When I woke up this morning, I was excited - and it wasn’t because of Santa, presents, family, or food, but because I knew I had a very special blog entry (that no one will read) to write this evening. So - here goes!
TOP FIVE YURISTUFFS OF 2007!
5. Anime - El Cazador de la Bruja
The final installment of Bee Train’s “girls-with-guns” trilogy didn’t really live up to it’s expectations, but that’s all right - it still had what I was looking for: a hot supporting character with the hots for the main character. And by that, I’m referencing Blue-Eye’s gigantic crush on Nadie. As far as main characters go, Nadie and Ellis were good, but I’m kinda sick of the older-younger yuri stereotype - especially because the appearance difference in anime for people, like, 2 years apart makes everyone look like pedophiles, when common sense tells us they’re not. And that’s the main complaint with this anime, besides the fact that there was no plot and none of the episodes really got us anywhere. I mean, and entire 24 minutes dedicated to trying to capture a VULTURE?
4. TV - South of Nowhere
Season Three started airing this fall, and then broke for a haitus at about 8 episodes or so, planning to come back in April. So, what makes this good enough for my list? That there’s actually kissing instead of hairbrushing is a huge plus over last season. They have a pride parade, an abusive girlfriend for Spencer, and some more Spashley goodness for us romantics. It’s definitely not perfect - the whole Ashley and Kyla is famous storyline really needs to die - but it’s a great step forward from last season.
3. Anime - Kyoshiro to Towa no Sora
The AU sequel to Kannazuki no Miko that I hated deserves a spot on this list just for being awesome at being yuri when not focusing on the main characters. Kaon is hot, she has a good story with Himiko and that crazy lady making them do things, and in the end, things turn out just fine. Except Kuu and Kyoshiro are still annoying. Oh well
2. TV - The L Word
Having just discovered this show this last spring, I am very pleased to inform you all that Season 4, which aired this past winter/spring (a season I’d call something a creative mix of the two words but nothing seems to come out right), was better than Season 3. However, since Season 3 was absolutely terrible, that’s not saying much. We got some awful new characters (Jodi, Papi, Phyllis...) and some good characters got terrible storylines (Tina, Jenny... wait, they’re sucky returning characters...). Okay, okay, I’ll admit, I didn’t really like this season much, but it really was good and the show serves a good purpose. Here’s fingers crossed that SEASON FIVE THAT PREMIERS JANUARY SIXTH is much better.
1. Anime - Simoun
Not only was the fansub finished (by Simoun-Fans, the best but slowest fansubbers in the world - love you all for your fantastic work!), but the series was licensed this year, too! That’s right, a yuri series that is undeniably yuri no matter how you look at it got licensed! And not by just any company, it got licensed by Media Blasters! I have no idea who Media Blasters is, but it’s not the yuri publisher Seven Seas, so I think it’s important to mention. And it’s funny, because it would have been my top yuristuff last year had I finished watching it when it finished airing (but I was waiting for Simoun-Fans to finish subbing it, so it’s all right).
And now, the bonus list, LINDSAY’S TOP TEN ANIME OF ALL TIME!
10. Stellvia of the Universe
This anime was cute, techy, and fantastic. I mean, besides the main couple, of course. Shima Katase is the most adorable incompetent genious I’ve ever seen! And I’m all for futuristic space academy shows like this one - stereotypical plot line, I’ve heard, but I haven’t seen much in this genre, so I found it just perfect. And it takes the number 10 spot because it doesn’t stick well with me, and because the yuri’s thin. I actually always forget this awesome series exists, unless I’m DDRing to “Asu E No Brilliant Road” which is a fabulous song.
9. Bakuretsu Tenshi
This anime got bumped down a slot just because Jo is so boring. Otherwise I think it’d stay where it was - maybe. I’m not fond of mecha or short hair, so Jo doesn’t get my ultimate vote of coolness. Sorry. But Sei is one of the hottest anime characters around, so she brings the series back up. And Meg and Amy are both adorable in their own adorable ways, and the whole thing was just a crazy mess of fun. Except I don’t really remember it. But I know I liked it.
8. Read or Die
Still a great anime with one of the best plots in existence, but it’s one I really am overdue for a rewatching weekend. So bear with me and hope I end up getting this higher on the list by next year! That being said, I love books and reading and learning and this anime is great for people like me. It’s also great for people who don’t like books, because it is a bunch of fun that will completely change your mind - I guarantee it! Well, I don’t 100% guarantee it, but pretty close.
7. Kannazuki no Miko
I really bumped this one down, didn’t I? From 4 to 7. But it really deserves a space this low, because all the mechas seemed to run together. The storyline was very very loose (wtf about the Orochi and the Priestesses and all those other excuses to get Himeko and Chikane together?), but the characters were good. I mean, Chikane was your stereotypical hot, coveted, blackhaired, smart, talented, repressed lesbian that you see everywhere (Strawberry Panic!, Yamibou, Marimite, etc) and Himeko was your typical innocent, clumsy, blonde, outspoken, cute not-really-straight-but-doesn’t-know-that girl that you see everywhere (Strawberry Panic!, Yamibou, Marimite, etc). Okay, okay, the characters weren’t original, but they were good. I liked it. I guess.
6. Simoun
The second newcomer! This fantastic series was mentioned above and in another blog post where I dedicate more webspace to its fantasticness.
5. Haibane Renmei
This one goes down two places, simply because the art’s kinda dull and there’s no real plot or yuri. But - wait - then why do I like it so much? The characters are wonderful and the emotion is so real and breathtaking and painful and there’s so much catharsis involved in the watching of this. I love this series so much, but it’s not one you watch a second time. It’s a rent-this-because-it’s-the-best-thing-you’ll-ever-see-but-don’t-buy-it-because-you’ll-never-watch-it-again anime.
4. Gunslinger Girl
Taking away the fourth place is an anime I watched this past August - Gunslinger Girl! Despite the really westerny name, this anime takes place in Italy and it’s about teenage girl assassins in the government. Except they’re not really human anymore, since they’ve been given so many implants and conditioning. But it’s not all fun-and-games-let’s-kill-people - in fact, it’s never all fun-and-games-let’s-kill-people, since the entire story revolves around the characters and how they feel about doing these terrible things - “It’s okay if the one I love tells me to.” and “If he didn’t love me, I wouldn’t hesistste to do this -” as she brings her gun up so the barrel is pointing at her face.
3. Ergo Proxy
I watched this series this past October. It was so moving, I immediately started watching it a second time, and then realized I didn’t have time to do so. Anyway, it’s another futuristic negative utopian post-annihilation anime. Um, yeah. It’s actually very very character driven, so not so much focus on the annihilating. Anyway, the real draw to this anime is the beautiful gothic art. Re-l’s character design is simply fantastic, and Vincent’s is great too (though I’m more of a fan of the women, as you’ve probably guessed by now, so I’m more partial towards Re-l). The autoreivs (androids) are given colours of dull grey and brown, and they don’t attempt to look pretty, just functional. It’s a dreary world outside, one so dark, they protect us from seeing it.
2. Mai-HiME
Hey, same spot for Mai-HiME as last year! I really can’t get enough of ShizNat (Shizuru and Natsuki). In fact, I wrote a fanfic about them, and then I started another one (that will never be finished) because I love them so much. I also love the second half of the series, but not the first half. There’s just something about emotional death scenes that get me. That and lots and lots of yuri. But - hey - that’s why this blog exists, really.
1. MADLAX
Again, same spot and for the same reasons. Tight plot, good ending, great art, great music, fantastic plot (did I say that already? Whoops). There’s just something about an anime with so many layers like this that I like - in fact, Ergo Proxy reminded me of MADLAX, even though they’re really not similar at all. It’s just how deep the storyline goes if you’re willing to think about it that much. Oh, hell yes, I am. Shall we talk about the economic gains of war? Or about how true motives of war get lost over time? Or about how comfortable it is to have both friends and enemies? Or how about you watch the series for yourself and make your own opinions?
25 December 2007
10 November 2007
I have a new website!
http://l145.isgreat.org is the page, soon to be filled with reviews of anime, movies, music, and video games!
The title - Midnight Reviews - came from the fact that most of these reviews will be written at midnight. Ugh. I need a better sleep pattern.
Anywayanyway, I'd like to get this linked/directorized/etc but I'm not sure what category this goes in or what audience to target. And in all actuality, I don't think the review database is big enough... yet. With the oath I forced myself to take, I don't think it'll take too long for it to simply explode...
...Especially since I did all my homework today and only have to work 6 hours tomorrow. This is what I plan on doing for 8 hours in the afternoon and evening - write quality biased reviews. ;-)
The title - Midnight Reviews - came from the fact that most of these reviews will be written at midnight. Ugh. I need a better sleep pattern.
Anywayanyway, I'd like to get this linked/directorized/etc but I'm not sure what category this goes in or what audience to target. And in all actuality, I don't think the review database is big enough... yet. With the oath I forced myself to take, I don't think it'll take too long for it to simply explode...
...Especially since I did all my homework today and only have to work 6 hours tomorrow. This is what I plan on doing for 8 hours in the afternoon and evening - write quality biased reviews. ;-)
14 October 2007
Review of the After Forever concert last night!
Oct 13, 2007 - Station 4 - St. Paul, MN, USA
I went to my first ever metal concert and my first concert in six years last night for After Forever! It was a 2 hour drive each way, but it was totally worth it. There were two opening bands, but I had never heard of either of them, so for the first half of the first band’s set, I went outside to talk to Andre, who was really nice. When After Forever was set to go onstage, and pulled my friend with me up front (who had never heard of After Forever before the night before the concert!) and I stood right in front of Floor the whole time. ...And I think I was the only person in the venue who knew all the words to every song.
