Updates

The poll is in green.

I am sincerely sorry that the blog posting has been slowed down dramatically. Frankly, I am running out of material to write about. I could always write about the video games I own, but many of them are old and people aren't interested in them. I am trying to watch more anime so that I can post more often, but it's hard to finish a series in a short amount of time and completely enjoy it. Right now I am watching three anime series:

GTO (Great Teacher Onizuka)
Kaichou wa Maid-Sama!
Dragon Ball Kai

I just started GTO, so I won't be able to post about that extremely soon. I've been watching Kaichou wa Maid-Sama!, but only one episode comes out every week, so that will probably take a while to finish and write about. Dragon Ball Kai is also released one episode a week, so that will also take long before I can post about it. Poll: Do you, as a blog reader, think that I should start posting on individual episodes of shows? Would that be better? Worse? Anyways, I still need people to guest post on my blog. This is a great opportunity to get your work on the internet, and you would only have to post once. More posts would be appreciated, but I just need some anime or video game lovers to step up and help out. It would be a great help to the blog and I would make sure that people know that it was your work. Please consider helping out.

Sincerely,
Zangetsu

P.S. - The Read more! button on this post does not do anything significant. Read more!

Gakuen Mokushiroku: High School of The Dead

Director: Tetsuro Araki
Written by: Yosuke Kuroda
Studio: Madhouse
No. of episodes: 12

WARNING: CONTAINS A LARGE AMOUNT OF FANSERVICE

Gakuen Mokushiroku: High School of The Dead is basically an apocalyptic zombie anime. This anime has a great storyline and most of the characters aren't too bad. One thing that really, REALLY brings the anime down is the amount of fanservice. Basically, it is filled with it. Almost if not every episode has many "fanservicy" parts in it. If you can look past that though, the concept is great and the anime really plays out very well.

Plot: (9.5/10)
The plot in this anime was really amazing. I wasn't too keen on watching it at first, but as soon as I saw the first episode, I was hooked. The story revolves around a group of 5 teenagers and 1 adult. It's basically how they learn to survive in a world that has already ended. The anime is pretty intense, but somehow they manage to fit in so much fanservice. If the anime did not have that factor, it would be much better in my eyes. Overall, the plot is great and if you're wondering if you should watch it, you should. Of course, if you can't deal with the large amount of frequent fanservice, don't watch it. I personally loved the anime, but just for the story.

Characters: (7/10)
(Marked down for fanservice)


Takashi Komuro - Quiet, depressed -> strong, protective. He was apathetic at first, but he grew into someone worth relying on.


Saeko Busujima - Tough, mysterious. She was the kendo club leader at the high school and is a master with swords.


Kouta Hirano - Nerdy, brave. He is the geek who sits at home and plays shooter games all of the time. He knows everything about guns.


Shizuka Marikawa - Bubbly, innocent. She is the nurse at school who is all over the place and can't get anything together.


Miyamoto Rei - Sensitive, strong. She is a character that is mostly depressed in the beginning of the series, but becomes a great companion to everyone.


Saya Takagi - Brilliant, annoying. She basically thinks that she is better than everyone else. She turns out to be okay in the end, but she was quite annoying in the beginning.

Animation: (7.5/10)
(Marked down for fanservice)
The actual art style in this anime I like. The fanservice is very annoying, but the art style and the movements seem pretty good. I liked the unique art style in this anime, and I hope that you do too.

Overall: (8/10)
The show was great, but the ending really disappointed me. If you end up watching this show, please tell me your opinion on the ending too. Other than that though, it was a great experience and I hope to find another anime soon that's just as good without the fanservice!

Another source of info here Read more!

Kaichou wa Maid-Sama!

Director: Hiroaki Sakurai
Studio: J.C.Staff
Kaichou wa Maid-Sama is based upon the popular manga titled Maid Sama! throughout the series, you meet the following three main characters:
Misaki Ayuzawa - the first female president of the student body.
Usui Takumi - a male heartthrob notorious for breaking almost every girls heart.
Hinata Shintani - Misaki's childhood friend who has had a crush on her since he met her when they were younger.

