Nyaa! The world as I see it. =P

Alex Flynn's Beastly: Of Orchids and Roses the power of transformation

2012-03-03T15:16:00.000-08:00

One thing those who know me can say is I don't always take to adaptaions of stories well. However, when it comes to fairy tales and other archtyple stories its a different matter entirely. Anyone who has studied fairy tales, folk lore and myth know that you can find similar tales all over the world in many differnt forms. So you can find a form of Beauty and the Beast or even of cinderella in many different forms.

The beast/animal husband tales would be the category in the case of beauty and the beast whose form in America we know best from a french version of the tale. However, the oldest form of the tale actually comes from the tale of Cupid and Psyche. I haven't read this story in years so I can't recall all the details but Psyche not knowing she was given to the god Cupid for she is forbidden to look upon him. Her jealous sisters convince her shes married to a monster and so she sneaks a peak to see of course her gorgous husband and ends up having to go on a quest in order to get to be with him again. A really intresting version of that tale I would recommend would be C. S. Lewis's Until We have Faces which is told from the sisters perspective.

Now Beastly is a retelling of the beauty and the beast story told from the perspective of the beast, an arrogant cocky young man by the name of Kyle Kingsbury. The novel is very different from the movie version, which I felt was lacking and very dark and choppy. The novel has more of that fairy tale charm to it but with modern trappings. While reading it you could tell that the author did indeed read many many many versions of the tale and understood the heart of the beast. In the letter from the author at the end of the book Alex Flynn stated that she had wanted to deal with the issues that had bothered her most about all the versions of the story: the fact that Beauties father gives his daughter away to save himself. She also goes on to say how she contemplated the feelings of the beast as well as how basically the story is a story of two abandonned young people who fall in love. I feel that her novel did adress all there things and well.

You see how both Kyle and Lindy--aka Beauty--are abandonned by their fathers. Kyle because he can't deal with the curse and was afraid it would make him look bad; and Lindy because her father valued drugs and himself more. In both cases the fathers are selfish and do self serving things at the expense of their children. You can see both are lonley having lived in loveless family situations.

However, the most important issue in these types of stories is transformation. The charachter developement is very good. Truely Kyle is transformed as the story progresses; not just physically but inwardly. In the begining he was physically beautiful but ugly on the inside. However, the beast isn't the only transformation in the story. The witch, Kendra, when she first appears to him is in an unattractive form. And kyle decides to be cruel to her without knowing who she really is. When she places the curse on him though she transforms into a more beautiful form and he's like "wow your hot." Another intresting thing is that other tales of transformation are adressed through this online support group. There's The Little Mermaid, the Frog Prince, and the Tale of Red Rose and Snow White (not the snow white and the seven dwarfs one) You can read the last tale here: http://www.authorama.com/grimms-fairy-tales-63.html . Funny enough the leader of the support groups for transformed persons name is Chris Anderson.

There are lots of literary refrences in this book as well. The charachters discuss Jane Eyre, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, and many many other great literary works that have similar themes of someone hiding away from the world because they are ugly, or love overcoming all. There is definetly a theme in the books mentioned of what is true ugliness and what is true beauty. You see the beautiful people taking advantage becaue they are and those who are not marginalized. And Beastly itself is about what is true beauty.

Which brings me to Orchids and Roses as symbols. Both happen to be my favorite flowers. Funny enough both have culinary uses. Vanilla beans come from Orchids while roses you can eat the blossoms as well as the rose hip. But as symbols in the story they are intresting. The Orchid is described as being "a proud flower." And yes orchids are expensive and exoctic looking. Their scent sometimes you have to be at the right angle to catch and they are very delicate and in some ways unreal looking. And it is the snobbish girlfriend Slone who is stuck on appearances who desires an orchid at the begining. Kendra, the witch, when invited to the dance requests a simple plain white rose. Roses have a simple beauty and a lovely calming scent. A white rose symbolizes purity. When Kyle is given the rose by his maid Magda he is angry. His date even shuns it. And thats how he meets Lindy and gives her the rose. And that one act of kindness is why the witch takes pity on him. The whole novel is filled with the symbolism of roses. In a way its the roses that make the story move and transform Kyle. Two petels that fall from the flower are his time to find true love. He builds a rose garden and finds something to love in their beauty. As he looks after them he becomes kinder. In fact the roses bring him and Lindy together: firstly at the dance he gave her the shunned rose; her father broke into his rose gardern hurting some roses; the roses in the garden bring them closer to each other. When discussing the sonnets, I believe Shakespheres 54, they discuss how the roses symbolized truth. And in the story I believe this is true. In fact in the end when they profess their love and his true form is returned the room was filled with the scent of roses and an abundance of flower petals surrounded him. So in a way it was the truth, purity, and beauty of the roses that striped away the ugliness of Kyles heart and soul and lead him to love.

I really enjoyed this book and would like to try a few more of the moderen versions of fairy tale Alex Flynn has written. The only issue I had was that in a book written for young adults there are a few perverted places and an implied sex scene. I could have really done without Slone groping Kyle at the school dance. But if you can get past those few scenes which are just a little worse then what i saw when I read Balzac's The Ass's Skin then you should be fine and its worth the time.

The Impermance of Sakura and Samurai: Hakuoki Demon of the Fleeting Blossom

2012-02-24T13:11:00.000-08:00

The Sakura blossom was a symbol of the Samurai representing how fleeting life is. They bloom breifly and wither away. The imagry of the fleeting blossom brings to mind tragic heroic figiures like Yamato Takeru, Minamoto no Kuro Yoshitsune, and of course the Shinsengumi; figures who shone brillantly and were cut down in the end. Hakuoki is a game that starts as the Shinsengumi reaches the peak of their glory and goes on to show their tragic fall.

So far i've only gottan game overs in Hakuoki, however, unlike in most games I've played where it only brings frustration, in Hakuoki i find them to be intresting and varied. Instead of saying oh game over and not giving you a conclusion of sorts you get an ending. Some beautifully tragic and satisfying, some tragic and leaving you feel empty and robbed, and some tragic and gruesome leaving you criging. The endings are varied and intresting depending on your choices.

Actually I have to say i find the endings more satisfying then some of the story itself which at times i found to be bland or cheesy in places. At times the game would skip months of time and give you a brief explanation which I'd have rather have had some interaction with. But for the most part I'm satisfied with the game. It's intresting to see how differently one choice you make can make the enitre game. It's intresting to see all sides of what happened to the Shinsengumi. And all the different options the heroine has for the future.

