Vampire Knight Guilty Volume 2 (A J!-Ent Anime DVD Review)

September 26, 2011 by Michelle Tymon · Leave a Comment

“”Vampire Knight Guilty Volume 2″ is the second to last volume of the series and the most exciting yet. The many secrets that filled the series are finally revealed in this volume. A must see!”

DVD TITLE: Vampire Knight Guilty Volume 2

DURATION: 100 Minutes

DVD INFORMATION: 16:9 WIDESCREEN, JAPANESE & ENGLISH STEREO

COMPANY: VIZ

RATED: 16+

Release Date: May 17 2011

Original Manga by Matsuri Hino

Directed by Kiyoko Sayama

Music by Hozumi Goda

Art Direction by Kazuhiro Ito

Character Designs by Asako Nishida

Produced by VAMPIRE KNIGHT PROJECT

Featuring the following voice talent:

Yui Horie/Mela Lee as Yuki Cross

Mamoru Miyano/Vic Mignogna as Zero Kiryu/Ichiru Kiryu

Daisuke Kishio/Ethan Murray as Kaname Kuran

Hozumi Goda/Christopher Corey as Kaien Cross

Junichi Suwabe/Troy Baker as Akatsuki Kain

Jun Fukuyama/Bryce Papenbrook as Hanabusa Aido

Junko Minagawa/Dorothy Elias-Fahn as Ruka Souen

Susumu Chiba/Spike Spencer as Takuma Ichijo

Souichiro Hoshi/Steve Staley as Senri Shiki

Eri Kitamura/Carrie Savage as Rima Touya

Hiroki Yasumoto/Travis Willingham as Toga Yagari

Risa Mizuno/Colleen O’Shaughnessey as Seiren

Kana Ueda/Stephanie Sheh as Sayori Wakaba

Mariko Kouda/Michelle Ruff as Juri Kuran

Hirofumi Nojima/Tony Oliver as Haruka Kuran

Tarusuke Shingaki/Patrick Seitz as Rido Kuran

Fumiko Orikasa/Wendee Lee as Shizuka Hio

Continually haunted by visions of blood, Yuki is determined to discover the secrets of her past, but Kaname repeatedly evades her questions. Zero confronts Kaname at the Moon Dormitory, and the two end up fighting. Then Kaname advances his relationship with Yuki to an entirely new level, which has the members of the Night Class in a bit of a tizzy. But Yuki’s dreams only intensify – will her past be forced into the light at last?

“Vampire Knight Guilty Volume 2″ contains episodes 5-8 of the second season of the popular anime series by Matsuri Hino. Many secrets surround the students of both the Day and Night Classes of Cross Academy, and many of them get revealed in this volume. Yuki is haunted by nightmares where she and her surroundings are covered in blood. Soon she starts seeing these visions when she’s not asleep. Meanwhile Ichiru Kiryu enrolls into Cross Academy, with full intention of killing those who he believes is responsible for Shizuka Hio’s death, even his own twin brother, Zero. The school gets one more visitor, Rido Kuran, Kaname’s uncle who seems to be after something Kaname has been protecting from him for years…

“Vampire Knight Guilty Volume 2″ focuses on the following main characters:

Yuki Cross – Yuki Cross is one of the main characters of the series. She is a member of the Day Class and is one of the members of the Disciplinary Committee in charge of keeping the Day and Night Classes separate. She is cute and clumsy despite being a member of the Disciplinary Committee. Yuki is the headmaster’s daughter and one of the only ones that knows the identity of the Night Class. Her earliest memory is of her about to be attacked by a vampire but being saved by Kaname Kuran. She has very strong feelings for Kaname Kuran but she also deeply cares about Zero, but more as a best friend. In this volume, she is constantly haunted by terrifying nightmares where everything around her is covered in blood. She gets much closer to Kaname in this volume and is finally able to unlock her mysterious past… but what is revealed may destroy her relationship with Zero.

Zero Kiryu – Zero is a member of the Day Class. He is also a member of the Disciplinary Committee with Yuki. The headmaster brought him in four years ago after his parents were killed by a vicious vampire. Because of that fact, he hates vampires and clashes with the members of the Night Class quite a bit. He is rather cool and sarcastic, but can manage to drop a few jokes with Yuki, who he’s rather close to. Despite being a hunter who hates vampires, ironically because he was bitten as a child, he is a vampire himself. Over the course of the series, Yuki and Zero have gotten closer… but something that happens in this volume may change their relationship once and for all.

Kaname Kuran – Kaname is a member of the Night Class. He is the leader and the most powerful out of the Night Class. He saved Yuki from a vampire when she was a child and is even still very protective towards her. He has very strong feelings for Yuki even though she’s rather oblivious to that fact. For the most part, he keeps the other vampires out of trouble and is the one who helped establish this school with Kaien Cross. There is a lot revealed about Kaname’s past in this volume and what happened to his parents. His relationship with Yuki and her past is also revealed and exactly how much he really cares for her.

Kaien Cross – Kaien is Yuki’s father as well as Zero’s adoptive father. He is the headmaster of Cross Academy and a former vampire hunter. He opened Cross Academy in hopes to bring peace between humans and vampires. His personality for the most part is rather eccentric. In this volume, it becomes a bit more apparent why he gave up hunting in this volume.

Akatsuki Kain – Akatsuki is a member of the Night Class. He is a pretty calm and loyal vampire who seems to always get in trouble only because he’s around his cousin, Hanabusa who causes trouble. He never loses his temper and seems to have insight on all of his friends and their feelings.

Hanabusa Aido – Hanabusa is a member of the Night Class. He is considered an idol (which is also a pun off of his name) by the girls of the Day Class. He is cute like a child but can be very jealous and throws tantrums just like a child would as well. He is very protective of Kaname and gets jealous of anyone that gets too close to him. He is Akatsuki’s cousin.

Ruka Souen – Ruka is a member of the Night Class. She is sophisticated and beautiful and she is the idol of males of the Day Class. She has very strong feelings for Kaname.

Takuma Ichijo – Takuma is a member of the Night Class. He is from an aristocratic family and is one of Kaname’s closest friends. He is rather cheerful and friendly unlike most other vampires.

Senri Shiki – Senri is a member of the Night Class. He rarely speaks and when he does, it’s usually a single sentence. He works as a model with Rima. In this volume, we get to see a bit more out of Senri and we find out a lot more about his family.

Rima Touya – Rima is a member of the Night Class. She is petite and pixie-like and works as a model with Senri. Also like Senri, she doesn’t speak very much and is not very energetic.

Toga Yagari – Yagari is a renowned vampire hunter and is sent to Cross Academy by the Hunter Association to see if everything is running as it should be. He is also Zero’s mentor as a vampire hunter from when he was younger. He saved Zero from a Level E vampire (humans that were bitten by vampires who turned into violent monsters that thirst for blood) which resulted in him losing his right eye. Despite being ruthless in killing vampires and knowing about Zero’s situation, he still seems to have hope in him.

Seiren – Seiren is another member of the Night Class and Kaname’s unofficial bodyguard.

Sayori Wakaba – Sayori is a member of the Day Class as well as Yuki’s best friend and dorm-mate. She is kind and always worries about her best friend.

Ichiru Kiryu – Ichiru is the younger twin brother to Zero. Years ago when Shizuka killed their parents, she turned Zero into a vampire and took Ichiru. Since then, he had been serving her until her death. Even before he was taken by Shizuka, he had always held a strong grudge against Zero. Ichiru was a sickly child and even though Zero and his parents loved him very much, he always felt inferior and slowly that overwhelming love just made him resent them even more. Despite being with Shizuka, he is still human which is another reason he hates Zero. Despite being reunited with his brother, the only thing on his mind is to avenge Shizuka’s death and kill anyone who he thinks is involved, including Zero.

Juri Kuran – Juri Kuran is a pure blood vampire, Kaname’s mother, Haruka’s wife and sister, and the sister of Rido. She was also very close to Kaien and was the reason he stopped hunting. She died when Kaname was younger along with her husband.

Haruka Kuran – Haruka Kuran is a pure blood vampire, Kaname’s father, Juri’s husband and brother, and the brother of Rido. He died when Kaname was younger along with Juri.

Rido Kuran – Rido is a pure blood vampire, the brother of Juri and Haruka Kuran, Uncle to Kaname Kuran and the father of Senri Shiki. He appears at Cross Academy looking for something he wasn’t able to obtain from Juri and Haruka Kuran at the time of their death, something that is very precious to Kaname.

Shizuka Hio – Shizuka is the pure blood vampire that killed Zero and Ichiru’s parents and turned Zero into a vampire.

“Vampire Knight Guilty Volume 2” features a total of 4 episodes on one DVD. Here is a spoiler-less summary of each episode:

Volume 2:

Episode 5- The Subordinate’s Trap – Cross Academy gets a new student: Zero’s twin brother, Ichiru.
Episode 6- Fake Lovers – Yuki and Kaname are supposedly a couple now, but they seem to have completely different ideas about their relationship…
Episode 7- Kiss of Thorns – Senri comes back to Cross Academy, but seems like a totally different person…
Episode 8- Spiraling Recollections – Yuki’s true past is finally revealed.

VIDEO & AUDIO

“Vampire Knight Guilty Volume 2″ is presented in 16:9 and audio options include both Japanese and English. Just like the rest of the series, the art in this volume is pretty but the character designs are indeed Shojo so that may attract or detract viewers. But overall, the art is great and the animation is smooth and backgrounds look great. Everyone is very pretty in this series.

