The Ring

Oh my God! This is the freakiest movie I have ever seen! You must see this, NOW!

Ok, the movie is about this tape. Supposedly, when you watch this tape you get a phone call and a creepy voice informs you that you have seven days left to live. Sure enough, seven days later you die. What the movie is ACTUALLY about is this woman who is researching the tape because it has been tied to the horrible deah of her niece. To give meaning behind the movie, the woman is stupid and actually watches the tape when she finds it. STUPID STUPID STUPID!! Now she has seven days to solve the mystery. With the help of... This guy who is an A/V expert (who she shows the tape to, of course) she searches for clues in the tape to find out how it was made, who made it, and why. All the while weird stuff is happening, such as disturbing visions, that inform them of what they should already know. THEY'RE CURSED TO DIE IN A WEEK!! BWAHAHA!!

Ok, now I bet you're thinking this sounds pretty stupid. Let me clear this up, THERE'S A GHOST INVOLVED! They don't actually get killed by the tape. What is happening in the movie is that the woman and guy are trying to find out who the ghost is, and why she is killing people.

Don't worry, the movie explains everything. And if you have any questions left, I think I'll write a rant that nit picks all of the details. I think maybe I'll write it in FAQ format. Something like that.

God bless KaZaA and ebay

Gotta love the internet these days. There's just so much out there you could spend your entire life surfing it and you'd never see it all. *takes a moment to tilt his head and say "aww"* But really, KaZaA is a wonderful program. With Napster going belly up I have no easy way to find music that would otherwise take hours of searching for the right importer and dishing out money I could very well be using on something I want more. Yes, I'm talking about the music of anime. It's not all that easy to find what I want here in the states. I've looked through all kinds of stores devoted to anime, and even some of those stores who carry straight up oriental stuff, and I've never found a single Megumi Hayashibara, or Masami Okui, or Maaya Sakamoto CD. They just aren't there! Gah, I want to live in Japan.

Anyway, KaZaA is also a great place to download music videos. Ever seen the Evangelion Rammstein music video? Really, REALLY cool. Asuka is so awesome. Then there's the vid of the song 99 Red Ballons playing to the final battle in the Evangelion movie. Disturbing? Yes. Why? Because there are many points in the vid in which the music and fight match. I mean perfectly. Did I mention that they didn't edit the fight at all? Yup, the fight naturally matches this song. I think that's cool.

Ebay. Thanks to ebay I own the entire series of Gargoyles. I also got that awesome Rei Ayanami bust (check my me page, there are pictures). But now I have a new addition to that awesome list. I recently acquired a trio of statues. Really good ones to. They are from Guilty Gear X, and pictures will be available as soon as they come in. One statue is of Sol. 'Nuff said. He's that cool. That other two are of Jam. One in her battle uniform, the other in a really cool waitress outfit (the design was taken from some character art from the game designers). I can't wait until they come in.

The Move

I can't believe it took me this long to tell you guys... I MOVED! Bwahahaha! I'm still on the same side of town, it's just a bigger house. I'll see if I can get some pictures of my room up by next weekend. I have to show you guys my new layout and such. I have all my old posters up, but I need more as this new room has more wall space. Actually, if my new statues haven't come in, I won't have pictures up. I want them to be in the pictures of my room.

The new room is a lot bigger than my old one. It has better lighting to (my room no longer looks like a cave). Unfortunately, the last occupant of my room was a little wierd. The walls are painted blue, and there are clouds painted on the cieling. I have done my best cover up the ones on the wall, but I really need more posters (donations are welcome!). But the biggest plus about the new room, is that it has its own bathroom! YAY! I have my very own bathroom! Most teenagers want their own bathroom, and I have one! Neener neener neener!

But seriously, the new room is awesome. It's a good party room. Wish I had some bean bags or something. I can see me and a bunch of my friends playing some big multiplayer game on PS2 or something. Lots of room to sit.

Blood: The Last Vampire... LAME!

Anyone that has been getting anime magazines regularly you probably saw ads for a movie a while ago called Blood: The Last Vampire. Now that title makes you think the main character is a vampire, and so do all the ads and the beginning of the movie. After watching the movie, I drew two conclusions. One: The movie sucks. And Two: Saya (the main character) must not be a vampire.

