Chobits (Manga)

There isn't really much of a reason for to talk about the manga version of chobits. The plot and characters are pretty much pound for pound identical to the anime that was adapted from it. This is still the story of the of the relationship between a college bound student and his human shaped computer. The only differences are that the order of certain events occur at different points than they did in animated form, certain things in the anime were just filler to pad time (like the trip to beach) and as such, are completely absent here. Finally, as seems to be opposite of most manga to anime conversions, the manga seems to be a bit more in depth than the anime was. All of the humor and personalities that I loved in the anime are on display here and it didn't take that long at all to plow through the eight volumes that made up this series. I guess that has to do with me watching the show first and not needing any real clarification on the characters and concepts that I normally need when I read a manga. The only downside is that while the manga features the liveliness that the anime showcases it can't compete with the wonders of animation. Either way, the chobits manga is good read and strengthens a great series.

Metal Slug 7

I don't understand how Metal Slug has gotten to 7 major iterations. The games are pretty damn identical to one another and each new entry is fairly worse than the one that came before it, so there isn't anything new that I have to cover here. Number seven is a change in the sense that its actually better than Metal Slug 6, but since that game was just all sorts of awful, that's not really saying much. Like the previous games, this game is about action, and lots of it. The game is split into missions that you just blast your way through and towards the end, you will encounter a boss who you have to defeat. It is your typical run-and-gun arcade style game level design. You can choose any one of the six characters, each slightly different from the others. For example, Marco starts out with a powerful handgun while Eri has more grenades. In spite of who you choose in the end, it is all about dodging bullets, killing the enemies and rescuing the POWs.

The problem with this is the same that has plagued the series more and more as it has progressed: At times, the action can get quite chaotic on screen, bullets flies from every corner of the screen, endless enemies keep appearing from the most unlikely places, and POWs crying for help from some obscure locations...this is all well and good but the chaotic action has become more than is reasonable to deal with. The early games (the first game in particular) were able to be chaotic, but it was still that rare breed of challenge that was fair, fun and balanced. Here in Slug 7, you're luckily to get anywhere without taking a shot to face or getting blown up by something you can't see. Everything just comes at you at rate that too much to react to. In the game's defense, the attacks thrown at you here are much more fair to deal with than Metal Slug 6 so at least the game is playable. Despite all this whining I'm doing, the core experience and some of the things I like about the series is still intact here and it's also nice to have a portable version of the series. It's just that its getting more apparent that the series needs to end.

Sonic & Sega All Stars Racing

I feel bad for ignoring this game for as long as I have. I mean the game has two kisses of death upon it: it heavily features Sonic and its a kart racer that star Mario characters, but the game actually manages to join the extremely small group of kart racers that could give Mario Kart a run for its money. The large cast of characters from Sega's history is delight despite the fact that I'm only familiar with the more recent franchises and it actually makes me wish that Nintendo would do something like this with their characters. The only downside to character selection is that the 360 version gets a third party bonus character in the form of Banjo-Kazooie, the Wii and PS3 get Miis and absolutely nothing, respectively. Also there are roughly 12 franchises on display in the form of playable characters, but there are 24 tracks to choose from and they only comes from the series of Sonic, Billy Hatcher, Super Monkey Ball, Samba De Amigo, Curien Mansion and Jet Set Radio. It's too bad that more series didn't have their own tracks and Sonic has 9 of em (all taking after Sonic Heroes) while the others have 3. It's not too big of a deal though, because these tracks are actually very well designed. Each one is unique and feels like the game their representing (like the loops in the Sonic tracks, or crazy twist and turns on Monkey Ball tracks) and all of them are a lot of fun to race on.

