Monday, January 19, 2004

Three day weeked= :)
Well, time to wrap things up for this weekend.

First, I've decided to stop watching "Sonic X"...quite frankly, the ratio of good-to-bad episodes has grated on my nerves long enough.

Ironically, because it's swapping times with Shaman King, it's easier to keep recording SX and fast forward through it than to reprogram my VCR. Such is life.

Speaking of Shaman King, it's my favorite new series of 2003. (It ties with Furi Kuri, but Furi Kuri was an OVA). Sure, it diverges from the original manga, and the edit could have been better, but on the whole, I think it's pretty spiffy. ^__^ Ryu is my favorite...

And to tie this whole thing back together, I got the second volume of the shaman King manga yesterday. Contains the entrence of Ana throught the duel with Tao Jun and Li Bailong. It might just be a coincidence, but unlike other SJ graphic novels, Shaman King contains a fairly unified story in each volume. Me likey. ^__^

I wonder if SK is writing for trades? ("Writing for trades" is an attack fans of American comics have been using within the past two years, accusing writers of stretching out stories to span more issues so that there's enough to fill a trade-paperback. The upside to this practice is that you get a nice, neat little package when you're through; the downside is that the comics cease to be their own entities, but simply become monthly "chapters" of a larger book. Just thought I'd throw that trivia out there...)

Anyway, I hope to finish a new chapter of "Sol" tonight. I just wanted to say "Hi" before going back to class. ^__^

Thought of the moment: Whatever happened to Gorillaz?

Quote of the moment: "All this corpse-puppetry is making me prespire..." -Tao Jun, "Shaman King, vol 2"
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Saturday, January 17, 2004

   Here comes the twister, love, here comes the twister...
I've got so much to talk about that I don't know where to start.

The beginning is a good place to start; I am drowned in a sea of newness, after a month and a half of nothingness. Tis a beatiful thing.

First, on Wednesday night:

Smallville:......that's it? That's it? That's kinda' sad....

After so much build up, I expected a defenitive and long-reaching ending. While the ending was defenitive, the status-quo was almost exactly the same was when we started. Guh.

It was nice to see the return of some of the previous freaks of the week, but the further straining of Lana and Clark's already ridiculously complicated relationship was just lost on me. And Lex got screwed, badly.

So Lionel Luther is evil? We've known that from day one! What a waste of potential this episode was...

Angel: ^____^ The funny/irreverant episodes of Angel and Buffy are always the best, and this was no exception. It was nice to see things from Harmoney's POV, and it was cool that she resolved her own problems, instead of getting bailed out by the others.

Also, while true, and a bit humerous, Spike's reasons for not returning to Buffy are a bit weak to me. He died for her; why wouldn't he want to be with her?

For that matter, where the heck have the Buffster and crew been ever since Sunnydale was destroyed? I want to see Andrew come back!

Friends: Oh, hell no. It's way too late in the game for a clip show! They've got two months in which to bring everything to a staisfying conclusion, and they give us a clip show! Big rip!!

What happened? Monica and Chandler bought a house. Nothing funny or worth repreating happens. Waste.

Scrubs: My TV guide said there'd be Scrubs, and there was no Scrubs!!

Comics:

My friends, the comic gods have smiled upon me. My local comic haunt (Millenium Comics, off of state road sixty in Brandon, next to Fameous Tate's,), has added a $1 section.

^_________^

I got a huge load of new comics, and a few treasures.

Spider-Girl #68: Well, Brad's a bigot and a cretin; this ish pretty much seals it. Meanwhile, May/Spider-Girl's classmate and ex, Jack Jameson (Also the costumed crimefighter the Buzz), is seriously stressed. His girlfriend was outed as a mutant and left town, and now the mysterious Dr. Jade has returned.

Apparently Dr. Jade was instrumental to the Buzz's origin, and killed one of Jack's close friends. The Buzz is determined to track her down and bring her to justice, but all his leads get him nowhere. Jack's rready to take his anger out on Brad, knowing that he's one of the punks that scared Nancy into leaving.

You know, I think May should have just let Jack beat the crap out of Brad. I know she can't let on that she saved Nancy as Spider-Girl, but she knows Brad's a creep; why protect him?

This ish felt kinda' filler-y, at least until the appearance of Dr. Jade's associate at then end. Now it feels kinda' foreshadow-y.

