Hunter x Hunter (2011) 76 – Reunion x And x Understanding

The moment fans of the 1999 Nippon Animation version of Hunter x Hunter is finally here! This is the start of the Chimera Ant arc and the answer to one question left in the final moments of the Greed Island FINAL OVA! Who is the man Gon and Killua met after using the Accompany On card?

When I first heard of the news of a new Hunter x Hunter anime 2 years ago, I am one of those fans who said that I will watch the series once it reached the Chimera Ant arc. But as it turns out, I ended up watching the new anime series! Though there are some frustrations along the way, I ended up liking this series more than the 1999 anime series. Which leads us to this, after two years of waiting and 75 episodes worth of episodes to refresh the minds of the older fans and to introduce newer fans to this series, it is time to the start the arc that we all want to see have its anime treatment, the Chimera Ant arc!

To some technicalities first before talking about the episode, I am disappointed that they didn't change the opening theme. I know most long running anime titles has at least one opening theme that you can associate with but at least they have the decency to change the opening theme after a year or two! Look at One Piece for starters, "We Are!" will and will always be the One Piece theme song, but at least they change the theme from time to time, depending on the story arc the anime is current at.

As for the actual episode, it is really good. This episode introduced us to Kite, Ging's student and the guy that saved Gon in the first episode of the Nippon Animation anime of Hunter x Hunter. Unlike in that version, this version of Kite has silver hair and that he is not aware that Gon is Ging's son till he met Ging! To be honest, I haven't read the manga, but based on how I understand it, there are some changes made in either of the two versions but according to most fans, the Madhouse version is more faithful with the source material, then I guess the Nippon Animation version did some changes when they first introduced Kite.

Speaking of Kite, my only memory of him in the original anime is that he is that one-shot character who was later forgotten in the series. This is why his reintroduction in the new anime is quite a surprise for me. Seriously, I didn't expect that his Nen ability has something to do with gambling! What's more, I can't believe that he can be this cold hearted! With that in mind, I like this new Kite a bit more. At least in this version, he is one interesting character to watch out for. Oh, and I can't wait to see more of those crazy slots!

Since part of his introduction is his meeting with Gon, they decided to make it a bit short. We only see how Gon was attacked by the foxbear, how Kite saved him and how Kite disciplined him by punching him, and say some lines before leaving. Aside from that, we also learned how he met Ging and how he ended up becoming a hunter. The scene that featured a younger Kite and his animal friends showed us his life prior meeting Ging and showed us his potential as a hunter. He telling us that Ging is the type of guy who is not into responsibility gave me a better idea about his overall personality.

He is at the very core, a kid who likes adventure, and being a hunter in itself is one big adventure for him. Having some friends join his adventure might give him problems along the way, especially if they are not strong enough. That is why it kinda makes sense that even though Ging has a lot of friends, we barely heard or read stories of him that features his adventures with his friends. We only know that he discovered ruins, he is kind of an idiot, shy when it comes with his son, irresponsible, but most of all, he is over confident that his son is strong enough to face the challenges he created just for him.

Finally, how the heck Gon and Killua ended up meeting Kite instead of Ging. To put it simply, he is just too shy to meet Gon with his friend tagging along, that simple. It makes sense since for 10 years of his son's life, he is not there physically as a parent, but he acts more like a spiritual guide in Gon's adventures. To put it simply, he is a kind of guy who doesn't know what to say to his son and his friend in their first meeting. Oh well, guess this wild goose chase in searching for Ging will continue but for now, let's talk about these Chimera Ants.

The only idea we have about these creatures is that they are carnivorous, and now under quarantine. In a distance, the Chimera Ant Queen is currently recovering because her aim is to give birth to the Chimera Ant King! In general, the idea we have about these creatures is that they are carnivorous, can attack humans from time to time, and that some of them are human sized. This gave me an idea that this story arc of Hunter x Hunter might be the darkest, bloodiest and the most violent one in the series. In short, I can't wait to see what's next in the series!

