I find the Love It or Hate It debate over this anime hilarious, but I also REALLY get it. On the one hand, this anime is beautiful. The art and sound production is fantastic, especially from a smaller studio. The action is (overall) very well done. They have a really good pace, and they feel frenetic and exciting. It doesn't just excel at action either, there are many genuinely touching moments in this series.
Of course, I can also see the hate. While they do a lot of little design things with the MMO concept, they don't do much in the overall story. The first season is full of time skips that make you go, "Wait what! All of that intervening time!" The second season has excessive fanservice, and a change to the game makes it much less dramatic or intense. The show is very mixed, character-wise. On one end there's Suguha, who is easily the most developed character in the show, while still managing to be sympathetic, likable, and engaging. (Even if her subplot does give me the oogies.) Near the middle is Asuna, who starts off interesting, disappears for a while, reappears and is kinda meh, before growing into something better. But then, there are the problem characters. First off is the protagonist, Kirito. He feels REALLY inconsistent. Early on there's his loner thing, there's the people dying complex he develops, and there's his romance. Besides that...his personality seems to completely change depending on the episode, or sometimes scene, he's in. And the season two villain! My friend who got me into this show used to rave to me about how evil he was, and how much I'd hate him. He's half right. Dude's definitely evil, but after a while I gave up hating him. He's a cartoon. He's a silly caricature of what "evil" is. His motivations are weak, and he has absolutely no redeeming qualities. In other settings with different styles, that could work, but this show's tone clashes with that. You can only add so many Villain tropes to one character before they stop being empathetic, and once you can't even empathize with a character, your ability to like or dislike them is sorely diminished.
Overall, I liked Sword Ass (I mean Art) Online. I'm glad I saw it. It's pretty flawed, but the emotion and drive it presents combined with the fantastic action makes me enjoy it regardless. To me it feels like Gurren Lagann wearing a really shiny .hack/sign suit. That leads to the problem, however, that Gurren Lagann works as well as it does because it doesn't give a rat's ass about how it looks, or the believability of it's story. SAO lacks that quality to make up for it. What it really needs is to be dubbed and put on Toonami. Put it in with that crowd, and it's going to stick out, and in a good way. If you know you're someone who can't get over logical or character problems in a show, this isn't for you. But if you can dip yourself into this world and enjoy the emotional roller-coaster, it comes recommended.
Wednesday, January 30, 2013
Wednesday, January 9, 2013
Why Comics are infuriating and you should read them
This little post is at people who do not read comics. The American superhero comic industry is easily one of the oddest mediums, for several reasons. The goal of this is to effectively show why it's a freaking infuriating medium to become a fan of, and why you should do it anyway.
The first small problem lies with team changes. The most common I've run into is when the artist changes, either from issue to issue, or sometimes withing the same one. It's noticeable, off-putting, and occasionally makes it harder to enjoy the comic. The bigger problem lies in the 'betrayals.' So you've got the artist and writer, turning in comic after comic every month, developing subplots and carrying out story arcs. Out of nowhere, the bosses come in and say, "Hey, you're main character dies in the upcoming crossover. Your book is getting cancelled." Sometimes it's not nearly as dramatic. Maybe an important side character dies, or the book is getting cancelled for low sales, or the editors are demanding a dumb plot point (One More Day) or tonal shift. It still hurts. No matter how many times they do this to you, it's still fresh and raw and makes you want to storm their headquarters and bust some heads. That isn't going to change. That is the medium we're dealing with. Doing things like that overall increases sales, and if it ruins a good title, so what.
So why should you like comics then? For almost the exact same reason they're infuriating. While shared universes exist in other mediums, they're rare. Superhero comics ARE a shared universe. This allows for amazing crossovers, and interesting events. (Blackest Night) Not only that, but the ever changing status of the universe allows for growth on established characters, and the birth of interesting new ones. There are several points in Batman and Spiderman's histories where they had grown in very unexpected and intriguing ways. Sure, they were destroyed later, but those comics from that era are still fantastic. Guy Gardner has been developing as a character almost since his inception, though he kinda hit his peak of depth about 5 years ago. The whole idea of Legacy characters have allowed Tim Drake, Jaime Reyes, Cassandra Cain, and Mayday Parker to exist, and be awesome. Sure, they're get screwed over later, but for some time they're there and you love them. Basically, the superhero comic medium is about change, good and bad. Try it out.
