Ramblings of a Crowe

Photo Madness

Since I have nothing better to do, I found some pictures from the holiday season. I figured I'd torment everyone here by sharing. Aren't you happy?

Anyhoo...

(The cat was pissed when my dad kept taking her picture. Apparently the flash bothered her...heh.)

(I teased Hunter about wearing an apron...he hasn't worn it since...I feel sorta bad)

(Grizz was happy with his new Christmas toys. That's a stuffed hedgehog if you didn't notice)

(Hunter practices his Kage Bushin no Jistsu in his new Naruto jacket)

Hunter got this whirly thingy that flies in the air. It's pretty cool. My dad must think it's really cool, since he took like a dozen pictures of it flying in the air...and they all look the same

Stop the madness....

It's not a good day, or maybe I'm just pissy.

Firstly, I'm still being bombarded with spam. Countless upon countless floods of posts by G@mbling places, one in particular. I've closed down a ton of entry comments, looked for a place to contact them (not that it would do much good) but have found nothing to help me stop this pertentious garbage.

Fuck you spammers. I'd love to hunt you down and throw you from the closest bridge. I wouldn't mind if it was just occasionally, but 84 posts in one night is a tad to zealous. To make it worse, even after I spent the time deleting them, 14 more have shown up in their stead.

I'm considering closing all comments for awhile, though I shouldn't have to. The internet should remain free, but there needs to be some sort of laws as well as punishment for people who harrass other people the way these spammers do.

Energizer batteries piss me off too. Not even two weeks ago I replaced the ones in my mouse, and now they are dead. If I'm going to fork out money for these things, I expect them to work longer than that. Maybe I just got a bad pack, but it still irritates me.

People annoy me too. People who make judgements based on their own ideals and opinions. They can rot in hell too. No one's way is "the right way". Gawd, people like that piss me off with their stupidity and ignorance. Lord only knows I've dealt with one too many of these jokers over the years...it's starting to really bug the shit out of me....

Anyway, I hope everyone had a good Christmas. Mine was great, I was very happy to spend time with my family. It was really nice to see people I haven't seen in a long time. I wish they could come home more often for the holidays. A new year is just around the corner....I can hardly believe it....

One for the Girls

WOMAN'S PERFECT BREAKFAST
She's sitting at the table with her gourmet coffee. Her son is on the cover
of the Wheaties box. Her daughter is on the cover of Business Week. Her
boyfriend is on the cover of Playgirl. And her husband is on the back of the
milk carton.

WOMEN'S REVENGE
"Cash, check or charge?" I asked, after folding items the woman wished to
purchase. As she fumbled for her wallet I noticed a remote control for a
television set in her purse. "So, do you always carry your TV remote?" I
asked. "No," she replied, " but my husband refused to come shopping with me,
so I figured this was the most legal evil thing I could do to him."

UNDERSTANDING WOMEN (A MAN'S PERSPECTIVE)
I know I'm not going to understand women. I'll never understand how you can
take boiling hot wax, pour it onto your upper thigh, rip the hair out by the
root, and still be afraid of a spider.

MARRIAGE SEMINAR
While attending a Marriage Seminar dealing with communication, Tom and his
wife Grace listened to the instructor, "It is essential that husbands and
wives know the things that are important to each other." He addressed the
man, "Can you describe your wife's favorite flower?" Tom leaned over,
touched his wife's arm gently and whispered, "It's Pillsbury, isn't it? The
rest of the story gets rather ugly, so I'll stop right here.

CIGARETTES AND TAMPONS
A man walks into a pharmacy and wanders up and down the aisles. The sales
girl notices him and asks him if she can help him. He answers that he is
looking for a box of tampons for his wife. She directs him down the correct
aisle. A few minutes later, he deposits a huge bag of cotton balls and a
ball of string on the counter. She says, confused, "Sir, I thought you were
looking for some tampons for your wife? He answers, " ! You see, it's like
this, yesterday, I sent my wife to the store to get me a carton of
cigarettes, and she came back with a tin of tobacco and! some rolling
papers; cause it's sooooooooooo much cheaper. So, I figure if I have to roll
my own, so does she.
(Of course . . I figure this guy is the one on the milk carton! :-)

WIFE VS. HUSBAND
A couple drove down a country road for several miles, not saying a word. An
earlier discussion had led to an argument and neither of them wanted to
concede their position. As they passed a barnyard of mules, goats, and pigs,
the husband asked sarcastically, "Relatives of yours?" "Yep," the wife
replied, "in-laws."

