Superheroes are a core part of geek culture and the likes of America are packed with hundreds to choose from; whether it be DC Comics or Marvel, everyone has a favorite. Go international and every country has their own superhero to speak of; come to the UK you get Bananaman.
Bananaman is a British comic made in 1980 about a Superman esque superhero gaining powers from eating Bananas hence the name Bananaman. Three years later, the BBC made a cartoon.
The story is about Eric Wimp who lives at 29 Acacia Road, Nuttytown as were reminded of in not only the cartoon opening but at the start of each comic strip.
After eating a banana Eric becomes Bananaman who saves the world from various evil villains such as General Blight and Appleman among others.
It becomes pretty obvious that it's a piss take of Marvel & DC Comics as every character is a homage to the many villains in those comics.
Bananaman uses good old fashioned British wit, the kind that made the likes of Dangermouse such a household name; in fact British viewers will note that all the voices in the cartoon were done by the old comedy team The Goodies. If you don't know who they are ask your dad.
The series is a bit dated but the humor manages to survive the 30+ year cycle, you'd think with the rapid evolution of technology along with the British comic industry barely surviving these days you'd think Bananaman would be forgotten but you'd be wrong; next year a live action film will be released, although sadly cartoon to live action transitions leave a lot to be desired and I doubt that a name like Bananaman can really compete in today's market, but stranger things have happened such as Johnny Test still being on TV.
Welcome to another rousing news report from the Endless Wardrobe, today is special as I am pleased to announce a Brand New World!
Welcome to the Fantasy Zone!
No not that one but you'll find The Fantasy Zone along with the other Worlds on my profile page or as I upload content.
So What's it About?
The Fantasy Zone is a World covering the lesser elements of the anime world such as the clothes, the weapons etc. It's presented as a TV Channel hosted by the cast of Victory Script.
Wait So What Will Happen to the Victory Script World?
It'll remain in place and proper character background stories will be added to better explain the presenters.
And Walk of Fame
The next entry is ready to go.
And Retro Retrospective?
Even this world will have a proper review shortly as we dive back into the vault to place in a British Superhero cartoon, followed by a Cartridge Diaries review of Space Harrier.
Will You Actually Keep to Schedule This Time?
Other than a four day break at the end of the month for Kitacon Anime Convention it should be easier to manage from now on, my writers slump has ended.
I've been gone a while thanks to a combination of writer's block and a lack of time but I plan to make it up to you starting with this review on Digimon.
Just to clarify, this is only covering season 1.
We start off in modern day Japan as one night, a parrot and a dinosaur monster fight each other in front of a number of scared children with the dinosaur coming out victorious but both soon disappear. A few years later we arrive at a summer camp where seven kids end up being transported to a mysterious world known as the Digital World.
Our characters are Tai, Matt, Joe, Izzy, Sora, Mimi & TK who are each partnered by creatures called Digimon which take on many different forms such as dinosaurs, wolves and birds to name a few. These kids and their Digimon form the Digi-destined as they save the Digital World from the onslaught of Devimon and other assorted villains.
Now back in the 90s there was an intense rivalry between Digimon & Pokemon each believing to be rip offs of the other but both have their own merits and both are still going.
But to put things into perspective both were tv anime in the west but the term anime was in it's absolute infancy and was only associated with the ultra violent 80s era of the genre. Both shows were mixed into the cartoon label but out of the two, Digimon felt more like an anime, mainly because it took it's audience more seriously.
Looking back, while season one of Pokemon is sounding more and more like some sick joke, the first season of Digimon not only stands the test of time but is actually getting better with age.
There are plenty of memorable moments which are not just comedy or action scenes but tearjerkers, darker tones and major deaths; yeah those deaths may be bloodless but are still pretty gruesome in context such as some of the villain and allies deaths, yeah sure death is cheap and you revive in egg form but for some Digimon like poor old Wizardmon can never come back. It also manages to be threatening; with every major villain you always got the sense that when the heroes gained a victory there's always a loss. Even the kids aren't so clear cut in their character molds with each one having to deal with their own personal issues, such as divorced parents, adoption and quite a dark one when Tai nearly causes Kari's death for not recognizing Kari was sick, made all the more harder to watch when you hear Kari apologize to Tai for not being able to play soccer.
Yeah I agree that it's silly in a number of places and the music for the dub is corny as hell but everything else it manages to do and it does it so well that you have to give them high praise for it.
