V Is For...Voltron! Defender Of The Universe!

If Power Rangers was an anime then this would be it. I knew little of this old one from the 80's until my friend in work told me about it and lent me the first season to try. It's good but not my favourite anime.

The similarities to Power Rangers are undeniable though. The Voltron Force consists of five pilots sent to protect planet Arus from alien forces. They each command a robot lion which then combine together to create a giant robot known as Voltron. Didn't guess that did you? The Japanese love their robots after all. Each pilot also wears a different colour uniform just like the Power Rangers costumes.

Marine Boy Live Action Fan Film Facebook Page!

Greetings all! You remember my interview with Rick Idak a few months ago concerning his career and upcoming Marine Boy fan film? Well the Facebook page is up so please head over and drop it a 'like'.

I'm also happy to announce that I'm now part of Rick's team and I'm involved in aspects of the story and some design. As I'm based in the UK and Rick in Australia I'm his UK President which sounds pretty cool.

The Consistency Of Inconsistencies

Ever since contacting Rick Idak about his upcoming Marine Boy fan film we have kept in touch over email and recently were discussing the inconsistencies in cartoons and TV shows.

For instance, have you ever been watching an episode of your favourite show and suddenly notice something isn't quite right? Is the characters costume a different colour from before? Are they stuck in a situation they easily solved a few episodes back? Shouldn't Spider-man's spider sense have warned him about that danger? How can Superman touch that Kryptonite and not be affected!  

Marine Boy: Splasher Sings!

Here's a clip of Splasher singing after being able to talk due to an invention created by Professor Fumble in the episode 'The Genius Dolphin'. He's manipulated into performing for an audience. Be warned, the voice can be a bit irritating. This video is taken direct off my channel

Cardiff Comic Con November 8th 2014

This was my 3rd comic con of the year (Cardiff, New York, Cardiff) and it was a wet one. The weather was on another level but it didn't seem to dampen peoples spirits. Cosplayers were still aplenty and the Motorpoint Arena was as busy as ever!

This time the comic writers and artists were on the 2nd floor and I actually visited the gaming zone for the first time. It could have done with being a little bigger though, there were loads of people packed into that small room. I didn't get a chance to do any gaming but I have plenty of that at home to keep me happy.

An Interview with Rick Idak

Meet Rick, the one all the way up there

For those of you who are not Familiar with Rick Idak he owns his own business called Rick's Grips And Camera Hire which specialises in supplying filmmaking equipment to people shooting their films. These include cameras, recording media, lights, sounds and a lot more. 

He has worked with a lot of indie filmmakers and actors who later became famous such as Liam McIntyre who went on to play the title role in Spartacus: Blood & Sand after the previous actor, Andy Whitfield, passed away.

Rick isn't always just supplying equipment though, he's also behind the camera at times and has shot some of his own short films including Niflheim: Blood and Bullets, Sarah's Jihad and Spawn of Evil: Sons of God.

P Is For...Prince Planet!

No one can compare,

To the prince who wears,

A medallion on his chest!

Here's another 60's japanimation and unlike Marine Boy this one was aired all in classic black & white. After discovering MB several years ago and going through my 60's phase I discovered this series online and set about trying to obtain a copy. I was successful although 4 episodes of the collection are missing and I don't think there's many full sets out there.

N Is For...Noein

How do you pronounce this title? No-een? No-ine? Well apparently it's no-ay-een...

....moving on! I discovered this anime after finding a leaflet in my Naurto DVD advertising it. I was still new to the world of anime so figured if it's promoted with Naruto then it's worth a shot! After all I only chose Naruto because it contained ninjas...yeah...

M Is For...Matropolis! The First Anniversary!

This is crazy. Matropolis is now 1 years old! Wow! I can't believe it's been a year since I began this blog. Happy birthday Matropolis! Have a good one :)

It was when I was in Magic Kingdom, Orlando, last year that I decided to create my own blog. I was watching the 'Celebrate A Dream Come True' parade and as all of my Disney childhood memories passed by in floods I started thinking of those good old days. My first friends, cartoons, video games. I thought to myself that I could write a book on it. Then a few seconds later I had decided...I'm going to create my own blog!

