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Protoculture Addicts #96 Contents

Protoculture Addicts #96 Contents

PROTOCULTURE ADDICTS #96 CONTENTS

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Issue #96 ( May / June 2008 ) SPOTLIGHT 14 BLOOD+ With the release of the series on DVD, we revisit this tale of modern vampires ❙ by Bamboo Dong 18 GENIUS PARTY Modest musings on a Genius Party PREVIEW WORLD ❙ by Brian Hanson 37 :Sample Dororo, file Vol. 1 63 How NOT to run a Convention 20 xxxHOLiC ❙ by Trisha L. Sebastian Spirits in the material world ANIME STORIES 69 Anime Beat & J-Pop Treat ❙ by Jason Green • m-flo: Cosmicolor 40 ❙ by Rachael Carothers ❙ by Miyako Matsuda ANIME VOICES 70 Fantasia 2007 (Part 3) 42 CLUSTER EDGE • Memories of Matsuko ❙ by Miyako Matsuda 4 Letter From The Editors ❙ by Miyako Matsuda 5 Page 5 Editorial 46 DENNOU COIL 71 Montreal World Film Festival ❙ by M Matsuda & CJ Pelletier 6 Contributors’ Spotlight • Event Report 98 Letters 50 iDOL MASTER XENOGLOSSIA • Sakuran ❙ by Miyako Matsuda ❙ by M Matsuda & CJ Pelletier NEWS 52 MOYASHIMON ❙ by M Matsuda & CJ Pelletier REVIEWS 7 Anime & Manga News 56 OOKIKU FURIKABUTTE 75 Live-Action 92 Anime Releases ❙ by M Matsuda & CJ Pelletier 77 Book 94 Related Products Releases 60 REC 77 Manga ❙ by Miyako Matsuda 95 Manga Releases 83 Anime xxxHOLiC © • / Ayakashi Workshop. Ookiku Furikabutte © Asa Higushi • Kodansha / “Oofuri” Production Committee. 3 LETTER FROM THE EDITORS ANIME NEWS NETWORK’S

