Best of the year . . . for me.

Alright, what were the best entertainment products of the year for me, even if they were not brand new?

Well, best game this year . . . I'm gonna have to do two of them. First one is the original VN version of Tsukihime. It had the best story I've seen in a game this year . . . and is also officially the most depressing video game I've ever played. Unlike its more popular counterpart Fate/Stay Night, Tsukihime has better characters, better pacing, and more originality. However, a VN is a game you play for the story, not for the actual gameplay.

For actual gameplay, I should say Fallout: New Vegas, but I would just be rehashing when I said Fallout 3 was my favorite game last year, and also, New Vegas was really buggy, and you know I hate that. I'm instead gonna say Starcraft II for a game you actually play. The campaign mode is utter genius, and the skirmish mode, while still unrefined, does a couple of new things to separate itself from the original Starcraft. Though I should admit that Halo: Reach was a close runner-up for this category.

Best Japanese animation I've seen this year was Rebuild of Evangelion 1.11. Oh wait, you wanted a series, not a film, right? Well, best anime series I've seen this year was Darker Than Black. And mind you, DTB had some serious competition: Welcome to the NHK, Soul Eater, Kanon, Clannad, Eden of the East, and what will probably be the last of the Funimation version of Sgt. Frog.

Best American animation? Easy. Toy Story 3. It's a continuation of everything I love about the Toy Story movies, and then some.

Best live-action film? Well, here's what I got for my birthday: both of the Hellboy movies on Blu-ray. I better stop right now though, because if I get started on Hellboy, I've gonna be raving for hours on end. Runners-up for this category include James Cameron's Avatar, the 2009 Star Trek movie, and Crazy Heart. Yes, I just included a realistic drama in a field dominated by science-fantasy. Aren't I wacky?

Well, that's all the time I here right now. I'll see you all next year . . . which is only a few hours from now.

P.S. check my FF.net profile later today. You will find a New Year's present waiting for you.

Nearing the end

Things have been hectic in my real life for the last month or so. Aside from one last post on New Year's Eve, (where I talk about the highlights of 2010 for me), don't expect anymore updates this year.

Things should get back to normal for 2011, for both updating my fanfics, as well as other things. Oh, good news! The Nasuverse fanfic project was a success! People like it! I will not discontinue it! Only problem is . . . progress on that project has been rather slow, partially because of the holiday busyness. I should be back on track in a week or so from now.

Oh, also, I'm updating an older blog entry of mine. You'll see me link it when I feel it is properly updated . . . sometime after the new year, mind you.

P.S. If you look up my profile on Myanimelist.net, you'll find a review of the earlier portion of Eden of the East, as well a review of the "classic" film Akira. Have fun.

Win . . . or fail?

As you know, people are actually reading this blog for once! However, I have hinted that I have been working on a Nasuverse fanfic. This fanfic is an experiment, and I don't know if I wish to continue it. If you wish to view the experiment as of thus far, go to the link:

Whoa, looks like I've gotten more responses than I thought. Huh.

So . . . is this a win? or a fail? You decide.

LATE EDIT: link was dead, so I erased it. By the way, the experiment was a success. Good for me.

I finished Tsubasa

Oh, of course! Use an open-ended ending, CLAMP! Make it so you could milk more out of the franchise! (And they already have, if the anime version of Kobato is to be believed) But hey, it's still a better ending than the anime version of Chobits.

I do have a couple of beefs with Tsubasa. One, Shaoran gets barely any development until the very last story arc. His ladyfriend Sakura started off more as a damsel-in-distress rather than a bland RPG hero, but she at least got interesting shortly before the "Ho-Lee-Fee-Yuck!" Acid Tokyo arc. Really, Tsubasa is about its original characters more than anyone else. Who do the fans like the most? Fai and Kurogane, and I don't blame them.

Also, the plot is twisty like freakin' crazy, and is the short of weirdness that plagued the old version of Evangelion, but, you know what? Having Evangelion Syndrome still makes you more interesting than, say, the majority of bad stuff reviewed by Channel Awesome, but my god, how do Yuko and Fei-Wang keep track of their actions? No normal person (outside of CLAMP, Light, L, and maybe Bruce Wayne) could keep track of all that weirdness! Or maybe I just need to dabble in some narcotics. Too bad I pride myself on avoiding such vices.

But still, Tsubasa is rollicking good fun. And has good-to-great artwork, (The Magic Knight Rayearth girls look so much nicer here! One of them was even really cute!) as well as a few superbly well done scenes of drama. I have the entire series, and don't plan on giving it away anytime soon, despite its flaws. And hey! It's still a lot better than the anime version!

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As you know, I don't think the reputation that anime has as never having good endings is entirely deserved. Most animes I've seen to completion have decent, if not good endings. Many times, they are often open-ended, and maybe that's why many people act like they "suck."

Nonetheless, I have seen my fair share of anime endings that totally blow. Let's recap, shall we?

Akira: FUCK. THIS. ENDING! Oh wait, Akira didn't even have a proper story structure to begin with; how could it even have a decent ending?

Princess Mononoke: So . . . shit happens . . . and nothing's resolved. Okay, not everyone died at the end, but seriously, where is the resolution!? YOU ARE TEARING ME APAHT, MIYAZAKI!

Kanon: The last episode should've been stretched out to 3 episodes. As it currently is, it's way too rushed, and feels like a cop-out.

Also, it would've made more since if Yuichi hooked up with Mai or Shiori instead of Ayu. I'm just sayin'.

Air: Wow, talk about a desperate ploy for an emotional response. Okay, granted, the plot had already lost my interest by this point, but everything was just . . . so . . . contrived. And again, there is no resolution of any sort here. TRAGIC ENDING DOES NOT AUTOMATICALLY MEAN GOOD ENDING!

Chobits: Confusing, illogical, pointless. Also, Hideki, your apartment manager's single. Be a man, and go ahead and "tap" her! (After asking politely, of course) You don't have to worry about her memory being "wiped"!

Cowboy Bebop: BEING COMPLETELY PREDICTABLE TO THE POINT THAT THE OUTCOME IS VIRTUALLY TELEGRAPHED BEFORE IT EVEN HAPPENS DOES NOT MAKE IT A GOOD ENDING!

Lucky Star: Well, there's always the manga.

Evangelion tv series: as much as I like the school sequence and Shinji realizing that beating himself up is self-defeating, the fact remains that everything before that is junk.

Trinity Blood: I'm still waiting for that sequel, guys. Don't make me resort to writing a fanfic to satisfy my desire for a proper conclusion. I'll fucking do it; you know I will! (And watch my FF.net cred go up in the process.)

Eh, bad endings exist everywhere. I see them too in vidjagames, Occidental media, fanfics, et cetera.

Don't worry, though; my fanfics won't have bad endings to them.

A cliche of mine.

Guys, guys, I got a Touhou link.

The best version of Demystify Feast EVER.

More to come. (Yes, I signed in just to link that. That one's too good to slip by my fingers!)

Edit: Do you know who you're talking to? I mean, seriously? Do you know just who I am? I'm the guy that writes fanfics based off quirky Japanese games. And I stand up to those who would dare cast me out for my outspoken beliefs. I will not be denied, not even after having been ridiculed on the NPF. Those stupid fucks wouldn't know good music when it hits them, but I do. Why? Three words.

I. AM. EK-ZEM!

You will bow to me.

"Ride like the wind, Bull's-Eye!"

I finally got to see Toy Story 3. Short synopsis: It's good.

After confirming that Toy Story 3 lives up to its predecessors' names, I went ahead and bought all three films on Blu-ray, even though I still own Toy Story 1 and 2 on VHS. Do you know what it's like to go from a made-for-4:3-tv VHS to a correct-16:9 blu-ray?

The gap is insurmountable.

And again, Toy Story 3 works because, like 2, it is a continuation of the previous films. Unlike the direct-to-video sequels that plagued Disney a few years back, (Why, mom and dad!? Why did you buy me Lion King 2!? Yes, I said I love Timon and Pumbaa, but those songs! And the lack of Scar . . . and that was one of the better sequels!) Toy Story 3 maintains the same level of quality of the previous films. The animation quality is still top-notch, the acting is still top-notch, (That girly unicorn has the voice of Jeff the manager from Curb Your Enthusiasm! That was hilarious!) the script is still godly, and it doesn't rehash the plots of the previous films. Fresh, funny, adventurous, and heartwarming all at once! Sure beats the heck out of most of the shlockfests coming out recently! And who says animated films aren't as artistic as live-action films?

Then again, John Lasseter once said the best way to bring return business is quality. He's a good man, that Lasseter. No, really, if you've seen interviews with him, he comes across as one of the nicest human beings on Earth. Even when he's being critical, he still sounds nice. He criticized the first Tinkerbell CGI movie by saying it was "virtually unwatchable." Harsh. But still, compare that to how I normally bash things I dislike.

"THIS. SHOW. IS. BAAAAAALS! I MEAN, HOW STUPID DO THEY THINK WE ARE!? DO THEY REALLY THINK I'M REALLY GONNA BUY THIS SHIT!?!?!?"

Yeah. It's kind of like that time the Nostalgia Critic reviewed North, he quoted Roger Ebert's review on how much he hated North, and yet, he still sounded completely gentlemanly. But yeah, Lasseter's cool. He also recognizes the brilliance of Hayao Miyazaki. Okay, his praise for him is over-the-top, but certainly not unwarranted.

--------------

Oh, also, I have confirmed that at least one person from Fanfiction.net is reading these blogs. Hi Heraklinios! Can I call you Herakles? How does it feel to be the only person reading this? Sorry I kept the comments off; I really hate spam, you see. (And yet, people can still comment on my MAL page . . . am I schizoid?) Well anyways, thanks for reviewing everything I've written so far! And I'll be sure to proofread your Blaz Blue series sometime next week! And remember, my PM channel on FF.net is still open!

...........

No, I'm not telling you anything else about my Nasuverse project. I'm not even sure if people will like it . . .

Where are my posts?

Seriously, why are there so fewer posts for this year than in 2008 and 2009? Am I already out of random shit to say here that I can't already say on other websites?

Well, I certainly have expanded my network, so to speak, to MAL, BL, and FF.net since I started here. (Also, new Touhou chapter up. The Glorious return of Youmu and Yuyuko awaits!)

Well I can guarantee you sometime later this month, I will have a new review up on MAL. What that is, you'll have to wait.

Oh, but here's the newest announcement. I have another fanfic in the works. It's set in the Nasuverse.

TREMBLE BEFORE ME!!!!!

