Gen X Otaku 1971: the OG blog

Finished LaGrange: Flower of Rin-ne (Seasons 1 & 2) - contains spoilers

120327(3) - 全新製作OVA《輪廻のラグランジェ -鴨川デイズ-》將搶先在TVA第二期之前特別上映！ (Photo credit: ccsx)

I finally got around to finishing up the VIZ release of their English dub of LaGrange: The Flower of Rin-ne.  It's superficially a "mecha" show, only with all female pilots who are in charge of special machines called VOX units, which they give pet names like "Midori", "Orca" and "Hupo".  The story centers around everday Japanese teen girl Madoka and her two friends who just happen to be aliens from other worlds, Lan of Le Garite and Muginami of De Metrio.  Madoka is an orphan who is being raised by her uncle and mentored by her older cousin who is a research scientist, Youko Nakaizumi (中泉 ようこ Nakaizumi Yōko^?).  Madoka always looked up to Youko, and it was admiration of Youko's positive energy and enthusiasm as a High School student that pulled Madoka from the depths of her depresssion at losing her mother at such a young age.  Madoka vowed to emulate Youko in every way possible and founded an extra curricular club she calls "The Jersey Club" for the Jersey track suit she wears constantly (just like her cousin before her).  Her mission is to provide assistance to other clubs, whenever and whereever the need is most.

Madoka soon ropes her alien friend Lan into joining Jersey Club, and not long after recruits Lan's rival, Muginami, to join as well.  Madoka's sheer force of personality enables Lan and Muginami to put aside their differences and live peacefully for a time on the Earth in Kamogawa, Japan.

Both alien girls are princesses in rival alien kingdoms that are on the brink of war due to their planets being on a collision course.  Only these aliens are actually ancient humans who fled planet Earth aeons ago to found new civilizations among the stars.  The kings of these two realms were once childhood friends but they have grown distant now that they have become adults.  Plus there are forces behind the scenes that very much want the war, for ulterior motives.  And the central mystery is all tied to an event that happened on earth, a near mass-extinction that allegedly happened 20,000 years in the past.

Madoka's simplistic worldview and naivite aren't nearly as annoying as Fam from Last Exile Season 2.  Madoka realizes she sometimes must fight in her VOX unit to protect the people she loves, though just like Fam she naively believes that all problems can be resolved simply by talking them out calmly and respectfully.  Luckily, too, Madoka seems to have the hands of Fate on her side, and a bit of divine luck to boot.

The series is reasonably entertaining but it's best not to overthink the underlying politics or world histories, etc.  They're background scenery, largely unimportant.  The major material conflict gets hand-waved away with a few lines in the last episode.  Front and center throughout is always the characters and their relationships with each other that is the focus of the show.  This is the major driver of all action and drama in this narrative.  The emotional states of the characters seem to literally have magical powers that make the VOX units work optimally, etc.

I don't pretend to understand the flower imagery or what it symbolizes, other than it must pertain to some deeper meanings in Japanese culture that completely escape me as a Western viewer.

I only own the DVDs of this series, and while I do think the resolution on Neon Alley (where I first started it) was somewhat superior, the DVDs are of presentable quality and the animation used in this show is still very beautiful.  If this were a stronger story I'd recommend getting this series on Blu-Ray rather than DVD, as it can be quite visually impressive at times.  But because the story seldom rises above lackluster, I can't recommend spending the extra $$$ on a Blu-Ray acquisition of this title.  Enjoy what you can see on DVD, which is perfectly adequate.

The voice performances are reasonably good, full of BangZoom! regulars that one expects on a VIZ release.

Season 1 feels complete unto itself, and if you find you don't particularly like the show, you can feel perfectly fine stopping there.  Season 2 is another arc, and it delves deeper into the backstory of the various characters and factions as well as advancing the plot forward.

I managed to pick up the series after the price dropped and it became a resonably priced purchase for me.  Plus I didn't get a chance to finish it in English on Neon Alley, which was an additional motivation for me.  There were too many other shows running concurrently, so I decided to drop LaGrange in favor of finishing it on physical media instead.  I'm glad I did so because it enabled me to fully enjoy shows like MAGI, for example.  I'm glad for the cool shows that Neon Alley introduced me to, especially the Aniplex shows but also native VIZ titles like this one.

