My Opinion on the Hetalia Dub!! Season 01

Konnichiwa minna-san! Hello everyone!

It's been quite awhile since I've posted, and I apologise for that.(I have no excuse, since I get on my computer alot lately....)

Anyway, a few weeks ago I got my Hetalia: Axis Powers box set! I couldn't wait to start watching and rewatching it! Which, I've done a few(okay more than just a few...) times. So now that I've watched the episodes several times, I want to post my opinions on the dubbed voices and mention some of my favorite scenes and lines.

Now FUNImation decided to use accents for the characters. I think that was a good move on their part. It really makes it feel like the characters are from the nations they're representing. I believe that it makes it way more fun that way. That and I LOVE a British accent, which only makes my love for Britian/Arthur Kirkland bigger! Yes, the correct name is Britian and that's the way it is in the dub. I know it's subbed as England, but the Japanese word Igirisu means Great Britian or The United Kingdom. FUNImation was asked by Studio Deen to use Britian, plus it's hard enough for the voice actors to fit the lines in the mouth flaps, without having to put United Kingdom in there. There wouldn't be much room for the rest of the line. So Arthur is Britian. Not England, Britian.

Some of the characters I love more than I did in the Japanese and some I actually like now. The characters that I like now because of they're dubbed voices are:

• Canada~ I didn't really care for the way the Japanese Seiyuu did his voice. It bugged me
• Poland~ Is unbelievably annoying in the Japanese! Though he only has one line in season one and I can't understand half of what he says because of the accent; I definitely prefer the dubbed over the Japanese.
• Sealand

That's how good of a job FUNImation did. Here's what I thought of each character's dubbed voice. So since the series is called Hetalia: Axis Powers, I'll start with them.

Italy: Voiced by Todd Haberkorn. What can I say? Todd did an amazing job. Italy's still just as adorable as he was in the Japanese. I love both of Italy's voices. Todd's Italian accent was convincing.

Germany: Voiced by Patrick Seitz. Germany is one of the characters I like more in the dub than I did in the Japanese. Though, I'm not a fan of Germany. The accent was done well and he sounds just as strict as he did in the Japanese.

Japan: Voiced by Christopher Bevins. Where do I begin.....His Japan was fantastic! It was one of the voices that I loved instantly! Christopher is very good at "Engrish". I found Japan way more adorable and funny in the dub, so I applaud you Christopher Bevins!

Now on to the Allied Forces! Starting with our hero America, of course:

America: Voiced by Eric Vale. First, I want to point out that there was no accent for America and that he was the only one. America is my 2nd favorite character in the series, so his voice was very important to me. I liked the fact that America's voice wasn't as high-pitched as it was in the Japanese. I honestly believe they could not have picked a better voice actor. The man is like a living-breathing America! Eric did an amazing, heroic, job! Eric Vale, if you happen to read my blog, I want you to know that you truly are king and I thank you for doing such an amazing job on him!

Canada: Voiced by Eric Vale as well. So like in the Japanese the voice actor that played America, does Canada as well. I think that Eric did a very good job with him. Like I said, Canada's is one of the characters that I like now, due to his dubbed voice. His voice has the quiet gentle feel that it had before. Though, in my opinion, not as annoying. Nothing against his Seiyuu, I just don't really like the sound of it. Canada is much more adorable to me in the dub, so thank you Eric Vale for how you voiced Canada, I love it! I must applaud him as well for doing an amazing job on not one, but two characters!

Britain: Voiced by Scott Freeman. Oh, that lovely British accent of his.....Anyway, Britain was another character whose voice I loved as soon as I heard it. Scott pulls off Britain very well. The accent was amazing(haha...I know I've said that a couple of times already, but it's true.) Oh, and his laugh! Britain's laugh is cute and sometimes, like in the episode where France tries to get Britain to marry him, it sounds very pirate-like. Which is totally okay, because Britain is one of the pirate nations/characters.

France: Voiced by J. Michael Tatum. I love the accent, but I must admit that France is one of the characters that I don't really like as much in the dub. I still think they picked a good voice actor and all, but his voice kinda lost that suave feel he had in the Japanese. Still, J. Michael Tatum does a very good job on France, especially with that French laugh of his.

