Hey there
I want to talk about the comic chaos box i mentioned in one of my previous posts. You can view it in the blog archive at the bottom right of this page.
Comic chaos were a monthly subscription box company that offered boxes filled with comics and collectables for the price of £19.99 a month. They offered other larger boxes for more money and smaller options for less. They ran for a number of months successfully and had rave reviews from their customers.
They then expanded their company and opened other subcription boxes as follows : Candy Chaos (boxes with candy from around the world), creepy chaos (boxes with horror themed collectibles), total chaos ( which was filled with leftovers from the three boxes). They then opened a new company called chick crate.
Upon opening Chick crate they said it was ran by friends as a separate company. However when you paid for your chick crate subscription via paypal it stated you were paying via comic chaos. Still they insisted that it was a seperate company. Now i offered a review of chick crate in my past blog and i explained how i was ripped off so i won't cover old ground here.
In december comic chaos began delaying orders that had been placed on their website. They continued to take new orders for boxes across their sites until late April. Regardless of the fact that no Comic Chaos Boxes had been sent out since January. Boxes for total chaos and creepy chaos also became delayed. The last total chaos box delivered was a candy chaos box.
Then Comic Chaos promised to deliver all orders at the end of May. On the day that the boxes were to be sent out. Comic chaos, total chaos and creepy chaos ceased trading. They deleted their websites and facebook accounts claiming they had gone bust. At this point they owed customers thousands of pounds.
At the same time Candy Chaos revamped their websites, they removed all references to the other chaos boxes and more importantly they removed all information relating to their company address and contact information. They claimed that they were an independent company that had no relationship to the other companies.
The reason they did this is because their address and contact details are the same that were used for the other companies. When confronted on facebook, they deleted posts and blocked anyone who mentioned it. They then updated their page with a post denying any connection to the other chaos boxes.
An investigation of their website shows they have no company number, this means they are illegally trading and pay no taxes. Upon searching the HRMC website for registered companies it shows that total chaos and candy chaos were listed as bankrupt a long time before they informed customers and well before they stopped taking money from people.
In order to retrieve my money i contacted paypal after an investigation they contacted the owner of the account i paid my comic chaos subscription to and told them they had to return my money. Yesterday the money was returned by the owner of the account .... None other than Candy Chaos.
Along with others i have reported the company under all it's guises to inland revenue and paypal both will launch fraud investigations. They have asked that i tell people that if they paid money to any of the companies for goods that were not recieved then they can claim the money back via paypal.
I thought i had well researched the companies before i purchased. I watched unboxings on youtube, read blog reviews and looked at posts on their Facebook pages to check for complaints. They seemed genuine, but that was my mistake.
Unboxing videos are usually posted by people who have been given the box for free, they are unlikely to put across any bad points as they want to recieve more boxes from other companies. More importantly the company knows that they are going to make videos and therefore can tailor the contents to make a box look more impressive, In the case of chick crate the only online unboxing was at that time by someone who turned out to be involved with the company and the box i recieved was different in quality, quantity and value for money. As for facebook pages Candy chaos has managed to delete all negative comments almost immediately meaning it's impossible to tell that they have been involved in this at all.
If you've been a victim of a dodgy subscription box or had your money taken by comic chaos or their affiliated companies then let me know in the comments below.
Wednesday, 13 May 2015
Anime 2015 - Best of the rest
There are so many good shows slated for release in 2015 that i thought i would give a round up of a couple of the others that didn't make my top ten but were a close choice.
1. Million Doll
The anime is from Asaki Production (Alice in the country of hearts) and is directed by Keiichiro Kawaguchi (Zettai Karen children).
The anime follows a blogger who has the ability to make any female idol popular through blogging. She wants to help an idol called Itorio but is distracted by some other idols.
Reasons to watch? The auditions for voice actors were made open to the public (quite unusual). It's aiming to show a more realistic approach to the idol world and they are going to to hold public performances of the anime at the same time as it airs.
2.Owari no Seraph
From Wit Studio (Attack on Titan) and directed by Daisue Tokudo (Guilty crown).
A man made virus causes all adults to die and leaves only children alive. Vampires take over the earth, capturing the children and moving them underground. The children are forced to 'donate' their blood. Twelve year old Yuichiro and his friends try to escape but are foiled, everyone dies in the botched escape but Yuichiro who joins the moon demon company and dedicates his life to destroying the vampires.
3. Six hearts princess
Directed by Takeshi Mirakami and adapted by his art project.
The anime is very much a cross between pre cure and Puella Magi Madoka. It is a story about a group of girls who having survived a plane crash are granted magic powers. The show is mainly a spoof of magic girl animes.
1. Million Doll
The anime is from Asaki Production (Alice in the country of hearts) and is directed by Keiichiro Kawaguchi (Zettai Karen children).
The anime follows a blogger who has the ability to make any female idol popular through blogging. She wants to help an idol called Itorio but is distracted by some other idols.
Reasons to watch? The auditions for voice actors were made open to the public (quite unusual). It's aiming to show a more realistic approach to the idol world and they are going to to hold public performances of the anime at the same time as it airs.
2.Owari no Seraph
From Wit Studio (Attack on Titan) and directed by Daisue Tokudo (Guilty crown).
