Food For Thought/Thought For Food No. 11: Please Be Fake (#KickVic, Allegations, and #MeToo)(Updated)

In the past few days, more & more allegations of homophobia and sexual assault have risen against voice actor Vic Mignogna. Since the time of my post, said allegations have gotten much darker and have gained traction not only among Vic's critics, but even among voice actors that have worked with him as well. Since I posted this a few days back, my thoughts on the matter have changed drastically. Originally I was planning on making a completely new post, but I decided not too on account of it feeling like I would be erasing my original thoughts on this. For simplicity's sake, I've kept my original feelings on the matter below so you can see them, and decide whether or not to change your own perspective on things. Anyways, here are my new thoughts on the allegations of Vic Mignogna. It's not going to be pretty.

For starters, let me say that I believe.....most of the allegations. There are a couple of them that seem a little outlandish & manufactured, but no. I believe each & every single fucking one of them. All of these have been cropping up since the late 2000s, and if you believe some of the more obscure stories, the Vic stories have been happening since all the way back in 2003! These stories wouldn't have been sticking around if there wasn't at least a sliver of truth. If there wasn't a kernel of honesty underneath the muck and filth. You know it's bad when not only the average joe believes most of these stories, but when fellow voice actors believe them also. Vic, you have people in your own fucking circle coming out and basically saying "Yeah, he's kind of a scumbag"! You have people you've worked with saying you're a piece of shit! Open up your eyes, pull your head out of your ass, and realize you might not be hot shit!

Secondly, I've actually seen you in person! Taking the time machine all the way back to Genericon 2011, you were the biggest guest of that convention (Might have been the only guest that year). You came in late on Friday cause of weather I think (which I can't complain about), so I understand why the panel got pushed. Saturday comes around, and it's the big day of your panel....and holy hell was it packed! In fact, I had a bit of an interaction with you during the panel, and after the panel when I gave you a little care package I made. Early Sunday comes around, and I decided to go to your little Sunday morning service/panel. I admit it was kind of fun, especially since I was still kind of an atheist at the time. Later on that day you were doing signing, and I managed to get you to sign my Faiths & Pantheons (Forgotten Realms) book, which was a nice conclusion to my weekend that year.

Since the rumors have been creeping back up, my feelings about that weekend have shifted somewhat. In no way do I regret that weekend, nor do I regret encountering you & getting your autograph. However, I found you to be a little too smooth for my taste. Like you were trying to pull strings, or maybe somehow grasp my inner being with a personality that might not have been 100% real. Just thinking about that time now makes me feel a little weird, and in hindsight perhaps something was going on.

And finally, there's this. This is the list of conventions that Vic Mignogna is supposed to go to this year. Notice anything!?

That's right: out of 14 conventions he was supposed to go to, 10 of them basically said "Yeah, you're not stepping a foot here". Vic, you done goofed. You shot your foot off. Your real colors are being shown, and you're not even necessarily the guy that's doing it! This should be the sign that maybe you need to slink into the shadows, or retire at this point. Maybe lay low for a while, and just maybe people might forgive you for what you've done.

So that was my update.

(Last month marked my 10th entry in my Food For Thought/Thought For Food series. In each of those posts, I covered something/ranted about a topic that in a weird way, I wanted to talk or yell about. I was actually impressed that I only did two of these in 2018, because despite all of the bullshit that happened in that year, it's amazing that I didn't do more. With the start of 2019, I was hoping that I wouldn't have to do one of these. I was thinking that maybe, just maybe, January wouldn't give me any kind of material to do one of these. Nope! I was wrong!!!

In recent weeks, allegations against famed voice actor Vic Mignogna have cropped up against past supposed incidents of sexual misconduct, homophobia, and numerous other things best left in the closet. Despite some of said allegations cropping up recently, many of these began in 2010. Hell, some of them started as far back as the mid to late 2000s!. I say supposed incidents, because there's be little to no proof of what actually happened, and what little there has been seems more coincidental than anything else. Regardless of whether or not these incidents are real, the unfortunate hashtag #KickVic has cropped because of this, and more likely the MeToo movement were the ones to start it in the first place.

