Hi I'm Dranzerstorm
You may remember me as a regular contestant on the caption battle contest.
Welcome to Retro Retrospective, my world dedicated to the old guard of the Otaku world; expect some reviews of the old & obscure, and in-depth geeky knowledge with the occasional top ten and I now have a logo.
Little info about me
Well I'm British and I'm in to all things animated and nostalgia.
I've grown up with every cartoon going and have watched hundreds of anime.
Oh and to answer a question I was asked once, no I don't wear glasses in real life, I would wear Loke's sunglasses though.
After 15 years of serialization, Naruto has finally come to an end, another Shonen Jump juggernaut has closed it's pages for good following the likes of Dragonball, Yu Yu Hakusho, Death Note and Rurouni Kenshin into the archives of history. This entry dives into how the Orange Ninja ended his story and what kind of legacy we can expect.
Sequel Confirmed
Literally hours ago, a news report doing the rounds is that Shippuden will get a sequel, in what form this takes is anyone's guess but may relate to the events between the last two chapters or like Dragonball GT, follow a new story which may or may not be canon.
How Did It End?
Spoilers, if you don't want to know then skip to the next paragraph. After a grueling battle between leads Naruto and Sasuke, the battle ends in a draw leaving both combatants missing an arm; after the war ends, Kakashi becomes 6th Hokage and Sasuke is spared a death sentence but then he goes off traveling in which Naruto says his goodbyes. Final chapter takes place 15 years later as we see the young ninjas grown up as Hinata is now married to Naruto with two kids while Sakura married Sasuke and has one kid, (I can already hear one half of the fanbase squeeing while the other half are crying) but the major event is that Naruto is now the 7th Hokage and the series comes full circle as Naruto's son paints graffiti on his father's head statue much like Naruto himself did in the very first chapter to the 3rd Hokage and to be honest, I wouldn't have ended it any other way
Is The Ending Satisfying?
It ended at the right time, popularity was starting to drop as the final battles were getting harder and harder to follow and eventually it would've been a choice between "Bleach style make up random crap" or "Dragonball GT bow out while you still have same dignity left", as for how it ended, this is probably how most people would've predicted it. I have been critical of some of Naruto's shortcomings such as it's reliance on fillers to pad the universe, the constant emo motives shoved down your throat, making the most predictable plot twists, resorting to gods and other worldly powers overshadowing the ninja parts of a "ninja" anime; But despite all it's issues, the ending reminded us why we enjoyed Naruto in the first place and I'm going to miss it.
What Now For Shonen Jump?
What came as unexpected was that Naruto was the first of the big three to finish when many predicted it would be the last or at least the second. Equally Bleach has been looking at finishing for a while and will probably follow Naruto out next year, leaving only One Piece still going, so who could succeed Naruto?
Well three titles are lined up for 2015 Shonen Jump, two of which are debuts greenlit from successful one shots. Takujo no Ageha
By Furuya Itsuki, described as a hi-tension ping pong manga. E-Robot
By Ryōhei Yamamoto, about a sexy and powerful robot girl. Gakkyuu Houtei (School Investigation Court)
By Takeshi Obata of Death Note fame and Enoki Nobuaki, which looks like Shonen Jump's answer to Phoenix Wright.
Failing that, Toriko has gained enough popularity to sit amongst the best and will likely stay there for a good couple of years.
How Does It Rank Amongst Other Long Running Manga?
Not very high, at time of writing it's only the 36th longest running manga and since it's ended it will likely drop, even One Piece is only 27th. Kochikame is still the longest running manga of all time being active and still going for 38 years of who ironically is a Shonen Jump title, against Japan's regular manga that have been running longer than I've been alive? Doesn't even compare; but Naruto is still popular and will likely get a worthwhile legacy especially over in the west where the headbands and kunai will keep flying for years to come, so it's time we say thanks to 15 years of Naruto and to play us out, Naruto's 1st opening.
I am finally back after a long unannounced hiatus, this is due to ongoing life issues that won't bugger off, which is annoying because I missed posting on Halloween but no worries, this movie kinda falls in between Halloween and Christmas. Today's vault entry is the Nightmare Before Christmas.
