The start of a new year is always a slow period for anime. Most Fall season shows conclude before Christmas time; most Winter season shows start weeks after the New Years. We are treated to a break (albeit a brief one). Personally, I think this is the perfect time to catch up on the backlog. Whether you are tired of the in-laws or anxiously waiting for school to start, this time is perfect to waste without care or remorse. And so, I present to you a list of hidden gems that you may have missed from the awesome year we called 2012.

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Learning a foreign language usually takes quite a bit of work, especially if it isn’t very related to languages you are already fluent in. I know English and Romanian, so learning romance languages is a cakewalk and I kind of get German. A few years ago, I started learning Japanese through various websites, only recently taking a formal class. It is a whole different animal. In order to make things easier for myself, I came up with a multitude of  associations and devices in order to remember the vocabulary. After years of hearing words while watching anime and reading their translations in the subtitles, you learn to connect the dots. As such, many of the associations I use come from anime, anime music, and the occasional visual novel. Since a lot of them are stupid and embarrassing, I would rather not tell my Japanese teachers how I remember these words. That said, maybe they’ll help those of you on the quest to raise your power levels.

1. kagaku – science

Just remember that A Certain Scientific Railgun is Toaru Kagaku no Railgun in Japanese.

2. mahou – magic

There is no shortage of anime that has “mahou” in the title, making it exceedingly obvious that it means magic (e.g. Mahou Shoujo Madoka Magica, Mahou Sensei Negima!, etc.)

3. tensai – genius

Via Steins;Gate and Okarin calling Christina a “hentai tensai shoujo” or “perverted genius girl”.

4. hen – weird/strange

I swear to god, the characters say this at least once in every god damn episode of every Precure. After 100+ episodes and counting, this word is never coming out of my head.

5. shoujo – girl

I first learned “shoujo” from Shoujo Beat, a magazine that publishes translated chapters of manga aimed at girls. It was later reinforced by hearing people talk about mahou shoujo or magical girl anime.

6. shounen – boy

Likewise, I learned “shounen” from Shounen Jump, which publishes manga aimed at boys.

7. jinrui – humanity

Jinrui was Suitai Shimashita single-handedly helps me remember that anthropology (the study of humans) is jinruigaku.

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Day 3: Usny’s Top 5 Ending themes of 2012

Let me tell you all a story. A few weeks ago, it was discovered that a friend of mine had a paltry two gigabytes of music. I was taught that maintaining a healthy metabolism with such a small library of music is impossible past three years of age. Thus, and emergency music transfusion was arranged and several of us donated our libraries for the sake of our friend’s well being. Knowing that he would not care for some of my music, I pruned down the copy of my library I was giving him. That’s when I realized that I have a metric ass-ton of anime music.

I don’t consider this a bad thing, at least not until other people get into the elevator and I feel a compulsion to turn Super Affection down to near inaudible volumes. On the contrary, I love it when a series has a good opening and/or ending, as they make each episode all the more enjoyable. In these cases, I can’t wait for the singles to be released, even if the show’s OP or ED are the only enjoyable things about the show *cough*Moyashimon Returns*cough*. 2012 has definitely been a great year in terms of anime music and I’ve compiled my top five favorite ending themes after hours and hours of listening.

#5: DAYS of DASH - Sakurasou no Pet na Kanojo

Aside from being one of the most underrated shows of the fall season, Sakurasou also has a great ending theme. I love DAYS of DASH, even despite its embarrassingly Engrish name. The rock elements and vocals give is this inspirational feel that always puts a spring in my step when I listen to it. It fits the series as a whole too because it reflects Sorata’s perseverance as he continues to push to become a game designer and not be crushed under the talent of his fellow housemates. That maid/waitress outfit that Nanami appears in also works wonders.

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As my readers will know, I am always honest about my opinions. I believe that honesty is the best policy, and that you have to admit when you’re wrong. You have to admit when you have made a mistake and you have to come out and correct that mistake. Today, I am acknowledging the mistake that I have made a year ago, something that I have finally had the courage to fess up to.

I have been far too kind to Mawaru Penguindrum. In the face of petty things such as “everyone else’s opinion,” I have allowed my own dignity, my own principles, to take the second fiddle. In the wake of everyone praising the show as if it were the second coming of the Lord, I somehow came to think the show was something other than a putrid pile of crap. And when I pointed out my issues with Penguindrum, my tone was almost apologetic. That gets fixed right now. Because there are only two things I don’t do in this world: one of them is wear socks with sandals, and the other is apologizing for my opinions.

