the last of the airbenders

If you did not know, I am a huge fan of the animated series, "Avatar: The Last Airbender". It is such a well developed story and has very impressive art. So I was happy to hear that Shymalan is directing the film. I am not so keen on his writing the film as his last few attempts have left little to be desired. But it clear from the trailer that the look of the film will do the series justice. I want to see more bending to make sure it feels right but so far I am happy. 2010 can not come quick enough.

Wolverine and the X-Men

My little brother (hi Erich) and I used to watch Saturday morning cartoons. Instead of the "Smurfs" though we watched such personal classics as "Batman: The Animated Series", "Spider-Man", and "X-Men". He was the comic buff and I was the tv buff. Since then, our love of animation and anime has only grown to which this blog attests. He is still more of a lover of animation and I am still more of the lover of television but it works, even across our long distance.

Wow, sentimental gobblety gook aside, a new X-Men show has come to the playing field. "Wolverine and the X-Men" takes a slightly different twist; Professor X is not present. Something or someone attacked telepaths. It is not clear what happened directly after but both Prof. X and Jean Grey are lost. Rogue has defected to the Brotherhood and Emma Frost is working with Wolverine and the X-Men to defend mutants against the mutant registration act. Prof. X does show up in the doomed future doing his best to give the X-Men in the present guidance to prevent that doom.

The show does a good job of mixing main characters and side characters. My love, Gambit, shows up in the fifth episode all cajun and badass. Emma is a nice change and Scott is less whiny than usual, though not much. The art is good, the music not as good. I have never heard of the composer, Dean Grinsfelder but it has some potential, it is very orchestral. I have seen the first twelve episodes, only three have aired in the states. I await the return of the Phoenix but while I do so, it is fun to watch loads of infamous Marvel characters make their appearance.

Avatar returns and then ends

How excited am I that Avatar: The Last Airbender returns this week?  A week long run of new episodes every day with a two hour finale on Saturday.  Well, since this is it, the end of Avatar, my excitement has no bounds.  Though, I typically get too excited and my anticipation outweighs the actual product.  But because it is Avatar, I am hoping that is not the case this time.  Make sure you watch Nickelodeon this week!

How do you say airbender in French?

In learning a language it is necessary to have both written and audial exercises. To practice my French, I have been listening to Harry Potter and some podcasts on the web. As much as I love Harry, I have been absorbed in his story for ten years now. And the podcasts, while interesting, just do not keep me that interested.

Providentially, I was watching my "Avatar: The Last Airbender" DVD sets, listening to commentaries and savoring the art and story that never ceases to amaze me. While doing this, I found that the series is dubbed in French and the voices are fantastic, very close to the originals. Furthermore, they match the animation closely which is interesting given that the English is recorded prior to the animation. This means the French was probably ADR and the voice actors did a great job of it. Now I have something to keep me interested and get lots of French exposure. Incidentally, "Firefly" is also dubbed in French.

FYI, the last airbender translates to le dernier maître de l'air in French.

Batmanime

I have always been a Batman fan because he is all broody and dark. "The Batman", the animated series never pulled me as much because he is a bit lighter and happier. Without much advertisement, another Batman hits the market in July. This time it goes the way of AniMatrix and moves directly to DVD. Take a look at the fantastic anime influenced trailer. This is definitely already on my netflix list.

gambit, thank goodness

For a minute I was disappointed but he showed up if only briefly. It is a fairly substantial trailer even though the art is slight and the movie tie in is evident.

now it is July 14, baby

Can I just say... Aang bending fire.

say it isn't so

No Avatar until June 2008 in the USA. That's right, folks. At the NY Comic Con, the final trailer for the third and last season of Avatar: The Last Airbender informed that it will not air in the US until June 2008 even though Volume 3 of Book 3 DVD set will be released prior.

On a similar note, the live action movie release, directed by M. Night Shyamalan now titled The Last Airbender so as not to conflict with James Cameron's future release of Avatar, is set for July 2, 2010.

avatar's end title music

Whenever I catch "Avatar: The Last Airbender" on television, I watch all the way until the end. Nickelodeon is good at playing the credits without voice overlay and you can hear the end title music in all its glory. I got tired of waiting for them to show the latest episodes so after downloading I was ecstatic to hear that very music in the newest Avatar episode. Aang learns about firebending and that theme plays a major role in the episode. This show just gets better and better. Hurry up already with the new episodes!

cloning in 3D

Speaking of Star Wars, the 3D CGI animated series "Clone Wars" is scheduled to premiere at the end of 2008 after a feature film lead in on August 15. The trailer peaks my interest with its action sequences and gritty characters. This is not the sleek and shiny animated shorts that kept me entertained between sagas but has more weight, more depth. Not much is known about the film release but the series has a pretty good trailer.

http://www.starwars.com/video/view/000478.html

Persepolis (2007)

I do not know Marhane Satrapi, the Iranian born, French educated graphic novelist and children's author. Her work looks amazing though and this film has already won several film awards including being nominated for the Golden Palm at the 2007 Cannes Film Festival. It opened Christmas day in the US with limited screenings. So far, I have not heard whether it will expand but it is on my Netflix list already. Make sure you at least watch the trailer.

imdb link

where's the fire?

Now that the first ten episodes have aired on Nickelodeon, the third and last season of "Avatar: The Last Airbender" is in full swing. I have not been ecstatic about the Fire Book but there have been exceptional episodes and still makes me laugh out loud. But Aang and gang are alone in the fire nation and their powers and friendship are growing. Now Aang, the Avatar, has returned and I sincerely hope that he learns some firebending soon because both Azula and Firelord Ozai are very powerful and manipulative. I will not spoil anything for those reading but I was happy with the other fire nation characters in The Day of the Black Sun. I am eager to see it all play out.

