Something Ambiguous

Abandoned

2010-10-24T19:06:00.000-04:00

It feels so abandoned here, programming eats away all the time that chemistry studying and watching Papuwa and such doesn't take up. Though I did see the first four episodes of Queen's blade (while programming in C) and it was pretty good (and would be so even without the nudity). Papuwa I've seen part of before and it's still good, it's much crazier and nonsensical then FLCL though. Well with that I guess it's back to studying for chemistry! You all have fun

Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha

2010-09-26T00:15:00.001-04:00

I just can't get into this series, I've SLOWLY been watching it. First I did a bunch of episodes in a week, then one episode a week, now I'm down to biweekly. Lucky I only have two episodes left, but I don't know why I just can't get into it, maybe I'm just too distracted by school work and such now.

The Sky Crawlers

2010-08-02T22:14:00.000-04:00

Alright I just finished watching The Sky Crawlers (a movie involving planes and war) and I enjoyed it. Though basically the movie is social commentary on a variety of topics. The backgrounds looked beautiful, but the characters left a lot to be desired and the voice acting could've used a lot more enthusiasm. To get the full experience of the movie though you HAVE TO stick around for the minute or two of the movie that is AFTER the credits otherwise you miss out big time. At first I was like this is the worst ending ever, but then I fast forwarded to after the credits and I was like WOAH what? It's a mind trip I'll tell you what. I don't like giving spoilers away so I won't say anything, but there are parts of the movie you could sleep through and not miss a beat. That being said I'd still recommend it.

Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea

2010-08-01T09:50:00.000-04:00

So I finally watched Ponyo and I must say it was really good. Not the best Studio Ghibli film, but it was still really good. I just wish they did like a 20 years later kind of thing at the end of the film, but it still wasn't all that bad of an ending. Pacing was good and it was only an hour and forty or so minutes, but the children are loud like in Totoro, which is annoying because normalization doesn't work lol. The dubbing was good too, but the subs and dialogue didn't always match well. I did notice one anomaly though: a house was drawn reflected in the water, but the reflection left out the roof over one of the first story windows of the two story house it's no big deal, but I expected more from them.

I've been watching Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha over the past few days as well and I'm liking it, but I'm likely to watch The Sky Crawlers or the anime rendition of Batman in Batman Gotham Knight.

Please Teacher

2010-07-28T17:18:00.000-04:00

So actually I'm still watching watching this, but it's not all that good. They have the stupidest names and sayings. Like his disease is a "standstill" what kind of stupid name is that. On top of that the teacher always calls things her "priority one". It's pretty obnoxious. Not much happens here either... basically the same thing over and over. I'm sure the ending is good though, I watched that far once, but the sequel Please Twins was much better.

Also my graphics processor does this weird thing where it uses 70% GPU constantly even when not playing a game, but seems so only after I play a game. Might be due to the newest drivers though and may be on the UI only.

Please Twins

2010-07-23T09:30:00.001-04:00

So I just finished up Please Twins (and the OVA) and it was pretty good though this is the second time I've seen them it's been so long I didn't remember most of it. For a 12 episode long series it was actually well paced and the ending was really good, but it's one of those anime where you have to sit after the credits and on top of that it's one of those anime which starts with story before the opening and I really hate when they do that. There are some parts in between that are boring though so it loses a few points there, but it's pretty funny at times so I guess it's pretty good. On top of all that there were times when it was obvious that they were saving budget like repeating two frames over and over and over and over and talking without moving their mouth and such. Still all in all a good series.

On a side note there's some more issues that I don't know if is from the motion interpolation or from the media player, but sometimes if I load up another show it will load the new show's frames and audio and still keep the old audio playing with it!

Well Please Teacher is up next some time, but I think I've seen that already too.... but no matter I'll watch it anyway!

Gun X Sword

2010-07-22T05:27:00.001-04:00

So it took a while, but I finally got through it. It wasn't that it was bad or anything, I just have been busy. It's a pretty awesome show and one where the bad guys really weren't all that bad necessarily. The whole story was one of revenge and not really one of these evil guys or anything. The ending was pretty awesome as well, but there's really not room for any sort of sequel because of the whole point of the story, but definitely worth a watch!

I started using motion interpolation as well. It double the frame rate to near 60FPS and the shows look a lot smother, but the problem comes in seeking and edges. When seeking the screen flickers the old frames over the new with the new audio and sometimes with lines on the edge it will flicker there too, but it looks a lot better.

Makai Sengki Disgea

2010-07-06T05:05:00.000-04:00

Disgea was pretty funny, dood! I've never played the game so I don't know how similar it is, dood! It was pretty good, dood! It was way too short though, dood! Needed more Prinny, dood! I'm done here, dood!

Ushio and Tora

2010-07-03T22:33:00.002-04:00

This show was pretty funny and there was plenty of action too. The animation style is old so it looks weird. The extras are pretty hilarious too: the deleted scenes and the comically deformed theater. The two main characters were developed pretty well, but the side characters stayed pretty stagnant sans one or two. The ending on the other hand was a let down, but was still satisfactory. I also would've liked to see Ushio's father more. Well there's a long list of anime to watch, but I still don't know what's next... probably Disgea.

Oh I forgot to mention that the end song is obnoxious because it is like 6 minutes long!

Suzuka

2010-07-02T22:33:00.000-04:00

Alright so I just finished watching Suzuka and it wasn't bad, but it was pretty much your average high school drama anime so no monsters to fight or anything like that. Though it was 26 episodes long they did not really develop most of the cast and that really did pull away from the show especially when a character or two show up as foreground characters, but only a handful of times and only only say a few words and often their next appearance will have basically the same lines. One of them seemed like they should have been meant to be a foil of sorts, but pretty much every time they appeared it was like everyone ignored them and it detracted a bit from the show. I really would've like to see Miki and Yasunobu be more fleshed out, but what can you do?

On a side note I've been playing APB: All Points Bulletin a lot over the last few days and it's super fun, but it's still got a few bugs to work out that really do suck like VOIP randomly cutting out for extended periods of time or the random crashes and disconnects. Still super fun though.

New Layout

2010-06-23T22:35:00.002-04:00

Yeah, I am back. Amazing I know. I think this is a record about to happen. So, yeah, we decided to change the layout. Time to become slightly more professional and stuffs. Oh, and it might keep changing. Like, maybe the colors. Who knows. But be on the look out.

Aquarion

2010-06-23T20:35:00.000-04:00

Okay so Aquarion is probably the best anime I've seen since Kanon, which was the best anime I saw since uh... the one before it. It was epic either way, I just am sad I don't have the movie and OVA. Well I think that covers my epic anime stint for now, I have plenty more to watch, but I just don't think I should right now. Guess that's that, now I'm out of things to put here so uh..... *dances* okay maybe not *stops dancing* er..... have fun!

Not Dead

2010-06-21T23:28:00.000-04:00

Sorry I have been gone so long folks. One of the problems of being a blogger is being involved in way too many projects. Like my new blog Back on the Street. I want to thank Enzer for holding things down. He is privied to an idea I have for posting on here. Something involving audio. So, be on the look out

Sakura Wars

2010-06-21T08:48:00.000-04:00

So Sakura Wars was pretty good, I've wanted to finish it for a while and actually did so early morning Saturday, but I had to head to Connecticut for Father's Day and it was actually not as bad a trip as usual. Well the anime was good and the ending was good it had good pacing, but they didn't really show a gradual improvement it was: they're good then losing a lot now they're really powerful. They actually had that as part of the story though because their Kobu (steam and spirit powered mechanical armor) run off their spirit power which changes depending on mood and such and near the end it gets so high the Kobu can't handle it so they need to be modified so they can get super powerful. All in all it was really good and had a good ending as well, but there are a few OVA that I'm wondering about... Well I guess it's time to start a Aquarion!

