Anime in Focus: FLCL (Fooly Cooly or Furi Kuri) Episode 3

 <- In this episode we get a bit more focus on outside characters, like this chick in the front.


<-PREVIOUS EPISODE

Well, this episode wasn’t quite as good as the last two, which were pretty solid. Unfortunately, this one keeps up the same pace, which is bad, since I’m used to the pacing of the show by this point. Furthermore, there are fewer surprises throughout the episode, which makes it much less interesting.

In this episode Naota has started growing cat ears for some reason. While they do not appear nearly as phallic as the horns that have been growing out of his head in the last couple of episodes, he is aroused when people touch them, ensuring that they remain just as prone to double meanings as the gigantic horns do. While he has these silly cat ears, he is required to play Puss in boots in the school play, while being bossed around by the class president who appears to have a crush on him. Or maybe it’s all symbolic of something. I can’t really tell.

The characterizations in this episode manage to be relatively easy to understand, making this one the oddball of the episodes I’ve watched in this series. While it has not turned me off from the series, it does not get me as exited for the next episode. However, I would like to believe the next episode will pick up the pace that was left behind in this episode in order to allow in more craziness.

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The big FLCL review

Shira Oka: Second Chances: REVIEW

<- You remember your first time you woke up about 5 years in the past with an Angel sitting next to your bed? Yeah, I was pretty freaked out about that too...

Demo for this game can be downloaded HERE. I’m trying to get the torrent hosted from my comp as I write this.

Oh yeah, Mac users should be happy to know the game is just as readily available for Mac as it is for PC!

Oh what’s that? The game isn’t out yet? It just so happens that I’ve acquired a beta version of the game through some rather… interesting… means (Okay, fine, I just applied to become a tester, and I’ve been helping test it for about two weeks now) While they are still ironing kinks out of game and debating mechanical issues such as balance and stuff, the project is, for the most part, functioning properly. They creators are really trying to avoid creating a project like Morrowind (love that game to death but GAH, the bugs) where even the most casual of players wind up tripping into game breaking bugs.

While I haven’t quite done everything in the game yet, I have clocked in a good chunk of time, and have managed to get a couple of the endings, first for Alice:

Clearly, I’m so American that it seeps through to my in- game avatar. IN AMERICA!

And the second time I got Rena’s ending

I actually found her ending to be much better, since the main puts in more effort towards his goals in that one. What's really interesting is the stark contrast between my predictions on what girls I would like, and who wound up liking me.

It appears that no matter how hard I try, Yui doesn’t seem to notice me. Jerk. At least Alice and Rena appreciate me XP

Anyways, let’s discuss the actual gameplay. The majority of the mechanics have been revealed in the demo… you work on your stats while events occur that make use of those stats. You then use these abilities to interact with the world, whether using your awesome mathematical skills to become an expert mechanic, or using your physique comparable to Zeus himself to defend your school’s honor. Like stated in the demo review, imagine Persona 4 without all that violence.It should be noted that after you manage to learn all of the actions to level up your skills, things get more interesting since the game loses some of the downtime the demo possessed.

What I really like about this stat layout is that focusing on different things tends to cause events to unfold very differently. While this game has a very large cast of characters, working on different stats causes different ones to notice you, giving a different perspective on the game, greatly increasing replay value. Also, it should be noted that stats are actually very difficult to balance, unlike games like Persona 3 / 4, where by endgame everything was maxed out. In this game, I find myself having to dump a couple of stats in order to keep up the ones I want. This means that each playthrough will wind up going very differently. Furthermore, these differences will keep you on your feet during future playthroughs, preventing you from just allowing yourself to stagnate.

Oh yes, the plot. You’re a guy who managed to be a total failure in life, who has been sent back in time back to the beginning of high school in order to start over, which leads you on a more enlightened set of adventures. However, what the demo DOESN’T tell you is [sorry, posting this part violates my non-disclosure agreement. Oh well. ] … and then… yeah. This left me exited to check out another ending.

