Quick note

The first PS3 game I played was Infamous.

Infamous is not a ripoff of GTA. It is a GTA clone, and an effective one.

I can't say much about Infamous because I didn't get that far, but I can say this: I like how the karma system works, I like the sound design, I like the controls of the game, I like how your guy can scale up buildings with the greatest of ease, and while the enemies attacking you in-between missions does get annoying, you can "clean up the streets" to prevent their respawning.

I like it more than Crackdown for the 360.

Even though you can't drive vehicles, you don't really need to. I'll definitely rent this again.

P.S. I'm playing as a good guy in Infamous. I prefer to be loved, not feared.

It'll be done when it's done

I have a lot of things to talk about, including the first PS3 game I've played, but that's gonna come later. One thing at a time, folks.

For starters, Touhou. I've been writing my most recent Touhou fanfic some more. Here's the things, when writing Master and Protege, I have all these ideas in my head as to what's gonna happen when. Because of this, I've already completed parts of chapters that aren't the next chapter (chapter 3) yet. Rest assured, Ch. 3 is . . . well, I've been making progress, but it may be a while before I can actually update my series on Fanfiction.net. Maybe because I've been completing other chapters, my next update may include more than one chapter.

Oh, by the way, I started writing part 4 of A Touhou Fanfiction About Nothing. However, I cannot publish that until I finish Mentor And Protege, because Part 4 of ATFAN contains spoilers for M&P, so . . . patience, my good readers. Quality takes time.

In other Touhou related news, I became a member of the Shrinemaiden forums. I swear, it's not to "pimp out" my Touhouverse. I'll be doing more than just that. However, curiously, you're not allowed to have an avatar until you write at least 10 posts. I'm up to 5 right now; halfway home! No one's ridiculed me yet, so so far, so good. I'm still wary of the large number of Touhou fanatics who speak so openly about what otakus call "2-D Love", but otherwise, I seem to get along with the fanbase so far.

Oh! Here's an update: Since I bought a PS3, I've gone nearly broke! Yeah, sacrifices were made when I got my Blu-Ray player latest acquisition of the game hardware maestros that are Sony's R&D Department. How far you people have come since the original Playstation. I almost feel like slapping myself for having been (and still being) a fan of old-school Nintendo. And what's really strange? I'm not being the least bit sarcastic. I love the PS2, and it looks like I'm gonna love the PS3, despite its limited number of exclusive games.

Blu-Ray in my very home

Okay boy and girls, you wanna know what the surprise is?

I bought a PS3.

A slim PS3.

Yes, my dear readers, I own another new game system now.





Well, okay, I'll be honest, I really only bought a PS3 so that my family and I can finally watch Blu-Ray DVDs now. I can safely say that movies on Blu-Ray have noticeably better graphics and sound qualities than standard DVDs. Be careful about that sound, though; Blu-Ray is even louder than ye olde DVDs; keep your remotes handy.

About 90 percent of the PS3's gaming library consists of games also available for the 360. That said, I did find a PS3-only game to rent, I'll tell you about it later. To be honest, the PS3's graphics aren't really any better than anything I've seen on the 360. Now, being tied with the best does still make the PS3 #1, in a sense, however, there's two major differences between the 360 and the PS3.

1: The controller. Gamers have bitched about the PS3 Sixaxis to no end. Why? it's wireless! And it can recharge! The R2 and L2 buttons do feel weird, but otherwise, it's just like the Dualshock 2 controller. And in my honest opinion, the Playstation series of controllers is still the best series of gamepads I've ever used, to this day. PS3 Controller > Xbox 360 Controller.

2: The sound. Boy howdy, that Blu-Ray makes a huge difference in the sound quality. Granted, my 360 also supports 5.1 surround, but I've never heard sound output like that from a 360 game. The game I rented had better sound output than most big budget movies have, and that's saying a lot. The PS3 has better sound output than even my PC games. I never thought I'd live to see the day that a game console can outdo my PC in the audio department. Well, it happened. The PS3 has the best sound EVER for a game system.

So I'm pretty psyched about the whole deal. I know the "Slim" PS3 has no backwards compatibility, but my PS2 still works perfectly, so I don't care. Look forward to articles on PS3 games now.

"Don't push the Green Button."

Today's title is a reference to Rocko's Modern Life, another kid-friendly cartoon series I genuinely like. However, that's not the subject right now.

