Finally! David and I, the founding members of The Anime Blog, have finally gotten together to record a podcast. The two of us have been watching anime together for over ten years and have both developed strong, differing opinions on the matter.

From now on, David is going to have his say in complete series reviews. Since we rarely agree on what makes anime good, bad or ugly, this will be a great opportunity for us to air our contrasting opinions. Aquarion, Boxset One, is The Anime Blog’s first ever Podcast Review and we hope all our readers will listen in what both David and I have to say about the first half of this series!

Podcast Plot Summary

12,000 years ago, Shadow Angels threatened humanity but were successfully opposed by one of their own, Apollonius aka, Solar Wing, and his human lover, Celiane. Now, in humanity’s future, the Shadow Angel menace has returned and is threatening the human race with total extinction. However, it is rumored that Apollonious and Celiane have also returned, reincarnated in mortal form.

A group called Deava has unearthed three combining mechs/ fighter jets called vectors. These vectors are piloted by gifted youngster known as Element Users. Only Element Users can pilot the vectors which can combine to form the powerful mech Aquarion, the only thing powerful enough to stop the Shadow Angels!

Listen to our review of Aquarion, Boxset One of Two in Amazing Sound-O-Vision™!

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Retail Info

• Publisher: Funimation
• Release Date: March 11, 2008
• Retail Price: $59.98
• Number of discs: 1
• Episodes: 1-13
• Run Time: 325 minutes
• Rating: TV-MA
• Language: English, Japanese
• Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1
• Format: Anamorphic, Color, Dolby, DVD-Video, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen

Anime has become a style of art not just reserved for those who work in anime and manga production. There are many illustrators and artists today who use some variation of the anime style in their artwork. I personally find this style to be interesting and colorful, but I wonder what the outcome would look like of a traditional artist’s take on anime characters?

Well, it would look like Dan Howard’s work. Dan Howard, who goes by kuroitora on deviantART, blends his unique color palette and drawing skills to take on traditional anime characters and themes.

Although he’s not strictly an anime artist, Dan does use many of the themes which help define anime for what it is: a kick-ass storytelling device. His images conjure up complex stories and backgrounds for places and people; just as the anime medium does. His character designs also have many anime influences, though his style can’t be labeled either anime or manga.

Dan walks between two worlds with his art and he discussed with me what that’s been like:

Dan Howard Interview:
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Want to know more about Dan?

You can see more of Dan’s work at his deviantART pages and can purchase prints there as well.

Erica Reis‘ work caught my eye at Anime Central this year with it’s bright, happy colors and prodigious use of mermaids!

Mermaids have been largely ignored as subject matter ever since Disney butchered Hans Christian Anderson’s depressing tale of redemption and true love by making it a happy tale of redemption and true love. That’s one reason I had to stop and chat with Erica.

She likes mermaids so much, in fact, that she created an entire manga using them as the basis for her creations, the Orcans; a peace loving race of whale mer-people in her manga ‘Sea Princess Azuri‘, published by Tokyopop.

The other is Erica’s enthusiasm for what she does. Erica’s bright personality matches her work. Talking with Erica about her art gave me the sense that while she doesn’t always like working for someone, she still really loves her art. She’s quick to smile and it was a pleasure to sit and chat with her about her work, her manga, and what it’s like to be a mangaka before she even graduated college.

Erica Reis Interview:
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Want to know more about Erica?

You can visit Erica’s online portfolio, her deviantArt portfolio or you can buy Erica’s Sea Princess Azuri manga from Tokyopop.com!

At Anime Central this year, I had an itch to try something “new” when it came to interviewing artists: record actual conversations with said artists. That’s as opposed to the preset questions that are sent back and forth via e-mail between artists and myself. I’ve wanted to do this for awhile but have run into some snags when trying this online with people in different countries.