The A.I. is actually pretty smart as they are competitive and not only know how to use items, but they sometimes take short cuts too. Also unlike Mario Kart, it doesn't feel like A.I. is cheating...too much. Like every other kart racer, you can pick up items to destroy your opponents. The items are decent put there's nothing too special. There's a missile which locks on to your rivals, a boxing glove (kind of like the green shell from Mario Kart), and mines which you set behind you. However, each character has their own All-Star move which you only get if you're behind and can be used to catch back up. For instance, Sonic gets the chaos emeralds which he uses to turn into Super Sonic and knocks everyone out as he runs into them, Ryo ditches his motorcycle for a forklift and tosses everyone in the air. The main effect is mostly a boost but each have a unique side effect and the All-Star move in general is surprisingly not as unbalanced as you might think. One more thing this game offers is drifting, which you use to turn corners easier. Holding down the drift button will put you in a drift and will charge your turbo which gives you a boost upon release.

The game has some decent replay value thanks to the online option. It's fairly easy to jump in and play a few races, but I do have some problems with it, though. First off, there is a lobby and host system for the online, which feels completely unneeded. Second, you can only choose the course you want to play if you are the host. Why couldn't they have done what Mario Kart Wii does and let everyone vote on the track we all want to see? Also, the All Stars Special moves are not online for some reason. I don't know why, it would of been a nice option. Sonic and Sega All-Stars Racing is an incredibly fun game and probably the biggest surprise I've had in of my expectations of a game.

Batman: The Killing Joke

The Killing Joke is one of the more notable Batman/Joker stories out there. It was produced during the 80s transitional period for Batman where the series changed into something more serious and interesting than the campy 60s TV show and is still a major influence on the franchise today. The story manages to do a lot despite its fairly short length. The story acts as a character study of the relationship between Batman and laughing one, while delivering a solid possible origin story for the latter (though making it clear that this is only one of many possible reasons why The Joker is one of the most deranged characters ever), and forever changes the character of Barbara Gordon. While I'm well versed in Batman's various movies and animated series, this my first exposure to the comic books and I must say I was a bit thrown off by it's dark nature. It's shocking how Alan Moore can craft such a disturbing tale without really going beyond what's acceptable in a comic that kids might be allowed to read, as the psychological torture Joker places his enemies in is probably the most brutal act I've ever seen him commit. As my first exposure to Batman in his original comic form, I probably could have found something better, but it does the job well and makes great work of the psychological aspects that make me love this series.

Toy Story

Watching Toy Story again for the first time several years felt like a reunion with friends that I didn't even know I missed. It's difficult to look at Toy Story and remember just how innovative this film actually was as the first CGI film though this most likely has to with the fact that even over ten years later, the story and characters are just as entertaining as they were then. Having the legacy of the first CGI film can only carry the movie so far and luckily the movie gets more right than it does wrong. When I remember that this was Pixar's first feature film, the storytelling becomes even more impressive than it already is. Prior to this, the studio was only accustomed to making short films and it's surprising that Toy Story doesn't feel like it's being stretched too thin. This is one of the things I love about this movie: every scene is either a cause or an effect. There's no self-indulgence or showing off. The plotting is tight and the characterizations are strong.

Its also impressive that big name actors like Tim Allen and Tom Hanks were able to get into their roles as opposed to most animated films where a celebrity voice presence seems to only exist for box office buzz. Allen and Hanks inject enough genuine acting to make these personalities real and the same goes for all the other characters who all make the best of their screen time. This is indicative of most of Pixar's movies: they treat their characters seriously enough to allow them to grow, creating personalities that are more believable than most of those found in live-action films. The only character that comes of as unlikable here is Mr. Potato head. He spends all of screen time putting Woody down and starts the revolt against him for Buzz's disappearance with little evidence other than Woody dislike for Buzz. I just really hated him for the most film and wanted to throw him in the trash. That's really the only complaint I could pick with this movie. Toy Story more than earns its status as an instant classic and I now I'm interested in reintroducing myself with it's sequel.

Elfen Lied

I was really surprised by the way this show went from a semi-fan service show to a genuine deep and story driven show...with fan service. The story's about a group of Diclonius are being kept in an underground lab. Diclonius are humanoid mutants; their mutant traits include small horns sticking out of their skulls and telepathically manipulated phantom arms (known as vectors) with a reach of at least two meters. Diclonius also have some serious mental health issues (homicidal tendencies being the most noteworthy). One of the diclonius escapes (naturally) and meets college students Kohta and Yuka, who take her in and name her Nyu, which was the only word she could say. However, the Nyu has another, more murderous personality called Lucy. Lucy escaped from a secret island lab by slaughtering more than a dozen guards and once she reached the mainland, the Nyu half of her personality kicked in.