Pushing buttons is. Namely, pushing my Berserk Button. (How many times am I gonna use Tvtropes tropes in my blog?) I have two kinds of things that can set me off; Mild Irritants, and Things That Really Do Make Me Visibly Upset. Let's go over them, since I have time to kill.

xm0123's Mild Irritants That Drive Him Up A Wall:

1. Say that any video game that isn't M-rated, doesn't have guns, and doesn't star an uber masculine character is "gay."
2. Practice the Fine Art of Dub Hating.
3. Say that something sucks simply because it's popular with "normal people."
4. Claim that music from video games is not "real music."
5. Swear up and down that Youmu Konpaku is a fangirl. Actually, say anything negative about any fictional character he likes. Go on, try it.
6. "I only got into Sailor Moon because Sailor (whatever) was hot." Variations of this phrase also drive him nuts.
7. Online Gamers. Just . . . Online gamers.
   

Things That Really Do Make xm0123 Visibly Upset:

1. Bigotry in all of its forms.
2. Anti-intellectualism.
3. Close-mindedness.
4. Anyone who doesn't respect you just because you like something they don't like. Or vice versa.
5. Abusive people.
6. Exploitative people.
7. Mendacity.

Don't practice any of the seven items on my Things That Really Do Make Me Visibly Upset List, unless of course you want me to immediately lose all respect for you.

Oh by the way, I got a surprise for you, but it'll have to wait until tomorrow. You see, I have school soon, so . . . bye!

Potpourri of the Cosmos

I'm sad to say that I don't like Metroid: Zero Mission as much as Metroid Fusion and Super Metroid. Sure, Zero Mission is a lot more playable than the original Metroid, and it's not a bad game by any means, but it's just not doing it for me.

But now, Metroid. Unlike some game series, Metroid is known for having a strong sense of continuity. I actually appreciate this. Some game series don't, and while I'm hardly an individual who plays games for story (with few exceptions, I'm actually the opposite), you know there's something wrong when someone is trying to tell a real story with a game series, and yet, some aspects of the plot are incompatible from game to game. That doesn't happen with Metroid.

But there are still a few things about Metroid that, well, just bug me. And I don't think I'm alone when I say this.




{Somewhere in a dark place in the far future (sometime after Super Metroid, but before Metroid Fusion and "Other M" to be exact), Ridley and Kraid are having a conversation.}

(Kraid) Hey.

(Ridley) Yeah?

(Kraid) Why are we called "Space Pirates"?

(Ridley) Because we raid cargo ships.

(Kraid) Yeah, um, I don't think we're really pirates.

(Ridley) What are you talking about? We raid cargo vessels that travel through outer space. If that's not the definition of Space Pirate, I don't know what is.

(Kraid) But there's the thing; we don't just steal from ships. Here's the thing, our enemy is the Galactic Federation, right? And we have declared war on them, right? However, if we were to launch a head-on assault on the Feds, we would lose to sheer attrition. So instead, we establish our HQ in the most impenetrable of planets, the kind of which are crawling with hostile lifeforms, and are filled to the brim with dangerous environments. From these planetary "bunkers", if you will, we launch hit-and-run attacks on the Feds. In the meantime, we seek leverage against the Feds by obtaining and manufacturing a biological weapon of mass destruction known as the Metroid. Considering all these things about us, do you know what the best term to describe us would be?

(Ridley) "Terrorists"?

(Kraid) Bingo. To the Feds, we are intergalactic terrorists.

(Ridley) Yeah, but if we're terrorists, what's our motivation? We're not religious fanatics, and it's not like we're trying to liberate anyone either.

(Kraid) Our motive? Simple! We're obnoxious douchebags who hate all humans and want to destroy the infrastructure of the Galactic Federation just to prove that we can!

(Ridley) . . . I hate you.

Yeah, whenever I read "Space Pirates", I replace it "Xeno Terrorists." And also, Samus seems more like a mercenary than a bounty hunter. How many bounties has she collected exactly?

Well anyways, that ends my talk of Metroid for now. Besides homework, I have nothing else to occupy my mind with, (unless if I wanna die 20 times over trying to kill Striders again) so I'll probably go back to writing my Touhou fanfic some more. I don't know when that will be updated, though.



































(Kraid) Hey Ridley.

(Ridley) Yeah?

(Kraid) You ever wondered why we're here?

(Ridley) Fuck you.

(Kraid) Hey wait, I just thought of something; aren't we supposed to be dead!?

(Ridley) Possibly.

(Kraid) Then how are we alive right now!?

(Ridley) That's a good question. I'm pretty sure She Who Must Remain Nameless has killed us several times now.

(Kraid) I think I know the answer to my question.

(Ridley) What?

(Kraid) The reason we're still alive? Time paradox!

(Ridley) That's retar-

-(Me) oMgWtFtImE pArAdOx!!1Onelolio!!!1

Metroid Fusion: My thoughts

Metroid Fusion is a really, really good game. It is worthy of the name, "Metroid," and it is worthy of Nintendo. Who says Nintendo's glory days only existed in the late 1980s and the 1990s?