Anyway, this was the setlist:
Discord
Transitory
My Pledge of Allegiance - Part One
Monolith of Doubt
Energize Me
Face Your Demons
Digital Deceit
Lonely
De-energized
Being Everyone
For Whom the Bell Tolls
Equally Destructive
Dreamflight
Forlorn Hope
Follow in the Cry
The whole band was extremely nice, too! I got everyone’s autograph except Sander’s afterwards, and had conversations with everyone but him and Floor, too! I would definitely see the band again not only because of the great music, but because they all seem like such great people as well.
My only complaint about the concert was one that I’ve heard from other reviews of concerts at Station 4 - that the quality of the vocals through the speakers aren’t very good. I know Floor’s amazing - and she sounded amazing - but there were times that I couldn’t even hear her, and I couldn’t understand any of the words when she was talking between songs.
I went to my first ever metal concert and my first concert in six years last night for After Forever! It was a 2 hour drive each way, but it was totally worth it. There were two opening bands, but I had never heard of either of them, so for the first half of the first band’s set, I went outside to talk to Andre, who was really nice. When After Forever was set to go onstage, and pulled my friend with me up front (who had never heard of After Forever before the night before the concert!) and I stood right in front of Floor the whole time. ...And I think I was the only person in the venue who knew all the words to every song.
Anyway, this was the setlist:
Discord
Transitory
My Pledge of Allegiance - Part One
Monolith of Doubt
Energize Me
Face Your Demons
Digital Deceit
Lonely
De-energized
Being Everyone
For Whom the Bell Tolls
Equally Destructive
Dreamflight
Forlorn Hope
Follow in the Cry
The whole band was extremely nice, too! I got everyone’s autograph except Sander’s afterwards, and had conversations with everyone but him and Floor, too! I would definitely see the band again not only because of the great music, but because they all seem like such great people as well.
My only complaint about the concert was one that I’ve heard from other reviews of concerts at Station 4 - that the quality of the vocals through the speakers aren’t very good. I know Floor’s amazing - and she sounded amazing - but there were times that I couldn’t even hear her, and I couldn’t understand any of the words when she was talking between songs.
04 October 2007
What Final Fantasy Character are you?
Which Final Fantasy Character Are You?
This test was fun because I got an awesome result. :-D Take it, everybody!
24 August 2007
Want to do a Tifa-only FF7 challenge? Read on!
I have written a walkthrough and it's been put on NeoSeeker already! The formatting's horrid, but find it http://www.neoseeker.com/resourcelink.html?rlid=154620&rid=143269
Any comments/questions/complaints? Comment here or email me with FF7 as the subject.
Any comments/questions/complaints? Comment here or email me with FF7 as the subject.
08 August 2007
There is always something about depresssing anime that I like...
Which means I was not disappointed by watching all 13 episodes of Gunslinger Girl in between working these past two days. The series was one of the saddest, most depressing things I have ever seen. And it was absolutely amazing. I would highly recommend it.
The basic premise of it is that young girls with life-threatening hospital cases are taken to a government agency where they are given machine implants to make them stronger and faster, then they are brainwashed and given conditioning to grow to protect their supervisor - whom they are paired with - at all costs. Their training turns them into deadly assassins, doing the government's dirty work.
All in all, then, it's obvious why it may seem a bit sad to see girls from the ages of 8-12 killing things blindly, but they bring in many issues over the episodes, including how some of the girls came to the agency. One of the girls' parents tried to run her over with a car and abandoned her, leaving her for the government to take her and turn into a killing machine.
13 episodes, 3 DVD box set... I want it! But I watched the whole thing on this great site called Veoh, so I'm not too upset about not having a hard copy.
Oh - the intro animation enough made me cry. How's that for depressing?
http://youtube.com/watch?v=xEMjq9VpBSE
The basic premise of it is that young girls with life-threatening hospital cases are taken to a government agency where they are given machine implants to make them stronger and faster, then they are brainwashed and given conditioning to grow to protect their supervisor - whom they are paired with - at all costs. Their training turns them into deadly assassins, doing the government's dirty work.
All in all, then, it's obvious why it may seem a bit sad to see girls from the ages of 8-12 killing things blindly, but they bring in many issues over the episodes, including how some of the girls came to the agency. One of the girls' parents tried to run her over with a car and abandoned her, leaving her for the government to take her and turn into a killing machine.
13 episodes, 3 DVD box set... I want it! But I watched the whole thing on this great site called Veoh, so I'm not too upset about not having a hard copy.
Oh - the intro animation enough made me cry. How's that for depressing?
http://youtube.com/watch?v=xEMjq9VpBSE
22 July 2007
Beginning thoughts on Final Fantasy XII, plus opinions on all the games!
I purchased XII on Friday, and now have updated my gameplay from I to X-2 plus Tactics Advance, Mystic Quest, Legends I, II, III, and Adventures. Here are my opinions on all of the above, though I'll start with my thoughts so far on XII.
Final Fantasy XII is a great game, I'll admit. As far as RPGs go, I'm completely immersed and don't find leveling up to be too much of a chore. That being said, it's because of the battle/leveling system that makes me say that it's good as a game, just not a Final Fantasy game. By eliminating the random encounters and creating an entire new battle system, the game is more similar to PC games like Divine Divinity (my favourite PC game!) and many others. I do rather like the concept, though.
Another change is the license board which I kind of like. I really enjoyed the sphere grid in Final Fantasy X, and I think I'd enjoy the license board more in XII if it weren't for the equip parts and having espers and quickenings on the board. I like the augments, though - smart idea - but that's pretty much it. I'll probably be able to fill the stupid thing up by the end of the game, though, with the rate I'm going already at my main party of Balthier, Fran, and Ashe at level 20.
The storyline's rather weak, I think, and not as philosophical or scientific as previous games, such as X and VII respectively. But that's only about 15 hours into gameplay too - I've just entered Raithwall's Tomb. We'll see how things end up.
Now, to touch on the other games, starting with the non-numericals:
>Tactics Advance
I hated this game. Hated the battle system, hated the leveling system, hated the story progression, hated the map, hated pretty much everything. I only played about four hours, got completely stuck, and gave the game back to my friend.
>Mystic Quest
I kind of liked this one. I'd say it's a cross between IV and XII, with seeing the enemies and then the poor graphics and stuff. It's all about the crystals, which is nice since many of the old games revolved around crystals (V and IX come to mind). However only having one main party member with a guest (right? It's been awhile) got annoying, especially because the battle system was so... primitive.
>Legends series, Adventure
It is Legends that's the series, not Adventure, right? Anyway, I didn't care for these either. I couldn't figure out how to make all my characters attack, or somethign like that. Story seemed dumb as well. Whatever!
>I
Yaye for numericals! Yaye for greating things like Garland (reappearing in IX), Bahamut (reappearing EVERYWHERE!), BlkMage, WhtMage, etc. I played this first on my calculator - funfun! Hint!-- on the calculator, pressing 2nd (which selects and goes through the menu, etc) counts as movement, so if you hold down 2nd for a reallyreallyreally long time, you'll level up forever since your HP fills when you level. Just a hint. :-) Anyway, afterwards I began it on the WSC and have yet to complete it.
>II
I got to some snowy part and then I decided the whole thing was stupid and I quit. Whatever. I hate the leveling system on here so much because I manipulated it like crazy. The storyline appeared to be interesting, but I didn't get far enough into it to really care. I'll finish it someday. Wait - maybe not.
>III
Yaye for creating changeable character classes! Wheeeee! I love character classes! Anyway, I actually have yet to finish this one, since I got stuck. I played it to some part and now I have a ship and I've looted some castle and am supposed to get an airship, but I tried to play it last week after over 6 months of time and I've completely forgotton where I am. Whoops. It's on WSC now, right? Maybe I'll play that one instead of the NES one, anyway. Graphics are better!
>IV
I've finished this one twice - once in easytype, and one in a hack (Celes/Terra, story only) for hardtype. Hardtype was difficult, goshdarnit! I think in easytype I leveled to only 30 or 40 or so to finish - as was common for the old SNES games, wasn't it? I liked Rydia and her summons a lot. She made me smile. Same with the twin mages. Oh-! And I hated that Rosa equipped the bow and arrow since it did almost no damage at all. Yaye for FuSoYa and his cool name! Not yaye for going to the moon - I hated that place. And why a whale? Why on earth would you go to the moon on a whale? And infiltrate a robot and go through it's body parts (because the game is nice enough to tell you, like, "chest cavity" and whatnot). Anyway, I really enjoyed this game, though it's not my favourite. But the real gem of this game: Who are you calling a "spoony bard"?
>V
My faaaaavourite Final Fantasy! Yaye so much for awesome character classes! My favourites were the Samurai and the Mystic Knight. I was disappointed that Summoner class was rather weak here, and the flexibility made magic almost obsolete. Oh well. I did like the three worlds on earth thing, because that rocked. I cried at Galuf's death and Cara's taking over. That was so sad! You can't have a Final Fantasy game without someone dying at some point, can we? Nope! But I'm not complaining - it makes the game so much better! I think this was the first Final Fantasy game to mix character with gameplay, as usually the odds are about gameplay and the evens about story and characters. Yupyup! I can't go on about how much I love this one. Beat it twice - once at level 30something, once at level 50something
>VI
I like the translation online for this one, not Woolsey's. "Son of a submariner" and... and... and... well, a lot of stuff. Anyway, I love Celes so much because she makes me so warm and fuzzy and depressed inside. Poor Celes. The opera! I love the opera! Actually, all the music in this game is so cool! Dancing Mad - especially the Black Mages's version of it! Gameplay is cool with each character's specific attacks, like Tools and Blitz and Rage and SwrdTech and Mimic and Dance and Runic and Sketh and Lore and... and... okay. I like them. And I like the magic learning system, too, since it helped all the characters have some similarities through their diversity. Beat this game twice, too!