I don't normally go for shows like Elfen Lied; I'm not a big fan of shows or movies whose main selling points seem to be nothing more than gratuitous violence and nudity (hence why I think 300 is horrible movie), but for some reason this one works for me, mostly because it is all rather stylishly done. The first two to three episodes of Elfen Lied are gleefully nasty and incredibly stylish, and I enjoyed them in a guilty pleasure sort of way. But what I wasn't expecting and what I couldn't love more was how the show's story and characters would deepen the way they do. So I was surprised when I suddenly found myself just as engaged by the story. Sure, the numerous decapitations and bloody fights are fun, but there's now a genuinely engaging emotional undercurrent to the proceedings.

There were sometimes where the plot's treatment of some of the characters seemed to be too harsh or just too much, but a course correction was usually right around the corner. I was also pleased by the distinct lack of annoyingly goofy, stupid characters. In fact, the one bubbly, bumbling character is killed off in the first five minutes. This series simply kept getting better and better. From the characters and their relationships, to the various ploy threads, to the humor, right on down to the rampant bloodshed, almost everything about Elfen Lied works. For the time being, this easily in my top ten best anime series.

Chibi Vampire: The Novel 4

So the fourth novel is really just more of the same, so there's not much new to say. I'm not going to go into the plot this time except to say that the romance angle is played up for the first time since the first novel. A big plus to this story is there's more of an expanded role for Karin's family, mainly her sister Anju and her Father Henry. Anju has to be my favorite character, with her sarcastic attitude and that supposedly serial killer possessed doll of hers. As with all of these novels, drama and comedy ensues and it all culminates in life threatening situation that involves all of the story's major players. It's all incredibly addictive and engrossing and I'm glad my friend let me read these.

Why Did I Get Married Too?

This movie holds the distinction of being the first sequel in the Tyler Perry canon and its a distinction that's made more apparent when the film turns out to be nothing more than rehash of the first. I'm not kidding here. Instead of going on a retreat in the mountains, the cast goes on a retreat to the beach and unlike the first movie, nothing of any real interest happens here because the problems the couples are facing aren't that different from the first film. The biggest offenders here are Marcus and Angela, the comedic couple. If I recall, a big problem with their relationship in the first movie was Angela's drinking problem, which was resolved by the films end. Here, she's apparently relapsed and no one really seems to call her out on it. It seems to just be an excuse to have her over react to everything like she did before...it worked then and it does still work, but it just feels like Tyler Perry didn't know what do with her and her husband this time.

As a matter of fact, Tyler Perry really didn't seem to know what he was doing with any of the characters. Sheila, the most likable female character from the first film, kinda becomes of a twat, mainly because she keeps trying to use her abusive past as an excuse to act like she's entitled to something. There's a bit more melodrama here, mostly involving Janet Jackson's character leading to a pretty over the top moment where she goes around breaking all her glass furniture with a golf club, it pretty good stuff. The downside to the extra drama is that it all leads the biggest bullshit of an ending I've seen in while. A tragedy happens in like the last four minutes of the movie that conveniently allows all of the couples to reconcile their differences and then the movie kinda just ends on a force happy ending that takes place one year later. I seriously think this movie would have been better if Perry had just used the same concept as the original movie, but with a different cast. As it stands this is one forgettable movie.

The Real World: D.C.

Well...I really don't know what to make of this. After the mediocrity of The Real World's Cancun season, I mentioned that I was actually excited for to see the show go to Washington DC, as it might allow for the cast to engage in some intelligent conversions in between all the boozing and drama. That's kinda what I got, but what I didn't expect was for all of it to be so boring. This may have more to do the fact that the cast itself was pretty dull. Almost all of them were either musicians, artists, or trying to get into the political scene. Now this wouldn't have so bad if there had been a bit more diversity among the cast's interests, but to have 2 to 3 cast members sharing the same goals, made for some pretty repetitive storylines. Its not even worth going into detail on each cast member except for Andrew, who was just weird and quirky and always kept things from getting boring. Mike's coming out to his family story was kinda sweet and some of the strives he takes to become more accepting of his bi-sexuality is pretty engaging. And I guess Ty is worth a mention...for being the most unlikeable twat to appear on the show in a while.

