Hey folks, welcome to the spring semester of anime club! We’re going to be meeting tonight, January 18, at 8pm in Dale 200 to vote for our new preshow, as well as showing… something. (It’s a little undecided.)

Your nominees for this semesters preshows are:

1.Panty and Stocking with Garterbelt  

2.Deadman Wonderland  

3.Baka and Test

This anime has only about 4 episodes of actual story. The rest is sheer comedy and fun. It has a school setting with classes A-F. A having sofas and comfy chairs, F having cardboard boxes. You should get the idea. Students can summon cute little chibi avatars with strength based on their test scores to combat others and try to steal better supplies. The main character’s avi is special though as it can touch the surroundings. Making it useful for anything a guy can think of. Besides the main guy there are many other characters with amusing personalities. One being an amazing trap. 

4.Squid Girl 

The second season of Squid Girl continues the hilarious story of Squid Girl, a girl with tentacle hair who schemes up plans to invade the world above the waves on a daily basis. All your favorite characters come back this season, such as tomboyish Eiko, murderous and caring Chizuru, Cindy the scientist and her hilarious henchmen, known as “The Three Stooges”, and more. There really isn’t much filler in this show and the show is cleanly animated. The show will make you laugh and long for the lazy days of summer. I can’t sum up the show in one clip, but here, have some Engrish: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PVwUX9Q5M9w&feature=related

5.Tower of Druaga: The Aegis of Uruk

6.A Certain Scientific Railgun (ep. 1-12)http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7JA1O_IOj2M&feature=relatedNote: The story wraps up nicely after episode 12, as if it was a 12 episode series.  13-24 are mostly filler and BS that aren’t worth watching, so it should be in the short catagory.From TVTropes:  Mikoto Misaka is the third most powerful esper in Academy City, a state-of-the-art city dedicated to the study and development of superpowers. Along with her friends, she protects the city from t…he daily threats which disturb the city’s peace. However, behind this idyllic, advanced city lurks a darkness which even the third most powerful esper in the city can’t take on her own.So a lot of it is stuff blowing up, conspiracies, comedy, teleporting psycho lesbian stalkers, some slice-of-life, or all of the above at once. It’s technically a spinoff of To Aru Majutsu no Index, but it doesn’t

get confusing for people who haven’t watched Index and has none of the convoluted writing Index is bogged down with. I regard it as one of my favorite series. Take that however you will.

Long

1.Tiger and Bunny

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZUWXo881SGo

A world where superheroes are real, and sometimes alll too human. The heroes save citizens and capture criminals, but do show for the TV show “Hero TV”, in which their heroic are scored and turned into a competition, complete with corporate sponsors.

Wild Tiger,  hot-headed,  old school veteran hero who cares more about saving people than winning the game or collateral damage just lost his last sponsor becomes part of the first superhero duo with Barnaby, a young hero who breaks all the traditions in favor of winning the game. Together they try to turn their luck around, win the “Hero TV” competition, and find out what it truly means to be a hero.

2.Higurashi

3.Gurren Lagann

4.Steins;Gate http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=crFzOwhiOqQ

Okabe Rintaro is a mad scientist, or so he claims. More by random chance than any form of brilliance, he accidentally hooks up his microwave in such a way that it can send 32 character text messages backwards in time, thus affecting the timeline and (slightly) changing history.  At first, the changes being made are minor, but they gradually become more and more profound. This attracts the attention of CERN, who in the future have created time machines and control the world government through time travel. They steal his device, killing his childhood friend in the process. Through his device, he’ll have to find a way to tell who his real friends are,  keep them safe from CERN (who want to kill or kidnap them), keep his device out of their hands, and hack into CERN to learn the secrets of time travel (only possible with the legendary one-of-a-kind IBM 5100), with every timeline he tries more dangerous than the last as CERN closes in.

This award winning anime is based on the sci-fi thriller visual novel of the same name. The storyline is intricately detailed and immersive, the animation is fluid, and the acting is superb. It is widely considered to be one of, if not the best anime of 2011 by fans of all genres.

