Recent news & updates
Claymore – Episode 21 · 23 August 2007
Claymore is finally getting pretty good. Actually, Claymore’s always been pretty good, even if the whole thing was about a bunch of skinny, blonde, silver-eyed, big sword wielding, demon slaying girls. Something strangely attractive about the premise and the story and the characters. It also doesn’t hurt that both Easley and Rigald, the only two males save for Raki, are pretty good looking.
I liked him so much I actually, of my own volition, took a screen
I’m really liking Rigald right now. One, he’s good looking. Two, his awakened form is a lion, a very imposing lion and he’s actually pretty good looking in that form, too. Three, he just killed four Claymores like one would kill flies, swat, swat, splat. And lastly, did I mention he’s good looking? I do have a sinking feeling that he’s going to die by the end of the arc. I also have a feeling I’m actually supposed to be hating his guts because, well, killed four Claymores like flies, one who just had her tragic past revealed last episode and another who swore on her life to protect Clare. My love for pretty boys and my love for the Claymores leaves me pretty conflicted. I’d hate to see either party die, especially Deneve, Helen and Miria. At the same time, I want the Silver-Eyed Lion King to stay alive. We’re talking generic good versus evil here, so, that’s not happening.
Good News! I just saved a bunch of money on my car-I mean, ohmigod, MapleStory anime! · 22 August 2007
I’ll admit, I was a Maple addict for a while. Trained non-stop through winter break to get from level 60 to level 70 on my chief bandit. I play GMS, Windia. I’m currently level 73, around 30 something percent and no will or inclination to start playing again. I’ve been playing MapleStory for just a bit too long. I’ve had so many friends quit on me and I’ve made so many new ones that fifty buddylist slots seemed criminal. Oddly enough, I know a level 130 something hybrid dragon knight that’s been playing with me every since Kerning Party Quest days, and that was a couple of years ago. Party Quests were my true calling. Days before the advent of auto-clicker, days when you actually needed to click like hell to get into a party quest, you’d find no better party leader than me. And I’m not just boasting, I’ll get you into a party quest, guaranteed. Sometimes, I really miss MapleStory. Alright, I’ll shut up about my gaming obsessions.
The point is: for God knows what reason, they’ve adapted MapleStory into an anime. Even more alarming, MapleStory is airing in Gurren Lagann’s time slot. There’s a fine difference, in my humble opinion, between Gurren Lagann (epic shonen adventure too epic to ever end) and MapleStory (free 2D side-scrolling, MMORPG from Korea)! The madness, the sheer lunacy! I gawked and called all of my real life Maple friends, or, my classmates and we all gawked, for a very long time.
And, apparently, there’s going to be a MapleStory trading card game released in the US. There’s already a DS version of Maple out, now there’s a TCG and an anime. Life sure got complicated in the three months that I quit playing. I use to spend days, weeks, months, every single living moment incessantly talking about Maple. Training, trading, auctions, prices, scrolling, everything. After a while, you realize that most Maple players are rude, inconsiderate adolescents (I had a rant on a Maple forum about that). Daily gameplay consisted of grinding nonstop (and it’s not on the dance floor), dying occasionally (you loose 5% experience, mages and warriors have it worse, 10%), rinse and repeat. Global MapleStory, bluntly, sucks. Hackers made it impossible for GMS to have any good features. Fourth job, at level 120, isn’t out on GMS because of hackers. They’re hackers, but they’re just a bunch of kids downloading hacks. Having god mode does not make you God.
Making MapleStory into an anime just rubs me the wrong way. I don’t understand why I find the idea so unpalatable, it’s just weird. It’s airing in October, alongside Haruhi season two and a multitude of other shows I’m not too excited about. Twenty six episodes of mushroom killing, twenty six episodes of mushroom killing, lovely.
Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann – Episode 21 · 21 August 2007
Elated? Overjoyed? About to throw myself off a very tall building from sheer happiness and excitement? Yes! A thousand times yes! Recently, I’ve lost the will to blog about anything I’ve watched, including the entirety of Planetes and the latest episodes of Baccano!, Darker Than Black and Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei, Gurren Lagann has just resurrected the burning passion I have for anime.
Alright, so basically :
- I love Yoko.
- Viral’s piloting the Gurren Lagann with Simon.
- The Gurren Dan’s back.
- Rossiu got ambushed and subsequently pwned by the Anti-Spirals (I’ll laugh in his face later.)
- I love Yoko.
First
I just can’t express how much love I have for Yoko, especially after this episode. Not only is she kick ass in just about every singly way possible, but she’s also kind, she taught school children. After watching the previews from last week’s episode, I was dying for episode 21, Yoko on a bike in school teacher garb!? I love the kids, the kids were so adorable. I’m not even coherent right now, dear God, I feel like squeezing someone to death, like skipping across a field of flowers, frolicking and dancing like a lunatic. For about two episodes, I spent biting fingernails, fearing for the life of Simon and hating Rossiu’s guts and in one swift moment, I was saved! Behold, Yoko!
This episode cements Yoko as one of the most brilliant female heroines, ever, in my poor, nonexistent heart, next to Nia (even if she’s evil), Sakura (from CCS), and, um, that’s about it. Funny, two of the three came from the same show. Regardless, I was actually pretty surprised that Yoko became a school teacher, but I suppose, in retrospect, it was the most suitable occupation. Freedom fighter turned school teacher. Looking at it now, Yoko made a pretty good teacher. Her deadly chalk, the uncanny resemblance Yomako sensei shared with Yoko in their textbooks, seeing her with a bunch of children, cute, adorable little children killed me, absolutely killed. I still don’t think I’m coherent, but it was just such a wonderful feeling, such a tremendous joy bubbling up in my heart. That scene when Nakim climbed up the tree for his father’s bad and Yoko sat there with him, the sun on one side, the moon on the other, the splendid sea stretching across the horizon, I’m such a sentimental twit. Especially, especially when Yoko mentioned that she shared this view with a boy who was just like Nakim. In all honesty, the first time Yoko, Simon and Kamina broke through the surface, that first shot of the sky took my breath away. Gurren Lagann is too epic, I relent! I surrender! I acquiesce!
Yoko's Rifle · 16 August 2007
This is from my old blog, dated July 1st, 2007, thought I’d move it over because it was amusing.
Yoko Get Your Gun
We all know the red haired heroine of what is turning out to be my favorite show running right now touts a large sniper rifle everywhere and is a damn fine marksmen (or should I say markswoman) with it. If you ever look at the pictures, that rifle is huge. It’s almost as tall as she is! For a person who’s pretty obsessed with mecha, guns and most military (predominantly military history) related things, I started to wonder just exactly what kind of rifle it could possibly be. And so this post was born.
To begin with, we’re not going to dwell on technicalities, like whether it’s gas operated or blow back or recoil or whether it’s a semi automatic or full or both, I’m just judging by aesthetics to locate a possible inspiration. I’m obviously not going to find an exact copy of Yoko’s rifle, but I’m gonna try.
Yoko’s Rifle
Yoko’s rifle packs a lot of power, judging from the damage (namely blowing a gaping hole through Adine’s ganmen and destroying Nia’s hair,) I’m guessing it fires a pretty big caliber bullet. Think along the lines of a .50 cal or more. Anyways, it looks like the magazine is detachable and it can’t carry that many rounds even though she shoots and never seems to reload.
There are no good pictures (discounting screen shots because I’m too lazy) of Yoko and her actual rifle. I managed to find a picture of an action figure that will suffice for now.
