Guillotine

Continuing to highlight some older series anime watchers may have missed I give you Tsukuyomi: Moonphase. If one were to try and fit this into a single genre it would be difficult to say the least. You have comedy, horror, action, magic, and drama all in one package. It is technically a vampire anime, but most of the vampires are not very traditional, but at least they don’t sparkle in the sun… Wait… Maybe one does. These vampires transform, perform magic, and… Wear masks??? Like I said… Not very traditional, but still quite interesting.

The show is centered around the main characters Hazuki and Kouhei. Hazuki is a young vampire girl who is being held captive by the rest of the vampires in order to protect the secret she possesses. Kouhei is a photographer from a family of psychics and magicians although he has no apparent special abilities himself. When the two meet at a haunted castle in Germany the fun begins.

The show was produced by Shaft, so you can expect their usual touches. These are typically things like stage props poking into the scene, cut away views of buildings, cardboard cutout looking background elements and characters, spontaneous chibi transformations, and plenty of wash pans falling from the sky. Honestly these are the things I like about Shaft, and why I seem to be drawn to shows like Negima!? and Pani Poni Dash. The most awkward feature of the show is the opening sequence. It has what I think is one of the oddest opening theme songs ever. “Neko Mimi Mode” created by Dimitri From Paris, and sung by Chiwa Saito (the voice actress for Hazuki). That and the opening animation itself is just seemingly a compilation of randomness. When asked about the opening the director Akiyuki Shinbo said that he was given several openings to choose from, and he chose the most outrageous one on purpose. Gotta love rebels.

The show itself is a roller coaster ride to be sure. It can go from deadly serious to absolute hilarity in the blink of an eye, so it can work on the nerves occasionally when a really creepy suspenseful scene ensues only to end in a rain of wash pans or some visual gag. But if you simply take the show for what it is and just don’t overly think about the contrasting elements it is a lot of fun. The show is very much inspired by the TV show The Drifters (similar to The Monkees in the U.S. or Monty Python in the U.K.).

Tsukuyomi: Moonphase is available from Funimation in a DVD box set, and can be viewed for free streaming on Funimation’s video Portal as well as on Anime News Network and Hulu. All three sites have subbed and dubbed versions of all episodes, so everyone should be happy. One thing that I will mention is that this is one of the few shows (and I know I’m asking for it with this statement) where the English dub is actually better than the original Japanese. Funimation really went all out on this one, and I think Monica Rial really did an amazing  job voicing Hazuki.

So you have no reason now not to check this out. Besides… I get tired of people saying “WTF are you talking about” when I make Moon Phase references.

By the way… The original manga by Keitaro Arima is quite enjoyable as well.

For anyone wondering when they will be able to get a hold of the opening and ending singles from the Kimi ni Todoke anime you won’t have to wait long.

The ending single Kataomoi by Chara will be released on November 18,2009 and the opening single Kimi ni Todoke by Tanizawa Tomofumi will release on November 25, 2009.

The CDs themselves will be available from online stores like Play-Asia. They should also be available on Japan iTunes.

Since it’s a slow week for anime news I decided to follow what most other sites are doing, and posting something completely unrelated. I really should post a gallery of hot Japanese idols in skimpy outfits (at least I put up a Haruka pic), but I am looking forward to this film so much I figured I’d post the trailer.

The Men Who Stare At Goats:

Since I posted the  Mio figure by Alter last week, and because I mentioned the upcoming Yui in that post here she is. I may actually like this one more than the Mio figure. This should be out at the end of February 2010. MSRP is $90 USD.

The more I see these the more I want them. God why did I have to be born poor.

So the Halloween season just isn’t feeling creepy enough yet… How about getting in the mood with some scary anime? I was just thinking that very thought, and decided to find a couple of shows to get me in the mood, and thought maybe others might like some recommendations.

First off… What I’m intending to watch… Soul Eater and Rin: Mnemosyne no Musume tachi Can’t tell you much about them as I haven’t seen them myself yet, but the trailers I’ve seen at Funimation have my mouth watering, and I got a sudden craving for blood. If you haven’t seen them yet be sure to check out the trailers at Funimation’s video portal, and there are 21 subbed episodes of Soul Eater to watch for free. Soul Eater is an action-comedy more than a horror, but it looks to have plenty of creepiness. Rin… Well… Just watch the trailer… From what I understand most video sites won’t even let Funi put the trailer up because of the violent content… Adam Sheehan from Funimation described it as “Saw meets anime.”

So… What shows can I recommend to others… Let’s see.

Higurashi When They Cry is an obvious one. I just recently watched it (and reviewed it here). It will definitely make the hairs on your neck stand up.

Ghost Hunt is another one that I highly recommend… I’m pretty sure I was watching this during last Halloween.

Jigoku Shoujo (Hell Girl) is a must. The first season is available at most retailers, The second and third seasons Futakomori and Mitsugane have not been released in the US, but we’ll just pretend we don’t know about things like downloads and torrents.

Mushi-Shi is another great show… Not exactly scary, but there is some creepiness to be seen.

Shikabane Hime is more of an action, but I think zombie killing school girls who are themselves zombies can qualify it for a Halloween themed show. It’s opening sequence also still happens to be one of my favorites.

Tsukyomi MoonPhase and Princess Resurrection are a couple of good monster type shows if you’d like something less serious. And by all means if you absolutely want a horror based comedy then you must get a hold of the ADV dubbed Ghost Stories.

Another show that is not scary, but kinda fits in with the whole Halloween atmosphere is Clamp’s xXxHolic. You can watch the entire first season over at Funimation for free.

I know… There are more shows I could have listed, but I am sticking to recommending the ones I have actually seen.  So that will do it for this list.