As the only aniblogger on the internet with “good taste,” I am going to educate everyone today on how to spot a bad anime in sheep’s clothing. H2O: Footprints in the Sand is a derivative, aggressively mediocre visual novel adaptation with a similarly convoluted plot and terrible pacing. And I will argue that even this C-tier anime, which you see a-dime-a-dozen every season, is better than Mawaru Penguindrum. Warning: the sheer amount of truth coming up may overwhelm some people. (more…)

Behind the scenes of every anime, there are hundreds of people at work. Artists, musicians, writers, voice actors, animators… all these people make the magic of anime happen. As talented professionals, these individuals take pride in their craft — everyone likes to be proud of their accomplishments. However, not everyone can say they would brag about everything they ever worked on. Few in the industry have the privilege of choosing what projects they work on, and some of the most recognizable names in the industry have had less glamorous days as a rookie. Today, we will go over a few of these accomplished staffers and the items they might be leaving off their resumes.

Sagisu Shiro Composing for Garzey’s Wing

Sagisu Shiro is one of the most accomplished composers in anime. His musical scores include anime such as Neon Genesis Evangelion; Bleach; Kimagure Orange Road; and Nadia, the Secret of Blue Water. He is a timeless and diverse composer whose works span three decades. Listen to how pensive and heavy this track from Nadia is, and how distinctively 80′s this track from Kimagure Orange Road sounds. Here’s something a bit more contemporary from Evangelion 2.0 You Can (Not) Advance: a riveting and emotional anthem similar in style to something from Iwasaki Taku or Kajiura Yuki.

So what is someone of Sagisu’s caliber doing on the staff of Garzey’s Wing, an anime that I am surprised has a staff at all. Garzey’s Wing is somewhat of a cult classic “bad” anime due to its nonsensical plot, incredibly shallow characters, and hilarious English dub. In fact, I’m not even sure if I remember the music at all, I was too busy laughing at this:

I can only assume the producers spent all their money for the rights to put his name in the credits and just had volunteers from the street do the rest of the work.

Mars of Destruction: Starring Chihaya Minori

Mars of Destruction is notable for being the lowest rated anime on MyAnimeList, with a measly 2.7/10 average score. The pacing is brutally awful, the action scenes look bad, none of the characters make any sense, and they use public domain classical music as the soundtrack because they can’t afford to have one composed. That being said, everyone should watch this anime — it’s only 20 minutes long and it’s absolutely hilarious. A girl’s head gets blown off in the first five minutes in the most absolutely unconvincing battle sequence known to man.

Great moments in anime history

Somewhere in all this, they had the money to hire Chihara Minori, one of the most well-known seiyuu today. I think she’s the main girl (with the red ribbons) because she talked the most and it would seem like a waste otherwise. Less than a year later, Chihara would go and star in some anime called The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya. You’ve probably never heard of it. (more…)

What did everyone miss last year?

I have heard from around the web that the Winter 2012 season is a fairly slow season for anime. While there are some quality shows, it seems people aren’t following as many compared to last season. Regardless of the reasons, this is not a bad time to catch up on backlogs. Of course, people will turn to triple-A titles that they missed like Madoka Magica, Steins;Gate, or Mawaru Penguindrum. However, there are always hidden gems that people tend to forget or just never found. Thus, I present my short list of Underrated Anime of 2011.

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It’s not politically correct to make fun of poor people in real life, which is why the “poor character archetype” is moderately popular in anime and TV shows. It’s both comic relief and also catharsis for our own financial condition. Sure I may be a broke college student, but I’m not as poor as that guy. Viewers who actually are poor can also relate to the character itself. I guess this is why we let them keep that 1% of the wealth after all. In anime, poor characters are often poverty-stricken to the point of gross exaggeration, yet they still manage to be somewhat cheerful and functional human beings. Always looking out for the positive parts of life, poor characters are easy to root for. In fact, I’d say that poor characters are some of the most well-liked characters in anime. So here is my list of the six poorest characters in anime (not really in order of financial condition).

#6: Itou Kaiji

Financial Condition:

In debt 9.5 million yen.

The Dossier

Kaiji is the iconic and titular antihero in Kaiji and Kaiji: Hakairoku-hen. Kaiji is an out-of-work bum who vandalizes cars and steals car emblems all day, so this guy is broke to start off. A sequence of poor financial decisions (such as co-signing a loan with someone you don’t absolutely trust and never looking at the details of the loan) later, he’s playing life-or-death gambling games on a mafia-run cruise ship. Life comes at you fast.

He eventually owes so much money that he is enslaved. I’m dreading the day MasterCard knocks my door down and hauls me to the gulag. This guy just can’t cut a break, his luck and his fate are just sad. Despite all the crap that happens to him, viewers love his cunning schemes and never-say-die attitude. How bad does Kaiji have it? Even after he finally wins, it turns out that he accidentally signed another loan contract that he didn’t read and lost a huge chunk of his money. He then gambles the rest away on pachinko. Poor Kaiji…

#5: Nanao Ai and Ren

Those are not fries.

Financial Condition:

So desperate for money and work that they accepted a role in Kanokon.

