Things No One Cares About:Himeyuka & Rozione's Story

Today I'm looking at some more short stories because apparently I can't be asked to read anything longer than twenty pages. This collection is known as Himeyuka & Rozione's story(H&R) and consist of four stories that are either boring or just confusing. Well that's about it for me so till next time stay positive.









Oh,you are still here. Well I can talk about this book if you want,it's fairly poor. The entire afterword of it is just the author apologizing for the book. I guess since you insist I'll go ahead and talk about it.
The art is nice enough with some average character design and some decent costume designs especially for the witch in the third story. It has the same problem as Glass Wings in that it sacrifices style over good story telling. So enough of trying to make the art feel good about itself,let's talk about the stories cause they are bad and should feel bad.

The first is the titular story as is usually the case with these collections. It involves a girl who looks like Loki circa Persona 4 and an inconsiderate young child that is supposed to be her childhood personified. To be fair this one actually works for the most part with the twist being cleverly revealed. Its still a typical don't grow up too fast story. This one manages to be at least memorable which is more than I can say for the next two stories.

I'm going to just combine the next two into one paragraph cause my grievances with them are basically the same and I'll be done faster. The stories are The Princess of Kikouya in District 1 and My Very Own Shalala. These are just forgettable,seriously. I read them then twenty minutes later could not remember a single thing outside of the title. Both are utterly generic love stories with nothing interesting about them. They do have some nice costume design for our leads but I still had to work hard to remember even that. The Princess story is abut a yakuza girl who hides that side of her for the boy she loves and you can guess the rest. Shalala is about a witch who needs a boy's tears and ends up in love with the boy she targets. It's not even a bad love story but there are miles of better romance manga out there . This is what happens when enough issues of Shojo Beat form together:bland garbage. Moving on.

The last story is ROBOT and no that is not an acronym,the Manga-ka just forgot to turn of caps lock for a minute. I'm probably going to reveal my ignorance here but I honestly didn't understand this story. It's after the Apocalypse and people keep getting there minds re uploaded to new bodies..I think. There are also robots(shocking I know) that the government views as a threat but don't seem to do anything about it. The main robot boy just mopes around for most of the time then randomly kicks people's asses. Then the plot starts going bananas and I stopped trying to understand it. It's like the the author got hammered and watched Ghost in the Shell and decided that being logical was for the weak. Like H&R,it manages to be at least memorable even if it's wants to just be confusing.

You are still here,you really are a persistent one aren't you. What more can I say it's a generic book with pedestrian characters(seriously not one character drives a car in this book) and pretty art. There is nothing to it and I'll probably forget about it completely come this time next week You satisfied invisible reader whom I'll never see? Good,till Next time Stay Positive.

Thing No One Cares About:Ace Attorney Investigations

Phoenix is all set to come back this year in Ace Attorney:Duel Destinies which is great because the whole Hobo Phoenix affair was kind of weird. Speaking of Hobo Phoenix,there was a multi-year gap between Trials and Tribulation(T&T) and being a genius hobo. What was Phoenix doing that time...heck if I know. However thanks to Investigations we know a little bit about what Edgeworth was doing so let's talk about that.

Investigations is a sub series fro the Ace Attorney series featuring Miles Edgeworth and the more likable members of the Prosecutor’s office plus with new characters thrown in. The cases all revolve around a smuggling ring and a murder case know as KG-8. The game manages to shake up the stranded Phoenix formula with some heavier adventure game elements and different character dynamics. So lets talk about some Edgeworth goodness.

When I said a “little bit” in the intro up there I really meant little,the whole game takes places over the course of a few days(barring a flashback case), a month after T&T. The story is a solid and tight with some nice twists along the way. The cases are all pretty standard for an Ace Attorney game which is fine as they all are still pretty creative. However as a solid as the story is,it still feels a little like high class fan fiction. One would think the smuggling ring would have been able to stop Edgeworth before he nabs their leader. Also the last case drags on longer than need be,filled with so many big damn hero moments that it gets tiresome. Still satisfying when you do take down the ringleader due to his awesome freakout. it also takes too long to get to said case with everything else just feels like biding time.

All the characters are really great from returning characters like Gumshoe to new ones like Agent Lang He works as a great rival to Edgeworth with some decent development that elevates him from jerk to a great guy. Shame he's only in two cases with a cameo in a third. The other major new ally is Kay Faraday,who is not Maya. She's a thief not a medium and has a dead dad instead of a disappeared mum. Joking aside I actually do like her even if her and Edgeworth relationship is akin to Phoenix/Maya with less romantic overtones. Gumshoe gets special mention as his own brand of weirdness plays well with Edgeworth's seriousness. Edgeworth is what holds this game together with a much cooler head than Phoenix and takes the stick in the mud tendency up to eleven. He is fun to play as and it's always funny to see him defend his screw ups as something he meant to do.There are also quite a few cameos from minor characters such as Lotta Hart and Winston Payne and call backs to previous cases in the main series.