Final Verdict: It stands the test of time and deserves it's place among the greats of anime, in fact I think it deserves a place in an official top ten anime list.
A little delayed but here is the 2nd part of the double list, the top 10 most lethal chefs. Not included on this list are those who cook for other species as it's clear that a human won't eat it anyway so Lum from Urusei Yatsura & Elsie from World God Only Knows are not on this list.
Step away from the fish!
10. Akane Tendo from Ranma 1/2
In a world where everyone can cook in more ways than one it's baffling that the lead female that Ranma is supposed to marry is the only one who can't cook. Akane does improve but in a near 300 episode series the best she can manage is basic curry.
9. Nia from Gurren Lagann & Apis from One Piece
Nia's food can make the average person seriously ill but remarkably Simon & Boota actually enjoy it.
Same can be said about filler character Apis who makes everyone on the Going Merry ill except Luffy who actually likes it. In Luffy's case he's made of rubber and probably can't tell the difference, I guess with Simon being underground most of your life will have a negative effect on taste buds.
8. Miyabi from Ninja Nonsense
In her defense she's never cooked before but someone who is the other half of a ditzy, genius sister combo, you'd expect the genius to be the better cook, but here is Miyabi mistaking gunpowder for seasoning.
7. Tenma Tsukamoto from School Rumble
Her rice balls have done some horrifying things to people so Yakumo doesn't let her cook for that reason. Eri isn't any better but being a rich girl who never has to cook is helpful in more ways than one.
6. England from Hetalia
Truth be told our food isn't that bad, it's just boring and on the scale of other cuisines it's extremely low on the scale. Ironically this is the only male entry.
5. Moka from Rosario X Vampire
She can't use kitchen utensils without harming herself or others and anything she makes is alive and hostile and can take out a full blooded vampire in one bite (Kinda ironic as she is a vampire). Even when she has help and does produce something edible it's at the expense of the kitchen and all the other members of the harem being knocked out cold.
4. Bianchi from Hitman Reborn
Her cooking is so bad it always ends up as poison which as a professional assassin became her convenient weapon of choice; no one knows why this happens it just does.
3. Himeji Mizuki from Baka + Test
The smell can summon the reapers, actually eating it causes a horrible painful death that should never be wished on anyone. Oh sure it looks okay but that makes it more deadly.
2. Seraphim from Is This a Zombie?
Her cauldron contains a substance that looks like a witches potion which causes anything to melt when exposed to it. In fact it's so bad it melts through not only the cauldron but the table, the floor and possibly the Earth's crust.
1. C-Ko from Project A-Ko
I don't really have anything nice to say about this character. Her idea of a bento box has been known to contain random objects such as bottle caps and pebbles. At least the other people on this list use actual food. Why anyone would enjoy her cooking let alone enjoy her company is clearly on crystal meth!
I've not been around for a while but my cute little nephew came to visit recently and it's really hard to focus when you have a 12 week old in the house but I'm making it up to you now with my review of Ninja Nonsense.
Ninja Nonsense is a gag comedy showing the exploits of Shinobu in the Ninja academy along with her best friend Kaede, Pac-Man reject Onsokumaru and generic ninja of which there are tons, all named Sasuke; together they try and get through the days with as much wackiness as possible.
This is what a gag anime should be, nothing but the best in gags; and with the genre of ninjas it just becomes special.
On paper this is not a series that warrants high praise as it desperately needs some action to break up the silliness before me which isn't helped by the bait and switch credits in which Shinobu fights her dark side which isn't even in this anime, but for what it's worth it manages to pull off the comedy well despite the lack of any real action, so such episodes as a hot summers day and a baseball game seem all the more fun. I find myself wanting to watch the whole series quite often and I don't always give that kind of dedication to an anime; plus Onsokumaru is voiced in the dub by Sean Schemmel, who is better known as Dragonballz's Goku. Quite a difference between the two, one is a benevolent martial artist, the other is a straight up pervert shaped like Pac-Man.
And Onsokumaru makes this gagtastic series work; you can't really give a proper description of him, he's just a yellow transforming blob and yet he really delivers on the gags in this show; equally despite obvious cliches, Shinobu also manages to pull off some memorable scenes which includes hinted at Yuri and the parts where she tries to be a ninja.
It may lack the sophistication of other anime, it may not have the defining moments either but for what it has, it succeeds in every way.
Final Verdict: Ninja Nonsense is down right fun and is worth watching, I recommend both sub and dub despite the dub having a few lousy script choices. Overall you won't be disappointed.
