Asides

The Top 5 Underestimated Anime Characters!

Aside D&A Anime Blog Anime, Filler Posts, Top 5

One of the most common tropes that you’ll see in just about 90% of the anime that you watch is a character (or main character) that is always underestimated. They possess traits and skills that are unique and make it appear to others that they’re meaningless and that they’ll never amount to anything, but when the time comes for them to shine, they end up blowing our minds! The funny thing about it is that a lot of us see ourselves as that character; the one who always got looked down upon because he didn’t possess the same level of talent or skills as his/her peers did, and then BAM! We do something that completely changes their whole perception of us. There are a lot of anime characters out there who feel underestimated, but these five in particular speak to many of us in this day and age…

5. Bell – DanMachi

A top favorite series in our books and hopefully in yours too! In the series DanMachi, Bell is an adventurer in an RPG-ish world who soon becomes a part of the “Hestia Familia” alongside Hestia; his goddess. As a main character of the series you can kind of tell he’s the underestimated protagonist, but he suddenly shows what he’s truly made of when he comes face-to-face with a sword-wielding Minotaur on the 9th floor.

4. Ikki Kurogane – Chivalry of a Failed Knight

Honestly, this series deserves a little more credit than its been getting over the last couple of years. The show follows the story of Ikki Kurogane, who has been labeled as “The Worst One” by the academy of his peers, that is until he fought against some of the most elite knights in the school – especially Stella Vermillion.

3. Deku – My Hero Academia

Well of course HE was going to be among our Top 5 picks! We all remember back in the first episode of season one, where the one called Deku wanted to be a hero, but was born without a quirk. Now two seasons later he is not only a hero, but a rising main character who still finds himself underestimated at times, but knows that there are some battles that he can’t fight on his own.

2. Naruto Uzumaki – Naruto Shippuden

Since the early 2000’s we’ve watched this Hidden Leaf shinobi grow up right before our eyes, and now he’s finally achieved the dream of being Hokage. We’ve all seen the many times he’s been underestimated (which is pretty much every single battle he’s ever been in), and now with all of the skills and jutsu that he’s learned over the years, Naruto has become what it means to be a hero – a ninja hero!

1. Gohan – Dragon Ball Z

The moment Gohan headbutted his evil uncle Raditz during the Saiyan Saga, he became an instant favorite among Dragon Ball Z fans. From there we watched his power grow to incredible heights, and the peak of that was when he faced Cell during the Cell Games. As Super Saiyan 2, Gohan put everything on the line into one final Kamehameha blast with the help of his father from beyond the grave. Even though he fell off after the Cell Saga (and the Bojack Arc via the movie), this is the moment Gohan fans will never forget.

There are so many other characters out there in the anime verse who are viewed as ‘underestimated’ to many of the villains or adversaries that face. Nevertheless it also gives them a chance to show them (and the audience) what they’re truly made of!

That’s it for now, but there’s more to come! ๐Ÿ™‚

 

Anime Conventions 2019: April Edition!

Aside D&A Anime Blog Anime, Con Locations, Filler Posts

March may be gone but Spring is in the air! (And so is the heat!) If you’re looking for some fantastic cons to go to for the month of April, we’ve got some great choices in are arsenal. If you live in the Northwest, Southwest, or Westbound regions of North America, these are the cons that you’re gonna wanna check out! You can also check them out on our main page by clicking on one of the buttons for the region you live in. On that note that will do it for this filler post, but there’s more on the way! Stay tuned! ๐Ÿ˜‰

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D&A’s Throwback Thursday: Neo Ranga!

Aside D&A Anime Blog Anime, Filler Posts, Throwback Thursday Anime

FYI, this anime title is an 18+ series, so if you’re 17-and-a-half you’re STILL not old enough to watch it! (But you probably will…)

Happy Thursday guys n’ girls! Last week we brought you an old school title from the 80’s, so it’s only appropriate that we bump it up by a decade and head to the 90’s! The 90’s was a classic time filled with cross-colors, Nintendo, SEGA, Fox Kids, and so many other awesome things from your childhood. If you happened to be a teenager in the 90’s and was somewhat familiar with the term ‘Japanimation’, then you probably have seen a few titles that you may (or may not) recognize. This may (or may not) be one of them; a dram-com that has action, adventure, and even some mecha. A show called…Neo Ranga.

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Holy crap!! That looks COOL!

