After nearly 30 years, this anime series has finally surpassed the number of episodes of an average TV series *slow clap*.
The animation looks sloppy. I know its better than OVA 4 at least, but after rewatching Code Geass this week, which aired in what, 2006?, this series looks marginally worse.
The plot is really unthought of. Its a no brainer to have had an episode show Sasami's transition into Tsunami, but we got none of it.
In fact the whole episode, and series thus far, seems to be an animatic or radio drama with light animation.
This episode didn't tell any storyline that wasn't covered in its 2 minute trailer. The household visit the spaceship island. Oh and Kajishima inserts a bunch of new characters. The end.
Lan presents a collection of videos and clips from the Internet, mostly related to Anime, Manga, Japan, film and music. Reviews and general thoughts are also presented.
Showing posts with label Things that piss me off. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Things that piss me off. Show all posts
Sunday, 30 August 2020
Review: Tenchi Muyo OVA 5 episode 3 (episode 27)
Monday, 15 October 2018
REVIEW: FLCL 3 - 'Alternative'
I'm not exactly happy. Its just a generic 'flat' anime. Nothing seems epic or over produced. Every frame in the original was designed and animated with care and attention. Here, its just flat and boring like a lot of other anime out there. Tis a shame.
In episode 1, Why the pillows featured in mid episode whilst a montage of future episodes happen is beyond me. I just checked and this wasn't included in the Japanese version. Its in the advert break. Why did the American version have this?
Episode 2 is showing itself to be equally as good. Its on par with how good the first series was during its normal scenes. Though to be honest this has more in-tune hi junks than Progressive. It just shows that its creators have genuinely studied the first series for ideas and to retain as much of the original tone as possible.
The rest of the episodes are okay. Still fan fiction but trying too hard to be the same as series 1 but in disguise. Reminds me of how The Force Awakens was too similar to the first Star Wars trilogy. At least this is set in an alternative universe. its no sequel. But its still pointless. 5-10
In episode 1, Why the pillows featured in mid episode whilst a montage of future episodes happen is beyond me. I just checked and this wasn't included in the Japanese version. Its in the advert break. Why did the American version have this?
Episode 2 is showing itself to be equally as good. Its on par with how good the first series was during its normal scenes. Though to be honest this has more in-tune hi junks than Progressive. It just shows that its creators have genuinely studied the first series for ideas and to retain as much of the original tone as possible.
The rest of the episodes are okay. Still fan fiction but trying too hard to be the same as series 1 but in disguise. Reminds me of how The Force Awakens was too similar to the first Star Wars trilogy. At least this is set in an alternative universe. its no sequel. But its still pointless. 5-10
Tuesday, 9 January 2018
The mess that is Clamp, and why i'm now avoiding them
UPDATE:
I wont delete what I wrote originally. I am still pissed off, but at TsubaHolic rather than CCS. I just WISH the clear card prologue never existed. Its not canon. So let me be clear, The Clear Card anime series is 100% canon. I've watched it in full.
-------
OLD:
I got into the anime of Cardcaptor Sakura when it was still known as Cardcaptors. I really loved it. After I learnt of the hack job that dub was, I got into the uncut version, Cardcaptor Sakura, which was absolutely amazing.
After its second movie I craved for more, though the ending was brilliant and didn't need any more.
Then Tsubasa RESERVoir CHRoNiCLE the manga came out. I couldn't help myself. I wanted to read up on events of what happened afterwards for the protagonists of Cardcaptor Sakura. Only, it wasn't them. Oh well, I continued reading in the hopes that the original characters would turn up one day. Sakura did, but only for a short time to hand over her magical staff and say her infamous line in chapter 224.
I also started getting into xxxHolic which tied into Tsubasa. It was a better story, and the likelihood of Clow Reed appearing was high, who was another character from Cardcapor Sakura.
Many years later these two stories have been ended with cliffhangers multiple times now. Meaning they occasionally come back to continue their stories. However I am seriously thinking now that they wont end. Ever.
Many fans may think that Tsubasa is over but the characters never found a place they can call home. That was the point of its story. Likewise in xxxHolic the story stopped dead and isn't going anywhere, even though it keeps repeatably teasing fans about a mysterious egg that could change the fate of things and bring a close to the manga. Well its not. Its just a fucking Pokemon GS Ball: a plot device to attract its audience but doesn't ultimately do anything.
As for the anime version of xxxHolic and Tsubasa? Forget about them. They never even tried to catch up with the true manga storyline.
With the return of Cardcaptor Sakura, the Clear Card arc, I'm now questioning why I ever commited myself to both xxxHolic and Tsubasa in the first place. You see, I've never read the Cardcaptor Sakura manga. Even if the characters turn up in xxxHolic and Tsubasa, they would never be the same true anime characters, they would be the manga characters that I never read.
And there is NO WAY the Cardcaptor Sakura manga could EVER top the anime version. The anime version is in colour, its in moving pictures, it has more stories than its manga, its in more depth, and its characters speak and the music is great. It has soul. Usually there is just NO WAY a manga can outshine its anime adaptation if its done right. If the anime cant keep up to its manga or has a whole bunch of filler episodes, only then do we have a problem. But the Cardcaptor Sakura manga is only something like 12 volumes long. Its too friggin short to outshine its anime.
So now we have a problem. Why did i comit to the very long Tsubasa and xxxHolic mangas?
Bring in the new Cardcaptor Sakura Clear card arc anime. We defiantly have a problem. Its episode 'prologue' adapts the last few chapters of the original manga. Its a different universe from the original anime. The events from the original anime are mostly the same but it diverts at exactly 22:36 seconds into episode 69. After this moment, time passes between the events of the showdown with Eriol. In that time, Shouron gives Sakura the bear, and admits his feelings to Sakura differently some time after that. She makes a bear for him and manages to give it to him just in time before his bus departs for the airport (but there is no sign on his butler on the bus too, strangely). Regardless, this diversion is separate from the original path of the anime and therefore the original anime is safe from being trashed or tarnished. Thank god. This episode is however mostly bland and rigid. the animation is static with not as much love put into it as the original. Also the animators seem to forget that the anime was ending in colder weather early in the year 2000.
Somehow its back to being warmer weather in this episode. Maybe a lot of time has passed since the ending of the Sakura card arc and that's why Shouron's butler has already gone home back to Hong Kong? weird.
