t even notice if you bump into one of the VIPs. You could see cosplayers cosplaying as Hatsune Miku from Vocaloid in different costumes and style, famous anime characters such as Naruto, Kirito Kirigaya, Asuna Yuuki, all posing for you. Not to mention, there was a little girl with the estimated age of 6 cosplaying as Mikasa Ackerman from Shingeki no Kyojin aka Attack on Titan. She attracted a lot of attention for being such a young cosplayer. There were food booths on the top floor where many have their lunches and dinner there. There was also a floor specially named as “Little Akihabara”. If you knew what Akihabara is, you would know what kind of people would crowd there. Gamers! That’s right, a floor specially dedicated to gamers! All sorts of computers, keyboard, headphones that are specially designed for gamers were sold at the event. Smiles, laughter and cheers echoed throughout the HELP CAT building. Everything went on smooth on the first day of the event, everyone enjoyed themselves and of course, who wouldn’t be tired? You heard of Day 1, so, off to the second day, shall we? Photographers: Umi Himitsu, Vege Keong (©2013)
Anime Reign | Issue 2 | 2013
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C2AGE
CONVENTION COVERAGE
AIYUKO JOUJI | lemonpeachiee@gmail.com
The Japanese word “Sugoii” which means “Awesome” perfectly describes the second day of the event. Decked out in their super cool costumes, cosplayers from all over Malaysia had already arrived at the event as early as 9.30 a.m. Famous anime and Vocaloid characters such as Hatsune Miku, Cloud Strife from Final Fantasy and Black Rock Shooter were among the many characters who were happily strolling around Help College of Arts and Technology that day. The visitors and other ACG (Anime, Comics and Games) fans that weren’t cosplaying during the event were busy snapping photos with their phones and cameras. Besides coming to see the cosplayers, most of the visitors were here to take a look at the many booths that had been set up specially for this event. Beautiful balljointed dolls (BJDs) were displayed at some of the booths while other booths sold anime merchandise such as posters, figurines, t-shirts and other interesting souvenirs. How excited would you be if you had the chance to see your favorite Sebastian Michaelis Nendoroid figurine face to face instead of through the computer screen? Photographers: Umi Himitsu, Vege Keong (©2013)
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C2AGE
CONVENTION COVERAGE
AIYUKO JOUJI | lemonpeachiee@gmail.com
M
eanwhile, fans of the popular card game Card Fight Vanguard were given the chance to show off their skills during the Vanguard Tournament while others had the opportunity to fill their tummies and maybe win a prize at the same time by taking part in the ramen eating competition. If testing the limits of your stomach just isn’t your cup of tea, maybe you would prefer a different activity: Cosplay checkers! The only difference between original and Cosplay-style checkers would be that in cosplay checkers, the checker pieces would be cosplayers whom were standing on a life-sized checkerboard whom were controlled by a player for each side. The best part of Day 2 would probably be the cosplay workshop held by the famous Japanese cosplayer Reika Arikawa. During the workshop, Reika cosplayed as Levi Rivaille from the current hit anime series Attack on Titan also known as Shingeki no Kyojin. Bubbly and sweet as candy throughout the entire workshop, Reika taught the audience about things every cosplayer should know such as prop making and wig styling. Good things don’t come for free though, as the visitors had to pay extra if they wanted to attend the workshop. After that, a separate workshop for Gundam cosplay enthusiasts was held by Clive Lee to give people tips on how to create realistic looking Gundam robot costumes to transform yourself from human to Gundam. (Batteries not included) As events and conventions such as this are usually jam-packed with cosplayers, it is very likely that you will come across someone cosplaying as your favourite anime or manga character. It is normal to feel excited and sometimes even squeal because you want to take a photo of them or even with them. However, make sure that you ask before you snap. Beneath the makeup and the impressive costumes, cosplayers are humans too! Thus, as long as you ask politely before you whip out that camera phone, I’m sure they will gladly strike a cool pose with you for the picture. Maybe that good-looking Ichigo Kurosaki cosplayer will even let you hold his sword as you both shout: “Bankai!” instead of “Cheese!” into the camera. Cheers and
I hope you get the chance to attend an anime event soon.