A man made virus causes all adults to die and leaves only children alive. Vampires take over the earth, capturing the children and moving them underground. The children are forced to 'donate' their blood. Twelve year old Yuichiro and his friends try to escape but are foiled, everyone dies in the botched escape but Yuichiro who joins the moon demon company and dedicates his life to destroying the vampires.
3. Six hearts princess
Directed by Takeshi Mirakami and adapted by his art project.
The anime is very much a cross between pre cure and Puella Magi Madoka. It is a story about a group of girls who having survived a plane crash are granted magic powers. The show is mainly a spoof of magic girl animes.
Friday, 3 April 2015
unboxings update!!!!!!!
Hi Guys,
As you know the blog has been a little quiet at the moment and i haven't posted as much as i had hoped too. Unfortunately the other week we were putting together some huge bookcases to display some of our Anime figures etc and whilst attempting to film our achievement, one of them fell on me and i ended up in A&E.
So I've been out of action for a wee while. Second disappointment is that my video camera also broke in the accident so I'm not going to be able to do my unboxing videos from march. I will however be buying a new camera at the end of the month so we should be okay to do unboxing videos next month.
Overall last months boxes were very disappointing and in particular i was ripped off entirely by 'chick crate' who sent a box with two unofficial t-shirts and a home printed tote for the grand price of £19.99!!! Not impressed, avoid at all costs.
I should point out that this is a valuable lesson to learn, when i was looking at which boxes to buy i watched a lot of youtube videos to help me decide and watched the only two there was on chick crate. The videos showed someone really happy opening what looked to be a fantastic box. What i didn't realise was that the person in the video is directly affiliated with chick crate. Remember when watching unboxings, most of these people have been paid by the company to promote their products or received their box for free which means they are more often than not, not going to be negative about the items. How many blogs have you read that have given a review of a product? and how many have been negative? I'm gonna go ahead and guess not many.
From now on i will be very careful about which boxes i buy and whilst i will do unboxing videos i want to assure you if I'm unhappy or the box isn''t worth it's money, you will definitely be able to tell.
This month i will definitely be receiving a Betoyo Bento box - which is an anime themed box that contains 5-6 items and usually has both plushes and figures in the box. It costs £25.00 and usually arrives in the first half of the month
I will also be getting two Japanese snack boxes this month. Oyatsu Box being the first which costs £16.67. It contains over a pound of snacks which usually works out at around eleven snacks. They are all full size snacks and the box also contains a Gachapon (small Japanese capsule toy).
The second box is from Okashi connection and costs £14.83. it contains over a pound of snacks as well and I've heard a lot of good stories about this one so i have high hopes.
I'm also scheduled to receive Aprils comic chaos box however the company has been having problems since January and it's looking more and more doubtful as to whether they will send these boxes out. Having already pushed the shipping date twice it is now showing that we'll have these at the end of April, beginning of May. I would recommend avoiding them until their back log is cleared and the next box has been issued. I say this as they have not been very forthcoming with their customers as to the cause of the delay or when the boxes will be out. Some people have been waiting since December and are now due four boxes.
I bought a bunch of Japanese snacks from the Candysan website. I've never ordered from them before and so i can't recommend them yet, until i receive my snacks. Their prices are very reasonable and quite close to what i imagine the snacks cost in Japan, however delivery is quite steep and is usually between £10-16. That said i think this is counter balanced by the price of the products and they have a good range as well. I will do an unboxing once it arrives as well and we can see if it was worth the money.
I am also subscribed to pop in a box. This subscription box is far less of a risk as you create a wish list of funko pops and the company selects two from your list every month and send it to you for a reasonable price of £20.00 including postage. There is also a small packet of popping candy included and the chance to receive a rare pop or to win an extra pop as they give away upwards of 12 pops a month in the boxes.
That's it for this month though i have been tempted by both Nerd block (whose theme is 80's this month) and zbox which has an animation theme this month. So i may cave and get one of them, so don't be surprised if you see an extra unboxing this month.
As you know the blog has been a little quiet at the moment and i haven't posted as much as i had hoped too. Unfortunately the other week we were putting together some huge bookcases to display some of our Anime figures etc and whilst attempting to film our achievement, one of them fell on me and i ended up in A&E.
So I've been out of action for a wee while. Second disappointment is that my video camera also broke in the accident so I'm not going to be able to do my unboxing videos from march. I will however be buying a new camera at the end of the month so we should be okay to do unboxing videos next month.
Overall last months boxes were very disappointing and in particular i was ripped off entirely by 'chick crate' who sent a box with two unofficial t-shirts and a home printed tote for the grand price of £19.99!!! Not impressed, avoid at all costs.
I should point out that this is a valuable lesson to learn, when i was looking at which boxes to buy i watched a lot of youtube videos to help me decide and watched the only two there was on chick crate. The videos showed someone really happy opening what looked to be a fantastic box. What i didn't realise was that the person in the video is directly affiliated with chick crate. Remember when watching unboxings, most of these people have been paid by the company to promote their products or received their box for free which means they are more often than not, not going to be negative about the items. How many blogs have you read that have given a review of a product? and how many have been negative? I'm gonna go ahead and guess not many.
From now on i will be very careful about which boxes i buy and whilst i will do unboxing videos i want to assure you if I'm unhappy or the box isn''t worth it's money, you will definitely be able to tell.