The game's story is actually pretty good. There's a new enemy in this game, and for once, it's not the Space Pirates. Rather, it's an organism known as Parasite X. Parasite X can kill its host, and then assume its host's appearance, intelligence, and abilities. (Gee, you think someone at Nintendo likes a certain John Carpenter film a bit much?) Rather than an alien world, MF takes place onboard a space station where the X have gone rampant. It turns out that the Metroids were creatures created by the Chozo to kill off the X. Since Samus wiped out the Metroids on SR388, the X, now having no natural predator, multiplied and even took control of the station. Once again, it's up to space warrior woman Samus to save the day. A number of twists and turns occur throughout the story. For instance, we learn that Samus once knew a Federation commander named Adam, who's dead now, but is slated to appear in the upcoming Metroid game for the Wii. Don't expect anything Oscar-worthy, but the story in MF will intrigue you.

The game itself is solid. Samus moves faster than she did in earlier 2D titles. Not only that, she can grab onto climb, climb up ledges (and cleverly go into morph ball mode if the passage is too narrow), and can also climb (and shoot off of) ladders. Also, the infinite jump is easier to do in MF. These are welcome changes to the play control. Many of Samus' abilities return, as well as some new ones. My only complaint is unlike in Super Metroid, there is no X-ray scope. There are a lot of secrets in MF, and the X-ray would've made things easier for me. Other than that, control and gameplay is great.

Be warned though, the enemies in this game are more dangerous than in previous titles. Some of the minor enemies and a few of the boss enemies can inflict a lot of damage on Samus, forcing you to play at your best. Try to find every energy tank you can; you will need them.

Now granted, MF isn't quite as atmospheric as other Metroid games. The GBA's sound quality is nowhere near that of the SNES, so the ambiance of Super Metroid is lacking. Also, the space station just isn't as interesting to explore as Zebes was either. MF has good level design, yes, but it's hard to top the SNES classic. Nonetheless, there is one creepy touch I appreciate; in the game, the X create a clone of Samus dubbed the SA-X. The SA-X has all of Samus' abilities from Super Metroid, and even looks like how she did in that game. Throughout most of MF, you lack the strength to take on the SA-X head on, yet it seeks you out. Whenever the SA-X appears, you must hide. When it's present, the music becomes much creepier, and you can hear the metallic "clank clank clank clank" of the SA-X. In one instance, you must run past it, even though it can kill you in a manner of seconds. (Yeah, it kind of sucks when someone uses the famous Screw Attack on you!) Towards the end, you do finally fight the SA-X, but it was a surreal battle; it was almost like you are fighting yourself. Samus Aran versus . . . Samus Aran. I thought that was a great touch, a genuine set of moments of real horror.

Continuity-wise, this is the "newest" game. Who knows what lays ahead for Samus? Well, if it's more quality games like this one, then the future is bright. I have yet to play any of the 3D Metroids, but it's good to know that Metroid is still in top form in the 2D action-adventure genre.

Final Score: 10 out of 10. A tiny bit less fun than Super Metroid, but still one of the best "Metroidvania" games out there. Also one of my top 5 favorite GBA games. Play it if you haven't!

Kurokami the Manwha; an overview

There are six volumes of the original comic book version of Kurokami out in America, with a seventh coming out soon. The series is currently 11 volumes long, so we're in for the long haul. I wanted to wait until I had the chance to read all six volumes first before telling you about Kurokami.

First of all, keep in mind, this is authored by Korean authors, not Japanese authors. True, Kurokami is set in Japan, and reads right-to-left instead of left-to-right, but technically, it is a Korean creation. Also, the book version of Kurokami is not for kids. And is not for younger teens either. Kids would probably be disturbed by the violence, and teens would have a LOLocaust at all the boob shots, for there is a lot more violence, swearing, and nudity than in the anime. In fact, Kurokami has more swearing than any Japanese comic book I've ever read. Are there more swear words in the Korean language than in the Japanese language? Or is Yen Press comprised of fansubbers? [Rorschach] Must investigate. [/Rorschach]

Anyways, the comic/manga/manwha/mangua (Ha! I know Chinese words too!) of Kurokami; it's not exactly like the anime. For one thing, Keita is a 19-year old video game programmer, not a high school boy. Also, his first encounter with Kuro plays out differently. Akane is still a doting young woman, but unlike in the anime, she does have her limits in the manga. Kuro starts off knowing boxing punches; she doesn't start off knowing a bunch of different martial-arts moves. (Note I said "starts off"; she learns more fighting techniques as the series progresses.) Most of the characters are morally ambiguous. This series is marketed as seinen, and as such, few characters are straight up good and straight up evil, unlike in the anime. There's no sign of Yakumo, Riona, and Daichi anywhere in the manga; for all I know, they probably don't exist. And lastly, despite the increased number of shots of nekkid chicks, there are no nude transformation sequences in the manga. In short, no stock footage! Hurray!

