dadwatchesanime

It’s Gorgeous: Watch It!

June 15, 2015June 15, 2015madreceiver5 Comments

5 Centimeters Per Second

I know I come late to the game in this one, and that it has been out for a while, but it showed up on Crunchyroll so I decided to give it a try.

I watched it with my 11 year old. It is fine. There is nothing that I would call objectionable. What I will say about this film is it tends towards a somewhat mature story line that may not hold a younger viewers interest.

The film (with a run time of about 60 minutes) is stunningly beautiful. The story is subdued, dealing with love, loss, and unrequited feelings. I watched the dub (which is rare for me) which was well done. I enjoyed it a lot and honestly found myself just saying: “Wow” a lot in response to the animation.

If you think your kids can sit through the story, have them watch it. Heck, if you want to explain to a friend or your parents how beautiful anime can be, have them watch this!

Until next time, keep watching and doing what you love. So will I.

Son Hacks Dad’s Blog Pt 1: Utaite/Youtaite – Basic Cover Stuff, I Guess

June 8, 2015madreceiver9 Comments

Heyo, I’m the hella homosexual 15-year old son of the owner of this blog! I kinda just got on my dad’s laptop and he doesn’t suspect a thing at the moment since he’s watching some live-action show (ew real people). (Just kidding, it’s the Mindy Project.)

Anyways, I’m gonna let you into a world that my dad doesn’t dabble in: The world of Nico Nico Douga and YouTube.

I should probably explain what an “Utaite” is before anything else.

An Utaite is a singer, one who covers Japanese songs (particularly Vocaloid ones from varying producers) and uploads them to the Japanese equivalent to YouTube, Nico Nico Douga.

If you’ve heard artists like MARiA from Garnidelia, the vocalist who sang “Ambiguous”, the second OP to Kill la Kill and the Mekakucity Actors OP “daze” or CHiCO , who occasionally sings with the producer Honeyworks for anime OPs (“Sekai wa Koi ni Ochiteiru” from the anime Ao Haru Ride or “Ai No Scenario” from Magic Kaito 1412), those vocalists started out as Utaite.

If you’re into Vocaloid (particularly covers), it’s likely that you’ve heard the names Lon, Soraru, Mafumafu, Halyosy, and/or 96Neko, they’re all Utaite.

Now for the Youtaite side.

As the name suggests, a Youtaite is basically the same as an Utaite, but rather than upload on NicoNico, they generally upload on YouTube (although some Youtaite/Utaite do both). Popular youtaite include Amanda Lee, JubyPhonic, Rachie, Chishio, Razzy, Saint, Sojiro, Mica Caldito, and countless others.

BUT, there are things to distinguish.

There are many different jobs that Youtaite and Utaite can have:
1.) Vocalist: This is pretty self-explanatory, the vocalist is the voice you hear in the cover.
2.) Mixer: A mixer is a magician– I mean, a mixer is someone who takes the raw vocals for a cover and edits them so they sound clearer, on-tune, and more connected to the instrumental. Mixing is one of the most important things when it comes to vocal covers.
3,) Instrumentalist: They make off-vocals, arrangements, and/or remixes for songs. The most popular example would be dj-Jo (but I like to call him the dubstep god).
4.) Artist: Many (Yo)utaite like to have original art for their covers.
5.) Animator: Similar to an artist, many people like to have original PVs, especially for choruses (which I’ll explain later).
6.) Translyricist: This is a more exclusive one. People who like to cover songs in English, Chinese, or any language that isn’t the original have to write or use other people’s translyrics (standing for “translated lyrics”). Translyricists have a lot of freedom in making the song theirs. They take the original translation, interpret the meaning of the song, and then convey them in a way that the words can flow naturally in whatever language they’re writing for.

I personally am both a vocalist and English translyricist. I enjoy interpreting songs, especially those from an anime that I’ve watched, as I can also connect the lyrics to the anime (I avoid making direct references to the show, and I’ve analyzed some songs more in-depth than my English papers).