It's not finished, and I only plan on posting it on BL, and I'm obviously not gonna give away any plot details, only this; it will feature characters from Tsukihime and Fate/Stay Night. That. Is. All. For now.

Look out for sharp-toothed individuals

Remember a long-ass time ago I talked about how much I missed Buffy the Vampire Slayer? Well, I'm not alone. My brother loved Buffy too, and even my mom! But, she wasn't as hardcore about it as Brother and I were, but she liked it. (She is, however, a huge fan of Firefly. I think she likes it more than I do.) After we saw all the Buffy reruns on FX, all three of us eventually moved on to other vampires series to get our blood fix.

I moved on to Tsukihime, obviously. I would know, for Mangafox came to my rescue earlier today. I've gotten caught up on the Tsuki manga via scanlations. Good god, some scanlations are pure shit. (And you wonder why I don't default to fan translations . . .) Also, because some elements of the Tsuki VN are still absent, there are a few moments that make me shout, "Explain, manga! Explain!" But the action scenes are much better, but it's all so very disturbing, too. Also, Arc's boobs; That right there is going to increase sales. As for me? Eh, I still think her eyes are her best physical feature. And maybe her thighs, but I'm getting off-subject.

As for my brother? He moved on to True Blood. Do not mock his tastes. He doesn't watch the same movies/shows that I do, but I respect his taste in entertainment. I've never watched True Blood, but he's collecting the DVDs. He explained that, "It's like Buffy, but with more sex and blood and cussing!" (Keep in mind, his two favorite directors are Quentin Tarantino, and the Coen Brothers if you count them as one) I said the same thing about Tsukihime, but he didn't seem interested. The only piece of Japanese pop culture he ever liked were Capcom games.

And my mom? She moved on to the Underworld movies. STOP MOCKING HER! My best friend from high school also loves Underworld. I've seen parts of one of the films on tv, and it did look pretty interesting. An entire way of life shaped by prejudices and hatred; almost feels too much like the real world, even though I don't encounter werewolfs Lycans and vampires Half-Immortals on a daily basis. (Okay, vampires calling themselves "Half-Immortals" is a reference to the light novel version of Trinity Blood . . . or was that the manga? I know they didn't say that in the anime version, but I digress.)

Of course, our vampire interests aren't just limited to that. We all love Dracula, (but different versions, though.) and I'm writing another blog on FF.net from the perspective of a vampire. (Don't fret, Ask Rachel Alucard isn't dead yet.) None of us have experienced Twilight, but my brother thinks my mom would like it. ("All the young chicks at work won't shut up about it; maybe you's like it, Mom!") I dunno, though. If what the Spoony One says is correct, the main problem with Twilight is that it has interesting secondary characters, but lame primary characters. If that's really true, then I'd say it's got what I like to call Naruto-syndrome (Yeah, imagine if Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke had a shred of the awesomeness of Kakashi, Tsunade, and Orochimaru . . . . I can dream, man!). If not . . . then why does everyone hate it? I still like Rachel's rant against Twilight in my fanfic, though.






I'm still sad about Sacchin, though. Where is your route, Yumizuka-chan?

The Startling Conclusion!

Wikipedia, you are my friend.

Do you all remember when I tore apart an anime entitled Battle Athletes way back in the day? Well guess what? I finally figured out what version it was: the OVA version. And, if you go on MAL, you can see my score for BA. Oh, also, get this, BA was actually originally a Sega Saturn game that never got released outside of Japan. So I actually saw an adaptation of an obscure game for an obscure system, and the show itself is incredibly obscure in America. Yes, you can see how much the R1 anime industry has changed since then. Now you know why Geneon is dead in America now; because they were stupid enough to license, and even dub(!), an anime based off a game that never even saw the light of day in America! Well, like I said in my initial review, what few people I know who even have heard of BA gave one of two reactions:

"Oh em gee! It's an anime! Anime are awesome, because they are so much better than cartoons! U HU HU HU HU HU!"

or

"these gurls are hawt i need my lubricant stat!"

Only I and one isolated anime freak on the web see it for what it truly is; a good idea that instead got turned into wank fodder for pervs and/or otakus.

And with that, my obsessive hatred has finally come full circle.

Pity Geneon USA. Your only good offering was Trigun, and I "only" gave that an 8. Truly a pity, ladies and gentlemen.

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And now, let's focus on something I love, namely, free manga from the web!

Well, it turns out volumes 5 and 6 of Type-Moon Complex by Crazy Clover Club are available in English. However, I couldn't find a zip file for either of them. You know what I had to do? I had to go to Gate of Babylon, which can be accessed from Beast's Lair, load up every page individually, and save them to my hard drive. Every. Individual. Page. Good thing I had a steady supply of Dr. Pepper.

Yes, I know Nasu said that Shiki shouldn't be able to "dot-stab" Servants, but I am willing to overlook that, since sometimes, all I need from my mindless diversions is entertainment. That, and TM Complex is obviously AU if that's the case. Also, Gilgamesh is crazy awesome, even if he is a massive prick.

By the way, since TM Complex references games I haven't played yet, I went ahead on the TM Wiki and got some dirt on F/HA, as well as the PSP title Fate/Extra. Here are a few things I deduced. (Spoilers inbound.)

-Caren is really pretty! I simultaneously curse and bless Takeuchi's ability to make adorable female character designs.

-Did you get a peek at the servants in Fate/Extra? I have but two things to say. One, Do not pursue Lu Bu. Two, ZOMG ITS ARCUEID SHE IS WAY BETTER LOOKING THAN THOSE POSERS IN BATTLE ATHLETES AND MORE DEVELOPED (as a character) TOO HA HA HA LONG LIVE ARC

-I really like Lancer. He needs more love. Now that I know more about him and his original master, Bazett, I really feel he needs more love.

Oh yeah, I have a spinoff of my Blaz Blue fanfic posted now. Enjoy.

"Let's Fighting Love!"

South Park is a strange show. I have never considered it one of my favorite American cartoons, (. . . American anime?) but I still like it. It hasn't quite fallen apart the same way The Simpsons and Family Guy have. And also, if one made a Best Of South Park playlist listing all of my favorite episodes, it would be one of the awesomest things on Earth. And the movie rocks. The one about cussing, and the one about Imaginationland. And yet, on the other hand, when a South Park episode sucks, it suuuuuucks. Laaame.

But recently, I have discovered the fact that the South Park websites hosts most of the episodes for free. And man, have I been having a marathon! And so, I decided to list all of my favorite South Park Episodes Besides The Films.

"ChickenLover" If you want to test a man's sense of morality, give him power. Cartman becomes deputized, and we learn just what kind of man he is. You will respect my authoritah!

"Chinpokomon" The Chinpokeomon craze sweeps America, and the parents struggle just what the hell is the point of the Chinpokomon show? (Gawd, I love their mockery of the anime.)

"Cartman joins NAMBLA" This episode is wrong on every level. And yet, it slays me at the same time. Too bad I don't look like Marlon Brando.

"Something You Do With Your Finger" Boy bands aren't gay, cuz they make money! See Finger Bang's first ever concert in a crappy mall! And Randy being overdramatic again.

"It Hits The Fan" "By the way, you got some shit around your lips." Holy sheepshit! They desensitized the S word! Also, yes Britannia, as an American, I apologize for thinking that "piss" can be synonymous with anger.

"Cartmanland" Cartman's dream comes true, and Kyle loses his faith . . . OR DO THEY!?!?!?!

"The Return of the Fellowship of the Ring to the Two Towers" Don't you hate it when pornos try to tell a story? Also my favorite South Park episode of all time. It is that golden.

"Butt Out" I don't smoke, but if someone else wants to, I won't be a douche about it. You can thank Trey and Matt for convincing me to do that.

"Good Times With Weapons" It's in this entry's title. Also, Wardrobe Malfunction is a diseased expression.

"Stupid Spoiled Whore Video Playset" Sooo, when the Stupid Spoiled Whore craze gonna completely fade away? I'm still waiting.

"The Death of Eric Cartman" Being a "ghost" sucks, doesn't it, Cartman?

"Cartoon Wars" Now admittingly, my writing style is more South Park than Family Guy, but at least Family Guy does(id)n't get up its ass with messages.

"Make Love, Not Warcraft" How do you kill that which has no life?

"Go God Go" Even in a world with no religion, human will still factionalize and make war upon one another. Also, Cartman can't wait to play a Wii, despite being a bane of "real" gamers in the present.

"Guitar Queer-O" Man, remember when it was about the music? Whatever happened, man? Also, no one cares about Randy's mad skills with an acoustic non-controller guitar.

"You Have 0 Friends" Who cares about friends in the real world!? If I don't have enough Facebook stock, I'll lose all credibility! Also, lol Tron reference.

Okay, granted, I missed the last few seasons, but I'm catching up.

DEY DOOK ERR JEEEEEERBS!!!!

It's finally here

The Touhou one-shot I've been working on since last Spring is finally finished. It can be found on both FF.net and Maidens of the Kaleidoscope.

It is called Eternal Blossom.

It was a first for me. Read it for more details on why that is. I may make a "Behind the scenes" look on EB in the near future.

In other news, I already finished the demo of Eastern Starlight Romance. I want more! I don't mind that Nitori is OOC! That game is pure love! (Funny that a game about Marisa would be about love . . .)

Soooo, exactly how long will I remain a Touhou fan? Is this gonna be something I love for the rest of my life? If so, I don't mind.

another vn?

As much as I'm enjoying the VN version of Clannad, I haven't been playing it seriously. Probably because I already witnessed the whole saga on the anime, but I'd rather hold off before trying to complete. With that said, I picked up another VN. This one is legal to own for free. It's a game that's a doujin . . . of a doujin.

"Oh gawd; more Touhou!?"

But that is where you are mistaken, for one can never have too much Touhou in their life.

Eastern Starlight Romance.

It's told from Marisa's point-of-view. Her unnamed father has died, and she has vowed to avoid his fate . . . by becoming a magician youkai. Okay, this isn't the first time fanon speculated this, but ESR is really well-written for a fan project. The backgrounds are bland, and most of the character art is merely okay, but the story itself is very interesting. It's still a demo, and I haven't gotten that far yet, but any hardcore Touhou fanatic will appreciate it.

