Cartoon Sunday: Blue Exorcist's Season 1 Episode 1

How's it going lurkers? It has been a while, since I last talked about, much less watched the Shonen Jump Supernatural Acion Anime, Blue Exorcist. 

Nearly 2 years ago, I published a Cartoon Sunday blog, which consisted of the series' bloopers. Early on, I noticed that Blue Exorcist was somewhat similar to Vampire Knight.

     Vampire Knight (2008)

 

Blue Exorcist (2011)

 

I spent HOURS last night and earlier this morning trying to find pictures showing the physical similarities between Vampire Knight and Blue Exorcist. 

 

The preceding images were the closest I could find regarding the similarities in high school academy uniforms. Both are Horror and Supernatural Action Anime.

Vampire Knight is a Shojo Anime meant for female viewers whereas Blue Exorcist is a Shonen Anime meant for male viewers. 

In order to give a better understanding of both Action Anime, I have compiled a list showing the similarities and differences between Vampire Knight and Blue Exorcist.

Vampire Knight: 

* Shojo Horror Romance Action Anime meant for female viewers, which heavily revolves around tragedy

* Somewhat considered Horror because it has some horror elements to it, that being vampires

* Cross Academy is named after the vampire hunter now turned headmaster, Kaein Cross

* Cross Academy is a segregated high school comprised of  vampire students attending night classes and human students attending day classes

* With long distance barriers, human and vampire students can socialize with each other on campus without being attacked 

* Yuki Cross is the female protagonist, who was adopted by Cross Academy's headmmaster and later discovers that she is a Pureblood Vampire

Blue Exorcist:

* Shonen Supernatural Action Dramedy Anime meant for male viewers, which has some tragedy

* True Cross Academy is a prestigious Exorcist Cram School, which is the Japanese branch of the True Cross Order

* True Cross Order is the main organization of Exorcists and a global exorcist institution that is controlled by the Vatican

* True Cross Order has roots to Christianity and was founded by Medieval Christian Knights

* Some Biblical scripture is used in this series

* Rin Okumura is the male protagonist with the ability to see demons

* Rin and his twin brother Yukio were adopted and raised by Father Shiro Fujimoto, who was an Exorcist

* Before Father Shiro Fujimoto sacrificed his own life to protect Rin from the demons of Gehenna, Rin discovers that he and Yukio are both Satan's bastard sons

Judging by the list of these particular Action Anime, BOTH use "Cross Academy" in their high school academy names, have protagonists discovering they were adopted because they're NOT fully human, and possess supernatural powers.

In addition to what has been listed about Vampire Knight and Blue Exorcist, BOTH series have male brunette characters wearing eye patches in high positions at both the Cross Academies.

It would've been so much better if I could've found a split screen picture of Vampire Knight's Toga Yagari and Blue Exorcist's Igor Neuhaus. They wear eye patches, have brown hair, and have COLD personalities.

If you have NEVER watched Vampire Knight or Blue Exorcist, you should definitely watch them both and observe their similarities.

It would be nice to see the 2nd season of Blue Exorcist and the entire Vampire Knight series air on Adult Swim or possibly on another network. We all know that Adult Swim will NEVER air Vampire Knight.

The men running Adult Swim not only show disrespect towards their OWN viewers in general, but also love discriminating against women. The assholes in charge of Adult Swim and the creeps that posted on their official forum for over a dozen or so years expect women to be inferior to them.

Otherwise, the teams at Adult Swim and Toonami put on facades by pretending to promote "women's empowerment," all the while showing female characters with very LITTLE self-respect and respect for other characters.

In spite of Adult Swim and Toonami Teams' facades, I really hope Adult Swim and those running the Toonami block renew their license to re-air Blue Exorcist's 1st season, then air its 2nd season, Kyoto Saga. Its 2nd season finished premiering in Japan, a few months ago.  

There have been claims by Toonami fans that Blue Exorcist's license expired for it to be re-aired on Adult Swim, and that the Shonen Jump Supernatural Action Anime supposedly did badly in ratings. 

Considering the negativity bias coming from Toonami zealots, who fixate on cartoon ratings for every series ad nauseam, I don't know if the bad ratings statement is true.