China: Voiced by Clarine Harp. His voice, like the Japanese was voiced by a female voice actor. When I first heard his voice I was disappointed. I had to watch the anime a few times though to finally get used to it, but like France, I don't like China as much as I did in the Japanese. He's just not as cute. Also, you'll note that when China speaks he doesn't say "...aru". Why? Because that is Japan's stereotype for how Chinese people speak. Instead they used our (and by our, I mean American) stereotype for the way they speak. So in all, I don't find China as cute in the dub, because there's no "...aru" and I don't really like the accent. Though, I'll admit that I can NOT do a Chinese accent. Please don't ask me to.

Russia: Voiced by Jerry Jewell. WOW....I thought Russia was creepy sounding before...Russia's voice also doesn't have the "cute" factor in the dub. Which is fine with me, I never really liked it. So, I prefer the dub to Japanese in his case.

Now for the other characters:

Romano: Voiced by Ian Sinclair. I really like Romano's voice. He sounds cute and "tough" at the same time. Which is perfect for Romano

Prussia: Voiced by Jonathan Brooks. I word. AWESOME!!

Austria: Voiced by Chuck Huber. One of the voices I don't really like. I'm not sure what it is about it, but I don't really care for it. So for Austria, Japanese voice wins.

Hungary: Voiced by Luci Christian. Her dubbed voice is adorable! I love it very much and I find her accent very cute.

Spain: Voiced by Dave Trosko. Spain is one of the characters that I love more because of his dubbed voice! I've seen more people who love his dub than people who hate it.

Switzerland: Voiced by John Burgmeier. Not sure what to say about him other than I like his dub voice

Liechtenstein: Voiced by Cherami Leigh. Adorable! Absolutely Adorable! That's all I can say.

Lithuania: Voiced by Josh Grelle. I really like his voice and the accent!

Sealand: Voiced by Maxey Whitehead. Again...Adorable! Absolutely Adorable!

Best Lines and Scenes:

Some of the lines and scenes that I love best.

Germany: "Look how the door just opened! You could totally run away if you wanted..." (Said to Italy) You have to hear it....It's the accent that makes this line hilarious!

Italy: "Hasta la Pasta!" (In a preview for the next episode)
"I'll tell you everything I know, which is pretty much everything I know..." (Said to the Allies while in captivity, about to confess what he knows about Germany) Basically what Italy is saying is that he doesn't know anything...

Chibitalia: "That's happy!" (To Holy Roman Empire) Just flat out adorable!

Japan: "Please stop touching me...." (Said to Italy, who is repeatedly patting him on the shoulder)

America: All of his lines are GREAT!! But, I'll post his first line that he says in the anime.
"Dude! I even smell like a hero! Check it!"

China: "See, China take all. Simple enough, you can all go home now." (To other Allies about dividing up the land)

There are many other lines that I adore as well....but I don't want to tell you everything that happens. You should go watch it yourself to hear the other great lines

Scenes:

When Romano first shows up.

The Allies meeting.

France and Britain's "marriage" scene

Sealand's first appearance.


So that about sums it up for my opinion on Season 1 of the Hetalia dub. When I get the Season 2, I'll post my favorite lines, scenes, and opinions on the new characters

Thanks for reading! Next post will be on Fanfictions!

Cosplaying and Roleplay!!

Hello everyone! It's me Ki-chan!

Yes, for once I did not use Japanese in my greeting like I normally do...why? Because I've been RPing as Arthur Kirkland/England/Britain/UK from Hetalia: Axis Powers. A little too much....I'm very attached to him. My friends will agree.

Anyway, this post will be about how to cosplay and roleplay as your favorite anime character. I'll also include some great cosplayers and cosplay sites, that are loved by my friends and I.


Cosplay~ If you new to the Otaku world, you probably don't know what Cosplay is. Cosplay is the words costume and playing put together. Basically what it means is that your dressing up as an anime character and your pretending to be that character. It's kinda like dressing up for Halloween, except you don't usually get candy and you can do it whenever you want. You can cosplay by yourself or in a group. If you go with the group option, it'll look best if your group is being characters from the same anime. Though you don't have to. For example my friend Haru-chan and I cosplayed at a con together, but she was Momo Adachi from Peach Girl and I was C.C. from Code Geass. Even though we were from two entirely different anime series, we still had fun cosplaying together.


Roleplay~ Roleplay is where you pretend to be an anime character...but you don't have to be dressed up, because it's usually online. RPing is usually done by two or more people, because it'd be hard to do multiple characters by yourself and/or totally boring. Trust me....It's way more fun with a bunch of friends then just in your head.



