JAKE AND THE DYNAMO Chapter 2 Now on Audio!

Unclever Hans has sent us Chapter 2 of Jake and the Dynamo on audio. If reading my words is too much work, let Hans do it for you.

Also, in case I haven’t mentioned it before, I really dig the sparkly, twinkly noise he uses for the section breaks.

‘Magical Girl Raising Project,’ Episode 5

Magical Girl Raising Project, episode 5, “New Character!” Directed by Hiroyuki Hashimoto. Studio Lerche. Produced by Genco (2016). Approx. 24 minutes. Rated PG-13. Available on Crunchyroll.

I’ve got behind on this show, but I don’t mind. It just goes to show that I do, in fact, do other things besides watch anime. I sometimes also read manga.

In this episode, we finally meet Hardgore Alice, and she’s every inch the creepy Goth loli we could expect. We don’t get to see much of her, though, as the episode focuses primarily on Sister Nana and Winterprison. Alice appears, conveys an air of vague menace, and then disappears, but she seems to have it out for Snow White for some reason, just like everybody else. Continue reading “‘Magical Girl Raising Project,’ Episode 5”

The Truth Is …

… I had a burst of creativity and just drafted fifty pages of Jake and the Dynamo. I got nothing else done that I was supposed to get done today.

And I also regret nothing.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Featured image: “Happy ThanksgivingDay!” by Heytwo黑兎.

This year, I’m thankful for magical girls.

Also … magical girls.

Maybe I’ll think of something else later.

Art

Featured image: “Magical Girl!Feferi” by AwesomeBlossomPossum

The Crossdresser Who Isn’t: The ‘Revolutionary Girl Utena’ Rewatch, Part 3

The bird is fighting its way out of the egg. The egg is the world. Whoever wishes to be born must destroy a world. The bird is flying to God. The god is named Abraxas.

—Herman Hesse, Demian

Revolutionary Girl Utena, episode 3: “On the Night of the Ball.” Directed by Kunihiko Ikuhara. Character designs by Chiho Saito. Be-Papas, 1997 (Nozomi Entertainment, 2011). Approx. 24 minutes. Rated “16+.”

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Images taken from Utena: Texts from Last Night, which, just to warn you, is Not Safe for Work.

We move on now in the course of our irregular series to the third episode of Revolutionary Girl Utena, entitled “On the Night of the Ball.” Whenever mentioning this episode in the extras that come with the luxurious special-edition DVD set, the staff sounds apologetic, and not entirely without reason. It’s by no means an awful episode, but neither is it great. Continue reading “The Crossdresser Who Isn’t: The ‘Revolutionary Girl Utena’ Rewatch, Part 3”

Art

Featured image: “magical girl rewrite” by MUSHIboyHANN

‘Sugar Sugar Rune,’ Volumes 1-3

The greatest fantasy comic of the last 5 years has just ended its publication run in America and nobody cares. Oh well, I’ll just give it an A- and cry sad tears over why there aren’t more fans of Sugar Sugar Rune. —Carlos Santos, Anime News Network

Sugar Sugar Rune, volumes 1-3. Story and art by Moyoco Anno. Translated by Yayoi Ihne. Del Rey Manga (New York), 2006. Rated Y (Ages 10+).

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Sugar Sugar Rune may be one of the magical girl genre’s best-kept secrets. From time to time, I see this title named as the best of the so-called “cute witch” magical girl stories. Anime News Network, as quoted above, in 2008 even went so far as to call it the best fantasy comic of the last five years, and also said it has “one of the most satisfying, most creative, most epic endings to a fantasy series ever.” There is evidence for this in how the series gets sold: take a look on Amazon, and you will see that the aftermarket prices are reasonable for the first seven volumes, but then shoot up to ridiculous numbers for the final volume, apparently because people are actually willing to pay upwards of forty-five dollars for Sugar Sugar Rune‘s allegedly mind-blowing finale. Continue reading “‘Sugar Sugar Rune,’ Volumes 1-3”

Your Magical Girl Playlist

So you want to be a magical girl?? from TwistedNariko on 8tracks Radio.

I didn’t manage to finish the review I’m writing up, but in the process of creating it, I did find yet another magical girl audio mix. Check it out.

Maintenance

Featured image: “Nyo!England Magical Girl” by black-feather1013.

Tonight is maintenance night for me. I’m going to do some rearranging and see about updating some of the other hosting sites, which have been languishing.

I intend to have new content up tomorrow. No, really.