This month i will definitely be receiving a Betoyo Bento box - which is an anime themed box that contains 5-6 items and usually has both plushes and figures in the box. It costs £25.00 and usually arrives in the first half of the month
I will also be getting two Japanese snack boxes this month. Oyatsu Box being the first which costs £16.67. It contains over a pound of snacks which usually works out at around eleven snacks. They are all full size snacks and the box also contains a Gachapon (small Japanese capsule toy).
The second box is from Okashi connection and costs £14.83. it contains over a pound of snacks as well and I've heard a lot of good stories about this one so i have high hopes.
I'm also scheduled to receive Aprils comic chaos box however the company has been having problems since January and it's looking more and more doubtful as to whether they will send these boxes out. Having already pushed the shipping date twice it is now showing that we'll have these at the end of April, beginning of May. I would recommend avoiding them until their back log is cleared and the next box has been issued. I say this as they have not been very forthcoming with their customers as to the cause of the delay or when the boxes will be out. Some people have been waiting since December and are now due four boxes.
I bought a bunch of Japanese snacks from the Candysan website. I've never ordered from them before and so i can't recommend them yet, until i receive my snacks. Their prices are very reasonable and quite close to what i imagine the snacks cost in Japan, however delivery is quite steep and is usually between £10-16. That said i think this is counter balanced by the price of the products and they have a good range as well. I will do an unboxing once it arrives as well and we can see if it was worth the money.
I am also subscribed to pop in a box. This subscription box is far less of a risk as you create a wish list of funko pops and the company selects two from your list every month and send it to you for a reasonable price of £20.00 including postage. There is also a small packet of popping candy included and the chance to receive a rare pop or to win an extra pop as they give away upwards of 12 pops a month in the boxes.
That's it for this month though i have been tempted by both Nerd block (whose theme is 80's this month) and zbox which has an animation theme this month. So i may cave and get one of them, so don't be surprised if you see an extra unboxing this month.
Tuesday, 3 March 2015
New Anime series for 2015 - My top 10 picks !! (Part two)
Hey guys so I literally just wasted five hours of my life that i'll never get back watching Glasslip, I mean WTF seriously! what kind of ending was that?!!! Ugh so annoyed!!
Anyway enough ranting, on with the countdown as we get to the top five to watch in 2015!!
5. Akagami no Shirayuki hime.
Directed by Masahiro Ando (Hanasaku Iroha) and from the studio Bones (Ouran high)
The anime is based on a long running Manga about a a girl named Shirayuki who is treasured in her native land for her rare red hair. Upon being approached by the kingdoms prince and asked to be his concubine, she decides to runaway. Whilst escaping she meets a boy named Zen who is poisoned by an apple meant for her. Upon saving his life, it is revealed that he is a prince in another kingdom and he invites her to move to his castle as a medic.
Although it is a love story, the plot moves more like a slice of life and manages to avoid the usual cliches. The characters are all well rounded and the heroine is no damsel in distress. The anime could be promising if the pacing issues in the manga are rectified then it could be a winner.
4. Chaos Dragon
Directed by Masato Matsune (Kamisama Dolls) and from the studio Silver Link (Strike the Blood)
Based on an RPG game, the story is set in 3105, in a country called 'Nil Kamul' where the Guardian God has gone berserk.
Basically five of the best anime and video game creators got together one night and played a table talk role play game. Now for those of you unfamiliar a table top RPG usually has everyone assume a character with a background story and of course a classification (such as Rogue). One person is the .... now i want to say Dungeon Master here but i'm thinking of when i was young and used to play games like Hero quest, so i know it's not the right name! but we'll go with it till i'm corrected. So one person is the Dungeon Master and they set up the game, give the characters a basic plot to their quest and throw in the obstacles that the others have to overcome. So they might say 'you're troupe is attacked by a fire breathing dragon' and the Mage in the group might say ' i use the stone of Ra to slay the dragon' etc.
Anyway these five minds each created themselves characters that they would love to play and these are the characters that will feature in the anime. Then they played through a whole game to create the plot line for the anime. Now these guys are responsible for the likes of Puella Magi Madoka and Fate/Zero !!!! so imagine what they might have come up with together.
The last Anime created this way was Lodoss so i have every faith that they can make this a good Anime too.
3. Kekkai Sensen (Blood blockade battlefront)
Directed by Rie Matsumoto (Kyousogiga) from Bones Studio (Blast of tempest)
A portal has opened over New York City, trapping New Yorkers and a bunch of creatures from other dimensions in an impregnable bubble. So far they have co existed for years in a crazy sci fi world they've come to call Jerusalem's lot. But when it looks like someone is trying to burst the bubble and spread the craziness to the rest of the world, it;s up to 'Libra' a group of super humans to stop it.
The stills from the anime look really stylish and make me want to see more. It seems to be a very fast moving and action packed show. I have always loved x men and have a real soft spot for teams of superheroes so i think this could be awesome especially as they remind me more of your typical anti-heroes like in watchmen. Either way i think this could be great.
2. Ore Monogatari - My Love Story!!
Directed by Morio Asaka (Nana) and from Madhouse Studios (Deathnote)
The story follows Gouda Takeo who is tall and large for his age. He is best friends with Sunahawa who is the school prince and is super popular with the girls. All the girls Takeo likes end up falling for Sunahawa, but when Takeo saves a girl from a pervert, could his luck be about to change?
