Joshi Kouhei

Joshi Kouhei
(Jiro Matsumoto)

A very surprising manga series that's in your face and rude as heck. As if "Evangelion" and "Akira" had a baby, and was raised with a steady diet of "Platoon", "Apocalypse Now", "Hurt Locker" and "Full Metal Jacket".

In the distant future, where humanity is living in an alternate dimension, a civil war erupts between the migrants and the Earth Forces in their new land. Fighting this battle are pilots manning 18-meter tall "high school girls" made of flesh and metal called "assault girls". The pilots integrate their will into the machines, therefore driving them, but the assault girls have their own behavior and quirks akin to a real, typical high school girl.

For a sci-fi series, it doesn't really explain the hows and whys behind the 'assault girls', but this actually prevents any distraction from the horror and grittiness that is going on in the moment. It does make me wonder, what is the advantage of having flesh and metal fighting robots who act like high school girls, chatting away in their cellphones, yapping about cuteness and fashion, and having them eat giant versions of food, and have normal body functions such as defecating and having menstruation. Aside for that, its a hell of a PTSD ridden ride along with the Hyena unit, as they search for their prey in the middle of a hellish war torn reality.

In the Net: Adult Wednesday Addams

Came across a little gem in YouTube...

Imagine if Wednesday Addams (from the Addams Family) grew up and tried to be an independent modern woman.

Created, written and starred by actress Melissa Hunter, its a funny take on a girl like little ol Wednesday facing the woes and troubles of a modern woman.

Anime: Dangan Ronpa

Based on the visual novel by Spike Chunsoft, its a more extreme modern twist into your typical "the butler did it in the dining room with the candle stick" dinner mystery theater.

 Certain visual and theme elements from the PSP game are also integrated to the anime.

The anime is truly a crazy mix. Its like having the animation production quality and direction of "Magister Magi Negima" (season 2) amped up with a lot of mixed cell and CGI animation on climaxes, with the moods of "Serial Experiments Lain", "Tantei Gakuen Q", "Scott Pilgrim", mashed with plot elements of "Saw", "Battle Royale" and "Ace Attorney" injected in your typical "who dunnit" detective drama. A real visual treat that teases the mind and leaves you begging for more.

Asian Home Box Office in "Screen Red"

Asian movie affecionados rejoice!!

There is now a channel dedicated to Asian movies (Japanese, Korean, Chinese) which are professionally subtitled, like one of those feature films with foreign languages, and delivered right to your cable TV. From the guys at HBO Asia and Mei Ah comes 'Screen Red', quality Asian movies and features.

Me and my wife can't get enough of Japanese dramas and movies. We'd buy tons of DVD's, download series from the net, or borrow some top quality original DVD's if we're lucky enough. But now, with the 'Screen Red' channel featuring award winning feature films and distinct movies with their own charater and flair, our appetite for the best Asian movies, whether be it Japanese, Korean or Mandarin, is topped off. Its a dream come true.

The problem now is, we don't get much sleep because of all the good features, especially in the weekends.

Highschool of the Dead

I used to hear about the series 'Highschool of the Dead', but it was only recently that I came around to watch it.

A group of students (with some teacher) trapped in the city that is over run by the undead (referred in the series as "Them"). As the 'monsters'rise up and run over the lives of the living, a different kind of monster emerges from the hearts and minds of various antagonists that are introduced within the story.

The anime series based on the manga by Daisuke Sato and the art of Shouji Sato, it brings about a deep, dark, melancholic storyline as the series progreses.

A sort of Survivor/Harem/Fan Service Overload type of anime with dark overtones as the group of surviving students go through the ordeal of locating their loved ones amidst a zombie pandemic happening around the world.

Along with the abundance of boob, ass and upskirt fan service, the ragtag team of survivors also fit your common stereotypes which a lot of otakus find 'moe'. Take your pick; a blonde bombshell airhead of a teacher/nurse Shizuka, the genius tsundere Saya, the slick and cool sword weilding Saeko, the tough but softie of a 'childhood friend' Rei, and the innocent lolli Arisu. Mixed into the fray is your typical all around good guy Takashi and the gun and mecha otaku Kota.

Takashi tries out one of those new comfy sniper mats

Aside from the tons of eye candy every few seconds, the storyline is a pretty decent one to keep my interest in the progression of the story. You can't wait to see how their adventure progresses on. Character development also takes you through some twists and turns as they appear twisted in some ways.

Semi nude apron covered sword weilding warrior chicks: AWESOME

Although watching only a few episodes, It was enough to make me look forward to watching other episodes.

"Robo Tandang"

My son and I made a short clip inspired by the Cartoon Network series "Robot Chicken", we call it "Robo Tandang" (robo rooster).

This goes to show that this happens when everyone is bored, you can't play outside because of the typhoon, and the dvd player is not working.

Sucker Punch

I didn't know anything about this movie. I only got to know about it when my buddy and I went out to buy some DVDs, and there was this intense fight scene being shown on a big ass LED TV in the shop. I was like, staring, ogling, just plain hypnotized by the fight sequence and the pretty girls that were lashing it out with hordes of robot gunners.That was my introduction into Sucker Punch, the 2011 action-fantasy movie by Zack Snyder and Steve Shibuya.

