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Simulcast Bleach!

Yes, that is correct! You can watch the latest episode of Bleach an hour after it airs in Tokyo on Crunchyroll, and not only is it legal but TV Tokyo, Shueisha, and Studio Pierrot actually make money off of the streaming distribution model. Crunchyroll has been doing this for a number of quality Anime programs, including Naruto Shippuden, for quite a while, as they gradually become The place for streaming Anime online. And hey, they even have some live action programming from Japan, Korea, and China. Don’t be fooled by the Drama header on the page, there is plenty of comedy and action available as well.

Here’s how it works. If you are a Premium Member of Crunchyroll (and if you’re not, please use the link below if you want to sign up; I think they give me an extra 4 hours on my premium membership for referring someone) you can watch the simulcast stream of the episode one hour after it airs in Tokyo. That gives Viz time to bolt the subtitles onto it, but still make it as close to realtime as possible, and you can watch it at 480p and 720p resolutions. If you are not a premium member all is not lost; you have access to stream the new episode a week after it airs, at slightly reduced resolution. Either way beats waiting the months it takes for the episodes to be dubbed and released on Disk in the US, although I still find myself buying the boxed sets as they come out.

There is, of course, a downside or two. First, Bleach starts next Tuesday, June 8th at 5:30AM EDT, 2:30am PDT; likewise, Naruto Shippuden runs on Thursday mornings at 7AM Eastern, 4:00AM Pacific Time. That’s a bit early for me, but I don’t really care. I just watched this weeks Naruto episode when I got home from work yesterday (Streaming is the Video On Demand of the internet), which means I still got to see it the same day as Tokyo, just adjusted to be convenient for my schedule. The other downside is the current season of Bleach consists of episodes #266-#273, going live on the 8th, with 274 being this Tuesdays Simulcast. Why is that a downside? Because the latest US DVD release of the Bleach Uncut Box Set: Season 5 also happens this Tuesday, the 8th, and that season ends with episode 109. I think there is going to be a bit of a gap in my understanding of the story arc. Again, I don’t really care, because eventually that gap will be filled, and until then I will have a steady diet of new episodes to watch.

Crunchyroll

Something to Do: Cons

Most folks got Conned out with the massive number of events last week. But if you are ready for more, they are happening. Expo Comic Cancun is taking place in Cancun, Mexico, which includes a series of events by the Cosplay Deviants (they don’t show up at too many US events). Colossalcon 9 is an Anime, Gaming, and Japanese Culture con held in Sandusky, OH. It is being held at a waterpark resort, and they are giving away a trip to Japan, but not at random; you have to win their Cosplay Masquerade competition to get the prize. A-Kon 21 in Dallas, Tx. is an Anime con with a great concert lineup, and for the competitive they are running a Kabuki Slam! In Huntsville, Al., it is HamaCon 2010, an anime con that includes the Okinawa Festival Drums, and AMV and Cosplay competitions. Finally, Anime Kaigi in Flagstaff, AZ has a complete and aggressive series of events to edutain everyone.

A general Sci-Fi con well worth a visit this weekend is Con Carolinas 2010/ Deep South Con 48, in Charlotte, NC. These two events seem to have merged, at least for this year. Jerry Pournelle and Johnny Ringo are the writer GoH’s, Ed Beard, Jr. is the Artist GoH, and Media guests include Claudia God Sent Me Christian and Richard Hatch. Another good general con, although leaning towards the WriterCon side of life is SoonerCon 2010 (2010: A Bubba Odyssey) in Oklahoma City, OK. This one is particularly well endowed with panels and workshops for artists, authors, and fans. And in Nashville, TN, it is HyperIcon 6, again with lots going on.

DieCon X is a great name for a gaming convention, and this one is held just outside of St. Louis in Collinsville, IL; come ready to play, some of the tournaments have already started and will be going through the weekend.

