Saturday, November 27, 2010

Which is Better: Durarara!! or Baccano!

Misinterpreting a friend just isn't as funny as when you do it as a child. As we grow, the belief that we have all mastered the concept of speaking becomes an everyday standard. If we mess up, it's the 5 second glare and then a nonchalant "What?” However, if you error in a foreign tongue, the result is amazing comity.

Does this mean that or minds have the capability to revert to that childlike ignorance by simply learning another language?


That is a question that is not answered by either of these series, created by ASCII Media Works, but if I had to say which one could be better used to answer it, I would have to say Durarara!! would be the winner.

Simon Brezhnev, a character from Durarara!!, is a Russian sushi chef that often confuses his Japanese resulting in a wholesomely convincing and humorous character , although he is usually very serious. This uniqueness in character is much more distinct in Durarara!! than it is in Baccano!


The plot in Durarara!! seemed to flow much more naturally than Baccano!'s, which seemed almost rushed to me. It almost feels as if the producers just wanted to get Baccono! out, specifically, to have this comparison between series become a grand event. Many of the characters are very similar to the ones in Baccano! and in many ways were not as enjoyable. For example, many of the characters in the show, that were supposed to be viewed as the protagonists (of which there are several of in both series), had overly violent and self-destructive tenancies.


One such character is Chane Laforet, who had her own voice removed by her father just to keep his secrets. Although noble of Chane, what kind of relationship is this trying to portray. It's simply scary and deranged.


While it did have some greatly fleshed out characters, such as Ennis and Jacuzzi Splot, many of them appeared to come to unrealized ends, as if they had simply been thrown in for no reason. The cast in Durarara!!, however, seemed to all serve a greater purpose that just felt more cohesive and relevant.


I understand that the plot of Baccano! is set in the era of prohibition and that the modern era that Durarara!! is staged in is more relevant to life today, but that's not what I mean. The characters in Durarara!! had a much more cohesive feeling and felt like family, where as in Baccano! some of them are so deranged that it was hard to relate.


The plot in Baccano! is a fantastic mystery aboard the rail train, the Flying Pussyfoot, and I am not saying that the story is bad, but at times it becomes overly confusing. it is alost impossible to understand half of the story without looking up character bio's or reading the Manga beforehand. From the perspective of and avid anime watcher, I have to say the Durarara!! entered their characters in a much bolder way that really stood out.


I have to site The Headless Rider, Celty, and Simon Brezhnev specifically on this aspect. Celty had one of the greatest entrances around in the very first episode. It was mysterious and ominous, just the way it was intended and it instantly gives the show a very fleshed-out appearance that goes well with its suspension of disbelief. She goes beyond all badassary, as she blazes in on her dark motorcycle.


Simon Brezhnev has a great presence from the very start as a monolith in the story, as well. His authority is uniquely softened with his occasional mishap in the Japanese language, which makes him lovable, an aspect that’s hard to come by in Baccano! because almost all the immortals are too mischievous.

It is also important to note that Baccano! only has one exclamation point, were as Durarara!! has two.

Sunday, November 21, 2010

Soul Eater - Why All the Hate?



A lot of controversy surrounds the new Square-Enix Soul Eater anime in comparison to the Soul Eater manga.

They are very different. The anime has ended, while the manga books still keep churning out. The manga is great and almost everyone agrees that the anime is too throughout the first half of the series.

The reason is that the first half of the series follows the manga to a tee. The latter half of the the series ends in a way that many fans didn't like because it portrayed a female in a strong role of masculinity.

The show is meant to be an action fantasy and having a girl that wields only a scythe's apparent 'lak of strength' seemed to not warent her being able to defeat a major villian. It always has to be that useless male character that somehow wins and save the day?

I think not.

Maka, is the characters name and she is doing a good job at changing gender roles in fantasy anime. I feel that the ending of the show was warranted because Maka certainly wields a mighty strength to be able bodied enough to wield her scythe, which is actually a person named Soul.

Specifically, episodes 32 and 43 have come under some fire for their lack of content. Excaliber has been labeled as annoying in the series and is later regarded as even worse. His role in the series did seem to be this specifically rather than just a comic relief.
The show has always been a vary different sort of fantasy anyway, which its ultra-stylized moon and sun and its use of humans as weapons.

If I had to criticize the show for anything, it would be for not letting their Wii title reach the United states.

Apparently, Americans wouldn't respect a title that was actually unique and had a story with some substance. There should really be a company that specifically tracks down gems like these and brings them here. I do understand that this is essentially what the developer Atlus does currently, but they aren't doing good enough a job if this game falls through the cracks.

