Naruto is the series that gets the most empathy from its audiences!

So, this is from the results of last month's Superpoll of the Month, in which readers were asked:

If your life was an anime series, what series it would be?

With 402 votes, Naruto came out on top with 104 votes, followed closely by Bleach with 90 votes, and curiously enough, Blue Exorcist has 77 votes, despite being a new series, while the other two have been running for a decade.

Well, we've all seen Naruto's struggles, solitude and alienation and his humanity, his failures, his ticks are all what make us care for him deeply and root for him to be the village's hero.

I initially thought that One Piece would win hands down due to its popularity, but it is quite there with Full Metal Alchemist, Fairy Tail, and Soul Eater.

Kuroshitsuji and Gintama came in the same place. And Death Note deserves a special mention with 50 votes, (who doesn't identify with either L-kun or Kira-sama?)

It's still interesting to note that a classic series like Dragon Ball didn't garner more votes, with even D.Grayman getting 8 more votes.

Saint Seiya   15 (3%)

Gintama   35 (8%)

Kimi ni Todoke   25 (6%)

Bleach  90 (22%)

Fairy Tail  61 (15%)

Steins Gate  16 (3%)

Death Note  50 (12%)

Karakuridoji Ultimo   2 (0%)

Yu Yu Hakusho   9 (2%)

Evangelion   12 (2%)

Dragon Ball  28 (6%)

Naruto  104 (25%)

Blue Exorcist  77 (19%)

Kamisama Dolls  7 (1%)

Kamisama no Memochou   9 (2%)

Loveless  10 (2%)

Samurai X  17 (4%)

One Piece  64 (15%)

Lucky Star  26 (6%)

Haruhi Suzumiya  17 (4%)

Wallflower (Yamato Nadeshiko)   10 (2%)

K-On!  25 (6%)

Sket Dance  14 (3%)

Soul Eater  54 (13%)

Kuragehime  7 (1%)

Bakuman  16 (3%)

Deadman Wonderland  9 (2%)

Kuroshitsuji  35 (8%)

Hetalia  24 (5%)

Code Geass  25 (6%)

D.Grayman  36 (8%)

C: The Money of Soul and Possibility Control   5 (1%)

Akira  6 (1%)

Sailor Moon  28 (6%)

Beelzebub  28 (6%)

Black Lagoon  5 (1%)

Cowboy Bebop  11 (2%)

Full Metal Alchemist  57 (14%)

Hellsing  17 (4%)

Devil May Cry  27 (6%)

Samurai Deeper Kyo  4 (0%)

Infinite Stratos  17 (4%)

Hanasaku Iroha  9 (2%)

Gundam Wing   8 (1%)

Samurai Champloo  13 (3%)

Toriko  8 (1%)

Durarara!  46 (11%)

Other (please indicate so in my twitter!)   23 (5%)

I didn't receive any further explanation through my twitter account over what series did I miss on the list and why. You can follow me at @myanimemangafix .

A Quick Overview of the series in this new anime season October 2011!

Last season was full of surprises and great shows as well as few failures.

This new season that begins in October doesn't bring much novelty in regards to new shows, but there are new shows that are promising!

The highlights are the new season of Bakuman and the return of Sekai-Ichi Hatsukoi! 

Bakuman season 2: 

Premiere Date: October 1

Our protagonists are on the verge of publication and new challenges arise!


The Pros: the great story, animation and pacing that follows the manga arc.

The Cons: lack of promotion by NHK

Guilty Crown

It will premiere on the Nnoitamina block, the story is set in 2039 and revolves around Shū, a boy who has acquired an ability called the "power of kings" that allows him to draw out weapons from another person. He joins a resistance group named "Undertaker" which aims to restore Japan's independence from an international organization known as the GHQ.

The Pros: from the trailers, the animation looks great, the premise is ok.

The Cons: if it drags out too much, it could have the same fate as Deadman Wonderland.

Premiere date: October 13

Sekai-Ichi Hatsukoi season 2 


The Pros: deliciously unique series with great relationship plots, the guilty pleasure of fujoshis everywhere!! Bishonen-ai!


The Cons: huh?? 

Premiere date: October 7

Working!! 