Robotics;Notes Stage Play Cast Revealed

The official website of the Robotics;Notes stage play posted the photos of the cast members in costume. The play will run at the Space Zero Hall near Tokyo's Shibuya station during the Golden Week holidays (between May 3 and 12).

Ryota Ozawa (Kaizoku Sentai Gokaiger) as Kaito Yashio

Arisa Komiya (Tokumei Sentai Go-Busters) as Akiho Senomiya

Kimito Totani (Kamen Rider Decade) as Subaru Hidaka

Miku Ōno as Frau Kōjiro

Ran Sakai as Junna Daitoku

Yū Aikawa as Airi

Ami Nishihara as Misaki Senomiya

Minori Sakurai as Mizuka Irei

Teppei Sakata as Mitsuhiko Nagafukada

Akihiro Oguni as Tetsuharu Fujita

Haneyuri as Nae Tennōji

Shūji Hayashi as Kō Kimijima

Tatsuya Isaka as Toshiyuki Sawada

The upcoming Robotics;Notes stage play is based on the XBOX 360/PS3 game of the same name. The original game is set in an alternate future world and in the year 2019, the world is immersed in realistic augmented reality technology. But the main focus of the game is about a high school robotics club that is in danger of being disbanded now that they are down with only two members.

The Robotics;Notes stage play is directed by Kotaro Yoshitani.

Source: Anime News Network

77% of Women Are Fine Dating an Otaku

Sankei Living Newspaper asked 94 women if they can be in a relationship with an otaku. Suprisingly, 77% are willing to date one.

According to the researchers, it is credited to a growing number of women who are "light otaku". Namely, chicks who are aware about the existence of manga, anime, video games and etc. and is into some of them. Even if that is the case, even if you are an otaku, if you act and look like one, they might not consider dating you.

Source: Rocket News

Unofficial Sentai Akibaranger S2 03 – Gosei Sentai Dairanger Revival

With China Red still China Red not Ryuu Ranger, our heroes want him to become official. Problem is, Malsheena is back and is now under the New-Dimensional-Mental-Correction-Subterranean-Neo-Empire Baros LOL! Can our heroes find a way to revive the Dairangers? Oh, and there is that Kiba Ranger.

Before talking about Malsheena's return, let's talk about Kiba Ranger in the opening fight scene of this episode. His attack on the Akibarangers is really, really amazing. Seriously, he just made them listen to tokusatsu music till their ears bleed, or in this case, explode! It's one simple attack and just one strike might be the end of our heroes. Thankfully, the villains left and so our heroes back to the real world. Now it is time to talk about Malsheena's return.

Malsheena's return is kinda unexpected considering that it is implied that he died in the explosion in the first season's finale. Having her return being a direct homage to Denziman's Queen Hedorian is one nice touch. Unlike the said Queen Hedorian from Denziman who returned in Sun Vulcan with a different costume, it seems that there are no changes with Malsheena's costume. She is still wearing the same uniform from the first season. But there is at least something new with her, in this case, she has her own version of the MMZ-01 that has a different paint job from the regular MMZ-01. As of this episode, its only purpose is her communication device with General Pain and the acts as the receiver once General Pain sends a new monster.

Speaking of General Pain, he is one amazing villain. For starters, he knows the things that make a villain lose in your standard Super Sentai series. He knows the death flags and the sure ways for the hero to win, but that's not all, he creates his own monsters! What I like about General Pain is the fact that he wants to be over the top as much as possible when it comes to simply transporting the monster or just saying his lines in some scenes. It is also during these scenes when we learned that there is such a thing as evil meetings, whose main objective is to discuss the usual dialogue to say on screen.