>VII
In my opinion, VII has the greatest storyline of them all! With Aerith, the last remaining Cetra and JENOVA, Sephiroth's mother and (how cool of a name is Sephiroth? So totally awesome! and) the whole deal with Cloud in SOLDIER and all that stuff. And let's not forget the music - One Winged Angel, especially Advent Children's version, rocks so amazingly hard. Materia was fun stuff, too, though it took forever to learn stuff. I hacked Aerith back into my party after she died, too, to make the game easier with her limit breaks. Aerith + Cover + Great Gospel = Invincible. Just thought I'd let you know. I'm gonna write a Tifa-only challenge, though, one of these months. After I finish XII for the second time after I finish it for the first time (and not ruin my chances of getting a Zodiac Spear this time!!!) I will. Advent Children was a great movie, too, though kind of shallow compared to the game. I was slightly disappointed by the story but very impressed by the graphics. Beat this game twice as well.
>VIII
I really loved this game, mostly because Quistis is so amazingly cool and I have the hugest of all huge crushes on her. That being said, the parts of the game without her aren't so cool. That's mostly because Squall is an anti-social idiot and Rinoa is an annoying bitch. Yup. I love the music here, though, like Liberi Fatali. And I like the Junction system so much since it makes the low-level challenge I did really simple. On a very similar note, I enjoyed Triple Triad so much I downloaded the standalone game for it on my PC. Yeah! Beat this game - ready for this? - four times. Don't ask why. It's all because of Quistis.
>IX
This game was very annoying, especially with the "!" and "?" stuff. But the storyline with Vivi's identity and Garnet's overcoming and Zidane's morality and all that was cool. And Beatrix is sexy. I mean, look at that confidence! *cough* I didn't like the summoning system here at all, but I like the game's focus on it. I really enjoyed the ability learning idea from equips, it was super cool. I didn't like the final boss and it's area. I think I beat the game around level 70 without even realizing it - that's how stupidly easy the final boss is. I might play it again with hacking Beatrix in, but we'll see.
>X
I've beaten this one twice, too, and got halfway through a Lulu-only challenge but then I got XII and got distracted. Haha! I so love the issues of sacrifice and death and religion that dominate this game. It's so completely philosophical and the script is great too, but I'm so very disappointed in the voice acting at times, especially Yuna's actress. The "Were they all in vain?" line would make me completely riveted, but the acting makes me laugh. Oh, well. I love the Sphere Grid so much! I wish there was more where that came from! Magus Sisters = ownage. I beat Omega Weapon with them in, like, two hits. It was amazing. But I didn't see "Proof of Omega" in my inventory. I wonder why.
>X-2
I beat this game once with 98% completion, and got halfway through a New Game+ with doing everything wrong, like giving the sphere to New Yevon, not stopping the Ronso insurrection, etc. But I find the game so tedious that I couldn't manage to go any further a second time. Disappointing, no? The music is horrible, the graphics are so girly, the storyline's shallow, and I wish I hadn't spent money for it.
>XII
Well... we'll see how I continue to like this one!
My fingers hurt a tad from typing this over the past hour as I'm half asleep in bed, so I shall rest up a bit to play more of XII tomorrow!
Final Fantasy XII is a great game, I'll admit. As far as RPGs go, I'm completely immersed and don't find leveling up to be too much of a chore. That being said, it's because of the battle/leveling system that makes me say that it's good as a game, just not a Final Fantasy game. By eliminating the random encounters and creating an entire new battle system, the game is more similar to PC games like Divine Divinity (my favourite PC game!) and many others. I do rather like the concept, though.
Another change is the license board which I kind of like. I really enjoyed the sphere grid in Final Fantasy X, and I think I'd enjoy the license board more in XII if it weren't for the equip parts and having espers and quickenings on the board. I like the augments, though - smart idea - but that's pretty much it. I'll probably be able to fill the stupid thing up by the end of the game, though, with the rate I'm going already at my main party of Balthier, Fran, and Ashe at level 20.
The storyline's rather weak, I think, and not as philosophical or scientific as previous games, such as X and VII respectively. But that's only about 15 hours into gameplay too - I've just entered Raithwall's Tomb. We'll see how things end up.
Now, to touch on the other games, starting with the non-numericals:
>Tactics Advance
I hated this game. Hated the battle system, hated the leveling system, hated the story progression, hated the map, hated pretty much everything. I only played about four hours, got completely stuck, and gave the game back to my friend.
>Mystic Quest
I kind of liked this one. I'd say it's a cross between IV and XII, with seeing the enemies and then the poor graphics and stuff. It's all about the crystals, which is nice since many of the old games revolved around crystals (V and IX come to mind). However only having one main party member with a guest (right? It's been awhile) got annoying, especially because the battle system was so... primitive.
>Legends series, Adventure
It is Legends that's the series, not Adventure, right? Anyway, I didn't care for these either. I couldn't figure out how to make all my characters attack, or somethign like that. Story seemed dumb as well. Whatever!
>I
Yaye for numericals! Yaye for greating things like Garland (reappearing in IX), Bahamut (reappearing EVERYWHERE!), BlkMage, WhtMage, etc. I played this first on my calculator - funfun! Hint!-- on the calculator, pressing 2nd (which selects and goes through the menu, etc) counts as movement, so if you hold down 2nd for a reallyreallyreally long time, you'll level up forever since your HP fills when you level. Just a hint. :-) Anyway, afterwards I began it on the WSC and have yet to complete it.
>II
I got to some snowy part and then I decided the whole thing was stupid and I quit. Whatever. I hate the leveling system on here so much because I manipulated it like crazy. The storyline appeared to be interesting, but I didn't get far enough into it to really care. I'll finish it someday. Wait - maybe not.
>III
Yaye for creating changeable character classes! Wheeeee! I love character classes! Anyway, I actually have yet to finish this one, since I got stuck. I played it to some part and now I have a ship and I've looted some castle and am supposed to get an airship, but I tried to play it last week after over 6 months of time and I've completely forgotton where I am. Whoops. It's on WSC now, right? Maybe I'll play that one instead of the NES one, anyway. Graphics are better!
>IV
I've finished this one twice - once in easytype, and one in a hack (Celes/Terra, story only) for hardtype. Hardtype was difficult, goshdarnit! I think in easytype I leveled to only 30 or 40 or so to finish - as was common for the old SNES games, wasn't it? I liked Rydia and her summons a lot. She made me smile. Same with the twin mages. Oh-! And I hated that Rosa equipped the bow and arrow since it did almost no damage at all. Yaye for FuSoYa and his cool name! Not yaye for going to the moon - I hated that place. And why a whale? Why on earth would you go to the moon on a whale? And infiltrate a robot and go through it's body parts (because the game is nice enough to tell you, like, "chest cavity" and whatnot). Anyway, I really enjoyed this game, though it's not my favourite. But the real gem of this game: Who are you calling a "spoony bard"?
>V
My faaaaavourite Final Fantasy! Yaye so much for awesome character classes! My favourites were the Samurai and the Mystic Knight. I was disappointed that Summoner class was rather weak here, and the flexibility made magic almost obsolete. Oh well. I did like the three worlds on earth thing, because that rocked. I cried at Galuf's death and Cara's taking over. That was so sad! You can't have a Final Fantasy game without someone dying at some point, can we? Nope! But I'm not complaining - it makes the game so much better! I think this was the first Final Fantasy game to mix character with gameplay, as usually the odds are about gameplay and the evens about story and characters. Yupyup! I can't go on about how much I love this one. Beat it twice - once at level 30something, once at level 50something
>VI
I like the translation online for this one, not Woolsey's. "Son of a submariner" and... and... and... well, a lot of stuff. Anyway, I love Celes so much because she makes me so warm and fuzzy and depressed inside. Poor Celes. The opera! I love the opera! Actually, all the music in this game is so cool! Dancing Mad - especially the Black Mages's version of it! Gameplay is cool with each character's specific attacks, like Tools and Blitz and Rage and SwrdTech and Mimic and Dance and Runic and Sketh and Lore and... and... okay. I like them. And I like the magic learning system, too, since it helped all the characters have some similarities through their diversity. Beat this game twice, too!
>VII
In my opinion, VII has the greatest storyline of them all! With Aerith, the last remaining Cetra and JENOVA, Sephiroth's mother and (how cool of a name is Sephiroth? So totally awesome! and) the whole deal with Cloud in SOLDIER and all that stuff. And let's not forget the music - One Winged Angel, especially Advent Children's version, rocks so amazingly hard. Materia was fun stuff, too, though it took forever to learn stuff. I hacked Aerith back into my party after she died, too, to make the game easier with her limit breaks. Aerith + Cover + Great Gospel = Invincible. Just thought I'd let you know. I'm gonna write a Tifa-only challenge, though, one of these months. After I finish XII for the second time after I finish it for the first time (and not ruin my chances of getting a Zodiac Spear this time!!!) I will. Advent Children was a great movie, too, though kind of shallow compared to the game. I was slightly disappointed by the story but very impressed by the graphics. Beat this game twice as well.
>VIII
I really loved this game, mostly because Quistis is so amazingly cool and I have the hugest of all huge crushes on her. That being said, the parts of the game without her aren't so cool. That's mostly because Squall is an anti-social idiot and Rinoa is an annoying bitch. Yup. I love the music here, though, like Liberi Fatali. And I like the Junction system so much since it makes the low-level challenge I did really simple. On a very similar note, I enjoyed Triple Triad so much I downloaded the standalone game for it on my PC. Yeah! Beat this game - ready for this? - four times. Don't ask why. It's all because of Quistis.
>IX
This game was very annoying, especially with the "!" and "?" stuff. But the storyline with Vivi's identity and Garnet's overcoming and Zidane's morality and all that was cool. And Beatrix is sexy. I mean, look at that confidence! *cough* I didn't like the summoning system here at all, but I like the game's focus on it. I really enjoyed the ability learning idea from equips, it was super cool. I didn't like the final boss and it's area. I think I beat the game around level 70 without even realizing it - that's how stupidly easy the final boss is. I might play it again with hacking Beatrix in, but we'll see.