Life goes on

I have not blogged in a while. However, when I tried to pick something to blog about, I found there was a lot going on in my life. There was the whole trip to Italy where I spent a day in Venice and a day in Milan. Oh, and there was the work part of the trip too. Perfect weather and perfect food culminated for a rather perfect trip. Then there is the matter of playing Doom 3 on my Xbox 360. Oh how it reminds me of the good days when my brother and I would play for hours in front of the computer. I have to admit that I had low expectations of the game but am enjoying it immensely. ID has done a wonderful job of updating the demons and story for a scarier, most excellent first person shooter but never sacrificing what made it a great game in the first place. I wish my brother was around to experience the multiplayer. Then there was the series premiere of Avatar: The Last Airbender Book 3. The first episode of the most anticipated season of fire bending was a little less than fantastic but the second was back to its old form, hilarity with magnificent heart. Was there ever a funnier brother than Sokka or a more tortured character than Zuko? Please someone start watching this show so I can share the love. Nevermind that the Buckeyes are kicking butt, that Beckham will continue to be on the disabled list until the end of the season, or that hockey starts today. I will not blog about the premiere of the 2007 Fall TV season of which nothing has sparked intense feelings as yet. I will not speak about my excitement at seeing the Macy's Day Parade in New York City this year. No the one thing in my life which seems to have made the most impact is that two of the only people I knew when I moved to Austin are now moving away. In this time of an unsteady job and a more unsteady life, it saddens me to lose two good friends. Something like that makes you realize that life is short and friends are scarce. Make sure you appreciate the ones you have.

It isn't easy being green

No, not Kermit but the irrevocable Green Arrow. It just so happens as I was watching Justice League Unlimited on DVD, courtesy of your friendly neighborhood Netflix, Smallville had a run of Oliver Queen episodes. The Smallville version of the Green Arrow was fun, if not a bit cheesy. He did a bang up job of wooing Lois Lane, getting Clark to climb out of that Lana funk and finally bring down the ever darkening Lex Luthor lab. Lex's patriotic speech gave me warm fuzzies to think of his potential presidential run. Oliver was charming and good looking but the outfit was a bit much for a Superman show with no tights. The last episode with a would be-Flash and Aquaman tried for a Justice League feel but the writing just was not there. I do want to say the slow motion group coming out of the fog thing was a nice touch.

Justice League Unlimted (JLU), on the other hand, has all the writing and character depth of a high class dramatic series. Personal storylines of heroes has become a favorite genre of mine which probably stems from my love of anime. There is nothing like angst to draw out the fan girl in me. The Green Arrow on JLU does not have a lot of angst but loves to voice his opinion as he shoots those loaded arrows with insane accuracy. He has the wit of Flash (another favorite character of mine) with the idealism of Batman, of whom there is no equal. A man with no super powers, the JLU Oliver Queen ends up being one of the most powerful characters on the show, cutting the original Justice League to their knees. What a guy. How can you not love him?

Afro Samurai

Set in a futuristic fuedal Japan, Afro Samurai is an animated series showing on SpikeTV of all places. After one episode, I am happy with the story, characters, and animation. I plan to continue watching.

Afro Samurai episode 1

Avatar Book Two: Earth

I ended up watching the season finale of Avatar: The Last Airbender without knowing it. And things did not end well for Aang and the gang. It is horrible that we have to wait until July for its return. I suggest once again to catch this show on Nickelodeon. It is completely worth the time for its excellent fights, intriguing characters and riotous one liners!

Welcome back, Appa

Yes, Appa is back. Appa is a six legged, 102 year old flying bison on the animated series, Avatar: The Last Airbender. Avatar is a charming show with fully developed characters, intriguing plot, and witty writing. It combines, like many series involving magic, the four powers of earth, air, water, and fire. Aang, the main character and best friend of Appa, is the avatar, the one person who has the ability to control all four. Of coures, he only knows air, water, and now a little earth bending. The fire bending nation, is the enemy and Zuko, the prince of the nation is now an outsider and coming to life as his own person. It is fun to watch. My favorite, along with Appa, is Sokka, who has no powers. He is the life of the party, always after the girls, and continues to make me laugh. This show and W.I.T.C.H., another show about the four powers, are some of the best animated television currently airing in the United States. I am baffled by the amount of animated shows I watch compared with live action TV. It has to be thirty percent. Who knew?

Halloween Galactica

I am not a fan of Halloween. It is way too difficult to figure out what to dress as and me and candy are a dangerous combination. Plus the TV becomes swamped with horror flicks, most of them so stupid that it is better just to turn off the tube for a while. So, glad it's over this year. But while I do not enjoy pictures of those dreadful pumpkin carvings or kids/adults in costumes, this toon is all it took to wash it all away. If you are not a Battlestar Galactica fan, become one. And if you are, this one will keep you laughing for at least a day.

Speaking of super heros

How much do I miss Teen Titans?

More than anyone knows.

Leaps for justice

I came into Justice League and Justice League Unlimited pretty late. Although, a fairly decent DC comics fan and a huge Batman: The Animated Series fanatic, I guess JL and JLU went over my head went it first appeared. Over the years, DVDs have been released with non sequential episodes but never has a full season been released until now. After watching an animated series from the beginning and in the order it was meant to be seen, I can not believe I missed this glorious series. Lovely animation with all that super hero goodness, not to mention the personal story lines and just plain fun dialog. It will never get old and I believe this series is a close second to Batman: The Animated Series. It was sad to hear that it is ending its six year run in three weeks.