The first small problem lies with team changes. The most common I've run into is when the artist changes, either from issue to issue, or sometimes withing the same one. It's noticeable, off-putting, and occasionally makes it harder to enjoy the comic. The bigger problem lies in the 'betrayals.' So you've got the artist and writer, turning in comic after comic every month, developing subplots and carrying out story arcs. Out of nowhere, the bosses come in and say, "Hey, you're main character dies in the upcoming crossover. Your book is getting cancelled." Sometimes it's not nearly as dramatic. Maybe an important side character dies, or the book is getting cancelled for low sales, or the editors are demanding a dumb plot point (One More Day) or tonal shift. It still hurts. No matter how many times they do this to you, it's still fresh and raw and makes you want to storm their headquarters and bust some heads. That isn't going to change. That is the medium we're dealing with. Doing things like that overall increases sales, and if it ruins a good title, so what.
So why should you like comics then? For almost the exact same reason they're infuriating. While shared universes exist in other mediums, they're rare. Superhero comics ARE a shared universe. This allows for amazing crossovers, and interesting events. (Blackest Night) Not only that, but the ever changing status of the universe allows for growth on established characters, and the birth of interesting new ones. There are several points in Batman and Spiderman's histories where they had grown in very unexpected and intriguing ways. Sure, they were destroyed later, but those comics from that era are still fantastic. Guy Gardner has been developing as a character almost since his inception, though he kinda hit his peak of depth about 5 years ago. The whole idea of Legacy characters have allowed Tim Drake, Jaime Reyes, Cassandra Cain, and Mayday Parker to exist, and be awesome. Sure, they're get screwed over later, but for some time they're there and you love them. Basically, the superhero comic medium is about change, good and bad. Try it out.
Saturday, December 29, 2012
Rant about Apollo Justice
((NOTE: Do not read unless you've played Apollo Justice. Also, something decently big is coming.))
This rant is for those who make games or write fics about Phoenix getting his badge back after AJ, and yes this is partly to motherfucking Capcom. I liked the tease in the game, it was nice. Here's my problem: WHAT THE FUCK. Why can't characters grow and change? I thought it was pretty obvious that over the 7 years between games Phoenix had moved on. Yes, he was still working on changing the system, but from outside. He forged evidence, and as many have pointed out acted very differently from how he normally does. Why? Because he had grown up. He was no longer the greenhorn attorney who bluffs his way through cases. He had become a confident man, who raised his daughter and worked however he could to support them. Why make him an attorney again!? This is akin to One More Day with Spiderman, for me. And the fact is, Capcom wasn't really to blame. They did that because of the fans. So many fucking fans had to complain about how 'Apollo Justice sucks', and 'why isn't Phoenix the main character?' If you want to play a game with Phoenix as an attorney, good. There are three of them. But the character has evolved beyond that, and shouldn't be forced back into that role. I know it probably sounds like I'm whining, and I kinda am, but goddamn it! So, in summation, I am the mad.
This rant is for those who make games or write fics about Phoenix getting his badge back after AJ, and yes this is partly to motherfucking Capcom. I liked the tease in the game, it was nice. Here's my problem: WHAT THE FUCK. Why can't characters grow and change? I thought it was pretty obvious that over the 7 years between games Phoenix had moved on. Yes, he was still working on changing the system, but from outside. He forged evidence, and as many have pointed out acted very differently from how he normally does. Why? Because he had grown up. He was no longer the greenhorn attorney who bluffs his way through cases. He had become a confident man, who raised his daughter and worked however he could to support them. Why make him an attorney again!? This is akin to One More Day with Spiderman, for me. And the fact is, Capcom wasn't really to blame. They did that because of the fans. So many fucking fans had to complain about how 'Apollo Justice sucks', and 'why isn't Phoenix the main character?' If you want to play a game with Phoenix as an attorney, good. There are three of them. But the character has evolved beyond that, and shouldn't be forced back into that role. I know it probably sounds like I'm whining, and I kinda am, but goddamn it! So, in summation, I am the mad.