K Is For...Kiki's Delivery Service!

Have you ever had your mail delivered by a witch? No, me neither. However, this is the plot for this animated film from Studio Ghibli back in 1989.

Kiki is a thirteen year old girl who leaves her home to train as a witch along with her faithful black cat Jiji. Instead of taking a train, bus or plane she uses her broomstick to fly across the world. How easier would that be? Personally I can't see myself doing it mind.

F Is For...Fullmetal Alchemist!

Humankind cannot gain anything without first giving something in return,

To obtain,

Something of equal value must be lost.

That is alchemy's first law of equivalent exchange.

 In those days, we really believed that to be the world's one, and only truth.

Fullmetal Alchemist is one of, if the not 'the best' anime out there! The story focuses on two brothers who suffer a tragedy when attempting to bring their dead mother back to life using alchemy and a technique called human transmutation. However it goes horribly wrong and Alphonse Elric loses his body. Edward Elric,the older brother, loses his left leg and then sacrifices his right arm to attach Alphonse's soul to a suit of armour so he can stay alive.

B Is For...Black Butler!

I discovered this anime on Netflix quite a while back and decided to give it a go. After viewing it for several minutes I almost turned it off as I couldn't stand listening to those posh, over-the-top, English accents! This had nothing to do with me being Welsh either! 

However I carried on and soon adjusted to the voices (that makes me sound crazy) just like I did with Naruto's when I first watched it.

Anime: Less Talk And More Action!

'Urgh...this fight takes how long!?'

'And now behold! I will finish you off with my secret technique! I call it the ultimate jutsu, known only by the members of my clan, passed down from generation to generation. This move will paralyse you from the neck down and your chakra will be cut off completely. How do I do this? Well...'

Jump several episodes ahead and maybe he would have finished talking. Seriously some anime fight scenes featured in Naruto can be a drag. Yes the Shikamaru pun was intended.

I Can't Watch Anime For Endless Hours Because...

...I simply wouldn't be able to sleep! It's true. The same goes if I read a book all day, watch the same TV show or play a game non stop. 

Why?

Because all the information becomes lodged in my brain and I can't stop thinking about it! Seriously. Sometimes I even start hallucinating about what I've watched, read or played. 

Gantz

I actually watched the live action films of Gantz before the anime and whereas I enjoyed it there were some differences between the two. Most notably the main character- Kei Kurono. In the film he appeared a bit innocent. In the anime at times he was an obnoxious brat with a foul mouth. However you do see his character develop as the series progresses.

Marine Boy Intro

It occurred to me that when I published my Marine Boy post last year I didn't include the opening of the japanimation show.

In fact there were two openings. Both featured exactly the same scenes however a theme song was later added. Here are both intros.

Paranoia Agent

Allow me to begin by saying what a weird opening this anime has and it's kind of creepy too. Basically it features all the characters standing on the spot laughing. It's not my favourite opening to say the least.

Speaking of weird, Paranoia Agent is definitely that. I'd seen the box set on shelves and always wondered what it was about and then a friend of mine told me he had it so I borrowed it off him.

Grave Of The Fireflies

Warning: contains spoilers!

How sad was this film? This was one that definitely tugs at the heartstrings and if it doesn't make you shed a tear or at least move you in anyway then you're really missing the point.

My Top 5 Anime

Here we go! My top 5 anime series. Although this is subject to change due to all the awesome anime I've yet to see.

5. 

Bleach. My best friend first got me into this after she recorded an episode off TV about a group of soul reapers who fight against these monsters called hollows. I quite enjoy this show and some of the story arcs are great like the 'saving Rukia' arc but since then it seems to have become weaker. I am only in 100 episodes or so though.

Tiger and Bunny Vol 1

I have recently started watching this anime about these two animals that live in peace together. Nah I'm just kidding. Tiger and Bunny are the names of our two main protagonists who happen to be superheroes. In fact the majority of the characters are superheroes.