There has been an influx of shojo manga published in the UK that is very much the same thing over and over with vampire or devil love stories. Often the artwork and plot have been almost identical so i was super excited when Shojo Beat announced this Manga. It's a highschool romance and yes there are some Shoujo cliches, however the story has real heart to it. The characters are well rounded and likeable and the plot moves at a good pace. It has real comedy too and overall i think it could be the shoujo hit of the year,
I am sooooooooooooooooooo excited about my number 1, i can't even tell you how much !!!!!!!!!!!
1. Digimon Adventure Tri
Directed by Kaitaro Motonaga (Date a live) and from Toei Animation
Tai is now 17 and at high school but it's time to save the world again!!!
I am so so so excited about this!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I was always more into Digimon than Pokemon and really really had a huge crush on Matt!! But i can't believe they're back!!! It's the fifteen year anniversary of Digimon!!!! To celebrate we are getting to return to see what life is like now they are in high school.
I mean how many times do you watch an anime and wait for a second series that never comes, then wonder what happened to your fave characters next?. Well with Digimon we are getting a chance to find out and at 17 years old we've a lot to catch up on!
Will there be romance? judging by the images released then i'd say definately!!! are they still friends? will the series cover more adult issues? Can they team up one more time? Can the series still work? I really hope so!!! I will definitely be tuning in to find out and i hope you do too!
I hope you enjoyed my top ten, it may not be to your taste but i hope you found something new to watch! did i miss out any of your favourites? Is there anything you'd like my blog to feature? Let me know in the comments below and until next time stay cool!
Anyway enough ranting, on with the countdown as we get to the top five to watch in 2015!!
5. Akagami no Shirayuki hime.
Directed by Masahiro Ando (Hanasaku Iroha) and from the studio Bones (Ouran high)
The anime is based on a long running Manga about a a girl named Shirayuki who is treasured in her native land for her rare red hair. Upon being approached by the kingdoms prince and asked to be his concubine, she decides to runaway. Whilst escaping she meets a boy named Zen who is poisoned by an apple meant for her. Upon saving his life, it is revealed that he is a prince in another kingdom and he invites her to move to his castle as a medic.
Although it is a love story, the plot moves more like a slice of life and manages to avoid the usual cliches. The characters are all well rounded and the heroine is no damsel in distress. The anime could be promising if the pacing issues in the manga are rectified then it could be a winner.
4. Chaos Dragon
Directed by Masato Matsune (Kamisama Dolls) and from the studio Silver Link (Strike the Blood)
Based on an RPG game, the story is set in 3105, in a country called 'Nil Kamul' where the Guardian God has gone berserk.
Basically five of the best anime and video game creators got together one night and played a table talk role play game. Now for those of you unfamiliar a table top RPG usually has everyone assume a character with a background story and of course a classification (such as Rogue). One person is the .... now i want to say Dungeon Master here but i'm thinking of when i was young and used to play games like Hero quest, so i know it's not the right name! but we'll go with it till i'm corrected. So one person is the Dungeon Master and they set up the game, give the characters a basic plot to their quest and throw in the obstacles that the others have to overcome. So they might say 'you're troupe is attacked by a fire breathing dragon' and the Mage in the group might say ' i use the stone of Ra to slay the dragon' etc.
Anyway these five minds each created themselves characters that they would love to play and these are the characters that will feature in the anime. Then they played through a whole game to create the plot line for the anime. Now these guys are responsible for the likes of Puella Magi Madoka and Fate/Zero !!!! so imagine what they might have come up with together.
The last Anime created this way was Lodoss so i have every faith that they can make this a good Anime too.
3. Kekkai Sensen (Blood blockade battlefront)
Directed by Rie Matsumoto (Kyousogiga) from Bones Studio (Blast of tempest)
A portal has opened over New York City, trapping New Yorkers and a bunch of creatures from other dimensions in an impregnable bubble. So far they have co existed for years in a crazy sci fi world they've come to call Jerusalem's lot. But when it looks like someone is trying to burst the bubble and spread the craziness to the rest of the world, it;s up to 'Libra' a group of super humans to stop it.
The stills from the anime look really stylish and make me want to see more. It seems to be a very fast moving and action packed show. I have always loved x men and have a real soft spot for teams of superheroes so i think this could be awesome especially as they remind me more of your typical anti-heroes like in watchmen. Either way i think this could be great.
2. Ore Monogatari - My Love Story!!
Directed by Morio Asaka (Nana) and from Madhouse Studios (Deathnote)
The story follows Gouda Takeo who is tall and large for his age. He is best friends with Sunahawa who is the school prince and is super popular with the girls. All the girls Takeo likes end up falling for Sunahawa, but when Takeo saves a girl from a pervert, could his luck be about to change?
There has been an influx of shojo manga published in the UK that is very much the same thing over and over with vampire or devil love stories. Often the artwork and plot have been almost identical so i was super excited when Shojo Beat announced this Manga. It's a highschool romance and yes there are some Shoujo cliches, however the story has real heart to it. The characters are well rounded and likeable and the plot moves at a good pace. It has real comedy too and overall i think it could be the shoujo hit of the year,
I am sooooooooooooooooooo excited about my number 1, i can't even tell you how much !!!!!!!!!!!