Okay. Time to watch episode 1. Reactions below:
AND THERE WE GO! We have modern TV's and smartphones now!this ISNT set in the early 2000's meaning its NOT the original anime canon.
Okay now I'm pissed off. This episode just said that Sakura stayed up all night to give Shouron a bear before he left. That never happened in the original anime, that was in the 'prologue'. Whats more that happened at a bus stop in the prologue, but this episode earlier referred to the airport scene in the original anime. And there is absolutely no way the prologue happened after the second movie so WTF?
---
No way am I watching this clusterfuck. Seriously, how much effort does it take for writers to understand the previous plot? HELLO! WATCH THE FINAL FEW EPISODES! sloppy. No way am I watching a window into a CCS universe that is somewhere between the original anime and the 'prologue', yet set in modern times.
There are now 3 Cardcaptor Sakura anime universes because of this fucking mess.
---
And that's why I have decided to stop out-rightly being interested in anything Clamp do ever again.
They never officially ended
TusbaHoli, and have decided
to undo any endings for Cardcapor Sakura too. This is a total clusterfuck. I never
read the Cardcapor Sakura manga and therefore don't care for events that happen in
that world, INCLUDING this clear card arc sequel. I realise now I'm only interested in watching a direct sequal to the original Cardcapor Sakura anime, leading off from its second movie.
Now that its 100%
official that the Clear Card arc anime is NOT a direct sequel to its
original anime, I'm past caring. I'm still interested in continuing the TsubaHoli
manga though, just because I invested so much time into reading them.
But hell, I'm totally expecting this Clear card arc to never end anyway. Thats just how Clamp works.
I wont delete what I wrote originally. I am still pissed off, but at TsubaHolic rather than CCS. I just WISH the clear card prologue never existed. Its not canon. So let me be clear, The Clear Card anime series is 100% canon. I've watched it in full.
-------
OLD:
I got into the anime of Cardcaptor Sakura when it was still known as Cardcaptors. I really loved it. After I learnt of the hack job that dub was, I got into the uncut version, Cardcaptor Sakura, which was absolutely amazing.
After its second movie I craved for more, though the ending was brilliant and didn't need any more.
Then Tsubasa RESERVoir CHRoNiCLE the manga came out. I couldn't help myself. I wanted to read up on events of what happened afterwards for the protagonists of Cardcaptor Sakura. Only, it wasn't them. Oh well, I continued reading in the hopes that the original characters would turn up one day. Sakura did, but only for a short time to hand over her magical staff and say her infamous line in chapter 224.
I also started getting into xxxHolic which tied into Tsubasa. It was a better story, and the likelihood of Clow Reed appearing was high, who was another character from Cardcapor Sakura.
Many years later these two stories have been ended with cliffhangers multiple times now. Meaning they occasionally come back to continue their stories. However I am seriously thinking now that they wont end. Ever.
Many fans may think that Tsubasa is over but the characters never found a place they can call home. That was the point of its story. Likewise in xxxHolic the story stopped dead and isn't going anywhere, even though it keeps repeatably teasing fans about a mysterious egg that could change the fate of things and bring a close to the manga. Well its not. Its just a fucking Pokemon GS Ball: a plot device to attract its audience but doesn't ultimately do anything.
As for the anime version of xxxHolic and Tsubasa? Forget about them. They never even tried to catch up with the true manga storyline.
With the return of Cardcaptor Sakura, the Clear Card arc, I'm now questioning why I ever commited myself to both xxxHolic and Tsubasa in the first place. You see, I've never read the Cardcaptor Sakura manga. Even if the characters turn up in xxxHolic and Tsubasa, they would never be the same true anime characters, they would be the manga characters that I never read.
And there is NO WAY the Cardcaptor Sakura manga could EVER top the anime version. The anime version is in colour, its in moving pictures, it has more stories than its manga, its in more depth, and its characters speak and the music is great. It has soul. Usually there is just NO WAY a manga can outshine its anime adaptation if its done right. If the anime cant keep up to its manga or has a whole bunch of filler episodes, only then do we have a problem. But the Cardcaptor Sakura manga is only something like 12 volumes long. Its too friggin short to outshine its anime.
So now we have a problem. Why did i comit to the very long Tsubasa and xxxHolic mangas?
Bring in the new Cardcaptor Sakura Clear card arc anime. We defiantly have a problem. Its episode 'prologue' adapts the last few chapters of the original manga. Its a different universe from the original anime. The events from the original anime are mostly the same but it diverts at exactly 22:36 seconds into episode 69. After this moment, time passes between the events of the showdown with Eriol. In that time, Shouron gives Sakura the bear, and admits his feelings to Sakura differently some time after that. She makes a bear for him and manages to give it to him just in time before his bus departs for the airport (but there is no sign on his butler on the bus too, strangely). Regardless, this diversion is separate from the original path of the anime and therefore the original anime is safe from being trashed or tarnished. Thank god. This episode is however mostly bland and rigid. the animation is static with not as much love put into it as the original. Also the animators seem to forget that the anime was ending in colder weather early in the year 2000.
Somehow its back to being warmer weather in this episode. Maybe a lot of time has passed since the ending of the Sakura card arc and that's why Shouron's butler has already gone home back to Hong Kong? weird.
Okay. Time to watch episode 1. Reactions below:
AND THERE WE GO! We have modern TV's and smartphones now!
Thursday, 12 October 2017
GAME REVIEW: Sonic Mania
Most likely you've read a bunch of reviews about this game that say the same thing, so lets cut to the chase:
Its meh.
and whats more, I don't think its the creators fault. Yet again uncle Sonic Team got their way forced it to be boring.
How? Simple, they made sure that 60% of the game would be stuff recycled from other past classic titles.
I don't give a fuck if the second stages of all the classic levels apparently "change it up". Spoiler alert, it doesn't! They just contain gimmicks that have been found in other classic levels, like Oil Ocean act 2 basically being a mash up of Oil Ocean (obviously), Marble Zone from the first game, and Sandopolis Zone from Sonic 3. **YAWN**
What made Sonic 3 the best of the classic games was simply because it was fresh and didn't contain gimmicks from the previous titles.