WORDS
A husband read an article to his wife about how many words women use a
day... 30,000 to a man's 15,000. The wife replied, "The reason has to be
because we have to repeat everything to men... The husband then turned to
his wife and asked, "What?"

CREATION
A man said to his wife one day, "I don't know how you can be so stupid and
so beautiful all at the same time. " The wife responded, "Allow me to
explain. God made me beautiful so you would be attracted to me; God made me
stupid so I would be attracted to you!

WHO DOES WHAT
A man and his wife were having an argument about who should brew the coffee
each morning. The wife said, "You should do it, because you get up first,
and then we don't have to wait as long to get our coffee." The husband said,
" You are in charge of cooking ! around here and you should do it, because
that is your job, and I can just wait for my coffee." Wife replies, "No, you
should do it, and besides, it is in the Bible that the man should do the
coffee." Husband replies, "I can't believe that, show me." So she fetched
the Bible, and opened the New Testament and showed him at the top of several
pages, that it indeed says.......... "HEBREWS"

Merry Christmas

Due to the ungodly amount of spam I've been bombarded with over the past three days, I've been forced to close many of my comment sections on various posts. Not all, but a lot....mainly older posts, but who knows what will happen next. Stupid friggen spammers. I hope you rot in hell. Especially all of you over at 0n1ine P0ker...stupid bastards....Perhaps I should email them like I did several other persistant spammers and threaten to bog their managers email by forwarding all e-mail spam...strangely, though they denied it was their company, the spam from them has mysteriously stopped...

I got the best Christmas Present today too. A 670 dollar doctor bill. Nice! Lets here it for Hospitals everyone! The Med. Ins. picked up 1000 bucks, which is good, but it still pisses me off. All they did was take my blood pressure, do a simple test for a urinary tract infection, then hook me up to an IV. I think I saw the doctor maybe 20 minutes the entire time I was there.

I assume I was paying for the bed...but it that was the case, they should have that sucker lined with silk sheets and big fluffy pillows. Assholes....

Oh, I'm grateful for them taking care of me, but I'm not grateful for how they gouge the shit out of people for the stupidest stuff.

Anyway, I'll probably be back after Christmas to resume posting. It's busy here with family and such. Lots of running around to do and catching up on old times.

Happy Holidays everyone!

Since the Stick Figure Debacle...

I figured I'd share a few of my more "elaborate" pieces of work...Not that they are much good, and I enjoy the stick figures a 100 times more (less stressful, more flexable)...

Still it's fun to share every now and then. No laughing...

I'll probably color this one soon. There's actually three others I have sitting on my computer too, but I don't feel like editing them (as you can tell from the crappy cleaning job I've done on this one). I'm a piss poor colorer too...so it should be lots of fun to see what I come up with!

On another note, company will be visiting for Christmas, starting tomorrow. I'm very excited to see my family and I want to take the time to wish everyone a very happy holiday season.

Merry Christmas!!!!

FF7:Dirge of Cerebus

Taking stride from J's weblog and an interesting bit of info I hadn't heard of yet, I was suprised to discover that a FF7 spinoff is in the works for PS2. Even better, the main character is my favorite from the orginal, Vincent!

Let's hear it for the vampire! *laughs*

Anyway, there's little news on exactly WHAT "Dirge of Cerebus" is. Apparently it looks to be a third person shooter, similar to "Devil May Cry". Screen shots have me a bit worried. Some are very pretty, others are full of jaggies and what not. Then again, I imagine they haven't "cleaned" up the game much yet. Apparently, Japan is suppose to get a 2005 release, which means us in the US probably won't see this gem until 2006. *sigh*

As for third person shooter, I'm down with that. Blowing shit up is tons of fun. Vincent has guns...and now that I think of it, I wonder if he and Albel Nox (Star Ocean) are distantly related? I mean, dark hair, red eyes, claw arm....

Nah...

Anyway, I'm really curious to see what they've done with the story, and I'm even more happy to see them expanding on an FF storyline that deserves it. (unlike FFX...ugh....) I'm awaiting Advent Children impatiently as well. Those who haven't seen the various trailers and promo's...well, go find them! They're worth a look, that's for sure. Several sites are offering them via bit-torrent.