Game play remains mostly unchanged from the previous games with a couple of new twists. Little Thief which is a weird little mechanic that let's you recreate crime scenes,mostly used to extend investigation segments.While Logic is sort of like combing items in an adventure game but instead of items it's lines of thought. It usually revealing a new idea or updating some evidence. You rarely have that many to connect and brings up a minor problem with the game,it's difficulty or lack their of. It's a very easy game with every contradictions being glaringly obvious. It's like your case 1-1 of the original game extended to hell and back. Mind you the games have never been that hard but they at least tried to challenge you. There are a couple of hard sections but more due to moon logic and misinformation than actual difficulty. That's all I can say,so let's move on to something else.

The art here is on par with Apollo Justice having come out after that game with addition of actual character models as opposed to just portraits and it is really weird at first. The models do look nice and add a nice touch. The music is probably some of the strongest in a series with already stellar soundtracks. Lying Coldly is one of the best tracks and up their Cornered in terms of songs to get you pumped up.

So is Investigations worth of your time:Yes. Though if you are new to the franchise then you'll probably be lost with all the cameo's and references but be able to follow the main story just fine.

It's a great game either way and well worth seeking out for any fan of the franchise. Also if you buy it maybe it'll help get the second game localized and maybe I'll lactate live birds.

Till next time:Stay Positive

Things No One Cares About:Alone In My Kings Harem

Long ago in the ancient past of April 2013,we visited Glass Wings. A short story collection playing with the ideas of love between men and women or in the last one's case just women. I tell you that to hopefully form a decent segue into today's book which is also a collection of short stories. However this time it is all about love between men and men who look like ladies with very little fighting to be had. The book was brought overseas by DMP who have quite a few books of this nature such as Almost Crying. Alone in My King's Harem is written by Lily Hoshino who would go on to draw the art for Mawaru Penguin Drum. Does this have any bearing on the book,not really, but hey at least were in for some nice art.

Similar to Glass Wings I'll get my art griping out of the way first then talk about the stories. The art is excellent plain and simple. Panels flow well,backgrounds are lovely and the guys are pretty,almost too pretty. Yes this is were the art does fall short,the uke characters simply look to girly for their own good. If they had not slapped the yaoi label on this I would have told you this was a book with four stories about straight people with a random yaoi story at the end. Would the stories be any weaker if they were not all boys,no. However the manga-ka set out to draw cute boys and failed half the time. Either way the art is still fantastic and gives the stories a dream like feel.

The first story is the title story about a king and his concubine and that's really it. The boy sticks with this man through his highs and lows and is rewarded with the King's love. It's pretty simple and offers nothing outside of good feeling and some cute guys action. The king is tall and handsome and looks a little like Holland Novak, while the concubine is pretty,too feminine and a little weird. I could question if this boy stays with him because he truly loves him or because he has no where else to go. The story is mostly fluff,enjoyable fluff,but fluff none the less.

The second story,Night Circus,is the highlight of the book and is very creative. It's told in the style of 4-koma comics and follows a young trapeze artist through his dreams. The visuals are weird and fanciful and requires a second read once you wrap your head around what is going on. Without spoiling much it is a different look at the eyes of someone who is into bestiality. It's an enjoyable mind screw that sort of erases the previous story from your mind. I won't say much else as it is very short but worth it. Moving on to next one.

The Seabed of Night has the same very fanciful qualities of Night Circus,while revisiting the king/servant dynamic from the title story. It involves a brothel that grants impossible wishes ran by Rosine. The prince inspects the place with his loyal servant and said servant makes a deal with the owner to spend the night with the prince. The realize they love each other and ride off home. It's not bad with the idea of love from afar being akin to looking up from the bottom of the sea. The very dreamy art helps add to the places other worldness. It is probably the most explicit story after the last tale but even then not much is shown. Again a little more too it than Alone in My King's Harem(AMKH) but still pretty fluffy.

Up fourth is Adventures of a Canary returning to the more realistic style of AMKH. It follows a good looking guy and a guy working at a lounge,then he escapes and they run off. Like the concubine there is a question of is this really love or does he have no where else to turn to. Not much else to say about the story,it offers one twist that makes sense if you think about it and it is heartwarming. That's it,the art is still good and works. The last story is where this book goes weird.

