Category Archives: Otaku

My Crunchyroll Is No Longer Crunchy?!

Why am I desperately slapping away at my keyboard for this one? Because it effects me and my viewing of great shows such as Fruit of Grisaia and Another—I like really twisted anime.

Similar to what present hackers left for many gamers this year, anime-centric service Crunchyroll is currently down due to a DDoS attack. If you don’t know what that is, it’s this terrible thing that makes online services unusable for an unknown length of time.

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Digital Attack Map explains this annoying  phenomenon.

What’s to learn of all these attacks on some of geekdom’s greatest entities?

There’s nothing we can do about it. I would recommend changing a password or two, but other than that there’s nothing to do. However, I wish these people would just leave things alone. Us geeks love anime and gaming. It’s what lets us escape from our crummy jobs and often dull lives for a bit. When our extracurricular activities don’t work, it causes a lot of stress and anger, which is often misplaced on the services we love so much.

Instead of sending a message of how you just can’t live without Destiny or how you must know what will happen to poor Naruto, think about the people behind those services.

Until Crunchyroll returns, I’ll be playing some single player games. Stay cool.

 

Monthly Subscription Box of Candy and Dreams: Japan Crate

Apparently there is a monthly subscription service that sends you an assortment of JAPANESE CANDY!

Different box options

“. . . we’re a bunch of Japanese candy lovers on a mission to spread the wonderfully strange candy from Japan straight to your front door.”

Every month Japan Crate sends its subscribers a box filled with crazy snacks, candies, drinks and DIY kits. Box sizes range from Mini ($12) to Premium ($30). Shipping & Handling is free (within the U.S.) and you can cancel your subscription at any time.
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DIY Kit
DIY Kit

I want. Forever. How am I just now learning about this? I can’t wait for mine!

Pokemon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire – More Excellent Remakes from Nintendo

Nintendo has a knack for creating fantastic remakes that ooze nostalgia, but still hold up among other games. One of my favorite DS games was Pokemon Soul Silver, due to my love for the original Silver Version and from just awesome content overall. Now a new game has crested the horizon.

I got to play the Ruby Version on my GBA in middle school. It was a strange and dark time, when bullies would pick on Pokémon players, yet it was during this time more people picked it up. Friends who I didn’t know played video games were suddenly asking me to evolve their Clamperl. Oddly enough, even though I sunk hundreds of hours into the game, I considered Ruby and Sapphire to be a weak upgrade from Silver.

Hoenn
Hoenn is mostly water, letting trainers explore the seas atop their Pokemon or by diving below the surface.

My main issue with the original games is the scope of the game. The Johto Region is huge, and after beating the Elite Four players, one could visit the Kanto Region to beat up classic Gym Leaders. By comparison the Hoenn Region feel small and the towns are small and condensed.

This is where Alpha Sapphire and Omega Ruby shines. Not only has Mauville City been completely redone, but also many areas feature larger set pieces and sweeping camera angles. Add this with the ability to soar through the sky makes Hoenn feel vast and vibrant.

Pokemon-Omega-Ruby-and-Alpha-Sapphire-Will-Enable-Players-to-Fly-Through-Hoenn-462157-2
Soaring adds a whole new level to the region.

Aside from the sheer expansion of the world, the new games add all the lovely features from X and Y. Pokémon Amie, Super Training, and the Player Search System are all conveniently under one tab on the touch screen. Players can also use a DexNav, which lets trainers see what Pokémon is shaking the bushes. The more the trainer encounters the same Pokémon, the more information becomes available during a scan. It’s a really cool feature I believe will be abused to gather the ultra rare Shiny Pokémon.

Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire also enhance the way players interact. Using the move Secret Power on specific spots lets the player create a Secret Base. After setting it up with traps, dolls, and more, players can then share their base with others. The coolest way to do this is by creating a QR code which can then be saved on the system’s SD card.

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secret-base-artwork-pokemon-omega-ruby-alpha-sapphire
Secret Bases let players make their own gym, albeit on a much smaller scale.

Scouring the internet for Secret Bases is awesome and extremely rewarding for both the finder and the hider.

These games retain the colorful presentation of X and Y. The backgrounds are gorgeous and the special effects are really cool. New Mega Evolutions have also been added, giving new forms to old favorites, including the starters Sceptile and Marshtomp.

mega_sceptile__lightning_rod_by_wyvernsmasher-d7mau29
Mega Sceptile becomes a Grass/Dragon type.