Figure 1. Yoko and Rifle
Wolf's Rain – The End · 13 August 2007
Wolf’s Rain reminded me a bit of Bebop, which wasn’t surprising looking at the people who worked on both. Though I still prefer the light-hearted and incredibly sentimental nature of Bebop, there’s something altogether different about Wolf’s Rain. It’s a modern day legend, a fairytale of sorts, a gray and bleak world where a new beginning awaited those who dare to follow the path to Paradise. Just the mere notion of Paradise was inspirational. Even if the beginning was a bit slow, even if the four recap episodes in the middle of the series seemed pointless, Wolf’s Rain was beautiful.
The show had the two things I deem most important in any story: good characters and a satisfying ending. There was a comforting warmth to the friendships formed that accompanied Kiba, Tsume, Hige and Toboe across the barren and snowy landscape. The love that Hubb felt for, his wife, Cher drove him to such unimaginable extremes, he literally gave everything to find her and be with her. Quent, the old man, searching relentlessly for revenge, finally understood and found resolution. Toboe, innocent and naive, found his own paradise lying to the man he swore to protect, satisfied with the memories of the old lady who once took care of him. The conversation Tsume had with Toboe, the very last conversation they had, was heartbreaking. Hige, the always hungry playboy of the pack, beneath his jocular and lax exterior is a maze of perplexities. Hige and Blue made for such a lugubrious couple, together even in their last moments. Tsume, quite literally the lone wolf, even found his place in this myriad of characters and emotions. Kiba, the leader, the chosen one, the white wolf who opened the door to paradise, is as enigmatic as ever. A borderline stereotypical hero, saved by the hues and tints of his characters that really shone through his interactions with Cheza and the rest of the wolves.
By the end of the series, I couldn’t help but feel a tremendous love for each and every one of these people. Even the ‘villains’ of the series, Jagara and Darcia, did everything out of love. Such a paralyzing and agonizing scream he gave when Darcia found his dear Harmona dead. Each of these people, their personalities just stay with you. It felt like if I reached out far enough, I could feel them.
The last four episode, simply, were epic. One of the most endearing and fulfilling endings I’ve seen. Everything I wanted to happen, happened. Toboe’s death really struck a chord, excruciatingly painful chord. He was such a sweet kid, those lively and cheery eyes, how he had grown over the course of their journey. Tsume’s reaction was even worse. Ever since the first few episodes, I could feel a certain friendship between the two. I bit my finger really hard trying not to cry, but I couldn’t help it. Watching everyone die so close to finding paradise was the most horrendous, tragic and emotional rehabilitating experience. But you know, you know in the back of your head, Kiba’s going to open paradise and they’re bound to see each other again when the world’s reborn.
And, what do you know? That’s basically what happened. Paradise is the world as we know it. City streets sleek with rain, motorcycles and car, hamburgers and fast food, little kittens in alleyways, Paradise. That last shot of Kiba running gave me such a sense of conclusion and comfort. Despite being just a little abrupt, I would’ve loved to stay in Paradise for a while longer, loved to see a shot of Blue and the old man, Hubb and Cher, I loved the ending anyways. Like Kiba said, a future lies in Paradise.
Wolf’s Rain is like snow in New York, light and sparing, melts on contact, never sticking, leaves but a faint impression and a craving for more, like the cool and delicate kiss of a snowflake, ephemeral. Elegiac and profound, the journey for paradise, the complexities and shades of each character, the mesmerizing and haunting soundtrack, the fluid animation were perfect ingredients for a legend. For a moment, just for a moment, you think you’d found paradise, too.
Or, Several reasons why I love life… · 13 August 2007
You know, yeah, I just finished Wolf’s Rain…I’m going to piece together my words later because, as always, I’m having a bit of a hard time dissecting my feelings…Christ, that was one helluva trip…
Darker Than Black – Speculations and thoughts with only seven episodes left · 10 August 2007
lacking words to describe this….
I dug that up somewhere on the web and it made me wonder why Pizza Hut isn’t as cool in America as it is overseas. I mean, if American Pizza Hut started endorsing and advertising anime, more specifically Darker Than Back, I’m theirs. I’ll buy their pizza every day for the rest of my life and risk obesity, high cholesterol and heart attack.