5.Mirai Nikki

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1A-23yPSzXI

“This psychological thriller, based on the manga written and illustrated by Sakae Esuno, is about Yuki, a loner who’s not very good with people. He prefers to write a diary on his cell phone and talk to his imaginary friend, Deus Ex Machina – The God of Time and Space. However, Yuki soon learns that Deus is more than a figment of his imagination when he makes Yuki participate in a battle royale with eleven others. The contestants are given special diaries that can predict the future, each diary possessing unique features that give it both advantages and disadvantages. Within the next 90 days, the contestants must try to survive until there is only one left standing. The winner will become the new God of Time and Space.”

6.Xam’d: Lost Memories

7.Blue Exorcist

8.Toradora

Ryuji Takasu is mistaken for a thug all the time, because of his appearance and despite his personality, which is clumsy and sweet. Taiga Aisaka is the Palmtop Tiger–she might look cute and naive, but watch out! The two hate each other on sight, yet are best friends with each other’s crushes. So what happens when they decide to help each other out? Hilarious hi-jinks, usually involving a boken, and complications in the form of a model who acts nice but in reality is highly selfish and manipulative. The anime is an amazing (and funny) portrayal of how love isn’t always what you expect it to be, and how it can change you.

9.Shakugan no Shana

10.Kaiji

As you can see, I’m not filling in whatever you all nominate but don’t describe anymore.

Yay, the website is back up! I’ll keep this short and sweet, we’re voting for Monster Trainer this week, our nominees are:

Monster Rancher
Genki is the very best player of the Monster Rancher game, and manages to win an early release of the next game in the series. However, he finds himself drawn into the world itself, where he and Holly, along with their monster friends, have to avoid the forces of the evil Moo and find the disc that will allow them to summon the Phoenix and save the world from darkness.

Pokemon Season 1 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pUnlh-Air2w
I wanna be the very best/like no one ever was./to catch them is my real test/to train them is my cause./I will travel across the land/searching far and wide./teach pokemon to understand/the power that’s inside./Pokemon! Gotta catch’em all!/its you and me./I know its my destiny!/Pokemon!/Oh your my best friend/in a world we must defend./Pokemon! Gotta catch’em all!/a heart so true/our courage will put us through./You teach me and I’ll teach you/po-ke-mon!/Gotta catch’em all!/Gotta catch’em all!/POKEMON!

Digimon Season 1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aplm8rcUUCw (English dub)
Traveling to the Digital World was an experience that left the children bewildered. Their Digimon partners were suddenly thrusted upon them, as well as the concept of having the Digimon Digivolve, a process by which they transform into stronger creatures to fend off enemy Digimon. Thus, the children had to learn how to be DigiDestined as they went along.
Soon they learned of the Digital World’s plight, that evil Digimon intent on ruling it for themselves. They vowed to save it in spite of missing the life they had left behind. The DigiDestined promised to save DigiWorld because they saw that Digimon, though made of data, were as intelligent as humans. They did not want them to suffer; furthermore, it was demonstrated to them that no one else could defeat the Digital World’s enemies.

Fighting Foodons
It all started some years ago when a culinary-confused king asked a question to his chefs which would be stronger? Tofu surprise or stuffed duck? The king’s chefs thought the king had gone a little too heavy on the nutmeg. One mysterious chef knew what the king was talking about and presented him with magical cards called Meal Tickets which turns the food into monsters called Fighting Foodons. Since then, regular food recipes have been turned into Foodons when the art of culinary combat’s concocted.
One day, King Gorge and his Gluttons cook up a devious plan to rule the world and they sprinkled an extra dash of destruction. They plan to rule the world by kidnapping the best chefs & forcing them to make powerful evil Foodons. A boy named Chase, a young apprentice chef with an appetite for action, thinks he has what it takes to become an Elite Master Chef like his dad Chef Jack. Chase believes that he, his friends, family, and Foodons can change the world, one at a time, even if it involves going into battle against the Glutton Gormandizers, King Gorge’s Big 4, and King Gorge’s female cat-like servant Clawdia. Then he’d have a final showdown with King Gorge.

Medabots
Ikki wants nothing more than to become the champion of the World Robattle Tournament. The problem? He can’t afford a medabot, and his parents refuse to buy him one. However, a little luck lands him a bot he names Medabee. However, Medabee has a serious attitude, an unheard of problem. It turns out there is a lot more going on here, and Ikki has just stepped right into the middle of it.

