Inside look into Animes I love (Part 3 - Red Garden and Puella Magi Madoka Magica)

Hey Guys, sorry it took so long for me to write part 3. I've been sick and there have been some personal matters I had to attend to but I'm back and ready to write up a storm! kind of..

Red Garden and Magical Girl Madoka are the prime focus for part 3. The reason why I chose these two animes in particular is because they provide a completely unique experience compared to other animes in the same genre, if Red Garden even shares a genre with anything else.



The story follows four normal New York girls named Claire, Kate, Rose and Rachel. One day they wake up with no memory of what happened the night before and at night they're brought to a caged car park to fight a man who turns into a demon. The thing about the story that drew me to it was the fact that especially at the start, these normal girls are forced into a fight with an insanely strong demons with no fight experiences and no powers. You feel the fear, the adrenaline, the regrets and everything in between. Over time they adapt, grow stronger and you truly feel the growth.

My first exposure to this anime was when I was browsing tv and stumbled on it on Animax Asia. It was a horrific scene where the girl's keepers showed them the consequences of choosing not to fight or giving up hope. It scarred and intrigued me, it was amazing. After I finished the series, I tried to find an anime similar to this because I was thirsting for more but I could not find anything. It truly stands on its own in being absolutely unique. Also the art is amazingly stylized and is quite quirky.



Puella Magi Madoka Magica, if you know your anime, you've heard of this one. It took the magical girl genre which is pretty prominent on its own and turned it on its head. One wrong move by any of these cute protagonist and boom, they're gone, dead in pretty brutal ways. The characters are likeable enough with the twist ending being something I did not anticipate through the series. I'm not a huge fan of the super cute chibi character designs but the designs are highly exaggerated to prove the point that while it and the seemingly innocent op might look a certain way, not to judge a book by its cover.

The thing they both share in common is their uniqueness. Say if I craved a shonen anime or manga, I could find a few I like in the massive pool in the genre but I can't find another Red Garden or another Madoka. Please do leave a comment if you disagree or you'd like to recommend an anime for me to watch that you think I might like! :) til next time~

Inside look into Animes I love (Part 2 - World Trigger)

On the surface World Trigger looks like a pretty generic long running shonen title which goes on forever until you start reading or watching it. My biggest problem with most of the shonen animes out there, is the main male protagonist. You know the one, the loud, spiky haired, always hungry and super powerful entity with an unlimited amount of 'potential', Most of the time they're less a character and more a super power with quirks. World Trigger has the opposite, the main character, Osamu is described as pretty weak and as he meets more and more stronger characters, the difference in power really shows.

He is complimented by the team he built  around him as they work towards a common goal. With him are Kuga and Chika, two young and very strong characters in context to all the other characters. Instead of Osamu being the defining factor of each fight and arc, wins are determined by how well Osamu tactically maneuvers his stronger, more naive teammates. 



I'm not trying to diss other shonen mangas/animes too much because I loved mangas like Fairy Tail and Dragon Ball but my thing is they all seem to blend together after a while. Also my biggest grip with this genre is the obnoxious main character, I don't watch/read Fairy Tail for Natsu, I do it for my waifus Erza and Lluvia. (Extra note: I stopped reading it after the time skip arc...it just started getting old)



Another point of argument is the epic failure by the name of 'Bleach'. I was obsessed with this when it first came out, I love all the characters, the premise and it was my introduction to the modern shonen genre. It ended up becoming an Ichigo ego fest with his getting stronger and stronger while the others fell behind. Chad, Orihime and Rukia ended up becoming wall paper despite Tite Kuno stating at the start that Chad and Orihime's power mirror the potential of a Zanpakuto. Also the females in this anime take a backseat to the men, this is no longer the 90s, even if males are the main demographic, we can accept the fact that a woman can be badass too. 

In World Trigger, the main heroine Chika retains her feminine demur in that she has hesitation in killing with her sniper rifle despite the fact that killing someone just teleports them back to their home base. I was afraid initially about how the author would deal with this issue as it has destroyed better characters in the past in other mangas but he dealt with it amazingly and did not use it as an excuse to keep her as kidnap bait *Cough Orihime Cough*.