Based on the four-koma manga, it concerns the activities of the unusual employees at the Wagnaria family restaurant, the fun will ensue!

The Pros: yes, more comedy! It seems to be the new trend.

The Cons: a good comedy series rarely fails, though there's always the possibility it will.

Premiere date: October 1

Un-go! 

There is quite the mystery around this one, it will also premiere on Nnoitamina slot. Its production values are already high with their opening theme done by School Food Punishment, 'How to go', while the ending theme is "Fantasy" by LAMA.

The Pros: did I mention that this is done by the Full Metal Alchemist original staff??

The Cons: there's not much info, this could be the underdog horse which we all know what happens when it wins. The series is based on a light novel set on the Meiji era with a detective theme.

Premiere date: October 13

Ben-to 

Also based on a light novel, the story revolves around a poor high school student named Yo Sato. Sato goes one day to the supermarket and finds a bento (lunch box) for sale at half price.

The Pros: looks really cute from the trailers. I hope the story's quality exceeds it.

The Cons: people that hate moe.

Premiere date: October (TBA)

Yuri Seijin Naoko san 

The other guilty pleasure of the season for yuri lovers.

The Pros: it could have the same success as Sekai-ichi Hatsukoi, if the plot doesn't revolve much around yuri, but actually stories.

The Cons: precisely because of the theme, it could not last long. It's a gamble.

Premiere date: November 30

Phi Brain- Kami no Puzzle 


The adventure series is about two high-schoolers that challenge dangerous “philosopher’s puzzles”.

The Pros: the promotion has been around for a year now. The artwork and animation looks pretty good for the trailers.

The Cons: will it go the same way as Kamisama no Memochou?

Premiere: October (TBA)

Bleach 

The Pros: the great fan expectation over when the new arc post-Aizen will be animated. The last Kageroza arc, though a filler, was well animated with good fights at the end.

The Cons: the fillers!! It seems they will have us with one year of fillers!

Naruto Shippuden

The Pros: this show has been through such up and dows that it's part of their charm. Really, it's a classic show!

The Cons: More fillerology until they finally decide to catch up!

One Piece 

The Pros: over 500 episodes make this anime among the legendary. The most read manga in the world will always keep this show alive.

The Cons: well, the usual. Fillers and tons of haters.

Beelzebub:

The Pros: this show has really grown strong, it's already going the path of the classic. The characters and situations in these last episodes have been nothing short of epic histerical. The animation quality has improved to a standard.

The Cons: really? There are no cons?

Gintama 

The Pros: After a long break, this show returned on January stronger than ever. The great advantage that both this show and Beelzebub have is that they can have their own filler episode without straying from the manga since it's comedy.


The Cons: frankly, nothing

SKET Dance

The Pros: this series is going strong to the point that it's on crossovers with Gintama and now Bakuman.

The Cons: there isn't any except if they stick to lame episodes for too long, which I don't it would happen.

Nurarihyon no Mago: Sennen Makyo

The Pros: I can say that this show has quietly become the strongest show of the season without making much of a fuss. The outstanding quality of the story and the animation has endured greatly.


The Cons: I kinda wish that this series would be a continuous one instead of per season, but that would decrease the quality, wouldn't it? Who really wants Nuramago fillers? Yuck.

¬ ¬          *stares at Blue Exorcist filler arc that ends the season in a low note.
 ___

Bleach fillerology September schedule

This Kageroza arc has been quite the mixed bag, but it seems it will end this month, with probably another filler arc following:

Episode 337 "The Developer of the Modified Souls" (改造魂魄の開発者) August 30, 2011
Epidose 338 "Kon's Thoughts, Nozomi's Thoughts" (コンの想い、望実の想い) September 6, 2011


(To be updated further)

Aizen = Jose Maria Aznar without the mustache?

You're all going to call me weird and all sort of names for this, but I've always though that Captain Aizen from Bleach gives a similar air to that of the Spanish politician and former President of Spanish Governement Jose Maria Aznar, just without the mustache.

Maybe it's the hair? But Aznar doesn't have a spitcurl. What about the hairline? The nose? The expression? If anything, author Tite Kubo made very sure that the key villain (or not?) in his series looked very Spanish, to go along with the theme of 'Hueco Mundo'.