1. Digimon Adventure Tri
Directed by Kaitaro Motonaga (Date a live) and from Toei Animation
Tai is now 17 and at high school but it's time to save the world again!!!
I am so so so excited about this!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I was always more into Digimon than Pokemon and really really had a huge crush on Matt!! But i can't believe they're back!!! It's the fifteen year anniversary of Digimon!!!! To celebrate we are getting to return to see what life is like now they are in high school.
I mean how many times do you watch an anime and wait for a second series that never comes, then wonder what happened to your fave characters next?. Well with Digimon we are getting a chance to find out and at 17 years old we've a lot to catch up on!
Will there be romance? judging by the images released then i'd say definately!!! are they still friends? will the series cover more adult issues? Can they team up one more time? Can the series still work? I really hope so!!! I will definitely be tuning in to find out and i hope you do too!
I hope you enjoyed my top ten, it may not be to your taste but i hope you found something new to watch! did i miss out any of your favourites? Is there anything you'd like my blog to feature? Let me know in the comments below and until next time stay cool!
Sunday, 1 March 2015
New Anime series for 2015 - My top 10 picks !! (Part one)
I thought i'd do an overview of my top ten new anime to watch in 2015. Although i love Shoujo, i watch all kinds of anime and i think those of you who prefer your anime from a Seinen perspective will be pleasantly surprised by some of my choices (that's not to say there isn't a lot more shoujo in the top 5 ;-) ). So without further ado i give you ten reasons to order takeaway, close the curtains and watch some new anime!
10. Dance with Devils.
Directed by Ai Yoshimura (Ao haru ride) from the studio Brains Base ( Natsume's book of friends).
The anime is an original idea( by which i mean not based on any manga/novel) about a young girl Ritsuka Tachibana falls in love with and is charmed by various demons. (Not much else is known plotwise at the moment)
I thought long and hard about including this anime in my list. It was announced at the same event as 'Diabolik lovers 2' was and immediately i worried that the artwork looked the same and so the show might follow the same path. I just did not enjoy 'Diabolik lovers', i found the female character far too weak and lacked dimension. That said this anime has a stellar team behind it and is from the studio that produced 'Kamigami no asobi' an anime that beyond the very slow first episode did live up to my expectations. So based on my 'don't judge a book by it's cover philosophy' i've included it on the possibility it could be good.
9. Rokka no Yusha
Directed and produced by are unannounced at this time.
This series is based upon a series of light novels. The plot centres around a boy called 'Adlet' who when the 'Majin' awakes is selected by the 'Goddess of Destiny' as one of the 'six flower heroes' each marked by a crest in the shape of a flower. They are sent to a forest to confront the 'Majin' to stop him. However when 'Adlet' arrives at the meeting point as the barrier rises to seal the location, he discovers that there are seven heroes gathered and not six. Fear, suspicion, paranoia and panic takeover as the seven are convinced one of them is really an enemy infiltrate.
The plot looks really intriguing to me. Will the seven turn on each other? and in doing so will they fail to complete their ultimate goal?. I've got a lot of hope for this series, it could be a lot of ecchi and humour but i rather hope it turns into something more human. Looking at how our own self doubts and trust issues can be our ultimate downfall.
8. Kyoukai no Rinne
Directed by Seiki Sugawara (Amnesia) and from the studio of Brains Base ( Penguin drum)
The anime is based on a long running manga by the author Rumiko Takahasi who not only wrote 'Ranma' but also 'Inuyasha'. It is told from the point of Sakura a young girl who has been able to see ghosts ever since she was spirited away as a little child. When Rinne a half Shinigami moves to her class, she becomes caught up in his role to guide lost souls to the wheel of reincarnation.
The manga art style is very similar to the authors previous works and i hope to see an updated version for the anime. The manga has in my opinion ran a little long. However with a little pacing the sweet and very understated love story between the two main characters, along with the comedic elements could lead to something very watchable. If the series can walk the line between remaining faithful to the manga and bringing a fresh modern perspective we could be in for a treat here.
7. Ushio to Tora
Directed by Satoshi Nishimura (Trigun) and from the studio Mappa & Voln ( Kids on the Slope)
Based on a manga by Kazuhiro Fujita, the series follows the story of a temple boy named Ushio who is forced to free a giant tiger like monster in order to protect his temple from other monsters. The two are forced to pair up in a love hate relationship in order to protect the temple.
The manga has been made into an ova in the past that had a distinct 80's feel to it, with Tora resembling David Bowie in Labyrinth more than anything. However the images released so far give the sense of something a lot darker and more in keeping with the level of gore in the manga series. That being said the series is at heart a buddy comedy with lots of slapstick, with the right balance it could be a very watchable easy going series.
6. Gangsta
Directed by Shukou Murase (Ergo Proxy) and from the studio Manglobe (Hayate the Combat Butler)
Based on a manga by Kohske, the story follows two gangsters who take jobs working for both the police and the mafia and anyone else who can pay. Another buddy show this one focuses on the dynamics between the two leads Nicolas - a deaf swordsman and Worrick - a gigolo. The manga has a clean fresh animation style and i hope the anime does too, the plot at face value is simple but like the best manga, this one weaves the main characters backgrounds along with those of the side characters to make an intricate bigger picture that allows the manga to pace well. The story has mystery, comedy and intrigue and could be great to watch.