I look forward to catching the English dub of Gargantia sometime later this year.  Hopefully it will premiere on Neon Alley as promised and I will wait a few months after the initial release, hoping for the price drop that will make it affordable as well.  Some of the visuals in LaGrange remind me of the visuals I saw of Gargantia episode 1 on Crunchyroll.  VIZ seems to have a habit lately of releasing visually stunning shows that are kind of weaksauce in terms of actual story, plot, characters, etc.  I found Kfrustrating for much the same reasons.  Visually amazing but confusing as f*ck in terms of character motivations, backstory, etc.  A lot of it just didn't make sense to me.  The Aniplex show Fate/Zero had the opposite problem...it tells too much, actually, but even still none of it makes a lick of sense.  It's all fast-talking gibberish to me.

LaGrange at least is easy to consume and fairly straightforward; Likeable, plucky Madoka goes out to save Kamogawa, her friends, her family, the Earth, and the Universe.  The series is definitely worth a look, worth staying with at least to the conclusion of Season 1.

Social watching vs. Private viewing

English: The Alamo Drafthouse sign outside of the original location in downtown Austin. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

In my experience, the best way to consume a new anime is to view it privately, alone.  While I do love and appreciate my local option to watch the first four episodes of some brand new releases from Sentai Filmworks and FUNimation thanks to Alamo Drafthouse, I don't get to do this for every show, and not every show I watch there is something I feel passionately about continuing.  Some of the shows are merely mediocre and the first four on the big screen is all I need of it.

The first time through an anime for me tends to be a very private, personal experience.  I don't want any chatter or cross talk or distractions, no MST3K style snark, nothing.  Just me and the visual experience.  I want to be fully immersed in the experience and not interrupted.  I want to relate to the characters directly, not in a hipster-ish ironically detached way.

But I am learning to be a bit more social.  I want to share the love of anime, be a kind of Anime Evangelist to my friends.  I'm willing to watch things a second time with a small set of close friends and this has been a positive experience so far.  I control the pause button.  If a friend has a question I'll pause the show and try to answer it in a non-spoiler way.  Or I'll pause to interject a funny comment (without talking OVER the show) the move on, or I'll talk in the transitional scenes between dialogue.  I'm basically helping friends whose main exposure to Anime are the BIG and LONG series like Naruto, Bleach, One Piece, et. al.

Most recently I screened for two friends the first four episodes of Girls Und Panzer.  They really enjoyed it, and for the first time they decided they definitely want to continue the series for our next screening together.  We tend to go to local minor league baseball games together then gather back at my house afterwards to watch Anime together.  It's a fun way to spend an evening together with friends.  I'm grateful they're willing to trust my judgement on Anime screening selections and I'm glad we all have good chemistry and can appreciate the shows and gently make fun of them at the same time.

I will probably always make sure that any social screening of Anime is always a 2nd watch through for me, though.  I always want that pure, unadulterated experience with a work first.  I feel like I can be a better host, too, when I've already seen a show and understand the characters better.  Sometimes I see something the second time through that I missed the first time, etc.

 

If you think about it

The main characters of Toradora! (from left to right): Ryūji, Yūsaku, Taiga, Minori, and Ami. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Aniplex is, with the way they are releasing the English dub of
Kill La Kill, sort of activating the way-back machine with respect to the way anime gets sold, i.e. volume by volume instead of a complete boxed set. 
 
Though to be fair, both Sentai Filmworks and FUNimation have their “Collection 1 & 2” and “Part 1 and 2” ways respectively of breaking up a season into two saleable parts instead of everything all at once…those releases are secondary, when a title is waning in popularity and being pushed to the back burner in favor of newer stuff, or is entering S.A.V.E. edition status for FUNimation in particular.
 
VIZ released LaGrange season by season, 1st then 2nd. And they’re still way behind on releasing Bleach dubbed to home video but that’s a given fact of life in the known universe.
 
My pre-order of the Toradora! Dub release is to date my only purchase from NIS America, and until they dub more of their properties may be my ONLY purchase from them.
 
I know some sub-only fans claim that restricting oneself to dubs is too limiting, that you’re only exposed to a fraction of the available anime that way, etc.

While that’s trivially true, I’m never hurting for anime to watch dubbed in English, from older shows to even newer releases…there’s just so much out there; I still have box sets upon box sets of dubbed series that I’ve yet to finish but
fully intend to.
 