Venom #8: Sweet Lord, would someone teach Daniel Way how to pace a story?! "Shiver" started really excrutiatingly slow but got faster in the last two parts, and now "Run" has gone from a great first two issues to mindless comic rehetoric.

There are too many characters with agendas not explained, too many leaps in logic, and the questions I had from the first issue still haven't been answered! This is like a bad X-Files riff. The conclusion is next month; if I'm not 'wowed', I'm ditching this series.

Man...I wanted Venom to have a cool solo series for once....

Spectacular Spider-Man #9: Doctor Octopus has issues. Seriously messed-up issues. However, I'm not sure who's more messed-up: the good Doctor, or the mysterious new super hero known as the Kiwi Kid?

Well, actually, Kiwi Kid is Peter's neighbor, Big John, whom Spidey has enlisted to keep taping the action at Octavios's hideout for some reason. Meanwhile, Detective Garret and the Isralei servicemen are ready to storm the place, but all attention is actually turned to Times Square.

Spider-Man, right on schedual, has arrived in front of the assembled world community, is about to unmask himself. Ock, of course, also shows up.

I really like what Octavious says to the crowds: "I want you to take a good look at your hero. I want him to be famous, and I want his family to spend the rest of their lives explaining away his actions. I want him to be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law, to become mired in a legal morass until the end of his days. But most of all, I want you to see the difference between us: I will retain my status after today, and he will become nothing but a man."

Is it any wonder I love Paul Jenkin's writing? If you only buy one Spider-Man book, buy Spectacular. Hell, if you only buy one comic book period, buy Spectacular. unless Mark Millar's Marvel Knights title blows me away this March, this is my favorite stint of writing on a Spidey book by far. If only I could say the same of the art.

Spider-Man Unlimited #1: What? Another Spider-Man book? Yes, but this one is different. You see, the premise behind this (And its sister title, X-Men Unlimited), is that it is the first exposure for the particular writers/artists in the book. It's their way to "Break in" to the business. I love the idea of the book, and think we need more books like it.

However, the constantly rotating team means that quality will be on a stoey-by-story basis. (There are two stories in each issue.) Nonetheless, I will support this title as long as I am financially able.

The first story....ehhh.... If youv'e ever heard of or read the classic story "The Kid Who Collects Spider-Man", you've basically read this story. If you haven't, this might seem touiching, but to most Spiderfans, it's a retread. The art's none too great, either.

The second story makes this issue, and was worth the price of admision alone. I'm not going to really reveal all that much, lest I run the risk of spoiling the punch-line, but even if you just see this issue on the stands, read the second story. The art's pretty good too. ^__^

Transformers G1 #0: Well, I keep hearing good things about the Dreamwave Transformer comics, so I checked this one out.

Big mistake. I want my $3 back.

Trigun vol 2: We certainly aren't in Kansas anymore. After the first volume was incredibly similar to the anime, I kind of expected more of the same here.

Nope. Everything old is new again. There's way too many differences between the manga and anime to count at this point, but one thing I noticed is that everything is more intense. Legato is more bloodthirsty. Monav is more determined. Knives is more sadistic. Wolfwood is more enigmatic.

I am in awe. If you're a fan of Trigun, read this. If you're a f an of manga, read this. If you're niether, at least borrow it from someone that has it. ^_^

And, my back-issue treasures....

The Exile Returns parts 1 and 4 (Web of Spdr-Mn 118 and Spider-Man #53): Waaay back in '94, when the now-hated Clone Saga began, there was a second Spider-Man by the name of Ben Riely. Sice this is around wghen I started reading, I don't hate the CS, although I can easily see its flaws. However, in its beginnings, it was'nt that bad. This was one of its earliest stories, and it's prewtty good.

Basically, Ben returned to New York because Aunt May was sick (being a clone of Peter, he has all of Peter's memories up until the point of cloning; he also has Peter's emotions.). However, now in New York, a city he left years ago after disappearing, he finds that even with one Spider-Guy in town, there's still a lot of heroing to do.

So, when he hears that Venom's back in town, he decides to bring him to justice. Can't accuse him of being a slow starter.

Even though Venom beats the crap out of him, Ben (Now nicknamed the Scarlet Spider) manages to beat Venom single-handedly. Sure, Venom almost killed him, but in the end, the bad guy was thrashed. Nice.

The back issue $1 bin also had "The Child Within", "Shrieking" and "Exiled", but I left those for another day. I'm comiced-out.