For info on "Dirge of Cerebus", it seems that IGN is sporting most of the info. I'll admit, I haven't researched this very well, though, so take it as you will.

Thanks to J for bringing this to light! I'd have never known if you hadn't mentioned it on your blog! Talk to you later bud! Sis will be here tomorrow!

Anita Blake: Vampire Hunter

My stick person summary was apparently a big hit. It's amazing what happens to a person when they're laid off work and spend day after day alone in the house with not much else to do (READ: B-R-O-K-E). I'm actually kinda ashamed of myself (the time I spent), but it is morbidly funny when I look back at it...

Glad everyone got a kick out of it. ;-P

I've been re-reading the Laurell Hamilton "Anita Blake" series. I just love these books. They aren't the best written books, and there is a thread of repeativiness throughout them, but if you like mystery, vampires, wereanimals, cops, carnage, love triangles, etc., the tales of Anita Blake are very entertaining.

Anita is a necromancer. She has control of most dead things. Her "night job" is an "Animator", meaning she raises zombies for a living. Zombie raising has become a means of settle court disputes and old family issues in this day and age. Anita is a good enough necromancer that most of her zombies are able to talk and retain memories for a short amount of time. Vampires are also legal citizens in the US. Anita's other job is state Vampire Executioner. It's her job to kill vamps when they get out of hand, yet in these new times, she needs a State Sanctioned Order to do it. She's the vampire boogy man, with 18 kills, if not more, under her belt. Her third job is acting as a perternatural specialist for a division of the police force that deals with supernatural crimes...usually related to rogue vampires, wereanimals, or killer zombies...throw in the occasional fairy or demon too.

Anita is a busy girl. She doesn't have much time for anything else, like being a normal human being...it sort of bugs her and she occasionally questions her humanity. However, things really start to get out of whack when she takes a job offered by her nemisis, the vampires, to kill another vampire. Anita finds herself in the middle of an undead power struggle and facing down a 1000 year old vampire with nothing but a few knives and a couple guns. She finds help in Jean Claude, a powerful master vampire, who's motives seem a bit less than honorable at times. You see, if Anita can kill the Master of the City, Jean Claude will take over. Anita has little choice but to help Jean Claude, and so starts a very interesting and often halarious relationship between the two.

Enter Richard...a good looking, honest as a boyscout, school teacher. He's Anita's dream guy, except he's also a werewolf. Infact, he's the Pack leader of St. Louis. Even more intreaguing, is that Richard is a softie, hates killing (something he's required to do from time to time), and just all round horrible at being a "monster". He and Anita hit it off at first, but things really start to go sour when Richard refuses to accept what he is and what Anita does for a living. It really bugs him that Anita kills things so easily, regardless wether they be monster or human. It doesn't help that Jean-Claude keeps interfering in their relationship, either.

So begins the love triangle. John Claude swears he loves Anita, but Anita just can't stand the fact that he's a vampire. However, she does admit she doesn't want to see him dead...unless she's the one who's doing the killing. Richard loves Anita too. He's asked her to marry him, offering the white house, picket fence, kids...and werewolf...Anita loves Richard, but she doesn't love the fact that he's not comfortable in what he truely is. That bugs her. It also bugs her that Richard can't accept her for what she is either. An assassain. A killer. And in constant danger. Jean Claude and Richard naturally hate each other, but are tied by the supernatural policies as well. Richard is a werewolf. John Claude, a Master Vampire, can call wolves as his familars. This makes things incredibly difficult for all of them.

Of course, it's also incredibly entertaining, if not down right funny. John Claude has the patience of a saint. A rare trait in any vampire. He's a smooth talker, a bit decietful, but an overall laid back kinda guy. Richard is pretty high strung, super defensive, and a chronic whiner. Anita is just plain volitile. She solves everything with violence, yet when it comes to her two boyfriends, she's often at a loss on how to deal with them. Especially when they fight with one another...

( A discussion between Richard and Jean Claude on why Anita shouldn't go out with a vampire)
Richard to Jean Claude: "At least I'm not dead."
Jean Claude: "That can be arrainged."

I love the interaction between Anita and Jean Claude as well. They're so opposite of each other, but so very similar. Anita is constantly suprising JC with her antics and her will to defy him at every turn. She thinks her pissy attitude will make him leave her alone, but he just finds it utterly fascinating.