For those who have no idea what this series is about, we’re gonna give you the brief overview while keeping the spoilers to a minimum.

The Shimabara sisters; Manami, Ushio, and Yuuhi, are three siblings that live on their own, with the oldest of the three being the breadwinner of the family. Suddenly a young man from the Island of Barou comes with news of the sisters’ long-lost brother, who has since died after marrying into the Barou royalty, thus leaving the sisters the current rulers of the island. Because of this they are now protected by the island’s god named Neo Ranga; a Godzilla-like monster who is now the sisters’ personal god. Although it follows them back to Japan, Neo Ranga soon becomes the target of the Japan Self-Defense Forces.

Each of the sisters use the powers of Neo Ranga for their own personal goals and ambitions; Ushio uses it to help Neo’s interactions with people, Minami uses Neo for financial gain due to being the breadwinner of the family, while Yuuhi simply uses Neo to deal with any unsavory elements in her neighborhood – which includes the Yakuza.

The series is 48 episodes long and (of course) it’s for mature audiences, so that means partial nudity, maybe a few swears, the usual. So if you haven’t seen the series yet be sure to check it out! Also, we’re happy to announce that we’ve reached 200 followers on our blog! We are so happy that you’re a part of our aniblogging lives, and we thank you for all of the love and support that you give to us, and the community!

Until next post, stay nerdy! ๐Ÿ˜‰

D&A Anime Blog: Updates & Changes!

Aside D&A Anime Blog Anime, Blog Updates, Blogging

Welcome back! Earlier in March we mentioned that we’ll be doing some updates and renovations for the blog, as we’ve been looking into more ways that we can expand our platform as well as our features. With that comes the closing down of a few features on the blog that were great in theory, but didn’t exactly give us the results that we were hoping for. So if you want to know what in store for D&A for the rest of the year (and even down the road), here’s what’s happening:

We’re Closing Down Our Fanfiction Feature

For this feature its not that we’ve lost interest in doing fanfiction, its just that we don’t have as much time to make it as often as we used to. With so many things on our plate both on and offline, we’ve decided that it would be best to shut down this feature of the blog to focus on creating more original content and posts.

Our Music Section Will Be On Our Sidebar

One of the coolest ideas we had for the blog is to implement a feature that will allow our fans to check out some originally produced Hip-Hop/Electronic music. For our blog renovation project we’ve decided that this upcoming feature will be on our sidebar instead of on its own page. It will be in playlist format so fans can pick what tracks they want to hear.

We’re Upgrading Our Plan To Premium

This will be the final phase of our blog renovation project, as this will allow us to give our fans an ‘out-of-the-box’ anime blog experience. We’re hoping to one day have a Shop/Merch page where fans can buy official D&A Anime Blog T-shirts and other merch, and with this upgrade we’ll be one step closer to making that happen.

So far that’s all we’ve got planned for the second quarter of 2019, but rest assured we’re only just getting started! There’s more new features we hope to execute on the blog (some even include a future Twitch channel), as we continue to strive to become one of the best two-man operated anime blogs out there. As always we wanna thank our fans for all of the love and support that we’ve received on the blog, social media, as well as at many of the cons we’ve gone to. Stay nerdy, my friends! ๐Ÿ™‚

The Top 5 Funniest Anime Moments!

Aside D&A Anime Blog Anime, Filler Posts, Top 5

Hey guys n’ girls! Did you miss us, cuz’ we sure did! So after coming back from Zenkaikon we ended up taking an unexpected two week hiatus due to another gut-punch from life. However as always we found a way to bounce back to the blog and do what we do best; make awesome posts for you guys to check out! You might have noticed that we’ve upgraded a few things while we were away (mainly on our main page), but our total anime blog revamp project is far from over.

In the meantime however, we’ve combed the web and found some funny moments from anime history! Don’t worry, we’ll do the best we can to keep any spoilers to a minimum.

#5 School Rumble – The Art Exhibit

Hey, did you hear the one about the two dudes and the high school art exhibit? Well, they say that the human body is a true work of art, but when it comes to the guys in this anime clip, their work of art involves the student body.

#4 Naruto Shippuden – Kakashi and Guy’s Footrace

For over ten years we’ve watched our favorite orange ninja grow up in the Land of the Leaf, and now he’s finally Hokage and got the girl of his dreams (who is now his wife). During the course of his adventures Naruto has gone through some tough battles and risked his life multiple times, but since we’re all well versed on that, let’s peek into something that’s been sitting on the sidelines; Kakashi and Might Guy’s rivalry.