The Youtaite community is extremely adverse, and pretty much everyone is really friendly and open! I’ve made several amazing friends, and collabed with them several times on different projects. There are many talented people that I’ve had the pleasure of talking to (and eventually collaborating with some of them).

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQYQ0FdcwxFfeN7Ne-F44VA/featured

This is my channel. I know I have a lot to learn, but everyone is always working on improving their work, and always helping others do the same! It’s a really caring community, and it’s very fulfilling to hear compliments along with constructive criticism!

Sorry that this is probably super boring without videos and pictures and whatnot, but I’ll still be back one day, just you wait…

Until then,
Glace (the son)

Puella Magi Madoka Magica: Rebellion- AKA “Because no one can be happy!”

June 7, 2015June 7, 2015madreceiver4 Comments

I can’t tell you how badly I fanboy-ed when I found out “Puella Magi Madoka Magica; Rebellion” had been added to Netflix (yes, sad for a 40 something man). I had previously watched about half of it online on my computer, but knew it was something that needed to be experienced on a bigger screen if possible. How true that is.

This series has been a surprising favorite of mine and (as many know) was put out by my favorite studio, Shaft.

I have now watched it twice. Once alone, and once with my boys.

It is beautiful, confusing, and wonderful.

First off. The animation is beautiful. You can tell the studio went to astound audience in a theater with the animation of the film. It is detailed, creative, and downright surreal at times.

The confusing.

The story is confusing. This I’ll admit. I have read some of the criticisms and agree it could have ended half an hour earlier. However, after a second watch I found it more agreeable than the first time around. So to those who watched it once and got mad: Watch it again. You may come away with a different impression.

And there are things like the cake song that make you go: ????

The Wonderful.

It is ultimately a love story. If not a romantic one, a one of a deep love for your friends and those you care about. I won’t give too much away, but this scene was a great one that nearly made my older son cry:

And who can blame him? I came to tears as well. But that was true in many parts. As the title of this post suggests: “Rebellion” is not the feel good film of the year. It is sad, touching, and a bit maddening at times (hence my son’s loud declaration that “No one can be happy! Can there just be an AU where they can just be happy lesbians where no one dies or turns into a fucking demon?!”).

He’s got a point.

A dramatic, teenage, point.

But if it wasn’t good enough…There was another ClariS song: Colorful

and that is a good thing.

http://www.jpopsuki.tv/video/ClariS—Colorful/75f7a0722dcd1fd52daf6281d20ae098

Click the link…JPopsuki doesn’t embed..

Watch it. But if you haven’t seen the show, watch that first (and don’t bother with the first two movies).

Watching Steins Gate with My Son: Episodes 5 & 6

June 7, 2015June 7, 2015madreceiver2 Comments

After a long break my son and I got back to Steins Gate: Episodes 5 and 6.

More exposition occurs. The IBN 5100 is gotten up and running. Daru hacks into SERN and the larger fears are confirmed: SERN is (and has been) doing time travel experiments and people have been dying.

We find that Suzuha is not a fan of Kurisu and warns Okabe not to trust her.

Why so intense Suzuha?

Further experiments are done with the microwave and the emails that go back in time (now dubbed “d-mails”). They do experiments and deduce some of the rules around how and what can be sent through time.

We also get Moeka Kiryu back into the story as she shows up on the lab’s doorstep with a decided interest in seeing the IBN 5100. After everyone inadvertently spills the beans about the time machine microwave in front of her, Okabe feels compelled to make her a lab member as well.

The most socially awkward Moeka.

And that is a minimal synopsis of what happens in these episodes.

From a parenting view there is not a lot that is new. More “hentai”/ “banana” jokes and a few yuri jokes thrown in as well (some of which my son caught, some not).

There are the scenes of the dead SERN experiment volunteers which may be uncomfortable for some, but they weren’t so graphic that I worried and my son didn’t seem to bat an eye at them either.

