Friday, May 29, 2009

Anime in Focus: The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzimiya Season 2 Episode 1


And thus, the second coming of Haruhi came, and all was good

Ah, the world’s fastest growing religion is back in full force. Yes, that’s right, I’m talking about the Church of Haruhi Suzimiya. Yes, this church has been gaining support in many corners of the internet from casual anime fans, to the hardcore people who will traumatize you life. As a high priest of this religion, it is absolutely mandatory that I view the first episode of the second season and report how it’s looking.

Fear not, for this season does not appear to be suffering decay from the first season. Kyon is still his old sarcastic self, Haruhi is still the worlds leading rebel, and Mikuru excudes so much moe that youre head will explode. Alas, we have seen little of Ikutski or Yuki, so a report on their status is unavailable for now. However, KyonxMikuru shippers will be pleased to know that this season starts with a healthy dose of the favorite couple. HaruhixKyon shippers get a little too, but as always, it is not as pronounced. It matters not, however, because Kyon is cuter with Mikuru anyway.

This season starts with a time travel episode, that shows a bit of Haruhi at a younger age, and Kyon causing confusing time paradoxes. Alas, if one wanted coherence, they should go watch another show. For, as all who have seen the first season of this show will realize, this show is nothing, if coherent.

Should you watch this show? Yeah, right now (link) It’s realatively new, so nobody should get into trouble, as it hasn’t even been officially translated yet. But really, enough of my opinion, go watch it before they take it off Youtube. Do I like it? Look at my avatar!

Next Episode-> 

Related Posts:
The Dissapearance of Haruhi Suzumiya review
The Dissapearance of Haruhi Suzumiya preview and info
My resignation from the church of Haruhi

Thursday, April 30, 2009

Being prepared for swine flu



Left: Jeremy, 20 has reached the second stage of the disease


Swine Flu is an epidemic sweeping around the world, causing mass chaos. What should you know? What should you be doing about it? Here at BryAnime, we like to have a great time and joke around, but I like for people to take something back from this blog. Hence, we will be telling you everything you need to know about this epidemic that is spreading throughout the nation.

HOW DO I KNOW THAT I’VE BEEN INFECTED


There are a great deal of symptoms to swine flu, some that can be detected early, some are not apparent. Early symptoms include increased hunger, lethargic ness, and increased aggression. Over the course of the disease, the victim may become more susceptible to scars, and less receptive too pain. At this point, it EXTREMELY important to seek medical help. After this point, victims awareness to their surroundings decreases, and eventually they will stop responding. At this point, all that a hospital will be able to do is put them down peacefully. After this stage, they will enter the final stage of swine flu, in which the victims hunger increases to the point where cannibalism becomes a viable option. Victims will then lurch towards a target, and attempt to consume anything that looks remotely edible. Call professional help immediately, or remove the victims head. Do not worry, for the victim is no longer aware of their pain at this point.

PREVENTING SWINE FLU:

Get lots of vitamin C. Also, avoid contact with places you believe to be carriers of the disease. Wash your hands frequently, and if you suspect that you or somebody that you know has the disease, MAKE SURE THAT PERSON GETS TO A HOSPITAL!

Although airborne pathogens exist, they are not nearly as potent as the bloodborne pathogens. If the pathogens come into contact with your blood, you WILL become infected. WARNING: People who have reached the final stage of swine flu will try to bit you. If you are bitten, receive medical help immediately. Being bitten by a swine flu victim will cause you to become infected. SEEK MEDICAL HALP IMMEDIATELY!

HOW TO BE PREPARED FOR A MAJOR OUTBREAK
Right: Robert, Age 45 Reached the final stage of the disease. He died demanding brains



In a worst case scenario, you may not be able to access food or water for a long time. Have fresh water and non-perishables ready in case of an emergency. More importantly, have a secure location and a shotgun ready if the disease spreads too rampantly. IF the disease spreads too far, it is advisable for people who do NOT have the disease to find a secure location and barricade themselves away from those who have reached the final stage of the disease. Malls are a popular place for people to barricade themselves, although grocery stores are a much smarter choice, due to a readily available food supply. People who have reached the final stage of swine flu will attempt to break into a barricaded location, in an attempt to eat those who do not have the disease. DO NOT hesitate to shoot these people, for, as earlier stated, they cannot feel pain.

Just follow these helpful tips, and YOU will be safe in case of a swine flu outbreak.

WORKD CITED:

"YouTube - Bush Vs. Zombies." YouTube - Broadcast Yourself. 01 May 2009 .

"YouTube - Re: Your Brains." YouTube - Broadcast Yourself. 01 May 2009 .

Wednesday, April 1, 2009

Planet Hulk


Ah yes, I’m sort of kind of making a comeback to the blogging field. Isn’t that nice of me? Anyhoo, next up in the "Thing’s I’ve read but haven’t gotten around to reviewing" category is “Planet Hulk” a story about Hulk kicking some ass.