Throughout the series, the Japanese cast as well as the American cast both do a wonderful job. All of the voices seem fitting and don’t seem out of place. The Japanese cast includes big names like Yui Horie, Mamoru Miyano, Daisuke Kishio, Jun Fukuyama, and many others. The American cast is also full of big name voice actors including Mela Lee, Ethan Murray, Vic Mignogna, Troy Baker, Stephanie Sheh, and others.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

The only special features available on the discs are Viz Trailers and DVD Credits.

Drama, angst, revenge, and questionable relationships sum up this volume of “Vampire Knight Guilty”. If you love soap operas, then you’ll love this series and particularly this volume. Secret pasts revealed, plot twists, revenge, love triangles… (Maybe even love squares): all happen.

The main event that happens in this volume is Yuki’s mysterious past is finally revealed and that throws her relationships with Kaname and Zero into a tailspin… This is the exciting volume where everything changes.

I won’t reveal the big secret in my review, but if you’re watching this volume before any other volume: stop. Nothing will make sense and too much has happened in the story. “Vampire Knight Guilty” is the second season and prior to the four episodes in this season, there are thirteen episodes in season one. This volume starts off seventeen episodes into the whole series. This series is very story driven and for the most part the story is linear, so it’s not a series you can pick up a random volume to start watching. Not to mention there are a lot of main characters to keep track of and this particular volume reveals one of the biggest secrets of the series. If you have been watching the series, this is the volume you want to watch.

The “Vampire Knight” series pretty much has non-stop drama. The whole story is rather dramatic and serious, so I am very happy that they have the breaks with the funny little moments, which I probably enjoy the most out this series. There are a lot of great characters as well and they vary in types so most viewers can find at least one character they like and or can relate to. I personally like the banter between Yuki and Aidou as well as the moments where Zero, who is usually rather serious, can have a silly moment.

The target audience for this series will probably be mostly girls, considering it’s full of drama, angst, romance, and pretty vampire boys… (of course guys can like that too) the series does have some action in it, but this particular volume is full of drama.

This was also a very big character development volume. Yuki’s past is revealed, bringing much more depth to her character. Kaname’s past is revealed a bit more and we get to see more of exactly who he is and what exactly Yuki means to him. Zero’s self-loathing continues in this volume, but seems better when he is with Yuki… until her secret is revealed. Ichiru… still hates his brother (as well as pretty much everyone else), and is still annoying. On the other hand, one thing I enjoyed a lot was the fact that we got to see a little more of the background characters like Senri and Rima, instead of them just being in the background all of the time. They are two of my favorite characters so it was nice to see them get a little more spotlight.

As I’ve mentioned, this volume is exciting story wise, but brings to light some very, very questionable relationships among the pure blood vampire folk… I know that there are some Shojo manga series fans that LOVE this kind of stuff… but it might be a little too much for me. With that being said, if you are looking for a series full of pretty vampire men, messy love triangles, angst, revenge, drama… congratulations! You have found the perfect series for you. If you’re not looking for any of the above, this series does offer some action and quite a bit of comedy too, and the funny parts are truly funny, but the other themes are still much stronger and may be too much for some.

This volume is the final step before the conclusion of the anime series, so most of the secrets throughout the series get answered in this volume so if you have been watching the series up until this point, it’s very exciting. If you have not seen the rest of the series up to this point or know nothing about the series, I emphasize again that this volume will be confusing and full of spoilers so I definitely recommend watching the rest of the series first.

Team Kaname or Team Zero: one of them definitely takes the lead in this volume and you’ll have to watch to see which one it is. All of your questions will be answered in this volume. Be sure to pick up this climactic volume leading up to the exciting conclusion!

Filed Under: Anime on DVD

Kekkaishi DVD Set 1 (a J!-Ent Anime DVD Review)

September 7, 2011 by Michelle Tymon · Leave a Comment

“Kekkaishi Set 1″ is the first DVD collection from a fun, supernatural action series for all ages.”

DVD TITLE: Kekkaishi Set 1

DURATION: 325 Minutes

DVD INFORMATION: 16:9 WIDESCREEN, JAPANESE & ENGLISH STEREO

COMPANY: VIZ

RATED: 13+

Release Date: June 21, 2011

Original Manga by Yellow Tanabe

Directed by Kenji Kodama

Music by Taku Iwasaki

Art Direction Shigemi Ikeda

Character Design by Hirotoshi Takaya

Produced by Koji Nagai/Naohiro Ogata

Featuring the following voice talent:

Hiroyuki Yoshino/Vic Mignogna as Yoshimori Sumimura

Rie Saito/Laura Bailey as Tokine Yukimura

Takeharu Oonishi/Troy Baker as Madarao

Masanori Ishii/Wally Wingert as Hakubi

Yohei Tadano/David Lodge as Shigemori Sumimura

Mayumi Tanaka/Barbara Goodson as Tokiko Yukimura

Saya Kazuki/Colleen O’Shaughnessey as Yurina Kanda

Houko Kuwashima/Colleen O’Shaughnessey as Yomi Kasuga

Kouichi Touchika/Tom Fahn as Patissier

Masako Nozawa/Mona Marshall as Mother-san

Atsushi Miyauchi/Patrick Seitz as Masamori Sumimura

Yoshimori Sumimura is a 14-year-old student at Karasumori School. Following a tradition come down through generations, he is the 22nd Kekkaishi of the Sumimura clan. But he’s also constantly fighting with his rival, Tokine Yukimura – a Kekkaishi herself and his childhood friend – about who is the rightful heir to the magical barrier arts. Protecting people from danger and growing stronger, Yoshimori will battle the forces of evil and protect the school grounds again tonight!

“Kekkaishi” follows the adventures of Yoshimori Sumimura and Tokine Yukimura, two young Kekkaishi who are normal junior high and high school students by day, and guardians against the supernatural by night. Their families have been Kekkaishi for generations and they are the latest in both families. Kekkaishi have magical powers to form barriers (kekkai) around ghosts and demons (ayakashi) and can trap them and vanquish them if needed.

Their school happens to be in Karasumori, where various supernatural beings show up at night so it is their duty to keep the area safe. Because of this, Yoshimori can be found asleep in class most of the time. The Sumimuras and Yukimuras are somewhat rival clans, but Yoshimori and Tokine grew up together both as friends and rivals. Tokine is the older of the two and much more skilled and serious. Yoshimori is quicker to act than think which usually gets him in trouble. He is less technical, buy possesses the power and potential to become stronger. They share a brother/sister type of relationship, but Yoshimori’s feelings for Tokine may be stronger than she may realize…

“Kekkaishi Set 1″ focuses on the following main characters:

Yoshimori Sumimura – Yoshimori is a young Kekkaishi and the main character of the series. He is currently a junior high school student at Karasumori Academy. He is slightly clumsy and in general likes to act before he thinks. Tokine is his childhood friend and fellow Kekkaishi. They both go to school and live normal lives during the day and then protect Karasumori at night from any ghosts or ayakashi, resulting in him to sleep in class all the time. When they were younger, he was saved by Tokine when they were fighting an ayakashi resulting in her getting hurt. Since then, he swore that he would protect Tokine no matter what and to make sure no one got hurt in Karasumori again. His hobby is making sweets and his dream is to one day make the perfect candy castle for Tokine.

Tokine Yukimura – Tokine is another Kekkaishi and childhood friend of Yoshimori. She is slightly older than Yoshimori and the more serious of the two. She somewhat sees Yoshimori as a younger brother as well as a pest, asking him to keep his distance from her while they’re at school. When she was younger, she lost her father and at times, that still affects her. Just like Yoshimori, she spends her days attending Karasumori Academy and spends her nights as a Kekkaishi guarding Karasumori from evil. Despite feeling like Yoshimori is a pest at times, she still cares for him and sees his potential to become stronger and hopes that he sees it himself one day.

Madarao – Madarao is the ayakashi dog companion that serves Yoshimori.

Hakubi – Hakubi is the ayakashi dog companion that serves Tokine.

Shigemori Sumimura – Shigemori is Yoshimori’s grandfather and the head of the Sumimura household. He is quite loud and obnoxious, but takes his job as a Kekkaishi seriously.

Tokiko Yukimura – Tokiko is the head of the Yukimura household and Tokine’s grandmother. She is a colleague of Shigemori, however she seems to have some scorn towards the Sumimura family because of things that happened in the past.

Yurina Kanda – Yurina for the most part is just a normal girl that is in Yoshimori’s class; what makes her different is the fact that she can see ghosts. She relies on Yoshimori whenever she sees ghosts since she can’t do anything herself and she’s not able to tell the difference between a human and a ghost.

Yomi Kasuga – Yomi is a demon tamer from The Shadow Organization that is taken into the Yukimura household for a short while. She seems to have worked with Tokine’s father in the past and seems to be hiding something…

Patissier – The Patissier is a friendly ghost that had no idea that he was dead until Yoshimori befriends him.

Yumeko Hananokouji/Mother-san – Mother-san is a kind woman that acts as a counselor to spirits that haven’t passed on yet. Yoshimori always refers ghosts to her to get advice.

Masamori Sumimura – Masamori is Yoshimori’s older brother who is affiliated with the Shadow Organization.

“Kekkaishi Set One” features a total of 13 episodes on three DVDs. Here is a spoiler-less summary of each episode:

DISC 1:

Episode 1- Scars – Yoshimori gets a harsh wake-up call concerning his duties at a young age.
Episode 2- Yoshimori & Tokine – Yoshimori and Tokine have to balance being students by day and Kekkaishi by night.
Episode 3- The Beautiful Demon Tamer – The Yukimura house gets a visitor named Yomi, but she seems to have some secret.
Episode 4- Her Treasure – Yomi may lose the one thing she treasures because of decisions she made.

