Okay, I haven’t done an anime post in a while, so I thought
I would write a review for an anime I’m watching called Paniponi Dash.

Before I begin, let me get something off of my chest. This
show is very similar to another, somewhat famous, anime by the name of Azumanga
Daioh. It’s about a series of seemingly unrelated events in a school
environment that happen to a small group of girls in a class. Heck, the show
even has a strange, talking, anthropomorphic cat. Now that I have that
connection out of the way, I hope to never mention it again in the remainder of
this review.

 

Paniponi Dash is a fully functional comedy anime that will
make you laugh at times, but it is far from perfect. The characters all have
fun personalities (there’s even one that has no “individual” personality) that
bounce off of each other very well, and the child-teacher is a fun, if clichéd,
bonus. One of my favorite parts is the incompetent cast of aliens that is
watching over the entire school stage in a bid for research, and basically
makes a mockery of military protocol. They also have a depressed, almost Emo,
rabbit that makes a scene even funnier when juxtaposed with all of the other
characters. There are a few problems, of course. Some of the running gags get
old very fast. This is especially true of Miyako’s large forehead
visualization. Okay! She has a large forehead. I got that the first
three-hundred times. You don’t have to keep reminding me, thanks. If you can
get past those, then you will probably enjoy Paniponi Dash’s slapstick comedy.

 

The animation is pretty good too. It’s a fair mixture of
basic anime and “chibi” anime. The colors are a little too bright for my
tastes, but are just right for an anime in of this type in this happy-go-lucky
school setting. Sometimes, though, the animators try to slide in bits of fan
service. While I am all for fan-service it just seems very out of place. You’re
watching this anime to laugh at stupid situations, not to get turned on (at
least, you shouldn’t be). Also, I’m not a loli fan.

 

As for the sound… meh, I have no complaints. I watched it in
the original Japanese, and all of the characters had voices that matched their
personalities. Rebecca-sensei’s voice is irritating at times, but it is just a
necessary evil. The music is also a resounding “meh.” It was functional. It
wasn’t a resounding musical score, consisting of several brass and string
ensembles, conducted by a world-class musical genius, but it got the job done.

 

All in all, Paniponi Dash is a fun anime that I
recommend to some but not all. If you are a fan of comedies, go ahead and check
out Paniponi Dash. You will laugh and enjoy it.

I've got nothin' today, so here is a YouTube video. Enjoy.

• Isn't it funny how you can feel totally lost when a store moves only one shelf, even thought the store is no bigger than your bathroom?
• It would be kind of fun to have a full butcher shop in the food court. I don't mean like a deli, I mean a place that slices off hunks of animal for you. I would be willing to pay extra for that.
• If you ever hear a child wailing, do you ever stop and think, "oh my god, I better help that child!"? I know I don't. I have to catch that sale!
• I can understand a post office in the mall, but a dentist's office?
• I wonder if the guy who puts the skimpy clothes on mannequins ever feels dirty.
• Why is it that only the Chinese food joints offer free samples? I wouldn't mind one of those Philly cheesesteak places giving me a sub-on-a-stick
• Just because something is "all-natural" does not mean it's good for you.
• I never understood massage chairs they have in the mall aisles. Shopping is supposed to hurt. That's how you know you're doing it right.
• I'm almost 20, but I can still walk into a toy store and want to purchase half the merchandise. (Now that I have the ability to do just that, I gotta be careful.)
• Just once, I would like to see one of those small mall stands sell firearms. "Hmm... y'know, I could use a new AK-47."
• You don't often see a Lawn & Garden in a mall
• What do they do with those temporary walls after a new store opens? Do they ritualistically burn them or something?
• I have yet to see a wanted poster inside of a mall.
• I wonder what goes through a store clerk's head when you tell them that you only came in to throw away a candy wrapper.
• I have had this song stuck in my head for the whole time I was writing this list.

Well, today I was hoping to give you a review on
the new Spiderman movie, but unfortunately the theatre was completely sold out.
By sold out I mean they do not have any tickets available until next week. I am
not joking, I checked. So instead, I will give you my thoughts on the month of
May.