So far, I’ve had a blast reliving this memory. I can’t wait to finish the main game to see what lies beyond. Pokémon fans will want to pick this up as soon as possible, but I’d also recommend it to anyone with a 3DS and a love for RPGs.

Groudon and Kyogre were the first Legendary Pokemon to have a large impact on the game's world.
Groudon and Kyogre were the first Legendary Pokemon to have a large impact on the game’s world.

Raise your fists high, Pokémon has never been better.

Looking for some Friend Codes? Here’s mine: 5472-7523-9877 – Alex. Be sure to contact me on Twitter with your code. Also, send me tons of QR bases. It’s my favorite feature so far.

Manga Series: Guts’ Adventure Begins – Berserk Volume 1 Review

*Warning: this post contains some explicit language and description*

Few manga manage the impressive feat of telling you everything you need to know and can expect within the first five pages. Berserk opens up with the main character, Guts, making love to a woman by the fire only  to reveal herself as a demon mid-climax. Unaffected by the interruption, Guts dispatches the demon in the series’ iconic gory manner with sinister glee. As Guts prepares to continue his journey, he looks back at the mess he left, and a regretful expression appears on his face. Berserk is famous for its copious amounts of sex, gore and plot twists, so I would say this is an excellent introduction to the series.

The first volume primarily deals with Guts’ journey to kill demons known as apostles, underlings of the mysterious Godhand. During his travels, Guts comes across his elven sidekick, Puck, a childlike spirit who develops a keen interest in Guts, despite his selfish and violent nature. After instigating a full scale slaughter in the name of killing a single apostle, Guts travels with a priest and his daughter to his next destination, where he is asked by a mutilated man to kill the local Count, who happens to be the apostle Guts is looking for. The volume ends as the man reveals himself to be in the possession of an egg-shaped object known as a Behelit.

The art on display here is top notch, to the point where I often forgot I was looking at a two dimensional picture. This effect is brought about by the excellent use of shading throughout the manga. This ranges from simple touches such as appropriate body shadows to distinct contrasts in light to create almost life-like light effects. Shading isn’t used just as literal detail to create depth, it is also used in metaphorical ways, such as completely blacking out Guts face after a kill, save a small patch of sharp white on his eyes, to demonize him. The art itself is lush with fine detail, especially during action scenes where Kentaro Miura shows us exactly how much he loves his violence. With each hit, blood splatters, teeth are knocked out, entrails burst from bodies, and many of these scenes involve entire towns. When Guts gets to fight the first apostle, we are treated to the gorgeously horrific snake armor of the apostle, with a snake head that casts an ever lingering shadow over the demon’s face, rough, spiky scale armor and flowing cape.  There are also several expanse scenes of the various environments, during various states of duress, with equally as much attention to detail as the characters. The only major complaint I can level against the art is Puck, who looks so unsoiled compared to everything else that the little elf can be something of an eyesore and feel completely out of place.

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It isn’t even the art on its own that makes Berserk such a beautiful comic to look at, it’s how the art works together with the dynamic panel layouts. No two pages of Berserk resemble each other; something about each one’s direction keeps the book animated throughout. Pages bring focus to the most important panels, characters literally pop out, huge events such as invasions are given appropriately large spreads, and dialog boxes expand over the images to emphasize key dialog.

While Berserk is exceptional in terms of its visuals, the first installment’s tale is not quite as spotless. For a series that has just begun, Berserk does quite a bit to convince the reader that there is far more to the world and characters than meets the eye. World-building is done in unison with the progression of the story, allowing readers small glimpses into the greater picture of the work, without delving into excessive exposition. However, the way the story unfolds becomes quickly obvious, with the basic rule of thumb being that the dark route will always be taken. By the time the priest showed up, I knew far before Guts got in the carriage with them that they were not going to be alive for much longer, especially since the priest’s daughter was built up as this innocent, sweet girl. Puck is also a somewhat sour point because his desire to follow Guts makes less and less sense as Guts continues to commit heinous acts in his quest for revenge. The story does make it apparent that Guts has a more human side, but with Puck having just met him, it stretches the suspension of disbelief for him to willingly pal around with Guts knowing what he is capable of.

As the start to the legendary series, volume 1 of Berserk creates great interest in continuing to read. The art is a shining example of what the medium is capable of, and each panel flows into the next as it should. The story is relatively predictable and simple, but begins the process of setting up its world without the need for excessive exposition. Overall, this is an introduction that gives the reader a very good idea as to what can be expected for the future, and that is the most important feat a first volume can achieve.