>X
I've beaten this one twice, too, and got halfway through a Lulu-only challenge but then I got XII and got distracted. Haha! I so love the issues of sacrifice and death and religion that dominate this game. It's so completely philosophical and the script is great too, but I'm so very disappointed in the voice acting at times, especially Yuna's actress. The "Were they all in vain?" line would make me completely riveted, but the acting makes me laugh. Oh, well. I love the Sphere Grid so much! I wish there was more where that came from! Magus Sisters = ownage. I beat Omega Weapon with them in, like, two hits. It was amazing. But I didn't see "Proof of Omega" in my inventory. I wonder why.
>X-2
I beat this game once with 98% completion, and got halfway through a New Game+ with doing everything wrong, like giving the sphere to New Yevon, not stopping the Ronso insurrection, etc. But I find the game so tedious that I couldn't manage to go any further a second time. Disappointing, no? The music is horrible, the graphics are so girly, the storyline's shallow, and I wish I hadn't spent money for it.
>XII
Well... we'll see how I continue to like this one!
My fingers hurt a tad from typing this over the past hour as I'm half asleep in bed, so I shall rest up a bit to play more of XII tomorrow!
11 June 2007
After Forever released a new album two months ago...
...and to commemorate my finally getting around to buying it and to waste time waiting for it to arrive in the mail, I have written an album review which is as follows:
I don’t usually feel compelled to do album reviews. The only other review I wrote was for Nightwish’s “Once”, which I still find to be an amazing album. However, I think I’ve found an album that is even more of a masterpiece, and pretty damn near perfect. That album is After Forever’s self-titled fifth release, which may not necessarily be better musically than the amazing second album, Decipher, but it is more polished, more full, and overall extremely enjoyable.
It’s also an album that many fans have been waiting for. With the departure of Mark Jansen after Decipher, many people (I’ll admit - myself included) were disappointed in the EP Exordium, and wouldn’t see Invisible Circles as very good if not for the EP’s release. Remagine seemed to be a step in one direction, though whether or not it’s the right one remains unclear (I’ve always been slightly disappointed in Remagine, though I can’t for the life of me discover why). But this - After Forever - is perfect. The band describes this as a mix of the sounds on all their previous releases, and to be honest, I don’t give a damn. The music is perfect. I don’t need to know why. And to be honest, I’d rather I didn’t know why, because it makes me wonder where some of the past elements are that I didn’t like in past albums. Why? Because they’re not there. After Forever has got it right this time - and they’ve made a masterpiece.
Don’t think that I don’t like some of their past CDs at all - in fact, I prefer Exordium over any other band, like Within Temptation or even Nightwish any day. That’s because After Forever is just so good that the standards I have for them are almost impossibly high. But - guess what? They’re not impossible anymore. Because this CD has attempted and succeeded in reaching those standards.
Enough rambling about the history of the CD. I’ll give some overall highlights and then - yes - I’ll do a track by track analysis.
Overall? I think Floor Jansen’s a goddess or something because there is no way any mortal can sing that amazing. She’s got power, she’s got beauty, and she can do them both at the same time. She’s even got it live, which is more than I can say for some bands that try and fail. The orchestras - real ones! - are used just at the right moments, the choir is blended nicely and has wonderful arrangements - it is these reasons why the intro and outro of the album give me shivers constantly. And I really like the overall theme of the album, which Floor says is energy. Positive, negative, dream, atmospheric... But enough of this, onto the more important stuff.
1. Discord - 5/5 - The intro here is wonderfully mixed. I especially like the effect of the orchestra to make the first few measures sound old and cracking - it’s supposed to do that, it’s not my earphones, right? Whatever, I like it. Floor sings a few opera notes from the second chorus on. And - oh, can I say how much I love the dueling vocals? I love them. And what’s not to love about the title? I love stuff that’s discordant. Definite high point of the album - one of many.
2. Evoke - 4.5/5 - I’m not too fond of this song, but it’s still absolutely amazing. That’s AF for you. Okay, so Floor’s vocals are always amazing, but here I’m not too terribly impressed and I think it’s because I’m not fond of the harmony on the chorus. But that’s okay, because the rest of the song is very good.
3. Transitory - 5/5 - This is another high point of the album. It’s easily one of the heaviest on the CD and also very electronic, though it doesn’t detract at all from the overall feel of the song. An interesting use of the speakers during the vocal line of the bridge - not your standard mixing, that’s for sure. I really really like the harmony on the chorus this time. The first line (“Ohhhhhhhhh, transitoooooryyyyy”!) always gives me shivers. Good ones, too!
4. Energize Me - 5/5 - I’m not one for real commercialized songs, but this is damn catchy. And I like the phrases because they’re not too terribly cliche. Floor’s vocal delivery right before the key change is impeccable. And the guitar solo is really fun!
5. Equally Destructive - 5/5 - I really really like the words and the theme for this one. Or I think I would if I knew them. From what I catch, it’s really good. Anyway, the whole song is really tightly done and fast, and I enjoy the intro on this one, too.
6. Withering Time - 5/5 - This song probably has most of the elements that After Forever likes to use - orchestra, choir, opera vocals, grunts... and it’s amazing. I think I overlistened to it, though, because I can’t appreciate as much as I used to. But believe me - it’s another high point.
7. De-Energized - 5/5 - Wheee @ another orchestral intro! And then it gets supersuper heavy and it’s very nice. I like the words to this one, too. “I see a world at war because of pride and might”... yesyesyes, very nice. This isn’t a big highlight for Floor’s vocals (which I’ll admit is my primary reason for listening to AF), but the song is still great. The choir in the middle and end is very nice, too.
8. Cry WIth a Smile - 5/5 - This is one of two real ballads on the album, and the stronger one at first listen (though the two really equalize by the time you’ve heard them a few times). The orchestra on this is really catchy, and Floor’s lower register really shines here. I don’t usually compliment the low vocals because I was always trained as an alto (incorrectly, too - I’m actually a soprano) and am used to hearing lines much lower than what singers in this genre typically sing, but I’ve got to hand it to her here - to be able to sing that without sounding like a clomping elephant is admirable. Anyway, the emotion on this song really shines, too, especially in the last chorus. I don’t usually try to mention emotion in songs not in bands’ native languages, but Floor manages it nice in all the songs on the disc, and this is a highlight of that.
9. Envision - 5/5 - This is my personal favourite on the album. It’s heavy with a nice mix of guitars and vocals, all very powerful. However, the piano in the bridge with the chromatic scale as the key change is very interesting. And the chorus in the new key is very high, a lot higher than it sounds.
10. Who I Am - 5/5 - This is a duet with Doro Pesch, who I’m not terribly fond of. I prefer Floor’s crystal clear vocals and would like to hear the version that’s Floor singing all parts. (I know it exists because the videos of the studio recordings on the official site have a clip of it.) Anyway, I like the structure of the intro, with the rhythm guitar and the really high synth in contrast. And the harmony Floor sings with herself on the “Who I aaaaaaaaam... WHO I aaaaaam” is breathtaking, especially during the chorus after the second verse when the instruments stop. Very nice!
11. Dreamflight - 4.5/5 - You must think I’m crazy. I don’t blame you. I love long songs, but this one seems to drag on for me. The choir here is amazing mixed in with the grunts, though. I don’t know what to really say about this one. It’s After Forever, though, so it’s supersuper good.
12. Empty Memories - 5/5 - The other ballad. It seems odd that a ballad would be placed last, but it really works, especially since the outro is about a minute of choir. But the whole amazing part of this song is Floor’s vocals. Again. They’re not the best on the album and she ends up sliding quite a bit at times, but the moment near the end at the end of the second time through the chorus - “No no no no alone!” or whatever it is - gives me chills. Always.
So overall, 12 X 5 = 60. I subtracted one point, so 59/60. That’s... ummm... 9.83/10.
High Points (this is supersuper hard to narrow it down!): Discord, Transitory, Withering Time, Envision
Low Points: Are you kidding? Bad stuff by After Forever? You must be crazy! Maybe it’s that Lonely and Sweet Enclosure aren’t on the album...
What else? Oh, the artwork! Yes, the cover is stunning. And the website design is amazing too. I’m not talking about good by After Forever standards (because we all know sometimes the artwork is a bit strange), I’m talking good by everyone standards. So, we’ll add the missing points from this.
Overall score = 10/10. Perfect.
So, when people compare After Forever to bands like Nightwish or Within Temptation, I have only one response - switch them around first. Because it’s Nightwish and Within Temptation that need to be compared to a standard like After Forever. And they fall far short of the masterpiece that After Forever has just created.
I don’t usually feel compelled to do album reviews. The only other review I wrote was for Nightwish’s “Once”, which I still find to be an amazing album. However, I think I’ve found an album that is even more of a masterpiece, and pretty damn near perfect. That album is After Forever’s self-titled fifth release, which may not necessarily be better musically than the amazing second album, Decipher, but it is more polished, more full, and overall extremely enjoyable.
It’s also an album that many fans have been waiting for. With the departure of Mark Jansen after Decipher, many people (I’ll admit - myself included) were disappointed in the EP Exordium, and wouldn’t see Invisible Circles as very good if not for the EP’s release. Remagine seemed to be a step in one direction, though whether or not it’s the right one remains unclear (I’ve always been slightly disappointed in Remagine, though I can’t for the life of me discover why). But this - After Forever - is perfect. The band describes this as a mix of the sounds on all their previous releases, and to be honest, I don’t give a damn. The music is perfect. I don’t need to know why. And to be honest, I’d rather I didn’t know why, because it makes me wonder where some of the past elements are that I didn’t like in past albums. Why? Because they’re not there. After Forever has got it right this time - and they’ve made a masterpiece.