The only downside is, it’s harder to find fellow fans who are watching the same shows as me or wants to talk about them when I do.

Favorable first impression, Devil Survivor 2 The Animation (Ep.1-4)

Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor 2 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

I am back from the screening of Devil Survivor 2: The Animation, specifically the first four episodes of the English dub of this anime adaptation of a popular videogame.  This screening was a special "sneak preview" hosted by Sentai Filmworks, who sent along the ADR Director and ADR script writer for a brief Q&A afterwards.  This was a reasonably entertaining show, the animation was very good and on par with other current anime standards.  It was nice to hear Jessica Boone's voice as one of the main female heroines.  Greg Ayres voices one of the supporting characters.  The main character, 久世 響希 Kuze Hibiki, is voiced by Patrick Poole, who could not attend tonight's screening but did record a video message that played before the screening, thanking all the fans for attending the special advanced screening of this anime.  One lucky fan got to go home with an advanced copy of this series; alas it was not me.

For the fourth episode versus the "Big Bad" that shows up, I joked with my neighbor (whom I knew personally in real life) "...scramble Eva Unit 01!", since it looked uncannily like it flew off the set of Neon Genesis Evangelion as one of the attacking Angels.  This seems like a pretty brutal show that is not going to pull any punches.  I am predicting a high body count.

While I probably won't rush out and buy this series, it is something I'd definitely watch later on maybe on rental DVD or streaming on Netflix.  I'd consider buying it, but it's not a high priority right now.  I didn't feel at a loss not having played the videogame before; if anything, listening to the questions coming from fans who have played this game and the Persona series of games, I think I probably got more out of this show walking in "blank slate", with no prior experience, so I was not struggling with preconceived notions or prior gaming experience.  You could certainly do worse with a spontaneous purchase than Devil Survivor 2: The Animation.

Apropos of nothing, I'd like to offer a brief apology to the Daily Anime Podcast, who I gave a little sh*t to in my last post.  It looks like they've been back up and cranking out new episodes since May of this year after a long hiatus!  Welcome back guys, I'll go download the current episode and backlog of stuff I missed since ya'll's return.  It's always cool to find new epsiodes of old shows you thought were done pod-faded away.

Looking forward to Devil Survivor 2

Plan to be attending the screening tonight of Devil Survivor 2, new from Sentai Filmworks. The trailer is visually impressive; I’ve never played the video game upon which this anime is based, but I’m willing to give it a chance (the anime,
not the game as I’m really not much of a gamer anymore).
 
Other random stuff, I plan on checking out a new Anime podcast, Otaku Spirit, which has a new advertising bump in The Anime Addicts Anonymous podcast lately. AAA is a podcast I still listen to religiously, along with ANNCast and A.W.O. 
I’m trying out the relaunch of Otaku Momentum, aka “Otaku into It”. It’s okay, though I’ve only ever heard a few episodes of the original and so have no baseline against which to compare the new version. It’s okay so far. I still tune in to the Banzai Beat
podcast, which is okay. Fightbait seems to be on permanent hiatus. The hilariously misnamed Daily Anime Podcast pod-faded a long time ago. I’m starting to lose interest in Shaft+ and 2Lazy for reasons that are largely personal and fickle. I’m hoping Otaku
Spirit is able to fill a void, therefore. I’m skipping all the season preview & recap episodes because AAA hits that content better than anyone. But I am looking forward to Otaku Spirit’s more in depth reviews of older shows.
 
In the meantime, I just keep yelling into the void here on this blog about my love for these Japanese cartoons.
 

Pre-order Happiness and future prospects

121207(3) – 『Project Attack』謎底揭曉、漫畫《進撃の巨人》（進撃的巨人）將在2013年春天放送動畫，男女主角聲優出爐！ (1/2) (Photo credit: ccsx)

