11.06.09
Posted in Anime, Live Action, Ongoing Investigations, Video Games Tags: Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII, Fate/Tiger Colosseum, Fate/Unlimited Codes, Hausu, Kimi ni Todoke, Professor Layton, Type-Moon, クライシス コア -ファイナルファンタジーVII-, タイプムーン, フェイト/タイガーころしあむ, レイトン教授と悪魔の箱, 君に届け at 8:08 am by reversethieves
Recently I had the good fortune to buy a rather inexpensive PSP opening a whole new avenue of portable gaming. The seller also threw in a copy of Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII which I had been meaning to try out. Crisis Core takes place before Final Fantasy VII and stars Zack Fair who was a minor but important character in Final Fantasy VII. We get to see how exactly Zack became a Solider 1st Class as he deals with defectors from the Shinra Electric Power Company aka the most militant electric company ever. We also learn how Zack met certain flower girls, beloved blond men, and silver haired yaoi bait. Zack is pretty likable so I am sure that Narutaki would give this game his seal of approval on that front. It is action RPG based although the level up system is based on a slot machine which is odd to say the least. The most interesting is the fact that they seem to be taking time to make Sephiroth more human. I wonder how much does this have to do with them wanting to flesh him out as more and how much this has to do with his enormous popularity? It reminded me of why I liked Final Fantasy VII even though the game has sort of become the mark of a poser.
I went to see the Japanese horror movie House (also known as Hausu) during Halloween. I say horror movie but what I really mean is 1970’s b-movie hilariously badly wonderful horror movie. Oh, did I mention the director let his 11-year-old daughter write the story? As you can imagine, things for the most part aren’t very scary at all. The basic premise is about 7 high school girls (are you ready for these names? Gorgeous, Fantasy, Melody, Sweet, Mac, Professor, and Kung-Fu) who visit a house in the country, but the house is evil! And one by one the house eats them up. There is also an evil cat(s?), a crazy aunt who is only randomly disabled, and a most spectacular array of bad special effects. As a person who doesn’t like horror movies, I highly recommend this one. It will leave you laughing!
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10.30.09
Posted in Anime, Manga, Ongoing Investigations, Video Games Tags: Blue Literature, Deka Kyoshi, Professor Layton, Winter Sonata, デカ教師, レイトン教授シリーズ, 青い文学シリーズ, 겨울연가 at 8:27 am by reversethieves
I already loved the second Professor Layton game merely because so much of it takes place aboard a steam train! And quite nicely the scope of the mystery is much broader than the first though there are still some strange towns and townsfolk about. All the great things from the first game are in tact with some nice new additions. Once again I don’t find myself overly concerned about the mini-games but they are fun. However, it can’t be denied that I have done a small bit of complaining about this game. Most annoying is how the game treats you like a complete and utter moron. There are literally times when you look at the map and it says in big letters “GO HERE” and this combined with the constant conversations about “let’s go such and such” or “now let’s go back to so and so” takes a toll. The only other big trip up I’ve had so far is that a major puzzle required me to look at the instruction booklet. This is a portable game for crying out loud, how many of us carrying the instructions with us? But these things aside, I am finding it quite enjoyable and look forward to solving this mystery.
Deka Kyoshi is a manga Kindergarten Cop with a twist of the supernatural. Toyama Narita is a gentle giant of an undercover cop sent in as a new homeroom teacher. The teacher he is replacing committed suicide and the police feel that it is linked to something more sinister happening at the school. On Toyama’s first day he finds that one of his student named Makoto is being bullied. It seems that Makoto can see demons that make people do bad things has become labeled as a liar and a weirdo. Toyama helps Makoto and comes to believe that Makoto has an odd form of synethesia that lets him see emotions as physical forms. So Makoto starts to help Toyama with his investigation but is there a simple scientific explanation or can Makoto see actual demons? The formula for manga seems to be that someone in the class will be emotionally distressed with a after school special problem. Makoto will see the demon that is haunting them and Toyama and Makoto work together to help the student who is in trouble. There also seems to be a sinister boy who is promoting the growth of said demons and is most probably tied in with all the problems at the school. The art feels like a 80s Shonen Jump series despite the fact that it came out in 2006 in Flex Comix. I don’t mind it but I know that is a turn off for some people. The stories themselves are cute and entertaining thanks to Toyama and Makoto being a good team. Toyama comes off as bad-ass when he needs to be and we are slowly seeing Makoto grow as he works with Toyama. The series is not a must read but it is an excellent choice if you want a light supernatural mystery.