Now the good stuff: Many of the characters are more fleshed-out in the manga than in the anime. Akane is more believable; she doesn't have the patience of a saint, yet still helps out however she can. I like the manga version of Mikami more. She's more anarchic than in the anime, and yet is still better than the villainous Tera Guardians in the series. Keita's grandfather is more fleshed-out, and is a total badass. I like his manga portrayal more too. The artwork, much like in the anime, is gorgeous. Despite the lack of color for the most part, I think the character designs look better than in the anime. Keita looks more mature, the characters' hair is drawn better, and . . . some of the female characters have really nice legs in the manga don't look at me like that! Also, the action sequences are really well done. Unlike some manga, *coughtrigunmangacough* you can actually follow the fight scenes well. And of course, there are scenes of Kuro-chan being cute that aren't in the anime, as well as scenes of her being awesome that aren't in the anime.

There's another change that's good . . . and bad. The plot moves more slowly in the manga. This is good, because it gives more time for character development, and there's usually time for a breather after a fight sequence. You won't ever have to worry about the plot moving too fast to keep up. On the other hand, things don't happen as quickly as in the anime. In the anime, shit was happening so fast, you were likely to be hooked after the first episode. In the Kurokami manga, however? Things don't really start getting fascinating until the start of the 3rd volume. You have to be patient for this one.

And now, the big problem with the manga; the manga's portrayal of Keita. In the anime, he was basically a Squall wannabe; he avoided contact with everyone he knew, for he feared they would die and he would be heartbroken for knowing them. This aspect is true in the manga too. However, here's the difference: Keita really plays up his jerkass facade in the manga. Picture Squall again. Now picture Squall from the beginning of Final Fantasy 8. (anytime before he met Rinoa.) Now, imagine Squall from then, only much more vulgar, arrogant, condescending, cocky, and self-absorbed. That's what Keita's like in the manga, in short, the main male protagonist is a complete fucking asshole! If you've only seen the anime, prepared to be surprised. In the beginning, you will hate Keita with all of your being.

"So!? Weren't Edward from Fullmetal Alchemist, Holland from Eureka Seven, and Luke from Tales of the Abyss also complete pricks!? And aren't they characters you genuinely like!?"

Yes, but they all had redeeming qualities. Keita's only redeeming quality (at first, anyways) is he doesn't treat Akane and his game programming co-workers like shit. Now, to be positive, Keita is certainly livelier in the manga than in the anime. (He likes to playfully smack Kuro on the head anytime she says something stupid, which, to be honest, is pretty funny.) And his arrogance does create conflict between him and his friends. (Remember when I said Akane has her limits? Guess who tests those limits; on a regular basis?) And, his attitude does slowly improve over time, much like in the anime, but if you find yourself wishing someone would just smack him upside the head and tell him to knock it the fuck off and pull your head out of your ass already, well, don't be surprised.

Volume six ends on a cliffhanger, and volume seven is coming out sometime in the near future. I will definitely check this one out more though. Funny though, how the two main protagonists are like the yin and the yang. One is Zell Dincht levels of annoying. (Dude, what's with all the FF8 references? That's not even one of my favorite games in the series.) The other is one of my favorite female characters of all time. Only time will tell how this plays out.

Special omake section!: In the Kurokami manga, sometimes, there will be chapters that take place in the past, chapters that detail events that never happened in the anime. Some of these chapters are really good. Also, there are omake sections, where one of the authors talks about the series, and stuff about Japan and Korea. Also, every book ends with a promo pic done entirely in pencil. Some of these illustrations are really beautiful. Oh, lastly, Kurokami means Black God. That's what the manga is entitled, so if you wanna seek it out, remember, look for Black God.

A couple of games I missed out on

I don't have much experience with Metroid. I've played Super Metroid, and I played the NES Metroid on my emulator . . . and that's it. Aside from Super Metroid, I never really played through any of Samus' adventures.

And the first one of you who says, "Samus? You mean like from Super Smash Bros.?!" is getting decked.

Seeing as how I have a GBA emulator, and after having watched gamers suck at various games on Retsupurae, Metroid games included, I downloaded a ROM of Metroid Fusion and Metroid Zero Mission.

I really like Metroid Fusion.

It's faster paced than Super Metroid. Also, you get the Space Ball Jump a lot sooner. Many thanks. Now granted, it takes place on a space station instead of an alien world, so it doesn't have the organic atmosphere that the Metroid franchise is famous for. Also, unlike the other games, a navigator actually tells you where to go. It makes the game substantially easier, but also less "hardcore." Then again, Samus herself remarks that she doesn't like taking orders.

Oh yes, the story in Metroid Fusion is actually pretty interesting. I'm curious to see how things play out.