It's intresting how they take history and weave it with a supernatural theme. The next part will contain spoilers. The shinsengumi who as history knows were used and then eventually abanndoned by the Shogunate were pretty tragic. But in the game not only were they loyal samurai working to protext Kyoto for the Shogun but they were being experimented on using western medicine. So you have monsters amoung the shinsengumi, who are stornger, heal faster, and harder to kill. The only problem is that theirs bad side effects. First off they are sensitive to sunlight and secondly they slowly loose to the madness of bloodlust. The heroines father is the one who admistered the drugs to the men. RPG fan's review described them as Zombies in their review. But after playing I'd say I don't think they are quite zombies. They have a thirst for blood, silver injures them as well as holy weapons, and they have a weakness to the sun. Sounds more like vampires to me. In the game a man from the demon race, Kazama calls the Fury --as the men who were experimented on were called--fake demons.

Yes the Fury are not the only non-human players. The demon race are also a player. In fact the heroine is also not human but a pure blood demon. They don't like to get involved in human affairs but they were persicuted and some ended up helping on both sides. For revenge or to advance their own agendas. Depending on what path you take what happens with the Fury and Demons can vary in intresting ways.

The only problem with the game is the soundtrack as I mentioned before. The music is annoying and there isn't a lot of variation. The only reason not to just hit the mute button is the wonderful voice acting. Which is very very good. I just with the music was better.

Overall I think this is a good game. It has a lot of replay value since so many things are variable, though some key scenes remain intact you can have vastly different experiences each time you go through. Even though i haven't managed to get a good ending yet--I'm wondering exactly what a good ending is considering how most of the love intrests died historically as well as the fact that they furies have a vital weakness that doesn't seem to lend itsef to a happy ending. None-the-less if i had been looking for a happy ending I definetly wouldn't be playing a game about the Shinsengumi thats for certain. For the Shinsengumi were just like a Fleeting blossom. They bloomed and then faded away.

Hakuoki: Shinsengumi and Zombies oh my

2012-02-19T12:35:00.000-08:00

So yesterday I recieved my copy of Hakuoki: Demon of the Fleeting Blossom limited edition. This is a Otome Visual Novel or the dating sim type. So basically its a game made for girls thats like those choose your own adventure books. This takes place in the Bakumatsu starting in the year 1854, so one year after the arrival of Commadore Perry in Japan. Since I know the history of the period--I did write my seinor thesis on the Bakumatsu--I have had no issues with understanding the time setting. Now for people who have never studied the time period the game has a nice little handy encyclopedia. As you go through the game you unlock entries and so you can save your game and go look at it in your leisure time.

Besides there being Zombies the history part looks good to me so far. The premise at the begining of a girl desgiesing herself as a boy and ending up with the shinsengumi reminds me a bit of the Kaze Hikaru manga. However, its also a bit reminisent of Peacemaker Kurogane. In a way its like Chizuru takes the place of Ichimura Tetsunosuke--who is an actual historical figure not just fiction--since shes told to be a page to Hijikata Toshio. However, her role is vastly different from the main charachters of both manga series i mentioned. We have a girl who is searching for her missing father who is a doctor. When in Kyoto she is accosted by some Ronin who want her kodachi. She is saved but only momentarily by some zombies who then attack her. Okita and Saito save her just in time but since shes a witness to some kind of secret they need to decide what to do with her. So thinking shes a boy they are planing to kill her, but on learning shes a girl and the daughter of the man they are looking for they decide to help her. They said her father was loyal to the Shogun and that he disappeared.

The story is very intresting. Even though you don't see any graphically violent images. The description of the fights and how the blade slices the bodies is enough to make you cringe. Plus theres a splat sound everytime you get to a part of the text where someone is cut down. I don't think the text is bad. Its a nice clear text. Its dark brown on a sandy colored background. The still images are very beautiful. Though most of the time unless theres a coversation your looking at just surrounding images, for instace a room, or a vauge crowded street. The music on the other hand is really lame. It's probably one of the worst game soundtracks i've heard in a while.

Some intresting features are that you can actually set it to auto advance the text. That way you can just sit back and rest your hands until you have to make a descison. This eliminates a lot of button pushing. Since the PSP isn't exaclty the most comfortable thing to hold this is a great option.

So I did get the limited edition. The artbook is defintely one of the better ones I've gottan. Its soft cover, but compared to Atllier Totori, whose art book was tiny and you couldn't read the text, this one is far supiror. its much thicker and a bit larger then totoris. Actually its thicker then the one that came with the Limited edition for FFXIII-2, and Fate/Extra as well. Though i have no complaints about FFXIII-2 and Fate/Extra's limited editions. The soundtrack on the other hand didn't even come in a hard cover. It came in a paper slip cover. No soundtrack art, no soundtrack listings just a plain white paper slip cover with a clear plastic window so you can see the cd. The Cd itself has an intresting image on it, but the presentaion and storage of the Cd was a bit disapointing. It's like they put all the work into the art book and the OST was a side thought. Not that the music is all that great to begin with.

Overall, I think this game is great so far. I'm looking forward to getting the multiple endings and seeing how the Zombies tie into the story. And yup I'm aiming for Hijikata.

edit:
Egad! Yesterday since I was sick I took some codine cough syrup and I misread the date on the game. My brain went on vacation since I was so tierd. I should have realized the date was off since that was way too early for the shinsengumi to have even been formed. But the game takes place in 1864 which is 11 years after the arrival of Commodore Perry. Ok now its time to take some more medicine.

Final Fantasy XIII-2: that moogle is uber cute

2012-02-09T17:43:00.000-08:00

So anyone who played Final Fantasy XIII knows how anoying it was. Heck no deviation from the path, no NPC's, crappy battle system, and no towns or shops or whatever to explore until after like 50 hours of game play and then its just a dead world. Luckily I liked the story enough that I didn't find it a total waste of time. Though the scoreing on the battle system was really disheartening heh.

I purchased the Collectors edition of Final Fantasy XIII-2. Its really beautiful. It has a nice hard slip cover, and the hard covered booklet folds out. One side has the game, surprizingly the Xbox 360 version is one disk. Considering the first game was 4 disk I was very surprized. There is a pocket on the game disk side for game information. Then in the middle is the artbook with concept art. The print quality is really nice. Then the last section that folds out has the four disk sound track. And the music is really good as expected of a final fantasy game the sound track is beautiful. It has to be the nicest special edition game I've bought so far.

Final Fantasy XIII-2 is a big improvement. You get NPC's to talk to. The battle system is still the annoying paradim shift thing but its been tweeked. You have more freedom of movement instead of beening herded along the railroad track. So you can go back and forth to times you've been before as well as side quest missions you can pick up from the begining. I like how you have the option to make the text bigger. Plus theres a section called the beginers guide which tells the whole stroy from the first game. Also when you continue from a saved game file it starts out like some tv show "the story so far . . ." and theres a breif explanation and some action scenes. I see this as a great feature for those time when you get annoyed and put a game aside for 2 months to play something else and then you come back and know whats happening still. Unfortunately there is no bonus from having a saved completed FFXIII game to carry over the hard work from the first game. But I don't really thing the normal mode is all that hard really. One intresting thing is the cinimatic actions. Where you push the buttons to make the scene go a certain way in a battle scene. Or where you can determine the conversation, it gives you a bit more control.

