Right Stuf Launches Anime Today Episode 15!
Posted on: Friday, May 26, 2006
Episode run down:
Chad is back with What’s Hot and then we have another Uso Deshou mystery anime plot. Next we wrap up our discussion on some of the big E3 announcements in the Anime and Gamer’s Guide with Kris, Judy, and David. Then Shawne introduces our latest Hyperactive Savings Event followed by an audio question from one of our listeners asking about how environmental issues appear in some anime in this episode’s Q and A. Marie’s manga review this week targets the upper teen audience with her take on Ouran High School Host Club. Judy-sensei continues her Mini Japanese 101 lessons and then Nick and Rich quickly cover the latest RightStuf.com contests. And finally, our Production Team finishes their discussion on adapting our releases for the American market.
What's Hot?
What’s hot in the world of anime and manga?
On June 6th, the 13th graphic novel of Bleach will be released. Chad has stormed his way into the heart of the Soul Society only to meet his match in the devastatingly efficient Captain Kyoraku. Meanwhile, Ichigo struggles in his battle against Kenpachi Zaraki, the captain of the 11th company. Although Ichigo succeeds in drawing blood, the secret of Kenpachi's zanpaku-to may be his undoing. Before Ichigo realizes it, Kenpachi's blade has pierced his heart!
Also on June 6th, Guu's extraordinarily annoying abilities are driving Hare insane in the 3rd DVD of Hare+Guu. When Guu becomes a fisher of women, she reels in a prize worthy catch, but Haré would prefer that it be thrown back. Once back at home, a terrible, ravenous monster threatens to make Weda into a midnight snack, and the doctor gets a taste of his own medicine when the village hag decides she wants to give him a thorough, private examination. Fishing fools, fools for love, and more foolish fun abounds with the latest adventures of Haré and Guu.
On June 13th, the Children of Befort are back in the 2nd DVD of Fantastic Children. As they continue their centuries long search, the investigation over their reappearance has drawn Detective Cooks into the depths of the mysterious Ged Group. Meanwhile Thoma, Helga and Chitto continue to develop their friendship, but will Helga really be able to place her trust in others? Or will they be parted before their adventure can really begin?
The legend of the mysterious shinigami continues on June 21st in the second novel by Kadano Kouhei, Boogiepop Returns. Witness the first appearances of the mysterious Towa Organization, a player in the Boogiepop Phantom anime series, as Boogiepop finds himself hunted by the synthetic human known only as "Spooky E." All the while, the deadly "Imaginator" is out to change the world one mind at a time. Can you escape from the clutches of the Imaginator...?
On June 27th, the Anime Legends Complete DVD Collection of Banner of the Stars II takes off in the Imperial Calendar Year 956. Operation Phantom Flame has come to an end and has been hailed as a complete success. Now the Imperial forces have embarked on a new plan, codenamed Operation Hunter. Their task? To hunt down and destroy any remaining enemy forces.
Also on June 27th, One Piece DVD 3 hits the open seas. Luffy, Zolo and Nami realize their tiny boats will be no match for the pirates they are sure to meet in their search for treasure. When they stop at a small town to look for a better ship, they meet a strange boy known for telling tall tales. Luffy decides to recruit him for their crew, but can this joker be trusted?
And finally on June 27th, now that Hikaru is full-fledged student at Haze Middle School, he's ready to join the Go Club in the 3rd DVD of Hikaru No Go. Unfortunately, his team is one player short of entering tournaments. Can he convince Yuki Mitani, a fellow classmate, to give up scamming players at the Go Salon and join the team?
And remember you can save 25% on these great titles and more by preordering them from RightStuf.com at least 10 days before their release date. And as always, Got Anime purchasing club members get an additional 10% off the preorder price. For more information, check out gotanime.com.
And that’s what’s hot in the world of anime and manga!
Anime and Gamer's Guide to Japan with Kris and Judy
E3 Related sites:
E3 Insider: http://www.e3insider.com
E3 Expo: http://www.e3expo.com/default.aspx
Nintendo's Official E3 Web Site: http://e3.nintendo.com
Playstation's E3 Site: http://www.us.playstation.com/E3
Xbox.com E3 Coverage: http://www.xbox.com/en-US/community/news/events/e32006/default.htm
Shawne's Specials
It’s a Hyperactive Savings Event!
I’m excited! Are you excited? No, I’m not hopped up on anything but Pepsi, but at the same time our new sale is enough to excite anyone!!
We’re having a Funimation sale this week! Through June 4, you can get 40% off the retail price of all Funimation DVDs and 33% off the retail price all their merchandise items. Plus you save another 10% if you’re a Got Anime member! Go crazy with orders for great titles like Desert Punk, Moon Phase, Negima, Basilisk, Samurai 7, Full Metal Alchemist, and much much more! It’s enough to just drive you mad!!
Just use the coupon code HYPER when you check out through our online store. If you’re not sure which items are on sale, you can click the handy "Funimation Items" link on the right side of our main page to browse through the listings.
Even better, $49 worth of orders gets you free freight domestically, and $150 gets you free freight if you’re in Canada. Stock up and get great savings during this sale!
And to top that, there are more than 200 items in the sales listings this week!
How could you not be excited? There’s so much to be excited about! These prices are just INSANE!!!
Have a great and safe holiday weekend!
See all of Shawne's Weekly Specials!
Check out the Bargain Bin!
