I could be working at Anime Boston next year

…Consider this advance warning.

I’ve been a panelist for four years now. Applying for a staff position just feels like the logical next step. A huge perk that goes with being a panelist is getting the registration fee refunded to you in the form of a check. Speaking of which, I got my $50 in the mail back last weekend XD

A huge perk that goes with being a staff member is a free hotel room. Oh, and a free T-Shirt, too. Can’t forget about those T-Shirts!

I have applied to the following positions in order of my interest level:

• Programming Operations: I’ve often talked about wanting to change things from the top down. This time, I’m applying for a position so I can actully do this =O
• Blog Reporter: Self-Explanatory. I see no further reason to comment. LOL.

Oh and yes, I will still do my panels at the same time.

I’m hopeful I get one or both positions but even if I don’t, no hard feelings. next year’s Anime Boston is going to be special. I will talk a bit about the panels I plan to do again sometime in November.

 

 

The Attack on Titan story post-Anime

…This is a fairly accurate sneak peek at what happens when Eren (in titan form) and the Armored Titan meet outside Wall Maria in Volume 10 of the Manga.

To those who have only seen the Anime, you owe it to yourself to read the Manga starting with Volume 9, which picks up where the Anime leaves off (The first 8 span the Anime in case you’re wondering). The way the Anime in its current form abruptly ends, you know it will be continued maybe two years from now in Japan ala Sword Art Online II.

I just picked up Volume 13 yesterday myself. Here’s a couple big things that happen based on what I’ve read in Volumes 9 through 12:

• More soldiers with the ability to become Titans are revealed. The human counterparts of the Armored Titan and the Colossal Titan are revealed to be traitors and hail from the same region as Annie, the female Titan taken down by the Survey Corps and the Garrison Corps (with help from Eren in Titan form). Like Annie, they are also after Eren for reasons yet to be fully revealed.
• Ymir (though I’ve seen others spell her name “Amir” online) is revealed in Volume 9 to have the ability to transform into a small fast Titan. Ymir is a close friend of Krista Weiss (not her real name, more on this is a moment) but in Volumes 11 and 12 it’s hard to twll where her loyalties lie. Finally, Ymir reveals to Eren she was trapped in Titan form for over 60 years. Titans and humans who can become Titans possess remarkable healing powers, making Ymir the oldest person in the series so far.
• The aforementioned Krista Weiss is reeally Historia Lenz, the illigitimate child of a prominent family am0ng the Wallists. She reveals her true name to Ymir when they were working together during a mission on a mountain a few years earlier to demonstrate her trust in her judgement. It’s not yet known what role Krista/Historia has to play but with hints Eren’s Dad may not be the only only who knows about the Titans’ mysterious origins, you can be sure it will be important.
• Commander Erwin loses his right arm to a Titan during the mission to get Eren back from the Colossal and Armored Titans.
• Eren encounters the Titan that killed his mother again (!).

…Again, the story is still ongoing.

 

I’ll have to wait until at least November 4 for Volume 14. New volumes are released every 3 to 4 months so…yeah. I’m fine with that since Naruto and Bleach volumes are released at the same pace. This translates to roughly 3 to 4 volumes a year and unlike some folks I know, I prefer to read my Manga in paperback as originally intended.

 

 

 

 

Review: Fullmetal Alchemist (Manga)

 

Within a year’s time, I have collected all 27 volumes.

…As of this weekend I have also finished reading all 27 volumes.

For the third time 18 months, I have completed an entire Manga set. The first was Code Geass last year while Death Note was the second earlier this year. The legendary franchise earned its spot in Anime history over 10 years ago when the Anime was first released (first in Japaan and then in the U.S.). The Manga’s storyline was the basis for the more recent Anime adaptation Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood.

Havimg read the Manga after warching FMA:B in full, I came to appreciate both mediums a whole lot more:

• I might have missed the episode it happens in but Heinkel kills Kimbley in a surprise ambush and Pride later eats his corpse. I knew Kimbley stops Pride from escaping from Ed during their fight later on but I couldn’t remember how he ended up inside Pride.
• It’s never actually stated what Armstrong’s “disgrace” was in FMA:B.  This detail is revealed in the Manga: Armstrong questions his orders during the war in Ishval and later lets some Ishvalans escape. Moments later, the citizens he let go are gunned down by Amestrian soldiers. He is branded a coward and a weakling by his superiors and his sister Olivier.
• Speaking of General Armstrong: The Manga confirms she is Louis’ oldest sister. Elizabeth (who appears in both the Manga and FMA:B) is the youngest followed by Louis, two unnamed sisters and then Olivier.
• Father’s monologue after the final battle doesn’t happen in the Manga but The Truth has a much longer monologue when it’s confronted by him on the other side.
• Speaking of The Truth: The Manga does a slightly better job of pointing out The Truth mirrors whoever appears before it. Ed, who opens the portal three times (the first time as a kid, the second time while inside Gluttony and the final time to get Al) figured it out after he and Al figure out how Al’s soul can survive without his physical body for so long. This is the reason he says to The Truth in the Anime “Who needs Alchemy when I’ve got them?” The Portal of Truth is what allows an Alchemist to transmute even though with a few exceptions, they will never see it with their own eyes.
• By chosing to give up Alchemy itself, Ed did what the Dwarf in the Flask couldn’t and realized Alchemity itself was the root cause of his and Al’s troubles. The Dwarf only saw it as a means of becoming a God.
• It’s interesting to note the Manga reveals Olivier has her troops smuggle Scar away from Central after the final battle. This explains why he’s shown in the Armstrong Mansion in the final episode.
• In the Anime, Mustang and Dr. Marcoh use a Philosipher’s Stone to fix Havoc’s spine, allowing him the use of his legs again. In the Manga, Havoc is shown undergoing some intense rehab to regain the use of his legs.
• Hoenheim explains in the Manga as he activates the Reverse Transmutation Circle even if a person’s soul is ripped from their body, as long as the body is still capable of housing it, body and soul will automatically be drawn to each other like a magnet. This explains why Barry the Chopper’s body followed him to the end, why Al blacked out in Briggs and why all of the souls of Amestris taken by Father returned to their original bodies. In the Anime it’s suggested the souls of the Xerxes Citizens that triggered the Reverse Transmutation Circle also returned them to their rightful bodies.
• Hoenheim was about 35 years old at the time of the destruction of Xerxes. It’s suggested the over 500,000 souls in his body were added to his lifespan. 350 years pass from the time of Xerxes to the births of Ed and Al. We know from the deaths of the Homunculi each time they’re “killed”, they lose one of the philosipher’s stones that keep them alive. In the Manga, Hoenheim states after Father is defeated only his soul remained. He burned through the others during the course of the battle. Based on that, it’s no hard to understand why his body decayed so quickly. At 400 years old, he far exceeded a normal human lifespan!

Overall, I give the Manga a 10/10. A solid storyline and it’s a must-read for fans of anything FMA. I’m even considering cosplaying as an Amestrian Soldier at Anime Boston 2015. If not FMA then possibly the Survey Corps from Attack on Titan. Hmm…