Girls, Guns, Tequila...

It's been a really long time since I made a preview. Mostly because I don't like to speculate on little evidence, such as trailers or posters. Now, there are significantly more facts to uphold my statements, since I saw the first episode of the anime that I'm going to preview. How is it a preview if I saw the first episode? Well, that's all there is to the anime so far, since it's just started airing 15 October (I thus take the liberty to call this a preview).

The anime I'm talking about is called Michiko to Hatchin (English title: Michiko and Hatchin). This is a really strange anime. It's produced by Manglobe, responsible for Samurai Champloo and Ergo Proxy, and directed by Sayo Yamamoto, this being her début work. In the role of music producer we have our beloved Shinichiro Watanabe, the man behind the great scores of Cowboy Bebop and Samurai Champloo. But all of this you could have found out just by checking Wikipedia.

Let me tell you about the anime, something that Wiki doesn't. It is very important to note who we have in charge of the music, since the tone is very much like that of cowboy bebop. We have slow scenes, with meaningful dialogue, and fast chases and gunfire shoot-outs, a bit outrages, but entertaining. We follow the events of Michiko, who just broke out of prison, and gives the term "Babe Gunner" a new meaning, and Hana, a girl "adopted" by a priest and lives a miserable life, abused by her adoptive father, adoptive mother, adoptive older sister and adoptive younger brother (basically everyone in her "family"). As soon as Michiko gets her hands on some cash (blatantly robbing a bank), her first thing is to make sure she gets her hands on Hana. Indeed she does and frees her from the evil clutches of her oppressive foster family. The episode ends there, so we don't really know what the relationship between the two is (though at one time Michiko says she's Hana's mother, though her foster parents say she died).

It may not sound much, but it has a very real feel to it. It doesn't hide the ugliness of real life, but it's not gratuitous either. Every scene is meaningful and the characters appear very alive. It has an atmosphere to it which rings of Desperado, and if there will be some dark humour in later episodes, I dare to say it feels like Quentin Tarantino. I hope they keep it up. This first episode is well worth watching. From there on, it's your choice.

Ideas

I'm pretty sure everyone of you goes through periods when you have something to do, but feel just too lazy to do it? Well, I'm having one of those periods now. I just returned from Helsinki and would have a lot to write about, but I just don't feel like it. I still need to write about something, otherwise this blog is going to die, like it did last year. So I'm here to talk about something that could get seriously affected by this laziness: ideas.

Actually, by the end of the post, I'll be asking for your advice on this one. I know that many people have ideas, and quite a lot of them could prove to be revolutionary, however, few people have the initiative to put them into practice, and a lot less to finish what they have started. I know that I've been through this, and probably you as well. I had a lot of ideas concerning stories, and, actually, most of them made it into writing. I know that my stories are somewhat clichéd, and I'm not the best amateur writer around, but I enjoy writing them, and if I can get something through to a person, and he will end up making the right choice about something because of it, I will have been worth it. Most of my stories, however, never got finished. Not because I don't like writing them (or because I have a writer's block), but because I like doing other things more. Yes, the laziness I talked about earlier hits me. When I do get to finish, I end up with good stories, like Full Stop., sadly, not many of my works got to that point. I sometimes find no motivation in it. And thus, here I am asking you about my dilemma...

Recently, I've been doped with a lot romance, as you could tell from the anime reviews I've made. Subsequently, a nice idea for a romantic story popped into my head. One of the biggest problems with my ideas is that the images I get in my head, are just that, images. When I started writing Full Stop., I had the image of Ayami running through the rain, getting to the house, and meeting the man who looked a lot younger than he actually was.Everything after that, was blank... Originally, it was supposed to be a romantic story, then a horror story, and finally it ended up being the philosophical something it is now (by the way, if you haven't read the story and are interested, please feel free to contact me). The same is true for my unfinished stories and is also true for my yet to be story. The scenes and concepts I have in mind, are beautiful (though this might be something totally subjective), however, I still have absolutely no idea about delivering those images and thoughts.

Should I just start on it like that, and end up not finishing it, like most of the others? Or should I just wait till the image stabilises in my head, and then write the whole thing down? Please, give me you're ideas concerning this problem I'm having. I'd appreciate it. Also, feel free to comment regarding your own similar experiences. I'm sure I'm not the only one who would be interested in hearing them. I promise to give you a post on what happened in Helsinki and more, soon enough.

