Tenchi Muyo in Love

Some posters that appear in the 1996 movie that is a sequel to the Tenchi Muyo TV series. What makes these posters a bit more interesting is that the story is set at Japan in 1970. Easy Rider, Beatles, and ウィスキー レッド (Whiskey Red) were what I could spot. IMDB points out that there is a reference to the 1987 OVA Black Magic M-66, but the only connection I could find between both animations is that Chisa Yokoyama (Sasami) acted in both.

げろたん/ゲロタン

Gerotan is an extremely peculiar fictional character. A talking baby with the katakana ゲ written on his chest who keeps throwing up every now and then. Some might remember him from episode 7 of Cromartie High School (2003).




What is interesting is that he had previously appeared on episode 39 of another animation called Sexy Commando Gaiden: Sugoiyo! Masaru-san (1998). Only this time his name was written in hiragana, but with the same sound pronounciation. The katakana ゲ on his chest was replaced by the equivalent hiragana げ as seen below.


What is odd is that the production of both shows was done by different companies. Cromartie was produced by Production I.G, Starchild Records, and TV Tokyo. Sexy Commando was produced by Madhouse Studios, Magic Bus, and Studio Gilleta. The ending credits in Sexy Commando don't list Gerotan's voice actress, but I suspect it's the same as the one in Cromartie, Ayaka Saito. The best evidence I could find online that she might have done the voice of Gerotan back then is that she did work in Sexy Commando. She was the narrator of episode 43 on a scene that depicts Masaru's conception seen as the legend of Momotarou.

Toradora! x Last Blade

Trying not to forget how to draw and how to use Adobe Illustrator, I recently had the urge to materialize an image in my head. It's been so long since I last drew anime characters. The last time was before the website project, which means around 2005. Above are the two main characters from the best anime I watched from 2008, Toradora. Taiga and Ryuji are dressed up as Shigen and Kaede from my favorite console fighting game, SNK's Last Blade. The title Toradora (tora=tiger and dora=dragon) made me wonder if the characters were based on the four symbols of the Chinese constellation known as Shishin. The first time I recall encountering a reference to it was in Yu Yu Hakusho, but the first time I actually realized they were popular symbols was after playing Last Blade. In the game, Kaede possesses the power of the dragon known as Seyriu while Shigen has the power of the tiger known as Byakko. Below is the intro from the game.