Anime for Adults

No, I'm not talking about tentacle pr0n!

I have been watching anime since the end of high school and I have yet to find a definitive review site I trust. For the most part I have relied on box art, trailers and imdb descriptions to make my choices. Needless to say I don't always end up with the cream of the crop. I have seen the good, the bad and the ugly and might be able to share some insight.

Anime is an art form that is primarily derived from manga. In the US it is often presumed to be for children as the last animated film or show most American's watched was from their childhood. While some anime deserves such a label, there is a large amount that doesn't. A lot of anime has adult themes, heady concepts and morale struggle. This type of anime should not be missed or mislabeled. The following is a short list of titles that any adult should not be embarrassed or hesitant to enjoy.

Ghost in the Shell
The first GITS movie is outstanding. Over the top procedural action, the philosophical ramifications of artificial intelligence and political intrigue set in postcyberpunk Tokyo. The television series is much of the same, but tends to dive even deeper into the ethical issues to the point of confusion and convolution at times. The first film is a must see with sub titles, but I cheated on the series and watched it in dubs because of the overly complex dialogue.

Akira
The film that brought anime to the US, it was was shown in art houses across the country during the 80s and gave many viewers a taste for more. The film is based in a post apocalyptic neo Tokyo and focuses on a biker gang that gets mixed up in a military experiment. I didn't see this film until well after its original release, but I caught the same anime fever from it.

Cowboy BeBop
This series the pinnacle of anime for me. Film noir meets American jazz meets space bounty hunter saga. The art direction, music and writing are on par with any feature film I have seen. This is by far Shinichirō Watanabe's best work, although I am a huge fan of all that he has done.

Samurai Champloo
Another series by Watanabe that also evokes a strong musical presence coupled with fantastic animation. It is essentially a ronin story set in Edo period of futile Japan. The musical back drop is hip hop, fight scenes are timed to rhythms and set changes are transitioned through scratching.

Fullmetal Alchemist
Probably one of the most misleading titles listed here. It is a series about two kid brothers who attempt to bring back there dead mother and lose their bodies in the process. While the main plot seems to point to more mature concepts the series also is about two kids. Steampunk is the cats ass too, so check this one out.

Berserk
This is the hardest series for me to recommend because it ends in such a poor way. Every episode in the series is spectacular until the last two to three where the plot and series completely unravel. Due to financial constraints the 26 episode series end at 25 episodes. So whether or not the ill fated 26th episode would have wrapped everything up is unknown. It is a great series at its core though, based in medieval Europe with a focus on the super natural.

Ninja Scroll
This was the first anime I ever watched after hearing about it from friends at school. It had ninjas, violence, sex and beautiful art. I was hooked. Yoshiaki Kawajiri directed this film, but had no part in the crappy TV series that carries the same name. Be warned there are a few unnevering scenes that are not for the feint of heart.

The Animatrix
This is the most americanized film of the bunch. It was created to cross promote the Matrix trilogy and in my opinion is better than any of the three films. It is a series of shorts done by an allstar cast of anime directors. Watanabe, Kawajiri and Chung to name a few.

Site Watch
Merlin Mann is by far my favorite personality from Mac Break Weekly and his site 43 folders is something I check on a regular basis. It is a site about personal productivity, life hacks, and simple ways to make your life a little better. Good stuff, so czech it out!

New Love
We picked up a second DS (yes it is pink) for Crystal over weekend. For an added bonus I snapped a shot with the new skin I created for the M3DS Real we procured for our bundle of joy!

Kurosawa & Ouendan (Homebrewed Part 3)

Akira Kurosawa's films are considered classics, I watched my first (Rashômon) in a history of film course in college. One of my favorite anime series is based off his film The Seven Samurai and is appropriately named Samurai 7. So when I found out that a lot of his films that had passed into the public domain were collected and converted to be viewed on the DS, I jumped at the chance to watch them. I have Ikiru downloaded and loaded on my flash card, but I have yet to watch it. It comes highly recommended from my friends Grant and Erin so hopefully it does not disappoint.

The group that put out Kurosawa's works has also released a bunch of other films and media for the DS. Download at your own risk though as I can not guarantee they are in the public domain like I linked on the Kurosawa films. You may want to consider converting your own DVDs down to a portable size (.dpg) instead with this guide.

Update: The webmaster of moonbooks.net left a comment on this post letting me know that all of their content is in the public domain. That is great news!

