Bite size Anime (in the 5 to 10 minute long range) is fun when you don’t feel like giving up half an hour but still want to watch a little something, and this season we have several. Miss Monochrome is an android (the humanoid robot, not the operating system) who wants to be a Pop Idol, in a show that pokes fun at the entire Idol business model. About half of each 7 minute episode is Vocaloid-sounding music performed by singer and voice actress Yui Horie, so you don’t end up needing to burn too many brain cells to follow the story line. They are calling this the 3rd series, but only if you count the singer’s Secret Mission Tour in 2012 where the character was first introduced as a series. I do find it somewhat amusing that the android’s house pet is a Roomba. The other short story series this season I am watching is Hackadoll the Animation, about three personal entertainment AIs who don’t have a clue. Their assigned goal is to to improve the efficiency of their clients by filtering the sea of information into the bits important to their human, but these three have no idea how to go about the task. I am sure it will be no surprise that this one is a comedy. So far I only have a single episode of either to base an opinion on, but they both have the potential to entertain if they are done right.
Put together by PistolShrimps, this is a mashup of Star Wars with various Disney animation characters. This is the same crew that cranked out Titanic SUPER 3D a few years ago, so I am throwing it on the page too for anyone who missed it the first time. Thanks to Digital Spy for the heads up on this one.
They are touring North America right now, promoting their latest album on their first tour with an American release, 35xxxv (DELUXE EDITION), a best of collection from all their recordings since they formed in 2005. The lyrics are all in English, and the first song posted is Last Dance, the next one here from the same album is Cry Out. Don’t let their initial ballad for the US fool you, this band is all about serious Rock-N-Roll, in a way so many bands wish they could pull off. If you have even the slimmest chance to see them, I urge you to do so; they are truly amazing. The last few tracks here are Mighty Long Fall, Decision, and Be The Light. And yes, while all of their music has been available through iTunes for the last half decade, it is nice to finally have a natively available source for it. And OK, the final track of this set might be just a bit of a ballad again, if you are going to be a stickler about formats.
The first interesting Anime I found now that the new season has started is Heavy Object over on Funimation. It is based on a light novel by the author of A Certain Magical Index and takes place in the medium future, where warfare has been transformed by the development of weapons systems called Objects. I liked the characters in the first episode, the story telling was interesting, and there seems to be something of a mystery to be solved. I haven’t read the book yet, but I think I am going to enjoy following this show, and it has become the first one of the new season to be added to my Que.
Dick and the Back Beats are quite a bit of fun, being a German band playing Rockabilly versions of classic 1980s New Wave songs. The first track is Just Can’t Get Enough from 2011, the second is Just The Way You Are which arrived by way of Filtr Germany. There are several more excellent songs out there, but I could not vet their legitimacy so I can not post them here.
This is the trailer for NYC ACM SIGGRAPH’s annual college computer animation festival, MetroCAF. This year it happens on Friday, September 25, 2015 at 7:00PM at the New York Institute of Technology’s Auditorium On Broadway. It looks like they have quite a few tasty animations to show this time around, so if you are close enough to make the presentation I recommend you do your best to attend.