Now don't get me wrong, I think the team behind the Mania game are the best folks for the job of a classic game sequel. I knew this all along, but Sonic Team are fucking twats and made sure the game would suck. Just look at the new levels for this game, no gimmicks from other games, just 100% fresh. That's Sonic Teams fault. The whole game could have been this fresh. Hell it was suppose to be! It was suppose to be fresh as a daisy with nothing recycled. Pure and simple. Stupid Japanese twats that don't trust western developers enough and have no fucking clue about their own franchise and quite frankly, haven't for a few decades already.
One thing I just cannot stand though was just how frustrating the blue sphere bonus stages are. This IS designed by the western developers and they have forgotten that Sonics a kids game. These levels are literally designed for the older players that have played the blue sphere levels often enough for years. So those new players would never ace them even after a LOT of tries and hair pulling, and whats the reward at the end? Nothing. that's what. A token that does nothing unless you have more. I WENT THROUGH LESS HELL IN SONIC 3 FOR A CHAOS EMERALD you bastards.
So yeah, Sonic Team forced this game to look and feel like a fan game. Frustrating.
Its meh.
and whats more, I don't think its the creators fault. Yet again uncle Sonic Team got their way forced it to be boring.
How? Simple, they made sure that 60% of the game would be stuff recycled from other past classic titles.
I don't give a fuck if the second stages of all the classic levels apparently "change it up". Spoiler alert, it doesn't! They just contain gimmicks that have been found in other classic levels, like Oil Ocean act 2 basically being a mash up of Oil Ocean (obviously), Marble Zone from the first game, and Sandopolis Zone from Sonic 3. **YAWN**
What made Sonic 3 the best of the classic games was simply because it was fresh and didn't contain gimmicks from the previous titles.
Now don't get me wrong, I think the team behind the Mania game are the best folks for the job of a classic game sequel. I knew this all along, but Sonic Team are fucking twats and made sure the game would suck. Just look at the new levels for this game, no gimmicks from other games, just 100% fresh. That's Sonic Teams fault. The whole game could have been this fresh. Hell it was suppose to be! It was suppose to be fresh as a daisy with nothing recycled. Pure and simple. Stupid Japanese twats that don't trust western developers enough and have no fucking clue about their own franchise and quite frankly, haven't for a few decades already.
One thing I just cannot stand though was just how frustrating the blue sphere bonus stages are. This IS designed by the western developers and they have forgotten that Sonics a kids game. These levels are literally designed for the older players that have played the blue sphere levels often enough for years. So those new players would never ace them even after a LOT of tries and hair pulling, and whats the reward at the end? Nothing. that's what. A token that does nothing unless you have more. I WENT THROUGH LESS HELL IN SONIC 3 FOR A CHAOS EMERALD you bastards.
So yeah, Sonic Team forced this game to look and feel like a fan game. Frustrating.
Sunday, 8 October 2017
ANIME REVIEW: Tenchi Muyo! Ryo Ohki OVA 4
As per usual, this series is OTT with too many new characters. Only this time you NEED to have watched GXP and read the GXP novels AND all the other crap like the Seikishi series to understand whats really going on, of which I cannot read it all due to NOT BEING JAPANESE!
Why alienate the viewers like this? Whats the point??!
Episode 1: The music in the background is kept to the background, and sparingly so too unfortunately, as I feel it suits the music style of OVA 1 and 2 more so. The character designs have changed yet again, this time the designs make everyone look fatter and fuller. Yucky.
Ditching an opening credits in favor of storytelling to the tune of a song works better for Tenchi. The show is suffering from lack of screen time as it is, so this is a good thing, however the love for the show is obviously not there at all. The quality of this OVA is worse than a typical television episode of things these days. The story is confusingly set in the past too, which doesn't help matters.
Episode 2: Just what the actual fuck is going on here?! This makes the overall original Tenchi series go down the crapper. Too many new characters, not much plot. Introduction to smartphones in the early 90's when this episode is set was a major head scratcher.
Episode 3: Meh. But it at least got to the end of the bloody pointless retelling of the wedding and focused on Reas background as she is accidentally brought into the universe from the Geminar one, to defeat a rouge sport robot. However thousands of years happen at a quicker rate than in the Tenchi world, and she for some bizarre reason, HAS to bring that world back HER child. Though that wasn't explained very clearly as to why. Still, its better than NO explanation, right?
Though it does state that she is created in a lab so her child would have the genes necessary to defeat the evil robot of that world.
Obviously her son would end up being Kenshin who would start the whole Seikishi spin off series.
Episode 4: Truly god awful. It was set years later (the year 2000 maybe??) and only consisted of plans of what to do with Kenshin, with a bunch of fucking pointless fanservice.
The end.
I'm sorry but I'm now putting this failed Tenchi Ryo-Ohki series under the classification of "dead to me".
What a fucking stupid pointless series. It didn't even make it to 26 episodes! BAH!
There is no hope for the series other than a reboot, and I renounce everything I ever said About Kajishima being the creator of the series. He's just a character artist, nothing more. That's why there are so many damn pointless characters in this fucking mess.
1-10
Once Kajishima is dead of old age, maybe AIC will actually consider a reboot. Tenchi Muyo has some things going for it with the goddesses and Tenchi being some sort of god. But its just not told in any sort of coherent way. I used to love this show. I seriously believe now that the original writers like Hasegawa left because of this stupid Kajishima dude. He is obviously no writer. I'm sorry, there is no way this guy can write, so why is he considered as the head of this franchise? Did he even create Tenchi Muyo in the first place?!? I seriously believe not. There is just no way.
Tenchi Universe is frustrating too because things are wrong with that show but in different ways. But no way is it as bad as the fragmented mess of the original.
My idea would be to have a 26 episode television show that tells a story about a farmboy that was actually god, but he didn't know it until goddesses messed with his life that forced him into a space opera adventure, that saw him finish off as a king of another planet with many different wives, but all the meanwhile he just wants to escape back to his farm boy lifestyle. Give it some zest, some life, some fun! some comedy! Some originality! Less talk, fewer characters, less garbage. Easy going great fun. That's all this series needed to be.
Why alienate the viewers like this? Whats the point??!
Episode 1: The music in the background is kept to the background, and sparingly so too unfortunately, as I feel it suits the music style of OVA 1 and 2 more so. The character designs have changed yet again, this time the designs make everyone look fatter and fuller. Yucky.