Here's an explination on how I drew both conlusions. At the beginning of the movie, Saya is found on a subway train where she brutally kills a man with her katana. After getting off the train, she is debriefed by a US secret agent (or whatever) but the other one is questioning whether or not her victim was actually a vampire. After Saya threatens to kill him but then tosses him aside, the agent she was talking to refers to her as an "original". This makes me think she is (what we called in the good old days) a Master Vampire.

Now that sounds cool. A movie about a master vampire who is killing her own kind for the US government. Next scene! Saya is walking around in the daylight on an American military base in Japan. That shot down my appreciation of the movie right there. Then later on I discover that without her sword, Saya is defenseless. COME ON! A master vampire that can be killed by vampires so young that they have difficulty staying in a human form? Please. That coupled with the final fight being "we drive up behind the monster flying away and THWACK! Fight over." This movie sucked. What sucked more is that it was a one day rental and some moron at Blockbuster forgot to label it. I had to pay a late fee. Idiots.

Kula, Nests... Oh yeah

My good buddy Stormdude (no, morons, that's not his real name) let me play King of Fighters 2001 on his computer (God bless emulators). Kula is cool. Very cool. Yes, K9999 (pronounced kei-four-nine) is a very obvious Tesuo rip-off.

Anyway, I think Kula is awesome. She's a female K`, but uses the opposite element. Not water, ice. She skates along the ground instead of running, and acts like a little girl most of the time. Oh yeah, and her hair is blue. Purple leather outfit to, very nice. Don't be thinking she's like Mai though. Age-wise, I would place at about 16, and no giant breasts.

Kula is a good character design and a very well-balanced character. Guess with K` and Kula they have just plain replaced Kyo and Iori. Maybe they can go off and start a new series.

Kingdom Hearts

I'm sure you've heard that Squaresoft has teamed up with Disney to make a game known as Kingdom Hearts. Well the Japanese version of the game is finished and one of my friends imported a copy. So I got a chance to play and beat it. It was cool. VERY cool. Despite the fact that it was in Japanese and I didn't know what anyone was saying, it is an awesome game and I am impatiently awaiting its English language version release.

The game is about a boy named Sora. He and his friends all go to this little island (which they sail to on little row boats) where they play around and have lots of fun. Among these friends is a boy named Riku, who is older than Sora and is his rival for the affection of Kairi. Kairi is a girl who is about the same age as Sora. She's a little weird. Also, from Final Fantasy X, Tidus and Wakka visit the island (much younger in this game), and from Final Fantasy VIII comes Selphie (also younger).

Sora has been having weird dreams/visions lately in which he must battle strange shadowy creatures. One day, his visions become reality. His friends disappear and the island begins to vanish into nothingness. Then a huge monster appears, similar to the one from his dream. This is an easy boss fight, but when it's over you and the rest of the island are sucked into a vortex.

Quick scene change. We find Donald Duck and Goofy at the Disney castle (cheezy fanfare). But there's a crisis! Mickey Mouse (the king) has disappeared, but he left a message behind. If he doesn't return, they must seek out a man named Leon. So Minnie (the queen) send Donald and Goofy to Traverse Town to look for Leon.

Quick scene change. Sora is in Traverse Town! And for some reason, he has a weapon called the keybalde (it's a really big key, big enough to be a sword). So he starts wandering around, talking to people and such. It turns out that Traverse Town's inhabitants are being attacked by creatures known as the heartless. Suddenly, Sora is confronted by a man who apparently wants the keyblade (SURPRISE! It's Squall with longer and darker hair, and a slightly different outfit). They fight. It doesn't matter if you win or not (chances are you'll lose, Squall's tough) since the outcome is the same. Squall, actually LEON, and his partner Yuffie (YAY!) take you to a nearby hotel where you are revived and then briefed on the Heartless and the importance of the keyblade. In the next room over, Donald and Goofy are being briefed on the same stuff by Aeris (I'm sure this will make lots of people happy). You, Donald and Goofy hook up and head out to fight the Heartless. Also, Sora wants to find his friends.