Plot: (9/10)
The basis of this story revolves around the three main characters mentioned above. The series starts off with just Misaki and Usui being regular students attending high school in Japan. Yes, you're right. This show is a school romance, and a funny one at that! The school they attend was an all guy school notorious for wild students, but they recently switched to co-ed. It starts out with Usui falling for Misaki, while everyone else in the school cowers in fear before her. You see, she is a very strong person who lives with her mother and her sister. Her father abandoned the family and left them with nothing. Because of these troubles, she grew into a very independent, reliable person. She is not afraid to enforce the rules at school, hence the reason why everyone is afraid of her. Anyways, the event that really kicks the show into motion (and has Usui start falling for Misaki) is when Usui discovers that the president (Misaki) actually works a part-time job at a maid cafe in the next town over! From this point on, things become interesting, and just when you think you know what's going to happen, a twist appears.

Characters: (10/10)


Misaki Ayuzawa - Strong, reliable. Misaki is the head of the student body and is feard by most of the school. Her reputation is solid, but nobody knows that she works as a maid for a part-time job... at first.


Usui Tamuki - Cool, quiet. He is basically the master of everything, but the only one he goes for is Misaki even when he can have any other girl.


Hinata Shintani - Bubbly, hungry. Hinata is always hungry, and usually pretty content. He is persistent and there's more to him than meets the eye.

Animation: (9/10)
The animation in this show so far seems pretty good to me, but I've heard some people say that it looks too "2-D". This doesn't bother me, but just as a warning to all of the people who really pay attention to the art style, this one isn't unique. It looks a lot like other shoujos, so beware. Other than that, it's a great show and I hope you like the art style!

Overall: (9.3/10)
This show is great I really enjoy it. One downside is the ending. Sure, it's not bad, but it's kind of a let down that the show just stops after that. You'll know what I mean if you watch it. Still, I really enjoy it. If you want more evidence that it's a great show, check out Animeseason's highest rated anime list. As of today, it is number one! Read more!

Updates

Attention viewers:
The Code Geass post has been updated and finished. Be sure to check out the superb work by Silver Strike Alchemist. Use the Code Geass link in the anime drop down list or just click here to get to the page. I hope you like it!

Note: The read more button on this post does not do anything significant. Read more!

Bleach: Story Arch 1 (Anime & Manga)

Manga:
Written by: Tite Kubo
Published by: Shueisha

Anime:
Directed by: Noriyuki Abe
Written by: Masashi Sogo
Music by: Shirō Sagisu
Studio: Studio Pierrot

The Bleach series really interested me, at first. I started watching the show a while back, and I got into the 2nd or 3rd story arch, but I just couldn't take it anymore. Frankly, the story line is very good, but there are way too many filler episodes. I personally loved the first story arch, and I recommend watching it. I also later read the whole first arch again, and I loved it just as much. It doesn't matter if you read it or if you watch it, but the first story arch is very good.

Plot: (9/10)
The story revolves around a teenager named Ichigo Kurosaki, who happens to have a high level of spiritual power. What does this mean? It basically just means that he has good connections with spirits, and can even see most of them. He happens to see a shinigami, or death god, named Rukia. Long story short, he is put in a situation that forces him to become a shinigami himself in order to protect his family. The 1st arch is all about his crazy adventure in the shinigami world trying to rescue someone dear to him.

Characters: (9/10)


Ichigo Kurosaki: Cool, chill. He is on the sarcastic side, but very serious. He can be a bit goofy at times, though. Basically, don't mess with him.



Chad: Kind, gentle hearted. He is very strong, but will not use his strength for anything that might harm another.



Orihime - Very bubbly, kind. She is the kind of person that could just become friends with you in an instant.



Uryu - Smart, dangerous, confident. He is a bit cocky, but he is also a genius and a warrior.



Rukia: Stubborn, but kind. She is very strong willed and will try to obey the rules.

