The Solar Dynamics Observatory hit one year on mission yesterday, in honor of which NASA has released a video of some of the more visually interesting observations it has made. Hard to believe something this spectacular was made with no special effects. Also, Wired has posted their Best Sun Images collection from the first year of the orbital telescopes output.
Toriko looks to be silly fun, with a bit of old-school animation. Japan in general, and Tokyo in particular, has always had a population of oversized beasts of various kinds (Insects, Lizards, and Amphibians) roaming the countryside and stomping on buildings. Toriko is the legendary Gourmet Hunter, out to capture and kill these creatures and eat them, while Komatsu is the timid chef who’s goal it is to turn them into diner, one after the other. Episode one of the series aired in Japan a few nights ago on the 14th of April at 6PM PST, and new episodes become available each week at that time, being simulcast on both Funimation and Hulu.
Ga-Rei-Zero will be released this Tuesday; here is a taste…
This amazing chunk of video is a set of time lapsed filming done of the skies over (and near) Kirkenes, Norway. They had an unusually active Aurora Borealis this past month, and it only promises to get better in the next few years, as solar activity peaks. This and many other similar incredible images can be found at the APoD, the Astronomy Picture of the Day at NASA.
The Aurora from Terje Sorgjerd on Vimeo.
The streaming schedules for various Anime programs from Japan have been broken up by the disaster continuing to happen there, in no small part because all the TV channels have been doing emergency response information and disaster news coverage. Since all the contractual agreements with places like Crunchyroll stipulate that the programs air in Japan before streaming anywhere else, this is understandable. Even though the emergency is still ongoing some of the regular programing is returning to the airwaves, so new episodes of some of the programs are once more becoming available. NHK World is still doing full time disaster coverage, which you can watch online at that link. It is also available on Ustream for those in the Americas, over at Nico Nico Live across Asia, and on their own iPhone/iPad App. Once the emergency is over and they return to regular programing, I have 3 shows to recommend:
1) Imagine-Nation, a weekly edutainment program covering the Manga, Anime, and Gaming news out of Japan.
2) Digista which is running this season as Digista Teens, the high school version. This is all about learning how to create your own media to express yourself, with guidance from industry professionals, and most of the media being created is one flavor or another of animation. This one gives you insights and useful tips for building your own, so it is worth your time if you are considering creating something. Digista was a Japanese program for adults, but Digista Teens has expanded to become part of the Asia-Pacific Broadcast Union helping kids from multiple countries grow their skill sets. If this sounds kind of familiar, perhaps you read my Build Your Own blog entry a few days ago, when I gave the link to download some of the free animation software they are using for this project.
3) J-Melo, the weekly music program covering J-Rock, J-Pop, and all other music formats. They play both video tracks and run their own live concerts from the studio/club, this is a great place to learn about new bands and see some old favorites.
The best live action film this time around is not genre, but I will be looking for it: The Man from Nowhere, a Korean crime thriller. The one movie collection that looks like fun this week is Mystery Science Theater 3000 Collection: XX. The original movies may suck, but when the MST3K team is done with them they are a joy to watch. There are a few live action movie choices which I have never heard of and have no ideas about. Matty Hanson and the Invisibility Ray looks to be a family oriented direct to DVD selection, while The Sinister Eyes of Dr. Orloff is a 1973 Spanish movie apparently of a more adult nature.
The clear winner for TV shows this week is The Walking Dead: The Complete First Season. Most people had a hard time believing this was a TV show, which is kind of silly. It isn’t on broadcast TV after all, so its creators had the full range of non-regulated choices available to any film maker or premium cable channel producer. I missed it when it originally aired, so I look forward to catching up with it now.
There are a few quality documentary TV shows this week, with the must-have option being Through The Wormhole with Morgan Freeman. This is another one of those true science programs that explores the limits of scientific knowledge, and speculates its way past the borders those limits put up. Since that definition is at the heart of science fiction, you can understand why I love this program. The fact that it is done better than most documentaries, and explains the science it is extrapolating from in an easily understandable way is just bonus points in my book; I already loved this show! Some of the lesser known documentaries coming out now include Moon Race: Volumes 1 & 2 and Space Race: Volumes 1 & 2, I suspect from the same production company.
Tales from Earthsea is a bit of a mixed bag. Yes, it is from Studio Ghibli, put together in 2006 from the wonderful story written by Ursula K LeGuin. But this one was the first venture by the son, Goro Miyazaki, and not the father, Hayao Miyazaki, and the lack of experience shows. Still, while not up to the masterworks dad cranks out, this version shows some promise, and I enjoyed it. I think that the review that spoke to the heart of the problem came from J-Film Powwow if you want to look into it deeper before making your decision. There are a few other projects by Ursula coming to the big screen soon, including Field of Vision, which looks absolutely amazing. And for true Ghibli fans, Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind is being released on Blue Ray on the same day.
There are a few re-releases worth noting this week, including the El Cazador de la Bruja – Complete Series, previously only available by season. Another Girls with Guns buddy series in the tradition of Noir (complete with the younger girl with a hole in her memory), this one takes place in the wild west. If you are not sure if this program is for you, you can watch it online before making your decision. Also, one of my favorite Anime’s of 2005, Speed Grapher, is coming out as a complete series SAVE edition, which means you can pick up the entire thing for $20 or so. The various home pages for the series seem to be gone, but if you are over 17 you can still watch it online. The story line is twisty and brutal, with many wealthy people paying for the chance to mutate into monsters with super powers, under the control of an evil mastermind. the animation is world class, the music bed and voice work is quite well done, and there are only two normal people in the entire cast (the protagonist and the victimized young girl he attempts to save). This one is a keeper.