Gundam 101: Anime Crash Course – 2020 Edition: Movies & OVAs

This entry is part 3 of 3 in the series Gundam 101: Anime Crash Course

Cast from Gundam: The 08th MS Team

This is the third and final installment of the Gundam 101 series. If you’ve been following this, then I thank you! For the newcomers… the Gundam 101 is a “Crash Course” into the world of Gundam for potential fans or for Gundam vets are not up to date with what’s going on.

(more…)

Continue ReadingGundam 101: Anime Crash Course – 2020 Edition: Movies & OVAs

Gundam 101: Anime Crash Course – 2020 Edition: 2000-2009

This entry is part 2 of 3 in the series Gundam 101: Anime Crash Course

Welcome to the second installment of the Gundam 101 series. In case you were wondering what this is all about, it is a “Crash Course” into the world of Gundam for first time viewers, or Gundam vets who are not up to date on their “Gundaming”.

On Monday, Part 1 went over Gundam series created from 1979 to 2000. Today, we will go over series made in 2000 to 2009. Friday will conclude the series as we take a look Gundam Movies and OVA (Original Video Animation) series.

Setsuna, Lockon, Alleluleah, and Tiera from Gundam 00

(more…)

Continue ReadingGundam 101: Anime Crash Course – 2020 Edition: 2000-2009

Gundam 101: Anime Crash Course – 2020 Edition: 1979-1999

This entry is part 1 of 3 in the series Gundam 101: Anime Crash Course

Back in 2009, I was approached by the original founder of our local anime club, Scenic City Anime & More (at the time known as Boogie BAM Anime Jam Club when we met weekly at Books-a-Million), wanting to know more of the Gundam franchise and to share with other members, especially to watch in the order that I have watched them, to make sense of the 40 year-old franchise. This eventually led to sharing my love of the franchise in the form of panels at Anime Blast Chattanooga and Connooga. Enter: Gundam 101: Anime Crash Course series.

Working on the presentation, I discovered that there were too many series and movies to explain in one day (the meetings ran for roughly an hour and a half), so I had to split them up into 3 weeks of content. The first week focused on the TV anime series made between 1979 to 1999. The second week covered TV series made between 2000 to 2009. And the third and final week concluded the presentation series with a guide to the Gundam movies and OVAs (Original Video Animation).

In the time since I published the series, Bandai Entertainment discontinued home video releases of all their anime titles, including the Gundam franchise. It wasn’t until a few years later, with the release of the Gundam Unicorn OVA series, Right Stuf stepped in and rescued every Gundam series released by Bandai, even a few that was skipped over due to fan “demand”, such as ZZ Gundam. As we enter 2020, nearly every Gundam series has been released for purchase in North America on DVD and Blu-ray thanks to the efforts of Right Stuf!

To those curious about Gundam, and/or missed the previous presentations from back in the day, as well as the original series on the original CEN.TAKU.ME blog, this is a reboot of the very same series I worked on, originally clocking in at about 10 pages! It will be explained in the same order as in the meetings–and in the original article series–along with any extra information I might have forgotten, including the latest TV anime, movies, and OVAs that have surfaced in the years since. Following the conclusion of the republication, there will be an additiona post in this series of essential TV anime, movies, and OVAs released in the 2010s.

(more…)

Continue ReadingGundam 101: Anime Crash Course – 2020 Edition: 1979-1999

The Seoul Searching Chronicles: Starfield (COEX) Mall

This entry is part 2 of 6 in the series The Seoul Searching Chronicles

Welcome to the second part of the Seoul Searching Chronicles! If you’re just tuning in, check out part one chronicling our pathway to our first ever adventure to South Korea, which brings us to what we found in today’s post, featuring one of Seoul’s popular shopping spots. A few weeks prior to our trip, we discussed the places we needed to go check out during our stay, including with a couple of friends who have visited the country in recent years. Together with what we compiled, we set out on our first full day in Korea to the COEX Mall.

(more…)

Continue ReadingThe Seoul Searching Chronicles: Starfield (COEX) Mall

K-Pop Rules The World: How South Korea Overtook Japan in Digital Music Choices

If you are into J-Pop, including K-Pop, then you may be wondering why you don’t see enough content outside of Japan of your favorite artists without having to go to great lengths to obtain the latest release. It might be due to a generational issue of complicated, and possibly financial, reasons. I was originally going to just Tweet about this, but this needs more than 280 characters. So I am going to just write about this in a form of a blog post. It’s about the reasons why K-Pop is as global as it is, with even a handful of male J-Pop bands embracing the style of K-Pop. And it all falls back to an interest in music from another country that is right across from South Korea.

(more…)

Continue ReadingK-Pop Rules The World: How South Korea Overtook Japan in Digital Music Choices

Channel Surfing: Dr. Stone

In this edition of Channel Surfing, I bring to you Dr. Stone. This series was part of the highly anticipated anime lineup for Summer 2019, and just in time for the season finale, I finally bring myself from my hectic schedule to tell everyone what it’s all about. To me, I think this is the most exciting anime I have ever watched on the level of Fullmetal Alchemist.

(more…)

Continue ReadingChannel Surfing: Dr. Stone

Weekly Stream Notes: Issue #4

Here is the fourth edition of the Weekly Stream Notes, where the news briefs are highlighted during the stream. This is a way to catch up on the latest in the world of Anime and Gaming, as well as what’s happening on the Centaku Media community. Since it’s been a couple of weeks since I’ve had a traditional stream notes posting, here is a catch-up on the weeks of 7/7 and 7/14.

As of writing, you can catch Centaku Media live on Twitch, Mixer, and YouTube on Sundays at 12 PM, and Tuesdays & Thursdays at 5 PM. All times are US Eastern. You can also watch the streams on the Livestreams page, which has the latest schedule updates!

(more…)

Continue ReadingWeekly Stream Notes: Issue #4

Music Spotlight: kemu – イカサマライフゲム (Ikasama Life Game)

The next Vocaloid Song of the Month is from kemu, which different from the previous post about love throughout one’s childhood. Instead, let’s imagine this song as a candidate for a new anime series involving notes and diaries with serious consequences.

(more…)

Continue ReadingMusic Spotlight: kemu – イカサマライフゲム (Ikasama Life Game)