September 28, 2006
Speaking of unique experiences (continuing from last week), I got to
attend my first professional sports game two weeks ago! It's weird...
I've been to college football games before, as well as Little League
baseball games back when I was a child. But now I can say I've
attended a game of a MLB team! Granted, the experience wasn't as
enjoyable as I would've liked... both teams were already out of
playoff contention, and the crowd didn't seem much in to it. The on
and off rain showers must have had something to do with it. We did
have something to shout and whoop and holler about, though, in the
bottom of the 9th inning, when the home team tried to stage a
comeback. They fell short, though, with the bases loaded and the
winning run striking out at the plate. Sigh...
Speaking of things that make me sigh, it's time for a new review! This
time, it's the second volume of "My-HiME!" Not as good as the first,
though it wasn't a total wash... go find out my exact thoughts now!
You'll also notice I'm starting two new review trends as well. First,
for the "My-HiME" series I will be reviewing every single volume. I
will reserve this honor only for shows I really, really like, so don't
expect every new show I review to get the same treatment. Second is
the fact that I'm now providing screenshots, starting with this review!
I'll try my best to provide one for every DVD review I do from this
point on. I can't do screenshots/scanned images for video game or
manga reviews, though. I do DVD reviews a whole lot more often, though,
so that shouldn't be much of a problem.
Toodles!
Reviews and Editorials
- My-HiME, Vol. 2 (DVD)
September 22, 2006
Ah, Fall is here already. Doesn't time fly when you're always working
on something?
Anyway, by now you've caught the new dub for "Pokémon," which of
course is now in the hands of Pokémon USA, the company responsible for
all merchandising in the United States. I have to say, I'm highly
impressed, for the most part, on how well the new voice cast stands
up to the old one. If not for the trial run "The Mastermind of Mirage
Pokémon" gave us a couple of months ago, we probably would've been
stuck with the most horrible sounding Ash and May ever! It's too early
to tell if PUSA's dub is an improvement over 4Kids, though. After all,
"Pokémon" was always one of the company's best treated dubs.
I had a unique lifetime experience yesterday. For the first time
ever, I had... jury duty! Now, that probably doesn't sound all that
exciting to you, but I had a hoot sitting in a waiting room for three
hours! Yep, three hours! And then they sent us home. Why? Well,
because no one showed up for their cases! Okay, technically there
were some people there, but apparently somebody who needed to be there
wasn't. Best lost three hours of sleep ever, I swear!
Speaking of lost sleep, there are a few other things I wanna babble on
about, but I'm not feeling all that well and some z's are definitely
needed. So, let's move on to today's update!
Resuming my plow through my Otakon 2006 purchases, I've got a review
of "Negima!: Magister Negi Magi!" Honestly, this has got to be the
hardest review I have ever written. I kept falling asleep trying to
watch the DVD the whole way through on both sides at least once
apiece. I had to keep referring back to the manga to do an accurate
comparison of the differences between it and the series. And even
after all that was done, I swear I wavered on the score I was going to
give it at least half a dozen times.
But one thing's for sure... it definitely reassured me that my feelings
of the show at Otakon were right on the mark. And those were feelings
of disappointment. See what I mean... go read the review now!
Reviews and Editorials
- Negima!: Magister Negi Magi, Vol. 1 (DVD)
August 31, 2006
Wow, Tropical Storm Ernesto messed with me double time. Messed with me
trying to finish the update for this week. At the same time, it
prevented me from leaving for my vacation, which itself is now in
jeopardy of being cancelled.
That aside, let me step back to last week for a second. Or is it two
weeks back at this point? Anyway, did anyone manage to catch NBC's
"Treasure Hunters" this summer? It's alright, but the way I see it,
in terms of analogies, The Mole is to Murder in Small Town X as
The Amazing Race is to Treasure Hunters. I see it very hard to do
a second edition of "Treasure" if only because some of the stuff in
this first attempt look fabricated. I do appreciate the fact that
production-wise, the show looked better as it went along. A lot of
people say the first season of "Race" was the same way... (By the way,
kudos if you've actually watched all four of those reality shows.)
Okay, back to this week. IT'S A SUMMER OF
DISTURBING CONCEPTIVE UPDATES AND JUNK! comes
to its conclusion! As seems to be expected, I was not able to deliver
everything I promised, but there's still a good amount of stuff. In
the review section, go see my take on "Naruto Uncut Box Set, Vol. 1!"
Believe it, believe it, BELIEVE IT! (Sorry, I couldn't resist.) Also,
the full version of "The Year of Rocket's Revenge, Session: August"
is up at last. There's a lot of material cut out of the chapter
version, so go and read the full version to see what you missed!
And with that... it's to bid the summer farewell. And to bid farewell
to weekly updates. At least here. I still intend to keep a weekly
release schedule with the chapter releases of "Rocket's Revenge" at
Fanfiction.net. This site will be updated as needed, but at the very
least, once a month.