The last story is two chapters:Mature Flesh and Moist Flesh. The previous tales have all had a more fantasy slant to them and can be taken as heart warming love stories. This one instead is a generic high school boy story that is really nothing more than hentai. It's not bad if that's what you want but it is just so different than the other stories. This is very jarring when up till now there has been implied sex and this one is almost two straight(pardon the pun) chapters of hot guys boning. Did I like it...yes but that does not make it any less out of place here.

In the end is this collection worth it,maybe. The art is lovely but the fact that some of the boys look too girly may kill it for some yaoi fangirls or help the non-yaoi crowd. Other than that there isn't much to it. Oh,Night Circus is excellent and well worth the two minutes it takes to read. Everything else is enjoyable fluffy romance(or hentai) and that is fine. Those looking for something more substantial would be better off with something like Heart of Thomas.

Till next time Stay Positive

Things No One Cares About :Mii Plaza Games

A few weeks back the Streetpass Plaza for the 3DS was updated to be bigger and better. To be fair it is really cool looking but that's not what I'm here to talk about . No along with this update came four new games that utilize the street pass feature. They all work the same way as Find Mii 1 and 2,in that you collect allies by actually going outside or just have two 3DS consoles and pass each other. Outside of that each game does offer something different and we'll look at them in some semblance of an order. Since I haven't completed them this is based on my experiences so far

We will start strong with Mii Force,a side scrolling shooter. The story is pretty simple,some pirates are screwing with planets you get down there and stop them. Your street passes are your gunners and losing them leaves you defenseless. Each Mii color grants a different weapon and you can power up other guns with Miis at the expense of losing that Mii's weapon..It adds a layer of strategy that helps the game. The game plays out like Gradius lite and most levels can be a breeze. The added challenge of high scores and no hit runs does add some replay value. Though you can only use that spot pass team once and have to hire new gunners or find some more. It also has an excellent sense of humor with some great banter between the pirate leader and his lackey. I find this one to be the strongest of the bunch. Which leads me to the weakest one: Flower Town.

Flower Town is boring plain and simple. Your really growing flowers and arranging them nicely,that's it. The street passes you have water your plants for you and then you just sort of mess around with aesthetic items. The process for getting new flowers is easy to manipulate but left ultimately left to luck. The game also doesn't quite know when to keep it's mouth shut. Everything is explained in crazy detail and basic concepts are repeated every time you play the game. That being said there is quite a bit to do within the game. It has less of a daily feel to it like the other games,and if your into this kind of thing then you may lose yourself in it. As for me this is the low point of the set.

Next up is Warrior's Way,a conquer the world game. You build an army via street pass and take over this island of nations via rock,paper,scissors. Those who have the game great you as Monarchs from afar and you can fight them to gain control of their army. Those who don't just join your army with however many people they have in their plaza. In the game proper you divide your troops and have them fight. Each unit has a strength and weakness as shown by rock,paper,scissors. Though the disadvantage goes out the window if you have superior numbers. That strategy seems to be the most solid and there is no disadvantage to waiting a day or two to get the forces you need. Ironically it is the game that requires the least strategic planing despite being the only pure strategy game of the group. It's also silly that you can only conquer one country a day with no hand wave to say why. The game is not too bad but lacks the charm of Mii Force.

The last game is Monster Manor,where you clear floors by playing Tetris. Here your street passes give you floor tiles and you arrange them to find treasures and clear floors. There are some minor RPG elements with weapons having stats,affinities and being upgradable. Most battles boil down to being able to shoot faster than your enemy. This is where street pass can really screw you over as you can only make rooms with same colored pieces. If your sporting a rainbow of Miis then your passes could be wasted till next time. It's a fine game and it does try for some depth which is admirable.

So are these games worth your time or should you just stick with Find Mii? I'd say yeah,if you use street pass often enough then they are worth your time.They all have enough going for them to give them some meat.If you had to buy just one then definitely go with Mii Force. They are all about five bucks on there own and fifteen for the whole bundle.it's not a bad deal. I'll see you soon for Berserk 3:Descent.
Till Next Time:Stay Positive

Things No One Cares About:Tales from Earthsea

So I've been away for a while for reasons that would bore you so I won't go on but I'm back and that's all that matters(to me anyway).

I recently had a chance to sit down with a friend and watch Tales from Earthsea. I knew that the author and the fans of the books were displeased with it but figured people can be really nitpicky with adaptions. I mean I love P4 and yet that's all I did during it's TV adaption. However in this case I'm inclined to agree with them as this movie is atrocious. The pacing is plodding,the plot is a mess,and the animation feels phoned in.