As for Zero Mission, I don't like that one as much. Samus is much harder to control; her movements are much more spastic. Remember how easy to control Samus was in Super Metroid? Yeah, I miss that. She's even slippier than on Metroid Fusion, which predates Zero Mission. The hell?

On the plus side, if any game deserves a proper remake, it's this one. Yes, you can crouch in Zero Mission, and you can shoot diagnoally too. Also, Zebes actually looks like an alien world now, instead of a featureless series of hallways and vertical shafts. Okay, it's not like the Zebes in Super Metroid, but Nintendo wasn't screwing around either.

Still, I'm playing through Metroid Fusion first. Expect more details later.

It's up!

My latest work is now available at Fanfiction.net.

FF.net homepage > Games (single continuity, not crossover) > Touhou Project > "Mentor and Protege", by xm0123.

Please keep in mind that only the first two chapters are currently up, and neither of them are very long. That said, if you stick around and read the completed product (assuming it gets completed), you may be satisfied, assuming you're a Touhou fan.

And rest assured, I will write more chapters for the Touhou Fanfic About Nothing series, I just don't know when. Patience, my good readers.

Let's Play for MSTers

Ah yes, the phenomenon of Let's Play. I did link a picture-and-text Let's Play of Persona 3. And I have also watched a few LPs on youtube. I'm not obsessed with it, but I am aware of it.

I was not, however, aware of terrible LPs.

Until I stumbled upon this on tvtropes.

Retsupurae (a corrupted pronunciation of Let's Play) is a series of videos by some guys from Something Awful. (I'm been gaining respect for that website in the past several months. They rip Lifetime movies now!) Basically, they take sucky LPs and dub it over, pointing out bad gameplay, poor video quality, players stressing out over doing something in a Mario game, the works. If you're a gamer at all, you will be amazed by what you will see.

Most of the LPs cover classic games like Super Mario Bros. 3, Megaman X, and Super Metroid. Watching people suck at these games has suddenly increased my confidence in my ability to play 2D platformers now. I guess I really am god-like in that genre.

The guys also rip other things, like a series of video game reviews from the 1990s. Those are great. It's great fun, and you should check it out. Just be sure you're not eating nor drinking anything while checking; you just might choke on something from all the laughter that will ensue.

P.S. PLEASE STOP LET'S PLAYING I WANNA BE THE GUY. What is it with video game otakus and that game, anyways?

Gundam models? Seriously?

Good gravy! I'm on a roll now!

I found another really good anime series to watch!

Okay, are you ready? Go to Funimation.com. You can find subbed and dubbed episodes of Sgt. Frog.

Yeah, that's right; my newest obsession (barring a certain Tera Guardian anyways) is a kid's show. From Japan. And is actually popular with "normal" people in Japan. Oh god, I must be losing nerd cred if I'm watching something little old ladies in Nippon might recognize! [/sarcasm]

Anyways, the English version is actually a gag dub, much like Shin-chan. However, unlike Shin-chan, Sgt. Frog (in both versions) is actually funny! Like, genuinely funny! This is the second anime series I've ever seen that has continuously made me laugh my ass off. (The first being Haruhi.) This show never takes itself seriously; the jokes are fast and plenty, and the characters are well-defined.

Also, the English dubbing is very good. Surprisingly, I've read the dubbing was actually done by ADV, and that Funi is just distributing it. I don't know if that's true or not. If ADV did dub it, then congratulations; you've produced something that can make me respect you as much as ADV Manga*. If Funi did, then, uh, keep 'em coming. The only voice I recognized was Chris Sabat, who is perfect as Giroro. I don't think I've ever heard him do comedy before. He's really good at making me laugh.

The dub, being a gag dub, does rewrite some jokes, including (Bum bum buuuuuuuum!) inserting American pop-culture references. Which . . . actually are funny. There's a difference between making a pop-culture reference, and making a pop-culture reference and being funny at the same time, and I take it the show writers understood that. That's good. Of course, for anyone who wants to see the original Japanese version (or is just an anal otaku) the Japanese dub is available too. It's not as funny, but that's probably because I'm not Japanese. It's still good, either way.

Wow. Sgt. Frog took me by surprise. I've heard of this franchise before, but I never got into it until just recently. I might even buy this on DVD when it comes out. And, oh yes, this show gives me more quotes to use now.

Kero Kero Kero Kero.

*Okay, I know that ADV also dubbed Azumanga Dai-oh, and that I do prefer AZ in English. However, 1: I hate the anime version of AZ. And 2: Although I do like the English voices of Chiyo-chan, Osaka, Yukari, and the perverse teacher, I can't stand the English voices of Sakaki, Tomo, and Yomi. I guess hit-and-miss is better than no standout performances at all. (I now await a redub of Angelic Layer. And I have you to blame.)

It's FMA all over again

So I got around to watching all of Kurokami the anime.

