Friday, June 24, 2005

I Know You're Out There.

My local stores have apparently adopted a 100% Transformers: Cybertron-free policy, so I'll have to wait until I return from vacation to get my hands on anything.

Oh yeah, vacation. I leave tommorow for the region of the United States commonly referred to as "Up-North". Specifically, to an old cabin on a lake wherein I sit around and read or walk around on the abandoned roads. Computer free, the Eagle River region is completely devoid of anything that could remotely be considered "gaming" or "anime". No problem, I have the Star Wars NJO to finish up, and I'll undoubtedly find more books in the local stores. I get back in a week.

Finally, I should have a new article thrown up (heh) on Pojo later today. Go read it. I manage to take a fairly humorous idea and completely screw it up.

Also, today's Penny Arcade is funny. It's on the sidebar thing.

Мои глупые вхождения журнала

Teen Titans - Episode 48: "Overdrive"
Cyborg episodes are usually boring, slow and uneventful. This one was no different. We've seen Cyborg use crazy contraptions before, and there wasn't much done this time that was different. His schedule scenes though were amusing, as was his fight with Adonis (who's still a loser villain, by the way). Billy Numerous was bothersome and slightly creepy; talk about your narcissists. The final battle was cool, but could have been better. Not to mention it's implausibility. Underwhelming.
Rating: C

Justice League Unlimited - Episode 21: "Hunter's Moon"
Enjoyable episode. I was glad to see what had become of the Thanagarians after "Starcrossed" and it didn't dissapoint. Shayera's reaction to the defeat of her race, and Hro's death was heartbreaking, especially in her VA's delivery of the line. I never cared much for Vixen before and she didn't do anything for me this time, either. Admittedly, I liked her better this time, than in "Wake the Dead". The ending was a bit of a cop-out, but I'll take it. I wonder which relationship is still going. Vigilante stole the show with his "cowboy-isms" and his lines. Great moment when he pilots the Thanagarian starfighter.
Rating: B+

Samurai Champloo - Episode 6: "Stranger Searching"
Hilarious episode. The Eating contest was the best part and I honestly yelled "No, Fuu!" when she was going to smack the fly. The Dutch guy was amusing. Nice how he hopes that the world will be more accepting of people like him in the future. Oh, if he only knew. At any rate, the tour was a bit dull, but it picked up around the fireworks and the resturaunt. Weird seeing subtitles on Adult Swim, but they worked out. Nice episode.
Rating: B+

Paranoia Agent - Episode 4: "A Man's Path"
Not quite as good as 2 and 3, but a good episode. The twisted cop was an interesting change of pace from the other characters. Very creepy character as well. For a middle-aged fat guy he was pretty good at robbing people. The manga montage was amusing. I was rather surprised to see the Lil' Slugger get beaten like that, but I'm betting it's not the real one and just a copycat. The tense part was when he robs the family and the girl comes back from school. I don't want to know what happened after that. Good episode.
Rating: B+

Sunday, June 19, 2005

Eh....

Been a pretty boring week. In fact, you could probably skip over this episode and not miss much of the plot.

Transformers Cybertron has yet to be stocked at my local Target or Wal-Mart. This annoys me. I'll check Toys R Us later in the week, I guess.

Thursday, June 16, 2005

Second post in a long and proud line of posts

So, Summer Vacation.

I've sat around and done pretty much nothing except talk on Pojo and watch TV. You see, my TV schedule expands greatly during the summer. Mornings I catch my favorite game show of all time, The Price is Right, and yell at the idiot contestants. Fast forward to Jeopardy, usually accompanied by home-made nachos in the afternoon. Double Seinfeld on TBS after that, followed by maybe Wheel of Fortune where I also yell at the contestants. Maybe then I catch Whose Line is it Anyway? and end the day with Late Night with Conan O'Brien.

I really have no life. Seinfeld was funny. It was viewed alongside the consuming of KFC Popcorn Chicken. Excellent.

Garage Sale started today. I don't really pay attention to this sort of thing.

Oh yeah, I made fifty dollars today and you didn't.

A Veritable Buffet of Pointless Reviewing

Power Rangers SPD - Episode 18: "Samurai"
Saturday's episode was decent filler. The whole "samurai in modern times" story was interesting to watch and Jack vs. Cruger was a well-done plot. I saw the fake Shadow Saber thing coming from a mile away, though. Also, the giant drawer thing is about one of the most ridiculous things I've seen on the show. And I saw the episode where TJ was baked into a giant pizza. Overral, good development for Jack.
Rating: B
Next week looks fudging awesome. Grumm vs. Cruger. My heart skipped a beat just typing that.