The film is directed by Goro Miyazaki as opposed to his father,Hayao and this is the only movie he would direct till 2011's From Up On Poppy Hill which I have not seen. Based on a series of fantasy novel by Ursula L. Guin. Specifically the Wizard of Earthsea cycle which features Ged. That's all I'll say about the books as I really haven't read them. Let's get to talking about this movie then.

The movie opens with a scene off a Dio album cover with two dragons fighting then cuts to a long scene about politics that ends with the king stabbed by one of the main characters,Arren. Both scenes are not brought up again. After that it finally decided to pick a damn scene and cuts to Arren getting saved by Ged. All of this happens in a rather short span and I had no idea what was going on. After a while I really wished we went back to jumping around scene as being confused would have been better that being bored. Events happen that have no meaning,the action has no stakes,and the film just wanders. It's like the middle of Eva 3.33 except uninteresting and twice as long. There is a lack of purpose and as a result nothing happens. It spends time on a crappy romance subplot between Arren and this girl who lives with Ged's friend. The have the chemistry of a pair of redwoods and they just sort of fall for each other after she sings a terrible song. This whole thing culminates in a ending scene where she turns into a dragon. By the time this happened I just wanted the movie to be over and never questioned it.

The actual plot is even more boring and concerns a evil wizard who wants to live for ever and magic being dead. Everything is poorly explained and glossed over. There is something about Arren fighting his shadow that just seems to be thrown in and takes up more of the movies long run time. The film runs for about two hours but felt like almost four due to the horrendously slow pace. So the story is like your father on Wednesday afternoons: rambling,stupid,and awful at his job. If the story is the father then the characters learned being terrible from watching it.

All the characters are flat as the disc that the movie is on and also just as uninteresting. The villain has a poor immortality obsession,Ged's character is non-existent and most everyone else is bland. Arren whom I guess is supposed to be out main character has an arc that is schizophrenic. First dealing with the aforementioned shadow malarkey and then he has an obsession with living forever. It would help if I had any idea of these character's motivations and sense of them as people. However I don't so I don't. My friend and I decided early on that most likeable character was Arren's horse and rooted for him the whole time. We dubbed him Donkey punch and hoped he would save the day. Just saying when the horse is the best character,you are doing something wrong

To the movie's credit,there are are two good scenes that are frankly wasted on this movie and both involving Ged. One where he gives a wondrous speech about valuing life and why immortality is foolish. Had this film been in a better films it would have skyrocketed to greatness. However it's in this movie so it just fizzles out. Th second is a funny moment where Ged trolls the guards looking for him with magic that is hilarious. Again if this would have made a good move shine but nope wasted on this tripe.

I mentioned that the animation seemed phoned in and while I do stick by that, it does not mean it looks bad. It actually looks really good and flows really well. That being said it really has nothing special about it. They seemed to take the visual style from Howl's Moving Castle instead of giving it it's own look. Nothing really amazing but perfectly serviceable. There is a randomly violent scene that just comes straight out of no where near the end. It's really jarring as the film was pretty tame up to then.

So as we reach the end,what have we learned:probably nothing of value. However if we are talking about pointless things then it would be that this movie is bad and it should feel bad. Go watch a good Ghibl film or heck read the books,anything to avoid this garbage. I only hope that the director learned form his mistakes and did better with From Up On Poppy Hill.

Until next time Stay Positive

Case by Case:The First Turnabout

Sorry for the delay I've been sick the last few days and not been in a writing mood.

This is the first episode(?) of Case by Case where I faff about and talk about every case of original Phoenix Wright trilogy. Why not include Investigations or Apollo Justice? Mainly because I haven't played the former and don't really want to do the later right now(and I lost my copy). If you want explanations of what Phoenix Wright is and game play malarkey that's what Wikipedia is for. Here I'm talking about plot,and how the cases compare and to somewhat determine the best case.

As this is the first episode it makes sense we start with the First Turnabout. It's our first time seeing our lead and like us he's greener than grass when it comes to being a lawyer. You get a good feel for Phoenix in this case as the man who believes in his clients. There is also the lovable loser Larry Butz who pops in and out of this series usually to unintentionally ruin Phoenix's day. He shows what the series is really good at which is characterizing even minor characters. Even when we only get a few lines of dialogue you can instantly know what kind of person they are.

The plot is really nothing special in this one but it does set the template of your client looks suspicious but they didn't do it. It's the formula that holds this franchise together and gets deconstructed wonderfully in Justice for All. Sadly the writing for this case is just not as sharp as others though it does get the awesome line: Mr.Sahwit,more like Mr.Didit. On the other hand there is the cringe inducing Harry butt joke from Mia who is in no way that naïve to not realize what she's say.Also introduced is the series' love for puns and half the fun is figuring out the weirder puns like Dustin Prince.