Ditching an opening credits in favor of storytelling to the tune of a song works better for Tenchi. The show is suffering from lack of screen time as it is, so this is a good thing, however the love for the show is obviously not there at all. The quality of this OVA is worse than a typical television episode of things these days. The story is confusingly set in the past too, which doesn't help matters.
Episode 2: Just what the actual fuck is going on here?! This makes the overall original Tenchi series go down the crapper. Too many new characters, not much plot. Introduction to smartphones in the early 90's when this episode is set was a major head scratcher.
Episode 3: Meh. But it at least got to the end of the bloody pointless retelling of the wedding and focused on Reas background as she is accidentally brought into the universe from the Geminar one, to defeat a rouge sport robot. However thousands of years happen at a quicker rate than in the Tenchi world, and she for some bizarre reason, HAS to bring that world back HER child. Though that wasn't explained very clearly as to why. Still, its better than NO explanation, right?
Though it does state that she is created in a lab so her child would have the genes necessary to defeat the evil robot of that world.
Obviously her son would end up being Kenshin who would start the whole Seikishi spin off series.
Episode 4: Truly god awful. It was set years later (the year 2000 maybe??) and only consisted of plans of what to do with Kenshin, with a bunch of fucking pointless fanservice.
The end.
I'm sorry but I'm now putting this failed Tenchi Ryo-Ohki series under the classification of "dead to me".
What a fucking stupid pointless series. It didn't even make it to 26 episodes! BAH!
There is no hope for the series other than a reboot, and I renounce everything I ever said About Kajishima being the creator of the series. He's just a character artist, nothing more. That's why there are so many damn pointless characters in this fucking mess.
1-10
Once Kajishima is dead of old age, maybe AIC will actually consider a reboot. Tenchi Muyo has some things going for it with the goddesses and Tenchi being some sort of god. But its just not told in any sort of coherent way. I used to love this show. I seriously believe now that the original writers like Hasegawa left because of this stupid Kajishima dude. He is obviously no writer. I'm sorry, there is no way this guy can write, so why is he considered as the head of this franchise? Did he even create Tenchi Muyo in the first place?!? I seriously believe not. There is just no way.
Tenchi Universe is frustrating too because things are wrong with that show but in different ways. But no way is it as bad as the fragmented mess of the original.
My idea would be to have a 26 episode television show that tells a story about a farmboy that was actually god, but he didn't know it until goddesses messed with his life that forced him into a space opera adventure, that saw him finish off as a king of another planet with many different wives, but all the meanwhile he just wants to escape back to his farm boy lifestyle. Give it some zest, some life, some fun! some comedy! Some originality! Less talk, fewer characters, less garbage. Easy going great fun. That's all this series needed to be.
Tuesday, 3 October 2017
ANIME REVIEW: Cardcaptor Sakura- Clear card arc prologue episode
Weird. Not what I was expecting, and thankfully keeps the original anime and leaves it alone.
This weird episode adapts the last few chapters of the original manga, I think. I never read the manga. Not when the anime was soo damn perfect, so I cant say for sure.
Thankfully I can clearly say without a doubt that its setting up a tangent universe for the Clear Card arc anime series that is coming out next year. a totally different universe from the original anime, one that splits from the Sakura Card arc at exactly 22:36 seconds into episode 69, or rather the moment Sakura defeated Eriol and Keroberos is shocked to see Eriol and co disappear so suddenly. In the original anime, Syaoran admits his love for Sakura straight afterwards. Not long later he flies back for Hong Kong, but not before Sakura turns up at the airport and demands him to give her his bear that was meant for her anyway. In this anime divergent, Syaoran gives Sakura his bear off screen, and hangs around for a few months in Japan before admitting his love to her. Then Sakura makes him a bear and manages to give it to him just before his bus departs for the airport. She also admits her feelings to him during this moment.
Weirdly, there is no sign of Syaorans butler on the bus too, strangely.
Regardless, this diversion is separate from the original path of the anime and therefore the original is safe from being trashed. Thank god.
Unlike the original animation, this episodes animation is bland and static with not as much love put into it as the original. too many panning shots of static characters with only lip flaps moving. One weird animation moment had the teacher walk into the room portraying the children as being only white blobs with faces. WTF?! cheap and unkempt.
I'm just glad this doesn't touch the original anime. That's one of my all time favourite anime series.
This weird episode adapts the last few chapters of the original manga, I think. I never read the manga. Not when the anime was soo damn perfect, so I cant say for sure.
Thankfully I can clearly say without a doubt that its setting up a tangent universe for the Clear Card arc anime series that is coming out next year. a totally different universe from the original anime, one that splits from the Sakura Card arc at exactly 22:36 seconds into episode 69, or rather the moment Sakura defeated Eriol and Keroberos is shocked to see Eriol and co disappear so suddenly. In the original anime, Syaoran admits his love for Sakura straight afterwards. Not long later he flies back for Hong Kong, but not before Sakura turns up at the airport and demands him to give her his bear that was meant for her anyway. In this anime divergent, Syaoran gives Sakura his bear off screen, and hangs around for a few months in Japan before admitting his love to her. Then Sakura makes him a bear and manages to give it to him just before his bus departs for the airport. She also admits her feelings to him during this moment.
Weirdly, there is no sign of Syaorans butler on the bus too, strangely.
Regardless, this diversion is separate from the original path of the anime and therefore the original is safe from being trashed. Thank god.
Unlike the original animation, this episodes animation is bland and static with not as much love put into it as the original. too many panning shots of static characters with only lip flaps moving. One weird animation moment had the teacher walk into the room portraying the children as being only white blobs with faces. WTF?! cheap and unkempt.
I'm just glad this doesn't touch the original anime. That's one of my all time favourite anime series.
Friday, 10 April 2015
REVIEW: The Disappearance of Nagato Yuki chan
The thing about the world we saw in the movie without Haruhi being a force of nature and all the other crazy stuff going on is that it was soulless. Just like the real world. It wasn't a world full of anime styled high jinks and stuff i would like to see happen in reality. It was just like this one. Its normal-ness hit Kyon hard like a ton of bricks. Its one of the most special things to see from an anime; a world that is as monotone as the one you are in right now. Its powerful. Its special. It gave me goosebumps.