(Argument between JC and Anita in his office)
JC to Anita: "Who hit you?"
Anita: "Why, so you can go beat him up?"
JC: "One of the fringe benifits of being my servant is my protection."
Anita: "I don't need your protection Jean Claude."
JC: "He hurt you."
Anita: "And I shoved a gun in his groin and made him tell me everything he knew."
JC: "You did what?"
Anita: "I shoved a gun into his balls, alright!"

Any other man probably would have ran screaming from the room, but Jean Claude's response was to laugh. Joyously....The guy cracks me up. I don't doubt his love for Anita, he does care for her, but he also wants her to be his human servant. Her powers combined with his own make him incredibly powerful. Anita isn't too keen the idea....

The books are fun to read, especially the first couple. The later ones grow even more complicated as Anita starts to find herself in deeper with the "monsters". She inhererits a wereleapord pard. Richard ends up going mad and hating her. People are trying to kill her. Her boss hates her guts for dating JC. It just gets better and better.

Angel Sanctuary #5 Summary

Too be continued in Volume 6....
(Well, the story...I don't know about my illustrated summaries)

Angel Sanctuary summary

Media Factory Inc. demands removal of fansubs

Hmmm...I won't go into the details. Visit Arxane's Blog to find out more about what's going on.

I will say, I was a bit sad, considering Gankutsuou is one of the shows that got axed from the site. I really enjoyed that series and I certainly hope it gets a US release in the future. It's worth the money.

As for the ethics and what will happen in the future. Well...not much can be done and technically, fansubs are copyright infringement, depsite them being foriegn material. Anyone who has done scans and subs knows this. If asked, they should take down the work immediatly. People who are itching to see a certain series or read a particular book, your options are to wait out the US release or learn Japanese and import the orginal. I've pondered for the longest time on spending the money to buy a region free DVD player, just for this purpose. Though I don't "hear" Japanese as well as I read it (which is shaky at best too), I've never minded watching "raw" (unsubbed) stuff. My son actually perfers it too, so he wouldn't care in the least.

I suppose it's just a waiting game for now, to see if other companies will follow suit. Though I agree that it is their right to demand fansubs stop, I do worry about what this will do to anime over here. Meaning, regardless of what people say, there are many, many fans who use fansubs as a gauge to what they are willing to spend their money on. I'm one of them. As expensive as DVD's are, I'm very reluctant to buy something I have little or no knowledge of. My only hope is that renting facilities can compensate for the loss of fansubs (if this happens).

Then again, now that I think about it, this most likely will just blow over. It isn't the first time something like this has happened. Last spring ADV was cracking down on certain sites and that incident has fallen to the way side. Only time will tell, but one thing I know, the anime community is going to gain some new perspective and suddenly realize that they mean very little to the producers of these various shows. (perhaps it will knock them down a few notches. Nothing wrong with getting served a bit of humble pie now and then).

The History of "BAKA"

Baka(バカ) is probably the most popular Japanese "swear" word. Nothing is immune to being "baka." In some places, baka is like saying "shit" or "damn" in the US, but in other places, it still carries a harsher meaning and can be pretty insulting.

Baka is thought to be an imported word, though where it came from is highly despuitable. Some Japanologists believe it came from China via the sandskrit word "moha". Others feel it orginiated with the Ainu word for idiot, "paka". It's even been suggested that baka is an Indian extraction of the Hindu insult "bakwa".

Where ever it came from, it means the same thing; someone or something is stupid.

Baka first appeared on paper in the 14th century, though some scholars claim to have traced it back even further to the Heian period (794-1185). Back then, the word was "waka", which means "infantile" or "simple minded". However, in these modern times, it is known as "baka" or "bakabashi" (idiotic).

There are many uses for the word "baka". It can be applied to anyone or anything. The word has no limits. For kicks, lets look at some examples of how to use the word "baka":

(remember; japanese syllables are formed by using a consanant and vowel, or a vowel(s) together (no more than two at a time). The exception is the syllable "ん" or "n". Vowel sounds are as follows: "o" as in "corn", "a" as in "father", "e" as in "prey", "i" as in "keep" but shorter, and "u" as in "lute". "ん" or "n" is held for one beat, meaning it is it's own syllable.)