As for our heroes, they learned that Gosei Sentai Akibaranger is a dark part of the Super Sentai franchise and only lasted for 13 episodes, even though they hired Toshiki Inoue to save the show thanks to the mess created by Naruhisa Arakawa. Considering that Toshiki Inoue is one amazing screenwriter back then, I guess his writing prowess is not enough to save a dying show... or that Toshiki Inoue's "bad" writing side appeared early on, which sealed the final nail in the Akibaranger coffin. Did I mention that info about why Akibaranger is one bad show needs some citation?

Aside from that, Luna's reaction that Akibaranger is good in her book is the same reaction of every kid who learned that their childhood Super Sentai series is considered bad. Take me for instance, my childhood Super Sentai series is Chikyuu Sentai Fiveman. Older fans think it is a bad Super Sentai series and you should feel bad about it if you love that show. In my case, I don't care what fans say about Fiveman, Fiveman is my childhood Sentai series, it defined parts of my childhood. I don't care how bad the show is, all I care is how much I love the Fiveman team as a kid and Arthur becoming the team cannon, oh and the opening and ending themes.

Since Dairanger doesn't exist, what happened to its cast members? Much to their surprise, Keiichi Wada played Nobuo Akagi in Gosei Sentai Akibaranger. Considering his smile in the promotional image, it looks like he is doing the show just for the money, which is so sad. With that in mind, it is time for the Dairanger Revival project! What I like about it is that the actions of the core cast less Luna is made because of their love for the show. Even though Yumeria doesn't have reference images, she tried her best for the masks and the props to be show accurate.

But if there is one guy I salute in this one that would be Nobuo, I mean he wrote down the Dairanger script out of memory! It can only mean one thing, he watched the show countless times, so many times that he even memorized the lines of the entire series! Based on the paper he throw, he makes some mistakes till he remembers the exact lines said in a specific episode of Dairanger. Ladies and gentlemen, this is a true Super Sentai fan, a man who can memorize lines of his favorite show and can write it down. As for Luna, she's just in it because of the acting experience.

Now is the moment of truth, after kidnapping China Red and placed him in the back of the Machine Itashar, it is time for their performance of the Dairanger opening theme! I love how they recreate the sequence, granted there are some problems along the way, but they were able to recreate the entire opening sequence perfectly. Did I mention that they just hummed the Ryuu Ranger lines so that China Red can remember that he is Ryuu Ranger? That's cool that I even ended up singing along with them!

The bad guys arrived but they were able to escape and now comes the time to see how they recreate one of Dairanger's greatest scenes, the final showdown between Jin Matoba and Ryou! Though I haven't reached that part in Dairanger, I was able to watch that clip. I love how they use the original music of the said scene and even say the same lines from that episode. After a few beatings, it seems that China Red is now remembers that he is Ryuu Ranger! At the end, China Red remembers that he is Ryuu Ranger and did the same move he did in the said episode.

The only thing that is left is Kiba Ranger, unlike Ryuu Ranger that it took them a fight scene, it only took one AkibaYellow dressed up as Lin aka Houou Ranger just for Kiba Ranger to remember that he is the pervy kid named Kou who has his sword talk for him in most episodes. Now that the Dairangers are back to normal, it is time for the final fight scene in this episode! But before talking about that, it is time for the roll call. For starters, it seems that Luna is back to normal, she didn't grew up watching Akibaranger and she is back as that unpopular idol. In short, I just love that she still messes with the roll call, this time, she did it naturally.

The fight scenes are fantastic, and just like the previous official Super Sentai teams; they gave the Akibarangers their Penultimate Power. The said Penultimate Power is just a pair of hands but once combined, it can create a strong Qi-Powered Bomber! At the end, the Dairangers are now back to normal, the Akibarangers are unofficial... again and that Luna sees no point in transforming because she doesn't gain any benefits from it and leaves the team. But since she is still in the opening sequence the next episode and the episode preview, I guess this will only be temporary and she might find her reason in staying, the same reason why Mitsuki stayed in the team originally.