Let me know what you think of the top ten so far and if there are any series you are looking forward to in the comments, also as always any constructive feedback on the blog is always welcome. See you tomorrow!
Saturday, 28 February 2015
Unboxings equal one super happy girl
So at the start of this blog and on the about me page i mentioned my love for Mystery bags or blind bags and subscription boxes and i've been super lucky and will have a lot of unboxings to do in the month of march.
We decided last month to subscribe to a Japanese snack box as they are really really expensive to buy where we stay and even then they are hard to get. So this month we ordered oyatsu box which at £16.34 for 8-14 items including a small toy was a good buy and should be here towards end of march.
So i will do an unboxing video for them on my youtube channel and i'll post a short description of the contents here on my blog too with some pics.
However i'm feeling like the luckiest girl in the world as my wonderful fiance bought me a whole bunch of boxes as a gift this month so I'll also be doing the following boxes : nerdblock, nerdblock jr (the girls version), chick crate, and zbox from zavvi.
I also already subscribe to glossy box so i may or may not include that on here too (let me know if you think i should).
Phew hopefully they aren't too annoying or long and you enjoy them. I know that unboxings are becoming more common and not everyone likes them. However i genuinely love watching them on youtube i don't know why but unboxing videos are kind of the only reality tv i watch (can you call them that?).
I just think that subscription boxes can be quite expensive and with so many available now it can be hard to choose so i like to get a feel for what i'm spending my money on before i splurge and they really do help - well i think they do anyway.
So i just wanted to give you a heads up and if there are any boxes you can recommend that ship to the UK or any you'd like to see me do then let me know in the comments and i'll see what i can do for you.
*********** All the boxes that i post on here will have been paid for by myself or gifted to me by family. If i should ever recieve something as a goodwill gesture from a company or any other affiliation i will always be honest about that. I can't stand fake blog reviews where people claim boxes are great value when they just aren't or the items are awful and so i promise to always be honest, like, love or loathe.
We decided last month to subscribe to a Japanese snack box as they are really really expensive to buy where we stay and even then they are hard to get. So this month we ordered oyatsu box which at £16.34 for 8-14 items including a small toy was a good buy and should be here towards end of march.
So i will do an unboxing video for them on my youtube channel and i'll post a short description of the contents here on my blog too with some pics.
However i'm feeling like the luckiest girl in the world as my wonderful fiance bought me a whole bunch of boxes as a gift this month so I'll also be doing the following boxes : nerdblock, nerdblock jr (the girls version), chick crate, and zbox from zavvi.
I also already subscribe to glossy box so i may or may not include that on here too (let me know if you think i should).
Phew hopefully they aren't too annoying or long and you enjoy them. I know that unboxings are becoming more common and not everyone likes them. However i genuinely love watching them on youtube i don't know why but unboxing videos are kind of the only reality tv i watch (can you call them that?).
I just think that subscription boxes can be quite expensive and with so many available now it can be hard to choose so i like to get a feel for what i'm spending my money on before i splurge and they really do help - well i think they do anyway.
So i just wanted to give you a heads up and if there are any boxes you can recommend that ship to the UK or any you'd like to see me do then let me know in the comments and i'll see what i can do for you.
*********** All the boxes that i post on here will have been paid for by myself or gifted to me by family. If i should ever recieve something as a goodwill gesture from a company or any other affiliation i will always be honest about that. I can't stand fake blog reviews where people claim boxes are great value when they just aren't or the items are awful and so i promise to always be honest, like, love or loathe.
Tuesday, 24 February 2015
Crunchyroll roll of the dice!
So i don't know how many of you subscribe to Crunchyroll, but I've been a member for nearly a year now and yesterday i noticed for the first time that they installed a new button! It's a dice icon at the top of the screen beside the link to your watchlist. When you click the dice it takes you to a random video - either the first in a series you've never seen or the next in one you're currently watching.
I think it's a great idea!! with so many anime out it's all to easy to stick to what you know and miss something epic along the way. So with the spirit of adventure in mind, i did it! i rolled the dice not once, not twice but three times and watched three anime that i had never considered before. So i thought I'd share with you whether it was time well spent or time i could have been wasting somewhere else.
So the first roll of the dice led me to the first episode of 'Kano Aozora ni Yakusoku wo' (The promise made over the blue sky).
Now I'll admit i went into watching this anime with the feeling that i wouldn't like it (that's not to say i wasn't hoping to have it change my mind!). The show was made in 2007 and is based on an adult visual novel where the male character gets to know the harem of female leads and eventually picks one to date etc. Though the series lacks some of the adult content of the game it does contain a lot of ecchi and eroge moments.
My initial response was that the animation lacked anything new or exciting, the first episode is very slow moving and although it is a slice of life show it just doesn't have any real drama or at least nothing complicated. The main characters live on an island that will be evacuated in one year and the friends will have to part as such a new transfer student refuses to get to make friends in case she is hurt when the move happens. The male protagonist 'Wataru' spends the season trying to change her mind whilst weaving romantic entanglements with all the female characters.
It's not a bad anime as such, it just doesn't engage the viewer, the characters are typical for a visual novel and cover your usual spectrum from shy to tsundere but none of them are memorable. Sorry it just wasn't for me and i won't see anymore of it. To sum up it's one to skip unless ecchi really floats your boat and then i would suggest fast forwarding to the best bits. 1/5
The second roll of the dice took me to a show I'd seen mentioned all over the place but not got round to trying.
