Paniponi Dash! is a little of this, and a little of that, with some obvious inspiration from Azumanga Daioh. The video includes the DVD menu (because the music is fun), then the lead-in with the opening credits, the closing credits, and a trademark false preview that has nothing whatsoever to do with the next episode.
[flv:http://www.dograt.com/Video/JUN07/PaniponiDash.flv 425 240]
Category: Cartooning
Today’s Peanuts Reprint
Today’s Peanuts reprint is one I remember laughing at in a paperback book many years ago. It was this sort of whimsy that makes Schulz’s work special, yet his bland personality made him seem incapable of his trademark flights of fancy! Click the thumbnail picture to enlarge.
Eric’s non-Anime Pick — Train Man (Densha Otoko)
A highly-popular recent manga/movie/TV series in Japan is Train Man or, as it’s known there, Densha Otoko. It’s a romantic comedy that is supposed to be based on a true Internet bulletin board thread about an ultra-nerd who helps a girl that is accosted by a drunk on a subway.
[flv:http://www.dograt.com/Video/JUN07/TrainMan.flv 425 240]
This movie is all heart, with none of the mean-spirited macho posturing tone that afflicts The 40-Year-Old Virgin. Another nod to honorable Eric from his humble parents!
Swooning-Crooning Again
A fairly recent, now lost, post was the Warner Brothers cartoon Swooner Crooner…
[flv:http://www.dograt.com/Video/MAY07/SwoonerCrooner.flv 400 300]
Oh, right! Don’t want to forget that I highlighted Raymond Scott’s “Powerhouse” that’s featured in the cartoon.
Kamichu, the Girl-Child God
Eric had written a special guest blog entry for Kamichu, an Anime series about a girl who somehow becomes a god. Not a great god, but a good one. The text was lost in the Great Database Debacle, but here’s the video…
[flv:http://www.dograt.com/Video/MAY07/KamiChu.flv 425 240]
As Eric pointed out, this sequence is atypical for the show, which is mostly slice-of-life vignettes, sometimes featuring little spirit creatures.
Kino Kicking Again
Here’s another repost of an entry about an Anime title that was lost to the database error. We’ve watched the entire series of Kino’s Journey, which turned out to be one of our favorites.
[flv:http://www.dograt.com/Video/MAY07/Kino.flv 425 240]