Cartoon Sunday: Shiki

How's it going my gumdrops? I am cringing at the thought of this, right now.

After reading that Adult Swim is giving Dragon Ball Kai its OWN hour on Saturday nights, I am somewhat annoyed. I believe Jason DeMarco spends too much time pandering to certain fans.

The Dragon Ball franchise had its time more than 1-2 decades ago. Its fans can also be the most obnoxious. It is to the extent that certain DBZ fans are ashamed to admit, that they ARE fans.

The Adult Swim Team needs to think outside the box and STOP playing things safe. 

If you are a true Anime fan, then you already know there is more to Anime than Shonen Jump Action Anime like Dragon Ball.

Then again, Adult Swim made their disdain for Anime fans in general crystal clear by mocking fans (mostly Anime Otakus and Weeaboos). 

If the network seriously wants its viewers to watch more, the people in charge will air more animaton, that's worth watching. Most people I know became more interested in Adult Swim BECAUSE of the Anime.

Now, hardly anyone watches the network, UNLESS it is on the weekends. Late Saturday nights and early Sunday mornings are the only times more viewers watch Adult Swim. I'm currently watching the network for Naruto Shippuden and the American cartoon, Sit Down, Shut Up. Otherwise, I don't watch the network anymore.

Meanwhile, I have another Horror Anime for today's Cartoon Sunday. Last March, I published a Horror Anime Review, which featured Shiki. 

In case you forgot or never had the chance to read it, I will give you a summary recap.

Shiki is a Shonen Supernatural/Horror Mystery Anime. The series is set during the summer of the 1990's, in Sotobamura, Japan.

Shiki is literally translated in English as "corpse demon" or "death spirit."

Sotobamura is an isolated Japanese village with old customs such as the burial of the dead, for example.

Suddenly, 3 corpses are mysteriously found. Throughout the summer, villagers start dropping like flies. Dr. Ozaki Toshio and everybody else assume that Sotobamura is suffering from a growing epidemic. 

All the while, The Kirishikis conveniently move into the long abandoned Kanemasa Mansion on the outskirts.

As more villagers die throughout the summer, Dr. Toshio begins his investigation. The doctor eventually discovers the supernatural presence of vampires. The vampires are referred to as "shiki" and they return from the dead, infecting the entire town. 

Need I say more? Anyway, here is Shiki for today's Cartoon Sunday.

Shiki "The Shed Blood/First Blood" [English Subtitles] (2010)

Cartoon Sunday: Another (Horror Mystery Anime)

How's it going my gumdrops? Last week, I checked Adult Swim's schedule. The network is re-airing Deadman Wonderland of all the Horror Anime in existence. At the moment, I'm not watching anything on Adult Swim's Saturday night programming.

As usual, most of their shows are tired, if not shitty acquisitions, that I don't want to watch.

Speaking of Horror, I have more Horror today. Last year, I gave my Horror Anime Review and Another was on the list.

Another Anime In A Nutshell:

In case you missed my review, here is a summary of Another. Once again, Another is a Seinen Horror-Mystery Anime based on the Japanese novel, Another.

It begins with an explanation about Koichi Sasakibara. He is a 15-year-old junior high student. His mother died shortly after he was born and his father is a business man.

Koichi's father traveled abroad to India for a year. This leads to Koichi being sent to live with his aunt and grandparents in Yomiyama, Japan.

Yomiyama is a small Japanese town where his dead mother grew up. In the process of him moving to Yomiyama, he acquires pneumothorax (basically a collapsed lung).

Koichi's pneumothorax delays him from transferring to his new school and causes him to be hospitalized. Suddenly, he meets this strange girl with an eye patch named, Mei Misaki.

After meeting Mei, Koichi's curious yet strange "classroom representatives" from his new school visit him in the hospital. This is shortly before his 1st day of school.

Koichi's classmates want to learn more about his background. Once Koichi is finally released from the hospital, he starts getting suspicious vibes from his classmates.

Mei is sometimes visible in his classroom. Everyone except Koichi pretends, that she does NOT exist. Their classroom at Yomiyama North Middle School has been cursed, since 1972.

They must follow certain rules around the campus, in order to avoid dying brutal deaths. Those same rules backfire on everybody both inside and outside Koichi's classroom.

Another has some brutal death tolls. Some Anime critics claim, that Another is similar to the movie, Final Destination. I've never watched Final Destination. Therefore, I can't support their claims.

If you like creepy dolls, curses, ghosts, death tolls, and Horror-Mystery, you should give Another a watch. It not only has a novel and an Anime, but also a live-action J-Horror Movie and Manga. Anyway, here is Another for Cartoon Sunday.

Another Season 1: Episode 1 "Rough Sketch" [English Sub] (2012)

Cartoon Sunday: Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol By Richard Williams

How's it going lurkers? This Cartoon Sunday, I have a rare Christmas Classic for you. Today, I have Richard Williams' animated adaptation of Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol.

It wasn't until last week that I watched this version of A Christmas Carol. It aired on ABC in 1971 and won the 1972 Oscar for Best Animated Short Film.

I wonder if my mother ever had the chance to watch it. Chances are great that she and the rest of my immediate family did not. 

