Anime Corner: Watching "Sword Art Online" with a non-gamer

Zer07 and I recently sat down and watched the popular, yet controversial series, "Sword Art Online."  SAO is a story of a game creator gone mad who has trapped his players in a virtual world, where death in the game means death in real life.  

I was a bit hesitant to watch at first because of the gaming-centric setting, but I eventually found myself getting hooked and we watched to the end with a fair sense of satisfaction.  While I did enjoy SAO, I feel very conflicted about this show.  I'm of the mindset that a show should attempt to be as universally accessible as possible, and as a  non-gamer, I would have needed a manual to follow this show by myself.  Admittedly, I'm probably not the target demographic for this show... my gaming experience is mostly limited to Bejeweled, Super Puzzle Fighter, Super Mario Brothers, and Mario Kart!!...  I don't think I would have stayed with the show if I didn't have 07 next to me explaining the intricacies of MMOs.  Putting aside the heavy MMO references, however, the story is pretty compelling and had me hooked.  The stakes are very high with some characters undergoing interesting psychological transformations, there is a sweet romantic storyline, and the art and animation is consistently high quality.

Anime fans seem to either love or hate this show.  The second half of the show was arguably weaker than the first with an introduction of an awkward sibling romance and a less entertaining gaming storyline.  (While I understand why many Western viewers might have a problem with the brother-sister romance, this is actually quite a common romance sub-genre in Japanese storytelling.)

I recommend giving this show the "3 episode rule."  You can check out the full 25 episodes streaming on Crunchyroll.

Nin, nin.

Anime Corner: Masaaki Yuasa

Hello friends!  The other day, Zer07 and I watched Masaaki Yuasa's animated film, "Mind Game."  It was quite possibly the trippiest movie I have ever seen!!  Aside from the trippiness, the movie left a big impression on me for its unique aesthetic and unconventional storytelling.  At times, the boundaries between reality and fantasy become blurred, but essentially, the story is about facing mortality and living life to the fullest.  If you haven't seen the movie yet, check out this crazy sequence:

It was exciting to watch something so unique and experimental come out of the Japanese anime industry, which is why we were excited to learn about Masaaki Yuasa's newest project, "Kick-Heart."  The project is described as a love story between two people -- a man who is a pro-wrestler and a woman who is a nun.  Each has a secret to hide...  

What's especially exciting about this project is that Yuasa and Production I.G are reaching out to an international audience to try and obtain funding via the popular crowd-funding site, Kickstarter.  Why should  you care?  This could start a trend towards a more interactive relationship between anime fans and production companies.  By showing support for unique projects like "Kick-Heart," we have the opportunity to directly influence what the anime industry produces.  If this Kickstarter campaign is successful, we could potentially see a new wave of innovative anime that pushes the limits of style and storytelling.

Join us in supporting Masaaki Yuasa's "Kick-Heart!"  Visit the "Kick-Heart" Kickstarter here

Until next time.... Ninja smoke bomb!!!

Anime Corner: Summer Wars

Hello friends! I hope you are all enjoying the holidays. Over the Christmas weekend, I re-watched an excellent movie called "Summer Wars," and I enjoyed it so much (even the second time around) that I had to recommend it here on the blog.

"Summer Wars" has it all: action, romance, great characters, and a heart-warming story. The story follows a timid high school boy named Kenji, who agrees to help his popular school mate, Natsuki, by accompanying her to meet her relatives in the country. Kenji awkwardly tries to fit in to the huge family as he tries to keep all the relatives' names straight while dealing with their scrutiny. Meanwhile, a terrorist has taken over the internet and is wreaking havoc on the real world. When people's lives become in danger, Kenji decides to take matters into his own hands and face off against the cyber terrorist in an action-packed, suspenseful battle.

As I said, there is so much to like about this movie, but what I love most are the characters. Natsuki's family feels so real, with unique personalities and comically relatable interactions. The women tend to run the show in this family too, which makes for an especially interesting dynamic. You can really relate to Kenji, who is a meek math nerd feeling out of place in this family descended from warriors. Ultimately, Kenji must prove himself a worthy warrior in an epic battle to save the world!!

This movie is a must-see. Even the second time around, it made this ninja cry... sniff. If you haven't already, check it out!! Here's a trailer:



Also, for Christmas, I got Zer07 some books relating to "Summer Wars." Zer07 loves art books, so I got him the "Summer Wars" complete storyboards and a design book with all the final character and background designs. The art is really beautiful in these books!

Summer Wars design book:









Summer Wars storyboards book:






Have a happy and safe New Year everyone! Nin nin!

Anime Corner: Nichijou (My Ordinary Life)

Selamat Pagi! (^_^)\

Shiro Ninja here. I'd like to start an anime recommendation corner here on the Studio Gattai blog. Today's feature is the gag comedy series, "Nichijou" (English title: My Ordinary Life). Nichijou literally means, "every day usual," so as the title suggests, this is a slice of life anime. The situations are relatable every day occurrences, but taken to epic proportions with over the top reactions and insane animation. Here's a taste: (Unfortunately, there isn't a subtitled version of this clip on youtube, but the setup is this: the brown haired girl explains the joy of saving the most delicious part of her lunch for last.)



(If you couldn't guess, the brown haired girl invoked the 3 second rule and claims the weiner is still "safe.") Each episode is broken up into several short, stand-alone chapters, allowing for a variety of bizarre and hilarious scenarios. The only drawback for this show is that some of the jokes are very specific to Japanese culture. Still, I have to recommend it for the super ultra great wonderful delicious animation! All 26 episodes of "Nichijou" are streaming in Japanese with English subtitles on Crunchyroll (as "My Ordinary Life").
Check it out:
http://www.crunchyroll.com/my-ordinary-life