To the MeToo movement......fuck off! You got Kevin Spacy, and you nabbed Harvey Weinstein, but after your big target, you have since gone out of your way to kill any potential in your message. Since then, countless guys/men in show business have been the target under your laser eyes, getting burned by your gaze. A couple have managed to recover well enough (Chris Hardwick immediately comes to mind in this regard), but more often than not their lives have been ruined for what I can only perceive as imagined slights brought about by the need for revenge. Given how badly handled the Asia Argento incident was after Anthony Bourdain's suicide last year, it's obvious that you don't believe in your message anymore (Though to give some credit, some realize it's bullshit & formed an offshoot). With this #KickVic hastag made, you continue to sink further & further into the barrel. Hell, you've probably gone underground at this point with your bullshit.

And To Vic Mignogna, if you happen to see this.......I pray for you. I pray to the Christian god you believe in, I pray to the metal gods who rock & once rocked, and I pray to the anime gods above that none of these rumors & allegations are real. I've only met you once way back in 2011, and prior to that I've only seen you in a few videos & shows, but I believe that you're one of the kindest & honest people out there in the world. You love your job, you love your fans, and most of all you love life! I pray for you, because if even 1 or 2 of these accusations/rumors are true, then you will have killed all respect the fanbase has for you, and your career & reputation will be ruined. Again, I pray.)

So that's my first Food For Thought/Thought For Food of 2019, and again, I was really hoping that nothing would come up to get me to do one of these. Luckily, February is just a few days away, and that means my little themed month special is coming. It will definitely cleanse our pallet after something so unsavory.

***
If you want to see an article that talks about what I covered but with less swearing, check out the link below.

Dragon Ball Super: Broly voice actor responds to sexual harassment, homophobia claims (Polygon)

Updated on February 5, 2019, 1:11 AM, Eastern Standard Time

Album Review (Obscurus Metalus) - Sabaton's Fist For Fight

Got an interesting one for you fellow Otaku & Metalheads!

Today’s obscure album......might not actually be obscure. It had a resurgence of sorts in the late 2000s, despite it not being talked about much among the Power Metal faithful. It’s the origin of one of the most iconic modern bands in the world, but you don’t see it often unless you know where to look. After acquiring it last month as part of a gift, I thought it would make for a fun album to review for the start of this year. So let’s not waste anymore time, and get right into the very first thing that Sabaton ever did, Fist for Fight! Let’s begin.

Background
Like I said when I did my Sabaton overview in the late summer of 2017 (Which you can read here), information about the origins of these Swedish Superheroes is difficult at best. Even with the re-releases of their first 4 albums and the extra snippets of info put in the booklets, it still pretty hard to find anything cohesive. What little is known is that the band first appeared in the late 90s, when the metal revival got into the swing of things, and Power Metal really began to take flight. 5 men, who’s love of metal was blatantly obvious: Pär Sundström on bass, Rikard Sundén & Oskar Montelius on guitar, Daniel Mullback on drums, and the man himself, Joakim Brodén, on keyboard. Ironically, he wasn’t meant to be the singer at first, but after everybody else listened to his promo material, they made him the vocalist.

Basic Description
Blast from the past.

At first you might not believe that Fist For Fight was something made by Sabaton. It certainly comes across as such in terms of vocals & instrumentation, immediately notifying the listener as to who they’re listening to. What would probably make some people drop their jaw is that there’s none of the military history fans have come to expect. Instead, it feels very much like a typical Speed/Power Metal release of the late 90s to early 2000s.....and that’s not exactly a bad thing. Fist For Fight is a really good history lesson when it comes to examining Sabaton. However, it does have some big issues, but we’ll get to that in a little bit.

