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)

WHAT? Gurren Lagann Of ALL Mecha Anime As A Swimnami Replacement Series?

How's it going lurkers? While watching Bleach, Blue Exorcist, and Black Lagoon on Adult Swim last weekend, I realized all 3 shows are almost over!

Some of us are worried about their replacements. Some of us also like to call Adult Swim's revisionist version of Cartoon Network's Toonami block "Swimnami."

Last night as we watched the block, it was announced that Gurren Lagann will premiere next month.

Gurren Lagann Trailer (2013)

Gurren Lagann already aired SEVERAL times on Syfy (a.k.a. The Syfylis Channel) within the last SEVERAL years.

Of ALL the Mecha Anime franchises from Japan, WHY Gurren Lagann? 

It was entertaining until some of the MAIN characters were killed, THROUGHOUT  THE SERIES.  

If minor characters were killed, it wouldn't have been much of a problem. However, Gurren Lagann was a depressing Mecha Anime. 

The body count of main characters being killed in a Mecha Anime like Gurren Lagann somewhat rivaled those killed in a Slasher Horror film. 

This recycled Mecha Anime did have less of a body count than Slashers but it doesn't change the fact that several main characters were always killed in it for unnecessary reasons.

Speaking of Black Lagoon, what will be Black Lagoon's replacement after it ends? 

Chances are great I won't be watching Swimnami for much longer. Compared to 30 minutes, I have surprisingly been watching at least 90 minutes of the block lately. 

Compared to Bleach, Blue Exorcist, and Black Lagoon, will future franchises be just as good or completely insufferable to watch?  

Since Bleach is ending in the fall and Dragon Ball Kai is premiering near the same time, I predict that Dragon Ball Kai will be Bleach's replacement. 

Some of us cringe at the thought of this happening. Don't get me wrong, Bleach has been run its course. At the same time, we don't want to look at a shitty acquisition as Bleach's replacement. 

Besides, Adult Swim needs more space for shorter franchises rather than constantly airing perennial Shonen Jump Action Anime for teenagers and highly impressionable adults with Peter Pan Syndrome.

Countless times I have said there should be more Seinen, Josei, and Shojo Anime on Adult Swim. 

I can't help emphasizing that Adult Swim as a whole should have more variety, especially on Saturday nights for MATURE adults rather than ALWAYS pandering to an Incel only demographic.

If Jason DeMarco buys another short Seinen Anime, I pray to God that it's BETTER than Deadman Wonderland. 

Deadman Wonderland In A Nutshell By Terribad Anime Review (2012):

Okay, is it just me or does Terribad sound like Klaus from American Dad? I'm just saying.

I couldn't sit through the first 5 minutes of watching Deadman Wonderland without LEAVING my bedroom to come back online. 

The network should try acquiring the rights to Another. Another is a Seinen Horror Murder Mystery Anime based on the novel of the same name. 

Unlike Deadman Wonderland, Another is NOT  centered around a crybaby protagonist with mindless violence.

Because Jason DeMarco and his Toonami  Team on Adult Swim are so determined to air ONLY Action Anime, I would personally love to see more Horror Action, Supernatural, and Martial Arts Anime meant for the ADULT  demographic and NOT  teenagers. 

Even though Beelzebub IS another Shonen Jump Action Anime, it's not the stereotypical Shonen Jump theme and lasts for only 1 year. Regardless, it's still an Anime worth Adult Swim buying and could challenge Toonami viewers.

Beelzebub definitely needs an English Dub. It's a Supernatural Shonen Jump Action Anime, with Martial Arts, Romance, and more risqué Comedy. 

The protagonist Tatsumi Oga is considered to be "the strongest juvenile deliquent," during his high school freshman year at Ishiyama High School. 

Ishiyama is a high school specifically for juvenile delinquents. 

The series begins with Tatsumi explaining to his friend, Takayuki Furuichi about him (Tatsumi) sleeping by a river, while seeing a man float down it. 

Tatsumi pulls the man to shore but the man splits open. The man's open body reveals Beelzebub. 

Beelzebub- the Demon Lord's baby boy. Beelzebub was sent to Earth to find a human to raise him, while destroying humanity. 

Hilda- Beelzebub's maid, who informs Tatsumi Oga that he chose Tatsumi as his father, while living on Earth. 

Beelzebub electrocutes Tatsumi as he cries, whenever Tatsumi moves so many feet away from him. His crying is so dangerous that Tatsumi is forced to carry him everywhere. 

Tatsumi even fights other juvenile delinquents with Beelzebub clinging to his body!

If you enjoy watching Shonen Martial Arts Comedy Anime and don't care if it's in Japanese with English subtitles, I recommend watching this series.

Beelzebub Japanese Trailer/Preview (2012):

Say What? Shonen Jump Block Monopolizes Saturday Midnights On Adult Swim

This blog was originally published on Xanga May 21, 2013.

 

Hey Xangan friends, readers, and subscribers! A few days ago, I published another blog about Cartoon Network and Adult Swim. Without any complaints, that same blog continues to get readers. 

After publishing the blog and replying to others on my page, I researched to see what other viewers' thoughts were about Cartoon Network and Adult Swim. This included reading Adult Swim's forum.