If someone is stupid:

ばかじゃん！
baka jan!
(what an idiot)

お前ただのバカものだ！！
omae tada no bakamono da!!
(you are such an idiot)

くせバカチンだよ!
kuse bakachin da yo!
(He's a fuckin idiot)

If something is stupid:

バカみたい!
baka mitai!
(This is stupid!)

If someone is being stupid and you want them to stop:

バカやめろよ!
baka yamero yo!
(don't be such a moron!)

バカ言ってんなよ！！
baka itte n na yo!!
(don't say such stupid stuff/don't talk shit)

Of course, baka isn't the only way to express stupidity. There are several other words in use, such as the popular Osaka term, aho (アホ）. Aho too means someone or something is stupid.

お前アホだよ！
omae aho da yo!
(your a moron!)

このアホ!
kono aho!
(you dumbass)

And for giggles here's a few other zingers alive and well:

アホンダラ
ahondara
(idiot)

タワケ
Tawake
(idiot)

ノウタリン
notarin
(airhead)

ウスノロ
usunoro
(simple minded/slow)

Happy Day!

Today has been a good day!

Aside from taking the cat to the vet and having her get stuck under the seat of the car when we got home, things seem to be going really well today! I've made a note to pick up a cat carrier for future trips...though I don't think she'll like that much more...

Anyway...

I was looking around Amazon and Barnes and Noble, checking my order status and what not on a few of my pre-orders, and noticed that B and N has once again pushed back my delievery dates to Feb, when I know full well that the books are availible to buy. The two in question being Angel Sanctuary #5 and Kare First Love #2. Pissed, I went to the Viz website to see what their info said, not expecting much, since they've been of little help as well. I was shocked to see that on their welcome page, the had Kare First Love #2 in stock! I checked Angel Sanctuary and lo and behold, #5 was in stock too! I quickly ordered them both, still a bit uncertain if the Viz site was lying to me...Imagine my surprise when I discovered today that both of them have been shipped and should be here in a few days if all goes well with the post office. Even better, I had no idea that Viz shipped out of Portland, Ore, which is about four hours from where I live.

Lucky me!

At Amazon, I was checking on a few pre-orders as well, and noticed that Gravi #9 is pending shipment too! Yay! Anyone who reads this blog knows how much I LOVE Gravitation! I also put in a pre-order for Getbackers volume 3, though I might pick it up in town over at Best Buy. I've realized that they often release DVD's the weekend before they're actually suppose to be availble. I got Peacemaker volume 2 almost a week before it hit the Suncoast shelves, and for ten bucks cheaper! As much as I love Suncoast (mainly because they know me by name and give me such good service), they are super duper expensive when it comes to dvd's. Especially anime, which are 30 bucks a pop over there. Ouch....

Today I finished up the final translations of ZERO 2, which made me really, really happy. I'm just preparing to start book 3 now...which is a great thing because my second favorite character appears for the first time in this book. I've also got some scans ready to edit, though I'm not sure when I'll get to them. I'm planning on having them done by this weekend, so we'll see.

Hunter's christmas presents came in the mail yesterday too. His two Naruto pillows and the figurines. He LOVES Naruto. LOL I'm ashamed to say it, but he's a Narutard...Oh well, he's only 9 so I can cut him some slack. *laughs* He's getting a buttload of Naruto stuff though, which will make him really happy. I got him a cool Konoha headband, two pillows, and some figurines. Mom bought him an expensive Naruto coat...which I won't be letting him wear to school. *laughs* Sis got him some wallhangings of FMA, which he'll love. So the kid is set. I need to take Naruto volume 5 off his amazon list, since he and mom bought it the other day...

I've got a little more shopping to do...but I'm almost done with it all. Thank goodness.

BTW: Jay, where are you, you silly boy?

Oh, and Evil Similey...I want some pictures of that tractor race!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! LMAO That was the coolest e-mail I've ever gotten! Tell me, do souped up tractors outrun police cars? You guys are halarious!

DON'T Ask John

John over at Animenation is a raving otaku.

Period.

In one of his recent "Ask John" columns, he blames anime fans for companies such as Funimation and 4kids, and not so subtly tells us that if we were to all demand our anime in orginal Japanese, there would be little problem with mass editing and story changes.

Give me a friggen break.

