The Dub Reviewer: Record of Lodoss War

July 29, 2010
record of lodoss war 1990 1991 anime OVA

Nowadays it seems as though people are so accustomed to top quality dubbing; this is more of the standard these days rather than the exception, which wasn’t necessarily how things were in the ’90s. Around this period, the consensus was that dubbing just wasn’t very good at all, and “efforts” such as most of the output from Streamline and Manga UK often fell into truly dreary territory. However, there were some notable exceptions to the rule, and Record of Lodoss War OVA, dubbed by National Sound for Central Park Media in 1996, was one of them.

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Kakera: A Piece of Our Life – Review

July 20, 2010
kakera a piece of our life 2010 japanese film

Haru is a college student ignored by her boyfriend yet believes she is still in love with him. One day at a café, Haru meets Riko, a medical artist (prosthetist) who creates body parts in order to disguise clients’ missing pieces, lost due to accident or disease. Both were alone, but struck up an immediate friendship and closeness. Riko doesn’t care about gender when it comes to relationships, and believes that love itself is the most important thing a human can achieve. Haru struggles in her life between friendship and a deeper relationship with Riko.

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Frog River – Review

July 9, 2010
frog river 2002 japanese film

Tsutomu has it rough when it comes to his masculinity. Shamed when he was younger due to an unlikely dare that he couldn’t commit to, he has always lived under the shadow if his peers and never fully stands up for what he believes in. He has since become an aspiring DJ and works as a clerk at a record store where he can play all the music he wants too without being bothered. This all changes though when he meets up with his peer from the past, the ever oppressive and bullying Shiba.

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The dilemma of anime dubbing within America

July 5, 2010
The dilemma of anime dubbing within America

The dubbing of foreign media has always been something that has interested me. It’s really something I have not thought about for a while. I remember those old kung-fu films and how they were dubbed over in English as well as other foreign films too. It was a good way to introduce the product to a new audience. Nowadays though, you don’t see too many films being dubbed. Many are now subtitled to hold the original authenticity, themes and message. Another thing to consider is that it may be that the culture is more accepting than it was in 1980’s towards showcasing the original content.

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Little Nemo: Adventures in Slumberland – Review

July 2, 2010
little nemo adventures in slumberland 1989 japanese anime film

Welcome to the fantasy world of “Little Nemo,” filled with dreams of enchanted lands and new friends, amazing magic and fun-filled adventure. A place where anything is possible and the only boundaries are those of the imagination. In this major motion picture, Nemo journeys to the Kingdom of Slumberland.

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JAPAN CUTS Festival of Contemporary Japanese Cinema

June 28, 2010
JAPAN CUTS Festival of Contemporary Japanese Cinema

As a fan of Japanese cinema, I feel it’s essential to support those who continually support the community in enriching and exposing Japanese cinema to an ever-increasing spectrum of viewers. With that in mind, the Japan Society in New York is going to be putting on their “Japan Cuts” Festival of Contemporary Japanese Cinema–which is now in their fourth consecutive year!

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Musashi: The Dream of the Last Samurai – Review

June 23, 2010
musashi: the dream of the last samurai 2009 japanese anime film

Miyamoto Musashi (1584-1645) was an unrivalled swordsman in the days when internal wars in Japan had virtually ended. Nevertheless, he wrote a master treatise on military strategy, The Book of Five Rings and sought “the way” to enlighten his spirit and cultivate his mind. But could this image have been fabricated by the generations that followed? Mamoru Oshii will take on an unusual portrayal of this legendary and aloof warrior, between spectacular duels and a tragic life in pursuit of greatness.

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The Man Who Stole The Sun – Review

June 18, 2010
the man who stole the sun 1979 japanese film

Makoto, a high school science and chemistry teacher, has decided to build his own atomic bomb. Before stealing plutonium isotopes from a nearby nuclear power plant, he is involved in the botched hijacking of one of his school’s buses during a field trip. Along with a police detective, Yamashita he is able to overcome the hijacker and is publicly hailed as a hero.

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Go Find a Psychic! – Review

June 15, 2010
go find a psychic! 2009 japanese film

Once a year, on Christmas Eve, Cafe Telekinesis holds a real psychic party. At the party, psychics gather together to show off their abilities while for the rest of the year they hide their abilities. Yone Sakurai is a program director for a psychic variety TV show called “Asunaro Psychic”. Yone actually believes in psychic abilities, and by an audience request, a new plan is set out for the program—a plan that requires the show to uncover real psychics. Yone is selected to find these people throughout the nation, but ends up empty handed each time. Before Yone ends her search she makes one last stop at Cafe Psychic on Christmas Eve. Can the true psychics there, who all despise Yone’s TV show, hide their abilities from Yone?

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Nobody to Watch Over Me – Review

June 8, 2010
nobody to watch over me

When two children are found murdered, an eighteen-year-old high school student becomes the prime suspect, and the case quickly becomes a media sensation. As both the press and an angry public descend on the home of the accused, his family finds themselves at the mercy of strangers unconcerned with their welfare. Takumi Katsuyoshi is a veteran police detective who is assigned to look after Saori, the fifteen-year-old sister of the accused; while he initially regards the assignment as frivolous, it isn’t long before he sees what kind of toll the attention has taken on the family, and he becomes all the more concerned when he witnesses the reckless behavior of the paparazzi.

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