New Dragon Ball Z Movie Teaser & Release Date Announced

As of yesterday, there is now a teaser trailer for the upcoming 2013 self-titled Dragon Ball Z film. Although the teaser doesn't reveal much, it's good to know that this project is moving along, and we were even given the exact date of the Japanese release, March 30th, 2013. Check out the trailer below:

Akira Toriyama

The film is being directed by Mashiro Hosoda, who was an episode director for the original series, as well as for other popular anime series such as Yu-Gi-Oh! and Sailor Moon. If all this isn't enough for you, head over to the official site for the latest announcements and even a message from the original author Akira Toriyama.

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Anime Spotlight: Hiiro No Kakera

Continuing on with my Springtime Anime Spotlights, with the season finale having just premiered I thought I'd share my thoughts thus far, on this series - Hiiro No Kakera.

Brief Summary
Based on a Japanese Visual Novel of the same name, released exclusively on the Playstation 2, this series follows a girl by the name of Tamaki Kasuga who after coming to stay at her grandmas realizes she's descended from the Tamayori princess blood line. Since she has this blood in her she becomes responsible, along side her five guardians that are sworn to protect her, for keeping the Onikimaru sealed. The Onikimaru being an extremely powerful sword. At the same time there is a group called the Logos that are trying to unleash the Onikimaru, which if accomplished would destroy the world.

Pros
The biggest pro of Hiiro No Kakera that I've found, is that its got an extremely wide range of content. There's lots of fighting scenes, there's a lot of mystery, a lot of supernatural elements, and there's even some mild romance. Being set in Rural Japan, there's also plenty of nice landscape shots, and the animation in general is quite nice. Nothing special, but nice nonetheless.

Cons
To me the biggest con would be the lack of character development and romance especially in the early episodes. Although this could be seen as a benefit because it makes way for more fighting, without the proper development of characters the fighting seems hollow. In the series defence the amount of character and romantic development does pick up around episode 10, but that doesn't help the first nine. There's also a number of background characters who seem to be important, but who don't get any air time, like Tamaki's highschool friend Kiyono. They could be saving the development of these characters for season 2 though.

Bottom Line
Even though there could have been more character development in the early episodes, near the end of the season it does step it up, and hopefully the second season continues in the same way. Besides this minor flaw, Hiiro No Kakera is a very good show, with lots of entertaining fight scenes and interestingly mysterious content. There's even a few laughs (pic Related).

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The Springtime Anime Spotlight: Mysterious Girlfriend X

Having marathoned the first seven episodes of this series last night, I just watched the eighth which premiered not too long ago, and thought I'd give my thoughts on the series thus far.

Brief Summary
Mysterious Girlfriend X, based on a Manga series of the same name (surprise, surprise) follows high school student Akira Tsubaki, who after tasting class mate Mikoto Urabe's drool that she had left on the desk falls in love with her. Mikoto Urabe, who is aware of the effect drool can have on people who are extremely close, realizes her and Tsubaki are meant to be together and agrees to go out with him. The series then follows their relationship and its evolution.

Pros
Although it may sound a little bizarre because of the whole drool thing, the series is so well done that you hardly notice or even think about  how weird it is. Being relationship centric there is little to no fighting in the series, but the characters are all so interesting - especially Urabe - that it's never boring. There is also a great deal of comedy and the series has actually made me laugh out loud a couple of times. The main pro though is the relationship between Tsubaki and Urabe, which is so well written and orchestrated that even if no words are said there's still something interesting going on.

Cons
The only real con is that since the series only focuses on four characters extensively, it can get a little stale. But even then, the four characters that get the spotlight are so interesting you don't really notice. It could also be said that the actual romance is a little slow paced, for example eight episodes have already aired and Urabe and Tsubaki haven't kissed yet.

Bottom Line
Unless you have an erational fear of drool, or need action in your animes, Mysterious Girl freind X is a fantastic anime full of comedy, romance, and mild mild ecchi. Theres also some mystery, I mean this whole drool business isn't a normal thing so there's got to be something else going on. Maybe even something supernatural.

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The Springtime Anime Spotlight: Folktales from Japan

With a new episode of Folktales from Japan having aired last night, I thought what better way to start my new Spring Anime Spotlights than with this interesting series.

Brief Summary
Unlike most Anime series - or any series for that matter - instead of having a story that continues on every episode with a constant cast, each episode of Folktales from Japan revolves around three short vignettes that follow the story of an old Japanese folk tale. For example, in the most recent episode there's a story about a monk who saves a village from an angry god, a story about a lazy boy who travels from his village, to heaven, and eventually back again, and a story about a lazy man who after going for a walk meets two other lazy people (riveting I know).

Pros

The main pro of this series, in my opinion, would definitely be the animation. This is because unlike other animes who try to have a pseudo-real animation, Folktales from Japan, takes a complete 180 and tries to be as cartoon-like as possible. Although this story book style wouldn't work for all animes, for a series that is trying to re-imagine folk tales told to children, it is perfect. The fact that there is no consistent plot can also be seen as a pro in the sense that one does not need to fret about having seen every previous episode when a new one comes out, you simply turn on the television (or computer screen if you don't live in Japan) and watch.

Cons
Just as its lack of continuity can be seen as beneficial, it can also be seen as a detraction. This is because since there's no recurring characters or story, there is no reason to come back every week. Sure you might want to check in every once in a while, but there's nothing that makes you feel like you have to. Another con, and perhaps the most off-putting would be the lack of interesting story. By this I mean that even though there are three stories per episode, not all of them are going to be interesting. For example, the folk tale I described earlier about a lazy man going for a walk is literally just that, a lazy man going for a walk. There is not even a lesson or morale at the end.

Bottom Line
The bottom line for this series is: if you're someone looking for a good action, romance, or comedy series then try some of the other new springtime series, but if your interested in Japanese history then this could be a fun way to learn a bit more!

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Meloetta's Anime Appearance & The Return of Dawn?

Today we have got wind of the titles of the upcoming anime episodes in the new Best Wishes season. Both these episodes have been revealed from a Japanese magazine source and will feature the Pokémon Meloetta. They are titled Sing, Meloetta! The Melody of Love!! and Piplup VS Pansage, the Magnificent Battle!!.  These episodes are to air on the 21st and 28th of June respectively in Japan. I believe that the Piplup episode will have the rumoured return of Dawn,  a fan favourite character.

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