Deja vu?

I mentioned I had a psychology textbook. Yes, I have taken psychology 101. One thing we discussed is the concept of deja vu, as like this: You have a dream at night. It will depict something: a place, a person, a thing, and you forget about it. Then, a week later, a few months, or maybe even years later, you see something that is exactly like the dream you saw. This has happened to me several times in the past. This also happened to my best friend in high school; he swears up-and-down that in the late 1990s, he dreamed playing a first-person shooter that did not exist. In 2000, he played a game just like the one in his dream; it was called Perfect Dark. I then told him about the time I had numerous dreams that took place in a location that I later saw was a level in Sonic Adventure; only my earliest dream of said level occurred several years before SA was even in the conceptual stages. We're hardcore gamers like that, but we know what deja vu feels like.

Now, I haven't experienced deja vu again recently, but I am, as the locals say, "Totally calling it!" right now. A few weeks ago, I had a dream. In this dream, I am . . . an otaku. Not a general anime otaku, not a video game otaku (which would seem the most likely possibility for me) but an otaku for a very specific franchise. No, not Avatar. I dreamed I was . . . an Evangelion otaku. In the dream, I am introducing Rebuild of Eva 1.11 to my mom. Mom has seen two anime films in real-life: Castle in the Sky, and Howl's Moving Castle. She loved both of them. In my dream, she wanted to expand her horizons. But, also in the dream, I walk into the room, since I apparently had already seen the movie like 15 times and had it memorized, therefore I didn't need to watch it again. I saw . . . that she was watching it in English. Like a true otaku, I get uppity, telling her that Eva, unlike Miyazaki movies, is not meant to be watched in Ingles, but Nihongo. I grab the remote and switch the subs on. The current scene showed Shinji and Misato, which, as anyone knows, I think sound a hell-of-a-lot better in Japanese. Mom gets uppity, saying that her aged eyes can't read subtitles very well. I respond along the lines of "FOOL! You dare mock the voice of Megumi Ogata!? Do you not realize how much you're ruining the Eva experience!? Eva is set in Japan; they wouldn't be speaking perfect English to begin with!" I can't remember anything else, but that's not the end of it.

Now, I had a dream last night, again with me as an Eva otaku. It's sometime in the future, since I was mentioning the Funimation release of Rebuild 2.22 on blu-ray. I was playing a video game with some friends, then at one point, I compared someone to Touji, then someone else say, "Dude, stop comparing everything to that Japanese cartoon you won't shut up about! Besides, didn't you used to mock Eva fans back in the day, always making fun of the fans of that pale-skinned girl that's always on the ads?" I responded with, "That . . . was a younger, more naive me, when I had only seen the older, and very obviously flawed Eva tv series. Granted, Rei is not one of my favorite characters, but since having read the manga and having seen Rebuild, I have come to respect her, as well as her fans. While I may not share the, um, same adoration for her as the Rei-worshippers, I have come to understand that they too are passionate about the greatest work of animation ever committed to film." And one smartass added, "Oh really? I thought all you freaks wanted to share was hentai of the female characters." Which then prompted me to act like a male version of Asuka, scaring them away with my assholishness; they all ran away before I could catch them. Still, that's all I can remember, and the dialogue is not word for word.

Getting back to the first paragraph, I fear that these dreams are a premonition. I mean, look at the evidence: I own the first 7 volumes of the manga, I have written an Eva fanfic to completion, I have read several Eva fanfics, I bought the blu-ray version of Rebuild 1.11 shortly after it was made available on Amazon, and Rebuild is currently being distributed by Funimation, (WHICH ONLY CONFIRMS THEIR CONSPIRACY TO TURN ME INTO AN OTAKU! Well, just an Evangelion otaku mind you, BUT AN OTAKU NONETHELESS!) which will probably still be in business long enough to release all four films in the English-speaking world. And let's not forget my pre-disposition towards works of science-fiction, or this message I printed in an earlier blog:

"I have reason to believe that the Rebuild series, once completed, could equal or even best Eureka Seven for best anime in my opinion. It would surpass Miyazaki's films, too. That's how good this first film was; I see that potential."