One complaint I have is . . . well, it's more of a "this character wouldn't behave this way in my touhouverse" but Marisa seems . . . more serious than usual. Okay, yeah, death in the family, and she is occasionally serious in my fanverse, but Marisa is usually more snarky or silly in the canon, as well as most fanons. However, I love the portrayal of Alice; not only is it very close to my own portrayal, but she avoids the cliches associated with her. Reimu is well done too. She's not easily agitated like my version of Reimu, so it's fresh. Also, ESR's portrayal of Remilia is dangerously close to my own. Although its portrayal of Nitori is . . . unique.

One thing I appreciate about ESR is it's made by the English-speaking fanbase. No, I'm not being ethnocentric, here me out. Many foreign works translated by fans sometimes have the problem of being too literally translated. They get the message across, but in a way no natural speaker of the new language would say it. This plagues some Touhou doujins I have read. I suppose it's one reason Touhou fanfics in English are on the rise, so as to avoid this problem. ESR doesn't have this. It feels like a professional-quality fanwork.

But you know something? I've noticed that I have the ability to criticize stuff that I even love. I mentioned this on MAL. I've noticed this with Touhou fanons as well. No matter how much I may like someone's version, something about it will always be disagreeable to me. Sometimes, it's just because it's not I would portray a scene or character, but watch now as I become nitpicky.

Actual Touhou Canon: There is a lot that is still not known to the world. Explain, ZUN! Explain!

"Touhou Ibunshu" by Usually Dead: I reeeeeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaalllllly don't like his versions of Keine and Mokou. And combat sequences almost always lack the two ingredients that make Touhou combat what it is: flying, and danmaku. The action sequences feel more like fight scenes out of a generic fantasy novel because of this. Also, Reimu is not fucking suicidal.

"Touhou Nekokayou" by KimikoMuffin: That many same-sex relationships among that many people is extremely unlikely. Okay, realistically, with as many females as there are in Touhou, a few of them may be lesbian or bisexual, but that many? Puh-leeze! Most of the ships make no sense! Also, long-running arcs can become extremely convoluted, as well as confusing.

"Life of Maid" by Colonel Aki: YOUMU IS NOT A FUCKING FANGIRL! Also, SAKUYA DOES NOT WEAR PADS, GOD DAMN IT!

"Though the Wind Cries" by Iyokan: I like Usually Dead's explanation of Sanae's lineage more.

"Eastern Starlight Romance" by Dai-Sukima Dan: What the hell is with Koishi's appearance? She looks exactly like Satori when you first encounter her! Also, the portrayal of Nitori is just a biiiit OOC.

This Really Cool Sakuya Story I Read On FF.net Whose Name Escapes Me: UPDATE IT ALREADY! It had a really great interpretation of Sakuya and Remilia's relationship! (No, it wasn't shoujo-ai.)

"Moon Series" by Jasper Star: What's with the random boob shots?

"(Insert fancy Japanese name that will come later)" by xm0123: Why is Reimu so irritable? Are you trying to portray her as a tsundere? And why is Alice more of a woobie than she was in canon? And what's with all of the random Gratuitous Japanese? Also, what did Yukari write about in her memoir!? Explain, xm! Explain!

Whoa. I can even criticize myself.

November rolls in

There's treachery afoot! Disney knows about my past when it comes to video releases of the Toy Story movies! Toy Story 3 came out on blu-ray on my 25th birthday! It's like they're taunting me, "Let's see your family get that in time for your birthday!"

THIS IS A CONSPIRACY! A CONSPIRACY . . . wait . . . the first anime I truly loved enough to score a 10 out of 10 was Disney's version of Castle in the Sky. My god! THIS IS A CONSPIRACY! NOT ONLY DOES DISNEY CONTINUE TO STEAL MY MONIES, THEY ARE ALSO IN THE BUSINESS OF TURNING ME INTO AN OTAKU!

But that's not what I want to talk about. This birthday has been bountiful. Observe.

October 31st: Few kids come over for Halloween this year. All the candy we didn't hand out is mine now. Sweet!

November 1st: The San Francisco Giants win the World Series. Granted, I don't care for sports, but everyone in my family loves the Giants, and this was an unexpected turn of events for them. And they were really good this year, I'll say that.

November 2nd: My parents did manage to get me two movies I absolutely love on blu-ray. I'm not gonna say what they are, because if I start on either of them, I'm gonna be writing for a loooooong time. About how much I love them. I'll save that for another entry. And no, neither of them are Toy Story 3.

November 3rd: Election Day is over! Political ads vanish overnight! YES!

But now, I just realized something; I've never posted my desktop, have I? Well, now that I'm 25, here's a glimpse of my computer.

I don't like having clutter on my desktop, so I keep the number of icons to a minimum. This way, the wallpaper itself becomes a poster in my room, ready to display its grace before watchful eyes. And how appropriate that I'm using an awe-inspiring pic of my favorite Touhou character. But I will say, Audacity is a fun program to mess around with. heh heh! You can find that image on safebooru, by the way. Or was that one from one of the Touhou imageboards? It was one or the other.

Oh, and look out! I have another remix to link! This is a remix of the final boss theme from Great Fairy Wars. I haven't played the game, but I like this remixed version more. It sounds like it's from an SNES game, but I find it more appropriate for a fight theme than the ZUN score. Still, awesome.

Getting to my fanfictions now, if I don't receive a worthy question for Ask Rachel Alucard come next Monday, the "Guest" entry is getting uploaded. If any of you don't want me to do this just yet, send me a PM asking about a possible animated adaptation right now if you don't want that. Otherwise, the people have spoken; they really wanna me talk like a different Blaz Blue character.

Also, my Yukari oneshot is not vaporware, I swear! I have been writing more of that! I'll even tell you what it is: it is basically a memoir written by Yukari about herself and Gensokyo during the Heian era. I can't say more than that.

Also, I've been writing ahead for Mentor & Protege. If I ever finish the Mystic Square storyline, the next (and last) arc will be finished more quickly, I assure you. The last arc will take place after Mystic Square, but before Embodiment of Scarlet Devil, an era in Touhou history / that is shrouded in mystery! Yes! I can write poetically!And I even became unblocked in A Touhou Fanfiction About Nothing! Even though I only have plans for one more chapter, I have been writing that as well. Life is cool right now.

EDIT: Screw waiting until Monday! I'll update Ask Rachel Alucard right now! Enjoy, kiddies! You have spoken!

What Hath ArcSys Wrought

As I was working on the chapter of Ask Rachel Alucard (chapter 14) that I uploaded earlier today, I realized something bad; there weren't any responses I wanted to do! And this was for a couple of reasons.

1: I Rachel already answered that question.

2: Your question requires me Rachel to spoil a franchise other than Blaz Blue.

3: Your question just wasn't strong enough to merit a response from me Her Ladyship.

Fearing the worst, I started writing a "backup" chapter. This chapter was written from the perspective of a Blaz Blue character that wasn't Rachel. To prevent plot holes, this somebody doesn't need fan input to blog. Rachel admitted this in the newest chapter I uploaded. Now granted, the "Backup" isn't finished yet, (it's about 80 percent completion, assuming no one gives Rachel something good to write about) so I can't resort to this yet, however, it's currently looking like I might. I got a review already curious about this, and I got a PM from Heraklinios, the guy who recced my fic at tvtropes, warning me that I will have to satiate the curiosity of the fans now that I've admitted this.

But now you're wondering: who's the backup guest? Heraklinios calls Taokaka. I can't say who it is, for obvious reasons. I will say one thing; you won't be disappointed.

But who, though? It could be anyone. And BB has a large cast of named characters. Have fun guessing.

P.S. Halloween in two days, 25th birthday in four.

I am the sampler

Yes, I've sampled Monster. I don't have an opinion on it yet. (other than Johan is one twisted fucker.) I've sampled Spice and Wolf, but it's not exactly my cup of tea, even if the English cast sounds better. I've sampled Canaan on the Anime Network (Yeah, I signed up, but I don't have a subscription.). That show is a chaotic mess, although both dubs sound great . . . except for that blonde girl. Either she sounds like a bad imitation of Haruhi's Japanese voice, or a girl that just started puberty, although David Matranga, Shelley Calene-Black, and Jessica Boone all sound great.

But that's not what you're here for, right? You wanna know more about why I love Darker Than Black, don'tcha?

Well, here's the deal; I first saw DTB in Japanese starting with the 5th episode onward back in January, because that's all that was available back then. With the DVD, I watched the first four episodes in Japanese, but then switched to English. Okay, I think I've been a little too harsh on the English dub. True, some of the regular characters sound better in Japanese, and it isn't one of Funimation's better dub efforts, but it doesn't suck, though. There is one character who sounds better in English.

November 11.

He actually has an English accent now, unlike most Robin Hoods! Then again, you know who plays him, right? The voice of Excalibur! Also, I think I like Huang's English voice more also. He's more gruff-sounding, but I think it suits him better.

Now, let's do more voiceover trivia, and transition to another anime I've sampled recently.

Someone who's now on my radar is Jason Liebrecht. I first heard him as Shaoran in Tsubasa . . . in which he sucked. Although I don't think it was his fault; Monica Rial, Chris Sabat, and even Vic Mignogna sucked in that as well, so I blame the script. I later heard him as Hei from DTB. Now, I will say, I do prefer Hei's Japanese voice, if only because Hidenobu Kiuchi's take on his "Black Reaper" and "Li" voices sound more distinct, but Jason's interpretation doesn't suck by any means; just listen to the way he shouts, "SHUT UP!" in episode six if you don't believe me. I later heard him as Luck Gandor in Baccano! His attempt at a Brooklyn accent made him sound like a young Robert De Niro, which I found delightful. But now, I've heard him do something that's beyond even his performance in Baccano: his version of Akira from Eden of the East. He is perfect in that role.

And yes, of all the new (for me) anime I've sampled, Eden of the East is by far the best. Like the Bourne Trilogy at all? Then stop reading this and watch it already! I think I know what my next blu-ray purchase is gonna be . . .

Oh wait, wasn't I supposed to be talking about DTB? Oh yeah. It's definitely a series you have to watch more than once. There are things you won't catch on your first viewing. Also, the entire series is intelligently written, but it's episode 4 that it starts getting really good.

Oh wait, I have a "retcon" to perform, as well as another piece of trivia. Someone I recently learned about is Rebecca Forstadt. She was Konata's mom in Lucky Star. She was also the robot girl in the anime version of Metropolis. She was pretty good in both of those roles. And she was also . . . Nunally in Code Geass.

Now comes the retcon:

I never thought I'd live to see the day that Johnny Yong Bosch, Crispin Freeman, Mary Elizabeth McGlynn, and Rebecca Forstadt all gave a terrible performance, and yet . . . (sniffle) Code Geass proved me wrong! WHHHHYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!?!?!?!?!?!?!