How to choose who to cosplay as:

• Think of the characters you like.(maybe even write a list)



• Out of those which do you think you could pull of the best??


• Are you going to make your costume? This is a very important decision! If you decide to make your costume, consider you sewing skills. Don't pick a character whose costume is extremely elaborate if your a beginner.


• If you buying a costume think about how much you want to spend. A good site that I know of is http://www.cosplaymagic.com/ They're reasonably priced(I've seen costumes that cost way more) and look well made. They also have a wide selection of costumes. Though I don't recommend buying a styled wig there.....For example: Orihime Inoue's simple long orange hair the wig is $46. The more complicated the wig, the more expensive the wig is. Otherwise it's a very good site.


• As a warning it's a good thing to know that if you cosplay a well known character, like Inuyasha, you can and will get glomped! Glomping is somewhere in between a hug and a tackle...and comes at random times!


• Will you need a wig for your cosplay?? Try buying from a wig store versus the ones they sell at Halloween. You'll find more styles and colors. Like I suggested earlier: DO NOT BUY A STYLED WIG!!! They can get really expensive and they're usually not very good for their price. But I you don't want to style your own, then go ahead and buy one. You can find cheaper styled wigs on Ebay versus some cosplay site.

Can't think of a good character?? Be one of your own characters. No one can say that your costume is wrong or that you shouldn't have picked them. Believe it or not, it's popular to cosplay as your origanal character...most likely for that reason.

Where do you cosplay? Well, that depends on how you feel really.

• Anime Conventions: Where most people cosplay and one of the few places you can without the stares. A vast majority of people at a con, cosplay. Very few do not. Which is half the fun, for example : "Look, Haru-nechan! It's a Kaname Kuran! He's really good!" or "NO WAY!!! IT'S AN ITACHI-SAMA!!!" (yeah, those two examples actually came out of my mouth earlier this year at a con)



• Anime Clubs: Other one where you'll fit right in. The anime club I attended had a specific cosplay day....though I'm sure you could cosplay any day there.



• Restaurants: Yes, there are people who do this. Typically though, they're people who were at the convention who got hungry and wanted something to eat other than what they had there. You can find videos on YouTube with people cosplaying in a restaurant. My personal favorite is one where a group of Akatsuki members(all of them) go into a McDonald's....way funny!



• Grocery Stores and Malls: No...I'm not joking. There are videos of this too. Like an Edward Elric shopping in a Walmart and a China/Wang Yao in a Sanrio store. Again these are my personal favorites, because anyone who's watched FMA knows that there is no Walmart in the FMA world....or anywhere that's not America for that matter. Also if you've seen or read any of the Hetalia series you know that China would totally geek out in a Sanrio store with nothing but Hello Kitty related items everywhere you look.



• The comfort of your own home: No one will give you odd looks there....other than your family. But if your like me and you geek out on anime/manga related items already, then that's nothing new. Some people like to cosplay and take video of themselves as their character doing a blog or something. These are very interesting to watch as well. Some people are really good at getting into character, which I'll cover soon.

Basically, you can cosplay anywhere you feel comfortable.....but expect stares and odd looks.

Now I want to cover how to get into character while cosplaying.

• Watch episodes your character is in: This will help you see how they talk, move, and react. For example: Say you want to cosplay Naruto. Watching the anime will show you that he always says "Believe it!" or in Japanese "Dattebayo~!" You'll also see that he's loud and loves to play pranks.
• Listen to their character songs: Sometimes these will tell you more behind the scenes information than the anime does. For Example: I learned recently that Arthur Kirkland has vacation homes in India and Hong Kong. I also learned that along with his magic he also can predict the future. Even if the character's song is instrumental only, it was written specifically for that character and listening to it will help you feel the character's personality even more.
• Practice facial expressions and poses: So that when people ask for your picture you can get into character for the photo. Posing for a photo makes the other person really happy and they'll think it's cool! I thought that the cosplays who posed were more fun then the ones that just stood there.

About Taking Photos:

• If you're being photographed: like I just said, please pose! It makes it way more fun for the other person.
• If you're taking the photo: As the cosplayer FIRST!! They may not want their picture taken and put on YouTube. If they say yes, wait for them to be ready. Don't just snap away, they might have a pose in mind. Be courteous to the cosplays and they'll have a good attitude about it and it'll make the interaction much more pleasant.
• After taking the photo: SAY THANK YOU!!!