And what was E7, my current favorite anime, influenced by more than anything else? Exactly.

Peoples, I am printing this now, perhaps to coincide with the video release of Rebuild 2.22 in Japan, but I print this now: I may very well betray my nature should I really find Rebuild to be the best (something) ever. If that happens, then the xm0123 that you know right now will die. He will forget about every mindless diversion that is not a video game (Unless if there's an Eva video game that's awesome . . . Shit! If there was an Eva game that gave me full interactivity of the Eva world, then I'll be exactly like Keroro, only substitute Gundam for Eva!) that is not Eva-related, except to say that nothing that is not Eva sucks in comparison. All because I may or may not be experincing deja vu in the future. Pre-cognition is a bitch.

P.S. If I ever refer to Misato as "Mai Waifu," you have full permission to slap me.

ENOUGH WITH THE UNDEAD ALREADY!!!!

Folks, I have pirated three Type-Moon games this year, four if you count Melty Blood. I wish I hadn't, but the situation left me no choice. And yet, I still wanted to pay Type-Moon my respects. I would have to buy something of theirs that is licensed in the English-speaking world in order to do that, but what would I buy? A Saber figurine? The Tsukihime anime that reputably does not exist? A wallscroll of Tohsaka? I rejected these answers and instead bought . . . the manga version of Tsukihime!!!

Said to be the best adaptation of a Type-Moon work ever, I decided to get the first five volumes, since volume 6 is rare and expensive at the moment. I've done a review of it on MAL, now it's time for me to go into spoiler territory.

First off, I said it was more visual than the VN. For instance, when Nanaya cuts Arcueid into 17 pieces, you actually see what Arc looks like in that state; perfectly cut up into 17 beautiful pieces. And also, the "nod" to Kagetsu Tohya I mentioned is that during what would be the first "H" scene in the game, (He chooses Arc in the manga) after his . . . what have you (which is edited out), you can see a black cat with a large ribbon slipping out when he wakes up. Things like that will please long-time fans.And also, there are new scenes not from the VN which thankfully don't feel out of place. One of which is a fight scene between Ciel and Akiha, but man, Akiha can pwn in the manga! Her demon powers are better illustrated in the manga than they were in the VN. Another interesting change is the place where Shiki was nearly killed by the other Shiki has a gazebo standing where that happened; it's not just a shadeless spot in the woods anymore.

However, I caught a few plot holes in this canon. For one, Nanaya doesn't 'kill' Arc in her apartment, but rather, at the park, right after he first sees her. Um, dude, that's a public place and it was during daytime; did no one see him doing that? And also, maybe it's just that I haven't gotten past the fifth volume, but Sacchin isn't a vampire, Hisui hasn't revealed that she used to interact with the Tohnos as a child, and nothing has been mentioned of Kohaku's true self. Also, Kohaku doesn't give Shiki the Nanaya blade, since he already had it from the start; isn't the reason she handed him the blade in the VN is so he would draw out and and possibly kill the other Shiki? I can excuse the not giving the knife part, but the other ones are holes that better be paved over in later chapters, but I have faith in whoever's writing this.

Oh, also, there's an interesting bit of fanservice in the third volume. There's a colored illustration of the girls in a spa, but it includes characters that don't appear in the original Tsukihime VN, such as Seven, the human form of Len, and even Miyako from Melty Blood! Truly fanservice; a newcome to Tsukihime wouldn't know who those people were!

But other than all of that, I have another confession; I mentioned that Arc has nice eyes. I guess I should say now that crimson red is my third-favorite eye color. Yeah, I know it's fake, but I can't help myself!

delays, delays

I said I started collecting a new manga series, but I can't tell you about it just yet; Amazon screwed up the shipping of one of the volumes, so I had to cancel it and order it from a different website. Ain't that a gyp?

While that's coming, I suppose I'll talk more about the Nasuverse. I already said that my favorite Fate character is a tie between Tohsaka and Ilya. However, who do you think I find to be the most attractive? Are you ready?

Aoi Tohsaka.

