New Animax Same Day Telecast Event ~ K

Animax Asia will be having its Same Day Telecast Event for the new anime, K. The new anime will première on 5th October 2012 at 1.35 am and will have its encore telecast at 6.30 pm.

I've never heard anything about this anime before and my search on the web also ended up nowhere as the main website is in Japanese (and I don't know Japanese!). But judging from Animax's previous anime series for their Same Week / Same Day Telecast program, this new anime should be good too. I guess the only way to find out is to watch the show and judge it yourself.

Don't forget to mark your calender.

Image from K official website.

Fantastic horror films of the east - Part 2

Here is Part 2 of my post about some of my favourite horror movies from Asia. Continuing on from the last post, here are the remaining five films;

6) Dorm (Thailand)

This movie is somewhat different than the other horror films in the list. It's not really a horror movie if you want to be specific but more of a drama. Dorm, of Dek hor as it is known in Thailand, tells a story about a young boy who was forced to enter a boarding school by his father after he accidentally found out about his father's dirty little secret. At the school, being an outcast and still upset about being forced to study there, he met a ghost of a young boy, and after initially frighten by him, they eventually became fast friends.

I like the story, which was kind of sad and nostalgic as I think about it now, and the chemistry between the main two young actors. I also like the fact that it's different than the other horror movies that I've seen. It did have a few scare but the main attraction of the story was definitely the relationship and bonding of the two friends. The movie was also critically acclaimed and had received many awards.

7) Pocong 2 (Indonesia)

Pocong, if you are not very familiar with the Asian (or to be more specific Malay) culture, is a type of ghost where the soul of the restless spirit appear in its form of when it was buried, which is wrapped in white cloth with only his / her face that are exposed. While many movies especially from Malaysia and Indonesia featured pocong, Pocong 2 is especially special for me because of the neat story-telling and likeable casts. Plus, pocong scares me a lot, so it's little wonder why this movie makes it into the list. And also why I purposely left out the spooky poster of the movie.

8) Phone (South Korea)

If I remembered correctly, this is the first Korean horror movie that I watched. This 2002 movie is about a young journalist who was investigating the disappearance of a teenage girl while at the same time been haunted by an unrest soul. It's an interesting film although there was nothing much about the movie that set it apart from other horror films from Asia. I like the actress that played the main protagonist, Ha Ji-won, and I also love the final scene when the ghost finally revealed herself. The scene was rather unique. Phone is a meaningful movie for me because it is one of the movie that open my eyes to the horror genre of Asian cinemas.

9) Dark Water (Japan)

Another movie that open my eyes to the horror movies of Asian cinemas was the fantastic Dark Water. This 2002 Japanese drama-horror film was about a struggling wife in the process to divorce her husband, and her daughter who live in an old apartment building that was haunted by a spirit of a little girl. It was constantly raining in the movie and it set the right tone and atmosphere as the theme and plot of the movie deals with abandonment and longing for love. It had one famous scene that another movie in this list tried to copy, and quite a sad ending. Personally, this is one of the best movie that I've watched, horror or not.

10) Re-cycle (Hong Kong / Thailand)

This 2006 horror film by the Pang Brothers and starred Angelica Lee Sin-Jie is rather unique in which it deals less with ghosts and more with 'unwanted' things. Re-cycle tells a story of a young novelist and her journey through an alternate universe in which all 'unwanted' things reside; abandon buildings, aborted fetuses, old Ferris wheel and even characters on paper that were thrown away. It has a cool concept and a great actress as its main cast. The Pang Brothers and Angelica Lee had teamed up before for the horror movie, The Eye, which became a huge success.

So there you have it, some of my favourite horror Asian movies. To be honest, there are still a lot of good movies out there that I didn't list out, which probably were left out of the list because I haven't watch them yet. So if you think I missed some of your favourite, please leave a comment and let me and the rest of the world know. Thank you for reading!

If you missed part 1, please click here to read the post.

Images source from Wikipedia.