I would suggest picking up World Trigger just as a supplement to the shonen mangas you already read as a breath of fresh air, or just because it's a really good anime/manga.   

Inside look into Animes I love (Part 1 - Digimon Adventure , 02 , and Tri)

Hey guys!

I started writing this article to tell you guys the kinds of animes I like, give some examples and some points and thoughts I had on them and their competition in the genre. But it ended up becoming a little bigger than I thought it would be and decided to split it into 3 parts. The first being mostly about Digimon, the 2nd part being about World Trigger and the 3rd, Red Garden and Magical Girl Madoka. I might even add in a fourth, Sentai, about animes that comprises of a team of people (most of the time high school students) fighting monsters or aliens with unique powers.

Now, I'm not a huge fan of the 'cute girls doing cute things' genre or harem or ecchi because I don't find any of these genre's relatable. This statement is not to discredit the genre or people who like them, but most probably there won't be a 'High School of the Dead' review on this blog written by me. I like animes that defy stereotypes and provide me an experience I can't get from other more stereotypical animes in the same genre. Even better if it defies all the rules and provide an absolutely unique experience. 

Digimon pushed what a children's show made for selling toys could do. They were episodic but had an over-arching storyline that pays off in a big way at the end. The characters were never just paper cut out with quirks and goals/missions in place of personality. Each character had a defining trait that is pre-dominant, but they also have fears, anxieties, likes and dislikes.

What I mean by this is, sometimes characters (and this is not exclusive to the children's anime genre) 
are written only to serve the plot/episode, and I don't just mean side characters or characters that only come in for an episode, this also applied to main characters and major supporting characters. But in order to flesh these characters out a little, they give them quirks instead of a personality. In these cases, these characters are more quirks and traits rather than an actual person. Just because a character loves to eat, or loves to eat a certain food, it does not equal a personality. An example of this is Pokemon, I'll discuss Ash, Misty and Brock.



Outside of trying to be the very best (and failing) Ash has no defining trait outside of Pokemon, he has no other interest than failing to become a Pokemon Master. He does not age, he does not participate in anything not related to Pokemon. He is not a person rather he is Pokemon.The same goes for Misty and Brock. For multiple seasons Misty followed Ash around because he destroyed her bicycle, nothing else. Also she likes water pokemon I guess. Brock likes girls. Of course they have semblance of a personality, maybe Misty is motherly and Ash is passionate about Pokemon, but they never feel like real people. Can you imagine having a friend that only talks about one thing everytime you guys spoke and reacts the same way or everything?



(From the left: Tai, Matt, Sora, Izzy, Joe, Mimi, T.K, Kari)

Let's compare them to Digimon, I don't even need to talk about all 8 fleshed out characters in Digimon, I'll pinpoint three and talk about them, The three being Tai and Izzy and Kari.

Tai loves football, He's brave and a natural leader. He is headstrong. He's also very stubborn. He's a good big brother and loves his partner Agumon. He's brash and loud but grows more level headed as the anime progresses and even more so in the next two seasons. He has parents who love and support him and while not perfect, tries his best in every situation.

Izzy is a child prodigy. He's smart and kind. He's also aloof and sometimes gets so lost in learning something that he loses the plot. He was adopted from birth and has trouble expressing himself to the people he loves. As the series progresses, he finally comes to term with his situation and becomes more well rounded in later series.

Kari is my favourite character, introduced more than half way through the series. She joins the team much later but even then her character is given room to grow via her partner Gatomon. She starts off caring, soft spoken and sickly and turns into the voice of reason in 02. 

My point here is that I know the characters, I know how they react to things and I know them as people rather than quirks and traits. I've seen their growth and development and these are just 3 of the 8 characters in the series. 16 if you count in their Digimon partners whom on their own, aren't very strong personality wise but coupled with their partners add a whole lot of dimension to their characters and help enhance their partner's.

With that ends Part 1, Please do join me in Part 2 where I discuss World Trigger and the difference it has with its shonen counterparts.

Top 10 Best Jrpg Openings EVER! (Part 1)

Hello everyone! Rpg Soul here back with another gaming list :D. It's no surprise that Jrpg shares alot in common with Anime. From character archetypes to plot twists and villains, Jrpg is essentially an Anime you can play. 



