It’s no secret that anime has become one of the most popular mediums in the world. From music to conventions and cosplay culture, anime has touched the lives of hundreds of thousands of individuals from all walks of life; and all nationalities regardless of their country. Everybody knows somebody who’s into anime, but how did something that was once laughed at by the adversaries of the people who embraced it, now a part of mainstream culture?

To figure this one out we’ll have to travel back 60 years into the past; when titles like Astro Boy and Speed Racer were one of the few titles to make their way into America. Back during this time those shows in particular gained popularity with American audiences; for many millennial anime fans (like myself), our parents may have been fans of those shows growing up. (Plus my mama loves Speed Racer!)

From the 1960’s to the 1980’s a lot of the anime titles that were imported from Japan ended up being heavily altered and localized (even to the point of changing the name of the titles themselves). So if you’re familiar with the show Robotech, it’s real name and title was actually Macross. We all know about Transformers and all of the series and spin-offs that came from its original, but the basis of the ‘Robots in Disguise’ came from two series called Diaclone and Microman. Here’s a lil’ fun fact; the first (and I mean FIRST) anime meetup group was called the Cartoon Fantasy Organization (C.F.O.) which was created in 1977 in Los Angeles, California. Yep, L.A. In fact the very first English-dubbed anime distribution company was Streamline Pictures; way before we had BangZoom, Viz Media, Aniplex, Funimation, and Sentai Filmworks.

Once the 90’s kicked in, the overall popularity of anime was at an all-time high. Being a 90’s kid myself you guys already know all of the heavy hitter titles; Sailor Moon, Dragonball Z, Inuyasha, Gundam Wing, Evangalion, and Cowboy Bebop! The level of popularity began to give birth to a subculture of people who identify themselves as “Anime Fans”, and is still growing to this very day. America’s influence on anime has even translated into more recent cartoon titles from Cartoon Network; like Steven Universe or The Amazing World of Gumball.

Right now it looks like due to anime’s overwhelming popularity throughout 60% of broadcast anime throughout the world, American animation companies are adjusting their productions and animations styles as a ‘reverse-influence’ competitive strategy. If you’ve seen shows like Avatar: The Last Airbender, The Boondocks, and the 2003 Teen Titans, you’ll notice what I’m talking about right away!

All-in-all; America’s influence on anime has opened the minds and the imaginations of the individuals who invest in the medium. It’s given us anime conventions, cosplay culture, anime hip-hop and nerdcore, and new ways to tell stories. Thanks to America’s influence anime has also become more diverse in its story telling; with some anime titles being produced, directed, and even dubbed by people of color. (D’ART Shtajio comes to mind.) The influence of anime can be seen in many other countries such as Brazil and The UK, so American anime fans are not the only ones connected to the medium.

For me personally; I think this is awesome! Having something that you can connect with as you go through life can really boost your overall morale and quality of life. Toonami’s done that with so many people, and there have been stories where anime has saved the lives of the ones who watched it. Although we’re not sure what the future will hold for this once-niche medium (that still is in some parts of the world), we already know that as long as there are anime fans and the demand is high, there will always be anime! 🙂

As we get closer and closer to the end of the ‘anything-can-happen’ 2020 year, the collection of shows and anime titles that have come about can be described in a number of ways. Although there wasn’t anything that would make you jump out of your seat, there are a few titles that are worth taking a shot at. The two that come to mind for us would be Tower of God, as well as The Misfit of Demon Academy. Both of which are great titles that are well worth taking a shot at if you haven’t seen them already, and later down the line we may be doing a review on them.

With COVID-19 still running amok worldwide, several studios have been doing everything they can to release more episodes and content of their shows; and have adjusted pretty well. This year hasn’t been an easy one to say the least, but with sneak peeks and trailers coming out for shows and movies already on the horizon, anime studios and creators are already setting their sights on the 2021 season. With that in mind, here are just a couple trailers that we’ve stumbled upon…

Many of us have already seen the first season of Sword Art Online, however when it comes to the Light Novel (SAO: Progressive) the anime left a lot of details in the story out of the picture. Progressive dives deeper into the story through the POV of Asuna and Kirito, as they travel floor-by-floor defeating monsters and bosses while bringing some much needed character development – that was seemingly transparent in the original anime series. SAO: Progressive comes out 2021!

If you’ve seen the first season of Cells at Work that teaches how the cells in your body handle viruses and deceases, then the second season takes a much darker turn. We’re not ones to tell how others should live their lives, but after seeing this trailer, it might change your lifestyle.

