D&A Anime Blog / D&A Studios Entertainment Weekly (October 17, 2022)
A Founder’s Thoughts with D.J. Lewis: Knowing Your Worth as an Artist!
D.J. Lewis of D&A Anime Blog / D&A Studios Entertainment; talks about knowing your worth as an artist in both the entertainment (Anime and Gaming) industry, and commission wise. Many measure the worth and value of an artist by the quantity of their years, instead of the quality of their work; while others don’t see the value in what they’re doing at all – and tell them to go get a ‘real job’. Happening this week!
Is Harem The Most Hated Anime Genre?
So, it appears that anime fans are not too fond of Harem anime, but why do you think that is? Could it have something to do with the main MC being bland as hell? Or the trope of where there’s always that one Tsundere chick who kicks the snot out of the main character, yet ends up being chosen as their love interest at the end of the season? We break it all down later this week!
Spooky Season is here! So here’s a spooky groovy beat from Avidd Minddset!
There’s something so nostalgic about being a 90’s kid; you remember what the internet looked like before social media, Blockbuster was the original Netflix, Nintendo and SEGA were trying to out-due each other during the console wars, and 90’s fighting games were all the rage! There’s not a day that goes by that I don’t remember asking my mom to drop me and my friends off at the arcade, to play all the arcade fighters that came out during this decade. Street Fighter, Tekken, Marvel vs. Capcom, you name it! Back then I wasn’t just about Nintendo and Super Mario Bros. during my childhood, I liked fighting games too. It really wasn’t until about 1998 that I found myself playing a fighting game that…seemed to hit different. It felt like a fighting game from another world; no, another realm. What my 9-year-old mind didn’t realize at the time I was playing it, was the fact that I had found a game that was going to have one of the most iconic lines in its 30 year history…
“GET OVER HERE!!”
MORTAL KOMBAT!!! (Turns 30)
Mortal Kombat is like that edgy 90’s high school kid that you didn’t wanna mess with; and that goth and emo girls were lovestruck over. It is one of the first games that I would find myself playing more of later down the road, and also watching “fatality reels” of on Youtube. The ‘tweens’ of my generation couldn’t get enough of this game (many of which still play it to this very day); not because of the fighting, but because of the Fatalities!ย When you’re a teenager in the 90’s who got bullied a lot, this is where you’d take out your frustration – and set Johnny Cage on fire as Scorpion (pretending it was you who set his/her bully on fire as the hellspawn ninja).
If you haven’t noticed by now this franchise is widely known to be the most violent and gory when it comes to finishing moves. Back in the 90’s you’d have this ‘Konami Code’ sequence of buttons and directions of where you have to tap on your controller, and because there was no cheat code you could use (not even in the game manual), you’d have to know what you’re doing by memory – and remember how to do it during your next fight. To this very day its hard to believe that this game only had four people working on it, and in 30 years its still delivering banger, after banger, after banger, after banger, AFTER BANGER!
I watch WWE from time to time…
After the success of the first game, Mortal Kombat went on to become more than just a bloody fighter; it became a worldwide phenomenon. It got so big that Hollywood wanted to make a live-action adaptation of it; while it may seem cheesy and ‘mid’ by today’s standards (and Gen Z’ers), at the time when the movie came out in 1995, it was the coolest thing I ever saw! (Although I didn’t get the chance to watch it until my 9th birthday.) The gameplay and the fatalities weren’t the only reason Mortal Kombat was so cool, during the time it came out; it was criticized by politicians who thought the game was ‘too violent’ and ‘too gory’, and tried to get it banned from being purchased or played.
In fact let me raise you up one; Mortal Kombat is the reason WHY the ESRB rating on video games exists, and could be considered as the first M-rated series ever created. Despite the fact that it got banned in several countries (even to this very day), Mortal Kombat as a whole is one of the most successful fighting game franchises out there with 73 million units sold; and counting. Oddly enough the original Mortal Kombat (the 1992 version) was released by both Nintendo and SEGA; and guess which one everyone ended up playing more of…SEEEGAAA!!
Suck it Nintendo!
Mortal Kombat walked into our lives and spiced things up; thanks to co-creator Ed Boone, along with John Tobias. While other games were playing it safe Mortal Kombat pushed the envelope past the ‘taboo territory’ and thus created the ESRB we know today. It might even be the reason why you have your Grand Theft Auto’s, your Resident Evil’s, and all of the other games with blood in them. Sure, it was hated by congressmen and politicians during the time it came out, but on the flipside Mortal Kombat became more than just a media franchise. Now you can go to any anime or gaming convention and find a section where Mortal Kombat X, or 11 is being played; in fact there is STILL cosplay of it to be found 30 years later! Like Mario and Sonic, Mortal Kombat has some serious staying power!