Thank Bones for DTB, otherwise I'd be losing my goddamned mind right now.

Mining for inspiration

Progress on M & P has slowed down again. I haven't written anything in about a month. Yesterday, I finally became unblocked. I managed to write 400 words! WITH A BOX OF SCRAPS! However, a typical M & P chapter is usually anywhere between 800 to 1500 words a chapter. I need inspiration, but how?

I know! I'll write up a dream cast again!

There are some Touhou girls I picture speaking in very specific voices. Which leads me to wonder; if there were an English dubbed video of Touhou, who should play the girls? I have an idea for some of them. Now you shall peer into my mind. Expect a few surprises, and . . . not so surprises.

Reimu: Kari Walhgren when she was Kagami in Lucky Star. A strange choice, I know, but Reimu, especially as a kid in M & P, sounds like her in my mind.

Marisa: Lara Jill Miller as Misao (NOT the Misao I made up!) from Lucky Star. Marisa has a unique manner of speaking, and so did Misao from LS.

Alice: Cherami Leigh as a much less tomboyish version of Natsumi from Sgt. Frog. Hey, I don't know how I pick these; they just happen randomly.

Youmu: Stephanie Sheh when she voiced either Natalia from Tales of the Abyss, or Excel from Kurokami. This voice is an absolutely perfect fit for Youmu. THIS IS NOT NEGOTIABLE!

Yuyuko: Bridget Hoffman when she played Rem, Raquel, or Chitose from Trigun, Scrapped Princess, and Chobits. This is also a perfect fit for Yuyuko, as well as a bona fide example of Audio Erotica for me.

Reisen: Michelle Ruff as . . . her normal voice. Is it a coincidence that I relate to Reisen more than any other Touhou character, and that I also imagine her being played by my all-time favorite voice actress?

Eirin: This. (Yeah, I know it's not an English voice, but who could do Eirin better?)

Kanako: Sigourney Weaver as herself. Yeah, I don't know why she's the only celebrity actress on here, but go back and read AFTAN with Kanako sounding like Ripley, and you'll get an idea of the way my brain works.

Suwako: Monica Rial sounding like May from FMA:B. It's a cute voice for a cute character. Nuff sed.

Satori. This.

And finally one male character!

Rinnosuke: Either Sam Regal as Viral from Gurren Lagaan, or Liam O'Brien as Doctor Tenma. (Oh yes, I've sampled Monster on Hulu.) Either one works for me.

That's all the voices I can pin a name to. There are some characters I do imagine with a specific voice, but I have no clue who would voice them in reality. Yukari and Mima, for instance, have very distinct speaking voices in my head.

So, I hope this helps me to write more fanfiction. Because as we all know, fiction is the second-worst term you can pair up with fan.

You thought I didn't play it yet, did you?

Greetings, friend! Are you tired of the drudgery of life? Do you yearn for excitement, adventure, and sightseeing? If so, then I know just the place for you!

New Vegas!

Not Las Vegas. New Vegas! New Vegas has a greater variety of weapons, doodads, and references to the good ol' days of the 1950s than Washington D.C.! Enjoy New Vegas Radio, playing hits by Old Blue Eyes, Deano, Bing Crosby, Nat King Cole, and many other great crooners of the 20th century! Say hello to our affable robot security force! (Because if you don't, they'll shootcha!) And do something they would never let you do in the Capitol; Gambling Gaming! Play all the classics! 21! Roulette! One-armed Bandits! And the new Wasteland classic Caravan! Marvel at the guest appearances of that jokester guy from Friends, the dick from the X-Men movies, and even Worf! And starting anew here takes less time than starting anew in Vault 101!

So what are you waiting for? Come visit New Vegas today! The City of Lights shines again, today, and forever.

(P.S. What is with all the graphical glitches in Fallout: New Vegas? Since when did modern big name games have this many graphical bugs? What is this!? The N64/PS1 generation again!?)

(P.P.S. my "associates" were bummed that I was playing the followup to my favorite Xbox 360 game instead of Clannad. They were just itching to mock me by saying, "UGUU! UGUU! NAGISA-CHAN IS MOE INCARNATE! KAWAII TO THE 3RD POWER!" Suffice to say, the Wasteland does tear me away from old habits.)

"Maybe it's a conspiracy."

Go to Funimation.com. Notice that at one point, they had Mushi-shi, Kanon, and Welcome to the NHK available in their entirety in the past? Now you can only watch the first four episodes again. But they they had the whole series available not that long ago. There's only one reason why they would do this:

BECAUSE IT'S A CONSPIRACY! THEY WANTED TO MAKE SURE THAT I WOULD WATCH AN ENTIRE ANIME OF THEIRS SO THAT WHEN THEY TOOK IT OFF, I WOULD REALIZE THAT IF I WANTED TO WATCH IT LEGALLY AGAIN, I WOULD HAVE TO BUY IT!

And guess what happened recently? I bought Darker Than Black and Kanon on DVD.

THEY'RE STEALING MY MONIES!

But I don't regret it, though. DTB is a classic, and watching Clannad made me nostalgic (how could I be nostalgic for a series I first watched just a few months ago?) for Kanon. I am going to watch DTB again soon, so maybe this time, I might actually analyze the first season. Isn't that great?

Oh, also, if you get the "S.A.V.E." edition of Kanon like I did, beware of opening the case; the inside cover artwork will set off a moexplosion when you look at it.

"Ah, the DVD version of Kanon! Now I can compare the Japanese dub to the English! Now then, just to open it up . . . OH GOSH! NAYUKI-CHAN IS ADORABLE! AND . . . AND AYU-CHAN LOOKS LIKE SHE HAS CAT EARS ON! NEKOMIMI AYU! AND LOOK! THERE'S MAKOTO-CHAAAAAAAAN!"

Kanon predates Clannad, so I could say it was the epitome of the moe phenomenon back in the day. I did get some dirt on the original VN version of Kanon. If it's like the VN of Clannad, I may want to play that, too. However, the character art is nothing like the anime's; it's a huge step down from KyoAni's take. In fact, only one girl is still pretty in the VN. Three guesses as to whom that is.

"Makoto?"

YES! Nothing can water down her adorableness! That's how wonderful she is!

Er, wait? Why am I doing moe gushing again? I got DTB now! Now I can see Kirihara in high non-blu-ray res!

Oh yeah. I found a way to get farther on Megaman Zero 4; I relied on my old friend the Save State. I am a pushover.

Another VN, another comparison

So, I've been playing the original game version of Clannad. There are some obvious similarities, (CUTE GIIIIIIIIIIIIIIRLS! AS FAR AS THE EYE CAN SEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE! Say it in Chris Patton's voice for added effect.) but there's some big differences, too.

You play as Tomoya, and you can influence his actions like how you would in a choose-your-own-adventure book. Strangely enough, you never actually see Tomoya, and when he speaks, you don't hear his voice either, even though you can hear everyone else's voice. (Same voice cast as the anime. Excellent. I can't enough of Kikuko Inoue's voice.) Unlike the anime, Tomoya narrates much more frequently in the anime. This actually is a good thing, I think. He explains his thoughts and actions much more concisely. He explicitly states how he roams the town at night to avoid his dad, while in the anime, it's just implied. I think I might know why KyoAni did this.

(Starts impersonating The Distressed Watcher) Oh, is this another high school boy who's a lot smarter and a lot more mature than he lets on? And acts like a prick to everyone, even though he cares deeply for some of them? And has a biting sarcastic wit that goes over everyone's head, except for the audience's? And is handsome in a way that doesn't make him look like a girl unlike most bishounens of the past? Well, can't be as bad as another fucking Naruto Uzumaki ripoff.

(back to normal voice) But seriously, the game does a much better job of exposition. You see everytime Tomoya cuts classes to meet Kotomi, or Tomoyo, or just fuck around with Youhei. Most of the time in the anime, it's not mentioned if he's skipping class or if he's on lunchbreak. Why didn't they tell us these things!?

Explain, anime! Explain!

And oh my gawd, the things they cut out! Downloading the VN was worth it, because even if you've seen the anime, you have no fucking clue how much content they cut out. The jokes in the VN . . . they're like the jokes from a LucasArts adventure game. I am not making this up. Certain choices make Tomoya do stuff for the lolz. One example is Youhei asks Tomoya how Ryou does her fortune-telling. You can say she uses tarot cards, or you can lie and say she determines your fortune by (holds back laughter) how you feel her breasts. Oh man, seeing Ryou's embarrassed face and Kyou's Red Eyes of Doom was worth it. It was soooo worth it! Although, now that I think about it, maybe the reason some dialog and scenes got cut was so they could fit content into a 49-episode anime. If the show was longer, they probably could have, but then the pacing would've been glacial, and if you've seen my review on MAL, I warned that Clannad was even slower than Kanon. Yeah.

But there's one thing that surprised me; the music. It's the same exact music from the anime! But the VN predates the anime! You hear that!? The soundtrack was so good, they just used the same recordings for the anime! And there's even some music that wasn't in the anime! The title screen plays an instrumental version of a song from the late portion of the anime; the song is very beautiful. I wouldn't expect anything less.

But now, some criticism. This is a VN. There is no actual animation. There's just text, still images, and audible voices. As well as music. Some scenes do not look as good as the anime version. The Illusionary World is very, very dull-looking compared to the anime. In Tomoyo's introduction, her fight is off-screen, while in the anime, you actually see the fight. And the character designs are not as nice as their anime counterparts. Well okay, Nagisa is still alright; her hair has more red than brown, but she's still an adorable auburn-haired girl. Tomoyo is still the most striking of the teenage girls. And Sanae looks even prettier I think; her eyes and hair are a darker hue of brown, and I can't resist the urge to snuggle with her, especially with that voice! But they are the only exceptions. Kyou and Ryou are much more plain-looking. Kotomi-chan, while still being love, is not as beautiful. (As if I didn't have enough to be sad for her! *sniffle* At least she too still has a wonderful voice.) Fuko looks even more like a dork than in the anime, but I can let that one slide, for she isn't supposed to be attractive, I think. While the VN doesn't have the occasional off-model moment the anime did, I don't feel the moeness overcoming me as frequently. Either that, or I've built up a stronger tolerance for moe.

But seriously? If you liked the anime, PLAY. THIS. GAME! Man, why can't their be an official English translation! This is a truly wonderful product!

Du-ri-bul du-ri-bul shoo-tah . . . YAAAAAY!

Megamania!