This new anime series tarnishes that absolutely and completely.
To say this anime is crap isnt really the point. It angers me.
This new anime series tarnishes that absolutely and completely.
To say this anime is crap isnt really the point. It angers me.
Tuesday, 7 October 2014
Ai Tenchi Muyo! Episode 1 review
This was 4 mins. I turned it off after 1min 52 seconds after not being able to stand it any longer. I want my 112 seconds back :(.
Never again.
Never again.
Sunday, 6 July 2014
Hilarious spice and wolf hiatus update
This is all I have written down for Spice and wolf volume ten-
Novel 10-I am burnt out from this series to the point I hate it. Reading it became a chore. Im now reading the Howls Moving Castle series which i will not be reviewing, yet find to be so uplifting. Its nice to read for the enjoyment of reading again. :)
The gang travel by boat to the island kingdom of Winfiel, where Lawrence follows written instructions given to him by Lud Kieman from Kerube to meet with certain salesman in order to gain access to an abbey which may hold the wolf bones Holo is after.
The kingdom is on the verge of financial ruin. This is evident by their failing nobility and their nearly worthless currency. To make matters worse the worlds most powerful economic alliance, the Ruvik Alliance, are taking interest in the abbey our gang want to visit in what may be the first signs of taking control of the kingdom.
This bloke from the Ruvik Alliance escorts them up to the Abbey which ends up a 3 day trip by horse.
During the day or so Holo and Lawrence just chill out. Their banter involves him burying his head in her chest apologetically because he failed to find information that day, and there was another one before that where he and Holo shared a bed with her lying on top of him.
The bloke cannot find specific details which is relevant for lawrence, but is interested in using him as a means of breaking down the power that the kingdom of Winfiel has over the all important abbey.
Monday, 16 June 2014
REVIEW: Oh My Goddess!- the complete manga series
Like all good things that turn sour, I used to love this series. It had so much promise. Alas with each passing volume things never really kicked up a gear. The characters never grew and just stayed being the same. things became stagnant and pretty much stayed that way. The timeline is messed up. One could argue that the series took place over about 6 years, and yet everyone was still doing pretty much the same things they were doing originally, apart from Chihiro and Keiichi who ended up working together in their own garage. Even then K1 was officially still at Uni. What about Tamiya and Otaki? They were far older than Keiichi and were what, still at uni? See this is the problem with this manga. It was like the Simpsons in that there was no real aging or character development.
during my transition from loving the series to loathing it, I once came to a compromise and thought the series was split into 3 different universes. Fujishima was constantly evolving the series and altering its mood and changing previous events to fit the more recent stories. These 3 versions, or universes, were an 80's version; the first 3 volumes, a 90's version; ending before the introduction of the angels, and the cannon story; as the lack of angels in early volumes was a bit of a head scratcher.
Fujishima had a chance to shake things up around its peek at volume 20, but in my opinion it failed. From here on the story becomes dull, stale, boring and somewhat pointless.
Volumes 1-3 feel completely off compared with the rest. Technology is another issue. The series is always somehow set in the year the chapter was released, making it seem as if technology moves on extremely quickly in the space of what must be no more than 6 years. I'm talking about everything from CRT's, LD's and Betamax to more modern appliances.
I got confused with Keiichi's school terms at Nekomi tech. I mean how long can one be at uni for anyway?
By far the worst thing about this series is the reason why everyone was sucked into this series in the first place; the relationship between Belldandy and Keiichi.
As a reader you would always be wanting to see their relationship flourish but we never saw that.
We thought we were seeing Belldandy falling more and more in love with Keiichi as the series progressed, until the end when apparently she loved him before she even MET him. This was stupid.
Also, it was confirmed towards the end of the series that a spell was put in place over K1 and Bell's love for each other. Fate was literally repelling their love for each other, despite the fact it was apparently super strong.
On hindsight what was the point in this series? You cant say it was about Bells and K1's relationship as it was hardly EVER mentioned or touched upon. The relationship may have been the drive to continue on with reading the series, but now its over and nothing was accomplished from that, why was it the drive to read on? What is the hook? The comedy? The story? What story? All the story did was have good characters that never really grew to be stronger. Theres nothing to make me feel like re-reading the series again. And I mean it I probably wont.
I have sold my entire manga collection. I really feel this series was a waste of time and money.
Dark Horse released the series originally in a flopped format. I waited until 2006 when they started re-releasing the series in an unflopped format, which was a lot more uncut from the original. This trend they also aligned with their current releases, which were volumes 21+ from 2006. I bought these but I never read them until I caught up. They literally just sat on my shelf until volume 20 was re-released in 2012.
4-10. Progressively great artwork (that gets worse again from volume 20) but otherwise piss poor.
Anyone who hasnt done so already please read Love Hina instead! Its far shorter, tighter, has characters that grow, a better love relationship between the main characters, a better payoff at the end of the series and works to an accurate timeline.
during my transition from loving the series to loathing it, I once came to a compromise and thought the series was split into 3 different universes. Fujishima was constantly evolving the series and altering its mood and changing previous events to fit the more recent stories. These 3 versions, or universes, were an 80's version; the first 3 volumes, a 90's version; ending before the introduction of the angels, and the cannon story; as the lack of angels in early volumes was a bit of a head scratcher.
Fujishima had a chance to shake things up around its peek at volume 20, but in my opinion it failed. From here on the story becomes dull, stale, boring and somewhat pointless.
Volumes 1-3 feel completely off compared with the rest. Technology is another issue. The series is always somehow set in the year the chapter was released, making it seem as if technology moves on extremely quickly in the space of what must be no more than 6 years. I'm talking about everything from CRT's, LD's and Betamax to more modern appliances.
I got confused with Keiichi's school terms at Nekomi tech. I mean how long can one be at uni for anyway?
By far the worst thing about this series is the reason why everyone was sucked into this series in the first place; the relationship between Belldandy and Keiichi.
As a reader you would always be wanting to see their relationship flourish but we never saw that.
We thought we were seeing Belldandy falling more and more in love with Keiichi as the series progressed, until the end when apparently she loved him before she even MET him. This was stupid.
