Hello, I thought I would take a post to introduce myself. I’m Amarantha and I’ll be writing editorials and reviews on anime series, movies, and maybe even manga (if I’m allowed) for WanAbrar during the summer. Just like everyone here, I absolutely love anime and manga! The first anime that I watched as a child was Pokemon, but what drew me into the anime world was Sailor Moon. Sailor Moon is still my all time favorite anime and my favorite genre would be the magical girl variety. So no doubt you can imagine my excitement over the announcement of the return of Sailor Moon!
I also enjoy other kinds of genres for instance I like fantasy, sci-fi and mecha, as well as romantic, historical, school dramas. But I’m generally open to most anime and manga out there as long as the plot can draw me in and as long as there isn’t an excessive amount of gore and violence and no ecchi. Oh and my favorite creature is a dragon! So any anime or manga or movie that has a dragon I will watch it, but whether or not I end up liking it would be a different story.
Um … I can’t think of anything else that would be relevant other than blogging is a relatively new experience for me, I have written articles for an online company before, but not anything on a personal level. Anyway thanks for having me here!
Yay! It’s finally here! Animal Crossing is hitting North America, along with the special 3DS XL Package. You can pick up a copy of either at your local GameStop, Walmart, BestBuy, and so on.
The box art is also pretty cool!
The 3DS XL bundle comes with a special white 3DS handheld, decorated with Animal Crossing symbols such as the leaf, fruits, and houses. The system comes with New Leaf on it, so you can buy the DS without worrying about getting the game. If this is your first time buying a 3DS you can buy the bundle for the system and the game!
Unboxing By Nintendo
Animal Crossing is a virtual life game, except everyone’s an animal! You can perform all sorts of actions and tasks such as fishing, bug catching, digging, and gardening. In the earlier games, the player moves to the village while looking for a home. They come with money, but not enough to pay off their house. Instead, while living life the player finds ways to pay off his/her debt. New Leaf is a bit different, adding new features such as swimming, designing your village, and more. This time around you’re the mayor! Your village is under your control.
New Leaf has been highly regarded in reviews, being labeled as the best Animal Crossing yet. Stay tuned for my next post on first impressions of the game.
Hey again! In my last Tech and Gadgets post, I showed you all a little bit of Rainmeter. If you’re a person who likes to customize every inch you can then I have something new in store. This one goes out to you Android owners. Luna Moe Alarm Clock for Android!
Yeah it might not seem like much, but who hasn’t dreamed of having their own anime style alarm clock? You can trust Luna to wake you up on time. She starts off in the Tsundere mode. Depending on the personality you chose for her you can alter her speech patterns and appearance. The app is free to download and contains absolutely no ads.
Yet, a few extra features require money. The extra personality labeled “Quiet Reserved” is only acquired through pay. (Much to my dismay.) The additional clothing and mode are also premium features.
Concerning her voice, Luna speaks in an accented English. No, she does not speak any Japanese, but her somewhat broken speech patterns provide the same moe effect.
The options are pretty handy. You can set a snooze mode and adjust the amount of time. You can also configure the phone to vibrate with Luna’s yelling. By customizing the alarm volume you are able to hear a few clips of each personality trait. What really stood out to me was the option to set holidays. On holidays, the alarm will not go off, so if you’re running an odd schedule, you’re not forced to change the app everyday. For those who are thinking of it; yes, she’s touchable.
First time doing screen caps of a series, I’ll get better I promise!
Sorry if you guys were expecting a 2013 series; I haven’t gotten into one yet. I would like to thank everyone who gave me recommendations on my last post, but…they didn’t work out very well. Today I’m finally going to delve into a less recent anime series. However, this series isn’t that old. So why not watch it? I’m a sucker for these types of animes anyways. It reminds me of my younger days, enjoying Yugioh, Pokemon, DBZ, and the lot. Vanguard is also not your typical card game, it’s a bit different, which I discovered after checking out the first episode.
Usually when I start a new series the first episode either puts me to sleep, or draws me in. Cardfight Vanguard did the latter, but not at first. When I watched the anime a while back, I didn’t even make it to the middle of the episode. It just didn’t seem interesting, and I was done with card games. I put down the series and never picked it back up.
…Until now. It’s a bit different this time, for some reason the anime drew me in with it’s bright visuals, and fascinating monsters. The opening sequence consists of a fight between two monsters and some talking. Nothing new, this seems to be a common way to introduce a series. A minute or so later we’re met with the opening.