Well, I hope you're happy, Capcom. Thank you for reminding me that I've been an on-again, off-again Megaman fan throughout my entire life. And now, it seems I'm on the Megaman fan scene again.

Case in point? I got the ROM for Megaman Zero 4. Prognosis:

IT'S HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARD!!!!!!!

I see you ended that series on a grueling note, Capcom. Perhaps I was wrong to start on the normal mode?

Oh, also, since I had time, I watched the Megaman fan movie on gametrailers earlier today.

Overall prognosis: Good, but not great.

Good stuff: It's not too long. It's pretty faithful to the original games. I like how the film portrayed Light, Wily, and Blues. It gives a pretty good idea of what went through the minds of the characters during the timeline of the first game. It can also be very emotional, too. Also, the music kicked ass.

Bad stuff: The acting, while not bad, is not better than your typical made-for-tv movie. While the special effects are good for an indie film, some FX look terrible. The action scenes aren't superbly shot nor choreographed. There are also some Missed Moments of Awesome; example, there's mention of Sniper Joes, but we never see them. Will that be in a Director's Cut, I'm guessing?

But what impressed me the most was the passion. According to the behind the scenes details I found, the film was made on a tiny budget of 4,000 dollars. For 4k, it turned out better than I imagined. Wily, Elec Man, and Fire Man were delightfully hammy. Megaman had a little bit of his successor X in him; he didn't want to fight, but he would use force if necessary, which feels in-character. This is perhaps the most faithful game-to-movie I've ever seen outside of a film made by the original developers. If this were made by Hollywood, I imagine the action scenes would be a lot more exciting, but "changes" to the script and characters would weaken the plot. It's the opposite of a Michael Bay feature; the action scenes aren't spectacular, (Well okay, Ice Man's entrance was cool) but the heart of the source material was maintained. And did I mention the soundtrack rocks? Because it does.

Really, I think the problem with the Megaman movie is, well, it's based off the original series. Megaman Classic is, in both tone and aesthetic, a retro 80s cartoon for kids. Sure, there's the ethics of robotics, the tension between Light and Wily, Rock and Roll's observations of what it means to be a machine in a mostly-human world, but it's not; deep. Now, if one were to make a film based off Megaman X, it would be more serious. If one made a film based off Megaman Legends, it would be more exciting. If one made a film based off Megaman Zero, the results would be epic. But as it is, it's better than those shlockfests airing on SyFy right now.

It's cool that Capcom ok'd the production of the movie. They can't sponsor it, since it's not canon, but they didn't order a Cease and Desist either; I'm glad. They have the same attitude towards Bob and George. God forbid if they really did endorse that.

[Capcom Rep] Ladies and Gentlemen, Dave Anez was right; Needle Man is a pothead!

And no, I'm totally not saying this because of my own fan productions. I have my own original works too, ya know!

In the future . . .

. . . there will be Metools.

My thoughts on the Clannad VN are gonna have to wait; the news confirming the existence of Megaman Legends 3 is too great to ignore.

There hasn't been a Megaman game that piqued my interest since Megaman Zero 4. (Which I still need to play.) I am all too curious to see how the ending of MML2 gets resolved. No longer will Keiji Inafune allow us to hang on this cliff, which we have been dangling on for ten years now! (Well, more like five for me, since I didn't complete MML2 until I got my PS2 around that time.)

In fact, to psyche myself even further, I decided to get some dirt on another game coming out in the future: Marvel vs. Capcom 3. Now granted, I've never played the Marvel versus (blank) games outside of the arcades, but I thought I'd give a looksie.

And man, I've forgotten just how adorable Tron Bonne is. (Proof positive that a girl need not be moe to be cute.)

Oh yeah, I did say that she was my first fictional crush, didn't I? You think I'd really buy a Nintendo 3DS just to play this? Am I that hardcore?

But yeah, I was a big Megaman fan back in the day. MM3 is still my favorite NES game of all time. I played the first MMX to death on my SNES, even though I preferred MMX3. I blasted through the first MML when it was still new, but I passed up MML2 until several years later, like I said. And I consider the MMZ games to be some of the better games on the GBA. So obviously, the franchise has a fair amount of pedigree in my mind. I even used to visit the Megaman Network fansite on occasion.

Oh yeah, if you're bored, look up the redubbed scene from MMX4 (dang it! I already spoiled myself!) where Iris dies. Is it just me, or does Zero sound like Vic Mignogna? Heh, I must be imagining things.

But thanks to my extensive knowledge of all things Megaman-related, check this out. You can thank me later.

But man, I've been waiting so long for MML3! It's like every game I've ever wanted to be made is finally being made now! I can die a happy man! Hey! I still have a copy of MML2! And a working PS2! Why not fire it up again, for old time's sake?





"Hey xm, didn't you used to watch the Megaman cartoon show as a kid?"




. . . . . . do not speak of that, program.


"Oh what? You gonna go Maverick on us? You seem to have a very low opinion of a lot of children's cartoons. Is this why you watch a lot of Japanese animation now?"

Can't talk. Playing MML2 now. Man, the PS1 sucked when it came to 3D graphics.

"What about Megaman Soccer?"

S'alright. I wonder why there aren't more Zelda clones like this? Why is everything an action shooter now? Not that action shooters are bad . . .

"You're rambling again, aren't you?"

Kyaaaa! Tron Bonne is cute even within the limitations of the PS1!

"Forget this. I'll go back to mocking the voices in Megaman 8."

Can't get enough!

I just can't get enough Clannad!

You'd think a series that I declared to be the epitome of the moe phenomenon on MAL would leave me satisfied, but no; I really do have an addiction to kawaii-ness, and I such . . . I did the unthinkable.

I fired up utorrent and 'acquired' a copy of the Clannad visual novel. The full voice edition. With text translated into English.

God help me, I love Clannad.

Now I'm gonna make posts comparing similarities and differences between the VN and the tv series. Man, this is gonna be fun; the original Jun Maeda version of Clannad. Heh heh heh! For starters, unlike when I played the Type-Moon VNs, I'm not gonna use a strategy guide at first; I'm just gonna play blind.




But make no mistake; Kotomi-chan will get her moment to shine, because she is love.

No, I (don't think I) have a crush on her. I just really like her appearance. And her voice. And how smart she is. And how courteous she is. Come on! Really, I'm not crushing on her! Rei Hino possessed a lot of traits I like to see in a young woman, but I didn't fall for her! You can't control who you fall in love with!

Yeah, it's not like she could replace Tron Bonne. And now Megaman Legends 3 finally got green-lit. I feel like I'm a teenager again. Oh wait, I'm drifting off-subject, Clannad, yeah. The startup icon is Botan.

PUHI! PUHI PUHI!

Wow. That's amazingly easy dialog to write.

An update

xm0123's favorite anime series in descending order.

1: Eureka Seven.

2: Motherfucking Death Note.

3: Darker Than Black.

4: Clannad and Clannad ~After Story~.

5: Haruhi Suzumiya.

Also, check the article on Key Visual Arts again. It's been updated, for obvious reasons.

LATE EDIT: of course, now, that number five spot is occupied by Clannad, and Darker Than Black got replaced by Princess Tutu, but who am I to complain?

Ow, my emotional happiness!

I didn't get a chance to tell anyone this, since I had little free time back then, but there was an episode of Kanon that hit me like a sledgehammer. It was episode 10. You should know why if you've seen it. When I finished that, I couldn't bring myself to watch anymore episodes for a while. And not only that, I wanted to eat a bunch of fatty foods until I was obese. I didn't do that, but I really felt like it. It's rare when a work of fiction does that to me. (Eureka Seven gave me a similar reaction in one of its earlier episodes. Rescue Me does that once every goddamn season.)

Well, it happened again. Clannad ~After Story~ episode 16. Struck my gut like a sledgehammer. I'll say right now, the critics are wrong about one thing; like Kanon, and unlike Air, Clannad is not emotionally manipulative; every feeling is genuine, not forced. Good god, I'm glad my mom wasn't watching. I don't even know how I can watch these shows without crying; I really feel like it whenever I want to eat crappy food until I'm in a stupor.

Quick! I need an antidote! Help me, Fuko-chan! Help me before I start listening to Touhou remixes by TAMusic!

(to be continued)

this will be brief (or not)

NAGISA-CHAN IS THE CUTEST, MOE-EST, KAWAII-EST WAITRESS IN THE HISTORY OF EVER!!!!

IN OTHER NEWS (something that doesn't concern Clannad for once)

I have found myself obsessing over the Nasuverse again all of a sudden. Well, I am a member of Beast's Lair, and I am reading a Tsukihime fanfic; I suppose it's only natural.

For one, when deciding which Fate female looks the prettiest, I thought Aoi was. After further research, I now must declare a dead tie. Who is beautifuller, Aoi . . . or Irisviel? Oh man, what do I like more!? Black hair . . . or red eyes!? And of course, my actual favorite character from Fate is a dead tie between their daughters. What do I like more; Rin's complex personality? Or Ilya's status as "most evil cute girl ever?" Well, I like Rin's facial expressions more, but I find Ilya more charismatic . . . guh! So many high points!

Oh, also, I am aware of a meme that begins like this.'

"Shiki (Tohno) can kill Servants. Discuss."

This usually is not a good thing, for saying it often triggers a power level discussion, and Lord knows there needs to be another power level discussion on the net. On MAL, however, this discussion took place, and I learned something profound.

Shiki can kill Kohaku.

Kohaku is a servant.

Therefore, Shiki can kill servants.

Dood, you just blew my fuckin' miiiind.

Of course, the joke is the initial statement didn't specify Heroic Servants, so yeah.

Also, note that I included Shiki's full name; that is because I am aware that the main character of Kara no Kyouki is also named Shiki . . . but also has the name of Ryougi. If I ever get into KnK, I will refer to Ryougi like that.

Oh, lastly, when I wrote part 3 of Ask Rachel Alucard, I actually went to 4Chan to get some research. Well actually, what I did was I did a Google image search for Neco-Arc because I was writing an entry here for that, and a link led me to the Hive. There, I got the image I needed . . . and I noticed several Anonymi wanted to bone her in the ass because she was that "hawt." Rachel Alucard couldn't bring herself to print that, but I can. However, honestly, despite what Tvtropes says, I really can't find very many similarities between the Nasuverse and Blaz Blue. Even one of my reviewers said that. Really, what similarities? Aside from being Japanese fighting games with at least one vampire character?

But if there's anything I have learned from imageboards, it's that everyone is hot for everyone in existence, be they real or fictional. True, I find the lack of cerebral discussion off-putting, but at least Anonymi aren't (usually) as pretentious as those fucks back at you-know-where.

