Saturday, December 28, 2013

Phi Brain: Puzzle of God

Why can't I hold all these alpacas?
 The Japanese state-sponsored and state-run television show Phi Brain: Puzzle of God is, on the surface, about a dude who really really likes puzzles. Daimon Kaito and his cronies Gammon, Ana Gram, Cubic, and Nonoha face off against hilariously named evil puzzle creators such as Rook Banjo Crossfield, Freecell, Whodunit, and Melancholy in life-or-death puzzle solving situations. On a more metaphysical level, the show demonstrates the government's attempts to instill tolerance and help to break down the people's hardlined conservatism. Each episode contains a hidden context that represents some oppressed group such as women, foreigners, or homosexuals. The alpaca statues in Season 3 Episode 12 represent the overweight and their oppression in Japan.


Saturday, December 21, 2013

I Couldn't Become a Hero, So I Reluctantly Decided to Get a Job.

I Couldn't Become a Hero, So I Reluctantly Decided to Get a Job. is quite a mouthful for a title of a show. Plus there's that period at the end that makes writing it look weird. Papa Lemon makes an appearance at the end of the first episode. I could make up some elaborate back story about Papa Lemon but it's just dish soap. Dish soap used to bathe the large breasts of the main female. Maybe I should have gotten a screenshot with those instead of the closeup of the label?

Saturday, December 14, 2013

Date A Live

Date A Live (sometimes referred to as Dave a Live) stars a high school student named Dave. Dave suffers from the fortunate circumstance of having a magical little sister from another world who forces him to date all the other magical girls. To get all the girls to love him, Dave is equipped with the ability to make mental multiple choice decisions (sounds familiar). The types of girls range from the little kid with a possessed talking puppet to the dearly devoted stoic to the overly assertive shemale. The OVA has a 2 second scene with an alpaca visible on a cellular phone, which is a perfectly good excuse to make a post about the show.

Saturday, December 7, 2013

The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya





The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya is about the mundane life of a boy named Kyon as he runs into a an alien, a time traveler, an esper or two, and even a talking cat. Ever the optimist, Kyon doesn't let any of these mysterious characters ruin his sunny disposition. Even the attempted murder of him and his past self leave him unfazed. Despite all the trials, Kyon remains the series' cheerful narrator through two seasons and a movie. The official art and DVD covers all show the characters holding lemons. I have no idea why.