Ah, Star Blazers... You gave me hours of entertainment every morning as a child, and you taught me animation could do more than just portray the rivalries of anthropomorphic animals. It would be many years later before I learned about the source material Space Battleship Yamato. Under any name, I have a nostalgic soft spot for the series and was curious how well the 2010 live-action film would manage to capture the epic story to save planet Earth in just over two hours.

For those unfamiliar with the story (for shame!), the Earth has come under attack by the Gamilas, a mysterious alien race. They bombard the surface, scorching it with radiation and driving humanity underground. The last hope to save Earth is a mysterious message from Iscandar promising a decontamination device and including plans for a warp engine and wave motion gun. The battleship Yamato and its crew launches for one final, desperate mission. The film does an excellent job of setting this premise up while introducing us to the crew of the Yamato.

Once the formalities of introduction are over, the focus is on the battle to get to Iscandar and back in time. There is little room for significant character development, but there are some decent but predictable moments where the characters can assert a unique personality. The special effects for the space battles were better than expected and felt close to recent US television productions. The interior sets though felt too sparse and lifeless; they reminded me of the early '70s British sci-fi shows rather than a modern production.

Yamato is an entertaining encapsulation of the original story. The space battles are mesmerizing, but there is not much beyond that eye candy that merits a repeat view.

I had planned on writing up a review at the midpoint of the series, but episode twelve of Macross 7 ended on a decent cliffhanger to merit a "quarter way there" review. Over the years, I had read mixed reviews of this particular entry in the Macross universe; no one seemed to particularly like it or hate it. However, I was always curious to see how it would strike me.

Macross 7 picks up decades after the original war with the Zentradi ended; the two races are now hurtling through space in city ships that make the original Macross cruiser look diminutive. City 7 boasts two heroes from the original story; Max is the commander of the military, while Miria is the mayor. However, the focus is on their daughter Mylene and the members of the band Fire Bomber.

The mysterious threat this time is a group of aliens after "Spiritia". This is extracted from life forms via green lasers and leaves the victim alive but unmoving. Combating this threat is Nekki Basara, lead singer of Fire Bomber. He pilots an unusual Valkyrie that shoots speakers into enemy ships. He is looking to harness the power of song to stop all fighting.

I generally gauge how well a series is engaging me by the questions I have between episodes. A good series has me wondering what is around the next turn. Macross 7 has my wondering two things. Will Veffidas ever speak? (Yes, briefly) And will the flower girl ever give her bouquet to Basara? (Not yet, and I'm not ruling out tha the flowers are for someone else in Fire Bomber). There is currently too much repetition in the episodes to really grab my interest.

The enemy appears; Basara flies out and sings the same three songs over and over. Mylene gets annoyed with Basara and his antics. Veffidas drums over everything. What made the original Macross enjoyable was the human story it told in between the battles. They were people trying to live a normal life under highly abnormal circumstances. Macross 7 lacks that touch; they are people waiting for the latest plot device to fly and sing.

There is one interesting plot point that comes close though. Max and Miria's marriage has come undone. While it is not public yet, they are separated and heading to a divorce. It is intriguing to see this play out, as their jobs require them to work together to protect the people.

There is still plenty of show to watch, and episode twelve did take an interesting turn. We will see if the derides can pick up steam and make me care about something other than a taciturn drummer and a bouquet of flowers.

If you follow tech news at all, you've seen countless headlines about the latest entry into the social network space, Google+. A friend of mine passed along an invite, and I spent some time tinkering with it. While it is certainly is better than some of Google's previous social efforts, there's only one feature, one I've yet to use, that would really drive me to use this over the other existing tools, platforms, etc. -- the big gorilla of those being Facebook. Others have eloquently stated that one of the main hurdles Google faces is getting people to migrate all their existing photos, networks, and relationships to their service.

Why am I saying "meh" to the service right now? It boils down to a shocking lack of integration with other Google products. My friend has pointed out that they will likely fix these complaints of mine, but my retort is that they should have been in from the start. My major gripe is the lack of integration with Google Reader. Reader has buttons to "Share" and "Like" news items you are reading. Once my G+ account is activated, why aren't these buttons connected to the G+ stream/circles service? And where is the +1 button for news posts?

The same goes for YouTube; you can search for YouTube videos from the G+ "add video" feature. But where is the reverse on the YouTube site? If I'm watching a video there, why can I not immediately send it to my Circles? They could have really locked people into using their full suite of products from the start. Instead, I still have to manage a number of different points of sharing. Still have to cut and paste links into different services to make sure all my networks are seeing things.

Meh, I'll wait and see if enough people I know migrate over and really use the system before I get excited.

Kaleido Star Season 1 Complete Collection
Full Review

In Summary:

The first season of Kaleido Star is a captivating story about pursuing one's dream. While predictable, it distinguished itself by avoiding most of the stereotypes and clichés seen in similar titles. It took a great cast of characters and built them into a close knit family of performers that you simply just had to watch and cheer for. The "Legendary Great Maneuver" finalé provides an amazing yet bittersweet ending that will have you transfixed with anticipation. Funimation gives you one more chance to pick up this modern classic; don't miss it. One of my very favorite and highly recommended titles.

