Anime Corner-End of Summer/Start of Fall 2024 Update

Phew, somehow made it to the tail end of summer and it was more than just another hot one for me.  Honestly it’s still a miracle I can handle life hassles and still find time to keep up with Anime Corner updates but this is still where I find my most peace in stressful situations.  Anyway, enough gabbing about that.  It’s been a minute since my last update.  We had a jam packed June and July with Movies and Sailor Moon Crystal/Eternal.  With Otakon 2024 in the bag and Fall only a few short weeks away, what’s in story for the Gundam Anime Corner in start of the back third of 2024?  Let’s chat about that shall we?

 

T5W#472-Top 5 Thoughts on the Trailer for The Lord of the Rings: War of the Rohirrim

I’ve been a Lord of the Rings fan even longer than I’ve been an Otaku.  I’ve read the books, seen the Movies (animated and Live Action), I’m even enjoying The Rings of Power TV Series and anxiously await Season 2.  Much like what Blade Runner did for the Cyberpunk side of Anime, JRR Tolkein’s legenday masterpiece has no doubt served as a major inspiration for the Fantasy Realm of Anime such as with Record of Lodoss War.  And like many other titles that have inspired Anime, a LotR Anime is long overdue.  The Christmas, we return to Middle Earth for a new untold chapter in the History leading up to the War of the Ring and last weekend we finally got the first trailer for this new animated adventure.  Naturally, as a fan of both Anime and The Lord of the Rings, I have to do a deep dive don’t I? 

 

The Case Study of Vanitas Part 4 Episodes 13-16

The Beast of Gévaudan, a creature feared by both Humans and Vampires alike.  Convinced it might be a Curse Bearer, Vanitas and Noe set off for the French Countryside to investigate.  Waiting for them is a land tormented by legends and teeming with danger.  All eyes are set on capturing or killing the Beast to their own ends and Noe and Vanitas are caught in the middle of a struggle between multiple parties.  Old allies and new foes appear as the age of mystery of the Beast of Gévaudan reaches its bloody conclusion.

Last week’s Case Study of Vanitas episodes left things on a pretty big cliffhanger.  Not only did we get a tease as to how and why Noe might be responsible for killing Vanitas sometime in the future, but the duo also got word of a big mystery in the frozen French countryside and the promise of a showdown with a big bad wolf….who might also be a Curse Bearer.  The question is, can a change in scenery and a longer mystery with new players help The Case Study of Vanitas keep up its fast paced fun while also working on improving issues I had with the first half?  The new case is afoot, let’s break down how it all gets started, shall we?
 

T5W#471-Top 5 Characters Voiced by Atsuko Tanaka

It’s been a rough couple of weeks for the Anime community.  Last week, we lost Rachael Lillis, best known to us as the voice of Misty and Jessie amongst many others from Pokemon.  Yesterday saw the passing of another legendary voice actress, Atsuko Tanaka.  Since 1993, Tanaka have provided voice and life to hundreds of characters across Anime, Video Games and even dubbing of characters from live action US films such as Selene in the Underworld series and Pepper Potts in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.  Of all those characters, it’s hard to pick just five roles to single out, though one is a definite no brainer.  I did have another Top 5 to go up today in relation to Alien: Romulus but I’m going to push that back til Next Wednesday in order to honor this incredible womans legacy with my personal favorite Top 5 Characters Voiced by Atsuko Tanaka.  I’ll be sticking to Anime and Video Game roles only though there will be a mention of one particular live action dubbing for one character.

The Case Study of Vanitas Part 3 Episodes 9-12

Beneath the Catacombs of Paris lies a confrontation with the past for Vanitas.  As he and Noe face off against the Anti Vampire hunters of the Church, Le Chasseurs, they come to the doorstep of the man who tortured a young Vanitas and possibly even worse.  But this deranged Doctor Moreau isnt the only problem Vanitas and Noe have to contend with.  The agents of Charlatan continue to stalk their every move and soon Noe finds himself locked into a proposition he might be unable to refuse…one that could destroy his growing partnership with Vanitas forever.

Ah, I love it when it seems like a show is actively trying to address concerns I have with it when I point them out.  Of course, that’s not to say I haven’t been enjoying The Case Study of Vanitas.  I just feel like its been holding back on a few things, and I’m not just talking about the developing mystery behind Charlatan and the Curse Bearers.  This mid series set of episodes proves to be the most entertaining batch yet by introducing new pieces to the puzzle of Vanitas and setting up some big conflicts to come in the second half of the series.  It’s not perfect but I’ll take improvements where I can find them.  Let’s jump into things shall we.
 

