Animation Unlimited

It's going to be a little bit slower here this week. The kid turns 1 tomorrow, relatives are inbound ... and I have a Radio Flyer wagon to build tonight.

I'm still watching animation, just don't have as much time to write about it. Look for a .hack//sign review soon.

Come on Revenge of the Sith.

Episode 25 was a satisfying end to the animated Clone Wars saga. Anakin did not completely fail in his task after all, though his spiritual look inward revealed a darkness that he is not ready to face. Unfortunately, we all know how this ends... the darkness will consume him, and it will be another 22 years before he has a chance at redemption. At least the people of Nelvaan can start rebuilding their lives thanks to the Young Jedi.

For their part, the Jedi fail to stop the kidnap of Chancellor Palpatine. General Grievous is victorious, and based on the ending I can imagine the scroll for Episode III....
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It is a dark time for the Republic. During the siege of Corosaunt, General Grevious and his army of droids manage to kidnap Chancellor Palpatine. In their infinite wisdom, the Jedi Council dispatchs the young Jedi Knight Anakin Skywaker and his Master Obi Wan Kenobi to rescue him at all costs.
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Or something like that. I know the scroll is out in cyberspace, but I'd rather not read it until I see the movie in the theater. Please do not post it here.

For those that missed it, Clone Wars II will be playing in its entirety tomorrow, Saturday, March 26th at 8:00 pm. Or, watch them all online at Cartoon Network.

That should do it for my Clone Wars coverage for the week. Now back to our regularly scheduled programming...

Purchase Star Wars merchandise and movies.

Finally, a cel collecting post!

I have been collecting animation cels off and on for about five years now. It's an interesting aspect of this hobby as it represents part of a dying art form. Most modern animation houses are rapidly moving toward computerized cel coloring. For example, Disney has not hand-colored a feature since The Little Mermaid, and many of the smaller houses are starting to follow suit.

Eventually, most production animation will be computer-colored - hand painted cels will all but disappear. They may become a footnote in animation art history. Until that happens, I'll keep collecting as many as I can get my hands on at a good price.

Needless to say, from time to time I find some really good cel vendors. When I do find one, I'll be sure to let everyone know.

My most recent acquisition was from an ebay and online vendor Animegame.com. They have a pretty good site with a nice selection of cels. I recommend taking a look at what they have. Shipping was quick, the cel arrived in excellent condition, and it included the matching pencil sketch.

This was actually my second time doing business with them. My first ebay acquisition from them was 4 years ago for what (if I recall) was a Battle Athletes cel. Overall I am very happy with the service and may need to pick up a few more from them.

Check them out if you are interesting in collecting one-of-a-kind animation cels.

Short update: I watched Episodes 23 and 24 as they came out over the past 2 days.

In this batch we got to see why Yoda and Mace Windu are Masters, the attempted kidnapping of Palpatine, and Anakin facing his trial of the spirit in an unorthodox manner.

Clone Wars is now setting the stage for Revenge of the Sith. The Separatist take the battle to Coruscant, striking at the heart of the Republic. The Jedi rally to thwart the attack on the city-planet, and battle like mad to protect their world while General Grevious attempts to kidnap Chancellor Palpatine.

Meanwhile, on a remote planet on the outer rim, Anakin and Obi Wan are investigating mysterious disappearance of the Nelvaan males. Deeply seeped in Native American mysticism, it is a strange sequence of animation ... reminiscent of Fantasia in music and style. Anakin is setup for failure, we will see what happens next in the finale tonight .... then no more Clone Wars posts for a while.

Time passes. Battles are won and lost. Anakin now sports long hair and a jagged scar on his face.

It was an interesting episode last night, and we see Anakin in a slightly different light. He is no longer the spoiled young man he was as an apprentice, he is a full-fledged Jedi at the height of his power. Anakin seems to have come into his own. As a fierce warrior, he pilots and slices his way through his enemies. As cunning commander, he sets forth plans that shorten battles and ensure victory. As a friend, he and Obi Wan share some funny moments and quips.