DISC 2:

Episode 5- The Sweet Ghost – Yoshimori runs into a friendly Patissier ghost who has no idea he died.
Episode 6- Night Blooms of Karasumori – Yoshimori’s classmates try to sneak into the Karasumori Academy grounds at night, not knowing the dangers.
Episode 7- The Best Cake in the World – Yoshimori tries to help the Patissier to move onto the next world.
Episode 8- A Day in the Life of Yoshimori – Yoshimori tries to become a better Kekkaishi.

DISC 3:

Episode 9- A Dangerous Teacher – A dangerous teacher lurks in Karasumori Academy.
Episode 10- Shikigami Chocolate Battle – Yoshimori uses shikigami to try to get the legendary chocolate cake…
Episode 11- Koya & Madarao – Something from Madarao’s past comes back to visit.
Episode 12- Sealing the Demon Dog – Madarao and Koya settle things.
Episode 13- Masamori Sumimura Chief of the Night Troops – Masamori, Yoshimori’s older brother, appears.

VIDEO & AUDIO

“Kekkaishi Set 1″ is presented in 16:9 and audio options include both Japanese and English. “Kekkaishi” is still a fairly new anime so all the animation looks great. There’s a bit of CG included with all of the kekkai being used in the series. The animation looks like what you would expect to see in a recent anime and it looks nice, but I don’t think anything makes it stand out from other recent anime.

The Japanese and English voice acting is both great and both casts are full of notable voice actors. The Japanese cast includes Hiroyuki Yoshino, Rie Kugimiya, Mayumi Tanaka, and Masako Nozawa. The English cast includes Vic Mignogna, Laura Bailey, Troy Baker, Barbara Goodson, and Colleen O’Shaughnessey. Jpop fans will probably enjoy the ending theme that is sung by Koshi Inaba from B’z as well.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

Special features included in this DVD set are: Production Art, Episode 11 & 12 Storyboard Art, Clean Opening, Clean Ending, Japanese Cast Credits, Kekkaishi Trailer and other VIZ trailers.

“Kekkaishi” is a fun action-packed series dealing with the supernatural. The anime is a total of 52 episodes and this set contains the first 13 episodes of the series.

The target audience would be teenage boys or guys in general, but I think that this series is one that a broad audience can enjoy. The rating is 13+, but I think younger kids could enjoy this too. There is some blood and violence, but nothing too extreme so far. The humor as well as the relationship between Yoshimori and Tokine could appeal to a female audience as well.

Like many other action series to come from Shonen manga, they do well with mixing action and humor together. I think so far the strongest element in this series for me is the comedy aspect of the series. The interaction between Yoshimori and Tokine is fun to watch but so far my favorite characters in the series are actually their companion ayakashi, Madarao and Hakubi. The comments that come out of their mouths are some of the best that I’ve seen so far.

Kekkaishi is a fun series, but at this point in the show, I don’t see anything particularly unique to set it apart from other shonen action/comedy series. That’s not exactly a bad thing; people who enjoy Shonen Jump and Shonen Sunday series will probably enjoy this as well. I definitely did. I think people who enjoy “Inuyasha” and or “Bleach” will particularly enjoy this show.

I do enjoy the series so far, but because I have seen so many Shonen Jump and Shonen Sunday series, I would like to see a little more development as the series goes along. I am aware that it’s still very early in the series so there’s plenty of opportunity for more plot development and so far the series is interesting enough to keep the audience wanting to know what happens next. Another minor con I found in this series is a bit more personal: I’m not the biggest fan of the character designs. The character designs aren’t the worst I’ve seen, it’s just not my favorite.

Supernatural, funny, and full of action: “Kekkaishi” is bound to entertain a huge audience. If you enjoy shows like “Inuyasha” or “Bleach”, anything supernatural or other Shonen series, definitely check this series out.

Filed Under: Anime on DVD

NKOTBSB by Michelle Tymon (J!-ENT Interviews and Articles)

July 27, 2011 by Michelle Tymon · Comments Off

Article and concert photos by: Michelle Tymon

Screams of women in their twenties and thirties (as well as some teenagers) can be heard all across North America right now as NKOTBSB hits 48 cities in 53 dates on their huge North American tour across the US and Canada. The tour started on May 25th 2011 in Rosemont, IL and is scheduled to wrap up on August 7th 2011 in London, Ontario, Canada. I personally went to the sold out show on July 8th 2011 in Tacoma, WA and NKOTB and BSB fans alike were able to relive their precious memories from ten and even twenty years ago.

For those who may not know what NKOTBSB is, it is the boy band supergroup combining the biggest boy band from the ’80s, the New Kids on the Block (NKOTB), and one of the biggest boy bands of the 90′s and early 2000′s, the Backstreet Boys (BSB). Both groups experienced quite a bit of success back in the day and were able to relive it through this tour. Even though the Backstreet Boys never broke up, the New Kids on the Block broke up in 1994 and members pursued their own careers for a while.

The New Kids on the Block were the biggest thing in the US in the late ’80′s and early ’90s. They were not the first boy band around however they were pretty much the first ones to be formed with the “boy band formula” in mind (In which you have the cute one, the quiet one, the rebellious one and at least two of them related if possible).

In the mid 90′s, their popularity started to fade and Jonathan Knight left the group due to panic attacks and anxiety issues, resulting in the rest of the group to disband as well. Around 1999 and 2000, both Jordan Knight and Joey McIntyre had best selling singles due to boy bands and pop music making a huge come back around that time. Donnie Wahlberg, like his younger brother Mark Wahlberg, had made a name for himself as an accomplished actor since the 90′s, acting in movies like “Ransom”, “The Sixth Sense”, three of the “Saw” movies (Saw II-IV), and TV series like “Boomtown” and most recently as the lead role in the CBS police drama, “Blue Bloods”.

Over the years, there were numerous attempts at getting the group back together but finally in 2008, the boy band reunited and released a new album called “The Block” and had the popular singles, “Summertime”, as well as “Single”, which was written and featured R&B singer Ne-Yo. The album itself had many huge collaborators including Ne-Yo, Akon, The Pussycat Dolls, New Edition, and Lady Gaga who also opened for them on that tour. Since then, each member continues their own careers while also working with the group.

The Backstreet Boys hit it big in Europe before they were big in their home, the US. They finally started getting recognized at home in the late 90′s with singles like “As Long as You Love Me” and “Everybody (Backstreet’s Back)”, but they blew up with their single “I Want it That Way” from their biggest selling album, “Millennium”. A very big and successful tour went with that album and soon after they followed up with their next album, “Black and Blue”, which did very well and they led the pop revolution at the time with *NSYNC, Britney Spears, and Christina Aguilera.

The Backstreet Boys have each pursued personal endeavors while still being together as a group but did hit some hard times along the way. In 2001, AJ McLean was admitted into rehab for drug and alcohol abuse, which caused rescheduling and cancellations of dates on their huge “Black and Blue” tour. In 2002, Nick Carter released his first solo album, “Now or Never” and for the next three years, the Boys took a slight hiatus to do various things. In 2005, they released their last studio album with all five members called “Never Gone”.

In 2006, Kevin Richardson left the group to pursue other endeavors but has come back on occasion to perform with the other four, last year on Oprah for one of their super fans and most recently, he made an appearance at the Staples Center NKOTBSB show in LA and performed “I Want it That Way” with the other four members. Since Kevin’s departure, they released two albums “Unbreakable” and “This is Us”. Brian Littrell released a solo album in 2006 called “Welcome Home”, AJ McLean released a solo album in Japan called “Have it All” in 2010, Nick Carter released a second solo album called “I’m Taking Off” which was released first in Japan and later in the US in 2011, and Howie D. is releasing his own solo album in 2011 as well.

In 2010, there were rumors that the two groups were possibly planning to work together, especially when the Backstreet Boys showed up at NKOTB’s last show of their 2010 tour while they performed “I Want it That Way”. The rumors were confirmed shortly before the American Music Awards where they first performed together for the first time and performed a medley of hit songs from both groups. They next performed at the Rockin’ New Year’s Eve and announced on the Ryan Seacrest show that they would be touring in 2011. In April 2011, they released their first single together called “Don’t Turn Out the Lights” and did a few more TV performances together on “Dancing with the Stars” and the “Today Show”, performing that single.

Their tour kicked off in May 25, 2011 and since the tour started, they have had a handful of opening acts including Ashlyne Huff, Jordin Sparks, Midnight Red, Neverest, and even Matthew Morrison from the TV show “Glee”. Tickets for the show definitely were not cheap ($100+ for most of the seats), but at the same time it wasn’t a bad price considering the set was very long and the crowd was technically seeing two different headliners. After seeing the show personally, I definitely had no regrets with the ticket costs.

Set List:

Medley: “Single” / “The One”
“Summertime”
“The Call
“Dirty Dancing”
“Get Down (You’re the One for Me)”
“You Got It (The Right Stuff)”
“Larger Than Life”
“Didn’t I (Blow Your Mind This Time)”
“Valentine Girl”
“If You Go Away”
“Please Don’t Go Girl”
“Show Me the Meaning of Being Lonely”
“10,000 Promises”
“I’ll Never Break Your Heart”
“Inconsolable”
“Drowning”
“Incomplete”
“Step By Step”
“Cover Girl”
“My Favorite Girl”
“Games”
“Click Click Click”
“Tonight”
“Shape of My Heart”
“As Long As You Love Me”
“All I Have to Give”
“If You Stay”
“Quit Playing Games (With My Heart)”
“I’ll Be Loving You (Forever)”
“I Want It That Way”
“Don’t Turn Out the Lights”
Encore
“Everybody (Backstreet’s Back)”
“Hangin’ Tough”
Medley: “Everybody (Backstreet’s Back)” / “Hangin’ Tough” (Reprise)

Both groups seem to understand that the opening of the show can set how excited the crowd will be for the rest of the show. The concert starts with huge images of the nine guys being projected onto a huge white curtain in the middle of the main stage. The curtain drops and the nine are standing on an elevated part of the stage. The stage slowly lowers and they open their show with a mash-up of their singles, “Single” and “The One” remixed together with elements from “Viva la Vida” by Coldplay.