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Buy it at Amazon.com

Kaleido Star Season 2 + OVAs DVD Complete Collection
Full Review

In Summary:

The second season of Kaleido Star equals its initial season and continues weaving a captivating story about pursuing one's dream. Where the first season built the cast into a family, the second season builds Sora into a strong, independent woman who knows what she wants to be on stage. Watching her take this journey is worth every minute. Funimation gives you one more chance to pick up this modern classic; don't miss it. One of my very favorite and highly recommended titles.

Buy it at RightStuf.com
Buy it at Amazon.com

Another year means another Anime Boston. Jm gave me a pass from the daughter duties to head in for Friday, as there was only one reason to go this year. Why? Well, we'll get to that in a minute...

Spot on Thematically

Over the past few years, Anime Boston has organized events around a theme; they were particularly clever this year by choosing music as the them allowing them to borrow a famous Spinal Tap quote. This year and theme allowed them to introduce a number of Japanese bands to the US audience beyond the popular theme song most know them for.

The one musician I was excited to see was Mari Iijima; most older fans know her as the voice of Lynn Minmay, one of the most iconic figures in anime. Despite a role that rocketed her to stardom, she focused on her music after that and produces her own albums in LA now. Having followed her YouTube channel, I had seen clips of her live performances and was eager to hear her live.

One day only

The initial schedule had her autograph sessions, concert, and panel spread out over Friday and Saturday. This made scheduling time between the con and helping Jm with our bundle of fury a bit difficult. However, the few days leading up to the con saw the schedule shift everything to Friday. Unfortunately, Mari's pet bunny was ill, causing her to reschedule everything to make the con for only that Friday. It is odd how fate can be a bit cruel to one but kind to another. While it meant that Jm would be alone all day, it also meant I only had to spend one day at the con; there simply was nothing else on the schedule I was eager to see.

Friday arrived, and the T gods blessed me with immediate and swift trains allowing me to get into town and pick up my badge with plenty of time before Mari's panel at noon. Wandered the halls a bit checking out the cosplay and seeing what would be the popular trend. Remarkably, there seemed to be no noticeable trend; people were decked out in a wide variety of costumes from shows new and old. There was even someone dressed as Darkwing Duck. Why? I have no earthly idea...

Hello, I'm Mari Iijima

Noon finally rolled around, and I got a good seat for Mari's panel. Wasn't difficult to do; turn out was light but decent. Mari even joked about it a bit and said that she actually once did an appearance where no one showed up. I think that sums up what makes her so charming, her candidness. She said that she did not mind talking about Minmay, especially where she was at an event where that is what she is known for.

However, she did express that it is frustrating for her at times; she is musician and has been since she began playing piano at three. She feels like she is always introducing herself; "Hello, I'm Mari Iijima... Please listen to my music". The questions were a good mix of what it was like working on Macross and what motivates her music. Charming, funny, and forthright... She was a fantastic guest; my favorite line from the whole panel: "That guy they were chasing [Ichijyo Hikaru] was an asshole."

Despite having a hectic schedule, she, in what would become a pattern for the day, went out of her way after the panel to pose for photos with those that wanted them. Mine is seen below; yes, I know what you are thinking. Why do I look like a complete doofus? I don't know, but this is why I shy away from cameras.

Hello again...

Her first autograph session was immediately after her panel; rushed down to the room to find a small line already formed. No worries about getting in this year; waited patiently to have her sign my copy of Do You Remember Love? and volume three from the AnimEigo box set. Again, she was gracious enough to pose for a photo after she signed your items. That picture turned out a bit better.

After that, there was time enough to kill until her concert. Wandered the dealer's room, grabbed a bite to eat, and talked to Jm on the phone for an hour or so. Nothing really struck my eye in the dealer's room other than the markup on items common across most booths. Things I could get on the net for $25 were on the order of $40; yikes...

A perfect end to the evening

Finally, it was time for Mari's concert; was most happy to see a good turnout. The person next to me asked about her. He was unfamiliar with her music or her work in Macross. Yet, he was willing to sit in on her concert and find out more; gave me a miniscule glimmer of hope for the younger generation of fans to discover something beyond the current shiny series.

Her concert was much like her panel; she talked and engaged the audience between songs. The same candidness in her speech comes through in her music; her songs are all personal reflections of her mood, dreams, hopes, and fears. She even belted out a cover of a Kate Bush and Oasis song. The hour was over too quickly, but seeing her live was, even for a brief moment, was worth the wait. A merchandise table was setup after the concert, and I picked up her latest CD Echo and her previous one Uncompromising Innocence. She was planning to have another autograph session after the sales, but once again, she was gracious enough to sign one of the CDs right there. I could have probably gotten her to sign both, but she had already accommodated me far too much, and I did not wish to hold up the line further. And with that, it was back home, another Anime Boston adventure concluded for the year.