On the other side of the coin, several villains of Disney fame have banded together and employ the Heartless in their evil plans. Among them are; Hades (Hercules), Jafar (Aladdin), Ursela (The Little Mermaid), Captain Hook (Peter Pan), and their leader Queen Malificent (for those of you who can't remember her, she's the villain of Sleeping Beauty). Queen Malificent has kidnapped Kairi and is using her as incentive to make Riku fight for her. Unbeknownst to them all, the leader of the Heartless is actually pulling the strings. That man is Ansem.

Ok, here's how the game plays. It's an Action RPG. If you've played Threads of Fate (or Dewprism, as it's know in Japan) you'll know what to expect (no shapshifting though). Sora is controlled by the player and you fight monsters and gain experience. As you gain levels, one stat will randomly go up. You learn spells as they are given to you (or found). You can earn summons (Disney characters such as Simba, Dumbo, and Bambi) by acquiring key items and bringing them to the Fairy Godmother. Also, as you gain experience Sora will learn special attacks (which have to be equipped like the skills in Final Fantasy IX). Goofy and Donald (as well as characters that will join you on other worlds) are controlled by AI. The AI can be customized, but I don't know enough Japanese to tinker with this option.

The games graphics are great. The settings are surprisingly dark, considering Disney had a hand in this. There are other worlds you must travel to and fight. They are;

The Colliseum- From Hercules, you come here and fight in tournaments. There are two boss fights here, one at the beginning of the game, and another towards the end. This is the only place you will see Cloud (YAY!).

The Jungle- From Tarzan (yay...), you deal with the lame Tarzan storyline but with the Heartless involved. Tarzan can join your party here.

Agrabah- From Aladdin, Jafar is playing capture the princess and you have to help Aladdin defeat him. Aladdin joins your party.

Wonderland- From Alice in Wonderland, the Heartless are causing some trouble and kidnap Alice. Kick some butt.

Monstro- The whale from Pinnochio, Gippeto and Pinnochio are here. Riku tries to capture Pinnochio and you have to stop him.

Atlantica- From the Little Mermaid, you will want to tear the speaker out of your TV since the song "Under The Sea" is playing constantly in the background. In order to move under water, Sora is turned into a merman, Donald an octopus, and Goofy a turtle. Fight Ursela, Ariel joins the group.

Halloween Town- From the Nightmare Before Christmas, my favorite world. There's something cool about having Jack the Pumpkin King in your party. For some reason (I'm not complaining) Sora is turned into a vampire, Donald a mummy, and Goofy a werewolf. You have to fight Oogie Boogie. The "Making Christmas" tune is playing in the background most of the time.

Neverland- From Peter Pan, Wendy has been kidnapped. Join Peter Pan to save her.

Hallow Bastion- From Beauty and the Beast, the Heartless have taken Beast's castle and transformed it. Also, they kidnapped Belle. Beast is not happy with this. Join him and save the day.

The End of the World- The Heartless have their base of operations here. It is actually a huge limbo-like world that contains pieces of all the worlds the Heartless have invaded. This is the battleground where you finally confront Ansem.

Anyway, this game is great. One of the coolest things about it is the lip-synching. In most of the story sequences, the character's lip movements will match their words. There is a lot of voice acting to, so this is common throughout the game. The game is also a lot of fun. That's why someone who doesn't know Japanese can play it and not really care what the game is about.

Now here is my opinion on the choices they made for the English dub of the game

Sora-Haley Joel Osment- Hmm... Not bad. Sounds good to me.

Kairi-Umm... I don't know her name- The girl from Ally McBiel? Not a bad idea.

Riku-I don't know who they picked

Cloud-David Boreanaz-Perfect. 'Nuff said.

Aeris-Mandy Moore-Hmm... No opinion. I can't think of anyone better.

Yuffie-THE GIRL FROM EVEN STEVENS?!-ARE THEY MAD?! Not only does that show SUCK, but the girl is a bad actress. No no no no no no no no no no NO!

