That’s not to mention the source code opera that the webmaster and fans seem to be having fun with. The webmaster himself interacts with the AoD community by referencing things said in the discussion threads about BEI.

BEI has managed to take a step up this year. Seeing as how the Nebula Project is far from over, I can’t wait to see what else they have in store for us.

First off…

Moe-tan

Episodes viewed so far: 2.

Impressions: Well…it’s moe, that’s for sure. Though, the show crosses the line at points, it makes up for it with some decent comedy.

Potemayo

Episodes viewed so far: 1

Impressions: Very, very funny. If Guchuko doesn’t qualify as one of the best characters of the year, then none of them do. Sadly, I’ve only been able to see the first episode, but it really impressed me. The jokes never felt flat, and it all flowed together nicely.

Umisho

Episodes viewed so far: 4

Impressions: A very solid show. It’s a “turn-your- brain-off” fanservice show, but it a very well done fanservice show. It spices up the usual clichés of the genera, so that it’s fun and rather refreshing. Those who don’t like this type of show won’t be impressed, but for those who actually like to have fun, it’s a very worthwhile show.

Code-E

Episodes viewed so far: 2

Impressions: It’s interesting, but very laid back. Because of this, it gives off the same vibes as the “Read or Die” TV series. Though, they really shouldn’t be compared. They are both two completely different shows. Still, it’s been a nice show so far. And it’s got Halko Momoi, that’s a plus.

Zero no Tsukaima: Season 2

Episodes viewed so far: 4

Impressions: It’s taken everything that made the first season great, and made it even better. It’s making so much headway. My only complaint is that it isn’t explaining the conflict between the various nations and kingdom very well. A good fantasy show should develop the overall scope of the world that they are in. Otherwise, Louise-chan is 10x more moe, Siesta is 10x more moe and sexy, everything is just generally better. Though that’s not to say that the first season was bad, because it wasn’t.

Higurashi no Naku Koro Ni Kai

Episodes viewed so far: 5

Impressions: Wow, this is in the same boat as ZnT2. It carries on from the first series, and improves on areas where the first season was obviously lacking.

Doujin Work

Episodes viewed so far: 4

Impressions: Another solid comedy this season. It’s a show about a young woman, with no interest in the Anime/Manga culture before, decides to take up writing and drawing Hentai doujishi looking for big bucks. It’s like “Comic Party”, but twisted. Every episode has never failed to make me laugh.

Baccano!

Episodes viewed so far: 1

Impressions: Yay for EPIC violence and dark comedy. It’s a bit confusing, but it left me wanting more. SO far, so good.

That’s all I’ve had a chance to watch so far, though there are a lot of other promising shows out there as well.

Their releases of “old-school” movies at first, such as the first two Patlabor movies, were expensive, but worth it to most fans for the quality of these older movies. However, when BV announced the plans for Gunbuster 2 (along with two other OVA series) to be a three disc release two episodes each for $40, many fans became outraged at this, but others saw that they were still getting a better deal than the Japanese fans (admittedly, it’s not that much better).

Then BV announced their “Same day” plan as I will call it. As I understand it to be, the plan is to release shows on DVD on the same day in both Japan and NA. The release will be the same in Japan and NA. Basically, they are releasing R2 grade disc, with English subtitles in both NA and Japan on the same day.

Sounds great, right? That’s were pricing comes in. The releases, being the same thing in both regions, on the same day, will be priced the same as an Japanese style release. That means $20 for a one episode volume (Galaxy Angel Rune), and volumes with two-three episodes each for (I’m assuming based on the prices I’ve seen for past R2 discs) $40-70 each.

There haven’t been too many TV series announced to be released by BV. The only ones that come to mind are Galaxy Angle Rune and Engage Planet Kiss-Dum. Think about these two for a minute. They aren’t very popular shows. The reception was cold on both sides of the Pacific.

People worry that their favorite series may get released by BV over here in NA. But all BV has picked up so far are unpopular shows that will be hard to sell. These are shows that the American companies probably passed on. In some sort of twisted Japanese Executive logic, they may think that they can just cut cost and release it themselves sub-only in NA, and maybe make some small profit over here.