Misaki Chronicles

2010-06-17T06:04:00.000-04:00

I remember now that I hated how Divergence Eve ended. The whole thing was another time reversal like ending only this time it threw you back to Misaki's cadet days and then ended abruptly. I actually liked the plot of both of them and the only real complaint I have is the over excessive use of computer generated 3D graphics! Except for ship innards, parts of the planet, and the characters (not counting ghoul and ghoul like creatures) everything is CG. It doesn't give it a good look at all and seemed more like a cheap tactic as animating a clunky robot or craft is a lot cheaper in 3D as you don't need to redraw the model you just tell it to move. They really did feel completely out of place in an anime world and it felt like I was watching Gundam Savior at points, ugh... Anyway everything else is okay to good, nothing super spectacular, though it's oft confusing and the ending needs clarification, but I still liked it. Nonetheless it's Sakura Wars on the chopping block next.

Magikano

2010-06-15T14:53:00.000-04:00

I still think I saw this before, but I have no record of it, either way Magikano was pretty funny. In fact the only thing I didn't like about it was the ending which if you must know was a time reversal so the whole series didn't happen... maybe that's why I don't remember, time got reversed and I ended up not watching it! Well there's not much more to say actually, it was kind of run of the mill, but I had some good laughs anyway. Alright, next up is a rewatch of Divergence Eve then it's time to watch the Misaki Chronicles which is technically the sequel I believe. Happy hunting strangers!

Venus Versus Virus

2010-06-15T01:13:00.000-04:00

Venus Versus Virus was pretty entertaining, but like Moeyo Ken it didn't really bring anything big to the party. Worst of all the ending was unreasonably abrupt and lacked resolution. So I won't spoil anything here, but this is how it ended: big battle starts, action freezes right before the first blow, then some dialogue, then end. No resolution, nothing. That is really the only disappointing thing though. The odd part is that it's only 12 episodes, it's one short of one of the normal anime lengths, makes me wonder if they ran out of money or something. Well anyway, I already started watching Magikano... I have this strange sense of deja vu though, I Think I've seen it before, but it's funny none the less so far (1 episode down). Well, enjoy!

Moeyo Ken

2010-06-14T04:56:00.000-04:00

I just finished watching Moeyo Ken. It's not a very good anime, but it's not very bad either. I enjoyed the plot though with the mixture of modern and ancient technologies, but for some reason nothing really stood out, but nothing brought it down either. I wouldn't put it on top of my recommendation list, but it won't waste time either, might've been better off making it into 24 episodes instead of 13, but it didn't feel rushed, it just seems like it would've done better for the story and the experience to drag some stuff out more. My favorite character though was Nekomaru, he just had the funniest voice. Anyway I guess that means it's time to watch Venus Versus Virus, have fun.

Kanon (2006)

2010-06-12T23:53:00.001-04:00

Kanon is a pretty depressing series, they kill off people more readily then Str.A.In ever did! In between the depressing or sad moments are lots of fun and funny moments though and I think they got a beautiful mixture of emotions to keep you going. One issue I had though is three characters went into the hospital and the main character only visited two of them and he only visited them once... when they were admitted and never in the rest of the series (I think it was about half for those two, the third one went in later and she was NEVER visited). I don't know if there is a manga, but if there is I hope that he actually did visit.

I really don't know what I'm going to watch next, I have a large selection of anime to choose from that I haven't watched, but Aquarion is coming later with Sakura Wars so it's either going to be Venus Versus Virus, Magikano, Moeyo Ken, or Divergence Eve (including the Misaki Chronicles), but I want to save that last one till later so forget that.

Str.A.In: Strategic Armored Infantry

2010-06-10T21:49:00.000-04:00

I just finished watching strain and I must say it was dubbed well. I like the plot a lot too, but it feels like it's rushed through and could have been expanded easily from 13 to 24 episodes. It's definitely depressing at points though because they don't care if they kill off a character as easily as slicing through a vacuum (which is super easy by the way). I like this though, they get rid of the whole "oh they're a main character, so they'll win this fight" kind of mentality. It also deals a lot with emotional problems

SPOILER {{the main character Sara loses everyone she's ever loved or cared about and puts up barriers so she won't make friends, then makes friends with a doll that is the key to her strain.}}

as well as showing issues with bullies and whatnot. I'm very confused by the ending though

SPOILER {{The main character ends up over 130 years in the future after fighting her brother due to near light travel, but her old crew picks her up! I can only assume they traveled enough at near light speeds to be able to barely grow older then her.}}

All in all I enjoyed the anime and would definitely suggest it, though there's not as much action as there internal struggles, but it helps develop the characters and really does work with the plot. I suppose my next anime will be Kanon (2006 I believe) but we'll see.

Karin

2010-06-10T05:21:00.000-04:00

Finished watching the anime Karin. Karin is an anime about a family of vampires living in Japan, but Karin herself is an unvampire and instead produces blood. It was pretty funny and I enjoyed it a lot. Though like most comedic anime it got really serious at the end and I would have liked it if it didn't.

Now I'm watching Str.A.In: Strategic Armored Infantry. It's a space combat anime where they make these things called mimics that are made from embryonic fluids when you're still in the womb, so if it's destroyed you can't fly a strain anymore as it is some sort of control interface kind of thing. It's actually pretty good, but the beginning was really unexpected.

SPOILER: Everyone dies, okay it's at the beginning not a big, but the main character's brother turns traitor and kills everyone at the training camp his sister is at, almost including her.

Also this anime has a character named Dickon and they pronounce it dick in.... really bad idea lol.

BarTab

2010-05-24T13:49:00.000-04:00

http://www.howtogeek.com/howto/17713/put-unused-tabs-on-hold-in-firefox/

I've been using that Firefox extensions for a long period of time now and I definitely recommend it. It has kept low the memory usage of the browser and on top of that it will speed up loading more and more the more tabs you have open. Thus I definitely recommend it! I may make a list of my favorite few and place them on here, or do one a week or something (but look how our plans go, they don't, especially with so many video games to play).

Will there be more craziness later in the week? we'll see!

Finals are more then a minor annoyance!

2010-05-10T11:41:00.000-04:00

With all the finals stuff going on: studying, testing, and writing papers; we here at Something Ambiguous have been very busy. In fact the whole college experience has been keeping us a bit busy, but hopefully when summer vacation rolls around we'll have more free time to do things (or the other side of the coin... we won't... mostly due to video games and work, perhaps some extra schooling too). Though I have been posting twitter reviews on games I've been playing, it's more short and sweet then here. I do want to get a full L4D2 review underway soon, not as epically long as my other I suppose though. I'm not sure what Sage Gnosis has planned, but I know there was talk about doing more once the summer starts, so stay tuned (in a week or so when summer actually starts).

You people who actually read this, have fun... and good luck on your finals (if you've got 'em).

Still Alive

2010-02-21T00:16:00.002-05:00

I just want everyone who reads this (that guy) to know that Sage Gnosis and Enzer are still alive, and just to prove it we brought in a special gues GlaDOS!

http://www.vgcats.com/comics/extras/stillalive.php

Also

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y6ljFaKRTrI

Title

2010-02-01T17:13:00.002-05:00

Body

(that is all)

Someone is a little touchy about macs....