One thing to remeber is there are no save points really. You can save in the time gate, you have auto save, and you can save in the start menu when you pause in a lot of places even in the middle of a dungeon. So unlike in the first game you have lots of places to save.

Now the story takes place 3 years after the end of the last game. However, things are strange. No one remebers that Lighting was with them at the end and even gave her blessings to Serah and Snow to get married. Everyone thinks that she also along with Vanille and Fang is holding up Cacoon. Only Serah remebers. She has a vision of Lighting fighting Caias is Valhara and of Noel meeting her and being sent to her. And it turns out its real. Noel is a time traveler from the future, where he's the last living human and he travels back in time inorder to change that fate. On meeting Lightning she sends him to fetch Serah who will help him. So basically its lots of time travel. heh.

Its intresting how its all tied together, plus you get to revist places that you see in the last game. I'm only about 6 hours in. So far I really think its intresting. Though i had some trouble reading some of the text in the menu even though I now have a 32 inch HDTV as oppssed to the 26 inch ancient thing I used to have. I couldn't read the menus at all on that thing. But on my new tv some of its hard to read still. I'm really liking this much more then the first game so far. Once I finish i'll give my final impressions. For now I'm going to play and enjoy the beautiful world and the cute bishonen Noel.

A Ghost in the Machine: Fate/Extra when NPC's become self aware

2012-01-01T19:31:00.000-08:00

So I had to get a new PSP so I could play this one. My old one decided to not work properly. The Fate series is interesting. The original game--which I have not played--Fate/Stay Night, was a erotic game by Type Moon. How I came across the series was the anime of the sme name which was more toned down. The story revolves around 7 masters who have a servant who is a Legendary Soul belonging to one of 7 classes for instance Saber, Archer, and Rider. These masters are Magi who are fighting a war for the right to hold the grail. But this isn't the Holy Grail of Jesus but something more sinister. The main charachter Emiya accidently stumbled upon the war only to find himself becomeing a master.

Now the Fate/Extra is a bit different. The game takes place. in an alternate digital world. You start off in a school where the students are seeing that something isn't right. There are disapearances, things seem like they are scripted, and there are issues with peoples memories. For instance not knowing anything outside of being in that school. It turns out that this is a digital world where the canidates for masters had their memories erased as a test. And the only way out of this sinister game is to win or death.

The battle system isn't too exciting or anything. Its rock paper sissor style. And the boss for each week is way harder then any of the things you fight to level. I'm only into the 2nd week of the eliminations. But the enemies are sparce and you have to wait for them to regenerate if you want to level much. Also, you need to be very careful to get all the information you can. However, its very easy to miss something by not following the correct sequence to get the information. You need this to pass the week. Without it you can't find the enemy servants true identiy and pass the section.

I only recommend this game if you are famillar with the Fate series. It's an intrsting game with an intresting story but it's not something you can fully enjoy without the rest. The game is littered with charachters from the orginal story as well as hearing some talk about situations from it as well. If you want a game with similar themes of a life or death game that you can't escape with a better story that is stand alone I'd recommend The World Ends With You. Plus the battle system is more fun and engaging though it can be hand hell. Fate/Extra is defiently intresting so as a fan of the Fate series I am enjoying it. Now i just need to beat the sucker.

The 4th day of Christmas

2011-12-28T13:11:00.000-08:00

How many people amoung us today actually know the true meaningof the 12 days of christmas or the origins of many traditions surrounding Christmas? I have to say not a lot. The 12 days of Christmas refers to the 12 day celebration starting on December 25th and ending with the Feast of the Epiphany. Which according to the Western Church--not the Orthodox church who celebrate the Ephaniy as being connected to the Wedding of Canna where Jesus turned water into wine--is the day celebrating the arrival of the Magi or three wise men from the east to pay homage to Jesus after his birth.

Now according to my world History Professor at Humboldt State university, the time of Jesus birth and December 25th are not possible. For one thing the Roman census was not held at that time of year. And the reason for Joseph and Mary going to Bethlehem was for the census. But why do we celebrate on that day? Well this is because the church in order to bring Pagan cultures into the fold would adjust things to align with Pagan holidays and thing. Most people may not realize it but Christmas and its symbols are traditions are littered with Pangan things.

December 25th was the feast of Invictus Du Sol, the Invincable sun. Who over coming death and darkness was reborn. Then you have the feast of Saternallia which was a feast lasting several days. Where you have the lower classes going from door to door being given food and being treated like welcome guests. you also have mummers. This is the pagan origins of the 12 days of Christmas. In fact the caroling from door to door as well as mummers doing skits comes from this as well as giving presents to each other. Saternaillia is one of the major influences of christmas.

Christams trees, wreaths, and yule logs are also of Pagan origins. Though these ones are not from the meditranian but from the norse and druids. They also had winter festivals which were borrowed from.

The fact is that many of our Christian holidays are filled with nonchristian things. In fact Christmas wasn't even widely celebrated for centuries and was very controversial because of the Pagan elements. I feel that its important to know what your doing. So we should understand where these traditions come from. Yes i feel that it is good to celebrate the birth of Christ but on the other hand I am wary about some of these things.

The joys of a toy covered tree through the eyes of a cat

2011-12-11T12:12:00.000-08:00

Cats are wonderful little inquisitve creatures. And when Christmas season comes all of a sudden they find themselves faced with the ultimate toy!!! A fully decorated Christmas tree. Not only is it a real live tree but it is full of all kinds of goodies. The only thing is they keep getting in trouble for playing with it. heh. I know my famillies cats not only try to play with the ornaments but have even been known to unwrap gifts as well as climb the tree heh. This can be fun or annoying but the thing is that depending on what your cat is doing it can also be a danger. In my familly we do not use tinsle since it can be a danger if one of the kitties desides to eat it. And we try to place the ornaments high enough that they can't reach. We also try to watch them to make sure no one is chewing on electrical cords or anything else they shouldn't. A christmas tree is like a kitty paradise but there are sharks in the water. Or maybe thats stonefish in the sand. Since the items don't attack the cat but vise verca. Christmas is fun and kitties are fun. My 21 year old cat loves to sit under the tree and sniff it. Shes an old house cat whose probley going wow they brought in a nice tree for me. Well lets hope all the cat lovers have a good christmas with their cats. =)

It's the Christmas season lets spread hate and discontent

2011-11-27T11:55:00.000-08:00

Christmas season is here again. Every year though we see the commercialization. lets face it American Christmas has been heavily commercialized as long as all of us can remeber. Since at least the 30's where you get songs like Rudolph the rednose reigndeer coming out of a store campaign. And this commercialization irritates some people so much that they forget what is truely important about the season. Sure buisness's are out to earn a buck but why do you want to make yourself a hypocrit by acting in an unchristian manner simply because others are cuaght up in the brightlights and glamor or a commercialized holiday. Rather you should set a positive example.