Friendship: The Ties That Bind

Finished episode 8 of Clannad ~After Story~. There is a surprising amount of depth to the characters of this show. Mei, Misae, and Yukine have more depth than I thought. Tomoya experiences things that would be out of this world. And I learn of the town's local saying.

Dang it! I gotta watch more! But I don't have the time right now! Oh well, I have 17 more episodes to go. And I have these DVDs forever allegedly.

Also, I wanna add something else before I go.

KOTOMI-CHAN IS LOVE!!!!!!

That is all.

I don't think I've used my catchphrase in a title yet

You know which one I'm referring to. The one that, if I were to use the names of certain characters from Clannad, I would be reciting all day?

Right.

Well, not too long ago, I just finished the first season of Clannad.

For the first 19 episodes, I thought this was gonna be a clone of Kanon. A clone with better music than Kanon, sure, and a male protagonist who has more flaws than Yuichi, yeah, but the similarities just kept piling up. This isn't a bad thing; I loved Kanon, so more of the same of that would be something I would invite.

Then we get to the last 4 episodes of the first season.

There is something that separates Kanon's anime from Clannad's anime. It's this:

There was a love story in Kanon. It was cute, but nothing grand.

In Clannad, it is absolutely spellbinding.

So this is love . . . love written correctly. The subject of romance can really make or break a work of fiction. Do it wrong, and you'll disgust a large portion of the house. Do it right, and you will sweep the house off of its feet. Well, once again, I have discovered a work of fiction that has captivated me with a love story. Now I have to watch Clannad ~After Story~. I must find out more.

And I also got to watch the Tomoyo OVA. The artwork was worse than the regular series, (What the hell, man!? The characters sometimes looked like they were from K-on instead of Clannad! Bad KyoAni!) but it, too, had a very real relationship in it. It's not like in fairy tales where, "OMG! The boy and girl are together! Now they shall live happily ever after!" That's not how relationships work in real life. It's something you put into forever and always, provided the couple does not break up. You really see that in the Tomoyo special, as well as the regular series.

Also, is it just me, or is Mei more responsible than Youhei? Man, how embarrassing.

But before I go, I cannot stress enough how much I love the music of Clannad. Thanks to tvtropes, I found a link for you.

Commence melting of hearts.

Both the image and the music just make me so happy.

MOE OVERWHELMING! plus NES sounds

So I got up to episode 18 of Clannad now.

It seems the subtitles are easier to read on the second boxset. Haven't found any typos, and I think either the subtitle timing is better, or I've gotten used to reading at a fast pace now, because I haven't to rewind as frequently.

Anyways, I now know more about Tomoyo. Er, Light Haired Tomoyo, I forgot. She reminds me of Sakaki from Azumanga Daioh. She's beautiful, but not in a cute way, has long hair, is a little taller than the other girls, and is reasonably athletic. However, unlike Sakaki, she really is one tough chick. She almost behaves like, well, like an American woman. Throw in random swear words and she almost would. Of course, this obviously has a lot more character depth than Azumanga, so Tomoyo doesn't feel like a stereotype, but rather, like a real person.

Oh, and Tomoya, I think I know why you can't stop thinking about Nagisa. I saw another character in a different anime have the same dilemma you had. I remember now.

(On the anime version of Cardcaptor Sakura, Shaoran couldn't accept the fact that he had fallen in love with Sakura, his supposed rival. He was the same way in the manga, but didn't repress it as long, to my relief.)

It's quite normal for anime guys to fall for Insanely Cute anime girls at your age; there's nothing unnatural about it.

And certainly there was nothing unnatural about the scene with Tomoya and Kyou, which, disturbingly, parodies a hentai. (Kyou falls down in gym shorts, looking extremely vulnerable. Not one to show weakness, she suddenly becomes dere and says, "I-It's my first time.") Luckily, it didn't proceed like a hentai. I do know the original VN version was renowned for not having H-scenes, unlike some other Key products. Hmm . . .

But I'm still curious. What is it about the characters that I don't know yet. What is that dreamlike world with the movie quality animation that could put Studio Ghibli to shame? Could the series possibly get anymore kawaii!? I'll have to keep watching.

IN OTHER NEWS

Way back at the tender age of 6, I was playing Mario Bros. 3 on my NES. One time, I got a 1up mushroom, but instead of playing the usual fanfare, it played some I didn't recognize, then transitioned to the usual fanfare. It actually sounded cool. But it only happened once, way back in the early 1990s. I thought I was only in discovering this glitch.

I was wrong, of course. Millions of people played that game after all. Check this quote out from tvtropes:

"Super Mario Bros 3 had an odd bug that had no explanation for years (until about 2005!) and got many gamers called crazy. The sound effects for tail-wagging and a one-up interacted in a way the developers did not anticipate. Because of the way the sound chip handles interrupts, attempting to play both at the same time results in playing the one-up sound, but reading in more data than it should. Because NES sound effects are written in reverse order, this results in a corrupted beginning, followed by the complete normal sound effect. Oddly, some people have remarked that the "extended version" sounds pretty cool. The effect can be observed here.

This video uses a hacked RAM to "extend" any sound effect"


Upon discovering this, and upon unlocking this long-buried memory of mine, I had only one reaction:



I TOLD YOU I WASN'T CRAZY! I WAS RIGHT THIS ENTIRE TIME!






I've won.

still watching the show

I saw up to episode 15 of Clannad.

This show somehow makes me laugh, feel happy, and feel depressed at the same time. Obviously, this is the mark of a multi-genre work.

However, something weird happened in episode 15. Something involving Fuko. She did something weird, left, and no one remarked on it after the scene changed.

BIG LIPPED ALLIGATOR MOMENT! (AAAAAAHHHHH!)

. . . . . . . yeah.

With that said, Kotomi as a child . . . was unbelievably cute! And she still is as a teenager! And you know what else? She has beautiful dresses! Girls with good fashion sense are all too rare in the real world, so seeing Kotomi-chan wearing nice dresses makes me feel happy on the inside.

I made the right choice to purchase Clannad. But now, I gotta ask; just who is Sunohara's sister? What kind of person is she? Well, I'll be sure to find out eventually!

I'm hooked

Clannad has gripped me, and refuses to let go. All I've seen is the first 12 episodes now, but I must watch more.

Episode 9 was beautiful. So moving. And the song that played with vocals . . . so beautiful! (I'm trying not to cry. I hope you're happy.) And episode 12, oh my god, that was very emotionally impacting.

Okay, this is already better than Air now. And this is now starting to be like the good portions of Kanon now. (Basically, Kanon was good when it wasn't the first 3 episodes and its last episode.) I must learn more. The money was not wasted.

Oh, but that's not what you want to read, right? You want moe gushing, don't you!? Well, there's plenty of that! Seeing Fuko and Nagisa argue over what's cutest is hilarious. (I fear what Sunohara would've said had he been there, "But ladies! Can't you see you're both wrong? Neither starfish nor Dango are the cutest; girls like you are!") And Kotomi-chan, auu~! She's warming my heart just from thinking about her! I noticed she gets along with Ryou and Nagisa very well; moe girls gel together so well! And let's not forget the violin concert! (Akio holds Sanae's fainted form and shouts in black manga outline, "SANAEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!") And you know what? Kyou is cute, just not in a moe way, but in her own way!

Wow, I'm not disappointed yet.

Dango Daikazoku

Okay, episodes 1 thru 6 are complete. And now for my first impressions.

This, like Kanon, is definitely not an action-driven series. It's even slower paced than Kanon! However, like that show, it is incredibly beautiful. There are even sequences with CGI and 24 frames per second animation. And unlike in Haruhi, the CGI looks good! Well, Kyoto Animation hasn't failed me on this front.

However, I do have one issue. It's not the show itself; it's the subtitles. They come up and disappear really quickly. I'm a fast reader, but even I wasn't prepared for this. Good thing my PS3 rewinds really good. Also, as ANN pointed out, there's a few typos as well. It's nothing too major; any regular internet user will catch the typos and still read them correctly, but it is egregious; I saw Cardcaptor Sakura subbed, and I caught 3 typos in that entire series. I've caught 4 typos in just the first six episodes of Clannad. I fear errors like this will cause fans to mistrust R1 companies even more. Then again, this was published by the resurrected ashes of ADV Films; they don't exactly have a good track record for quality translations. (But they're still more alright than Tokyopop. Their translations can go to Hell. Yeah, I said it.)

But now, more good stuff. I like the music in Clannad even more. There's no orchestra, and yet, some of the pieces are very evocative. The ending song is very charming. I know I'm gonna score some MP3s soon! (Oh snap! That's one prediction down!)

And much like Kanon, this show's greatest strength is its characters. Tomoya is a lot like Yuichi, but he's even more interesting than Yuichi! I never said this, but if it weren't for Makoto, Yuichi would've been my favorite character in Kanon. To have a protagonist like Tomoya, well, I'm anxious to find out more about him. His friends Sunohara is a dumbass. He's like a cross between Beavis, Butthead, and George Costanza. He gets screwed constantly, and yet, it's always his own fault.

Oh, but readers, I know what you've been waiting for me to talk about. I can't evade it any longer. I'm about to open the floodgates. Prepare the raincoats.




The ads. Could not. Predict. The sheer amount of moe contained within Clannad. Here were my thoughts by the end of the first episode.

MOE OVERWHELMING!

Oh, but my gawd, the girls in this show . . . they are so charming! None of them are moeblobs! And there's this one great twist! Okay, okay, the main female girl, Nagisa, is very cute. And very pretty. And very moe. However, I think I know why she's so moe. I've never seen this reason before, but it makes perfect sense! The reason Nagisa is so moe?

Her mom is moe.

Oh gawd, Sanae (not the Touhou Sanae) the Moe Mom! She and Akio, Nagisa's dad, are so silly! They constantly grandstand, constantly ham it up, but are just so lovable! Although I would be scared if my own parents were like that.

Oh, but it doesn't end there! I was also introduced to Fuko Ibuki.

OH NO! NOT FUKO!

Fu-chan is soooooooooooo kyute! And you know who else I think is cute? Kotomi-chan! And you know who else I think is cute? Ryou-chan! (Okay, she's more Moderately Cute than Insanely Cute, but still) However, I didn't really find Tomoyo to be cute. She is definitely the prettiest, (But of course! She has my favorite hairstyle!) but her personality is not one I would find to be cute. Same goes for Kyou. But I do like their attitudes, nonetheless.

