December 2022 Monthly Favorites

Welcome back to your favorite reoccurring blogging section by yours truly – the Monthly Favorites. As the year has wound to a close (I have no doubt most of you are reading this in the 2023), I have another installment for you all to peruse at your leisure. As usual, it’s the new(er) format of mixing links of blog posts and videos, so be aware as you click along.

Anime

So, don’t hurt me on this one but this is an American adaptation of a beloved title. One that I distinctly remember seeing advertising for, but never watched. This being 2009’s Astro Boy movie – it’s not anime by most fans standards but animation so…. close enough. Youtuber Just Stop brought this back to my attention with their video “The Spectacular Failure of Astro Boy (2009)“. Honestly, I think myself and some other hard-core Tezuka fans need to dig into this because… I don’t think it was bad. At all from the visuals and from an adaptation stand point. But I’d need to watch for myself, and I think it’s fascinating.

Okay, and this is probably the bigger piece of news for the anime community. Saban Entertainment back in the 90’s was going to adapt Saint Seiya/ Knights of the Zodiac. At first the hunt was for the live action series that was titled “StarStorm”, and well that turned into the search for the anime “Gaurdians of the Cosmos” thanks to Ray Mona. In their Youtube video, “The Secret Stories of Saint Seiya (Part 1) | Tales of the Lost“. It’s a wild ride in just the first part, and part two is slated to come out early next year. So catch up, bandwagon on the Saint Seiya fandom, and watch!

I don’t think this will surprise many people but… I do tend to feature a lot of posts that are about things I’ve watched recently and enjoyed. This next post being no exception. From Mechanical Anime Reviews is “Cyber City Oedo 808: Far Future Cyber Crimes” – those that know, know. Read the review, go hunt down a place to watch it~

Manga

I’ve been doing my best to read more manga reviews this month, but it’s been a little sparse. Maybe all the Christmas gifts will have a flood of new reviews next month. Regardless, I did find a post of interest from Underground Anime is their post “Wandance“. Most of you might be aware that I’m pretty fond of the series, so reading a perspective that didn’t gel with my own was enlightening. It really gave me a more well rounded perspective about the manga. I highly encourage giving it a read if you’re looking for further insight about the series.

JDramas and Movies

Okay, so apparently I need to look into Saban Entertainment. The amount of weird anime/Japanese live action material they had their hands on and almost ruined, or did ruin is astounding. Not to mention the treasure trove of their lost media. Like holy shit. So I found a video from Youtuber Huggbees called “The Worst Localization in History“. It’s about the Masked Rider i.e. Kamen Rider specifically what would be Kamen Rider Black RX, being localized in America. It’s kinda bat-shit insane. I’m invested and will attempt to dig into this at some point.

Well, I certainly talked about this title a bit earlier on my own. No where near the depth, and pulling out major themes or points of the series like In Asian Spaces with “Is The Violence Action A Good Japanese Film?“. It’s a really insightful piece, about an adaptation that didn’t quite land with me, but does have more merit then I gave it. Be sure to give it a read, and watch it (it’s on Netflix I believe).

Now, I know this will probably be a bit of a hot button topic. It technically falls under anime and a movie since The Otaku Exhibition has posted, “The Live-Action My Hero Academia Movie Will Be AWFUL“. I’m largely inclined to agree, but for other reasons. It’s well worth a look, especially if you’re fired up about the topic.

Music

Another one from Youtube is cybr.girl with “Is Visual Kei a Fashion, Music Genre, or Movement? Exploring V-Kei with Buttcape & @vninja“. I put off watching this for awhile – mostly since I was worried that it would clash with my own interpretation of Visual Kei. However, that made it all the more important for me to watch and it was – most importantly, informative and presented in a really approachable manner. Be sure to give it a watch/listen if you’ve been looking for an introduction to this movement~

I have no emotional attachment to Evangelion, but “Soul’s Refrain” covered by MIYAVI is absolutely ICONIC.

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With that, I’ll see you guys in 2023 with more blog posts and Monthly Favorites galore! Happy Holidays Followers!

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