The Night Before The Voyage

I'm on a highway to hel(sinki that is). I'll be leaving in just over an hour from now, and I probably won't be able to access the Internet this weekend and neither Monday or Tuesday, probably. I spent this night watching some anime, and in between, the Nostalgia Critic (I did this while I was waiting for the anime episodes to stream). I'll talk about these two things in my post.

First off, I really like the Nostalgia Critic. He's funny and he really makes a point with his videos, even though I sometimes disagree with him. I was watching his review of The Wizard, and it really got me thinking. How could they get away with such a thing back then? Like he said, it's much more fun to play video games than to watch a movie about people playing video games. Indeed, such a movie would be stupid, they wouldn't make things like this nowada-... hmm... I just remembered Duel Masters and Yu-Gi-Oh! (*shiver shiver*) Talk about pathetic... Also, that movie had commercial written all over it. I'm thinking, the nowadays equivalent of the sequence when they presented Super Mario Bros. 3 would be having someone play Duke Nukem Forever (actually... that would be pretty mind-blowing). But nowadays we have E3 for that. Anyway... I don't remember seeing this movie when I was little (of course not, we didn't even have Nintendo here, we all had those Chinese-made rip-off consoles), but I'm pretty sure I wouldn't have found it interesting, not even back then... which is something I cannot say about Mortal Kombat, which I just loved (I was always more of a Mortal Kombat fan than a Street Fighter fan, since I had a PC), and still think is a cool movie (disagreeing with the Nostalgia Critic yet again).

Ok, now that that's out of the way, let's get onto the more important thing I want to talk about. The anime I watched, which happenes to be ef - a tale of memories. This is a romantic anime, and it is by far one of the most beautiful anime I've ever seen. I have nothing but praise for this one. Seriously, I find no words to express how great it is. I honestly regret having the need to stream it and not watching it some time before in higher quality. Before I go on, for all of you romantics, artists and dreamers out there, this is a must see.

Now that I've finished with the introduction, let's talk about the anime a little. Like all great romantic anime, this one is also the adaptation of an adult visual novel (which is a euphemism for eroge, short for "erotic game") entitled ef - a fairy tale of the two. The list could go on forever, starting with Air and ending with Higurashi no Naku Koro ni... ok, maybe that's not really a romantic story, but you get the idea. It is no surprise that I mentioned Air, since it's the first thing that came into my mind while I was watching ef - a tale of memories. Actually, it was the second, the very first thing that came into my mind was INSERT FAVOURITE MAKOTO SHINKAI ANIME TITLE HERE. And no wonder, since it was none other than Makoto Shinkai who made the opening of the game. And his influence is felt throughout the anime. I'm going to talk about the visuals later on. Now, let's just get back to the story... ... ... Ok, that's it! I'm not telling you anything about the story. Why? Because it's just too damn good to spoil any of it. Suffice to say, it involves boys and girls (yes, more of them, but not at the same time, not really, only in parallel stories) and their relationships. Like someone says (right here in this anime I'm reviewing): "There is no such thing as friendship between a boy and a girl", and thus you understand where I'm getting. Of course you do, I said it off the bat that this was a romance anime, didn't I? But that's not enough to express what I'm talking about. This anime is about LOVE!!! I mean it! The strong feelings it conveys are overwhelming, but I'll get back to that (as well as the visuals, later). Let me finish with the story... ... ... besides the fact that it is hypnotizing, every moment fills you more and more, and just when you've thought you're about to overflow (remember Mamimi ;) ) they give you more and more. Top that with a breath-taking ending, and there you have it. Now as far as the stories go, they don't entwine as much as I would have liked them too (like the magnificent work in Higurashi no Naku Koro ni), but that doesn't make them stand out individually. Also, I believe they wouldn't have had the same effect, had they been separated (unlike in Diamond Dust Drops, for example). So much for the story... I'm not telling any more, honest... go watch it!