2009-12-29T01:32:00.000-05:00

Also someone doesn't know that the definition of PC is Personal Computer, not Windows Computer...

http://www.techeblog.com/index.php/tech-gadget/the-pc-wins-this-round-all-thanks-to-a-webcam

Merry XMas

2009-12-25T21:04:00.001-05:00

Enzer and I thought you guys might like this

Happy holidays everyone!

2009-12-21T15:31:00.000-05:00

video game addiction is serious.

2009-12-16T21:20:00.000-05:00

It's been a while... here's this barely entertaining video about video game addiction... okay I found it less funny then a friend of mine, but I'm putting it here anyway.

Disgusting, but in more ways than one

2009-11-02T22:11:00.000-05:00

Ok so just for future reference, black face is never ok. Don't tell it is cool for a costume party or something. It is straight up wrong. Here is a good reason why. You can't do white face. You just end up looking like a clown or a geisha. Besides, in no way does black face have a pleasant history. Like Minstrel shows. Anyway, this is Dallas Cowboys cheerleader Whitney Isleib. Sorry, I guess some of you might not care. I just find this very very fucked up. And don't say well she's just a cheerleader because if Johnny Damon did this you'd hold him and the Yankees accountable. So, have the same standards fro Dallas Cowboys, she represents the team after all.

This strange thing.

2009-10-31T14:06:00.001-04:00

You should probably watch this, it's violent but it's pretty awesome...

VIDEOGIOCO by Donato Sansone from Enrico Ascoli - Sound Design on Vimeo.

VIDEOGIOCO

animation and concept by Donato Sansone http://www.myspace.com/milkyeyes

sound design by Enrico Ascoli http://www.enricoascoli.com

Been a while...

2009-10-29T02:44:00.000-04:00

Hmmm, been a while since we posted... here's an awesome picture involving McDonalds for you!

The best instrument EVER, the Eigenharp

2009-10-10T14:20:00.001-04:00

This video is all you need to know.

And I guess this article about them.

Reverse image search engine

2009-10-06T01:30:00.001-04:00

So this thing is awesome, TinEye allows you to upload a picture or hotlink to a picture, then it will find other pictures on the internet like it. It helps if you have a picture of an anime or something and you want to know who it is and/or where it's from... also it's torture Tuesday so here's a video, tee hee.

They just keep getting younger

2009-10-01T02:52:00.000-04:00

So according to a new study playing jump rope prevents aging. Yeah apparently the science behind it is that if you need auto insurance and jump rope, you stay young. Something about the chemicals released in the brain when you're jump roping and while mentally in the need of auto insurance. So if you want to stay young, need car insurance and most importantly jump rope!

Dirpy do

2009-09-28T14:43:00.000-04:00

How many people here listen to youtube videos, raise your hands... okay those of you with your hands down, raise them anyway. Alright so everyone here does, awesome. So way back in the day (last year or so, but there was a day involved) I used to use a 3.5mm to 3.5mm audio cable to record music off the internet (like youtube). You just plug one end into microphone and the other into speaker and record with audacity. Easy right? Yes, but now there's an easier way... Dirpy. All you need is a Youtube link and you're all set! Download your favorite Youtube videos as mp3's and listen to completely legal things that aren't music! No... no one will ever use this to illegally obtain digital medium of any kind.

Streetlight Manifesto @ Nothern Light 9/23

2009-09-26T18:01:00.004-04:00

“You can’t punch people at a ska show,” my friend Trevor said to me as we waited for the first band to play at the Streetlight Manifesto concert this past Wednesday at Northern Lights in Clifton Park, NY. Which is pretty much true. The overall vibe of that was something along the hippie ideal, treat everyone pretty groovy. Even if I wouldn’t necessarily throw the word groovy around to describe ska. Maybe something more along the lines of hyper relaxing. As kinetic as the synergy of a surprising collective of instruments.

The first band to open the night was punk-rock trio of Broadway Calls. They weren’t too bad as opening acts go. There energy was pretty good, but nothing that got the crowd all that amped. None too surprising. This was a group of individuals here to see Streetlight Manifesto. Who do we get to open? A couple dudes that sound like Fall Out Boy circa their Take This to Your Grave album. Only less about not fitting in and hot girls and without the cam whore to Pete Wentz to propel them to super stardom.

Following Broadway Calls was the much more appreciated !Outernational!. Now they were a riot. With a reggae old school punk sound, !Outernational! got the whole crowd going. A sign of a good band is when they can make their stage show seem like a relaxed practice session. That’s the vibe you get from them. Just a couple who love playing music for you. Especially when you a lead singer like Miles Solay actively interacting with the crowd pressed against the stage. And their trumpeter Dr. Blum plays a mighty mean horn.

After being all relaxed but psyched up by !Outernational!, I was more than ready for Streetlight Manifesto. In the lull of the crew setting up for Streetlight Manifesto, a chant began. Not just any chant. It was the opening lyrics to fan favorite Streetlight Manifesto song “Point/Counterpoint.” Impressive enough was that the vast majority of the crowd was able to sing the whole opening lyrics and even, humorously, emulate the instrumental interlude that follows. So it should come to no surprise that with the opening notes of the first song of their set that Streetlight Manifesto had the whole floor moving. And its stayed that way the whole night. If you weren’t part of the massive skank pit, you were jumping up and down. And if you don’t know what skanking is, look it up. I don’t really feel like explaining it here. So just type in ska and skank on YouTube and see what comes up. Wow, what a sidetrack. Let me just put it as simple as possible; Streetlight Manifesto rocked the venue. Unfortunately, even after enjoying a set list comprised of a lot of Streetlight Manifesto favs, I was saddened to be informed Streetlight Manifesto is going to take a slight break after they wrap up this tour to record a new album. Horray? Horray! Hopefully they will finish this album as quickly as possible so I can see them live again.

Recommended !Outernational! songs: “In Their Sights,” “Fighting Song,” “Future Rock”
Recommended Streetlight Manifesto songs: “We Will Fall Together,” “Point/Counterpoint,” “A Better Place, Better Time”

Would you could you?

2009-09-25T00:55:00.002-04:00

Sooooo, I have a question for all you readers out there (the two of you, yeah you know who you are). Would you kill one to save a thousand? I mean if there was only one way that this thousand could live was to kill that one person, would you do it?
~5
~4
~3
~2
~1
~0
Okay, good answer (or bad answer, or just plain old answer). Now if you said yes (or if you said no, or anything else for that matter) I have yet another question. Would you in fact kill a thousand just to save one? I mean if there was only one way that that one person could live was to kill those thousand people, would you do it? If so, who would that person be?

Batman Ain't Got Shit on these People

2009-09-14T22:47:00.000-04:00

Ok, so I have been a fan of parkour since I first saw an action reel of it on WAM. For those of you who don't have a ridiculous cable package, WAM is an offshoot channel of Encore targeted mainly at teens. Anyway, I have a lot of respect for people who can do this. I tried once and almost felt I was going to die. But that is a story for another day I promise. Right now, I want you to enjoy other people doing an amazing feats of awesomeness.

Tron + Daft Punk = Awesome

2009-09-14T20:39:00.002-04:00

I will always have a soft spot for Tron. When I was little, Tron was this epic live action Disney movie that had nothing to do with Disney. But even more than that, it made look cool to be a gamer and a nerd. I mean the only other gamer movie at the time was the Wizard. And the gamers in that movie were a douche bag and an autistic kid. Fucking great. Anyway, this is a great visual summary of the movie and it has a bitching Daft Punk soundtrack. I am giving this video the full 5 stars and you should too.

