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- Doc Skala's Old-Time Variety Hour, episode 1
In glorious mono from Roncesvalles, Toronto and Hilo, Hawaii, it's Episode 1 of Doc Skala's Old-Time Variety Hour, brought to you by El Yucateco Green Habanero Sauce, and the letters ン and ソ. Detailed summary and download link below the cut. Free registration required, to keep out the bots.
(3 January 2010)- Visual Land VL-878 tips and tricks
I bought a Visual Land VL-878 portable audio/video player recently, and had some adventures trying to get it to work. I'm collecting the results of my trial and error on this page so that others with this or similar devices can save themselves some trouble.
(22 February 2009)- Nova Scotia man convicted of child pornography on shotacon anime possession
Here's a small item (scroll down - the page has several different stories on it) from the Halifax Chronicle Herald about a man in Nova Scotia pleading guilty to child pornography charges for possession of materials that included shotacon anime. I'll post links to better coverage if I find them. It's not a pure banned-anime case, in that he apparently also had materials featuring real children; anime fans often cite "But I don't have any real child porn" as a Get Out Of Jail Free card and this case doesn't directly contradict that. But I don't think any reasonable argument can be made that the Canadian authorities will leave you alone just because you don't have any pictures of real children. I hear that Dwight Whorley's conviction in the USA has been upheld, too - though some appeals still remain - so being in the USA isn't Get Out Of Jail Free card either. The statutes and prosecutors' interpretations thereof in both places are pretty clearly intended to cover purely fictional material.
(21 February 2009)- Review: The Manga Guide to Statistics
The other day I saw a girl wearing a shirt with the slogan "Will yuri for yaoi," and I thought, hey, wouldn't it be funnier if it were a boy wearing the same shirt, just to get the extra level of non sequitur value? As for No Starch Press, they sent me a free review copy of The Manga Guide to Statistics, and it's close enough to the kinds of topics I cover that I figured it'd be worth writing a review.
(6 December 2008)- Manga reviews
I'm generally more a fan of anime than of manga, but I bought a stack of manga at Anime North and figured I might as well post reviews of the books as I finish them.
(10 August 2008)- On Kodomo no Jikan and instigation
A great deal has already been said about Seven Seas and Kodomo no Jikan/Nymphet. People who want to know about that stuff already do. There is just one thing relating to that mess that I'd like to comment on here; it concerns a point in Jason DeAngelis's first public statement on the subject. He has since retracted some of the statement, but the principle illustrated is more general than just this one incident.
(31 May 2007)- Nanami and Himemiya
- At first glance, Nanami seems to exist just for comic relief. My opinion is that she's actually much more important to the plot of Revolutionary Girl Utena than that. Just consider that she gets eight whole episodes devoted to her (as well as appearing at least briefly in most of the others)! Nobody else gets that, and the "Nanami episodes," even if they often seem outside the continuity of the main series, always seem to be relevant to and reflective of what's going on in the surrounding episodes. In a whole lot of ways, Nanami is either exactly like, or exactly opposite, Himemiya Anthy. She's like a mirror image, and we see part of the story reflected in that mirror that the storytellers couldn't show us directly with Himemiya. Her function is a lot like that of the shadow girls. Here's a summary of ways Nanami and Himemiya reflect each other, with many spoilers. (19 May 2006)
- Episode 39: And Someday, Together, We'll Shine
- Utena meets her fate. (14 May 2006)
- Episode 38: End of the World
- Akio tempts Utena with a fairy-tale ending, and she successfully resists him only to be betrayed, stabbed in the back at the last minute. (14 May 2006)
- Episode 37: The One who Brings the World Revolution
- Utena nearly loses her resolve, but makes the decision to go to the arena and claim the revolutionary power in order to save Himemiya. (14 May 2006)
- Episode 36: And Thus Opens the Doorway of Night
- Utena defeats Touga in what is supposed to be the final duel, then discovers Akio and Himemiya's dirty little secret. (5 May 2006)
- Episode 35: The Love which Grew in Wintertime
- Utena falls deeper in love with Akio, and starts to forget her silly dreams of being a prince; but her memories will not give up without a fight. (5 May 2006)
- Episode 34: The Rose Crest
- Flashbacks and memories explain exactly what's going on, but the viewer probably still won't understand. (4 May 2006)
- Episode 33: The Prince who Runs through the Night
- Himemiya pulls strings to get Utena into bed with Akio, amid flashbacks. (29 April 2006)
- Episode 32: The Romance of the Dancing Girls
- Akio and Touga convince Nanami to duel Utena again. (29 April 2006)
- Episode 31: Her Tragedy
- Nanami learns about big brothers, and does not react well. (29 April 2006)
- Episode 30: The Barefoot Girl
- Akio romances Utena and several other women. (29 April 2006)