So until the next time I see you here... have a great end of summer!
Adventures Series
- The Year of Rocket's Revenge, Session: August (Full Version)
Reviews and Editorials
- Naruto Uncut Boxed Set, Vol. 1 (DVD)
August 24, 2006
Yeah! I'm actually on-time this week!
This is a two-part update, as in this update includes both last week's
scheduled update and this week's. We start with last week's, and
that's my write-up of the Otakon 2006 screening of "Fullmetal Alchemist
the Movie: The Conqueror of Shamballa." Before anyone asks, nobody
took me up on my offer last week... so that means if you read, be
prepared for spoilers! Just a warning in case you're going to try and
see it this weekend!
As for this week's scheduled new thing... it's another show I saw at
Otakon... and fell in love with. (What? You don't know what I'm
talking about? Go read my Otakon
2006 Journal, stupid!) It's a review of the first volume of
"My-Hime." Kind of like "Kim Possible" and "Avatar: The Last Airbender,"
in the sense of they don't do anything original, but they still
manage to be funny and entertaining. You should know how much I love
those two shows, so imagine how I felt about "My-Hime!" (Crap... I
just spoiled the review, didn't I? Well... go read it anyway!)
The Reviews and Editorials Section has also gone through the first
stage of its makeover. Originally, I was going to do the whole change
in one shot, but considering the fact I'm trying to finish this week's
chapter of "The Year of Rocket's Revenge" (and it's already running
really long), I had to postpone it. Hopefully, the changes will be
completely in place by next week.
Why next week? Well, next week is the last week of IT'S A SUMMER OF DISTURBING CONCEPTIVE UPDATES AND
JUNK! That means I've got hunker down and
give you a whole mess of stuff to peruse over, because chances are,
after next week, the site will probably fall back into the pre-summer
mantra of updates. That means once a month or once every few months,
something like that... but, no, seriously, I'm shooting for at least
once a month. There's some good stuff planned for the remainder of
the year...
See you for the summer wrap-up party next week!
Reviews and Editorials
- Fullmetal Alchemist: The Conqueror of Shamballa (Otakon 2006
Screening Review)
- My-HiME, Vol. 1 (DVD Review)
August 17, 2006
Is it wrong to think I'm old when I just turned 24 years old this week?
Tell me the truth... is it wrong?
In all seriousness, yes, I'm now 24, and yes, I feel like an old man.
Part of that may be because I'm several years removed from running cross
country and track in high school and as a result, I'm a decent bit out
of shape. Regardless, in that respect, I'm trying to find more time
to exercise. I've heard the better shape you're in, the more energy
you have day in and day out. Hmmm... could that explain why it's such
a chore to write fanfics some days, huh?
Speaking of which, I'm babbling about because there's no update
planned for this week. Wait, let me correct myself... there WAS an
update planned for this week, but being behind after last week's
extremely late update, things just fell apart.
Fanfic-wise, there are no new chapters of "The Year of Rocket's
Revenge" or "Big Time" ready for posting, though some work has been
accomplished on both. While "Year" will continue on a weekly basis
(or as best as I can make it) on FF.net, "Big Time" is being put on
hiatus. For at least a month, maybe more. I'm trying to find room
for a buffer so that I can have certain works ready weeks ahead of
their release. Something I've been trying to do for years, and
something I'm darned to accomplish sometime in my writing career.
This, in turn, may delay the debut of the final five episodes of "The
Circle of the Digidestined" next month, but I haven't decided on that
front yet.
Meanwhile, I was supposed to continue my Otakon 2006 updates this
week (and what should be for several weeks, given I plan to review
most of the DVDs I bought there). This week was supposed to be a
review of the movie "Fullmetal Alchemist: The Conqueror of Shamballa,"
which was shown at the convention. Unfortunately, although it's
done, there's a couple of things I want to iron out... such as
checking to make sure it's not too spoiler-ish. By the way, if you
haven't seen the English dub of it yet (it was also shown at Anime
Expo), it's being screened in limited theaters across the U.S. next
weekend. Go to
FUNimation Films for showtimes and places. It also comes out on
DVD on September 12th, and I'll also eventually get around to reviewing
that.
Back to the subject of the review... I know this'll probably fall on
deaf ears, but I figure it can't hurt. If anyone's seen the movie
(either version, dub or sub... regardless of how you managed the
latter) and want to double-check my review to make sure I didn't spoil
too much, since technically it might be the basis of whether or not
someone who reads it might see it... e-mail me ASAP, at the latest, by
the end of the weekend. I'd really appreciate it if someone could
help me out!
Regardless of whether I get help or not... you will see the review
next week!
August 14, 2006
Okay, as I write it's approaching 7 am on Monday morning along the East
Coast. After a bunch of delays, lack of writing time, and lack of
realizing how long this 'update' actually had to be, I at long last
finally finished my Otakon 2006 convention report! Check it out in
the Reviews and Editorials section! Enjoy... because I spent a lot
of time working on it!