Animation: (8/10)
I am not really the best person to ask about this. I personally do not care about the animation in an anime. I thought this one was fine, but that I've seen better ones before. There is nothing wrong with it though and I hope that you don't mind it either. One good thing is that the fight scenes look very cool. You get more out of the fight scenes in the anime than you do in the manga.
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LittleBigPlanet 2 (PREVIEW)

Yes, LittleBigPlanet 2 is coming out soon. In fact, it's coming out on November 16th in the United States! The game looks great, from new equipment for play mode to hundreds more stickers and decorations for enhancing things. This game looks like it will really meet or even surpass the expectation everyone has for it. They're even releasing a collectors edition that comes with many costumes, an actual sackboy, and much more! Here are some video clips that tell you much more about the upcoming PS3 game.





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LittleBigPlanet (4/4) - Extras

LittleBigPlanet was created by Media Molecule for the Playstation 3.

LittleBigPlanet is very detailed and has many little things that are worth mentioning. (1/4)In character design, you can purchase many costume kits at the built-in LittleBigPlanet store and use any part of each in any costume you want. This makes the possibilities seem even more endless than before.
(2/4)In the play made of LittleBigPlanet, I just felt that I needed to mention how sackboy moves. He is a very floaty character that slides a little bit when stopping. If running on glass (slippery), he is very hard to slow down without jumping.
(3/4)In the create mode of LittleBigPlanet, there are many things that you can do with stickers that weren't mentioned. Basically, if you own a Playstation Eye, then you can take pictures and use them in your game. You can also take pictures in the game and use those wherever you want. Another thing about create mode is that if you publish your level(s), then you can even set a picture that represents the level and is shown on the preview of it when it is in your search results. Another thing that some people love is that there are some cool glitches that you can use in your levels in this game. Many of the glitches have been patched, but there are still levels that give away functioning pieces of the glitches. Read more!

Queen's Blade: Utsukushiki Toushi-tachi First Impression

(1/10)I could not watch this show for very long at all. It is a show filled with many inappropriate things that I personally do not approve of. There was way too much fanservice to the point that I wouldn't even call it fanservice. The show looks unrealistic and is not something that I would recommend watching.
The characters in this show were made for fanservice. Practically every character is like that. The show seems very dumb, to be frank. I definitely would advise that you DO NOT watch this show. I'm going to have to give it a 1 out of 10 based off of the impression that I got. Please do not watch this show, please.
I am very sad that I must give an anime such a poor rating, and perhaps the show gets better? I do not know, and I am not eager to find out. I really hope it does, but from the impression that I got, it doesn't seem likely.(1/10) Read more!

LittleBigPlanet (3/4) - Create Mode

LittleBigPlanet was created by Media Molecule for the Playstation 3.

(10/10)It is in the create mode of LittleBigPlanet where your wildest dreams can be made possible, in a video game of course. Basically, there are 4 things that you need to know how to use to be able to create something great in the create mode of LittleBigPlanet. These four things are:
1) The popit cursor: A cursor used to select, delete, and move items.
2) The items bag: This bag contains many materials and objects collected throughout the story mode that can be used to create anything.
3) The stickers: This bag contains many stickers and decorations collected throughout the story mode that can be used to decorate and color almost anything.
4) The tools bag: This bag contains cursors that enable you to set certain things on fire, make them electric, or just simply turn them into poisonous gas. It also contains many tools that make objects move, and it also contains switches to set off the motors that make the things move.
There really isn't much more to say about the create mode in LittleBigPlanet. Basically it all depends on your imagination. Reach for the stars and build the wackiest, craziest invention out there!(10/10)

Picture from: http://gamespotcdn.net Read more!

Link Exchange

If you would like to exchange links, please send me an e-mail using the Contact Us button. Please include the name of your blog and the link that you would like me to use. I only accept anime, manga, and video game related blogs, so please do not send me links that do not have anything in common with those. Also, please do not send me spam messages. I reserve the right to accept or deny any requests.

Please use the Anime Forever banner below as the link, or just use a plain text link. If you use the banner, please click on it first to open a page with the picture without the border.