Zatchbelll
100 Mamado come to Earth every 1000 years to battle it out to decide who will become king, alongside their human partners. The pair are linked together by a book of spells that seals the powers of the Mamado, and once the book is destroyed the Mamado is forced to return to their world. The story follows Kiyo and Zatch, a pair with serious difficulties in getting along, only compounded by the fact that Zatch has no memory at first. However, Zatch eventually decides to become king and put an end to these battles…once and for all.

Mon Colle Knights
Mondo and Rokuna travel to Mon world thanks to Rokuna’s father, where all sorts of magical creatures live. The two seek six particular monster items that, when combined, connect the Six Gate World with Earth for the better of both worlds. Mondo and Rokuna form the Mon Colle Knights, and when they shout a phrase they can merge with monsters as well as aid with spells. In their way? Count Collection and his two lackeys: Gluko and Batch, who are all after world domination.

Please remember to write descriptions for your nominees on the Facebook page! We’re going to be taking nominees for…something. I’ll know in an hour or so.

Also, there will be a marathon on Sunday in Dale 206 of Batman Beyond, starting at 11 AM and going as long as we can stand, with a break at 5 for dinner. Please stop by!

Hey folks! So, Durarara has taken an interesting twist from the search for a head to a mysterious Slasher… Huh, what’s going on here? (No spoilers, folks!) Our main showing was the classic .hack//sign, with all it’s strange psychological undertone. We voted for magical girl anime and came up with the parody, Dai Mahou Touge, and this week we’re voting for horror. The nominees are:

Mushi Shi
The story features ubiquitous creatures called Mushi that often display supernatural powers. Mushi are described as beings in touch with the essence of life, far more basic and pure than normal living things. Due to their ethereal nature most humans are incapable of perceiving Mushi and are oblivious to their existence, but there are a few who possess the ability to see and interact with Mushi. One such person is Ginko, the main character of the series. He employs himself as a Mushi master, traveling from place to place to research Mushi and aid people suffering from problems caused by them. The series is an episodic anthology in which the only common elements among episodes are Ginko and the various types of Mushi.

Higurashi No Naku Koro Ni
Maebara Keiichi, a young teenager, has recently moved from the city to the rural village of Hinamizawa with his family. He is adjusting quite well to his new life, making friends at the small school, playing games, passing time in relative happiness, when suddenly a gruesome murder occurs… A mystery begins to unravel — tracing back to happenings five years ago. As Keiichi learns more about these strange events, he wonders if he will be able to face the truth behind all of this.

Casshern Sins

Casshern Sins tells the story of a world where robots subjugated humanity after becoming self-aware. Their leader, Buraiking Boss, ruled over the world with an iron fist. One day, a mysterious girl named Luna is summoned by the people, in order to bring the salvation of mankind. Fearing her as a potential threat, Buraiking Boss sent three of his most powerful cyborg warriors to dispose of Luna: Casshern, Dio and Leda. Casshern, the strongest warrior, manages to track down and kill Luna. However, this triggers a cataclysmic event which sets into motion the end of the world. Hundreds of years later, the world’s atmosphere is filled with poison, and, due to the inability of most remaining humans to reproduce, as well as the constant threat posed by the robots, humanity is on the brink of extinction. Robots fare little better, fearing death as much as humans do: the poisonous environment quickly causes their mechanical bodies to rust and corrode, forcing them to constantly replace their damaged parts, if spare parts in good condition can even be found. In this wretched time and place, Casshern, who had disappeared following the assassination of Luna, returns with no memory of who he is or what he had done. As he embarks on a journey to find out the truth about himself, Casshern will discover his true purpose and destiny.