Over the weekend I picked up Osu! Tatakae! Ouendan 2. It is the sequel to the Japaneses origin of Elite Beat Agents. While the menus can be a bit a confusing, unless you read Japanese, they are simple enough to experiment with and figure out in under 2-3 minutes. The actual game play is the real meat and potatoes though. It is a touch screen rhythm game that is synced with a variety of Japanese pop music (J-pop). The story behind the Ouendan is an agency of male cheerleaders who dress in uniform (see above) and assist people in tough situations by cheering for them to different songs. If you fail at the rhythm game then the people you are helping fail as well. Only in Japan!

Site Watch
The Escapist had a great series on gadgets last week. One of the articles that struck me as interesting was on nomadic (homeless) life with just a DS. It makes reference to bunch of great homebrew apps with in an unfamiliar context.

To Pokémon (Homebrewed Part 2)

I am loath to admit my fall for the children's marketing giant, Pokémon. I can't yet determine if this is an after Christmas gaming slump or if I really do like the game. In any case I have played about 10 hours of Pokémon Pearl and can't wait to play more. It is essentially a generic Japanese role playing game (JRPG if you will) of old, except your party is a bunch of pokémon in poké balls. Come across a wild pokémon or trainer and you battle out for cash and experience points.

This affection for "catchin 'em all" was driven by my new DS homebrew love. I have skipped playing Call of Duty 4 and World of Warcraft for going on three nights to play with and organize my applications, roms and music on my little friend. If this keeps up I will most likely ditch my DS fat for a lite. Even with the rumors of a smaller, brighter and more efficient DS on the way (DS lite lite?).

To follow up on my homebrew experience on Monday, I have knowledge and wisdom to share...

First, don't get a M3 Simply or a R4 Revolution, well that is a bit of an overstatement. They are perfect for running applications, roms and media, but there are better options. The M3 Real and the CycloDS Evolution have the same functionality, but support both micro SD and micro SDHC cards in larger formats. This means that in theory you could have up to 32 Gb of space (currently the biggest is 8Gb SDHC) to work with in your homebrew cart. The card I got (M3 simply) and the R4 have a max capacity of 2Gb. If you don't plan to get a 4Gb or 8Gb micro SD card (they get expensive) then any of them will work.

Second, follow a guide if there is one available. I was lost for must of my discovery before my purchase and the installation afterward. I have since come across some great guides on GBAtemp.net that would have been great for starting to understand the DS homebrew scene. Any information in the guides below should apply to most homebrew carts on the market.

- Sub Forums by product - discussion on each of the homebrew cart options.

- M3 Simply & R4DS Guide - if you recall they are the same hardware with different firmware.

- FAQ:R4DS and M3 Simply - Quick and useful FAQ.

- DLDI Guide - a bit more complex, but worth a look for application use (organizers, browsers, etc).

Third, shop around. I picked up my M3 Simply from Real Hot Stuff, but there are loads of online shops that sell them for varying prices and shipping charges. I was inpatient and bought my 2Gb micro SD from best buy for $34. A lot of the sites that sell homebrew carts, sell micro SD cards bundled or separately for a lot cheaper. You can go to a ton of other sites to find them as well. They are used in cameras and cell phones primarily so they are everywhere.

Site Watch
DS-Scene and GBAtemp are the two best DS homebrew news sites I have come across so far. I'd give the node to DS-Scene for application downloads (much better organized) and to GBAtemp for their forums (much more informative).

Homebrewed

This weekend brought with it many a revelation, one of which was my new found love of the DS. I have owned my DS for going on three years now and I have never held it on the pedestal that the media, critics and other owners have. I just don't have a lot of use for a portable gaming device. I don't have a long, hands-free commute to work. I own two "next gen" consoles and a gaming ready computer. So what is the point of hand held gaming out side of a trip to the loo.

That was before I discovered homebrew. Well actually not discovered, because I have always been aware of it. It would better be described as, I finally took a real interest early last week in homebrew. If you are unfamiliar with homebrew it is user created content for video game systems that expand upon the systems limited and intended original use. What that boils down to is I can have an organizer very similar to the functions of a PDA on my DS. That and hundreds of other possibilities.

I picked up a M3DS Simply (see last paragraph) which arrived Friday night and had a 2Gb micro SD card in it by Saturday afternoon. By Sunday I had the organizer and media player (mp3 and video) installed and to be honest I have only scratched the surface. There are tons of useful little applications available, but also a thriving indie game development community. There are also tasty morsels to look forward to in the future.

I will be spending the next week trying out different applications and hopefully have a report on my successes and failures up soon. Also a quick note in reference to the M3 Simply. Don't buy it! Get the R4DS Revolution instead, it is the same exact hardware as the M3, but the group that makes it is still updating the firmware. The M3 team seems to have stopped making firmware updates so the community has started hacking new R4 firmware releases to work with the M3. Save yourself the trouble and get a R4.