Bad stuff: about halfway through the 16th episode (well, 17th if you count the recap ep) a complete Ass Pull occurs, and from that moment on, the characters suffer Derailment, and the whole series becomes a ripoff of Dragonball Z.

Then again, I didn't really like the last 10 or so episodes of the older FMA anime either. (I never bothered with the movie; everyone said it sucked.)

But getting back to Kurokami, my favorite episode was episode 10. That was the high point. 11-15 were pretty good, but not as much as 10. However, the entire series is very beautiful, and I guess even at its worst, it's still more watchable than an episode of Slayers. (I'm never letting that one go.)

Final Score: uh . . . varies anywhere from a 6 to a 10, depending on what part of the series you're watching.

Now though, I shall begin collecting the Kurokami manga, thus starting the cycle all over again. If the manga maintains the feel of the first 10 episodes, then it'll definitely be a keeper.

"Bull donkey! You just want more Kuro, don't you!? Or wait, wouldn't that be Kuro-chan? You didn't take long to give her a pet name, didn't you!?"

No, it's just not about Kuro. I wanna see how everyone is portrayed by the original creators. All my sources say the manga is better.

Okay, now that that's out of the way, I actually have other things to talk about now. It's just that my mind was so focused on Kurokami (foked?) that that's all I wanted to yap about. Now though, I can't really say anything else until I start reading the manga. Stay tuned for more!






Oh, and by the way, my second-favorite character is definitely Excel. I love her dialogue, and she's actually kind of cute, if you overlook her sarcasm.

deja vu

Sorry for the delay. I've been busy with school and doing stuff for my family. I haven't been able to watch any Kurokami for 4 days, which is all I want to talk about. Actually, I don't wanna talk about the series itself, but rather, something else.

I've been getting a weird sense of deja vu ever since I got into Kurokami. You know what my deja vu is saying? "This show is captivating me in the same exact manner Fullmetal Alchemist did two years ago."

Well, not exactly. When I saw the older FMA anime for the first time, it was a life-changing event for me, for two reasons:

One, "OH MY GAWD! A JAPANESE CARTOON THAT DOES NOT SUCK!"

Two, "OH MY GAWD! A JAPANESE CARTOON THAT ACTUALLY SOUNDS GOOD IN ENGLISH!"

I'm not feeling those right now because I've seen several anime products that fit both criteria since then. (Although Kurokami is a good show, and does have a good English dub . . . )


Rather, I'm feeling a lot of other grooves. I'm feeling a story that is surprisingly dark, absolutely fantastic characterization, to the point where one of the characters is one of my favorite fictional characters of all time, (Well, two actually for FMA; I still can't decide between Ed and Al) a nice blend of gutsy action, heartbreaking drama, and laugh-out-loud comedy, a plot that makes me want to see the next episode, and awesome opening songs. (Hell, Ready Steady Go is still my favorite anime opener, 2 years later.)

But that's not where it ends, dear readers, oh no. There's also this; Kurokami, and the older FMA anime, both overtook their respective manga counterparts. As such, their plotlines differ substantially after certain points. And, when I am done with the Kurokami anime, I'm gonna check out the Kurokami manga.

Alright, who wants to place bets now? Who wants to bet that the following will happen to me?

"OH MY GAWD! THIS IS EVEN AWESOMER THAN THE ANIME! HOW IS THAT POSSIBLE!?!?!?!?"

Which is exactly what happened when I first read the FMA manga. (That, and "OH MY GAWD! A JAPANESE COMIC BOOK THAT DOES NOT SUCK! SUCK MY BALLS, YU-GI-OH!") And this will be followed by me completing forgetting about the anime, and slavishly devoting myself to the manga. Again, just like with FMA.

And you know what else? The Kurokami manga is ongoing, with no end apparently in sight. And I'm sure six years from now, Sunrise is gonna make another Kurokami anime, just to appease fans of the manga.

(However, as much as I like FMAB, there are some nitpicky changes from the manga that I don't approve of. FMA Manga still #1!)

Yes, it's deja vu all over again. As for Kurokami the anime, well, maybe I should finish the series before I talk about it anymore. Of course, I might not be finished until later this week, knowing my schedule.

P.S. Blogger added a strikeout feature. So I can cross out text now. Great. Now I can do the crossing out jokes on my blog. Took them long enough.

Everyone, I have another announcement to make

I






LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOVE




Kuro.






I'm not beating around the bush this time. I love Kuro.





I LOVE KURO! ^_^

From the first moment I saw her, I just knew, she was special! She's one of the strongest female characters I've ever seen in a work of fiction! (Tohru Honda can die in a fire.) She's like those shonen protagonists who have an unlimited amount of guts, and yet, is more likable than Goku, Naruto, and Ichigo combined!