I can see why the fanboys adore Rin so much; her mother's gorgeous! Too bad she only appears in Fate/Zero. I would love to read that someday; some people say that Fate/Zero is better than Fate/Stay Night. Huh, interesting. (I need to stop watching Retsupurae.)

Oh, I also signed up for the Beast's Lair forums. I don't know why though; I can't see myself posting there very often.

Oh, also, in Fate, I liked how you can name your save files. I came up with a few interesting save names. Observe. (note: some are blacked out because of spoilers.)

In the Fate route:

"I'm surrounded on all sides by girls." Harem comedies are like this, huh?

"SUMMON SABER ALREADY, GOD DAMN IT!" Yeah, even I was thinking Shirou was being stupid here; WHY DID HE WAIT THAT LONG TO SUMMON HER!?!?! Oh, probably because he didn't want to kill his friend Shinji. Right.

"EX-CAL-I-BEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEER!" It's like watching Dragonball Z, only if, you know, Dragonball Z was good.

"Help! I'm being hit on by a child!" Shirou is bound to a chair, and Ilya is acting rather suggestive . . . an example of Foe Yay?

"Girls I can never look at the same ever again." This happened after Shirou, Saber and Rin . . . uh, yeah.

"Gilgamesh is a prick." Ya think!?

Unlimited Blade Works route:

"Tohsaka is being a bully." So, she tries to kill Shirou early on, actually succeeds in one bad end, and yet falls in love with him at the end. I think Tohsaka might be conflicted on the inside.

"Tohsaka: scariest teenage girl ever." Anytime she smiles. That is all.

"Archer is fucking with me; I swear." I said Archer's an asshole, didn't I? The proof is in the pudding!

Heaven's Feel route:

"OH NO! NOT SAKURA! (What!? Someone had to say it!)" Yes, I'm aware Sakura is a common girl's name in Japan. It's almost like their equivalent of our Sarah. Or Jessica. Or . . . Sarah Jessica Parker? Nevermind.

"HSQ Surpassed; what now!?" I referenced tvtropes after an awesome scene; how cool is that?

"FINISH HER!" Why did I reference fucking Mortal Kombat right before such a dramatic sequence? Am I out of my fucking mind?

In other news, we found an old 4.1 PC speaker system in the garage which I'm using as a backup system for the time being. Good; now I can watch more space frogs doing silly things.

And getting back to Nasu, I found something on Beast's Lair that will interest fanfic readers such as myself.

This thread contains short stories (and reactions from forumers) by PataHikari. Having started reading these fics, I can say they are very well done. None of the fics are overly long, so read it if you're into the Nasuverse.

LATE EDIT: That version of BL is dead. Just go to the current one to find Pata's fics.

Oh, FYI, Pata and I have a lot in common. We both are NOT dub haters, we both love Umineko, and we both love writing. He, like me, is also writing original fiction . . . supposedly, he hasn't uploaded anything yet.

Bitter-sweetness

After a six month hiatus, I finally did it; I uploaded a new chapter of Mentor and Protege. Now, the world can finally see my interpretation of Phantasmagoria of Dim Dream. I already got a review right after I posted it saying that it, as well as M & P in general, is worth following. However, I am not happy right now. Far from it.

After reading my newest upload, I noticed something. You know how in novels, if the scene changes to a new place, and it's still the same chapter, the author will write this in?

* * *

It truly is a handy device. Guess what? Fanfiction.net does not process that. That's right; for nearly nine months, everything I've uploaded there lacked the "Meanwhile, at such and such a place" asterisks! Lord, do I wish I had a personal editor right now, because I obviously am not. Luckily, I found a solution: anyone in my text that I separated a scene like that, I now instead have a horizontal ruler, like so.

--------

Well, okay, it's all one solid bar, but that's what the more professional FF.net users use, and now I see why. Of course, going back, uploading EVERY SINGLE CHAPTER THAT USES THEM JUST TO ADD IN A SCENE BREAK was time-consuming and also irritating on my part, but my stories don't have this problem anymore. Hong Meiling's narrative in A Touhou Fanfiction About Nothing Part 3.6 is a lot less schizophrenic now.

