Playing catch up

If there's one thing I haven't had much time for this past couple of months, it's been anime watching - My wife loves Japanese culture at least as much as me, but I haven't been able (OK, so I haven't tried) to drag her into any of the shows I watch. Anyway, over the past week or so I've been making time (in my lunch breaks and the like) to catch up on things - I'm now up to speed on Bleach (Well, apart from Episode 23, but I'm waiting for the Lunar Anime fansub on that count), and am on my way to catching up with Naruto too - I watched up to Episode 122 last night, and my wife is in London with friends until late tonight, which should allow me time for a mini-Naruto marathon. :oP

It feels somewhat wrong to be persevering with Naruto now it's been licensed - Theoretically speaking, I should be deleting the lot and waiting for an official release. But, unlike most anime, Naruto is unlikely to make it to the West in all its glory. Simply put, it is (Like Pokemon, Digimon, DragonBallz et al) a marketing man's dream. And who do marketing men love the most? Children, that's what. I think it's safe to assume that the Naruto that ends up airing in the US/UK will be shorn of any blood, gore and death, probably to the point of having entire episodes or plotlines removed. Recent episodes have seen the death of many a main character, something all but unthinkable to the marketing people over here (Imagine the controversy of killing Optimus Prime in Transformers: The Movie, and create it over and over on a weekly basis) - Is that really going to fly in the Western market? It'll be interesting to see what happens to the series as it transitions to the West, but I can't help but be pessimistic.

Outside of anime, everything is good enough. I finally got my X850 XT review done, and also managed to knock up a look at ATI's plans for 2005. I really should be looking towards my next reviews and articles instead of watching copious amounts of anime tonight, but.. Well... Tough. :oP I'll get around to it soon enough, I promise. Now CeBit is over, I'm also waiting for... Well, I'm not sure what to be honest. But something. I don't even know if it's good or bad, just something, and I know someone who might be reading this who knows the answer. :oP Oh well, patience is a virtue that I'm slowly learning to co-exist with, so I suppose I'll just have to wait and see...