Some of us already know how much of zealots certain Toonami fans are, when it comes to the Nielsen Ratings. 

Because Blue Exorcist uses some excerpts from the Bible, has trained exorcists, students training to become exorcists, and the protagonist just happens to be 1 of Satan's bastard sons, I believe certain viewers are or will be repulsed by this series.

Judging from the ilk of Toonami sycophants and rabid zealots I have endured on Adult Swim's forum (before it was shut down), they are threatened by Christianity, Satanism, and religion in general.

Religion "triggers" this particular ilk of fans. They CANNOT  handle the sound of religion much like the rest of us can't handle them throwing temper tantrums like 2-year-olds over a cartoon's low ratings.

I advise viewers to watch and enjoy a show for yourself, NOT  because of a show's ratings. Much like polls can be rigged, ratings can be rigged too. Every household does NOT  own a Nielsen's box.

The fact that there are men, women, and children allowing a show's ratings to control them is pathetic in itself. If you need to obsess over a show's ratings, you will NEVER enjoy ANY show.

Since TONIGHT'S Cartoon Sunday blog is mostly about Blue Exorcist, let's start from the very beginning. Simply click on the link below.

Blue Exorcist Season 1: Episode 1 (2011)

Cartoon Sunday: Anna H's Horror Anime Reviews

How's it going lurkers? In addition to sharing Vampire Knight for today's Cartoon Sunday, I will be reviewing some Horror Anime. Are you excited? Horror and Anime fans should be.

Since there are several to review, I will start with Another. Another is a Seinen (Mens) Horror-Mystery Anime based on the Japanese novel, Another.

Koichi Sasakibara is a 15-year-old junior high student whose mother died shortly after his birth. Meanwhile, his father (a business man) traveled abroad to India for a year. This all leads to Koichi being sent to live with his aunt and grandparents in Yomiyama. 

Yomiyama is a small town where his dead mother grew up.

In the process of Koichi moving there, he acquires a serious health problem, which delays him from transferring to his new school and causes him to be hospitalized. Then, Koichi meets this strange girl with an eye-patch named, Mei Misaki.

After Koichi meets Mei, his eerie "class representatives" from his new school, visit him in the hospital. This is just before his first day of school because they wanted to learn more about Koichi's background.

After Koichi is finally released from the hospital, he starts getting strange vibes from his classmates. Mei is sometimes visible in his classroom. Everyone else pretends she doesn't exist because their classroom has been cursed, since 1972. They must follow certain rules around the campus, in order to avoid dying brutal deaths. Those rules actually backfire on everybody both inside and outside Koichi's classroom.

Another has some brutal death tolls. Some Anime critics claim that Another is similar to the movie, Final Destination. 

I cannot support their claims about Final Destination because I've never watched the movie. Koichi's homeroom teacher committing suicide in front of his entire classroom is definitely an unforgettable scene from Another.

Another: Kubodera Sensei Commits Suicide Scene (2012)

As a quick reminder, YouTube is blocking outside viewers from watching certain videos, when they're not removing them due to copyrights. Therefore, if you're at least 18 years old, you can sign into your Gmail and/or YouTube account(s) to watch the scene above. Here's the URL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yRW3iD7FZPQ

If you like creepy dolls, curses, ghosts, death tolls, and Horror-Mystery, you should definitely give Another a watch. It not only has a novel and an Anime, but also a live-action J-Horror Movie and Manga (Japanese Comic Books).

Next, we have the Shojo (Girls) Psychological Supernatural Horror Mystery Drama Anime, Ghost Hunt. High school freshman, Mai Taniyama and her friends exchange ghost stories. 

While exchanging ghost stories, they are introduced to 17-year-old, Paranormal Researcher/Manager of the Shibuya Psychic Research Center, Kazuya Shibuya.

Kazuya, a few psychic mediums, and exorcists are sent by Mai's high school principal to investigate an allegedly haunted school building. 

During the school's investigation, a dangerous situation occurs, when a bookcase nearly crushes Mai. Kazuya's taciturn assistant, Lin Koujo rescues her.