Teen Titans - Episode 47: "Stranded"
A real 180 turn from last week. I didn't really care for Starfire and Robin's plot. I was pretty sure that the two of them already knew their relationship up until now, when Star started acting rather childish. Though Robin's side was fairly realistic. Cyborg and Beast Boy's plot was the real winner here, though. Reconstructing Cyborg into Giant Robo and BB getting the character's outfit was a hilarious reference as was Cyborg trying to dictate his instructions so BB would understand them. Raven's subplot was fairly average, but it was nice to see her calm and relaxed after the past couple of episodes.
Rating: B+

Justice League Unlimited - Episode 20: "Clash"
Yeah, it was damn good. It was really cool seeing Captain Marvel and I thought the way he was written was excellent and his voice-actor did a marvelous job. Superman and Batman discussing Luthor over a standard meta-human bust was great to watch. I was in suspense the whole time at Luthor's press conference. I literally had no idea if Lex was telling the truth. The battle between Supes and Marvel was one of the best that the show has ever done and Marvel proved himself to be really powerful. The resolution was great, and it was interesting to see that Superman was wrong. Then they go and say that it was a set-up which I honestly didn't see coming. Captain Marvel's final speech was powerful and it shows what's happened to the JL lately.
Rating: A-

Samurai Champloo - Episode 5: "Artistic Anarchy"
This is one of the better episodes so far. Several hilarious moments all around. I didn't see the ending coming, though. Who knew that the old guy was the one running the slave ring the whole time? Mugen had some funny moments, and the secret police officer was amusing; I liked how he was the narrator for the episode. The show has a very good storytelling method - the three heroes all go on seperate adventures, only to realize that their own quests were actually all connected. Good stuff.
Rating: B+

Paranoia Agent - Episode 3: "Double Lips"
Episode 3 was just as good as the second. The two different personalities really kept me guessing throughout the whole episode, and I couldn't help but think too hard about some things in the background looking for symbolism. William's Street was pretty brave with this episode, what with the whole graphic prostitution shindig. Great finisher as well. I always end up holding my breath, waiting for Lil Slugger to show up and whack the character.
Rating: A-

Gundam SEED Destiny - Episode 34: "Nightmare"
It rocked hard. With all the research, preperation and pure indomitable ferocity, Shinn easily deserves his victory. After everything that Kira has taken from him (rather by accident or otherwise), one can hardly fault Shinn for his rage at Kira and his Gundam. Talia and Murrue's brief conversation was interesting and Neumann's quarter barrel roll around the Minerva was pretty awesome, but everybody was paying attention to Kira vs. Shinn. One of the best Gundam fights I've seen in a while, Shinn pulled off some truly inovative moves. First he throws his shield and shoots it with the beam rifle; the beam richochets and hits Kira. Then he splits the Gundam and rams the Chest Flyer into Kira, blowing it up with the Core Splendor's vulcans, then re-forming in the air while Kira is crashing. Finally, he calls for the Sword Silhoutte and doesn't even switch packs; he just pulls off the Excalibur and slices through the Freedom's shield and into the torso. Meanwhile, the Minerva supposedly blows up the Archangel with the Tannhouser. Pure awesome.
Rating: A+
It'll be great to see Kira get out of this one. Sure he escaped the Strike Gundam when it exploded, but this is a farking NUCLEAR EXPLOSION. Of course Kira will make it out so he can pilot the Strike Freedom, but gosh darnit, he'd better have something to remember this battle by.And what of the Archangel? Somehow I don't think Murrue's Miraculous Bouncing Boobies (TM) are going to help the crew this time.

In honor of awesome Gundam SEED Destiny, a new avatar has been issued for your pleasure. Yes, I know Range Murata girl is cute, but this was just too awesome not to make an avatar of. She understands.

Also, I have grown much too lazy to continue reviewing W.I.T.C.H. and Trinity Blood. Eh, I say.

Tuesday, June 14, 2005

I have conquered thee!

So I finally managed to get that neato Gunslinger Girl wallscroll up without damaging it. Turns out all I had to do was steal the bottom rung from my brother's Sephiroth scroll and attach some string.

You shall rue the day you tangled with me, household ornament hanging procedures!

Saturday, June 11, 2005

The End of an Era

At any rate, I went through three more exams yesterday and today. World History was up first, and it was very easy. I'll sound like a huge nerd, but I really enjoy taking 300-question tests for some reason. Relaxing. The test itself covered Europe from The Enlightenment to the end of WWII, a fun period in history.

Biology was up next, which turned out to be easier than I was expecting. Yay. Today I had Advanced Algebra which went all right I think. I had just reviewed for an hour beforehand, so I shouldn't do too bad.

And now school's out. What to do for the next three months...

Oh yeah, Fruits Basket. Good show.

Wednesday, June 08, 2005

Die Zeit für Revolution ist gekommen.

So, exams started today.

Start off with a healthy dose of German, in which I undoubtedly performed averagely. It was multiple choice, which helped somewhat, because I would have failed easily had it been a writing test.