Along with all the similarities are the Openings, you know? Cool visuals accompanied by upbeat J-pop music or a full blown song with vocals! (essentially an animated music video meant to introduce you to the characters and setting). Unlike Anime openings that plays at the start of every episode, you tend to see Jrpg openings after you've booted up the system and before the main menu (with some exceptions) So let's get to it! 


Number 10: Suikoden 3

The opening for Suikoden 3 is by far the best in the series with beautiful music and visuals that make the game look a lot more exciting than it actually was. It does its job in introducing the characters and to a small extent their background, with some characters running through a dessert while others stand in a forest or city. 

Number 9: Valkyrie Profile

The very underrated Valkyrie Profile takes the 9th spot with ethereal music that quickly turns into a quick tempo electronic track, the start of it matches the Norse Mythology lore of the game. It shows bits and pieces of the game without giving too much away and introduces us to a few of the many many characters in Valkyrie Profile. 

Number 8: Tales of Destiny

I love the visual and the music in this opening for another underrated game from the Playstation 1. I would've placed it higher had the music fit with the rest of the themes of the game, but on it's own it looks and sound amazing.

Number 7: Final Fantasy 8

Unfortunately, the only Final Fantasy that makes the list. Final Fantasy 8's opening sets the tone for the rest of the game perfectly, with foreshadowing and a kick-ass fight with Seifer. Also the chanting is amazing! So much love.


Number 6: Tales of Vesperia

It's no surprise to find another Tales game in this list as the Tales games are known for their amazing animation. Vesperia also has the amazing advantage of having Bonnie Pink record an English version of 'Ring a Bell'. The visuals in this opening looks amazing! I still rewatch this from time to time.

More of the list in the next post!

Anime for the Soul (Charlotte)

Charlotte starts off with an interesting premise then gets confusing and ends the anime in an inconceivable plot hole. It steals heavily from the far superior Puella Magi Madoka Magica in terms of plot in the second half. Without further ado lets begin!

Plot: Yuu is a normal teenager with a twist, he's able to take command of someone's mind for a few seconds. He uses this power to cheat in school exams and try to look up girl's skirts (basically things any teenager would do if they had his power). His life gets turned upside down when he runs across a girl name Nao who blackmails him and his sister into joining a school for people with supernatural abilities. Together with Teen Idol, Yusa and comic relief Jojiro, they form an after school club to try and find other supernatural users abusing their powers in the city.

Opinion: The premise sounds interesting enough until you realize their superpowers are not very interesting. And what starts off as a lighthearted slice of life fantasy anime turns into something much more complicated and darker later on. I personally wasn't a huge fan of the storyline all the way through and found it hard to finish the anime. 2/5 Soul



Setting: The anime is set in modern day Japan and while the animation looks beautiful, a lot of the time the anime plays out in the dull looking high school. Not that an anime mostly set in a high school is bad it's just I would've liked to see the world they live in in more detail. There are scenes in the final episode that go far and beyond the high school. 3/5 Soul




Characters: Many consider the characters in Charlotte to be the weakest link in the show and I have to agree. I'll list them one by one and give my general thought on each.

Yuu: While I found certain problems with the character's writing, I do appreciate the writer trying to show character development with him. He starts as a generally unlikeable character and tries to go through a transformation towards the end.

Nao: The main heroine and the biggest flaw of the series. A weird mix between cheeky and a tsundere, outside of the first few episodes she contributes nothing. Her power is to be able to turn invisible to a single person and she's bullied for it because...(?) 

Yusa: Yusa is a teen Idol and unfortunately her personality doesn't stray too far from what you would expect. Instead character growth is given to her sister who resides in her. I'll explain, she has the ability to play host for the dead, but the dead has to be her sister. When her sister takes over, she has the ability to wield fire. She along with the next character contributes nothing to the story outside of comic relief and a little character drama.

Jojiro: Contributes absolutely nothing to the show outside of a few failed jokes. 