Gruesome? A little, but not overly so.

What I find the biggest challenge for my son is the content. This is not on an appropriateness level, but a complexity of the subject matter. While he enjoys Okabe’s madness and Daru’s perverted jokes, the content of the story is confusing. He admitted that the characters speak fast and it is hard to keep up, but has a general idea of what is happening. But this is a time travel show with lots of content and explanation of made up theory. It is really well done, but for an 11 year old who may not be giving it his full attention, it can be a hard show to follow.

Does this stop the experiment? No. We’ll keep watching as long as he’s enjoying it.

Until next time…

El Psy Congroo.

Watching Steins Gate With My Son: Episodes 3&4

June 1, 2015madreceiverLeave a comment

This update comes on the late side of things. With moving, life, and Anime Central I hadn’t gotten much time to work on this installment.

My son and I actually watched these episodes the week before ACEN so I am re-watching them to refresh my memory.

Episode 3: The “hentai” name calling episode.

With Okabe already having experienced a time skip in the previous episode where he accosted Makise after seeing her dead on another time line, she comes to the lab to find out what madness Okabe was spouting at her.

She walks in to find the result of the experiment prior to her arrival, the “gel-nana” sitting on the table. Which prompts the following scene:

This opens up a bunch of the “hentai” name calling for a bit. My son found this amusing. Was it a little off to let him hear Daru asking about eating a pervert’s banana? Maybe, but not life damaging.

Makise does get to see the microwave after Okabe, not fully trusting her, makes her a lab member. She leaves in a rush when she realizes that Okabe is suggesting that the microwave is an actual time machine.

There is the hacking of SERN where they discover a disturbing secret.

Episode 4: IBN 5100

Stardust Handshake…

Okabe is able to drag Makise back in to his world (although she is curious but will never admit it) even if it is to prove to him that the Phone Microwave is not a time machine. Makise is fighting her past and determined not to make her father’s mistakes.

Much of this episode is centered around the acquisition of the IBN 5100 for the purpose of being able to hack SERN’s encrypted files. After a visit with Faris, who once again indulges Okabe’s delusions, they get a lead on obtaining an IBN 5100 which happens to stored at the shrine in Akihabara. Makise meets Okabe there and they take the computer back to the lab.

My son, for both of these episodes, was largely distracted with other things. There are a lot of details and exposition going on and I think it was hard for him to hold his attention on this. Was there much “bad” content? Not really, the “gel-nana” bit was probably the most quesioanable part and event that wasn’t that bad.

Episode 3 did also contain one of my favorite parts of the show though…

Until next time: El Psy Congroo!

ACEN: Days 2&3

May 24, 2015May 24, 2015madreceiverLeave a comment

A night of poor sleep and breakfast (tip: bring as much of your own food as possible. You will save money which is a good thing at a con) we headed out to see a panel.

The first panel of the day was of interest to me: “Parents Guide to Anime”. This panel was presented by Mr. David Rothman who is author of a book of the same name as the panel. He was a knowledgeable presenter who guide d the audience through a background in anime, it’s influences that western (American audiences) may find objectionable, and how to screen for things as a parent. He had a scholarly approach, but it was also very evident that he is a fan as well. It was an enjoyable and interesting panel. I had spoken to him the day before and I will be reviewing his book at a later date.

After that it was time to wander and go to the merchandise room.

Of course there were cosplayers of all sorts.

Like from Devil is a Part-Timer.

Dragons from Yona of the Dawn.

Poison Ivy and Harley Quinn.

Eruka and Blair from Soul Eater.

And of course Soul and Maka.

Mayoi Hachikuji from Bakemonogatari.

No convention would be complete with out Deadpools.

My younger son and I decided we were going to go out for lunch at Mitsuwa Market, but on our way back to the hotel to get the car we did see these guys.

Mitsuwa Market is a Japanese supermarket chain that have a few locations throughout the USA. Each features a food court with several restaurants featuring Japanese foods.

