A Fairy Godmother at Sakura-con - April 23, 2011

(from the アニメが好きです department)

Hi everyone,

Dana, Rose & I went to Sakura-con (http://www.sakuracon.org/) this year. We didn't cosplay, but Rose did:






When we asked her what her costume was, she said "Fairy Godmother". That's not really anime - but it should be. Here Rose "decorates" me - while dancing:



Another Rose dancing video, plus more "decoration" and I get turned into a robot. This one is in HD:



All of these were taken on April 23, 2011.

Cheers,
Paul

Finally!!!! Ruby Gloom On DVD!!!!

(from the I Was Beginning To Wonder If It Would Ever Happen department)

Hi everyone,

As longtime readers of my blog might remember, way back in 2007, I wrote about an imminent release of Ruby Gloom on DVD in February 2008.

Well - I was only off by a year or so.

Two DVDs of Ruby Gloom are currently available from Amazon.ca: Grounded In Gloomsville and Misery Loves Company. These were released in March 2009.

There was a third title announced - Pet Population - but it appears to have been pulled at the last moment. Its original release date was June 2009.

I do have the two released discs, and they are great. 16:9 anamorphic widescreen, and Dolby Digital 5.1 mixes.

Each disc contains four episodes. The first disc - Grounded In Gloomsville - has the first four episodes in order. The second disc has a more random selection of 4 episodes.

If you liked Beetlejuice (animated), Powerpuff Girls, Hi Hi Puffy AmiYumi, Pinky And The Brain, and/or Tim Burton movies, you'll dig these. The animated Beetlejuice is probably the closest match - Nelvana animated both Ruby Gloom and Beetlejuice.

Until this show gets released in the United States - whispers hint hint Nickelodeon - this is the best way to see them.

UPDATE 29-Feb-2012: Netflix has added all three seasons of Ruby Gloom to their streaming service. This is great news! However - you may still want to pick up the DVDs, since the Netflix versions are the 4x3 "square" format, and not the widescreen 16x9 of the DVDs. Also - the DVDs have 5.1 Dolby Digital audio, instead of the Netflix stereo.

UPDATE 04-Aug-2013: It looks like we're finally going to get a US DVD release of Ruby Gloom.  Right now, Amazon.com has 6 titles available for pre-order with a release date of September 10th.  There's not much details about the titles, but I'll link to them here:  Gloommates, Grounded in Gloomsville, Tooth Or Dare, I Heart Rock & Roll, Welcome to Gloomsville, Happiest Girl in the World.  Amazon is also listing Spanish editions of these six titles.

There aren't too many details on Amazon yet - just cover art and titles.  There may be more details at the distributor's website: Phase 4 Films

Cheers,
Paul

"Look on the bright side of the dark side"

Conan & Andy visit an Anime studio!

(from the I wish I could do anime voiceovers department)

This is pretty cool:



Cheers,
Paul

Ruby Gloom on DVD in February!

(From the Ruby Gloom department, naturally)

Hi everyone!

Great news! According to Variety, Ruby Gloom will be released on DVD in Canada starting February 2008!!! I can hardly wait.

Original article here: Nelvana draws up DVD pact

Cheers,
Paul

Anime list from 2003

(from the Invest in CDs? I Thought You Said DVDs! department)

Hi everyone,

When I moved into my new house, I had to pack up a lot of stuff that I had accumulated in 12 years of living in the same apartment. There wasn't time to deal with all of my stuff, so we just left it in the moving boxes in the new basement, thinking we'd deal with it shortly. Two years later, most of my stuff is still in these boxes - including my original webserver for Weasel-bot.com. (Frighteningly, it's a Japanese NEC PC-9821 running Win 95!)

I made the switch to a new webserver to save energy, and I still haven't migrated all of the old data over. (Frighteningly, the new server is a PlayStation 2 running Linux!) Most of the data is pretty useless anyway - the domain has always been more of a hobby than an ongoing concern - but I've restored one webpage that's really cool.

At one point, in 2003, I went thru all of my anime DVDs and came up with a master list. I still haven't turned on that computer - but it turns out that the internet Wayback Machine had archived the list.

I now present it to you, for your shock and amazement: Paul's Anime List

The sad thing? That's from 2003! It has none of the anime I've purchased on DVD since then.

Cheers,
Paul

My Name Is... Possible Copyright Infringement?

(from the Lawsuits-R-Us department)

Hi everyone,

I've been surfing the FCC website lately, and stumbled across this page: Kidszone

In the left side of the webpage, you'll see the FCC's new mascot - Doraemon Broadcast.

Anyone else notice the similarities, or is it just me?

Cheers,
Paul

Ruby Gloom rules!

(from the Gothic Hello Kitty department)

Hi everyone,

While I was in Victoria BC at the first of the month (July), I caught the coolest kids show on yTV (Canadian kids TV channel).

It's kind of a weird cross between Hello Kitty and Chas Addams* - and it's called Ruby Gloom.

The animation is by the northern powerhouse studio Nelvana. No DVDs available yet - and it skews a little to the young side - but the artwork rules!

More info - and sample episodes - here:

http://www.rubygloom.com/

Cheers,
Paul

* You know, the guy who wrote the comic strip the Addams Family TV was based on...

Review: The Melancholy Of Haruhi Suzumiya - Vol. 1 (Deluxe Edition)

Hi everyone,

I've started a new anime series: "The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya". I just got Volume 1 (Deluxe Edition) from Amazon.com and finished watching it. So far, this is shaping up to be one of my favorites this year.

The DVD is 16:9 anamorphic widescreen with English and Japanese audio. English subtitles are available - either for full dialog or for signs only. Bonus features include a series of promotional shorts prepared for the U.S. launch of the series that were available on the U.S. website - these are hilarious!

The show concerns itself with a young student who starts a new school. He meets a beautiful, headstrong girl named Haruhi...

...okay - nodding off yet?

Yeah - I know you've heard this plot outline many times before in Anime - but this is where it gets weird. Haruhi is only interested in UFOs, espers, and time traveling. She doesn't have patience for anything else - barely acknowledging the existence of the new student. Haruhi instead puts all of her energy into forming a club called the SOS Brigade, which she hopes will help her find the unknown. The club soon attracts a number of school stereotypes - bookworm, ditzy girl, hunky guy, etc. - who, along with the new student, become unwilling new members.

Or are they really that unwilling? As the show goes on, the new student finds out that all is not it appears to be. And that, quite possibly, Haruhi herself can unmake reality.

The show was originally aired in a scrambled order. There are only 7 episodes of the main plot derived from the original novel - the rest of the episodes are from subsequent works. By scrambling the order, the mystery of the show is preserved.

Or so it might be, if Bandai had decided to release them in that order. With the exception of the first episode on the disc - which occurs much later in the series - the rest of the episodes are in sequential order. This is actually mildly disappointing - the original scrambled order does sound like a better way to view the show. Luckily, starting with Volume 2, the Deluxe Editions will include a second disc that preserves the scrambled order as originally aired in Japan.

A quick note about the Deluxe Edition for Volume 1. This is one of the most gorgeous boxes I've ever seen. It has magnetic latches, and opens up like a jewelry box, with doors and trays. There are a slew of bonus items, including a soundtrack CD, sticker and a Haruhi hair ribbon. Very cool, and well worth the extra bucks.

So - in conclusion - the Melancholy Of Haruhi Suzumiya Vol. 1 Deluxe Edition is a must buy. It does start out a little bit like other harem-type animes set in a school, but quickly becomes something else. The bonus features are good, and the packaging is superb. I can hardly wait for Volume 2.

Cheers,
Paul