Although we don’t know too much about this series, we know that it started out as a video game on the Nintendo DS; that’s now an animated series!

A lot of Sin’s fans weren’t too happy about how last season ended; especially in terms of the quality. Hopefully a redemption story is made this season as the saga of the Sins continues!

2020 has its fair share of hits and misses this season, but as we look ahead to what 2021 will bring, the overall mood and morale of the anime community from our view is filled with excitement and curiosity. We can hardly wait for the day when we can return to the nerdy sanctuaries called “Anime Conventions”, but until that day, stay safe and watch more anime! 😉

Hey guys! Before we start we just want to give our thoughts and prayers to the Morrow family; as we discovered that Kirby Morrow who you may know as the Ocean Dub DBZ’s Goku, has passed away. He was also heard in the original Inuyasha and was set to reprise his role in Yashahime. It’s a big loss in the anime and voice acting community, but we remember him as being awesome to his friends, his fans, and his family. May he Rest in Piece.

This year has been crazy, and although many of us won’t be able to gather together this Thanksgiving (unless your family members don’t live very far from you), be sure to give em’ a call or chat with them on Zoom. As for us we’ll not only be serving our family’s great food n’ good turkey, but we’ve got some more content comin’ your way!

Best Frienemies: D&A’s Top 5 Anime Villains Who Became Good Guys!

Every action or fantasy anime title ever made has this one particular troupe! The main character beats the s%@! out of the main villain of a story arc, and a couple arcs later they become allies and even friends. Well, we pick our Top 5 anime villains who have done this and are now fighting for justice and peace alongside the hero whom they tried to kill!

What New / Re-Newed Shows To Watch For In 2021!

You’ve probably seen several promos for new anime titles and re-newed shows making their way to the Winter 2020/2021 season. We’ll poke around the internet to discover what will be coming to your favorite anime streaming services early next year!

Our New Podcast Name Revealed!!

We’ve been wrecking our brains trying to find a good name for a podcast, and after putting out several polls on our social media pages, we may have an idea on what to call our new podcast name! Next week we do the grand unveiling of our new podcast!

That’s all we’ve got for now, see you guys next week! 🙂

There comes a time in every teenager’s life where they stumble across something that arouses their interest. Depending what kind of parents they have or how they react to the thing that they’re aroused by, it’ll cause them to do one of two things; ask them about it, or explore on their own. When it comes to anime every fan has their favorite titles that they love to indulge in, however once those fans reach a “certain age” they may have stumbled across the endless fanservice pool that is the Harem/Ecchi genre.

with these type of shows pushing the envelope every day, there’s one of them that takes the envelope and sets it on fire. We’ve seen a lot of crazy over-the-top shows, but next to Panty & Stocking with Garterbelt, this is one that we’re pretty sure a large percentage of the anime community has seen.

We’re talking about Shimoneta!

This is one of those anime titles that takes the history of something and kinda drops it on its head. The whole show is centered on Japan’s strict censorship through their government, and how a group of ‘rag-tag’ degenerates pretty much give em’ the finger to their laws and restrictions about what they can and cannot say, dress, or do. (Remember how the FCC used to be 20 years ago?)

Seeing that this series takes place in 2030 (about ten years from now), Japan’s strict rules on censorship go back waaaay further than that! Article 175 or the Criminal Code of Japan, covers the censorship of pornography and how it is restricted in Japan through its sales as well as digitally. This means that if you were caught in Japan selling pornographic pictures or digital content, you’d be in jail for up to two years and have to pay a fine of 2,500,000 yen (which we think is about $24,000). This also applied to the one(s) who bought the material as well.

Japan was (and still is) no joke when it came to skin flicks and booty mags. In fact the first ever film to get the wrath of the censorship police after WWII was 1965’s Black Snow (sound familiar?). The film’s director Tetsuji Takechi and Nikkatsu distributor Satoru Murakami were indeed charged with violation of Article 175 for their film depicting prostitutes in a U.S. military base near Tokyo. The film itself was ruled out as “not obscure” in 1966, but several things happened later that threw Nikkatsu and Takechi out of the frying pan and back into the fire.

The first hentai case happened in 2004; when Yuji Suwa, Motonori Kishi, and Koichi Takada were prosecuted for producing and selling off the hentai manga anthology Misshitsu. Nine years later another case involving three people from Core Magazine happened, and those three people pleaded guilty in December of 2013. Needless to say; Japan don’t play!