Also, it was confirmed towards the end of the series that a spell was put in place over K1 and Bell's love for each other. Fate was literally repelling their love for each other, despite the fact it was apparently super strong.
On hindsight what was the point in this series? You cant say it was about Bells and K1's relationship as it was hardly EVER mentioned or touched upon. The relationship may have been the drive to continue on with reading the series, but now its over and nothing was accomplished from that, why was it the drive to read on? What is the hook? The comedy? The story? What story? All the story did was have good characters that never really grew to be stronger. Theres nothing to make me feel like re-reading the series again. And I mean it I probably wont.
I have sold my entire manga collection. I really feel this series was a waste of time and money.
Dark Horse released the series originally in a flopped format. I waited until 2006 when they started re-releasing the series in an unflopped format, which was a lot more uncut from the original. This trend they also aligned with their current releases, which were volumes 21+ from 2006. I bought these but I never read them until I caught up. They literally just sat on my shelf until volume 20 was re-released in 2012.
4-10. Progressively great artwork (that gets worse again from volume 20) but otherwise piss poor.
Anyone who hasnt done so already please read Love Hina instead! Its far shorter, tighter, has characters that grow, a better love relationship between the main characters, a better payoff at the end of the series and works to an accurate timeline.
Wednesday, 14 May 2014
REVIEW- The Wind Rises
A Hayao Miyazaki film. Evangelion director Hideaki Anno is the voice of the protagonist Jirō Horikoshi.
This film centers on the engineer who designed the plane used in the kamikaze attacks during World War II. It was a terrible film. The story was drawn out wayyyyy too much and there wasnt even too much of a story to tell in the first place! It was kinda depressing but still very captivating, and it had the usual Grade A Ghibli visuals. I think the word 'Meh' justifies this film a lot.
I also think its a bit creepy that Ghibli were romanticizing the story of a guy of whom would surely be a war criminal IRL.
This is Hayao Miyazaki's last film and he is now retired (thank god). Working with Hideaki Anno in this film, Miyazaki gave Anno permission to be the director of a possible Nausicaa sequel should Anno ever wish to make one. 5-10
Also, Captain Hastings was in the film-
This film centers on the engineer who designed the plane used in the kamikaze attacks during World War II. It was a terrible film. The story was drawn out wayyyyy too much and there wasnt even too much of a story to tell in the first place! It was kinda depressing but still very captivating, and it had the usual Grade A Ghibli visuals. I think the word 'Meh' justifies this film a lot.
I also think its a bit creepy that Ghibli were romanticizing the story of a guy of whom would surely be a war criminal IRL.
This is Hayao Miyazaki's last film and he is now retired (thank god). Working with Hideaki Anno in this film, Miyazaki gave Anno permission to be the director of a possible Nausicaa sequel should Anno ever wish to make one. 5-10
Also, Captain Hastings was in the film-
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| Captain Hastings |
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| Castorp |
Saturday, 7 December 2013
REVIEW: Oreimo / My Little Sister Can't Be This Cute
I'm going to keep this brief. Anything that promotes blood related brother and sister incest should be made illegal. For most of these 2 anime series I felt like they were just a couple of siblings that had fun together. Then towards the end shit got real. This makes things 10000x worse than say KissXSis where in that show the siblings are NOT blood related. Its wrong. In nature incest breeds disorders in the offspring. Its pretty much impossible to see a brother or sister as a potential mate because of this. This anime and its franchise is quite frankly SICK. Japan I am disgusted in you for allowing this project to get off the ground.
Friday, 18 October 2013
MUSIC REVIEW: Helen Love- Day-Glo Dreams
The latest album from Helen Love callled 'Day-Glo Dreams' absolutely sucks. SUCKS! ITS SHIT!
Its like an album that was purely created in Garageband and completely rushed together. The non-rhyming lyrics suck so BAD that I end up cringing whilst facepalming.
All the songs suck. Not one of them is decent.
This band is supposed to be one of the most colourful sounding bands out there. Everything they make is like an audio orgasm; they are that good. However this album is shit. pure shit. do not touch.
Even the artwork looks basic and black and white.
Oh and there is no volume number assigned to it, meaning it makes it difficult for me to organise correctly on my MP3 player, and there is NO WAY im adding it to volume 3. Those songs are sacred.
They should be ashamed of themselves for releasing such utter garbage.
What the fuck happened to what was suppose to be their next album; "Stick it" ?????? I want that album, not this crap. Even the song which was posted to their myspace page that was suppose to be from that album sounded amasing.
Unfortunately I cant remember what it was called. I NEED THAT ALBUM.
I mean just listen to this shit- Be warned its really really bad-
Compare that to their last single Calm Down Dad (volume 3 issue 6) from 2009-
EDIT a few days later-
This album is crap. Ive heard it a few times thinking that i'll give it a chance. Some of the keyboard 'sounds' stick in your head and its doing my nut. The stupidly catchy eightiesness of the songs are dancing about in my head like an annoying bratty 5 year old child throwing his toys everywhere and streaming blue murder. I NEED other songs in my head. Anything other than this drivel. Its an evil album thats just there to be annoying. I need reminding that Helen Love is a decent pop group so I listen to a few songs from volume 2, but even after that i still hear syth drums in my head like a kids mashing all the drum keys on his Yamaha he got for his birthday. Fuck me I hate this album. I might even delete it its so evil. So annoying. So yeah ive given it a chance. Fuck it. 0-10. Not even 1 for trying.
Its like an album that was purely created in Garageband and completely rushed together. The non-rhyming lyrics suck so BAD that I end up cringing whilst facepalming.
All the songs suck. Not one of them is decent.
This band is supposed to be one of the most colourful sounding bands out there. Everything they make is like an audio orgasm; they are that good. However this album is shit. pure shit. do not touch.
Even the artwork looks basic and black and white.
Oh and there is no volume number assigned to it, meaning it makes it difficult for me to organise correctly on my MP3 player, and there is NO WAY im adding it to volume 3. Those songs are sacred.
They should be ashamed of themselves for releasing such utter garbage.
What the fuck happened to what was suppose to be their next album; "Stick it" ?????? I want that album, not this crap. Even the song which was posted to their myspace page that was suppose to be from that album sounded amasing.
Unfortunately I cant remember what it was called. I NEED THAT ALBUM.
