Behind The Nihon Review » Akira

Three (FIVE?!) Way Action: THE (NON-SOBER) NEW YEARS’ SPECIAL (Episode 3)

Akira — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 01:47:52 +0000

I call not Mami.

Surprise, bitches— I’m back. (Not really. Just for right now.) After a night of revelry and watching the fireworks at Darling Harbour, Sorrow-Kun and I ran back to my friend’s house to record this very special hour-long (LIVE!!) New Year’s Extravaganza. We patched in Kylaran, delirious from Comiket 81, and also had two special guests— Furinkan and AstCd2, both of is.moelicious.be fame (infamy?). We talk about ~~life, love and everything in between~~ Guilty Crown, Haganai and The iDOLM@STER. Enjoy, and Happy New Year.

0:25 Comiket 81
2:55 Anime of the year: Penguindrum v Steins;Gate?
9:37 Guilty Crown – Too many cooks spoil the broth?
17:14 Was Haganai deliberately bad?
26:18 The politics/religion of The Idolm@ster
37:40 Favourite characters of 2011
49:35 Hopes and predictions for 2012

Total length: 59:23. You can listen to it here:

Or download it from here.

Copyright © 2012 Behind The Nihon Review. All licensed material are owned by their respective parties.
By Akira | Permalink | 10 comments | Add to StumbleUpon | Tweet! | reddit
Post tags: Boku wa Tomodachi ga Sukunai, Comiket, Guilty Crown, Mawaru PenguinDrum, Steins;Gate, The iDOLM@STER

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On Usagi Drop

Akira — Fri, 16 Sep 2011 19:46:28 +0000

Usagi Drop ended Thursday on a predictably positive note. I applaud it for staving off the Hallmark-esque barrage of vapid goodwill for so long.

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Three Way Action – Episode 2

Akira — Thu, 15 Sep 2011 18:09:23 +0000

Obviously I'm Mikimiki.

Here’s Episode 2 of your favorite degenerates ranting and raving about everything under the sun. Well, not really— you see, Sorrow-Kun isn’t here. He’s… gone to a better (?) place. Instead, we have rookie podcaster eternal with us this time. We discuss serious stuff like why Mayo Chiki! should be a model for romantic comedies (in a way), why the “gayness” of No. 6 is good, and why men don’t like watching women scissor.

Anyways, here’s the podcast. We’ve gone for a more informal, conversational and live style this time— a lot more rambling, a lot less organization. Quite like sports radio, really:

PS: Apologies for the lateness of the podcast. I’ve been in China all summer, and Irene knocked out my power as soon as I got back to uni. Better late then never, eh?

Ah, and here’s a download link for those of you who are into that kind of thing.

Copyright © 2011 Behind The Nihon Review. All licensed material are owned by their respective parties.
By Akira | Permalink | 8 comments | Add to StumbleUpon | Tweet! | reddit
Post tags: Fractale, Gosick, Gunslinger Girls, Lesbians, Mahou Shoujo Madoka★Magica, Mayo Chiki!, No. 6, Sora no Woto, The iDOLM@STER, Uta-no Prince-Sama, Yuri Yuri

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Capturing Soul in Cosplay Photography

Akira — Mon, 22 Aug 2011 06:48:19 +0000

Cute, but boring.

Too often in cosplay photography, the subject becomes an object. Cosplayers are fairly bad at doing anything other than looking sexy (?) and photographers focus too strongly on simply making cosplayers look good. I think we can do better than that.

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The East is Burning Red: A Shanghai Otaku Story

Akira — Thu, 14 Jul 2011 06:30:00 +0000

A great way to stave off industrial decay.

While most of NHRV attended Anime Expo, I was halfway across the world. I stepped out of my air-conditioned taxi into the sweltering heat of Shanghai’s exburbs. Facing me was a dusty old factory, recently converted into a small convention hall. A dozen or so itasha were parked outside the hall’s entrance. A few dozen fujoshi were lined up outside, complaining about wait times. I cut right in front of all of them, and flash a VIP pass. “Welcome to Comic Fantasia 1,” the PA announced. “We have received reports that the two people cosplaying as mother and child are actually thieves. Con-goers, please watch your belongings.”

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The Loli Lifestyle?

Akira — Mon, 30 May 2011 00:54:02 +0000

Go on, label them! They don't have feelings!

I’ve amused many (and irked at least one person!) with my oh-so-brilliant outburst during the inaugural episode of Three-Way Action. I’m going to defend myself a bit here.

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What’s Missing from Hanasaku Iroha?

Akira — Thu, 05 May 2011 22:34:54 +0000

God damn, woman, chill your shit. You're taking a shower, for Christ's sake.

A measure of maturity and a useful supporting cast.

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The Nihon Revue, Episode Four

Akira — Mon, 18 Apr 2011 04:11:57 +0000

おまたせ！Here’s the fourth episode of our seasonal podcast, The Nihon Revue, featuring original cast members Sorrow-kun and Akira. In this episode we take pretension to new heights in our analysis of Wandering Son, talk about Yamakan‘s hubris, and review a Subaru advertisement. Major spoilers for Wandering Son, minor spoilers for all other series discussed. My roommates were having a party outside while this was being recorded, so don’t mind the random screams you may or may not hear in the background. That’s just them playing FIFA 11, really hammered.

As a random note, I always feel awkward saying Japanese words in English conversation. Do I use the correct pronunciation, or do I go with English pronunciation? Such a dilemma. Anyways, enough blithering, here’s the program:

0:38 Wandering Son

5:23 Fractale

10:13 Yumekui Merry

15:41 Houkago no Pleiades

19:58 Infinite Stratos

Total runtime is 26:05. You can listen here:

And here’s the download link as well.

PS: Don’t you wish they’d just finish Madoka already?

Copyright © 2011 Behind The Nihon Review. All licensed material are owned by their respective parties.
By Akira | Permalink | 10 comments | Add to StumbleUpon | Tweet! | reddit
Post tags: Fractale, Houkago no Pleiades, Hourou Musuko, IS: Infinite Stratos, The Nihon Revue, Yumekui Merry

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Moe Archetypes and the Organizational Man

Akira — Sat, 26 Feb 2011 16:55:21 +0000

Describe these five girls.

Archetypes dominate anime— so much that when critics find shows and characters which defy classification, they are hailed as revolutionary. The focus of today’s article is not on those revolutionary shows. It’s about everything else— the vast majority of anime which seeks to articulate themselves within a tired niche.

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Fractale and the Myth of Post-Scarcity Utopia

Akira — Tue, 25 Jan 2011 06:00:33 +0000

Is this the life we want?

There’s been much discussion surrounding Fractale and its setting. 2DT over at 2D-Teleidoscope has postulated that Fractale falls into the sub-genre of science fiction that concerns itself with post-scarcity dystopia, and TIF proposed a Marxist reading of the show. Let’s take a look at these claims in more detail.

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