T5W#470-Top 5 Saturday Morning Cartoon Anime (Part 2)

Early Saturday Morning at Otakon 2024, the con hosted a special video marathon of Anime that they dubbed “Saturday Morning Cartoons.”  The titles they presented were in keeping with the spirit of early morning Anime on a day I’m sure many of us would love to sleep in like the original Astro Boy and the 90s short lived Mega Man Series (they also threw in some retro commercials like the toys for Return of the Jedi and a promo for the launch of the original Legend of Zelda on the NES).  I only sat in on a couple of segments but they were a fun way to start the day.  Funny thing, I forgot I did a Top 5 on todays chosen topic over a year ago (gimme a break, I’ll be hitting the 500^th Mark early next year I think).   So you can check out the original list here (http://gundamanimeblog.blogspot.com/2023/03/t5w394-top-5-saturday-morning-cartoon.html) before checking out todays Top 5 Wednesday: my Top 5 Saturday Morning Cartoon Anime (Part 2).

The Case Study of Vanitas Part 2 Episodes 5-8

Noe and Vanitas crossover into Altus Paris, the Vampire Mirror World of Paris.  Here they find dazzling sights, curious intrigue and dark threats looking around every corner.  When the forces of the Curse Bearer corrupting Charlatan appear, all Hell is about to break loose.  But Vanitas stands ready to disappoint both Charlatan and Vampires alike as he unleashes the power of his Grimoire.  Under a radiant moon in a blood red sky, will Vanitas prove himself a Messiah for the Vampires or bring their ultimate doom?

Before I get into this weeks second part of The Case Study of Vanitas, I wanna talk about one thing that’s been bothering me.  It’s not a detractor from enjoying the show but for some reason it’s hard to overlook: the OP.  Both the song and the animation would have you believe that Noe is the one dragging Vanitas around on a whirlwind tour of Paris and driving the hapless, self proclaimed Doctor ragged.  However, this is pretty far from a buddy comedy Anime about the escapades of a Vampire and a Human.  It’s a lot more serious than that and I’m kind of happy for it.  Granted, it does ruin Noe a bit as while he’s still a man of wide eyed wonder, he’s far less energetic than Vanitas, who never misses a chance to steal the show.  I’ll talk about that a bit more as we get into the review, cause there’s actually a lot that goes down in this second chapter and for the most part, it’s pretty cool and even subverted a few of my expectations.
 

The Case Study of Vanitas Part 1 Episodes 1-4

Legend tells of a powerful Grimoire that all Vampires fear.  One lone Vampire, Noe, has come to Paris to find it.  To his shock and awe, he finds the Grimoire is in the hands of a Human named after the Vampire who created the Grimoire long ago: Vanitas.  This eccentric and mysterious doctor enlists Noe’s help to deal with a string of Cursed Vampire outbreaks, hoping to find their source and use the Book of Vanitas to cure them all.  It’s the noblest of quests…if these two incompatible souls can stay alive and not kill each other in the process.

What happens when you take Sir Aurther Conan Doyle’s legendary investigative duo, keep one human and make the other a Vampire, and then send them on adventures involving magically made berserker monsters?  You get the Anime we’re starting with today at the Gundam Anime Corner: The Case Study of Vanitas. After doing a First Impression on it back at the start of the year, I knew I had to look into it further.  I hadn’t even heard of The Case Study of Vanitas until my friend told me they were working on cosplays from it.  Turns out, I might have been missing out on another hidden gem classic lost in the seasonal Anime shuffle.  Vanitas might still have some growing pains to sort out but four episodes in, I’m ready to bite into more of it.   Which is good because sometimes it can be tough to get me into new/non franchise established IPs.  Which means it’s already off to a promising start.
 

T5W#469-Top 5 Otakon 2024 Moments

Another Otakon has come and gone but this wasn’t just any ordinary Otakon: this past weekend marked the 30th anniversary of one of the biggest Anime Conventions on the East Coast.  Otakon’s been through quite a bit in the last couple of years since the Pandemic, soaring to record shattering numbers since it’s big move from Baltimore to Washington DC in 2017.  Honestly, I wasn’t sure what to expect given the 25^th Anniversary back in 2019 was kind of “meh”, not terrible but it didn’t feel like a landmark celebration.  Imagine my surprise when Otakon not only pulled out all the stops for it’s 30^th birthday, it actually succeeded in doing so.  Otakon 2024 freaking rocked and might be one of the best so far for me.  Believe it or not, it wasn’t hard coming up with todays Top 5 Wednesday cause so many moments were clear as day throughout the weekend.  Enough blabbering, let’s get to our usual post convention report with my Top 5 Otakon 2024 Moments.