We should do our best to remeber what Christmas is about for Christians instead of getting pissed at what others are doing. Jesus said to love not to hate. If you feel yourself getting irritated at how the holiday is treated you need to go pray. Pray for yourself and pray for everyone else. You should go volenteer or donate to help the needy as well. Just do your best to show what Christmas should be instead of letting what Christmas shouldn't be cause you to be acting in ways you shouldn't.

Brawling ove dollar snowglobes is ridiculous

2011-11-26T12:37:00.000-08:00

Every year the day that retail workers dread the most comes: Black Friday. Buyers come freanzied because of limited deals and act like maniacs. It's a day when in order to get the best deals people leave their humanity behind. You see people brawling over dollar snowglobes, and even injuring or killing others to get a good deal. Just think back to a few years ago when shoppers at walmart crushed a Walmart Accosiate to death as well as trampling a pregnant women. Or even this year when a Woman Pepper Sprayed others so she could get what she wanted. It's shameful. Every year some atrocity makes it on the news about how people behaved like animals fighting over a piece of meat. I can't believe people take their small children out into stores with things like that happening. Black Friday is called that because the retail workers started calling it that becuase of how the shoppers act that day. It's scary, it's brutal, it's barbaric. I've heard all kinds of horror stories about people fighting over strange things. Personally I think that by offering limited timed deals like say less then 10 big screen tvs for a small price is encourageing people to act like frenzed pirannas going in for a bite. I believe such things should not be allowed since it only causes people to act in dangerous ways. Sure sales are good but Black Friday is a case study on how vile humans can be.

Let us Give thanks

2011-11-22T13:33:00.000-08:00

Sure our economy is in dire straights. Sure we have a high unemplyment rate. And yes we have people protesting and useing the banks as scapegoats and yes indeed they are scapegoats, when if you look at the evidence which is all public record that the banks only followed laws passed by our governement to give out those risky loans, and the banks also pay a lot of taxs. Bank of America allow payed the federal goverment a billion dollars. While credit Unions paid no taxs since they are nonprofit orginizations. Also Banks do a lot in the community for small buisnesses and charity. I'll write someother time fully on the subject and explain why its the governements fault that the economy is as is and not the banks. At this time I wanted to say that even if things are bad we should still be thankful for what we have.

For instance I have no job, very little money, and I was denied Social Secerity Disability again. I was feeling really depressed after seeing what the judge said in the denial. But then I started thinking that people in my same situation many of them are homeless. My parents luckily are willing to help me out. SO I have a roof over my head, food to eat, a nice warm bed, and many other things people in my situation might not have if they don't have someone who can help them. Heck, I know some parents who have kicked their kids out once they turned 18 and told them to fend for themselves. If my parents were like that I would have ended up on the streets. So I thank God that its not so.

Secondly there are people out there who are way worse off. Yesterday, we met a women who won't be having thanksgiving dinner because her husband had a stroke and is out of work and she only works for tips. Then we saw at the supermarket that there was a cashier who had emergency surgury and had no sick leave or vacation days and her coworkers were taking donations to help her. Aparently she had gone home and had to go bak to the hospital and put on oxygen because of COPD. Then just driving down the street you see people with signs asking for food, work, or money because they have no one to help them. Sure people might say oh they probably are earning tons begging, or they willl just buy liquor, or they are lying. But how do we know thats true. The bible says "When you turn away the least of my brothers your turning away me." If they are lying thats between them and God. If we don't try to help them when they asked and they are in need thats between us and God.

I think that we all need to take a look and find things to be thankful for. No matter how bad things are there is something that we can say you know what things are not so bad. That everything will be ok. And if we can we should reach out to those who need help around us. Feed the hungry, give donations to help those in need. People are starving in towns all over america. Go to your food banks and give a donation and help someone else to have a good holiday season as well.

Trust and Betrayal: The World Ends with you a Tragedy in 3 ACTs, maybe heh

2011-10-24T13:41:00.000-07:00

Ok so I beat the game finally and I'm going to have lots of spoilers.

The World ends With you is a very intresting game and the main themes of the game are about people and their relationships with others as well as individulaity. Shibuya is represented as a place that has all kinds of ideas and different people. It's a place of indivuality and self expression. But none the less every person is an island encompassing their own world. And Neku Sakuraba is someone whose world extends no furthur then himself. When the game opens you see him walking along alone saying he doesn't need anyone that the only one needed in this world is himself. He's just a self-centered lonely kid who has no one who understands him and he doesn't even try to understand anyone else. He doesn't trust anyone. He doesn't even care.

As the game progresses though you see the Amnesiac Neku changing. The first one to start this change is Shiki, his first partner. At first he treats her like shes just some stalker who is annoying him. In fact when one of the reapers tells him they will let him out of the game if he kills her or he will get erased himself he decides its her or him. Luckily My Hanekoma comes and stops this saying its against the rules. Hanekoma tells him he needs to trust his partner. After that Neku starts to change. Neku is not a bad person really so he has a conscience. Realizing that what he did was wrong he makes up with shiki and starts to open his heart up as Shiki's past is revealed.

Shiki herself had expeienced betrayal in friendship and she was jealous of her friend. Before she died her friend had told her she had no future in design. This really hurt Shiki, it was her dream to be a designer like her friend Eri. But then it turns out that Eri was only trying to tell her that she was talented with sewing that she had the ability to bring the designs to life. As Shiki heals her heart of her jealousy and realizes that Eri was only pointing out her true talent Shiki is also helping Neku.

In fact she becomes so important to him that when he gets put back into the game after the 7th day she becomes his entrence fee. This shows that his world has expanded that no longer is he only caring about himself. So now he's fighting for not only his life but Shiki's life.

Hanekoma is an intresting charachter. He is actually the artist CAT who Neku admires though you don't learn that till later in the game. His advice to Neku makes him think. he tells Neku enjoy the moment. Expand your world. Trust your partner. He helps Neku see that the world ends with you however in order to expand your world you need to reach out to others. You can't fully understand anyone but you can try and in doing so your world expands. Hanekoma is like a guide to Neku.

Another charachter who helps Neku Grow is Beat. Beat who was partnered with his sister initially is very simple minded. He ends up becoming a reaper but in the 3rd round becomes a player again to help Neku when no other players are in the game but Neku. Beat feels bad about causing his sisters death and wants to change her fate. And even though he hated Neku at first as neku changed they become friends.

His secong partner was Joshua, a secretive and sly charatcher who seems very untrustworthy. A guy who says he wants to jack Shibuya. Someone who doesn't seem like a normal player. Someone who it turns out even killed Neku. Neku suspects him at first but then is convinced that the Reaper Minamimoto was the one who killed him. In fact he even makes neku think he died to save him on the 7th day as partners. However, this is all a trick. Joshua who is rally the Composer tricks Neku and makes him feel like he's found someone who understand him. Even though he's changed himself and no longer felt like you don't need other people he still feels like he's found a friend. It was all a game between the Conductor and the composer. Neku was killed by Joshua to be his representative.

