Anime Reviews: Toriko Episode 01 - The Undiscovered Giant Beast! Toriko, Capture a Gararagator!

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And here I thought it was just One Piece that had those weird titles.  Looks like it's actually just Toei's trademark. Also, I would like to point out that I think this series is making me fatter.  And I haven't even read or watched it yet!  Just hearing all the hype about it has made me start to make food bigger, and better.

Manga Reviews: Blue Exorcist Volume 1

If you have read any reviews for this manga, then you are well aware that the first chapter is universally recognized as poor manga at best.  Anyone with any taste in manga says exactly this, so when I went into reading this I almost felt like it was my duty to hate the first chapter.  But after seeing the first episode of the anime, and liking it, I didn't see how the manga could possibly be all that bad.

Anime Reviews: Fairy Tail Episode 75 - The 24-Hour Endurance Road Race

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There isn't much I can say about Fairy Tail filler other than repeating that I surprisingly like it.  I'd much rather see the manga episodes animated, but original material is just as enjoyable when it's well put together.

Book Reviews: I Don't Want To Kill You

After meeting Dan Wells in person, I determined that the title of his current book is telling the truth.  Maybe.

Sometimes you run across a series that you never would have read in a million years, if not for extenuating circumstances.  But once you do read it, you find a place in your heart for it that you didn't know was open.  That's what the John Cleaver series is like for me.  I was first introduced to Dan Wells through the Writing Excuses podcast, which I was listening to because I was taking Brandon Sanderson's creative writing class at the time.  Who I happened to know about because I picked up a copy of his first book, Elantris, from the campus bookstore bargain bin.  It must have been some kind of fate (corny as that sounds), because I normally don't buy books on a whim like that, even bargain bin books, but the blurb on the jacket cover interested me that much.  Then I later found out that he was finishing The Wheel of Time series, one of my all-time favorites, and the sole reason I had no social life during high school (have you seen the size of some of those books?  It took four years of dedicated reading to get through them).  So one thing led to another, and the moral of the story is: If you want your books published, then be on a podcast with a bestselling author.

Anime Reviews: Beelzebub Episode 14 - Is There a Special Move?

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You know, I can understand the reasoning behind taking advantage of the lack of any real overarching story early on in the manga.  But if all this filler padding gets this anime canceled, I'm going to be pissed!

Fantasy Casting: Fairy Tail

Since Funimation has announced that they have acquired the license for Fairy Tail, and have only announced Todd Haberkorn as Natsu, I think it would be fun to finish something I started a while back. Namely my fantasy casting for the then hypothetical Fairy Tail dub.  What is fantasy casting you ask?  It's kind of like fantasy football, only more conventionally nerdy.  Basically I draw from a pool of voice actors, in this case those that regularly work with Funimation, and assign them roles in an undubbed anime.

Given the news of the upcoming release of the Funimation dub of Fairy Tail, now seems as good a time as any to release my very first fantasy cast list.  That and if I don't post it now there won't be any point in posting it ever, after the rest of the cast is announced that is.

I'll be focusing on the main characters, and assign them voice actors that I think have the right voice for the role.  Obviously I won't bother casting Natsu since...he's already been cast.  But with all the rest of the cast unannounced I can still have my say on who I think would do the best job.

And so, let's see how close I get to guessing who plays who.

Anime Reviews: Blue Exorcist Episode 01 - Demons Live in the Human Soul

 

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Or Here!

I first heard about Blue Exorcist from Katherin Dacey's quick look at the manga, and then from the preview printed in Shonen Jump.  Shortly afterward I found out that not only was an anime adaptation of the series in the works, but that it was being simulcasted on Hulu and Crunchyroll.  It took me a moment to get around to watching it, but my intention was to give it a shot.  What I knew so far told me it should be worth a look, but it wasn't until I read the full review of the first volume that I decided to go ahead and make this one a priority.

News Updates: Fairy Tail Licensed by Funimation

I absolutely love Twitter.  People can make fun of it all they want, but when I find out about something like THIS because of Twitter, then it has my love forever. If it were legal I would marry Twitter.  But since that is impossible, I proposed to Funimation instead.  I have yet to hear back from them.

Anime Reviews: Fairy Tail Episode 74 - Wendy's First Big Job

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And we once again dive into filler, this time with another completely original story.  Wendy has been getting a lot of focus the past few episodes, what with her being the newest character.  But this is the first time that she's had an episode centered around her.

An Otaku's Usage Dictionary - First Edition

One of the classes I took this semester was English Language 322 - American Usage.  During that class I was familiarized with usage dictionaries and when the time came to choose a class project, one of which was creating a usage dictionary, I decided to make one for a certain niche I was convinced never had anyone create a usage dictionary for it.  Thus I present to you, An Otaku's Usage Dictionary - First Edition. 

Basically the purpose behind this usage dictionary is to provide a place of reference for terms that get thrown around the anime community.  I know you could pretty much look anything up on wikipedia, but this is a specific reference material with quick, simple definitions and suggestions for how to use specific terms. 

It's short for now, I'll be working on it some more as I find more material to include, and eventually I wouldn't mind putting it up for sale as an ebook.  This of course depends entirely on how popular it is.  And since it's more of a side project that I'm doing for fun, I can't make any promises about how long it will take for the next edition to come out. 

Until then, I hope you enjoy it, and if you find something off about one of my definitions, feel free to let me know.  Constructively if you will, while I do not mind if anyone wants to waste their time posting an impolite comment, chances are I will simply dismiss you as an angry twit if I decide your comment was solely posted to spite me.  I don't mind criticism, but I do require that all criticism be made with civility.

Download it Here!