Why are old guys in Japan so cool? Man, I would do anything to have a drink with a Japanese old guy. They are always talking about "youth" as if it were something cool to be young and not old. As if they themselves found the secret to enjoying youth and loving life; then love to see new young people being themselves.

These days, a lot of old guys seem crotchety and angry, as if young people are taking all of the oxygen away from their oxygen machines or something. It might or might not have to do with the interweb and the skyrocketing use of smart phones. Then again, it could just be because life can be a b**** or a d***. Hopefully its not beause being old is just plain hard. Then there would be no "COOL" guys to have an ice-col d beer with, those old Japanese guys.

Gintama's Gender-Switch Arc Comes at a Conspicuous Time...

The new Gintama anime (Gintama 2015) has only been up for a few weeks now and it's already getting back into supplying everyone with unbiased laughs and action, with its usual political twist. Usually the anime makes various references to classic anime like Doraemon or Bleach. Then there's all the refs to Japanese stars and politicians. But Gintama cannot and will not stop there! They're looking at America's politics, sometimes...

In one of the newest arcs, all (well most) of the main characters had their genders switched by a group of "amanto" (aliens) that want to test the character's will to be their own gender.

Gintoki became a shorter and seemingly attractive twenty-something, girl. 

And then the girls changed genders too and were more menacing and ruthless than the guys!

Tsukuyo's character actually became a lot like Gintoki, but less pretentious and more playboyish as a man. Is he/she new toughest character?

Sogo Okita and Isao Kondou became attractive chicks, despite being weird for men.

I will not spoil the arc by talking about all of the details and you can watch it for free on Crunchyroll.com. But by the end of the three episode arc, Gintoki will once again say something that will change your perspective on gender and make you feel better, as his character always does.

And whenever you want to laugh or smile, just think about Kagura's male form XD

(Don't ask how she got really old!)

Aldnoah.Zero, Pre-Season 2: The Futility of Talents Review

To those of you who haven't seen Aldnoah.Zero season 1, beware....

Spoiler Alert!!

Slaine gets pissed that Princess Vers cares about Inaho!
Slaine helped kill Princess Vers!
Slaine shoots Inaho!
Slaine kills Saazbaum!

What happens when the most talented kid on the block tries his best to fight the opposition, despite the odds and the ever-present threat of death over his shoulder?

That is basically what Aldnoah.Zero is about. Kaizuka Inaho is an ordinary Japanese boy who happens to also be the younger sibling of a Warrant Officer in the futuristic parallel world where Earth discovers ancient power on Mars, and creates an alternate race of humans with a supreme God complex. The Earthling become Terrans and the Martians become Vers. And they all have mechs. But the Martian mechs have super physics-defying powers, while the Earth mechs are a bunch of crap.

Only one boy is smart enough to make due with what he has, an orange colored training mech (called a Kataphrakt) and uses his brains to outsmart opponents when he is severely outmatched... And decides fights because he is a superior tactician and hedges his bets...

But what about that twist ending?? 

It's no wonder that Ei Aoki, Director of such somber works as Fate/Zero, Ga-Rei, and Blood+ would come up with such an ending to the first season, trolling many anime fans across the world.

Just my personal reaction: When I saw the ending of Aldnoah.Zero with a friend, we both sat there dumbstruck for minutes on end as the credits rolled. "What kind of mad scientist concocted such a down-to-life ending? What were they thinking?" And then it hit me: the point of this ending was to say "There are no heroes in anime. There are just the idealistic, and the determined." And in a way that's true to life.

What was the purpose of the entire struggle to save Earth from the Martian onslaught? It doesn't matter; everyone has their own reason to fight, and no one reason is as good as the person it belongs to. Like Fate/Zero, Aldnoah.Zero feels like a biopic -- the trials and tribulations of Kaizuka Inaho, a skilled tactician without the fear and needless worrying of a normal person. Nothing more, nothing less.

I highly recommend that those who've seen Aldnoah.Zero Season one go check out the first episode of Season 2 that is now available! The epic space opera-that would continues to the tragic tune of a futile elegy...!

-chansu