All About Anime: Ladies Night- The Strongest Rolling Girls In The World

It's another All About Anime and today we are talking about two shows with a primarily female cast.  Both of these are recent additions to anime's illustrious line-up coming out within the last two years.  The pro wrestling anime Wanna Be The Strongest In The World debuted in 2013 in Japan, but came out only recently in English, and the coming-of-age zany action-comedy The Rolling Girls which is brand-new in 2015 in both English and Japanese.  Both feature strong women, hard work, weird jokes, and amazing animation. 

Pop idol by day, pro wrestler by night
"Not the face" has to be in Sakura's contract

Wanna Be The Strongest In The World tells the story of Sakura Hagiwara, a pop music idol who is a member of the group Sweet Diva.  She is their lead star when the group arranges a press event where the idols go to a local women's wrestling promotion Berserk to try out.  While there, one of Sakura's teammates in Sweet Diva speaks disparagingly of wrestling and irks one of the stars of Berserk, Rio.  Rio is angry and prideful, thinking it is disgusting that mere pop idols can assume they can make it in pro wrestling.  She takes the position of the long-term and established veteran who just hasn't made their own title run, but everyone has to go through in order to reach the next level... think Tyler Breeze's position in NXT with boobs and a camel clutch. Sakura steps into the ring to face Rio and it leads her into the world of pro wrestling full-time seeking a chance to be strong. Not just strong, but the Strongest in the World.

Syan Vs Movies: The Tale of Princess Kaguya

A.k.a. “It Was Better In Okami”

In Okami, both characters were likeable

Based on a thousand year old folktale, “The Tale of Princess Kaguya” tells the story of a tiny child found in the woods by a Bamboo Cutter who is raised up to become a princess before she returns to her mysterious home.

This is the illustrious Studio Ghibli’s 19^th feature film and the 12^th film directed by one of its founders, Isao Takahata.  While a visionary director in his own right, Takahata has long been overshadowed by his more successful peer in Hayao Miyazaki. So now, with Miyazaki having already released his final film “The Wind Rises,” Takahata has an opportunity to show himself as a preeminent director of animation.

All About Anime: Sailor Scouts, School, Space and Seraph

The last few years have seen a resurgence in anime, with a variety of adaptations of new manga, shinier reboots of classic series, and even original storylines getting a primetime slot.  The current offering has everything from classroom settings in modern day Japan to apocalyptic futures overrun by monsters… that are still in a classroom setting. Japan sure loves their school stories. The quality of animation has improved tremendously and the fact that several series have adopted a seasons format has benefitted them in keeping a consistent quality.

Shockingly, I'm not talking about either of these guy's shows
Ah, who am I kidding, I'm bound to mention them eventually

There are still long running juggernauts like One Piece or Naruto: Shippuden, but shows like Attack on Titan and Nisekoi have chosen to adapt the manga for a standard 26 episode-or-so run then take several months off before returning for the following season.  This has helped to negate the nightmare of most anime fans: filler arcs. While there are some absolute gems created by filler, such as my favorite arc of Dragon Ball Z, the Great Saiyaman adventures, where Gohan becomes a superhero and lampoons Sailor Moon poses and stops street-level crime in mere seconds or my co-host Straw Hat Rican’s beloved G8 arc in One Piece where the Straw Hat Pirates land in the middle of a Marine base, these diamonds in the rough are rare gems indeed, drowned out by the overwhelming quantities of Garlic Jrs, silkworm ninjas in Naruto, cooking ghosts in Bleach, and the old stand-by beach vacation episode in every slice-of-life anime ever. 

The Top (Arguably) Ten Shonen Anime Themes

  People love top ten lists... they really do. I've slowly realized that I am drawn to them even if the subject matter isn't particularly engrossing. Last week I was perusing the internet and found good ol' Nostalgia Critic doing a Top Ten F*ck Yeah Theme Songs (literally named this way). Which got me to thinking about anime related theme songs or just regular music in anime, specifically in the shonen genre. The genre lends itself to some great visuals and over dramatic situations, the music surely has to follow suit right? As I took a stroll down memory lane, I found out this was exactly the case, and I've decided to dig up the Top Ten (Arguably, of course) Shonen Anime Themes.

Who will make the cut!?

The Top 10 Saddest Moments in One Piece History.

  Attention none One Piece readers/viewers: this list is SPOILER heavy and full of sadness. While usually I wouldn't consider myself a person that gets out of his way to feel sad, I AM capable of feeling emotions, considering my overly optimistic and forgiving personality, this is quite a feat. That being said; One Piece is one of the few shonen manga that is packed with emotion. Be it happiness, sadness, despair, or rage; the world that Eichiiro Oda has crafted is anything but two dimensional. The art style and the usually upbeat tone of the series can fool most to drop their guard and go with the flow. I know that because I was one of those people. I figured it was going to maybe have a semi serious moment here and there. But nothing could've prepared me for the amount of raw emotional scenes and moments this show, aimed at teenage (and pre-teen) boys in Japan mind you, was going to throw at me.

Ready for the New World!