STACK New Zealand October Issue 67

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EXTRAS
A month with a Studio Ghibli release is a
good month in my book and this
month sees the release of the
delightful When Marnie Was There on both
DVD and beautiful Blu Ray.
While it might be lacking in literal magic, this
wonderfully earnest film tackles self-doubt and
emotional healing head-on, carrying with it the
weight of potentially being Ghibli’s final feature
film. I’m not crying, I just have something in
my eye...
Instead of hanging around with the weapon
wielders themselves, Soul Eater Not! takes us
to Death Weapon Meister Academy where the
weapons themselves are trained. A must watch
for fans of the Soul Eater franchise, but definitely
worth watching even if you've never seen the
original! Who'd have thought that soul-eating
living weapons could be so moe?!
The delightfully magical subtitled release of
Inari Kon Kon Series Collection ticks all of the
boxes for a heart warming watch. Ever bashful
schoolgirl Inari finds herself in the company of
a goddess after saving her familiar from a tragic
fate. The magnanimous deity offers magical
abilities to the young lady in an effort to help
Inari overcome her shyness and in turn find love.
A treat for fighting game fans punches its
way onto shelves this month in the form of the
BlazBlue: Alter Memory Series Collection.
Based on the video games BlazBlue: Calamity
Trigger and BlazBlue: Continuum Shift, Alter
Memory tells the story behind the game's
characters (and signature moves) as they hunt
down the incredibly dangerous Ragna the
Bloodedge. Sporting an epic bounty on his head,
there’s no way that Ragna will go down without
a fight.
Turns out that even gods can have a hard time
managing life's daily struggles. In Noragami we
meet Yato, a lesser God with great aspirations.
Problem being, he doesn't have a single shrine
dedicated to him, his partner in deity-ness just
resigned and he can't seem to get his hands on
a replacement divine weapon. Enter Hiyori, who
I guess you could describe as a godsend... ugh.
Sorry. Such a dad joke.
Poor Takeshi Nanase has had a pretty
rough trot and just when it seems like things
are looking up, he stumbles upon Mui Aiba,
a mysterious girl who reluctantly informs
Takeshi that she has given him magical powers.
Whoopsy daisy! From that blistering start things
grow increasingly insane in the MagicalWarfare
Series Collection .
The wonderfully unrelenting, unapologetic
and completely irreverent Keima
Katsuragi is back in TheWorld God
Only Knows OVA Collection.
While this OVA series may not
have much bearing on
the events of the series
proper, it's still awesome
to see the gang back
together with a nod to
Japan's prolific idol industry.
ANIME ROUND-UP
One of my favourite styles of anime is
the ‘slice of life’ genre, particularly
when it gets crazy enough that the
term ‘slice of life’ loses all meaning.
Here are a couple of stand out titles
which are nothing short of fantastic.
Nichijou – My Ordinary Life is
honestly one of the craziest series
out there. While nichijou ( )
translates to ‘everyday’ there is
nothing normal about this series
which sees action movie stylings
used to highlight the true value of
one's favourite lunch box inclusion,
while the school Principal wrestles a
deer. An actual. Deer.
K-On! isn’t quite as wacky as
Nichijou, but those lovable members
of Houkago Tea Time are pretty
quirky in their own right and their
on-screen, and on-stage, chemistry
is undeniable. The animation (by
Kyoto Animation, the same studio as
Nichijou) and music in this series are
an obvious standout but what really
ties it all together is the relationship
between the girls.
Azumanga Daioh, another series
filled with lovable weirdos, breaks
the mould when it comes to
onscreen antics with an injection
of absurdity into what should be
a rather strait-laced scene. The
characters themselves may all
be oddballs, but the setting
itself is a regular old
Japanese school.
When Marnie Was There
visit
Nichijou - My
Ordinary Life
Slice of
Life
Must
Watch
40 OCTOBER 2015