Along with the simplistic plot is always some pretty simplistic testimony that falls apart like wet toilet paper. On one hand it's ok as this again is the first case but it's jarring as the case right after it was difficult for me my first time after breezing through this case. The prosecutor,Payne,also puts up little fight as you take down his witness. It doesn't even make you establish motive which every other case does even the tutorial cases(where Payne is the prosecutor)from games two and three.

As a side note Mia's facial expressions are hilarious in a way not seen with her later appearances. I don't know if it's early installment weirdness or it was intentional but dang are they funny.

I feel like I'm beating up on this one just for doing it's job and it's really not a bad case just lackluster compared to other cases. Till next time Stay positive

The First Turnabout : 3 out of  5

Things No One Cares About:Jojo's Bizarre Adventure 2012

Jojo once held the distinction of being one of the longest running manga to not have a TV adaption,only having a thirteen episode travesty of an OVA series Last year changed that and we received the first part of this ambitious project to adapt the the whole series. This part cover the first two arcs of the series Phantom Blood and Battle Tendency. I'll talk a little more plot on BT as I already discussed PB a few weeks ago. Without further ado:Jojo's Bizarre Adventure...2012.

The first half is again Phantom Blood and covers episodes 1-9. The story is a straight adaption which hinders it on the character side as Johnathan Jostar is still not that interesting but makes up for it by basically having everyone ham it up. No one has an indoor voice and everyone just devours scenery. It's a sight to behold and makes the whole show enjoyable. Special mention goes to Takehito Koyasu as Dio who manages to steal every scene he is in and is a terrifying presence even when he's only a head. Along with Smoky in BT they have made Wang Chun a little less of a stereotype though it's still a little jarring. Overall this section works and we also get to see Dio taken out to Yes' Owner of a Lonely Heart which is cool. Also be on the watch for episode three which is possibility the most manly thing to be put on TV. I might be pregnant now from the sheer testosterone pumping through the final scenes. A minor compliant is that if your not familiar with the original arc it will feel a little rushed but it's a pretty short arc anyway so it's not too bad.

The remaining episodes(10-26) cover the slightly longer Battle Tendency and we our introduced to the amazing Joesph Jostar The arc covers his battles with the beings that made the stone mask form PB. To me this is one of the best Shonen manga arcs I've ever read. It takes the concepts from PB and takes them to their logical extremes while exploring the source of Dio's power and having Jojo fight that. It has only about four or five major fights but each one is grandiose in it's own right. Overall like part one it's just having fun. Joesph is a fun character he's constantly thinking about how to outwit his opponents. He's the only man that can make running away look heroic He is also a world class bluffer,talking his enemies into giving him a month to train because he might be able to beat them. Tomokazu Sugita is obviously enjoying the role and fits Joesph to a T, pulling of the goofy engrish catch phrases with panache. The main trio of Joesph,Caesar and Lisa Lisa are all well rounded enough and I think we get a little more back story on our antagonists the Pillar Men here than in the manga. The only character I really don't care for is Suzie Q due to her and Joesph's romance coming out of nowhere. If I have any complainants about this part specifically is that near the end R.E.O Speedwagon's shtick of yelling exposition gets grating and the last few episodes seem to meander around waiting to get to the final one for the big epic battle.Overall it is a load of fun to watch and Joesph Jostar is a sexy charismatic stallion who,who dammit I forgot what I was saying. He's great is what I'm saying,(stupid sexy Joseph).

The storys in this world of ham work perfectly but the art catapults the series to greatness The authors signature sound effects are strewn through out the scenes and like everything else the art just oozes style. It's so over the top that the very act of walking around is made fun. The colors are very bright and the outfits are glam as hell with Caesar's outfit not looking out of place at a 80's club.

Unlike those abysmal 90's/00's OVAs this is how you adapt Jojo: with style and fun. I honestly can't wait to see the next season for Stardust Crusaders maybe I'll actually enjoy the arc this time. If you're looking for a good fighting show and haven't watched this then go ahead and do so, you won't regret it.

As Always Stay Positive.

Jojo,Schedules and a Hiatius

I've always written reviews for fun.A side project to pass the time and help me form my opinions Then these JoJo OVA's came along and I honestly could not sit through them. They are bad,they just are. I'm not giving them a full review because I can't finish them.Instead I'll use this post to sum up my thoughts on the ones I did watch and Startdust Crusaders as a whole.