Bloody Monday

2009-09-14T01:30:00.002-04:00

Synopsis

A virus deal clinched in Russia on the Christmas eve. Purpose: unknown. Two clues: a mysterious lady "Maya", one of the gangsters, and "Bloody Monday", the keyword for the project. Then an incident happened in far-distant city of Tokyo. Fujimaru Takagi, a second grade student at Mishiro Gakuin high school, is commissioned to find out the truth by Public Security Investigation Bureau for his great ability as a super hacker. Now, Maya, approaching to Fujimaru, as his high school teacher.

# of chapters available: 86, ongoing
Score: 2.9 out of 5

In a nut shell

Bloody Monday is a story that starts off in a flashback around Christmas time in Russia. You a privy to an outbreak of some sort of bioterrorism virus outbreak. If it just continued along this track, Bloody Monday would be pretty boring. But then you’re transferred to the present day, where you meet Fujimaru Takagi a 2nd year high school student who is part of the newspaper club and the rest of its staff. Takagi is pretty unassuming, until you find out he is the renowned computer hacker Falcon. From this point, there is no breather in the manga as Falcon becomes entangled in trying to prevent another outbreak of the virus you see in Russia; dubbed “Bloody Monday.”

Pacing

I have a serious issue with Bloody Monday. While I love high end dramas, I love high end dramas that slow down every now and then. It doesn’t have to have occasional comedy. Nor does it need filler or some stupid plot device of fluff. But, what it does need is a moment where someone isn’t about to die, in fear of possibly being killed, or some other life or death situation going on. While the series has hit somewhat of a lull period, even in it there is a sense of urgency. I can’t say it makes me want to stop reading. In fact, if anything it does drive me to want to read more. But, the endings of each chapter are getting less and less satisfying since they are one huge reveal after another. I wonder when they jumped the shark.

Characters

Bloody Monday is mainly centered around “Falcon”, Fujimaru Takagi. As a character, “Falcon” is someone that entices you easily but the more you get know him you develop two distinct feelings about him. You either think he is a genius or you think he a smug douche bag. The problem with the characters as a whole is you only get to know them, for the most part, as machinations to the plot. Which is fine and all, but I wouldn’t really call any character fleshed out or anything. And, if you haven’t noticed, character development is pretty big in my book. Now, that’s not to say Bloody Monday is a revolving door of characters. I just wish they spent a lil more time fleshing them out.

Final Thoughts

Ok. So, yeah, I made up a score. Yeah, I know I usually use whole or half numbers. So sue me. I don’t care. Bloody Monday doesn’t deserve a 3. I just don’t like big reveal after big reveal story mechanic. There is only so much I can take of it. If you’re a fan of Lost, you may like it. Not that is all that similar to Lost. I just feel a lot of fans get off on that story progression mechanic. If you like fast pace, never a chance to breathe, than read Bloody Monday.

Read Bloody Monday here @ One Manga

The 13th God ~ Instant Transmogrification ~ Sword 01

2009-09-11T00:40:00.000-04:00

The first sword our (currently unnamed) hero obtains is this one. You know you like it like this. Oh, no need for a scroll box this time, wait till you get story line tee hee.

Name: Instant Transmogrification
God: Kuljar
Elemental: Space
Sword Type: Rapier
Power of self: Move instantly between point A and point B, as long as there are no objects completely blocking point B.
Power of attack: Move defender instantly between point A and point B, as long as there are no objects completely blocking point B.
Power of defense: Body takes up no space rendering oneself invisible/invincible, as long as the user doesn't move while in this state.
Power of objection: Change the amount of space an object takes up, this includes size and mass. Objects of changed space only last a short amount of time, depending on how drastic a change.

A sword forged from Kuljar, the god of space. Formed to look like the rapier and was never actually meant for fighting as much as it was meant to defend and be a form of transportation. Kuljar was the kindest of the twelve gods. He did not want to harm anyone, even if it would mean saving the universe. Because of his feelings he decided to be forged into something that would, to his hope, be used never to take another being's life, so he make himself into a mighty sword of transmogrification. Due to the fact that many have lost faith, Kuljar has now lost all but the simplest of his powers, but he can still use limitless power on the other swords, due to their powers being intertwined.

That's pretty much how swords go, probably will take a week to hammer out the next story, so until then, our hero is in limbo, or at least sleeping in his bed. Maybe he should heed a god's will and start doing something eh?

The 13th God ~ Prelude To Rapture~Page 00

2009-09-11T00:33:00.003-04:00

Welcome children. Sit around Papa Enzer cause it's story time. That's right, today is Fable Friday and I'll be doing an ongoing story with a section every week. I know, I know, it's going to be horrible, what hell what do I do that isn't? Aaaaanyway, this story is called The 13th God and today is the back story. In fact the back story is so long, I'm going to need a scroll box... hold on while I whip one out.

As the many dimensions of the ultimate existence (all that is and ever was) expand and contract, something mystical happens. When universes collapse in upon themselves gods are born from the extreme power. I will now define a dimension as another time continuum than ours, but not like ours (otherwise it would be considered parallel, which these are not), we can not normally interact with such other dimensions without the help of a powerful energy source equivalent to an entire dimension imploding. Now in one dimension as many as 12 gods existed and each was conceived of a universe in the same dimension (each dimension can have a seemingly infinite amount of universes that almost never get to interact with each other).

After the 12 gods were formed a great evil sprang about when a cataclysmic event caused a neighboring dimension to violently condense into an antigod, a being with such immense power that it can destroy other gods. The cataclysm caused the antigod to protrude into the dimension of 12 gods. The gods decided to fight back while the antigod was still forming in their dimension, they each morphed into one of the Twelve Swords of Holy Dissonance. With these swords the Hero of Holy Dissolution. The hero used the swords to break apart the antigod while in its forming stage and seal it away all over several universes. The hero also sealed away every sword along his travels in order to prevent one person from being too powerful in the universe.

Three thousand years have passed since that day and the antigod has risen again. The swords only reshaped the antigod, but didn't stop the forming, only slowed it. Now there is only one god left, the 13th god, formed from a small dimension one thousand years prior to the antigod's resurfacing. She is very powerful, but she would not commit herself to become a sword like the others. She called upon a new hero to collect the swords once again and use their force to end the antigod, with her help of course. The problem is that now that the god's faith has almost all but disappeared, their power has become meek compared to their former glory, but the 13th god has a plan. The hero was given the first sword by his grandfather on the day of his grandfather's death. This is the Instant Transmogrification, the sword of the space god Kuljar.

The 13th god picks up the faint feeling of faith in the closest sword and sends him to it.

Next part will describe The first sword, oooo shiny. But that gets its own post.

Playing a tune on a theremin!?

2009-09-10T19:04:00.002-04:00

Alright, so I couldn't think of a snappy name for Thursday, so welcome to Themed Thursday! WOO! *throws confetti* hmmm.... how bout this *throws funfetti cake* that's better, catch it with your mouth, it's not a lie, I swear. Aaaaanyway, I'mma post about the Theremin. Possibly the newest (and bestest) instrument on the planet.

If anyone wants to get me one, by all means. ^-^

I feel old, already 1010 years old.

2009-09-09T18:45:00.000-04:00

What The Frugal? No it can't be, how could selling a new Dreamcast game be frugal? Sure I enjoyed the system for many years, but it's already 10, and it was killed years ago. Oh and happy birthday by the way. I only wish it wasn't secured to a stake and subsequently burned to death shortly after its birth. But at least its spirit lives on with this publishing company, or maybe they just forgot about it and figured what the heck?

Virus virus everywhere and only a PAX to sink.