Best Track
Like I said in my Sabaton overview, I was fond of Metalizer, and I still am today. If there’s one thing I liked more in this original version, it would be the keyboarding work towards. In the revised version it comes across like syrupy & fun Power Metal keyboard, but with this one said keyboard has a church-like organ feel to it. It’s whiplash inducing to be sure (Especially if you listen to the 2007 version before this one), but if you can handle it, then it’s worth it.

Metalizer

Worst Track
Fist For Fight’s problems are twofold. For starters, this album is exceedingly rare. Even though it was a second CD on the Metalizer release (More on that in a later review), it’s almost impossible to find. I saw a used copy of it once on Amazon, but it went for the astronomical price of 770 dollars (Excluding cents & tax). That is insane, and I hope that it gets a re-release in time for it’s 20th anniversary!

The other problem is the overall quality. Fist For Fight isn’t a bad album by, but by god does it come across as dated. I assumed it got some kind of touchup for the Metalizer re-release, but despite any potential fixing, everything sounds & feels old. In the band’s defense, it’s understandable why: it was the first thing they’ve ever done. Despite their talent, they were green from the first few notes. Once they solidified together, things were better for them, but Fist For Fight still comes across as basic in every single aspect.

Other
If you’re curious about listening to this, check out the link below:

Fist For Fight

Overall Impression & Rating
Fist For Fight.....I’m kind of glad this wasn’t the first thing that Sabaton released to the public. Again, it’s not to say that it’s a bad album, cause it’s still jam packed with metallic fun, and can act as a history lesson about the band. At the same time, it’s obvious that the group needed a bit more polish, but it was worth the 5 year wait (Read here). Even with all that, I’d still recommend this to anyone who’s new to these Super Swedes. Definitely a nice meal.

Fist For Fight gets a 7.5 out of 10.

So that concludes the inaugural month of 2019 here on the blog! I hope you liked what I put up in January, and there’s plenty more I got planed for the rest of the year. See you all next month, when I got my second most bizarre theme ever. It’s sure to be......miniature.

Anime Review - Demon Fighter Kocho

Hi fellow Otaku & Metalheads!

I confess, today’s review is being done because I saw Bennett The Sage show it off at the end of his most recent video. This post isn’t being done in an attempt to thwart him, but rather because it sent a ping to my memory. A memory of a purchase that, in hindsight, I somewhat regret. A acquisition of an anime that, while not awful, isn’t one of the best I’ve seen. What show would cause me to think this? Well, take a look at my review of Demon Fighter Kocho, and see the “Derp” I got myself into.

Story/Setup
Taken from the DVD Case:

“Heian University may not have much class-work, but it does have the only Astrology program which offers hands-on experience! When a horde of angry spirits terrorize the school, a nubile young astrology student, Kocho Enoki, must use both her magical powers and her sexy curves to subdue the invaders. Along with her beautiful sister Koran, and the human demon-bait Kosaku, she fights to protect Heian University. But what will the hapless demon hunters do when a female spirit attacks one who is immune to Kocho's feminine charms?”

Compared to some of the other story descriptions from shows I reviewed, this truly is all that’s there. It’s not very deep, not really engaging, and overall is pure unadulterated fluff. That said, there are some WTF moments here & there, but more often than not they are spaced between chunks of “Meh”. In an odd move, this story plays out over the course of a single OVA rather that a small few episodes. If it played out over 3 to 4 videos it might have actually worked, but alas this was not meant to be. Even worse, this plays out for under a half hour. 25 minutes & 37 seconds to be exact......and that’s excluding the credits!

Also, this OVA has to be the biggest Devil Hunter Yohko ripoff I’ve ever seen! Similar setup, similar characters, you name it. Sure, Yohko wasn’t the deepest 90s anime, but it had way more substance & personality than Kocho!

Animation
Despite coming out in the late 90s (May 21st of 1997 to be exact), Demon Fighter Kocho looks like it comes from the early 90s. It’s not an ugly OVA to look at by any means, but you can definitely feel an amateur vibe from it. There are moments where things look a little better, and there’s some trippy sequences, but they’re few & far between. I wouldn’t necessarily correct anyone if they thought that the animation was done with the bare minimum. In short, your eyes won’t be bleeding, but at the same time you’ll probably go “Eh”.

