MV Tributes to Drakken and SheGo from Kim Possible

The Westside Goth Show #42: Movie Reviews + Darkwing Duck Music Video

The Westside Goth Show #36: Kicking It 80's Style

Westside Goth Show #31: Comic Adaptations

Daria on DVD

Very good times indeed.

Maximizing DC Properties For the Mainstream

Dear DC Entertainment and Warner Bros.,

If you are trying to really get more interest in this characters outside comics, here's a suggesting-DON'T RELY ON MOVIES!!!!

First off, here's a suggestion... more clothes and merchandise. Oh, I love me some Graphetti Designs but that's straight comic shop merch. What you need is more mainstream attire. But it seems most the time that's regulated to the Big 3 plus Flash, GL, Aquaman, and JLA. Oh, and Bat Villains. Maybe you guys should mix some others into that. Green Arrows got an audience thanks to cartoons and Smallville but where are his shirts at Hot Topic of Ahhhs? What about some Hawkman action? Come on. Get these shirts onto some people, don't wait for the movies to do that.

Also, why all movies? Smallville has been extremely successful for you. More TV series? The fact you guys haven't done a Question series is beyond me. Masked vigilante with a rather simple story. Throw Renee Montoya in and BAM! There you go DC Entertainment. Question is one of the various possible characters you can use, if you do it right. Unlike Birds of prey where you tried to trade on the Batman franchise too much. Sorry, Black Canary should have been lead hero and Huntress her partner. You throw in Batman, Joker, and Catwoman into the opening of a series you're going to piss off fans by not having them show up again.

Also, whats with the cartoons? I like the idea of straight to DVD animated flicks but do they all have to be around 90 minutes? Try expanding that to 100 minutes or even two hours. Maybe even do some sequels like to Wonder Woman. Speaking of which... Now, why isn't there a Wonder Woman cartoon TV series. There's a way to maximize a character you guys can't figure out what to do with. Give her a cartoon TV series filled with action and adventure.

All I'm saying is that trying to find the right film version is a waste of time. If you're really looking to bring these characters to the mainstream work in television, cartoons, and expand on the straight to DVD work. Plus some merchandise that isn't the same old same old.

Just a suggestion.

C. Towns-

The Billion Dollar Franchise Known As Dragonball

Whether you love it or hate it, Dragonball is the most successful creator owned comic property of all time. Over 150 million Tankōbon(graphic novels) sold around the world. Not just Japan, Asia and the US but also countries like Mexico, UK, Italy, Hungary and more. The anime series was once hailed by Cartoon Network as having over one hundred million fans(or was that six hundred million?) worldwide. Dozens of animated movies, tons of video games, lots and lots of merchandise. A few live action moves. One unofficial one in China thats a remake of one of the earlier animated movies and a crappy one here in the US by Fox.

So... why is it popular? Because its fun.

I just finished rereading the entire series(okay, I flipped through the final books but I didn't like those stories) and Dragonball is a fun little book. Thats it. There's no deep meaning. No complex narrative.

Inspired by Journey to the West, Dragonball follows Son Gokuh, a young boy with a tail living on his own in the woods. He encounters a spunky teen girl named Bulma tracking down the Dragon Balls. A group of mystic balls that when gathered can summon a dragon to grant a wish. Gokuh has one that his deceased grandfather left him. Bulma and Gokuh go on an adventure to the find the balls.

Along the way on the first saga they encounter the shape shifting pig Oolong, the bandits Yamcha and Pu'Ur, Turtle Hermit Master Roshi and his talking Turtle, and the Ox King and his daughter Chi Chi. Eventually ending up duking it out with Emperor Pilaf and his minions who want he Dragon Balls to take over the world.

The series for the next several volumes finds Gokuh training under Roshi, who trained his grandfather, with Krillin. Fighitng, tournaments, svaing the world, etc. until the series jumps years into the future for what many int he world know as Dragonball Z. Gokuhs married with a child and soon discovers he himself is an alien of the Saiyan race. Once again we go into action and adventure with an added sci-fi slant.

All in all, a rather simple series though repetitive. But having reread the book... its incredibly fun. The early stories are fun watching Gokuh, a country bumpking, see the world outside and go on wild adventures. He strives to be a great fighter, a fair person, and just never quits. Even when going up against the Red Ribbon army when everyone around him stresses the danger. The DBZ stuff losses some of the humor but the first three "sagas" are some of the best action comics you could get.

It's refreshing to see Gokuh not have some identity complex about being an alien. He's an earthling and Earth is his home. He strives to be the hero but at the same time his natural instinct to fight makes you question his decisions. He doesn't want the Dragon Balls interrupting what could be a an entertaining fight.

The supporting cast is always fun. Its great to see that Krillin hold his own while other fighters stronger than him seem to slowly drift into the background like Yamcha or Tian. Krillin tries to assist in anyway possible even after he knows that he can't keep up as a fighter.