Neku who had not trusted anyone who had shut himself off from the world had finally opened his heart up to others and seen their value. The truth was he was being used by the Composer. He was murdered and made to suffer all for a bet. In the end Neku is the one who is hurt. To trust only to be betrayed by someone he thought was his friend. In the end Beat, Rhyme, neku and Shiki get their lives back. But Neku has a new scar in his heart. His last lines are I won't forgive you. but i trust you. And now I'm not alone anymore I have friends. Even though he was lied to and betrayed he's much stonger then he was because he's learned to trust others. He has people to support him. Even though he's been betrayed he chooses to still believe that Joshua will allow Shibuya to continue with its cacaphony or ideas with its clashes and battles to be the most fashionable. So it's not really a tragedy becasue Neku is transformed into a better person. In fact Shiki, Beat and Neku are all three transformed. The problems that were plauging them before are all delt with in the UG just by working them out together.

Are they out to tourture us or what?

2011-10-15T12:09:00.000-07:00

So today i was talking to Jessica when she brought up a good point. "Do the game developers actuallly play the games to see how annoying something is before selling it?" It's true. The World ends with you has very few songs that play as you walk around and fight battles, though as you progress from one day to the next more are added, but for the first part of the game you pretty much hear the same songs over and over and over again till its stuck in your head for a week. Not that the sound track is bad but its annoying. Then in Birth by Sleep the way to level up your attacks is an annoying mini game which reminds me of a board game. Sorry to say but I hate board games with a passion. Yet in Birth by Sleep you need to spend hours and hours on the command board leveling your attacks up or you'll be in trouble. It's tedious and annoying. Then in Xenosaga 2 there is one mission where you have to pay off this debt but the problem is its not easy to get currency in this game so it takes forever to do if you have the patience. Then lets get Atellier Rorona, the time element on the game along with balencing your alchemy, mission, relationships, adventuring and reputation in town is extremely stressful. Considering everything you do subtracks from your days you have to manage your time properly and that can be very very tedious thank goodness in the next game they made it less stressful. There are so many games where they put in tedious exercise for players or add in annoying elements. Sure I love the games I mentioned above but they are definetly in no ways perfect. Maybe the developers do know they are annoying elements or maybe they themselves think those are fun. Who knows. All I can say is annoying elemnts or not I'm glad I bought the games.

Produce

2011-10-14T12:19:00.000-07:00

I have to say that the produce in the stores is often disappointing. It's usually underripe and flavorless. Vegtables and fruits are my favorite. Tomatoes are especially are an issue--though the ones my dad and grandpa bring in aren't much better unfortunately why can't they just leave them on the vine to redden up. Tuesday though I was at Fred Myers and I happened across some organic vine rippened tomatoes. Some of them looked kinda ugly but i picked 2 out that looked nice. I have to say those were the best tomatoes I have had in my entire life. They were sweet. They had such a lovely flavor. They complimented my bagel and cream cheese so well. They were also a very very deep red. These weren't your usual grocery store tomatoe. Even the usual vine ripened hothouse tomatoes we usually buy don't hold a candle to these babies. These Tomatoes were the tomatoes of my dreams. I really want to eat them again. I was acctually disappointed this morning when I found there was no more left. Alas. Hopefully i'll be able to find these ones again and convince my mom to buy them. They were so juicy and flavorful that the tomatoe i had with my bagel today was just a pale comparision. That Tomatoe was what tomatoes should be it was delisous.

Usagi Drop

2011-10-13T11:47:00.000-07:00

So I finally decided to finish reading Usagi Drop. Be warned I'm going to have spoilers. Prior to this i had only read the first chapter. It wasn't exactly the most exciting series. In fact i found it a bit on the boring side. Even so I read it hoping there would be some kind of developement. Once it finished with the elementary school area and skipped to the high school years it started skipping around back and forth to the middle school days. Where everything I had hoped would happen like Daikichi and Kouki's mom getting together and even Kouki and Rin getting together all fell through. Now that in itself would have been ok but the ending was a bit disturbing to me in some ways. When I started out I thought oh this will be the story of a man who takes in and raises a girl and then she grows up and gets married and so on. Sure this accessment was not entirely wrong. However, after Kouki gets tricked and forced to date the evil Akari sempai who then harrasses Rin and Rin's feelings for Kouki change, she starts to have feelings for Daikichi, who she thinks of as a father and who she thinks is her Nephew. After much drama Daikichi even tells her that he will think about it and give her an answer after she graduates high school. And when that happens he gives in totally to her even though he has mixed feelings saying that he can't refuse her anything. I find it a bit disturbing after raiseing her for 12 years he's going to marry her. What is this the tale of Genji? Just a bit more on the innocent side since unlike Genji Daikichi had not intended to make her his bride until kouki and her force the subject on him. Even if they weren't really blood related as it turns out he raised her as if she were his own daughter from the time she was 6. I would have been way happier with the ending if this Daikichi and Rin relationship developement had never happened. Even though you don't even see any kissing between them or anything, just a bit of discussion on the matter I was very displeased and felt it was morally wrong. Also i have to point out what would society think of the? The people around them in town and all know Rin as his daughter or at least that he's her guardian? Doesn't it look like he's a 40 year old man who took advantage of a young girl who was in his charge, even if its not so? Wouldn't he look like a child molester? I could see people looking at him and gossoping about it. In the end I'd say i'm very displeased.

Nihon e ikitai!!

2011-10-12T13:53:00.000-07:00

So yesterday there were news sources stating that Japan was going to be giving 10,000 tourist tickets to Japan. Right now though this is only a proposal needing budget approval. Though i myself am ready to jump on the bandwagon once if it is approved. The Japanese Tourist board has a notice saying they appreciate the intrest people have shown but right now it still needs to be approved. If this is approved this would be a great oppertunity to check out an amazing culture. The reson why they are suggesting such a thing is that the tourism took a big hit when the Fukushima Daiichi plant had its issues. People were afraid of the Radiation so tourist became afraid. So this is a big loss of income. So this proposal would be to invite in tourism. It has been a dream of mine to go to japan. I don't have much money but this would be a dream come true if I can go.

Twisted Brotherly Love Part 2

2011-10-11T14:11:00.000-07:00

So yes its more spoilers

So after reading chapter 29 of Blue Exorcist I thought I should say something else. I did mention how Vincent in Pandora Hearts hates himself I believe because Gilbert has to sacrifice so much for his sake. So much so that he wants to erase his existance. In fact he seeps himself into darkness for Gilberts sake. When he's fighting with Gilbert after he and Leo meet up with Oz, Alice and Gilbert after defecting to the Baskerville side overtly, he even tells Gilbert I did it all for your sake. Even though thats not something that pleases Gilbert. So back to Blue Exocist then, when Yukio is being tempted by the trator who reawakened the impure king Yukio says "I love and hate my brother, but I hate myself the most." He is like Vincent in this. Though Vincent is a pshcopath and Yukio isn't. So both charachters Hate themselves.

