The other day I went to M&A (a chinese manga shop that I sometimes go) and the lady that say I buy books that are "odd/strange".



Jeez. Here's what in the shopping bag:
- Detroit Metal City (5)
- Astro Fighter Sunred (6)
- Nichijou (1)
- Kuchisake Onna Arawaru!

Ok. The books are kind of strange althought 3 of them are gag manga with the exception of the last title (which is a horror/suspense).



Detroit Metal City
(Bottom Right on the Photo)
Sure. Detroit Metal City looks weird but it's perfectly fine despite the odd translation (Yes. It's actually tough to translate. I think) and rather mundane artwork which isn't a stranger to Gag manga. Still it's not weird and in fact, I think it's rather popular. It got a Life action movie and a
OVA anime. Still, the book run on a formula which by far, not failing yet.

Check out the links!!!:
- Go to DMC!!! (OVA)
- Go to DMC!!! (MOVIE)

Astro Fighter Sunred
(Top right)
Translated name as Tentai Senshi Sunred.
It's a gag manga so featuring some really "strange" (AKA Less than Desirable) artwork is nothing out of the norm. The storyline is about a Sentai hero living a daily as a bum living off his OL girlfriend. However the main protagonist should be the "obasan"-like neighbourly, "Evil" Mastermind who tried to defeat Sunred with his mild manner ways and equally incompetent slew of "Monster of the Week" creatures. It's even funnier that someone actually took the joke forward by making it an anime.
- Anime Website

Nichijou
(Top Left)
Nichijou......is the opposite of what the title meant (which means The Daily Norm). Althought like the thousands of Gakuen Gag books..yes. It's pretty normal til it's Blend. Think a Azumanga clone (yes. The artwork is very much shoddy lookalike to Azumanga) but with out of the norm, standard manga characters like a clockwork Android Girl (normal), a Mad Shojo Science Genius (normal) doing standard stuffs. Wait.....my verdict is that it's just a Azumanga Daioh clone with some strange characters. My god. What a rip-off. Still, it's entertaining enough.

Kuchisake Onna Arawaru!
(Bottom Left)
I bought at least 2 books featuring the Kuchisake-Onna, an urban legend that exist to scare the shit of naughty school children and I pretty much like the plot twist in this one which is a collection of shorts inspires by spooky tales of the Showa period (the full title is Kuchisake Onna Arawaru ~ Showa Kaiki Densetsu). The artwork is pretty good with the usual shock stuffs. Not very

So my conclusion is that I am having odd taste, only because I am male and didn't buy the oppai/loli exploitive stuffs? Or the Shonen Stuff like Bleach and Naruto and D-Greyman?

Lol.

No. Simply because I am a jaded manga reader who happens to look into the other alternatives.

Hell....I am quite bored so....here's movie review.

Ah the rest of the summer movies.......

Actually Batman : The Dark Knight is the best movie of the moment.....so you don't need to consider anything else if you haven't watch it. Unless you hate Batman & all that other Superhero, Comicbook movies. Ya. You should. It's annoying sometimes that such trends are formulated.

The Mummy 3

Now Jet Li. We all know Grandmaster Jet Li. Ya. He won a prize in acting. No kidding. He won a prize but that's in a Chinese Movie. His Hollywood Films are still pretty much bad. Really uninteresting.

If you find Forbidden Kingdom really uninspiring, Got the Hell away from The Mummy 3.
If you had high opinions on The Mummy, don't watch The Mummy 3.

I love to give scenarios to compare to, so imagine this:

You met your secondary, high school/Teenage Sweetheart at a Reunion function. You could still remember all those unfulfilled fantasies and what-if and all the good times you had shared. You eagerly wait for a chance to see her again and you could hardly wait. Finally you met her. Deep inside, you question yourself if you had been kidding yourself all these time and if all those good times are actually 'good times'.

OK. That isn't really funny. Likewise so was The Mummy 3. It had all the sparks and fireworks (which in my opinion was a "High" moment of the movie but soon to pass) but none of the soul. In fact, like what Wong Jin said about Forbidden Kingdom "it's made for American African Kids". Likewise, the same to The Mummy 3 save I had to reserved on the "African American" part. Generally. Just Americans & Michael Kelso.

Verdict: Rental and watch it with alot of people.

Hellboy 2: The Golden Army

I admit I didn't watch the previous Hellboy movie, neither was I any motivated to do so after watching Hellboy 2.

It's all good fun watching Hellboy 2. Nothing else. BRPD reminds me of M.I.B. Funny isn't it?

Verdict: If you haven't seem it, it wouldn't hurt. I am sure the DVD got tons of extra material when it's released so watch for it.

.......come to think of it....I actually didn't watch that many movies in July/August

Gotham's Dark Knight. (The Dark Knight)

To get straight to the point, this is the Best Movie of the year, the Best Movie of it's franchise (Batman) and the Best Movie based on a DC Superhero Character. This is also the Best Superhero movie that YOU CANNOT BRING KIDS TO WATCH. If your children are afraid Big Red Hellboy, there's no way you can keep them from crying while in The Dark Knight.