Photographers: Umi Himitsu, Vege Keong (©2013)
Anime Reign | Issue 2 | 2013
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OTAKUTHON
CONVENTION COVERAGE
RACHEL MAST | OTAKU
2013
OTAKUTHON is a three day convention for anime lovers,
manga lovers, cosplayers, and video game players held in Montreal, Quebec. At Otakuthon 2013, there was something for everyone. Panels, games and video games, signings, music performances and dance performances There was something going on at every hour; you just never get bored. Later in the day, there were dance clubs where people could go and have fun. There were three floors for events and one extra floor for anime group photos. The Exhibition hall was open for dealers, guests, photos, premium artists, and artists. There were different panels at every hour, not only about an anime or a show, but there were a couple of panels about Yaoi and Yuri, and some other panels had question and answer sessions. Wherever there was a cosplay character, everyone in the room would get a chance to ask them questions about their costumes, their lives etc.
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OTAKUTHON
www.worldanimeclub.com
CONVENTION COVERAGE
RACHEL MAST | OTAKU
H
ow to make a webcomic? How does the anime industry work? How to produce your own manga? There were panels for them all. If you didn’t feel like going to a panel and hearing people talk, you could go and try out different video games which went on during the whole day - one giant room with multiple stations for all the different games a person would like to play. Some games brought out the competitive spirit in the players and some had them laughing and having fun. Roleplaying video games, doujin games, video game tournaments, dance dance revolution, even hentai games! There was a game for everybody! If you would rather just watch anime, there were 7 anime playing in different rooms. If you hadn’t seen an anime before, you had the chance to watch the first two episodes. You got the chance to see what the anime was all about. You could stay until five in the morning, and those who could stay, did stay till then, but most of them were playing 18+ games!
DURING the three day convention there were four special guests of honour. They are all very well known in the anime world, as voice actors. The first was Monica Rial; you would know her from Black Butler (Mei Ren), Fairy Tail (Mirajane), Hetalia Axis Power (Belarus), Ouran Host Club (Renge), and even Soul Eater (Tsubaki). The second was Veronica Taylor; you would know her best as Ash and May in Pokemon, April in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and roles in Cubix, Dinosaur King, Yu-Gi-Oh!, Huntik, Tai Chi Chasers, and more. The third was David Vincent; you would better know him from Bleach as Grimmjow Jeagerjaques and Kouga Kuchiki, and from Code Geass as Li Xingke. Last but not least J. Michael Tatum; who did Kyoya Otori from Ouran High School Host Club, demonic Sebastian Michaelis in Black Butler, Doumeki in XXXHolic, Jiro Mochizuki in Black Blood Brothers, Both God Eneru and Dalton in the new dub of One Piece, Komui Lee in D-Gray Man, and many more.
Anime Reign | Issue 2 | 2013
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COOL JAPAN FESTIVAL
CONVENTION COVERAGE
RACHITA SAHA | TEAM COOL JAPAN
Photographs: Team Cool Japan (©2013)
Associated with Maido Enterprises Pvt. Ltd and the High Street Phoenix, COOL JAPAN FESTIVAL 2013 featured the best Japanese Brands and an indulgence of the food & culture of Japan. After the success of the festival last year, this season had new surprises, additional brands and a lot more excitement at the Courtyard at High Street Phoenix, Mumbai from the 15th to 17th March 2013. Known as the BIGGEST JAPANESE FESTIVAL in India, ‘Cool Japan Festival’ drew over 100,000 footfalls. Cool Japan Festival 2013 was supported by the
CONSULATE GENERAL OF JAPAN in Mumbai and had
invited visitors and patrons across the city for a period of 3 days. This year, the festivities were more exciting as the patrons got to participate in exciting activities, shop and also got to win a free ticket to Japan. The festival hosted cultural performances including Wadiako drums, Enka performance and Anime fashion shows, music and cosplay.
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COOL JAPAN FESTIVAL
CONVENTION COVERAGE
RACHITA SAHA | TEAM COOL JAPAN
A
iming to make this a yearly event, Cool Japan Festival is looking at showcasing more and more Japanese Companies to the Indian market, along with promoting Japanese Culture and Food in India. The dates for the COOL JAPAN FESTIVAL 2014 are already out! The festival will take place in the month of January 2014.
Photographs: Team Cool Japan (©2013)
COOL JAPAN FESTIVAL also hosted various Online Competitions on their Facebook page. (www.facebook.com/ cooljapanfestival) The Competitions were on Cosplay and Anime Sketching. The winners were personally chosen by eminent professionals from Japan, another first-time-ever in India.