Ansem-No clue who they picked.-I would pick Keith David. He would be perfect. I just get this mental image of Ansem saying to Sora (with Keith David's voice) "I'm your worst f***ing nighmare" (like on Spawn). This would be great, seeing as Keith David worked for Disney before (Gargoyles, Goliath).

That's all I know (or care) about the English version. And that's all I can think of to say at the moment. Though I think everyone should buy this game when it is released in the US.

SNK Versus Capcom

The first time I remember playing Fatal Fury was when a friend of mine next door owned a copy on the Sega. This was back when I had no experience in fighting games, so it didn't hold my interest very well. I played the game whenever I was bored, but that was pretty much it. Then, a few years ago on the sci-fi channel, an anime movie was playing. I looked at it and said "that guy really looks familiar". It was the Fatal Fury motion picture and Terry Bogard was ripping up the bad guys. This renewed my interest in the game.

The next day, I went looking for a copy of Fatal Fury, figuring the game was still around. Then I learned that Terry and the crew were in a new game (new to me anyway), King of Fighters. I immediately went and rented a copy of the game (I'm not exactly sure which version it was though, Chizuru was playable). This was late in the game so I had already mastered titles such as Super Street Fighter Turbo Alpha Zero whatchamacallit and Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 the-thing-the-thing-the-thing (yes, I am making fun of the ridiculously long titles, I don’t think they were that far along at the time (I apologize for the bad sentencing). SO... I found King of Fighters very enjoyable. In fact, it was the best fighter I had ever played! From that point on, I was an SNK man.

Now on to the point, SNK vs. Capcom. Which is better? Unfortunately, SNK met with an untimely death so Capcom has come out on top. But does that mean it's better? NO! I admit, Capcom has put out some very good fighters (Darkstalkers is still a favorite of mine) but the Street Fighter series is a joke. Now, before you send the hate mail flying, Capcom peoples, ask yourself these questions first;

Aside from piling on a few dozen new characters, has the series really changed all that much? I mean, has Ryu learned anything from fighting M. Bison all these years? Sure he has super moves now (which didn't exist in the original), but have his moves changed, or grown? How about his look? Has he gained any new animations? Has his animation improved at all? What exactly is his story and has it progressed with the games?

Terry has so much more to offer than Ryu. Over the years he has learned some new tricks and his animations have become crisper and cleaner. Terry's story was front and center in his first game, but slowly progressed in the others as he slowly became a background character. Then Garou came along and Terry has been completely overhauled. Story is once again front and center, his look has been changed completely but we still know it's him because he has the same old moves (but they look better).

Another thing that SNK did that Capcom should have, is a scheme for the game titles. Street Fighter, Street Fighter Turbo, Super Street Fighter, Super Street Fighter # Turbo, Street Fighter Alpha... Where does it end? SNK had Fatal Fury, Fatal Fury Real Bout, and then King of Fighters. Garou has a different title because all but one Fatal Fury character was thrown to the wind.

You know what's another thing about Street Fighter that bugs me? The recycled characters. Ryu, Ken, Akuma, and Dan (can't forget the most recent addition, EVIL RYU). They all look exactly the same except for color and their heads. They all almost play the same to. The only purpose for having them all is for story, which the game is still lacking.

SNK doesn't recycle characters. Kyo and Iori may share a few moves, but they play completely different and look nothing alike. Some of the bosses in King of Fighters may share moves, but they tend to have a few of their own and they always look VERY unique.

And another thing; exactly how many boss characters has the Street Fighter series produced? 2? 3? I can only think of M. Bison and Akuma. The Fatal Fury and King of Fighters games had a new boss (and the occasional sub-boss) with each game. And each one had a story to tell and later in the series appeared as a readily playable character.

If there is one place where Capcom stomps SNK it's in the department of other genres. SNK rarely ventured outside of the realm of fighting games and when it did it was less than memorable. That's why it was so awesome at fighting games, that's all they did.

SNK is no more, unfortunately. But the King of Fighters series has somehow continued. How? Beats me. I'm figuring the rights were sold to someone else. And I'm still itching to get my hands on King of Fighters 2002 because one of my friends (you know who you are) told me about it recently (Chizuru's BACK!).