In order to write for Protoculture Addicts, I have seen many anime shows over the プPROTOCULTURE ロトカル チャ ー ADDICTS years, and I can really say that the health of the Japanese anime industry is not that bad. I don’t think we have to worry as long as they can still produce some really great shows. Issue #96 (May / June 2008) A good example is Dennou Coil, which is without hesitation the best anime TV series I E d i t o r i a l S t a f f saw in 2007. This unusual story was directed by the emerging star Mitsuo ANIME VOICES Iso, who really succeeded in gathering together all the elements that make a great series: Publisher Christopher Macdonald [CM] cute characters (a bunch of twelve year-old kids), the right mix of comedy and drama, and ( [email protected] ) intriguing mysteries that make sure you watch the next episode! I’ve enjoyed immensely Editor-in-chief / Production Manager both the fictitious world created by Director Iso, and the storytelling that emphasizes - Claude J. Pelletier [CJP] istic human relationships. Although this juvenile cyberpunk story takes place in the future, ( [email protected] ) in 2026, its world has a very old, nostalgic look similar to in the 60s and 70s—the Managing Editor characters are not wearing silly futuristic costumes and they act like ordinary kids. It was Zac Bertschy [ZB] certainly delightful and refreshing to discover such a true gem and I hope it will soon be picked up for distribution in North America, so the fans here can also enjoy it! Associate Editor Bamboo Dong [BD] Miyako Matsuda Contributing Editor / Translator ( Miyako Matsuda [MM] We always do our best here at Protoculture to introduce our readers to anime titles Assistant Editor that are out of the ordinary. They might not be popular, they might not necessarily be recent Valérie Cools [VC] or they might never be translated in English, but they always have something that makes Advertising them interesting in our eyes and something that we want to share. In this issue, we bring Jerry Chu ( [email protected] ) you seven of those “anime stories”: Angel Heart is an “alternate sequel” to ’s Interns classic ; Cluster Edge is a nicely designed Gundam-esque tale of adolescent Natalie Khor, Steven Thach, Gary Thompson boys discovering the harsh reality of the adult world; Dennou Coil is an intriguing juvenile cyberpunk tale; Idolmaster Xenoglossia is the typical giant series, but with a feminine C o n t r i b u t i n g W r i t e r s twist; Moyashimon is a tale of agriculture that educates us about the life of germs; Ookiku Rachael Carothers [RC], Jason Green [JG], Brian Furikabutte is a baseball anime filled with teenage angst; andREC offers an amusing insight Hanson, Carl Kimlinger [CK], Theron Martin [TM], Carlo Santos [CS], Trisha L. Sebastian into the voice-acting business! Besides Dennou Coil, two of those titles particularlySample stand out for theirfile excellence. L a y o u t Moyashimon is a funny and educative mini-series that tells the college adventures of Ta- Claude J. Pelletier dayasu Sawaki—who has the unique ability to see and communicate with germs—as he Istvan Pusztai (cover, 14-24) meets Professor Itsuki and the people hanging around his lab at the Agricultural University. C o v e r Ookiku Furikabutte is an intriguing sports anime characterized by its unusual designs. It is xxxHOLiC © CLAMP • KODANSHA / Ayakashi set around the Nishiura High School baseball team and, as we follow their climb to success, Workshop. Cover art provided by . the series explores friendship and teenage emotions (the aforementioned angst!). Of course, this issue offers much more—in fact, all you need to have a better under- S p e c i a l T h a n k s standing of anime and manga. We briefly shine the spotlight on two popular series that Bob Brown, Kevin J. Carney, Evelyn Dubocq, Susan Hale, Jessica Hatakeda, Lance Heiskell, Erik are finally getting their DVD releases:Blood+ and xxxHOLiC. We also introduce you to the Jansen, Catherine Kim, Shawne Kleckner, Bill Lai, latest studio 4˚C production, Genius Party, a compilation of short experimental animation Osamu Maseba, Robert Napton, Chris Oarr, Alison Roberts, Tamara Shumate, Eddie Stemkowski, and showcasing the creative power of their studio. Richard Tong. And there’s more! This issue treats you with the manga preview of a classic manga, Osamu Tezuka’s Dororo, which is the heroic tale of a and his young thief companion How To Reach Us on a quest of self-discovery. We also offer an article that discusses some of the problems P.O. Box 143, Station B that have plagued anime conventions lately, giving a few advices on “How NOT to run an Montreal, QC, Canada, H3B 3J5 anime convention.” And finally, as usual, we distill for you the essential news and provide P.O. Box 507 plenty of reviews (of CDs, live-action movies, books, manga and anime DVDs) to guide Champlain, NY 12919-0507, USA you in your purchasing indulgence. www.protoculture-mag.com Please enjoy! Letters & Comments: [email protected] Claude J Pelletier 4 PROTOCULTURE ADDICTS #96 ANIME VOICES ANIME

