I’m at episode 15 of the 24. I’ve watched 8 episodes in the last 2 days…and I hope to finish soon. It’s not the odd, random anime I first thought it to be.
No spoilers but I’m pretty interested to see where it goes.
Love the beginning of the intro:
Choose Your Theme
Archive for the ‘Anime, Manga & Comics’ Category
Steins;Gate
Tuesday, September 11th, 2012 at 1:11 amThings change…Part II
Thursday, August 23rd, 2012 at 1:40 amI’ve been watching this Persona anime and I’m finding it’s been really bad/boring. Actually, I found X-Men Anime bad and boring to. I thought it was because they were simply bad shows but…I think my standards just got higher.
Some of the first animes I ever watched were Initial D, Get Backers, Hikaru no Go, Gate Keepers, S-cry-ed.
Initial D and Hikaru no Go hold up, I could watch any episode now and still love it.
Get Backers and Gate Keepers, I must have watched over and over and over and over again. I loved them so much. But…I don’t really watch them anymore. I still think parts of Get Backers is good (the first 25 eps), but not all of it is great (actually, it starts to get bad as soon as it starts deviating from the manga, so that’s probably why). And Gate Keepers was one of my favourite animes before but I’m finding now that it’s pretty generic.
Actually, I’m realizing that Persona is almost exactly like Gate Keepers in terms of storyline flow. 2-3 characters introduced in the first 3 episodes. A new character joins each episode afterwards, joining the ensemble. The final team is realized. A few episodes of character development and/or filler. The climax / epic battle. Is Persona really awful because I’ve seen it before (as Gate Keepers)? Is it awful because it’s like Gate Keepers but worse? Or is it simply awful because I’m no longer 20 and I simply don’t like the same stuff anymore. What, the highschool anime kids aren’t as relate-able to me anymore? Probably. And that makes me feel sad. And old.
But I’m also not the same person who’s so….crazy anime fan anymore. The person that, if I met now, would probably be like ‘umm, ur weird, i’m gonna go stand over here now’ *walks away*. I sometimes cringe at the eager, ultra enthusiastic person I used to be but I don’t regret it. That was me then and this is me now.
I mean, look at this list of things I bought at FanExpo ONLY TWO YEARS AGO
….actually, that’s a bad example because the only things I bought there, that I wouldn’t buy now are 2 DC Ame-comi figures. I’d probably have purchased everything else.
Damn, I thought I would have been like “I would only buy 10% of this stuff”. Okay, maybe things haven’t changed that much in 2 years.
….but in 10, definitely :)
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The problem with getting older is a lack of time. You have a full time job now. You come home and many days, you’re exhausted. You have family and friends to be with. And you have your own projects. You simply don’t have the time to waste on bad shows. You have to use your time effectively. So maybe the reason these shows bother me so much is that I know there’s better stuff out there. I’m just not watching it….and I’m too OCD to leave it unfinished.
Honestly, I want kids. I’ve always wanted kids. But right now, I don’t want kids. Because kids eat up your time. You’re no longer just you. You have a priority that takes far more precedence than yourself. You learn to be more selfless. Less selfish. And that scares the personal side of me. Because I love things as they are now. I want kids. Eventually. I just want to still live the loving couple life. Not the loving family life. Not yet at least.
What If: Prince of Tennis: Nationals
Sunday, April 22nd, 2012 at 3:29 pmI’m re-watching Prince of Tennis: Nationals OVAs right now. As I was falling asleep last night, I let my mind wander…what if the other Nationals teams played each other? Now, it’s complicated to switch the orders around so to be fair, I left all the orders the same. Also, for Shitenhouji, I put Oshitari back in over Chitose cuz Chitose is a single’s player so having Chitose and Zaizen as a double group would be weird. Anyways, this is how it all went down (in my head).
S3 – Oshitari VS Shiraishi
Winner: Shiraishi
Shiraishi’s good enough to beat Fuji Shusuke. He’s more than good enough to beat Oshitari.
D2 – Hiyoshi & Mukahi VS Koharu & Yuuji
Winner: Hiyoshi & Mukahi
Hiyoshi & Mukahi are far too serious to fall/be caught up in Koharu & Yuuji’s pace.
S2 – Kabaji VS Ishida
Winner: Ishida
Kabaji would try to copy Ishida’s hadokyu…which is basically one move, with strength variations. But Ishida’s stronger than Kabaji. This would be like Ishida VS Kawamura but without Kawamura’s drama and miracle ball.
D1 – Shishido & Ohtori VS Zaizen & Oshitari
Winner: Zaizen & Oshitari
Is Shishido & Ohtori that good? Shishido has no real skill/moves. Ohtori has a fast serve…which I bet the genius Zaizen and the Speed star Oshitari could handle that no problem.