Jack Skellington is the Pumpkin King, the supreme master of the holiday of Halloween in the town of the same name and this year's Halloween went successfully with a great opening musical number, however Jack has become tired of the same routine every year and goes off on a walk to see if he can get some inspiration only to stumble upon Christmas Town which gives him the bright idea of taking on Christmas so he decides to replace Santa Claus and deliver his horrifying brand of Christmas to the world only to be rejected by human kind which prompts Jack to return to being the Pumpkin King and restore the natural order.
This is not just a stop motion piece but a full blown musical to boot and it does a really decent job of it, from it's musical numbers to it's unique characters, Nightmare Before Christmas manages to deliver on all levels.
It's not perfect by any means, some minor character designs need a rethink and the romance sections weren't necessary but those are minor and doesn't interfere with the story too much.
But it's the film's legacy that managed to pull off something much bigger, the film is the most popular Disney animated feature outside the Disney Canon and Pixar; Jack Skellington pretty much invented goth fashion from it's release and even now is still a staple of the goth fashion world, it's unique brand of styling even gave inspiration to the likes of Corpse Bride and Coraline.
It's that type of charm that manages to keep Halloween in business.
I think everyone is familiar with the chronic decay going on within Nickelodeon at the moment as it continues to survive on shows that have flogged too many dead horses, along with new content that survives on toilet humor alone and yet another Hannah Montana clone that so doesn't rip off Disney Channel; but when did this all go wrong? When did Nickelodeon pull their greatest faux pas?
Well it's because of this show. Chose that one because that's what Nickelodeon seriously needs to ask themselves right now
Yep Nickelodeon are doing crap because of Adventure Time, but why Adventure Time? Well lets go back to late 2008, early 2009 to find out.
Cartoons were going through a rough patch as they were losing popularity faster than a celebrity trolling on Twitter, so Frederator Studios, fresh from counting their money from the successful Fairly Odd Parents franchise set another series of shorts to look for new talent called Random Cartoons which consisted of a number of works from various creators mostly from the Nicktoons stable but had a few from Cartoon Network and surprisingly Doug TenNapel of Earthworm Jim fame. One of the big successes from the show was Pendleton Ward, fresh from his work on Flapjack over on Cartoon Network with another creator named J.G.Quintel, who came up with Adventure Time and another show named Bravest Warriors; the Studio needed two TV shows and a Web Show. Pendleton Ward's two shows both got picked for TV and web respectively while the third show picked was Fanboy & Chum Chum by some nobody.
Afterwards Nicktoons were keen to make Fanboy & Chum Chum but weren't so keen on Adventure Time until Cartoon Network bought it off them and premiered it a year later and the rest is history, Adventure Time along with Regular Show saved the Cartoon Industry and Nickelodeon was left licking it's wounds which keeps getting more painful everyday especially when Fanboy & Chum Chum continually get voted worst cartoon ever by pretty much every wannabe commentator on Youtube.
To sum up, Nickelodeon chose Fanboy & Chum Chum over Adventure Time and ended up giving what is currently the World's Most Successful cartoon today to their biggest corporate rivals.
I'm not even going to dignify that with a facepalm, it was such an idiotic decision that I'm kind of glad they're getting punished with crap shows. This isn't the first time Nickelodeon turned down a quality show that went to Cartoon Network, they did the same with Ed, Edd & Eddy because they wanted creative rights over it which the creator rightly refused and that became not only Cartoon Network's longest running show but one of the longest running Canadian shows.
But what about the future? Adventure Time can't be on forever and Pendleton Ward has already stepped down from the show. Well Steven Universe is a hit and Uncle Grandpa despite it's short comings is surprisingly good, heck even the new Teen Titans Go series is fun in places. As for Nickelodeon, they have more toilet humor, which is their plan for the next few years and to be honest Spongebob & Fairly Odd Parents have decayed so much in quality that they probably should quit, so expect Nickelodeon to be cartoon free in a couple of years. I'll start writing Nicktoons' gravestone now.
The term "Miracle Rookie" refers to a character who suddenly becomes an instant expert at anything despite having no training or any experience in the task they are doing, a lot of them are annoying Mary Sue types who usually have the added bonus of being the show's main problem solver. So on to the list, I have a few choice words about these characters as well.
