"Vampire Sneeze!"

"Back in Black"
For once, I really have no idea what to say about an episode. Yes they butchered the comic book lore by making Harry Osborne into Venom, yes some of the scripting was messy and yes the moral stance was flimsy at best. But really, what else do you expect at this point?

I've been over this already, it is no longer frustrating or surprising that the writers care very little about being faithful to the source materiel because it is what I've come to expect. The characters seem too far shallow for me to care and the entire core motto of Peter Parker falls completely on deaf ears because of the hypercritical and inconsistent writing. I could go on how the show's tone is like a freaking roller-coaster or how the show demographic audience is confusing to no end. I kind of sad that I've come to the point where I just don't care about the characters from source material I love, which is frankly depressing.

I fully aware that this review has been written halfheartedly, but I just don't have it in me to dig any deeper.

In any case, this show seems to have reached a point where I can finally put my opinion in stone.
It's mediocre at best....in my opinion

Next Week:.....stuff happens.

Your weekly BUZZ is here - Hosts Chuck Duran and Stacey J. Aswad interview creators of VOICE Convention and respected VO teachers, James Alburger and Penny Abshire!
View it now at VOBuzzWeekly! Part 1 of 2.

Ultimate Spider-man #7 – Exclusive, Exclusively from Me to You

A Review by Kumori Myu-Jishan

Seven episodes into the show, and already we’ve established certain facts. Peter Parker is an arrogant little sod with about as much personality as a loincloth, and of equally many uses. Each and every member of his team is misrepresented and not done justice; Ava is an irritating chiqua that apparently has the power to push away entire scores of audiences away from the screen, Sam is an ass just because being an ass is…well, an ass thing to do, Luke barely ever does anything worthwhile, and Danny can’t even get the screen time he deserves. We’ve also established that the ACTUAL supporting cast of Spidey is window-dressing at best.

Which is why the subplot of this episode was pleasant to look at. We have an MJ-centric twenty-something minutes of pure red-headed bravery and reporter-ish independence. We also have Spidey’s annoyance toned down to a minimum [thus far, and when compared to the first six]. And for at least three short moments the visual humor is actually funny [the highlight being the Stan Lee car moment].

Hulk was…well, not all that incredible. As powerful as Hulk usually is/supposed to be, this one felt like a limping duck hurling pebbles clumsily with its fractured beak. As awesome as it is to hear Fred Tatasciore hulking it up, this particular green giant had no charm nor charisma, not the Hulk-kind, anyway. The same can be said about the episode’s villain. Zzzax can only be about as interesting as watching toenails grow, so this author believes that giving him a whole episode was not the brightest of moves.

So, basically not much to add here. Some moments [mainly with MJ] were okay, some were a pain to watch. An overall 6 out of 10; again, I’m being generous.

By Kumori Myu-Jishan, May 8, 2012, Armageddon Year

"Hulk like Bugman!"


"Exclusive"

If you have read any of my previous ramblings on Ultimate Spider-man, you can see my large and growing number of complaints and or frustrations with the show. It often varies episode to episode, examples being the complete misinterpretation of Spider-Man as a character or the lore in general, the constant tonal shifts to the sitcom level character development and extremely forced cutaway gags. However, like I said in my previous review, I always try to maintain an unbiased and open minded opinion with every installment. While previous episodes have all over the board in quality, I wouldn't consider any of them to be particularly or even remotely good.

That is not the case this week.

This episode presents us with a gimmick that has practically become it's own sub-genre, more specifically it chronicles MJ's attempt at entering a Daily Bugle contest, which propositions the public to bring them a scoop involving The Web Slinger. Naturally, MJ has decided to interview Spider-Man since he apparently goes to her school.

Now while it is very hard to deny that the found footage aspect of the episode is gimmick, the show actually use it achieve a real sense of urgency and scale to the proceedings. It also gives us your first chance to really get to know this version of Mary Jane while she attempts to film the Hulk destroying New York. With this premise, a lot of the cutaway and sight gags are swept under the rug, which I argue is of great benefit to the episode. Although most of the substitute humor feel out of place and distracting. Also the script never really tries to explain some of the plot devises, namely "How did MJ get an interview with Spider-Man?" we can assume, but it is never specified.

Tara Strong deserves some praise for carrying a majority of the episode with ease and being one of the few performances I actually wholehearted approve of.

I'm hoping this episode is not an anomaly this season and that the trend continues, but I can't help worrying I'm wrong.

Next Week: Venom Returns.

View it now at VO Buzz Weekly!

Here's a video interview, from 2008, with Ian Harrowell, whom Disney fans may know as an overseas animator/director for Walt Disney Australia on their TV shows and direct-to-video films. (though he shared duties with Chris Bradley)

Harrowell and his Australia team did fantastic work on the TV shows of the time, and it's interesting to hear what Pooh character he relates to the most. It's also interesting to hear him share his faith, and I was nodding in agreement on his views of Jesus's parables.