Should you buy the game? It’s not out yet, silly. But sure, go for it. The replay value is exceedingly high, and most of the game is very interesting, and a lot of it is incredibly multi-faceted. You can really screw around and have fun learning more about the cast of characters, jerking them around, getting to know them, and whatever you want. Lots of the subplots are really interesting, and some you won’t even notice until a second time through or so. So you get a lot of bang for your buck, assuming you can’t afford to buy too many video games (like me, *sigh*) you’ll definitely get your money’s worth out of the game. Also, it isn’t very heavy on system requirements, and most computers should be able to handle it, even if you’re a Mac user. It’s every gamer with a budget’s dream!

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Related Posts:
Shira Oka: Second Chances Demo review
Persona 4 review
Project Profile: Shira Oka: Second Chances
Why won’t my boyfriend stop looking at Hentai?

Related Links:
Okashi Studio's website
Shira Oka on Facebook
Shira Oka on Twitter

Well, I’m back from Hiatus

Sorry about that, I’m almost done moving now, just a few more things, and those will get done quite quickly. Still need to get my brain back into a writing mood before I can REALLY get into this again.

However, during this move, I did not stop thinking like a writer. I still thought of ideas, I just haven’t implemented them yet. Expect them to come up soon

I’m thinking of starting a section called “Dirty Jobs” (working title, none of these jobs are very dirty) where I discuss various jobs that I’ve taken that relate to anime

Also, an announcement! About a week and a half ago, I managed to talk my way into becoming a beta tester for Okashi Studios, playing Shira Oka: Second Chances! This gives me a bit of information that most people don’t have, but unfortunately due to paperwork and legal restrictions, I’m not allowed to disclose the majority of it. Still, it lets me play video games for long hours without feeling like I’m wasting time, since hey, I’M TESTING THE PRODUCT HERE! Alas I do expect to make some reports on it, just not ones that give away relevant info.

Anyhoo, sorry about the hiatus, I’ll try to get back to regular posting starting… NOW

Sorry I haven't been updating much lately

Well, unfortunately, I've had to move out from my current apartment into a new location (away from my parents too!), so I haven't had much time to actually write stuff. Fortunately, I should be done with that around the first, so posting frequency should increase soon after that. Sorry about that

Anime in Focus: FLCL (Fooly Cooly or Furi Kuri) Episode 2

 <-Previous Episode

Well, this episode manages to cram in just as much weirdness in as the previous episode. I believe this makes sense in a six episode series, as time to sit around and stare off into the distance is quite short.

It should be noted that the pillows soundtrack is played quite prominently in this episode. Their borderline incomprehensible music manages to compliment the series quite well, since its insanity manages to fuse with the utter lack of grounding in the show.

 Anyway, in this episode, Naota has another gigantic phallic bump sticking out of his head. Also, the 8-foot tall robot with a TV for a head that crawled out of his head in the previous episode has been living with him and Haruko in his house. Furthermore, Mamimi has picked up some weird game about arson. Like Jack Thompson predicted, this game has been causing her to go out and commit arson for some reason. Also, a bit about Naota’s brother is thrown into the mix, just to force you to comprehend more.

Episode ends with that robot thing that came out of Naota’s head duking it out with another robot that crawled out of his head, with the help of Haruko. While I have no idea why anything is happening, I’m just going to assume that all will be explained later.

I wound up at the end of this episode with a headache, my eyeballs spinning, and having the pillows (the band) stuck in my head. I would say watching this show is akin to having your head sawed open, your brains removed and put into a blender, then put back into your head. Thankfully, it manages to evoke this emotion in a good way, if that were at all possible.

I believe this show has managed to prove itself interesting enough for me to commit to, and maybe by the end I’ll come out understanding a thing or two about what’s going on.

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NEXT EPISODE->

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The big FLCL review

Anime in Focus: The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya Season 2 episode 13

 <- This picture isn't NEARLY as exiting in context

<-Previous Episode

Hey, this episode managed to recapture a bit of the former season’s glory! If only I didn’t have to drudge through about 10 of the series worst episodes to get to it, I might have had a bit more faith in the series at this point.