While the political angle of the show was a lot less appealing than I assumed it would be, it was even more disappointing to see that the drama that the show survives on wasn't that appealing. There was a war between "wound too tight" Emily and dumbass Ty that pretty much owned the show for the first couple of episodes, but that didn't really go anywhere and most of the conflict in that war came from Ty's blatant retardation. Even the season's most advertised moment, where Andrew suffers major injury (at the hands of Ty's retardation), went no where and the fact that nothing resulted from it after the episode wasn't much help either. Oh well the season was kinda watchable, at least it was better than the Cancun season, but it still can't measure up to the wonders of the Brooklyn season. I guess I'll never see a recent season as good that one again.

Heavy Rain

Heavy Rain is a difficult game to discuss. Partly, because Heavy Rain doesn't really act like a standard video game. Most reviews seem to be evenly split between those who think Heavy Rain's unique approach to storytelling qualifies it as one of the most innovative, imaginative games of all time and those who see Heavy Rain as little more than a typical B-movie masquerading as interactive entertainment. The game's basically the evolution of what Indigo Prophecy did a few years ago. It's an adventure game that works to immerse you in its story than to stump you with somewhat complicated puzzles. That gameplay element is still there, as the game often sticks you as one of its four main characters in some limited environment, and lets you walk around, examining and interacting with objects in the world. Sometimes things are simple, like taking a shower or making dinner and other times the situations are more extreme and you have to act quick.

Progressing in this game doesn't revolve around open exploration, but interacting with everyday objects via quick-time events. All you've got to do is follow the arrows on the screen. The tutorial level demonstrates this perfectly; you hold a control stick to get Ethan out of bed, shave and brush his teeth, etc. All you've got to do is get close enough to the object, and follow the prompt that appears. You can even hold a button to look through the characters' thoughts, which uncover more options and hints as to what you should do. By the time you've manipulated everything, you should have uncovered the next plot point. Even when you're not in control, the commands still show up during the cutscenes; rather than attacking an enemy, you'll have to follow a prompt to shoot or dodge. It takes a while to get used to the movement mechanics. Pressing a shoulder button lets the characters walk in whatever direction they're facing, and the analog stick can be used to turn their heads and move accordingly. It can be awkward, especially when you're in a cramped space and you're trying to focus on a single object. Even if you do get a handle on it, the characters move in a slow, almost drunken state. It's not horrendously bad, but it feels clunky compared to the quick-time events. You might pass up the item completely, forcing you to stumble around and try again. You might be facing the right direction, the game will occasionally ignore your inputs and force you to restart the animation sequence. It's annoying, especially when you've got to hold down multiple buttons at just the right time to work. These miscues rarely happen, but they are jarringly out of place in an otherwise well done experience.

I've spent a lot of time just talking about how the game works, though the most important factor to the experience working is the story and while it's not great, but not bad. The game's worth playing just to see this kind of story pan out in a game. It plays out like an eight hour suspense/mystery movie, and the fact that it doesn't completely fall apart under all that weight is something of an accomplishment. A few of the twists in the story seem a bit too forced, and certain twists later on make you feel like a lot of what you're doing was wasted and that you were lied to. But to the game's credit there are occasional moments that manage to strike emotional chords that most games are incapable of touching. Also I'm not sure the story was as dynamic as advertised. From what I can see from my experiences, the main plot seems pretty set in stone, with only the extraneous details being highly variable. The ending is basically thrown together as a result...but it still manages to be pretty good.