We see why he is so gifted, and why the Palpatine is so interested in him.

When the episode ends, Anakin and Obi Wan are on a remote planet facing savages ... I wonder where they are going to go with this.

Get used to it, this will go on for a few days....

Clone Wars, Volume 1 is now on sale at Amazon. If you missed the first two seasons, this is the place to get it.

It is a dark time for the Republic. The Jedi Knights find themselves in an unfamiliar position, losing comrades and battles. Desperate times call for desperate measures, and the Jedi Counsel determines it is time to promote the young Padawan Anakin Skywalker to Jedi Knight.
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I just finished watching Star Wars, Clone Wars on Cartoon Network, and I have to say I am pleased. The third season of Clone Wars and Episode 21, picks up exactly where the second season left off. Finally we see the fate of the Jedi Master Kai Mundi and what remained of the Jedi under his charge. Lucky for him, Arc Troopers once again came in and saved the day.

Several nagging mysteries are solved with this edition of Clone Wars. The first, at what point did C-3PO become the goldenrod we all know and love so well? The second, what were knight trials and initiation like in the days of the Jedi Counsel? And the third, why was Anakin promoted to Jedi before he was truly ready for the task?

The answers? 1) Protocol droids serving senators should be clad in gold. 2) The Jedi faced the trial of skill, the trials of the flesh, and trial of the spirit. In the initiation, the Masters ceremoniously remove the Padawan's apprentice braid. 3) Anakin skipped the trials because his previous experiences supposedly surpassed those he would face at the hands of the counsel. And most importantly, the counsel needed to fill the Jedi ranks quickly due to attrition.

Oh, one other thing, we also find out that Padme actually did save the necklace given to her by the little boy who eventuality became her husband.

However, one scene from the show bothered me - and it may be a break in Star Wars continuity. They showed a young Anakin with Qui-Gon Jinn on Dagobah. Anakin was facing the trial of the Dark Side cave. What I want to know, when in Episode 1 did they have time to stop on Daghobah between the trip from Tattoine and Corosaunt? Quai Gon dies pretty soon after... so it is a bit of a problem. It may have been just Yoda's vision... but that just does not sit quite right.

Other than that I was pretty pleased with the show. The 15 minute episode format is a vast improvement over the 5 minute serials from Seasons 1 and 2, it will make for a much more complete story.

I have a lot of respect for Genndy Tartakovsky's work, from Samurai Jack to Dexter's Lab. This is just one more example of fine animation he has produced.

Don't miss it. Star Wars, Clone Wars II will start it's 5-episode run Tonight at 7:00 PM EST on Cartoon Network.

If you do miss it, Cartoon Network is going to post the previous night's episode every morning - starting tomorrow.

I am looking forward to 15-minute episodes as opposed to the 5-minute ones from last season. This should be fun.

It took about 6 weeks, but I finally got my replacement DVDs for my defective copy of Robotech Remastered:Volume 2. The time it took could have been better, but I am pleased that ADV did not give me much trouble about it ... just fill out the RMA form, ship it in, and wait. The form said 2-8 weeks, so it could have been worse... or they could have done nothing at all, which would have been unacceptable.

Now I just need to continue on my merry way with the crew of the Macross.

Go to the Steals and Deals forum for weekend anime offerings from Rightstuf.com.

I DVR'd Robot Chicken last week and caught up to it yesterday. To paraphrase one of my southern co-workers, "What a HOOT!"

Robot Chicken is a stop-motion animated show using action figures, clay, and models. Created by Seth Green and Matthew Senreich, they spoof the hell out of politics, religion, and pop culture. It has nothing to do with chickens other than the opening scene.

This episode had three really great bits. In the first, we see what it was like to miss the boat from the perspective of the animals that were too late to get on the ark. The second great bit was "That '00 Show" voiced by the cast of That 70's Show and lampooning our current techie culture.

However, the funniest bit of the show was a Cannonball Run spoof. Batman, Speedracer, Vin Diesel, The Duke Boys, Michael Knight and others vie for "the prize." Just about all of them die horrible deaths in the process. Burt Reynolds and Dom Deluise guest star in this, and provide outakes like they did in the end of the Cannonball Run. I was rolling.

