What's this "Mardock Scramble"?

Mardock Scramble started off as a thick one volume light novel written by Tow Ubukata who is best known state side for his novel Chaos Legion of which the Capcom video game of the same name is based on. The novel was to be adapted into an anime, but on December 21st 2006 Gonzo anounced that the project was canceled but if it was ever to have been completed it would have been an OAV. Recently the novel has been adapted into a movie called Mardock Scramble: The First Compression, and it seems this is only the start of a trilogy of animated films. The film was released November 6th 2010 to Japanese audiences and has not currently seen an English release. The novel on the other hand was released by Viz Media on January 18th 2010 in English. There is also a manga adaptation.

Synopsis (novel): Why me? It was to be the last thought a young prostitute, Rune-Balot, would ever have...as a human anyway. Taken in by a devious gambler named Shell, she became a slave to his cruel desires and would have been killed by his hand if not for the self-aware All-Purpose Tool (and little yellow mouse) known as Oeufcoque. Now a cyborg, Balot is not only nigh-invulnerable but has the ability to disrupt electrical systems of all sorts. But even these powers may not be enough for Balot to deal with Shell, who offloads his memories to remain above the law, the immense assassin Dimsdale-Boiled, or the neon-noir streets of Mardock City itself.

Buy the novel

Watch the Trailers (1)(2)

Exciting news + Jagers7Z Top 20 J-pop/K-pop Countdown 110116

Jimmy Agers, the person who creates these countdowns, has asked me to be part of a blog he's creating! I'll post a link when the blog is active.

[Anime of the Week] Bakuman! (1/16-22/2011)

Time for a series that has not completed yet! I just watched the recent episode and I'm glad this series is a full length one. I had started the manga but when the anime was announced I eminently dropped it because I tend to not like to watch what I'm reading.

Runtime: 24min/ep

# of Eps: 25

Type: manga

Rating: All ages (there's really nothing objectionable about it)

Synopsis:

Moritaka Mashiro, a junior high school student, content to live out a relatively normal life as any other does, is persuaded by his classmate, Akito Takagi, to become an aspiring mangaka when the latter realizes his natural talent as an artist. However, Moritaka is reluctant to pursue his dream as his uncle, once a mangaka with his own serializations, died from overwork trying to regain his lost status. With Akito's help, Takagi gets another classmate and his school crush, Azuki Miho, who is an aspiring voice actress, to voice in the anime adaptation of their future manga once it is completed. However, Mashiro also proposes to Azuki, who surprisingly accepts only on the condition she will marry him when both of them have achieved their dreams. With a goal set before him, Mashiro begins a long and struggling path to become a famous mangaka.

[Anime of the Week] Tokko (1/9-15/2010)

Well last feature was a fanservice anime, and well this one is in a way... but it's more like violence and more violence. It played on SyFy channel back when it was SciFi in the States. Back when SciFi had the best anime on mondays =( I miss those days.

Something interesting about this anime is it is based on a manga by the artist of GTO (Great Teacher Onizuka). :D That auta have sold you on wanting to watch this. Pfft.

Runtime: 24min/ep

#of Eps: 13

Type: Manga

Rating: Mature (blood/gore/nudity)

Synopsis:

Shindou Ranmaru has just graduated from police academy and assigned to Tokki: Special Mobile Investigation Force. On the day of his graduation, he meets the half-naked girl he has been seeing in his dreams, Rokujo Sakura. It turns out she works for a secret group within Tokki, known as Tokko: Special Public Safety Task Force. Shindou ends up joining Tokko to avenge his parents' death, and solve the mystery mass murder of residents in his hometown of Machida. Bottomless pits start to appear around Japan, and mysterious creatures emerge from them, linked to the mass murder of humans. All this to do with something called "The Box of Dirge"...

Jagers7Z Top 20 J-pop/K-pop Countdown 110107

[Anime][Winter '10/'11] Preview Guide (updated when I watch new episodes)

1/15/11~I'll add images for the others when I get the chance. I was just trying to get my thoughts down on the series I had started so far. Sorry I'm behind. I had the flu for about 4 days.

1/6/11~ANN is known for publishing a preview guide every anime season and I thought I'd jump on the bandwagon and make my own. This PV Guide will be updated as I watch new episodes of new series and such. I'll do up to 3 episodes of each series and then from there if I feel like it switch back to episode reviews like I used to do ^__^ Series are in order of which I watched more recently.

Dragon Crisis! (3/5)

Big boobed sister, check.

Mysterious dragon girl, check.

Boy who this girl ends up attached to and seems to know him, check.

Episode was ok. Nice visuals. Well animated. Seems like I've seen this before.

Yumekui Merry e.01 (4/5)

Kind of has that Noein feel going because of the dimensional thing going down. Pretty good amount of info revealed that didn't really solve anything for the main character though. And this main girl character seems to be interesting.

Freezing e.01 & 02 (2/5)

1/15/11~ Here's this seasons Queen's Blade. Let's tear off your clothes in the most unrealistic way possible. From what I hear the manga is actually a good read. It's by the same person as Kuro Kami of which the anime adaptation was butchered. Turns out from my source Freezing is getting the same treatment. Hmmm...

Mahou Shojo Magical*Modoka e.1 (5/5)

1/15/11~ Stunning visuals. This is not your typical magical girl anime at all. I can't really say anything bad about this one... though I can't say much about it either. Nothing was really reveled. And there was some kick your bootie music!

Kimi ni Todoke II

e.00 (3/5)

1/6/11~ One thing I don't like anime doing is wasting a whole episode to recap a series I just watched. I understand that there will be people who haven't seen the first season and need a recap ... but a whole episode seems a bit much for me. In the case of Kimi n i Todoke II, I'm going to have to give it 4 rather than 3 episodes since this wasn't even a new episode!

e.01 (3/5)

1/15/11~ This episode proved without a doubt how frustrating this anime is. I can tell this one works better as a manga because of how indecisive the main character is. I fumed throughout the series wishing I could yell at Sawako "just give him the damned chocolates!"

Rio: The Rainbow Gate (3/5)

1/6/11~ I think the people at ANN are being a bit harsh on this series. It wasn't bad for what it's based on - a series of slot machines in Japan. The show itself could have been so much worse. There is a good amount of fan service, but not enough that ladies can't enjoy the show. Now, I will give ANN props for pointing out how odd it is a casino praises having a dealer who brings gamblers luck and makes them money rather than the casino.

Taste the Cake (Half-Life 2 Machinima)