S U B S C R I P T I O N “PAGE FIVE” EDITORIAL Six (6) issues: $30 US/Can (in Canada add $1.50 GST; in Quebec add $3.86 GST & PST) or $45 US Recently, I’ve been going through all my Blue Planet and Planet Earth discs again. There’s overseas. For First Class / Air Mail subscription something endlessly appealing to me about staring at chubby harp seal pups rolling around on add $10 in the USA and $35 overseas. Send check or money-order to one of the addresses above. an ice floe, and I’m pretty sure I’ve watched some of these episodes at least five or six times. Payment by credit cards & PayPal available from It makes me think that David Attenborough really ought to narrate a documentary series the web site: www.protoculture.ca/PA/PASub.htm. about anime fans. I’ve often thought that my life would be so much more exciting if it were For inquiries email to [email protected]. narrated by Morgan Freeman or Attenborough, and surely, it must be the case for every subject D I S T R I B U T I O N matter. Without a doubt, BBC could definitely find enough fascinating things in the world of In Canada: Cosmix ((514) 744-9494), Disticor anime fandom to generate a 13-episode series, and I dare say that it would make a good holiday ((800) 668-7724), Marché Clandestin (www. DVD purchase. mcanime.com), Middleman Media ((416) 203-2926), Sci-Fi Anime (www.sci-fi-anime.ca), Here’s what I propose: Snap! ((416) 588-4006). In U.S.A.: AAA Anime The first episode would be an overview of anime fandom. It would feature a moving sound- (www.aaaanime.com), Anime Nation (www.ani- track composed by Britain’s finest, and would provide just enough sneak peeks at upcoming menation.com), Diamond (www.diamondcom- ics.com), Disticor ((800) 668-7724), Kinokuniya video footage to keep people coming back for more. It would, of course, differentiate between (NY: (212) 765-7766, SF: (415) 567-7625), several populations of fans and carefully document their feeding habits. During the year, anime Made In Japan (www.madeinjapan.us), Nikaku fans largely like to feast off sushi and other delectable items of Asian origin. However, it’s worth Animart (www.nikaku.com), Right Stuf (www. rightstuf.com), Robert’s Anime Corner Store noting that adolescents generally prefer packaged ramen, due to its high nutritional content, (www.animecornerstore.com). In England: and its wide availability year-round. (At this point, Attenborough would make an exception for Esdevium (011 44 125226116). In Australia: Converge (www.convergestore.com). For more college events in which “free food” is served. During these times, adolescents usually go and information: www.protoculture.ca/PA/PADis.htm stock up on their food reserves, because it’s never certain when the next meal will come.) or email to [email protected]. During the summer seasons, certain subsets of the anime population tend to dress up in L E G A L I N F O R M A T I O N brightly colored costumes. It’s not entirely certain why this occurs, but scientists have pro- posed a few theories. The first is visual mimicry—by mimicking certain other creatures, this Protoculture Addicts is a bimonthly magazine dedicated to Japanese animation and manga and can help them blend into a populated area filled with other fans. Similar to the decorator crab, is published by: Protoculture, Inc. which will adorn its shell with anemones and polyps to lure in prey and prevent detection by Protoculture Addicts is ©1987-2008 by predators, these fans can camouflage themselves in such a way as to draw in photographers Protoculture, Inc. • No part of this magazine and admirers. can be reproduced without permission from the publisher, except for review purposes. theory is primping for mating purposes. Much like the vibrant plumage attributed Protoculture Addicts acknowledges that the to most male bird species, these fans can, as they say, “strut their stuff” for the purpose of copyrights and trademarks of the materials sexual attractionSample or social acceptance. file mentioned or pictured herein remain the property Other scientists believe that this dressing up is a voluntary reaction, driven by a playful of their respective owners and does not seek to infringe on their rights. Whenever possible, desire to “have fun.” Although this theory is supported by many, there are those who question copyrights of the pictured products are listed the motivation behind initial investments of time and resources, noting that nothing quite like at the bottom of each page and they are used this is seen elsewhere in the animal . here solely for information, promotion or review purposes (what is know as “fair use”). • All rights Obviously, much of this would be shot in high definition. BBC would insist upon only to articles & artwork revert to their respective having the best, and there’s no better way than to admire all the handiwork of costumes than writers & artists upon publication • Contributors are responsible for their views which are not in crystal clear, 1080p resolution. This would be especially true for the segment on feasting necessarily those of Protoculture Addicts. patterns—nothing delivers the true marbling of fatty tuna like high contrast videography, and Legal deposit at Bibliothèque et Archives Nation- it would be a shame to use anything less than the best. ales du Québec & National Library of Canada, 2008. Clearly, my project still needs a little fleshing out, but I think it’s something that could Printed in Canada • ISSN 0835-9563 have a lot of potential. If Attenborough couldn’t be booked for the series, Freeman would do, but if that can’t be arranged, I’d be happy with Anderson Cooper. He’s more of an on-camera I L L U S T R A T I O N ’ S C R E D I T S guy, but there isn’t a single anime convention that couldn’t benefit from a little bit of his boyish Animage #326: 203; #328: 165; #332: 179; #334: charm and his wartime experience. 74; #345: 64; #346: 74-75, 166; #347: 46-47; #349: 48, 180; #351: 25; #353: 187; #355: 38; #356: 16; As I type, the leopard seal is lurking amongst a small gaggle of emperor penguins. The #357: 78, 144; #358: 74. Fantasia 2007 Program. shots are graceful and beautiful, and there’s no reason to believe that a shot of an anime club Kinema Junpo #1457: 128; #1478: 23-24, 27-28. Montreal World Film Festival Official Program: screening couldn’t be just as visually stunning. Maybe there wouldn’t be wide-angle shots of cover. Oofuri Genmitsu Book (inserted in Animage glacial plains and dancing penguins, but there might be DDR in the corner, and that’s good #349): cover, 12. All other illustrations come from promotional artwork, cover art, official web pages enough for me. If anyone can make magic, it’s the BBC. or directly from the animation. Bamboo Dong 5 CONTRIBUTORS’ SPOTLIGHT