Next, I wandered off to Information Technology, which, contrary to what the title might tell you, has nothing to do with Information or technology of any form. Ergo, my loathing of the class. I don't think I did very well on the mechanics and electricity portion, but the computer sections was incredibly easy, so I will probably salvage a C in that class. I mean, I didn't do any of the Screen Printing or this Design Problem contraption.

Third part of the day involved me waiting in the cafeteria, due to my exempting my Language + Literature exam. Repeated "A" papers and tests tend to do that. The exam would have been a breeze, though, so it might have been fun to take it just for fun. But then again, that would increase my hatred for the class and the students, so I don't think that would be the best idea. And that's totally a subject for a different entry. I'll have way more ranting time over the summer.

At any rate, the cafeteria. I wasted money on various snacks and drinks from the local vendimatoriums which inexplicably give me food and drink when I put in too much money. It was worth it, however, for Andy Capp's legendary Cheddar Fries. A celebration was in order. I contented myself with finishing up the History Review sheet, but got bored of it around Louis XVI.

So I stealthily stole (read: begged to borrow) my friend's PSP. Metal Gear Ac!d was already loaded up and so I played around in the game none-too seriously. Creative game, and it's a shame people don't like it more. I think it's the arbitrary exclamation point that does them in.

Then I headed home on some scary and unfamiliar autobus, much different from my typical ride. See, on exam days, the bus system is screwed up so much that children end up boarding the wrong buses and ending up in the completely wrong place. Shanghai, for example. My crazy new bus driver eventually ended up on my street and I happily ran the hell home.

And that was my day. I dunno, I felt like writing something other than the objective reviews I typically do.

Take your reviews, you Godless Heathens

Samurai Champloo - Episode 4: "Hellhounds for Hire Pt. 2"
Excellent finish for a two-parter. Several cool battles as always and the scene where Fuu is taken by the ugly guy was particularly funny. The two gangs resolving the conflict with the roll of a die was interesting, along with Fuu and Jin meeting at the occasion. Also amusing how Mugen randomly comes in for no reason and starts killing people. I didn't see the point to the last scene, though. Sosuke's father killing himself as payment was something I didn't see coming.
Rating: B+

Paranoia Agent - Episode 2: "Golden Shoes"
I see the dog plush is up to it's old tricks again. The plot with Ichi was rather more interesting than Tsukiko's but I'm glad she's staying in the story. The two reporters look like recurring characters as well. The fat kid really bothered me for some reason and I didn't blame Ichi for hating him. After he was wishing that Lil Slugger would come and beat him, I quietly gasped as Slugger slowly glided past Ichi. Ichi's later acid trip was freaky and it ends with him getting beaten with the bat as well. My mind was working furiously throughout this entire episode.
Rating: A-
I'm hooked.

Teen Titans - Episode 46: "The Prophecy"
Very creepy. About the creepiest thing Teen Titans has ever done. Any battle involving Slade was excellently choreographed and animated. Raven's excursion to Azaroth was cool, as was meeting her mother. And we see the true powers of Trigon, who is revealed as the villain. Raven vs. Slade Round 2 was very cool, I thought she was actually going to kill ol' Wilson. Then he makes an escape after pointing out her friends' terror. The battle with the ghouls was well animated but I got tired of it about halfway through. What could Slade be bargaining for with Trigon? His son? Terra? His life?
Rating: B+

Justice League Unlimited - Episode 19: "Double Date"
I liked "Double Date" much more than "The Balance". I've been waiting to see Huntress in the series, and what do you know, she's kicked out in her intro episode. She seemed a tad out of character as well. Glad to see The Question again, and he was just as much fun as he was in "Fearful Symmetry". Can't wait to see more of him. His car and the connection between girl scouts and crop circles was hilarious. Green Arrow shows up again with Black Canary in tow, who seem to be much more than friends. Each "couple" trying to outwit each other was fun to watch. The battle between Huntress and Canary was cool as was Arrow vs. Question. Finally, I thought Mandragora was pretty cool as a villain.
Rating: B+

And as a bonus...

Gundam SEED Destiny - Episode 33: "The World Revealed"
Dullindal's speech on LOGOS was cool and I can't wait to see how it turns out. When the portraits were scrolled across, the position above Lord Djibril was missing. I'm betting it's Dullindal himself. Looks like Shinn's serious about taking out the Freedom and Kira. I hope he suceeds, somebody needs to knock the uber-pilot down a notch. The scene where Neo wakes up was well-done. I'm really looking forward to more interaction with poor Murrue. I really hope that Mwu returns to his old self for her sake. Yeah, I'm a sucker for that sort of romance.
Rating: B+
The Minerva is ordered to exterminate the Archangel next week. Can't wait.