Shiki

Shiki follows the mystery surrounding the sudden deaths that begin to occur within the small village of Sotobamura. The village is so small that it is only connected to the outside world by a single highway. When the deaths begin to occur, many assume an epidemic is at hand, but the local doctor is suspicious. The cases aren’t like anything he has ever seen before. It soon becomes apparent to some that the deaths are only a harbinger of something far more frightening. Featuring some of the most unique character designs in many years, Shiki is a supernatural horror tale that delves quickly and successfully into mystery

Hellsing Ultimate
Hellsing is named after and centered around the Holy Order of Protestant Knights, originally led by Abraham Van Helsing. The mission of Hellsing is to protect Queen and Country from the undead and other supernatural forces of evil. This organization is currently led by Sir Integra Fairbrook Wingates Hellsing, who inherited the leadership of Hellsing as a child after the death of her father. She is protected by the faithful Hellsing family butler and former Hellsing “trashman,” Walter C. Dornez, and Alucard, the original and most powerful vampire that swore loyalty to the Hellsing family after being defeated by Van Helsing one hundred years before the story takes place. These formidable guardians are joined early on in the storyline by former police officer Seras Victoria, whom Alucard turned into a vampire. As the scale and frequency of incidents involving the undead escalate in England and all around the world, Sir Integra discovers that the remnants of a Nazi group called Millennium still exist and are intent on reviving the Third Reich by creating a battalion of vampires. Millennium, Hellsing, and the Vatican section XIII Iscariot clash in an apocalyptic three-sided war in London, and Millennium reveals its true objective: to destroy the vampire Alucard, ending a feud begun during World War II.

Tokko
During the Middle Ages, a wealthy family had a puzzle box created in order to gain immortality, not knowing that it would in fact open a portal to the demon world. 108 demons were unleashed, shattering the device into 108 fragments which they then absorbed. Once extracted from demons and reassembled, the 108 fragments can be used to close the demon’s portal, which if allowed to grow will result in the destruction of all humans on Earth. A young man named Ranmaru Shindo lives with his younger sister. They moved from Machida (a city located in the western part of Tokyo’s greater metropolis) 5 years earlier, after the massacre of their parents in their apartment complex, which was attacked and overrun by unknown assailants who ruthlessly and brutally killed almost everyone in several buildings in the complex. He has also been having recurring dreams of a girl for some time, but they are growing more frequent. She seems to be covered in blood holding a giant sword. But in reality, someone used the puzzle box to create a portal to the demon near the Machida apartment complex, whence came the demons who killed most of the residents.

Ghost Hunt

Ghost Hunt follows the ghost hunting adventures of Mai Taniyama, a first year high school student, who becomes involved with the Shibuya Psychic Research Center (SPR) and its young manager, Kazuya Shibuya. The SPR recruit several spiritualist such as a Buddhist monk, Houshou Takigawa; a shrine maiden, Ayako Matsuzaki; a famous psychic, Masako Hara; and Catholic Priest, John Brown to investigate and help exorcise bad spirits. Mai also seems to have some latent psychic abilities of her own. During the day the atmosphere is light and funny, however once the sun goes down and the ghost hunting begins, things begin to get pretty creepy.

No need for nominees next week, we’re doing a preview of the new season after Halloween (sorry it’s late this semester!). However, do come and join us for fun times, pizza, and games afterwards at the Union. We’ll be there at 8pm on Wed., Oct 19 in Dale 200.

…Wow, that’s a lot of symbols in the title bar, huh? No snarky (or perky) commentary this week. We’re watching .hack as our Sports and Games showing, and we’re voting on Magical Girl. The nominees are:

1.Tokyo Mew Mew
At the start of the series, a young girl named Ichigo Momomiya attends an endangered species exhibit with her ‘crush’ and future boyfriend, Masaya Aoyama. After an earthquake, Ichigo and four other girls are bathed in a strange light. A cat appears before Ichigo, then merges with her. The next day she begins acting like a cat and, after meeting Ryou Shirogane and Keiichiro Akasaka, learns that she was infused with the DNA of the Iriomote Cat. Ryou and Keiichiro explain that this allows her to transform into Mew Ichigo, a powerful heroic cat girl. She is ordered to defeat chimera animals—alien parasites—which infect animals and turn them into monsters. Ryou and Keiichiro instruct Ichigo to find the four other girls from the exhibit—the remaining Mew Mews.

2.Dai Mahou Touge
The story revolves around a young girl named Tanaka Punie who is princess of Magical Land. In order for her to become queen, however, she must become a transfer student in a Japanese high school. Due to her potential to become the next ruler, she has many enemies that wish to assassinate her. This proves difficult to them because Punie is both skilled at martial arts and possesses magic powers which she uses to quickly defeat her enemies. The series is a parody of magical princess anime, and often uses the juxtaposition of cute characters with brutal violence for humor.