And not only that, she has a unique look, too! She wears a long sleeve jacket . . . but no pants. (I imagine she does wear panties of some sort.) She's always showing off her legs, and not counting her foot bandages, is practically barefoot. Her hair is wild . . . and burgundy, of all colors. So are her eyes. At first glance, she's not cute. If she's not displaying a cute facial expression, she's not what I'd call kawaii, and I don't really think she's attractive either.

And yet, when she's in a good mood, she suddenly becomes cute, not through her appearance, but through her behavior! She's so appreciative of nice gestures, and her (English) voice sounds so cute when she happy! She's a Big Eater, and loves food especially. And yet, she's clueless as to how society works; her being a Culture Alien lends to such cute and hilarious moments! It's like she's a Tomboy, and a Girly Girl at the same time!

And yet, the bad people of the series hurt her so much! I can't stand to see my Kuro-chan in pain! (Yeah, you know you love a character when you wince whenever he/she/it is in pain.) Why must the villains be so mean to her!? She's wonderful! I wanna hug her, make her a big meal, and tell her how awesome she is, all at once! I wanna buy an action figure of her!

And no, I don't have a crush on Kuro-chan. What I feel for Kuro transcends what a crush (even a romantic crush) usually entails. What I feel . . . is an utmost respect for Kuro, a respect I rarely give out to anyone, real or imaginary. She didn't melt my heart. Instead, she won over my heart for being that great of a character. And . . . well . . .









I JUST LOVE KURO-CHAN! I LOVE HER! I LOVE HER! I LOVE HER!






























"Gentlemen, this . . . changes . . . everything."

An earnest effort at characterization? No way!

Kurokami has good characterization. And good English voice-acting.

First, there's Keita, the main male protagonist. At first, he's a lot like Squall; he doesn't like to have relationships, for he has abandonment issues. However, he goes through much more believable growth than the FF hero ever did. He is voiced by Jason Griffith. I was surprised to learn that he was the second English dubbed voice of Sonic the Hedgehog. I couldn't even recognize him at first, because he sounds so much better. Now there's an actor who's improved.

Then there's the main female protagonist, Kuro. She's a Mysterious Waif who can be serious one moment, and completely ditzy the next. (Think Vash, but as a girl with burgundy hair. And superhuman strength instead of guns. And not a pacifist.) She has a unique visual design, and I also like her pet Puni Puni; he's like the Kero-chan of the show. She is voiced by Laura Bailey. I'm surprised I've gone this long without praising her; she's one of my favorite actresses of all time. And again, she has churned out another flawless performance.

There's another character named Excel. (No. Not the titular character from Excel Saga. This is a very different Excel.) She's a Deadpan Loli who is very knowledgeable about stuff. She is also mysterious. She is voiced by Stephanie Sheh. Imagine Eureka from Eureka Seven, only much more sarcastic. Once again, she does an excellent job.

Another major character is Yakumo. He's very deferential to certain characters, and is rather easygoing, so long as he isn't in combat. He is voiced by Wil Wheaton. (Yes, you read that right.) Nice to know that he's doing something other than playing a character in GTA: San Andreas, which he was also excellent in.

One of these four is my favorite character, as of having seen the first ten episodes. However, I shall remind you, when I do my next post, my blog will never be the same. Yes, you will never look at me the same way ever again. And you know what? I'm looking forward to telling you my secret.

Oh, and speaking of which, every episode has been excellent so far. Every. Episode. You will respect Kurokami, or my name isn't xm0123!

Do as I say

Are you not at work right now? And not at school either? Do you have a fast enough internet connection? And do you have an account on youtube? (If you don't, it's free, and only requires an email account.) If so, do the following things I'm about to tell you.

Forget Gurren Lagaan. Forget Lucky Star. Forget Gundam 00. Forget Code Geass. Forget Slayers. Forget Shikabane Hime. Forget Lyrical Nanoha. Forget all of the series I just mentioned, even the ones I like.

Now, go to youtube. Go to Bandai Entertainment's channel. They are hosting the English dubbed version of Kurokami, an animated series inspired by a Korean manhwa. ("Manhwa" is really just "manga" pronounced in Korean. So in effect, I'm saying Korean comics. Isn't international trade a wonderful thing?)

Watch it. NOW.

Granted, as of this writing, I've only seen the first four episodes, but what I have seen was utterly captivating.

The backgrounds are beautiful, and the animation is top-notch, especially the fight choreography. There is usage of hand-drawn cels, CGI, and even cel-shading in the animation, and it all looks great. The music is sparse, but effective. The intro however, is one of the best I've ever seen. I need that full song on MP3.

The story at first seems like a rip-off of Bleach, and to be honest, I still feel it's a lot like the early volumes of Bleach, but it's much darker than that series. By the end of the first episode alone, expect to be shocked. The characterization is great. I won't say too much right now, but the characters in Kurokami are very interesting in their own right. The plot is mysterious, and yet, you sometimes feel like watching because you just want to learn more. It can be very emotional, and yet very funny in the same episode.