Character wise this anime lacks a lot. You don't care what happens to these characters at all because while there is a semblance of character development, they're not interesting characters to begin with. 1/5 Soul



Overall: It's hard to talk about why I disliked this series as a whole without talking about (and spoiling) the second half of the anime. I decided I would not spoil animes that came out recently (2015,1016) so I just need you to take my word for it, the second half of this anime (especially the final episode) kinda sucked. That does not mean this anime is without merits, the music and the animation is beautiful. 2/5 Soul

Nostalgia Soul Series (Beyond the Beyond Review 1994)

Beyond the beyond was the first ever RPG I played and left me confused as a kid. What genre was this and why did the opening music make me feel like I was about to embark on a massive adventure? I decided to replay it for this review and expected epicness and nostalgia instead it's pretty meh in terms of Jrpgs even compared to the games on the SNES at the time. It breaks no new ground in terms of characters, storyline and gameplay and basically plays like a poor man's Dragon Quest. There will be leeway in terms of scoring because it was the first ever RPG released in America and was released at the start of the Playstation era, back when the system's true potential has not yet been reached.


Plot: Unnamed silent protagonist lives in a quiet town with his adoptive parents and sister. He trains with his father who is a knight for the Kingdom once a month. One night, his adoptive brother comes home to warn them about enemies that have taken over the castle and captured the prince. Together with Annie (his adoptive sister) and Percy (the brother), they leave the quiet town to check on protagonist's father and accidentally saves and travels with the kidnapped Prince.

Opinion: The plot is your typical run of the mill fantasy Jrpg. It never strays too far from the norm and not much I can comment about other than the story feels very traditional but that's not necessarily a bad thing, just very niche. 3/5 Soul




Setting and Graphics: The setting is medieval with lots of forest and caves and wooden houses. Typical for a Jrpg during that time period. 

The graphics are honestly butt ugly, it looks like a slightly better version of a SNES Rpg and one could mistake it for a port. Not that SNES games are ugly but games are also judged on the capabilities of the system they came out on. Of course this game came out at the start of the Playstation 1's life and you could make the argument that they did not know the full capabilities of the Playstation 1. 2/5 Soul


 

Gameplay: The game plays a lot like Dragon Quest in it's interface and interaction with people and objects, it is all done via a menu or the triangle button. Each character has a role and there are no customization which is normal for early Jrpgs. Also this game is littered with FUCKING random encounters! Can u imagine doing a somewhat complicated puzzle with random encounters occurring every two steps??!! It was a nightmare! 

The battle is turned based and has a Legend of Dragoon style 'hit the button at the right time' system but other than that there not much to note about it. 1/5 Soul


Characters: There are five slots in the party and two of them tend to be revolving doors for short term party members. In the other 3 slots there is silent protagonist who has no personalty to speak of, Annie and Edward the prince.

Annie: Bullheaded and stubborn, I quite like Annie. She thirsts for adventure and defies her conservative parents to be able to play with the big boys. Unfortunately, she falls into the typical adoptive sister stereotype that won't stop obsessing and in turn having romantic feelings for her silent brother...gross.

Edward: Boring.


Overall:  Boring, ugly and with a stupidly broken random encounter meter, I cannot give this game higher than 1/5 Soul I thought this review would be filled with nostalgia-filled scores and comments seeing as how this was the game that started my RPG obsession but I can't do it without feeling dirty after.   

Anime for the Soul (Mirai Nikki Review)

I decided to start reviewing anime on the side as well since Jrpg characters often coincide with the stereotypes and archetypes formed and practiced in current anime. Also I enjoy anime :D

I enjoyed this anime despite not enjoying the ending. The thing about anime is I normally end up hating the main character of the anime because they always end up either stupid and strong or weak and whiny. The main character here is no different, without wasting time lets get to it!

Plot: A useless whiny crybaby named Yukki is given a diary in the form of memo posts in his phone that can tell the future. It was given by a god he presumed was a figment of his imagination, and with the help of his psychotic stalker, Yuno, has to hunt down 10 other people with 'future diaries' to win a game designed by god, to become a god.