HOWEVER, that's not the end of it. I also discovered another problem. Actually, let me just summarize it like how I did on my profile page:

You know how sometimes, a character will ask a question in a passionate manner? For example, "WHAT AM I FIGHTING FOOOOOOOOOOOOOR!?" Notice how it ends with an exclamation point and a question mark? Well, for some reason, every story I've uploaded drops the second punctuation mark, rendering my "!?" into just "!" I tried reversing it like so, "?!" but it just comes out as "?" Yeah, they've also been screwing up some of my dialog as well. I asked for a PM if there's a way to correct this, but if there's not, I'm gonna have to take my fanfics elsewhere, man. Sure, I have this blogspot, but I may have to start another one just so the world can get a version of Mentor and Protege where Reimu actually says things that end with "!?" instead of just "!" I don't know, though; I've got a small but dedicated following for Ask Rachel Alucard; I don't think I can abandon that series on FF.net, but (SPOILER ALERT!) You can bet your ass that in a future chapter I, xm0123 Rachel will make light of these discrepancies, and she will not. Be. Pleased.

Oh, but that's not all. Guess what happened earlier today? My PC's speaker system went kaput. First, it was an error message system, "NOTICE: your retro-2006 soundcard is not optimized for Windows 7 64-bit. Are you sure you want to use it?" I said yes because the soundcard built into the motherboard of my new PC sucks and won't work for a 5.1 system. Then, sometime later, my subwoofer dies. My techno songs sounded like crap, but my music that wasn't bass-heavy wasn't effected, so I ignored it. Well, I guess either compatibility issues or old age finally got the best of me, 'cause I am running on mute right now. Well sure, my dad's PC still has working sound, but his sound output is atrocious; how am I supposed to watch Soul Eater with sound that tinny!? Well keep in mind, my speakers were about 5 to 6 years old; maybe I finally wore them down to the nub now. I know I'm gonna have to replace them. I don't think I want a 5.1 system again, though; MP3s don't come in surround, most of my PC games don't have surround, and I can always watch DVDs on my bigscreen tv which has more than enough 5.1 output for me and my family. All I ask for is a 2.1 system so I get bass again and a soundcard that won't conflict with Windows 7. Of course now, I'm gonna have to spend money, wait for it to get delivered, try to install it and mess around with it, but it's either I get a new sound system for my new PC, or watch Funimation videos on Dad's speakers. I think I know what choice to make.

Oh yeah, before all this happened, Funimation uploaded more English dubbed episodes of Soul Eater BECAUSE IT'S ALL A PART OF THEIR CONSPIRACY TO TURN ME INTO AN OTAKU! THEY READ ON THIS BLOG HOW I LIKED THE ENGLISH VOICES MORE, SO THEY CATERED TO MY TASTES SO THAT I'D END UP GIVING THEM MORE MONEY and I gotta say, the show kicks ass. I mean, it's not just funny as Hell, it's not just spectacularly animated, it's not just another shonen show; it's badass. WHERE WERE ACTION CARTOONS LIKE THAT WHEN I WAS A KID!? Jesus, all we had was Swat Kats and DC's cartoons; you kids today are lucky. Maybe I'll talk about Soul Eater more when I'm less sour. For now, I just wanna write more Touhou fanfic. At least that doesn't depend on sound.

More Nasu Ramblings

That article about my newest manga collection is gonna have to wait, for I need to talk about the Nasuverse some more.

Now then, I have said that I like the music in Fate more than Tsuki. A tvtropes has links to some music, including music that's only from the anime version of Fate.

Check this piece out from the anime. It's so beautiful! This piece sounds . . . magical, for lack of a better term. And this piece is utterly magnificient.

But that's not all! There are image songs I like. Sakura's song. It sounds like you're in a nightclub when you listen to this. Ilya's theme. This piece is sweet. Ilya and Taiga being silly. It sounds like it's straight out of the Tiger Dojo itself. This is all so awesome.

Oh but hey guys, I have another doujin rec.

T-Moon Complex, by Crazy Clover Club.