They were probably living on a military base in The Philippines by 1971, since my late grandfather was in the Air Force and they had busy childhood lives.  

Aside from those details, the art illustrations for Richard Williams' animated adaptation of Dickens' A Christmas Carol look fantastic!

As I watched this animated adaptation, I could NOT  help noticing just how authentic the illustrations appear. This particular animated adaptation also has multiple pans, zooms, and random scene transitions. The illustrations even look hand drawn. 

This is something that can't be said for most of today's animation, which mostly consists of gratuitous CGI. Therefore, I have a much better appreciation and respect for Williams' animated adaptation. 

This is along with the fact, that I have NEVER seen this version of Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol, until recently. Richard Williams' adaptation was NOT  meant for the younger demographic. 

Supposedly, the emphasis of darkness and shadows appeared as having Horror qualities.

Williams' animated adaptation was considered to be "the most frightening of the many dramatizations of the Dickens classic."

This could explain WHY  I never saw Richard Williams' animated adaptation, when I was growing up during the 1980's and '90s. As much as I enjoy watching Peanuts' Christmas Specials on TV, it wouldn't hurt local and/or cable networks to show this 1971 classic of A Christmas Carol.

I have watched at least several live action movie adaptations of it. Stumbling upon this animated adaptation is most definitely a rare gem. With that being said, here's Richard Williams' adaptation of Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol for Cartoon Sunday.

Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol By Richard Williams (1971)

Cartoon Sunday: Hell Girl (Anime) Pilot

How's it going my gumdrops? Since Halloween will soon be approaching, today, I have the pilot episode of the Hell Girl Anime. 

 

Do you remember, when I reviewed this Shojo Horror Mystery Anime earlier this March?

 

If not, you still have plenty of time to watch and learn about this creepy series. It mostly focuses on REVENGE, but comes with a DOUBLE edged sword, so to say.

 

In case you missed my Horror Anime Review, you can learn more about Hell Girl by reading about the Shojo in the link below. 

 

Cartoon Sunday: Anna H's Horror Anime Reviews (2014)

Anyway, here's the link to Hell Girl for Cartoon Sunday.

Hell Girl (Anime) Pilot [English Dub] (2005)

Let me know what you think!

Cartoon Sunday: Miss Muffy And The Muff Mob

How's it going my gumdrops? This Cartoon Sunday, I thought I would share something a little different in regards to animation. In other words, sharing a classic Hip-Hop webtoon from Bullseye Art, Ltd.

Most of you will probably dislike these webisodes, but I'm still sharing them anyway. 

On Thursday, my youngest aunt and I laughed as we reminisced about an old webtoon called, Miss Muffy And The Muff Mob.

We only knew about the short because an old college friend of hers e-mailed it to her back in 2000 from Netscape. 

Now that I think about it, I was still a high school student in 2000. We were introduced to the webtoon's 3rd webisode and were shocked by its adult content.  

Miss Muffy And The Muff Mob reminded me of a Hip-Hop animated version of the Cherry Merry Muffin dolls circa late '80s to early '90s.

Cherry Merry Muffin Dolls Commercial (1988)

Talk about late '80s and early '90s nostalgia. The Cherry Merry Muffin dolls were actually similar to the original Strawberry Shortcake dolls. 

Compared to the Strawberry Shortcake franchise, the Cherry Merry Muffin franchise lacked ethnic diversity.

Growing up, I never had the actual Cherry Merry Muffin doll. However, Chocolottie and Betty Berry (which were featured in the original commercial above) were both my Christmas presents, 1 year.

I remember Betty Berry having a noxious odor. She nauseated me with her putrid stench. I never thought the smell of blueberries could make me feel so queasy.

Meanwhile, adult animation increased throughout the late '90s and early 21st Century. 

Before the launching of Cartoon Network's Adult Swim in 2001, some adult animation premiered on local and cable channels as well as streamed online.

During the late '90s and early 21st Century, adult animation was too controversial to be shown on TV and was normally canceled. 

When adult animation wasn't soon to be canceled on local networks during that time, those cartoons were soon aired on cable/satellite channels if not bought on DVD and/or streamed online.

Nowadays, we can't help watching controversial adult animation on local, basic cable, and satellite channels, as well as streamed online. 

Like I already said, we were introduced to the 3rd webisode of Miss Muffy And The Muff Mob, 14 years ago. I never watched the entire series, until 3 days ago. It's amazing that it only had 5 webisodes and 2 music videos.

This classic Hip-Hop webtoon featured Miss Muffy and her "Muff Mob." Her "Muff Mob" consisted of Betty Bundt Cake, Patty Pound Cake, Cinama Buns, and Keisha Corn Bread.

Who had the most ghetto name? Cinama Buns or Keisha Corn Bread?  You decide.

Since there were only 5 webisodes, here is the webtoon Miss Muffy And The Muff Mob.

Miss Muffy And The Muff Mob: Webisode 1 (2000)

Miss Muffy And The Muff Mob: Webisode 2 (2000)

Miss Muffy And The Muff Mob: Webisode 3 (2000)

Miss Muffy And The Muff Mob: Webisode 4 (2000)

Miss Muffy And The Muff Mob: Webisode 5 (2000)