How Anime Strike Struck Out

I like to think that Rin is actually screaming in agony over haveing to pay $160 a year for just one streaming service.

As you know, 2017 saw the inception of Anime Strike, Amazon’s anime streaming service, which was probably in response to the Crunchyroll/Funimation partnership. They’ve been streaming anime through their video service for quite a while, but they’ve eventually made it a dedicated service. And it has pissed off alot of folks who stream anime. And now they’ve crossed me by locking up a few shows that I was planning to watch.

Samurai Jack (Season 5) // First Impressions

In the fifth and final season of Samurai Jack, produced by Williams Street and Cartoon Network Studios, 50 years have passed since where we last left off. The time spent in Aku’s dystopian future has taken its toll on Jack’s biological clock and his mental state. With his magic sword gone and all the time portals destroyed, Jack finds himself falling into despair as he is haunted by visions of the past. And with the seven daughters of Aku coming after his life, can Jack survive long enough to find a way back to his time and bring an end to Aku?

Well, the first episode of Season 5 has pretty much proven that this ain’t the same Samurai Jack from 13 years ago. The difference between this and the first four seasons is essentially night and day. And it is definitely shapingup to be a welcome entry and a proper conclusion to Samurai Jack. To think that at one point we thought we never would see an end.

Blue Exorcist: Kyoto Saga // First Impressions

Blue Exorcist: Kyoto Saga follows after Episode 17 of the 2011 anime/Chapter 15 of the manga. In the aftermath of his fight with Amaimon, Rin finds his friends in a state of unease and distrust after learning he is a spawn of Satan. While Rin trains to control his blue flames, he and his friends are assigned to travel to the True Cross Academy’s Kyoto branch in order to investigate the attempted theft of the eyes of the Impure King.

Well, Blue Exorcist: Kyoto Saga assumes you’ve watched the 2011 series (or read the manga) up to the point it starts because it jumps you right into it with no recap. And it ignores everything after Episode 17. Which is good, because those anime-original episodes SUCKED!!! Anyway, the first episode was a fairly nice setup to the arc, even though the Kyoto Saga anime is mainly for those that were left burned by the 2011 anime, like myself, whom is hoping that Blue Exorcist can hopefully redeem itself from Hell.

Blue Exorcist: Kyoto Saga is licensed by Aniplex of America and is available to watch on Crunchyroll and Daisuki.

Saga of Tanya the Evil // First Impressions

If this show’s goal was to give me a reason to not root for our big-headed loli “heroine”, the I suppose it has done its job.

A Studio NUT adaptation of the light novel by Carlo Zen and Shinobu Shinotsuki, Saga of Tanya the Evil is set in CE 1923. Among these soldiers of the Empire’s military, there is a girl in the higher ranks: Second Lieutenant Tanya Degurechaff, whose combat and strategic abilities in battle are unrivaled. However, she is only loyal to her Fatherhood and will eliminate anyone that stands between her and victory for the Fatherhood, even if it means sending off disobedient subordinates to their death.

Saga of Tanya the Evil is certainly living up to its name, because our protagonist is a very bad person, to say the least. I have a good amount of issues with this; Mainly because our protagonist wouldn’t be out of place as the villain. and I really think that is the case. Also the character designs: Everyone looks fairly normal, but Tanya has really big eyes and a head that’s too big for her skinny body, and her closest subordinate Viktoriya has this weird moeblob face. Maybe there is a reason explained later why Tanya is such a bloodthirsty psycho, but I doubt I’ll last long enough to care when we get there. Well, Saga of Tanya the Evil is most definitely not off to a great start, I tell you what.

Saga of Tanya the Evil is available to watch on Crunchyroll. An English dubbed version will also be available to watch on Funimation at a later date.

2016 Anime Year in Review

You know, maybe 2016 wasn’t so bad after all. The Cubs did win the World Series this year. Back to the Future Part 2 was off by a year and a couple weeks. Close enough, I guess?

On second thought,. 2016 was a fucking dumpster fire of a year and no amount of booze can make the pain go away.

Anime 2015 was a fairly decent year, but it came off the heels of a garbage year for anime. 2016 seems so much better now. I’d say 2016 was the antithesis of 2014. 2014 was a fairly good year for most media, but anime that year was garbage. 2016; fairly good year for anime, but a dumpster fire of a year, mostly because of all the celebrity deaths. We should’ve seen it coming when David Bowie and Alan Rickman passed away.

But, y’know, Leonardo DiCaprio did win his first Oscar, and the Cubs did win the World Series for the first time in 108 years, so I guess 2016 wasn’t 100% a dumpster fire.

Thoughts about Toonami 2016 and Hopes for 2017

Well, Toonami had a fairly decent year. Even with 3 1/2 hours, we still had a lot of good stuff (and Dimension W) come to the block. And a bunch of good stuff (and Akame ga Kill!) leave the block. But we’ve had a ton of good news, and I’m gonna go over everything that happened this year, and my thoughts about what each show has brought to the block.