Bleach fillerology June schedule

God, I want this arc to be over already!!!

The Kageroza arc continues, this time with reigais of the more powerful captains of Gotei 13, and Ichigo keeps losing his powers. What happened to Nozomi that has her so traumatized?

Episode 325 "For the Sake of the Believers! Byakuya vs. Hitsugaya!" (信ずるものの為に！白哉vs日番谷！) June 7, 2011

Episode 326 "The Two Hinamori, Hitsugaya's Resolution" (ふたりの雛森、日番谷の覚悟)  June 14, 2011


Episode 327 "Pride of the Kuchiki Family! Byakuya vs. Byakuya!" (朽木家の誇り！白哉VS白哉！) June 21, 2011


Episode 328 "Defeat Kageroza! Shinigami, All-Out War!" (影狼佐を倒せ！死神、総力戦！) June 28, 2011

Why is Bleach titled 'Bleach' anyway?

Bleach is the name of the 1989 album by Nirvana, one of author Tite Kubo's favorite music groups, aside from Bad Religion and many others.

Kubo often listens to classic rock  and metal music while he works and that's where he draws inspiration from. You may notice that many of the manga's chapters are titled after key songs that embody the concept and the mood of certain characters and situations.

But the word has multiple meanings. Bleach often refers to the chemical substance used for cleaning purposes, that can be highly toxic if used in a 100% concentration.

Bleach is also the decolorant powder to get the hair to a yellow point before a toner is applied. People with extremely obscured hair or pigments need to do this procedure if they want to get a good shade of blonde, or else, if they just use common dyers, their hair turns orange.

With the influence of Western culture, thousands of Japanese men look to dye their hair blonde, often with the orange result. It was a common belief in Japan that young people who dyed their hair were 'yankee' or 'juvenile delinquents'.

This all resonates perfectly with Ichigo's theme. In the beginning of the series, Ichigo was often picked on and bullied because of his looks. The irony here is that he has orange hair, not because he wanted to dye it, but because of his mother, who also had orange hair, (that'd actually be strawberry blonde).

Still, when he grew up he was regarded as a tempered, bad-ass punk along with his friend Sado Yasutora precisely because of that.

Curiously enough, 'Ichigo' means 'Strawberry' :-)

Bleach Fillerology anime March schedule

It seems this month will be about cute, silly Soul Society fillers.

Episode 312 "Inauguration! The Brand New 2nd Division Captain!"
"Shūnin! Arata naru ni ban tai taichō!" (就任！新たなる二番隊隊長！) March 8, 2011

Episode 313 "The Man Who Takes Command of the 11th Division!" "Jūichi ban tai ni inochi o kaketa otoko!" (十一番隊に命を懸けた男！) March 15, 2011

Episode 314 "Secret of a Beautiful Office Lady" "Bijin OL no himitsu" (美人OLの秘密) March 22, 2011

Episode 315 "Yachiru's friend! The Shinigami of Justice Appears!"
"Yachiru no tomo! Seigi no shinigami toujou!" (やちるの友！正義の死神登場！) March 29, 2011

I still think this is better than no Bleach at all.

Bleach anime is not going to end: we'll have fillers until the new arc begins!

The calendar for Bleach episodes in March hints that we're going to have a fillerology ala Naruto before the new arc post-timeskip begins.

How much will this fillerology last? 3 months? 6? 1 year?

311	"The Soul Detective・Karakuraizer Takes Off Again!" "Tamashī no keiji・Karakuraizā sai hasshin!" (魂葬刑事・カラクライザー再発進！)	March 1, 2011	—
312	"Inauguration! The Brand New 2nd Division Captain!" "Shūnin! Arata naru ban ni ban tai taichō!" (就任！新たなる二番隊隊長！)	March 8, 2011

Could this be true? Or is this a distraction to throw us off?

Bleach anime February schedule!!!!

So, it seems the Aizen arc is reaching its final point as Ichigo struggles with Tensa Zangetsu and Aizen gets more and more powerful with the Hogyoku, about to kill Ichigo's friends!! Everything is pointing to the fact that Ichigo is the only one who can defeat Aizen once and for all!!

