No. But that doesn’t stop this from being the most heartfelt, genuine, and overall best Key plotline ever. Here’s why.

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Previews and blog rumors aren’t so reliable after all. My fears about this episode were largely unfounded, though it has other sets of problems alongside some relatively strong material. Even if this is really talking about three relatively unrelated plot threads, this ain’t filler; don’t skip it.

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By writing a whole anime-influenced play! From the trusty Anime News Network:

On Thursday, November 29, Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Dance Theater Ensemble will premiere Live Action Anime 2007: Madness at Mokuba, a play inspired by themes and images from classic robot anime series. The story of the play involves two teams, competing in the Giant Robot Contest at the fictitious “Mokuba Institute of Technology,” that join together as a strange disease invades the campus. The performance will be held at the Kresge Little Theatre, on the MIT campus, and will be repeated on Friday, November 30 and Saturday, December 1.

Mike’s Take: You know, I applied to MIT, knowing that I probably wouldn’t get in (I didn’t, and thankfully, because I ended up not liking computer science very much at my still-demanding alma mater anyway), because I wanted to be on the same campus with a bunch of hardcore geeks like me. Stuff like this helps explain why! You should also read the interview with the author of the play, Prof. Ian Condry, who loves hip-hop and Japanese pop culture–which of course explains why he loves Samurai Champloo so much and got excited when his students introduced it to him. (Who else? This is the campus that invited the Otaking himself after all!)

I agree with most of his choices for his favorites, especially The Girl Who Leapt Through Time–which I gave a glowing review–but I somewhat disagree with using Paranoia Agent as a starter into anime as he does. Kon is absolutely wonderful, a total original, but I think a bit too convoluted and artsy for many people. Maybe that’s why movie critics tend to love him so much. Cowboy Bebop, another one of his favorites, is a better choice IMO: much more accessible stylistically, well-told, and extremely well-scored. Plus it has tons of well-directed action. (The Girl Who Leapt Through Time is also great.)

Any readers here go to MIT and can offer some thoughts or a review of this performance? I’m curious about it.

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Anime Diet is again proud to present an exclusive interview, this time with the voice actress Yukana. She’s well known for her role as CC in Code Geass, Tessa Testarossa in Full Metal Panic, and characters in Chobits and numerous other shows. Throughout the interview, as well as in the fan panel (we missed the press conference), she was dressed in a long, dark velvet dress, and was simultaneously reserved and cheerful in answering questions. Her natural speaking voice may surprise you, unless, like me, you’re a Tessa Testarossa fan. Because that is who she sounds most like in real life! Kind of like how Hirano Aya sounds even more girlish than Haruhi Suzumiya in real life.

The interview was held on Saturday, November 10, 2007. This transcript is of a private interview, not a press conference, and perhaps ironically, that meant we spent a shorter amount of time with her than we did with the Claymore staff. But–we still got our delicious endorsement anyway! In Japanese, too.

 

 Yukana Eats it Right [0:09m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (162)

(BTW, this is the only video you’ll be getting. We were requested to not display anything else in public. Sorry.)

Jeremy, myself, and Fred–who understands basic Japanese–were present. As in the Claymore staff interview, it was done through an interpreter, who translated in the third person, which is accurately transcribed here. The interview was edited for conciseness and clarity. And no, tj_han, there is no real juicy gossip for you. You’ll have to ask another reporter for that. :)

Coming soon: reports from the fan panels for both Yukana and Claymore staff, a video diary like the Anime Expo ones, and a final written report.

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From Ann -

Nissan GT-R Coupe’s Redesign Inspired by Gundam Anime 

Nissan Chief Creative Officer Shiro Nakamura told BusinessWeek magazine that the Nissan GT-R coupe’s redesign, which was unveiled at the Tokyo Motor Show and Los Angeles Auto Show this month, was inspired by the Gundam anime series.

Specifically, Nakamura noted that the high-performance model’s square lines and vents were influenced by Gundam. The Japanese designers created the aggressively boxy overall design…

Ray’s take: YEAH RIGHT.  Watch the Americans make the first mechanized soldiers and weep!

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From Ann -

Police Reaches Dead End in Belgian ‘Manga Murder’ Case

…on November 24 that the police have no concrete leads in the two-month-old case of body parts found near notes linked to the Death Note manga. On September 28, two hikers found a human torso and two thighs in Duden Park in the city of Saint-Gilles. Police later determined the shaven parts came from a Caucasian male individual. No identification or personal effects were found on the body parts, but two pieces of paper were found nearby with the same message in Roman capital letters: “WATASHI WA KIRA DESS.” This is an apparent misspelling of the Japanese phrase “Watashi wa Kira desu,” or “I am Kira (Killer),” that is used in Tsugumi Ooba and Takeshi Obata’s Death Note suspense manga series…

…No missing person was reported whose description matches the body parts. The only potential witness that has come forward was a jogger that said she saw a blond man lying down in the area where the body parts were discovered. However, she could not provide any more clues…

Ray’s take: Well, duh! Kira used the Death Note! No wonder no evidence could be found. No wonder this doesn’t even look like anything in the Death Note manga and anime. I mean, come on! If I were Kira, would I do something exactly like the manga so that people can actually solve the case and find me???

Oops. XD BTW, I’ve NEVER EVER been to Belgium.

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You know, I haven’t blogged about this show in a while, but I caught up over Thanksgiving weekend. And you know, after episodes 7 and especially this one, 8…and after watching ef episode 7…scenes like this mean something pretty dramatic to me now.

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UC Irvine Extension has a course for you! From Anime News Network:

Starting in January, the UC Irvine Extension program in California will be offering the third class in a series on the business of anime and manga in the United States. “Manga and Anime Explosion: Finishing and Publishing Your Manga” will be a five-session class designed to teach students about the manga publishing and rights management business. Previous courses in the series included an introduction to anime and manga and a class on story development.

Mike’s Take: it looks like you’ve already missed out, alas, if you were more interested in developing storytelling skills. Or if you didn’t even know anything about anime and manga (which I’m sure is true of the people who read this site, eh?). But if you already have a webcomic or have work ready to submit and/or publish, and if you have the dough (this is why I can’t take extension courses like this), you might learn something. The guy who teaches it apparently helped sell Battle Angel Alita to James “King of the World” Cameron and is writing the Americanized version of Berserk. That might not bode well to some ears, but I suppose we are starting to learn these days that clout is awfully important when it comes even to this industry of ours.

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After the concentrated intensity of episode 7, the writers smartly decided to largely lay off the emotional intensity (save for one final scene near the end, though it hardly comes as a shock). Too much drama can be bad for the viewer as well as for the soul.

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…is in Anime Diet Radio, episodes 13 and the mailbag sections of 14 and 15. Justin Sevakis’s editorial said a lot of the things that I think we would have said: the companies, especially Japanese ones, must find a way to distribute electronically soon after Japanese broadcast and directly compete with the convenience of fansubs.

Justin’s piece is well-written, reasoned, and eloquent, and in a very influential forum to boot. I hope the industry listens. Give it a read, if you haven’t already.

I don’t feel like I have anything else to add, really; I’m a little tired of the topic. Personally, I think the difficulty is in large part simply because anime is a foreign entertainment product to the world outside Japan, and foreign work is never going to make enough money from DVD sales alone because it will always be a niche market. Plus, for the most part,  it’s TV. Pretty much every argument can be boiled down to that in many ways.

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