For a 15-minute show, they sure packed a ton in. Great short-attention-span theater. Can't wait for more.

At Laz's suggestion in the forums, I checked out E's Otherwise on Anime Network On Demand. I missed the first episode, and I wish I hadn't because I'm sure I missed some good background... but I was able to pick up pretty easily from the second episode.

The world of E's Otherwise is one controlled by 12 megacorporations and filled with mutant human psychics. The psychics are feared and hated by most humans, but ASHURUM corp has taken many in and trained them as special force known as AESES. Kai is a psychic who is was delegated to the ASHURUM corp for training.... and it seems his future with the corp is uncertain.

It is an interesting Anime, one that feels familiar. The character models are attractive, but I swear I have seen them before. I scanned the credits for some of the project leads, and though I recognized a few names, I could not quite put my finger on where.

The story so far is a compete shade of gray. It is not clear yet who the good guys are, or who the bad guys are, or if they are all just self-serving ideologues ... but the foreshadowing shows our lead protagonist, Kai, either doubting his role in AESES or changing sides sometime in the future.

The dub didn't grab me right away, but they have some really good English cast members such as Chris Patton and Hillary Haag (I loved them both in Full Metal Panic), so I'm sure its just a matter of finding the roles. The sound seemed to run hot and cold on my TV as well, it may be a side effect of On Demand... not sure yet.

I find I have been spoiled by watching DVDs for so long... I hate waiting for the next episode. Any idea what the turnaround time is on On Demand?

I cleaned off my DVR last night, I don't have any more Justice League until I can cycle through and record some more. It was an interesting batch of episodes, the focus shifted a bit from some the characters I had seen previously.

"The Cat and the Canary" centered on Green Arrow, Black Canary and Wildcat. After being put out to pasture by the JLU and limited to training new recruits, Wildcat has been participating in the Meta-brawl fight club to get out his aggression. The violent nature of the sport has Black Canary worried, and she solicits Green Arrow's help in trying to turn Wildcat around.

There were several things interesting about this episode. First is the use of the old-school DC heros in Green Arrow, Black Canary and Wildcat. These are 1940s "Golden Age" DC characters. The writers really know their stuff and are going to great lengths to draw on the original source material. We even start to see the sparks of romance between Green Arrow and Black Canary. Another thing about this episode is how utterly brutal it is. Although the fighting is bloodless, I actually winced a couple of times during the fight sequences. Pretty hardcore stuff going on here.

In "The Ties That Bind," we see the Flash, Mr. Miracle, and Big Barda try to save Oberon from Granny Goodness by busting Kalibak out of Vermin Vundabar's prison. Sound convoluted? That's what I thought too. The episode fell a little flat for me, but I like the Flash in JLU and it was cool seeing Michal Dorn reprise his role as Kalibak. Kalibak even resembles Worf in my opinion.

"The Doomsday Sanction" was an interesting episode. We see Doomsday once again try to kill Superman (he "succeeded" in the comics). We see Lex Luthor running for president and gaining in the polls. (Voters appear to be sheep in the world of the Justice League ... sounds familiar.) We see the complete and utter misstrust the government has for the Justice League ... and we see Batman "take a bullet" for Superman.

Once again, Batman shows himself to be one of, if not the strongest member of the Justice League. His intellect, raw guts and self sacrifice save the man of steel from a kryptonite/nuclear bomb. This was another "edge of the seat" episode and rounded out a fun night of 'toon watching for me.

Remember in all the old Hanna Barbara cartoons when they created an evil twin for a character? The 'toon looked exactly the same as his good counterpart except for a goatee. Futurama did a nice spoof of this a while ago with an Evil Bender on a very funny episode (but all Futuramas are funny so that does not say much).