Manga Series: Phoenix Volume 1

Volume one, titled Dawn, of the twelve part Phoenix series takes place in the earliest time period of the series, early Japan. The story follows the main character, Nagi, in the aftermath of the slaughter of his tribe at the hands of a foreign invasion. Taken as a slave by Saruta, the commander of the invasion force, Nagi ventures to a far off kingdom and bears witness to Queen Himiko’s fall to General Sarutahiko. The titular Phoenix ties the fates of all involved together, as each character has their own reasons for pursuing the legendary immortal bird, and new faces come seeking the bird as well.

Osamu Tezuka’s art is famously simplistic, taking direct inspiration from Disney, in its presentation of goofy, round characters with exaggerated proportions. Detail on characters is also kept to a minimum and as such many of the character designs start to blend together. Bowman and Himiko’s brother, Susano, can often times be hard to differentiate from each other. This is made easier by the fact that they rarely appear on the same panels together. The women of Phoenix are an even worse case. It seems as though Tezuka had a very specific idea for what made attractive women because the single woman who looked unique was considered ugly by all the other characters, until she was discovered to actually look like everyone else.

Tezuka’s character-designs aside, the actual art as a whole really comes alive when viewed as it was meant to be viewed: sequential art. Each panel flows perfectly into the next, and in many cases Tezuka plays around with this, mostly to comedic effect. In one instance, Nagi returns to his homeland to find his sister Hinako determined to repopulate his village, and the entire conversation takes place with her husband Em Dee, Nagi, and Hinako in their own columns of panels. As the conversation progresses, the characters’ expressions become more exaggerated and they begin to interact directly with the panels culminating in Hinako’s grand revelation, sending Nagi flying through the page into Em Dee. Even when the series utilizes standard manga panel set up, the bouncy and active scenes are a pleasure to look at.

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Tezuka uses the very boundaries separating the panels to add life to the pages. Image found on http://madinkbeard.com/archives/phoenix-volume-1-dawn

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Dawn also features a cast of fairly interesting and complex characters, both heroes and villains. Saruta is introduced as a merciless killer at the Queen’s beck and call, willing to murder women and children in her name. As he interacts with Nagi and gradually realizes the corruption of Himiko, Saruta becomes a caring father figure for Nagi, in place of the family he killed. It is Nagi’s relationship with Saruta that allows both of them to be endearing characters. The actual subject matter covered in Dawn is quite dark, and the story often takes startling paths. Over the course of the narrative, themes of mass killings, corruption in government, disease, and starvation are addressed. Never are these instances treated in a grim fashion though. Comedy can be, and often is, right in the next panel, and there is never a sense of dread from any of the events that take place. Early on, Saruta orders the complete slaughter of Nagi’s village, women and children included, under the belief that his loyalties as a soldier lie with the Queen no matter his orders. The actual execution of Nagi’s village is shown, but it is both bloodless and cartoony in nature, complete with visual gags and pop culture references in the aftermath.  While this makes the manga an easier read for a younger audience, it can make those who fully understand the implications of what is going on uncomfortable.

Now it might be noted that all the characters I used as examples in the previous paragraph were males. This curious little observation is not due to the fact that female characters do not populate the story; I have already mentioned a few and there are plenty more to be talked about. To say the gender politics demonstrated in Dawn are dated is potentially giving them too much praise. The only woman in a real seat of power is Queen Himiko. She spends the entire story obsessing over her looks, to the point that she literally ignores an invasion of her land. Another particularly egregious instance is when Saruta is captured by Sarutahiko, he is forced to marry a woman. Saruta acts harshly toward her because of her homely appearance, despite her only reason for getting  married was to save his life . After she reveals that the ugly face was merely a disguise, she begins to be treated with respect. There are other usages of women as plot-devices such as being used as hostages, and getting the male characters in trouble trying to save them.

Phoenix: Dawn is an interesting if not sometimes awkward read due to its backwards gender politics and its lighthearted treatment of its grim subject matter. The male leads are surprisingly well-rounded, especially the relationship between Saruta and Nagi. The art captures the simplistic joy of Disney retro cartoons, while still creating exciting scenes to keep the reader interested. The actual story is well-paced and constantly developing, giving every page something to weave the narrative’s thread further. Even with its issues, Phoenix is definitely a suggested read for any fan of sequential art.  Copies are hard to come by even online and can be quite expensive. My copy cost me about $40, but it’s a worthy addition to your collection.