Now, onto the other parts, after all, a story alone doesn't make a good anime. And there is more to this anime than the story, I assure you. I stood up talking about the visuals, so I'll get to it now. Like I said before, they have the mark of Makoto Shinkai on them. Though they lack the play of lights and shadows, the thing which I adore most in the works of Makoto Shinkai, they do compensate with those other trademark shots (empty scenes, even though the characters are talking; landscapes in which the tiny characters seem to disappear; scenes in which only parts of the characters are shown with their faces awkwardly being off screen). Coupled with these visuals are powerful artistic images: crayon drawings of the characters, monocoloured frames (for example, the screen going red for a moment when someone skips a heartbeat), the scenes gradually losing colour and a lot more that I simply can't describe. On top of the stunning visuals and the powerful images comes the spine-chilling music. It is more than appropriate, it is fantastic. The tune isn't exactly catchy, but it gets carved into your heart. It gave me goosebumps when I heard it, and whenever I recall it, it still makes me shiver (pretty much like the opening of Kana ~Little Sister~). Now, all these create a heart-stopping atmosphere that is indescribable. I really don't know what to compare it with. It is tragic and beautiful, painful and lovely, burning and soothing...

Now, about the themes. It does have some fantastic elements, but it's far from being Air. It's more down to earth, and I guess I can relate to it more. It talks about love (naturally), dreams, choice, memory, silence, colours and everything in between. On top of that, it has a guy looking like a young Kaji (from Neon Genesis Evangelion), giving one of the kids advice, although not in a melon patch.

Once again, for all of you romantics, artists and dreamers out there, this is a must see. That's all I have to say about that.

The Evolution Of The Supernatural

Philosophy has a grudge on reader friendly concepts such as plot and characters. Philosophy feels very at home in the world of surrealism, and, as such, is conveyed a sense of inaccessibility. This pretty much defeats the purpose of philosophy. What is the use of enriching thoughts if they are communicated to no one, and thus we are left unenriched? To overcome this obstacle, philosophical writings concentrate surrealism into an accompanying factor, and make room for characters and plot... this is how the supernatural was born.

The earliest works involving the supernatural are probably myths and legends. Basically, these are works involving strong human emotions, such as courage and love, which in the context of the supernatural become epic works of heroism and romance. The Epic of Gilgamesh or the Kalevala are prime examples, in which the themes of human emotion meld into concepts of creation and death.

In modern times, the supernatural forgot its purpose, and spawned a collective of three literary genres, in which it is not a means of delivering engaging and enriching philosophy, but a cadre for the characters and plot, in order to give it a twist. This way, in many works, ordinary people come to experience the epic heroism and romance of old. The collective I'm talking about is called speculative fiction, and the genres included are horror, science-fiction and fantasy.

Before these genres broke off from the single genre of the supernatural, there were writings which still remembered the original purpose of this phenomenon. They were writings with ample characters and plot, but in which the supernatural told something more than the narrative itself. While in most cases modern works of speculative fiction combine the philosophy of the supernatural and the narrative, these primitive (and by "primitive" I mean "original") works set a clear distinction between the two. The result is a story which can be read in two ways. In my opinion, the best example of this is Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland.

While this duality is specific to works of the pre-separation era, there are modern works which hold true to the original purpose of the supernatural. I'm finally getting where I want with this post. The man I'm talking about (though certainly not the only one) is Michael Ende. Michael Ende (1929-1995) is a German writer, most famous for his work The Neverending Story (German title: Die unendliche Geschichte). It was adapted into a movie with several spin-offs, two TV series, an animation series and even a video game. But I'm not here to talk about his most famous work. I'm here to talk about his second most famous work.

Momo like many memorable books bears a lengthy full title, which happens to be Momo, or the strange story of the time-thieves and the child who brought the stolen time back to the people (German title: you've got to be kidding me...). Who knows, there might even be something to this OMRSTPLRLCNSWMTCTHTALCNEE thing... Anyway, this book is considered by the author a fairytale-novel, and right there you have the duality I was talking about earlier. You can read it either as a fairy tale, a children's book, telling a heart-warming story you are bound to remember, or as a novel, a work of serious depth, criticising element's of modern day life and opening up our minds to that all-so-lost enriching philosophy. Doesn't this sound strangely familiar to you? If you are thinking Antoine de Saint Exupéry's (I know there is an accent there, but the Le Petite Prince (English title: The Little Prince) then you've hit the jackpot.