Voice Acting
The English dub of Demon Fighter Kocho was honestly not that bad. Everybody seems to be pulling their weight during the course of the OVA, even if some of them become forgotten by the time it’s done. Jessica Calvello is perfect as Kocho, Mike Pollock works as the wise & pervy Professor Kamo, and Jamie McGonnigal  captures the youthful energy of Kosaku. Koran is the only one that seems lost in the shuffle, but that’s because I can find nothing on the character’s voice actor (Amy Fitz). Everybody else does a fine job, but they don’t stick in my head.   

Also, my favorite line is early on in the OVA, and it’s as follows. “Titty booby titty booby! Bouncy Bouncy Bouncy!”. To make it more ridiculous, this was an original line also, not one made by the studio.

Characters
Characters are a hit or miss in Demon Fighter Kocho......but mostly a miss. On the one hand, we got 4 characters the OVA concentrates: the titular Kocho, her boyfriend Kosaku, their teacher Professor Kamo, and Kocho’s dirty little sister Koran. They have a majority of the screentime, and thus we learn about them the most. On the other hand, they never change their personality over the course of the show. Kosaku & the professor are pervy but helpful, Kocho is plucky but badass, and Koran is just a brat. On top of that, every secondary character is incredibly forgettable. Even the big baddie doesn’t really have anything to them, and I can’t remember if they have a name or not!

Availability & Pricing
Demon Fighter Kocho is a shockingly expensive OVA. Not by a massive amount, but it does costs a little. Over on Amazon there are only 3 new copies available, with the price ranging from 21 dollars to 34 dollars. Used copies fair much better, with the range between 10 to 20 dollars. It’s not surprising that there aren’t many copies around, since it’s an Anime Works title. Ironically, I actually bought my from Genericon years ago, and it was a new copy for I believe 10 dollars. For such a trash show, I could have done worse.

Overall Impression & Rating
Demon Fighter Kocho is.....not good. There are plenty of trash anime titles that are out there to watch (Read my review for a great trash anime here), but don’t make this one of them. It’s not an abomination by any means, but due to it’s lack of depth, character, and running time, it’s forgettable by the time it’s done. If you are absolutely desperate to waste a half-hour, you can do much worse than Demon Fighter Kocho. Otherwise, just leave it on the shelf if you see it.

Demon Fighter Kocho gets a 6 out of 10 at it’s best, but a 5 out of 10 at it’s worst.

So that was my first anime review of 2019. Again, this wasn’t a great OVA to start off the year with, but it wasn’t a complete abomination. However, I got one more thing to review in January, so get ready for some Obscurus Metalus!

***
One more thing: the biggest highlights of Demon Fighter Kocho were the extras. Seeing the actors in the booths was cool & funny, and watching the viewing party of the OVA kinda brought a smile to my face in a weird way. Also, this OVA was actually based on a manga. I can’t find any pages, save for some low-quality images of the volume covers you see below.

On top of that, if you’re remotely curious about this show, then check out the link below to watch:

Demon Fighter Kocho (Sub)

HMO Classics: Gunsmith Cats - Bulletproof Review

Hello fellow Otaku & Metalheads, and happy new year!

With Christmas now behind us, we look to 2019 with optimism & hope. Despite how the world is, I’m at least mildly interested in anything positive that might come my way. To start the year off, I’ve decided to start a new little review series. Okay, not exactly new: the “reviews” in question are actually my oldest reviews from my original blog, Simple Anime Reviews & Facts. They’re completely unedited, so as to show them to you in their purest forms. As a way to premiere this series, what better way to start it off that to show you my first ever review. I’m a little embarassed, but I hope you like it. Anyway, here’s my first ever review, taking a look at Gunsmith Cats: Bulletproof. Enjoy!

“Well ladies & gentlemen, as I promised in my first post, is my very first review, and it's a classic. So, sit tight, fasten your seatbelts, and get ready for a review of Gunsmith Cats: Bulletproof.