Lightning returns? Another sequel to Final Fantasy XIII

A lot of Final Fantasy fans would probably already know about a new game in the Fabula Nova Crystallis Final Fantasy series, Lightning Returns Final Fantasy XIII, that Square Enix had recently announced. It would be a second sequel to Final Fantasy XIII after Final Fantasy XIII-2 and will feature Lightning as the main protaganist again.

As from what I understand, the setting for this game would be different than the previous two video games meaning that it would not be the same Pulse (the world setting in the game) as players had seen it before. From early news, it was announced that the game would be set a few hundred years after Final Fantasy XIII-2 on Novus Partus, a chain of floating islands at the edge of Pulse. A doomsday clock would also be included in the game as Lightning would have to race against the clock to save the world as it would end in thirteen days. The overal look of the game can be described as 'gothic' and feature a lot of black vs white as the main colours.

Lightning Returns Final Fantasy XIII sounds like an interesting game but only time would tell if this entry in the series can live up to fans expectation. The game is scheduled to be released in 2013. You can click here to watch some presentation about the new game.

Animations that make your day ~ Gumball + Phineas and Ferb

The Amazing World of Gumball and Phineas and Ferb are two of some of my favourite animation series that are currently running on television. Let's take a closer look at those two amazing series, shall we?

Phineas and Ferb

This animated TV series co-created by Dan Povenmire and Jeff Marsh is about two step-brothers, Phineas Flynn and Ferb Fletcher, who in each episode made a grand science project or simply exploring, while at the the same time, their sister (step-sister for Ferb), Candace, will try to reveal their activities to their parents. Another plot running simultaneously with that is the plot about a spy called Agent P, which is actually the platypus pet of the boys (also popularly known as Perry the Platypus) who in (almost) each episode will be sent on a mission to investigate the suspicious activity of the "evil villian" of the series, Dr. Heinz Doofenshmirtz.

I like Phineas and Ferb very much because of the smart jokes that were used in the show. It was quite befitting since both the  main characters are genius kids. Also not to forget Dr. Doofenshmirtz who often call himself an "evil genius" (although I bet a lot of people might argue with that). The animation are cheerful with bright colours and the characters are well-drawn, likeable and funny. The musical numbers that were featured on almost every episode on the show are entertaining making it even more appealing to kids and adults alike. The plot of inventing or exploring something new every day is also a good plot to encourage the kids to be active and creative in their own everyday lives.

Phineas and Ferb airs on Disney channel (Channel 615 on Astro Malaysia) and had received positive reviews as well as being a popular TV show captivating millions of viewers worlwide. A movie has also being developed for a possible release in 2013. Not a fan yet? Why don't you try to watch a few episodes and decide for yourself whether Phineas, Ferb, Candace, Perry the Platypus and Dr. Doofenshmirtz can make you laugh.

The Amazing World of Gumball

Gumball, as it is also known, is an American / British animated TV series created by Ben Bocquelet, who decided to throw some of the characters that he had created but were rejected into one show and thus, The Amazing World of Gumball was born. The TV show follows Gumball Watterson, a 12 years old blue cat, and Darwin Watterson, his adopted fish-brother, as they go through their everyday lives at school and at home. Their misadventures usually is a result of a simple task that turned into a disaster caused by their silly behaviours.

Gumball is a fun and silly animation series. The show features how the duo tried to solve their problems with their abnormal way of thinking and (as expected) always land them in trouble. I like the jokes in the show, which can be over-the-top sometimes, but simply entertaining. The main characters, which are the Watterson family, have their own unique personalities and their cute voice match their characters perfectly well (good job voice actors!). Other characters that filled the show are varies including a banana, a balloon, a female T-Rex, a baboon teacher and a bread, which makes this show even more interesting and unpredictable. The plot, while simple, can be pretty exhilarating thanks to Gumball and Darwin actions that caused things to get worse than it can ever be.

The Amazing World of Gumball currently airs on Cartoon Network (Channel 616 Astro Malaysia). I was a bit late in discovering this show as I only know its existence in the second half of 2012 while it already premièred in 2011. Well, I guess it's better late than never. Not a fan of this show too? Well, too bad as Gumball and Darwin are the most adorable troublesome (cat- and fish-) kids that I've ever see on TV screen. You should totally check them out.

Images sources: Wikipedia and Wikia