As I was
driving to work, I saw a billboard that told me that May was known as Child
Abuse Prevention Month. I thought, “well, isn’t that dandy.” Unfortunately, as
is a bad habit of mine, I began to give it more thought. What exactly does that
entail? Does that mean you should start barging into peoples’ houses at all
times of day, like some sort of vigilante, and if you see someone abusing their
child, you stab them in the face with a lawn dart? Is it meant to make
child-abusers stop abusing children? That seems silly. I could not see one of
these people saying, “Timmy, I am very angry with my life. Lucky for you
though, it’s Child Abuse Prevention Month, so I’m giving your mother your
share. Honey! Get over here!” Preventing child abuse with this line of thought
is like promoting spousal abuse. Perhaps people think that by making May Child
Abuse Prevention Month, they will entice people who know of child abusers to
come forth and let others know. I can just see a 911 operator pick up the phone
and hear someone say, “Um… yes, I just wanted to report that my neighbor, Frank
Schneider of 123 West Street, has been abusing his child with a fire
extinguisher for the past hour… um… and that’s it. Thank you.” I’m sure the one
calling in would feel like he or she accomplished something as the beatings
continue. Personally, I think we need a Prevention Month Prevention Month. We
can celebrate a month in peace knowing that we don’t have to prevent, become aware
of, or learn the history of anything for one whole month every year. I hope
they make it July so I can celebrate my birthday at the same time.

 

Oh yes, and Happy Cinco de Mayo! PARA
BAILAR LA BAMBA!

Ladies and gents, this just in from Nintendo HQ. It seems they are announcing a new Wii peripheral which will be known as the

Wii Headband^*

This amazing new device for Nintendo's beloved Wii is a welcome addition to the already growing list of controllers. The Wii Headband has a motion-sensor, just like your WiiMote, and is capable of sensing the speed and ferocity of your head banging. This has many implications in some of the new games coming out for the system. For example, in the soon to be released Harvest Moon Wii, you will be able to use the Wii Headband to nuzzle up to cows, answer questions with a nod or shake of the head, and even bang your head against a wall when your "significant other" turns down your blue feather. The rumored Guitar Hero for the Wii supposedly uses it as well. At certain points in the song, you can increase your star meter by head banging violently. Cheaters are already developing motorized mannequin heads to head bang constantly while the player plays the song. Various X and H-rated games also use it for <<naughty-content removed>>! Look for the Wii Headband sometime around the turn of the century.

* This article is complete and utter fabrication. Duh.
Note: I would like everyone to notice that I did not stoop so low as to put in a cheap Zidane reference.

I realize now that I am a terrible person. I seem to prefer seeing more violent activities on the news or in life. I might be alone in these thoughts, but I doubt it. Here are a few examples of what I mean:

• If I am ever in a plane that is going down in flames, I don't want to just crash into some field in the middle of nowhere. I don't want news reporters to say, "recently, a plane carrying twenty-three passengers lost all of its engines and crashed into a soybean field, killing all on board. It is estimated that, not including the plane, there was about sixty-dollars worth of damages. In other news..." No, I don't want anything like that. If I'm going down, I want to go down with some pizazz. If we were all going to die anyway, I would rather crash into the side of the Grand Canyon while a bunch of schoolchildren watch and are scarred for life (or, more likely, just go "cooooool!"). Or better yet, we go down, skip like a flat rock over the roofs of some suburban houses, and finally make ground fall onto a gas station, causing a major explosion. That would be news-worthy.
• Also, when I get stuck in traffic, I always kind of hope for a big accident. If I'm going to waste my time and money sitting there, I want a show. I want to see a car flipped over and the other smashed like a pancake, while one of the schmucks who didn't wear a seatbelt is dangling half-way up a tree. Don't give me this "construction ahead" balderdash. At least give me something to make my drive worthwhile.
• I also wish people would make suicide more interesting. Recently, Brad Delp (may he rest in peace) committed suicide in a thoroughly boring way. He offed himself through carbon-monoxide suffocation. Pfft, that's no fun. I like it better when they jump off of a tall building. Maybe if they run fast enough, they can land in traffic and get a "double-whammy". Some of those Japanese get the idea when they jump in front of a bullet-train. I wonder if for a few seconds they are still alive and get to feel all that speed rushing by them while their body is flattened. That must be unique.