Thursday, November 11, 2010

Anime Fans Rejoice! [One's Who Value their Time]

No longer do we have to play 200 + hours of .Hack games to gain important plot elements!

Games are now streamable.



You can watch the videos. [This is .Hack//infection]
You can watch people play. [This is .Hack//G.U.]
You can choose. [Any Game]

I chose .hack for my reasoning behind justifying the lazy act of watching games. There is just no way to do it realistically. I mean I am dropping $100 on the first four games, which would take about 240 hours. Then another $100 on the G.U games, about 80 hours. Then the ten manga and the six anime plus the card game and psp games = INSANITY

OK, so I exaggerate a little.

I watched the last three of the four .Hack games, up to .Hack//Quarantine, in a total of 2 hrs. This saved me 198+hrs of my life for a good story in an OK game that sometimes gets repetitive.

That's right. There is no longer a need to play. I know your thinking, "What are you crazy? Playing games is my life!"
OK, so yeah its fun, but the lasting benefit isn't there and the .Hack series is just to huge to pay the whole series.
I like MMOs where I can have lasting benefit, but that's just me.

If you agree with that though, then all the more reason to play the new .Hack//Link PSP MMO the last game in the series, apparently.



It has lots of characters from the series and some people are complaining about it, but COMMON!
The battle system looks great and it is what Hack fans have been waiting for forever.

A .Hack MMO that WON'T SHUT DOWN SERVERS.

Anyway, my point is that it it the same way for many other series. Gungrave especially. It's just less time consuming to watch the games rather than play them.

This is a great way for that businessman on the go or that overworked housewife to get in their dose of plot elements without missing their flight or timer.
Oh and also, the rest of us.

Friday, November 5, 2010

Black Rock Shooter

A new anime has arrived and it is getting laughed off the stage!

An anime inspired by a computer program called Hatsune Miku has just been released.

Hatsune Miku is a famous program that holds concerts now.

Ok I’m sure your thinking: “Wait, a program holding concerts” or “dude everyone already knows…” I will explain in this next paragraph.

Hatsune Miku is a program that creates a voice that the user can edit, in any way he or she wants, to sing a song. This ‘robot singer’ has been given a cute anime schoolgirl image complete with a family for the other programs that were later spawned who also got anime makeovers.

Black Rock Shooter is a song that is based off a work of art.

Ok

So everyone loved the song Black Rock Shooter. They decided to make a $100 figurine for the song.

That’s right, just for the song.

Then people bought the figure so much that they decided to make an anime out of it.

No one liked the anime.

I was very excited for the anime and didn’t find any huge flaws, so I was a little taken by surprise when I found out how much everyone hated it. It was very contrasting to the previous love that this concept was shown. Come on people! Show Shooter some more love! Don't let them stop at just the anime. Black Rock Live Action now in theaters! Just kidding.

I think It might be possible that everyone was just too excited about the anime and had too many hopes and dreams that were of the caliber suggested by the songs fan base and then were shot down when they realized the anime was about school.

Just goes to show, you can’t base an anime off a figure off a song created by a computer program off an art book and expect it to sell.

Here, have a reward for reading this far. It's a Hatsune Miku song! =^-^= [Definitely not a shameless plug...]


Tuesday, November 2, 2010

Don't be fooled; The Best Figure Website is



This is the best figure site I have ever found!



If you have a better site please tell me though, because I am not perfect.

There can be not other dis clamors.

This site is amazing beyond compare. Their shipping is great, customer service is great, selection is never ending, point system is very good if not the best, and they have monthly drawings for free merch.



Yes I can be more corny, but the site is no joke, they even sell paint and tools.

The more products you buy here, the more points you receive. If you store up enough points you can buy merchandise in the special category. Sure it's a small feature, but it only gets better, and never throws up on your carpet.

There is even more incentive to buy and participate in the community because if the monthly drawings. When you review the product you can leave feedback. Each feedback posted counts as a ticket in the drawing for each product category, but they are mostly figures.

If you save up your comments and post them all on the month of the category you want, you can post them all in that category, strengthening your chanced for that figure that is just right.

Members in the community can post their figures and get feedback from other paints as well.

The search almost always turns up the right figure so you can look them up before you paint them. This community is thriving and there is usually several versions from users. The search is wonderful. I t always turns up with that one series that no other site has.

Some sites send you shipping invoice after the order, this one doesn't. They are no nonsense and that's what I like about them.