The more I think about it, the more I see Darker Than Black as a mournful reflection of human existence. Painfully bleak and stark is the world in which our protagonists live. As if some divine power bequeathed the world punishment, humanity is fated to suffer for its follies and mistakes, forever searching for redemption and resolution that’s just out of reach. It’s an inexpressibly depressing existence, every day to be reminded of past grievances just by looking up at the night sky and knowing that it’s an illusion.
Darker Than Black, in my mind, is first and foremost a story about people, the science fiction and action as a guise for something more profound and insightful. This goes back to the first, and the best, Shrek movie, but if Darker Than Black were comparable to an onion or a parfait, beneath the layers of gritty action, smooth animation and gorgeous music lies the essence of the show, the characters. The characters make the story. Each arc tells the story of a particular individual and, at times, the only relation they have to each other is Hei’s involvement. It’s the bi-episodic glimpses in the tragedies, sorrows and pains of people, the fragility of their lives, the weight of regret and their own journeys to find an answer that makes Darker Than Black genius.
In this ocean of conflicted individuals there is Hei, the enigmatic contractor (with some very un-contractor like qualities) searching for his sister and, subsequently, his own redemption. There’s something so cryptic and haunting about Hei as a character. His characteristic gaze is so eerie and stoic, something I can’t quite place about the way he looks at everything.
New Layout! · 10 August 2007
Decided to change my layout on a whim, I’m not sure why. The old layout was actually fine, I just felt like I needed something different. I didn’t do a lot to the new one, just a new header and some color changes. I found the picture on Advancedanime.com and cropped it. The header is a bit too small and it cut out the pretty clouds and the fence in the back, as well as her umbrella, but enough of her fit so that it looked alright. I tried to go for the rotating header thing but it didn’t really work out well…
Anyhow! I just finished torrenting Claymore 19, not sure if I want to watch it now. I’m still preoccupied with identifying armored fighting vehicles. I’m not very knowledgable when it comes to AFVs, but I know enough about tanks to have a non-existent shot at winning. Five volumes of manga is hard to pass up, even if the contest were about nuclear physics, I’ll take it up. My fascination with the second world war is completely useless, until now! And my mother told me my hobbies were pointless wastes of time.
And, yes, sometime later I’m going to get around to finishing my post about DtB. That last arc’s been on my mind a lot, the series as a whole has been on mind a lot. I also started watching Toward the Terra. I found the first six episodes on Veoh.com. Episode seven is missing in action. Episode eight took a million years to torrent. Episode nine is stuck at 80% and refuses to move. Why is it so hard to find the torrents?! I already have a lot to say about the first six episodes and I’m itching to see the rest, but why must it take so long? My heart weeps.
Alright, well, there you have it, new layout. Heh.
Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann – Episode 19 · 7 August 2007
Another screenshot-less post of ramblings…Here goes.
Despair, despair is a good word, a very good word to describe everything in general. I don’t know anymore, I’m just sitting here, looking at it and it’s making me feel incredibly depressed. This entire episode felt so hopeless, so futile and in the end when Simon hands over the core drill, it was liking falling into a giant, bottomless pit of despair. It just felt so empty, such despair! Right about now I’m ready to whip out a rope, hop the suicide bandwagon with Itoshiki, and hang myself.
The biggest thing bothering me is Rossiu. I’m beginning to dislike him, greatly. His actions, no matter how logical and well planned, bother me. I’m harboring severe animosity towards his character and everything about him. His eyebrows, his hair, the way he looks at people. The jail cell scene with Simon and him got me thinking. Both of them are claiming that neither changed and neither understands where the other is coming from. The truth of the matter, from my point of view, is that neither of them changed, at all. Rossiu, as Simon pointed out, is starting to look like his old village leader and Simon is practically the embodiment of Kamina. So, what do we have here? A clash of ideals? Mentalities? Misunderstanding, possibly? The hopeless dreamer against the methodical planner?