One prominent drawback is that it's not really very accessible to KIDS. If your children have a phobia of clowns, you don't bring them to watch this movie. If your children don't have a phobia of clowns, you don't bring them to watch this movie either. Children are very fond to be afraid of clowns. Don't try to test for trouble, Cool Parents. Heath Ledger is the ultimate Joker in terms of Being Scary and Creepy. You thought Jack Nicholson is Scary? You thought wrong. Of course we need to tribute that Heath built his joker on Jack Nicholson's. Without such a solid foundation laid, Heath's Joker might not had been as well defined.

The movie end up being a bit on the drag. Perhaps there were too much bases to cover but I am happy that they did at least took the risk of being dull than to be vague.

Oh and Poor Edison Chen. The only reason I think he wasn't completely removed from the movie is that they found it not worth to spent money digitally removing him from the background (a blink and miss moment).

What exactly is the name of Gordon's daughter? Was her appearance deliberately made to throw fans off of a Batgirl appearance? If the new Batgirl is based on a Year One bio, then what will happen to Gordon's happy family of four? Will the Nolan Batman ever get any sidekicks? (I hope not). It is to be noted that if Jim Gordon's daughter is named Barbara, she will be Batgirl irregardless whether Barbs is really his biological or adopted daughter.

So what lies ahead? Will Batman get allies? Super powered allies? It's a hard task for Nolan to top his own game.

By the way, the latest 'common' (of Departmental Store Range) Batman movie toys are not very inspiring. Somehow the best toys were made from the worst movie (Batman & Robin).

Gotham's Dark Knight. (Gotham Knight Animation)

Unlike the previous straight to Video release DC Animation, Batman: Gotham Knight in DVD format pretty much not a haunting quest and is definitely cheaper (I recalled that I bought Superman : Doomsday close to $40 and by chance. I never saw The New Frontier at all. ).

Is it a good "successor" to the like of Animatrix (a Movie related Animation)?
Answer : NO

Where as Animatrix was Good as a movie spin-off device (having interlinked components and element faithfully represented to the movie's feel and style), Gotham Knight is an idea that's purely GREAT on print but a letdown on execution. Sure some characters/events are bridged into the movie but some don't.

Having foreign talent was a fantastic idea. In fact I would agree that having the Japanese to animate it was cool. That is if they really are given a Free Hand to actually made it to "Anime" effect rather than to some weird effect.....none of the Japanese feel of energy was channeled into the animation, just the very business-like approach that akins to Gonzo's way of making anime.
(Meaning that they are just making stuff that they "think" what the International Market would like. Do they look like they are trying to make good original anime??? Not so much to me most of the time. )

Similarly that's how I felt about it. Either the people from DC are demanding the Japanese to stick to do what they are told, or the Japanese are too polite to push and do what they felt their clients would want.

The stories are pretty ok. Each had their own appeal. I just round this up so it's less painful for me to type and for you to read.

(1)Have I Got A Story For You
Interestingly this is the only one I considered to be the BEST animated one of the lot to show case the energy and dynamics that Japanese Animation Studios can offer. While most superficial anime lovers would point out that it's that "UGLY" style, this is one where it excels exhibiting it's character on both animation and narration. For those who found this story to be familiar, Google to see what writer Josh Olsen had to say about it. Oh course, the answer can be found on the Disc 2 under Bonus Batman TAS episodes (there are 4. More details later).

(2)Crossfire
Shoot me but I don't find it exactly fantastic especially it coming from Studio I.G.
The story was pretty simple. 2 cops escorting a crook back to the Arkham and got caught in a crossfire. Importance? It bridge by going to a geographical location of great importance in Begins and explaining a situation/decision/concept that will be integral to the End of the DK Movie. However I didn't spot Crispus Allen in the Dark Knight movie. OR maybe he did and was killed.

(3)Field Test
Lucius was one of the few characters that really brought a smile to people's face whenever he appeared in Begins since there's always some really interesting exchange between him and Bruce. Needless to say, Lucius's appearance always mean a new gadget for Batman. A testimony of Batman's personal values.

(4)In Darkness Dwells
A very polished animation nothing short from expectation by Madhouse.
If you are curious to know what happened to the Scarecrow after Begins, this is the one you need to watch. I don't really find the scythe throwing part necessary however.

(5)Working Through Pain
Only to bridge the previous story to next I guess. A real filler story. Lol. It expands on Wayne's Journey that was seen on Begins. It said something we already know but there's no harm being reminded again. I find the ending of this segment rather amusing.

(6)Deadshot
I am not too sure if anyone would agreed that Deadshot is actually a B-graded Batman villain.
Over here, Deadshot is a flamboyant Assassin. Needless to say, it's a recurring theme of Batman fighting someone "similar yet different". Batman facing off his sole enemy - The Gun. He is not really fighting Deadshot. Deadshot is just a pussy with a Gun.

Disc 2 consist of 2 documentary specials: one about Batman's Greatest Villians, the other about Bob Kane, Creator of Batman. The one thing I find consistent about DC's New Animation Videos are that the Extras are really worth the money despite the main feature film being more or less disappointing. There's also 4 episodes from the The Animated Series althought there's not enhancement with the last feature I am the Night looking pretty rough and raw.

Crap. I still wrote too much. The next post will be about the Dark Knight Movie.