Sonic Boom: Shattered Crystal Demo Impressions

This past Saturday, a brand new alternative universe Sonic cartoon titled Sonic Boom debuted on Cartoon Network. Tomorrow, Sega will be launching two video games based on Sonic Boom for both the Wii U and 3DS. Last week, Sega released a playable demo of Sonic Boom: Shattered Crystal for the 3DS. Seeing how I never miss a chance to try out the latest Sonic game, I decided to give it a try.

For an alternative universe, it sure does feel different.

Mind Wanderer: Mysterious Girlfriend X Review

Some people consider certain anime to be too weird for them. Me? I like to take weird head on. That’s why I chose to buy today’s topic of discussion; a romantic comedy with a very unique… twist. Back in 2012, I sure did hear a lot of people talk about this show due to that very same twist. And with the unique reactions this show was getting, how could I not give this show a look? So pour yourself a drink and enjoy the Mind Wanderer review of Mysterious Girlfriend X.

Review: Ishida & Asakura

Typically, the episode length of a short form anime ranges anywhere between 3.5 and 5 minutes. But what happens when an anime is only 12 episodes long and has an episode length of only 2 minutes? Is it possible to convey a comedic story with a credits sequence in such little time? Well, the anime series Ishida & Asakura sure gave it a shot.

The question is: were they trying?

Review: Encouragement of Climb

My original introduction to short form anime in the beginning of winter of 2013 was not that great. With the first couple of shows I watched I noticed I was having the same problems with each show. These problems included low animation quality, unfunny jokes, and a plot that seems to go nowhere. To say the least, my initial impression of short form anime was that no studio was going to invest the money to produce a quality product.

Then I started to watch Encouragement Of Climb, and all my problems went away.

Review: Ai-Mai-Mi

If you follow the latest anime simulcasts coming out of Japan, you may be aware of the existence of the short length anime series. For these shows,each episode only lasts 5 minutes, or less, in length. Back during the Winter 2013 season, I first discovered this type of show when I finally began to pay attention to anime simulcasts. In fact, I got a good taste of the short format because there were six short series airing on Crunchyroll that season alone.

In theory, the short anime format is certainly more than capable of working. The internet has proven that you don't need a full 11 minutes to set up and tell a proper story line. In the case of comedy series, it should be even easier considering you can build up to a punchline in very little time. But can it work for an anime? To start my foray into short length anime, I decided to watch Ai-Mai-Mi, a show about three female students in a magna club. At least, that's what they want you to think the show is about.

Top Five Space Dandy Season 1 Episodes

At the beginning of this year, Shinichiro Watanabe’s latest original anime series, Space Dandy, began airing on Adult Swim’s Toonami block. The show is about an alien hunter named Dandy (but you can call him Space Dandy) and he travels the galaxy in search of new and unregistered alien species along with his vacuum robot, QT and a freeloading cat-like alien named Meow. If the crew manages to capture and register a previously unregistered alien type at a registration center, they could be compensated greatly.

One thing that has been clear about this series is that anything is possible and you should expect the unexpected. In fact, Watanabe has compared the entire series to the mushroom episode of Cowboy Beebop. While the show may seem completely random, there are a few hints as to what’s going on in the overall plot and I’m sure this is all going to make sense by the time the series end. And best of all, I don’t have to worry about being spoiled because the series is actually airing on Toonami dubbed before it airs anywhere else in the world, including Japan.

Believe it or not, Space Dandy isn’t the first anime to debut on Toonami before it aired in Japan. That honor goes to SD Gundam Force. Say, how did that show do anyway?

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - Season 2 Impressions

This past October, I had the opportunity to attend the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles panel at New York Comic Con for the second year in a row. The panel actually took place the night before the season two premiere so I was expecting the panel to be a big preview of things to come with some insight from the cast and crew thrown in. I also joked with some people around me how everyone with a three day pass wouldn’t be able to watch the new episode the next day.

That’s when they announced that everyone at the panel would be watching the first episode of the new season right then and there with the cast and crew.

Let me tell you something; watching a new episode of a show you like with and auditorium full of fellow fans is an absolutely amazing experienced. Not to mention, the showing was highlighted with Greg Cipes (voice of Michelangelo) dancing on the panel table during the TMNT theme song. The next night, I had the opportunity to talk to Rob Paulsen (voice of Donatello) on the show floor and we discussed the season two premiere of TMNT. I straight up told him “That’s how you do a season two premiere.”

Mind Wanderer: Sonic The Hedgehog (SatAM) Review

Welcome to the premiere edition of Mind Wanderer, a cartoon video review web show. Today, we will be looking at Sonic the Hedgehog (also know as Sonic SatAM). Personally, when I think of early 90s shows from my childhood, this is one of the shows I think of. I wanted to see if the show held up. By the end of 2014, there will be five animated TV series based on Sega's Genesis hero. Surely, at least one of them is good. Right?

Trailer: Mind Wanderer

This is the debut trailer for the new cartoon review web series, Mind Wanderer. Here you'll find videos spotlighting various animated shows and movies from my collection along with discussion of my thoughts and who I think would enjoy watching the show or movie. While I do like to have fun on the show, don't expect a large portion dedicated to sketches that have little to do with the subject at hand. After all, it's about the animation, right?