#3 One-Punch Man – The “Nutcracker”

Yeah, you can make you’re own joke on this one…

#2 Dragon Ball Super – Vegeta Cooks For Whis

Once a ruthless saiyan prince with no remorse towards anyone and anything, Vegeta has now become a family man as well as one of the strongest Z Fighters protecting the Earth. He may be an ace at fighting, but when it comes to the culinary arts…not so much. XP

#1 Ghost Stories – The Whole Series

It’s impossible to pick out just once funny scene from this series, cuz’ the whole freakin’ show is chuck-full of them! Bar none this is one of the BEST dubs in all of anime history; frankly because it bombed so badly in Japan, that the creators wanted to break even on the show’s dub. So what did FUNimation do? They (professionally) abridged the entire series deeming it ‘The Equal Opportunity Offender’. We can’t talk about this show enough, so we highly recommend watching it (if you’re over 18 of course).

That will do it for us and this list of funny moments in anime history. There’s more to come this week so stay tuned! ๐Ÿ˜‰

 

D.J. Lewis: Chronicles of an Anime Fan

Aside D&A Anime Blog Anime, Filler Posts

Sometime between last Summer and now I talked about what shows I watched back in the 90’s that drew me to the current anime that I watch now. Long before A. Goldman and I created this blog I was a bit of a loner as a child, as during the time that I was growing up in the early 90’s I was never really exposed to any anime, nor did I have any friends that liked a lot of the same shows that I did. Back in 1993 at the tender age of four I was a huge Super Mario Bros. fan; I owned a Nintendo Entertainment System (that my mother bought for me), and logged in at least 30+ hours a week beating each level – especially the ‘most-hated’ water levels! At the time I was seven years old my mother bought cable (comcast to be exact), and every day after school I would come home and watch Cartoon Network. Back then there were shows like Scooby-Doo (the early 70’s version), Swat Katz, Tom & Jerry, and many others.

In 1997 I came home and turned on the TV to get ready to watch my favorite shows, and that’s when it happened. What happened on my screen would change my life forever. What happened on my screen is the reason why I am who I am today. That was the day that Toonami came to play! What I was watching didn’t look anything like the shows that I watched when I was four or five (which was Barney and Sesame Street at the time). The style looked different, as there were so many vivid colors and unusual hair styles on the characters. No one ever told me that what I was watching was anime, as the first show I found myself watching was in fact Tenchi Muyo. Up until my 10th birthday I found myself watching more and more shows on this action-packed cartoon block called Toonami, but by Fall of 2000 my mother found a brand new job located in the northwest district of Baltimore, Maryland.

We moved out of the Heldrey Square neighborhood right after the Baltimore Ravens won Super Bowl XXXV in 2001, as I found my new home in Reisterstown, Maryland. From there I went to school at Franklin Middle from 2001-2004, and during this time I was still in Dragon Ball Z mode before this new show came around called Naruto. Honestly I wasn’t a huge fan from the get-go because, well, I was still heavily into DBZ. It wasn’t easy making friends in middle school due to the fact that I had now found this thing called ‘anime’ and have fallen in love with it.

When it comes to middle and high school you’re automatically ‘placed’ in a social circle that fits everything that you like, dislike, and otherwise. I’ve seen all the movies and TV shows where the social status of both middle and high school students was stereotypically portrayed through four different groups; Jocks, Cheerleaders, Outcasts, and the Nerds. You can guess what clique I fell in.

During my 7th grade year I was still into anime, but I was also into shows like Dexter’s Lab, Ed, Edd, n’ Eddy (which is basically ‘The Three Stooges‘ for Millennials), and Samurai Jack! Due to my girth as a heavy-set Afro-American with High-Functioning Autism (HFA), I was picked on a lot to the point where I would have nervous breakdowns and threatened to hurt people because they wouldn’t leave me alone. Trying to fit in was a nightmare, as making/finding friends who liked anime as much as I did was very hard, and I feared that they would make fun of me if I was that one kid who like something that everyone else was unfamiliar with. That is…until my met my friend of 16 years who is my partner on this blog today!