Originally released in Japan back in the mid 90's by Kenichi Sonada, and released at the beginning of last decade (2001, to be exact) by the now defunct ADV Films, Gunsmith Cats is the story of two professional bounty hunters living in Mid 90's Chicago, Rally Vincent, and May "Minnie" Hopkins. Rally is a fan of firearms, and has an impressive collection. May, meanwhile, likes anything that goes boom (overkill is not a word in her vocabulary. Just watch episode 1, and you'll see what I mean). As they're working in their gun shop one day, an agent from the ATF (Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms) Bureau walks into their store, and asks them to help out in a sting operation he has going on. At first the girls refuse, but after their house gets shot up, they reluctantly agree. Without revealing anything, their job becomes a fight for their lives. Add a few interesting twists and surprises, and you have a very action-packed show with a bit of humor to lighten things up when necessary.

For an anime from the Mid 90's, the animation holds up surprisingly well. The creator of Gunsmith Cats wanted the audience of Japan to have a "American" experience when watching, without the major stereotypes that many of Japan believe about Americans. The city of Chicago has never looked any better in an animated show. You can make out a variety of landmarks in just the first few minutes of the first episode, and many others in the following episodes. The sound in Gunsmith Cats has also held up well over the years. The sound of subway tracks rattling, steam rising from grates in the road, and the sound of the numerous firearms going off sounds natural, and not artificial by any means. The music that plays in each episodes suits the show as a whole, with streaks of Jazz & Light Rock being the most common themes heard. As for the dubbing, some of the voices sound really good, while a couple of the other voices don't seem to fit the characters for some reason. If you are a stickler for dubs, then I suggest you stick with the Japanese audio & English subtitles. Otherwise, the dubbing isn't that bad.

Rally & May are definitely the focus of Gunsmith Cats. Although there are a bunch of other characters, many of them interacting with the main characters, it's the team of Rally & May that will get you to like the show. Their partnership feels very authentic, as if they were a real-life team working together. They argue, cry, feel fear, and laugh just like you or I would. When you see either of they take out a bad guy, you want to cheer them on, and when they get hurt, you feel concern for them as well. It's not often that animated characters can do that to people, and that's why Gunsmith Cats is a classic show that no one should miss.

One last positive thing about Gunsmith Cats. Like any anime DvD, Gunsmith Cats has it's standard amount of extras. It's got previews for other shows, original trailers, as well as a credit free version of the introduction. These are all well and good, but the most interesting of the extras is the Making of Gunsmith Cats special. The specials shows you the creator of the show drawing scene of the show, as well as a interview with the creator. It's not often that you find something like this on a DvD, new or otherwise.

Despite the good things about this show, it does have a couple problems. First off, this show is old. As I stated earlier, Gunsmith Cats was released in 2001. Going to the ADV website is pointless, as the company has been out of business since 2009. You're only bet is to go to a sight like Amazon or Ebay. I got my copy used off of Amazon for about 35 something dollars. Used DvDs are slightly more common that unopened copies, but not by much.

Secondly, there are only 3 episodes of Gunsmith Cats. There were going to be more, but due to a demand for cops shows with more fantastic elements (Cowboy Bebop, for example), Kenichi Sonada decided to only do the three episodes that are on the DvD.

Finally, there are certain elements within the Gunsmith Cats manga that aren't in the show. The yuri undertones, for example, are all but gone in the show. Not only that, but there are only a handful of characters from the manga that show up, while the rest never make a appearance. This doesn't ruin the experience for new fans such as myself, but for those who are obsessed with authenticity, you might not enjoy the show.

Gunsmith Cats gets a 8 out of 10. It has a lot going for it, but the availability, length, and deviations may turn you off of the show.

See you next month for a couple more reviews. Until then, stay Otaku!”

And that was my first ever review I made. Looking back, I’m shocked at how amateurish this was, but perhaps that’s a good thing, as it helps me become a better blogger. In anycase, here’s to the start of 2019, and to the things that lie beyond!