Lin becomes incapacitated by the falling bookcase and she destroys their expensive camera equipment. Since Lin is incapacitated and Mai destroyed their expensive equipment, Kazuya makes Mai repay her debt by making her work for his company. She later nicknames him "Naru."

"Naru" is Mai's short Japanese nickname for Kazuya being narcissistic.

The "Bloodstained Labyrinth Arc" is Ghost Hunt's scariest arc, which is later in the series. "Bloodstained Labyrinth" lasts for 4 episodes. 

In the arc, Mai starts having nightmares and has first-hand experience with the death of someone from the estate they are investigating.

Ghost Hunt Episodes 18-21: "Bloodstained Labyrinth Arc" (2006)

If you enjoy watching exorcisms, ghosts, psychic mediums, espers, and poltergeists, you'll love Ghost Hunt. The opening theme song even sets the creepy mood.

Similar to Ghost Hunt is Hell Girl. Hell Girl actually has 3 seasons. Only Season 1 aired on IFC years ago. There are 2 other unaired seasons. 

Much like Ghost Hunt, Hell Girl is a Shojo Psychological Supernatural Horror Mystery Drama Anime. However, Hell Girl's main themes are about death, revenge, tragedy, and comeuppance.

During the stroke of midnight, The Hell Girl Correspondence appears online. Avengers posting their grudges on the Hell Girl Correspondence will be visited by the Hell Girl herself, Ai Enma. She offers the person, who wants vengeance, a straw doll and 1 of her 3 companions to help seek vengeance.

Each person seeking vengeance has the option to either accept, or reject. If he/she CHOOSES vengeance, his/her enemy will be sent to hell. The avenger will also have a permanent black crest-shaped mark on his/her chest. The mark symbolizes that he/she will ALSO go to hell, when it is his/her time to die.

Basically, Ai Enma's services come with a double-edged sword. Most people follow through with seeking revenge, regardless.

At the very beginning part of Hell Girl Season 1, the stories seem repetitive. As the season progresses, viewers learn more about Ai Enma's origins and how she became Hell Girl. This doesn't happen until Season 1: Episode 13 "Purgatory Girl."

Hell Girl: "Purgatory Girl" Scenes (2005)

If you're someone like me, who loves revenge, Hell Girl is the franchise to watch.

Besides Hell Girl, there are the Hellsing Ulitmate OVA's. Years ago, Hellsing originally had an Anime series. Then, Japan released the OVA's, which were adapted more to its Manga. 

The Hellsing franchise is a Seinen Biopunk Horror Action Drama. Overall, Hellsing is named after and centered around the Royal Order of Protestant Knights.

The Hellsing Organization was founded by Abraham Van Helsing. It is currently led by his daughter, Sir Integra Fairbrook Wingates Helsing. 

Sir Integra witnessed her father's death at a young age. Van Helsing's death hardened Sir Integra and turned her into a lethal force to be reckoned with. Integra is protected by her family's former "trashman" now turned butler, Walter C. Dornez and Alucard.

Alucard is the original and most powerful vampire. He swore his loyalty to The Helsings, after Van Helsing defeated him.

The Hellsing Organization's main objective is to secretly search and destroy "the undead" and other evil supernatural forces, that are threats to the queen and England. In addition, there's Seras Victoria a.k.a. "Police Girl." 

Seras Victoria is a former police woman now turned so-called "Draculina." She was originally sent on a vampire mission with her squad. The mission soon becomes more than what she bargained for. It results in "Police Girl" being taken hostage by a vampire priest, who controls zombies. Alucard shoots through Seras Victoria, in order to kill the vampire priest. 

Then, Alucard gives her the choice to die or become a vampire. She chooses vampirism, which leads to Alucard becoming her master. 

Now, Seras must drink blood like a regular vampire and go on missions with The Hellsing Organization.

Hellsing Ultimate: Seras Victoria's 1st Hellsing Operative Mission Scene (2006)

 

 

 

 

 

Because YouTube keeps removing the Hellsing Ultimate clip of Seras Victoria sniping the ghoul named Jessica, the preceding image above is from that exact scene. The fact that YouTubers keep inserting Justin Bieber in this scene is highly obnoxious.