One of my biggest surprises was how well they made use of the stage setup. The stage was set up with a main stage, a catwalk, and then another stage at the end of the cat walk. It’s not the first time I’ve been to a show that had a catwalk and or a second stage, but usually most of the performance tends to stay on the main stage up front. From their first song, they started making their way down the catwalk and interacting with the fans, walking and dancing across constantly and performing on both stages and the catwalk equally.

After the first song, they separated into group performances alternating back and forth. NKOTB started off with “Summertime” and BSB started off with “The Call”. In the middle of the show as well as at the end of the show, they came back together to perform together as one big unit. The balance of slow and fast songs for both groups seemed pretty equal and despite their ages (averaging from the mid thirties to early forties) both groups danced quite a bit. The song selections for both groups revolved around all their biggest hits like “Please Don’t Go Girl” and “Hangin’ Tough” by NKOTB and BSB sang songs like “I Want it That Way” and “As Long as You Love Me”.

While NKOTB’s songs were mostly regularly performed songs, the BSB performed a couple of rare songs. They performed “Get Down (You’re the One For Me)” from their first album and performed the dance on the circular second stage which was probably nostalgic and fun for fans who remember the music video. Possibly the biggest surprise for BSB fans was the fact that they sang “10,000 Promises”, as it was a song released on their second international album, “Backstreet’s Back” and was never released in the US, but was still a huge fan favorite. Though it is possible to see them perform this song live on a couple of their DVDs, this was the first time they performed it live on tour in the US and fans definitely enjoyed it. NKOTB kept their song selection pretty mixed with old and new songs, while BSB concentrated much more on their older songs and didn’t perform any songs from their newest album from 2009.

Even though a lot of their dances can be considered rather dated now, the New Kids performed a lot of their original dance steps which fans still seemed to love and danced along. Of course they did update some of their old dance moves as well as perform much more modern choreography for all of their new songs. The Backstreet Boys did the same and kept much of their old choreography, but added a new twist to keep things a little new.

The Backstreet Boys haven’t changed too much other than the fact that they are now a quartet rather than a quintet. I first saw them back in 1998 at Key Arena in Seattle and ever since then, I’ve been a fan. I’ve gone to each tour that followed and watched the group grow, and even had to chance to meet all of the guys at least once.

As much as I really do appreciate their music, dancing and performances, I think the factor that solidified my adoration for them was the fact that every personal encounter I had with them was a positive one. Both groups understand that the biggest reason they’re still performing to such big crowds is the fact that their fans from years ago still adore them and neither group seems to take that for granted.

Brian is always joking around, making silly faces and constantly waving to people in the crowd. Howie is charming his fans with his smile and his Latin charm. AJ McLean is forever the bad boy, gaining at least one more tattoo every single time I see him and is still my favorite. Nick Carter still has that baby face and cuteness that gained him so many fans over ten years ago; he just looks a little older now and since he is the youngest out of the nine, he definitely had the most energy throughout the show.

I was never that big of a fan of New Kids (however that seems to be changing gradually after this show). I was about eight when I first heard them and I really liked them for a short while, until I got into grunge and heavy metal music. Shortly after that, they broke up. It’s entertaining to hear the song “Please Don’t Go Girl” because there’s such a noticeable difference from the original song and it being sung now by Joey McIntyre because he’s very much an adult now and doesn’t have such a high pitched voice anymore. Jonathan Knight didn’t talk at all during the show, but he performed all out.

Seeing him live in person, it would be hard to imagine that he has any anxiety issues. Jordan still hasn’t lost his touch and could still sing all his falsetto parts. Danny was very… muscular. As he and Jonathan don’t sing that much, honestly the first thing that is most memorable about him for me was the fact that he is ridiculously fit. Donnie kept the crowd hyped up constantly throughout the show, whether it was getting the crowd to sing along or providing fan service.

Fan service is a given at boy band shows… and NKOTB definitely had plenty of that, overall probably much more than BSB. They performed suggestive songs, performed suggestive moves, and Donnie Wahlberg tore off his shirt at one point in the show and walked around for a while shirtless (this was very effective in getting the crowd hyped up). All of which of course was welcomed by happy screams throughout the venue. Eye candy is definitely a big part of these shows, but thankfully it’s not the only factor. Despite the negative views they may get, all of them are very talented vocalists who also know how to entertain a crowd.

One of the biggest things that was noticeable in their show is how big fan interaction was to both groups. As I mentioned earlier, there was a main stage, a catwalk, and a second stage at the end of the catwalk. Both stages also had the ability to rise up about 6-8 feet so the fans higher up could see them. Jumbo tron screens were also at the shows so no matter where people were sitting, they could see what was going on. There was not a bad seat on the floor as they made sure to move back and forth constantly starting from the first song throughout the show.

Not wanting to leave out the fans who were in the risers, NKOTB went up into the crowds from the catwalk all the way up to the top of the risers. Backstreet Boys did the opposite and made their way down from the risers back down to the catwalk and at our show, Brian Littrell got lost in the crowd for a while and was not able to return on time. Both groups made sure to shake hands with fans, take photos, and give out hugs all the way through their way into the crowds (all this while still singing). This takes a lot of guts; both groups threw themselves into a crowd of women who have been dying to get close to them, even now.

Yet they still did it and so far there seems to have been only a few injuries and mishaps. Another part of the fan interaction was when the Backstreet Boys each selected an audience member to be serenaded to personally during the song “I’ll Never Break Your Heart” on the catwalk.

Not keeping the shows completely routine, they have been adding random surprises throughout various dates of the shows. As mentioned earlier, Kevin Richardson showed up at the Staples Center show on July 1st, Howie D’s baby made an appearance on stage at my show in Tacoma, and most recently and possibly the biggest surprise yet, Boyz II Men performed with NKOTBSB at Backstreet’s homecoming show in Orlando, July 22nd.

During the group member introductions, Backstreet members introduced their NKOTB counterparts and vice versa. I think the fan interaction as well as the interaction between the two groups made a lot of BSB fans into NKOTB fans as well as NKOTB fans into BSB fans. Of course there are people who are fans of both but there were definitely people there who were die-hard fans of one group over the other. I was expecting there to be much more of a division in fans, but all throughout the show, no matter what group was performing, everyone was up out of their seats having fun.

The show leads into it’s finale as they perform the single, “Don’t Turn Out the Lights” together. Both groups come back out one last time for their encore of “Everybody (Backstreet’s Back)” and “Hangin’ Tough” and then finally they end the show with a mash-up of those two songs. By the end of the show, fans are left with feelings of excitement, happiness and probably wishing the show didn’t end.

Nostalgia and something new, fans get to enjoy the best of both worlds in this unforgettable concert. It’s definitely a night fans will not forget and considering how well the tour is going, the two groups might want to consider further collaborations with each other. Maybe a full length album and hopefully another tour? Even though that might prove difficult because all nine of them have their own personal careers as well as group projects but it’s something I, as well as many, many other fans hope they will consider.

Another nice touch even after the show is over, is the fact that members of both groups are very active on Twitter and constantly posting tidbits from each show, as well as videos and photos. Out of both group combined, the one that tweets the most is probably Donnie Wahlberg. He not only tweets the most, but follows over 3,000 people and is constantly replying to his fans. Interactions like this are greatly appreciated and also helps with gaining more fans.

So what were the cons of the show? Honestly, I don’t have much to rant about. The show was a bit pricey, but I thought it was well worth the price after seeing the show. The cheesiness factor of the old boy band songs and cheesy choreography can be negative… but most of the people going to these shows are going to specifically see that and that makes them happy.

I believe that music can help with expressing various emotions. The biggest reason fans go to concerts like this is to have fun, be entertained, and be happy. I believe that most, if not everyone who went to the show, left feeling that. I certainly did.

No matter what, there will always be some negativity surrounding “boy bands” and manufactured groups. But each time I go to shows like this, I’m reminded that they are all very talented vocalists, dancers, and performers.

There was no lip synching involved; they all sang live (even made a couple of small mistakes), they had a live band, they danced, they interacted with fans throughout the show… and they had fun. They know how to put on a great show and fans leave the show extremely happy.

Despite the negative stigma put on pop music and boy bands, I personally don’t see anything wrong with shows like this after seeing thousands of people having so much fun and being so happy to see groups they grew up with live again.

My expectations for the show were not exactly low, but this concert far exceeded my expectations. I went in expecting only to have fun during BSB’s set, however I had fun throughout the show. Seeing that fans of both groups could have fun throughout the show no matter who was performing, I thought really said a lot for both groups.

This show is easily one of the best shows I have ever been to (and I go to a number of shows in a year, genres ranging from pop to metal) and I highly regret only being able to go to one show.

This tour truly shows that both groups, even after being around for fifteen or more years, have what it takes to keep going. I wish both groups the best and I can’t wait to see them again.

For more photos from the NKOTBSB show in Tacoma, WA 7/8/11, click here for my flickr set from the show.

Filed Under: GALLERY, Interviews and Articles

Former X Japan Bassist, Taiji Sawada Dead at 45

July 17, 2011 by Michelle Tymon · Leave a Comment

Former X Japan bassist, Taiji Sawada (45) was found in serious condition at his accommodation in Saipan after an apparent suicide attempt by hanging himself. He was taken to the hospital but died on the 17th when he was taken off life support.