Ok so I think this is as far as i can go on this topic for now. Maybe once both mangas end I'll sit down and write out a paper on the subject with refrences and proper quotes. But for now its an intresting topic to contemplate. Will Vincent erase himself? Will Yukio join Vincent on the path of Darkness? All that has yet to be seen. I need to read more of Blue Exercist. I should see about picking up through vol 7 when I go to Seattle. Hopefully I can go soon. I really wish to see what will happen next and how the charachters will develope. Pandora hearts and Blue Exorsict as well as Nurarihyon no Mago are the three currently running mangas i'm most intrested in at the moment. And it's exciting to see how a good series developes.

Raindrops

2011-10-10T13:01:00.000-07:00

Rain is really lovely. Not only is it really pretty and peaceful to watch but it cleans the air. Because pollution stays in the troposphere--which is the part of the atmosphere we live in--for the most part--the exception being some clorine from CFC's which can get into the stratasphere--rain cleans the atmosphere up by washing the impurities from the air. Thats why smog problems in southen california are so much worse then what you find in the Pacific Northwest. The rain makes the air fresh and clean. It also makes the plants and trees nice and green. Southern California doesn't have the lush greenery of the Pacific northWest for the reason that it was little rain. Thats why Sothern California has lots of hills of Brown while Washington has lots of lush green Forest. So remember instead of complaining about the rain enjoy it. It cleans the air and greens the plants. heh. =)

Love the Sinner not the Sin

2011-10-09T12:15:00.000-07:00

I always think its a sad thing when you see hate messages like God hates Gays. It's a sad thing. My bible doesn't say anything of the sort. Yes it states that homosexuality is a sin yet no where does it state that God hates homosexuals. In fact the bible states we are supposed to love: love your enemy; love your neighbor; and so on. In fact when there was women who was to be stoned for adultury at one point and people asked jesus for advice he states "Let he without sin throw the first stone." And so she was saved. Jesus came to save the sinners. All of us are sinners in some way. It's part of being human. We shouldn't be standing around judging others does it not say "You will be judged as you judge." Instead we should be doing self examination not busy pointing fingers. We should show love and compassion and try to live upright lives as christians not being hate mongers. If someone is faltering down the path of Darkness we should be praying for their salvation not ourselves opening our hearts to darkness by hating. So instead of spreading hate and discontent and making Chrisitanity look bad by not living as we should we should spread love and compassion. By giving into hatred we are only falling off the path of rightousness.

Twisted Brotherly Love

2011-10-08T13:37:00.000-07:00

Alright I'm going to write some spoilers for Blue Exorcist and Pandora Hearts so be warned yo! I'll be focusing mostly on the manga versions of each.

Pandora Hearts and Blue Exorcist are two series which have a basis in older well known stories: Blue Exorcist being loosely based on Faust and Pandora hearts on Alice in Wonderland. Though they both have entirely different art and story telling styles they share some common themes. One of these themes is about the relationship between brothers. In both series you have a set of twins, A likeable older brother with a secretive younger brother. These younger brothers have very complicated feelings for their older brothers. They love them. They admire them. They hate them. They want to protect them. They would do anything for them.

Okamura Yukio and Vincent Nightray definetly love their elder brothers. In both cases the only blood relative they have is their brother. They have always been together since they were born. Though in the case of Gilbert and Vincent they were seperated for a time but were later reunited.

These younger brothers also admire their elder brothers. Yukio even though he is brilliant and talented admires his brother Rin because he is straightforward, kind, and able to get along with others well. He admires these qualities which he himself is unable to express. Even though people fear Rin's blue flames, the flames of Satan, they still are able to see that he is not evil but kind and a good friend. Yukio admires him because of this ability to draw people to him plus the fact that Rin always saved him from being bullid as well as encourageing his dreams. Rin would also sacrifice himself in order to help another person. Vincent also admires Gilbert. Gilbert is someone who sacrificed in order to protect his brother. Gilbert is a very loyal person who would sacrifice himself for others. Vincent sees his brothers kindness and admires him.

Yukio and Vincent even though they admire and love their brothers they also hate them. In part its the very reasons they admire them. Rin and Gilbert shine to brightly next to them overshadowing their younger brothers. Because of Rin having his demonic powers he was lavished with love and care by his adoptive father in order to foster a loving human heart. In contrast Yukio who did not have any powers was given strict training to protect Rin and become an exorcist. This lead to resentment. Rin gets all the love. While people flock to Rin, Yukio is feeling lonley. Vincent also resents his brightly shining brother. Vincent though feels that his brother is held back because of the fact that he has cursed red eyes and so Gilbert is pushed back from a normal life. He resents the fact that Gilbert is so kind. He resents that Gilbert has room in his heart for others besides him. Vincent just wants to monopolize Gilbert. Vincents heart is seeped in Darkness and loathing.

Yukio and Vincent would also do anything to protect their brothers. They would even betray their brothers in order to protect them. One of the strangest story lines in Japanese video games and manga would be the I love you so I betrayed you to protect you. These two younger brothers would both go so far for their brothers. Yukio I have felt is that type of charachter from the start. In the anime this does happen when their grandfather shows up and tricks Yukio into trying to destroy all the demons and spirits telling him they can turn Rin back into a human. I'm not sure about in the manga since I've only read through vol 5 so far. Now Vincent Nightray on the other hand kills people to protect Gilbert. He murders members of his adopted familly and anyone else who he thinks posses a threat to him. Vincent would sell his soul to save his brother. Both Yukio and Vincent would even hurt their brothers in order to save them. They wouldn't kill them but they would definetly harm them bodily if they thought it was for their own good. They see their elder brothers as ones who need to be protected from a world which would harm them.

In all both yukio and Vincent have complicated feelings for their brothers. In fact I would go so far to say they are both obsessed with their elder brothers. They love them but they hate them. They love them but they would hurt them if they think its for their beloved elder brothers good. In their obsessive love they not only go so far as to hurt their beloved but they would even destroy their very selfs. Vincent sees his very existance as a threat to his brother and wants to erase himself so he doesn't care how far he falls into the darkness. But I believe that Yukio may well follow his path as the series progress' if he doesn't change.

It's a Wonderful World part 2

2011-10-07T12:44:00.000-07:00

So after playing for a few more hours last night I mangaed to get more rank C battles then anything else and bunch of rank a, c, d, e here and there. So I am getting a better hang of it.