I'll admit I really don't care for Startdust Crusaders for a few reasons.First is the pacing,there are too many fights and we're never given time to be breathe before hoping in to the next one.Despite that the arc still feels too long(clocking in at 17 volumes) and padded. Second Jotaro is just not that interesting a lead especially when you have his grandpa,Joseph,right there.Jotaro lacks the fun of Joesph which is ok I don't want another Joesph but give him something to make him likable.Outside of kicking Dio's ass because he pissed him off. Third outside of the two Jostars,I never got attached to the main group so when some of them die I didn't feel a thing. I about lost it when I though Dio killed Joesph but everyone else was a meh.

There are some good things,most of the fights are very well done the highlights being Joesph's fights with the Empress and Mariah Carey and while I don't care about the main group I did enjoy their dynamic Which these OVA's stripped the group of along with Joesph's sense of humor. These episodes take themselves too damn seriously and lack what makes the series great style and humor. The manga had him cracking jokes and fighting with his usual flair to probably cope with the dread he feels that his daughter might die. The OVA's have him almost as sullen as Jotaro,which defeats the point of him being here.Also for some reason Enya,the old witch can change into a young woman,no explanation given and the first time you see here she's in the young woman form.So honestly if I finished theses OVA's,you wouldn't see me for a while as I would be crying into my girlfriends shoulder for three weeks just to ease the hurt.

Enough about me whining lets talk about every ones's favorite thing:schedules. I'll still be doing the 2012 Jojo anime this week so no back out on that.After that Things no One Cares about will be taking a semi-hiatus for a few months.I'll still do them and Mistress Fortune may be on schedule.This is because I want to start a short project I may actually finish and that is a case by case review of the Phoenix Wright games.

This is going to be a look at every cases of the original 3 games,picking apart the plot,the characters and various other things.It's like a mini version of Arcwords except not called that. I am not going to cover Apollo Justice or Investigations(for now). These will start next week and since they are pretty short I'll be putting two out a week on Monday and Friday. I may slip in a regular review on occasion but no promises.
Also so people know I'm saving Case 1-5 Rise from the Ashes  for the week I cover case 3-5 Bridge to the Turnabout  to give the week an epic feel.See you Wednesday for decidedly less whining and next week for some Legal goodness.
         

Things No one Cares about:Futari To Futrari

Ok,I'll straight up say it:I have been a bad girl.I have not watched anymore of the Jojo OVA's and therefore can't speak on them yet. My only excuse is that I finally got together with a friend of mine and our relationship is taking up most of my time.That's not me complaining,I am pretty happy about this.This in tandem with my upcoming weekend trip has sort of screwed up my reviewing schedule. To avoid even more schedule slip,next week I'll be shooting to put out the OVA review by Tuesday and have the new anime project review by the following day.

To sort of make it up to you and in the spirit of love here is a re post from my short time reviewing on My Anime list.It's like watching old Cinema Snob episodes except with less anger and decidedly less talent.

Futari to Futari or Two and Two is a Shojo-Ai story about two couples and their very odd relationship.
The story is ok; it’s interesting enough to see the younger girls struggle with their feeling for each other and their older lovers. It moves at a nice clip but it’s really nothing profound. Luckily enough while the story is focused heavily on sex, there is never a feeling of shoehorning in the sex. It flows naturally and is usually pretty tame when it is. The drama is played well and never becomes overly angsty. Despite the odd nature of the four girls relationship, it is never really demonized and just shown in a way that the reader can make their own judgment.

The art is nothing spectacular, a typical art style for Shojo-ai. The characters are distant enough to not be confusing and backgrounds are nice. Also no nipples are on full blast here and the sex scenes are PG-13 at best. There are scenes of the girls teasing their lover and the aftermath but the actual act is rarely shown. My only problem is the water on the skin bugs me somehow; I can’t put my finger on it.

Finally the characters, there are only four of them and they’re semi-developed. Sayako and Ayumi are both in middle school and take a dominant and submissive role with their respective lovers, Keiko and Asumi. But this switches when they start sleeping with each other though Sayako still has some dominant tendencies. This being a shorter series no one gets particularly developed that much. Ayumi is scatter brained and Sayako is serious while their girlfriends are the opposite of them. We get a little back story on Asumi and Keiko near the end that sheds some light on their own relationship. So while not terrible character development, it could have used some more.

In the end is this manga worth your time?If girl/girl or abnormal relationships disgust you then kindly skip this and go read something else. However if you like girl/girl then I'd say yes because it’s a short read and it is enjoyable. Be warned it will leave you wanting more.

Well that was fun,probably should not do this again but hey you read my reasons up above so stick with me and let's end Jojo month with a bang.