Episode 307 - Emergency Situation! Aizen, New Evolution! (緊急事態！藍染、更なる進化！)
February 1, 2011

Episode 308 - Goodbye...Rangiku (さよなら…乱菊)
February 8, 2011

Episode 309 - Release the Final Getsuga Tenshou (放て最後の月牙天衝)
February 15, 2011

Episode 310 - Ichigo's Resolution (一護の覚悟)
February 22, 2011

Bleach: To end or not to end?

Ok, so it's been quite a while since this manga was first published in 1999 and got its anime on 2004.

The story developed, we all fell in love with its unique characters that always offer something for someone, as it has sold thousands of copies in manga and DVDs around the world.

But since one of the main arcs that have motioned the very core of the story of the series came to an end recently in the manga, it's difficult to predict where the series will go. What's left? Bleach GT?

This even has impacted the anime with a rumor that it would end soon, with possibly a break and a relaunch, even the Technical Director couldn't exactly debunk the rumor.

I mean, it's quite obvious, isn't it?

It's interesting how the latest poll in this very blog shows how divided and polarized readers feel right now.

Could Bleach really last 10 more years without losing steam?

Barely 33% of the votes responded with a HELL yeah!, and a really close 32% responded with an absolute NO.

Ahh...nostalgic times

Yet the one important portion of voters is unsure with 'It frightens me' (6%), 'Hmm...not sure how it would turn out?' (11%) and 15% answered 'No way if it turns out like Dragon Ball', which sums still 32%!!!

You know, I'm not really fond of extending stories for the sake of doing so, or for editorial pressure, but I'd still bet on what KuboTaito-sensei has to offer.

After all, the Aizen arc could just well be 'the flashback/backstory' of Kurosaki Ichigo...

Rumor: Bleach anime ending this year?

We have quite a controversy today since Japanese rock band ROOKiEZ is PUNK'D posted on its blog on Saturday that their new song "Song for..." will serve as a "fitting" ending theme song for the Bleach anime's final season.

Oh dear, DID THEY JUST SAY THE FINAL SEASON OF BLEACH??!??! HOW?!?!?!

The band removed the mention of Bleach anime's final season from its blog post, but the post is still available here

The song will be the ending theme of the anime starting on Tuesday."

It makes sense, given certain events that took place in the manga that I will not spoil away, but yeah, it could mean the end of the classic Bleach anime as we know it, and then the premiere of Bleach Shippuden  after a while.

And of course this could also mean a rise in the quality of the animation since they'd be starting brand new!! (at least I hope so)

Sources: ANN, livedoor, Uri-Sure Matome R

Tite Kubo: “I’ll Keep Bleach Going For At Least 10 Years”

There it is, from the man himself.

According to Sankakucomplex's site, "Bleach’s author Tite Kubo is apparently set on keeping Bleach going for at least another 10 years, remarking that it is only halfway through.

Kubo’s remarks were reported by 2ch-frequenting attendees of the recently held Jump Festa, where he took the stage to talk about his creation:

“It’s about halfway through the story at the moment.
[...]
At the very least, I’ll be doing it for another 10 years.”

Another version has him being asked “So will you be keeping it going for the next 30 years?” to which he responds “I think I’d like to make it a bit shorter than that,” with the other speaker quipping that “It should be continuing for at least another 10 years!”

Both accounts agree on him saying he is about half done however, which for a 10-year-old title would rather suggest another 10 years to go.

Reactions to all this are mixed to say the least, ranging from enthused to horrified…"

Well.... O_O as long as it doesn't become Dragon Ball GT, I don't know what to think right now, really.

Bleach anime December schedule

The fight against Aizen continues and reaches its turning point! Aizen becomes more and more powerful (and pretty) after fusing with the Hogyoku!

December 14th
301 - "Ichigo Loses His Fighting Spirit!? Gin's Expectation!"

December 21st
302 - "The Final Getsuga Tenshō!? Ichigo's Training!"

December 28th
No episode

January 4th
303 - "Real World and Shinigami! The New Year Special!"

Credit to insane111 from NarutoFan forums :)

This week's featured AMV (21)

Following with the Aizen theme, I couldn't help but showcase this badass video with new footage from the movies and the games. Looks awesome in high quality, isn't it? If we only could get this quality from every episode but I guess nobody is perfect.