Now the opening was something. The song was a great “get excited now” track. The opening gives you a peek of the characters, and they’re Vanguards. For a newcomer, you don’t really know what’s going on at first, but watching the bright colors and cards fly around the screen is certainly interesting. I wasn’t instantly hooked yet, but I kept watching.
Kai Toshiki
Here’s our first look at the characters in the story. They aren’t really diverse. We have Kai Toshiki, your typical calm and collected cool guy. He wipes the floor with everyone in the card shop. There’s also his groupie, Taishi Miwa. We also get a look at a few other characters who haven’t been brought into the story much. While they don’t differ from the usual, they still prove to be interesting.
Next, we get to meet the main character; Aichi Sendou. No, unlike Bakugan’s Dan Kuso, and Pokemon’s Ash Ketchum, he’s not that much of a loudmouth. He resembles normal Yugi. He’s a nice and quiet character, more on the shy side. Became my favorite character instantly, not only for his soft spoken voice actor, but because of relation.
Ever had a passion that no one around you seemed to understand? You’ve never been able to relate to others because of your hobbies. Then one day, you find out that there are people like you, and as soon as you meet them, you soon come out of your shell. Most anime fans should understand.
Aichi Sendou and Blaster Blade
That person is Aichi, he’s literally the personification of that description. He’s been holding on to a card called Blaster Blade for quite a while. You guys know where this is heading right?
When the school bully “Morikawa” steals his card, he drops him timid act and chases after him. Morikawa runs to duel Kai and wagers the card in the duel. Of course he ends up losing, and Kai gets the card. Aichi finally arrives at the card shop asking for it back, but Kai isn’t going to part with it so easily. Aichi decides to duel for the card, but is allowed to use it in his deck.
This part was laid out pretty well for the common newcomer. Aichi himself has never dueled before, so we have the opportunity to learn along with him. Dueling is similar to Yugioh and the Pokemon TCG. The duel actually takes place on a planet known as Cray, but we’re the only one’s seeing that action. If you’re interested in how to play and the rules click here.
The episode ends as Aichi, on the verge of losing, top decks his vanguard Blaster Blade. He then later reveals that Kai was the one who gave him the card in his younger years. There’s the cliffhanger ending!
A Few Side Thoughts
Sound: For a first impression, the music and opening/ending were very good. I actually wanted to look up the sound track. The fast paced tunes and the upbeat music definitely help make the series.
Voice (English): Sorry for those who love hearing the original Japanese voices, I enjoy English Dubs when they’re avaliable. The voice acting is very fitting for the characters, especially for a dub. I have no complaints so far. For those interested a list can be seen here.
Graphics: The animation is very nice. The action scenes are clean and to the point. Overall the anime is filled with brightly colored scenery and cast.
Story: Can’t say much about the story from the first episode, but there’s only so much you can do with card games.
Characters: The few characters so far are intriguing. Even one of the less popular, Morikawa, isn’t too bad. He’s a character that’s great at giving you a laugh.
That’s all for now! The series is pretty long (100+ episodes), so I’m not sure if I’m going to keep up with every one. Let me know if you guys like this, or if it’s not your thing.
I’m back! I’ve been gone for a week or so due to school/graduation, but I’m back and ready to write! This time I’m looking at a Japanese MMORPG known as Phantasy Star Online 2, but keeping it short and sweet.
Sega’s vast MMORPG Phantasy Star Online 2 is now on Vita. The original game for Microsoft Windows features a sci-fi environment and is renown for it’s heavily detailed character customization system. When logging in, players are prompted with 3 races, Human, Newman, and Cast. Humans are your average people, nothing quite special about them. Newmen resembles humans with the exception of pointy ears. Male Casts resemble gundams or robots, while females resemble androids. In addition to race selection, there are three starting jobs available for each race. Regarding customization, players are given free reign over their character, ranging from hair, eye, height, body shape, and more.
Female Cast
The game itself is pretty well made. The unique ID system allows players to name characters without any restrictions., finally solving the problem of the bothersome “this name is already in use.” The combat is well done. Locking onto enemies is done with the press of a button, so no more missing moving targets. If the keyboard and mouse controls don’t suit you, there’s always the controller option.
Music isn’t really all that memorable, the only song I vaguely remember is the lobby theme. (Then again I haven’t played enough to hear it all.) The graphics are nice, although on lower settings characters look odd. For example, I designed a character on the highest graphic setting. Everything looked perfect until I turned the setting down. Suddenly, the hair color looked off, body parts looked too big, etc.
Example of the lowest graphic setting.
Unfortunately, there is no English release for the game, as the server has been delayed. However, that shouldn’t stop anyone as the game is still available to those outside of Japan. Can’t read Japanese? You’re in luck. The English speaking community has banded together on this website, supplying players with an English patch.