This is a crossover of Tsuki and Fate, a crossover done right. The artwork is sublime, the story itself is fascinating, and the action sequences are kickass. However, you need to be familiar with Tsuki, Kagetsu Tohya, Fate Stay Night, AND Fate Hollow Ataraxia to get everything. I haven't played FHA, so the references to that went over my head. Also, it's not finished. (Translate faster, damn it!) Also, NSFW warning for part 3; it has omake of girls getting nekkid . . . oh who am I kidding? This is the Nasuverse we're talking about; the fanboys would love to see those lovely ladies exposed. As for me, I unwittingly now know what Sion's upper chest region looks like. Fucking Rule 34. But other than that, it's fuckin' awesome.

And while I'm here, another great doujin by Crazy Clover Club is Eternally. If you like the Arc path at all, (the Arc . . . arc?) then do yourself a favor and read that. It'll make you happy.

LATE EDIT: I accidently misspelled Ataraxia as "Axataria." It's what happens when you forget to look up the Type Moon wiki.

manga roundup May 2010 edition

Well now, since I'm on break, I finally did what any upstanding person would due; buy more manga. Allow me to summarize my latest volumes of my favorite Asian comics.

Fullmetal Alchemist vol. 22.

Okay, honestly now, the last few volumes have become a blur: Ed and friends fight Father and friends, Ed and Al go beyond the impossible, Roy Mustang continues acting like a 21st century incarnation of Odysseus, Kimblee is still a complete bastard, Olivier demonstrates huge acts of machismo . . . it is all still engaging to read, but the only thing new here is that we see that Pride is not a foe to be taken lightly. Certainly, Pride in the manga is more memorable than Pride in the older anime.

Actually, I need to retcon one of my earliest articles: the older anime doesn't have a superior portrayal of Rose and Hughes. Now that they've appeared more since the beginning, I can safely say that Arakawa has more writing skill than whoever was working for Bones at that time. Other than that, I hope she (the cow lady) throws us a curveball in the next volume; I want my reading sensibilities shaken up.

Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle Vol. 25

You remember how the first volume of Tsubasa started off with familiar plot threads from Cardcaptor Sakura? Well, turns out, that was all there for a reason, according to this latest volume. Somewhere in Japan, Nanase Ohkawa is reading this thinking to herself a certain phrase that incorporates the term, "Keikaku."

Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle Vol. 26

Holy crap! Shaoran of all people had hidden depths to his character! And here all this time, I thought he was a boring generic RPG main hero. How wrong I was. More awesome fight scenes within. And I know the 28th volume is the last in the series; oh how I anxiously await the end!

XXXHolic Vol. 15

The world is falling apart around Watanuki. Mystery and intrigue (and awesome drawings) abound!

Kurokami Vol. 8

This volume covers its take on what was my favorite episode in the anime version; episode 10. Guess what? This version is better. But now that we're at the point where the two continuities split off, things are unfolding entirely differently now. Everything after a certain chapter here is completely unfamiliar territory now. Also, KURO-CHAN IS LOVE!!!!! (remember, contractual agreement?) (P.S. since Kurokami is Korean in origin, now you know why the article says "Asian comics" because if I said Japanese comics, I would've excluded Kurokami.)

But that's not all, folks. I started collecting another manga series recently. Stick around for more details.

If I should fall

As you know, this blog isn't gonna last forever. Sooner or later, I will begin the phase of my life. At that time, you will not see xm0123 anywhere except for Fanfiction.net, and even then, I could still change my handle. (My fanfics are my babies; I can't just abandon them!) However, someone else, if willing, can take the torch of xm0123's Domain and continue my legacy. If you should attempt this, here are some guildelines for staying in character:

1. Praise a video game, tv show, or movie, then blast its fanbase at the same time.
2. Don't forget to argue with yourself. "This list is stupid!" No it's not!
3. Praise Caitlin Glass to the point that she should be deified. (Really, you could plug in any voice actress who is a hell-of-a-lot more talented than most Hollywood actresses here; I'm just using Caitlin Glass as an example.)
4. Talk about any fictional character you hate like he/she/it is the devil come to take your soul and destroy everything that you hold dear. Likewise, talk about any fictional you love like he/she/it is an angel of mercy who has come to soothe your weary soul of pain. Bonus points if it's someone you have any sort of a crush on.
5. You can describe any girl you think is cute with "OH NO! NOT (name)!", so long as that girl is not on my "Not Cute" list. (Yeah, you'd really blow your cover if you tried saying that Bulma was cute, and you were claiming to be me at the same time.)
6. Drop links to Touhou remixes when you can't think of anything interesting to write.
7. If you've ever been disowned from an online community, do everything in your power to badmouth them.
8. This one's important: The only things Star Wars-related that I truly hate are Episode II, Jar Jar, and the Holiday Special. Hate on anything else Star Wars-related, and you cease being xm0123.
9. When all else fails, recite lines from Motherfucking Death Note.

Now you can impersonate me with the greatest of ease! Watch, I'll even make a sample entry for you to imitate!

Man, Final Fantasy 9 is still awesome, even after a decade after its initial release, but gawd, FF fans are such retarded assholes! Geeze, what is it about FF that attracts elitist dickwads!? It wasn't like this back in the SNES era!

"Oh really? I know you played FF6 before FF7 came out, but you didn't even like it back then! How can you call yourself a fan when you didn't even get into FF until you were out of high school!?"

I stand corrected. But how about I throw in some voiceover trivia now? When I was reading Tsukihime, do you know who I imagined Satsuki to sound like? Laura Bailey. She makes everything better. Yes, picture Sacchin sounding like Rise from Persona 4; she's now irresistibly cute now, huh!? You know, it'd be great if movie studios started hiring real actresses again and not models. (or women they think should be models) I'm not saying a person can't be a model/actor at the same time, but seriously, is it too much to ask for?

But I suppose it can't be as bad as the time I had a dream (more like a nightmare) wherein that stupid bitch Norma Beatty was taunting me because I kept running away from random encounters . . . oh wait, that actually happens in Tales of Legendia; you run away a lot; she taunts you. As if she wasn't annoying enough as is, gawd I really wished she had died from that spider toxin in the third act; it would've created some much-needed tension in the story thank my stars I got rid of my copy . . . and picked up Tales of the Abyss, so that I may idolize Jade Curtiss. Yes, we need more people like Jade in the world. Sure, he may be twisted, but he's twisted in a way no one can resist. Why couldn't he be the main character? Well, there's always fanfiction to remedy that . . .

Oh, I might as well say it now; at points when I was watching Ponyo, I got the urge to shout, "OH NO! NOT PONYO!" Guess that means I liked the movie.

Umm . . . what else is there to write? Oh, here, a remix of Kaguya-hime's theme. It's the kind of remix that makes a Touhou fan like me shout, "OH NO! NOT KAGUYA!" Oops, it seems like I did it again, readers.

Oh, also, just to keep my blood pressure up, FUCK THE NPF!!!!!! Old school 8-bit Theatre is still awesome, but the forum, man, why did I even stay for as long as I did? Maybe I'm a masochist, and I don't even know it. Great, I'm unconsciously attracted to misery now; that explains a lot.

But the best thing is, I can at least say here that Star Wars is teh awesome without anyone calling me a "fag." Sure, Avatar is like A New Hope for a new generation, but I'm not gonna forget the fun I had with the older trilogy and the Jedi Knight series and the first Knight of the Old Republic; I just can't. But yeah, I can't ignore the comparisons between Avatar and the first Star Wars film. Roger Ebert said Avatar was the most awe-inspiring sci-fi film since Ep. IV, and since Ep. IV is my third-favorite Star Wars film, I figured, I'd probably like Avatar. So I watched it, hoping it'd be like A New Hope. When the credits finished, these were my thoughts:

(dramatic zoom-in to my face) I knew it! I knew it! I KNEW IT!

"STOP QUOTING DEATH NOTE ALREADY!"

But I haven't done that quote yet! And Avatar is good! So there. Peace out.

See how easy that was?