2009-09-09T18:26:00.000-04:00

What The Flu? Apparently there have been a few cases of the Swine Flu (H1N1) over at the PAX convention. I hope no one from Vale gets sick and turns into a zombie, I need Left 4 Dead 2 first.

There's not a deep enough pit in hell Best Buy.

2009-09-09T02:54:00.001-04:00

Welcome to WTF Wednesday. This post's topic? Why The Fib? This one goes out to Best Buy. I don't like to put personal bias in things, but man do I hate you guys 90% of the time. Who here knows what Linux is? If you said no, go on to a different post since the rest of this won't make you Hulk green with anger. Best Buy sells things, and this includes Windows 7. Well now Best Buy wants its employees to see the dark side of Linux. Linux is riddled with issues like incompatibility and security holes. Yep, Best Buy says it so it MUST be true... FALSE. I've used Linux (albeit not too extensively) for over a year. I've never needed to use Wine for anything (windows emulator). I could get my mail and IM people, but I must admit I used windows for games. Now poses that problem, but from what I understand Wine works well with games too, as well as another software I just heard about recently but forgot its name. I haven't used Linux in quite a while, nor had wine installed for the same time (I installed it as a precautionary measure every time I installed Kubuntu) so things have definitely improved. I also have never had issues with any security holes, but I guess the same is said for Windows, excluding malware of any kind and the occasional virus. Anyway here's the link to today's WTF Wednesday article, enjoy. This is why I hate Best Buy (or at least one of them)

Oh look Akira.

2009-09-08T20:46:00.001-04:00

Hey there children, I'm baaaaaack, with a bit of Torture Tuesday. Yep, days not over and I've got the THIRD, yes you heard me right boys and girls, third installment of Torture Tuesday, on its first day. So if you've ever watched anime you know Akira yes? If you dont... SHAME ON YOU... but that's really not the issue here, the issue is that it's having a live action version done by Warner Brothers. Do you really want another anime to be torn asunder by Hollywood? If you say yes, then not even the internet can save you. If Akira was being made like this on the other hand, then yes, I would so go watch it.

Hungry? Why wait, grab a leek!

2009-09-08T13:41:00.000-04:00

Hmmm? What's this? More than one torture full event in the same 24 hour period? I must hate you guys? Why would you say that? Why do you keep using question marks? Why wouldn't I keep using question marks? Is this your torture? No, it's not your torture? This is, but I can't embed it so... at your own discretion follow the leek?

Who doesn't want to dote up a cat?

2009-09-08T01:00:00.013-04:00

So guys, guess what? TORTURE TUESDAY! That's right, it's time to torture our readers (how few in number you may be). So I'm on the E-board of an anime club at my campus, and since I found out they don't like this video all that much, I decided to torture them with it, if they got unruly our president would play it, it was hilarious. So I bring to you the same. Torture, or enjoy. It's the intro to a hentai game Neko Kawaigari and it's called Dote up a Cat.

Tasty, peachy, placenta.

2009-09-07T19:43:00.002-04:00

So it's Manic Monday, albeit late in the day, but there's not much to post on Labor Day anyway. Well today, like most days will be, the craziness ensues from Japan. They've got tons of strange foods and drinks, and that's where we are today. Placenta 10000 (which is over 9000 by the way) is just a strange name for any drink, and apparently it's a "jelly drink". Scrumptious. It's over 9000 . Jokes aside this drink is made from the placenta of a pig and in this case it has 10,000mg, or 10g if you're so inclined. Oh and you can also get 400,000mg placenta extract if you want to go there.

Johnny Wanderer is EPIC

2009-09-07T19:32:00.001-04:00

So, I enjoy a good a web comic here and there. Yes, I read the standards like VG Cats, Crtl+Alt+Delete, and XKCD. You know, the shit ever other nerd reads. But, I do love me some Megatokyo and Applegeeks too. Well, Ananth over at Applegeeks has another called Johnny Wanderer that he writes with Yuko. Its pretty awesome and deals with hilarious and true events from their daily lives. One such comic, talked about how ridiculously diverse their apartment is. It would have been funny if it ended there. But no. Some guy named Sam Neiland had to write and produce an awesome song to go with it. SWEET! Here is the song for your listening pleasure.

Prelude to Awesome

2009-09-05T01:40:00.001-04:00

A review is coming and its tastier than a storm.

Sleep

2009-09-04T02:20:00.000-04:00

Sleep softly girl
Sleep softly girl and enjoy sweet dreams
that carry you to better morrows
Let Morpheus lift you and take you away
to his dreamland kingdom
so that your wishes
can become momentary realities
wrapped in packages shaped like lifetimes
tied neatly with the bows of eternity
given to you to make up for crappy presents

Eyeshield 21(manga)

2009-07-03T00:04:00.002-04:00

Eyeshield 21 (manga)

Synopsis

Kobayakawa Sena is a freshman in highschool. Despite his previous decisions to change his life, he finds himself in the exactly same place he was in during elementary school and junior high: a push over and an errand boy. However, this changes when Hiruma, the most feared person in his school and president of the American Football Club, notices Sena and forces him to join the Football Team. Now Sena will become Eyeshield 21, a mysterious running back with lighting fast speed.

# of chapters available: 333, series complete
Score: 5 out of 5

In a nut shell

Eyeshield 21 is your typical sports manga. It over dramatizes the action of the sport it portrays, American Football. You heard right. A Japanese manga about American Football. Amazing isn’t it? Kobayakawa Sena is a hero you can get behind. A person beat on all his life, discovers he has talent. And at first he is not sure of himself and then, slowly as the series progress, he becomes aware of his own ability. That is the general premise of Eyeshield 21. Not just for Sena. Unlike some other sports mangas, everyone hit’s a wall; a moment when their own skill is no longer enough. This is something I felt was greatly missing in the Prince of Tennis, where there were characters who seemingly came up with new techniques with seemingly no training involved. Which is in stark contrast to Eyeshield 21 where you see how hard the characters labor to become better. Hard work, that’s what the soul of Eyeshield 21.

Pacing

Eyeshield 21 has a standard sports manga pacing. For one, its heavy on the speed lines. I am always impressed on how easily all of the panels seem to flow into each other. I have one main complaint about this manga, and its maybe something to be said about the sports manga genre in general, is the oddity of the passage of time. Its hard to understand how a whole play seemingly takes a whole chapter. Then you come to realize that only 3 yards was gained in the process. It seems a bit much. Maybe that is just me.

Accuracy?

This is the big question. How accurate is Eyeshield 21 American Football to actual American Football? Well, that is tough to say. I mean, it is hard to say because of the fact that it is a manga. Mangas have to dramatize things to make them interesting to read. Example, Sena’s trademark move is the Devil Bat Ghost. It is a maneuver in which Sena makes a cut that creates an illusion of himself. He splits in two and passes by his opponent. In actuality, the Devil Bat Ghost is nothing more than a really good cut. This is similar to a lot of moves in Eyeshield 21. However, that is the beauty of the series. There is no magical impossible techniques. Instead in Eyeshield 21 you moves that are real, that are just over dramatized. Like, Apollo’s Shuttle Pass. Its nothing more than a long pass. But how much cooler does Shuttle Pass sound? As for rules, Eyeshield 21 is fairly accurate. There are few things, such as Bud’s Karate Bump and the HaHa Brothers’ Delinquent Deathblow, that can be viewed as unnecessary roughness. Other than that, the series is pretty realistic and true to the sport it idolizes.