Anime Reign | Issue 2 | 2013
As spoken by Daniel, the man behind an epic Gundam Cosplay, “I wanted to push myself and do something which was not yet attempted in the Indian Cosplay Scene and be the first to do it”. When posed a question on “Where does one get so much passion and dedication to create a cosplay?”, the winner of the Online Cosplay Competitions Rishabh Saha mused, “The fact that this festival is solely Japanese, gives us cosplayers that extra push to showcase our talent to the Japanese Audience.” The Prizes this year were exclusive Anime Figurines from famous anime like One Piece, Gintama, Vocaloid, Full Metal Alchemist, Fate/Stay Night and Rurouni Kenshin. This was just the beginning.
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COSPLAY GALLERY
COSPLAY PLUS
ANIME CONVENTION 2013 | New Delhi
Photographers: Abhishek Dixit, Nikhita Dimri (Š2013)
Shivani Chauhan
Vijay Sinha
Shubhankan Singh
Vijay Sinha
Bharg Kale
Shubhankan Singh
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Ayushi Vats
Hamzah Pervez
Pulkit Singh
Anime Reign | Issue 2 | 2013
www.worldanimeclub.com
COSPLAY GALLERY
COSPLAY PLUS
ANIME CONVENTION 2013 | New Delhi
Photographers: Abhishek Dixit, Nikhita Dimri (Š2013)
Garen Panor
Tarini Rawat
Surmai Somya
Viraj Koshimkar
Akansha Chauhan
Anime Reign | Issue 2 | 2013
Aorin Shariyari
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www.worldanimeclub.com
POLL RESULTS
Popular Characters of Spring 2013 COMPILED BY : TANYA
#20 - Haimura Kiri
From “The Severing Crime Edge” Kiri may appear like a normal junior high school student but he has this weird obsession to cut people’s hair with his ‘Killing Goods’. But on the other hand he is also sweet. Watch this dark lime eyed boy only in “The Severing Crime Edge”
#19 - Accelerator
From “A Certain Scientific Railgun” Accelerator is the strongest esper in Academy City, but no one really knows his real name. Watch this ‘genderless body’ only in “A Certain Scientific Railgun”
#18 - Hikigaya Komachi
From “My Teen Romantic Comedy SNAFU” Cheerful and lively, Komachi is a member of the student council. She sees that her brother has a corrupted personality, regardless of that she still cares for him. Watch her efforts in trying to get her brother and Yui to pair up in “My Teen Romantic Comedy SNAFU”
#17 - Mushanokouji Iwai
From “The Severing Crime Edge” Iwai is under a curse that her hair cannot be cut with anything and hence is nicknamed “Hair Queen”. But somehow the only thing that can cut her hair is Kiri’s scissors. Watch Kiri protect Iwai from an old murder game in “The Severing Crime Edge”
#16 - Kuze Hibiki
From “Devil Survivor 2: The Animation” The world is in a state of chaos and Hibiki along with his friends are suddenly thrown from their normal lives into a battle of survival. Watch the war against the Septentriones only in “Devil Survivor 2: The Animation”
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Anime Reign | Issue 2 | 2013
www.worldanimeclub.com
#15 - Muromi
From “Muromi-San” One of the guardians of Earth, mermaid Muromi has developed an interest in a high school student Takuro. Watch how Muromi and her sisters save the world and somehow Tokuro gets involved in “Muromi-San”
#14 - Sagara Miyuki
From “RDG : Red Data Girl” Sagara Miyuki, a high school student, suddenly discovers that he is a Mountain Monk(Yamabushi) and has to protect Izumiko, a spirit vessel(yorishiro), who is his classmate. Don’t miss this handsome hunk in “RDG : Red Data Girl”
#13 - Suzuhara Izumiko
From “RDG : Red Data Girl” Do not be fooled by the picture. She is not a pilot. Izumiko has never left Tamakura Shrine, except for school. She takes one small step of cutting her bangs and her whole life changes. With a warrior to protect her this “RDG : Red Data Girl” become more confident.
#12 - Armin Arlert
From “Attack On Titan” Armin might be physically weak but when it comes field strategies, there is no one better than him. With his skills and intelligence you won’t be able to take your eyes off of him in “Attack On Titan”
#11 - Yukinoshita Yukino
From “My Teen Romantic Comedy SNAFU” Smart, beautiful and rich, this “Ice-Cold Beauty” has it all. Yukino is the leader of the Service Club and believes that it is her duty to help the less fortunate. Watch her only in “My Teen Romantic Comedy SNAFU”
#10 - Sashinami Shoko
From “Valvrave the Liberator” Cheerful personality and Brave at heart. Shoko who used to be a student becomes the prime minister of the new JIOR. Watch “Valvrave the Liberator” to see the rise of the new JIOR and the ups and downs in the love life of Shoko.