Although I only played the first four games from 1998-2006, I can see why MK has such a dedicated fanbase to it. The finishing moves are the best part about the game; not the story (even though its serviceable in some parts), or the character roster (Ultimate MK3 had the BEST roster), but the Fatalities! Many have wondered what Ed Boone would do now that the franchise as a whole is celebrating its 30th anniversary; would there be an announcement of MK12? Or perhaps a sequel to the 2021 live-action reboot? Also, the music. Yeah, the music slapped SO HARD back then, and STILL DOES to this day! You can’t tell me the dance remix doesn’t make you feel something; being though its jam-packed with that 90’s acid-techno flavor, that has been heard at various underground raves of the 90’s. If I had to rate the franchise as a whole, I’d give it a 4.7 out of 5 Stars (94% out of 100%). If you’re already familiar with Tekken and Street Fighter, go play any of the Mortal Kombat games (even the classic ones), and go nuts!
That’s my review, now here’s the opening theme to Mortal Kombat! Happy 30th anniversary! ๐
A few years ago, I went to an anime convention and came across the strangest thing: there was a guy cosplaying as some character with chainsaws coming out of his arms and head. That ended up being my introduction to Chainsaw Man, the newest in the long line of hits from the house of Shonen Jump. I learned more about it in bits and pieces as time went on, but I never found the time to read it. However, that may have changed, with the highly-anticipated premiere of the Chainsaw Man anime on Crunchyroll. It’s rare for me to watch a Shonen anime without so much as a passing understanding, but if this is what Chainsaw Man is like, then I think I need to get to reading.
In a World Filled With Devils…
In the world of Chainsaw Man, Devils are a fact of life. They rise from Hell and feed on the fears of mankind to gain power, then return to Hell when they die. It’s up to Devil Hunters to slay them and protect people, and among them is the likes of Denji.
Denji is unlike many Shonen protagonists I’ve seen. He’s not insanely strong (yet), driven by incredible life goals, and he’s not a living meme. He’s, for all intents and purposes, a loser, being worked like a dog by the Yakuza to pay off the impossible debt his dead Dad owes them. When we first meet him, his major dreams consist of living a normal life and scoring with a girl at least once before he dies. If it weren’t for the fact that his best friend is a Devil dog with a chainsaw coming out of its head, he’d pass for any other down-on-his-luck teenager.
Then we have Pochita, the series mascot and one of the most adorable things since Chopper from One Piece. Pochita’s a Devil, but also a very loyal dog who wholeheartedly loves Denji. Together, this odd take on a boy and his dog make for effective Devil Hunters for the Yakuza. Too effective, it would seem. In the end, the Yakuza make a pact with another Devil to kill Denji, ending his life before he even gets a chance to live.
Except this is a Shonen Jump series, and the protagonist of a Shonen Jump series won’t die so soon into their story. The two form a pact as Denji lies dismembered in a dumpster alongside Pochita. Pochita fuses with Denji to repair his body in exchange for letting the Devil see his dreams of living a normal life. And what comes out of this fusion is a complete and utter badass.
…Chainsaw Man Reigns Supreme.
In its first major fight of the series, Chainsaw Man sets itself as a cut above a lot of Shonen anime. It’s incredibly violent and bloody, befitting the unhinged and psychotic nature Denji posseses as the Chainsaw Man. Given how the Yakuza screwed him over his entire life, though, it makes his rampage very cathartic to watch. As for the fight itself, it’s a visually impressive fusion of traditional 2D and 3D animation. It’s a testament to how far the medium’s come that it’s becoming harder to tell the two apart when combined.
By the time the dust settles, Denji’s put the Yakuza in their place just in time to meet this cute Devil Hunter that works for the Government. She gives him the choice: he can die, or come work for the other Devil Hunters and get room and board. Denji, eager to live his dream of a normal life, doesn’t hesitate to say yes.
Overall, it looks like the hype surrounding Chainsaw Man was the real deal. I’m very intrigued with the premise of the series, and will likely add it to the list of manga I’ll read every week. As for the anime, I’m looking forward to watching it for the next three months. Rev it up, people. This is going to be good!