Don’t think that I don’t like some of their past CDs at all - in fact, I prefer Exordium over any other band, like Within Temptation or even Nightwish any day. That’s because After Forever is just so good that the standards I have for them are almost impossibly high. But - guess what? They’re not impossible anymore. Because this CD has attempted and succeeded in reaching those standards.
Enough rambling about the history of the CD. I’ll give some overall highlights and then - yes - I’ll do a track by track analysis.
Overall? I think Floor Jansen’s a goddess or something because there is no way any mortal can sing that amazing. She’s got power, she’s got beauty, and she can do them both at the same time. She’s even got it live, which is more than I can say for some bands that try and fail. The orchestras - real ones! - are used just at the right moments, the choir is blended nicely and has wonderful arrangements - it is these reasons why the intro and outro of the album give me shivers constantly. And I really like the overall theme of the album, which Floor says is energy. Positive, negative, dream, atmospheric... But enough of this, onto the more important stuff.
1. Discord - 5/5 - The intro here is wonderfully mixed. I especially like the effect of the orchestra to make the first few measures sound old and cracking - it’s supposed to do that, it’s not my earphones, right? Whatever, I like it. Floor sings a few opera notes from the second chorus on. And - oh, can I say how much I love the dueling vocals? I love them. And what’s not to love about the title? I love stuff that’s discordant. Definite high point of the album - one of many.
2. Evoke - 4.5/5 - I’m not too fond of this song, but it’s still absolutely amazing. That’s AF for you. Okay, so Floor’s vocals are always amazing, but here I’m not too terribly impressed and I think it’s because I’m not fond of the harmony on the chorus. But that’s okay, because the rest of the song is very good.
3. Transitory - 5/5 - This is another high point of the album. It’s easily one of the heaviest on the CD and also very electronic, though it doesn’t detract at all from the overall feel of the song. An interesting use of the speakers during the vocal line of the bridge - not your standard mixing, that’s for sure. I really really like the harmony on the chorus this time. The first line (“Ohhhhhhhhh, transitoooooryyyyy”!) always gives me shivers. Good ones, too!
4. Energize Me - 5/5 - I’m not one for real commercialized songs, but this is damn catchy. And I like the phrases because they’re not too terribly cliche. Floor’s vocal delivery right before the key change is impeccable. And the guitar solo is really fun!
5. Equally Destructive - 5/5 - I really really like the words and the theme for this one. Or I think I would if I knew them. From what I catch, it’s really good. Anyway, the whole song is really tightly done and fast, and I enjoy the intro on this one, too.
6. Withering Time - 5/5 - This song probably has most of the elements that After Forever likes to use - orchestra, choir, opera vocals, grunts... and it’s amazing. I think I overlistened to it, though, because I can’t appreciate as much as I used to. But believe me - it’s another high point.
7. De-Energized - 5/5 - Wheee @ another orchestral intro! And then it gets supersuper heavy and it’s very nice. I like the words to this one, too. “I see a world at war because of pride and might”... yesyesyes, very nice. This isn’t a big highlight for Floor’s vocals (which I’ll admit is my primary reason for listening to AF), but the song is still great. The choir in the middle and end is very nice, too.
8. Cry WIth a Smile - 5/5 - This is one of two real ballads on the album, and the stronger one at first listen (though the two really equalize by the time you’ve heard them a few times). The orchestra on this is really catchy, and Floor’s lower register really shines here. I don’t usually compliment the low vocals because I was always trained as an alto (incorrectly, too - I’m actually a soprano) and am used to hearing lines much lower than what singers in this genre typically sing, but I’ve got to hand it to her here - to be able to sing that without sounding like a clomping elephant is admirable. Anyway, the emotion on this song really shines, too, especially in the last chorus. I don’t usually try to mention emotion in songs not in bands’ native languages, but Floor manages it nice in all the songs on the disc, and this is a highlight of that.
9. Envision - 5/5 - This is my personal favourite on the album. It’s heavy with a nice mix of guitars and vocals, all very powerful. However, the piano in the bridge with the chromatic scale as the key change is very interesting. And the chorus in the new key is very high, a lot higher than it sounds.
10. Who I Am - 5/5 - This is a duet with Doro Pesch, who I’m not terribly fond of. I prefer Floor’s crystal clear vocals and would like to hear the version that’s Floor singing all parts. (I know it exists because the videos of the studio recordings on the official site have a clip of it.) Anyway, I like the structure of the intro, with the rhythm guitar and the really high synth in contrast. And the harmony Floor sings with herself on the “Who I aaaaaaaaam... WHO I aaaaaam” is breathtaking, especially during the chorus after the second verse when the instruments stop. Very nice!
11. Dreamflight - 4.5/5 - You must think I’m crazy. I don’t blame you. I love long songs, but this one seems to drag on for me. The choir here is amazing mixed in with the grunts, though. I don’t know what to really say about this one. It’s After Forever, though, so it’s supersuper good.
12. Empty Memories - 5/5 - The other ballad. It seems odd that a ballad would be placed last, but it really works, especially since the outro is about a minute of choir. But the whole amazing part of this song is Floor’s vocals. Again. They’re not the best on the album and she ends up sliding quite a bit at times, but the moment near the end at the end of the second time through the chorus - “No no no no alone!” or whatever it is - gives me chills. Always.
So overall, 12 X 5 = 60. I subtracted one point, so 59/60. That’s... ummm... 9.83/10.
High Points (this is supersuper hard to narrow it down!): Discord, Transitory, Withering Time, Envision
Low Points: Are you kidding? Bad stuff by After Forever? You must be crazy! Maybe it’s that Lonely and Sweet Enclosure aren’t on the album...
What else? Oh, the artwork! Yes, the cover is stunning. And the website design is amazing too. I’m not talking about good by After Forever standards (because we all know sometimes the artwork is a bit strange), I’m talking good by everyone standards. So, we’ll add the missing points from this.
Overall score = 10/10. Perfect.
So, when people compare After Forever to bands like Nightwish or Within Temptation, I have only one response - switch them around first. Because it’s Nightwish and Within Temptation that need to be compared to a standard like After Forever. And they fall far short of the masterpiece that After Forever has just created.
03 June 2007
Mai-Otome ZWEI 3 = AAAAH SUSPENSE! R0X0RS!
*ahem* Spoiler alert!
I love Mai-HiME. Great anime. My second favourite, only to Madlax. Mai-Otome was only okay. So, it's probably understandable that I completely forget that Zwei exists - with one mediocre episode every three months, how should I remember?
Episode 3 completely changed my opinion on the Mai-Otome storyline. Completely. I'll still laugh and be disappointed in everything up to this point, but - well, I'll just spoil it for everyone - the HiME star appeared.
Yes, THE HiME star as in the HiME star that threatened the end of the world in Mai HiME and caused all the HiME to kill each other. Yes, that HiME star. It's in the lab of Garderobe, where they're analyzing the statues, including Shizuru's. Meaning Natsuki knows that Shizuru's been turned into stone. And she quite obviously misses Shizuru too - what's the line - "I can't do things as well as you do, Shizuru" with a very far away look in her eyes. There's another piece of evidence for the subtext searchers. I'm more than convinced.
Then again, Shizuru x Natsuki has held a place in my fandom-insane heart since July, so I suppose that's part of the reason.
And then Fumi appeared. Fumi! You know - that Fumi! Shinso-sama! And then Fuuka appeared out of the water of a lake in the Black Valley! Y'know, this was hinted at when Miyu dove into some pool and activated the HiME system in the last episode or two of Mai-Otome, but they never developed it. Guess what, guys? They have no choice but to develop this one!
My only complaint? The next episode doesn't come out until the end of August. Well, damn!
I love Mai-HiME. Great anime. My second favourite, only to Madlax. Mai-Otome was only okay. So, it's probably understandable that I completely forget that Zwei exists - with one mediocre episode every three months, how should I remember?
Episode 3 completely changed my opinion on the Mai-Otome storyline. Completely. I'll still laugh and be disappointed in everything up to this point, but - well, I'll just spoil it for everyone - the HiME star appeared.
Yes, THE HiME star as in the HiME star that threatened the end of the world in Mai HiME and caused all the HiME to kill each other. Yes, that HiME star. It's in the lab of Garderobe, where they're analyzing the statues, including Shizuru's. Meaning Natsuki knows that Shizuru's been turned into stone. And she quite obviously misses Shizuru too - what's the line - "I can't do things as well as you do, Shizuru" with a very far away look in her eyes. There's another piece of evidence for the subtext searchers. I'm more than convinced.
Then again, Shizuru x Natsuki has held a place in my fandom-insane heart since July, so I suppose that's part of the reason.
And then Fumi appeared. Fumi! You know - that Fumi! Shinso-sama! And then Fuuka appeared out of the water of a lake in the Black Valley! Y'know, this was hinted at when Miyu dove into some pool and activated the HiME system in the last episode or two of Mai-Otome, but they never developed it. Guess what, guys? They have no choice but to develop this one!
My only complaint? The next episode doesn't come out until the end of August. Well, damn!
18 April 2007
The return of Bee Train's girls-with-guns trilogy!
Bee Train's doing it again!
First came Madlax, then Noir, now is the masterpiece in the making called El Cazador de la Bruja. Or something like that.
There are two sub groups working on this with two episodes released for each so far (I think). The verdict at this point? WTF!
It's very different from Madlax, more like Noir, I'd say. I'm not sure if that's a good or a bad thing quite yet. One thing for sure? It's sure setting a different tone from the last two.
The last two had a sort of European feel, with Noir in France and part of Madlax in Nafrece. But El Cazador seems to be in an old fashioned American western town and I'm not quite sure I like that.
Worth following, though? With another team of Bee Train and Yuki Kajiura, you can't lose!
