Anime 365

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When I first started watching anime, like most in the US, was on Cartoon Network’s Toonami. While I enjoyed what I watched, I was captive to what they wanted to show and when. Getting a part-time job in High School and a faster internet connection allowed me to branch off into many new properties and really cement my anime fandom. Through either purchasing or downloading, I suddenly had whole series ready to watch. Thus began my preference for consuming anime, by marathoning an entire series. I don’t have any negative thoughts really to watching this way, but I would find myself in a boom-and-bust cycle, devouring a series in a few days than watching nothing for a week or two.

Not the first I watched, but still an influence.

Not the first I watched, but still an influence.

This year I wanted to do something different. Instead of marathoning a series then walking away for a bit, I am going to watch at least one episode of anime a day, everyday. I wanted to wait a month to make sure I could keep at it, and with January done I have been successful. With access to a smartphone, Crunchyroll, Funimation, and the Anime Network subscriptions, even when traveling this should be easy to do. I hope that by doing this I can eliminate a “burn-out” feeling that I have after completing a series and clear up part of my massive pile of shame. Right now I am watching 3 currently airing series: Space Dandy, Kill la Kill, and Sakura Trick, while watching The Women Called Fujiko Mine when a new episode if the pervious 3 is not airing.

Current favorite: Kill la Kill with Space Dandy a close second.

Current favorite: Kill la Kill with Space Dandy a close second.

Watamote

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No Matter How I Look at It, It’s You Guys’ Fault I’m Not Popular! or Watamote, follows Tomoko Kuroki and her quest to become popular. Tomoko’s assumption that once she starts high school she will be popular is quickly shown to be nothing more than delusions of grandeur, as she actually suffers from severe social anxiety. I feel that one’s enjoyment from the show will come from one’s ability to empathize with Tomoko, either having gone through the stage where she is at or knowing someone who has. I fell into the former category, while not being nearly as mean-spirited as she is towards others, I definitely preferred to be left alone in high school. Little scenes from the anime such as Tomoko forgetting her book and needing to share with a classmate is pretty spot on to what my reaction would have been in the same situation. I watched hoping to see Tomoko overcome her anxiety and while this season wrapped up with that not happening, more manga being published hopefully will mean another season.

Hyperdimension Neptunia Mk2

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I have just finished playing Hyperdimension Neptunia Mk2, the second game in the neptunia series. Weirdly, I first heard about the series a few years ago when the first game was announced, but didn’t remember the name until Hyperdimension Neptunia Victory was being released in the US. I picked up Victory and enjoyed it. Looking at the reviews of the first game there seemed to be major gameplay issues that would hamper my enjoyment but seemed to be fixed in Mk2, so I thought I would give it a whirl.

I found the story to be OK. The plot for Victory seemed to be very much fluff, but in Mk2 there seemed to be a more serious undertone in some story elements mixed in with moé. The serious undertones stood out most in the Conquest ending, where (spoilers ahead) the Goddesses and CPU Candidates are eliminated by Nepgear, culminating with her ruling Gameindustri alone. No reset button used, although this was of course not the canon ending. The true ending was rather satisfying, as many games and shows, including western media, seem to have trouble wrapping things up. I do enjoy an epilogue that talks about all of the characters that appeared, not just one or two and leaving the viewer to guess what happened(looking at you Dexter!)

The graphics were acceptable. The backgrounds to the levels were nicely done but the game did not seem to run at a high frame rate at times. In cutscenes, it was odd to see a 3D model used, instead of a more traditional CG image, although CG images did pop up in events from time to time.

I preferred the more refined Victory gameplay, after all the developers were able to improve on Mk2, but I can see the Mk2 laid a good foundation. Since you spend so much time in battles, it’s nice to have a system that you can set up to be as easy or complex as you want. I found myself making decisions about how to set up combos to maximize damage or getting my SP bar up to unleash more powerful attacks or changing into HDD form. Of course this can lead to some game breaking combos (IF and Compa’s force formation skill come to mind) but that seems to be part of the charm of the Neptunia games.

Overall I would recommend the second and third games to someone who enjoys JRPG’s and doesn’t mind moé elements. If the PS Vita version of the first game is released in the US I will pick it up as I hear most of the gameplay issues have been fixed. This will lead to a situation where I have played the entire series in reverse order, something I don’t think I have done with any other multi-title series.

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Hi. This is a personal website I am keeping to write about my various interests, primarily anime. It is also my first serious try at a website so I will be making multiple changes as I learn more about building it. Feel free to follow and drop me a line though comments, email, or my twitter.