What really, I guess, is the source of my frustration, is that up to this point, Gurren Lagann rode on pure hope. Every single episode, since the very first, it was all a matter of faith, of believing that it was possible. Believe in me, who believes in you. And I whole heartedly believed in Kamina, Simon, Nia, everyone in the Dai Gurren Brigade. What I’m having trouble with now is believing in Rossiu. Maybe it’s the way he does things, which is reminding me indecently of a government on the path to corruption. There’s just something very, very, very, very, very wrong with it all. The arrest, the execution, the broadcast, everything! This is not the way it’s supposed to be! Or am I just in denial? Am I purposefully being biased towards Simon? Commander Rossiu cannot be the center of humanity! It’s just not right! The bureaucratic jerk cannot be the center of humanity!!
Is this really the end of, almost, everything? Am I crazy? Because maybe the only reason I’m having a hard time accepting Rossiu is that I honestly believe that Simon will save the day. I don’t know how, I don’t know why, I don’t even really care, but I know that Simon, miracle or no miracle, will save stop the Anti-Spiral guys, save Nia and then finally, live happily ever after. Is that it? Do I dislike Rossiu because he fails to believe in Simon? Because he worries too much and that maybe sometimes all you need is just to have faith? Is having faith such a terrible thing? Is it that frightening to not be in control? If this show has taught me anything, it’s to believe. It sounds so damn cheesy and trite, but I feel like shaking someone by the collar and strangling them. Why the hell is all of this happening?!
There are just so many things going, especially with that Kinon-Rossiu-Kittan subplot at the very end. Looks like Kittan is going to get a bit of screen time next episode. I’m really glad there’s a character in the show who reflects, partially, my wishful thinking that someone will stand up to Rossiu, knock some sense into him and set him on the right path. I highly doubt Kittan will do any of that, but there’s something to Kittan’s character that makes him a perfect rebel. He’s loud mouthed, single minded and aggressive. I’m really hoping his desperation does something to the rest of the cast.
Also, I’m really looking forward to seeing Viral and Simon in jail. Putting the two of them together at this point is like a bad chemistry experiment gone wrong, but ridiculously the end result will brilliant. Perhaps they’ll become partners in crime and escape from jail, or maybe Simon will suffer an epiphany of sorts. Come what may, I’m looking forward to seeing the interaction between the two.
And, on a bittersweet note, Nia still has her ring! There’s hope for the future of humanity! That’s only one thing cheerful about the whole episode. I understand what the Laughing Fool meant in his comment, I need episode twenty. I have no idea what’s going to happen. One thing I will say, the last arc, no matter what, will be Simon’s. The first arc was Kamina’s, second was Nia’s, the current arc is Rossiu’s and without a doubt, that last arc is going to be Simon’s. With that said, I hope both Simon and Rossiu realize the error of their ways, insert some truth and reconciliation (ha, Halo level) and save the planet.
Simply put: I. need. episode. twenty.
Baccano! – Episode 1 · 6 August 2007
Baccano! is probably the only series I truly looked forward to this summer, though I did step into a couple of unexpected series, Sayonaray Zetsubou Sensei and possibly Zombie Loan. It just so happens it was the show airing last. If feels like I’ve waited ages to watch Baccano! Baccano! apparently means ‘stupid noise’. There are so many characters, I’m running out of fingers and toes to keep up with them and it’s the first episode! It looks so complicated, but I’m loving it, I want more stupid commotion!
Opening “Gun’s&Roses”by Paradise Lunch The opening is instrumental and it features the majority of cast. The majority I say, but from the looks of it, they may just be the tip of the iceberg.The way the animation flows from one character to the other in a seemingly random process (Ennis caught in the reflection of a wine bottle) captures perfectly the chaotic story of the show. I really like the colors and font. I really want to make a header with that font. Gah!