Image courtesy of sanspo.com

According to police, on the 11th he was on a flight from Narita airport to Saipan. Sawada was arrested for being violent towards the flight crew and hitting and kicking the windows and seats of the plane. He had a trial date set for the 15th in Saipan, but was found unconscious on the 14th after an apparent suicide attempt by hanging himself at the location he was being held in police custody. He was taken to the hospital on the 14th but did not regain consciousness. On the night of the 16th, his family and manager went to see Sawada in the hospital. He never regained consciousness therefore his family ultimately decided to take him off life support on the 17th.

According to sources, X Japan’s leader and friend to Taiji, Yoshiki only stated that he could not believe that this was true until he saw it with his own eyes.

Sawada has had a history of health issues, but despite that last year he played with X Japan once again in August in Yokohama. It was a night that not only made fans of X Japan happy, but members of X Japan and Taiji expressed how special that reunion was.

Taiji is the second member of the legendary Japanese rock band to pass; in 1998, X Japan guitarist Hide was also found dead.

For the original article on sanspo.com, please click: http://www.sanspo.com/geino/news/110718/gnj1107180507005-n1.htm

Filed Under: Asian Entertainment News, Japanese Entertainment News

PARAMOUNT DIGITAL ENTERTAINMENT UNVEILS STAR TREK

June 6, 2011 by Michelle Tymon · Leave a Comment

Action adventure co-op game casting players as Kirk and Spock to debut next
week at Electronic Entertainment Exposition (E3) 2011

Los Angeles, CA June 3, 2011 Paramount Digital Entertainment confirmed
today that Star Trek will be coming to the Xbox 360® video game and
entertainment system from Microsoft, PlayStation®3 computer entertainment
system and Windows PC in summer 2012. With an original story and
unprecedented co-op experience, the game casts players as Kirk and Spock for
the first time ever.

The game, which continues the adventure that director and producer J.J.
Abrams envisioned with Star Trek (2009), boasts a stand alone story filled
with action-packed combat as Kirk and Spock must work together to stop a
legendary enemy race bent on conquering the galaxy.

³Star Trek challenges the boundaries of co-op gameplay with a galactic
adventure that gamers and fans have never experienced,² said Tom Lesinski,
President of Paramount Digital Entertainment. ³Working closely with the Star
Trek filmmaking team throughout development, the game is sure to deliver AAA
production values, a wide variety of gameplay and all the action you would
expect from the hit franchise. This will be the definitive Star Trek gaming
experience.²

Star Trek features an original story by BAFTA award winner and God of War
writer, Marianne Krawczyk, in collaboration with the writer/producers of the
new Star Trek films, Bob Orci and Alex Kurtzman.

The game is under development by Digital Extremes (Bioshock 2, Unreal
Tournament, Dark Sector, The Darkness II), working closely with Bad Robot,
K/O Paper Products and Damon Lindelof and published by Paramount Digital
Entertainment through a license with CBS Consumer Products. Star Trek will
be available in stores 2012.

About Paramount Digital Entertainment
Paramount Digital Entertainment (PDE) is a division of Paramount Pictures
Corporation. PDE develops and distributes filmed entertainment across
worldwide digital distribution platforms including online, mobile and
portable devices, video games, and emerging technologies.

Paramount Pictures Corporation (PPC), a global producer and distributor of
filmed entertainment, is a unit of Viacom (NYSE: VIA, VIA.B), a leading
content company with prominent and respected film, television and digital
entertainment brands. The company’s labels include Paramount Pictures,
Paramount Vantage, Paramount Classics, Insurge Pictures, MTV Films and
Nickelodeon Movies. PPC operations also include Paramount Digital
Entertainment, Paramount Famous Productions, Paramount Home Entertainment,
Paramount Pictures International, Paramount Licensing Inc., Paramount Studio
Group and Paramount Television & Digital Distribution.

Filed Under: Asian Entertainment News

Sakura-Con 2011 Exhibition Hall Report by Michelle Tymon (J!-ENT Interviews and Articles)

June 4, 2011 by Michelle Tymon · Leave a Comment

Sakura-Con 2011 Exhibition Hall Report & Photos by Michelle Tymon

Exhibition Hall at Sakura-Con 2011

One of the biggest perks of going to Sakura-Con is their enormous Exhibition Hall.

Throughout the whole weekend, this place is packed because anime fans can find almost any merchandise they could ever ask for. The number of exhibitors grows every year and this year Sakura-Con had 120+ exhibitors from all over the country. Of course anime and manga merchandise aren’t the only things you’ll find here. Other exhibitors include organizations dealing with Japanese culture, video game exhibitors (particularly retro gaming), and shops selling anything involving Japanese or Asian culture (you can buy swords!).

People who wish to cosplay but cannot sew themselves can even find cosplay costumes and wigs here. JRock enthusiasts can also find clothes, accessories, posters, and of course music from their favorite bands. For three days, this huge hall turns into a Japanese Culture Heaven.

various items offered at the Asylum Anime booth

Anime and manga fans can pretty much find anything from DVDs/Blu-Rays to body pillows of their favorite characters.

Popular items include DVDs/Blu-Rays, figures, anime cels, mangas, art books, and much, much more. Official anime distributors like Bandai, FUNimation also usually have booths in the Exhibition Hall and this year Bandai’s booth was impressive. Not only did they have a booth to sell DVDs and Blu-Rays, they had a whole separate section right next door just for Bandai figures. Fans could find figures from “One Piece”, “Saint Seiya”, Gundam, and many other series. Of course, Gundam would be one of the fan favorites.

Kinokuniya is the biggest Japanese bookstore in the Seattle area and they always have tons of manga, art books and an amazing Japanese music collection. Oh, there’s also a Yaoi booth… for those who are interested.

Bandai's Figure Collection at Sakura-Con 2011

Retro gaming is pretty popular with the crowd at Sakura-Con and this year there were multiple exhibitors specializing in retro gaming.

Pink Gorilla is a local company in Seattle that specializes in retro and import games and their booth this year was one of the biggest for retro gaming. There was also Another Castle Video Games and also a booth for the Seattle Retro Gaming Expo.

Pink Gorilla's booth at Sakura-Con 2011

For those interested in other aspects of Japanese culture, various associations were present to give out information regarding festivals, events, clubs, teaching English abroad, and volunteering opportunities.

Organizations that were present this year included: the Japan America Society of Washington State, The Hyogo Business and Cultural Center, Meito Shodo-kai, and the Consulate-General of Japan in Seattle who also runs the JET Program. You could also stop by the Uwajimaya booth to get some Japanese treats like Pocky and Ramune drinks.

JRock and Visual Kei items sold at Visual You at Sakura-Con 2011

Fans will never be disappointed at what they find at the Exhibition Hall. Anime fans will always find what they’re looking for and even find stuff they never thought they would find. It’s also a great way for people to learn about other aspects of Japanese culture and for gamers will find that nostalgic game from when they were a child. Definitely worth stopping by at least once if you ever attend Sakura-Con.

For a list of all of the exhibitors from Sakura-Con 2011, go to: http://www.sakuracon.org//exhibitors/exhibitor_booths.php

For many more pictures from the Exhibition Room this year, please check out my flickr at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/28410146@N06/sets/72157626760344647/

Sakura-Con 2011 Report by Michelle Tymon (J!-ENT Interviews and Articles)

June 4, 2011 by Michelle Tymon · Leave a Comment

Sakura-Con 2011 Report and Photography by Michelle Tymon

Sakura Con 2011 proved that the popularity of anime and Japanese culture are still very strong in the US and especially in Seattle. The attendance at the yearly convention grows every year and this year, it was no exception bringing in an amazing 19,040, over 1,000 more than last year’s number of 18,002. The weather also proved to be nice for most of the weekend, but because it is taking place in Seattle, there was still some rain.

However, that definitely didn’t stop anyone from going to the con. Anime fans could be seen walking up and down the streets of Seattle that weekend, rain or shine.

Kotono Mitsuishi performing with Team Dreamcatchers at Sakura-Con 2011

The guest lineup at this year’s Sakura Con was impressive as ever as they brought big names from both Japan and America. Guests this year included: Kotono Mitsuishi, Berryz Kobo, exist+trace, Daisuke Moriyama, Tony Oliver, Clarine Harp, Christopher Bevins, Tiffany Grant, Cynthia Cranz, Wendy Powell, Stephanie Sheh, and 6%DOKIDOKI.

Tiffany Grant

For a complete listing for the 2011 guest lineup, http://www.sakuracon.org/programming/guests.php

Fans can come to Sakura Con to enjoy many activities involving manga/anime, video games, Japanese music, and Japanese tradition and culture.

For those interested in manga/anime, the convention offers panels, Q&A’s, autograph signings with industry guests, a huge exhibition hall where fans can buy all sorts of merchandise, Artist Alley where artists can show off their own art, and cosplay photoshoots.

Video game fans can enjoy 24 hour gaming rooms, video game tournaments, retro gaming, DDR and other arcade games, Microsoft playtest, and the Rock Band stage.

For fans of Japanese music, there are a few concerts during the weekend they can go to (this year it was the JRock band exist+trace and the JPop group Berryz Kobo) and people can enjoy open mic karaoke, karaoke contests, and various dances. As for those interested in Japanese culture, people can go play the game “Go”, watch various cultural and traditional demonstrations or get information through various organizations like the Consulate-General of Japan in Seattle, the Japan America Society of the State of Washington, and the Hyogo Business and Cultural Center.

There are also various theaters at Sakura-Con including the AMV theater, anime theaters, and live-action theaters. They are not only a great way to watch great anime and movies, but also a great place to relax if you ever had free time in between events you wanted to go to and they are also open 24 hours.

Crowd outside the Exhibition Hall at Sakura-Con 2011

For the past few years, Sakura-Con has been known to bring some amazing musical guests from Japan.