Middle school was indeed tough, but watching anime and Toonami got me through some tough times – even throughout high school. Naruto taught me to never give up on my dreams, and DBZ showed me that with enough hard work, even the ones they consider ‘weak’ can surpass the ones they call ‘strong’. I never though that I would learn so much from anime, as many of the characters have gone through similar trials that I’ve gone through while growing up; such as being bullied in school, finding it hard to make friends who like the same things you do, and being excepted for who you are.

Anime was something different. It wasn’t like anything that I’ve seen before I found it, and they way that it told a story was far deeper than anything I could’ve ever imagined at the time of watching it. Now staring at the beginning of my 30’s I’m proud to call myself an anime fan, and because of that, I find myself seeing life from a whole different lens than I did when I was younger. (I’m not THAT old, guys! XP)

The best advice I could give you if you’re a younger fan going through the trials of middle and high school is to never give up! There may be people who will make fun of you for liking anime, but they can go suck rocks for all I care! Believe me when I say that it may be hard now, but it’s gonna get better! Anime to me was more than just a medium, it helped me find out where I belong, and that’s with awesome people like you!

This one is dedicated to all the awesome fans out there! Stay nerdy! ๐Ÿ˜‰

Our Return To Zenkaikon!

Aside D&A Anime Blog Anime, Con Appearances, Filler Posts

2017 was the most active year for us going to cons and promoting our blog, and one of the cons that we’ve gone to during our tour (as well as had the most fun at) was Zenkaikon. This convention is a 3-day sci-fi/anime convention held at the Lancaster Marriott in Lancaster, PA. It was also during that year that this was our first anime convention out of state, and our first impression of the convention was indeed nothing short of awesome! We had the chance to meet some rather awesome people as well as meet some of our twitter and facebook fans, plus we even got the chance to meet the one and only Toonami T.O.M. himself, Steve Blum (as well as Mary Elizabeth McGlynn)!

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Bang! ๐Ÿ˜‰

There’s a lot for fans of both sci-fi and anime to do at this convention, and for some of us who are nerdy party animals there’s also raves that happen on Friday and Saturday nights! One cool thing about this con is the fact that everyone we’ve met while we were there, was incredibly nice. This time around we hope to have the same amount of fun as we did two years ago, and for those who happen to be going, we’ll see you there March 22-24! And on that note that will do it for this post. Until next time, stay nerdy! ๐Ÿ˜‰

Throwback Thursday Returns To The 80’s with Mobile Police Patlabor!

Aside D&A Anime Blog Anime, Filler Posts, Throwback Thursday Anime

After an 18-month hiatus one of our main segments is back by popular demand! Tonight we go back in time to the 80’s of the anime world; where the mecha genre (especially Gundam and Transformers) was all the rage. While America had MTV, arcade shops, and a movie where nerds finally got revenge on their bullies, a select few of us old school otaku were engaged in Japanimation – or at least knew about it. For the first time since its hiatus we welcome back Throwback Thursday to the blog, with its first 80’s anime title being Mobile Police Patlabor!

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Japanimation in the 80’s!

Mobile Police Patlabor is a classic late 80’s shonen anime title created by the group known as Headgear; with members Masami Yuki, Mamoru Oshii, Kazukori Ito, Yutaka Izubuchi, and Akemi Takada. The franchise itself has its own anime and manga, as well as three movies and a few OVAs. Although its a shonen title this series is known for using mecha in its policing works and military, as well as industrial jobs such as construction.

Here’s the Non-Spoiler’s Overview: The story takes place between 1998-2002, where robots called Labors are employed in construction work. The Tokyo Metropolitan Police also have their own Labors that they use in order to combat crime, as well as rescue any Labors that happen to find themselves in any dire need of rescue. Noa Izumi is the main character of the series as he works in the second division of the Tokyo Police Special Vehicle Section, however the story arcs focus on the entire second division as a whole. The TV series has a different plot however; as division two combats a Schaft Enterprises Labor called the Type J9 Griffon.

The OVA has only seven episodes while the series has 47 in total. It’s even noted that this series was the inspiration behind the Hollywood blockbuster Pacific Rim, which is something that even we did know. (How about that? XP)

On that note that will do it for our first Throwback Thursday title of 2019, and it won’t be our last! Until next post guys and girls, stay nerdy! ๐Ÿ˜‰

The (Brief) History Of Magical Girls!