So I’ve only comparatively recently jumped on the Pre-order bandwagon. I’m motivated to write this post because I just got word from Amazon that my Pre-Order of
Attack On Titan Part One (Blu-Ray/DVD Combo Pack) has just shipped and is on its way. Of course I’ve been following the show on Toonami, because, duh! I’ve also been keeping up with
Blue Exorcist there as well. Blue Exorcist is a good show, and I’m grateful to get the dub on TV via Toonami, because it’s NOT good enough to pay Aniplex prices to obtain in physical format. However, speaking of Aniplex, there
is the little matter of Kill La Kill, which, as a huge fan of Gurren Lagann, has definitely piqued my interest. I’ve sampled a few episodes on Crunchyroll and dang it, I WANT this DUB. So I will probably pony up and pay Right
Stuf! for the privilege of shipping it to me. Speaking of Right Stuf!, while I’m shopping there I also plan to reward them for rescuing and re-releasing the old ADV Films classic title
Princess Nine. While I own a rather banged up box set of the original ADV release, some of the discs have definitely seen better days, and sometimes the playback quality is a little rough. I’d like to have a pristine copy. So I’ll probably
bundle this with my Kill La Kill pre-order via Right Stuf!
 
I’m also still waiting on my Pre-Order of Toradora
and Evangelion 3.0 which are two “must buys” for the serious (dub) anime fan.
 
There are other titles on my “considering” list but I’ll probably hold off on actual purchases of those until the prices drop a little further; stuff like
Jormungand or Upotte! Or Part 2 of Aquarion EVOL. However, if the latter gets added to FUNimation streaming, it’s a toss up, frankly, if I would acquire it on physical media or not. I’ve seen all of Part 1 of
Aquarion EVOL on FUNimation streaming. I do really like the Aquarion franchise as a whole, and the first and second seasons are linked in very interesting and emotionally gratifying ways. It’s more than just a mech show. It’s
also about Gods and Mythology and Reincarnation and Prophecy and just pure mystical weirdness. Its storytelling is rather unconventional, and while like a lot of shows—RaXephon, for example—it also borrows inspiration from
Neon Genesis Evangelion, it stands proudly on that 2nd tier status with
RaXephon, right under NGE.
 
I’m also a little perplexed why Short Peace got an English dub, but I’m certainly not complaining, so that title is also under consideration for me as a future purchase. I may also be putting in a pre-order for the English
dub of Watamote. I’ve read a few volumes of the English-translated manga and am eager to watch the Anime adaptation dubbed into English. There’s been speculation about the dub cast, specifically who should voice Tomoko. Some have argued for
Leah Clark, drawing inspiration from her Frau character in Robotics;Notes. That could work. Others have speculated the role might go to Brittney Karbowski. While a seemingly unconventional choice, it’s not as if Brittney hasn’t played awkward
nerdy girls before, and portrayed quite well in fact: Colorful,
Mysterious Girlfriend X, Little Busters, just to name a few examples. Given the proper ADR Direction, I’m sure Brittney can deliver the level of “creepy + awkward” required for Tomoko. I’m thinking of a blend of the aforementioned
awkward nerdy girls and, say, Yamada. That’d be about right.
 
In summary, while I don’t like the Aniplex pricing model, it is here to stay, and
Kill La Kill seems just awesome enough to overcome my resistance while shows like
Blue Exorcist or even MAGI do not. Buying it on pre-order, and from Aniplex no less, makes me feel more like a “real” otaku and less of a poser ;-) Though not sure that’s really something to be proud of, either.

A more detailed animation I did for Anime at The Alamo for this month (June 2014). I included having the characters go over the show synopses as well as the schedule dates.

Funimation mobile seems less robust than Roku or website

This could very well be a function of my own ignorance, but it seems to me, as a FUNimation Elite Video subscriber that even with the $9 “full service” app from FUNimation that can be purchased in iTunes and is meant to be used in conjunction
with a FUNimation Elite Video subscription, that even this portal which costs extra above and beyond one’s ongoing subscription price, still gives me access to less content than does either the Roku player on my TV or the actual FUNimation website.
 
Just the other day I had some free time at lunch and wanted to continue watching more dubbed episodes of Fairy Tail. Not a problem from my Roku at home, nor the FUNimation website. But on my iPhone I can only access the sub-only versions
of these same episodes. I don’t want to watch the subs. I want the dubs, have paid for the dubs, I want my dubs. But for some reason, nope, even though I’m correctly logged in and a paid subscriber, no dubbed episodes of the later episodes of Fairy Tail
for me on my iPhone. Dejected, I aimlessly watched a partial episode of Tenchi Muyo: War on Geminar, which I *could* find the dub for on my iPhone. Needless to say I was NOT a happy camper that day. I don’t know if the iPad version of this app is
just as limited, but I do know the iPhone version is keeping me away from a fair amount of dub content I could otherwise get through other less convenient access portals. This is janky as all get out and I don’t understand why it seemingly works this way. 
All I know is that it’s a pain for me trying to watch my favorite dubbed content in my free time at work via my phone. It needs fixing, though I have a sinking suspicion this is “a feature, not a bug” some how in a way that makes perfect sense to the FUNimation
bean counters or their ultimate bosses back in Japan, the license holders, who are (justifiably) “the usual suspects” in these sorts of stories.
 