Anime:

Astro Boy: Yuck. I mean, really. tHe animation was bad, the plot was bland, and the characters were shallow. And they ran *this* over Megaman NT Warriors?

Jackie Chan: Finally, the big question is addressed: Jade, a help or hinderance? I don't recall JCA having a clip show before, and for a clip show, this was nicely done. Some of the dialogue was bad, IMO, but it was still a nice episode.

What happened to Dao Long Wong, anyway? Is he lost in time?

Yu-Gi-Oh: Boy, Nesbitt got screwed, didn't he? I guess it'll be neat to see Joey and Yugi take the five down once and for all, but for some reason, this episode lacked drama.

Static Shock: Man, this show is bland....

I also saw the movie Big Fish. If you like movies, see Big Fish. It kicks arse.

Whew....

Thought of the moment: I got my siggy all nice. ^__^ Just needs a banner.

Quote of the moment: "Soon, twelve assassains will appear. The very wickedest men. I'll delight if they give you even a tenth of the Hell you deserve." -Legato Bluesummers, "Trigun, vol 2"
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Tuesday, January 13, 2004

   I'm a loser, baby...
...So why don't ya' kill me?

I feel like such a moron. My friend Stephanie moved away last year and currently attend "Long Reach" (don't ask) high school in Washington. I'd been e-mailing for a couple of months, only to realize that I'd entered her address wrong in my address book. Duh!! *smacks head*

Anyway, I'm alive but overworked. It's been a bit rough heading into the last semester, but the thought of leaving all the anoyying, obnoxious parts of high school behind propel me forwards. ^__^

I've also been somewhat successful in my attempt to become a more well-rounded OBer, having gottent drawn into an incredibly tedious rant against communism, a debate on the NCLB legislation, Tenchi Muyo!, and, just this morning, Saturday-morning cartoons of yore. Yeah, I'm out there. Too bad no one on OB responds to my plea for signiture help...

Finally, after a month and a half of reruns, new shows come back! Smallville, Angel, Scrubs, Boston Public, Yu-Gi-Oh, Shaman King, Ninja Turtles, Jackie Chan Static Shock, Astro Boy.....I'm going to be busy. But wait! There's also new comic books! Venom, Spectacular Spider-Man, SM Unlimited, Spider-Girl, and the new Shaman King graphic novel...

*Brain overload*

Oh yea! Expect reviews aplenty in the coming days. also, expect a new chapter of "Sol" this weekend.

Thought of the moment: I hate alpha-numeric e-mail addresses...

Quote of the moment: "Is there anything duller than listening to someone else brag?"- Kakashi, "Naruto"
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Monday, January 12, 2004

ALIVE!!
I'm alive, just really, really busy. ^^: Detailed posts later.
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Saturday, January 10, 2004

   Best EtSR Epi Ever!!
There was a single new episode of anime today; Yu-Gi-Oh: Enter the Shadow Realm. And what an episode it was. I must say, it was my my favorite non-duel episode of Yu-Gi-Oh ever.

I liked it so much, I'm gonna' point out my favorite parts!

Okay, first, Noa's frustration with Mokuba is completely understandable, because even I'm getting bugged by Mokie's blind devotion to Kaiba. Seriously, you've got to wonder why he's not even a little upset with recent revelations.

Notice anything particular about where monkey Tristan keeps hugging Serenity? Perv...

Kaiba's being even more selfish than usual..."This is family business!" Hey, Seto, if we're stuck in this virtual world, I think it's our business too...jeesh...

I was totally with Joey and Duke on this one; screw Kaiba!

The scene with Tea and Yugi in the tunnel was hilarious. "Tea, my legs aren't as long as yours!" ^___^

Ehh....Noa can have Kaiba Corp. There's no way he can be as annoying as Kaiba. But he still needs a better wardrobe.

Four of the five going after Joey, Duke and Serenity was fun to watch. Why didn't they try that in the first place?
Hey, that creepy poofy-haired guy...Marik, I think...he's back! ;) And the door he couldn't get into...judging by the symbol on the door, i'd say it's the hanger to the X-Jet...

I did'nt know Joey could drive...anyway, I see why he swerved to avoid the Judge Man, but why did he swerve for Nightmare Penguien? He should have floored that bird!!

(After all, you're only supposed to swerve for an animal the size of a deer or larger...)