Watching the villain Piccolo turn to good is interesting though I became more familiar with DBZ first. The story behind Vegeta is what drives a lot of the series. The once Prince of a dead race who becomes envious of Gokuhs abilities drive him. You watch him from villain to... well... less of a villain. Him and Bulmas relationship is a twist as you always expect her to get with one again/off again boyfriend Yamcha.

One of the main reasons I pulled out my books was my feelings after the live action film. I could tell they were familiar with the material but the execution was awful on so many levels. Streamlining the series into a two hour lfick is definitely a challenge but the decisions they made didn't work.

The first Piccolo story happens deeper in the first portion of Dragonball. Right after the second tournament. By that time Toriyama established most of his cast at the time. But the glaring problems are the cast.

Gokuh isn't introduced as a young boy int he woods but an 18 year old high school. The personalities are different with Gokuh lusting after Chi Chi. Justin Chatwick also lacked the look of the character. Which is ahrd to get over. I mean, Gokuh as a teen wasn't super buff yet but he was bigger than Chatwick. Gokuh is arguably the most popualr manga character in Japan. Really, the Superman of Japan and Fox failed. Think about it, both aliens. Both have stories of their youths and adulthood. Both incredibly powerful. Both don't like to kill(though Gokuh will when it needs to be done but prefers mercy). Both upstanding men.

Bulmas selfishness and temperamental attitude is missing. The way her and Gokuh meet is so classic but the flick doesn't do it. She actually explains the Dragon Balls to Gokuh as she seeks her wish of a good looking boyfriend. Bulma is more noble in the movie and isn't quite sure what to think about Gokuhs story of the Dragonballs.

Matser Roshi is more of a perv in the book. Yeah...

All in all... a failure as a film. Butt he comics are fun. Entertaining. Their light reading action comics and I whole heartily suggest them to anyone. Plus their easy to find. Viz is re-releasing them in Viz Big editions. I found them all prior to this in the shonen jump editions. The books still sell and the anime series is still a huge success. Funimations DVD box sets were blazing up DVD sales charts last year and the new Dragonball Kai series in Japan, which is simply a more streamline cut of the anime series without all the filler, is making big ratings number. Yes, repeats of an old anime series with all the filler material taken out(and its a lot, believe me) is a hit.

Dragonball is a billion dollar franchise and it makes sense. Fun, escapism sells. And Dragonball is one of the standards.

Anime I've Finished(or am Watching)

PaniPoni Dash-Its about an 11 year old girl whose a super-genius and now teaches high school. A very crazy, wacky, high school comedy. The trailer was funny and the first couple DVDs were fine but its, er, gets just plain odd and weird. There's some character development and actual plotting going on but for the most part strange things just happen. Anti-climatic ending and I wouldn't actually recommend it to people. I thought it was amusing.


The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya-Its a strange dramadey about an eccentric girl named Haruhi and is told from the POV of her classmate Kyon. Haruhi starts up a club called the SOS Brigade in hopes of finding some sort of fun and fantasy. She unknowingly recruits three different types of agents assigned to watch her. A time traveler, alien cyborg, and ESPer all going to her school. This anime does a great job of balancing straight high school drama with absurd hilarity. They blend in science fiction elements nicely. When I finished watching the last DVD I was angry at how it ended but I found out that day there's a planned second season. Thank goodness. This is definitely a quality anime. Good looking, great characters, lots of fun.


GTO-Former street gang member turned teacher is the central premise behind the hilarious GTO, which stands for Great Teacher Onizuka. Onizuka is tough as nails, a bit strange, fun loving, and has a somewhat perverted mind. Don't be turned off by the little, er, school girl humor this is actually a damn fine anime. A lot of it involves him tyring to make school fun for his students, teach some how to stand up for themselves, and others how they have to grow up. Just lots of fun here. Its far from realistic though so don't expect any of that.


Bleach-Just started watching it and have to say, its good. It's about Ichigo who becomes a replacement Shinigami(death god) for a shinigami named Rukia. This leads into your typical action story like Yuyu Hakuso, Dragonball z and Naruto. Big fights, cool characters, and just dragged out adrenaline building story arcs. Formula that works for me because these are usually better then most action movies or American superhero comics. Recently skipped the large filler storyline though, on my brothers word, to watch the actual arc going on now that's based on the story. Sometimes they license the manga too quickly and get ahead of the original series. Anyway, its a fun action packed show that's apparently on Adult Swim but I don't know if its edited bad or has bad dub but what I've seen, specifically the first 70 something episodes, its pretty awesome.


Welcome to the NHK-Its about a hikkimori, think shut in/recluse, who gets aid from a strange girl he never met but knows a lot about him. This comedy/drama is pretty crazy. The first two volumes are out on DVD and I was definitely signed up after a sneak preview from AX 2007. Anyway, its pretty straight forward, the Hikkimori, named Sato, doesn't like the outside world and believes there's a conspiracy out to get him. His psychotic thoughts and observations is what makes this series so damn funny. Lots of good stuff.