Now, if you feel the urge to respond to anything that was said above, feel free to E-MAIL me. DO NOT leave messages like that in my guest book. Thank you. This rant may grow, as does my knowledge of the King of Fighters games and Street Fighter, so check back sometime.

The Next Generation of Games and Consoles

In the good old days I was a strictly Nintendo person. Then I began to grow up. All those kiddie games that Nintendo kept popping out were a lot of fun, but they were almost becoming formula. Really, what is the difference between Mario 64 and Banjo-Kazooie? You're wandering around a castle with gateways to other realms collecting shiny objects to progress further. Sure there are several differences, but when it comes down to the bottom line, Banjo-Kazooie was just more Mario 64.

So I got a Playstation. BAM! Metal Gear Solid, Final Fantasy, Resident Evil, all these games were just on par with the depth and diversity I was looking for. But times are-a-changing! Nintendo's Gamecube has launched an assault on my defenseless purchase deciding mind! When I got my Playstation 2 I had planned on staying loyal to Sony. Curse you Nintendo!

I made the mistake of playing a few Gamecube games at a friend's party. Smash Brothers Melee is ten times better than the original. Bloody Roar Primal Fury is just plain cool. And now with the Resident Evil series turning Nintendo exclusive, I need a Gamecube to fulfill my zombie slaying urges. But there was one game, just one, that when I saw it made me say, "I am getting a Gamecube!" That game, is Metroid Prime.

Samus is back and better than ever. Seeing the demo of her just blasting the crap out of giant alien bugs was like an epiphany. But when they showed the scene where you actually look at Samus and you can see her face behind the visor, I put my soul on the market. If I had to work a disgusting grueling job from now till the game comes out in order to afford it, I would do it. I'd like to think I'm not setting myself up for a big let down. Nah, Samus never disappoints.

X-BOX! I could say a great many things about the evils and such of Microsoft's X-Box, but I'm not going to (wasted space). I'll say this though; I'm not buying one.

So, all of the games coming out are cool and 3D and high tech and such, eh? And everyone is trying to form online playability? Sounds cool to me. When they come out with a game that lets me beat the crap out of sissies the world over, stop to spit on their corpses, then jet away while laughing evilly, I will be in my Gamer's Nirvana. That game SOCOM for the PS2 looks promising. Maybe a massively multi-player Medal of Honor game will be released on PS2. That would be cool. Gamer's Nirvana, due for arrival in a few years. 6 max.

Censorship

Perhaps the most hated word in the vocabulary of every otaku is censorship! Why do true otaku not watch Toonami? CENSORSHIP! Why do we scream in pain when we hear of another great show (Cowboy Bebop, Outlaw Star) being brought to Toonami? CENSORSHIP! Why is Cardcaptors the spawn of Satan? CENSORSHIP! Why are all the good shows on Premium Cable channels that can't be obtained without giving up an arm and a leg (or at least your dignity in front of your parents)? CENSORSHIP! I believe that's enough.

The reason networks like Fox and Cartoon Network can't air our beloved programs unedited is because certain licenses have to be owned in order to show that kind of material. So why do they bother showing the hacked-and-slashed versions anyway? Because people STILL watch them! I myself have given up on the likes of Toonami and the crap that Fox shows (Monster Rancher, I miss you). I am holding out for the day(s) when the shows that Fox butchered are released in unedited format (it will be a while). I personally liked Digimon and Monster Rancher, even in their edited forms. But I got sick of that stupid terms that were used to replace the words "dead", "died", and "death".

Since I mentioned Digimon, I might as well embellish on it. I remember reading in an issue of Animerica (cool mag, vital to my anime knowledge) that the woman responsible for the editing of the show admits that she doesn't like all the stuff she has to cut out. Some of the cuts she mentions I can understand because they might come off as insulting to some veiwers (I had to pull out my slang dictionary to look up a few words), but other cuts are silly. Anyway, she is one lucky woman because she gets to see Digimon in its entirety completely uncut!

To sum everything up, censorship is evil. I am desperately awaiting the day I move to Japan.