Did Urbance Fail To Deliver On Its Promises?

Did Urbance Fail to Deliver on its promises?

What is one to do in a world where sex is outlawed and the genders are separated from each other? That is the driving question of Urbance, a Kickstarter animated pilot that unfortunately never took off.

There's a fatal STD called E1 that originally only transferred through hetero sex before it mutated to also affect homo sex. Don't look at me sideways if that description sounds a little silly. That's literally how the narration puts it.

A premise like this leads to tons of questions. Does E1 only activate when ejaculation happens or is it the act of sex itself? What's stopping the characters from wearing condoms? Its also not explained why the division between sexes still exists when E1 takes effect in both hetero and homo sex.

The characters rebel against this ban by going to secret nightclubs where their state-mandated trackers are disabled and take a drug known as Ndorphin which can artificially simulate sex. Some people still hunger for real sex even at the cost of their lives. It doesn't take long for the Mediators to crackdown on the party and then all hell breaks loose.

Urbance's greatest feature is its visuals. The scenery is absolutely stunning with its vivid neon details and graffiti aesthetics that harken back to Jet Set Radio and Motorcity. In fact, Hideki Naganuma is a fan of the Urbance Facebook page. The pilot also does a good job of making its hip-hop influences readily known. Steambot, the animation producer of Urbance, even got anime studio Yapiko to help its production. The cast is dominated by black people; most of whom are wearing hip-hop-styled clothing. It's an interesting example of black people being center stage in scifi animation when they hardly get represented in that genre at all. The only downside is that all of the voice actors were white even though casting POC actors should be the absolute bare minimum for diverse media.

With a successful Kickstarter and a highly acclaimed pilot, Urbance seemed destined for greatness. So what happened? Nothing. That's what happened. The creators let this IP remain dormant despite the promise of not only a full episode but also a complete series to go along with it. The only official products to be produced were an artbook that went out of print years ago and a mediocre card game on steam that plays like an old Newgrounds web browser. Who even asked for a card game? The gameplay seen in the official footage was uninspired and doesn't seem to continue the conflict in the pilot.

This problem is unfortunately common with Kickstarter campaigns. Kickstarter doesn't enforce its content creators to make good on their promises so nothing is stopping these people from running off with donations. It is honestly scrummy that creators would just build up people's hype for Urbance and refuse to deliver on it. Not helping matters is how the official steambot and urbance website got shut down with no explanation. This kind of behavior is so unprofessional and should not be tolerated.

Before we end off, let's address the criticism this show, I mean, pilot faced and the current status of Urbance. A small but vocal minority of people have alleged that Urbance is racist and LGBT phobic with very little evidence to back up their claims. I see no way how on earth this show could be perceived as racist unless you think urban street life is "problematic", which in itself is a racist mentality to have. The LGBT phobic claim arose from how the premise completely ignores how gay individuals and nonbinary people are affected by the gender divide. While it is true that this is a narrative that SHOULD discuss how LGBT members are harmed by the sex ban, it's kinda hard to address those themes with a seven-minute pilot. People acted as if it was a finished product.

Another misconception is that Urbance is an example of a persecution flip where straight people are the oppressed ones and homosexuality is the norm. Some have also called the story an allegory to the HIV/aids panic which spread mass fear concerning gay people. I think people are looking at things the wrong way and trying to make it seem like straight people are co-opting the struggles LGBT members face and making it about them. Heterosexuality isn't taboo in urbance nor do straight people face any discrimination. Sex itself is what's banned and this ban also applies to gay people. I also don't know where this being gay is the norm claim came from because separating the sexes wouldn't just magically turn people gay. Did people even watch the first minute of the pilot?

With all that said, Urbance is a story that would benefit greatly from exploring LGBT themes. What was the attitude concerning gay people before/directly after E1 mutated and how do people who don't fall into the gender binary cope with the ban? I'm especially interested in how intersex people are treated in the Urbance world. It's interesting to note that Kenz refers to himself as an ace, a slang term for asexuals. I'm not sure if the producers were aware of this because Kenz quickly shows attraction to a girl in the club.