RACHAEL CAROTHERS

Rachael Carothers is a multi-talented young woman. As an English ANIME VOICES major in high school back when the Power Rangers fad began in the United States, she found herself working on the school newspaper. However, her true talents lie in the theatre arts. In college, she double-majored in Theatre Arts and Communications where she spent most of her time holed up in the school’s black box theater. Around this time, she was introduced to her first anime series, Sailor Moon. Rachael was drawn to the strong female protagonists and it was all downhill from there. At one point, she had watched every anime VHS tape that the local rental stores had. Yet she was still hungry for more. In October 2001, she married her longtime boyfriend, who not only puts up with her Japanese obsessions but somewhat enjoys them himself. After their daughter was born in March 2002, Rachael backed away from fandom for awhile. She returned in full force in 2004 when she started KosaiKon, a one-day Philadelphia-area anime festival. With Rachael running the anime screenings and her husband running the video gaming room, KosaiKon ran successfully until early 2006 when it merged with another Philadelphia-area anime convention, Zentrancon. On May 24, 2007, Rachael and her husband left the convention scene to move onto other projects. Still hungry for more of the Japanese culture, Rachael began to watch Japanese dramas and listen to various j-pop/j-rock bands. This has led to her current obsession with all things Gackt-related. She has also been working on learning the Japanese language and consuming just about any Japanese snack she can find. In the future, she would like to become more active in helping Japanese musicians break into the US music industry. Until then, she has made it her mission to introduce as many people as possible to popular Japanese music.

BAMBOO DONG MIYAKOSample MATSUDA file TRISHA L. SEBASTIAN Wracked by Miyako grew Trisha L. a persistent up in a small Sebastian cough that’s Japanese farm- was raised lingered from ing community in Southern her last cold, in the 60s and Bamboo has 70s. Watching California, slowly become a show like and her accustomed to Moyashimon gateway an- the taste of Dayquil. Its taste has im- reminded her of the “self-sufficient in ime was Voltron—mostly because she proved greatly since her childhood days, food” lifestyle of her childhood, when they really wanted to drive the Blue Lion just but she still recoils at the thought of swal- were producing almost all the food they like Princess Allura did. As she grew lowing those 30ml of gooey, gooey death. needed—rice, soya (for tofu), vegetables, Sadly, it hasn’t done much to alleviate fruits, even dairy products—and seeing older and started to go to anime con- her cough, and she now fears that she’ll money only once a year, when the rice ventions, she gradually increased her be coughing for the rest of her life. Her harvest was sold. She believes that anime anime knowledge until she was able only distraction is a newly found love for fans should learn the importance of agri- to be a writer and editor for Sequential Scharffen Berger chocolates. Her favorite culture, how our food is produced and start Tart and Anime Insider. Now, Trisha blend is the 70% cocoa dark chocolate, appreciating nature. Isn’t it wonderful that plies her trade as a writer-for-hire, as but she has an unsettling fear that all this our ancestors discovered the very complex chocolate consumption may actually be process that creates sake? Personally, she well as a staff member for two different exacerbating her cough. misses the cows’ cute faces! anime conventions on the East Coast.

6 PROTOCULTURE ADDICTS #96 NEWS ANIME & MANGA NEWS

Gonzo Adopts Open-Pricing System for Two New Series

Studio takes their works are protected by a sky god named online in a recent move that will allow Anu, who guards the people from international customers to set their demons that reside inside the myste- own prices for digital copies of both rious Tower of Druaga. Now, several : The Aegis of adventurers (including the hero, Gil) Uruk and . The series are are on a quest to climb to the highest being hosted on video-sharing site floor of Druaga to obtain an artifact . The open pricing sys- known as the Blue Crystal Rod. The tem is just one of several distribution series is directed by , methods that are being considered by whose past credits have included GDH, the parent company of Gonzo. and Full Metal Panic!. Company representatives have stated Original character designs were cre- that the revenue will “offset the costs ated by Ugetsu Hakua (), of distribution and development of with a screenplay from Full Metal future projects.” GDH also hopes Panic! creator Shoji Gatoh. Music that this new method of distribution for the series was composed by will allow the company’s products to Hitoshi Sakimoto, whose works have reach a wider market. been heard in several video games, The two series were also pre- including Tactics, Final miered on YouTube, as well as BOST Fantasy XII, and Vagrant Story. TV; the date coincides with the broad- The second series, Blassreiter, cast of the shows on Japanese TV. is a science fiction tale that centers The video streams were presented around a deadly outbreak that trans- in Japanese with English subtitles. Sample file forms humans into violent creatures. While BOST will stream the first two However, only one man can stop this, episodes of both series for free, it and now he must save the world from charges viewers $1.99 for each new inevitable doom. Helming the series future episode. That fee includes is Ichiro Itano, who has worked both a high-quality online stream, on projects like Angel Cop, , and also a DRM-free downloadable and Megazone 23. Joining him is version, which can be played on per- character designer Naoyuki Onda, sonal computers, as well as portable whose resume includes Ergo Proxy devices like video iPods and PSPs. and Wolf’s Rain. Both new series are Both the BOST TV and Crunchy- slated to run for 13 episodes. roll streams are only available for The open pricing system was consumers outside of Japan. Howev- popularized last year with the release er, GyaO, a Japanese video-streaming of rock band Radiohead’s album, In website, is hosting the series online Rainbows. Although the band has yet for domestic viewers. to reveal how much it earned from The Tower of Druaga: The Aegis that venture, the album was down- of Uruk, is a fantasy/adventure se- loaded around 1.2 million times. ries set in a fictional kingdom called GDH is the first anime company to Uruk. The citizens believe that they adopt an open pricing system.