And now xm0123 gives life advice

That's right, everyone; I'm going to give you, my faithful readers, a piece of advice that is guaranteed to enrich your life, or your money back! You don't have to act out on this advice if you don't want to, I only said it would enrich your life; I didn't say it would make you a better person. Then again, quite a lot of people have already done what I am about to advise, and I say good for them. So then, would you like to know how to enrich your life today? Here is what I want you to do:

GOWATCHAVATARIFYOUHAVEN'TALREADY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!11111111ELEVENTYONELOLIO!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Remember to upgrade your firmware if you're ballsy willing to watch it on blu-ray; Lord knows I had to. (Good thing I have fast internet; otherwise that download would have taken forever.)

why my inner child will never die

On my top five anime list on my MAL profile, I have two movies on there; Castle in the Sky, and My Neighbor Totoro. (I have watched Steamboy again, and, uh, I'm not as impressed with that film as I used to be. It's still really good, but the wow factor fades after the first viewing.) However, now, there's a different film on there; Ponyo. Yeah, Totoro got bumped off by a fish girl. Nice to know that Miyazaki-san has still maintained his touch.

P.S. Liam Neeson makes everything better: just look at Schindler's List, Kinsey, and Fallout 3 if you don't believe me. Or Ponyo for that matter as well.

P.P.S. My only complaint for Ponyo is that god damn song at the end; I FUCKING HATE IT! You wanna complain about anime songs, you start with that fucking song about Ponyo. And to think that Satou complained about Pururin in Welcome to the NHK; That song is fucking Oscar-worthy compared to . . . that . . . you know what? At least Disney didn't tamper with the opening song, thank God for that.

xm makes note of his Touhouverse

There's something I've noticed about two of the characters of Touhou. I've only really figured this out since I started writing my fanfics, but there's something I've noticed about two of the characters:

Reimu and Yukari are Canon sues.

Let's start with Reimu, shall we? Well, she is incredibly powerful despite never training, (or if you go by my Touhouverse, she's incredibly powerful despite having not trained in years), she's lazy when unmotivated and yet somehow saves Gensokyo nearly every time an incident starts in spite of this, she has a spell card called "Fantasy Heaven" which makes her invincible, she invented the spell card system at an early age, and she's pretty on top of all this! She's perfect in every way imaginable! But hey, I don't mind, since her themes kick ass, she's really cute, and she's one of the more complex characters in the series, but man, she's almost an embodiment of perfection for a video game heroine. Oh, but it doesn't stop there, oh no.

Then you have Yukari. Where do I begin? She is Gensokyo's unofficial leader, she is possibly the most powerful youkai in existence, she has the knowledge of someone who has lived for 1200 years, she has her own shikigami, she can warp in and out of anywhere with her will, she is responsible for many events in both the canon series and my own touhouverse, she's even lazier than Reimu, she in nigh invulnerable, she has snappy clothes, and she is pretty too . . . if your idea of prettiness includes deep purple eyes. In fact, if there is a third main Touhou character after Reimu and Marisa, it's undoubtedly Yukari. In fact, the reason ZUN said he teamed up Reimu and Yukari in Imperishable Night was because they were the most similar, similar as in they were god moding Mary Sues! Geez, why don't these ladies just take over the world already if they're so godlike!? And to think, I have a Yukari-centered oneshot in the works; she's influenced me to include her more in my works!

But hey, remember, not all Mary Sues are bad. There's a few who are still lovable; you just either don't notice or don't care that they're perfect.

the vampires are everywhere

Let's take a break from Touhou and go back to Tsuki for a moment. I've mentioned my favorite characters from Tsuki are Arcueid and Akiha, but I haven't exactly gone into detail why that is. Well then, allow me.

(Notice: expect spoilers for Tsukihime, so don't highlight the black spaces between the paragraphs if you don't have amnesia dust.)

Arcueid is my favorite character in Tsuki. Indeed, she is one of my favorite female video game characters of all time. She certainly looks like a typical video game heroine: large breasts and butt, somewhat tall, blonde, and reasonably thin, but at the same time, she doesn't look like a typical video game chick. One reason many people seem to favor Japanese designs is that they don't always draw the faces of sexy women with perpetual pouts. Arc, thankfully, is a good example of that. She smiles when she's happy, she looks confused when she's confused, and really only pouts when she gets a little angry. Also, she doesn't dress like a slut; she doesn't expose herself, and her outfit is basic enough for me to describe. Observe:

"She was wearing a white sweater that only exposed her face and beige hands, and had a long purple skirt on to compliment the sweater. She had black low-heels on, and dark stockings on her legs, but what I found most captivating was her eyes, her crimson red eyes."