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LittleBigPlanet (2/4) - Play Mode

LittleBigPlanet was created by Media Molecule for the Playstation 3.
(9/10) LittleBigPlanet's play mode is quite simple. Basically all you have to know how to do is to move (left joystick), jump (X), and grab (R1). There are a few accessories that require other buttons such as the jet pack and the scuba suit. With the jet pack, holding down "X" makes your sackboy fly faster. Likewise, holding down "X" when you're under water with the scuba suit makes your sackboy swim faster. Of course you don't need to jump while you are flying, and you can jump with the scuba suit on as long as you are out of water or at the surface. Another accessory is the paintinator. The paintinator is basically a paintball gun, and it is fired using the same button as grab, R1. Of course, because they are the same button, you cannot grab while you are wielding the paintinator.
It's not the character movements that are meant to be focused on in this game, but instead it is the levels that are being played. This game mainly focuses on user generated content, which will be talked about more in the "Edit Mode" post. Certain levels require expert timing from the player, while others are a joyride. There isn't much to play mode, so I think I will wrap things up here. Basically it is very easy to get the controls down. People of any age can pick up a controller and get into the game without a problem in an instant. The play mode is very simple and definitely deserves a good rating. If you ever get this game, or you even have it already, then you would or already know how easy it is to play. There are, of course, difficult levels designed by other users for players seeking a challenge. In fact, I actually created a difficult lever called "Dream of Nightmares". If you have this game, check it out!(9/10) Read more!

LittleBigPlanet (1/4) - Character Design

LittleBigPlanet was created by Media Molecule for the Playstation 3.

(9/10) LittleBigPlanet has a fantastic character design tool. There are a lot of different clothes that can be found on the built-in levels, can be earned from the built-in levels, and can be purchased from the LittleBigPlanet store built into the game. Here are the categories for the clothes that can be worn:
Skin (Different fabrics and materials Sackboy is made of)
Eyes (Styles)
Glasses
Hair
Head (Helmets, costume pieces, etc.)
Neck
Hands
Torso
Legs
Feet
Tail
There are so many different combinations than can be done with costumes, but there's more.
In LittleBigPlanet there are a lot of stickers and decorations than can be found throughout the built-in levels. These stickers can actually be used on your sackboy to color various pieces of his clothing. For instance, say you have a black afro on your sackboy, why not trying to paint it white and then put a flame down the front? Yes, there are an unbelievable amount of things you can do to a character. You can even create your own stickers to use on him or her.
The decorations are not for coloring, though. Decorations are physical objects that can be attached to your sackboy just as extra accessories. For example, say that you have a wooden sword, but no shield? Simple, just attach a shield decoration to your sack person's other arm. Once again, the possibilities seem endless. Just have fun and create wacky costumes to show off to other people online! But one thing you don't want to forget to do, SAVE IT! That's right, you can save every costume you create. You will never lose that beautiful costume that is only yours. Use it as much as you like!
There are a few more things that can be done with the costume. You can randomize your character, wash your clothes (will erase all paint or stickers on you), or just reset your sackboy. Overall, the customization ability is wonderful. (9/10)

Picture From: http://www.techarena.in/files/image/guide/112009/Little_big_Family/Little_Big_Planet_world.JPG Read more!

Dragon Ball Kai

Studio: Toei Animation
No. of episodes: 70+

(8.5/10)Dragon Ball Kai (as it is known in Japan) is a remake of the popular show Dragon Ball Z. In English, Dragon Ball Kai is actually known as Dragon Ball Z Kai. The reason I leave out the "Z" is because I am watching it in Japanese, thus am reviewing the Japanese version. On another note, Dragon Ball Kai had a lot of unimportant fillers, as if fillers are ever important, removed. With only the important episodes left, Toei Animation resized all of them to a 16:9 widescreen picture. The remastering, so far, was done very well. To all of the Dragon Ball Z fans out there: Don't miss this one. Read more for my opinion and rating.
Dragon Ball Kai is just as good as Dragon Ball Z, or it it better? That's really up to the viewer. One thing that irks me is that in the English version playing on Nicktoons, all of the blood is removed. What is the point of an intense action anime if there is no blood? I understand why they did it though. Small children will be viewing that and it just isn't suitable for them. That's why I watch the Japanese version though! Back to my review, Dragon Ball Kai is very good. I love to watch it, and I hope you will too if you see it. So far I would give the show an 8.5 out of 10. Go watch it!(8.5/10)

For more information click here
Picture from: http://buzzyet.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/dragon-ball-kai-13.jpg
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