I have a guilty pleasure: I like to watch B flicks. It is a side effect from growing up watching Mystery Science Theater. Meatball Machine caught my eye one day when I browsed Netflix. It sounded terrible. Boy, I was right! It wasn’t even terrible in a good way. Meatball Machine is a Japanese B…
Category: Finds and Ramblings
13 Assassins
I don’t normally write about Japanese films, but this remake is worth mentioning. The movie remakes a 1963 black and white film. Set just before the end of the Shogunate period in Japanese history, the storyline pits 13 samurai against a cruel lord, Naritsugu, poised to become a part of the Shogun’s inner council. How…
Pokemon Windows 8 App
One day I was wasting time in the Windows 8 Store and stumbled across a Pokemon App. It had an average of 4 stars, so I thought I’d take a look. For a big fan of Pokemon, it would be convenient. The app pulls in the latest news, pokemon related tweets, videos, and Flickr fan…
Windows 8 Manga Reader Apps in Review
The Surface Manga Reader app landscape had changed a little since I wrote this review of Manga Flow and Manga Tree. My top pick in the original article, Manga Flow, is no longer available. However, there are several new contenders. This review looks at Manga Tree, Manga Gate, Manga Z, and Manga Bird (Gee, I see…
Real Life Anime is Creepy
The other day I found an artist, Chris Scarborough, that manipulates his photography to resemble anime proportions. The result is creepy. Small noses, alien large eyes, and other tweaks just don’t look attractive on a real person. It is funny how something drawn that is normally cute and attractive can be horrifying in reality. Check…
TOKYOPOP Closing in the US
TOKYOPOP is shutting down their US division May 31st. In recent years the publishing company has fallen on tough times, like much of the manga market. Since February, TOKYOPOP has limped along with just 6 employees after a series of layoffs sparked by the Borders bankruptcy. TOKYOPOP has brought manga to the US since 1997…