From Friendly Ghosts To Gamma Rays, No. 147
Hello and welcome back to this week’s edition of From Friendly Ghosts To Gamma Rays! I’m your friendly columnist, Drew McCabe!
So this week we are taking a break from reviewing comics in this column to talk about one of comic’s favorite and most influential tie-ins: animations. Specifically, Japanese animation, and more specifically old school stuff that didn’t see the light of day here or didn’t get a chance at a the proper release, that is until now! Earlier this week Anime Sols launched! Anime Sols is pretty much Kickstarter but for anime. The deal works out the same as Kickstarter. Anime series are listed. You can stream and watch that series and then donate money on different levels to receive different things. For example, a $40 donation level usually gets you a copy of the first DVD set and a sticker. Like Kickstarter, if it’s not funded, you don’t lose your money (of course, it’s a bummer because the DVD set isn’t made).
Several series have gone up for its kick off. Fans of this column know I’m a Tezuka buff, so I was pleased to see the 1989 anime series Blue Blink and the 2004 anime series Black Jack, based off Tezuka’s famous comic! As folks know, Black Jack follows a rogue doctor who makes the impossible possible in the medical world, with his mysterious looks, daring gambles, and awesome pay offs. North American fans probably are not familiar with Blue Blink, but you should be, and back the show because it is great! Blue Blink follows the adventures of a boy named Kakeru and a mystical blue donkey named Blink. Sounds odd? Maybe, but it also has a really cool flare to it, so check it out streaming here! Blue Blink was also the last anime series Tezuka was overseeing before his death, making it an interesting final bookend for his time in animation. Surely Tezuka buffs won’t want to miss this.
Other great shows are on the site for you to back, too! Personally I’m already backing Tekkaman! Amazing old school stuff in that TV show. Fans of early 1990s anime may remember the sequel series Tekkaman Blade being released here on TV as Teknoman, but certainly original Tekkaman gives it that awesome 70s Japan spin that you just can’t beat. Another awesome action series you can back is Ninja Senshi Tobikage, which was shown here in the 90s under the dub Ninja Robots. This series is so great for fans of mecha-shows, and it is awesome to see it fully uncut finally!
There’s plenty more still, like both the original and new Yatterman series, Tezuka TV movies, and of course Creamy Mami, arguably one of the most famous magic girl shows that almost was released here from Harmony Gold (minds behind Robotech), but never saw the light for some reason.
So take the gamble and back something! From comics to movies, the future seems more and more to be moving towards crowd-sourcing like this, so you don’t want to miss out on an opportunity to grab these titles while they’re available this way!
That’s it for this week, see you next when we will have a chunk of comic book reviews coming your way!
Drew McCabe
drew@comicattack.net