I'll agree on some level, those who still insist on buying crap distributed by the likes of 4Kids actually DO contribute to the monster they've become...but the rest of us? Just because a few of us prefer dubs, we are in the wrong and should just shut up when crappy dubbing occurs. If we just watched the Japanese version, there'd be no issue. We "reap what we sow" right John?

How about this? Those stupid otaku who loath dubs so much, why don't they NOT watch them, shut up about them, and let those of us who do like dubs worry about the state of them. That's right, go sit on your tatami, cuddle up with your kotatsu, eat your miso and pocky, and just shut the hell up.

Damn wannabe's...

Anyway...

The entire column started because some Narutard obviously can't read the gazillion threads out there asking "Why hasn't Naruto been licensed" and apparently thinks John is the all seeing, all knowing god of everything in the anime world. News flash newbies, John is an otaku. Run from him. His facts are often just his opinions, which is a common trait of all otaku. Granted, he does have knowledge of many things in anime and manga, but until he's able to seperate opinion from fact, take him with a grain of salt.

As for Naruto, John uses this show as an example of why we shouldn't be buying dubs. I mean, Naruto is so hugely popular here in the US already, exactly the kind of cash cow companies like 4Kids are looking for. Yes, and we all know those thousands of downloads that happen each week of the new Naruto release are by children ages 5-12...and 4Kids knows it too...that's why they continue to pick up popular shows which the anime community demands to be licenses. (this is sarcasim)

News flash John. 4Kids is a business, and Naruto would make them a huge profit. Admitidly, children will enjoy this show. My son LOVES it. So do his friends. However, 4Kids isn't trolling bit torrent sites trying to find out who's popular and who's not. They're focused on a demographic that pertains to children...young children...not anime fans who download shows via bit torrent or bit tornado or what ever other shareware they have out there. So, exactly how is it our fault when 4Kids goes out there and picks up show such as, One Piece or Naruto? Hmmm? They obviously don't give a damn about the older fans of these shows. You have to look no further than the crap they put on TV and their (until recently) refusal to at least release an uncut Japanese version on DVD.

Oh, and TV edits? Has John even bothered watching CN as of late? Edits are few and far between, my lazy, deluded otaku morons. Certainly, they are there, but Braveheart was edited for TV too, and did you get your panties in a twist over that one? Edits are bound to happen, however, CN has done a great job (specifically AS) and keeping them to a minumum. Did anyone catch the premier episode of Ghost in the Shell? People got all sorts of shot up. Or how about FMA? Anyone see Ed bleeding all over the floor with his leg cut off? I did. A few years ago, that sort of stuff would have never made the cut. Kudos for them for keeping the shows intact the best they can.

Go get some perspective otaku!

As for Naruto. Yes, us fans want it licensed. I want to see a decent dub and perhaps a spot on AS. Apparently, the bidding war is astounding for this show. I have a feeling it will go to a company like Funi, but that's just me. I don't mind, considering Funi has done an excellent job on many of their other projects (some fans just can't let go of the DBZ folly). If I can have an uncut, sub release on DVD, I'll be very happy. Though, I would like to have an uncut, soild dub instead (Getbackers is a good example...excellent dub by ADV).

Some Naruto images, for fun:

(Naruto, the hero)

This guy would scare even Chucky

The villian, Orochimaru...he's pretty scary himself

Gankutsuou ( 巌窟王 ) Again

I've talked about Gankutsuou once before, and now that I've seen more of the show, I'm even more impressed with what they've done. Actually, this series has shot up to being one of my favorite shows of the season. I can't stress enough to those people who enjoy drama and have an affinity for serious anime, to watch Gankutsuou. It's amazing.

For those not aware, Gankutsuou is the story of "The Count of Monte Cristo."

I'm not sure if my feelings about it are because I loved the book, "Count of Monte Cristo" so much, or if it's just because what they've done with this particular show is so different from what I've watched in the past. The animation is STUNNING. That's all I can really say. Explaining it is far to difficult.

Story wise, I'm also impressed. There's been changes, which are expected, since this is an adaptation, but I will say that Gankutsuou stays more true to the novel than the movie released here in America ever did. Granted, I really enjoyed the movie too, but they left out so much important details, it really made the story seem a bit bland. However, in this animated version, nothing is bland and everything is sinister.