Going Postal

I live on the wrong continent to have been able to watch the latest Terry Pratchett story to be turned into a TV Movie, Going Postal. It aired this past weekend on Sky1 with an amazing all star cast. The previous two Pratchett specials from this production team were Hogfather and The Color of Magic, also with all star casts. If this one follows their pattern, in about 6 months it should become available in the US from RHI; if you haven’t seen them already, track down and watch the first two now.

Something to Watch: DVD’s

The pick of the week for mixed media films (combining live action with animation) is the Tim Burton Alice in Wonderland. This twisted little tail continues a long film making tradition of using the Lewis Carrol source material to tell a morality tale; what the moral of the story is changes with each director, of course. I am not a fan of Burton’s visual style and found Depp’s character in particular somewhat grotesque, but I still consider this version a must-have addition to the collection. The other film of note this week is the recent remake of The Wolfman, with Anthony Hopkins and Benicio Del Toro. Despite the star power this one fell just a little flat for me, but fans of the Gothic may have a better opinion of it.

My pick for number one imported live action film this week absolutely has to be 20th Century Boys 3: Redemption. While there is enough exposition at the front of the film to catch you up on the story so far, I am setting this one aside for Saturday, so I can watch all three films back to back. This has a very original story, and great characters that you follow through most of their lives, watching them grow and develop.

New in the live action TV category this week is Burn Notice, Season 3. Yes, I know it’s not science fiction, but I think everyone would agree that it is a bit of a fantasy. Plus it is just too much fun to miss. As usual, they have the previous season DVD release just before the new season starts; in this case two days before, as season 4 kicks off Thursday night.

In the world of animation, he’s Baa-aa-aack! Shaun the Sheep: One Giant Leap for Lambkind is another half dozen episodes from the team that brought us Wallace and Grommet. Very few language skills are needed to enjoy these, as dialog is not a core component of the tales they tell.

For anime proper, Brighter than the Dawning Blue: Complete Collection is a story of diplomatic fence mending between the Earth and the Moon, with the Lunar Princess exchange student running into some romantic complications along the way. Also out this week, Slayers Evolution-R season 5. As usual when the Slayers are involved, they nearly destroy the world in the process of saving it, and magical mayhem abounds. Also out this week another S.A.V.E. edition re-release of a complete series, this time Beck.

Fun Stuff

I am happy to report that the Google Pacman now is permanently online at that link!

Craving some Steampunk? Allow me to recommend the alternate history series Clockwork Century from author Cherie Priest. Some of the books and stories in this series are up for some serious awards, so it is worth your attention. If you are looking for a Build Your Own project, I was just passed the link to the Gamepunk Woot Shirt design. While it has been forever since I last silk-screened a T-Shirt or poster (yes, another one of those jobs we have all had that doesn’t directly relate to our main goal in life, but that was fun and educational), it has inspired me to start working on creating 3D VRML/2ndLife/Machinema objects based on the Portable Games In A Steampunk World concept. Perhaps you have a design idea? Triple points if your 3D object can actually activate a HUD and run an interactive game within the virtual environment!

I am glad Chuck got renewed for a 4th season, because I love that show. For those who enjoyed the season finale last Monday but were hoping for more music, thanks to the Chicago Tribune you can watch the Jeffster Music Video in its entirety.

 

And one last detail, for the Punk Rocker who needs to remember their roots; Linda, Linda…

Boston Human

After watching how brutally American TV trashed and tanked the brilliant British Life on Mars, not to mention how the US version of Red Dwarf was made into pilots twice, both times so bad they were never optioned into a series, I am a bit concerned about the coming rebuild of Being Human. The folks at Broadcast Magazine have the basic details, but SFX has the questions about how this might turn out. The good news is it is a Syfy Channel TV series, with a solid budget, and with TV shows like the various Stargate series, Eureka, Sanctuary, and Warehouse 13, as well as miniseries like Alice and Riverworld, they have shown a solid level of production quality (sadly not shared by their made for TV movies). So this one could go either way; here’s hoping they get it right.

If you haven’t had a chance to see the new Doctor yet, tomorrow night BBC America is running a Doctor Who Marathon. They will be playing all 6 of the so-far released Matt Smith/Karen Gillian episodes in order starting at 8/7C.