Its the story of a girl, referred in the movie as 'Babydoll', trying to escape from the asylum , after a bunch of horrible events perpetrated by her stepfather, who was also the one who interred her in the institution. Unbeknownst to her, her stepfather made a deal on the inside that would silence her if further investigation is held about the before mentioned horrible event.

Seems like a simple plot, and it is really, but the twist to the storytelling is that Babydoll moves in and out of her fantasies to help her cope with the events that are unfolding. These fantasies are also metaphors for the missions or tasks Babydoll and her friends had to got through to accomplish their goal of escaping.

Within these fantasies is where the intense fighting sequences takes place. You'll see them face off with enemies and scenarios which is made with an eclectic mix of World War 1 , Medieval Japan, Knights and Orcs, Mecha and Zombie soldiers. All inter layered seamlessly, amidst all that modern firepower, intense melee-type fight scenes, hand to hand combat, and flying around like kungfu masters. Which, by the way, are sooooo awesome!! I never stared in awe at action sequences like this since the first Matrix film.

Its like a fanboy's (or otaku's) fantasy movie where petite-katana-wielding-double-pistol-waving-school girl like uniform wearing vixen faces off not in a girly manner but in a battle that rivals sequences from anime's like 'Basilisk', 'Gundam' and 'Fists of the North Star'.

For me, I could get enough of all the fight sequence, but the story is too depressing. I couldn't help but feel sorry for Babydoll, for all the things she had gone through and will be going through.

But unfortunately, that's all there is to it. A story which could be told differently, or shorter, spiced up with tons of effects and fight scenes. I alone enjoyed parts of the movie while the people I saw it with was lost and appalled with the movie, trying to make sense of it all.

At the end of the movie, my son suddenly cried out, 'What the hell was that? its like an in-flight movie for crazy people....'

I had to pop in a DVD of Disney's 'Cars' just to calm him down.

(my son was surprised to see High School Musical's Vanessa Hudgens in a revealing outfit, blasting caps and fighting with axes. I told him, they all had to grow up some time...)

Shin Nozokiya (by Hideo Yamamoto)

No secret is safe from the guys of Nozokiya. For the right price, they will go to any lengths, employing the latest tools and gadgets for spying, to get the low down on the person you want followed. The team consisting of the highly professional Cho, the impulsive hot head Ken, and the trainee who Ken refers to as Smile, witness some weird facts, practices and perversions of the people involved in the case they are handling.

The main protagonist in the series is Ken, who seems to be a very talented voyeur. His skill, investigative deduction and pure gut instinct helps the team unravel the facts they need to finish the job.

The person who seems to act as the conscience of the group is the 17yr old Reika, who joins the guys on occassions. She develops a special bond with Ken after being rescued, with the help of Smile, from the clutches of her lecherous father.

This series by Yamamoto Hideo was serialized in Shogakukan back in 1994 and didn't seem to garner much popularity, even after having a live action drama series and movie based on it. The manga is filled with perversions of human behavior (mostly sexual) infused in a story with dark overtones and sick humor. I usually get gloomy and feel indifferent after reading a volume or two...but the way secrets are revealed or the case unfolds just gets me intrested enough to reach up and grab the next one.

I think the author exposes to the public what perversions that is taking place in society that a select few knows about and kept hidden from the public light. Hell, Ken spends most of his free time getting blowjobs in booths in his favorite joint. I didn't think there were such places in Japan.

Black Lagoon

Black Lagoon is a fast paced action anime about the lives of the mixed race pirate crew that operates in the Southern Seas of Asia. Their adventures stretch from Thailand, to Malaysia, to Indonesia, to the ports of Basilan and Zamboanga.

They consist of the cool and tough Black guy called Dutch, the IT and equipment specialist from California called Benny, the hot-headed, gun totting Chinese-American female assasin, Levy and the Japanese salayman, Rock (derived from his real name Okajima Rokuro), who was initially a hostage, before his supervisors decided to sacrifice him in order to protect some company secret. Aside from their delivery service company, they also do some shady business on the side which gets them in trouble with the law.

They operate in the fictitious city of Roanapur, a city where evil prey upon the evil, a place for the villains among villains, and any goody two shoed person will immediately become a victim upon landing on its shores. The city is shared by the Russian Hotel Moscow, the Chinese Triads and other South American cartels doing business in the area. Although a fictional city, most of the writings are obviously Thai...or Cambodian.

Things start to change as Rock introduce and live out various codes of duty, honor, responsibility and trust. Things that earned the respect of the tough Dutch and Valalaika of Hotel Moscow.

There are a few things worth pointing out. At the first episode, why are they afraid of the Philippine Coast Guard, while they are using a Torpedo PT boat, complemented with anti-tank rifles. Theres also a story arc about a Japanese terrorist teaming up with Muslim extremists in Basilan. The character I liked the most is the Taiwanese female assasin called Shenhua. She's fierce and skilled with bladed weapons, but her Japanese and English never fails to amuse me. I find it very cute. There's also this adrogenous, love-hate tension between Rock and Levy that escalated at the 7th episode.

This anime is not recommended for the youngins as they display graphic violence and bloodshed, as well as dark, twisted humor about kiling. A prominent feature of the series is decifering the real right from wrong. Where being 'right' depend on the social status, upbringing and the harsh reality they were brought up with.

There are rumors in the vine that a third season is in the works. I do look forward in seeing the new adventures Rock and Levy would get themselves into this time.