Well, today I am Evil Johaan. It may have come from watching a sick baby all weekend (who is also teething, poor guy) who in turn gave me his cold. Or perhaps it came from the hard drive recall I am working with in my HP laptops, or a new boot issue with said latops attaching to my AD domain. Regardless, Evil Johaan is here today, 4-day goatee and all, I just need to hatch some diabolical scheme to take over the world.

Anyone care to join me?

DULUTH, GA. (AP) -- A man accused of killing three people at a courthouse was captured Saturday after taking a woman hostage at an apartment complex, officials said. The man is also a suspect in the fatal shooting of an immigration agent earlier Saturday.

"Brian Nichols is in custody. He turned himself in without incident. Everybody is safe," said Officer Darren Moloney of the Gwinnett County Police Department.
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It's always a little unnerving when things like this happen in your backyard. I work only a few blocks from the Fulton County Courthouse where the alleged shootings took place yesterday, and live only a few miles from where they found the body of the US Customs agent at Lenox Mall. I'm glad Nichols is behind bars.

I have a 47th floor windowseat in my building in downtown Atlanta. I'll admit, ever since 9/11 I have been a little hyperaware of helicopters and sirens in the downtown area - especially when they buzz the tower. Yesterday, I knew something big was up when I saw the 3 helicopters circling downtown and the 6 unmarked police cars blaring their way down Peachtree toward the capital. Like I said, I tend to notice these things.

Our building was in lockdown for about 2 hours after the shootings - and it was the topic of conversation at work all day. I personally think it is absurd that he was able to escape in the first place, you'd expect the security would be a lot better in one of the biggest courthouses in the state. I'm also shocked they took him alive, given the violence over the last 2 days.

I wouldn't call it a happy ending given all the deaths, but I am thankful it's over for now.

Strayed over to the Disney Channel late last night and caught Kim Possible for the first time. The themesong drew me in of all things.

Not a bad little show. Kid-friendly, fun, what else would you expect from a show about a crime-fighting high school girl and her clumsy sidekick?

The idea of a naked mole rat is a little disturbing, but he seems to be a handy little guy. Ron Stoppable seems to like him.

Anyway, cute little show ... this one should be a parent favorite.

Studio Summary
From the director of Ah! My Goddess!

Kei Kusanagi isn't your typical 15 year old high school student. He's actually an 18 year old with a rare disorder that puts him into what he calls, a "standstill". When he was younger, this disorder left him in a deep coma which stunted his growth for the next three years!

Mizuho Kazami isn't your typical teacher either. She's actually an alien sent by the Galaxy Federation to observe the Earth! As the sole human being with knowledge of Ms. Kazumi's secret, Kei must marry the alien?! Homework, dating, and a gorgeous wife going to school has never been quite this fun!

Contains all 13 episodes!

DVD Features: textless opening and ending, music clip, design gallery, and previews.

Age Rating: 16+

Spoken Languages: English, Japanese, English subtitles.

Purchase Please Teacher from our online store!

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One of my former creative writing professors, John Dufresne, recently published Johnny Too Bad, a collection of 18 short stories that take place in South Florida. I have enjoyed his other works, and I'm sure this book is excellent, so I figured I should give it a plug.

I had the pleasure of taking a course with John at Florida International University back in the summer of 1993. I learned a ton about the creative process in that class, and he was one of the best writing professors I had in college. Actually, if you are interested in creative writing, you should check out The Lie That Tells a Truth: A Guide to Writing Fiction also by John Dufresne. It is a wonderful guide and any writer would benefit by having it in his or her library.

John maintains a blog that he updates daily, go and give him a visit. It is highly political, you have been warned, but it is a very worthwhile read. Like his books.

There is a rarely recognized, but commonly used plot device in many anime romantic comedies. Nothing like the Curly Shuffle, it is the kind of move you'd expect from guys back in junior high - a trick they would use to get close to a girl they liked. In anime, it always seems to happen innocently and accidentally. However, there is nothing innocent or accidental about the plot device itself, it is pure fan service through and through. (Fan service is an anime industry term for scenes made to excite or titillate the viewer.)

I call it the Shonen Stumble.