Creeping down the stretch, there is the Shounen (Boys) Supernatural Horror-Mystery Anime, Shiki. Shiki (literally translated in English as "corpse demon" or "death spirit") takes place in Sotobamura, Japan, during the summer of the 1990's.

Sotobamura is an isolated Japanese village with old customs such as the burial of the dead, for example.

Throughout the summer, 3 corpses are mysteriously found and villagers start dropping like flies. Everyone, including Dr. Ozaki Toshio, assume there's a growing epidemic in Sotobamura.

All the while, The Kirishikis conveniently move into the long abandoned Kanemasa Mansion on the outskirts. 

As more villagers die throughout the summer, Dr. Ozaki Toshio starts investigating and discovers the supernatural presence of vampires.

The vampires are referred to as "shiki" and they return from the dead, infecting the entire town.

I watched Shiki 2 summers ago. As I watched each episode, there were times I became frustrated because the main characters kept dying. 

When it comes to Megumi Shimizu, that character was and still is the most sickening character in Shiki.  

She was a snob, who was OBSESSED with Natsuno Yuuki so much so, that she stalked him. Even after Megumi died from anemia and was revived as a shiki, I am willing to believe that most Shiki viewers rejoiced, when she officially died. I know I did.

Shiki: Megumi Shimizu's Brutal & Well Deserved Death (2010)

Tokko is another Seinen Horror Action Anime. The gif above is a scence from Tokko. This has more of a supernatural, police procedural theme to it. 

In Tokko, Ranmaru Shindou graduates from the police academy and is assigned to Tokki. 

Tokki is a Special Mobile Investigation Force. 

On the same day of Ranmaru's graduation, he meets this half-naked girl, who he constantly sees in his dreams, named Sakura Rokujo. Sakura happens to work for Tokko.

Tokko is the Special Public Safety Task Force, which is secretly within Tokki.

Eventually, Ranmaru joins Tokko mostly to avenge the death of his parents and to solve the mass murder mysteries for Machida, Japan's residents. Because Tokko is a short series, the story has a faster pace. The following is a clip of the opening scene for Tokko's 2nd episode.

Tokko: 2nd Episode Opening Scene (2006)

If you enjoy watching Japanese demons and strange creatures with a blood lust being slayed, you should definitely give Tokko a watch.

Last but not least is Vampire Knight. This is a Shojo Supernatural Action Romance Bishounen (Pretty Boy) Vampire Anime with a high school theme.

Even though Vampire Knight really is not scary, it heavily revolves around tragedy. The series can be somewhat considered Horror because it has the elements. It is mostly meant for the female audience, since it is a Shojo Anime.

Ghost Hunt and Hell Girl are both Shojo Horror Anime except they have more Horror elements to them than Vampire Knight. 

In other words, Vampire Knight is more feminine with dark and tragic overtones. Anyway, Cross Academy has both Day and Night Classes. The Day Classes are for humans and the Night Classes are for the vampires. 

Cross Academy's headmaster (Kaien Cross) created the academy for both humans and vampires to "peacefully coexist." At the same time, they are still segregated on campus.

You are probably asking yourselves, "Okay what's the point? That sounds rather contradictory."

In a way, it is contradictory, not to mention delusional. 

I believe Kaein Cross built Cross Academy for his foster daughter/campus guardian, Yuki Cross and her childhood/campus guardian friend, Zero Kiryu.

Vampire Knight begins with Yuki remembering that stormy winter night, when she was nearly attacked by a Level E Vampire. Instead, she was rescued by Kaname Kuran.

Kaname Kuran is a Pureblood Vampire/Moon Dorm President/Vampire Society King. These are only naming a few titles he possesses in Vampire Knight. Out of respect for potential fans, I won't spoil everything about Kaname Kuran. 

Kaname, Yuki, and Zero are the main characters with a love triangle.

Rather than sharing clips of the Vampire Knight series, I am sharing the links below to its pilot episode. You can watch Vampire Knight on Crunchyroll either in Japanese, or English.

While watching it, you will quickly learn about Zero's self-hatred and his hatred toward vampires. This includes his seething jealousy towards Kaname.