Anime Reign | Issue 2 | 2013
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#09 - Eren Yeager
From “Attack on Titan” A boy from Shiganshina District who has a grudge against all the Titans. His only goal is to destroy them. Watch hardheaded and impulsive Eren fighting the Titans only in “Attack on Titan”
#08 - Emi Yusa
From “The Devil Is a Part-Timer!” Emi, half human and half angel, defeats the Devil King but looses half of her magical powers by following him to a modern-day Japan. Watch her life turning upside down as she adjusts to her new life in “The Devil Is a Part-Timer!”
#07 - Yuigahama Yui
From “My Teen Romantic Comedy SNAFU” Yui, a cheerful and outgoing girl, has to deal with her problem of inability to express herself clearly to her firends. Yuigahama Yui from “My Teen Romantic Comedy SNAFU” will definitely put a smile on your face.
#06 - L-elf Karlstein
From “Valvrave the Liberator” Cold and observant, L-elf is a ruthless killer and rightfully nicknamed “One-Man Army”. Do check out L-elf’s capability to deduce actions before they happen only on “Valvrare the Liberator”
#05 - Chiho Sasaki
From “The Devil Is a Part-Timer!” Chihiro or better known as Chiho, is timid, in love, jealous by Emi and has some few powers of her too *wink-wink*, what more do I have to say? Do watch “The Devil Is a Part-Timer!” to see the rivalry between Chiho and Emi.
#04 - Maou Sadao
From “The Devil Is a Part-Timer!” Maou, The Devil King who works part-time at a McRonald franchise, is the third character from “The Devil Is a Part-Timer!”, which means you have no other reasons to not watch this show.
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Anime Reign | Issue 2 | 2013
www.worldanimeclub.com
#03 - Hikigaya Hachiman
From “My Teen Romantic Comedy SNAFU”
Hachiman or Hikki(called by Yui) strongly believes “youth” is simply an illusion created by hypocrites, for hypocrites are born from the ashes of past failures. His “dead fish-eyes” are not easy to ignore and hence you have another reason to watch “My Teen Romantic Comedy SNAFU”. He had a somewhat troubled childhood, as he had less than no friends. Tired by his attitude, his futures advisor forces him to join the service club, as she believes it will change Hachiman into a better person. On the first day of high school, something happened. That something really changed his life but he didn’t realize the changes around him. Hachiman, who has always been rejected by the female race, now has two girls in his life.
#02 - Tsukiko Tsutsukakushi
From “The Hentai Prince and the Stony Cat”
Tsukiko was terribly unhappy with her personality, as she was a crybaby. She couldn’t control her emotions and yes, her tears. One night she decides to make a wish to the stony cat statue where she meets Yoto, a senior from her high school, who himself is there to ask something from the stony cat. Even though they had an unusual encounter they ended up being friends and decide to pray together. Now Tsukiko has lost her emotions, which puts her in a more problematic situation. And so is Yoto. Together they help each other to find a final solution.
#01 - Mikasa Ackerman
From “Attack on Titan”
For many, this character doesn’t need introduction. Mikasa and her parents were attacked by slave traders which led to the murder of her parents. It was Eren who saved her that day. Mikasa, now the adopted sister of Eren, has become very protective of him. She might be the last Asian alive since the titans left no other. Her foster brother was the only reason she joined the army. Though she had no interest of her own to join the army, she topped her graduating class. She is blindly loyal to Eren, which can be seen at many instances. She is hard to read and has hard to match battle skills.
Anime Reign | Issue 2 | 2013
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Digital Art | WAC-Art
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Anime Reign | Issue 2 | 2013
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Traditional Art | WAC-Art
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World Anime Club (WAC) started out as a facebook group a few years back, under a different name, and then developed into a physical club in a few places over the Globe. We then started the “Anime Reign” magazine as a six month release. And now we’re planning to convert in to monthly release as of January 2014. We are now striving to become a Global organization, aiming to promote Anime culture around the globe and to integrate Anime lovers into one single global group. Along with this, WAC is trying to make people aware of the Japanese culture as a whole – lifestyle, cuisine and everything else. WAC is a platform where you can make friends, discuss anime, display your creativity and have fun with all things anime. To read the previous issue click on http://issuu.com/worldanimeclub/docs/magazine_ar
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