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.

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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.