Characters

Eyeshield 21 has some unique character designs and almost every character is recognizable. From Hiruma’s sharp teeth and elfin ears to Kurita’s inhuman proportioned body, all of the characters have some sort of unforgettable trait. Also, as I mentioned earlier, character development is key to this series. There are two stand out examples. Haruto Sakuraba by the media was herald as the ace of the Ojo White Knights. In actuality, he was far from it. However, as the series continues, through hard work Sakuraba begins to be recognized as one of the top receivers out of all the Japanese American Football clubs, no longer because of his height alone. Hard work, that is how he becomes recognized. For Sena, it is the opposite. Sena was recognized as force to be reckoned with. However, he always had to face the fact that to some players, Sena was nothing but a fraud. He was not the real Eyeshield 21. But bit by bit, Sena becomes recognized as the one worthy of the title of Eyeshield 21. Not only that, but Sena becomes a stronger person in personality. Which, was one of his biggest but most understandable character flaws. His lack of self confidence does not last the entire series, which is appreciated. No one wants to look up to whinny kid with no self confidence.

I am giving Eyeshield 21 a 5 out of 5. Why? No, its not just because I thoroughly enjoyed the series. It is because, in more than few ways, Eyeshield 21 goes against the norms of the sports manga genre. On top of that, it has amazing story telling. The arcs in between football matches were as compelling as their more action filled counter parts. That is key to a series. If no one wants to read the slow parts, then how good is it really?

Read Eyeshield 21 at OneManga here.

Review Posted by: Sage Gnosis

Saint Young Men

2009-07-02T22:17:00.001-04:00

Saint Young Men

Synopsis

What if Jesus and Buddha were living on Earth in modern times? What if they shared an apartment in Japan? Saint Young Men is a humorous manga about the daily lives of Jesus and Buddha, with each chapter focusing on some element of modern life, such as Disneyland, rush hour on the train, Christmas, the public pool, carnivals, and more.

In a nut shell

Religion can be funny. The best religion jokes, of course, are the ones that involve a Priest and a Rabbi walk into some place or another. Well, how about a comedy manga about Jesus and Buddha as best buds? Doesn’t sound too funny? Would your opinion change if I said they were living in an apartment together in modern day Japan? Boy, does the hilarity ensue.

The Humor

So what’s the hook? To be honest when I read the premise on OneManga I thought it would probably make a good one shot. You know, one volume maybe five chapters the end. But I thought that would be good enough. I thought it be funny one chapter then I’d move on. I was so wrong. I am chapter 8 and its still funny. Nakamura Hikaru operates the humor on multiple levels. The first level is Japanese popular and regular culture. I grasp some of these jokes mainly thanks to translation notes. The next level is religious humor. This is usually satire on the lives of both Jesus and Buddha. However the funnier moments are when the make commentary on the established forms of their religions. These moments were probably the funniest. The last layer is Jesus’ and Buddha’s interaction with modern society norms. However, these moments usually involve Jesus. Like when he is thought to be a second generation Yakuza boss or when school girls think he is Johnny Depp. For Buddha, its people thinking he looks pretty close to Buddha (go figure) or mistake his hair for a hat or use his ears are straps on a subway.

Art Style

Stand up job, Nakamura Hikaru. The style in Saint Young Men is very light and airy. This suites the manga‘s slice of genre. Jesus’ character design relates more to the rock star personality he’s given. Buddha is depicted in his skinnier form and is drawn as a worrier. The Japan Nakamura depicts is pretty spot on and I conversed with a friend for accuracy. While not photographic rendering of Japan, Nakamura Hikaru does a good job of giving you the slice of life in Japan feel.

Characters

Ok. Its kind of hard to judge the characters here. I mean, this is Jesus and Buddha we are talking about here. So its not like we are talking about terribly original characters. With that said I really like the way the two are portrayed. Jesus is the rock star of the duo and apparently the least recognizable at the same time. He has a number one blog on T.V drama, where he uses the online handle of Jesse and constantly turns down Judas’ friend request. He is somewhat self centered, which one has to wonder if that is a commentary on Christianity. And he has a tendency to spend his money frivolously. Buddha is the hard ass of the duo. Depicted as penny pinching and practical, Buddha is the more grounded of the pair. He is regularly recognized as someone who “looks like Buddha” and is always in some impractical situation. The funniest thing about him is the use of his many faces and “Buddha Smile” to get his way.

All in all, Saint Young Men is a relaxed comedy series. There are times the jokes a little bit obtuse. Especially with Japanese pop culture references and jokes about Buddha's life, something we don't learn much about in America. However, there is enough comedy here for everyone. Hence why I am giving Saint Young Men the first 5 out of 5. I like the series that much.

Some Screenshots

Read at OneManga.com

*********I should warn you it has a very irregular release schedule*************

Review Posted by: Sage Gnosis

Blasreiter

2009-07-02T22:07:00.000-04:00

Blassreiter

Faced with an outbreak of demonic blood, which transforms humans into insane and hideous creatures bent on violence and death, only one man can stand against the tide of destruction. Joseph Jobson, the only man able to control his cursed demonic form, must hunt down the man who cursed him and save the world from apocalypse

In a nut shell

Blassreiter is pretty much what the synopsis says. The show details a paramilitary group Xenogenesis Assault Team, referred to as XAT, defending a non descript town/city in what can only be assumed is Germany from Demoniacs. Demoniacs, or also Amalgams, are humans that are re-animated from the dead into monstrous forms that are both agile and strong, an ability that is unique to them is that they can fuse with any type of machinery or metal to their bodies according to their will. The plot begins to evolve when there seems to be a force creating the Demoniacs to wreak havoc. The show takes an uneventful turn when it is revealed that there is some super hi-tech organization, Zwölf, that emerges to combat the Demoniacs and they’re creator.

Original?

Not really. In terms of tech, it is more of the same from Studio Gonzo. An almost seamless blending of cell shaded 3D animation and regular 2D animation, Studio Gonzo keeps up with their regular awesomeness. Well, at least on the visual side. The plot is a little routine. I won’t lie and say that there weren’t big reveals. Nor will I pretend that some of them weren’t a little shocking. But the problem is that after all the dust settles, I can’t say anything about the series was groundbreaking. Now, is that necessary? No. But if you’re looking for a groundbreaking series or to find something you’ve never seen before, Blassreiter isn’t what you are looking for.

Characters

I was really impressed with the character designs of this series. Naoyuki Onda and Niθ did a great job with the character design. The main characters were well designed. Most of them were pretty memorable. What does this mean? Not that I can easily recall what they looked like verbatim, even though I can. More so that they are easy to spot in a line up as a character from the show. Originality comes into play here again. Most of the back stories are a little face palm worthy. Especially Gerd Frentzen. Gerd was the number one motor cross racer until an accident involving a Demoniac renders him paralyzed from the waist down. Then he follows a pretty typical track of gaining the ability to walk and gains super abilities, being a Demoniac that isn’t insane. He eventually goes insane and kills innocent people, confronts the hero, and then begs to be killed before he hurts others. The only characters I fell in love for where minor characters. It may be different for you.

Setting and Mecha Design

This is really quick. I just have to give the art team of Blassreiter a lot of credit here. I really respect the effort put into accurately portraying the German country side, village atmosphere, and city atmosphere. Even before you are told the setting of the series, you positive it isn’t Japan and you’ll probably assume it takes place in Europe. Furthermore, once you receive hints its Germany, you won’t be too surprised. On the mecha design front, I was quite impressed. All of the mecha work is done in classic Studio Gonzo style of cell shaded 3D animation. However, how do I say this…as far as the Demoniacs and the Blassreiters are concerned they feel very EVA-inspired. The mechs themselves are pretty original and pretty cool. Just another notch in the not original column

I am going to have to give Blassreiter a 3 out of 5. While it is really cool and action packed, it just isn’t original enough for me. It is still enjoyable though. However, this is one of those properties where you can see why Studio Gonzo is in the trouble it is now a days.