Amazingly, the two works are extremely similar, yet very different from one another. They both have a child as the main character (and surprisingly, one is a girl the other is a boy) and the whole story is seen through his/her eyes. They both explore the same themes, only in different manners and in different proportions. While the little prince makes a not about the business man who spends all his time counting things, and says that "all adults care about are numbers", this is actually the main theme in Momo, where a group of grey gentlemen trick adults into saving their time (by showing them elaborate calculations), so that they can steal it and feed of it. While in the first part of the book, Momo spends a lot of time with her friends, and even later in the book she always keeps thinking of them, in the end friendship remains a small theme, however this is one of the main themes in The Little Prince, in which loneliness is actually the very thing that drives the little prince to visit planet Earth.

If I were to make a one word comparison between the two, I would say that both works deal with that which is important, however, The Little Prince gives us a very individual view and a strong personal experience, while Momo takes a broader look at the situation and deeply reflects upon society. Those were more than one word, weren't they? I came to this conclusion through the ending of the two books. In The Little Prince, he changes the lives of the few people (and not only... can anyone say "vegetable, animal and mineral"?) and ends up personally enriched. In Momo, he saves the whole world and everyone ends up with their lives improved.

It would be useless to say anything more about this book. If I begin to relate the story, I wouldn't be telling even half of what the book really says. If I begin further telling you what philosophical ideas are hidden within, I would end up telling you even less. How could I comprise in a few words the profound deepness (is that a pleonasm?) that took the author a whole book to express? Here's my go at it: If it were up to me, I'd make both these books a compulsory read at school, not once, but twice, the first time in middle school, and a second time in high school... I think this is what people really need!

Love Conquers All (And So Does Determination)

I've just finished watching a recently released anime yesterday. I say "recently released", since it started airing this spring. At first it didn't impress me, and I just kept watching only to finish it, but later it got to me. It is quite a surprising anime. I'm talking about Itazura na Kiss (english title: Mischievous Kiss).

I'll give you a plot summery, and then go on to discussing the anime. Aihara Kotoko is a typical high school girl, with less than typical intellect and dexterity. In short, she is kinda dumb and clumsy, like most of the students in class F, as a matter of fact. However, this doesn't stop her from writing a love letter to Irie Naoki, top student of class A, and one of the smartest high schoolers in Japan. Naoki outright rejects her letter, without even reading it, and Kotoko is heartbroken. At the drinking party held at her house later that night, during which she was supposed to forget all about Naoki's rejection, there is an earthquake, which completely destroys her house (and, amazingly, only hers, since it turns out to have been extremely poorly built). As a consequence, Kotoko and her father are forced to live at a friend's house until their own is rebuilt. Predictably, her father's childhood friend turns out to be non other than Naoki's father, and thus they end up living under the same roof. The premises are set, and leave enough room for craziness in this 25-episode TV series.

At first, I thought that this is going to be a typical high school romance anime. I thought the intrigue was interesting, so I decided to watch, till I would get bored. However, there are a lot of surprises on the way. I have to tell you (and I'm sure I'm not spoiling anything with this), that the most interesting thing is, that the show spreads over a period of around 14-15 years. No, it's not a high school romance. It's a full-fledged romantic novel. I really loved this part. I remember Ioana telling me that she didn't like those love stories which end with the main couple getting together, since her philosophy is "that's only the beginning". Indeed, this happens in Itazura na Kiss. It's not a spoiler to say that they end up together, but let me tell you that it happens around the middle of the series, and that the second part of the series handles their struggle as a couple. This seemed very interesting to me.

The characters aren't very complex, but they really do change throughout the series. True, the anime is focused on the two, and side characters are mainly only there to help further evolve the relationship between the two, however, some side characters make second appearances long after you've considered them discarded. Also, each episode ends with a cliffhanger, so much that at the end of some episodes, the story fast forwards a few years only to allow the development of a new crisis. This way, you really feel attached to the characters and their story.

The main selling point of the series, if I may call it that, is the length of the story following their relationship. It surely lacks that "something special", which appeared in Boys Be..., or the manganess (and Gainax ending) of His and Her Circumstances, so it may not appeal to people like my brother, Tibi. However, it follows the joys and struggles of a long relationship, starting from the very beginning up until, what I would call, total fulfilment, so I believe it would appeal to people like my deskmate, Adela.