Seasonal Anime Reviews: Fall 2016

I mean, yeah, there were a ton of butts this season.

Seasonal Thoughts: Well, I guess the “One good season per year” curse seems to be broken for now, as this was a fairly good season. I was about ready to write it off as a bust and move on and start planning for next year, but honestly, there were a numer of noteworthy shows this season. I’m glad anime 2016 closed out this way,

So Doctor Strange was better than I imagined it to be. And so was Rogue One. I enjoyed that too, more than I did The Force Awakens. I lo

Koro-sensei Quest! // First Impressions

You wouldn’t think so at first, but this is actually a normal day in Class 3-E.
Well, that sounds kinda familiar…

A Lerche adaptation of the Assassination Classroom spinoff manga by Kizuku Watanabe and Jou Aoto, Koro-sensei Quest! follows Class 3-E of Kunugigaoka School of Magic as they learn the sword and magic skills neccessary to defeat the Big Bad… and their homeroom teacher, the Demon King Koro-sensei.

“Hey, kids. Do you love this popular manga? Then you’re gonna love its unneccesary chibi spinoff gag series!!” is basically the selling point of every single unneccesary chibi spinoff gag series, and Koro-sensei Quest! is no different. Not that I didn’t hate what I saw of the first episode, but I don’t expect anything out of this, really.

Koro-sensei Quest is available to watch on Crunchyroll. An English dubbed version will also be available to watch on Funimation at a later date.

Thoughts About Code Geass: Fukkatsu no Lelouch

So Code Geass is getting a direct sequel, 10 years later. Titled Code Geass: Fukkatsu no Lelouch (Lelouch of the Resurrection), it is set a few years after the Zero Requiem, and Lelouch himself is the main character.

I’m much more cautious about this than I was towards Dragon Ball Super and the new FLCL. I’m open to seeing it, but I’m not very excited for it because it ended well, with no loose ends.

MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.

Every Other Fall 2016 Anime // First Impressions (The Fairly Decent Stuff)

An adaptation of Kouta Hirano’s manga by Hoods Entertainment, Drifters follows heroic and villainous historical figures who are warped into another dimension on the days they were supposed to have lost their lives fight in a completely different war. These people are known as Drifters as they wage war against the Ends.

Well, Drifters is certainly the show this season for the Hellsing crowd (which is noteworthy since they share the same author): I.E., the folks that love over-the-top violence that doesn’t take itself too seriously, while Hirano writes whatever he wants without having to explain shit because Rule of Cool is in effect. Basically just mindless good fun, and that’s good enough for me. Drifters is a show I’m gonna enjoy.

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A J.C Staff original anime based on the WIXOSS card game, Lostorage incited WIXOSS follows Homura Suzuko who moved back to her hometown of returned to Ikebukuro, but finds she has trouble fitting in with the rest of her class. So she decides to learn playing the WIXOSS card game, in order to make some friends. She buys a deck set, and next thing she knows, she is thrown into yet another Selectors’ battle in which they must must battle for control of five coins that hold all their memories. If they can regain all five coins, they win and can leave the game. But if a Selector loses all five coins, they lose their memories.

Jesus, more of these card games… Doesn’t anybody know by now that no good ever comes from playing card games? Yeah, it’s another one of these WIXOSS anime, which means that it’s gonna be weird and they won’t show you how to play the game.

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An adaptation of Shiori Amase’s manga by Madhouse and TMS Entertainment, All Out!! follows the Kanagawa High School rugby club, consisting of the short but determined Kenji Gion, the ridiculously tall Sumiaki Iwashimizu, sub-captain Mutsumi Hachioji, and team captain Takuya Sekizan. When it comes to physical abilities and personalities, they’re all different. However, they share one common goal: to be the best rugby team ever.

I’ll be real, I only came here for the beefcakes. particularly that hot piece of ass Sekizan. But yeah, All Out!! is a basic, by-the-book sports anime. Although that’s not particularly terrible, but I would prefer there be more to the show than just muscular dudes.

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An original web animation by Oriental Light and Magic, Pokémon Generations is a series of short episodes that chronicles untold stories of certain events occurring in the main series Pokémon games.

These little shorts are pretty interesting to watch since they’ll show the other side of events that were never in the games. Not much to say since each episode is roughly several minutes each.

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So anyway, since Toei finally got off their asses and gave Dragon Ball Super a legal English simulcast, I’ll be starting at Episode 47 (Future Trunks arc) until I work my way up to current episodes. Hopefully the long wait hasn’t made me not care.

An original anime by Toei Animation based in Akira Toriyama’s Dragon Ball franchise, Dragon Ball Super follows after the defeat of Majin Buu. Goku has taken up agriculture in order to support his family. However, more threats are coming that pose a serious threat to Earth, such as Beerus the God of Destruction, a resurrected Freeza hellbent on revenge, as well as Black, Goku’s mysterious doppelganger from Trunks’ devastated future.

Well, it’s Dragon Ball, so what can I say other than I enjoy it. By the way, I’m gonna need to find Krillin’s Tacos shirts for myself.