2023 | Otaku No Culture | Page 19 Of 61

When an Endless Summer Sets a New Tone for the Cartoon World of Dungeons and Dragons

Hopefully, more stories are being planned to feature heroes from the Dungeons and Dragons cartoon. Endless Summer is teasing at a grander story arc!

Dungeons and Dragons Endless Summer Comic Book Cover Although Summer is over in the real world, IDW Publishing’s continuing the adventures of the six teenage heroes and a unicorn with another Saturday Morning Cartoons comic in a one shot titled, “Endless Summer.” It shows the team finally taking R&R from all the questing they’ve done since arriving in this world of Dungeons and Dragons–otherwise known as “The Realm.”

Back when this animation was being broadcast, the writers rarely gave viewers a sense of how long they’ve been here. In two episodes, a week has passed on Earth whereas in the fantasy realm, more time has elapsed. Fans know this because of the episode, “City at the Edge of Midnight,” and when they come home is foretold in “The Girl of Dreamed of Tomorrow.”

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To Say Farewell Isn’t Tough in Goodbye Monster, A Movie Review

Not every Chinese Animated film will be spectacular, and what’s presented in Goodbye Monster seems to be a farewell to spectacular spectacular for a fairly standard story about redemption.

Goodbye Monster Blu-ray Disc Front — Available to purchase on Amazon USA

Well GO USA

The one dialogue element that sticks out in Jianming Huang’s animated film, Goodbye Monster, is the number of times Dark Spirit is said out loud. I’m sure the words used in Chinese are similar, but a thesaurus is needed to vary this concept in English. For example, to say, “He’s possessed!” or “Bad mojo” can get the point across too. I wouldn’t worry too much about matching the syllables to mouth movement either since getting the point across is much more important.

This story needs to remember why Yin and Yang exist, and whether bad deeds can get exorcised. My initial view of this film had me confused about what’s important. As a result, I’m more interested in acquiring the Chinese home video release rather than the American version. Hopefully, it’ll have subtitles along with a Mandarin/Cantonese track to explain moments that got lost in the translation.

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Barry Potter and the Magic of Wizardry, An Interview and Where to Find This Show Next

This parody of the Harry Potter world is a fun adventure, and in Barry Potter and the Magic of Wizardry, who knows who might make a guest apperance.

Although Barry Potter and the Magic of Wizardry isn’t headed to the Vancouver Fringe Festival, fans will have to check social media to find where Tim Motley will be performing next. I’m sure this talented magician-comedian has a lot more shows lined up during the remainder of this year, and as for what he’ll do afterwards, we have to wait and see.

As a fan of his works, namely his Dirk Darrow adventures, I knew I had to ask him about why change it up? As stated before in my review, he’s not retiring the character. Instead, he’s expanding his repertoire, and it’ll be interesting to see if his Barry persona will include brand-new adventures instead of recapping the Harry Potter universe, which is what his latest play does from an outsider’s perspective.

The following is my brief interview with him after the show:

When did you get the idea to create Barry Potter?

It was a few years ago. I had a girlfriend who was a Harry Potter fanatic, and we’d watch all the movies together. He was the biggest thing in magic since Houdini. He’s bigger, and also the whole world [this character lives in] is a massive pop culture phenomenon. I asked why isn’t there a magic show too?

I looked into it, and I tossed around the idea for me to do it instead. But I don’t even have an English accent [to pull the performance off]. Like, how can I possibly do justice to it? I gave it a go in January of this year, and now it’s like gangbusters–I’m taking it on the road!

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After TIFF, Studio Ghibli and Hayao Miyazaki’s The Boy and the Heron Will Take Flight Across North America!

The much anticiapted debut of The Boy and the Heron is coming to TIFF today, and we have the info on where it’ll screen next!

The Boy and the Heron Japanese Poster — Kimitachi wa Do Ikiruka (Japanese title) Movie Poster

GKIDS, the acclaimed producer and distributor of award-winning animation from around the globe, announced today it will bring The Boy and the Heron, the highly anticipated new film from legendary, Academy Award-winning Hayao Miyazaki, to cinemas nationwide on December 8, 2023.

The latest feature from Japan’s celebrated animation house, Studio Ghibli, begins special preview engagements on November 22 before expanding to cinemas nationwide and in Canada on December 8, 2023. As with previous Studio Ghibli titles, the film will be released in its original Japanese with English subtitles, as well as a new English language version. This film was released in Japan as “Kimitachi wa Do Ikiruka” (translated as “How Do You Live”)

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From Star Trek: The Next Generation to Picard and the Strong Legacy this Crew Left Behind

At long last, fans can enjoy Star Trek: Picard in full along with the featurettes included on each disc as they look at this Admiral’s journey to the great beyond and much more!

Star Trek Picard Blu-ray Cover — Purchase now on Amazon USA

Available Sept 5, 2023 (North America) with a staggered release in International markets.

When watching the entire run of Star Trek: Picard all one in go, the broader story arcs make more sense, and we have that huge finale which defines season three. From seeing him wanting to find answers on whether Data (Brent Spiner playing different roles in this series) made a daughter in season one to visiting an alternate dimension where Picard (Patrick Stewart) a General (i.e. God of War) in season two and to reunite with a son he never knew in the third, that’s just the general outline!

With the home video release of this series, those fans who chose not to subscribe to the streaming services can now enjoy it in full. Thankfully, other specialty stations could broadcast it after the first-run, so I wasn’t behind. While I used my PVR and viewed the run in small batches, to recall what happened in the week prior requires a notebook in order to keep tabs on key narrative beats–especially on tracing why Borg technology is vital. And some bits in my review about season one still holds.

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A Nerd’s Guide to the 2023 Vancouver Fringe Festival

With a lot more shows being presented at this year’s Vancouver Fringe Festival, making a top ten list on what to see has been a bit more difficult, but we got a list.

Anyone living in the Pacific Northwest region has a double dose of Fringe should they choose to follow those travelling acts! The Vancouver Fringe Festival has a lot more to offer, and as for what I like to see, perhaps a weekend trip is in order. I’m always tempted to, but alas the budget sets me back. To alleviate this problem, there’s a few online shows being offered!

And what I’ll do is select new shows to check out rather than to repeat what I’ve seen from the Victoria Fringe Festival. Presented in no particular order are:

Warhol: Bullet Karma

Garry Roost
(Available to view online)

A darkly witty take on American pop art godfather Andy Warhol, with guest appearances from iconic figures such as Lou Reed, Capote, Edie Sedgwick and a visiting Francis Bacon. See what they all have to say about him and what HE says about them!

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