As a result, I missed penning last week's chapter of "Big Time," so
now in that respect, I'm a week behind. And I've also got no downtime.
Sigh... a writer's work is never done...
Reviews and Editorials
- Otakon 2006 Journal
August 6, 2006
Well, I'm back! Did you miss me?
Some preliminary thoughts about Otakon '06... for the most part, it
went well. Did not get to see as many anime as I thought I would, and
the panels I went to were mostly uninteresting. I didn't have as much
fun as I did at Otakon '04, but I kinda chalk that up to the previous
time being my first time and not being used to mingling with thousands
and thousands of fellow anime fanatics face-to-face.
Be on the lookout for my Otakon '06 Journal, which will be posted in
the Editorials section on Thursday. I also bought a bunch of stuff
(well, mostly anime DVDs), and I've got a long queue of shows to write
reviews for. I won't spoil what I got exactly (though naturally, you
can 'cheat' by going to the Anime Forum at TZ and going to the 'What
did you buy this month?' thread - probably post tonight or tomorrow),
but I will say one of the pick-ups is a result of falling in love with
the show after seeing it for the first time at the convention.
I'm gonna head off to get some rest now. Tomorrow, I'll get to work
typing up my convention journal and getting to penning this week's
installments of "Big Time" and "The Year of Rocket's Revenge."
Until thursday... CHA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
August 3, 2006
Okay, this week I finally got a chance to experience 'The End of
Evangelion,' which, of course, is the way Hideaki Anno really wanted
to end the so-called 'Greatest Anime Series of All-Time.' I have to
say... I'm so utterly confused by it. Talk about one of the biggest
'doesn't make any sense' endings ever. Maybe it'll help once I listen
to the audio commentary (that helped me understand the original ending
to the series), but I'm not betting on it.
Thusly, the so-called 'sister' series to EVA, 'Martian Successor
Nadesico,' keeps its spot by far as my favorite anime series ever.
Since we're on the topic of anime, well, if you haven't heard already,
I'm going to Otakon this weekend! This is my second trip to the
biggest anime convention on the East Coast, the first being two years
ago. If you're looking to meet up with me, I'll be wearing my black
'Kiddy Grade' hat that I got at the FUNimation panel that year as a
freebie, with my Otakon '04 pin on it. (It'll be on every day.) I
also will be wearing my Otakon '04 T-shirt on Friday, too. I'll at
least be attending the 'Fullmetal Alchemist' movie premiere on Friday
night... the rest of my schedule is a work in progress and is subject
to my personal whim-of-the-moment and junk.
Oh, before I go... the latest chapter of "Big Time" is up. It's also
at Fanfiction.net (per usual), and so is the latest chapter of "The
Year of Rocket's Revenge," which, if you didn't pick up on last week,
is back in session! Go! Start reading now! And if you're in
Baltimore this weekend, try and find me among the thousands of anime
fanatics!
Good luck!
General Fanfics (Non-Anime)
- Big Time, Chapter 5
July 27, 2006
Running extremely late, so I'll make this short and sweet. You've got
a new chapter of "Big Time" up, which this week is a simultaneous
release since I just finished it a few minutes ago and it'll be up on
FF.net shortly.
General Fanfics (Non-Anime)
- Big Time, Chapter 4
July 20, 2006
The usual to kick things off this week... the next chapter of "Big
Time" has been posted, so go take a look at Chapter 3 right now!
I promised a non-FF.net backlog update this week too, so, here you
go! I've finally gotten off of my butt and made good on my promise
to give you an HTML version of the site FAQ! No, I'm not pulling
your leg... it's finally up, all coded and junk! Go check it out
now! Okay, so there's no new material, per se, but the fact that I
finally got around to getting that HTML version up has got to be
saying something, right?
General Fanfics (Non-Anime)
- Big Time, Chapter 3
Frequently Asked Questions
- Version 1.2 is up... some fixes, and now an HTML version is
available!
July 13, 2006
Well, you've got yourself a new chapter of "Big Time" today, and Kim
gets herself in one troublesome situation. Go read Chapter 2 right
now to find out what it is!
In addition to normal back-up posting of stuff that debuts over on
Fanfiction.net two days earlier... I'm going to try and find something
substantial to update with next week. No promises, though!
General Fanfics (Non-Anime)
- Big Time, Chapter 2
July 6, 2006
I STILL HATE RAIN!
In other news... the week-delayed Episode 21 of "The Circle of the
Digidestined" is now up. That officially closes up the 'third session'
of the fic. Only one more to go. I have to say, Episode 21 doesn't
exactly end on a cliffhanger, but there are definitely questions at
the end that have yet to be answered. Unfortunately, I'm gonna make
you wait a couple months to learn those answers.
Anyway... go read it already, if you hadn't guessed as to what I was
going to say next!
General Fanfics (Anime)
- The Circle of the Digidestined, Episode 21
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