I guess the game's technical presentation is worth bringing up. Heavy Rain is a beautiful game, no doubt about it. Thematically, everything in the game is dark and the environments are a reflection of this which helps set the mood of each scene, but it can also make the game feel a bit bland at times. Unfortunately, the animations can be very, very stiff at times. Small clipping issues and the occasional texture hiccup can be pretty hard to ignore. The voice acting has its problems, although it's only really an issue because so much of the game is talking. A lot of the actors aren't bad, some even occasionally great, but almost all of them are clearly Europeans imitating American accents, some a lot worse than others. The musical score for this game is incredible. The music invokes emotions such as fear, anxiety, happiness, sadness, and tension. Ultimately, Heavy Rain is, despite its shortcomings, a game worth experiencing at least once.

Chobits

Of all the anime my friend has lent me, this might be my favorite thus far or at least on par with Gunslinger Girl. Chobits is the story of Hideki Motosuwa, who moves to the big city to attend cram school in the hopes of getting into the college of his choice. While there, he notices that everyone has a personal computer assistant, or Persocom. Persocoms look, act, and are treated almost as people in their own right. As chance would have it, Hideki finds a "broken" Persocom just lying in the trash. When he starts her up, all she is able to do is mimic Hideki's movements and say, "Chii." So that's what he calls her. Hideki asks around trying to find out everything he can can about Chii and in the process discovers that she may or may not be one of the greatest Persocoms ever made - a truly artificial intelligence known as a Chobit.

Chobits is a charming series which portrays, weirdly enough, a touching relationship between man and his computer. The show is ranges from incredibly hilarious to constantly amusing. This mostly comes from the extremely likable cast of characters. Hideki is a fish out of water character. He is shy around girls, kind and considerate, and lacks common sense...oh and he's a virgin, which everybody won't let him forget. Chii's role in the story is mostly to be adorable as all hell. At first she just does a lot of endearing things like mimic Hideki's actions and act innocent at the most inappropriate times, but eventually, her own will and personality start to come across as she becomes a more of stronger character in her own right. The rest of the cast are all highly memorable and have fantastic backgrounds. They also provide subplots which are not only emotional in their own right, but feed meaningfully into the central plot as well.

Not only is the show funny, but Chobits delivers an interesting social commentary on the relationship between humans and machines. Watching Chii stumble adorably through certain situations with hilarious consequences left me feeling warm and cheerful. However, later, as the series introduced the more serious subplots, I found myself somewhat intrigued as to how the main plot would pan out. I am unsure whether I agree with the possibilities opened up by the story, although I appreciate how important these issues are for the characters. At the least I can take this as a sign of the series complexity. The one weak point is that the show is based adapted from a manga series and while almost everything from the manga is included, some important information is either too simplified or not answered. Overall, Chobits is enjoyable, has characters that are interesting, and it's pretty damn funny.

Super Mario Galaxy

Mario Galaxy is the Wii's primary proper Mario Game...and it is glorious. This was especially a relief after the somewhat lackluster Mario Sunshine. No much has changed in Galaxy compared to the previous Mario 3D Platformers. Bowser has captured the princess (I know...big shocker)and you explore levels to find power stars, which unlock more levels with yet more stars. Find enough to defeat Bowser and finish the game. Of course the big difference this time around is that all of this occurs in the vastness of deep space. Contrary to what a lot of pre-release coverage of the game showed, you spend only a small part of the game in full blown space areas. More in line with prior Mario games, you'll explore tropical paradises, the arctic, dangerous lava worlds, and ghost houses...that just happen to be in space. Just flying through space from one location to another, or speeding through the air across the surface of a full size level never fails to impress.

I think what really makes the gameplay work is the fact that they decided to work in a lot more linearity within each level. While Mario 64 and Sunshine's levels gave you a clue and left you to explore a large 3D area to find the star, the levels in galaxy have more of a point A to point B progression. In a sense, it makes the stages almost as action and platforming oriented as the sidescrollers were. You may be able to wander off slightly to get extra coins or power ups, but the level designs won't let you stray too far from where the designers want you to go. That's not to say you won't ever have situations where you can freely explore a level, but that's no longer the primary gameplay style.