On Friday night, the JRock band exist+trace held a concert. exist+trace is a visual rock band consisting of all female members. At their concert, they showed that they could definitely hold their own and rock out even harder than their male colleagues. Despite some technical problems in the beginning, they still managed to rock the house and the crowd had a great time.

On Saturday night, the JPop group Berryz Kobo performed to a packed house and even brought some of their hardcore fans from Japan with them. They started out the concert talking about the earthquake and tsunami that had just devastated Northeastern Japan and kicked off the concert with a cover of the popular 1992 song “Ai wa Katsu” by Kan.

I happened to be sitting next to four fans from Japan who were jumping, cheering, shouting, and dancing through the whole show. While looking around the audience, I also spotted another older fan from Japan who was in one of the aisles dancing the choreography to each and every song they sang perfectly. The fans from Japan definitely made themselves known among the crowed but the American fans were also full of energy and enjoyed the show.

Berryz Kobo at their Q&A

Every year at Sakura-Con they hold a charity auction. This year was no different, except this year the charity auction was for both the Make-A-Wish Foundation as well as Peace Winds America, the latter to help out the relief efforts in Japan for those affected by the earthquake and tsunami that occurred in March of this year. Things that were auctioned off at both auctions were quite impressive this year.

Items included shikishi drawings done by artists attending Sakura-Con as well as other famous artists, huge Sakura-Con 2011 posters that were displayed at the various hotels, signed anime goods, anime cels, and many other items. The first two badges for next year’s convention were also auctioned off and went for about $2,000.

The package included badge #’s 1 & 2, a free hotel room for the whole weekend as well as advanced VIP seating for all the events.

Run Sasaki and a Team Dreamcatchers' member presenting Luffy's coat at the Charity Auction

During the Peace Winds America auction, very rare and amazing things were offered with the help of Kotono Mitsuishi and Run Sasaki.

Kotono Mitsuishi offered items from her own merchandise from her website; she had three bundles available which included a signed original t-shirt, cellphone charms and a handkerchief. Mitsuishi-san also managed to get other items signed by other cast members on shows she’s currently working on and auctioned them off.

One of the most amazing things that Run Sasaki auctioned off was a replica of the coat Luffy wore in the movie, “One Piece: Strong World”. Not only was the coat a one of a kind, Mayumi Tanaka (the seiyuu who does Luffy’s voice) wore it at last year’s Sakura-Con during her performance with Team Dreamcatchers and signed it as well.

One of the items that I highly regret not getting was a one of a kind “Anpanman” handkerchief. I am not the biggest “Anpanman” fan, but this handkerchief was not sold in stores and it was signed by the cast members. It being signed by Keiko Toda (the seiyuu who does “Anpanman” is also a famous actress in Japan who has done many dramas and movies) alone would make it worth quite a bit, but since it includes so many other signatures including Koichi Yamadera (another famous seiyuu whose credits include Ryoga from “Ranma 1/2″), it was priceless.

Other items included shirts signed by Ikue Ohtani (who does Pikachu’s voice in “Pokemon” and Chopper’s voice in “One Piece”) and other amazing goodies. Both charities raised thousands of dollars for wonderful causes.

For more information on either of these charities, please go to: http://www.wish.org and http://peacewindsamerica.org/

Outside the convention center

As someone who has been going to the convention since 2004, I’ve seen this convention grow quite a bit.

Every year the convention would grow in attendance and bring in even more guests and the names got bigger every year. And because of the convention’s growth each year, there have been a few minor bumps in the road along the way but this year the staff did an outstanding job keeping everything running smoothly and their hard work was very apparent.

The staff members and volunteers put in countless amount of hours every year to bring such a big event to the growing number of fans every single year. One of the biggest improvements that I saw was in dealing with the lines for the autograph signings.

In past years of Sakura-Con, the autograph signings sometimes caused frustration because there would be only an hour and some guests were so big that the line of people that would show up would be too long and not everyone would be able to get an autograph because of the time constraints.

This year the lines were still insanely long for some guests but they were better organized and the lines moved smoothly. They also held two autograph sessions at once (the room that the signings were in as huge) most of the time and also held more than one autograph signing for a number of the big guests to help everyone who wanted an autograph to get one.

One of the biggest lines that I personally witnessed for Sakura-Con was the line for Kotono Mitsuishi on Saturday. There was a slight confusion with people lining up early for the session who were given bracelets to come back later (this year the convention made a rule where people were not supposed to line up earlier than 30 minutes before the signing) but even with that, everyone there was able to get an autograph.

Cosplayers: Boa Hancock and Nami fighting over Luffy

Another bump in the road they managed to fix this year was the wait time for registration. Last year, registration took hours for some con goers but this year, registration was speedy.

The con goers I talked to mentioned that the time to get their badges this year only took minutes and every time I passed by the registration room, the lines were very short. That is an incredible feat considering the 19,040 con goers this year. Despite some frustration that may be caused, this convention really wouldn’t be possible without the staff and the volunteers.

This year they were able to show that past problems can be resolved so it really will be exciting to see what kinds of guests and events they bring us next year.

Line at the Exhibition Hall for the Berryz Kobo CD

Big guests, amazing concerts, cosplaying and tons of fun events: Sakura-Con 2011 was amazing and anime fans can definitely look forward to Sakura-Con 2012.

Cosplayer: Haruhi Suzumiya

For more pictures check out my flickr here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/28410146@N06/sets/72157626884064456/

Filed Under: Interviews and Articles

Vampire Knight Volume 2 (A J!-Ent Anime DVD Review)

May 10, 2011 by Michelle Tymon · Leave a Comment

“”Vampire Knight Volume 2″ is the exciting continuation of a shojo series filled with, love triangles, bishounen vampires, and maybe even a little angst.”

DVD TITLE: Vampire Knight Volume 2

DURATION: 96 Minutes

DVD INFORMATION: 16:9 WIDESCREEN, JAPANESE & ENGLISH STEREO

COMPANY: VIZ

RATED: 16+

Release Date: September 28, 2010

Original Manga by Matsuri Hino

Directed by Kiyoko Sayama

Music by Takefumi Haketa

Art Direction by Kazuhiro Ito

Character Designs by Asako Nishida

Produced by Fukashi Azuma/Tomoko Takahashi/Yumiko Masushima

Featuring the following voice talent:

Yui Horie/Mela Lee as Yuki Cross

Mamoru Miyano/Vic Mignogna as Zero Kiryu

Daisuke Kishio/Ethan Murray as Kaname Kuran

Hozumi Goda/Christopher Corey as Kaien Cross

Junichi Suwabe/Troy Baker as Akatsuki Kain

Jun Fukuyama/Bryce Papenbrook as Hanabusa Aido

Junko Minagawa/Dorothy Elias-Fahn as Ruka Souen

Susumu Chiba/Spike Spencer as Takuma Ichijo

Souichiro Hoshi/Steve Staley as Senri Shiki

Eri Kitamura/Carrie Savage as Rima Touya

Hiroki Yasumoto/Travis Willingham as Toga Yagari

Risa Mizuno/Colleen O’Shaughnessey as Seiren

Kana Ueda/Stephanie Sheh as Sayori Wakaba

Kouji Ishii/Jamieson Price as Asato Ichijo

A new teacher arrives at Cross Academy with a hidden identity and possibly deadly connection to Zero, whose suffering is driving him to desperation. Yuki’s feelings are torn between Zero and Kaname, and her determination to help Zero may lead her to betray the one she loves most.

“Vampire Knight Volume 2″ contains episodes 5-8 of the popular manga and anime series, “Vampire Knight” by Matsuri Hino. Yuki finds out Zero’s biggest secret: he’s a vampire. Because he was bitten by the vampire that killed his family years ago, he had slowly been turning but had been doing everything he could to stop the process. Since Zero has turned into the thing he hates most, he has fallen into a terrible state of self-loathing. Even after being bitten, Yuki wants to do everything she can to help Zero, no matter how extreme her solution may be.

Meanwhile the Hunter Association sends in one of the best hunters, Toga Yagari, into the school as a teacher to make sure everything is running as it should be at Cross Academy. Given Zero’s present situation, that may lead to quite a bit of trouble. However it seems that the new teacher and Zero have a history coincidentally. In this volume we also get to see more into the pasts of Yuki, Kaname, and Zero. Will Zero’s secret lead to his end or will Yuki be able to save her friend?

“Vampire Knight Volume 2″ focuses on the following main characters:

Yuki Cross – Yuki Cross is one of the main characters of the series. She is a member of the Day Class and is one of the members of the Disciplinary Committee in charge of keeping the Day and Night Classes separate. She is cute and clumsy despite being a member of the Disciplinary Committee. Yuki is the headmaster’s daughter and one of the only ones that knows the identity of the Night Class. Her earliest memory is of her about to be attacked by a vampire but being saved by Kaname Kuran. She has very strong feelings for Kaname Kuran but she also deeply cares about Zero, but more as a best friend. In Volume 2, Yuki’s affections may have shifted a little. She feels an even stronger connection with Zero and wants to do everything she can to help him out with his situation. Even if the solution she comes up with may be rather extreme…

Zero Kiryu – Zero is a member of the Day Class. He is also a member of the Disciplinary Committee with Yuki. The headmaster brought him in four years ago after his parents were killed by a vicious vampire. Because of that fact, he hates vampires and clashes with the members of the Night Class quite a bit. He is rather cool and sarcastic, but can manage to drop a few jokes with Yuki, who he’s rather close to. Despite how close they are, he seems to be keeping a very big secret… In Volume 2, it is apparent that he was bitten by the vampire that killed his family and he can’t fight off the effects anymore. Because he’s becoming the thing that he hates more than anything, his feelings of self-loathing have gotten pretty bad. His feelings for Yuki get even stronger and even though he doesn’t want the help that she is giving him, he can’t seem to hold himself back.