I've only found one flaw so far, and that is . . . *sigh* there is some fanservice that does not add anything to the show. Granted, it's not as obnoxious as the titillation of the Code Geass anime, but some of the fanservice in Kurokami could've been erased. Other than that, try it.

Now, this show apparently isn't that popular. And I've already looked up archives on messageboards, and everyone outside of youtube commentors just says the same damned thing:

"I watched this back when it was first fansubbed; it was nothing special."

Yeah, that was the same thing you otakus said about Eureka Seven, Trinity Blood, and Scrapped Princess. Man, were you fuckers wrong on those counts! And now you're wrong again! And just to get it out of the way,

"Why would I watch Kurokami in English!? PHUK THUH ENGLISH LANGUAGE!"

Okay, let me try to reason with some of you. So you're a dub hater. Okay. Try watching Kurokami in English anyways. You just might be convinced otherwise about the state of dubs, because the dub in Kurokami is fantastic. It's like Bandai is saying, "We're sorry for Code Geass. Here's a dub you'll all love!" Kurokami does sound better than Bandai's dubs of CG and Gurren Lagann, and by that account, it is awesome. Again, I'll go into more detail later, but trust me, when it comes to English dubs, Bandai at its best is very hard to beat.

THIS SERIES NEEDS MORE LOVE! I can't believe the only people who like Kurokami so far are youtube commentators. Wow. Youtube commentators are more intelligent than anime otakus. It's official. Well, if you're a true fan of animation like me, please, try Kurokami. For me. If you like action series with a heart, you owe it to yourself.

In my next post, I will show off my knowledge of dub actors some more. And in the post after that, I will talk about nothing but my favorite (so far) character from Kurokami. Oh yes, blogosphere; we're in for a fun time now.

More telltale signs of the dreaded Otaku

Peoples, I have identified another telltale sign of identifying an Otaku. The current Answerman mentioned this on ANN. He spoke the truth:

"I guess you can't really match wits and measure your "e-peen" against the agitated denizens of /a/ or whatever because your collection isn't a massive, towering skyscraper, and you have neither the time nor the interest in watching every single new frame of Japanese animated content that gets blasted across Japanese television every two months. But, those people, to make a terrible blanket statement with a tiny ounce of veracity, aren't at all interested in enjoying it. They watch everything and anything anime out of a sick compulsion, out of that nerd ideal to be completely and utterly informed of every single nuance within their chosen niche. They don't actually chew and digest anything they watch; it all slides right down their throat and passes through their body like a stone, so they can post on the internet and blog and spew their opinions over their dozen or so like-minded peers.

...That sounded a bit harsh. To which, yes, I was using hyperbole for possible comedic effect, but I do think that there's a very vocal and very disturbing sect of obsessive anime fans that don't watch anime out of enjoyment; they just want to BE that guy that has literally SEEN EVERYTHING and KNOWS EVERYTHING and DON'T YOU DARE CHALLENGE THEM ON THEIR INTERNET FORUMS AND IMAGE BOARDS BECAUSE THEY WILL SCHOOL YOU SO HARD WITH THEIR IMMENSE ANIME FAN-DOM. But their "knowledge" and their "passion" doesn't make them any more or less anime fans than me or you."

Actually Sir, this is not a blanket statement. This is the MO of several otakus I have encountered. Don't you just hate these guys? Like watch:

{me} Hey guys, I just Blue Gender for the first time! It rocked!

{otaku} Ho hum. I haven't seen BG since it was first fansubbed way back in the 1990s. I can't believe you're bringing up such an old series. Get with the times, already.

Yeah, you see what I mean? And also, my main man at Answerman also said this.

"People on the internet are jerks.

The heavily imageboard-driven culture that is the modern anime fan community has developed this weird conclave of elitism. They watch their fansubs religiously, they talk and joke about it in relative secrecy under complete anonymity, ensuring that those plebeian, childish noobs can't destroy their precious anime discussions. If I weren't one to throw odd psychological theories out there, I would say that this is sort of a response to the relatively massive mainstream acceptance that anime had only a few years ago, and the near-unanimous presence it had in early internet communities. Except that that's probably overthinking it a little bit, but regardless, the current mindset of the inside-joke crowd is to keep anime discussion as a secret, shameful language between like-minded miscreants.

So pay them no mind; they are undeserving of it."

I would know. There's guys like this in the NPF, ANN forums, the DS board, and even a few Tropers are like this. They don't watch for enjoyment; they watch so that they can gloat over their knowledge of otaku-dom. It annoys me as a true fan of animation, obviously enough.

I bring this up, for it will be relevant in my next post.