If for some reason your interested in my other MAL reviews or want to see things I've watched then here is a link to my profile:http://myanimelist.net/profile/Pink_Princess 

Things No One Cares About:Spyro 2:Ripto's Rage

I never did really get that something could actually be painful to watch but well the Jojo OVAs have made me believe in the concept. So due to it's awfulness and healthy doses of real life I'll need and extra week to slog though that show. Also to keep with the schedule,I'm going to skip the Jojo game and just do the OVAs and 2012 anime.

This week we'll look at something I did actually make it through, Spyro 2: Ripto's Rage. Also known as Gateway to Glimmer if your European and snooty. Developed by Insomniac in the far flung past of 1999 for the Playstation as a sequel to the decent Spyro the Dragon. It has more of a sense of direction than the first game and delivers a much tighter game. Adding more characters with a little more personality. So enough stealing from wikipedia,let's dive right in.

The story and characters are nothing really to write home about. It has the stranded plot for a collect them all platformer. There is an evil jerk who wants to rule the land and you as the hero must stop him by collecting weird doodads. Spyro is your dude with a 'tude hero and does get a few funny lines here and there. The other four main NPCs are ok with Hunter being probably the biggest jerk in history rivaled only by Moneybags the bear. The villain Ripto and his little entourage are nothing special either. Though he is well liked enough to come back in the abysmal Enter the Dragonfly and a few of the GBA Spyros. It's not all bad,the little mini plots within each level are funny and are fun to go through.

Speaking of levels,the designs is really good for them each level being linear enough that you won't get lost but open enough that it rewards a little exploration. Each level follows the template of talk to guy with punny name,do some simple task with increasing difficulty(usually with either ramming or flaming something) then talk to first guy's pal for a doodad. It's a solid formula that starts to drag around the second hub world(Autumn Plains). It doesn't help that Autumn Plains is a long world with a bulk of the levels and they begin to run out of decent ideas halfway. I think they were saving the better levels for the last hub because it contains two of the best levels in the game,Robotica Farms and Metropolis. Sadly,the other two levels in that hub are meh.

As for the game play,it's your typical 3-D platformer affair,you jump around ,kill foes and collect trinkets. They throw in some gliding sections and a few shooter sections that play like an unofficial sequel to Panzer Dragoon. You spend the first two worlds collecting Talisman's and maybe some optional orbs then have to go back and collect some more orbs to fight the final boss. The difficulty tends to be all over the map. The main missions themselves are piss easy and so are some of the orb challenges. However some of those challenges go straight into frustrating,if you can hear the phrase "Trouble with the Trolly,eh" and not fall into rage fits then your either much better at this game than I am or have never played it. It makes 100% this game a right pain in the rear.

The graphics have aged well and look good for a PS1 game, most of the models are smooth and the worlds look cool. The character designs are nice and it is much lighter than it's predecessor . That's all I have to say about the look.

Playing through it again, I was still having fun but I do recognize this for what it is, a really fun kids game. So if your wanting to relive some nostalgia or give your kid something to do to keep them from pillaging the neighborhood then go ahead and find/dust off this one Just be prepared for them to learn some new curse words.
Till next time,Stay Positive.

Things No One Cares About: Jojo's Bizarre Adventure: Phanatom Blood

I decided to change this review to Things No One Cares About. I'll save the long winded explanation and just say real life and leave it at that.

Phantom Blood is the first part in the Shonen epic that is Jojo's Bizarre Adventure. When you hear Jojo most people either think of this arc or part three,Stardust Crusaders. Though if your a decent human being you should at least also remember Battle Tendency because it's where Joesph Jostar is originally  from and inspired a few Street Fighter characters. This and to an extent Battle Tendency tend to be old shame for the author and can best be described as Fist of The North Star if it was glam. So lets look see if this actually worth it or do I need to start drinking bleach to forget(though I might do that later when I'm bored).

The story here is pretty simple being divided into three parts each ending with some one biting it and manly tears being shed. The in between times are filled with hamminess  and diabolical plans. It is a pretty standard good vs evil plot with no real twists outside of the villain's refusal to just die. The fighting technique is the Ripple which again not to unique as it is just punching people while shouting silly things. It doesn't get much creative use as it will in the next arc outside of wine darts.

Once we get to the final part the plot gets silly ,events just sort of start happening and I'm not quite sure why. There is also this malarkey about vampires that is dropped after this part of the manga. It's there to justify people following Dio,instead of just raw charisma like later story arcs. Three new characters show up to join Jojo and barley contribute to the plot. Hell one has a bigger part in Battle Tendency and he hardly did anything in this story. Back in the eighties maybe this was fine but now it just feels run of the mill.