Don’t even get me started about how FUNimation AND Anime Network should BOTH have downloadable applications on the major gaming platforms like PS3, PS4, and Xbox. Lots more FUNimation subscribers own those than own a Roku player. The
only reason I own one is due to a fluke--my dad was an early adopter of these and I inherited it when I traded my old Blu-Ray player with Netflix for it. He was only using it for Netflix, when I could use it for so much more. Now if I could only figure out
why my HDMI splitter drops off in quality for its own internal Channel 3 versus inputs 1 & 2 which are both a crisp 1080p. Unfortunately my Roku is (currently) plugged in to that 3rd channel and the quality lower. It’s an annoying fluke that I
don’t know if It’s there by design or not.
 
In any case, I do enjoy those lunches where I’m able to squeeze in single episodes of anime from start to finish, especially from a long-running show.

A brief reaction to Ep.1-4 of Date A Live (Dub)

So recently I took in the first four episodes of the new dub of DATE A LIVE out from FUNimation Entertainment.  It’s certainly pretty to look at, but going by the first four episodes, this series sticks to all the usual, expected otaku pandering Anime tropes.

The quickest mash-up analogy I could give to describe DATE A LIVE would be to take equal parts UFO Ultramaiden Valkyrie and both seasons of The World Only God Knows and voila, you have DATE A LIVE, more or less.  It’s not offensively bad, it’s just pretty to look at but ultimately very dull and predictable.  It’s the sort of show that might be fun to watch stoned on the couch with wisecracking friends.  It won’t blow or expand your mind.  It might get around to tugging your heartstrings if you stay with it long enough, but there are much better shows you could be watching than this one if that is what you crave.

Of course there are worse shows you could watch besides DATE A LIVE (Those who hunt Elves comes to mind, or Queen’s Blade Rebellion).  As for me, I’m going to give this one a pass.  It’s not worth buying the DVDs, it’s not even worth my time to stream it on Roku from my FUNI subscription…there are seemingly always unwatched episodes of Fairy Tail I could be watching instead.

It is probably perfect to the completely novice Anime fan who is new to the medium and just doesn't know any better.  To a more experienced Anime fan, it's just a little trite and groan worthy.

Heck, Upotte! from Sentai Filmworks was more interesting than this for its first four episodes; Ditto Girls Und Panzer.

This series just feels like a cash-grab for FUNimation, just something to pay the bills along the lines of Sekirei, say, or High School DxD.   Another harem boob show, *yawn*.

 

Finally finished: No.6 (Dystopian Sci Fi meets soft BL/Yaoi)

Luci Christian speaking at Anime Evolution 2007 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

This review contains spoilers; please skip if you don't want certain plot elements spoiled.

I finally finished the dystopian Science Fiction anime known simply as No.6, which stands for the sixth of the last known urban human settlements after a great cataclysmic war destroyed our world as we know it.  It was founded by a cadre of idealistic scientists hoping to create a brave new world, but they end up siring a quietly fascist totalitarian nightmare where dissent is crushed out quickly and quietly with minimal fuss.  The main protagonists are Shion and escaped forrest denizen "Rat".  This anime strikes brave new ground with some rather overt homosexual overtones and chemistry between the two main male protagonists.  "Rat" is a desperate refugee from No.6's Correctional Facility.  Shion saves him from being recaptured by the authorities.   "Rat" later repays this favor when Shion's natural curiosity causes him to run afoul of the authorities in No.6 and is facing imminent incarceration and possible execution.  It seems "disappearing" undesirables is a common modus operandi for the civil authorities who rule No.6 from behind closed doors.  Their methods are mysterious and involve such strange tools as "parasitic bees".  A wayward citizen will be suddenly struck by a seeming illness and age to death on the spot and fall over dead.  From the body will emerge a single parasitic bee.  Shion himself very nearly becomes a victim but the aging process is arrested and he escapes with merely prematurely white/grey hair and unsightly liver spots on his face and neck.  Otherwise he is quite youthful.  "Rat" rescues him and takes him outside the dangerous confines of No.6 to the wild country where the last of free humanity eke out a rough and tumble living away from the totalitarian utopias like No.6; No.6 functions like the Borg of Star Trek, determined to either re-assimilate or kill these wayward former citizens.