3.Magic Knight Rayearth
Magic Knight Rayearth was one of CLAMP’s earlier works, first starting as a manga in 1993. It is the story of Hikaru Shidou, Umi Ryuuzaki and Fuu Hououji, three schoolgirls from different schools who were taking a trip to Tokyo Tower when suddenly a woman’s voice calls out to them, begging for the Magic Knights to come to her world and save her. The three 14-year olds are then taken to the magical world Cephiro where their journey begins. It has been noted for its distinct characterization and its somewhat more complex handling of what first comes off as a typical magical girl story. It’s got action, comedy and even mecha later on in the series.
Opening: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CFPxAAdl8zU
The song was officially dubbed in English too, so here is the English version of it as well: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uJUneSCMgP8&feature=related

4.Magical DoReMi
A little girl on her way home from school enters a shop. Suddenly, when the shop owner admits she’s a witch and turns into a green blob, she’s forced to into a world of magic and quickly followed by her friends. The path to being a witch is full of tests and trials, but it sure is fun!

5.Princess Tutu
Ahiru is a young girl who has a strange dream about being a duck. As it turns out, she really is a duck (her name literally means duck in Japanese) that has been turned into a girl by the mysterious storyteller Drosselmeyer. He did this so that she can become the magical girl Princess Tutu, whose purpose is to restore the shattered heart pieces of the mysterious Prince Mythos through ballet and empathy. The prince’s best friend, Fakir, soon becomes involved, and so does the girl Rue, a much better ballerina than Ahiru (in her girl form) could ever hope to be. The soundtrack consists of famous classical music (especially Tchaikovsky; the Swan Lake pieces especially tie into the story very well) and the story becomes darker and deeper as it progresses, delving into themes such as the extent of free will.
Here is the opening:

6.Mermaid Melody
Lucia, Mermaid Princess of the North Pacific Ocean, sets out to land to find the boy she saved from a tsunami wave seven years before the beginning of the story, to whom she had entrusted her pink pearl. She eventually finds the boy: a surfer named Kaito Dōmoto. But as the human form Lucia assumed, named Lucia Nanami, bears very little resemblance to her mermaid form, Kaito cannot recognize her. She cannot tell Kaito who she really is; otherwise, according to mermaid folklore, she would turn into sea-foam. She tries to convince Kaito into figuring out who she really is (since the legend does not say anything about the other person discovering a mermaid’s true identity by himself). At the same time, Lucia has been told that a group of water demons have invaded the marine world and she must gather the six other Mermaid Princesses and their pearls to bring back the legendary goddess, Aqua Regina, to stop them. To fulfill this, she joins forces with Hanon and Rina, Mermaid Princesses who came up to dry land, use their pearls, turn into singing idols, and use their voices as an offensive power.
Opening: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uCm6zgQwAm8

7.Pretty Cure
The first story revolves around two girls, Nagisa Misumi and Honoka Yukishiro, who encounter the Garden of Light’s Mipple and Mepple, who give them the means to the fight the forces of the Dark Zone: a dimension of evil that has encroached on the Garden of Light and is now about to do the same to the Garden of Rainbows, Earth. The initial run of the series has Cure White and Cure Black searching for the Prism Stones, and they place them in a heart-shaped device known as the Prism Hopish. The Hopish is protected by the Guardian, Wisdom. Once they have discovered all the Prism Stones, its power takes them to the Garden of Light and repairs most of the damage done by the Dark Zone. Later in the series, Porun, the Prince of the Garden of Light, grants the Pretty Cure duo use of their Rainbow Bracelets as they defeat the Dark King.

Next week, we’ll be taking our nominees for our Halloween showing, therefore think of your favorite horror anime for us to consider!

Hey folks! So we advanced further in the DRRR! drama (and humor) last week, as well as watching episodes from My Little Pony, which has me wondering how many people now consider themselves bronies. Next week, we’re watching our comedy selection, Nichijou, and voting on our Sports and Games nominees, which are:

Hagime no Ippo
Ippo is an extremely shy high schooler who finds himself the victim of bullying due to the fact he is too busy helping his mother with her business to make friends. One day, a professional boxer passes by and saves him from the bullies. So begins Ippo’s journey to become a professional boxer himself.