As you can see, the patch doesn’t translate everything.
So what does the Vita port have to offer? An obvious addition is the option to play on the go. If you have a 3G PS Vita model, you’re good. Even if you don’t, playing over Wi-Fi still works the same you’re just limited to a smaller area. The Vita also offers a redone interface, for ease of use.
Overall the game is very good. It combines the fun part of gaming while taking out the bad. The story isn’t that great, and it may not keep up with other MMOs in terms of popularity, there are more pros than cons. While Japanese may turn the average gamer off, the game is one of the better MMOs. If you don’t mind a slight grind, but love customization this game is for you!
Hello and sorry for the delay! I usually don’t like going days without posting, but I’ve been feeling somewhat ill recently. However, I’m not going to let that stop me from bringing you guys a post today! Unfortunately, it’s a bit of a sour one.
Recently, I’ve been looking for a new anime to watch. Usually the series I find are by chance only; I’ve never really set myself out to watch a certain anime. At a glance nothing in the 2013 list looks interesting to me. I can’t get myself to watch much, and the ones that I’ve seen just put me to sleep.
When I look at the previous titles I’ve watched, I feel like I shouldn’t talk. A bunch of my favorites are somewhat generic. For example Negima is your usual harem, but the action and magic bring interesting aspects to the plot. Naruto has almost little to no originality, but still remains as one of my favorites. While it takes place in the world of ninja, the problems addressed are present in the real world. The pattern is pretty clear, but common. Take something cliche, and add on to it. Twist it around and make it even better.
I can’t really say why there’s a lack of originality as I’m not sure myself. I’ve seen many of the same plots and reiterations over the course of many manga, anime, and so on. I feel like producers are just redoing the same old things. There’s so much of the same plot, you can even predict how some will end.
There’s your slice of life, usually revolving around high school. There’s the generic shonen, with an underdog main character who eventually reaches his goal. We have the horror genre with blood, killings, psychos, and other random stuff thrown in. Don’t forget the ecchi or harem genre which basically throws fan-service in your face. We even have classifications for characters; Tsundere, Dandere, Yandere, and so on.
Now don’t get me wrong, I know most anime bring more to the table than what I’ve mentioned, but it seems like the overall concept is the same. There’s nothing unique, nothing that seems to stand out about recent series. It’s almost as if they’re afraid to bring something new to the plate, like a character that doesn’t fall into one of the generic classifications. Why not mix it up and combine two types?
So what’s the answer? How about some new ideas? Sure with the thousands of titles out there it may be hard to come up with something completely original, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t try. Just being an anime fan doesn’t mean we should sit back and watch. We have a voice, and we can use it. How about creating something ourselves? We rant and complain about the things we dislike, but do we do anything? Do we do anything to change the anime scene?
Then again, it could just be me. I could’ve lost my taste in anime without knowing it! I could be seeing things wrong. Perhaps others think the new anime is the best of all time. What do you think? Is this a good year for anime?
I recently finished a project for my journalism class, dealing with customizing your desktop. It uses a program called Rainmeter. I used a video tutorial. It’s not the best thing ever, but simple and straight to the point. If you’re interested check it out.
The video may seem a bit bland, but there’s quite a lot you can do with the program, especially in terms of anime customization. My old desktop was a bit simple compared to the opening image, but it looks pretty cool and clean. I barely need any icons due to a useful program known as RocketDock. (Not shown in the image below)
Miku looks pretty comfy here.
Rainmeter is usable with a bunch of anime skins that can easily be found on DeviantArt. The installation process is so quick and simple that you can try out as many as you want. I also added additional changes to my laptop which took quite a bit of time, but it was totally worth it!
My Miku Toolbar.My folders also have a unique decoration.
I have a few other things that aren’t pictured such as a custom login and screensaver/lock screen. I don’t remember everything I used to accomplish this, but I can do a bit of searching if you’re curious.
That’s all there is to my Mikufied laptop. If you need any help don’t hesitate to drop a comment. Matane!
Arc System Work’s popular 2D fighter BlazBlue is finally getting an anime. Fans everywhere are overjoyed at the announcement. The site can be found here, along with the cast and list of staff. The anime is labeled BlazBlue Alter Memory.
The staff.…
Supervisor: Toshimichi Mori
Director: Hideki Tachibana
Assistant Director: Seiji Mizushima
Series Composition: Deko Akao
Screenplay: Deko Akao/Tatsuya Takahashi
Character Design/Chief Animation Director: Tomoyuki Shitaya
The anime adaptation will also retain the game’s original voice actors, with the exception of Nu-13 who is now voiced by Matsuura Chie. The site doesn’t contain much else, aside from the introduction. Here’s what I could make out from the Japanese.