Video done by AvatarKid4 from Youtube.

Is Aizen a lame villain?

After reading the 'Ask John' segment at Animenation, I wonder how Captain Aizen from Bleach really fares in comparison to the villains that John showcases.

The problem I see with Aizen is that he's so ridiculously powerful, God-like and distant that it was only recently in the manga that we started to know what his true motivations were. At least with Light Yagami from Death Note we could see how he thought and how he strived to create the perfect world from the very beginning.

He's charismatic and bishounen, which makes him attractive and palatable. Plus, the scene where he goes 'Superman' on the entire Soul Society after obtaining the Hogyoku is priceless.

He spent all those years playing the 'nerd' captain, the tender, calm and spiritual one, just to find out that it was an illusion from his zanpakuto, Kyoka no Suigetsu, able to achieve total and complete hypnosis.



Not to forget how he stopped Ichigo's bankai with a finger, and the whole groupie relationship with Hinamori is just sadistic.



But overall, he has a sorta pimp personality (only rivaled with Grimmjow) that is reminiscent of those nostalgia villains from the 80's, just with a more suave touch.

New Bleach 4th movie promo!

The new promo aired as a part of the opening of the Bleach anime.



The movie is set to premiere in Japanese theaters on December 4th. There's still no info on when the DVD is going to come out.

The quality as always is spectacular!

Curiosities: bishonen characters in manga and anime (2)

Bishonen characters can play both good and evil roles. Captain Aizen in Bleach can be considered an example of the latter (and if you read further the manga you will 100% agree with me),

Often their 'bishonen' quality is what adds to their mystery and mysticism, making them an encompassing character.

Yet at the same time they are aware of their beauty and use it as a weapon to deceive their enemies. No wonder samurais in ancient Japan wore lipstick and makeup to stun the enemy.

But bishonen is a term applied to those characters under 18. For a beautiful male character in his twenties or thirties (Aizen is seemingly in that age group??), the correct term would be 'bidanshi', meaning 'handsome man'.

Another classic example of a 'bishonen' character would be Shun from Saint Seiya:

(nosebleeds!)

Despite people understimating him during the course of the whole series, Shun proved that he was worthy of being an Athena Saint, if not one of the strongest around, just that he doesn't really like to fight.

Given the influence of the androgynous looks from Glam rock bands of the 70's and the 80's, the 'bishonen' archetype was consolidated as a pretty guy with long hair, big eyes of an unusual color, a slender, skinny physique, and feminine features, of course.


This is further proved in the Kurama character from Yu Yu Hakusho.

Bishonen characters are never afraid of being who they are, but rather embrace it, as they are basically males who embrace their feminine side, and in contrast it makes their masculinity stand out more, in my opinion.

Weekly Special Feature: The quality of animation in Bleach

I don't know if it's only me, but rewatching the first few episodes I could see why I was hooked up so much on this series to the point of madness.

It was that the quality of animation helped convey a more dramatic, mysterious, dark and esoteric tone to the story. That reflected on the fights too.





So, what really happened to the quality of animation in Bleach? Has it really suffered?

I think that given the pace of the story and how we as an audience got used to Bankais and Resurreciones, the quality has just got more mundane. The only exception being the fight between Ichigo and Ulquiorra.



But after watching the latest episodes I think it is picking it up.

Bleach anime October schedule

Things get more exciting this month as there are no fillers.We have the fight between Aizen and the rest of Gotei 13 while Ichigo and Unohana arrive to Karakura Town! The plot thickens!

October 7 - episode 291 - Desperate Struggle with Aizen! Hirako, Shikai!

October 14 - episode 292 - All Out War! Aizen vs. Shinigami

October 21 - episode 293 - Blade of Hatred! Hitsugaya, Enraged!

October 28 - episode 294 - The Sealed Genryūsai 

(Source: Anime News Network, NarutoFan forums)

New Bleach: Jigoku-hen (Hell chapter) stream promo!

The official site of the Bleach anime began streaming a 32 second preview of the fourth movie in the series, which its original creator, Tite Kubo, is personally supervising.



This is all very exciting and the movie will come out in Japanese theaters on December 4. The manga will celebrate its 10th year anniversary next year.