I had zero chance to watch movies this week, so no post about that today. Also, I'll make a big ol' Anime Expo post eventually -- pretty worn out right now, and I have press obligations for the website I helped represent at the convention, which will keep me busy for a good while. Tiring as it was, it was definitely worth it to attend as press this year; I got a MUCH different convention experience than what I am accustomed to, which is great. I mean, this was my eighth (!!!) Anime Expo, so it's good to switch things up a bit.
So I'll regale you all with (hopefully) awesome stories at some unspecified later date. For now, though, I figure I should show you all the great stuff I got at the convention, right?
Tada! The good stuff: Mushishi, Cromartie High School and Arakawa Under the Bridge. The latter of those items was also signed by the amazing seiyuu Miyuki Sawashiro! First time I've been able to get an autograph at Anime Expo, and I have to give credit to both NIS America and Sawashiro for working so many sessions and making sure as many fans as possible got things signed. (Though not entirely charitable, of course, since you had to buy something to get a ticket for the autograph session, haha. I like Arakawa, though, so I didn't mind much.)
And, of course, the shit: Three DVDs of Sister Princess. There's a series of blog posts I greatly enjoyed called What I Was Forced to Watch This Week. They are basically the writer going through a bunch of CDs and DVDs of old anime he and his girlfriend burned way back in the old days when finding anime to watch online and torrenting were fucking difficult as hell. Sister Princess is the most reviled show in this series, and he watched some absolutely PUTRID shit.
So basically the final couple of days I got bored and started scouring the bargain bins for the worst possible anime I could find and force myself to watch out of morbid curiosity. Lo and behold, Sister Princess called out to me, and I answered its siren song. There will be much pain, but it will be a good pain (for everyone else, not for me).
Just as a quick primer, Sister Princess is about 12 sisters who share the same big brother, but they all have different mothers. And of course all the little sisters worship the fuck out of their OMG ONII-SAMA and would do anything for him (and apparently hang out with each other and trade stories about how totally awesome this guy is). And I guess the show is about little sister shit but with 12 paper thin little sister characters, and they're on an island together or some shit. By the way, they all address the big brother character with their own stupid little nicknames, and apparently it is unbelievably irritating.
Because I am going to be watching this dubbed (YES, IT WAS DUBBED), here are the English versions of these stupid nicknames: Mon Frère, Brother Darling, Beloved Brother, Bro-Bro (I'll have a good story about this in a bit), Brother (so fucking boring, I bet she doesn't win), Big Brother (YAAAAAAWN), Big Bro, Brother Mine, Bro, Dear Brother, Elder Brother, and Brother Dearest. Holy fucking shit, this makes me want to punch every little sister I ever meet.
Anyway, Bro Bro: My roommates and I were talking about Princess Sister, and we wondered what would happen if the dubbing crew ran out of insipid older brother nicknames. Someone jokingly suggested that they'd probably come up with some stupid shit like "Bro Bro", and immediately after, another roommate looked at Wikipedia, read the English nicknames, and when he got to "Bro Bro" it brought the house down. Man, that was great.
Just as a final bit: Is it any surprise ADV licensed this shit at some point? And not only that, they DUBBED it. I mean, seriously, what the fuck. Where in the blue hell is the market for this?? Anime is already niche, and this is the niche in the niche in the niche in the niche (we have to niche deeper). The way this is marketed on the DVD is the skeeviest shit ever ("Thirteen girls on a mysterious island ... what's a guy to do?") The blurbs on the back are even worse. I quote from volume five ...
Wataru tries hard to be a good big brother, which means spending a lot of quality time with all thirteen girls! He's found that his sisters have a lot to teach him. Haruka shows him that a girl who knows martial arts can come in very handy! From Shirayuki, Wataru learns that people don't just need nutrition for their bodies, they also need nutrition for their hearts!
Then, lost in a dreamworld from which there seems to be no escape, Wataru looks to Chikage for help, but can she save him in time?
Finally, as an eventful year draws to a close, Christmastime comes to Promised Island. Wataru and the girls decide to have a party, which can mean only one thing -- he needs to buy his sisters a gift! In the end, however, Wataru discovers that the best gift of all is love.
Holy fucking shit, Chris Hansen should have burst into my room like the Kool-Aid Man after I finished that final sentence. There must have been a lot of self loathing running through ADV after the staff finished polishing this turd. Hell, I hated myself for spending $15 on this (apparently the real market for Sister Princess in America is irony). But my morbid curiosity must be satiated.
EDIT: Oh man, I almost forgot about the worst part of the DVD releases: Each volume comes with a letter written by one of the little sisters to here OMG ONII-CHAN, and they're fucking disgusting. So here is the worst of the letters for your enjoyment:
To Elder Brother,
Hi, Elder Brother <3, Princess' most important darling. Have you been eating enough everyday? When Princess is not around, Elder Brother probably gets tired easily, so I'm very worried! If you were to become too skinny, Princess would ... I would ... Just thinking about it makes me sad. Elder Brother, Princess is going to make lots and lots of tasty meals for you. I dream of making Elder Brother round and bubbly! You know what they say, don't you? That a happy couple is always ... Well, the way to darling Elder Brother's heart is through his stomach! Someday, I have decided, we will live together, so I will be able to make you meals every day <3. That's why Princess is preparing so many various menus now, so she can have a large repertoire ready. So that Elder Brother will want to come home early every day. I am going to try very hard! So hurry, hurry and come take your Princess away <3.
From,
Shirayuki