Anime Today Q & A
If you have a question for us, call 1-800-338-6827, extension 7424. Also, you may send us e-mail at animetoday@rightstuf.com. If your question is selected, you will receive a $10 gift certificate to Right Stuf’s online store!
Marie's Manga Review: Ouran High School Host Club
Some manga are serious works of art, each page stunning and profound. Some are gripping adventures, digging deep into the heart of good and evil. And some abandon all pretense of seriousness in favor of comedy, character, and more fanservice then you can shake a stick at. I’ll give you three guesses as to which category Ouran High School Host Club falls into, and the first two don’t count.
Ouran High School is where Japan’s most prestigious and filthy rich get their eduction. Without much else on their hands but time, six of the most prestigious and rich students form the Host Club to pass the time and make an occasional extra dollar. The Host Club meets afternoons in the library, where they entertain their guests with tea, small talk, and the occasional staged look or meaningful touch between members. Oh, did I mention that all six club members are male?
Yes, together these six guys are the perfect combination of stereotypical bishonen personas to attract a huge female clientele: the strong-silent hulk, the aloof intellectual in glasses, the flighty blond narcissist, the adorable cute boyish type complete with plush bunny, and even the disturbingly too close set of identical twins. And it’s no real surprise that they’re absolutely raking in the cash. In fact, life in the Host Club would have likely have continued on idyllically until graduation had one Haruhi Fujioka not blundered into their club room.
Haruhi happens to be a scholarship student at Ouran High School. Flat broke, Haruhi can’t even afford one of the school’s $3000 uniforms and is forced to wear hand-me-down shapeless sweaters instead. One day, while looking for a quiet place to study, Haruhi accidentally enters the Host Club’s room – and manages to break an $80,000 dollar vase. Club president Tamaki, the aforementioned flighty blond narcissist, determines that Haruhi will have to work the money off by joining their club and entertaining 100 customers.
Not really happy with the arrangement, but deeply in debt to the club, Haruhi grudgingly agrees. Quickly given a make over by the Host Club, our hapless scholarship student is transformed into a debonair scholar whose looks score high with the Club’s customers. So high in fact, that Haruhi, who is surprisingly sympathetic to each customer’s worries, soon becomes one of the more popular members. It’s not long before the other club members figure out why – Haruhi is actually a girl! Disliking gender stereotypes, she just never felt a need to correct their misconception.
Ouran High School Host Club is, at heart, a situation comedy, built around the antics of the wealthy club members going all out to make every customer who crosses their club’s threshold feel special. Whether it’s outrageous flirtation (both with the girls and each other), throwing a tropical party complete with skimpy Polynesian outfits, or even holding court as gallant knights in amour, there’s always some new form of entertainment being cooked up from the depths of their bottomless wallets. Everything is done tongue in cheek, and you’re never quite certain if any of the cast members take the constant flirting seriously. It’s both refreshing and amusing to see characters who know exactly what their customers want, give it to them and take it one step further without ever actually turning the manga into a series of one-note gay jokes.
Beyond the main guys, the representation of the girls in the series is also enjoyable. Haruhi, who is usually the straight-man for the club’s jokes, does her best to ignore most of the craziness going on around her. She doesn’t take advantage of the wealth of her newfound friends and stays amazingly unaffected. She also seems to be the only one who is impervious to the club members’ many charms. All this makes Haruhi a great character that you not only want to root for, but can also easily identify with. Of course, while she’s the strongest female character in the series, one can’t forget the hordes of gushing female customers lining up to spend time with the club’s members. Outside of one particularly crazy fangirl, most of the customers are simply enjoying themselves by indulging in an amusing pastime.
But while there’s no denying that Ouran High School Host Club is aimed squarely at the female demographic, there’s absolutely no reason for guys not enjoy the series as well. The series places humor first and foremost, which gives it a universal appeal. And while the club members certainly play up their allure, it’s hard to miss the parade of girls, most of whom are surprisingly well developed in their own right. Heck, if you like shojo-ai, Haruhi gets just as much attention from the female customers as the rest of the cast and then, of course, there’s that rival all-girl club that springs up across town.
Ouran High School Host Club, however, does have a couple of flaws. Some characters aren’t initially drawn consistently and the art is a little crowded at first, especially as you’re still learning all of the characters’ names. Fortunately, both of these problems pretty much vanish by the end of volume one as author Bisco Hatori gets a firmer grasp on where she wants to take her characters. Besides, it’s hard not to forgive an artist who decorates certain panels with flowers and then adds the note “flowers for no reason” beside it.
Ouran High School Host Club is a highly amusing parody of both the boys’ love and school manga genres that somehow manages to weave together every cliché in the book to create something new and entertaining. It’s perfect as a pick-me-up on a dreary day or any other time you feel like a good laugh with a tasteful side of cosplay fanservice.
Right Stuf Contests and Updates
 |
Patlabor fans, you're in luck! For the month of May, we'll be giving away Patlabor: The Movie 1 DVD Collector's Limited Edition Sets! Two grand prize winners, each receiving one Collector's Set, will be randomly selected at the end of May 2006.
Check the Contests page for entry details! |
 |
Check out the Boys Be... website! Enter for your chance to be 1 of 4 winners of Boys Be... DVD 1 + Volume 1 of the Boys Be... Manga! |
Like what you hear? Give us a shout out! If you use iTunes, take a few moments to write a quick review and tell others what you think the show.
Music this episode featured from:
Enhanced Feed