First came Madlax, then Noir, now is the masterpiece in the making called El Cazador de la Bruja. Or something like that.
There are two sub groups working on this with two episodes released for each so far (I think). The verdict at this point? WTF!
It's very different from Madlax, more like Noir, I'd say. I'm not sure if that's a good or a bad thing quite yet. One thing for sure? It's sure setting a different tone from the last two.
The last two had a sort of European feel, with Noir in France and part of Madlax in Nafrece. But El Cazador seems to be in an old fashioned American western town and I'm not quite sure I like that.
Worth following, though? With another team of Bee Train and Yuki Kajiura, you can't lose!
25 March 2007
Kyoshiro to Towa no Sora is finally over!
Thank GOD! I hated this. I watched it just for the Kaon/Himiko, but that was at least worth it.
Here's my take on anime: I watch it for yuri. However, since I know yuri is in the background, I'm perfectly fine with the standard couples that are the main characters. It was like that with Mai-HiME and Utena and a lot of shows.
Kyoshiro and Kuu had to have been the worst most boring characters EVER. I couldn't stand them as a couple.
Kyoshiro to Towa no Sora is the sequel to Kannazuki no Miko in the same respect that Mai-Otome is the sequel to Mai-HiME. It's AU with the same characters, but new characters take the main places and the ones we know and love get placed behind.
I loved KnM. It was great besides all the mecha crap. My reaction was the complete opposite for KyoSora. It was horrible besides all the mecha crap. I mean - really - how much stupider can something get?
Watch KnM. Don't even bother with KyoSora.
Here's my take on anime: I watch it for yuri. However, since I know yuri is in the background, I'm perfectly fine with the standard couples that are the main characters. It was like that with Mai-HiME and Utena and a lot of shows.
Kyoshiro and Kuu had to have been the worst most boring characters EVER. I couldn't stand them as a couple.
Kyoshiro to Towa no Sora is the sequel to Kannazuki no Miko in the same respect that Mai-Otome is the sequel to Mai-HiME. It's AU with the same characters, but new characters take the main places and the ones we know and love get placed behind.
I loved KnM. It was great besides all the mecha crap. My reaction was the complete opposite for KyoSora. It was horrible besides all the mecha crap. I mean - really - how much stupider can something get?
Watch KnM. Don't even bother with KyoSora.
14 March 2007
Earbuds that RAWK!
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=7478883&type=product&productCategoryId=cat08352&id=1125466441986
All right, here's my problem with earbuds: I wreck them. Often. So, I had to go out any buy a new pair last week. I went to Best Buy and purchased these on a whim. Never have I been so satisfied with a purchase before!
These earbuds have a jelly like plastic case around the speaker, so they're comfortable in your ears without the mesh cloth thing that usually surrounds the speaker. It has a vent like hole on each earbud that, when you cover it, lowers the quality (so you know the quality normally really rocks). It's so cute in the blud colour! And, um, it's cheap. Really cheap.
It comes in 3 colours: blue, green, and pink, and all three are adorable and work great! Totally worth $10 for these!
And on another note, Happy Pi Day!
All right, here's my problem with earbuds: I wreck them. Often. So, I had to go out any buy a new pair last week. I went to Best Buy and purchased these on a whim. Never have I been so satisfied with a purchase before!
These earbuds have a jelly like plastic case around the speaker, so they're comfortable in your ears without the mesh cloth thing that usually surrounds the speaker. It has a vent like hole on each earbud that, when you cover it, lowers the quality (so you know the quality normally really rocks). It's so cute in the blud colour! And, um, it's cheap. Really cheap.
It comes in 3 colours: blue, green, and pink, and all three are adorable and work great! Totally worth $10 for these!
And on another note, Happy Pi Day!
11 March 2007
Non anime - L Word - Season 1 2 3 4!
What can I say about the L Word?
Lots.
Really, I never really thought any lesbian TV show would be any good. I mean, even South of Nowhere is pretty pitiful in that aspect. When I first heard about The L Word, I kept thinking "I'm too young to watch this" and "All the characters are like 30."
First of all, I'm not THAT young. Second of all, there are characters in their 20s. So there.
But that doesn't matter. What matters is that The L Word has got to be the greatest non-anime TV show for lesbians in existance. And most people will agree with me.
For those of you straight people and those of you gay people under a rock, The L Word is a weekly hour-long drama on Showtime. It airs Sunday at 10PM EST. It has aired for four seasons and has three episodes left (including tonight's). The cast has gone through many changes, but this season has 11ish main characters, an increase from 8ish in season one.
The story takes place in LA (even though it's filmed in Canada) in a very very gay side of town. I'll try not to post spoilers here. The story starts out when Jenny moves in with her boyfriend Tim from someplace in the midwest. Next door is long-time lesbian couple Bette and Tina who are trying to have a baby. They are friends with Alice, who is creating a social network called "The Chart" that shows how everyone is connected romantically, Dana, who is a closeted tennis player without any gaydar (tho she is called the gayest of the whole group), and Shane, who comes from a bad past filled with sex and drugs and is trying to change her ways despite her lack of abiltiy to commit for more than a few hours.
The whole thing is very dramatic. Jenny becomes the most hated character, Alice and Dana the most lovable, and the whole thing rocks.
There are a bunch of great podcasts for recaps, and AfterEllen.com has great, funny, sarcastic-ish recaps that make me smile. A lot.
The L Word = AWESOME!
Lots.
Really, I never really thought any lesbian TV show would be any good. I mean, even South of Nowhere is pretty pitiful in that aspect. When I first heard about The L Word, I kept thinking "I'm too young to watch this" and "All the characters are like 30."
First of all, I'm not THAT young. Second of all, there are characters in their 20s. So there.
But that doesn't matter. What matters is that The L Word has got to be the greatest non-anime TV show for lesbians in existance. And most people will agree with me.
For those of you straight people and those of you gay people under a rock, The L Word is a weekly hour-long drama on Showtime. It airs Sunday at 10PM EST. It has aired for four seasons and has three episodes left (including tonight's). The cast has gone through many changes, but this season has 11ish main characters, an increase from 8ish in season one.
The story takes place in LA (even though it's filmed in Canada) in a very very gay side of town. I'll try not to post spoilers here. The story starts out when Jenny moves in with her boyfriend Tim from someplace in the midwest. Next door is long-time lesbian couple Bette and Tina who are trying to have a baby. They are friends with Alice, who is creating a social network called "The Chart" that shows how everyone is connected romantically, Dana, who is a closeted tennis player without any gaydar (tho she is called the gayest of the whole group), and Shane, who comes from a bad past filled with sex and drugs and is trying to change her ways despite her lack of abiltiy to commit for more than a few hours.
The whole thing is very dramatic. Jenny becomes the most hated character, Alice and Dana the most lovable, and the whole thing rocks.
There are a bunch of great podcasts for recaps, and AfterEllen.com has great, funny, sarcastic-ish recaps that make me smile. A lot.
The L Word = AWESOME!
03 March 2007
Stellvia of the Universe! - Yuri? Not quite.
It looks like Simoun-fans only have 1 episode left to fansub. That reminds me that I need to finish getting both it and Stellvia on DVDs. But since I've already reviewed Simoun, let's chat a bit about Stellvia.
I watched Stellvia when I was sick in bed missing a music festival on a weekend. After watching Stellvia, I watched Ikkitousen. But that's not the point. The point is, Stellvia, while it may not be very yuri, is well worth watching.
The whole thing was amazingly technological. While you weren't bombarded with terms and visual representations of concepts like you may otherwise be in a Space Academy, it was all very, well, realistic, or as realistic as a futuristic anime goes.
Following Shima Katase on her journey to become a space pilot was very rewarding. She goes from genious everywhere except in one area to genious in all aspects - and you see a very good transition.
The yuri in this anime is Yayoi/Ayaka (I think). Their relationship (or whatever it is) is very deep with a dark and haunting past. I actually would not of thought of it as yuri if not for already reading a yurified review on it.
That's all I will say. Everyone should see this one, especially people that don't like yuri.
I watched Stellvia when I was sick in bed missing a music festival on a weekend. After watching Stellvia, I watched Ikkitousen. But that's not the point. The point is, Stellvia, while it may not be very yuri, is well worth watching.
The whole thing was amazingly technological. While you weren't bombarded with terms and visual representations of concepts like you may otherwise be in a Space Academy, it was all very, well, realistic, or as realistic as a futuristic anime goes.
Following Shima Katase on her journey to become a space pilot was very rewarding. She goes from genious everywhere except in one area to genious in all aspects - and you see a very good transition.
The yuri in this anime is Yayoi/Ayaka (I think). Their relationship (or whatever it is) is very deep with a dark and haunting past. I actually would not of thought of it as yuri if not for already reading a yurified review on it.
That's all I will say. Everyone should see this one, especially people that don't like yuri.
11 February 2007
.hack//SIGN - Oh, Bee Train, Yuki Kajiura, how I've missed thee!
Thank god for YouTube, all of the episodes of .hack//SIGN are online. That means I can watch them all for the first time. As of writing, I just finished episode 14. What can I say about the series?
It's so... Bee Train.
And by that I mean it's slow, the backgrounds are cooler than the characters, and there are a lot of flashbacks. But the cool thing about the stuff Bee Train does? Despite all the crappy points, you're STILL hooked on it - now that's something.
By no means can this compare to the masterpiece that is MADLAX or even it's predecessor, Noir, but it's still worth a watch so far.
And, of course, we cannot forget the master of soundtracks herself, Yuki Kajiura. While the songs aren't her best work by far, they still echo of the similar themes that have made it into the MADLAX, Noir, Mai-HiME, and Mai-Otome soundtracks, including the simple soprano duets and the use of violin, as well as a slightly European sound. Though I do prefer Mezame and Canta per Me over any of the stuff I've heard so far.