Some amazing coplayers:

These where suggested by one of my friends

• http://anaaesthetic.deviantart.com/ Professional cosplayer (yes, they do exist and they're amazing)
• http://behindinfinity.devianart.com/ A male cosplayer (harder to find, but not unheard of)
• http://kellyjane.deviantart.com/
• http://tealpirate.deviantart.com/

A site where there are amazing cosplayers and they sometimes will tell you how the did it.

• http://acparadise.com/

NOTE: The most important thing about cospalying is....To have fun!! That's the whole point of it. Don't let anyone tell you that your costumes sucks or that you don't have the right body type for that character. As long as your having fun that's all that matters.

Now on to Roleplaying!!

• Everything I say on this topic is based off my personal experience. I'm still new to this and be no means an expert. Arthur Kirkland is the first character I've ever Roleplayed as.

Cosplaying and Roleplaying can go hand-in-hand. If you've Roleplayed that character it'll be easier to cosplay. I personally was going to make a Deidara from Naruto Shippuden costume, but since I've been Roleplaying Arthur Kirkland, I've learned more about him, then Dei-chan(my nickname for Deidara...might come up again later.) who I've loved for a long time.

A lot of anime forums will have RP areas and for several different series. Make sure that you read the rules and understand them before selecting your character. Most forums I've seen asks you to submit a practice piece where you write a short paragraph in character. This shows them that your committed and that your able to be that character.

OH NO! Your favorite characters have already been taken! What do you do??

No worries! Most RP forums will let you create an OC(original character) for that series. You'll just have to make a detailed profile for them, but since it's your character there's no right or wrong way to portray them.

Now I believe and my friends will agree that if you RP with friends it's much more fun! In our Hetalia RP we know at least one person in real life.

How do I stay in character?? Here's how I do it.

• Re-watch the episodes they're in:(same as in cosplay)
• Listen to character songs:(same reason as above)
• Find a site where it has the characters information: For example, when I first started RPing as Arthur I used the Hetalia Wiki page. It helped a lot. I referred back to it when I got stuck...and sometimes I still do, though not as often.

After awhile you'll get used to it and know how to react to different situations.

The fun part about RPing is that you can have your RP character do things they don't do in the anime or expand on something they do.

Examples using Arthur Kirkland(of course)

• Not in anime: Playing his guitar. I know he can, but he's never done that in the show.
• Expanding: Fights with France. Sometimes we cover fights that are in the anime...or just have more interesting ones. Like the time my England and her France started throwing objects at one another...

You can make your favorite pairing come to life! Though make sure the other half likes it too...

I hope this helps anyone who wants to cosplay or roleplay their favorite anime characters!

Remember, whether you're cosplaying or RPing make sure to have FUN!!!

2 more FUNimation dub casts, Hetalia news, and anime debt cards??

Bunch of news for today's post

Here are the dub casts I promised:
I'll start with Phantom~Requiem for the Phantom~
Show Summary: A mafia called Inferno is assassinating multiple people in the USA and "Phantom is their strongest member. A tourist saw Phantom's last attack and exposes Phantom's identity, a girl named Ein. Though witnesses are usually killed but the man was captured and brainwashed into being the newest mafia member called "Zwei". The series follows his life thereafter.
The Cast:

• Ein: Lindsay Seidel
• Abel: Mike McFarland
• Cal: Brittney Karbowski
• Anton: Eric Vale
• Carlo: Ian Sinclair
• Claudia: Colleen Clinkenbeard
• Duke: Max Whitehead
• Godo: Phil Parsons
• Judy: Ginneh Thomas
• Hirono: Megan Miller
• Lizzie: Shay Moore
• McGwire: J. Michael Tatum
• Mio: Leah Clark
• Motegi: Todd Haberkorn
• Reiji: Newton Pittman
• Richard: Robert McCollum
• Randy: Christopher R. Sabat
• Scythe: Kent Williams
• Tony: Mark Stoddard
• Sanae: Jamie Marchi
• Shiga: Christopher Bevins
• Wallace: Bryan Massey
• Xu: Jerry Jewell
• Wisemel: Rick Keeling

Now for Oh! Edo Rocket:

Show summary: Set in the Edo period, the government has banned any luxuries, like plays, inventions, and fireworks. Despite all that though, Seikichi Tamaya dreams of making the biggest and best fireworks ever. Unfortenatly, each time he sets off a firework, the government try to take him down. But then one day, a mysterious girl shows up and asks him to build a rocket that can reach the moon.