I apologize if I offended anyone. Let it be known that I do not, in any way, endorse or condone this type of activity. I do not recommend forcefully taking over a plan or causing traffic accidents. I also do not recommend suicide. It is a stupid idea that should not be attempted by anyone, not even trained professionals.

vv Unrelated note: This was a thoroughly stupid movie. I liked the first one better. vv

If you read my post yesterday, you should have a pretty good idea of my average day. Today I want to do something slightly different. I will write a similar post, but write in from the perspective of me eleven years from now. I took a few liberties in deciding how the world would be. I assumed I would still be single, there would be no cities in the clouds, and the theory of global warming is proven to be full of hot air (L.O.L. pun). Here we go.

I woke up at about six o'clock in the morning, a full hour than I usually do, and had two rousing bowls of Honey Nut Happios with some cow-clone milk. I poured a couple of quarts of water into the room that my old wandering Jew took over, then went upstairs to turn on my computer. While it booted up, I took care of the three S's. I nicked myself with the razor, but a little dab of toilet paper stopped any highly pressurized blood from making a mess on the mirror. I still had an hour before I had to go to work, so I watched some anime. I must say, after about six-hundred episodes, Naruto is getting a little old. Afterwards, I took the five-mile, two-hour drive to work, which wasn't too bad of a time for Virginia standards. I sat in front of my computer and coded the new tax-paying software for about ten-minutes before deciding it was time for a break. I slugged down a can of Coke Negative-3, sat back down in front of my computer, and practiced my astral projection for the remaining seven hours. After work, I had dinner at Outback Steakhouse, which has been losing a lot of business with the onset of the Australian-American War. Once I got home, I played Pokémon Talc for a little while before deciding to watch a movie. I watched The Second to the Last Samurai before turning in. I shut my eyes, and just before I fell asleep, I wondered how my longer they are going to delay Duke Nukem Forever.

I feel like being bloggy today. I think I will write about
how my day went yesterday. I’ll try to keep it entertaining.

So I woke up at about 5:30 in the morning, which is about
half-an-hour later than I usually do. I must be losing my edge. After a rousing
breakfast of Honey Nut Cheerios and a glass of water, I proceeded to water my wandering
Jew and return to my room to play Pokémon Pearl. I managed to beat the third
gym leader and get the HM Fly, before turning the game off. Still high on
success, I turned on my computer, updated my xanga, and decided to watch a
little bit of anime before class. I squeezed in an episode of sola and Seto no Hanayome, before I needed to get ready. After taking care
of the ritualistic three-S’s (sh~t, shave, and shower) I got dressed in my polo
shirt and slacks and drove to class. The traffic wasn’t too bad (for Virginia standards), and
I made it to class with time to spare. As the professor droned on about her
gobble-dee-gook, I mostly zoned out and browsed Wikipedia. Did you know George
Carlin was voted the second greatest stand-up comedian ever? He sure does
deserve it. Anyway, after class I had lunch at Five Guys (a hamburger joint
that makes the best cheeseburger ever). It was so fresh, juicy, and tasty! Mmm…
After my satisfying meal, I went to work. It was the end of the month, so there
were a lot of schmucks coming in to renew their vehicle decals at the last
minute. It took all of my will power not to kick some of them in the shins. Especially when they forget to bring in
their current car insurance card. I mean, it’s not hard! They send it to you in
the mail. And don’t try to rationalize with me and say that they are not
necessary. If I hear that one more time I’m liable to throw rocks at you until
you leave. (I digress…) After work, I returned home completely worn out. I ate
a delightful meal of leftover mac-and-cheese with a glass of Sunny Delight (Mmm…
leftovers). I then came home and decided to watch a movie. I watched The Last Samurai and then decided to
turn in. I planned to watch the new episode of Sumomomo Momomo tomorrow (i.e.
today).

As you can see, my life has about as much excitement as your
average tofu block.