ookiku furikabutte

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Nishiura Momokans Win 2nd Nico Baseball Tournament in Extras

July 31, 2009 in Games, Sports by Tom Langston (calaggie) | No comments


Rallying back from 2 down in the bottom of the 9th to tie the score, the Nishura Momokans [西浦モモカンズ] (Oofuri) won the 2nd annual unofficial Nico baseball tournament on an RBI double off a tired Heiji Hattori in the 10th. Ren Mihashi pitched his fifth consecutive complete game and deservingly won tournament MVP. Their opponent, the Baker Street Detectives [米花町デテクテイブス] (Detective Conan), led for most of the game thanks to RBIs in the 6th and 7th by Hiroshi Agasa and Genta Kojima, respectively, and to Conan Edogawa throwing six scoreless innings before being relieved by Ai Haibara to start the 7th.

Hattori came in to replace Haibara in the ninth and that’s when the Momokans’ comeback began. A single by Yūichirō Tajima and a double by Azusa Hanai off the left field wall made it 2nd & 3rd with no outs. Kazutoshi Oki’s sacrifice fly to center drove in Tajima for their first run of the game but then Fumiki Mizutani flied out to center, leaving them with only one out left. Mihashi got on base with a single, pushing Hanai to third in the process, which set up Takaya Abe to slap an RBI single to left to knot the game at 2-2. They had an opportunity to clinch the title without going to extras with runners on 1st & 2nd but Kōsuke Izumi flying out forced the game into the 10th.

Showing signs of fatigue, Mihashi managed to retire the side in order to set the stage for a championship-winning bottom half of the inning. Yūto Sakaeguchi led off with a line out to second but then Shōji Suyama doubled to deep center and both Tajima and Hanai both drew walks, loading the bases for Oki. His double to center on a 3-1 pitch drove in Suyama to win the game and the tournament. (Tajima was close behind Suyama and would’ve been the 4th run but Nishiura only needed one.)
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FUNi Katsucon Licenses, D.Gray-man Dates, and More Dub Casting

February 16, 2009 in Dubside, Licenses by Tom Langston (calaggie) | No comments


FUNimation has made some licensing and dub casting announcements over the past week. During their Katsucon panel on Saturday, the studio made public their licenses of Bamboo Blade, Dragonaut, Blassreiter, and The Tower of Druaga (the press release implicitly indicates both the Aegis of Uruk and Sword of Uruk seasons). Three of those – the ones that aren’t Bamboo Blade – are Gonzo titles (continuing their existing relationship) and two have previously been digitally distributed online.

In fact, Blassreiter and Tower of Druaga can still be seen through Crunchyroll. They have already received English subtitles through that process but I figure that FUNimation will want to compose their own translations, which is probably a smart thing as their staff should have more familiarity with English flow and those results would help in the dubbing process. It’d be nice if two subtitle tracks (Gonzo’s and their own) were included in the sets but I can understand if doing the timing for both would be too time-consuming.

In D.Gray-Man news, CJ reports that the series’ website has been updated with an auto-playing (!) trailer and release dates for all four box sets. It was already known that the first will be released on March 31st so the new dates are set #2 on June 23rd, set #3 on October 6th, and the fourth and final one on January 5th, 2010. Initial English casting has been confirmed over the past few weeks with Todd Haberkorn voicing Allen Walker (and also directing ADR), Travis Willingham playing Yuu Kanda, Luci Christian as Lenalee Lee, Jason Liebrecht as Lavi AND the Millennium Earl, and J. Michael Tatum as Komui Lee. Other less core roles are Cherami Leigh (Mai in Ghost Hunt) as Road Camelot (come on! spell it with a K!), Wendy Powell as Hevlaska (the Innocence assessor), and Chris Sabat as Marion Cross (Allen’s mentor). [ALSO: Katsura Hoshino will be resuming the manga's serialization in Shonen Jump on March 9th.]
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Ookiku’s Name Change Winds Me Up

June 17, 2008 in Licenses by Tom Langston (calaggie) | 12 comments


Funimation announced their license of Ookiku Furikabutte today but they changed the name to ‘Big Windup!’ WHAT!?! I can understand changing an anime’s name to make it more accessible to American audiences as ADV did with The Ugly and Beautiful World (Kono Minikuku mo Utsukushii Sekai) and even Rumbling Hearts (instead of The Eternity You Desire/Wish For) is something fans would be able to get used to over time. But renaming can also make things confusing, like what I thought happened with Shattered Angels (instead of Kyoshiro and the Eternal Sky), which actually isn’t as bad as I first thought. I credit part of my frustration to being a baseball fan and when I see ‘Big Windup!’, I think of an announcer saying the title of a baseball video game marketed toward kids that could have broader appeal (e.g. MLB Power Pros, very good game but not so good announcer) or a in-game powerup that also sounds cheesy when spoken. I am NOT looking for the trailer Funimation puts together whenever this gets released in late 2009 (self-speculation) but am sort of anticipating its actual release.

In the meantime, I will be watching fansubs of the show to see if it’s good. (I saw the first episode a few weeks back and, though it was slow, I saw some potential in it so, like a minor league scout, I’m going to give it a chance and hope it improves.)

*sigh* OK, I did find it clever that they parodied the MLB logo to make the series’ logo but I’m still not pleased about the name. I would have been fine with Pitch Like You Mean It! or a less cheesy name I can’t think of right now.

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