As I read their comments, 1 Adult Swim poster mentioned, that Adult Swim's so-called "Toonami" block recently became a Shonen Jump Block. After thinking about what the poster said, I realized that he/she was onto something. 

By Adult Swim currently showing Bleach, Naruto, One Piece (a.k.a. the so-called "Big 3"), and Soul Eater, the Saturday midnight viewers have OFFICIALLY been alienated more than ever within these last few years. 

I am not saying this to completely insult every Shonen Anime, that is currently airing. I am a Bleach and Naruto fan, but I have never been a One Piece or Soul Eater fan.

Aside from my personal bias, these Shonen Jump Anime are perennials much like American soap operas. Cartoon Network/Adult Swim's main purpose behind airing Anime is to expose their viewers to shows, that lack having exposure. Most casual Anime fans already know about Bleach, Naruto, and One Piece. 

It is not terrible for those Shonen to be mainstream. However, if the networks' goals are to expose viewers to Anime in general, chances are great, that he/she might not watch any or all those shows. "The Big 3" mostly have filler arcs.  

Bleach, Naruto, and One Piece's arcs have tendencies to go on really long tangents with irrelevant characters to their main plots. Adult Swim should've ONLY aired 1 perennial Anime at a time as opposed to simultaneously airing 3. 

Even though I hated Deadman Wonderland last year, at least Adult Swim was somewhat moving in the right direction in regards to airing more adult content. 

By NO means am I a prude, but Deadman Wonderland had GRATUITOUS violence, unrealistic writing, and a crybaby for a protagonist. At the same time, Deadman Wonderland wasn't a perennial with mostly filler arcs for teenage boys. 

Sometimes I get the impression that Adult Swim revels in alienating their current and potential viewers. Some of us viewers of both genders say the network should diversify its Anime genres and sub-genres instead of ALWAYS playing things safe with 1 group of fans. 

Other viewers have told me in the past, that Cartoon Network and Adult Swim are not Anime networks. They are completely justified in that argument. At the same time, Anime helped keep their ratings high whether the anti-Anime fans and the networks want to accept it or not. 

Mind you, this was before, during, and especially after Adult Swim acquired the rights to air canceled WB cartoons, Family Guy, and other Fox cartoons. 

Don't get me wrong. I love watching Family Guy, American Dad, The Boondocks, Robot Chicken, and Metalocalypse, whenever they have new seasons. 

Like I already said, Anime helped boost Cartoon Network and Adult Swim's ratings. Some give Anime fans grief because some are bratty fans with mental/behavioral problems and identity crises. Those few Anime fans ruin it for us sane people, who love watching Anime, but aren't pretentious zealots and sycophants about it.

To viewers with little or no knowledge about Anime, they are Japanese cartoons meant for ALL ages. Yes, I said "cartoons" because they are a Japanese form of animation, dating back to the 1920's and '30s. *Gasps* 

Anime has genres and sub-genres for children (Kodomo), girls (Shojo), women (Josei), boys (Shonen), and men (Seinen). There are also the pornographic kind (Hentai) and a few others. 

To be more specific, Kodomo, Shojo, Josei, Shonen, and Seinen are actually age and gender demographics. Those of us, who actually follow Anime OUTSIDE of Cartoon Network and Adult Swim, know that Anime is NOT always Shonen Action. 

There are Anime and Manga in Action, Comedy, Drama, Horror, Mystery, Slice of Life (which depicts everyday life in Japan much like America's Seinfeld), etc.

Cartoon Network and Adult Swim fail to realize much less care to realize, that only airing Shonen Action Anime helps generate ignorance; Some Anime "fans" only know about Shonen. 

Then again, I mostly blame our American marketers for knowing nothing about Japanese entertainment, culture, religions, and sub-cultures.

Those who really want to watch other genres and sub-genres can order certain channels, buy the DVD/Blurays, and/watch legal and illegal online streams and downloads. Although, that only helps the industry to an extent. 

I think most people have at least basic cable/satellite, as well as local channels but not every channel airs Anime. When the Industry reached its pinnacle, during the early 21st Century, Syfy, Chiller TV, Colours TV, Fuse TV, IFC, Starz, Cartoon Network, and Adult Swim all showed Anime.

Since we're no longer in the early 21st Century and more people can ILLEGALLY download and stream Anime (as I'm blogging), the Anime Industry is suffering. Cartoon Network and Adult Swim are the most convenient and consistent. Both networks can help give newer Anime and genres more exposure. As I said earlier, Bleach, Naruto, and One Piece have the most exposure and enough of it.

If these 2 networks really want to spike their viewer ratings, while begging their Anime fans to watch them, they must:

1) STOP patronizing their viewers with a CGI robot (He self-righteously lectured fans about being a "hater")

2) START diversifying their programming by airing something their viewers and potential viewers want to watch.

Adult Swim's male viewers have especially been throwing in their towels left and right, since the network mostly airs mindless garbage. Anytime most of its male audience hates watching most of the programming, that should be a red flag. 

Anyway, I'll continue to only watch Bleach on Saturday nights. Until Adult Swim's Toonami airs more shows, that we want to watch, my TV will be turned off.