I mean just listen to this shit- Be warned its really really bad-
Compare that to their last single Calm Down Dad (volume 3 issue 6) from 2009-
EDIT a few days later-
This album is crap. Ive heard it a few times thinking that i'll give it a chance. Some of the keyboard 'sounds' stick in your head and its doing my nut. The stupidly catchy eightiesness of the songs are dancing about in my head like an annoying bratty 5 year old child throwing his toys everywhere and streaming blue murder. I NEED other songs in my head. Anything other than this drivel. Its an evil album thats just there to be annoying. I need reminding that Helen Love is a decent pop group so I listen to a few songs from volume 2, but even after that i still hear syth drums in my head like a kids mashing all the drum keys on his Yamaha he got for his birthday. Fuck me I hate this album. I might even delete it its so evil. So annoying. So yeah ive given it a chance. Fuck it. 0-10. Not even 1 for trying.
Thursday, 25 October 2012
RANTS: Orange Dolphin pay as you go ate my credit
Topping up £10 gives you 100MB for a month. After the month is passed it eats your credit up in seconds. Ever since I got the phone i have only ever used up 33.11MB.
I installed a statistics app to make sure i would never go beyond that 100MB when not in range of my home router.
This message is made clear and simple so people reading this dont fall into the same trap.
Solution: Permanently turn off mobile internet after that month has passed. Top up when needed then feel free to turn mobile internet on for a month.
I installed a statistics app to make sure i would never go beyond that 100MB when not in range of my home router.
This message is made clear and simple so people reading this dont fall into the same trap.
Solution: Permanently turn off mobile internet after that month has passed. Top up when needed then feel free to turn mobile internet on for a month.
Saturday, 20 October 2012
Thoughts: Oh My Goddess!
Yeah I dunno what happened. I decided in the summer just to read them all in one hit. So i did. I tried to blog my way through them, and kept a review in edit which was on the permanent back burner. It needed to be completed, so i did it just now. My love for the series diminished completely. Fujishima just keeps retconning things to the point that it ends up being nothing like the original vision. Im not saying its a bad series, its just been overdone. Things would have worked better if it just ended, and not come out with boring lack luster events. This series was all about K1 and bell's relationship, which may be getting sorted out now after the hell arc, but things still dont feel right. The movie did it better.
Tuesday, 16 October 2012
Thoughts: Cross Channel
I would have liked to have done a review for the game Cross Channel, but to be honest in a nutshell its a mind fuck.
I didnt watch Lost, but i would compare it to that because you enjoy the ride, but hate the outcome. true the main character had a bad ending, but this isnt what im talking about here. The game has contradictions, and then some. In fact I wouldnt be wrong in saying it has so many I dont know where to start, and that I think even itself didnt care in the end. No wonder this isnt an anime. I mean it could be, but the writers would need to sort out all these problems before even starting such a project. Its a mind fuck. that is all. Other then that its great. Totally worth it.
I didnt watch Lost, but i would compare it to that because you enjoy the ride, but hate the outcome. true the main character had a bad ending, but this isnt what im talking about here. The game has contradictions, and then some. In fact I wouldnt be wrong in saying it has so many I dont know where to start, and that I think even itself didnt care in the end. No wonder this isnt an anime. I mean it could be, but the writers would need to sort out all these problems before even starting such a project. Its a mind fuck. that is all. Other then that its great. Totally worth it.
Friday, 27 July 2012
RANTS: Modern earphones
What the hell happened to the good old fashion earphones for Walkmans/ipods/Mp3 Players/phones/handhelds/etc??? You know, the hardy ones that sit just inside the ear? OK so i know that they didnt always fit everyone, and that something had to be done about it, but the outcome from design teams were to create something that act more like earplugs, giving consumers a choice of rubber fitting. I cannot fathom for the life of me why real music lovers would appreciate these. But more about this in a second.
I have always used the old 'hardy' (? How else should i call them) Sony earphones, mostly because they would last for years unless you did something stupid like get them crushed upon closing a car door (yeah that happened) or something else. In recent years (like, the last 10 years) I have been relying on the Sony MDR-E 818 LP which are slightly inferior to my favourite, the Sony MDR-E808 that sported the gold jack. The main reason why I appreciate Sony rather than the others is how the jack is bent, meaning the cable can easily wrap around the Walkman without jutting out too much, which would otherwise cause the wire to bend too much to the point that it breaks and you need a new set of earphones. And yeah, this happens. A lot.
Well, my Sony MDR-E 818 LP are finally starting to fail me after 6 or so years since my even older pair of identical earphones, which I still keep. And you know why? Because the only problem with these earphones (both sets now), hear me, the ONLY problem with these earphones is that the jack is silver. Thats it. Nothing else. Because its not gold, the jack needs to be twisted minutely a thousand times before you kick out the static which distorts the sound. Slight taps or knocks on the jack can distort the sound and you need to twist it again to get it working fine. This is not a problem with gold jacks.
These days it seems like the only earphones you can purchase are ones that plug directly into your ear, with differing sized rubber bits for 'comfort'. These are all extortionately priced, with some apparently being better quality than others. After reading extensive reviews I took the plunge on a pair of what were apparently a 'good' pair, the Sony EX210. Let me assure you, they are crap. But not for the reasons you may think. My gripe is with the modern ear plug design. Yes i know it caters for more consumers, but they are ALL CRAP. EVERY SINGLE LAST ONE. Doesn't matter about manufacture or price, and heres why-
Ear wax. on the old style can you put them in and take them out and pack your walkman away instantly. On these the ear wax gets EVERYWHERE. You have to CLEAN THEM before packing them away, and some wax gets inside the ear phones to places out of reach. Yuck.
All sizes of ear plugs hurt. I tested out my new, first and last pair of these 'modern' earphones for about half and hour and both ears hurt. Like hell. They still do.
swallowing doesn't help. Your ears are blocked and want to be set free.
The plugs have to be inserted at the exact minute length inside your ears to get the sound and bass 'right'. thus ensues constant readjusting.
You cannot sing, hum, eat or even use your teeth as the drums as you jam to the music, it instantly distorts the sound.
You cannot hear the real world. this poses a problem if someone is trying to talk to you. Who cares about car noise with the old style, its more of a nucense not being able to hear a THING other than music. Music that sounds off anyway because you need to readjust the left or right phone to get the music to sit central in your head.