This episode continues the arc about making the movie from the first episode of the first season, but rather than focus on the actual filming, (which is kinda boring, like episodes 10 and 11) it instead focuses on the behind the scenes drama, developing the cast a bit.

In this episode, we start by seeing the filming of the scene where Yuki sends a bunch of side characters to attack Mikuru. This is going well until Mikuru starts shooting lasers out of her eyes again, and we get a lovely image of Yuki taking measures to stop it. See above picture for details…. You done? Got that as ingrained in your memory as I do? Ahh yeah. ANYWAY, things get a bit awkward as Haruhi demands that the evil zombie whatever henchmen need to throw Mikuru in the lake. This looks fine on film, but the cast then realizes that this lake is probably polluted as hell. Nobody seems to mention the damage it could do to the battle waitress outfit, but nobody seems to care about that sort of thing.

The second part of the episode takes place at Tsuruya’s house, where they finish filming for the day. This is the part where Koizumi’s character takes Mikuru’s character to his house for some reason. While they are at the house, Haruhi has Tsuruya lace Mikuru’s drink with liquor, in order to enhance Mikuru’s acting skills. Unfortunately, Mikuru can’t hold her alcohol very good at all, which leads to her almost passing out. Haruhi gets pissed about this, and starts yelling at Mikuru.

Then finally, we see the moment I’ve been waiting for since about 3 episodes into the first season. Kyon gets fed up with Haruhi treating Mikuru like her plaything, gets his fist ready, tells Haruhi she’s an annoying jerk, and gets ready to whack her… But then Koizumi intervenes, and stops Kyon from smacking Haruhi. If this was back in my days of Kyon x Mikuru shipping, I’d be so exited about this. However, the movie converted me to Kyon x Yuki. Still, I was quite exited to see Kyon finally stick up for Mikuru.

Oh yeah, for the rest of the episode, things are a bit awkward between the brigade members, for obvious reasons. Koizumi gives out a speech about the nature of the universe to Kyon, and discusses his opinions on opposing Haruhi with Kyon, and we get a bit on the plot.

Episode manages to be very solid. I wish more of the second season was like this. While I thought the music felt a bit off in some scenes (Do they only have one dramatic track?) for in some parts, the music didn’t seem to suit the gravity of the situation, particularly in a segment at the lake. Thankfully, the fleshing out of the characters made up for this flaw. Believe it or not, I’m actually EXITED about the next episode, which hasn’t happened since the first episode of this season.

Coming soon! Episode 14

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The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya Season 2 on AMAZON (reserve now!)

Anime in Focus: Retro edition- Captain Harlock (1978)

This show is available for free legally on funimation’s website HERE

Well, after seeing the most badass trailer ever at AX, I decided I should do some research on this show from the 70’s.

The first episode is actually kinda bland unfortunately. I was pretty disappointed. The show starts out with an exposition about how humanity has dried up the oceans on earth and turned to the stars for hope now. Then we zoom on over to our protagonist on his space ship, combining the medieval wooden pirate ships with a Star Destroyer. Clearly the ship belonging to a man of good taste. We then see our lead, a man with both an eyepatch and a huge scar running across his face. Clearly, the potential for massive amounts of manliness is here. Sadly, this does not appear in this episode. In this ep, we see the ship fire off a bunch of space harpoons at the evil empire’s ships, freezing everybody on board. They then take their food, and dump out the loot. This is all done effortlessly and with almost no confrontation.

The second part revolves around Harlock keeping a promise he made to a little girl. However, in order to fulfill this promise, he has to appear publicly, and infamous space pirates are usually not popular in public places. Harlock’s sense of honor, however, seems to compel him to see this little girl, on what we are shown is the anniversary of somebody’s death.

Unfortunately, the issue with the military is solved in the most boring fashion possible, with almost no suspense about what is going to happen.

Hm, with this first episode, I’m quite weary about watching a second one.

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