We had planned on going there for their ever popular ramen, but decided on something different. We instead opted to go to the place serving rice bowls. My son got Katsudon and I opted for the garlic pork rice bowl. The wait was long…very long…probably 1 1/2 hours to order and get our food. It was good though. Very tasty!

And for desert from Releaf: Chocolate for him and a Matcha Parfait for me.

After the long break we returned to the con to see The Funimation Industry panel followed by the Noragami dub premiere with a voice actor panel after featuring Micah Solusod, Bryn Apprill, and Alexis Tipton. It was a good dub and the voice actors were amusing.

We encountered a few characters before and after our panels of course.

Monthly Girls Nozaki-Kun

Edward Elric from Full Metal Alchemist.

These two from Kancolle (I did not envy them trying to maneuver through the crowds).

La Muerte from Book of Life.

It was a long day and we headed back to the hotel to get some rest before a short day at the con on Sunday and a long drive home.

Sunday we hit the merch room one last time, watched part of a Anime Tearjerker panel and saw the Samurai Dan panel/ performance. If you get a chance: go see Samurai Dan and Jillian, they are a lot of fun.

https://www.facebook.com/SamuraiDanandJillian

We checked out of the hotel and headed home. Tired, but happy with a really enjoyable weekend.

I could put another picture up…

I have a few more…

maybe just one…

So,

Why not Zoidberg?

ACEN 2015: Day 1

May 18, 2015May 18, 2015madreceiver2 Comments

What a long and entertaining weekend it has been.

This was my first trip to Anime Central, the largest and longest running (I believe) anime convention in the Midwest United States. It is held in Chicago at The Hyatt Regency O’hare and Donald Stephens Convention Center. It runs Friday- Sunday and attracts somewhere around 30,000 attendees. Guests this year included Scandal (band from Japan), fashion designers Akira and Mika Takeuchi, various DJs from Japan who performed at the raves, and American voice actors: Cherami Leigh, Micah Solusod, and Bryn Apprill. This is just a sampling: there were many more.

I took my boys and one of their friends down to the convention. This was our first year going. We headed out early and arrived at the convention by 10am. My younger son and I wandered one direction, the other two went off on their own.

We first watched the opening ceremonies where all the guests were introduced.

After that we went to watch the “One Hour Gundam Rant”panel and the left part way through for the “Meet Cherami Leigh” panel. That was a fun time, she was an entertaining, engaging, and friendly guest. She voices”Asuna”in Sword Art Online, “Lucy” in Fairy Tail, “Lizzie” in Black Butler, “Patty” in Soul Eater, and (the pressing reason for my son) “Natsumi” from Sgt Frog.

He even got a picture with her, along with the autograph on his head piece. She loved it!

After that we headed to the merch room and saw the dizzying array of vendors and artists who were there selling everything anime related.

On our way we ran into a few things…

Like a roaming pack of Skelators.

A yuri bear (Yuri Kuma Arashi) and her super hero friend.

Koro- Sensei from Assassination Classroom.

Nudist Beach and Ryuko from Kill La Kill.

And Elizabeth from Gintama.

After that we took a break back at the hotel room for a bit (which the two older ones had decided to do as well).

My younger son then decided he wanted to get in some “Magic The Gathering” card playing time, so we wandered down to the game room.

He played a sound tech who had some down time and got beaten both times, but to be fair the guy had a really good deck.

While he was playing I spotted a cosplayer from Kancolle across the hall.

Turned out to be a cross player, but that is to be expected at cons.

After that everyone was pretty tired. We ordered a deep dish pizza from Giordanos, had dinner and called it a day.

Oh…I cosplayed too. Who?

Steins Gate’s “Mr. Braun” of course…

Well…If he had less muscles and was a ginger…

Day 2 coming soon.

Off Again This Week…

May 13, 2015May 13, 2015madreceiver1 Comment

Due to moving and general life business I have not had time to post.