One thing I didn't mention before is that you have to do things like shopping, eating, use your cell phone. In fact intresting enough you have in the corner of you screen the time and signal information you would usually have on your cell phone. It's a bit funny though when they are like It's broad daylight and the time states 10pm in the corner since the real time is displayed for where you are, though i have to admit that at that time in Japan it is actually broad daylight. I once made a call there at that time and I believe it was the afternoon when I called. The shopping in intresting too. You go into different shops and as you brouse the items you make friends with the owners who ten reveal secret items or activate special atributes in items for you. There are Lolita shops and all kinds of different shops. Depending on how brave the charachter is you can eqip different clothes items. Shiki is way braver then Neku in this department. heh. The food items are intresting as well. Each food item is so many bites and charachters can eat so many bites a day. You go into say the Ramen shop or the hamburger shop and stock pile food items in your inventory. Then you equip in the food consumption spot what you want them to eat and then while you walk around and fight the noise your charachter digests the items and once digested it effects your stats and charachter synchronization. So you want to make sure to have them eat up.

Overall I have to say this is a strange but fun and intresting game. And yes it is a strange game heh. Strange isn't nessicarily bad. It's definetly unique and creative. The battle system takes some getting used to but its do able. It's a bit hard on your hands thougth after a while since the brunt of the weight of the system is on one hand and being controled by both hands simultaniously. Definetly a bit on the awkward side. I have small hands and carpel tunnel so after a while my hands start to hurt so can't really play too long. It's nice that you can save anywhere so as long as you save before a battle you will be fine even if the noise annihlates you so you don't have to go searching for a save point or worry about repeating long sections.

If your looking for something different this is definetly a must. You get a fun game taking place in Japans hip Shibuya shopping district that has an intresting albeit morbid story. heh.

It's a Wonderful World

2011-10-06T12:15:00.000-07:00

After watching the Kingdom Hearts Dream Drop Distance trailer and seeing the World Ends with you (original japanese title literally meaning Its a Wonderful World) crossover, I said you know i wonder what this game is like. When i had first read the premise I was like I don't know if I really want to play this game. Afterall its a game about a group of people who are dead and they have been choosen to play the reaper games in which they have to complete missions in order to win a chance to come back to life. That description didn't sound really appealing to me. However, after seeing the trailer for the new Kingdom Hearts game I thouht maybe it wasn't such a bad idea to look into this game. So I looked up some reviews of the game. The reviews and the trailer togerther plus a buy one get one half off game sale on amazon convinced me to try t he game.

I'm into the 3rd day of the reaper games. So i've been playing for about 2 hours total. First off the art is very very stylized. It has kind of a Urban graffiti feel to it. Even with that you can see this is defiently Nomura-sensei's charachter design. The music is good too. It's not a classical score really but pop music like. Though I have to say that you get to hear one song in particular so even though i like the song it gets a bit annoying after a while. Intresting enough the soundtrack is by the same composer who did Final Fantasy VII Crisis Core.

NOw for the story part. The Main charachter, Sakuraba Neku, is a antisocial guy who has amnesia. He wakes up and finds himself in the crosswalk in Shibuya and is confused. He discovers he has the ability to read peoples minds and that no one can hear him. Also there are strange creatures attacking him. A girl named Shiki comes and tells him the only way for them to survive is to become partners so he joins her and they defeat the creatures. She trys to convince him that they have been choosen as players in the Reapers games and that they have 7 days to do misions and to try to survive. Neku doesn't believe her and doesn't even want to be with other people. He takes some convincing. I have to say the story is actually more intresting then i thought. Players of the reaper games traped in Shibya fighting for their lives.

Now the battle system is different then anything else i've played and its a bit on the tricky side. I have mostly been ranked E and the highest i've mangaed is C for battle outcome. On the bottom scream you use the stylus to control Neku. On the top screan you have shiki, and you use the dpad or the buttons on the opposite side to control her actions. Now you also have to pass the puck between screans during battale to increase the finishing blow. And to do that you need to control the charachter who has it. Plus you need to watch both charachters health. It's a bit awkward. For one thing Shiki has an ai so when your controling Neku shes fine in part. But when controling shiki Neku is just standing there getting attacked. I think the battle system is going to take me time to get used to. At least i've worked out how to manage to unleash a combo attack.

One intresting feature of the game is that at one point in the game you get a function where you can turn your game off and while your away your Pins that you have equipped will level. You can do this for up to 7 days. So you just turn your game off and you can level your attacks up without doing anything. Also all the charachter information and stuff is controled through the cell phone

So overall I have to say the story is intresting and I'm looking forward to seeing what happens next. I wish i had picked this up earlier.

It's so dang pretty!

2011-10-05T11:58:00.000-07:00

So yesterday I recieved my copy of the Limited edition Bundle of Atellier Totori. First off I have to say I can't play the game yet since I don't have a PS3, but my sister said she would help me get one as my christmas present. So in December or Janauary i will. Now the bundle is really nice. It comes with an art book and the soundtrack. The previous Arland game Atellier Rorona only came with an art book. However that art book was hard cover and twice the size. The amount of pages was the same though. Totori's art book is soft cover and its about the same size as the game guide maybe a little bigger. Part of the text is in Japanese inside around the charachter sketches, its so tiny though its hard to read or else I would see how much i could understand. The soundtrack on the other hand is really lovely. It has the same type of feel as the other Atellier, and Ar Tonellico games i've played with a eastern and western style mix. The track that stood out most for me though was a beautiful poignant piece called Emotions and Memories. It was a lovely piano piece. I have to say i'm really happy with the extras even if the art books for the two games don't look good next to each other heh I'm still please. The art is beautiful. The music is fun though with an annoying track or 2 heh. Now I just have to wait so I can play the game.

Custard and Booze

2011-10-04T13:09:00.000-07:00

Custard is one of my favorite things in the world. I love creme brule, flan, baverian cream, creme anglais and anyother custard i've tried. i adore it. Today I decided to try to make Champagin custard cream. It was super easy which is the only reason i made it since i'm still ill. I was hoping it would be a nice filling for the cupcakes i'm planning to make when i'm well. But I think its to light and foamy. But it's really lovely with fresh berries. I used Asti and it has a really nice lovely delicate taste that contrasts nicely with the fresh strawberries I served it with.

Ame ga daisuki!

2011-10-03T11:31:00.000-07:00

It always amazes me how many people who live in the state of Washington are always complaining about the rain. It is the Pacific northwest and its nice and lush and green with forests. In order to keep those lovely forests you have to have the percipitation otherwise you would have what you have in souther california, lots of brown ugly hills. Not my cup of tea. Southern California is hot and ugly and it doesn't rain that much. So if the people here hate the rain they should do like i did but the opposite: they should move to southern california and enjoy the sun. I personally hate the sunny bright weather and thus I first moved to lovely Northern California and then on to Washington. I love the rain and the beautiful green forests. The air is cleaner since there are more plants and the rain is constantly washing the polutants from the air. Also it kind of reminds me of when i was a small child and lived in Wales. Personally i think if you hate the weaher where you live and your not in the millitary you should be able to change your location to a place that suits you more rather then go OH NO IT's RAINING AGAIN!!! Ok now I'm going to enjoy the lovely rain.

