Nerd Life: New Anime Spring 2009

Couple new anime to share with you guys real quick.

First: Dragon Ball Kai



What??? A new Dragon Ball?

Not quite.

Kai is the 20th anniversary edition of Dragon Ball Z. It's completely remastered, with new audio and video.

The best part: It's been re-edited. The entire series has been cut from 291 episodes down to only 100! Less annoying filler, more Super Saiyan Butt-Kicking.



Next: Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood



Yeah, that opening is frakking awesome.

Brotherhood is not a sequel. It's more of a do-over. Halfway through the first series, they caught up to the manga (comic) that it was based on. Some longer series like Dragonball, Bleach or Naruto will create "filler" until the manga gets far enough ahead that they can start another story arc. Shorter series just make up their own story and carry that through to the end.

Brotherhood starts JUST before the first episode of the last series, and will follow the original manga storyline.

Funimation has realized that there is nothing they can do to prevent Americans from watching anime before it's licensed in America, so you can go to their website and watch the episodes legally for free.

As for Dragon Ball, well, I can't tell you anything about that. Maybe this site will help.

Nerd Life: Sam's Top 10 Anime, Part 2 (5-1)

Part 1 can be found here.

5: Cowboy Bebop



The show that MADE Adult Swim. It's such a hit, they're still airing the bloody thing 8 years later. It's also probably the only show that I PREFER in English. The series has a very Western style, and the English voice acting lends to that. The cast was brilliant, as well. Bebop also has some of the most consistently amazing music in the history of anime. This is a show with slick action, genius comedy and brief moments of absolutely striking drama. A great "starter" anime to get your girlfriend (or boyfriend) to start watching.

4: Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann



Faithful readers are well aware of my nerd crush on this show. To quote myself:

"Great comedy, good story, insane action, heartbreaking drama, there is nothing this show does not have. I dare any anime fan to watch this show and come away disappointed."



gar, adj: A term used towards male characters and individuals who are so overwhelmingly manly that your own masculinity is absolutely *buried*, leaving you naught but a whimpering, swooning girl-child before them.

And this is only my love for number FOUR.

3: Fullmetal Alchemist



I honestly started watching this show by accident. I remembered reading about the video game and passed it off as an effort to cash in on a game series' success. Well, I tuned in a few minutes early for the premiere of Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex on Adult Swim, and was treated to the last few minutes of FMA. In that one scene, I was hooked. Two episodes later, the addiction became hopeless. A truly fantastic series in every way imaginable. Art, animation, characters, voice acting, music, story, drama, humor. Name it.

2: Rurouni Kenshin



The story of a man who has spilled so much blood, he has sworn never to take another life again. Kenshin Himura, Battosai the Manslayer is the greatest warrior in all of anime. Kind of a long series, but there is a sharp decline after the second season. Samurai, ninjas, warrior-monks and assorted other badassery abound in this show. If you only watched it on Toonami... watch it again.

And..............

1: Samurai 7



This is an amazing remake of Akira Kurosawa's classic epic, The Seven Samurai. The original told the story of 7 brave samurai defending a helpless villaige from an army of bandits. The anime has the same story, but much more in depth, with a full 26 episodes to tell it in. Also, the samurai are awesome anime characters and the bandits are giant robots....

I won't give too much detail. The fact that it's #1 on my list should be enough of an endorsement!

So, what are some of YOUR favorites?

Nerd Life: Sam's Top 10 Anime, Part 1 (10-6)

Welcome to Nerd Life! This is a new weekly post where I can explore all of my off-topic tendencies, and keep the weekday posts WoW-related.

I'm constantly being asked for anime recommendations. Of the many areas of geekdom where I've invested skill points, anime is one of the highest.

So, let's kick off Nerd Life with a countdown of some of my favorite series. Here's numbers 10 through 6.

10: Gundam Wing/00



This is more nostalgia than anything. After a few years of not watching anything Japanese, an amazing thing happened. My cable provider finally got Cartoon Network, and I could watch Toonami again for the first time since Voltron was part of the lineup. While there were plenty of awesome shows on at the time, Gundam Wing was the one that reminded me of just how awesome anime was.



I'm including 00 in here because it's considered my many, including myself, to be the spiritual successor to Wing. It ALSO happens to be the best Gundam series since the original.

9: Vision of Escaflowne



I'm not using the opening theme for a very important reason. At first glance, this series seems very... girly. The first episode is all about Hitomi trying to get her first kiss. It gets better. Trust me, this video shows just how awesome it can be.

FOX Kids tried to adapt this for American boys, and butchered it in the process. It got canceled after about 5 episodes, covering the first 9 or so actual anime episodes. They completely removed the first episode, leaving many viewers confused right off the bat.

8: Trigun



This anime helped make Adult Swim a hit. One of the few smart moves they made. Vash the Stampede is one of the greatest hero characters ever.

7: Martian Successor Nadesico



"You Get to Burning" has got to be the catchiest opening song of any anime. It also shows how many Japanese THINK they have a good understanding of English: "Go being your days grow up!" Anyway, Nadesico is best viewed by those with anime experience, as it is a satire more than anything else. However, amidst the humor, there's good drama and great action. All the characters are brilliant, from the hyperactive captain to the reluctant pilot to the greatest hero, Gai Daigoji.

Gekiganger owns.

6: Neon Genesis Evangelion



One of the most famous series ever created. Any modern anime fan has to watch this. It's awesome for about 22 episodes. After that, you can pinpoint the EXACT moment Gainax ran out of money in the budget. There are 2 movies, but after some awesome action sequences, they do nothing more than make the plot even more incomprehensible. Even still, it's required viewing.

Check in next week for the top 5.

Happy Winter Veil

Things should return to normal next week.

Epic Nerdgasm

**BE WARNED, THIS POST CONTAINS MASSIVE AMOUNTS OF NON-WOW NERDNESS**

Last night marked the infale of one of the best animes I have seen in recent memory, Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann.



Loosely translated, that is Heavenly Piercing Gurren Lagann.

This show is so full of awesome, it's almost too much for fragile human minds. It manages to pay homage to the giant mecha shows of the past (everything from Gundam to Evangelion) while telling a fast-paced, modern story. It's a show that does not take itself too seriously. However, that silliness makes the dramatic moments that much more striking. Not all of our heroes will make it to the end.

*Manly tears*

Great comedy, good story, insane action, heartbreaking drama, there is nothing this show does not have. I dare any anime fan to watch this show and come away disappointed. Pick up the new;y-released DVDs or be a punk and find it on the internet for free.

After last night's finale on Sci Fi's Ani-Monday, this show has definitely found a home in my Top Ten. And that's after watching it in ENGLISH. It's even more epic dubbed.

JUST WHO THE HELL DO YOU THINK I AM?