Shion's childhood friend Safu, voiced by Hilary Haag in the English dub, has fallen in love with Shion.  Awkward and abrupt, she bluntly tells Shion she "wants his sperm", which leaves Shion almost speechless.  Not long after Shion's departure from No.6, Safu falls under the suspicion of the authorities of No.6 because of her longtime association with the fugitive Shion.

"Rat" makes a living part time as a stage actor, where he gladly takes on female roles and identifies himself as "Eve" in the playbills of his productions.  He is mutual friends with a gruff young teenager who prefers to call himself(?) by his(?) title, "Dogkeeper".   This character's gender is kept ambivalent.  "Dogkeeper" has long hair and a pretty face but has the mannerisms and speech of a young teen boy.

It is only much later in the series that Shion discovers by accident that "Dogkeeper" (voiced by Luci Christian) is a growing teen woman.  She's entering a developmental growth spurt, and Shion notices "Dogkeeper's" pert breasts pressed up against him.  The character design shift after this reveal is subtle but palpable.  We begin to notice her curving hips and developing breasts, though she keeps pretending in public to be male, presumably to ward off or diminish the danger of being raped in this Mad-Max like barren wasteland of a human settlement outside the megacities like No.6.  One of "Dogkeeper's" dogs rescues a baby from a No.6 external military operation and while the baby is fussy in the hands of a man, Rikiga (力河 (リキガ )^?), the former journalist, the baby coos softly in "Dogkeeper's" hands and calls her "Mama".  The baby feels comforted being held by a (young) woman.  "Dogkeeper" is struck dumb by this at first then realize the baby's behavior might be a dead giveaway to her true gender and she puts the child back down onto a nearby bed.  These scenes helped endear "Dogkeeper" to me as a character.  I cared about her part in the struggle and very much wanted this young woman to survive (she does).

The ending was a bit cliched Deus Ex Machina, but I suppose it can be forgiven; Shion's seemingly naive pipe-dream for peace comes to pass in reality, and soon "Rat", Shion, and Shion's mother really will live together in peace in harmony in a world where the wall separating No.6 and the rest of humanity has been torn down.  Safu becomes central to the final act, in a moment of tragic sacrifice.  "Rat" gives Shion a final kiss and the story comes to a close.

The opening credits song is very catchy and has been on my iphone for quite some time.  I own this series on DVD from Sentai Filmworks.  I did have one playback issue with the final 3 episodes watching the DVDs on my PS3.  When I reached Episode 9, the DVD choked on me.  I ended up having to remove the DVD from the PS3 and finish watching these last 3 episodes via my PC instead, without any further playback problems.  I don't think this is a QC error on Sentai's part, but rather a bug in the PS3 that also existed in the PS2, namely that certain DVDs just simply wouldn't play properly in them and would need to be viewed in a stand alone DVD player or Blu-Ray player or else watched via the DVD-ROM drive of a desktop PC.  It was a little annoying, since I use my PS3 to watch a great deal of my anime on physical media, usually with no issue.

Anyway, No.6 is a very competent, entertaining piece of dystopian Sci Fi and the BL/Yaoi elements are quite subtle and downplayed.  I frankly was a little disappointed just how restrained the anime stayed on this score past the 4th episode.  I would've welcomed more overtly romantic longings, jealousy, lust, and general homoeroticism between the two male protagonists, but considering that Japan is actually behind the United States with respect to progressive attitudes towards homosexuality, perhaps that's expecting too much from this anime.  It's definitely pushing at and interrogating native Japanese taboos, and that can only be a good thing.  "Dogkeeper" and her gender politics of survival are also compelling and add to what makes this anime a quality product.

I would recommend  owning No.6, or at least renting it or checking it out via Anime Network.  As much as I liked the dub performances, though, there's so much singing (left in native Japanese, thank goodness) that I have to wonder if sub-only might've been the better call with this story.  Maybe.  But only Luci Christian could make "Dogkeeper" such a compelling character for me personally.