The MAD Otaku Speaks!
Within the past few days, my inner otaku got treated to some new stuff. I got the latest issue of Questor Extreme Mangamania and VCDs of the anime movie, Inu Yasha the movie 2: Dream Castle beyond the Mirror.
As with previous issues, Questor Extreme Mangamania #4 continues the events in the four stories in it’s lineup. This time around, horror-mystery story Cante Ista is featured on the cover, with an image that reminds me of the weird gothic anime, Soul Taker. Anyway, the story continues as it does with once again, guys cycling through the desert towards the Devil’s Triangle in the American midwest, talking gobbledy-goo with spirit animals. The kicker this time around is that there’s SEX (which is always good). Well, more ST than anything (well, the one girl in the story gets down to her skivvies for some lethal seduction). The title, "A Kiss Before Dying" is pretty literal… anyway, it’s still an enigma to me, for the most part. I like the art though; I think the staff got jumbled around again, with the former artist of Camp Big V doing art chores for CI.
Shojo-drama Free Spirits proved to resist my initial attempts at reading. All I know is that the spectral residents of the rest house where the hapless barkada is staying are making their presence felt even more. Girl stuff. Moving on…
Camp Big V, I have to say, took a turn for the worse in terms of art. While the Gatekeeper-esque look of the previous issue wasn’t totally in tune with the material, at least it was clean and pretty. The present art is down a notch, and the pacing is pretty iffy. I say this because the new Voltez team’s first kill- the traditiional ‘V’ cut and mushroom cloud… is reduced to a couple of tiny panels. FEH. Not even the appearance of a former Volt team member can change my opinion on this one.
Finally, action-comedy Streetsweepers finishes up the issue. Apparently a couple of new babes join the team, but turn out to be more distraction than anything else. Have to say I find this title to be pretty crappy. The characters are indistinguishable from each other, with no personality, the plot is about as compelling to follow as the neighborhood trash truck and the art's just… messy. Pretty harsh, but I’m a paying customer, and I’ve seen enough manga to know what is style and what is just… not. Sigh.
Overall… BAH. But at least the Cante Ista episode had some ST. Hehehe…
Inu Yasha the Movie 2: Dream Castle beyond the Mirror is the second theatrical release of the highly popular and long-running (over 127 episodes and counting) anime/manga series by manga-ka Rumiko Takahashi. The movie is set well into the latter half of the series, and once again features titular dog-boy Inu Yasha and his companions as they battle a new menace that threatens the world as they know it. This time around, villains from the TV series- main heavy Naraku and his flunkies, sexy wind witch Kagura and creepy soul-less urchin Kanna play important roles in the action.
The main enemy though is a mysterious woman named Kaguya, who may or may not be a tennyo (heavenly maiden from Japanese myth). What Kaguya really is though, is evil, and she’s out to make the world a very dead place. Of course, it’s all up to Inu Yasha, Kagome and their friends to make things all better.
I’ve been waiting for this movie for a least a year, and it turned out to be so-so. The animation and character designs match the first movie, and is of high quality. What just kept the movie from being a classic is the haphazard pacing, plot and somewhat plodding action. This could have been an extra-long TV arc or four episode story. Still, it’s something to see, and it’s great to see my favorite character Kagura get the movie treatment.
Sigh. Disappointments abound. Well, Questor EM’s still developing, and a third Inu Yasha movie is on the way. Life goes on. And on. And on…
Questor Extreme Mangamania is available wherever comic books and magazines are sold for Php 100. Copies of Inu Yasha the Movie 2 should be available now at better-stocked anime shops in the Metro.
Within the past few days, my inner otaku got treated to some new stuff. I got the latest issue of Questor Extreme Mangamania and VCDs of the anime movie, Inu Yasha the movie 2: Dream Castle beyond the Mirror.
As with previous issues, Questor Extreme Mangamania #4 continues the events in the four stories in it’s lineup. This time around, horror-mystery story Cante Ista is featured on the cover, with an image that reminds me of the weird gothic anime, Soul Taker. Anyway, the story continues as it does with once again, guys cycling through the desert towards the Devil’s Triangle in the American midwest, talking gobbledy-goo with spirit animals. The kicker this time around is that there’s SEX (which is always good). Well, more ST than anything (well, the one girl in the story gets down to her skivvies for some lethal seduction). The title, "A Kiss Before Dying" is pretty literal… anyway, it’s still an enigma to me, for the most part. I like the art though; I think the staff got jumbled around again, with the former artist of Camp Big V doing art chores for CI.
Shojo-drama Free Spirits proved to resist my initial attempts at reading. All I know is that the spectral residents of the rest house where the hapless barkada is staying are making their presence felt even more. Girl stuff. Moving on…
Camp Big V, I have to say, took a turn for the worse in terms of art. While the Gatekeeper-esque look of the previous issue wasn’t totally in tune with the material, at least it was clean and pretty. The present art is down a notch, and the pacing is pretty iffy. I say this because the new Voltez team’s first kill- the traditiional ‘V’ cut and mushroom cloud… is reduced to a couple of tiny panels. FEH. Not even the appearance of a former Volt team member can change my opinion on this one.
Finally, action-comedy Streetsweepers finishes up the issue. Apparently a couple of new babes join the team, but turn out to be more distraction than anything else. Have to say I find this title to be pretty crappy. The characters are indistinguishable from each other, with no personality, the plot is about as compelling to follow as the neighborhood trash truck and the art's just… messy. Pretty harsh, but I’m a paying customer, and I’ve seen enough manga to know what is style and what is just… not. Sigh.
Overall… BAH. But at least the Cante Ista episode had some ST. Hehehe…
Inu Yasha the Movie 2: Dream Castle beyond the Mirror is the second theatrical release of the highly popular and long-running (over 127 episodes and counting) anime/manga series by manga-ka Rumiko Takahashi. The movie is set well into the latter half of the series, and once again features titular dog-boy Inu Yasha and his companions as they battle a new menace that threatens the world as they know it. This time around, villains from the TV series- main heavy Naraku and his flunkies, sexy wind witch Kagura and creepy soul-less urchin Kanna play important roles in the action.
The main enemy though is a mysterious woman named Kaguya, who may or may not be a tennyo (heavenly maiden from Japanese myth). What Kaguya really is though, is evil, and she’s out to make the world a very dead place. Of course, it’s all up to Inu Yasha, Kagome and their friends to make things all better.
I’ve been waiting for this movie for a least a year, and it turned out to be so-so. The animation and character designs match the first movie, and is of high quality. What just kept the movie from being a classic is the haphazard pacing, plot and somewhat plodding action. This could have been an extra-long TV arc or four episode story. Still, it’s something to see, and it’s great to see my favorite character Kagura get the movie treatment.
Sigh. Disappointments abound. Well, Questor EM’s still developing, and a third Inu Yasha movie is on the way. Life goes on. And on. And on…
Questor Extreme Mangamania is available wherever comic books and magazines are sold for Php 100. Copies of Inu Yasha the Movie 2 should be available now at better-stocked anime shops in the Metro.
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