It's called Free! Iwatobi swim club.
Again i wasn't over excited at the selection and was tempted to dismiss it as half an hour of bishonen eye candy. However i was impressed by the opening sequence and a catchy tune and some good graphics always give me the feeling that things will go well.
The show was out in 2013 and is directed by Hiroko Utsumi (who also worked on Clannad and K-on). Though a slice of life show about a swim club doesn't sound like a gripping idea for an anime somehow it does work. There are two things that help it pull away from being another moe anime, the first is the animation - some of the underwater shots are both mesmerising and beautiful, secondly the soundtrack - full of fast paced rock and pop. The first episode is well paced and the intrigue of the background story of the club and it's members helps to move it along. The way in which the race scenes are handled really help with the whole vibe - with music and snazzy graphics helping to make them exciting to watch.
Will i watch it again? I'm not sure, yes it's cute, a bit intriguing and visually appealing but I'm not sure it has enough substance to keep my attention. I think I'll reserve judgement till I've watched a couple more episodes so for now I'll say give it a chance and see what you think. 3/5
Lastly we get to a wtf moment in crunchyroll viewing!! my last roll took me to a show that i had never heard of and well..... judge for yourself!
It's called Bottom biting bug.
Each episode lasts only five minutes and the show was made in 2013. Shockingly! the anime is directed by Kojima, Mosayuki (who made 'monster' and 'black bullet'). It is based upon a children's song called 'Oshiri Kajiri Mushi' that made it to the top ten in Japan back in 2007. The anime is about a family of insects that set up a shop for biting people in the bum. The show has a basic animation style and is aimed at young children. I can only assume that the biting people in the bum is the equivalent of what we term 'giving people a kick in the backside' to get them moving. I definitely think you should watch it if anything simply to remind ourselves that their is anime outside of the moe influx of late. As for a rating i have no idea where to start - fine for five minutes but would i watch more? probably not.
What do you think of the above animes? are they something you would watch? did i get it wrong in my verdict? will you check any of them out? Let me know in the comments or drop me a line. Remember you can find my page on facebook or twitter via the links on the right.
I think it's a great idea!! with so many anime out it's all to easy to stick to what you know and miss something epic along the way. So with the spirit of adventure in mind, i did it! i rolled the dice not once, not twice but three times and watched three anime that i had never considered before. So i thought I'd share with you whether it was time well spent or time i could have been wasting somewhere else.
So the first roll of the dice led me to the first episode of 'Kano Aozora ni Yakusoku wo' (The promise made over the blue sky).
Now I'll admit i went into watching this anime with the feeling that i wouldn't like it (that's not to say i wasn't hoping to have it change my mind!). The show was made in 2007 and is based on an adult visual novel where the male character gets to know the harem of female leads and eventually picks one to date etc. Though the series lacks some of the adult content of the game it does contain a lot of ecchi and eroge moments.
My initial response was that the animation lacked anything new or exciting, the first episode is very slow moving and although it is a slice of life show it just doesn't have any real drama or at least nothing complicated. The main characters live on an island that will be evacuated in one year and the friends will have to part as such a new transfer student refuses to get to make friends in case she is hurt when the move happens. The male protagonist 'Wataru' spends the season trying to change her mind whilst weaving romantic entanglements with all the female characters.
It's not a bad anime as such, it just doesn't engage the viewer, the characters are typical for a visual novel and cover your usual spectrum from shy to tsundere but none of them are memorable. Sorry it just wasn't for me and i won't see anymore of it. To sum up it's one to skip unless ecchi really floats your boat and then i would suggest fast forwarding to the best bits. 1/5
The second roll of the dice took me to a show I'd seen mentioned all over the place but not got round to trying.
It's called Free! Iwatobi swim club.
The show was out in 2013 and is directed by Hiroko Utsumi (who also worked on Clannad and K-on). Though a slice of life show about a swim club doesn't sound like a gripping idea for an anime somehow it does work. There are two things that help it pull away from being another moe anime, the first is the animation - some of the underwater shots are both mesmerising and beautiful, secondly the soundtrack - full of fast paced rock and pop. The first episode is well paced and the intrigue of the background story of the club and it's members helps to move it along. The way in which the race scenes are handled really help with the whole vibe - with music and snazzy graphics helping to make them exciting to watch.
Will i watch it again? I'm not sure, yes it's cute, a bit intriguing and visually appealing but I'm not sure it has enough substance to keep my attention. I think I'll reserve judgement till I've watched a couple more episodes so for now I'll say give it a chance and see what you think. 3/5
Lastly we get to a wtf moment in crunchyroll viewing!! my last roll took me to a show that i had never heard of and well..... judge for yourself!
It's called Bottom biting bug.
What do you think of the above animes? are they something you would watch? did i get it wrong in my verdict? will you check any of them out? Let me know in the comments or drop me a line. Remember you can find my page on facebook or twitter via the links on the right.
Tuesday, 17 February 2015
Hana yori dango - new manga news!
Turns out i may be psychic after all!!!
Just three days after i started reminiscing about Hana yori dango (boys over flowers), it turns out that 12 years since the original ended, they are releasing a new sequel!!!
