Otaku Swap 2

see more dog and puppy pictures

Hello again, for a slightly earlier Otaku Swap post. Let's get down to business. For no particular reason there's an animal theme this week.

Manga

Tuxedo Gin
volumes 2-8 & 12 available at PaperbackSwap. Read volume 1 at Viz Media
From Viz: High school student Ginji Kusanagi is a tough, motorcycle-riding kid, who's about to make his debut as a professional boxer. He's also just met the girl of his dreams. Unfortunately, Ginji is dead...and has been reincarnated into a penguin! (what Viz left out is that Gin goes to live with the girl of his dreams and is promised to be returned to a human if he does enough good tasks.)

Fruits Basket vol 1 & 3
Fruits Basket - the shoujo answer to Ranma 1/2!
The main character Tohru does not turn into an animal, but all of her male companions seem to. The guys transform into different animals from the Chinese zodiac when Tohru touches them. From Wikipedia: The story follows the lives of Tohru and the Sohma family, as they deal with each other and a society where neither quite fits in, as well as the feared Akito Soma, head of the Sohma family. Soon, after living with the Sohma family she began to like, then love, all of the Sohmas, and sets out to break the zodiac curse.

InuYasha
28 listings available - various volumes
Inu Yasha is over, after a 12 YEAR manga run. Surely you want to see what the deal is with uber author Rumiko Takahashi's long running series. You want the manga because the anime ended without a conclusion. It's a long, complicated story, but it starts with the story of the Jewel of Four Souls. InuYasha wants it to become a full demon. However, it is shattered. Kagome falls though a well into Inu Yasha's time (Sengoku Period Japan). Together they travel to get all the shards back.

Anime
(at swapadvd.com)

Ranma 1/2
7 various volumes available currently
Rnama 1/2 - A Japanese Martial arts comedy / gender bending farce.
A classic. I love this series. It's a long show, with a huge cast. Just check the Wiki for the details.

Kimba
In truth, Disney swiped this story and turned it into the Lion King. See what it was really meant to be.

Wolf's Rain vol 1
Can't say much about the series as I have not personally seen it, but I know it's well loved by many. Check ANN for the details.

Okay, that's all for this week. Are you all enjoying these posts? Even if you are not on those sites, I think that anime and manga recommendations are always useful. Especially the older stuff you may find on sale at cons. Please leave a comment if you like these posts. If you don't like them, please let me know why. Kthx ~

Sphinx Cat Bath

Oh Japan Probe, you are the best for finding this.

Rabbids Go Home Trailer

Do want.



source: Kotaku

"High Level" SF4 play

You know, my bf was watching me play SF4 and he said "When King of Fighters gets released, I am never going to be able to get you to play this game again, am I?"
Me: "Probably not."

Enjoy this "high level" SF4 play. Just watch the word bubbles next to the button inputs, they really explain it all.




Also, Hadouken, Hadouken,Hadouken,
Hadouken,Hadouken,Hadouken,
Hadouken,Hadouken,Hadouken,
Hadouken,Hadouken, *gasp* Hadouken.

Boy Band + Roaches = ???

wow, an epic find by Japan Probe.

Otaku Swap - A Touch of Old School

I am an otaku.
However, being an otaku makes me low on cash all the time. How can I get my fix of anime and manga and not break the bank? My personal solution to this was signing up for PaperbackSwap.com and Swapadvd.com. I've had pretty good luck with both of the sites thus far. Some of my friends have had problems finding stuff they like. I find that if you're persistent and have an open mind (There are very few manga that I won't read) that you'll definitely find something that tickles your fancy. However, if you're still having problems, I am here to make some reccomendations. When I post links to these books/dvds they are available. However, if they're gone, you can always put them on your wish list. Oh by the way, unless noted, these are not books/dvds I have posted myself.


Manga:
All New Tenchi Muyo Vol 1 - Alien Nation
Why?- The Tenchi Muyo series is one of the all time anime classics (yeah I said it) and it would do you good to get some of the manga and get an idea of what the series was about and why it's so popular. It's one of the earlier harem anime before the market was utterly saturated. (with a dash of sci-fi)

Paradise Kiss vol 1
One of the best josei manga I have ever read. It's about fashion and relationships and love, and finding your way in life. I don't even care about fashion but Ai Yazawa's art is amazing. There are only 5 volumes total and it wouldn't kill you to read at least 1.

Real Bout High School vol 1
It's a fighting/battle manga with a little sci fi/fantasy flare to it. Far better than the anime turned out.

Anime
Cowboy Bebop 1st Session (posted by me)
Another classic series. Bebop not only has a wonderful soundtrack but a good mix of action, character development and science fiction. (with a little bit of a classic western feel)

Dragonball Z
I really don't need to explain this.
There is an ABSURD amount of DBZ on SwapaDvd. Right now there are 64 different dvds posted. Surely there's one in there that will fill a hole in your collection.

Love Hina vol 1 - Moving In
Oh Love Hina, a series that everyones loves but it will completely polarize fans of the series as to whether main character Naru Narusegawa is a horrible human being or just THE ultimate tsundere. (my bf is in the first camp, I am in the second). If you want a romantic comedy harem anime with all the classic character types, Love Hina is it.

Street Fighter circa 1981

Block Tests 01 from Dylan Hayes on Vimeo.

source: Kotaku

Arkaham Asylum

Pamela "no pants" Isley in Arkham Asylum. 0_0~!



source: Kotaku

Utada + Seacrest? =Wut.

Heard about this on the radio last night. Utada has some video up on RyanSeacrest.com
Yeah, I know, it boggles my mind too, but it's clever marketing.



Some mini rants:
I am so tired of them calling her The Japanese *add pop star here*. Now it's Madonna, where it was formerly the Japanese Britney Spears. It would not surprise me if that offended Utada greatly. "Yeah, you're like the nutjob, drug addicted, head shaving pop star we all like to mock! Yeah!" Also, could Ryan have greeted her in a more offensive way? Crikey, just punch her in the eye next time and maybe we'll think you're less of a racist d-bag. She's from Japan, not outer space.

Muscle March

You want this.




Thanks to Emiko for the tip!