Rants, or other things I have noticed
Rant, 09.24.01
It's so hard to find good Bastard stuff. As a rabid collector of "stuff," I'm driven to the near brink of insanity on a regular basis in my search for merchandise related to our favorite Bastard. It's hard to find! I'm constantly bombarded with junk from anime such as Sailor Moon, Dragon Ball Z, Evangelon, etc, and have seen Rurouni Kenshin and Fushigi Yuugi and other sorts in malls and bookshops. But no Bastard!!
We're finally getting a break in that an American company is going to start publishing an English translated version of the Bastard manga. It won't be in graphic novel format, but instead will come in shots of 60 pages or so beginning in November or December 2001. (Merry Christmas to me!!!) Whether or not that is a good or bad thing, I can't say, since I picked up a Fushigi Yuugi graphic novel at Waldenbooks the other day and they wanted 15 dollars for it. *screams* Seven dollars more for an English translation, plus the threat of being edited for content?! I feel violated! Since the Bastard manga isn't going to be in graphic novel form, I suspect I may actually be able to afford a couple of them.
But why do I have to buy everything else off of Ebay? No posters, no teeshirts, no nothing anywhere else within driving distance. I met a woman who had a booth at the mall (www.animediadispatch.com, coming soon!) who agreed to contact me if she ever found anything Bastard. She agreed that the Bastard merchandise is rare, and it's not fair. I'm not the only Bastard!! fan in Tampa, dammit!! In fact, my new contact told me that a football player from our home team the Tampa Bay Buccaneers was a big Bastard fan. *grin* She didn't tell me which player, and I didn't ask, but at least I know I'm not alone. ^_^
The DS Eveningwear Collection
You know, sometimes I wonder about things lost in translation. The name "Dark Schneider" has always been considered... well, weird, but appreciated because of the character it is associated with. DS is probably the only man cool enough to be able to pull off a name like "Dark Schneider."
I took 3 years of highschool German and I don't remember a damn thing of it. But any fool can look at the name Schneider and realize its Germanic origins, so I pulled out my German-English dictionary to discover that DS strikes fear into the hearts of people everywhere as being the intimidating "Dark Tailor!" Yes, Schneider means tailor, a clothesmaker. That actually is kind of terrifying.
However, if you take into consideration that the people who came up with the name "Dark Schneider" may have had no clue about conjugating German words and that you can't take a German verb and add an English suffix to it to conjugate the verb, then you could say that the root word is really "schneiden." Schneiden means "to cut."
"Dark Cutter" isn't bad, but it is a stretch! But at least maybe Bastard!! fans can take a little comfort in thinking that maybe someone in charge was just an idiot...
The DS Jugulator action figure has a very redeeming name, however. The word "Jugulator" means "killer" basically, referencing the jugular veins in the neck. If you "jugulate" someone, you technically kinda rip their throat out.
*cackles* Dee Snider was a member of the band Twisted Sister. Dee Snider? Dark Schneider? There you go! *screams*
One day my rock radio station mentioned how Dee Snider was coming to town and my interest was perked. The orginal Bastard!! (before, dare I say it? being bastardized by stoopid American legalities) was full of all sorts of old rock references, from the cities Metallicana, White Snake, Judas and Iron Maiden to the powerful spell Megadeath and the poor doomed little knight Bon Jovina. When I realized that this Dee Snider guy was from Twisted Sister, I suddenly got this real annoyed sense of D'oh! and everything was a little clearer in my haze-shrouded existence. Go easy.
This sad epiphany was made on August 24th, 2001
Newtype Bastard
This is going to drive me crazy. One day I discovered that American and anime artists were collaborating on a project that ended up with a whole new style. The Escaflowne Movie, Girl in Gaea had a style that was a visual treat, something different than both standard American or Asian animation.
For example:
Old Allen
vs
New Allen
Dare I say it? Holy crap.
Then one day while perusing my favorite online haunt Ebay, I discovered a Bastard!! DVD release with a picture the likes of which I have never seen before or since!!
Dare I say it? What the hell?!?!?
I have never been able to find anything like this again, and have absolutely no information about it whatsoever, and it drives me bugshit on a regular basis. It would be creepy and yet delightful if a brand new line of Bastard!! material became available in this style!! Can anyone tell me anything about this? Was it just a promo for the new DVD or a teaser for something new and interesting to come?
antichrissy@hotmail.com
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