• Seikichi: Greg Ayres
• Blue Girl: Colleen Clinkenbeard
• Sora: Brina Palencia
• Shunpei: Cherami Leigh
• Nishinosuke Akai: Chuck Huber
• Tenten(not the Naruto character): J. Michael Tatum
• Ginjiro: Johnathan Brooks
• Tenhou: Leah Clark
• O-ise: Stephanie Young
• Santa: Charles Campbell
• Genzo: Chris Cason
• Genzo's mother: Melinda Wood Allen
• Ankles: Mike McFarland
• Heels: Newton Pittman
• Torii: R. Bruce Elliot
• Shinza: Sean Michael Teaque
• Rokube: Sonny Strait
• Rokube's wife: Laurie Steele
• Old Man: Steve Powell
• Onui: Tia Ballard
• Oriku: Trina Nishimura
• Tensuju: Vic Mignogna

I haven't seen either of these serieses before, but I'll watch the first few episodes and review them for you, soon.

More Hetalia news:

A forth season of Hetalia has been annouced! FUNimation annouced that they will licence Hetalia: World Series, as well as the new season. Starting this month FUNimation will stream Hetalia: World Series, not long after they've aired in Japan! FUNimation is also licencing the Hetalia movie, Hetalia-Axis Powers: Paint it, White, but, sadly we won't see it until next year.

FUNimation posted Sealand's dub clip and a Season 2 trailer. You can find them on Youtube or on FUNimation's blog:

http://blog.funimation.com/2010/08/hetalia-sealand-clip-and-season-two-trailer/

Ever wish you had an anime debt card?? Well, your in luck! FUNimation will release pre-paid debt cards with images from Fruits Basket, Soul Eater, Tsubasa, Sgt. Frog, and Afro Samurai: Resurrection. The debt cards will work anywhere pre-paid cards are accepted and will be realeased this month.

Hope you enjoyed this post! I will do the cosplay post next...and soon!

Funimation announced dub cast Black Butler

Ok, so I was going to blog about cosplay this week....but I saw that Funimation just announced the dub cast for 3 shows. So, I'm going to postpone the cosplay post for a week(which will give me a little more time to research) to let you in on the castings.

First I'll start with the dub cast for Black Butler because:

1. I love this series
2. I've been waiting to see who the cast

• Sebastian~ J. Micheal Tatum(also known as France from Hetalia, Kyoya Ootori from Ouran High School Host Club, Komui Lee from D. Gray-Man)
• Ciel~Brina Palencia(Chibitalia from Hetalia, Tony Tony Chopper from One Piece, Nina Tucker in FMA)
• Finnian~Jason Liebrecht(Millennium Earl from D. Gray-Man, Rob Lucci from One Piece, Syaoran from Tsubasa)
• Mei Lin~ Monica Rial(May Chang from FMA:Brotherhood, Renge Houshakuji from Ouran High School Host Club)
• Bardroy~Ian Sinclair(Romano from Hetalia, Dallas Genoard from Baccano!)
• Mr. Tanaka~R. Bruce Elliot(Conrad from RomeoXJuliet, Rubel from Claymore)
• Elizabeth~Cherami Leigh(Liechtenstein from Hetalia, Patty Thompson from Soul Eater, Road Camelot from D. Gray Man)
• Grell~Daniel Fredrick(new anime VA)
• Fred Abberline~Jonathan Brooks(Prussia from Hetalia, Ginjiro from Oh! Edo Rocket)
• Agni~Patrick Seitz(Germany from Hetalia, Franky from One Piece)
• Angela~Colleen Clinkenbeard(Riza Hawkye from FMA & FMA: Brotherhood, Miranda Lotto from D. Gray-Man)
• Ashe~Chuck Huber(Shou Tucker from FMA, Dr. Franken Stein from Soul Eater)
• Corraro~Bruce DuBose(new anime VA)
• Drossel~Sonny Strait(Maes Hughes from FMA, Skin Boric from D. Gray-Man)
• Druit~Todd Haberkorn(Italy from Hetalia, Hikaru from Ouran High School Host Club)
• Harold~Newton Pittman(Zwei from Phantom~Requiem for the Phantom~, other small parts)
• Lau~Jerry Jewell(Kyo Sohma from Fruits Basket, Barry the Chopper from FMA & FMA:Brotherhood)
• Matilda~Leah Clark(Noah from FMA movie, Nodoka Miyazaki from Negima! & Negima!?)
• Paula~Jessica Cavanagh(new anime VA)
• Pluto~Z. Charles Bolton(Ryo-Ohki, other small parts)
• Rachel~Brina Palenica(same VA as Ciel)
• Randall~John Gremillion(Dracule Mihawk from One Piece, Hakuoro from Utawarerumono)
• Soma~Chris Ayres(Johnny from One Piece,Frieza from Dragon Ball Kai)
• Undertaker~John Swayze(Daiki Niwa from DNAngel, Lord Death from Soul Eater)
• Vincent~Robert McCollum(Kazuhiko Yukimi from Nabari no O, Goten from Dragon Ball GT)