A.D. 2199 December
In conclusion of the year, the city was booming in expectations of the New Year.
Information on the bounty of an all-time high amount, “Ragna = the = Bloodedge” emerged within the thirteenth level city “Kagutsuchi” by the control mechanism of rebel SS class criminal.
Target “Ragna = the = Bloodedge ” is referred to as another name “Death.”, it is said that his actions and purpose is towards the destruction of the control mechanism.
He contains an Armagus with matchless power. A high bounty has been applied to the target. He is known to reside in the thirteenth hierarchal city “Kagutsuchi”.
With Chrono Phantasma looking at a PS3 release soon BlazBlue seems to be fairing very well. Still, the anime could change that. I can see a few things happening in the future.
The anime is a huge success!
Right now the BlazBlue community isn’t very large, at least not in America. Many American gamers are turned off by the anime style graphics; others state that the game itself is a bit too complex. At Evo 2012, BlazBlue was removed from the main list of fighters. The fans wouldn’t let that go lightly, deciding to have a heated side tourney which got a lot of attention. Yet, it’s Evo 2013 and BlazBlue still hasn’t returned. It’s currently being overshadowed by a newer Arc title Persona 4 Arena.
If the anime is a success, the former will change. It may not get the Evo appearance this year, but the community will definitely increase. People are more likely to watch an anime than pick up a game and try to learn it, so I feelthe series has a lot of hope in the anime.
Mediocre; some good and some bad…
The series would gain a small amount of popularity, but not a deciding number. I can see this happening with BlazBlue due to its somewhat complicated story. Unless it’s toned down in the anime, the average viewer may not understand.
It’s horrible!
This would be a major setback for the series. I feel that it would only be temporary, as the release of Chrono Phantasma will generate more hype. However, this is BlazBlue we’re talking about; the anime is almost guaranteed to be good.
So what do you think? Will the anime be a hit or a miss?
I don’t know about anyone else, but I’ve always had a special place in my heart for Nintendo. Most of us grew up with their games right? Well Nintendo is still around, but aren’t seen in the same light, mostly because their games are not as “hardcore” as other systems. However, before did it really matter how hardcore the game was? Or was it about if you had fun or not? Hopefully the latter, cause that’s why we all like playing games; because they’re fun!
Recently, Nintendo uploaded a new Nintendo Direct. It featured some of the newest games coming to Wii U and 3DS. If you’re interested in all the juicy details, you can take the time to watch the video, but I would like to point out a few things that seemed pretty interesting.
Animal Crossing New Leaf
I spent many hours playing Animal Crossing as a child. The game was the perfect fantasy life, but I was pretty disappointed when the second and third titles were released. Each one seemed less appealing than the first as features continued to disappear. We lost holidays and events, the island, and other additions beloved by gamers. Well, this Animal Crossing has brought everything back…and more!
We didn’t get to hear much about New Leaf in the most recent Nintendo Direct, but no worries. If you’re interested in the additions, videos are easily found on YouTube. Many westerners picked up the game early, disregarding the complete Japanese text. Others have been waiting for the English release, coming June 9. As a bonus, owners with the Western copies will have the chance to download Nintendo designed houses.
For curious ones, here’s a few of the newer features.
Nook’s Homes: A real estate agency. It is managed by Tom Nook and run by Lyle.
Re-Tail: A recycling store which buys items at 20% higher than Nook’s old stores in previous games. Reese and Cyrus run it.
Kicks: A footwear store owned and run by Kicks. It sells shoes, socks and other footwear. It is an improvement on Kicks’ old trade of shining shoes in the City in City Folk.
Gardening Store: A gardening store run by Leif. It sells flowers, saplings, axes and watering cans.
Club LOL: An entertainment venue. It is run by Dr. Shrunk, who is now retired. K.K. Slider performs here by playing his songs or as a DJ. The player can also learn emotions from Dr. Shrunk.
The island is back!
Houses can now be customized to a further extent than before.
Players now have the power to customize their village’s landscape.
Villagers are more diverse.
Legend of Zelda Oracle of Ages/Seasons
As another signature title, the older Legend of Zelda games are back in action. Players will be able to enjoy Legend of Zelda Oracles of Ages and Oracle of Seasons on the go. These two games hit the Nintendo Eshop for 4.99 on May 30. Sounds like a reasonable price right? They even have new features, such as connectivity between the two games and a new final boss.
Even if you’re not a Zelda fan, these two are a great way to get into the series.