She doesn't subscribe to the Victoria's Secret ideal of sexy, and because of that, I find her to be very attractive. And yes, she has nice eyes, and I almost never find anime eyes to be attractive. But of course, beauty only works on a physical level, and Arc is memorable as a person too. Despite going for a more sexual look, she acts . . . cute. And while she's not an idiot, she has little knowledge of the present-day world. She's like a vampire version of the many characters Marilyn Monroe portrayed: cute and sexy at the same time, intellectual yet naive at the same time. Then again, when she acts on her vampiric impulses, she ceases to be like Marilyn and starts behaving like an uncontrollable force of nature. She is quite deadly, yet will only show this side of her when absolutely necessary.

By meeting Shiki in the Arc route, she learned what it was to love and be loved for the first time. This is why her true end is so bittersweet; she can never be with him again, but she will always have her memories of him. The same is true of Shiki; he even says "I will never forget Arcueid." And that scene with the two of them in the fast food restaurant wasn't just cute; it was very sweet, in more ways than one. But what's important is that Arc no longer sees herself as a tool to kill wayward Dead Apostles; she now sees herself as a real person, with real feelings. Just this route alone was worth the playthrough, but it doesn't end with just her, oh no.

My second-favorite character is Akiha. She is the inheritor of a fortune, and as such, tries to behave like how a noble would. She doesn't do the frivolous things a teenage girl would be expected to do, and behaves in a more mature manner than most other people her age. And yet, she is quite an insecure individual. She has magnificent hair, flawless skin, nice clothes, and is overall an absolutely gorgeous girl, and yet, she thinks boys won't be interested in her because of her small breasts. (It's okay, Akiha-sama; I don't care about boob size myself.) Even despite her insecurities, she is very sociable. She does have drinking parties at the mansion despite being a minor, and she's made friends at her school. Most people come to like her because she is charismatic, and she knows how to entertain people.

And yet, as we learn, there is a side of her she can never open up to people, the side of her that she is, in fact, a human/demon hybrid. A fear running throughout the Far Side routes is that she will "invert" and behave entirely like a demon. She is fearful of this, and does what she can to prevent this from happening. There is also the fact that she is on love with Shiki, and since they're not blood relatives, it's okay. She does genuinely care for him, but she also feels that if she can't have him, then life is no longer worth living. The Kohaku route sees her giving in to her jealousy, but she's not a bad person; she just wants what's best for Shiki. Her sharing her life force with him is proof of that. The Normal end of the Akiha route is such a beautiful scene; Shiki giving up his life so that this girl from a cursed bloodline will no longer live in pain. She is alone now, but feels that he may come back, somehow, and the sequel of this ending in Kagetsu Tohya hints that this may be the case. And lastly, I agree with Shiki on one point; Akiha looks better with black hair! Then again, that was probably the developer's intent; she looks much scarier in her red-haired demon form.

And now I've shattered my heart into a million little pieces just by revisiting my favorite story arcs of Tsuki. I dare not even contemplate how the rumored Satsuki route will turn out.

Touhou doujins ahoy

I've never talked about Touhou fancomics, have I? Well, let me recommend the ones I like.

-Miko Miko Suika series. Suika becomes a part-time shrine maiden at the Hakurei shrine; funniness and cuteness ensues.

-Moon Rabbit: What Do You Watch When You Jump? A story about Reisen coming to Eientei. Very heartwarming.

-Though the Wind Cries. An origin story for the Moriya Shrine residents. WARNING: NOT CHILD SAFE. Excellent writing

-At Chirei. All about the Chireiden characters. Cute but sad. Is my new favorite.

That may not seem like a lot, but it's hard to find good doujins that aren't hentai. I have another article about Touhou in the works. You might like it.