There are many moments during the course of NieR Automata where the game removes or reduces your control over your character to make you feel weak. However, there are also several moments when the game builds you up in power, and as opposed to tearing you down afterwards, makes you feel weak and like a failure even during the fact. Pascal's hijacking of an Engles robot is bittersweet as it sign...
After stumbling onto the OST for Etrian Odyssey V , I noticed that this franchise of which I'm quite fond of finally got something that I didn't realize was missing until now: a piece of music that serves as an anthem of sorts for games within the franchise. The theme that did this for me was End of the Raging Waves, a special battle theme that first appeared in the third game, and has since ap...
Hey Charlie? Stop. I said stop. Please. You're hurting me. Charlie... Please... Charlie... ...
After the first two episodes of this season's Muv-Luv Alternate: Full Eclispe, it was hard to avoid noticing the similar thematic elements it had going with the classic Gunbuster. There is the idyllic school setting prelude to a blood bath of a war, the masses of faceless space monstrosities, and the rather hilarious acronym names given to them. Most importantly though, there is the abundant us...
I had a wall of text written speaking to my reactions to this Kids on the Slope, but in hindsight, it really was just an excuse to get people to watch and listen to the following. So I'll save that for a later time and keep this brief. Kids on the Slope sets up musical pieces as important points in its story: music that symbolizes the wishes and motivations of the characters. In this scene, we...
This post might be better titled "How Cross Textual Knowledge Bites me In The Fucking Ass" I finally decided in a bout of grad school workload caused insomnia and depression to jump the shark and watch this movie . I always knew it was bad, but man. Mannnnnnnnn. The story and character portrayals are bullshit. Building the ultimate Gundam for the ultimate Innovator so it can go fly off and take...
The nomination phase for the second annual Sai Mecha has started once again. This is a time for bloody battle, vitriol filled hate, and the drinking of the tears of anyone who thinks Shin Getter Robo has a chance of being nominated. Head over to the the main site for all the information on how the brackets will break down, but I'll leave the rules for submissions here. 1. Choose up to 10 mecha,...
It's probably with some depressing irony and self-hatred that the situation surrounding this game has turned into a rather fitting topic for a paper in one of my communications courses. I won't bore anyone with the preliminary outlines of the paper. What I'm asking for is links to any articles or reviews published in reaction to either the game itself or the community reactions towards the game...
Source I'm personally not familiar with many of his works where he served as director. Shows like Lupin III, Astro Boy and Space Battleship Yamato were too far before my time. But there are two that served as the most formative experiences I've had with the anime medium. Super Dimension Fortress Macross drew me in and never let me go when I watched a syndicated version of it in China in 1990, 8...
Jeff's Chie FanFic: Vinny's Slash Fiction:
When I started my attempts at internet blogging about two years ago, one of my first entries was on Persona 3. What drew me to that game was the nature of the enemy, and the futility of the conflict. The ultimate evil in that game was Nyx. It was a being of death manifested by and attracted to the negativity of mankind. It knew no malice and did not seak power. It was instead manipulated by man...
Social Links are the non-linear story threads of the game. It allows for the player to delve and discover the depths of the many side characters the game throws at you. They are not required for progression, and yet are essential for fully experiencing the game. However, they are again, non-linear. Persona 4's attempt at translating this into the linear anime format leads to success and failure...
Adaptations are tricky things to get right. Cross-medium adaptations are even more difficult. Like others before it, Persona 4 wades its way through trying to capitalize on the source. And like others before it, the results are mixed, though I'd say it succeeds more than it fails thus far. Both in visual and audio, the episode strives for familiarity. Tracks from Persona 4's OST are inserted pr...
Note: Can't seem to upload images at the moment, so you'll have to make due with this giant wall of text for now. In the quick look for Dynasty Warriors Gundam 3, the staff made many criticisms of the game. While people can battle over the validity of some of the things said, there was one particularly poignant remark made by Jeff that is spot on. It was that the lines of dialogue were poorly d...
Before anything else, lets get the criticisms out of the way for both those who have already seen Broken Blade or have read the manga and are eager to point them out, and for those interested in this 6 episode OVA and want a full picture. This is a show that puts the bulk of its attention behind the action elements. The characters are not unlikeable by any means, however they are not given enou...
Mobile Suit Gundam made its debut in 1979, and legitimized the entire real robot genre as something people wanted to watch. Up until then, mecha anime was BREAST FIRE!!!! dominated by Super Robots. Flashy attacks, screaming out attack names, and neigh infinite power sources that broke every law of physics were common place and incredibly popular. What Gundam helped popularize was the concept of...
I'll try to keep spoilers to a minimal. The basic plot of the movie revolves around a highschool girl, Makoto, gaining the ability to time travel into the past, and using it for silly and frivolous purposes in an attempt to help herself and others. The movie is charming to say the least, however one big flaw prevents me from liking as much as I did Summer Wars, another movie done by the same di...
Dear EOIII I conquered your previous two brethren and thus approached you with much confidence. You then proceeded to throw 3 poisonous platypus at me followed with a great lynx, on the very first floor, leaving me with a monk and a Zodiac at one hp. I beg for forgiveness for my hubris. Sincerely yours, Guild Mormegil
There are many reasons why the western audience seem largely put off by jrpgs. It ranges from basic gameplay mechanics to the story telling traditions. The one I'd like to take a closer look at today however is the fact that the cast of jrpgs have had the habit of always being children. This point was brought up on the massive 2chan message board and quite a few theories are tossed around, rang...
With the recent "confirmations" of a PS3 bound Persona 5 as well as P3P being on the horizon, and likely the catalyst to me finally getting a PSP, I felt it reasonable to play through the original game. While we all know that the game is dark, what I had forgot was just how hopeless the ultimate conclusion to that game was. (Friendly note: Spoilers abound) JRPG bosses tend to fit into two categ...
I always thought that my first blog post was going to be something substantial. Maybe I'd finally finish that article on the Japanese structure of academic literature and its visible effect on story telling in Japanese games. Nope, instead my first blog is going to be a knee jerk reaction to one incredibly dumbfounding rule I discovered at the middle school where I do tutoring at. For awhile no...
To put bluntly, many simply don’t “get” moe. This isn’t meant as a negative statement. This isn’t a condemnation of those that don’t appreciate it, but rather an observation that the term, and what it means, seem to act as an ever existing puzzle to many, and acts as some invisible barrier between east and west. However, the core concept of moe is actually very easy to understand, and here I wi...