Krump, being the accountant, was wise to try and be first in line for a body. There were only three bodies, and four monsters...no one else said anything...

Why did none of the Big Five have any problem with the prospect of ending up in a teenage girl's body? Even Lector, when faced with Joey and Serenity, had to think about which one he would posess...ew...

Noa hasn't aged in six years? Gasp! Or maybe he's just like Yugi, who looks like a six year old...whatever...^__^

Thought of the moment: FINALLY!! All-new anime next week!!

Quote of the moment: "Hoo..." -Android 18, "DBZ"
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Friday, January 9, 2004

   No "Sol" tonite
I'd wanted to post a new chapter of the "Sol Chronicles" tonight, but I just got sidetracked. My apologies to my fans; I promise to have it up by the end of the weekend.

School's back in full swing; I'm a bit overloaded. I've got to read fifty pages of "All the King's Men", write a summary of Hamlet, redo my mock trial questions, read and answer questions on a three-page story in Spanish, read the first chapter in Astronomy, and...do a bunch of scholorship searches. ^^;;

Yeah, I'm overloaded.

In other news, I have had it up to here with high-and-might snob players coming into the YGO OB. I've had it with their attitude, and I'm not going to let them abuse my fellow OBers without just retribution, or a stern flaming. Whichever comes first.

The final Friends episodes are starting. What have we learned? Joey doesn't share food. I could have told you that.

I'm trying to improve my OB siggy; if anyone can use vB code and make a really cool siggy, please help me. ^^;

Anyway, there's nothing i can say right now because I'm really tired. I'm out.

Thought of the moment: Must get cool siggy...

Quote of the moment: "It's time to kick some names and take some ass!...Wait..."-Me
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Tuesday, January 6, 2004

First day back to school
So, in my college class, the teacher didn't show; apparently, she cancelled, and I had to pick a new class in that spot. I was fortunate to get into an interesting class (AP Comparative Politics) with a great teacher (Mr. Lind). However, this is the second time Hillsborough Community College classes at my school have screwed me over. Considering I'll be going to HCC next year, that's not promising.

Everything else was rather mundane today; we're back, big whup. 'Cept I have to read Hamlet....and I did'nt....I can probbably get away with it tomorrow.

Tomorrow the mock trial team meets! ^__^

Anyway, I went to a financial aid meeting and was bored out of my school for an hour. Gah. And the only important thing I learned?

To qualify for Florida's Bright Future's Scholorship, that pays for everything, I need a 1270 on the SAT. What did I get last time?

1260.

AAAAAAAGGGGGHHHHHH!!!!!!!


Feel better now that that's out of my system.

I fear my attempt to convince the admin to open a Shonen Jump forum on OB is falling on deaf ears. Ah, well; I tried. Maybe if James will let me, I can round up the names of interested otaku.

Speaking of Otaku, I just made my 1000th post. ^___^ Today...I become a man!

Expect more from me when I'm not so pressed for time.

Thought of the moment: How many times to I have to explain to this fool that communism doesn't work?! Grr...

Quote of the moment: "I had to live! I couldn't let her sacrifice be in vain!!"- Tokagero, "Shaman King"
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Monday, January 5, 2004

   Last-Day-Before-School Blowout!!
Well...almost. First, I'd like to send out my thoughts and prayers for my friend Li-Chan. She's been very depressed since moving, and I really want her to get through it so she can be happy again. *huggles Li-C*

Yesterday I saw "The Two Towers". Wow...that was a really long movie. I liked Gollum, though. It seemed a bit unfair, though; that one bearded guy had an elf lady and a human hitting on him.

What'd everyone else get? Pipin got a tree man, Frodo got Smeargle, and Gandolf got a horse. Doesn't exactly seem fair, does it?

I once again spent some time railing against communism, which really does suck. If you're interested in my rantings, check out the Otaku Lounge. If you're not...then don't...

Why, exactly, am I ranting against communism? Blame my wife, Bandit Joeykuba. She mentioned to me that I practically lived in the Yu-Gi-Oh section of OB. I thought to myself, "She's right; I need to branch out more."

First time out and I pick a fight over Marxism. Bad me. ^^;;

I mentioned earlier that I procured Energon Starscream; he rocks. Having fiddled with him, I must say that the only things about him that bother me are:

*His design isn't exactly symetrical (IE, 1 side is slightly different from the other)

*His arms are difficult to move in the proper transformation.