Super Freakin’ Mario! Everybody knows how iconic this guy is. He’s been Nintendo’s flagship mascot for over 35 years and has a global fanbase with an equally iconic voice actor; Charles Martinet. Like many other Mario fans we’ve gotten the chance to see the new teaser trailer for the new Super Mario Bros. movie by Nintendo and Illumination (the same guys behind the Minions franchise). Also, like many other Mario fans, we’ve noticed that Charles Martinet; the voice of Super Mario himself, is NOT the character his voice is known for. That’s right, Charles ain’t voicing Mario in the new movie, Chris Pratt is.
“That’s stupid!”
Once again, its one of those moments where Hollywood chose ‘faces’ over ‘voices’. We remember the uproar the Sonic fandom gave Paramount over giving Tail’s voice actor (Collen O’Shaughnessey) her credits in the movie, but in the end not only did they fix their mistake, she got acknowledged as a voice actress in a major live-action motion picture and reprised her role as Tails in both Sonic movies. That’s Sonic, but what about Mario? While Charles has done a lot of other stuff (including being the voice of Magenta in Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero), 90’s kids know him as Mr. Mario himself; along with Luigi, Wario, and Waluigi. The movie may be going in a different direction than the video games, but at least have the original voice actor play the character that the fandom knows him for – is what we’ve heard from a lot of the Mario fandom on social media.
What we wanted vs. what we got.
We are not saying that the movie will be bad because Charles is not Mario, in fact he’s in the movie…but his role is unknown at the moment. There’s not too much known about the plot, but it will have callbacks to everything from the games; like Power Stars, Bowser, Toads, and everything in between. When you have a franchise as big as Super Mario, you’re also going to have a fandom that is very fickle and critical about Hollywood’s involvement in doing CGI and live-action adaptations. What happens a lot of times when it comes to live adaptations to anime and video game franchises, is that they have to be marketable to the general audience (non-anime and gaming fans) outside of their respective fandoms. However if “Dragon Ball Evolution” and Netflix’s “Cowboy Bebop” have taught us anything…you’d best come correct, or DON’T come at all!
To wrap things up the Super Mario movie drops in theaters April 7, 2023, and Chris Pratt is the voice of Movie Mario; and Jack Black is the voice of Bowser. Jack Black as Bowser might be the only exception for a lot of fans because he has some voice actor experience (the Kung Fu Panda series), on the same token 2023 is also the year Movie Knuckles gets his own spin-off series on Paramount Plus. Nintendo’s trying to be slick and wait until the Sonic hype died down before announcing this movie, but with Sonic Movie 3 dropping December 20, 2024, SEGA understands the assignment. That’s another post for another day.
D&A Anime Blog / D&A Studios Entertainment Weekly (October 10, 2022)
Flawless Victory: 30 Years of Kombat!
From Scorpion’s heavily meme’d yet iconic “Get Over Here!” line, to Shao Khan telling players how much they sucked after wasting them in battle, Mortal Kombat is turning 30 years old this year. We take a look back at what made this bloody fighter famous, and what Ed Boone plan on doing next! Happening later this week!
The Super Mario Bros. Movie: What We Know So Far…
Nintendo knew they had to wait until the ‘Sonic Hype’ of the second movie had died down, before announcing this movie. Just by the trailer alone it appears the Mario-Sonic rivalry is becoming renewed by both fandoms thanks to social media. Join us as we take a dive into what we know so far by the trailer, and what message does this send to SEGA about Sonic’s third movie.
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again; I am an old school retro gamer at heart! While everyone else was getting their fix with their PS4’s, 5’s and Xbox One’s n’ S’s, I went back to the old school with classic consoles like the SNES and Sega Genesis. Yep, I’ve been a Nintendo boy since 1993, and have played through five console generations; with the latest being the Nintendo 3DS. But enough about my gaming timeline, we’re gonna talk about a game that I along with a marginal base of people believe to be underrated, and underappreciated during the time that the SNES was alive and kicking. The game’s soundtrack sounded like music that you’d hear from early 2000’s Pink Floyd (and Electronica), and you’ve got the Follin brothers to thank for that. This is my review of an SNES hidden gem; Plok!
I played this game a lot as a kid!