However, the intro song, Obsession, which is performed by See-Saw (which is composed of Yuki Kajiura and the girl that sings the intro song of Simoun), is absolutely amazing. While the quality of the song is pretty pathetic (the vocals sound awful because of it), it's obvious what a great song it could be if it had been mixed a bit better. It's very Yuki Kajiura, again. I just wish it could have been mixed better.
I'm just spoiled by 'Utsukushi Kereba Sore de Ii', I guess.
So, let's make a link of anime and how they're connected:
Simoun -> .hack//SIGN -> MADLAX and Noir -> Mai-HiME / Mai-Otome -> Strawberry Panic! -> Maria-sama ga Miteru
Ehhh, that's as far as I go. And here's the rationale!!!:
Singer of the OP of Simoun sung in the OP for .hack//SIGN, for which the animation studio is Bee Train, like in MADLAX and Noir, where the soundtrack is composed by Yuki Kajiura, like Mai-HiME and Mai-Otome, who have the same two lead vocal seiyuu (spelling?) as in Strawberry Panic! which was supposedly a rip-off of Maria-sama ga Miteru!!!
I'm tired from all that thinking - goodnight!
It's so... Bee Train.
And by that I mean it's slow, the backgrounds are cooler than the characters, and there are a lot of flashbacks. But the cool thing about the stuff Bee Train does? Despite all the crappy points, you're STILL hooked on it - now that's something.
By no means can this compare to the masterpiece that is MADLAX or even it's predecessor, Noir, but it's still worth a watch so far.
And, of course, we cannot forget the master of soundtracks herself, Yuki Kajiura. While the songs aren't her best work by far, they still echo of the similar themes that have made it into the MADLAX, Noir, Mai-HiME, and Mai-Otome soundtracks, including the simple soprano duets and the use of violin, as well as a slightly European sound. Though I do prefer Mezame and Canta per Me over any of the stuff I've heard so far.
However, the intro song, Obsession, which is performed by See-Saw (which is composed of Yuki Kajiura and the girl that sings the intro song of Simoun), is absolutely amazing. While the quality of the song is pretty pathetic (the vocals sound awful because of it), it's obvious what a great song it could be if it had been mixed a bit better. It's very Yuki Kajiura, again. I just wish it could have been mixed better.
I'm just spoiled by 'Utsukushi Kereba Sore de Ii', I guess.
So, let's make a link of anime and how they're connected:
Simoun -> .hack//SIGN -> MADLAX and Noir -> Mai-HiME / Mai-Otome -> Strawberry Panic! -> Maria-sama ga Miteru
Ehhh, that's as far as I go. And here's the rationale!!!:
Singer of the OP of Simoun sung in the OP for .hack//SIGN, for which the animation studio is Bee Train, like in MADLAX and Noir, where the soundtrack is composed by Yuki Kajiura, like Mai-HiME and Mai-Otome, who have the same two lead vocal seiyuu (spelling?) as in Strawberry Panic! which was supposedly a rip-off of Maria-sama ga Miteru!!!
I'm tired from all that thinking - goodnight!
01 February 2007
Webcomic Reviews!
Here I will review six webcomics that I view everyday! All are yuri, of course, as is a huge point of my blog here at Blogspot (besides the whole technology and politics thing).
El Goonish Shive - http://www.egscomics.com/
My favourite webcomic ever. EVER. It's got all sorts of things to it. It's really into science and technology, personal identity, has interesting fantasy-like storylines, and a really awesome character named Nanase that rocks. The whole thing rocks.
Girly - http://go-girly.com/
I read 400 strips in the archive in one night this past summer and was completely thrilled. It was really good. Unfortunately, the current storyline doesn't interest me all that much. But the past is funny, it's cute, and it's heros are named Otra and Winter. Okay, maybe not the best names, but it's still cool!
Striptease - http://stripteasecomic.com/
I've been following this comic off and on for about two years now, and the problem is that the author takes long hiatuses so I forget to check up. But the artwork has progressed to an amazing level, especially when the strips are colored - wow! And the storyline is complex, there's been a fair amount of action in the past, so I'm hoping this current storyline goes in a good direction as well. My character of choice here is Rachel.
The Lounge - http://thelounge.comicgenesis.com/
This comic follows Italy as she runs a manga/gaming store with a bunch of friends. It's got a lot of funny stuff, especially since there are these sisters from Germany that are at odds with her (but Rain is soooooo hot anyway) and the story is actually pretty R rated, but... it's totally worth it for the nerdy jokes!
YU+ME - http://yume.comicgen.com/
This is one of my more fecent finds, a story about a girl going to a private school who learns about herself. The current storyline is actually quite amusing, as her gay friend is giving her a test on, well, something I'm not going to mention here. Teeheehee!
Flipside - http://www.flipsidecomics.com/
I actually discovered this webcomic while doing debate research on Wal-Mart because I was sick of researching. It's a great find, about a knight named Bernadette and a jester named Maytag in a post-medeival (however the hell you spell that) world. It's long, is more like a manga than anything, and have I mentioned it's awesome? Yup. My second favourite!
Over the past years, I've enjoyed many more webcomics than these, but these are all YURI!! making them awesome. In my opinion. But that's just me :-)
El Goonish Shive - http://www.egscomics.com/
My favourite webcomic ever. EVER. It's got all sorts of things to it. It's really into science and technology, personal identity, has interesting fantasy-like storylines, and a really awesome character named Nanase that rocks. The whole thing rocks.
Girly - http://go-girly.com/
I read 400 strips in the archive in one night this past summer and was completely thrilled. It was really good. Unfortunately, the current storyline doesn't interest me all that much. But the past is funny, it's cute, and it's heros are named Otra and Winter. Okay, maybe not the best names, but it's still cool!
Striptease - http://stripteasecomic.com/
I've been following this comic off and on for about two years now, and the problem is that the author takes long hiatuses so I forget to check up. But the artwork has progressed to an amazing level, especially when the strips are colored - wow! And the storyline is complex, there's been a fair amount of action in the past, so I'm hoping this current storyline goes in a good direction as well. My character of choice here is Rachel.
The Lounge - http://thelounge.comicgenesis.com/
This comic follows Italy as she runs a manga/gaming store with a bunch of friends. It's got a lot of funny stuff, especially since there are these sisters from Germany that are at odds with her (but Rain is soooooo hot anyway) and the story is actually pretty R rated, but... it's totally worth it for the nerdy jokes!
YU+ME - http://yume.comicgen.com/
This is one of my more fecent finds, a story about a girl going to a private school who learns about herself. The current storyline is actually quite amusing, as her gay friend is giving her a test on, well, something I'm not going to mention here. Teeheehee!
Flipside - http://www.flipsidecomics.com/
I actually discovered this webcomic while doing debate research on Wal-Mart because I was sick of researching. It's a great find, about a knight named Bernadette and a jester named Maytag in a post-medeival (however the hell you spell that) world. It's long, is more like a manga than anything, and have I mentioned it's awesome? Yup. My second favourite!
Over the past years, I've enjoyed many more webcomics than these, but these are all YURI!! making them awesome. In my opinion. But that's just me :-)
21 January 2007
Which Final Fantasy game is the best?
Note that I was born *after* the first FF game came out. I'm writing this as I've played the first 8 games in the past year and a half.
Final Fantasy I - Novelty
When Final Fantasy I came out, it was Square's last hope before Bankruptcy. They were hoping for a miracle, one that they achieved with the release of Final Fantasy I. Never before had the world seen such a game, featuring a unique battle system, storyline, character class, with some things that came to be known as "leveling" and "casting a spell", etc. Even though the characters were nameless without any growth, for its time, it was amazing.
Final Fantasy II - Leveling Up
Following the success of the first game, Square tweaked some things and released Final Fantasy II. The characters have names now, as well as a plot surrounding them. However, the true gem of this game that hasn't been repeated in any Final Fantasy games since is the unique leveling up system - that's very easy to manipulate. Instead of getting XP and leveling up when you get enough, each stat levels up - or down - independently. To increase a character's HP, it has to be injured enough times. To increase a level of a spell, a character has to use it enough times. In the first of these cases, you can attack yourself (which would also increase your attack skill), and in the second, you can select to cast the spell, move on, cancel, reselect, and repeat until you get tired and in both cases, the stats will skyrocket. But putting that aside - it was a great idea that, because of this manipulation, failed miserably.
Final Fantasy III - Magic System
All the Final Fantasy games up until this point had a common thread linking them, and that is the process by which magic was attained. In all three, magic was purchased or found. Final Fantasy III was no exception. Final Fantasy III featured a unique way of categorizing spells by level, and only being able to use that spell a certain number of times rather than using MP, that ended here. In fact, the entire system of purchasing magic ended here. This is a plus in the sense that there may be ways to "learn" magic coming up later that's a lot cheaper, but a downside because not everyone can learn magic later on.
Final Fantasy IV - Characters
Final Fantasy IV was the first Final Fantasy to have named characters that had a significant plot around them. For Final Fantasies I and III, the characters were completely nameless, so no plot centered around them. For Final Fantasy II, the characters had a small plot, trying to find their friend by enlisting various other people as a fourth party member with various skills. But Final Fantasy IV introduced Cecil, a Dark Knight who was in love with Rosa, a White Mage. It introduced Rydia, a summoner whose family was killed, Palom and Porom, twins with contrasting mage abilities, Kain, a backstabbing best friend of Cecil, and a villian who has a much larger role than just "final boss".
Final Fantasy V - Character Development
Final Fantasy III was the first Final Fantasy to have character classes, but the system was awkward in a sense that to go from one class to a similar cost less points than a different, and points were gained during battle and you couldn't have more than 255, etc. Final Fantasy V gives you character classes that level up as you gain points after battles. Each level gains a character a new skill. The character, in any class, has a preset ability given by the class and another ability that can be anything the character has learned. To switch the character to another class is free, and sticks the character where he or she last left off. Due to the infinite combinations of classes and abilities, this is easily the longest Final Fantasy game to play, but also one of the most rewarding.