Aside D&A Anime Blog Anime, Filler Posts, Magical Girl Anime & Manga

Anime is such a vast medium that transcends all ages and all races with a wide variety of genres for just about any type of fan. If you’re into horror or sci-fi, we’ve got titles for that! If you love action with a little bit of comedy, romance, or ecchi, then there’s titles for that as well! These days anime is always changing as more and more elements from western influences, are being incorporated into many new titles that are being released. When it comes to anime as a whole, one particular genre has continued to stand the test of time. Although the demographic is originally created and intended for females, there are a few titles that are starting to crossover with both the male and female demographic (i.e. Magical Girl Ore). The subgenre that we’re talking about, is Magical Girls.

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We all know these famous girls!

To discover how far this genre of anime has come, you’d have to go back to the early 1950’s of Japan through that manga known as Princess Knight which was released in 1953. Of course a little later in the 60’s there was Sally the Witch which was a manga that got adapted into an anime, but here’s the fun fact about that; Sally the Witch was inspired by the Japanese dub of Bewitched (which came out around that decade in the U.S.) Fast forward towards the 80’s after the women’s movement in Japan a decade before (and the Equal Opportunities Act in 1985), the magical girl genre of anime appeared to be on the path of a resurgence thanks to the prominence of women during that time. By the time the 90’s rolled around the magical girl genre made a full revitalization through the one and only Sailor Moon, which is viewed as a pioneering title for all of the other magical girl titles that came out in the early-to-late 2000’s.

It wasn’t until a little after 2003 that the magical girl genre of anime, was geared towards both male and female audiences. Titles like Puella Magi Madoka Magica and Magical Girl Rising Project began taking on a darker and more serious approach as opposed to the childish plots found in older titles. Aside from magical girl titles becoming more popular (some of which getting re-dubs and reboots), there are a few magical “boy” titles where the main protagonist gains magical girl powers, and depending on the series said male character ends up cross-dressing as a magical girl. Titles like this would include Shugo Chara, Is This a Zombie?, and Magical Girl Ore.

It’s not just in Japan that the magical girl genre has made a home in the anime medium, but in western animated media, the ‘magical girl’ concept and elements (via transformation) can be found in various series such as The Winx Club and Miraculous. The genre as a whole has been getting a lot of traction since 2010, and with anime always changing and creators coming up with new ideas, the magical girl genre will continue to have that classic concept that fans know and love, with a more modern twist full of action and enhanced plots.

On that note, that will do it for our brief history of magical girls in anime and manga, but not to worry – there’s more filler posts to come!

Until next time! ๐Ÿ˜‰

American Anime Spotlight: RWBY

Aside D&A Anime Blog Anime, Filler Posts

It’s Monday night and we’re back with another exciting filler post! Last time we did a post about an American anime title we know growing up called Kappa Mikey from Nickelodeon. This time we’re back with another one that many fans know of, if you happen to be a fan of any projects/shows done buy the guys n’ girls at Rooster Teeth. (Famous for the Red vs. Blue series!) This one is heavily anime inspired; as it has gained major popularity throughout the community via Crunchyroll, as well as a manga series. Tonight we shine the American anime spotlight on a web series we like to call, RWBY!

For those of you who are veterans of the show (and have watched it all the way to its upcoming 6th season), you’re already aware of what to expect. For the ones who haven’t seen the series at all (and don’t want to be spoiled), we’ll give you the overview of what you’re in for once you decide to give it a shot.

The story is about four girls who have enrolled in Beacon Academy located in the kingdom of Vale; Ruby Rose, Weiss Schnee, Blake Belladonna, and Yang Xiao Long who is Ruby’s half-sister. Together they live in the world of Remnant composed of four kingdoms that happen to be plagued by the Creatures of Grimm, as mankind battled for survival against these monsters until the discovery of an element that helped them fight back called Dust. These four women train to become huntresses and guardians of Dust by the mysterious Ozpin, as they battle against the evil forces of Roman Torchwick and the terrorist organization known as White Fang, to prevent Dust from falling into their hands.

Due to the series being anime-influenced you’ll find some usual tropes and funny moments that you’d normally see in traditional anime; such as the ‘sweatdrop’ and ‘waterfall tears’. There’s also a lot of action and other good stuff in this series as well, so if that’s something you’re into or happen to be looking for, then give this title a shot!

Well, that’s it for this post, but as always we’ve got more to come right here on D&A Anime Blog! Until next time, be kind to one another and stay awesome! ๐Ÿ˜‰