Vampire Knight Season 1: Episode 1 (2008) [English Subtitles]

Vampire Knight Season 1: Episode 1 (2008) [English Dub]

Naruto Shippuden Will FINALLY Be Aired On Adult Swim

How's it going lurkers? On Wednesday night, a cyber friend of mine sent me a link to Toonami's Tumblr page. According to Adult Swim's Toonami, the block will FINALLY premiere Naruto Shippuden, literally 5 years later. 

Well, it's about damn time! Honestly, Cartoon Network should've premiered every Naruto episode before canceling the Anime and the Toonami block. It only had a few more episodes to air, before Naruto's 2-year time skip.

Cartoon Network didn't want to buy the rights to Naruto Shippuden YET  Disney XD bought the series, which was dumb. Naruto Shippuden never belonged on Disney XD.

Considering that Naruto was already violent, what made those in charge of Disney think Naruto Shippuden would be any LESS violent?

In Shippuden, the characters are teenagers, the arcs have more violence and death, along with more mature writing than the original series. Disney XD censored Naruto Shippuden more than Cartoon Network censored Naruto. 

To make matters worse, Disney XD put Shippuden on hiatus for the last 3 years. It would've been more logical for Adult Swim to have bought Naruto Shippuden years ago rather than Disney XD. 

Adult Swim would've premiered the series uncensored. Because Adult Swim's Toonami didn't buy Naruto Shippuden, when they network HAD the chance, American viewers were subjected to an extremely censored version of a more mature Naruto.

Furthermore, the viewers had to wait even longer for Adult Swim to acquire the rights to Naruto Shippuden. Well, I suppose it's better late than never. Right?

Even though Adult Swim's Toonami finally bought Naruto Shippuden, I'm only left with watching 1 hour of the network's so-called "Toonami" block. Currently, I'm only watching Bleach.

When Naruto Shippuden premieres next year on the block, I will watch it. The other Shounen Action Anime I can do without.

I recently said to somebody on FutureGohanSSJ2's Facebook page, that Adult Swim is limiting their viewership by only airing Shonen Action Anime. This particular genre is mostly about male teenage superheroes and anti-heroes.

Adult Swim needs to air more Seinen and Josei Anime for men and women. It's called "Adult Swim" for a reason yet Toonami only wants to pander to the male teenage demographic regarding Anime.

Japanese animation is so broad, that it has something for every age, genre, sub-genre, gender, sexual orientation, etc.

Why should Adult Swim limit their Anime viewers to only Shonen Action Anime?

The female demographic loves watching Anime. Not all of Toonami's male viewers like the currently premiering shows. 

It seems like Adult Swim's Toonami is purposely trying to alienate most their viewers, whether they are Anime fans or not.

Before Xanga 1.0 shut down, I published several blogs on Xanga about Cartoon Network and Adult Swim's sexism, along with their terrible acquisitions, over the last 5 years. 

Not only did I discuss their failbag programming on Xanga, but also made my ideal programming schedule for Adult Swim on Saturday nights. I still feel the network should remove the "Toonami" label and call it "Anime Night" on Saturdays.

If Saturday night became Anime Night, Anime would NOT  be limited to only Shonen Action Anime. Toonami could premiere Shonen, Shojo, Seinen, and Josei Anime, that are Comedy, Action, Romance, and Horror genres.

Here is the previous schedule I created earlier this spring for Adult Swim's Saturday night schedule. In addition, I shared some of their Anime trailers:

10:00 PM Special A

10:30 PM Naruto Shippuden

11:00 PM Bleach

11:30 PM School Rumble

School Rumble Clip (2004)

12:00 AM Kaicho Wa Maid-Sama Trailer (2010)

12:30 AM Vampire Knight Trailer (2008)

1:00 AM Jigoku Shojo (Hell Girl) Trailer (2005)

1:30 AM Hellsing Trailer (2001)

2:00 AM Kuroshitsuji (Black Butler) Trailer (2008)

2:30 AM Beelzebub

3:00 AM Repeat schedule from 10 pm

Any thoughts? Let me know in the comments below!