Ok, so the story of this game is kinda weird; Plok is apparently a king on the Island of Polyesta, and dwells on Akrillic Island (his home). He wakes up to discover that his flag on top of his house is missing, and finds out that its on Cotton Island. He treks through the island; defeating enemies and finding false flags along the way (pissing him off in the process), before running into the Bobbins Brothers – who are the culprits who stole Plok’s flag. After beating them and getting his flag back, Plok returns to Akrillic and finds out that his kingdom is overtaken by fleas; and NOT the ones on your dog, but big blue fleas that have hatched and infested the kingdom. So he goes around the kingdom beating fleas, bosses, other enemies, and finally the Flea Queen herself. After all of that he returns home to sit in his green rocking chair…ย
Now it’s time for the gameplay; its basically a platformer where you have to reach the end of the level on Cotton Island, while collecting shells and power-ups to help smack down your foes. You can use Plok’s limbs to attack enemies, but you have to make sure you don’t lose all four; or else you’re a sitting duck. With the SNES controller, you use the B-button to attack and the A-button to somersault into the air like Sonic. (I actually liked using the A-button more because of that.) You can aim your limbs at fruits to increase Plok’s health, but sometimes those fruits might warp you to a timed bonus stage where if you beat it, you can warp to the next level – and even skip a boss fight in the process. Honestly the Cotton Island levels are pretty much the easiest part of the game, the hardest part is getting back to Akrillic and going through about 10 levels and 4 bosses; not counting the one on Cotton Island (the Bobbins Bros.) or the final 8-ish levels of the Flea Pit.
The opening theme SLAPS!!!
The Verdict
Plok! is an underrated gem that gave you some of the BEST music I’ve heard for the time that it came out! Tim Follin is an absolute genius when it comes to composing gaming music, as he was ahead of his time when creating the music for the levels and boss fights in this game. I feel no one really talk about or even remembers this game; because they were into Mario, Zelda, and Mortal Kombat around the same time. If they did however, they’d know just how much the music slapped! Don’t believe me? Check out the tracks below! Please play Plok! if you get your hands on an SNES Mini, and unless you suck at platformers, you won’t regret it. Until next post, stay nerdy my friends! ๐
Alright guys, ever since I found this little medium called anime, my life became a lot less boring in certain parts; mainly the content creative side of things. In the digital age content creation has become such a hot commodity among Millennials (90’s Kids) and Gen Z (2000’s Kids), because they found a new way to make income that doesn’t involve being yelled at by Ken the Store Manager. (Or Karen the Store Manager.) Believe it or not there have been so many Youtubers whose channels I’ve come across over the years, who have built themselves a fandom from the ground up. Hell, you can take us for example; when we started in January 2016 we didn’t have business cards – we had half-sheets of paper with the very first logo I’ve ever made. And we made our debut at Animore; Otakon’s replacement anime convention when it moved to Washington, DC.
This leads into what I really want to talk about; how to promote yourself organically without getting caught up in the ‘numbers game’. That’s right; the game where you want to garner the attention of the Youtube algorithm so badly, that you’ll go through any kind of extremes to do so – even with the help of third party promoters. The music industry is the same way; with independent artists like myself at the mercy of the Spotify “Featured” algorithm, that I went to a Spotify promotion website (that I thought was legit) in an effort to try and boost my streams high enough for the algorithm to take notice. Sadly what creators (or music producers) don’t realize is that even if those third party promotion websites may SAY that they’ll boost your presence online, how they do it can be pretty…suspect.
My first album got botted on Spotify, so they pulled it.
Creating content or music is one thing, but when you’re marketing skills are ‘mid’, you usually pass that onto someone who’s an expert at it. The thing is; with so many bots everywhere on social media platforms like Twitter and Instagram, it can get get pretty dicey when you can’t tell if the follows or streams you get are coming from real people, or a bot farm. Promotions that have been around longer may have better relations with getting people to view your video, or stream your music on their playlist; nevertheless when you’re doing ALL of the promotion and advertising yourself, it means you may have to put a little more extra care into your project(s) before releasing them. People are impressionable these days, and will only engage in music or digital content where there’s some sort of takeaway from it; like a lesson learned, or a genuine feeling.
Other times its dumb luck, and your video just happens to go viral at just the right time.
Now you’re probably thinking “Um, doesn’t promotion cost money?” and yes, it does. However, you get to control how much you want to promote, and what to promote based on your budget. The Sonic movies would’ve never gotten big as they’ve gotten had they not promoted it – heavily might I add. The same can be said for Youtubers, podcasters, and content creators; people won’t know who you are if you don’t promote and market yourself, its just that you have to be mindful that if you’re promoting online, do it with third party promoters that social media platforms trust. Chasing numbers can be hazardous to your mental health; as you may feel like everyone’s content is better than yours based on the reactions, likes, and reposts that they’re getting.