What? You say Hulk always kicks ass? How very true indeed. But in this book, Hulk’s asswhooping ability turns out to be an advantage, rather than a curse. In this story, Hulk has been banished to the deep regions of space, hopefully never to be seen again. This leads Hulk into a more exiting adventure this time, unlike those suckers stuck in Civil War. Instead, Hulk has crash landed on a planet in an earlier stage of development. A planet where people still hold Gladiatorial matches, and keep slaves. Hulk is captured on this planet, and is forced to smash his way to freedom. Along the way, he teams up the freaks he is supposed to be fighting in gladiatorial combat, and starts a rebellion. Yes, because Hulk is THAT awesome.





Is this book good? Hell yeah, this is now my favorite book by Marvel. It’s a book where Bruce Banner is a hindrance to society, and Hulk gets to be helpful. Hulk is struggling with Banner. Hulk gets to smash freaks, zombies, and overthrow an evil Empire. Hell, it would even serve as an excellent conclusion to all of the Hulk stories (*sigh* too bad that would end sales, now wouldn’t it) It’s exiting, action packed, and hotblooded. And you can tell that the creators put a lot of effort into this project. They even included an miniature history for the planet Hulk invades, and how the empires run, where they get their technology. It’s got all of the details that make a good comic. It show’s Hulk’s anger, his struggles, and how much society shuns him, and the fact that he has the capacity for good at the same time. Hell, I may even go check out the sequel “World War Hulk.” If you only have to read one thing by Marvel this year, read this, and you won’t regret it. Now then, next thing on my backlog of things that I need to review.






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Related Posts:

Civil War (Marvel) review

Wolverine: Prodigal Son

X-Men Misfits

Artist Profile: Andrew Dickman

Nightwing Year One


Hay guys, it’s been a while since I’ve posted anything here. Anime club’s showing an anime starting from the end, so I’ve vouched not to have the ending blown

Although people say that Superman is a dick, I must say that he isn’t the only dick in Superhero comics. Batman can be a real dick sometimes too. This book starts with Batman being a dick to Dick Grayson, the original Robin, causing him to quit. This causes Dick to attempt to branch out as his own Superhero, living without the bat. A great idea for a story, because it shows that superheroes CAN grow and change, despite what retcons do tell us.

Is this book good? Yes, it’s very good, especially for an origin story. Should you read it? Sure, go ahead, if you wanna see Robin move out from Batman’s place. I’d say this is a pretty good superhero story, if not for the sole fact that it changes something in the DC continuity, and for the better at that. So check your local library, order online, or wherever you go to pick up comics.

More reviews to come, since I happen to have time right now.

Friday, February 13, 2009

Pixel Lust


Ever since I’ve been blogging, I’ve always felt the need to do a valentine’s special.

Usually I moan and bitch about how stupid this holiday is, But this year, I’m feeling extra optimistic. This year, I’m feeling pretty optimistic. I’m going to focus on the positive aspects of romance, and discuss my opinions on several subjects.

Oh wait, this is me. That means I’m going to discuss my favorite fetishes, and discuss which video game/anime chicks I find HAWT. YAY ^_^

Fetishes

Robot Headgear- Oooh, yes, something that almost always gets me exited. I can’t explain why, but I find big, antennae-like pieces of metal to strangely arousing. I particularly like the ones that look sort of like Elven ears, such as Kos-Mos ver.4. Another good one is Chacamaru(sp) from Negima. They really bring attention to a girl’s face, which is one of the main reasons I find robot chicks hot.

NEXT- You know what I find really hot? A girl with a large, round pair of….. glasses. Yeah, the bigger the better. I like the big ones, Like what Naru from Love Hina wears. Their freakin’ awesome, for some of the same reasons as the robot headgear. Perhaps I’ve grown to like them because they’re associated with bookworm types, which I find cute. Or perhaps it’s because whenever somebody has a makeover, glasses are the first thing to go. Which is stupid. Glasses are very cute, and quite often greatly amplify a cute face, bringing somebody from pretty cute to OMGFREAKINKAWAIII!

Gothic Lolita- Y’know, I’m kinda funny. Most guys seem to get exited the less clothes a girl wears, but I get more exited the more useless accessories and more elaborate an outfit is. Bikini? Woop de doo, I can get that in a sports magazine. Maid outfit with dozens of ribbons and buckles, stockings, lacy gloves, and other useless accessories…? *drools* Well, I guess you can say it’s the thought that counts…. Those outfits take FOREVER to put on. It’s probably a bigger pain in the ass than putting on that cross academy uniform in my closet.