The manga will be titled ( rather longly) 'Hana Nochi Hare-Hanaden Next Season' ('sunshine after flowers-flower boys next season').
The manga is set two years after the original group graduated, nothing else has been said with regards to plot but they have released a picture of the new manga.
Just three days after i started reminiscing about Hana yori dango (boys over flowers), it turns out that 12 years since the original ended, they are releasing a new sequel!!!
The manga will be titled ( rather longly) 'Hana Nochi Hare-Hanaden Next Season' ('sunshine after flowers-flower boys next season').
The manga is set two years after the original group graduated, nothing else has been said with regards to plot but they have released a picture of the new manga.
The new manga will be released on the 15th of February, published by Shueisha through their Shonen Jump + app, it will also be available through viz media for those in north america under the name 'boys over flowers 2'.
To say i'm excited is a huge understatement, hopefully the new series will contain some of the old elements without rehashing too much of the original storyline. It's a thin line but if anyone can do it, i'm sure Yoko Kamio can!
Saturday, 14 February 2015
Anime from the archive - Boys over flowers
Some friends and i were exchanging funny you tube videos the other night and one of the videos was of an American guy trying marmite for the first time and we started talking about things that can be both yum and yuck at the same time (think pain for pleasure). It got me thinking about the last time i had watched something that I both liked and hated at the same time and funnily enough it got me thinking about one of my favourite anime - Hana yori dango,
If you ever look for a list of shoujo anime, somewhere near the top you will find 'boys over flowers'. So it was with some excitement i sat down to watch the series many moons ago, but i was in for a shock. The first few episodes and many of the later episodes are hard to watch and i mean really hard!
For those unaware Hana yori dango is set at an elite high school for rich children, the main character Tsukushi Makino is sent there by her parents even though they are poor in the hope that she will marry rich and they can lead the lives they have always dreamt of. However her parents are completely unaware that the school is riddled with bullying and at the heart of the bullying are four of the richest and handsomest boys at the school. Known as the 'flower four' they entertain themselves by leaving red cards in the lockers of those who accidentally cross them, thus marking them for the school to torment.
Tsukushi gets one of these cards and some of the bullying she endures is horrific to watch, chased, beaten, attacked by boys and girls alike and tormented daily it's hard to watch. But there is an honesty in the way the bullying is portrayed.
Those who start it never have to lift a finger and those who are so desperate to never be that person on the outside blindly follow, committing the worst offences in the name of the 'flower four', even her best friend Makiko stands by too afraid to help at first, only helping her in secret. But when Tsukushi stands up to the bullies refusing to be pushed out of the school by them the culture of fear begins to crumble and when she bravely tackles the problem head on by attacking one of the 'flower four' -Tsukasa Domyouji, he begins to fall in love with her.
Thus the story becomes about one girls effort to change her surroundings i.e the school and one guys journey to be a better man and to make up for his mistakes. The manga ran for 37 volumes and although it was uncomfortable in places i'm glad i read it.
So too it seems are many fans, as the manga was so popular that not only was it turned into a 51 episode anime it also spawned not only a Japanese live action tv series that was preceded by a movie but also a live action tv series in Korea, China, Taiwan and even India!
Sometimes the anime that you start out unsure of, turns into one of the best you've seen. If you have any anime that you've started of by thinking you wouldn't enjoy it and then loved every minute let me know in the comments maybe i'll check it out too! ;-)
If you ever look for a list of shoujo anime, somewhere near the top you will find 'boys over flowers'. So it was with some excitement i sat down to watch the series many moons ago, but i was in for a shock. The first few episodes and many of the later episodes are hard to watch and i mean really hard!
For those unaware Hana yori dango is set at an elite high school for rich children, the main character Tsukushi Makino is sent there by her parents even though they are poor in the hope that she will marry rich and they can lead the lives they have always dreamt of. However her parents are completely unaware that the school is riddled with bullying and at the heart of the bullying are four of the richest and handsomest boys at the school. Known as the 'flower four' they entertain themselves by leaving red cards in the lockers of those who accidentally cross them, thus marking them for the school to torment.
Tsukushi gets one of these cards and some of the bullying she endures is horrific to watch, chased, beaten, attacked by boys and girls alike and tormented daily it's hard to watch. But there is an honesty in the way the bullying is portrayed.
Those who start it never have to lift a finger and those who are so desperate to never be that person on the outside blindly follow, committing the worst offences in the name of the 'flower four', even her best friend Makiko stands by too afraid to help at first, only helping her in secret. But when Tsukushi stands up to the bullies refusing to be pushed out of the school by them the culture of fear begins to crumble and when she bravely tackles the problem head on by attacking one of the 'flower four' -Tsukasa Domyouji, he begins to fall in love with her.
Thus the story becomes about one girls effort to change her surroundings i.e the school and one guys journey to be a better man and to make up for his mistakes. The manga ran for 37 volumes and although it was uncomfortable in places i'm glad i read it.
So too it seems are many fans, as the manga was so popular that not only was it turned into a 51 episode anime it also spawned not only a Japanese live action tv series that was preceded by a movie but also a live action tv series in Korea, China, Taiwan and even India!
Sometimes the anime that you start out unsure of, turns into one of the best you've seen. If you have any anime that you've started of by thinking you wouldn't enjoy it and then loved every minute let me know in the comments maybe i'll check it out too! ;-)
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