Sunday, December 16, 2012
The Brony Bookclub Episode 17-The Great and Powerful Trixie
This week we had on CoconutSwallow, author of Hostile Takeover, to talk
about The Great and Powerful Trixie! We had fun talking about the
character and how she can be written, I threw down a gauntlet that I
hope many will pick up, Sam and Coconut discovered common ground, and I
ruined any credibility I managed to cobble together. You can listen to
the episode here (http://youtu.be/NxYl_AVgBWg) and email us with comments, questions, concerns, or criticism at thebronybookclub@yahoo.com
Tuesday, December 11, 2012
In Front of the Silver Screen-Stranger Than Fiction
The characters are all great. They're written well, and the already impressive cast all provide fantastic performances. A special note goes to Will Ferrel, who played outside his comfort zone so well that I personally feel it's his best performance ever. The arc his character goes through is fantastic, and he's one of my favorite protagonists from film. If I had to file a complaint, it would be that the baker character, who is quite important, disappears for about a half hour in the middle.
The special effects are used perfectly with the main character. The editting is similarly good, leaving in scenes of characters often enough for them to stick in my memory, before pulling them all out at once in the best moment.
This is my favorite Romantic-Comedy, maybe my favorite Romantic film, and in the running for one of my favorite films period. If you have not seen this film, you're doing yourself a disservice. Laters.
Saturday, December 8, 2012
The Brony Bookclub Episode 16-Doctor Whooves
Dear Jim Butcher,
This week we had on H3ph3stus, author of Timelords and Terror, to talk about Doctor Whooves. While the recording had a bit of a rocky start due to a combination of awkward-not-used-to-this-person feelings and our guests's choppy net connection, it ended up being pretty good. Geeking out over Doctor Who can turn any two nerds into Fire Forged Friends. You can listen to the episode here. Next week we'll be talking about a very Great and Powerful character, so send your emails about us, her, or any complaints you may have to thebronybookclub@yahoo.com
Your faithful student,
Roy Hankins
This week we had on H3ph3stus, author of Timelords and Terror, to talk about Doctor Whooves. While the recording had a bit of a rocky start due to a combination of awkward-not-used-to-this-person feelings and our guests's choppy net connection, it ended up being pretty good. Geeking out over Doctor Who can turn any two nerds into Fire Forged Friends. You can listen to the episode here. Next week we'll be talking about a very Great and Powerful character, so send your emails about us, her, or any complaints you may have to thebronybookclub@yahoo.com
Your faithful student,
Roy Hankins
Sunday, December 2, 2012
The Brony Bookclub Episode 15-PRINCESS LUNA
Dear Jim Butcher,
This week we had on Andrew Joshua Talon, author of Progress, to talk about everypony's favorite Princess. We talked about our preferences on how the character, and her transformation into Nightmare Moon, should be done. I set forth a new decree about emails. And Sam...was really quiet today. Anyway, listen to all that and more here.
Your faithful student,
Roy Hankins
This week we had on Andrew Joshua Talon, author of Progress, to talk about everypony's favorite Princess. We talked about our preferences on how the character, and her transformation into Nightmare Moon, should be done. I set forth a new decree about emails. And Sam...was really quiet today. Anyway, listen to all that and more here.
Your faithful student,
Roy Hankins
Saturday, November 24, 2012
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Episode 55
Interesting. CMC episodes are somewhat hit-or-miss with me, as is the episode's writer. She's written some of my favorites, and a few of my least favorites. I think the moral was good enough, if a little anvil dropped. What I really enjoyed was the comedy. Sweetie had all the best lines. Overall, a slightly above average episode.
Saturday, November 17, 2012
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Episode 54
I LOVE THIS EPISODE! I'm trying, but I honestly can't think of anything I didn't like. The episode has been compared to Season 2's "Lesson Zero," so I guess it's only flaw is that while it is as funny as it's predecessor, it doesn't have as much character dynamic. But on the freaking great side of things, the humor was top-notch, Pinkie having an existential crisis was awesome, and the sound of the Pinkie storm approaching shouting "Fun" was kinda horrifying.