How does all of this tie-in to Shimoneta? If you’re able to grasp the concept of the story (somewhat), you find various fragments and elements of Japan’s history of censorship as well as its references to its movies such as Black Snow (Blue Snow). Even though this show has its fans, it also has a little history behind its conservative nature when it comes to the lewd, the dirty, and the pornographic.

That”ll do it for our lil’ history lesson for today, and as always; love one another! 😉

It’s no secret that 2020 has been by far the absolute WORST! However many of us are doing whatever we can to stay positive as well as sane in an insane world. We’re pretty sure that most of us were looking forward to Halloween this year, but COVID had other plans. While many have decided to look for other ways to enjoy October 31st (which happens to be on a weekend mind you), we’ll be putting some haunting content of our own! So here’s what we’ll be doing on Halloween Week leading up to Halloween…

D&A’s Top 5 Anime You Should Watch For Halloween!

Since most of us will be stuck in the house this Halloween, you might as well kick back and watch some haunting anime titles. Next week we pick the Top 5 anime titles that you should check out this stay-at-home Halloween season.

Luigi’s Mansion 3’s One-Year Anniversary!

Yeah, it’s been one freakin’ year since the third installment of Luigi’s Mansion came out! We look back at everything from the speculations to the game’s trailers, and even check out a few video game raps on Youtube.

A Cult Classic: Why Ghost Stories is the “Scary Movie” of Anime!

Ghost Stories is one of the greatest dubs to ever be dubbed in the history of anime dubs! (Try saying that three times fast! XP) We run down our favorite moments from the series (as well as favorite lines from the show), and let us just say this; once you watch the show, you’ll be howling the whole way through! 😉

That’s what’s happening for Halloween Week, so until then, stay safe and stay sane guys! 🙂

A part of me wanted to write this post awhile back but at the time I didn’t quite know exactly how to word it. Now in 2020; the Year of Corona, there’s a LOT to talk about in terms of anime quality, and diversity. Growing up I didn’t really have a lot of friends who watched or even liked anime as much as I did. In fact it was the opposite; I never had any friends who watched or even liked anime as much as I did. When I saw DBZ for the first time (Ocean dub before FUNimation), I thought it was the coolest thing I ever saw. Yeah at the time the quality was a little grainy, but this was the 90’s; and anime was hand-drawn.

Now we’re blessed with the technology that makes it easier for anime storyboard artists to draw, and animate many of our favorite scenes from our favorite titles. Since most of the anime that we watch is based off its manga counterpart, we’ve noticed many differences between them; and this is where the ‘quality’ part comes into play. When an anime creator comes up with a series that he/she wants to animate, they need an animation studio to do it. They can’t just walk in and say they need the studio to do ‘X’ and ‘Y’ for them; they have to book time, see how much money it’ll cost to make the series and put a budget together, and they have to put a timestamp on how long it’ll take for said project.

Deadlines are a pain in the butt, and should a studio not meet them within a timely manner, the results can and will be unfavorable. (Mostly to the fans.) Don’t get me wrong; there are some great quality anime out there for many of us to enjoy, but there are a few that kinda missed the mark a bit in terms of quality. When I say anime quality, I don’t mean just animation alone; there’s the story, the character writing, the character development, the challenges that the character(s) face, and so on. A large number of fans are so critical on these key points (and rightfully so), and if creators and animation studios don’t take those key points into consideration before the process begins, WE’LL know about it!

One thing I’ve noticed since watching an absolute gem called Afro Samurai, is diversity in anime. In fact there’s diversity among anime voice actors, ADR directors and writers. Anime fans from all over come from all walks of life; not matter your race, creed, ethnicity, or beliefs. I’m not ashamed to say that I’m happy that there are more People of Color getting voice acting roles and ADR positions in anime. I guess somewhere in the midst of it all, some people are hating on the fact that there are more African-Americans getting roles in anime; due to the fact that they were ‘handed’ to them in light of the Black Lives Matter protests all across the country. Not sure why they would hate on this, but trolls will be trolls.

I think we’re in a place now where anime stories won’t be told from just one prospective. With animation studios like D’ART Shtajio, we get to hear and see anime stories from a much more diverse prospective. To me, that’s something to be proud of. With more and more People of Color become anime fans each year, I’m excited to see what new and exciting stories will be told, and what new shows we might expect to see in the near future.