I have always trusted Sony in terms of Quality. But the only good points i see from the Sony EX210 are the legnth of cord and the golden jack. Oh yeah another thing, the wire is incredibly thin. It feels like it could snap if tugged or pulled by accident.
So overall I hate these with a passion. I have never had a problem with the old style and wish i could find a pair with a twisted golden jack.
Bring back the MDR-E808!
I have always used the old 'hardy' (? How else should i call them) Sony earphones, mostly because they would last for years unless you did something stupid like get them crushed upon closing a car door (yeah that happened) or something else. In recent years (like, the last 10 years) I have been relying on the Sony MDR-E 818 LP which are slightly inferior to my favourite, the Sony MDR-E808 that sported the gold jack. The main reason why I appreciate Sony rather than the others is how the jack is bent, meaning the cable can easily wrap around the Walkman without jutting out too much, which would otherwise cause the wire to bend too much to the point that it breaks and you need a new set of earphones. And yeah, this happens. A lot.
Well, my Sony MDR-E 818 LP are finally starting to fail me after 6 or so years since my even older pair of identical earphones, which I still keep. And you know why? Because the only problem with these earphones (both sets now), hear me, the ONLY problem with these earphones is that the jack is silver. Thats it. Nothing else. Because its not gold, the jack needs to be twisted minutely a thousand times before you kick out the static which distorts the sound. Slight taps or knocks on the jack can distort the sound and you need to twist it again to get it working fine. This is not a problem with gold jacks.
These days it seems like the only earphones you can purchase are ones that plug directly into your ear, with differing sized rubber bits for 'comfort'. These are all extortionately priced, with some apparently being better quality than others. After reading extensive reviews I took the plunge on a pair of what were apparently a 'good' pair, the Sony EX210. Let me assure you, they are crap. But not for the reasons you may think. My gripe is with the modern ear plug design. Yes i know it caters for more consumers, but they are ALL CRAP. EVERY SINGLE LAST ONE. Doesn't matter about manufacture or price, and heres why-
Ear wax. on the old style can you put them in and take them out and pack your walkman away instantly. On these the ear wax gets EVERYWHERE. You have to CLEAN THEM before packing them away, and some wax gets inside the ear phones to places out of reach. Yuck.
All sizes of ear plugs hurt. I tested out my new, first and last pair of these 'modern' earphones for about half and hour and both ears hurt. Like hell. They still do.
swallowing doesn't help. Your ears are blocked and want to be set free.
The plugs have to be inserted at the exact minute length inside your ears to get the sound and bass 'right'. thus ensues constant readjusting.
You cannot sing, hum, eat or even use your teeth as the drums as you jam to the music, it instantly distorts the sound.
You cannot hear the real world. this poses a problem if someone is trying to talk to you. Who cares about car noise with the old style, its more of a nucense not being able to hear a THING other than music. Music that sounds off anyway because you need to readjust the left or right phone to get the music to sit central in your head.
I have always trusted Sony in terms of Quality. But the only good points i see from the Sony EX210 are the legnth of cord and the golden jack. Oh yeah another thing, the wire is incredibly thin. It feels like it could snap if tugged or pulled by accident.
So overall I hate these with a passion. I have never had a problem with the old style and wish i could find a pair with a twisted golden jack.
Bring back the MDR-E808!
Friday, 20 April 2012
MUSIC: Art Blakey & the Jazz Messengers - Moanin'
This little ditty is 'Moanin' by Art Blakey & the Jazz Messengers.
Fans of Kids on the Slope will instantly know this song from the anime. I can only thank Yoko Kanno for introducing me to this great great Jazz song. The anime is not bad too!
EDIT- The you tube uploader of this video is right old piece of shit. Instead of embracing the many anime fans that are commenting on the anime, who are appreciating the jazz, he instead is 'purifying' the comments and deleting every anime fans comments. I was the 1st of many commenters hitting back at this idiot at how wrong it is to delete comments in this way, but he went ahead and deleted the new posts again for a second outing of purification. What a douchebag. Whats really ironic about all this is that the name of the uploader is called 60otaku3. Yup, he calls himself an otaku!
so far and counting, 26 comments by anime fans have been deleted, including some in Japanese.
Fans of Kids on the Slope will instantly know this song from the anime. I can only thank Yoko Kanno for introducing me to this great great Jazz song. The anime is not bad too!
EDIT- The you tube uploader of this video is right old piece of shit. Instead of embracing the many anime fans that are commenting on the anime, who are appreciating the jazz, he instead is 'purifying' the comments and deleting every anime fans comments. I was the 1st of many commenters hitting back at this idiot at how wrong it is to delete comments in this way, but he went ahead and deleted the new posts again for a second outing of purification. What a douchebag. Whats really ironic about all this is that the name of the uploader is called 60otaku3. Yup, he calls himself an otaku!
so far and counting, 26 comments by anime fans have been deleted, including some in Japanese.
Sunday, 26 February 2012
STOLEN: Spice and Wolf novel 1
So yeah I was at work today (I work with the public) and put my book down to do a job, came back and it was GONE. The book in question is probably the best book I've ever read in my life, Spice and Wolf vol 1 (novel).
I don't really want to talk about my job (its besides the point anyway), but for years whenever i haven't got customers I just sit there and read. I have always put my book down on the chair when I have to deal with the customers. The chair is in public view, but it never occurred to me that anyone would ever want to steal a fucking book? Its only £6, but that's not the point. Whoever did it was cruel and just wanted to screw me over for the fun of it. Either that or they were attracted to the allure of Horo. If that's the case I cant blame them...
FYI I ditched the boring slip over covers in favor of the gorgeous manga art.
I don't really want to talk about my job (its besides the point anyway), but for years whenever i haven't got customers I just sit there and read. I have always put my book down on the chair when I have to deal with the customers. The chair is in public view, but it never occurred to me that anyone would ever want to steal a fucking book? Its only £6, but that's not the point. Whoever did it was cruel and just wanted to screw me over for the fun of it. Either that or they were attracted to the allure of Horo. If that's the case I cant blame them...
FYI I ditched the boring slip over covers in favor of the gorgeous manga art.
Too irresistible- Horo stolen
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