Sadly, like many animation directors, recent projects he's been involved in (such as the clips shown towards the end of the interview) haven't been as high of budget as during the '80s and '90s. Blame the economy, I guess. Maybe someday we'll get as high of quality as we had a couple decades ago.

http://www.nicovideo.jp/watch/sm17650721

YouTube English Subtitles:


Song and Lyrics ：さつき が てんこもり http://www.nicovideo.jp/mylist/6362441
Illustrations：林健太郎 http://miku-yj.net/
Flash Video Creation： ポエ山 http://www.poeyama.com/
Choreography：めろちん http://ameblo.jp/melomelochin7
Other Illustration Work: えびら http://ruvie.blog86.fc2.com/
Producer/Supervisior： 四次元Ｐ http://mikumix.com/

This interesting video is a fun (and a bit twisted with the protagonist being the ones invading earth) tribute to shoot-em-up with a catchy beat. This is the third full video that I know of that MikuMix has released: the other two are LoL - Lots of Laugh (Eng, sub) and Once Upon a Me (Eng. Sub).
The group that did the flash in this video also makes a Golgo 13 parody series which has gone on for over 10 years which makes a cameo in this video. I remember seeing some the earlier episodes years ago; wish they were subbed.

And so the constant back and forth as to weather I loath or mildly dislike Ultimate Spider-Man continues.


"Why I Hate Gym"

I never want mock while reviewing USM, not because I don't want to, but because I feel that once I do all people will see from then on will be my bias and predisposed discontempt. I want you to listen to what I try to maintain a constructively objective opinion. I also do not desire to fall into the perceived "ranting fanboy" category and dismissed altogether.

I make it a point bring up aspects of an episode I actually thought worked in term of plot elements, character development, faithfulness to the source material and so on. So when I say that the premise of this episode had great potential and could have worked wonders for Peter's character and his home life, I genuinely mean it.

The prospect of a villain infiltrating Peter's school and posing as a substitute teacher (in this case a Gym Coach) to weed out potential candidates to deduce Spider-Man civilian identity is not only an idea worth exploring, but one that deserves good execution and payoff. The implications and possible ramifications
are enormous, and it completely justifies Peter's life long charade as a weakling to protect his family and friends.

And therein lies the rub.

We've barely gotten acquainted with this show's version of Mary Jane, Peter doesn't seem like friends with any of his teammates and his relationship with Aunt May is, bluntly put, non-existent. And I'm fairly sure that last point is hard to argue as well, she has appeared in a few throw away gags in the cutaway scenes and in the background on the odd occasion Peter is actually at home, which so far has been all of once. You can't establish a relationship, let alone play off it with this little development. Which leads me to my second assertion.

The tone.

The cutaway gags seem to want a playful and lighthearted tone. Which is all well and good, I have nothing against that as long as they stick to it. But then episodes like this have Taskmaster with that booming and menacing voice, threatening to kill everyone Peter cares for unless he joins him. And yet five minutes prior we had him doing star jumps for a background gag. It doesn't work.
You can't have your cake and eat it too. It hinders the comedy and destroys all the tension for anything dramatic. Leaving this great concept criminally under utilised.

Watch Episode 17 at VO Buzz Weekly!

Ultimate Spider-Man Episode #6 – Why I Hate the Gym, or Why One Might Hate This

A Review by Kumori Myu-Jishan

Well, after the Iron Spider pleasantry, we get another below average episode here, but with some shades of good.
Let’s start with the bad, as per usual. The visual gags are still a pain, and the humor seems to have set the bar of Dumb on a new low. Also, some of the animation/models were less than satisfactory to gaze at.
But surprisingly, there were good points to this episode, and quite a few of them. A trend initiated by the Iron Spider, which I hope will continue.
To start off, Spidey and Tiger working together made for a good, decent team-up, despite Ava being a wench and Peter being as irritating as ever. More on that later.
Taskmaster is next. And oh man, this Taskmaster rocks! Not so much in the beginning [Seriously? A spring-trap under the stadium?], but when he pulls a punch and holds the two by their nigh-ended tethers, he’s as commandeering as ever. And segnor Brown made sure his voice was badass enough to pull this episode out of the pool of rottenness which the first four swim in. His calculating mind, accompanied with his manipulative banter directed either at the heroes or at Octopus, all of this made him the Taskmaster the fans might not fully want, but that they would like back for at least one more appearance.
That said, the fight sequences were the best the series had thus far. The only setback? Why, oh why did Heroes for Hire get used as dunces here? Power Man stuck in a tire? Danny Rand beaten within six seconds of battle? Come on! Learn from Earth’s Mightiest Heroes, why don’t you?
Erm, the battles, yeah. The best one among them, the pinnacle of the episode, was the one in the gym, with the lights out and Tasky’s eyes shining menacingly as his limbs clash with the limbs of the hot Latina and the annoying Nerd. Him beaten was one of those defeats I could stomach. I was even glad he lost, for it only made his interest in the Team grow [and gave us a cool frontal face shot of the villain as he plots further].