Opinion: Death games are all the rage these days, from Battle Royale to Hunger Games and even Gantz. We've seen teenagers kill each other in the name of sport and we cheered. It's a fun genre and Mirai Nikki keeps it fresh with diaries that can tell the future, how do you fight someone who's able to tell your next move? is the question put forward and run at them and stab them with the pointy end is Yuno's answer. 4/5 Soul

Setting: Mirai Nikki is set in present day Japan and aesthetically, it's okay looking. Maybe it's because I watched it 4 years after its release and with animes like Fate/Zero and Beyond the Boundaries, I've been spoiled. There are random cgi that clashes heavily with the hand drawn background and characters but it doesn't break the series for me. 3/5 Soul

(Warning: Major Spoilers Ahead)

Characters: There are 12 characters in the death game each with their own specialized diaries. I will list each and explain with SPOILERS what I thought of each of them starting with number 12.

Number 12 (Sentai guy!): I love sentai so I really love this ode to sentai fandom. This guy is a mislead misunderstood blind vigilante whose early death was a crime! He had the power to detect evil deeds happening around him. Love this guy!

Number 11 (Evil Politician): The creator of the future diaries. Honestly his participation in all this makes no sense and felt very shoe horned in like an after thought. Provided the anime with the 3rd last showdown so he's got that going for him. Had the over powered diary of being able to read the other's diary.

Number 10 (Dog chef): The most boring of the villains, did not participate actively in the battle instead relying on his butch lesbian daughter to fight for him. Had the power to tell whats happening around his minion of mecha dogs.

Number 9 (My Waifu): I love this woman, she started off in the 3rd episode looking like the ugliest and oldest looking Loli in anime history. She lost and I thought she was out for the count but no. She kept coming back bigger and better than ever! Had the weakest future diary in the game. She was able to read where the best escape route is.

Number 8 (Big Head, Big Heart): The owner of an orphanage of FUCKING NINJAS, she was the kindest person in the death game. The last player to survive after 1,2 and 9 and had a giant massive head and tiny body. Started dating the evil politician in the new world. She had the power to create new fake future diaries.

Number 7 (Big Hair, Big Love): Number 7 is occupied by a romantic couple with the ability to read each other's future. They feel a rivalry towards Yukki and Yuno being the other couple in the game. Marries and dies on the same day, honestly wasn't a big fan of either.

Number 6 (The cult that sleeps together...): I'm not a huge fan of rape storylines cos they make me scared and sad. This was a cult leader who was raped by her followers following her parent's death and it was really sad. She died a tragic death and had the ability to forsee the future of all her followers.

Number 5 (Little fuck): I hate kids...this one  was a master of poison. How did he get so knowledgeable in poison warfare? don't ask me. His character made little to no sense, they should've handled him they way they did Rue in the Hunger Games instead of what we got. Hate him, next.

Number 4 (Detective): Betrayed the main characters in the first arc to save his son from cancer or something. Had an alliance with number 9, 1 and 2.

Number 3 (Dead): Dead in the first episode.

Number 2 (Fucking Yuno): Let's be fucking honest! You watched this anime for her. 4 years have past and I still see her as an internet meme! She's fucking crazy and insane and we love her for it. She's no holds bar, obsessive, compulsive and insane! She perfected the Yandere archetype created by School Days. She had the ability to see Yukki's future but honestly she didn't need it. She won the war the first time around and is giving it another go to be with Yuki who tried to convince her to participate in a suicide pact.

Number 1 (Fucking fuck): I fucking hate Yukki. A whiny asshole who did nothing but hide behind Yuno and when he grew tired of her, his friends. Did close to nothing until the end of the series and even when he won and became a god, he spent 10,000 years crying and whining instead of maintaining and rebuilding the world. At the realization that he can't revive his parents as god, he kills his friends and contemplate mutual suicide with Yuno. Even the psychotic teenage girl had the sense to try and kill him to keep the world from dying off without a god. I hate characters like this, they're made to be whiny and a total pussy as an attempt to show growth and change but Yukki did not feel like he grew in the anime. 

3/5 Soul



Overall: I enjoyed Mirai Nikki despite Yukki, up til the final few episodes. It's definitely a 16+ anime with the violence, gore and nudity but I've seen worse *eyes Gantz* Yuno is amazing and is my spirit animal while the rest of the cast help balance out the Yukki bullshit. I give this anime a 3/5 Soul. I'd say watch it despite the main character being as likeable as a torn.