New Madhouse/Marvel Trailers

I’m having a hard time not liking the Madhouse/Warren Ellis trailers for Iron Man and Wolverine. I think I tend towards the look of the Iron Man one more than Wolverine but, for the most part, I’m fairly optimistic about this. I’m not a huge fan of Ellis’ stuff but, at this point, fighting the slow globalisation of anime as a product seems to be pointless so…well, what I’m trying to say is:

If the shoes fits, wear it.

Bleach E212 – 213 (SPOILERS)

Bleach #212:

First off, I have to say I was right. (^_^)

Bleach #213:

"Giant Devil Men, United Ninjas!"

Whilst I was dreading this episode and fully expecting it to be more filler, it was in fact made of awesome. Whilst still a deviation from the series’ central storyline, the sheer amount of Tatsunoko and tokusatsu references made this episode all kind of brilliance.

From the design of Kon’s ‘Karakura Riser‘ suit to his ‘heroic companions’, everything about this episode is great.

Absolutely made of win.

Ishinomori Reviews: 009-1 E01 & Skull-Man E01

What with Kamen Rider DCD being such an unexpectedly good show, I’ve been undergoing something of an Ishinomori renaissance lately. To this end I decided to try out the most recent adaptation of The Skull-Man and 009-1. Sadly, despite all their tokusatsu credentials, both opening episodes fail to live up to their creator.

009-1 fairs the better of the two but, at it’s heart, is pretty much Charlie’s Angels (or even Totally Spies) with Ishinomori character designs and out of place fanservice. Of the two shows, it definitely appears to be the better, creating a fairly well rounded and loving homage not only to the source material but the era of the source material and the inspirations that helped fashion it but, for the most, part, there’s only so much standard 60s spy glitz you can take before losing interest.

Skull-Man is a bigger problem, lacking much of the charm of the original character and discarding even the flavour of Shimamoto Kazuhiko‘s 1998 manga reboot. This is perhaps a problem with me as I was expecting something a little more heroic from the flavour of the show, instead the story revolves around a reporter with a dark secret and his wannabe-photographer sidekick as they trudge through a dystopian Metropolis flavoured set up and get nowhere fast. I understand what the writers were trying to do and I realise that maybe even a decisive attempt was being made to emulate the way in which Rintaro and Otomo Katsuhiro’s Metropolis anime adapted the Tezuka manga original but…it just didn’t work for me.

Sadly, despite the obvious best intentions of the shows, I don’t think I’m going to follow either to its conclusion.

Bleach E210

I’m increasingly running out of ways to say ‘OMG! I love this!‘. It seems like every other five minutes I’m throwing out new theories to try to keep one step ahead of the storyline and utterly failing…which means I should probably stop making updates like this and just *wait* until I have something important to say…so I will…

After this:

*SQUUUUUUUUUUUUEEEEEEE*

Bleach E209 (SPOILERS)

[SPOILERS etc. Don't read if you're not watching the current arcs of the series]

Having recently been re-watching the first block of episodes and the No Clouds in the Blue Heavens musical, I am now convinced that the force behind the deaths in #209 is Tōsen. The manner in which ,Muguruma is attacked at the end of the episode is incredibly similar to the unlocked form of his zanpakutō.

I can’t tell who the shadowy figure was in the next episode trailer but for now, and possibly until #210 airs, I’m going to hold onto this theory like it’s canon.

Other than that, not much else to say. I am loving this arc. It’s rewarding in the kind of way that only shows with a lengthy continuity can be.

Can’t wait for next week.

Bleach E208 (SPOILERS)

I spent a lot of time last week trying to work out exactly who the person behind bars was in the end credits of the current arc. Now that I know, I’m not sure who I was afraid of more in the actual scene where it was revealed.

The Turn Back the Pendulum mini-arc has long since stopped being a case of answering questions and now is completely about raising new ones. For every connexion revealed or finally shown, having previously been hinted at in dialogue of the modern day arcs, the storyline presents more quandaries and problems.

I wouldn’t change it for the world.

Whilst this episode was very much focused on Urahara and Hiyori, the ramifactions of what was spoke about are massive, touching all of the main character groups I can think of in the series.

I’m really excited about seeing where the story goes next!

Bleach E207 (SPOILERS)

I’m behind on everything right now which means I’m only just catching up with watching stuff and posting about it. Fortunately (or not) there’s not much to comment about in regards to Bleach #207, which isn’t to say it’s bad, it’s just that the majority of its 24 minute run time was dedicated to exploring primarily the relationship between Urahara Kisuke and Sarugaki Hiyori, with a little bit about Hirako and Aizen, 110 years prior to the main story’s opening arc.

From the shape of things, I think these are the four charaters this new arc is going to revolve around, which is quite a tame prediction but I’m happy with it. The Vizard are one of my favourite sub-sects of Bleach characters so I’m more than happy with the slower pace here, if it explores the past of these characters – even if, at present, it does seem to be presenting more questions than it offers answers.

It’s testament to the show that it can cover so many different styles whilst still very much being recognisable as one story.

Nonetheless, I’m hoping the next episode will give me something more weighty to comment on.