This is where the review ends. The overall mark? 7 out of 10. The missing three points are my generous way of saying this show still has major flaws. The big seven are for Taskmaster. He deserved them.

By Kumori Myu-Jishan, April 30, 2012, Armageddon Year

Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes
Season Two, Episode #5: To Steal an Ant-Man

A Review by Kumori Myu-Jishan

Oh my God, oh my God, oh my God!!

[Squeakiness galore]

Okay, now that we have the unprofessional moment out of the way, let’s get on with the review of the latest Avengers episode. Or rather, a full-fledged Heroes for Hire backdoor pilot without as much as trying.
Naturally, the return of Hank Pym was a beautiful moment, and his ever cracking relationship with Wasp just got a whole lot heavier. I nearly chocked when the two spoke on-screen. The drama just continues down the episode.
But let’s focus on the new blood, shall we? Scott Lang: the.perfect.introduction. Hands down, this was one of the smoothest ever handled team acquisitions as of yet [save for Hawkeye’s, perhaps]. And Crispin Freeman delivered so well, too. His dramatic moments were indeed heavy, and the further the episode goes, you just want him to succeed, just yearn for him to fully take the Ant-Man mantle and deliver the scene like the one where Crossfire is cornered by both Ant-men, one out of costume and one in it. Naturally, the fan-favorite moment here is Cassie saying to Scott “Can we do that again?” in a foreshadowy manner.

Oh, who am I damned kidding? The fan-favorite moments, plural, are about to get a full few passages of textage. Sweet Christmass!

So, Power Man and Iron Fist. Luke Cage and Danny Rand. Christopher B. Duncan and Loren Lester. The ever-so-popular, rarely-unawesome Heroes for Hire, whose animated series now every self-respecting fan wants and frankly needs. The one-minute preview clip – replayed over fifty times by yours truly – was more than enough to give us the sheer massiveness of the duo. But this episode nailed them down in the viewers eyes so hard that they deserve to stay nailed and at least seventeen more hours of screentime. The action, the banter, the punches, the jokes, the puns, the chemistry, the result – all of this pure Heroes for Hire, all of this pure Marvel, and all of this so, so much more than a mere kids’ show episode. Their battle with Crossfire’s goons was the toughest AEMH battle thus far. Tougher than anything their Ultimate Spidey counterparts pulled.
And now comes the comparison. As much as I enjoy [yes, I sort of do, actually] the Danny and Luke of Spidey’s new animated universe, they can’t even deliver hors d’oeuvres to their Earth’s Mightiest counterparts. This particular Luke has his street edge. This particular Danny has his K’un L’un training as sharp as a surgeon’s scalpel. And these here Luke and Danny need not compete for screentime like their teenage doppelgangers. They command screentime whenever they appear.
The costumes also fit. As did their movements during fights. But what fit the most was the banter between the two. Allow me to provide some examples, risking a spoiler in advance:

“Did you really have to bend him like that?”;

“He caught me off guard. I was powerless!”
“Yeah. Sure, Luke.”;

“For someone claiming not to be a superhero, you do fairly good work. Want a job?”;

“Yeah, we’re Avengers. I’m Captain America. My friend in the pajamas is Thor. Now hand over that girl or we’ll avenge you upside your head.”;

And many, many more.
Overall? This episode is the best thus far. With its tense moments, its simplicity, its adult approach and humor without match, this episode, in this author’s opinion, outshines any other episode from both seasons. Up to this point, of course.
And as a bonus finisher, a speculation. When Luke shout-asks “Hey, Pym, whom do we talk to about our bill?”, I can’t help but feel that the answer is “See Tony Stark and name your price, and he’ll match it and double, if not triple it,” followed by Hank’s signature smirk.
Can’t wait for the next episode, the next chapter in this wild-ride of Marvel awesomeness.

By Kumori Myu-Jishan, April 30, 2012, Armageddon Year

Doggy has a few things to say about one of the few actual GOOD cartoons on television.

The voting process for May's Anime of the Month has now started. There are six (6) titles to choose from. You will have until Wednesday afternoon at 3:28pm EST to make your choice.

To cast your vote, please visit the link below:
http://www.toonzone.net/forums/showthread.php?294077

Good luck!

Time to add a little BUZZ to your day! Please check out our interviews with Jess Harnell, Scott Rummell, Nancy Cartwright, Joe Cipriano, Jim Cummings, Rob Paulsen, Scott Brick and Tara Strong. More cool stuff to come!!