S2 – Atobe VS Toyama
Winner: Atobe
Toyama can return any ball that Echizen can hit. But even Echizen…Sanada, or anyone can’t hit Atobe’s World of Ice. But Toyama can’t do the Tezuka Zone. Basically, I’m saying that Toyama isn’t smart enough to beat Atobe’s World of Ice.
S3 – Sanada VS Shiraishi
Winner: Sanada
I won’t lie. Sanada’s pretty damn strong. Regardless of how Shiraishi’s bible plays, I don’t think he can defends against the FuuRinKaInZanRai.
D2 – Kirihara & Yanagi VS Koharu & Yuuji
Winner: Kirihara & Yanagi
Yanagi and Kirihara are…pretty damn strong. Each of them is individually strong. I don’t think Koharu & Yuuji have a chance.
S2 – Niou VS Ishida
Winner: Niou
This one’s tricky because Ishida is SO powerful. But Niou’s an ingenious trickster. He’s also the best copy person in Prince of Tennis (beating Kabaji, and Wakato). I’m sure Niou would find a way to win.
D1 – Marui & Kuwahara VS Zaizen & Oshitari
Winner: Marui & Kuwahara
This is the trickiest of all matches because I don’t know either side too well. Simply based on who Rikkaidai and the rest of their team is, I’ll give this to Rikkaidai. Even if Marui & Kuwahara lost, it doesn’t change the rest of the outcome.
S1 – Yukimura VS Toyama
Winner: Yukimura
Not even close. Yukimura.
S3 – Oshitari VS Sanada
Winner: Sanada
Sanada’s on a whole other level.
D2 – Hiyoshi & Mukahi VS Kirihara & Yanagi
Winner: Kirihara & Yanagi
Kirihara & Yanagi are on a whole other level
S2 – Kabaji VS Niou
Winner: Niou
Copy Genius matchup. Except Niou is WAY better in terms of technique. Also, he can copy anyone whereas Kabaji can only copy the guy he’s playing, generally.
D1 – Shishido & Ohtori VS Marui & Kuwahara
Winner: Marui & Kuwahara
Marui & Kuwahara are on a whole other level.
S1 – Atobe VS Yukimura
Winner: Yukimura
Yukimura is on a whole other level.
So basically it stands that Rikkaidai is #1. Shitenhouji comes in #2. And Hyotei comes in #3.
Just like the real anime!
It was nice spending 3 hours making a blog post whose conclusion was that predictable.
Prince of Tennis : My Dream Junior Invitational Team [Part II]
Tuesday, December 13th, 2011 at 1:12 amI went to this Japanese Library today. I discovered it a few weeks ago and borrowed 3 volumes of Hikaru no Go and 2 volumes of Bakuman. I returned those today, and took out 5 random volumes of Prince of Tennis manga. I didn’t read the regular PoT manga – just the last few chapters (before the anime came out) and the New Prince of Tennis manga that they have out now.
Anyways, I watched a random PoT episode during dinner and it happened to be a Junior Invitational Team episode. And then I randomly remembered…that the Junior Invitational Team is usually based on the members that make it to the Nationals right? It was just filler in the anime and done before the Nationals in the anime….but supposing the Junior Invitational occurred after the Nationals?
My original dream team (of the players up until the Nationals was already described here): Prince of Tennis : My Dream Junior Invitational Team + Naruto : Rock Lee VS the Chuunin Exam. This is at their current skill level of the series (before the Nationals).
Yukimura Seiichi (S1)
Tezuka Kuministu (S2)
Echizen Ryoma (S3)
Atobe Keigo & Fuji Syusuke (D1)
Sanada Genichirou & Kirihara Akaya (D2)
Tachibana Kippei (R)
So what if the members were based on all the members from the Nationals too [at the point of skill level just after the Nationals] ?
[Note] : While making my list, I realized that there are only 2 new teams of characters, the characters from Higa Middle School and the characters from Shitenhoji…so the list is actually pretty similar. Tho there are quite a few skilled players from Shitenhoji.
Anyways, let’s start thinking of contenders [15]:
Tezuka Kuministu [Seigaku]
Echizen Ryoma [Seigaku]
Fuji Syusuke [Seigaku]
Yukimura Seiichi [Rikkaidai]
Sanada Genichirou [Rikkaidai]
Renji Yanagi [Rikkaidai]
Kirihara Akaya [Rikkaidai]
Tachibana Kippei [Fudomine]
Kiyosumi Sengoku [Yamabuki]
Akutsu Jin [Yamabuki]
Atobe Keigo [Hyotei Academy]
Oshitari Yushi [Hyotei Academy]
Kintaro Toyama [Shitenhoji]
Shiraishi Kuranosuke [Shitenhoji]
Chitose Senri [Shitenhoji]
I dunno if Akutsu Jin should be there among the rest…probably not, oh well, he gets cut in the next list:
Cutting the guys that I don’t think are as good as the others gives me these [10]
Tezuka Kuministu [Seigaku]
Echizen Ryoma [Seigaku]
Fuji Syusuke [Seigaku]
Yukimura Seiichi [Rikkaidai]
Sanada Genichirou [Rikkaidai]
Shiraishi Kuranosuke [Shitenhoji]
Kintaro Toyama [Shitenhoji]
Maybe – Tachibana Kippei [Fudomine]
Maybe – Kirihara Akaya [Rikkaidai]
Maybe – Atobe Keigo [Hyotei Academy]
I need 8 tho….I think I’ll cut Kirihara Akaya and Tachibana Kippei. I think they’re the weakest of this group.