Blassreiter First Episode

Watch Blassreiter here

Review Posted by: Sage Gnosis

Dogs ~ Hardcore Twins

2009-07-02T22:03:00.000-04:00

Hardcore Twins is a one shot that takes place in Miwa Shiro’s Dogs universe. It tells the tale of out of luck and ex mafia head Domino as he attempts to exact revenge on the person responsible for his fall from power. He encounter a strange pair of twins, Luki and Noki, and hilarity ensues as his luck keeps getting worse.

In a nut shell

What’s nice about Hardcore Twins as a one shot is that there aren’t a lot of inside references. This is great considering the fact that it is part of a larger universe that started with Dogs. Hence, it is an easy entry point for readers. If you like it, you can go back and read Dogs, which this one shot I believes follows pretty much directly after, and then go read Dogs ~ Bullets and Carnage. What is also great about Hardcore Twins, is that there are minor cameos abound of other Dogs characters as well as the few aforementioned references for fans of the universe already.

Characters

The character designs follow the trend already established in Dogs. I realize this probably doesn’t mean much because I haven’t reviewed Dogs yet. I’ll have to try and do and do this in order next. Domino literally looks the part of the down on his luck type of guy. His hair is disheveled, he is rocking the drunken salary man headband, and he just looks like he’s in disarray. Automatically, even if you read Dogs, you kind of want to sympathize with the guy. That is until you come across Luki and Noki. I am going to have to assume here that the two twins are girls. But, hey, you never know in manga. Moving on, the dresses Luki and Noki wear are pretty cute and it helps portray them as innocent. However, it also works with the various phases you see them portrayed as throughout Hardcore Twins. It makes them seem more comical when they are teasing Domino and makes them look demonic when they get serious. Also, the weird lazy dark eye they both have is a pretty distinguishing characteristic. I also really liked how they look exactly like two halves of one person. Even if it wasn’t original, it does work really well for the characters.

Art Style

Hardcore Twins is drawn in a very high paced fashion. The use of dark shading for intense facial close-ups was well done. Hmm, I guess I can throw pacing in here to. Because Miwa Shiro uses a very dynamic panel layout, the pacing of the manga does go really at an appropriate pace for an action based manga. Because of this, there is little use for classic speed lines or movement sound effect. This is something I appreciate as it shakes up the norm a bit. Another interesting aspect is having somewhat overlapping panels, where weapons extend from one panel and don’t necessarily effect the next panel they appear in.

Scanlation Job

This is no disrespect to the scanlation group MangaTranslation. I happen to think more often then not they do a wonderful job translating and editing their projects. However, I have one miniscule gripe. I notice on a lot of pages have that bent page quality. For those of you who have read manga or scanned a page from a book before you know exactly what I am talking about. For those that don’t, let me explain. When you use a close top scanner, which most are, you usually have the problem that when you scan the page the image has an obvious curl to it from the spine of the book. For me, this is a little annoying and it could have been easily fixed by the cleaner. Some of you may find no problem with this. On the bright side, I really do appreciate MangaTranslation’s translation notes at the bottom of each page. They were usually helpful or just plain insightful

Overall, Hardcore Twins is really a fun read. Like I said, it is a great entry point into the Dogs universe if you want to get eased into the pace. I warn you that this is one of the less graphic things in the Dogs universe so do not let the lighthearted action fool you. I am going to give Dogs ~ Hardcore Twins a 4 out of 5.

Read Dogs ~ Hardcore Twins here at OneManga.

Review Posted by: Sage Gnosis

Left 4 Dead Review (+12)

2009-06-20T03:00:00.000-04:00

This is my Left 4 Dead 5 second review, with 5 page thorough included. + is a positive point about that area while a – is a negative point about that area.
This is a link to my full 5 page review.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Left 4 Dead is a game published by Valve and released in North America on November 18 2008. Using the source engine and a very cunning AI director the game produces the feel of a zombie apocalypse quite well albeit a little cartoony at times. The AI director places items and zombies randomly throughout the levels, which increases replay value. The game features 4 campaigns with 5 levels each, single player offline (campaign only), online cooperative, versus mode, and survival mode.

Characters (86/100)

+ Well made dialogue
+ Lovable and relatable
+ Hard to get tired of
– Zoey can get annoying
– They're squishy
– Clothes can make them look like zombies at times (sorry Bill)

Infected (90/100)

+ Easily Identifiably
+ Make the game fun and challenging
+ Fun to play as
– Hunters can leap an infinite number of times in succession
– Tanks can stop you from reloading/taking pills even against walls
– Witches are sometimes put directly in your path and must be killed

Level Design (73/100)

+ They're pretty long
+ They're easy to memorize ergo hard to get lost
+ Can't fall to your doom unless you want to
– Very linear (needs entire level randomization instead of just item randomization)
– Easy memorization leads new players having a hard time keeping up with seasoned players
– It can be possible to get stuck in a level if you step on piles of many physics items (items that can move) or in some cases on locations where physics items are touching nonphysics items (items that can't move)

Items (79/100)

+ Weapons for all kinds
+ Good amount of items you can shoot to explode
+ Well thought out throwing weapons
– Not a large amount or variety of weapons
– No body armor or the like
– Pills are either overly abundant, or inexplicably absent (a lot of times a run through the hospital will yield zero pills)

Multiplayer (85/100)

+ 3 well made modes
+ Increases replayability
+ A lot of fun
– Griefers, lone rangers, newbies, oldies, idlers, etc can all bring a game down
– No versus survivor mode (it would be cool if the survivors could respawn as well in this case)
– Sometimes servers shut down without warning or the server is modded in a way you won't like (though I had fun on one with super low gravity and near invincible zombies)

Add modding the game (PC only) and factor in the ever awesome (and sometimes quite malicious) AI director the overall result is quite well.

All in all I believe overall Left 4 Dead deserves a solid 95/100

Seeing as the average was 83/100 that means the value added by bringing these things together is +12.

This is a link to my full 5 page review.

'Antennas Up' Album

2009-06-14T18:41:00.000-04:00

When did nerd music start becoming so cool? Honestly. I thought 80s game music was truly like an underground techno drum and bass thing. So, please tell me when it became a part of funk. Oh, you haven’t heard? No one gave you the memo. Oh, that’s right. Its not on MTV, FUSE, or VH1 yet. So, I guess its not valid yet. Well, the best thing you didn’t know about is Antennas Up.

For those of you not in the know Antennas Up is a lil indje band out of Kansas City, Kansas. The group is comprised of Kyle Akers(bass/vocals), Bo McCall(guitar/vocals), and The Ryantist(drums/vocals). They are fun type of funk group. Like get up and booty shaking type funk. Right now they have one self titled album. I have to say I am usually doubtful of promoting funk. Its not always the type of music everyone can enjoy. Sort of like ska. But I got to give Antennas Up some credit, I haven’t found a funk group this catchy or well received by my friends in awhile.

The coolest thing about Antennas Up may not even be their nerd inspired backdrop beats. No, instead they are part of the growing number of bands completely using the internet to the fullest extent. They have a Twitter, a Facebook fan page, a Myspace Music Page, and their album is available on iTunes. Its just amazing the amount of free net promotion these guys are milking it.

