Anime Secret Santa 2014: The Tatami Galaxy

After nearly 5 years, I finally decided to muster up the wherewithal to participate in the Anime Secret Santa project by the fantastic folks over at Reverse Thieves. In turn, I was suggested Gungrave, Princess Tutu, and Tatami Galaxy. The first I had been meaning to give a second chance, whereas the latter two I failed to finish as new anime seasons cropped up seemingly out of nowhere. Being a huge fan of Masaaki Yuasa I jumped at the chance at a kick-to-the-rear to finally finish another of his works. As such, I went with The Tatami Galaxy.

The plot centers around a freshman college student, “Watashi”.. He joins a campus club in search of his “Rose-Colored Campus Life”, to chase the love of raven-haired maidens, and find fulfillment in an important time in his life. He is hindered by Ozu, a young man resembling a youkai who makes it one of his missions to ruin everyone’s love lives. As Ozu brings Watashi hiss level, Watashi becomes hated to the extent that he is thrown off a bridge on the night of the Daimonji Festival. Along the way, he crosses paths with many others with whom he could have grown closer if he had only made different, better choices. In turn, he wishes he could have joined another club, and freed himself of Ozu. “And so, as a brand-spanking new freshman university student, countless doors to the mystical treasure known as that ‘rose-colored campus life’ lay open before him. And the one Watashi chose was…”

2014 Secret Santa–Kaiba

Once again, I threw my hat into the ring, and participated in the Reverse Thieves Secret Santa Project. It’s a great opportunity to try out something that you just never thought of. My secret santa chose for me Cat Soup, Now and Then, Here and There, and the series I ended up watching and reviewing, Kaiba. This series has been recommend to me before, however, I never took the time to sit down and watch it. Now, I regret not picking it up sooner.

End of Journey–Hunter x Hunter

For a second time, Hunter x Hunter was granted an anime adaptation of a long running manga. I had never watched the earlier series, or even delved into the manga, so starting this series left me uninhibited by preconceptions. And for the better part of the last three years, I can safely say that I have been thoroughly entertained by this series. It’s a series that takes you through highs and lows. And all the time, it sticks to it’s one unifying theme.

Anime Talk Special – An Interview with Anime Maru’s Kevo

Recently, I had the opportunity to sit down with a long time friend of the blog, and not so quiet personality in the anime blogging community, Kevo. We had a great conversation on his new endeavor, Anime Maru, the role of satire, and how context is so important. Come listen in!

Anime Talk Special: Spring 2014 Early Impressions

Spring 2014 season is here, and what better way to sound off on our early impressions than with a Anime Talk podcast special. JoeAnimated and Acostoss sound off what our thoughts on what’s been released so far, and what you should be watching. Come check it out!

Spring Season 2014 Preview Podcast

Katoh Akatsuki

Welcome to the Fall edition the Anime Audiolog Audio Season Preview! The Fall season is just about to start, and we’re giving you the valuable information you need to get right into the season. We’re trying something new out this year, and we’ve even brought in a special guest. The Fall season has a the most we’ve seen in a long time, so don’t miss out. This season JoeAnimated and Acostoss are heading it up. Check out our preview below!

Yeah, We’re Still Here

This fall, those of you that regularly engaged with here on AAL may have wondered “where are these guys?” While we haven’t been completely silent, this place has been pretty much a ghost town. I think it’s safe to say that for most of us, real life got the better of us. So what was I doing? Traveling for work, living out of a hotel, and suffering the East Coast. I don’t know how you guys live out there. Much too crowded for my liking. I like my little corner of the Northwest USA.

And because of all my travels, I’ve spent the better part of the last three months all but avoiding anime. I didn’t have time to watch, and generally speaking, my interests waned for a period there. I’ve had a number of gripes about shows and fandoms over the last year, and it was a chance to step away, and gain some perspective. And honestly, I didn’t miss it a whole lot. It was a well needed break.

What did I do with my free time? Sitting in airports and on planes does leave a lot of down time, so I decided to dive in and read some fiction. Honestly, not enough people read anymore. They’re looking at a portable screen and watching a TV way too much. And I was falling into that same trap. I read what there is of A Song of Fire and Ice (aka Game of Thrones), which amounts to five long books. What an epic series of fantasy fiction. And it’s been too long since I’ve read a good fiction. For those that have just watched the TV series, you’re missing on a much better written story.

So whats next, for me as well as the blog? First up is to decide what anime to catch up on. There is still much from Fall, and a few series from Winter, that I need to see. Luckily, Winter is slow enough that it will be easy going. You can see what I was interested in here:

And plans are in the work for the blog, so February should be an interesting month. We’re planning to bring some content back, and as for me, drop some others. I don’t have the time right now to blog something episodically, so Kill la Kill will be falling by the wayside, except for some editorials here and there. But we’ll be working to fill in with some other content in the next few weeks.

As always, the comments sections are open. Feel free to give feedback as needed. And hopefully you stick around long enough to see what’s next!

Anime Audiolog 2013 In Retrospect

It’s that time of year again. Time to look back on the year, recognize greatness, mock the ridiculous, and acknowledge what made the previous year great for fans of anime. In this special podcast, Acostoss, JoeAnimated, and Numberss take a walk down memory lane. Come check it out!

Secret Santa Review–End of Evangelion

Evangelion is unique amongst anime fans for the wide range of emotions it brings out from those that watch it. Love, hate, confusion, amazement; and maybe all of those at the same time. It’s considered a pinnacle series of the 90’s, with it’s beautiful animation, multi-threaded twisting plot, and controversial ending. If you’ve never watched the original series, I highly recommend it, regardless of what your tastes are.

It’s the ending that leaves most fans in a state of bewilderment. “What is going on?”,What did I just see?”,  are the typical reaction after watching the last two episodes. It’s this fan reaction that brought forth an expanded retelling of the ending found in the movie The End of Evangelion. Episodes 25 and 26, combined together, along with additional scenes, work to bring a small amount of closure to the fans of the series. But let’s be honest, it just continues  where it left off it in messing with our heads.

Kill la Kill Episode 9

It is time. Time for the ultimate battle royal for Ryuuko. The last few episodes covered the short time leading up to this moment. She’s fought her way to the top, and now she faces her first opponent, who only yesterday assisted her. But can she win by brute force alone?