The Dossier

The roadside trainwreck known as Kanokon was 12 merciless episodes of shallow fanservice and a useless male protagonist being surrounded by characters are original as KFC’s original chicken recipe. The small nugget in each episode that can be somewhat feasibly considered entertaining is the Nanao twins. The Nanao twins seem to be doing some differently destitute action each episode. They don’t have lunches, they sit in the corner and eat breadcrumbs. They eat weeds, they dumpster dive, and I’m pretty sure they just live in the school’s supply closet, which seems much more interesting than the plot proper. (more…)

All too often, I have people just asking me stuff about anime. They assume that because I run an anime blog, that I know every tiny little detail about everything ever made. My instant messenger pops up when I’m in the middle of something with “hey kevo, what subs for Steins;Gate should I watch?” or “what do I do if I can’t torrent at college?” Now, I’m not denying the depth of my knowledge for animated Japanese cartoons, but you know what they say: “Give a man a fish, feed him for a day, teach a man to fish, feed him for a lifetime”. Here are 7 of my favorite anime related websites, in no particular order, for various info and reference.

Gendou’s Anime Music

(http://gendou.com/amusic/)

Gendou’s Anime Music is my favorite source of anime song lyrics on the internet. They have just about everything I ever looked for and more. Lyrics are available in romanji, kanji, and English, and you can even buy songs (I’ve never used this feature). I used to copy the Japanese lyrics of songs to practice my handwriting and pick up random vocabulary. I like the colors of the website; white text with black background is just so underrated sometimes. Everything is easy to read.

Jimaku Hikaku

(http://www.ji-hi.net/)

Click for full size

Before starting a new heart medication, you should always consult your doctor. Before picking up a new show, you should always consult Jimaku Hikaku. Ji-Hi has been around for quite a while and people need to use it more. I’m a bit of a stickler for quality — I always get 720p if it’s available and I always try to get the most decent subs. I swear by Ji-hi: it provides full size, direct capture screenshots from the release of every group as well as file size, resolution, and whether it’s softsubbed. You can even rearrange the columns and everything. If nothing else, it’s interesting just looking at how different groups can sub the same show. I’ve even used this site to preview anime and see if something is worth watching. Never ask “which release should I watch?” again. From now on, people will ask you that.

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Who in this world doesn’t love having their favorite anime characters plastered all over their desktops? Thankfully, anime wallpapers are one of the most abundant resources on the internet. You want Noumi Kudryavka plastered all over your desktop? You got choices to make, buddy. The problem arises when you realize that the wallpaper scene is free range for anyone with a pirated copy of Abode Photoshop. But isn’t art quality subjective? Of course art is subjective… to a degree. I gathered (with help from 4chan) the 24 worst anime wallpaper I could find out there on the internet to demonstrate what can go horribly wrong. Apologies to those who decided to sign or watermark their work, we’re having a friendly laugh at your expense.

Nice Colors

Ok, let’s start with umm… this. While I would imagine it’d be nice to have Saber’s warm smile greet me every time I looked at my desktop, I couldn’t handle the assault of inexplicable tie dye colors. Is Saber being hit by an EMP? Are we looking at microwave radiation? Someone save her!

Are you even trying?

Between the poor image quality, choice of font, total lack of creativity, and misaligned ellipses, I’m really having some trouble pointing out something this wallpaper does right. The gradient looks like fire, that’s cool right? (more…)

Let’s be honest for a while — cats are pretty creepy. Their eyes glow in the dark, the are related directly to lions, they seem to be able to jump everywhere and sneak all over the house without you noticing. It’s hard to tell if behind their cute and cuddly front actually lies sinister killing intent. It’s no different in anime. Sure, we love our nekomimi girls and other cute fluffy felines that prance around anime, spreading joy and happiness, but don’t be fooled. These kittens mean business.

Mao (Darker then Black)

Darker than Black is an anime that contains characters that wield supernatural powers and kick major ass. Of them, the cat Mao is no exception. Mao’s body holds the soul of a Contractor that originally lost his body, and is connected to a wireless network so he can transmit data and suppress his feline instincts. I also assume in the future, wireless has advanced beyond the point where I can’t even use wireless in the basement of the library and the signal goes haywire as soon as someone turns on a microwave.

Mao hates the spring because that’s mating season for cats. Mao doesn’t have time for that shit between possessing other animals, being a walking router, and generally being an awesome black cat with a shiny bell around his neck. With Hell’s Gate and all the stuff with the Syndicate going down, he’s got 99 problems and a bitch ain’t one.

Kami-sama (Pani Poni Dash)

I don’t exactly know how to describe Kami-sama using mere words, but I’ll try. Kami-sama (which means “God”) is a giant cat that hides in vending machines. The ultimate non-sequitur, God scaring the shit out of Mesousa in Pani Poni Dash appears in every episode, serving as the ultimate bane of our stuffed-rabbit friend.

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