People

Haruhi Suzimiya- Our lord and savior, her will be …. Wait, what am I doing? Gah, Haruhism, you stupid fake religion! Anywhooo…. Haruhi is awesome because she’ll rape you if you disagree. She does what everybody else wishes they were brave enough to do, and if you got a problem with it, TOO BAD! The world will know how to live an awesome life, or suffer the consequences. It’s hard to tell if she’s the protagonist or the antagonist sometimes, but that’s part of the fun with that show

Lenneth Valkyrie-(Valkyrie Profile) IT SHALL BE ENGRAVED UPON YOUR SOUL!
Odin’s warrior of justice, sent to slay the undead and evil people among the world., and to gather powerful warriors to fight when Ragnarock comes. Yeah, it’s an RPG where the main character is both female and a warrior (Paladin or archer actually, but whatever) and I like it. Seriously, the main girl in a JRPG is usually a healer, and it gets stale. Now then, a goddess of death gathering the souls of the world’s best warriors? FREAKIN’ AWESOME!

KOS MOS- (Xenosaga) Ah yes, how did I discover my fetish for robot headgear? Why, we can thank Kosy-Wosy for that. She’s wonderful, because of her robotic attitude, which often manages to triumph over any foe. Spock would be very pleased with her. Whether it’s her attitude, her long blue hair, or her ability to solve all problems by shooting things, she makes a wonderful impression on anybody playing Xenosaga.

Chie Satonaka- (Persona 4, Girl in the green jacket in that picture up there) Y’know, actually, this girl’s been driving me crazy. She has like… none of the things I normally find attractive. No glasses, no giant headgear, her hair’s pretty short ( I normally like it long) hell, her most defining feature is a green jacket she always seems to wear. So why do I like her so damn much? Because… her personality’s pretty cute. There, I said it. She’s cute because Persona 4 is a 60+ hour long game where you really get to know the characters. Chie just happened to grow on me. And really, out of all these people mentioned, she’s the one I wanna date the most. All of those weird things she does. The obsession with meat (meat flavored gum….wtf?) Her complex with people. Her jealousy over her best friend. Oh yeah, and she quotes Bruce Lee a lot, so you can tell she’s a keeper. She’s by no means perfect, but she does her best to defend those she cares about. She livens up the party, and often has great ideas (Okay, she usually just suggests that we kick their asses) Have you ever heard an RPG character suggest that we go powerlevel for the sole purpose of beating the shit out of somebody? Her personality’s perfectly believable which is a plus. Her weirdness, her bravery… shes just so… just…. CHIE CHAN! *fanboy squeal*

Tuesday, January 6, 2009

Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 4 review

Yeah, yeah, I know, where the hell have I been for the last three weeks? Well, I had final exams and they were fairly stressful. After that….. Well, I went to the mall and bought a copy of Persona 4. And played it nonstop It was pretty freaking awesome. Imagine if they took everythincg great about Persona 3, made it better, gave it better plot and characters, and released it. That’s pretty muh what Persona 4 is. And it’s pretty sweet.

This game (like 3) is one of the strangest gaming experiences I’ve ever had. It’s a bizarre fusion of a dating sim and an RPG. Although this appears to be a major genre clash, this game manages to mesh them in a method that enhances both genres. The dating sim helps you care about the people you’re fighting evil with…. And the fighting evil makes you actually care about these people. I guess you could say it’s like a superhero movie. Spider man is more relatable due to Peter Parker, and you actually care about Parker because he has Super powers. The two become inseparable, and the end result is quite entertaining. This time around, the party functions much better, feels closer together, and feels more alive than in Persona 3.

Oh yeah, the main plot. People are winding up dead. At the same time a urban legend is believed to show people their soul mate. The main character investigates this, and finds out that the two are connected. This leads to you entering an alternate dimension inside the TV… where you gain the ability to summon an alter ego known as a “Persona.” The plot manages to be more personal than most RPGs, and revolves more around the characters than the universe around them. It’s not about a freaking apocalypse (at least not until the end) which is pretty cool, cuz I’m getting sick of the apocalypse. Better yet, the plot has multiple layers, and just when you think you have it figured out, it throws another curveball at you. Probably one of the better plots I’ve seen in a game.

I like this games method of awakening a Persona user much better than the one in Persona 3. Hypothetically, anybody in this game could summon a Persona, while in 3, you had to shoot yourself in the head. (Thanks to that game, I’m entirely unphased when somebody sticks a gun to their head) Instead of just a few chosen to use Personas, anybody can use them, assuming they are strong enough to survive a certain encounter in the TV realm.