Funimation also annouced the dub cast for Phantom~Requiem for the Phantom~ and Oh! Edo Rocket. I will post the cast tommorow and the day after.

Otakon, Dir en Grey North American tour, and Disney's Anime Exhibit

Hello Everyone! Konbanwa minna-san~!

For all you who will be attending Otakon, I have some news for you!
The cast of Hetalia:Axis Powers will be attending, the dub cast, of course.
Voice actors Attending:
Italy's VA: Todd Haberkorn
Germany's VA: Patrick Seitz
Japan's VA: Christopher Bevins
England's VA: Scott Freeman
France's VA: J. Michael Tatum
China's VA: Clarine Harp
Russia's VA: Jerry Jewell

Sadly America's VA: Eric Vale will not be attending, but there will be a special video appearance of him.
Otakon will premiere the first ten episodes of Hetalia and there will be two autograph sessions with the cast.
Also at FUNimation's booth there will be cosplayers from http://www.acparadise.com/ helping you making fan cards to be sent to the creator of Hetalia, Hidekaz Himaruya!
you can find all the details at: http://blog.funimation.com/2010/06/fresh-from-funicon-4-0-the-great-hetalia-fan-card-campaign/
On Saturday of Otakon weekend there will be a large Hetalia Cosplay gathering. Also at their booth will be a poster that you can have the voice cast to sign. They'll go fast!!

Other Guests to Otakon include:
Peter S. Beagle, Author of The Last Unicorn
Maile Flanagan, VA, known for being the voice of Naruto
Masashi Ishihama, Character Designer & Art Director
kanon, bassist of An Cafe & Video Game Producer
Hiroshi Koujina, Animator & Director
Masao Maruyama, Producer & Founder of Madhouse Studios(animation studio for anime)
Koji Masunari, Director
Vic Mignogna, VA & Singer/Songwriter
Yuji Mitsuya, Seiyuu(a person who voice acts in Japanese/a Japanese VA) & Voice/Sound Director
h.Naoto, Fashin Designer
Tomonori Ochikoshi, Producer
Takamasa Sakurai, Writer/Producer
Michael Sinterniklaas, Actor/Director/Producer
Felipe Smith, Manga-ka(manga creator)
Amy Howard Wilson, VA

Otakon takes place July 30-August 1 in Baltimore, Maryland
For more information on Otakon go to http://www.otakon.com/



The popular Japanese band, Dir en Grey, announced a North American Tour on August 23- September 11. Cities that have been announced are New York, Las Vegas, Chicago, Boston, ans Toronto.




Disney's Epcot Park opens an Anime/Folklore exhibit. In the Japan Pavilion of Walt Disney World Resort Epcot opened up an exhibit called "Spirit Beasts: From Ancient Stories to Anime Stars" The exhibit will feature creatures from Japanese folklore that have inspired anime and manga series. The creatures include, kappas(a water sprite that looks like a turtle), kitsunes(foxes), tsuru(cranes), saru(monkeys), and the famous "moon rabbit".

Hetalia Dub Cast!! Final Update!

For those who don't know the anime, Hetaila: Axis Powers is a parody on historical events. Though it's generally centered around the WWII era. Each character portrays a different country and the stereotypes that country possesses. For example: America is a hyper character who loves hamburgers and longs to be the HERO.

In this image left to right: Japan, Italy(Northern Italy), and Germany




Funimation has been posting the official since Wednesday of last week. The Axis and Allies have been announced one by one each week day.