Sonic: Lost World
Would be great for wallpaper.
Sonic was given a brief mention during Nintendo Direct, along with an ominous image. From the picture, it looks like Sega is sticking with Sonic and Tails for this one, just like the recent game, Sonic Colors.
Sadly for owners of PS3 or Xbox 360, this game is looking at a 3DS and Wii U release only. We can look forward to hearing more about the game during E3.
What do you think? Are you excited for the new announcements, or disappointed? What do you expect to see at E3?
I noticed there was a lack of Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games (MMORPGs or MMOS) on the site, so I thought a post would be ideal. I’ve been playing a new MMO, and it’s quite good. It’s called Rusty Hearts, labeled as the fastest free action MMORPG.
So what’s this game about?
The game takes place in Europe, after the devastation of black plague. The characters are in a special force known as the Hermetic Association of the Golden Seal, a unification of small rebel groups to fight against Lord Vlad’s vampire army. To sum it up, there’s this evil guy who is a vampire. He ended up declaring war on the humans and half-breeds. You’re fighting a war against him.
The story seems somewhat generic, but as you progress in the game it begins to develop more depth. The long cut scenes scattered throughout the game are quite interesting, but if you’re in a hurry you can always turn them off in the settings. Oddly the characters stand out; each NPC has a unique personality. Unlike normal NPCs they aren’t your normal robots, the dialogue is filled with humor and comedy.
Typical story cutscene.
The characters include four main playable characters with more as skins. They all can wield different types of weapons: swords, axes, twin swords, etc. Each starts off with a basic look, but can be customized with skins bought from the fashion shop. Luckily the fashion shop requires only in-game currency.
Gameplay
Running a dungeon with Frantz.
Rusty Hearts is a hack and slasher. Players have one attack button, a guard button, and a grab. You can mash the heck out of the attack key, and still live. In the later levels, it gets a bit harder and if you aren’t careful you’ll die.
Skills are also present in the game and they differ for each character. Players run dungeons like any other MMO, some which are beautifully tied into the story. The game is even controller compatible, so you can hook up your PS3 or Xbox controller.
After reaching level 20 in game you can focus change. What is a focus change? It’s known as job advancement. To start, each character is able to use three weapons. Until reaching level 20 you are able to switch weapons at will. When you focus change you lose this privilege, and you’re stuck with a single weapon. Each one has its own pros and cons, but you’re it’s companion for life. After focus change the gameplay increases in difficulty and the action is increased. Your character even gets a boost, gaining new skills and combos. Even old skills are redone and usable with new effects.
Angela with her focus change weapon.
The skins or clones are equivalent to those present in the game Smash Bros. Melee. The clones act like Fox and Falco, Marth and Roy, Link and Young Link, etc. They share movesets/skillsets, but possess small differences. Each character clone has their own personality.
Even though the game starts at a slow pace, the combat is still fluid and action packed. The slow start can be a turn off to some gamers, but for others it’s just the calm before the storm. The first dungeons were painfully easy depending on the character, and for others I faced greater difficulty. (For example, when using the character Natasha, I had a harder time fighting. She has little hitsun and performs poorly against the mobs. The constant need to reload ammunition was a slightly realistic touch, but somewhat annoying.) Just pick your fancy, as with Angie I had an easy time at the start, clearing dungeons without taking a hit.
Be prepared to do quite a bit of walking in the game, as there’s no such thing as a mount or faster way of transportation. It’s somewhat annoying, but it’s not that big of a deal. Another unique feature is item weight. The more items you have in your bag, the more you weigh, simple as that. Only problem is, the more you weigh the slower your character moves. Surprisingly it’s not that big of a deal; the movement speed reduction isn’t very noticeable, but if you’re a pack rat like me you might feel pressured by the system.
The four main characters.
Pros
Fast, fluid gameplay
Interactive dungeons
Interesting characters, some generic with a twist
Intriguing story
Low learning curve
Small community
Multiple servers
Unique fighting system
Wide selection of weapons
Free, with premium features
Fashion shop clothes can be purchased with game currency
Anime Styled Graphics
Game runs fast
Humor
Cons
Launcher problems
Walking everywhere
Hard to find parties
Character bugs
Frequent spelling and grammar errors
Voice acting could be better
Lack of servers outside U.S. and Europe
Artwork changes
Slow loading at times
Overall
Disregarding minor bugs and loading problems, the game is great. It’s extremely addicting and the characters are quite interesting. The dark scenery of the game provides an ominous feeling, and the killer soundtrack is one of the best I’ve heard in a while. Try it out, you might enjoy yourself.
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