Monster Archives - Bateszi Anime Blog

What is your personal anime golden age?

For me, a personal anime golden age is any consecutive run of 3 years in which the highest number of your favourites are gathered. 3 years may seem arbitrary, but I’ve chosen this specific range because, at least from my experience, the vast majority of anime fans tend to live and die in that time, leaving behind their lists and blogs as if time suddenly stood still, their scribblings, once filled with such joy and passion, now mere archives for the future generations of warbling young otaku to laugh at and build on, and so it continues. Anyway… before this all becomes a bit too existential, let’s crack on, shall we? Hi, I’m your local anime ghost, also known as bateszi, and here’s my personal anime golden age.

In a land far away, there was a monster without a name

Via AWESOME ENGINE, a 35-second teaser for the live action 20th Century Boys has appeared online. It’s so short, but still, I can hardly contain my excitement for this. Why? Despite that it’s set to become the most expensive Japanese film project of all time; I’m captivated because it’s an adaptation of Naoki Urasawa‘s manga (of same name).

I’ll put my neck on the line and say that Urasawa‘s Monster is probably the best anime not yet released on DVD in the US and/or Europe (it was close run thing with Honey & Clover). Unlike the vast majority of this ‘stuff’ we love, someone could place Monster alongside The Wire or 24 in TV schedules and it wouldn’t look out of place; given a fair chance, I really believe that his style of writing would destroy this seemingly pervasive notion that all animation is intended for kids and geeks alone; just a pipe dream of mine, really.

The above video is from episode 37 of Monster and watching it now, I’m reminded just how much I loved it. Around this time of year, I suppose many of us are guilty of watching a lot of mediocre and predictable anime because it’s new and shiny, but for me, that’s a waste of time; Monster might have premiered back in the spring of 2004, but it will always be great. If you haven’t seen it, pause everything else and have a look-see.