But that doesn't matter, because again, I was not prepared for the comedy within Clannad! I shouldn't be surprised; Air and Kanon had some hilarious moments, but Clannad though, oh man. I actually watched a certain scene in episode 4 twice. ("Did I buy a boxset of Marimite by accident?" I actually said that out loud.) And the silliness of the moe characters made me laugh. And Tomoya's snarking made me laugh. ("Yosh! I have mastered the art of snapping Fu-chan out of a trance with a fruit juice straw!") And Sunohara's epic levels of stupidity made me laugh out loud. However, there have been hints of drama. The end of episode 2 and 6 are good examples. This being a Key Visual Arts product, I knew it couldn't be straight up comedy. I must find out more.

Overall prognosis is good so far. There is no tacky fanservice of any kind. There are no over-acted voiceovers. While it is slow, at the same time, it doesn't move too fast either. The attempts at humor make me laugh most of the time. There's nothing wrong with the artwork. If there are any plot holes, they'll most likely get paved over by the end. Soooooo, it doesn't have flaws that are present in anime I hate, so . . . . bring it on, everyone.

History Repeats Itself Time And Time Again

What did I do about two years ago around this time?

I started to buy and watch Eureka Seven on DVD. It took me a while to watch the whole thing, because I had to make two separate purchases for the DVDs, but once I finally got around to watching the whole thing, I cried and declared it the best anime ever.

What did I do just now?

Well, this is the big announcement, everyone. Actually, I kinda already announced it about a month ago. But now, it's official! I have gone through with it!

I bought Clannad on DVD. Every boxset. (No two purchases this time! I've learned my lesson and saved up for this occasion! And also, I waited until I got every boxset in the mail! Marathon session ahoy!) And, just like then, I'm gonna make numerous posts just to talk about Clannad. I've been hinting at watching this for a while now, and now I want to make good on that word. Starting tomorrow, I will begin watching when I have the chance.

A few notes before we continue.

-I will be watching this in Japanese with English subtitles. I made an executive decision; I bought the sub-only DVDs after extensive research. The only people to plug the English dub positively are a few reviews on Amazon, and even then, there are some reviews there that hate the dub.

-I'm not going to limit myself to one (or two) discs a day; I'll just watch however many episodes I feel like watching on that day. So, if I get addicted to this show . . . yeah.

-Anti-moe comments are STRICTLY PROHIBITED!

However, the title alludes to history repeating itself. Will it? Will this be just like last time? Will Clannad become my favorite anime of all time? Is this show gonna make me cry? Am I gonna download MP3s of the music? And why do I get the feeling that by the end, I'm gonna end up with a platonic crush on one of the girls? Stick around and find out!

No, this still isn't the big announcement

But it is news, nonetheless. I'll start with the obvious.

HALO DOESN'T SUCK ANYMORE!

Okay, I've never played H3, ODST, or the strategy Halo, but you all know how I joke about how the only good thing to come out of Halo was Red vs. Blue, right?

Well, it seems Bungie finally addressed my complaints.

Halo Reach is a great game. Great graphics, above-average soundtrack, and pretty good controls too, once you get used to it. Now, before I go on, it's not one of the best shooters ever. It still lacks the inventiveness and godly level design of the Half-Life games. However, it is a solid game. Why? Let's see why.

-Great weapons. One of my beefs with H1 and H2 was the lack of weapon balancing. In H1, all you needed was the pistol, assault rifle, and plasma rifle for about 90 percent of that game. Everything else was near-useless. In H2, well, I didn't play it that much, but many gamers claim that dual-wielding certain weapons makes the game too easy. Not in Reach, though. Nearly every weapon is useful. Even the needler and plasma pistol are useful! Halo has cool guns now! I'm amazed.

-The AI. The AI for the regular friendly soldiers is wonky at times, but the AI for the other Spartans is great. But what really takes the cake is the AI for the Covenant. I found the Covenant to be tactical dumbasses in H1 and H2, despite what the ads claimed. Well, uh, looks like I'm not the only one who noticed, because that's not an issue anymore. Elites behave like human opponents in multiplayer. I am not kidding. Even the Ewok-like Grunts will flank you and grenade spam you if you give them an opening. These guys are fucking lethal. And Angry Joe and Lordkat are right about one thing; play Halo Reach on Legendary, and you will die. A LOT. But Firefight on Legendary is a hoot.

-Firefight mode. Maybe it's because I don't multiplay, but I don't have much experience with Halo multiplayer,* so it's great that Firefight can be played alone. It's basically an arcade game: wave after wave of Covenants come after you. You kill them, earn points, then a stronger wave comes. Repeat until you run out of lives, the time is up, or you kill 'em all. This could've been packaged as a standalone game, and I would've had no complaints. (Out now: Halo: The Arcade Game! Presented by 343 Industries, since Bungie's too busy still trying to take over the world.)

-Level design. It's no longer repetitive. Okay, it's not godlike, but it is a cut above generic shooters as of late.

-Vehicles. The vehicles in H1 controlled like shit. Here, they're great. And great fun! They can really turn the tide of a battle. The helicopter-like vehicle and spaceship are amazing. And don't forget to attempt Grand Theft Ghost at some point!

-The armor abilities. Jetpack. Invulnerability. Sprinting. Shielding. Camouflage. These weren't just tacked in; they really do bring a new level of strategy to the table. And it's been so long since I used a jetpack!

The campaign is a little short, but it packs no dull moments; filler is non-existent, if you will. The story is, per Halo, a typical space opera war, and is nothing special. The voice-acting is nothing special. (stupid Disney and LucasArts really spoiled me as a child and teenager concerning voice production, and Bandai isn't helping!) However, most people don't play Halo for the story, (that's what the novels are for, or so I've heard) and action shooters aren't exactly renowned for brilliant writing and characterization. With that said, Halo Reach is at least worth a rental, and if you dig Halo multiplayer, it's a must buy.

Thanks, Bungie, for not disappointing me for once. And thanks, Microsoft, for having a good killer app besides Gears of War 2.

*I got my brother to play H2 deathmatch with me back in the day. He hated it more than I did! "Why does my guy move so slow?" "Why is there a time limit?" "The sniper rifle's too good! All the other guns suck." "The graphics are pretty good, but I'd rather play Red Faction 2 instead. Rent that again, okay?" I think even he might be surprised to find how much Halo Reach improves upon the formula.

No, this isn't the grand announcement. Sorry

Something else came up that I wanted to talk about.

Something about Personae.

First, Persona 3.

Yes, I did end up giving this game away to a relative, over gameplay issues no less. However, I am aware that there's a PSP version out now. This version of P3 incorporates the changes from P4. And it also lets you play as a female main character, one who is not a carbon copy of Minato. If my information is correct, FeMC is a Genki Girl to the max. And has somewhat-reddish hair. And has the voice of Laura Bailey. OH MY GAWD! SHE'S A HYBRIDIZATION OF KURO-CHAN AND RISE-CHAN! Dang it, peoples! You're getting her typecasted now! Er, not that I'm complaining, since I like Rise-chan, and I would love to play as FeMC, and that Kuro-chan is love. Unfortunately, I don't have a PSP.

But you guys, if you've played P3 to death, you need to see this. See Minato be a dick to everyone! I love the artwork; it's actually very Americanized, but somehow, it works.

And now, Persona 4.

I started playing P4 again! I carried over to the plus game . . . and all I got were maxed out social stats, my money, and my persona compedium, most of which I can't even access because I'm not high leveled enough yet. I'm on normal mode now . . . and I keep dying! (Teddie voice) No, Sensei! You weren't this weak before! Don't die on us now! You're too pretty to die! (lol Firefly reference. back to normal voice) why do I keep dying!? I already bought the best equipment since I had my cash leftover! What am I doing wrong!?

But now something good. A parody of P4. You can thank me later.

But you wanna know what re-ignited my interest in Persona? Some fanvids I found on Beast's Lair. Here. here. here. and here. Also, I have not played the PSP version of P3, but already I ship FeMC with Shinjiro. You can't deny it.

And now another Q&A, cuz it's been way too long since the last one

Q: When is the new chapter of Mentor and Protege coming out?

A: When it's done.

Q: Speaking of which, Duke Nukem Forever is finally coming out in 2011. Duke Nukem 3D was, for a time, your favorite FPS of all time, and you still look upon it favorably. Any thoughts on the long-awaited continuation?

A: I honestly thought the project would never materialize back in the PS2/GC/Xbox generation. For it to be uncanceled, a la Prey, well, I might rent it, but I'm not expecting anything on the scale of Half-Life 2.

Q: Let's shift to animation, American animation. Who is your favorite character from Animaniacs?

A: P-

Q: -Besides Pinky and the Brain.

A: Slappy Squirrel.

Q: What's your top 11 favorite Nostalgia Critic reviews?

A: Super Mario Bros. The Movie, Batman and Robin, Captain Planet, Good Burger, We're Back, Star Wars Holiday Special (never again), Battlefield Earth, Quest for Camelot, Independence Day, The Bebe's Kids video game (and subsequent follow up by LordKat), and Bio-Dome.

Q: Critics have been saying that you've become "flanderized" since you started. Any thoughts on this?

A: Well that's ridiculous. I cannot be distilled by whatever traits of mine I may be displaying more often in recent posts.

Q: Now, this blog has always been primarily focused on your thoughts on video games, animation, and manga, but lately, the critics say that all you do are your own catchphrases.

A: Lies. I can speak more dialog than that, obviously. Do I look like a character from a sucky Hanna and Barbera cartoon?

OH NO NOT (NAME OF INSANELY CUTE GIRL)! (Insert Death Note quote because Death Note is the motherfucking shiznit!) (name of actor) makes everything better. (blank) IS LOVE!

Oh, you're probably thinking, "Those are catchphrases right there!" But you see, they all have variables. They always change. So in essence, I'm not repeating catchphrases.

Q: Well in any case, is there anything in store for the future here?

A: Oh yes. There's something big coming this way.

Q: Oh really?

A: Yes really. I won't go into details, but the possibilities are endless.

Q: Despite hating its followers, you still visit animenewsnetwork regularly. Why?

A: For things like the following: an article quotes a passage from a book about the otaku phenomenon. The quote is as follows: "The book proposes a model of the 'database animals' as a new type of consumer in the postmodern information era, arguing that, rather than reading the stories in a 'human' mode of consumption that longs for the existence of and searches for deeper meaning, the cravings of 'animalized' otaku are satiated by classifying the characters from such stories according to their traits and anonymously creating databases that catalog, store, and display the results." This explains a lot right here, and I think I figured out why Lucky Star was so successful. "Oh look! Konata's a game otaku! Kagami's a tsundere! Tsukasa is a moeblob! Miyuki is a meganekko and also a moeblob! LOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOL!" Must be why I only scored it a 6, since I actually want to, you know, be entertained by what I watch.