Kaname Kuran – Kaname is a member of the Night Class. He is the leader and the most powerful out of the Night Class. He saved Yuki from a vampire when she was a child and is even still very protective towards her. He has very strong feelings for Yuki even though she’s rather oblivious to that fact. For the most part, he keeps the other vampires out of trouble and is the one who helped establish this school with Kaien Cross. In Volume 2, it becomes a little more apparent how strong he feels for Yuki. Despite seeing into his past a little more in this volume, he seems even more mysterious.

Ruka Souen – Ruka is a member of the Night Class. She is sophisticated and beautiful and she is the idol of males of the Day Class. She has very strong feelings for Kaname.

Takuma Ichijo – Takuma is a member of the Night Class. He is from an aristocratic family and is one of Kaname’s closest friends. He is rather cheerful and friendly unlike most other vampires.

Senri Shiki – Senri is a member of the Night Class. He rarely speaks and when he does, it’s usually a single sentence. He works as a model with Rima.

Rima Touya – Rima is a member of the Night Class. She is petite and pixie-like and works as a model with Senri. Also like Senri, she doesn’t speak very much and is not very energetic.

Seiren – Seiren is another member of the Night Class and Kaname’s unofficial bodyguard.

Sayori Wakaba – Sayori is a member of the Day Class as well as Yuki’s best friend and dorm-mate. She is kind and always worries about her best friend.

Asato Ichijo -Asato, also known as “Ichio” among the vampires, is Takuma’s grandfather and a member of the Vampire Council. He holds a lot of power in the vampire community and he causes quite a stir in episode 8 when the Night Class finds out he’s planning on stopping by.

“Vampire Knight Volume 2” features a total of 4 episodes on one DVD. Here is a spoiler-less summary of each episode:

Volume 2:

Episode 5- Moonlight Festivities – A new teacher comes to Cross Academy who apparently has some connection with Zero.
Episode 6- Their Choices – Yuki decides to help Zero with his ailment, no matter what the risks may be.
Episode 7- The Scarlet Maze – Much of Yuki, Kaname, and Zero’s pasts are revealed.
Episode 8- Gunshot of Sorrow – Ichijo’s grandfather comes to visit the vampires in the Night Class.

VIDEO & AUDIO

“Vampire Knight Volume 2″ is presented in 16:9 and audio options include both Japanese and English. Just like in Volume 1, the art in the series is pretty but the character designs are indeed shojo so that may attract or detract viewers. But overall, the art is great and the animation is smooth and backgrounds look great.

The Japanese cast as well as the American cast both do a great job. All of the voices seem fitting and don’t seem out of place. The Japanese cast includes big names like Yui Horie, Mamoru Miyano, Daisuke Kishio, Jun Fukuyama, and many others. The American cast is also full of big name voice actors including Mela Lee, Ethan Murray, Vic Mignogna, Troy Baker, Stephanie Sheh, and others.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

The only special features available on the disc are Viz Trailers and DVD Credits.

Volume 2 of “Vampire Knight” is a direct continuation in the storyline where Volume 1 left off. In this volume, we see a possible shift in Yuki’s feelings, which could be leaning toward Zero instead of Kaname. We get to see a little more into the pasts of Yuki, Zero, Kaname and Kaien and are also introduced to a new character: Toga Yagari. Yagari is a ruthless hunter sent from the Hunter Association to keep an eye on everything going on at Cross Academy. My feelings about the series haven’t really changed in this volume: I still think the shojo aspects of the series are rather cliche, however I think the series is worth watching because it does have an interesting story and memorable characters. The story and the characters are still the strongest part of the series.

The love triangle between Yuki, Zero and Kaname become even more obvious in this volume. One of the best things about this volume is the fac that we get to see a little more out of the Night Class members that didn’t really stand out in Volume 1 like Ichijo, Senri and Rima. Despite not being main characters and barely ever speaking, I think I may like Senri and Rima the most out of all the characters. Even with the revelation of much about the main characters’ pasts, Kaname still remains rather mysterious. Even though Yuki is the central character of the story, there is a lot more focus on Zero and his conflict in this volume. Yagari would be a strong addition to the cast of characters and quickly jumps up in ranks as one of the better characters in the series in my opinion. It was interesting to see the nature of his relationship with Zero considering who he is and considering Zero’s issue.

The episodes in “Vampire Knight” are not really stand alone, therefore I don’t recommend watching this volume without seeing the first four episodes. There are quite a few spoilers that happen in this volume that probably wouldn’t make much sense if watched before seeing the beginning of the series. There are quite a few characters in this series and by this volume the storyline has progressed quite a bit. Even though there are quite a few characters in this series, it’s not a distraction and it’s not hard to keep track of who is who. I really do believe that the great number of characters in this series acts as a strength since most of the characters are pretty interesting.

The target audience doesn’t change in this volume: it’s mostly for a female audience. However Yagari might be a character guys could like as well, considering he may be the most masculine character despite there being mostly guys in the cast of characters.

If you liked the first volume or are a fan of the series, this volume is definitely worth watching. Despite the many shojo manga/anime cliches, the story and characters are interesting enough to keep watching to see what happens next. As I mentioned above, I recommend this series for people who already know of the series or have seen Volume 1, but I do not recommend it if you haven’t seen the first volume. Too much has happened by this volume and there are too many characters to keep track of. Even if you are not a shojo manga/anime fan, I think there are some people (like me) who could at least enjoy the series for the story and the characters. Overall, an exciting continuation of the series.

Filed Under: Anime on DVD

Sakura-Con 2011: Kotono Mitsuishi – Report by Michelle Tymon (J!-ENT Interviews and Articles)

May 6, 2011 by Michelle Tymon · Leave a Comment

Sakura-Con 2011 Kotono Mitsuishi Report and Photos by Michelle Tymon

Kotono Mitsuishi at Sakura-Con 2011

Kotono Mitsuishi is a name known by most anime fans and at this year’s Sakura-Con, attendees had the chance to meet the anime icon. A talented voice actress with a very wide range, a few of her notable roles include Usagi Tsukino/Sailor Moon from “Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon”, Misato Katsuragi from “Neon Genesis Evangelion”, and Excel from “Excel Saga”.

Kotono Mitsuishi at her Q&A

Kotono Mitsuishi was born in Tokyo in 1967. After she graduated high school, she entered the Katsuta Voice Actor’s Academy. In 1988, she debuted as a seiyuu as Tomoyo in “Ace wo Nerae! 2″. A few year later, her popularity will sky rocket because of a certain role in a show about super hero sailor scouts. Mitsuishi-san’s most famous role would probably have to be Usagi Tsukino/Sailor Moon from the “Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon” series. That role propelled her into stardom. The role of Usagi/Sailor Moon called for her to be silly as well as serious (mostly silly). Usagi was usually very ditsy, happy and silly which would also carry over when she turned into Sailor Moon, however there are some very serious and dark moments in where Sailor Moon would showed her serious side and Mitsuishi-san pulled this off flawlessly.

Kotono Mitsuishi

The next notable role she played was Misato Katsuragi from “Neon Genesis Evangelion”. Though Misato does have a silly side to her, it was very much a contrast from Usagi’s character. With this role, Mitsuishi-san was able to show off her range even more since this character was much older, and there was many more serious scenes in this series than in “Sailor Moon”.

Kotono Mitsuishi and Run Sasaki

Since then, she has an impressive resume of roles including Mink from “Dragon Half”, Kagura Sohma from “Fruits Basket”, Murrue Ramias from “Gundam SEED/Gundam SEED Destiny”, Mireille Bouquet from “Noir”, Ebichu from “Oruchuban Ebichu” and most recently Boa Hancock from “One Piece”. Another role that stands out when your hear Mitsuishi-san’s name is the role of Excel from “Excel Saga”. Playing that role, Mitsuishi-san would have ridiculously long lines that she would have to say really fast and at the end of every episode for the preview of the next episode, she would have to speak even faster as if she was saying a tongue twister. The role is so hard that the first American voice actress to voice Excel had to step down because of the strain it put on her voice. With such a range of characters from super cute to serious, it’s not wonder that she has so many fans all over the world.

Kotono Mitsuishi signing a NERV shirt for a fan

At this year’s Sakura-Con, her schedule of events included two Q&A sessions, two autograph signings, a live performance with Team Dreamcatchers, and an appearance at the Charity Auction. Fans lined up to go to each of her events and were eager at the chance of meeting her. At both of her autograph signings, the lines were very long but she stayed and signed everyone’s items were signed even though it meant she had to stay a little after the allotted time.

Kotono Mitsuishi rehearsing with Team Dreamcatchers

At her Q&A sessions, she answered various questions from fans and at the end of the sessions, she held an anime quiz and gave prizes to the winners. All of the prizes were items she personally brought from Japan. At her autograph signings, she was very kind to every fan in line both times and thanked everyone individually. At the second signing, despite going over the allotted time, she stayed until everyone got their autograph. Also at her signings, she had a container out to collect donations to help with relief efforts for those affected by the Tohoku earthquake and tsunami. At her Q&A’s she answered various questions that people had about her roles and even acted out Boa Hancock’s voice live. At the Team Dreamcatchers’ performance, she performed the song “Moonlight Densetsu” with Team Dreamcatchers and did some live voice acting to show how voice acting is done in Japan.

Kotono Mitsuishi receiving a rose from a fan

With such talent and kindness, fans were definitely very grateful that Mitsuishi-san came to the convention and we’re all looking forward to her future endeavors.