Destiny is cruel

2011-10-02T18:04:00.000-07:00

So today i watched the first episode of Fate/Zero. Recentally I rewatched Fate/Stay Night and I'm looking forward to the upcoming US release of Fate/extra on PSP. Nico Nico Douga's streaming each episode for 1 week only each. The first episode was 47 minutes long and was very intresting. Having only seen the priorly released anime was a bit surprized at some of the relationship connections revealed in the first episode but come to think of it there were hints in Fate/stay night. It was just not clearly stated. The first episode only was the set up for the series. Giving background information and ending with the summoning of the servants. The animation was crisp and beautiful with Type moons famillar charachter designs. The music was also fitting.. The onl thing is Nico Nico's typical stream of dialoge from users was a bit distracting and sometimes had spoilers as well as inappropriate comments. But if you can get around that its a good watch. I'm looking forward to the next episode

And they call her Venus the godess of Love

2011-10-02T12:04:00.000-07:00

So yesterday i picked up a copy of Code Name Sailor V, I got that one instead of Sailormoon since I haven't read all of Sailor V previously. Now the Sailormoon volumes actually have the same cover art as the newly released special editions released in Japan the past year. Which are very lovely. Sailor V takes place prior to the events in Sailormoon following the adventures of Aino Minako, who we all know is Sailor Veunus in Sailormoon. She is a glutonous, lazy, yet athletic girl who loves games. One day she decided to confess to her sempai but this mysterious white talking cat keeps getting in her way. He tells her that she has been chosen to be Sailor V and fight evil.

Kodansha does a fairly good job. The translation is nice. The cover and the color pages are nice. The paper quality inside after the color pages isn't really that great. But besids that i'm happy with the book. I'm glad that this series was finally brought to the US.

Sailormoon was the first anime I saw that i saaw as being an anime. Considering I was a kid in the 80's watching things like Voltron, Transformers, and GI Joe, which of course are anime but I didn't realize it until much much later. There were so many types of animation on afternoon and saturday cartoon spots that those story types seemed normal to me. But Sailor moon is vastly differnt from those titles. For one thing it's a magic girl shoujo. Sure you still have heros fighting evil but the story telling is extremely differnt form the shonen titles I saw in the 80's. Shoujo has a differnt feel and look. I'll admit I saw the anime for sailormoon totally out of order. The series started on tv when i was in high school in a time slot where I was in class. There was no way for me to watch it unless I was home sick or had a holiday. So I saw an episode here and there. My impression was that it was a bizarre show but facisnating in a way. When at college I was able to see quite a bit more. It was shown on USA for a while and then on Toonami. Though I still missed because of classes and never really saw the episodes in order ever. My friend Clare introduced me to manga. She had the Japanese release of sailormoon and lent it to me to look at, since at the time i couldn't read Japanese, and i found it to be beautiful. Then i found the Mixx comix release of Sailor moon. I had some on the single chapter relases and a few of the volumes. The graphic novel release was on better paper, but the pages were cut off on the edges in the dialouge bubbles in places. I ended up giving my sailormoon manga to a big sailormoon fan since i thought they would appreciate it. Though I think i'll be buying Kodanshas rerelease when i'm able to. The manga is much better then the anime. And very beautiful.

But Sailormoon and Sailor V, might not be the best shoujo manga out there, but its definetly a fun read. Silliness and seriousness mixed together with charming art.

Vanilla or Chocolate

2011-10-01T23:17:00.000-07:00

When i heard about the upcoming localization of Vanilliaware's Grand Knight History i was very excited. Not just because this is a title for the PSP, but because Vanillaware has made other beautiful and intricately told tales.

The first Vanillaware game i played was Odin Sphere, which I admit is my favorite game. Its a 2D side scroller with a very different battle style. The art is absolutely gorgous and the story is extremely intresting and well woven. This is a tale of a world at war. You start off playing the charachter who knows the least about what is going on in the world, a girl who only yearns for her fathers love and finds herself married off to an enemy knight. Once you complete her story you move on to the next charachters, a total of 5. As you play each ones story you learn more and more about what is really going on in the world. The story is a rich tale full of Norse refrences. A beautiful fairy tale world with darkness.

Then there was Muramasa the Demon Blade for Wii. Which is also a 2D side scroller with a similar battle system to the above. And as in the first one you have to have your charachter eat delisous looking foods heh. Actually the food looks so good I went to a japanese resturant and ordered some of the dishes they showed in Muramasa. Muramas takes place in the Edo period during the reign of the 5th shogun, who is known as the Dog Shogun. You have 2 charachters who you can play as. Momohime, a girl possessed by an evil swordsman and Kisuke, a shinobi who has lost his memories. Each charachters stories as before bring new information to the story. You also have multiple endings. Muramas is rich in Japanese mythology. Kisuke and the possessed Momoko interact with Fox Spirits who are servants of Inarimyojin as they search for the Demon Blades. They also come across a variety of Youkai, Ayakashi, and gods. Journying all over japan of the mid 1600'
s and even into the land of the dead, Yomi.

Because I so enjoyed these two previous games I am really looking forward to being able to play Grand Knight History, which has a Medevial setting. I love history, myth, legends, and folklore and Vanillaware has proven to me that they are able to take these elements and weave a beautiful intricate story with intresting charachters and make a great game. The only game I still need to play by them is Grim Grimore, which I plan to also buy in the future. I'm hopeing that they keep creating wonderful games.

Hajimemashita!!!

2011-09-30T13:05:00.000-07:00

Ok so i decided to start a blog. I'll just write whatever madness i decide to. Why did I call my blog Nyaa! Because I couldn't think of anything cool. Plus I love cats and nya is how you say Meow in Japan. So thats what i decided to go with. I am after all a crazy cat loving nerd.

Lots of intresting games are coming out. I'm really excited about the upcoming release of Atlier Totori and Fate/Extra. I recived the shipping email on the first one so that should arrive soon. Though Alas i shan't be able to play it since I no longer have access to a PS3. But I did love the previous game in the Series Atlier Rorona. It's charming in a sweet way. With a good amount of humor. Not the most exciting game but with the time constraints Rorona was a bit annoying at times. However, the game won me over with its beautiful art, fun charachters, and charming story. From the reviews on RPG fan and RPGamer Atlier Totori has been improved so the time is mangaed better. I'm really looking forward to it. Hopefully i'll be able to get a PS3 in December or January so I can play my pile of PS3 games.

Fate/Extra I'm also looking forward to. I really enjoy the art style Type/Moon uses in their work. Though I have no intrest in playing the original Fate/Stay Night game since its an eroge and I'm not intrested in Erotic games, I love the anime. So i'm really intrested in Fate/Extra. I also purchased Fate/Unlimited Coded for my PSP however I haven't played it much since my repetitive motion injury made it kind of painful to manuver the charachters in a fight game. And I can't do the one handed gaming trick with that game. It might work with FFXIII and other RPG's but fighting games no. heh

But yes I am indeed a nerd. My website has acedemic work on it and perhaps i'll put some here. We'll see.