There’s something spontaneous about a recorded conversation. What’s said is said and can’t be “ctrl+x” or rewritten in a nicer way. That’s good and bad, for both the artist and for me. I realize that I can sound like a total tool on tape, and notice that I have a tendency to talk really fast when I interview people. But some really good questions and answers can come from this instant back and forth.

There were several excellent artists at ACen this year and Peter Mohrbacher was one I was able to interview despite both our busy schedules. His art stood out as hybrid fantasy/ anime and was more somber in color scheme and subject matter as compared to the surrounding artists. It was like seeing a Hersey’s Special Dark candy bar amongst all the cotton candy and bubblegum.

Peter Mohrbacher has this to say about his art and himself:
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Bio: Peter Mohrbacher was born on Mars in the year 2156. During the war against the five headed moon giants, he was thrust backwards though time into the magical land of Tromia. Under the assumed name of Dr. Baron von Businessman, he fought and defeated the demon kind of Darkcrest.

The evil wizard used his dying breath to cast a spell, banishing him to our dimension. He now works as a freelance artist by day and masked crime fighter by night. At night, if you listen with the right ear, you can still hear his whisper upon the wind, “Sho nuf” he says “Sho nuf…”.

Want to learn more about Peter?

You can view more of Peter’s work by visiting his website and devintArt page.

If you frequent my site, you know I’m a big supporter of the anime artist community. Anime as an influential art form is garnering more attention than it has in the past, but in my opinion, still not nearly enough. That’s why I interview and spotlight artists monthly (at least I really try to)! At Anime Expo this year, I was fortunate enough to meet many new artists and to even meet a few artists whom I’ve only spoken to online. I also had the pleasure of discovering some up-and-coming artist groups, one of them being Tofu Girls.

According to the Tofu Girls website, “The mission of Tofu Girls is to inspire and create an environment in which female artists could be invited to participate and contribute to a brand that would essentially be created by women for women.”

The Tofu Girls booth at Anime Expo caught my eye with it’s bold lines and interesting take on Japanese culture. One image in particular - Miso Soup! - really drew my attention. After perusing the booth and being impressed with the diversity, skill, and imagination of this artist collective, I chatted with Hong Ly, General Manager of Tofu Girls. We talked about how he started this compendium of women artists.

Interview with Hong Ly, General Manager of Tofu Girls:
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Tofu Girls is an interesting and novel group filling an otherwise bare niche in the anime community. With the overabundance of fanservice-heavy merchandise directed at moe-loving fanboys and Naruto-obsessed teens, Tofu Girls offers a refreshing change to anime fans with distinctive taste of both sexes. It’s good to see unique anime-influenced apparel aimed at women in the anime/manga community but which can be appreciated by all. If you’re interested in some of their product, visit the Tofu Girls online store for more details.

It’s Agatha the Bug Princess from Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess!

I spied this buggy gal with both eyes in the exhibit hall lobby. While she looked fantastic from afar, her costume was even more stunning up close.

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All the exquisite detailing she pored into this cosplay really set her apart from some of the, shall we say, less dedicated cosplays that made an appearance this con. I was impressed with her attention to all the details. Bravo Agatha!

Agatha’s detailed wings

Agatha’s necklace

Agatha’s butterflies

OK - I had a brief fangirl moment* when I saw this cosplay of Pip Bernadette from Hellsing. As in “OMG! I know you! I looooovve you!” Then the critic came out and was impressed with the craftsmanship and accuracy. Critic and fangirl enjoyed a brief “moment”, then I realized I had to talk to this gal.

*Note: Most of that was internal.

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I saw a great cosplayer at Anime Expo this year - Devil Jin from Tekken!

“Devil Jin represents Jin Kazama as he would appear after succumbing to the effects of the Devil Gene” - Wikipedia

How did I find him?

He was walking towards the pike from the causeway at the Convention Center…those wings were huge! Everyone gave him a wide berth and he walked with impunity down the streets. I really wanted to have a chat with him after that, so fortunately I was able to run him down to ask a few questions about Devil Jin.

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