Eyeshield 21
The plot revolves around a weak and non-assertive boy, Sena, who enters the high school of his choice, Deimon Private Senior High School, where his childhood friend Mamori attended school the year before. His only remarkable physical abilities are his running speed and intense agility, the result of a school life spent complying with the demands of bullies. His abilities quickly catch the eye of the high school’s American football team captain Hiruma, who forces Sena to join the Deimon Devil Bats as its running back. To protect his identity to prevent other teams in the school from recruit him for his speed, Sena is forced to publicly assume the role of team manager and enter the field wearing a helmet equipped with a green-tinted eyeshield in order to hide his features under the pseudonym of “Eyeshield 21″.

Basquash
The story takes place in the world of “Earth Dash”, an alternate, futuristic version of Earth where human society split between the far more advanced lunar society and that of the planet’s surface. A popular sport is BFB (Big Foot Basketball), where players ride mecha called “Big Foot” and play basketball in a giant arena. In the city of Rolling Town, Dan JD and his companions take the sport to the streets, rename it “Basquash”, and then embark on a journey to overcome their past hardships and make their dreams come true.

Akagi

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LI3rV5bYmRc

Shigeru Akagi is a deceptively mature-looking 13 year old boy who wonders into a mahjong parlor in the middle of the night after nearly dying in a game of chicken. In the parlor is Nangou, a compulsive gamer who has wagered his life with the Yakuza as a last ditch effort to solve his 3 million yen debt. Despite knowing nothing of the rules of the game, Akagi replaces Nangou. Little do the yakuza know that the boy before them is destined to become king of the underworld. Akagi uses techniques others don’t dare to in order to break opponents: extremely risky strategies, far-fetched bluffs, brazen cheating, and total disregard for his own life. To Akagi alone, Mahjong is not a game of chance, but a psychological battle to mentally break his opponents before they ever had a chance to win. If you thought mahjong never killed anyone, think again! The author Nobuyuki Fukumoto is as much a gambler as a mangaka, Akagi receives positive reviews from both Mahjong enthusiasts and those who know nothing of the game going in.

Hikaru No Go

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1_WMa42spAs

This is a show about a young boy with a passion for the ancient game of Go, which is rather like chess or checkers. He one day finds an old Go board in his attic and after touching it is possessed by an ancient spirit. together they begin an epic adventure to become the best Go player in the world!

.hack//sign

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y1IYE8XjzT4&feature=related

Amidst a popular online role playing game in the near future, characters try to play out the goals they set for entertainment and passing of time. The World (as the RPG is called) is one with a setting of monsters, player characters and dungeons. Tsukasa is a detached and introverted character that has a number of mysteries about his player character. What is strange about Tsukasa is that he can’t seem to log out of  The World. As the story progresses many characters are introduced, some who want to help, some who have ulterior motives. All the while Tsukasa is seen struggling with his increasingly dire situation as well as his own social and emotional shortcomings. Despite its visual concept, .hack//Sign is not a sword and sorcery story, but an exposition-driven character study. It proposes “a trip inside the psychology and soul of an emotionally bruised, but slowly healing person”. Themes range from psychological to sociological and are dealt with using classical dialogue as well as image-only introspection.

Prince of Tennis
The series is primarily set in Tokyo, and centers around Ryoma Echizen, a tennis prodigy who attends Seishun Academy, or Seigaku for short, a private school famous for its strong tennis club and talented players. Ryoma quickly defeats numerous upperclassmen shortly after entrance to secure himself a spot as one of the team’s regulars. In pursuit of their ultimate goal of winning the National Middle School Tennis Championship, members of the team make new friends while learning and mastering increasingly complex techniques. Ryoma also begins to develop his own style of tennis, and eventually realizes what the sport really means to him

IGPX
The series is set in 2049 and revolves around the Immortal Grand Prix, or IGPX, which is a mecha racing/battle circuit. The sport is so popular that an entire city has been built for the racing industry, where competitions take place on a huge 60-mile track. In the IGPX, two teams of three mechs, high-tech fighting machines driven by humans, race at speeds greater than 350 mph. The IGPX also contains fighting elements; attacking the opposing team to disable their mechs (thus preventing them from winning the race) is not only legal, but also expected. Team Satomi, a crew of amateur pilots, has just won a minor-league championship, the IG-2, vaulting them into the sport’s highest level, the IG-1. Now, the untested rookies of Team Satomi must overcome impossible odds and beat the world’s most skilled and ruthless pilots.