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10.02.09
Posted in Anime, Manga, Ongoing Investigations, Video Games Tags: Canaan, Oh! My Brother, Professor Layton, Rocket Girls, Shin Mazinger Shogeki! Z-Hen, Tokyo Magnitude 8.0, カナン, レイトン教授と不思議な町, ロケットガール, 東京マグニチュード8.0, 真マジンガー 衝撃！Z編 at 6:58 am by reversethieves
I received a copy of Oh! My Brother 1, one of the latest series coming from CMX, and by the same manga-ka as their other recent release, The Name of the Flower. This short two book series revolves around Masago who is rather average in all things and her brother Shiro who is rather extraordinary in all things. When Shiro loses his life saving Masago from a speeding truck, he doesn’t actually go away. In fact, his spirit gets implanted in Masago so he can help her and take care of some unfinished business on Earth. Masago is tied between blaming herself, feeling inferior to her brother, and helping him because she loved him so much. And she is in love with his best friend. Sure that sounds complicated but the story is rather tame, it’s unclear whether or not Masago will really change or grow, in this first book she doesn’t seem to. The story is not surprisingly, rather silly and highly dramatic at times but never seems to do either extremely well. With this premise I expected the comedy to be turned up much higher. I found this better than The Name of the Flower but on the whole it is just a serviceable little series.
I am very curious to see what my friends that started Tokyo Magnitude 8.0 at the same time I did have to say about the series as a whole. It was an excellent show with a unique premise. By taking such a tremendous but mundane event as a major earthquake you get all the power and excitement of a fantastical plot but with all the weight of story feeling of reality. The major divide in people’s feelings will come with the fact that each third of the series has a different feel. The last third will either make some viewers claim it as one of their favorite series of the year or it will make them walk away feeling very disappointed or even betrayed. It is an ending that has to be experienced fresh for maximum impact. Therefore I suggest you avoid spoilers for this show until you finish it and then let the actuality wash over you. No matter how you feel about the ending you can not deny that it made you feel something. Read the rest of this entry »
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09.04.09
Posted in Anime, Events, Manga, Ongoing Investigations, Video Games Tags: +C Sword and Cornett, A*NI*ME: Japanese Animation Production class, Go! Tenba Cheerleaders, Kidou Senshi Gundam-san, Professor Layton, The Walking Man, ごてんばチアリーダーズ, レイトン教授と不思議な町, 佐藤 大, 機動戦士ガンダムさん いつつめの巻, 歩くひと at 6:36 am by reversethieves
I recently attended the Student Anime Film Screening & Discussion with anime scriptwriter Dai Sato at the Japan Society. There, 25 students attended the A*NI*ME: Japanese Animation Production class for two weeks to learn the basic philosophy, theory, and techniques behind anime production. They were split up into 5 teams which had to create a full write up for an anime series or movie complete with character descriptions, plot outline, and a small trailer for their pitch. After the trailers, Dai Sato and the other instructors mentioned what they liked and what could have been worked on. They were always very polite and kind but Dai Sato did give them legitimate feedback in a constructive manner. The first group did a pirate adventure very similar to One Piece called Casa Dulce in which a band of pirates are looking for the legendary Utopia but instead find family through their crew. The students in group two did an adventure series called Floreixen about a society were peoples’ destinies are determined by the eggs they are hatched from. The third group did a western horror influenced series called Scindo in which a mad scientist calling himself Grandfather kidnaps a group of teenagers and injects them with a drug called Scindo. The fourth group proposed a title called 99 where everyone is a partial conversation cyborg but one day a man who is 100% human is found and he is quickly draw into a conflict. Our last group was the only on to pitched a movie, it was called Hybrid where a half human/half robot boy goes on an adventure that makes him wish to seek peace between the warring human and machine sides. We were then shown a dubbed episode of Samurai Champloo about a graffiti battle. After the episode each of the groups was given an award. The first group won the grand prize but all of them got some award of recognition for what they did best. Even though the projects were clearly amateurish they were enjoyable considering they only had 2 weeks to complete the project and much of their time was spent learning how to do the writing and the philosophy behind it. Kishotenketsu the 4-part structure for Chinese and Japanese narratives seemed to be an important part of the classes and was mentioned by each group. After the award ceremony I got my Eureka 7 case and Narutaki’s Cowboy Bebop case signed by Dai Sato.
The Walking Man by Jiro Tanaguchi is a simple, short piece about a man exploring his new town which emphasizes the beauty of noticing the little things in the world and taking a minute to appreciate them. It also seems like a great excuse to draw incredible backgrounds and environments. In fact this is one of the few times where those take precedence over our character so much so that he doesn’t even have a name. The dialogue is sparse with some chapters having none at all. It doesn’t even come across as slice-of-life but just these very brief, serene moments in time.
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