(Grandfather Nortier)

(Haydee after seeing Alberts father at the opera)

(The Count discusses the beauty of poison with Valentines stepmother)

The character of the Count is perfect. He's so very personable, but his insane desire for vengance shines through in all he does. The nobles around him are all pompous fools, to blind to see him for what he is. The youth, however, know there is something not quite right about him, but are intreagued instead of frightened. Albert continues to forge a strong friendship with the Count, though it remains to be seen what will come of it all in the end.

This story is set to be tragic. Those who have read the book, know that the basic principle of the story was revenge easily goes too far. Innocent people will be hurt, lives will be totally ruined, and hearts will be crushed. There's no room for humor and silly antics. I personally find it difficult to fault the Count for his actions, though I do believe he takes things too far. His right to extract justice from those who harmed him is warrented. What they did to him was beyond horrible, and they deserve to be punished. Still, we have yet to see exactly what happened to him in this animated version, but I suspect it's just as bad, if not worse, than the orginal.

(Notice the moon?)

At anyrate, this show is a must watch for all us lovers of drama. Don't be frightened by the "different" animation style. Screen shots do this series no justice, and to fully appriciate you have to see it all in motion.

Gankutsuou

So, It's finally December

It's hard to believe, but December has come. It's almost a new year. 2005 to be exact. That's sort of weird if you think about it. I mean, I was born in 1976...that feels like ages ago...Even worse, my son will be 10 next month. He's almost as tall as I am! It's really hard for me to think of him as a "pre-teen". He's still just a little boy and not long ago, he was running around the house in a daiper, tearing things apart. *laughs*

Time certainly does fly.

I enjoy the Christmas season. I really hate the shopping part, but I do like the sense of closeness I feel with my family this time of the year. This year will be particularly exciting, since my cousin and his wife will be joining us, and my sister will be visiting for a few days as well (for her birthday). The past couple Christmases have been nice, but they were sorely lacking. Without my cousins and their familes and my sister, things just aren't as lively. I think we all feel it when we get together at my grandma's house or my uncle's house for the festivities of the holidays. Everyone who lives away makes sure to call and speak to us all while we're celebrating, but they are incredibly missed. It would be nice if traveling wasn't so expensive these days and if work places gave everyone a week or two off during the holidays.

Hunter is pretty excited about having everyone home as well. He's pretty disappointed that his cousins Cassie and Heather won't be making the trip, as we all know us "big kids" are second rate compared to them. *laughs* Still, he's been talking non stop about everyone celebrating together. It's going to be a fun Christmas!

Anyway...

My kidney's are bugging me again today. I'm constantly in fear of having to go through what I did on Thanksgiving. What a horrible experience. I've done nothing but drink water, save one diet pepsi. You could probably ring me out....I've got pain meds in case the pain gets too bad, but that's not comforting.

Apparently, it's waiting game with kidney stones...it could be a few days, or it could be a couple weeks, according to my boss, who gets them all the time. That's nice (insert sarcasim). I'd rather have a good ole infection. At least then they can hook me up with antibiotics and be done with it.

Ah well...such is life.

Shadow Hearts 2

So yesterday I finished Shadow Hearts: The Covenant. It was a fun game, worth the money I spent buying it. I enjoyed the first one as well, but it's been so long, I don't remember much about it. I plan on replaying it in the future (when I get it back from my sister's husband).

I wasn't too happy with what the did to Yuri's character design...he reminded me of some punk who stepped out of a boyband...He'd somehow lost he's "coolness". Still, his personality was fairly decent and made him a likeable enough main character. I liked most of the other character's as well...except Joachim...the WWF Vampire Wrestler. WTF!!! Oh, he was funny enough (a total doofus actually), but the way he walked irritated the hell out of me...I stuck mainly to a party of Yuri, Kurando, Blanca, and Geppetto.

I didn't like the way the camera moved either. I really hate fixed camera angles. That sort of stuff pisses me off. I want to know where I'm going, instead of rushing blindly into things. Not to mention fixed angles making finding treasure chests a real bitch. Let me handle the camera, thank you very much. Even rotating camera angles would be better than a fixed angle (ie: camera spins to characters back as you move).