Most anime (and manga) romantic comedy is considered Shoujo (translation: for girls), but there many crossover titles that target a largely male audience (or Shonen: for boys). Over the years, I have seen this plot device employed in these crossover titles again and again. You need to know where to look, but as soon as you recognizance the convention, you will see it early ... and often.

Here is how the Shonen Stumble works. Usually, a guy (or gal) is helping the current (or future) object of his affection do something. Move in, clean, pack - it really does not matter what it is. During the process, one of the characters will stumble or trip - it is inevitable, it will happen, and when it does the two characters will crash into each other and land in a heap on the floor. More often than not, that heap puts the two of them in very compromising and embarrassing positions. What happens afterward is always unique to the series, but the results are generally very funny.

The funniest thing about the Shonen Stumble is it never gets old. Now I may just be a bit little twisted, in fact I know I am, but the move still cracks me up every time I see it in a new show. I guess you can call it a running gag for the genre, but it is employed so well by directors you just have to love it almost every time it happens. The Shonen Stumble generally occurs in the first or second episodes of a show to start the ball rolling between two characters - and it may come up over and over again as a running gag. Fan service is often involved, a flash of skin here or a panty there, just enough to make at least one the main characters uncomfortable.

Still not quite sure what the Shonen Stumble is or why it is funny? Here are some examples I snipped from some of my favorite anime romantic comedies.

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BURBANK, Calif., March 2 /PRNewswire/ -- Walt Disney's timeless masterpiece, BAMBI, has eclipsed all same day DVD/VHS competition with first day sales reaching one million units on DVD and video in North America. After 63 years, BAMBI's one million units sold has proven it is still beating a forest-full of competition.
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I just had to do a quick comment on this. Even knowing that Bambiis one of animation's beloved classics, these are very impressive numbers. It just proves the timelessness of good animation and that people will go back to the movies they loved during childhood ... whether it is for themselves or to share it with the next generation.

As always, you can purchase Bambi at Amazon.

I worked on cleaning off the DVR a little more, watching a couple of episodes of Justice League Unlimited last night. I really want to upgrade to that dual-tuner model and I have to get through another 20 hours of programming first.

Anyway, the animation quote of the day comes from the JLU episode "Black Heart."

"I need both hands Professor Palmer," said Wonder Wonder woman to the miniaturized hero the Atom (Professor Ray Palmer) while fighting of hordes of alien robots. After punching another one down, Wonder Woman sticks him in her cleavage for safe transport to the alien mothership.

YES!

No son, this is not your Papa's Superfriends.

There were some other great lines in this particular episode ... proof that they have some great writers on board. I am enjoying the hell out of this so far.

In another scene, Batman calls out on his communicator during the battle with the aliens (as he plummets from his destroyed plane without a parachute): "Batman to all points. I could use some air support. (falling) Since I can't fly (falling) ... at all. (Still falling, no response from anyone.) Now would be good." Superman rescues him just feet before he hits the ground.

Eariler in the episode, the Atom is battling a monster of some sort in the lab:
Atom: "He's bigger then my car now, Katie. Personally I blame you." (Takes another punch at the beast.)
Katie, his lab assistant says, "How can it possibly be my fault?"
Atom: "Because otherwise it would be my fault. That can't be right – I'm a professor."

And then after the battle in his lab, the Atom says while facedown on the ground, "I'm going to lay here for a while, Katie. I'm old now, and I get tired."

Just great writing. Out of context, Wonder Woman's quote wins ... but trust me, this is one great show.

Studio Summary - Set 01 Contains DVDs 1-3

In 1999, a giant alien spacecraft crash lands on South Ataria island. Humanity proceeds to attempt to rebuild this marvel, but political conflicts centered around the Macross result in a global war. After 10 years, the Unification Wars are finally over, the new Earth United Nations Government is in power, and work on the Macross is complete.

On the day of the launching ceremony, its main cannon fires on its own, destroying an alien spacecraft. This fateful day marks the beginning of the war between the humans on the Macross and the Zentradi, a race of humanoid aliens of giant proportions.

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