What I’m getting at, is that BV might not go for the heavy hitters like Gundam, Code Geass, etc. They will license those out to Bandai Entertainment, or any of the other big distributors. They may think they could make a little more that way. The only thing they will (theoretically) release over here are the so-called “bombs” and “duds” that nobody else wants.

I don’t know. I really don’t, as BV seems to be a very “special” company. We’ll just have to wait a year and see if my theory holds true.

Hopefully, this will also open the door for other anime that were mangled by 4Kids. Perhaps we will see Funimation (or some other company), release Shaman King, Ojamajo Doremi, Pretty Cure, and Tokyo Mew Mew un-cut on DVD. For now, I’m fine with One Piece, as I’m sure that 4Kids is dropping out of the anime business.

Lastly, I will be changing the focus of Moe Union. While I still love anime, I have been convinced by many commentators that I have a need for Viagra and flowers for my non-existent girlfriend. This is what I feel I must focus on.

Good night, and good luck…

It’s understandable that people who sat through all forty-something episodes of Seed Destiny would be distrustful. Still, I think that we should wait till the end (or close to it) till we actually pass judgment. Everyone has a right to their opinion, but I think some of the criticisms directed towards Geass are rather unfounded. Many seem to break down into, “Suzaku and Lulu are in a comparable situation to Kira and Athrun. Thus, Geass = Seed.” Does that seem like a fair comparison? After a while, certain scenarios will be reused. The true test of a show is if it can take a similar situation and diverge from past stories. I can say that Code Geass, apart from being animated by Sunrise and having a similar situation to Seed (which Seed didn’t even start anyway), I can pretty much see that Geass will not be a disappointment.

My point being that people need to judge a show by it’s content, and not by how much a situation in the show match’s up with another show.

The episode starts with Sousou finishing another rampage. Him and Kakouton are pretty exhausted. However, after some discussion about Kaku, they find themselves ambushed by a young woman (presumably the reincarnation of Cao Xing) wielding kunai. After hitting Kakouton in the eye, Sousou unleashes his dragon on her. After soundly beating her, he smashes her face into a wall, killing her. We find out that the ambush was a ploy by Kaku to force the surrender of the school that sent the assassin. After that, we get some moe comedy time with Ryubi and Chofei trying to train together. The training is interrupted by an assassination attempt on Ryubi. Both Kanu and Chofei are able to foil the plot. However, Ryomu finally reappears.

Very action packed episode this week, with more plot advancement than last weeks episode. Though the moe factor was a bit less than the last episode. With that said, it was still a highly entertaining episode. Other than that, there isn’t much more to say. It was a fun, action packed, moe, half-hour.

Side note: I hope to start adding pictures in the future. When that happens, I’ll update all of the past episode reviews with some pictures.

They include in-jokes for both Haruhi fans in general, and the posters at the AoD.com forums. The site is intentionally amateurish looking. This is very good for the fans, but the question remains, will it bring in the mainstream people who find the site by way of ANN or other such sites where the mainstream anime community (if it can be called that).

I personally speculate that the answer will be yes and no. The “Joe Suncoast” of the world will not get it at all, and will be turned away. However, there will probably be some of the “mainstreamers” that find their curiosities peaked, and will rent or blind buy the title out of said curiosity.

Bandai is taking a small risk with the marketing scheme, and it’s one that I think will pay out in the end for them and Kadokawa. The already existing fanbase has been drawn in (and will probably stay, barring any “Mai Hime” size goof-ups), and they are generating other customers through curiosity. Those who are turned away by things like the design of the site, or the coyness of the announcements wouldn’t like the series anyway.

Good Luck Bandai/Kadokawa, don’t mess it up…

As for “moe”, Ken Akamatsu summed it up best. “Moe” means “burning”, and when used in the sense of something like the characters from Kannon, it means that you are “burning with a passion” for that character. Moe is an emotion, something that’s different for everyone. and just to make it clear, it’s not a romantic emotion. Thus, Kannon, Air, and others of that type, are just dramas or comedies.

So next time you try to define the genre of a series, be sure not to use “moe’ or “fanservice”. Okay?