All News compiled & reported by Anime News Network. For more news check www.animenewsnetwork.com. 7 Two Sixth-Graders Arrested for Death Note Notebook

The Gadsden (Alabama) Times re- suspended after reportedly writing his ’ names in ported in early April that a pair of a “Death Note” notebook, and a student at Hartsville Middle 12-year-old boys were arrested School in South Carolina was removed for similar reasons in after school officials caught March of this year. The website South Carolina Now quoted

NEWS the boys with a notebook Hartsville’s principal, Chris Rogers, as saying “We treat of threats directed at situations like this the same as if a student called in a bomb the school’s faculty threat or brought a weapon to school. While there may not and students. Sgt. be any serious intent to do anyone harm, we cannot and will Lanny Handy of not take that chance with our students. We will take all steps the Etowah County necessary to ensure our students’ well-being.” Sheriff’s Department American educators aren’t the only ones fretting over reported that the students got the idea for the notebook from Death Note: the series was banned by schools in the Chinese the TV series Death Note, an anime currently airing on Cartoon city of Shenyang after students began crafting their own Network’s Adult Swim block. The series, based on the manga “Death Notes,” while the educational bureau of Pingtung by Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata, follows Light Yagami, a County in Taiwan warned teachers to watch for “negative high school student who can kill any person by writing their influences” caused by the series. Perhaps the most unset- name within the pages of his notebook. , the North tling connection made to the Death Note franchise occurred American licensor for both the Death Note manga and anime, in Brussels, Belgium, when two hikers discovered human has rated both versions of the series as suitable for older remains in September of 2007. Accompanying the severed teens, ages 16 and up. body parts were two identical notes reading “Watashi wa Kira Though the students insisted they thought of the dess,” a misspelled translation of “I am Kira,” referring to notebook as a joke and no evidence was found showing the Light Yagami’s nickname in the Death Note manga. Several boys planned to act on their threats, both were suspended months later, the Belgian police had failed to identify any indefinitely pending a hearing in juvenile court. The arrest and suspects, or to conclusively prove that the remains were suspension of the Alabama students was the latest in a series caused by a homicide. The Belgian media, meanwhile, had of controversies surrounding the wildly popular franchise. sensationalized the case, dubbing it “Mangamoord,” Dutch Last November, a senior at Franklin Military Academy was for “the Manga Murder.” Sample file

Japan’s Largest Used Bookstore Chain Pays Out ¥100 Million

reported deal was in response to complaints from those orga- nizations that the increase in used bookstore sales (Bookoff reported sales of ¥46 billion, or about $460 million US, in its most recent fiscal year) was cutting too much into new On March 31st, news leaked that Bookoff, Japan’s largest product sales. Since Bookoff is under no legal obligation to chain of used bookstores, struck a deal to pay ¥100 million pay for their used merchandise—as in the US and Canada, it (or about $1 million US) to a variety of Japanese writers’ is considered legal in Japan to resell secondhand copies of groups, including the Copyright Network of Comic Authors media such as books in the 21st Century and the Japan Writers’ Association. The and DVDs without compensation to the rights—the two sides are reportedly still discussing how to refer to the ¥100 million offer.

8 Death Note ©Tsugumi Ohba • Takeshi Obata / . © DNDP • VAP • Shueisha• .

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