- Episode 29: Azure Paler than the Sky
- Ruka forces Jury to duel Utena again, but maybe it's because he truly loves her. (24 April 2006)
- Episode 28: Whispers in the Dark
- Tsukiya Ruka returns to school after a long absence, makes Jury jealous, and with the girl Jury loves as his second, duels against Utena. (24 April 2006)
- Episode 27: Nanami's Egg
- Nanami lays an egg, and hilarity ensues. (24 April 2006)
- Episode 26: Miki's Nest Box: The Sunlit Garden
- Akio and Touga tempt Kozue and Miki to duel against Utena. (26 March 2006)
- Episode 25: Their Eternal Apocalypse
- Utena and Himemiya move in with Himemiya's brother Akio, who with Touga's assistence tempts Saionji to fight another duel. (26 March 2006)
- Episode 24: The Secret Nanami Diary
- Tsuwabuki has been keeping a secret diary that summarizes Nanami's adventures. (19 March 2006)
- Episode 23: The Terms of the Duellist
- Everything since Episode 14 turns out to have been a dream - or was it? (19 March 2006)
- Episode 22: Nemuro Memorial Hall
- In which it is revealed the secret incomprehensible origins of the Black Rose necromancers, who sold their souls to Himemiya's brother Akio, many years ago and have not aged since. (19 March 2006)
- Episode 21: Vermin
- Nanami's lackey Sonoda Keiko has a crush on Touga, and the Black Rose necromancers use her as a zombie Duellist. (19 March 2006)
- Episode 20: Wakaba Flourishing
- Wakaba is sheltering the expelled Saionji, and the Black Rose necromancers use her as a zombie Duellist. (10 March 2006)
- Episode 19: A Song for a Kingdom Now Lost
- Shinohara Wakaba's old flame, Kazami Tatsuya, returns to the school and gives her the courage to tell Saionji how she feels. (10 March 2006)
- Episode 18: Mitsuru's Impatience
- Tsuwabuki wants to be an adult, and the Black Rose necromancers use him as a zombie Duellist. (10 March 2006)
- Episode 17: Thorns of Death
- Jury's beloved shows up, and the Black Rose necromancers use her as a zombie Duellist. (5 March 2006)
- Episode 16: Cowbell of Happiness
- A magical cowbell turns Nanami into a cow, and hilarity ensues. (25 February 2006)
- Episode 15: The World Seen from Kozue
- Miki's sister Kozue is jealous of Himemiya, and the Black Rose necromancers use her as a zombie Duellist. (25 February 2006)
- Episode 14: The Boys of the Black Rose
- The necromancers of the Black Rose Circle plot to destroy Utena and Himemiya. We learn that Himemiya has a brother, Ohtori Akio, and the Black Rose people use his fiancee Kanae as a zombie Duellist. (25 February 2006)
- Episode 13: Tracing a Path
- A strange man comments on the seven duels Utena has fought. (20 February 2006)
- Episode 12: For Friendship, Perhaps
- Utena tries to be normal, and is no good at it. She duels Touga again, winning back Himemiya and her own self-esteem. (20 February 2006)
- Episode 11: Gracefully Cruel: The One Who Picks That Flower
- Utena has a picnic with her friends; then loses a duel to Touga, who takes Himemiya away to be his caged bird. (20 February 2006)
- Episode 10: Nanami's Precious Thing
- Nanami kills a kitten and Utena forgets Touga's birthday. (14 February 2006)
- Episode 9: Castle Where Eternity Dwells
- Saionji kidnaps Himemiya; Utena comes to her rescue; Touga comes to Utena's rescue, and is revealed to be her prince; Saionji wounds Touga, and is expelled. (5 February 2006)
- Episode 8: Curry High Trip
- Nanami tampers with the curry, Utena and Himemiya swap personalities, and hilarity ensues. (5 February 2006)
- Episode 7: Unfulfilled Jury
- Arisugawa Jury doesn't believe in miracles because she can't admit to being in love with the girl who stole her boyfriend. (5 February 2006)
- Episode 6: Take Care, Miss Nanami!
- Nanami gets involved in a sick life and death dominance and submission mind game with a disturbingly young boy, Tsuwabuki Mitsuru. (5 February 2006)
- Episode 5: The Sunlit Garden Finale
- Miki duels with Utena, hoping to win Himemiya and recover his sister's lost music - which only existed in his own imagination anyway. (5 February 2006)
- Episode 4: The Sunlit Garden Prelude
- Depressed pianist Kaoru Miki decides Himemiya is just what he needs to cheer him up. Nanami continues to be annoying. (5 February 2006)
- Episode 3: On the Night of the Ball
- Utena briefly disguises herself as a girl, then rescues Himemiya from Kiryuu Nanami's creepy incestuous jealousy. (5 February 2006)
- Episode 2: For Whom the Rose Smiles
- Himemiya and Utena move in together, and Saionji unsuccessfully challenges Utena in an attempt to win Himemiya back. (5 February 2006)
- Episode 1: The Rose Bride
- Tenjou Utena wants to be a handsome prince and rescue beautiful damsels in distress, notwithstanding that she is a beautiful damsel herself. She defeats Saionji Kyouichi in a duel, discovering too late that Himemiya Anthy is the prize. (5 February 2006)
- Revolutionary Girl Utena
- Episode summaries and commentary for the classic anime series (5 February 2006)
- Bishoujo v. Tentaku (working title)
- Sub-lethal tactical game: Busload of schoolgirls accidentally drives within range of a dimensional rift, and tentacled horrors pour out from the other side. The idea is to work in as many anime cliches as possible, though I haven't yet figured out just where giant robots will come into the scenario. (4 August 2005)