Sunday, November 11, 2012
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic episodes 53 and 54
WOO! Season 3 is here! Ahem. Enough celebrating, let's get down to what I thought. On the negative side King Sombra was a very lackluster villain. He had very few lines, and basically spent the episodes standing around casting shadows. Some have made the argument that he is the most competent villain yet. He didn't need to do much considering how well he planned everything out from the beginning. The problem is that no matter how competent he may be, you can't make the like him because, "Oh he planned for all of this and looks cool." If he's supposed to be a dark, cruel, ambitious baddie, have him carry on a conversation and talk in such a way that I can tell that. Or do it through actions. But instead he just stood around, making animal noises and shouting out a couple words. The main plot in general was just okay, some interesting world-building, but not one where I enjoyed all the additions.
On the good side the comedy was excellent. Meghan has shown once again she's a fantastic comedic writer, showing off Rarity and Pinkie Pie very well. The moral was one of my favorite so far, and the fact Spike got to do something was great. He's really shaping up into one of my favorite non-Mane 6 characters. There are too many small visual gags or musical cues for me to count that made me fall in love with this show all over again, though a special mention goes to the opening bit with Shining Armor looking like he's on Hoth. I was really glad Armor and Cadence showed up again, I hope they get more screentime. Overall, this was a great way to start the season. While it is sadly my least favorite season premiere so far due to the villain problem, I still give it a 9/10. There is too much awesome in this episode for it's flaws to dampen that badly. Laters.
On the good side the comedy was excellent. Meghan has shown once again she's a fantastic comedic writer, showing off Rarity and Pinkie Pie very well. The moral was one of my favorite so far, and the fact Spike got to do something was great. He's really shaping up into one of my favorite non-Mane 6 characters. There are too many small visual gags or musical cues for me to count that made me fall in love with this show all over again, though a special mention goes to the opening bit with Shining Armor looking like he's on Hoth. I was really glad Armor and Cadence showed up again, I hope they get more screentime. Overall, this was a great way to start the season. While it is sadly my least favorite season premiere so far due to the villain problem, I still give it a 9/10. There is too much awesome in this episode for it's flaws to dampen that badly. Laters.
Sunday, November 4, 2012
The Brony Bookclub Episode 14-Alternative Media
Dear Jim Butcher,
This week we recorded an ENORMOUS episode on Alternative Media with Urban Meadows the creator of Buck: Legacy which is a pony trading card game. We had a great time, and there was some tweaking with the format. Next week the theme is Princess Luna, so email us at thebronybookclub@yahoo.com with your BEST ROYAL CANTERLOT VOICE! Listen to the episode here (http://youtu.be/b2PdjIZXtbE)
Your faithful student,
Roy Hankins
This week we recorded an ENORMOUS episode on Alternative Media with Urban Meadows the creator of Buck: Legacy which is a pony trading card game. We had a great time, and there was some tweaking with the format. Next week the theme is Princess Luna, so email us at thebronybookclub@yahoo.com with your BEST ROYAL CANTERLOT VOICE! Listen to the episode here (http://youtu.be/b2PdjIZXtbE)
Your faithful student,
Roy Hankins
Monday, October 29, 2012
Sunday, October 28, 2012
The Legend of Zelda-The Return Audiobook Episode 1
The Brony Bookclub Episode 13-Vinyl and Octavia
Dear Jim Butcher,
This week we had our longest episode yet with guest Corey Williams. We talked about the characters of Vinyl Scratch and Octavia, fics they were featured in, his own story The Vinyl Scratch Tapes, and much more. You can listen to the episode here or email us with comments, questions, concerns, critques, or offers of help at this link.
Your faithful student,
Roy Hankins
This week we had our longest episode yet with guest Corey Williams. We talked about the characters of Vinyl Scratch and Octavia, fics they were featured in, his own story The Vinyl Scratch Tapes, and much more. You can listen to the episode here or email us with comments, questions, concerns, critques, or offers of help at this link.