So what saves this manga from the ignore list,that is style. The book just oozes it from every pore and everyone is hammy. The guys are manly,their fighting styles flashy,and it's just having a good time. Everything is done in big broad strokes and it takes the substandard elements and makes them tolerable. It's also fairly short and I mean that in the nicest way possible. The pacing is very tight and none of the fights get drawn out. The bulk of which happens in the last part letting the first two sections build up Dio and Jojo's relationship.

There is something to be said for the Johnathon(JoJo)/Dio relationship and that is that it is pretty good. They are polar opposites in every way and their schoolboy rivalry evolves into respect/loathing for each other. However Jojo is a gentleman of the highest caliber and that's about it. You still feel for Jojo but he's just not that interesting outside of his archeology major which serves more as a plot mover than anything else. He did start the trend of the Jostars being incredibly bright people,having that noble spirit,which would later add to the leads rather than define them. He also is responsible for Joesph,who I do not have a crush on,in that Joesph's personality is meant to be as far from Johnathan’s as possible

Dio is a little more tragic in a way. He essentially created his own rival in Jojo and is so blinded by power that he doesn't realize that he's become like or even worse than his despised father. He could make a good argument for either side of the nature vs nurture argument. Was he evil from birth or did his poor upbringing ruin any chance of a good life even after he begins living with the Jostars. It adds some depth to the character that Johnathon lacks.

The rest of the cast is mostly manly men being manly except for Erina who gets to be the medic to Jojo's heavy and has a really great supporting role. She doesn't do much but is still enjoyable. Also there is Robert E.O Speedwagon who is a fun example of captain obvious because I imagine his just shouting all of his lines. Plus he gets a sweet hat from Jojo's mentor to replace his already pretty cool razor blade hat.While not getting much to do here,his eventual fortune is a constant help to the Jostars.

Moving on to some talk about art: it's okay. This was my second time reading this and really the art is not as bad as I remember. Everyone has bodies chiseled in the image of the gods and all the men are huge. It's very dark to look at which adds to the atmosphere and the gore is fairly intense though nothing worse than something from Fist of The North Star. We do get the authors love for SFX words as they litter every page but not in a way that clutters it up.

In the end this is really not that bad a manga,it just hasn't aged that well and is weak compared to some later parts of the series.Though if you need to grow a beard read this, you'll be hairier than a bear in no time. It's still better than Stardust Crusaders and that has to count for something. Till next time: Stay Positive.

Next Week:Stardust Crusaders OVA's

Things No One Cares About:Tampopo

Go ahead and read the last post if you want to know why I'm not reviewing Mistress Fortune this week,I'll wait.

 


Tampopo is a 1985 Japanese comedy that bills it self as the first Ramen Western. It comes to us courtesy of the late Juzo Itami who's films were mostly comedies and satires. It concerns itself with a main plot and a smattering of b-plots with no relation to each other outside of one or two. It flits between the plots with the smoothness of Colt 45 and is all tied together by the concept of food and how it shapes our relationships.

The main plot plays out like a heist movie without a heist as we follow a trucker named Goro and his sidekick Gun,as they help the titular Tampopo build up her dead husband's noodle shop. They start gathering men to help her out including a hobo,a drunk interior designer,and a butler. It's actually pretty fun with a smattering of great jokes and a fun dream sequences that wouldn't feel out of place in West Side Story.

The romance subplot is slightly underplayed and I question why they really brought it up. It's sad because the two leads play very well off each other. The plot comes to a halt bout twice as we go through some subplots:some good,some ok ,one stupid. The ones that work like one about food politics in business is really great,then there is a set of them focused around a white suited man and his girlfriend engaging in literal food porn. Those are really fun and even the mediocre one about two cons is fine. Then there is one that to save myself from ranting(for now, just doesn't work. It's message is heart warming but feels really forced just to make it.

I just have to talk about these transitions as they ultimately make Tampopo work. Every single one of them is marvelous and gives the film a sense of scope that brings home the idea that food connects us all. The only time it does not work is after we've spent a good portion of time on the main plot it abruptly switches to a completely different scene. After that it's back to flowing like something flow-y,but it's jarring compared to everything else and also doesn't help that main plot was ramping up by that point.

Every actor/actress is bringing their A-game and we get some really fun performances from a group of vagabonds. The man in the white suit tends to steal every scene he's in and perfectly sets the tone of the movie with his forth wall shattering opening scene. It's a good thing that he's in his own plot or he would completely overshadow Goro and friends

So yeah it's a great movie that is definitely worth a watch for anyone who loves food or just wants to laugh. It is also really fun to snark at if you're in the right mood. As always, Stay Positive

Sorry for this being a little on the late side,I'll beat myself for it later. See you next week for the beginning of JoJo month.