Next week we’re nominating for Magical Girl anime. Please stop by, enjoy some pizza if you so desire, we’ll be in Dale 200 at 8pm on Wed., Oct 5.

Okay, folks. Last week, we enjoyed more Durarara! as well as the first four episodes of Magical Detective Loki, which I will admit was highly enjoyable, especially if you are familiar at all with Norse mythology. We’ll be showing My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic next week, and voting; our nominees for next week’s genre of comedy are:

Sket Dance
At Kaimei High School, the Living Assistance Club (aka the Sket Brigade) was organized to help students with problems big or small. Most of the time, though, they hang out in their club room, bored, with only a few trivial problems floating in every once in a while. In spite of this, they still throw all their energy into solving these worries.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f6UepN30sgE&feature=related

Welcome to the NHK!
The world is a massive conspiracy by the Japanese public broadcasting station NHK, and Tatsuhiro Satou is the only one who can unravel it! Or so he claims. In reality, Satou is a hikkikomori (a shut-in) and a NEET (not employed, in education, or in training). He leaves his filthy one-room apartment once a week to buy groceries, and other than that never interacts with anyone. Satou is convinced that his only comrades are his refridgerator and television, and that they warn him of the NHK’s evil intent. A chance encounter with a girl named Misaki leads to her offering to help him. But her “therapy” often just makes the situation worse, a fact that she doesn’t realize. A mahou-shojo maniac neighbor who wants to become an eroge programmer and a slightly suicidal former sempai complete this dysfunctional cast, who between them don’t have a shred of common sense. This series manages to make depressing social commentary about a real Japanese problem and be hilarious at the same time.
ED: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EqCSQOIsh7o
Yo dawg I herd you like anime, so I put an anime in your anime so you can watch it while you watch it: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jKgfl87yyHE

Panty and Stoking with Garterbelt
The Anarchy sisters, Panty and Stocking, are angels who were kicked out of Heaven due to their bad behavior. They are sent to Daten City (a pun on the Japanese word datenshi “Fallen Angel”)), a place located on the edge of Heaven and Hell. Strange monsters called “Ghosts” besiege the city, but the Anarchy sisters wield a variety of mysterious powers, most notably their ability to transform their underwear and stockings into weapons. Under the watchful eye of Reverend Garterbelt, and with their pet zipper-dog Chuck, it’s up to Panty and Stocking to destroy these Ghosts, in order to collect enough Heaven Coins to return to Heaven. (From Wikipedia.)

SGT FROG
To put it simply this show is – “Like a VH1 reality show, only funny, and without STD’s” – Play Magazine
From the creators of Gundam!
Keroro is Sergeant Frog – the leader of a platoon of warriors sent to conquer planet Earth. But when the amphibious invaders discovered how much humans enjoy dissecting their comrades, the troops were scattered, the mission was aborted, and Keroro was abandoned. Now, this once proud soldier spends more time wielding a vacuum than he does the weapons of war. It’s a far cry from the glory of battle, but hey, at least he’s got his own room. And though the invasion may have slowed to a hop, Sergeant Frog still occasionally yearns to overcome his karaoke addiction and reassemble his troops.  Watch out world, the frogs are taking over.
Trailer for season 1- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YCU5QdM5ZgM

Nichijou
Nichijou means regular life and that is what this anime would be except add in some randomness, over exaggeration, absurdity, and a highschool setting. Some randomness include a child professor, a robot girl made by the professor, a talking cat who is older than them both, a kid who rides a goat to school, and a girl who pulls guns from seemingly nowhere. If after wacky/crazy funny or after a smile on your face then this is the anime to vote for. Here is a more actiony sample. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ApKE01R9DyY

Shin-Chan
Crayon Shin-chan follows the adventures of five-year-old Shinnosuke “Shin” Nohara and his parents, baby sister, neighbors, and friends and is set in Kasubake, Japan. Most of the jokes rely on knowledge of Japanese culture and are virtually untranslatable, and mostly rely on the main character’s misuse of language and inappropriate questions.