Q: Are you sure you don't wanna tell us what's in store?

A: My next post will have more details. Wait until then. (Even if said wait is weeks from now.)

Q: Are you sure you don't want to give even a teensy weensy hint? Like is it it a game? A show? A website? What!?

A: It's something you know I want to examine. That's all I can say at the moment.

Q: Um, okay. Last question, Mary Ann, or Ginger?

A: Do I look like I grew up in the Baby Boomer generation!? How the hell am I supposed to make an informed decision on this!?

The Musicality of (insert name of Haruhi character here)

The anime version of Haruhi has good music. I knew this even back when I had to resort to watching fan-uploaded streams on youtube and veoh before buying the 1st season on DVD. There is a 2nd season out now in English, but right now, I'm saving up my money for a different Kyoto Animation series. (Gee, why would I buy Clannad? It can't be for the same reason I love Touhou, can it? Yes it can. Cute girls will foster world peace.)

But back to Haruhi. I'm only giving you one link: here. I've sampled some of these so-called image songs, and I have a few things to say.

-Yuki, Muon, Madobe Nite, one of Yuki's songs. It captures her essence perfectly, and it is a great listen. Under Mebius is also great. But the crown jewel is the orchestrated version of Yuki, Muon, Madobe Nite from the Suzumiya Haruhi no Gensou soundtrack. That is one of the best Japanese-language songs I've ever heard, and Yuki's Japanese voice actress is amazing. Thank you, Minori Chihara! When you can hold your own against Michelle Ruff, you know you've done well.

-Matsutte Matsutte! Irassha~i! It's a very fun song, and could very well function as Tsuruya's theme.

-Toki no Puzzle feels like something Mikuru would sing. It's so sweet, it's almost unreal. Then again, she's a moeblob; I guess they sing songs like that.

-Welcome Unknown is a silly song, but for some odd reason, I can picture Haruhi performing that.

And of course, you've got all the background music from the anime. I haven't sampled anything from the movie since I don't want to spoil myself, but you can listen to "Koi no Mikuru Densetsu" if you like, as well as the orchestrated version.





Oh, in case you're wondering, you all know Kyon is my favorite character, but who is my second-favorite? Well, I guess it's obvious now; Yuki. She. Is. COOOOOL.

Okay, enough Starcraft

Let's get back to my usual material.

First off, good music.

Another Byakuren remix for you. Funny in that I don't like Byakuren's original theme, and yet, three remixes, (two of them by IOSYS) are worth a listen in my mind.

Two WAVE pieces. Yeeeeeeeeeees. (You know it's gotta be good when it makes me say yes like a Chaos Space Marine.)

The Prismriver Sisters, IN ENGLISH! (Video is . . . different.)

Chen's theme now sounding like the second ending credits song from Sgt. Frog. Ear Worm approaching . . .

And second, uh, well, those are Touhou videos; they are chock full of cute girls. I think that speaks for itself.

Also, I'm kinda blocked on Mentor and Protege, but I've been making progress on the Yukari oneshot; I may publish that before I finish M & P.

Starcraft: ALS, part 3

Starcraft II campaign mode: BRILLIANT!

Starcraft II freeplay mode: uh, not as much fun as the campaign mode.

A few notes.

-The music is a lot, lot better than in SC1. Having real instruments (and good licensed music) can make a huge difference.

-Some voices for returning characters are different, but most of the new voices sound better in my opinion, particulary Zeratul's. Nice to know the voice-acting is still top-notch. also, GEET ME BACK ENTO THA FIHG-EET!

-It's in 3D now, Artanis. Also, the arrival of Artanis in the campaign mode was a genuine He's Back & Crowning Moment of Awesome for me. but still, it's amazing how much more fluid 3D animation is compared to 2D animation. Of course, I'm sure the fanboys will complain about the lack of projected 3D now.

-Need . . . next . . . expansion pack . . . and the one . . . after that.

-In the freeplay mode, as it currently is, I actually prefer playing as the Terrans, and I find the Protoss to be the least playable race. What happened, Blizzard? Oh well, I'm digging the new Zerg units.

-Story is still top-notch, except now there's references to the novels, none of which I've read. DANG IT!

S:ALS. Part Two

The last entry was actually an uploaded text file from my PC that I wrote about two years ago, around the same time I wrote a similar article for Devil May Cry 3. (You know, one of the very first entries on this blog?) Aside from a few updates, it doesn't better reflect why I consider the original Starcraft one of my top five favorite games of all time.

I bought SC1 shortly after it first came out for the PC. I just started 7th grade, age 12. I had played Warcraft II and loved it, and had heard that SC1 was even better. Turns out; it was. It was a lot more than Warcraft in Space. Of course, no one could have predicted the game's success on Battle.net, nor in South Korea. Kids I knew at school were talking about Starcraft. Of course, being the asstards that they were, most of them favored Terrans. I myself am a Protoss man. Of all the Starcrafteteers I've met in real life, exactly one favored Zerg, and one besides myself favored Protoss. A few years back, I asked somebody, "Why does everyone favor Terrans? Most of their units die easily, it takes forever to repair their mechanical units, and Wraiths suck compared to Scouts. Why?" The guy I asked gave me one reason:

"Cuz they got nukes!"

Pi-shaw, I say. PROTOSS 4 LIEF!

But of course, there was more than that. Like I mentioned previously, SC1 excelled in the aesthetic department. It was one of the best-looking 2D games of the times, and the pre-rendered cutscenes were, for the time, really good. Actually, scratch that somewhat: the intro for Brood War remains one of the most moving and chilling sequences in videogame history. (Speaking of which, I got Brood War shortly after that came out, age 13. Now I have Dark Templars, and you fuckers with your Valkyries are toast.) Not only that, the story is one of the best in game history. When I first played SC1, I wasn't expecting a sweeping space opera, one filled with betrayal, warfare, Xanatos Gambits, and occasional humor, all set to a dark yet mature tone that's all too rare in the videogame industry. I still regard Jimmy Raynor, Tassadar, Fenix, Zeratul, and Artanis as some of the greatest heroes in history. Still, I shouldn't have been too surprised; I had played Chrono Trigger and the beginning of Final Fantasy 7 prior to playing SC1; I knew games could have strong writing.

12 years later, I still regard Starcraft as the best real-time game ever that depicts warfare. Command and Conquer? Too much action, too little strategy. Warcraft III? The campaign that played like Diablo was more fun (Oh, but the fall and rise of Arthas was worth it). Homeworld? Control scheme is too cumbersome. The only, only RTS wargame that comes close to SC1 in terms of overall package is the first Warhammer: Dawn of War. There are days when I think I have more fun playing Dark Crusade than SC1, but that's the only true challenger I've seen in my life as a gamer.

Now, I did say I spent my money recently. You wanna know what I spent it on? A new video card. That costed quite a bit. Then I bought Starcraft II. At first, I had some issues. However, I have worked around such issues.

My life for Aiur.

(Next time, my thoughts on SC2! En Taro Tassadar!)

Starcraft: A Love Story. Part One

It’s sold millions of copies the world over. It’s the national pastime in South Korea. Fans clamored for a sequel for many years, which they finally received in July of 2010. Which gaming phenomenon am I referring to now? Starcraft, Blizzard’s best-selling real-time strategy game. It’s more than just a game; it’s an unstoppable phenomenon.

Starcraft, released in 1998, uses a modified “Warcraft II” engine, Warcraft II having been released in 1996. The first thing you’ll see in Starcraft is the incredible artwork in the background, the units, and especially the prerendered cutscenes. If the game weren’t so violent and dark, one could call it beautiful. It certainly is more striking than any Blizzard game before it. Fixed at a “640 by 480” screen resolution, Starcraft’s system requirements are very low. Almost any modern computer can run this game. Perhaps it’s no wonder that the game is so popular; just about anybody can play it.

And yet, despite the superb singleplayer campaign, what with its terrific voice-acting, unforgettable storyline, and challenging gameplay, it’s not the story-driven campaign mode that Starcraft fans remember most; it’s the custom games that are remembered most. All multiplayer games are custom, usually pitting one commander against another in a deathmatch to destroy one another. The player can play as one of three radically different races: the Terrans, a race of space-faring humans, the Protoss, an alien race with advanced technology and psychic powers, and the Zerg, a hive of insect-like creatures that live to hunt lesser prey. Unlike in many other real-time strategy games of the time, all three factions are radically different. For example, the Terrans have a unit called the Ghost, which can turn invisible and launch nuclear warheads at a designated target, provided no one can ‘detect’ the Ghost before he drops his payload. The Protoss, meanwhile, have plasma shields that effectively give all of their units and structures a second life bar, but should a Protoss’ shield run out, it will take normal life damage, and the normal life bar for a Protoss cannot be restored, but the shield life bar can. And the Zerg ‘trains’ all of its units at the hatchery, the main structure where resources are turned in. Should a Zerg base lose its structures but not the hatchery, a Zerg player will always be able to create Zerglings to fight back, but lose any and all hatcheries, and the player cannot ‘train’ anymore units, not even the ubiquitous Zerglings. I am just scratching the surface here.

Why Starcraft has endured, and why so many of its contemporaries have not, is because of the depth and complexity of the whole game. It is certainly complex, more so than Warcraft I and II, but not so much as to turn away casual gamers. The depth can make it seem like you’re playing more than one game; a Protoss versus Protoss matchup feels very different from a Terran versus Zerg matchup. Or maybe you don’t want to wipe out the enemy as the main objective? Starcraft offers countless maps and game modes all for free from the internet, everything from re-enactments of Starship Troopers to Capture the Flags with Hydralisks is available, all thanks to the game’s powerful Campaign and map editor. Why the PC version of Starcraft is remembered and not the N64 port is because of the custom maps. The Campaign editor is what allows Starcraft to remain popular a decade after its release.

Is Starcraft the best strategy game ever? Maybe it is, maybe it’s not. But is it one of the best? Most definitely. No one would deny its place in videogame history. It’s still played very extensively on Battle.net, a feat most other 12-year old games can't claim.

Now why on Earth would I be making an entry entitled, “Starcraft: A Love Story. Part One”? Stick around to find out more.

(At least now, I’ll be taking a break from gushing about cute girls with huge eyes.)