It really depends on you. I thought it would be interesting up to a point, but didn't expect much, however it proved to be something engaging in a completely different way. If you don't like things romantic, stay away. If you like the flair of Eminescian romance, you might not like it. If you like the monotonous ups and downs of ordinary love, then I most certainly recommend it.

Stand Your Ground

Probably the most played flash games are the so-called tower defence games. In these, you have to defend against waves of enemies by strategically placing towers around the map, preventing them from reaching your base. There is an enormous number of such games out there, and of course Kongregate does not lack its own horde of them. Here are some of the different tower defence games on Kongregate which I enjoyed (if you're a fan of the genre, give them a try):

Bloons Tower Defense 3 - This one is pretty casual. It's colourful and fun to play. The enemies are all balloons and your towers are monkeys. Have fun throwing darts and launching missiles at them, freezing and melting them, and if you get yourself a super monkey with plasma vision, you're all set.

Onslaught2 - This is somewhat more serious than the previous one. The most interesting thing about it, is the strategy involved. You don't have many options for the towers you build, however, there are hidden combos which make the towers a lot more powerful, and if you're hoping to get past the later parts of the game, you have to figure them out.

GemCraft - This is a really cool one. Here, you have two components: towers and gems. You place the towers wherever you like, but they don't shoot on their own. When you place a gem in them, they shoot differently according to it. Also, you can freely move the gems around, you can conjure up more, combine them into different or more powerful gems and also, if you're out of options, simply throw them at the enemy. Diablo 2 fans will love this one.

Protector: Reclaiming the Throne - This one is seriously awesome. Instead of towers, you place mages and warriors onto the screen. Also, instead of upgrading them, they level up, and when they do, you can choose different evolution paths. Add in the fact that between missions you get to unlock skills which will help you out in battle, and this one turns into a real treat for fantasy lovers.

Nothing Beats Fifth Graders

Though the title might imply a small dose of lolicon, it actually has to do with the topic of a certain anime. I'm talking about Kyou no Go no Ni (english title: Today in Class 5-2), a manga (which I haven't read) which was developed into an OAV in 2006 (which I simply loved) and remade into a full 13-episode TV series in 2008 (which I'm going to talk about now).

The OAV, was full of Azumanga Daioh-style humour, and I enjoyed it a lot. it had fifth grader sexual references, abstract child thinking and a ton of laughs from the mismatched and colourful personalities of the characters. I'm not going to say any more, if you haven't seen it yet, but liked anime such as Azumanga Daioh, Manabi Straight!, and Minami-ke, be sure to check it out. It's only four episodes, so even if you don't like it, I haven't wasted much of your time.

Yesterday, I saw the first episode of the new TV series. I was very thrilled when I found out that it was being aired, but after the first few scenes, I got really disappointed. The first episodes is comprised of 4 shorts, two of which we are familiar with from the OAV and two which are completely new. I unwillingly compared the two and immediately concluded that the OAV is light-years ahead of it's new progeny.

First of all, the artwork is a lot crappier. It is more childish, and while one might think that it fits the theme of the show better, it actually makes it more shallow, creating characters which lack those fine details and complex facial expressions. A second thing which I immediately noticed during the first short (which happens to coincide with the first short of the OAV), that the sexual content is toned down. This is a huge loss. Part of the satisfaction of the series were the embarrassing situations these kids would get involved in. While in the OAV you had plenty of sensual lip shots, panty shots galore, and even a reference to oral sex, in the TV series, lips and tongues are made less (to the point of not) sensual, and panty shots are missing. I find this a serious step backwards. The third thing I should be ranting about is the voice acting. Some of the voices are so crappy compared to the OAV, that it makes it hard to think with the previously earned amount of love about the same character.

I am going to watch the TV series till the end, probably, just because I'm curious about the new content. About this, I have to say that one of the two shorts was not impressive at all, while the other one was ok. They are nowhere near the success of the OAV shorts, but then again, the same shorts remade seemed awfully low quality as well.

I don't know whom I should recommend this to. I would recommend it to fans of the OAV, since they too might be interested in the new shorts, but for them it's going to be a huge disappointment. I would recommend it to those who haven't watched the OAV, since then they have no prejudice towards it, but then again I would rather have the watch the higher quality OAV episodes. I can't really say anything more. It's up to you guys...

