It’s a bird, it’s a plane, it’s Episode 12! The July 4th BBQ’s are simmering down. We get patriotic with batman vs superman, “Con’s”, mindgames, the shooter genre, and an Anime fakeout!
[05:00] – Batman Vs. Superman
[16:25] – Con’s
[36:45] – Word Association Game
[44:38] – Shooter Genre Innovation
[56:15] – The Anime Game
Batman vs. Superman Pics: http://imgur.com/gallery/4MKqf/
Anime Game: Devil is a Part Timer, Code Geass, Parasyte, Kill La Kill, Death Parade, Beyond the Boundary, Akame Ga Kill, Food Wars
I’m going to stop saying, “I’m starting to watch anime now” because I’m pretty sure I’ve left that station a while back. I’m pretty full blown into it. I’ve spent the last couple of months (maybe even years :/) catching up on what people are saying the best anime shows the networks had to offer and it has lead me to places high and low ranging from Beyond the Boundary to Kill la Kill to Code Geass. One particular anime I had heard about over and over again was Sword Art Online (SAO). I read a quick summary and it was said to be about a group of MMO players getting stuck in a virtual world where if they died in that world, they died in real life. They would have to band together to take out bosses if they ever wished to leave their virtual prison. That seemed really intriguing, so I finally took a shot at it.
And it was pretty good…for the first 15/50-ish episodes.
After those first 15 episodes, I’ve often asked myself “why am I still watching this?” I eventually stopped after the 16th episode of Sword Art Online 2 because I couldn’t take it anymore. So let’s break down how that happened.
So watching Attack on Titan heralded in an era of trying to catch up on some of the best anime Japan had to offer. I tried and tried very hard in filling the void of incredible storytelling, beautiful animation, and compelling characters Attack on Titan held. My journey has led me high and low with a lot of time invested. I’ve recently finished three more anime, all recommended from close friends (Hybrid Zone) and some of my favorite websites like Kotaku. Here’s more coverage on what I watched, what I liked, and what I didn’t like. I’m also opening the floor for even more recommendations.
Recommendation reminders to keep in mind: I like to keep things short, with whole series ending after 24 or 40 episodes. I like recent stuff, because animation has really progressed since then. I’m looking for some good drama. Everything I’ve watched lately has mechas and fantasy. Maybe toning that genre back would be good. Unless you’ve got something I REALLY need to see.
After reading numerous articles regarding the hype that was Attack on Titan, I decided to break my usual television catch up sessions and watch an anime show despite never really watching anime. After 20+ grueling episodes, I was absolutely floored with the gorgeous animation, engaging characters, and heart stopping action and story. I was compelled to write this very positive review and it appeared that I wasn’t alone in my love of the show.
Since then I’ve been thirsty for a new anime show to fill the hole of pure awesomeness Attack on Titan left when I was finished with the show. I looked through a couple of lists, namely Kotaku regarding some of the best anime of the season/2013 and I followed up on what I thought were some very good picks. Keep in mind, I’m not normally accustomed to certain levels of ridiculous when it comes to anime shows. Which meant I tried to stay away from generic ‘fantasy/medieval’ anime with knights in boob armor. Nor was I fan of generic ‘gundam’/Pacific Rim anime with typecast pilots in giant robots, where intense fighting is about half of the series. Oh I’m also not into harem anime with a single boy in a school of girls in which the show tries to service the fans at any moment with accidental boob grabs and panty shots. Maybe I’m not as familiar with anime anymore, but I’m pretty sure I’ve crossed off about 90% of contemporary anime. Some of the shows I watched fall into this category and hell, even Attack on Titan at some point falls into some of these categories, but I was truly looking for something special and engaging.
My search yielded some good time burners and quality anime watched, but I think still haven’t found anything close to the level of ‘I CAN’T STOP WATCHING’ that Attack on Titan gave me. There might be one show in this list that will do that job…Here’s a run down of the anime I watched and what I thought.