Other than that, he pwns. I'm not too keen on the "Energon weapon" gimmick that seems to be in this line, but even though they're gaudy, they can be set aside so they don't interfere with the rest of the figure. I still prefer Mini-Cons as marketing gimmicks go, however.

I also recieved the new issue of Shonen Jump today. The following review contains massive uber spoilers, so if you don't want to know, stop reading.
















*SPOILERS*

Naruto: For the first time, Naruto looks like he's about to tap into the part of him that's a fox demon; too bad it's the end of the episode, because I really wanted to see that. I also was kind of disappointed that Kakashi didn't get to do more that he did. Come on, Kakashi! You rock!

Hikaru No Go: Wow, playing a game without the fate of the world hanging in the balance; can they do that?

It is a testement to this manga that something seemingly so commonplace is so interesting when the characters play Go. I might give the game a look-see myself.

One Piece: "I cut." "I strech." "I steal". "I run and hide." Excellant line! ^__^

I'm rather dissappointed that not only did the Butler do it, but that he's really a bad, bad man.

Does anyone else think the Hypnotist looks like Micheal Jackson?

Yu Yu Hakusho: Yuske survived simply by dumb luck; a classic Yuske moment. Showdown with Rando next month. ^__^

DBZ: Gahh....there's nothing wrong ith the manga; I'm just sick of DBZ in general. If you aren't, it's a good read.

Yu-Gi-Oh: Ehhh....Im' sorry, but we already know that Yugi would win, andit's the exact same game as before. There's no drama, I'm afraid. It just feels like a pit stop before the real deal.

Shaman King: Easily my favorite manga this month. i was so afraid thatt he conclusion to this threat would be a cop-out, like it was on the anime.

Instead, we get some really strong character definition for Tokegero, as well as a true reason for him to have hated Amidamaru. We also got to see Anna cry, and the scene between her and Manta was hilarious. "My fault?!"

Oh, and we got to see baby Tokagero. ^__^






**End spoilers**

Yeah, that's it for me. I start school tomorrow. ^__^ Well, here's to '04!

Thought of the moment: I should kidnapp Mokuba....

Quote of the Moment: "I think we can resolve this without anybody getting hurt." -Yoh, "Shaman King"
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Sunday, January 4, 2004

   Kinda' funny story...
I intended to come here and rail against communism.

That's right, communism. It sucks, harshly. However, I've cooled down, and shall spare you my ranting.

So, I've got a trash problem. The recyclables are picked up on Thursday in my neighborhood. Last Thursday was New Year's Day. Week before that was Christmas. I've got a lot of milk containers and newspapers piled up. Gah.

Yu Yu hakusho apparently starts up tomorrow, so I'll tune in. I saw all the way up to the defeat oft he Four Saint Beasts a while ago, but stopped watching when they changed time slots on me. This will be a good chance to catch up.

I went to the new Borders book store that opened up. Wow. Borders rocks out loud. ^__^

Thought of the moment: Energon Starscream rocks out loud as well. And new Teen titans start on Saturday!

Quote of the moment: "And what would thou have done to me? Bite mine ankels? Singe mine hair?" -A cool quote by BlackGatomon, "Digimon: Cursed" =P
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Saturday, January 3, 2004

*Audiable Sigh*
I can't believe I'm saying this, but I'm actually ready to go back to school...good thing we go back on Tuesday.

Everything on TV is reruns, and there are no new comics out....there's manga, but I can't blow all my cash on it...

On the plus side, Energon Starscream is out. Transformer jets rock. ^__^

I slammed out two new chapters of the "Sol Chronicles", and plan to do one or two more before going back to class.

It's come to my attention that I've been nominated for a few Otaku Awards. I don't know why, but thanks to anyone who actually cared enough to! ^__^ It's an honor just to be nominated! No...no, it really is. ^_^

I made a sort of uber-Yu-Gi-Oh-deck, but I'm not going to post it here. If you're interested, it's in the Yu-Gi-Oh forum at OB. If you're not, I save you threity seconds of time by not reposting it. ^__^

Thought of the moment: Nope...no thinking today...

Quote of the moment: "Unless you're rich, you might want to let Ed back into the wild. She eats a lot. A pet would be cheaper, and smell a lot better." -Spike, "Cowboy Bebop: shooting Star vol 2"
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