Back to the group. I totally dig the way they sound. I give them all credit for staying true to the 70’s funk sound. I also have to admit, I was expecting to see a black guy in the band. Just from the sound on the vocals. Surprised I was but not disappointed. The beat is always solid and there isn’t a single track on the album you can’t dance to. Maybe “Piano Song.” But overall, it really is just your typical feel good and get on your feet album. Another cool aspect of the album is the fact that each track flows right into the next one. So you almost feel like you’re listing to one long evolving song. My only complaint is the very thing I praised. That sometimes I feel like I am listening song with a few different lyrics and a different game beat in the background.

I’m going to have to give them a 3.5 out of 5. While they have definitely made their way onto my favorites list, I think its only because of geeky nostalgia and my eclectic music tastes. I don’t know how well they would do with non geeks or audiophiles. Which don’t take as I expect them to go mainstream. I just don’t think they have a broad appeal is all.

Performing "She's Evil" Live In Studio On Afentra's Big Fat Morning Buzz

"SP4C3SH1P" and "Don't Wait Up"

Myspace Music Page

Twitter

Facebook Fan Page

Antennas Up Swag

BUY THE CD!!

Review Posted by: Sage Gnosis

'The Arcade' Album

2009-06-14T18:31:00.000-04:00

The 80’s seem to be the decade that doesn’t want to die. From the leg warmers to bright neon vomited colored clothing, the 80’s doesn’t seem to be going anywhere. This becomes more apparent in today’s music styling as well. Just take a look at Hyper Crush. Who is Hyper Crush? Hmm, how do I put this? Oh, I’ve got it. Picture this, the Black Eyed Peas and 3Oh!3 have a baby raised in the 80’s. That sounds about right. And their album The Arcade is, if not musically, lyrically a homage to the 80’s.

Hyper Crush was recently one of may bands to perform at this year’s Bamboozle. Well, I missed out on Bamboozle so I decided to look into the bands that I hadn’t heard of. And boy was I surprised when I heard Hyper Crush. I felt like I was watching an episode of VH1’s I love the 80’s. That and I couldn’t handle all the bright colors. Did someone tell them neon was the new black? Or did I just miss the memo at some point? >.>

In all seriousness, I don’t know what to make of this band. I went to there web page to find out some boring bio info about the group. Well, Hyper Crush is composed of three members. Donny Fontaine, Holly Valentine, and DJ Preston Moronie. Although I don’t know if that’s their real names. Huh? Yeah. Let me give you a sample of their web page bio. The members met during a fistfight at Denny's in San Fernando. Holly was a waitress that broke up the fight. Donny started rapping in the summer of 1956, at some point winning a "freestlye battle" at the Country Manor Home for the Mentally disabled. Preston is an advocate of sexism and domestic violence. He is also a convicted felon and "full time" alcoholic. Holly was born in the "Jungles of South America". Holly fled to the United States after killing several Police Officers. Anyone else see some issues here? Well, at least this adds a fun and nonsensical flare to a band that’s chocked full of 80’s nostalgia.

Ok. So the album. Their only known album is The Arcade, which was released on April 29th, 2008. Yes, I know. I am a year behind. Give me a break. Anyway, their genre can only be explained as a mash-up of hip hop and electronica. Which is cool. Pretty much every song has an ill beat and I’d say a third of the songs are club ready as is. Some just need a good remix. The rest? Well, you could sneak them into an 80’s night and I doubt anyone will notice the difference. Which brings me to my next point. Their music style is dated. Not in a bad way. But it isn’t like you can say their sound is any kind of ground breaking.

As much as I like them I have a problem with some of their songs. Their most original sounding ones, like “Infinite Youth” and “Mueve Low”, are some of the weaker tracks. The track “Boom Box” has a very similar beat and lyrical styling to that of “Boom Boom Pow” by the Black Eyed Peas. While some other strong tracks I could’ve sworn were 3Oh!3 tracks when I had my iPod on shuffle. These tracks saving graces from being biters are the fact they are chocked full of 80’s references. Especially their strongest track “The Arcade.”

I’m give The Arcade a 2.9 out of 5. While the album is very enjoyable, I can’t shake the feeling like I’ve heard these songs before. Some of the songs even share similar lyrics. Also, how any times do you need to give group members and your band’s name a shout out in a song? I do recommend picking it up. But I suggest you give the songs a good listen before hand.

"The Arcade"

"Robo Tech"

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Review Posted by: Sage Gnosis

Mel Kano

2009-06-14T18:26:00.001-04:00

Synopsis

Shinjou Shouryuu is a healthy 17 year old high school boy. Many of his kouhais wonder why such a great guy doesn't have a girlfriend. Ask him and he'll tell you that between school, work, and saving his kouhais from bullies doesn't leave him much time to go on dates. So he instead goes online to "F.I.L. GATES". There in the chat room his alter-ego, Kakeru, is infatuated with the girl called Hal. Hal sends a message reminding him that Sunday will be the 6 month anniversary of when they first met (online) and that she wants to meet him in person! And let's just say it's not your typical first date.

# of chapters available: 12
Score: 3 out of 5

In a nut shell

Mel Kano is a pretty fun manga by Oshima Towa. Like the synopsis suggests, Mel Kano is a series about couples who meet on “F.I.L. GATES.” From what can be gathered “F.I.L. GATES” is a type of super Craigslist. Or it may be better to say its super web 5.0. It operates as a store, a Craigslist, a social networking site, dating site, etc. Basically all of your favorite sites rolled into one. Now while the basic set-up is different couples meeting in offline for the first time, the story does return Shinjou and Haruka. However, this time its them being enlisted by “F.I.L. GATES” secondary company “F-Eye.” “F-Eye” works to maintain the integrity of “F.I.L. GATES” through covert means. Hilarity ensues since Shinjou and Haruka are blackmailed into working for “F-Eye” at first with their chat conversations. It is here where the story revolves around Haruka and Shinjou working on cases for “F-Eye.”

Humor

This manga’s humor operates off of situational based comedy. Which works really well since it is intermitted with decent action and romance. The most humorous aspect of the series is Shinjou’s and Haruka’s relationship. Online they are sweet hopeless romantic sweet talkers. Offline they are both rude, abrasive, and just not how they are online. What’s funny is when the two get into arguments, they use texting and chatting in internet cafés to make up. Because the only way they know how to sweet talk is online. One of the most humorous situations is on Haruka’s and Shinjou’s first case. Apparently girls kept going missing after meeting on particular guy on “F.I.L. GATES.” The guy knocks the girls out and dressing them as otaku figures and then keeps them prisoners. And how does he dress Haruka? As a cat girl.

Art Style

I happen to like the style of the manga. Its drawn in a pretty traditional shoujo style. What do I mean? Even the bad ass scruffy boys look cute. The clothing is pretty trendy. It has a light airy style. I wouldn’t say its anything new. Although Oshima Towa has great character design, I wouldn’t say they’re memorable.

Characters

Shinjou is your typical bad ass super strong guy. The hilarity continues that he is the exact opposite online. He is headstrong and sometimes a jerk. However, he is loyal to a fault. Haruka is pretty much a perfect match. Except she has a much stronger sense of justice, which compared to Shinjou makes her almost a saint. She also goes looking for danger, unlike Shinjou who handles the danger that comes his way.

Overall Mel Kano is pretty cool. I enjoy the fact that it’s a romance story mixed with light action and hefty comedy. I give it a 3 out of 5. I mean, I almost think that is too high of a score. But I think it’s too early to really score it too hard. I mean there are only 12 chapters out right now.

Read Mel Kano at OneManga

reviewed by: Sage Gnosis