To view Kotono Mitsuishi and Team Dreamcatchers’ performance of “Moonlight Densetsu” at Sakura-Con 2011, click here:

http://youtu.be/eox88fvT8ho

For more pictures of Kotono Mitsuishi at Sakura-Con 2011, please check out my Flickr at:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/28410146@N06/sets/72157627041556411/

Kotono Mitsuishi’s Official Homepage: http://www.kotochawan.com/

Filed Under: Interviews and Articles

Vampire Knight: Volume 1 (a J!-ENT Anime DVD Review)

May 2, 2011 by Michelle Tymon · Leave a Comment

“Vampire Knight” is a shojo series with vampires… what more could you ask for?”

DVD TITLE: Vampire Knight Volume 1

DURATION: 96 Minutes

DVD INFORMATION: 16:9 WIDESCREEN, JAPANESE & ENGLISH STEREO

COMPANY: VIZ

RATED: 16+

Release Date: July 20, 2010

Original Manga by Matsuri Hino

Directed by Kiyoko Sayama

Music by Takefumi Haketa

Art Direction by Kazuhiro Ito

Character Designs by Asako Nishida

Produced by Fukashi Azuma/Tomoko Takahashi/Yumiko Masushima

Featuring the following voice talent:

Yui Horie/Mela Lee as Yuki Cross

Mamoru Miyano/Vic Mignogna as Zero Kiryu

Daisuke Kishio/Ethan Murray as Kaname Kuran

Hozumi Goda/Christopher Corey as Kaien Cross

Junichi Suwabe/Troy Baker as Akatsuki Kain

Jun Fukuyama/Bryce Papenbrook as Hanabusa Aido

Junko Minagawa/Dorothy Elias-Fahn as Ruka Souen

Susumu Chiba/Spike Spencer as Takuma Ichijo

Souichiro Hoshi/Steve Staley as Senri Shiki

Eri Kitamura/Carrie Savage as Rima Touya

Risa Mizuno/Colleen O’Shaughnessey as Seiren

Kana Ueda/Stephanie Sheh as Sayori Wakaba

At prestigious Cross Academy, there are two sessions of classes: the Day Class and the Night Class. As the school’s Disciplinary Committee, Yuki Cross and Zero Kiryu keep watch over the Day Class students, who are all infatuated with the beautiful, elite Night Class students. As Guardians, Yuki and Zero must also protect the secret of the Night Class – they’re all vampires!

“Vampire Knight Volume 1″ contains the first four episodes of the popular manga and anime series, “Vampire Knight” by Matsuri Hino. The story revolves around Yuki Cross who attends Cross Academy. Cross Academy has a Day Class and Night Class, but unlike most schools, the Day and Night Classes are completely separated… because the members of the Night Class are all vampires. The members of the Day Class don’t know this fact, other than the members of the Disciplinary Committee, Yuki and Zero, who are in charge of keeping the Day and Night classes apart. The members of the Day Class only know that the members of the Night Class are all beautiful and alluring. Kaname Kuran is the leader of the Night Class and helped Yuki’s father, Kaien Cross to establish this school. Kaien Cross opened this school in hopes of there being peace among humans and vampires.

Yuki Cross’s earliest memory is of her about to be attacked by a vampire but then being saved by Kaname Kuran. Since then, she has very strong feelings toward Kaname. Meanwhile Zero, the other member of the Disciplinary Committee, has a strong hatred towards vampires because his parents were killed by a vampire four years prior. Despite Yuki and Zero clashing about how they feel about vampires, they do their job by keeping the Day Class away from the Night Class as much as possible. However it seems that Zero has a secret… one that Yuki, the person he’s closest to, doesn’t even know about…

“Vampire Knight Volume 1″ focuses on the following main characters:

Ruka Souen – Ruka is a member of the Night Class. She is sophisticated and beautiful and she is the idol of males of the Day Class. She has very strong feelings for Kaname.

Takuma Ichijo – Takuma is a member of the Night Class. He is from an aristocratic family and is one of Kaname’s closest friends. He is rather cheerful and friendly unlike most other vampires.

Senri Shiki – Senri is a member of the Night Class. He rarely speaks and when he does, it’s usually a single sentence. He works as a model with Rima.

Rima Touya – Rima is a member of the Night Class. She is petite and pixie-like and works as a model with Senri. Also like Senri, she doesn’t speak very much and is not very energetic.

Seiren – Seiren is another member of the Night Class and Kaname’s unofficial bodyguard.

Sayori Wakaba – Sayori is a member of the Day Class as well as Yuki’s best friend and dorm-mate. She is kind and always worries about her best friend.

“Vampire Knight Volume 1” features a total of 4 episodes on one DVD. Here is a spoiler-less summary of each episode:

Volume 1:

Episode 1- First Encounter – Yuki works hard to keep the Day and Night Classes apart and Zero has a dangerous secret.
Episode 2- Memories of Blood – It’s St. Xocolatl’s Day and the Day Class is anxious to give chocolates to the Night Class.
Episode 3- The Fang of Penitence – Yuki follows Zero out of the school grounds and lands into some trouble.
Episode 4- Trigger of Codemnation – After learning Zero’s secret, Yuki tries to help him.

VIDEO & AUDIO

“Vampire Knight Volume 1″ is presented in 16:9 and audio options include both Japanese and English. The art in the series is pretty but the character designs are indeed shojo so that may attract or detract viewers. But overall, the art is great and the animation is smooth and backgrounds look great.

Like Shojo manga/anime? Like vampires? Then you’ve found the perfect series for you. “Vampire Knight Volume 1″ is full of bishounen vampires and eye candy for shojo manga fans… and it does offer more to other viewers as well.

This volume covers the first four episodes of the popular manga/anime series by Matsuri Hino. Despite there being only four episodes, by the fourth episode, a significant number of events have happened. The story revolves around Yuki Cross, a cute, clumsy girl that attends Cross Academy. Cross Academy is a rather interesting school that is split by two classes: the Day Class and the Night Class. Along with Zero Kiryu, they act as the Disciplinary Committee, making sure that the Day and Night Classes stay separated. Why? Because the Night Class consists of vampires and the Day Class consists of unknowing humans who are fascinated by the beautiful Night Class. Yuki’s earliest memory is of her about to be attacked by a vampire and being saved by Kaname Kuran, who also happens to be a vampire. Since then, she has very strong feelings for Kaname. Kaname is the leader of the Night Class and is the one who helped the headmaster Kaien Cross open this school. In contrast, Zero hates vampires since his parents were killed by vampires so he despises the Night Class. However, Zero also has a secret which comes to light by the end of the DVD and the secret will change the relationship between Yuki and Zero forever.

The first DVD pretty much acts as an introduction to all of the characters in the series and the main focus is on the relationship between Yuki and Kaname as well as Yuki and Zero, as well as Zero’s secret. There are quite a few characters, considering most of the Night Class are all pretty major characters, but after a few episodes it’s not hard to keep track of who is who.

I personally am a little tired of the current vampire trend (this may be indirectly connected but there are still pretty vampires in it…) but so far the series is interesting. There’s a good mix of cuteness, romantic tension, action, and humor. The main character is a common type of main character found in shojo series: cute and clumsy and offers some comic relief. The rest of the cast consists of mostly of bishounen characters (mostly vampires). There is already an obvious love triangle between Yuki, Kaname, and Zero and of course, Yuki is oblivious to it for the most part in this volume. Despite the cliches, the series is still interesting.

This series is undoubtedly shojo. Is that bad? Nah. For those who like shojo manga and anime, this series is already great: pretty boys, romance, humor, and great art. For those who don’t like shojo manga and anime: the humor is good, there’s a fair amount of action and the story is interesting. The characters in the series are rather strong part of what makes the series interesting. The situation that Zero is in probably is the most interesting part of the story in this volume, as it is a major conflict to what he thinks and will affect his relationship with the other main characters.

Despite how conflicted he is, even he manages to contribute to the humor so that can be fun at times. Yuki is a rather generic character found in shojo mangas as I mentioned earlier. Kaname Kuran is dark, handsome, and mysterious. He seems to want peace between humans and vampires, but he also seems to have another side to him, especially when it comes to Yuki.

Though they aren’t very big characters yet, out of the Night Class, I find the duo of Senri and Rima quite amusing. They both act indifferent to anything that happens and don’t talk much, yet can have some of the funniest moments in the series. I also like Akatsuki quite a bit as he contrasts with his rather annoying cousin, Hanabusa. Kaien Cross, the headmaster and Yuki’s father pretty much provides much of the humor in the series, but it is also obvious that he has another side to him.

I would say that the primary audience for this show would be female, and might also like “Twilight”. However as I mentioned above, the series has a bit more to offer than eye candy and vampires so it may be able to bring in a bigger audience. The story itself is rather dark with bits of humor, the cast is great both in the Japanese and English dubs, and the characters are interesting. Even though I’m not a very big shojo manga/anime fan, I’m interested to see what happens next and I believe other viewers will feel the same.

Filed Under: Anime on DVD

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Sakura-Con 2011 Exhibition Hall Report & Photos by Michelle Tymon

For many more pictures from the Exhibition Room this year, please check out my flickr at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/28410146@N06/sets/72157626760344647/

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Sakura-Con 2011 Report by Michelle Tymon (J!-ENT Interviews and Articles)

Sakura-Con 2011 Report and Photography by Michelle Tymon

For more pictures check out my flickr here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/28410146@N06/sets/72157626884064456/

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Sakura-Con 2011 Kotono Mitsuishi Report and Photos by Michelle Tymon

To view Kotono Mitsuishi and Team Dreamcatchers’ performance of “Moonlight Densetsu” at Sakura-Con 2011, click here:

http://youtu.be/eox88fvT8ho

For more pictures of Kotono Mitsuishi at Sakura-Con 2011, please check out my Flickr at:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/28410146@N06/sets/72157627041556411/

Kotono Mitsuishi’s Official Homepage: http://www.kotochawan.com/

Vampire Knight: Volume 1 (a J!-ENT Anime DVD Review)