While space serves as the primary setting differation from previous games, gravity fulfills the gameplay hook, and it works surprisingly well. I don't think it was completely necessary to be included, but it does at least set the game apart. While the camera does an excellent job in general, some small sections can be a bit disorienting, like exploring tiny planetoids while held by their weak gravity, but it's something you quickly adjust to and some levels open up into larger areas where gravity rules don't tend to matter as much. And in stages where you might be disoriented by something, the game tends to be pretty forgiving about not letting you fall to your death just because of disorientation. Fortunately, occasional disorientation doesn't effect the controls, which are excellent and for the most part, feel like playing any other Mario game. You've got the usual jumping, ground pounding, long jumps, triple jumps, wall jumps, and there's now a spin attack you use by flicking your wrist a little bit.

The only slight negatives I can think of is the game isn't that difficult. The game is extremely forgiving in most cases and even the most challenging stars can be obtained after three or four tries. The bosses, while fun, don't put up much of a fight, almost all of them going down after 3 hits (and the final Bowser fight - 6 hits). They've also lowered the minimum amount of stars required to finish the game, lowering it down to a mere 60 stars. Another negative is that they didn't really do much with star bits. Star bits are basically jewels that are scattered all over each level and can be obtained by beating enemies with a spin attack. Collecting enough lets you unlock some special stages. All you have to do is wave your remote so that the cursor passes over them to collect. It feels like it was only there to slow stage progression a bit and to give the possible second player something to do while watching and it adds nothing to the game.

I guess I can't talk about this game without also mentioning its technical achievements. Mario Galaxy is just straight up the Wii's best-looking game and it's just so visually accomplished that it looks almost as good as many 360/PS3 games. The simple art style certainly helps, but Nintendo pushes the technical boundaries of its console here, as well. Specular maps, real-time reflections and a ton of other technical feats are executed deftly here and it all rounds out at a smooth 60 frames, and I've never encountered any slowdown. It also helps that practically all the galaxies have a totally different look from another, making it fresh throughout the entire adventure. As if that wasn't enough, Super Mario Galaxy's soundtrack is an impressive assortment of orchestrated themes. All the pieces are epic, sweeping and have a distinct Mario tone to it all. It's also quite dynamic in some places as well. And of course there are a few remixes of classic themes that older fans like myself will definitely appreciate. If you can't tell by now, I adore this game. It's beautiful, it's fun, it combines the best of old and new, and it's one of the best entries in the Mario series.

Why Did I Get Married?

I keep saying that I'm not going to watch another Tyler Perry movie. I made an exception for this one mainly because I'm going with some friends to see the sequel this week and also because this doesn't have Madea in it at all, so the comedy/drama portions of the story should complement each other less abruptly. Why Did Get Married's story is pretty straightforward. A group of four married couples go to the mountains for some marriage retreat. While they're there, drama unfolds as the couple's learn dark secerts about their relationships and have to learn to cope with those issues and love spouses despite their faults - you know, typical Tyler Perry material.

Actually, the movie is bit more restrained on forcing messages down our throats. With Madea completely out of the picture, the scenes were able to mix the comedic and dramatic elements of the story without the sudden jumps in tone that made Madea Goes to Jail so horrible. As a result, I have to say this maybe my favorite of the Tyler Perry Movies I've seen. There isn't too much for me to really talk about though as if you've talked about one Tyler Perry film, you've basically talked about them all. I was impressed that I was able to sympathise with the characters and their motivations and some of the characters (mainly the volcanic Angela) were actually really funny. The performances are uniformly good, and the positivity promoted is a welcome relief from all the negativism inherent in some of the post-modern drama I've been sampling parts of recently.

Something else that really shocked me about this film was how both parties in the marriages were equally at fault. Normally in movies like this, the man is the one to blame because he's always either pig-headed, sexist, abusive, a cheater or all of the above. Here, only one of the men present in the movie displays those traits, and instead it's the women who have to do a bulk of the learning and changing (though the main lesson is still all about compromise), and the whole plot manages to wrap itself up in a way that doesn't feel forced or cheesy...or at least as cheesy as most Tyler Perry movies are. All in all, its a surprising solid film and I'm curious as to where the second is going to take things.