So far the minor characters/countries are:

Lithuania: Josh Grelle
Estonia: Mike McFarland

Latvia: Ryan Reynolds(not the Hollywood actor)

Romano(Southern Italy): Ian Sinclair

Spain: Dave Trosko

Greece: Vic Mignogna(Greece is a very mellow character. Very different than the characters Vic normally does. I'm interested in seeing how this turns out.)

Liechtenstein: Cherami Leigh

Switzerland: John Burgmeier

Poland: Ryan Bijan

Ukraine: Lydia Mackay

Belarus: Monica Rial

Austria: Chuck Huber

Hungary: Luci Christian

Sealand: Maxey Whitehead

Holy Roman Empire: Chris Cason

Ancient Rome: Christopher R. Sabat

Chibitalia(a chibi version of young Northern Italy): Brina Palencia

Canada: Eric Vale(same as America)

Cuba: Bob Carter

Egypt: Scott Sager

Finland: Clint Bickham

Prussia: Jonathan Brooks

For the Axis and Allies, Funimation has been posting small clips of the anime with their dubbed voices. You can find them on YouTube under Funimation's account.

The Axis Powers:
Italy: Todd Haberkorn

Germany: Patrick Seitz

Japan: Christopher Bevins

The Allies:
America: unknown

UK(sometimes called Britain or England): Scott Freeman

France: J. Michael Tatum

China: Clarine Harp

Russia: Jerry Jewell

Here's the World Conference Clip from Episode 1

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QGUQfJ7xfME

Intro to Anime and Manga

Konnichiwa Minna-san! Hello Everyone! I'm Kiyomi or Ki-chan.

Reasons for this blog:

• To give my reviews on anime/manga series
• To inform other of new series
• And the main reason: To post my opinions on certain anime issues

So you maybe wondering...What is anime/manga?? Well, no worries. I'll give you a brief history and definition.

Anime: Anime is the abbreviation of animation. This refers to Japanese animation specifically in western countries like the US. Although in Japan the term anime is used of all animation...yes even Disney movies. The first anime was in 1917. It was a two minute clip about a samurai testing a new sword. The success of Disney's Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs influenced the Japanese animators in 1937. In the 1960's a man known as Osamu Tezuka begin to simplify the animation techniques of Disney. Manga(see below) become more popular in the 1970's and many of them later became anime. Osamu has been called the Godfather of anime and the Father of manga. The most recognisable of his works is Astro Boy or Tetsuwan Atomu. Anime became mainstream in the 1980's when the series Gundam and The Super Dimension Fortress Marcross. Anime has increased in popularity since the 1990's.

Manga: Translated it means whimsical pictures. Manga is Japanese comics that read right-to-left. Early manga dates back to 1798 with the works of Santo Kyoden. The word manga came into the common language in 1814 with the works of Hokusai(know for his painting: The Great Wave off Kanagawa). Manga started getting more popular in 1914, but when Astro Boy was published in 1951 it really took off.

There are specific features that reoccur in most anime and manga. The main ones are:

• Eyes: Anime and manga character tend to have large eyes. The bigger, the cuter!
• Hair: Hairstyles come in any style you could possibly think of. From normal to outright insane! Hair colors just the same. You have your blonde, brunette, black, and redheads of course. But there's also pink, green, blue, purple....all colors
• Emotions and expressions are exaggerated.

Well, now you know what anime and maga actually is, but what anime is the best to get started on? Or what do you show your non-anime loving friend? I've prepared a list of good series, that aren't too out there(which anime can typically be).

Genres:

• Slice of Life(Normal, everyday life): Peach Girl, Ouran High School Host Club
• Shonen(boy. These are geared more toward boys, but girls love them too): Bleach, One Piece, and Naruto
• Shojo(girl. These are geared more toward girls, but guys like them too):Sailor Moon
• Horror(The series I'm putting here are ones I've seen personally. Now, Horror isn't a genre I watch that much, so this is a mild series. Probably most of you won't call this horror, but I do. Plus we're trying to get people started here, we don't want to over do it, like suggest Higurashi no naka kuro ni.): Death Note
• Fantasy(again, we're getting newbies started here. So nothing extereme.):Fruits Basket
• SciFi: Gundam(Any series) and Ghost in the Shell
• Comedy(Most slice of life, shonen, shojo, and fantasy can also be put here.):FLCL(Fooly Cooly, or Furi Kuri...whatever you want to call it.