STOP!
Everyone moves at their own pace, and there is no reason for you to feel inferior just because Johnny Gameright has 650,000 subscribers and you only got 80. He had to work just as hard as you to get there. Its not about the head count on your social media platform; but the quality of the people that are following you because they like what you do, and want to continue supporting you. So don’t worry about the quantity of your numbers, but focus more on the quality of the people that follow you, as well as the content you’re producing.
Hopefully you took something away from this post, and if you did, kudos! Until next post, stay safe, and stay nerdy my friends! ๐
D&A Anime Blog / D&A Studios Entertainment Weekly (October 3, 2022)
A Founder’s Thoughts with D.J. Lewis!
D&A Anime Blog Founder and CEO, Donte’ J. Lewis shares his thoughts about a variety of topics; such as diversity in anime, the current state of the world, music, DJing, and more! This week we get a brand new post sharing whatever thoughts are going on inside the mind of the founder; happening later this week!
Classic Game Review: Plok!
Somewhere during the 90’s the SNES was in the middle of a console war with the Sega Genesis, but while their respective mascots were going toe-to-toe with one another, we find ourselves reviewing an SNES game; where its OST was ahead of its time. Join us as we turn the clock back to the 90’s, for a classic video game review of “Plok!”. Happening later this week!
The Ecchi (Degenerate) Era of Anime!
There’s this weird lil’ genre of anime called “Ecchi”, and just like “Isekai”; it is both loved and hated by the anime community. We take a deep dive into how this genre became such a guilty pleasure for a subset of anime fans (mostly the male half), why ‘fanservice’ plays a key part in it, why it may (or may not) be banned in certain countries, and WHY anime studios KEEP making it! All this and more later this week!
Here’s What You Missed Last Time on D&A Studios Entertainment!
Guys, this year has been filled with great moments as well as growing pains, and D&A has surely been on the receiving end of some of these pains. However a special individual once said: “Believe in the you, that believes in ME!” (its Kamina from Gurren Lagann), so we never gave up and continued on our quest to be the best blogs out there. Now with the seasons changing and everyone getting Pumpkin Spice fever, we’re prepping ourselves for the 2023 year; which we HOPE is filled with convention appearances! With that in mind, here’s what we’re doing for the 4th quarter of 2022 (or Oct. 1 – Dec. 31):
D&A Entertainment Weekly Returns (with a new logo)
We tried this new newsletter format for awhile, but we felt like it didn’t really have an identity all its own. We’re gonna fix that come October 3rd; so get ready for new posts, new character analysis, and new current events regarding the anime industry!
Premium Subscription Videos Will Launch The First Week of October
Never-before-seen content will be uploaded exclusively to the blog, and if you’re a Premium subscriber, you’ll be able to watch them for a monthly subscription of $5. We’ll be implementing this feature for our biggest supporters during the first week of October, and we’ll keep you updated when the Premium videos drop!
A New Music Page is Coming…
More like we’re renovating our current music page. There will be more information on it within the coming weeks. Stay tuned!
DJ Appearances will also be added to Con Appearances
Once we get the green light for conventions that we want to be “Guest(s) of Honor” at, we’ll post them on our Con Appearances page. Alongside that will be DJ Appearances by Avidd Minddset; so we’ll also be posting those appearances as well.
One-2-One Waifu Wednesday Specials Coming November 2022
Yes, we are going down this rabbit hole. Starting the first Wednesday in November we’ll be doing a One-2-One Waifu Wednesday character that we select. Yep, this is really happening.
Ok, that will do it for these announcements, so until October, stay nerdy my friends! ๐
Hey guys. It’s been awhile since our last post, but lately things have been a little chaotic on the ‘outer boundaries’ of the blog (or in this case we’ve been dealing with the craziness of life outside of D&A). Guess its safe to say that our online presence has grown to a level where being just a two-man operation, might not cut it in the ‘big leagues’, in the world of new article companies. For that we’re in the process of looking for volunteers to become authors and writers on the ‘blog side’ of D&A, so if you’re interested in volunteering, hit us up on our Contact Us page. We’re also working on opening up other positions within D&A as we continue to grow from being a hobby, into a business. For now, we’re looking to build a writing staff and expand our numbers internally.
That’s all we’ve got for now, so until our next post, stay nerdy! ๐
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