As of January 2022, Urbance shows all signs of being a canceled project. The years of radio silence are a grim reminder of the fate of far too many crowdfunded projects. Whatever sliver of hope Urbance has comes from one of its creators, Joel Dos Reis Viegas. His most recent Instagram posts depict comic-style images of urbance. When asked by a fan about the status of the show, he replied that there were legal issues and a comic will be made to start things fresh.

Two takeaways from this: The producers should've discussed the legal issues YEARS ago instead of giving fans false hope. We have to deal with radio silence for years on end but apparently, the legal issues didn't stop them from making a thrashy card game. Second of all, I can't stay hopeful that Urbance can revive as a comic at this point. It's clear that the production team isn't good at commitment and following through with promises. The comic is still clearly in the planning stages, making the future of Urbance as for away as it ever was.

Use your voice poem

Never dull the edge of your voice for deafened ears

Instead, sharpen it to pierce through any and all silence

Let there be no quarter for those who try to stifle your words

Because your voice is so much more than a caged bird

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Giant Robo: The Day My Boredom Died.

Wanna know something that never gets old? Saving the world from a league of supervillains with the power of an Egyptian giant robot and super-powered individuals! That's the premise of the Giant Robo OVA and oh boy is the execution glorious.

This seven episode series details the inexplicably badass adventures of Daisaku and the Experts of Justice as they face off against Big Fire, a secret society bent of world domination. With all the hamminess and ludicrous fight scenes, Giant Robo often feels like a Saturday morning cartoon with Hollywood movie levels of scale. Subtlety isn't a concept here. Everything is loud and in your face, just the way I like it.

The ensemble cast of characters is also incredibly endearing. Daisuku is an idyllic kid hero, Ginrei is a smooth operator who knows how to get what she wants, and chief Chugo is a suave piece of sexy eye candy that's the highlight of the entire ova for me. Big fire consists of villains who have so much fun being evil you can't bring yourself to hate them. A special mention goes to Alberto with his butt shaped hairdo who is as pompous as he is cool. Even his crony knows how to kick ass and give the heroes a threat. It's hard to believe that all of these characters are taken from Mitsuteru's Yokoyama various manga series cause this is the most organic(and badass) crossover I've ever seen.

Giant Robo is a retro-futurist masterpiece that combines everything awesome about the mecha genre.

Nature's Legacy

To be melanated is to be brown

Brown like the most fertile of soil

Brown like the tallest of mountains

Melanin is a tresure

A treasure bestowed upon the chosen

A bronze legacy worth more than any gold

Mother Nature, she made us in her beauty

Beauty that could never be replicated

Beauty that leaves the entire world in awe

Magical Girl Raising Project Volume 1 Review : Dare to be Magical

Magical girls sure have it rough these days. It seems like gory death battles and agonizing despair is all they ever find themselves in. That's what schoolgirl Koyuki Himekawa learns after her favorite app game turns her into a real magical girl.

The concept of magical girls in a death game was something that immediately hooked me because it involved two genres I love. There are not enough dark Mahou shojo stories in the world and it's incredibly rare to have one as a light novel. The greatest strength of mgrp is the fact it's written from multiple perspectives. This allows readers to see how each girl copes with their grim reality and feel suspense as alliances and betrayals are born. Cranberry became my favorite character due to her sadistic lust for battle and expert use of her sound manipulation magic. La Pucelle is a close second due to his heroic bravery.

It would be impossible to talk about the characters without mentioning their stunning designs and creative abilities. Artist Maruino brought out her A game with her eye-catching costume designs. Ripple has a weird ninja/swimsuit fusion going on and Hardgore Alice looks like a gothic doll. Their abilities are also unique compared to the usual superpowers you see in fiction. Weiss' ability to conjure walls anywhere stood out for being surprisingly more useful than you'd expect.

I thoroughly enjoyed this novel despite already watching the anime twice. The prose is written in a concise style that made reading a brisk experience free of filler. This brisk writing style leads to the story's main weakness of the fights being far too short. The battles often end as soon as they begin while the characters get killed off before readers get to know them. One fight happened entirely offscreen which I found to be sloppy writing. Later novels in the series thankfully rectify this by adding more details and characterization.

I definitely recommend this series for any reader in a battle royale or magical girl.

Verdict- Recommended. Stay magical.