Dishonorable Mentions
Yui Hirasawa from K-On
Most of her so called Guitar work maybe from Autism as Yui demonstrates symptoms of Hyper Focus where she can focus and master anything at the cost of forgetting something else. Autism is not an excuse to go on this list. Kazuya Aoi from Freezing
Can somehow control Satellizer after meeting her once, justified as he's the brother of a stronger character. Ichika Orimura from Infinite Stratos
The same can be said for Ichika who also has a more famous sister who is a master of her craft.
10. Ash Ketchum from Pokemon
Rated low as he never wins the Pokemon League but it doesn't excuse the fact that he seems to make friends with everyone he meets and somehow wins respect of all legendary Pokemon. For a normal trainer that doesn't happen.
9. Negi Springfield from Negima
Doesn't seem limited by the fact that he's only ten, in fact he spends so much time acting out of age that you don't see the same character you started with and he seemingly achieves all this without any effort.
8. Uzumaki Naruto from Naruto
From Mastering clone jutsu after reading one scroll to being Ninja Jesus, Naruto seems to do an Ash and befriend everyone he meets and seems to be stronger than even the strongest characters in the anime.
7. Minato Sahashi from Sekirei
Gets dragged into the whole Sekirei story by accident and suddenly commands a harem of super powered girls. Then starts being all high and mighty about saving all the Sekirei.
6. Saito Hiraga from Familiar of Zero
Gets sucked into a new world and suddenly masters everything from swords to piloting World War II fighter jets and turns the nobility cycle upside down in the process, the only reason he's not higher is because I actually feel sorry for him having to spend his days with Louise.
5. Madoka Kaname from Madoka Magica
Much of the story is about preventing her from becoming a Magical Girl but no matter how you look at it, she's still insufferable as a character and her final form makes Naruto's achievements look like nothing.
4. Akane Isshiki from Vividred Operation
I do like this series but I find Akane annoying, she seems to command everything with ease and makes friends instantly without even trying, if the series were a bit longer and had some development it would be excused but the rush in getting to the climax makes Akane too perfect as a character and it's irritating.
3. Misaki Suzuhara from Angelic Layer
She invented the term Miracle Rookie, Misaki somehow gets dragged into the Angelic Layer game but somehow manages to win nearly all her battles by a mixture of luck or convenient wrestling moves she saw her friend perform. It doesn't help that her angel Hikaru can take a huge pounding and still stand and counter with something stronger that finishes off her opponent in one hit. The balance of powers in this anime is like a fighting character with a million cheat codes.
2. Kamille Bidan from Zeta Gundam
All he had to do was shrug off an insult from a Titans Pilot and we could've avoided the whole Zeta Gundam series. While most Gundam pilots starting out, find themselves in this position, Kamille is the worst offender of this. Unlike the other people on this list who are kind and pariahs of benevolence, Kamille is a complete utter ass hole who thinks he has the god given right to preach to everyone, no wonder people punch him so much.
1. Yoshika Miyafuji from Strike Witches
But this girl almost made Strike Witches unwatchable. Yoshika seems to defy logic in this series, how is it that a young girl whose only talent is healing and creating barriers somehow seems to do better than veteran witches in this war going to the point of solving every problem and effectively leading the 501st Strike Witches despite not being an actual leader and then seemingly smiles all the time thinking everything is okay and cheery when countries are being destroyed by rogue aliens. Seriously it's irritating.
I'm back from my illness, so lets get back to it with Sally Bollywood.
Sally Bollywood is about a secret agent of the same name, going around the multicultural city of Cosmopolis solving mysteries alongside her cyber expert friend Doowee MacAdam, although the majority of these mysteries are school level problems and apparently not only is this show five years old but it has over hundred episodes.
Lets address the main theme of this show which is of course Bollywood, now Bollywood is the term used to describe India's film industry made up of epic dance numbers with hundreds of dancers led by a male or female lead, it's lots of fun to watch however looking at this, despite having creation credits from India, the Bollywood levels are rather tame, in fact the whole series is rather tame as most episodes follow a samey formula of Scooby Doo crossed with Kim Possible minus ghosts and effort. It doesn't help that Sally comes across as being a little too perfect which brings me to a serious complaint about shows with female leads along with girls cartoons in general is that female leads don't always showcase weakness which makes them hard to relate to.
Overall the show is harmless enough and is worth a look but don't expect anything spectacular.