Now, looking at these 8….who’s S1 to S3 [Singles] and D1 and D2 [Doubles] and R [Reserve]…
Hmmm….okay this is my lineup. I’m not TOO happy about some of the choices though.
S1 – Echizen Ryoma [Seigaku]
S2 – Yukimura Seiichi [Rikkaidai]
S3 – Kintaro Toyama [Shitenhoji]
D1 – Fuji Syusuke [Seigaku] & Shiraishi Kuranosuke [Shitenhoji]
D2 – Tezuka Kuministu [Seigaku] & Sanada Genichirou [Rikkaidai]
R – Atobe Keigo [Hyotei Academy]
I think S1 and S2 are givens. No rational behind that.
I really struggled with S3…Kintaro didn’t really do well against Yukimura, S2. But given the fight he put up with Echizen just before, I think he could have taken Tezuka or Sanada, my contenders for S3. Atobe Keigo fits nicely into the Reserve spot because while he’s strong, Tezuka/Sanada level, I don’t think he’s there yet with everyone else. I’d be curious how he’d play against Kintaro or Shiraishi though.
The real fun is D1 and D2. While I believe that the D2 members, Tezuka and Sanada are stronger than Fuji and Shiraishi individually, I think that Fuji and Shiraishi would have much better teamwork than Tezuka and Sanada, who are both skilled but definitely individual type players.
I <3 Fuji. I think he could beat everyone except Echizen and Yukimura....but I like that his personality could do Singles and Doubles. I think his greatest asset on the team is being able to play doubles whereas everyone else is more of a Singles player. For D2, Tezuka and Sanada is kinda like putting Sanada and Atobe together...except with the latter, neither really respected one another. Atobe didn't respect Sanada's play and Sanada didn't think Atobe was good enough. On the other hand, Sanada knows Tezuka is good enough, and would thus respect him. Tezuka, not one to get careless, would play well with anyone...but his play style is complete, and thus better suited for someone that knows him and is less impulsive [Sanada > Atobe].
I would like a Reserve Doubles to be Echizen and Kintaro cuz I think a double super rookie combo would be awesome. It’s unfortunate though, because Echizen is bad at doubles.
What do you think of my list? Agree/Disagree?
/off to watch something
Hikaru no Go
Thursday, October 6th, 2011 at 2:33 amIt’s late and I should be sleeping but I just wanted to write about how much I love Hikaru no Go. <3 I re-watched it again while sick this time...burning through each episode. The best part about Hikaru no Go...is that I find it's a timeless journey. I often pick random episodes of Prince of Tennis to watch because I can watch almost any match. I often pick the same episodes of Initial D to watch because I like to watch certain battles. I often pick certain episodes of Gundam Seed to watch because I like them. But after I watch these episodes or arcs, I'm pretty much done. The arc/story is over. It gets slow again and I can jump on or off again at any point. I have no attachment to continuing with the character's journey. With Hikaru no Go...while I admit I don't enjoy the first 15 episodes nearly as much as the 60 that follow it, I find that once I start watching, at any point...I just keep watching and watching. The story is long, slow but dramatic. And while there are different moments in Hikaru's life, there aren't story arcs. It's simply watching someone growth and being taken along for the ride. It doesn't have multiple climaxes like women like Gundam Seed, or Initial D does. You don’t watch rising action periods, followed by short climactic periods.
It’s overall slow…but not slow paced. If that makes sense. It’s not low then high then low then high. It’s always rising….
LOL…I’ll explain it as the way I’m thinking of it in my head (warning: a bit nerdy):
Most shows are like a sin or cosine wave. Up and Down.
I think Hikaru no Go is an exponential graph. Slowly exponential, but exponential. Or maybe just linear. Like y = 1/2x or something. It’s good…and gets better. And better. And better. And then you think it can’t get better. But it does. Kind of how Breaking Bad is to me. I can’t think they can keep topping themselves, but somehow they do it. It’s probably the best dramatic show I’ve ever seen in my life.
There’s such a masterful cohesive story and character appearances within the show, it really builds towards a fully explored life. And I love a cohesive story :)
I wish there was more Hikaru no Go.
On nights like this, when I’ve finished the anime, and then gone to the manga for MOAR, MOAR. I just wish there was more Hikaru no Go. It’s not so much I want to see what happens in the end, or to the characters….I want to be there for the rest of the journey.
I’m sad there isn’t more. I just love it so much. And it never once disappointed me. It’s always good…..