We’re showing Western Animation next week, and nominating for Sports and Games as well as voting. So bring a few bucks for pizza if you so desire and join us at Dale 200 on Wed., Sept 29 at 8pm for some amazing brony fun!

PS: I’ve been asked to put fanfic/art info up here too.

Basically, fan art entries need to be JPG/PNG if they are digital, physical media is open game. Fanfic needs to be 500-4000 words, all digital entries can be e-mailed to jams_fanfic_fanart@ou.edu. However, I also need an entry form! Find me at break and fill one out and turn it in along with your work before Oct 1 at 10 pm.

Summaries for Western Animation Nominees:

My Little Pony Friendship is Magic
Produced by Lauren Faust, who also directed The Powerpuff Girls and Foster’s Home for Imaginary Friends. Twilight Sparkle is a shy pony who spends all her time studying. The magical apprentice of Princess Celestia, ruler of Equestria, she spends day-in and day-out reading books in her home in the library. But in preparing for the thousandth summer sun celebration, the biggest celebration in all of Equestria to celebrate the summer solstice and longest day of the year, she discovers that the evil Nightmare Moon is set to return from her banishment to the moon, kidnap princess Celestia, and bring about eternal night. Now Twilight, together with her new-found friends Applejack, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, and Rainbow Dash, must put a stop to Nightmare Moon, with the only magic powerful enough to stop her: the Elements of Harmony. They will face ferocious monsters, betrayal, their greatest fears, and to top it all off a wicked pony sorceress, to rescue Princess Celestia and end to the eternal night. Along the way, they’ll discover that friendship really is magic.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rW3pMrk9qkM

Oban Star Racers
In the not too distant future, Earth’s space travel has gotten us into trouble…again. This time, a vicious group of aliens threatened war. The only being that saved us was a figure known as the All-Mighty Avatar. Years later, Earth is invited to by the same being to participate in the Grand Race of Oban for the Ultimate Prize, which is believed to be any wish, any desire, the pilot wants–granted, no questions asked. Earth arranges a team to defend the prize from their enemies, but due to various mishaps, it all ends up relying on a fifteen year old girl–Eva. However, Eva has problems of her own in the form of her father, the team manager, who doesn’t even realize she’s the daughter he abandoned ten years ago after the death of his wife. She will do anything to become a family again–including winning the Ultimate Prize to bring back her mother.
Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pg0XyepvBIE

Transformers Animated
TFA starts in space with Optimus Prime and his small team trying to clear out rocks around a space bridge. From that point they find a special item, get chased by Megatron on the Nemesis, and end up on Earth in Detroit. Various shenanigans then occur, including a random 8 year old girl named Sari. It pretty much follows a pattern similar to G1 verse after the beginning up to season 3. Oh yeah, and BOTS ACTUALLY CAN DIE IN THIS UNIVERSE.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T0tzcZ4GTzg&feature=related

Perfect Hair Forever
The series concerns a young boy named Gerald who is on a quest to find the perfect hair to remedy his premature baldness. He is joined on his wanderings by an array of strange companions. Gerald is opposed by the evil Coiffio and his minions for reasons which are never stated in the series.
Perfect Hair intro

Boondocks
Based off of a sunday paper comic hand drawn by Aaron McGruder. The Boondocks takes place in the same place and time frame as its comic counterpart. The Freeman family, having recently moved from the South Side of Chicago, Illinois to the peaceful suburb of Woodcrest, find different ways to cope with this acute change in setting as well as the drastically different suburban cultures and lifestyles to which they are exposed. The perspective offered by this mixture of cultures, lifestyles, and races provides for much of the comedy in this series.

Archer
Set at the International Secret Intelligence Service (ISIS) in New York City, suave but incredibly self-centered master spy Sterling Archer deals with global espionage; a domineering, hypersexual, late middle-aged mother/boss, Malory Archer; his ex-girlfriend (and fellow ISIS agent), Lana Kane; her ISIS accountant boyfriend (later ex) Cyril Figgis; and a less-than-masculine code name, “Duchess”.

Next week, we’re nominating for comedy.