Gameplay: Well, it works. You live your life as a normal high school students, make friends, hit on girls (Chie-chan ^_^) and fight crime. You have two separate sets of stats, your combat stats and your social stats. Social stats are important because they dictate whether your character is a loser who has no friends, or the guy who knows everything and hot women fall in love with on sight. Also, it dictates whether or not your character has the spine to do stuff (Like, I dunno, tell somebody off, crack jokes, e.t.c.)… so you should probably pay attention to them. Also, they help you make friends…. And the power of friendship is quite prevalent in this game. If you have a close relationship with your friends, they will do cooler stuff in combat, like to tag team attacks, or heal status conditions. It really makes the party feel like a group of people rather than some numbers. Simply put, S-links have a much larger effect in this game than they did in Persona 3. Combat stats do the same thing they do in every other RPG, unsurprisingly.

Bosses are interesting in this game. They employ vastly different strategies, and keep you guessing. If you don’t know what you’re doing, this game will eat you alive. It’s got lots of side bosses, and the dungeons manage to be about as hard as the one in Persona 3. The design of the dungeons is quite interesting, at least concept wise. What other game will make you fight your way through a steamy bathhouse to rescue a person trapped inside a sick fantasy?

Anyhow, this game manages to take a brilliant idea (Persona 3) make it BETTER, and releases it.

Related Articles:
Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3
Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne

You can purchase the game on Amazon here:

Monday, December 29, 2008

Persona 3 Review

Hey… I have a gun and a monster is about to attack me! I Know! I’ll shoot myself in the head!

Ah, the Persona series. The very reason that I haven’t been making any new blog entries. I actually played this game about two years ago, when it first came out, but I’m going to talk about now… to prepare people for the MASSIVE FREAKING PERSONA 4 Review that I’m going to write. Until that time though, I’m so freaking addicted to Persona 4 that it’s ridiculous.

Persona 3 is a very… unique game. It’s part dating sim, and part dark RPG. ….yeah, those two we’re definitely meant to go together. This weird combination creates a wonderful gaming experience that is relatively unforgettable, although it comes with some flaws…. Some expected, some aren’t.

First thing I like is the gameplay. In many games you get to be a super powered-person, but you don’t really get to control what that person does in everyday life. This one let’s you cover every aspect of your character’s identity. It’s not as open ended as say, Morrowind, but for a Japanese RPG, there is little competition. The other part, the combat, is also pretty interesting. It’s very deadly, where a single mistake could send you back to the title screen. Hence, you are always thinking on your toes. Unfortunately, this means if you get hit by a Death attack, you will lose a few hours of playing. Also, it has an intense combo system that enemies will employ against you. Every time you or an enemy uses an attack that the target is weak against, you get a free attack. Some enemies are merciless about this. Worse yet, you get a game over if the main character dies, regardless of whether or not the rest of the party is still standing. You can employ these tactics against your enemies though, making this one of the most hard-core RPG’s I’ve ever played.

The Persona system: I’m not going to discuss shooting yourself in the head to cast spells here. By the end game, it becomes about as significant as any other spellcasting animation. What’s more interesting is your ability to gather several different monsters known as “Personas” and fuse them into other monsters. Combining these allows you to create versions of monsters with all kinds of weird abilities. It’s fun, and will keep you busy for a while.


The S-Links: The dating sim part of this game is known as S-Lnks…. Or the people your character is friends with. By building relationships with people, you can get various bonuses, mostly in the form of EXP while fusing personas.Some of the people are pretty interesting, others are less so. If you build a strong enough relation with somebody, you can create even MORE powerful Personas. Yes, this game has mechanical benefits for using the power of friendship.


The characters: Best overall cast ever. At least on the hero’s side. You work with an entire team of characters who are likable, developed, and interesting. And it gets better! You know how in RPG’s they railroad the main character into a relationship? This game doesn’t do that? Go ahead; date one of the NPC girls for all it cares! This game may not have any character that sticks out as the best, but the cast is well rounded enough that together, they compete with the party in Xenosaga. Well, most of the cast…. Koramaru doesn’t count.

The problem with having a great cast of heroes is that you need a cast of villains to match them. These villains are not present. There’s a few guys who try to match you, but they sort of start sucking towards the end. Then…. Ugh… don’t get me started on the last boss. Every bit as exiting as wet cardboard…. She has a nice theme song, but she does NOTHING to earn it. At the end it’s all like “uh yeah, we need a main villain, so this big mean thing is bringing the apocalypse.” OH NOES…. *sigh* C’mon, these guys needed the Joker or something, not what was given.

Should you buy this game? Heck yeah, since it’s pretty unique and interesting. If you want an RPG that leaves the Final Fantasy mold, by all means try this one. It started at 40$ and has only gotten cheaper. It may drag for a few parts, but it does give you your money’s worth, and it is a really refreshing experience.

Now, I’m going back to play Persona 4. Imagine everything good about Persona 3, but MORE of the good stuff. Expect the fanboy infused report soon.

Related:
Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 4 review
Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne review

You heard me! Buy this game! Fes version is cheaper and comes with post game content. Original version is cheaper and comes with an art book