Downtown!

I'm watching bad rips of the short-lived Downtown series. An animated series that was nominated for an Emmy that Mtv didn't like enough to keep on a singular night and instead kept switching the times and nights. I use to watch it when I could-hell i taped six of the thirteen episodes when they did a marathon. being Mtv that meant 2 am to 5 am on a Saturday night because they didn't want people watching it. Stupid Mtv, give me a DVD! Same with Daria.

Anyway it's about a group of teens and young adults in NYC. The lead character is a college drop out named Alex whose a geek. His best friend Jen works at a collectibles. Plus Goat whose this weird, sleazy, and a bit paranoid. There's his sister Chaka, Chaka's friends Mecca, Fruity, and Matt. Plus Alex's fantasy girl, a goth chick named Serena. This series was hilarious with a lot of good geek references. Man... I miss this show.

Avatar AMV

Best Damn Show I've Seen in a Long While

Every once in a while a show, usually a cartoon, takes me for complete surprise after I've written it off sight unseen. It happened with Sailor Moon. I just rolled my eyes and mutter 'girlie crap'(not really) and went on my normal business. Then I caught the first episode with Sailor Jupiter and was surprised by the strong characterization for the series. Sailor Moon broke me truly into anime. Then there was Invader Zim. My brother told me of this wonderful new show on Nickelodeon. I then smacked him in the face for spreading vicious lies(he then pile drove me hard to the ground.). Turns out he was right. That show was hilarious. It happened when Kim Possible debuted. Cheerleader who saves the world? Who sold their soul to Satan to let this happen?' I said. Then I caught the Aviarious/She-Go origin episodes and was laughing really hard. So it happened again with a show that, after watching the first two seasons I can not find a single flaw in it. Avatar: the Last Air Bender.

When I finally set down and watched the series, four minutes in, I knew the show was going to be everything I want in a cartoon(well, comics too). It's about a fantasy world where the nations are built around an element theme. These nations have benders who can control the elements. The avatar is a being who keeps the balance by learning all the elements. A the avatar is reincarnation every lifetime as one kind of elemental bender. One generations avatar disappears before the fire nation declares war to try and conquor the planet. At the beginning of the first episode you learn that this avatar is only 12 years old, only knows air bending, and was frozen for a 100 years.

The series opens, and every subsequent episode, opens with a quick, basic run down of the central plot. In the first episode Sokka and Katara of the south pole water tribe find Aang the avatar whose been hunted by fire nation warriors for years. This time its Prince Zuko leading the hunt. Aang must master every element before confronting the Fire Lord and he must do them in order starting with Water. Him, Sokka, and Katara(an inexperienced water bender) look for a water master in the first season.

The series opens with the basics and within the first couple episodes its ZOOM right into an engrossing world of fantasy, highly developed characters, comedy, and some of the best action in American cartoons in years. Like a good show should it builds more and more tension as it progress'. This is a pretty dark show done well enough to be accessible to younger viewers but enjoyable to adults much like the amazing Batman: the Animated Series. The first season, Book 1: Water, is a flawless season. I can't say there were episodes I disliked just that there were episodes I loved. The two part season finale was sort of like Star Wars: New Hope in the since there's a victory in a battle but not the war, which season 2's finale gives a bit of an Empire Strikes back feeling to it. Season 2 was better then season 1 and that's hard to pull off. the ramifications in season 1 and the introduction of Zoku's younger sister Azula as well as 12-year-old earth bending master Toph give this show even more of an edge. Not to mention the continued focus on banished prince Zuko and his uncle General Iroh.


One thing I definitely want to point out is the Zuko/Iroh relationship. When the series started and I saw Zuko he never struck me as a legitimate villain. His attitude and relationship with his more wiser uncle who leaves the nation with him after being banished by his father really makes both these characters into characters that are just as entertaining as the main cast. Zuko is aggressive, impatient, and defiant while Iroh tries his hardest to impart wisdom on him and help him grow. It's a real strong, father/son type relationship. I'd hate to give away spoilers but I will here so you can stop reading. Iroh was to be the Fire lord but after his own son died on the battlefront and he abandoned his station Zukos father made his way into being the leader. These chain of events with his cousins death, the incident with his caring mother, and his own turbulent relationship with his gifted younger sister makes the story of Iroh and Zoku just as powerful as the relationship between Anng and his friends. The funny thing i find about this is we have yet to really see Zuko and Azulas father.

Season 2, which I finished yesterday, had a heavier tone then season 1 but kept the optimism and comedy to keep a great balance in the show. The final two episodes, like I stated, remind me of Empire Strikes Back which is my favorite Star Wars film. It was sad, a bit depressing, yet has me excited to see how it ends.

I just hope that after season 3, which would technically be the final season by all indications, remains the finale and Nickelodeon doesn't try to cash in with an unneeded new plot line. Season 3 is to start soon and I'm probably going to buy the box set for season 1 soon. Don't like watching shows on computer.