Otaku World A Division of the Rin-Taki Anime Association Volume 1 Issue 8
March 2005
Contents Introduction Anime Spotlight Art Gallery Member Points Club Updates Art Contest New in the Library Calendar of Events Get Backers Prizes A Word from the Editor Meeting Schedule Otaku Nuku #1 New T-shirts Anime News Affiliates Donators & Sponsors
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WELCOME!!
Somehow I get the feeling that this newsletter could be a lot better if members decided to be more involved with it. But hey! What can you do? The Membership is free and privileges are given to those who meet the requirements, not for participating in the newsletter. But things could be worse. So … let’s talk about what’s in this issue. Let’s see, the introduction…wait…that’s what I’m doing. LOL. Hmm…Anime Spotlight, well this issue it’s “Scrapped Princess”. This series is rather good despite the review from Eek in which I grabbed from some anonymous website. Next is the Art Gallery which is supposed to be for club members but I had to grab some fan art from some other anonymous websites. Next, Member Points…self explanatory, Club Updates…same thing. Ah Ha! Art Contest. Wait! The details are included in that as well. What can I talk about then. Oh, I know. The new t-shirts that the club will be selling. We must all thank Anneko for her wonderful art (see page 6) so now we sell shirts and make some more money. I think that is all I have to say so I’ll go now because I’m taking up more space than we actually have. Oh one last thing, sorry! The Calendar of Events have been updated and some new special items have bee n added and before I go I just wanted to let every know that you can send shout outs to someone and not all of the club members are residents of California and they read the news letter, so let’s give them something to read about.
ANIME SPOTLIGHT–“SCRAPPED PRINCESS” Fifteen years ago, God Mauzel gave a prophecy that the sixteenth birthday of the Scrapped Princess will be the poison that destroys the world. While still an infant, she was taken and cast into a gorge... but by luck or destiny, she survived. Now, 15year-old Pacifica Kasull is nearing her 16th birthday, and her adopted brother and sister, Shannon and Raquel, desperately protect her from the followers of God Mauzel as they travel. Every step of the way is met with someone attempting to kill her, hoping to save the world from the coming cataclysm. - summary by Eek
Review from Anime Academy by Eek - What made Scrapped Princess look very tasty was the storyline and its progression. Often blunt and serious in its storytelling style, this anime does not come across as being as serious as X with the apocalyptic aspect. Rare scraps of comedy are usually contained to Pacifica squabbling with Shannon, and almost everything else comes off as being serious. Throw in the fact that Pacifica, who is a part of a prophecy that will destroy the world, is actually a very nice (if not bratty) teenager, you have the building blocks for an interesting plot. Equally as interesting are the fight scenes. With Cowboy Bebop: Knockin' on Heaven's Door and RahXephon, Bones knows how to put together action sequences that will inspire awe. Flashy fights are not usually a bad thing, and in this case, they are done quite well.
Highs: Interesting storyline and fight scenes Lows: Mixed fantasy and sci-
Where Scrapped Princess begins to turn unappetizing is the sudden and awkward plot fi elements are hard to twist that takes place about halfway. Up until this point, the fantasy elements work quite swallow; I wanted more well and feels like a darker version of Record of Lodoss War. When science fiction is character background suddenly thrown into the story, everything goes haywire. As hard as I was trying to buy it, the mix of fantasy and science fiction simply did not work. In addition to a mix that becomes slightly problematic, most characters lacked the proper background and were given just enough information to make them stand… but not enough to make them walk. It is good to know that Shannon is an excellent swordsman and Raquel can cast a few spells here and there, but how they gained such skills is never explored, nor are we privy to such information like why Pacifica and her two adopted siblings were forced to leave their village in the first place. Even if the main characters receive shoddy background like that, the side characters are worse off because they are only given a few bits of information in an attempt to make them tick.
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