Final Fantasy VI - Battle System
Whether or not Final Fantasy VI was the first game with the ATB or Final Fantasy V (to be honest, it's been so long since I've played V that I simply cannot remember), it's clear that there were other developments that Final Fantasy VI introduced that stuck around in other forms in all the Final Fantasy games to follow. Final Fantasy VI called them "Desperation Techniques". The following games called them "Limit Breaks". In Final Fantasy VI, each character, in relation to their preset character class, was given a unique Desperation Technique that he or she could use at any point in battle as many times as he or she wished. For Edgar, it was the use of Tools, since he was the King of a Technologically Advanced Kingdom of Figaro. For Cayenne, it was the Sword Technique, because he was a Samurai Warrior. For Gau, it was Rage, because he was a Wild Boy who learned enemy skills. For Relm, it was Sketch, because she drew a copy of the monster that would attack with that monster's skill. This made it very difficult to choose which 4 of the 14 characters would be placed in your party, because each of these skills have great advantages and disadvantages.
Final Fantasy VII - Storyline
Final Fantasy VII has been the most profitable game in Final Fantasy history. It has spun off a movie sequel, a video game prequel, an anime explanation, a video game sequel, and probably quite a bit more things are in the works. Why is this so? Because the storyline allows it to. The scientific background about the creation of Sephiroth from JENOVA, the philosophical thoughts about the Lifestream and Meteor vs Holy, the emotional development of Cloud learning who he really is, all add up to make a thoroughly unique story that will never leave.
Final Fantasy VIII - Music
All Final Fantasy games up to this point have had music composed by the famous Nobuo Uematsu (I think), however, it wasn't until VI that the soundtrack really became amazing, with songs such as Cefca, Tina, and of course the Opera. VII introduced us to the magic of One Winged Angel and the emotion of Aerith's Theme. However, it wasn't until VIII that a full orchestra was used instead of a primitive MIDI system during the game. This allowed songs like Liberi Fatali to become true masterpieces without having to purchase the soundtrack. Even during actual gameplay, songs like Fithos Lusec Wecos Vinosec featured vocals, where in VI, the One Winged Angel battle theme was computer instruments and no vocals.
So what Final Fantasy game is the best?
None. They're all amazing in their own areas of specialty.
Final Fantasy I - Novelty
When Final Fantasy I came out, it was Square's last hope before Bankruptcy. They were hoping for a miracle, one that they achieved with the release of Final Fantasy I. Never before had the world seen such a game, featuring a unique battle system, storyline, character class, with some things that came to be known as "leveling" and "casting a spell", etc. Even though the characters were nameless without any growth, for its time, it was amazing.
Final Fantasy II - Leveling Up
Following the success of the first game, Square tweaked some things and released Final Fantasy II. The characters have names now, as well as a plot surrounding them. However, the true gem of this game that hasn't been repeated in any Final Fantasy games since is the unique leveling up system - that's very easy to manipulate. Instead of getting XP and leveling up when you get enough, each stat levels up - or down - independently. To increase a character's HP, it has to be injured enough times. To increase a level of a spell, a character has to use it enough times. In the first of these cases, you can attack yourself (which would also increase your attack skill), and in the second, you can select to cast the spell, move on, cancel, reselect, and repeat until you get tired and in both cases, the stats will skyrocket. But putting that aside - it was a great idea that, because of this manipulation, failed miserably.
Final Fantasy III - Magic System
All the Final Fantasy games up until this point had a common thread linking them, and that is the process by which magic was attained. In all three, magic was purchased or found. Final Fantasy III was no exception. Final Fantasy III featured a unique way of categorizing spells by level, and only being able to use that spell a certain number of times rather than using MP, that ended here. In fact, the entire system of purchasing magic ended here. This is a plus in the sense that there may be ways to "learn" magic coming up later that's a lot cheaper, but a downside because not everyone can learn magic later on.
Final Fantasy IV - Characters
Final Fantasy IV was the first Final Fantasy to have named characters that had a significant plot around them. For Final Fantasies I and III, the characters were completely nameless, so no plot centered around them. For Final Fantasy II, the characters had a small plot, trying to find their friend by enlisting various other people as a fourth party member with various skills. But Final Fantasy IV introduced Cecil, a Dark Knight who was in love with Rosa, a White Mage. It introduced Rydia, a summoner whose family was killed, Palom and Porom, twins with contrasting mage abilities, Kain, a backstabbing best friend of Cecil, and a villian who has a much larger role than just "final boss".
Final Fantasy V - Character Development
Final Fantasy III was the first Final Fantasy to have character classes, but the system was awkward in a sense that to go from one class to a similar cost less points than a different, and points were gained during battle and you couldn't have more than 255, etc. Final Fantasy V gives you character classes that level up as you gain points after battles. Each level gains a character a new skill. The character, in any class, has a preset ability given by the class and another ability that can be anything the character has learned. To switch the character to another class is free, and sticks the character where he or she last left off. Due to the infinite combinations of classes and abilities, this is easily the longest Final Fantasy game to play, but also one of the most rewarding.
Final Fantasy VI - Battle System
Whether or not Final Fantasy VI was the first game with the ATB or Final Fantasy V (to be honest, it's been so long since I've played V that I simply cannot remember), it's clear that there were other developments that Final Fantasy VI introduced that stuck around in other forms in all the Final Fantasy games to follow. Final Fantasy VI called them "Desperation Techniques". The following games called them "Limit Breaks". In Final Fantasy VI, each character, in relation to their preset character class, was given a unique Desperation Technique that he or she could use at any point in battle as many times as he or she wished. For Edgar, it was the use of Tools, since he was the King of a Technologically Advanced Kingdom of Figaro. For Cayenne, it was the Sword Technique, because he was a Samurai Warrior. For Gau, it was Rage, because he was a Wild Boy who learned enemy skills. For Relm, it was Sketch, because she drew a copy of the monster that would attack with that monster's skill. This made it very difficult to choose which 4 of the 14 characters would be placed in your party, because each of these skills have great advantages and disadvantages.
Final Fantasy VII - Storyline
Final Fantasy VII has been the most profitable game in Final Fantasy history. It has spun off a movie sequel, a video game prequel, an anime explanation, a video game sequel, and probably quite a bit more things are in the works. Why is this so? Because the storyline allows it to. The scientific background about the creation of Sephiroth from JENOVA, the philosophical thoughts about the Lifestream and Meteor vs Holy, the emotional development of Cloud learning who he really is, all add up to make a thoroughly unique story that will never leave.
Final Fantasy VIII - Music
All Final Fantasy games up to this point have had music composed by the famous Nobuo Uematsu (I think), however, it wasn't until VI that the soundtrack really became amazing, with songs such as Cefca, Tina, and of course the Opera. VII introduced us to the magic of One Winged Angel and the emotion of Aerith's Theme. However, it wasn't until VIII that a full orchestra was used instead of a primitive MIDI system during the game. This allowed songs like Liberi Fatali to become true masterpieces without having to purchase the soundtrack. Even during actual gameplay, songs like Fithos Lusec Wecos Vinosec featured vocals, where in VI, the One Winged Angel battle theme was computer instruments and no vocals.
So what Final Fantasy game is the best?
None. They're all amazing in their own areas of specialty.
16 January 2007
ShizNat fanfic: Discovery
http://www.fanfiction.net/s/3345090/1/
Weeheehee! Read and review, my friends!
Weeheehee! Read and review, my friends!
09 January 2007
You know what the best 2006 anime release was?
SIMOUN.
(But first let me apologize for lack of posts - I've been sick since Christmas Eve or so and I've been calling in sick to work, staying home from school, etc, so I've just pretty much been playing internet games at Newgrounds for two weeks.)
Yes, Simoun was absolutely amazing. It makes it into the top five on my anime list.
But why? What makes Simoun so amazing? I mean, half the characters in the end turn into guys therefore totally depleting all the yuri potential right?
Wrong.
The characters that turn male are actually surprising. I don't want to spoil anything, but the characters don't always follow what they've through during the beginning of the series on what they're going to choose, since their character development completely changes that. So the yuri-fied characters stay yuri-fied. Isn't that something?
And a semi-happy ending for the yuri-fied characters. That's something too, isn't it?
So Simoun starts yuri, progresses as yuri, and ends yuri. It's amazing.
I think I might start rating the anime I watch on some kind of 100-point scale, but I'm not sure what parts I should focus on.
But no matter - Simoun gets 100 on all of them. Well, except music, where it gets 95. But the opening kicks because it's awesome. Check out the music video on YouTube - it's yuri too! Just search Simoun and it should be on one of the first pages.
(But first let me apologize for lack of posts - I've been sick since Christmas Eve or so and I've been calling in sick to work, staying home from school, etc, so I've just pretty much been playing internet games at Newgrounds for two weeks.)
Yes, Simoun was absolutely amazing. It makes it into the top five on my anime list.
But why? What makes Simoun so amazing? I mean, half the characters in the end turn into guys therefore totally depleting all the yuri potential right?
Wrong.
The characters that turn male are actually surprising. I don't want to spoil anything, but the characters don't always follow what they've through during the beginning of the series on what they're going to choose, since their character development completely changes that. So the yuri-fied characters stay yuri-fied. Isn't that something?
And a semi-happy ending for the yuri-fied characters. That's something too, isn't it?
So Simoun starts yuri, progresses as yuri, and ends yuri. It's amazing.
I think I might start rating the anime I watch on some kind of 100-point scale, but I'm not sure what parts I should focus on.
But no matter - Simoun gets 100 on all of them. Well, except music, where it gets 95. But the opening kicks because it's awesome. Check out the music video on YouTube - it's yuri too! Just search Simoun and it should be on one of the first pages.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)