Ni No Kuni was a game I heard was absolutely incredible in 2013 if you were a fan of traditional RPGs. Now I’ve probably only played from start to finish a handful of RPGs, most of them being Konami’s cult favorite Suikoden series. I’ve never played a Final Fantasy game other then the first two on Gameboy Advane, so I know nothing about Cloud, Aerith, or any of those other spikey haired characters. Kingdom Hearts 1.5 Final Remix was the last RPG I had played before Ni No Kuni and I had a mixed reaction to that, so I wasn’t already with a good attitude when it came to RPGs when I started Ni No Kuni. And low and behold when I started Ni No Kuni, it was slow, boring, and slightly frustrating which threw me off the first 10 hours or so when I was so swamped during the school year. But when summer started I sucked it up and tried another go at it when I had more time. 40 hours later, my mind had completely shifted and Ni No Kuni is definitely one of the greatest RPGs I’ve ever played and I’m the best part is I’m not even close to being done with it.
Banana Scoop returns from a small hiatus after a very stressful week at university. Black Carnival, art profiles, articles and more are coming! For now, let’s get to meeting some very ‘special’ [I’m going to hell for this] ladies in this week’s episode of Katawa Shoujo.
In this episode, I get put in between two girls who absolutely loathe each other. I’m then faced with a choice which I think dictates who I get to ‘date’ later on.
Things get super awkward in this episode where I get a near heart attack and get posed with some serious questions of how I should approach things at this school!
Also we meet two very interesting people who are missing some very interesting body parts…
I don’t normally watch a lot of anime nor do I actively seek it out nor can I tell a good one from a bad one. But 2013 was the year of referencing Attack on Titan. Wit Studio, the company responsible for adapting the popular manga series, released the series only to claim a large number of rewards like best series, best musical score, and best theme song. For all the websites I visit, reddit, kotaku, etc. Attack on Titan has been at least referenced at least once as an incredible if not at least controversial series. Especially because I don’t watch too much anime, I normally would’ve brushed this series off due to general disinterest, but all the media coverage and the constant referencing finally coerced me into watching the first couple of episodes. And by episode 4 or 5, I was hooked, lined, and sunk into an abyss of excitement and sadness.
The Background
The year is 845 where over 100 years ago, a mysterious force called the titans wiped out majority of humanity. These titans are giants, whose seemingly only purpose is to devour and wipeout mankind. In response, humanity has created a series of walls, in order to ward off titan attacks and keep humanity safe. When the walls are breached for the first time in 100 years, ambitious and young Eren Jaeger vows to wipe all the titans off the face of the earth. With the help of his deadly adoptive sister and brilliant childhood friend, Eren embarks on a journey that can only be viewed as a suicide mission.
Watch Attack on Titan for yourself here on Crunchyroll
In this episode, Hikai gets introduced to some staff members and who members of his class. He meets the class representative Shizune, a deaf girl, and Mikai, her translator.
Okay, this is something that’s a little weird, I admit. But let me give you some background on this incredibly fascinating game.
The majority of the story takes place at the fictional Yamaku High School for disabled children, located in an unnamed city somewhere in modern, northern Japan.[4] Hisao Nakai, a normal boy, has his life changed when a long-dormant cardiac dysrhythmia forces him to transfer to a new school after a long hospitalization. Despite his difficulties, Hisao has the opportunity to find friends and love.
Katawa Shoujou is a visual novel game type that is very popular in Japan. For non-informed peoples, visual novels are text and image based games where an image of a character is displayed on a screen while their dialogue is presented below them.
I’ve found Katawa Shoujou to be an incredibly fascinating game. The main character Hisao Nakai gets transferred to a school for ‘disabled children’ [the concept of a school being only dedicated to disabled children is one that I’m not entirely behind, but it brings up an interested premise], where he meets primarily five girls who each have a disability. These disabilities range from blindness to amputees to burn victims. The visual novel aspects essentially turns into a dating game, where these girls become complex characters that you begin to care for and understand.
Now the most fascinating aspect of this game was how it was created. Essentially birthed from the minds of 4Chan, an internet forum board infamous for hacking, posting lewd pictures, and essentially scarring your childhood, the game has been praised for incredibly high emotional depth and an shocking look into the disabilities it covers. More importantly, it respects the disabilities and treatment of the controversial material.
So I’ve decided to take a stab at the free game, released for PC, Mac, and Linux to see what all the controversy is. I agree that this is one of the more radical things I’ve done and it’s even weirder that I’m sharing it with you all, but I’m hoping I learn a thing or to as well as find out what exactly person I truly am…
Watch the Let’s Play to possibly take a look at who I really am.
Banana Scoop 