Extermination (Of The Little Multi-Coloured Blobby Things)

The fact that I'm advertising for another game on Kongregate's website might sound a little monotonous, but these are the things I'm forced to play here. Today, I'm going to tell you about Amorphous+. This game is for all you Crimsonland fans out there. You are equipped with a big-ass sword (the kind that puts Cloud to shame), fittingly named the SplatMaster3000, which you use to splat multi-coloured blobby things called Gooples. You go into their nest, and attempt to clean them out. Now, Glooples come in many varieties, and although most of them are harmless, some of them can be really dangerous (and scary). This game is great fun, and if you immerse yourself enough, you can become easily addicted (in the good sense).

On a side note, if you decide to sign up for Kongregate, please inform me through the comments, so that I may add you as a friend.

Addictive...

No matter what awesome graphics or complex story new games have nowadays, they could never beat the simple addictive fun that flash games offer. A few posts ago, I wrote about an innovative 1D game, called Z-Rox (I still haven't finished it). I hope you enjoyed playing. Today, I'm going to write about two more addictive games I found on the same site.

The first game, called Straw Hat Samurai, is the perfect game for Ninja Scroll fans. You play a samurai, and you have to cut through your enemies by drawing lines with your mouse. Once you finish, your guy disappears, there is a flash, and when you reappear, the bad guys are all in pieces. You get extra points for decapitating, getting more guys at once, or using your bow (yes, you have a bow too, how cool is that!). After reaching the gate, you also have a small strategy part. Honestly, I think if they worked some more on this game, placed a little bit of variety in it, it could become a seriously intense game (maybe for the Wii?...).

The second, called Gravitee, is a simple golf game. The difference is, it takes place in space. You have to hit the ball through the hoop, but be aware and take into account the gravitational effect of the different planets on the ball. While using the ball's projected trajectory, it is a fairly simple game, but when you turn of this helpful feature, it becomes a serious challenge. I'm pretty sure all you physicists out there are going to enjoy it. Knock your hearts out.

I'm going to point it out again, all these games are hosted on Kongregate's website. You should really register, in my opinion. As long as you play, why not gather some badges while you're at it? (And I should seriously get some money for advertising for these guys...)

Laws Yet To Be Discovered

I haven't written on my blog for almost a week now. Not that I don't have anything to write about, it's just that I was very lazy.

Anyway, today, during Finnish class, I learnt about a piece of Finnish grammar which really blew my mind. It's called consonant gradation, and it involves the mutation of stop consonants (like p, t, k) when they appear at the onset of the last syllable in a stem and when a suffix is added to a word that closes the syllable. What really shocked me is that the teacher told us that there is no set rule when to apply consonant gradation. I don't know if it is true or not, but it seemed very weird. She explained that a language is an agreement between people and that it is not based on laws. It just appeared, and people later try to find laws to explain it. I somewhat agree to this, however, I believe languages change over time, to eliminate exceptions and find laws to encompass most of the language.

The weird part of it all was, that the phenomenon immediately got me thinking about rendaku. I know the Finnish language is full of weird shit, but this one must be somewhere there at the top of the list, probably fighting over first place with this mutant spawn of the Japanese language. Rendaku also deals with voicing of the initial consonant of the non-initial portion of a compound or prefixed word. It is actually pretty similar (in my opinion). Now, you don't really here these expressions about consonant gradation, but the Wikipedia article about rendaku describes it as: "a common but unpredictable phenomenon in modern Japanese", "manifests in ways currently unpredictable", "Some instances are linked with a lexical property as noted above but others may obey laws yet to be discovered", and, the most hilarious one, "sometimes presenting a problem even to native speakers". That's just great.

You should really read the Wikipedia articles on these two. I've supplied the links. There are many mysteries in the Universe. Who knows, after the experiment at the LHC, we might even learn what laws truly govern consonant gradation and rendaku...

1D - The Future Of Gaming

Like I said in my previous post, I'm bogged down to playing SNES games on my PDA and flash games on the net. I've started frequenting a site called Kongregate. It has a lot of flash games, but so do many other sites. However, most of these games are really cool and fun to play, and I really like the ranking system of your account based on achievements within the games you play.

One of the games on the site, is a very interesting 1D puzzle game. It is very ingenious. I love it. And it is also very demanding. Tell me if you manage to finish it. You must try this. The game is called Z-Rox.