Storywise, the game was okay. Nothing spectacular, like FF, Star Ocean, or Xenosaga, but it was by no means a bad game. I enjoyed the emphasis on Yuri and Anne's relationship. Anne is his girlfriend who died in the last game. Actually, one particular scene was pretty heartwrenching. I teared up watching it. You know, I never quite understood what the big deal was about Aeris dying in FF7. Yeah, it was sad, but not as sad as everyone makes it out to be. (I may receive hate mail for this comment) I thought this scene with Yuri and Anne was far more emotional that Cloud and Aeris...

Anyway...

Battle system...fairly standard turn based RPG. The only difference is the "Ring Strike" that determins amount of hits and amount of power...as well as combos. Just like the last game if I remember correctly.

Graphics were very pretty, no complaints there. The cut scenes were beautifully animated too. Still, nothing compared to FF or Star Ocean, but then again, Square Soft is on an entirely different level most of the time when it comes to their games. I really shouldn't compare....

Voice acting was pretty good. I was pleased. However, some of the scripting was a bit annoying. Yuri had some pretty lame lines, they could have thought it out a bit better. I did like the silly humor they added in, when they managed to make it flow right. Some of the scenes were pretty funny.

Like I said, Shadow Hearts was a good game. It took me 50 hours to finish it, so it's not a renter. Still, it's good enough to be worth the 40 bucks you'd spend on it. The final boss was a bugger to beat, which always makes me happy!

TACTICS

Today I discovered that Shinsen/Spoon is subbing Tactics! Yay! I've been watching raws since the other subber I was using switched from bit torrent to another program. I really didn't want to switch programs for just one show, so I began watching raws instead. For those that don't understand, a "raw" is an unsubtitled show. I can understand a little bit of the Japanese, just enough to know what's going on and most of the jokes, but I much prefer to have subtitles.

Tactics is a fun show. I would recommend the manga over the anime any day, but still, the cartoon version is entertaining enough. It's good for a few laughs, that's for sure.

(Yoko picks on poor Haruka...who's apparently not wearing any underware...Do Tengu wear underware?)

Kantaro, aka: Kan-chan, is a folktale scholar and a demon hunter. He's searched his whole life to find the Onikui, or Ogre eating demon, Haruka. He finds him, and by demon law, Haruka must obey the one who names him, which happens to be Kantaro. This leads to a shakey and interesting sort of partnership between the two. Kantaro is lazy, a bit of a bully, and always on the look out to make a quick buck. However, Kantaro has a good heart, and he looks out for the people around him...often in round about ways. Haruka finds Kantaro's personality intreaguing (as well as annoying), and sticks with him.

(Kantaro)

Together with their several other friends, Yoko the kitsune (fox demon), and Suzu the little girl in love with Haruka, they embark on various adventures that often include tracking down trouble making demons. The show is humorous, but it also has a rather dark undertone beneath the light-heartedness. I'm wondering when the story (or if) will switch to a more developed plot line. Right now, the series is more episode to episode, instead of an ongoing story-line (Think King of Bandits Jing).

(Yoko and Suzu)

My most favorite characters in this show are by far Muu-chan and her husband, Sugino.

(Muu-chan is the one in green. Sugino is the one in white.)

Did I just say "husband"?

Yup, the two of them are married...or at least according to Sugino the are. *laughs* He's very possessive of Muu-chan and pitches a major fit when she starts showing attention to the other male cast members. This is halarious in it's own right, because Muu-chan is a simpleton...She reminds me more of a curious pet than someone's wife, though Sugino thinks differently. Sugino takes care of Muu-chan and looks out for her (but not too well considering how often he loses her... and once he pushed her in front of a train and cried after she got sucked underneath...I guess it was an accident....but still...). They live in the mountains where Sugino is the Mountain God.

(Yoko is startled to see Muu chan in the forest)

(Apparently, Muu chan doesn't remember meeting Yoko before)

Sugino is a white Tengu. According to the legends, he was once a human but couldn't (or wouldn't) ascend to heaven. He and Haruka are very different. Haruka is a black tengu, meaning he was born a demon, unlike Sugino.

(Sugino loves Muu chan...enough to let her eat Yoko

According to rumor, Tactics has been licensed by ADV...however, I cannot find anything regarding the anime on any site. I'm wondering if this info is a mistake...the MANGA is licensed by ADV and the next volume is out sometime this month. If anyone knows, and has a link to prove it, I'd love to hear from you...however, I don't want to hear more rumors, as I've surfed several forums and heard all the arguments.