Your faithful student,
Roy Hankins
Sunday, October 21, 2012
The Brony Bookclub Episode 12-Sad
Dear Jim Butcher,
This week we had on ROBCakerin53, author of My Little Dashie. This week Sam basically hosts because I know nothing of Sadfics, the guest and I sing, ROB is a arrogant jerk (Sarcasm), I almost certainly misquote Jim Butcher, we get so far off-topic we forgot the original topic, Sam orbitally bombards us with sadfics, I act like a pompous ass, and I beat Sam. (No, not in that way. Or that way.) Next week we'll be starting the Character Theme Weeks, starting with Vinyl and Octavia Week. If you want to listen the episode, do so here. If you want to mail, go here.
Your faithful student,
Roy Hankins
This week we had on ROBCakerin53, author of My Little Dashie. This week Sam basically hosts because I know nothing of Sadfics, the guest and I sing, ROB is a arrogant jerk (Sarcasm), I almost certainly misquote Jim Butcher, we get so far off-topic we forgot the original topic, Sam orbitally bombards us with sadfics, I act like a pompous ass, and I beat Sam. (No, not in that way. Or that way.) Next week we'll be starting the Character Theme Weeks, starting with Vinyl and Octavia Week. If you want to listen the episode, do so here. If you want to mail, go here.
Your faithful student,
Roy Hankins
Monday, October 15, 2012
Podcast news and Young Justice Episode 36
Okay, we have a definite date for recording: next weekend. I know it's taking forever to record this one, but the cohost and I are quite busy at the mo', and our guest this time is rarely on FiMFiction, apparently.
On non-related to pony news, ermahgard! This may be my favorite episode of Season 2, at it's high up there for favorite of the whole show. We finally learn more about the Bad Future, we see Jaime's origin, we get some amazing character bits with two of the original cast, we got an amazing villain, and I WAS RIGHT! As I told guy who was on my podcast and now a good friend Kavonde, "Are you going to get the phone? BECAUSE I CALLED IT!" I won't spoil what I called, but let's just say my favorite alien species of the DCU finally showed up after being hinted at, and they were done very well and true to the comic's spirit. Overall this episode was FANTASTIC! However, now we must wait until January for another episode. I'll post soon with my thoughts on the newest season of Who. Laters.
On non-related to pony news, ermahgard! This may be my favorite episode of Season 2, at it's high up there for favorite of the whole show. We finally learn more about the Bad Future, we see Jaime's origin, we get some amazing character bits with two of the original cast, we got an amazing villain, and I WAS RIGHT! As I told guy who was on my podcast and now a good friend Kavonde, "Are you going to get the phone? BECAUSE I CALLED IT!" I won't spoil what I called, but let's just say my favorite alien species of the DCU finally showed up after being hinted at, and they were done very well and true to the comic's spirit. Overall this episode was FANTASTIC! However, now we must wait until January for another episode. I'll post soon with my thoughts on the newest season of Who. Laters.
Saturday, October 13, 2012
Apologies
I'm very sorry we're late on the episode you guys. We're having problems contacting our guest right now, which is weird because he already confirmed himself as one. We will record and put up the episode when in is recorded, which will be...unknown. Very sorry.
Monday, October 1, 2012
The Brony Bookclub Episode 11-Tragedy
Dear Jim Butcher,
This week we talked about Tragedy fics with our guest Kavonde, author of what I like to call The Blueblood trilogy. We had a lot of fun, got really off topic at times, and I screwed up worse than any time previous on this show. Don't worry, I'll probably beat it next week. Speaking of next week, our next episode will have on
This week we talked about Tragedy fics with our guest Kavonde, author of what I like to call The Blueblood trilogy. We had a lot of fun, got really off topic at times, and I screwed up worse than any time previous on this show. Don't worry, I'll probably beat it next week. Speaking of next week, our next episode will have on
Saturday, September 29, 2012
Young Justice Episode 34. I'M BACK BABY!
This is completely unplanned, but screw it, I'm back to being a blogger! Love this episode. The Harper to Harper character interaction was great, the Ted Kord and Jason Todd stuff was good, Jaime and Bart being friends is unexpected and cool, and the fight in the climax was intense and fun. Not sure I like that this universe's Captain Cold is really lame, and kinda fat, but whatever. Overall, a great episode!
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