This weekend I am off to Anime Central!! Myself, the boys, and a friend of theirs are going this weekend. Hopefully pics from that will be up by the end of the weekend.

In the meantime, enjoy the theme song to The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt.

Watching Steins Gate With My Son: Episode 2

May 3, 2015May 3, 2015madreceiverLeave a comment

AKA: The “but he’s a guy.” episode.

We got to episode 2 sooner than I had expected. I am in the middle of moving and so I didn’t think this was going to be an option for a couple of weeks.

However, the move went fast and my couch and t.v. was already set up so my boys both decided that they wanted to spend the night. After watching episode 4 of the new Nisekoi season I popped on the blu ray of Steins Gate. First, I have to say: I watched Steins Gate the first time through Hulu on my Kindle Fire which was fine, but watching it on a big screen with a blu ray= Awesome!

This episode Okabe has found that Makise is not dead and goes to her lecture at the university. Her lecture establishes a couple of things well: She is smart, smarter than Okabe, she is a bit of a smart ass, and that Okabe doesn’t like having his delusions challenged.

Episode 2 also serves as a vehicle to introduce most all of the other characters. Yuugo Tennouji , owner of the CRT repair shop and Okabe’s landlord, was already introduced in episode 1. He, Yuugo,goes on to hire 18 year old, Suzuha Amane as a part time worker in the repair shop. Okabe runs into Moeka Kiryu on the street after she takes a photo of him with her phone. Okabe also goes to visit Mayuri at her part time job at the maid cafe and we are introduced to Faris Nyannyan (Rumiho Akiha) who is part owner and the most popular maid there (who is very good at indulging Okabe’s delusions). And lastly we are introduced to Ruka Urushibara, a friend of Mayuri’s that generates this wonderful scene:

This might be the only thing people would find objectionable in this episode, but even that is pushing it.

Overall the episode went over well and I didn’t cringe at any moments. The draw back to watching with both boys is the inevitable sibling rivalry and personality differences that crop up. My younger son has a habit of interjecting what he thinks is going to happen next. While I tell him to just watch, his brother is not as patient yelling:”Shut up! No one wants to hear your commentary!” ….Brothers.

Until next time: El Psy Congroo!

Nyan, nyan, nyan….

Watching Steins Gate With My Son: Episode 1

May 1, 2015May 1, 2015madreceiver2 Comments

This is my new experiment. I decided I will see how it goes to watch Steins Gate with my 11 year old son.

I tried to remember how much violence, blood, nudity or adult themes it had and came to the conclusion (perhaps wrongly) that he could handle it. Yes, it does have several deaths (or a death several times), a few off color jokes, and some high concepts. Nevertheless, I decided to go forward with the experiment.

He hung out with me before bed and we watched the first episode on my kindle laying in bed. He was pretty excited to do this knowing that Steins Gate is a favorite of mine and that I am planning on cosplaying as Yuugo Tennouji (aka Mr. Braun) later this month for Anime Central (albeit a much more ginger bearded Mr Braun). So this was quality father/ son bonding time.

Overall, episode 1 went well. There is what is probably the bloodiest scene of the series with the dead body of Makise Kurisu.

And then there is the floppy banana scene….

Now this scene isn’t inherently horrible for him to see, it’s just I know what will follow. So I say to him: “be cool about this and don’t go repeating this all over the place”. He didn’t do that, but he did go down the hall after the episode to his older brother saying: “What that guy said in episode 1 was just wrong! Remember? It was so wrong!” *facepalm*

A couple things that struck me in the re-watch. How Okabe’s bravado and conspiracy delusions masks his general social awkwardness was one thing. The other was his caring nature, especially towards Mayuri. He even gave her the metal oopa (he didn’t know how much it was worth however).

So, first episode: Not bad. Blood. Questionable banana phrase. Not too much harm done.

I am in the middle of a move, so I’ll see when I can watch with him again.

Have a good week.

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